Successful Weeknight Dinner

So, I think I've discovered the secret to hosting a successful weeknight dinner at home: choose recipes that can be partially or fully made ahead of time, and then prep/cook one or two nights in advance.
We had our neighbors over for dinner tonight - we started with appetizers including caprese crostini and figs with goat cheese, very thoughtfully provided by our guests. Next up was carrot soup with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of parsley. After that we had stuffed peppers with kale & rice - thanks to our CSA for great veggies! Dessert consisted of apples stuffed with mascarpone, baked in red wine, topped with honey. We were all very full afterward. :)

Now if I were good at this blogging thing, I'd have photos of all the food. But since I'm just a novice, the only photo I remembered to take was of dessert:



Well, one photo is better than none!

Updated: I realized I forgot to add photos of Maya with our neighbors!  Here they are:

Yes, We Are Those Parents

Why yes, we are the parents of this kid who is yelling while you try to eat your meal. And yes, she also wants to wander around the restaurant while you eat dinner. Oh and don't step in the bits of food she spat out that landed on the floor. Our dinner outings tonight and last night have not gone well, so we might be putting a moratorium on dinners at restaurants for the next little while. Our friends at our table and complete strangers in each restaurant didn't seem to mind but it's still a bit mortifying for me.

Our activities earlier yesterday went well - brunch in the morning and apple picking in the afternoon. Maya did her best to devour a gigantic apple while we were in the orchard:

And then proceeded to bang on a pumpkin that was about the same size as her:

And yes, she is wearing an MIT hoodie. What? You callin my baby a nerd?

As Usual, I'm Late

As with so many other things in life, I'm late to this whole blogging thing. I probably should have started one last year when we found out about the impending arrival of Baby Husain. Or I could have started one when Baby Maya arrived. Anyway, here I am finally, publishing my boring thoughts on the world wide web. This way I can provide a bit more description of all our adventures for our family and friends who live far away.

One note on the name: I don't mean to imply that our lives are like a late night comedy show, though honestly it does occasionally feel that way. The name is more of a reference to the fact that we tend to stay up late at night and I suspect that's when many of these blog posts will happen.

So here's what we did yesterday: went to a wedding! Our friends D and C had a beautiful ceremony and reception. Maya accompanied us for the ceremony - here's a photo of the three of us:

After the ceremony, Maya headed out with our friends J, R, and Z to watch the airplanes, eat yummy food, and go to bed at a proper bedtime. Hyder and I enjoyed the reception afterward at a beautiful yacht club - here's a photo of the gorgeous sunset:

All in all, a terrific day with perfect weather!