Family Dinners...

If you asked me to name the number one thing I miss since The White House Commune closed, it would be that I miss our family dinners. Before lockdown, dinner for two usually consisted of simple stir fries, stews and soups. With four additional mouths to feed (including two remorseless eating machines), grocery shopping and meal planning changed significantly, especially since we were trying to limit our trips to the stores. More than once I got surprised looks at the farmer’s market by the sheer volume of veggies I bought weekly for our 120+ vegan dinners. I was fortunate that I could share the cooking duties with Veronica and Ashlynn, our Vegan Princesses, who enjoyed teaching the boys to cook. And the boys were extremely helpful with doing dishes. 

One of our favorite themed dinners was sushi night, of which we had three. 

Jimmy also pitched in by making some of his classics: paella (shown here), chili, pizza, crepes and tagine. 

The girls enjoyed experimenting, including making homemade gnocchi...

…and savory rolls along with their traditional cinnamon rolls for Easter brunch. 

Some of their other specialties included: shwarma, tacos, poke bowls, savory pancakes and pineapple sorbet. They surprised us later by putting together a Quarantine Cookbook. 

Dinner was often a long, relaxed event that often included some adult beverages and childish goofiness.