Friday

Sate burgers (recipe in the comments)
Homemade peanut sauce
White rice
Grilled zucchini and red peppers with peanut soy dipping sauce

Hot tea
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I know we haven't made this recipe for my mom before, because we've never made it for ourselves!!!! We love burgers of all types and make a wide variety. Our love of sate and other Indonesian inspired foods really drew me to this recipe. With the onset of grilling season 2008, this seemed like a natural when we were planning our meals this week. Little did we know that today would be freakishly warm - 77!!! What a day for burgers and grilled veggies. These burgers were truly amazing and all of us LOVED them. The original recipe didn't call for a sauce, but they'd be too dry without. I did like them over rice, as opposed to on buns. The sauce was good on the rice as well as a dipping sauce for the veggies. YUM!!!

FYI: Despite it being pre-Derby, Mint Julip season is also in full swing :)

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Cilantro, peanuts, garlic, zucchini, red pepper
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: I would make the burgers ahead and then grill at the last minute.

Reaction
J: "These may be the best burgers I've ever eaten!"
M: "Fit to be Thai-d!"
L: "mmmm. Mmmmmm"

Wednesday

Artichoke pasta (recipe in the comments)
Grilled eggplant, sweet onion, and bell pepper

Hot tea
English toffee
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This is one of my favorite meals. It seems quintessentially spring-y to me and dinner rarely gets easier than this. That said, it's not one of M's favorites. So, we don't eat it very often. He is sweet enough to know it's a favorite and we have it sometimes though and tonight is just such a night. We try to have a great side dish to perk him up and there is rarely such a good option, where either of us are concerned, as grilled vegetables. Tonight is the launch of the 2008 grilling season and we're both thrilled! A little fire in our backyard firepit, fresh grilled veggies, warm day - what could be better???

Note: M really liked th pasta tonight. Maybe it's a new realization on his part!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Artichoke hearts, parsley, lemon zest, Parmesan
Time: 25 minutes
Make ahead: You can pre-make the sauce and toss it with fresh pasta.

Reaction
J: "I love artichoke heart pasta."
M: "This is really good tonight!"