So Many Dishes

We drove to Orlando yesterday to spend two nights with our son, Ben, and his family. We came for a belated birthday celebration for Emmalyn, who turned eight last Friday. The primary reason we came when we did, though, is because Ken and Ben are judges for the Florida state science fair today. They made the hour or so drive to Lakeland, where the fair is held, early this morning, and they will be back this evening.

As has become tradition, because Ken and Ben do this annually, I cook on fair day, and try to have dinner ready when they return. In fact, I just got back from a grocery run to get all my ingredients for shrimp and artichoke pasta. (I’ve blogged about this recipe before; see Taking Shortcuts, 12/20/24). But last night was Ben’s turn to cook, and my turn to sit back and enjoy.

I have made fish Veracruz for years, always with some sort of white fish. Ben did a version with salmon, which was delicious. He used a recipe that he originally made with white fish, but Emmalyn is a salmon lover. She didn’t really care for the original version, so he tried it with salmon. The combination worked perfectly. He served it with mounds of rice, and we really didn’t need anything else. Ken and enjoyed extra sauce over our fish and rice; Emmalyn was all about the salmon. Ben refused our offers to help with cleanup, so we had more time to spend with Emmalyn. Definitely a fun evening.

Of course, it’s not a trip to Ben and Annie’s without a stop at Jeremiah’s. We left Palm Beach County mid-morning, after Ken’s physical therapy session for his elbow, so our stop at Jeremiah’s was essentially lunch—yummy, but not necessarily healthy 😂

Happy eating!