In the Kitchen with Mandy

Well, I sure got long-winded last weekend! Sorry if I over-shared but it was nice to take a moment to share some memories! I'm still trying to respond to all the email y'all sent in response so if you haven't heard back from me, you will! I want to take my time and not blow through them all with a “thanks!” reply.

OK, y'all know I've been enjoying watching all the World Cup coverage (particularly the fans experiencing the US for the first time) and if you've tuned in, you'll know the Scottish fans (the "Tartan Army") are loving it here and we are loving them back! You may remember Baby Girl spent a semester in Edinburgh and I want to share the neatest little bit of folklore she learned while she was there…

While driving the countryside you'll notice the majority of houses are painted white with black roofs. Well, there's a reason! Legend has it that the rolling hills and mountains are actually sleeping giants. When the giants were approaching the sleep that would last 10,000 years, they told all the people they could live there peacefully so long as they took good care of their giant sheep. They warned the people they would wake occasionally to glance around to make sure the sheep were being looked after. Wanting to be sure the giants would never have a reason to fully wake up and look for the sheep, the people painted their houses white with black roofs and windows so they would look like giant sheep scattered across the hills. The houses fooled the groggy giants into believing their flocks were thriving so they always went back to sleep.

I loved that story and since I had the Scots on my mind, I thought I'd share it with you!

I made two new recipes for y'all this week so I'll share those below plus dishes I think go well with them!

I've got a busy day today! I've got to get a room ready for one of The Boy's college teammates to come stay with us for the rest of the summer. They're playing on a summer baseball team together and it's closer to our house than his (in NC). My kids are famous for welcoming their friends to stay with us. I say they “bring home strays” but I can't complain because they've yet to bring one home that hasn't been a pure delight and become an honorary member of the family!

One of Baby Girl's best friends at school is from Jamaica and can't always get home for the holidays so she's spent several with us! One more sweet face at our table is always a welcome site for me! Plus I've learned how to cook some of her favorite Jamaican food which I LOVE!

Last year The Boy called and said he needed to bring home his new friend from Japan because he couldn't get home for Christmas. All he said was “he's only 5' tall and doesn't speak any English”. I was like, well, load him up! And let me tell you what, he is part of our family now! He can speak English fine, too, by the way. The Boy is a ham.

I hope y'all have a restful day and a productive week! I'm not 100% sure if I'll get one of these out next weekend with the holiday weekend coming but I'll sure try because I look forward to our time together on Sunday mornings!

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