Courtney Scrabeck: summer

On Friday night, Beckett drew up a plan for a lemonade stand. It looked a little bit like something Wile E. Coyote would draw, with arrows and a checklist; it was cute. (I've asked for the drawing and he said he changed his plans, so it is lost in time, sadly). His dad LOVED the idea and took Beckett shopping and spent the morning getting supplies.

Somehow, I think, the Disney Channel is involved...

Our neighbor, Paul, the first customer:

I had not seen this pic when I uploaded them and it made me laugh out loud! I have really excellent neighbors.

An hour in, one of the boys' friends dropped by. She took charge.

And it became a dance party!

Everyone seemed pretty charmed by the boys are were more than happy to stop or smile and wave.

Someone asked Hartwell what he would do with the money and he didn't have an answer. When I asked him, he replied, "Give it to old people." Awww, how sweet, I thought. Then, "Just kidding, the ice cream man."

Arghhh. (I think we're gonna donate some, because, that answer...)

I decided not to help with signage, so this is what you get:

Lemonade, 50 cents, no refunds, free refills.

Later I found out Hartwell did not know what a refund was. He thought people couldn't tell you they didn't like it.

Ever since watching Gordon Ramsay on the UK version of Kitchen Nightmares, I have been obsessed with the simple looking pasta dishes. They always looked so fresh and delicious! And Gordon would always say how easy it was.

Cut to Trader Joe's carrying the orecchiette, or me suddenly noticing it sitting on the shelf. I googled a recipe in the store and and found this magical gastronomical delight! It became John's favorite and I make it once a week.

Sausage and Spinach Orecchiette
(adapted from Sunset Magazine)

I pkg. orecchiette pasta*
2Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb. chicken sausage removed from casings
1 lb. cherry tomatoes, halved (we used an heirloom cherry tomato!)
1 bag (8oz) spinach leaves
crumbled feta

Put the orecchiette on to boil, then: saute the onion in the butter, delicious! Add the garlic and sausage, yum! When the sausage is cooked through, add the tomatoes and spinach. Stir until the spinach is wilted. Add the cooked pasta.

Use the feta as a garnish on your plate.

*the orecchiette tends to stick to themselves in the form of a stack of bowls. Stir as soon as you add to the boiling water and keep stirring occasionally. Or just use farfalle.