Someone's In the Kitchen

If I have seemed a little food-centric in the past few days it's because the first wave of summer arrived last night in a silver Ford Taurus. Boys#1 and #4! And a friend! Woooo! And Boy#3's Taurus will pull into the driveway later today! Woooo!

Tuesday I shopped in preparation for the nest re-filling, and it felt like old times. By the time I had reached the frozen food section I was using cereal boxes to sidewall the cart so it would hold more. It was like riding a bicycle: I saw the dropped-jaw reactions of my fellow shoppers and responded with stock lines. ("Four Boys!" and "I'll trade you bills!," if you were interested in using the lines yourself.)

I'm pretty sure none of my guys has been starving while he's been away at school but you wouldn't know it by the way I've pulled out the pots. I even made Boy#1 a cappucino this morning, although he was on his way to the dentist and couldn't drink it until it was pretty much the equivalent of an iced coffee that sat in a hot car all afternoon. Yummy.

This has been an excellent opportunity to try out some of the recipes I've pinned on Pinterest during the last few months but which don't fit into the Empty Nest Cholesterol Reduction Plan. Raspberry-Lemon Bars may be my new favorite food. Chef Mommy's Pork Tenderloin is marinating in the refrigerator as I write this. And the ingredients for Carrot Cake Cheesecake are in the refrigerator in case I get hungry before the next time the dessert cart rolls by.

In a couple of days we'll settle into a regular equilibrium with me cooking normal, healthy food. With a couple of the Boys planning to stick around for the summer I may have to go back to direct deposit of my paycheck at the local grocery store, and there will be days when I miss the Empty Nest's new normal of two-serving recipes.

But right now I could not be happier with the old normal, cooking and cooking and then cooking some more, because if I'm cooking it means the Boys are back.