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Looking forward to dinner at Luci Ancora tonight, with Stacey, Bowen, Cooper, Dad, and Stacey’s awesome friend and neighbor Caroline. I’ll check back in after a bit with the yummy details…

Picked up my La Finca CSA veggie share – this week’s treasure includes Walla Walla onions, basil, garlic, and a few early tomatoes, as well as salad greens, cabbage, beets, pea pods, and kale. I think cabbage this week will become not soup but slaw with buttermilk dressing. Oh, oh, I know, maybe I’ll slow-grill a pork shoulder to go with it! Pulled pork sandwiches with a side of buttermilk slaw (or, my true preference, piling the slaw right into the sandwich, so you get the killer combo of hot, tender, spicy pork and cold, creamy, crunchy slaw, on a buttery, toasted roll, all in the same bite)? Come ON, that sounds good. Rarrr… We’ll see what the weekend holds, foodwise, I haven’t nailed ‘er down yet. Heh, heh, heh…

A lovely Luci Ancora dinner for all of us. Dad ordered best, he had Cooper, oh wait, I mean a beautiful, melty short rib served in brodo with herbs, potatoes, and carrots. Simple perfection. (I love how this pic turned out, a little blurry, with the glow of the evening sun, and Dad’s Montana-burnished face, Cooper’s copper-burnished hair, and the earthy-toned wall all playing off each other. Plus I also love how Dad can’t help but laugh at Coop’s tummy hanging out above his seer-sucker pants while he seriously works one of his chubby carrot-shaped fingers… Oh Coop, you’re so sweet…)

Back to food, of course, I was very happy with my homemade ravioli, filled with chewy cheese and topped with a bit of rich, beefy ragu. Fabulous. Caroline had a pretty cantaloupe soup for a first course, pureed with a hint of hot chilies and cream. Reminded me of a similar cantaloupe salad I’ve made with vinaigrette and lots of freshly ground black pepper, I’ll have to pull that recipe out yet this summer. Soon. Stace had steak, Bowen pasta with salmon and capers (I snuck a few out of his bowl since he was sitting next to me, lurve capers), and they split a fresh raspberry tart for dessert. Aaaah, great company, great food, my very favorite way to end the week… Happy Friday!