Parental Visit

Happy Friday! I know I've been slacking on the blog lately and have so much more to share from Cali, but the last few nights have been pretty busy since we had some special guests staying with us for the week. My parents were originally supposed to come to California with us but had to cancel at the last minute when my stepdad caught pneumonia and couldn't fly. Crazy right? They really missed spending that time with Riker, so came down here from Vermont on Monday when we got home from vacation and have been taking him to the zoo, beach and all other fun things grandparents do.

Since they were in town, every evening after work has been filled with BBQ's with family, fires in the backyard, and boardwalk ventures. It's been really fun having them here.

Riker liked the bright lights of the Seaside Heights fireworks,  but the noise, not so much.

The first night my parents arrived we had a low key dinner at home. Matt was coaching a soccer game that night so it was just the four of us, plus Riker. I made a simple patio dinner of almond flour crusted fish with fresh lemons and herbs from the garden.

The last time I made this I used cod, but when I was stocking up on groceries on Monday, I spotted some wild caught lemon sole that looked really nice. I'm trying to only buy wild caught fish these days due to some nasty things I'm reading about fish farms, so the sole seemed like a great option. It was delicious! It had a nice firm yet flaky texture and it held up well to my cast iron skillet. Speaking of, the last time I made this I also cooked it differently (in a foil packet on the grill) and while it tasted great it didn't look very pretty. This time I used a little walnut oil to saute it on the stove for about 4 minutes on each side, and it came out crispy and a little more appealing to the eyes.

On the side we had garden cucumbers (um, I have about a million of these right now - pickling time!) and my family's beloved pasta with tomatoes, basil and brie made with garden veggies as well. I made one version with spaghetti and one version with zucchini noodles since Matt and I are trying to go low carb again now that we're back from vacation.

Summery!

My parents left yesterday morning and I was sad to see them go, but they'll be back for Labor Day so I'm looking forward to that. Last night I had longstanding plans to meet up for dinner & drinks with my good friend Dana, whom I haven't seen in months, so the timing worked out well. I have to say, packing the work week with fun evenings makes the week go by fast and really feel like summertime. And now all the sudden it's Friday again, woo! Time to power through my last workday and then meet up with Matt and his family for a little boat action later this afternoon.

Enjoy your day!