It is official. Summer has finally arrived, and we welcome the summer solstice on June 20th.
June 20th is officially the longest day of the year. As the days get shorter, we have started the countdown to Christmas.
Before we hit fall and winter, we will have many lovely warm summer days, more time using the outdoor kitchen for the meal plan, and ramp up the weekend BBQ opportunities.
My wife and I dusted off the kayaks Sunday morning and went to our local lake for a quick spin around the lake. Paddling quietly, seeing the wildlife, and chatting about life are wonderful.
Afterward, we picked up everything I needed for the weekly meal plan. It does not happen often that I have company while grocery shopping.
Sudden Blindness
We encountered a strange occurrence with our lovely Great Pyrenees dog early last week.
He’s a 3-year-old large-breed dog and perhaps not the smartest dog in the neighborhood. But he’s a beautiful dog and fiercely protects our family against imaginary intruders, evil squirrels, and humans crossing the road a few miles from the house.
He’s a gentle giant and has been trained (and certified) as a service dog.
On Tuesday last week, we noticed his eyes were bigger and darker than usual, and he seemed to bump into everything.
Bumping into stuff is not unusual for a large breed dog, as they often think that objects will move, given their size.
However, this was not normal behavior, so we brought him to our usual vet, who knows and adores him. They were stumped!
For some reason, his retinas are fully detached in both eyes. It explains why he cannot see, but we must determine if it can be reversed and what might have caused it.
We took him to an animal eye doctor (yes, they exist), who confirmed that his retinas were detached. They took a few blood samples to determine the root cause.
The eye doctor mentioned that the detachment can happen due to infection, often caused by tics and other infectious diseases.
The dog is not in any discomfort or pain, although his blood pressure was elevated, likely because he did not know what was happening. This is a normal reaction.
We pray that his eyesight will be restored as the medication and antibiotics kick in. Only time will tell. In the meantime, we have become guide-humans to a blind dog!
Week Twenty-six Meals
Nothing is planned for the week as we are living off leftovers from the Pagan Viking celebration, schools are half days due to exams, and we have a holiday midweek.
When we have parties, we buy in bulk at BJs, and I am worried that we will lose a lot of food, as A) I bought too much food, and B) our guests did not eat much.
We had a lot of leftover food from our pagan Viking party, and I’m proud that I managed to use all the extra vegetables, cheese, burgers, and potatoes during the past 10 days. The food did not spoil, so there was no waste. Whatever I could freeze, I did.
Pizza Night
Sunday evening, I decided to make a double batch of pizza dough and fire up the Blackstone gas-fired pizza stove.
I got my hands on the Blackstone pizza oven last year for Father’s Day, and we’ve used it a couple of times. It works well, although it only takes small propane bottles and can only fit one pizza at a time. However, we do not make pizza that often and cannot justify a larger pizza oven.
I have purchased a converter to attach a normal (large) outdoor grill propane tank to the pizza stove. The small (green) propane tank can only make 4-6 pizzas.
Over the years, I’ve experimented with many pizza dough recipes. I’ve bought books written by pizza masters, searched the internet, looked in magazines, and finally found a great recipe.
King Arthur Baking Company has an excellent pizza dough recipe on page 203 of the baking companion book. It is simple to follow and requires only a few ingredients.
The dough is great, flexible, and not sticky, resulting in a nice crust. I’ve used it for thin and thick crusts; both are fantastic. I use 00 flour from King Arthur, a very finely milled flour.
The most tricky part of making pizza at home is covering the dough with enough flour to allow it to glide easily off the pizza shovel.
You don’t want to cover the dough with too much flour so it turns white, but if it does not glide off the shovel easily, you will be left with an oddly shaped pizza in the oven or the toppings scattered all over the floor and in the oven. I speak from experience.
We prepare the pizza dough on the counter, sprinkle a generous amount of corn flour on the pizza shovel, place the dough on the shovel, and then “decorate” the pizza with the preferred toppings.
You can start to bake the pizza when the oven hits 475-500F. Do not leave it unattended, as it can suddenly go fast.
I took the opportunity to enjoy a few adult beverages while I monitored the pizzas baking in the Blackstone pizza oven.
School Lunches
No lunch for school, as school is out for summer!
Our son starts summer school in early July and will continue until mid-August. Then, we have two weeks to take off as a family if we can afford it.
It gives me a few days without having to worry about school lunches. The kids are old enough to make a sandwich or something.
Dinner Time
Again, we are going to have a few nice dinners this week. I make nice food most weeks, but it’s too bad my pictures do not show any meals justice.
I’m starting off the week with a simple potato soup, adding ground Italian pork, spinach, onions, and leftover corn on the cob.
The second meal I made was a delicious peach and jalapeno chicken skillet dish. You gently grill the meat in the skillet until the internal temp hits 165F, then you saute the peach and jalapenos and combine the chicken to mix it all up. I’m serving it with rice or egg noodles.
Meal Prep Party Pictures
Meal Plan
| Lunch | Dinner | |
| Monday | No School | Creamy potato soup with Italian ground pork, spinach, and corn. |
| Tuesday | No School | Deep fried buttermilk chicken sandwiches |
| Wednesday | No School | Freezer Meal |
| Thursday | No School | Peach and jalapeno chicken with rice |
| Friday | No School | Over-the-fire Pizza |
One day, I might get so organized that I will link the meals below to my recipes. We can only live in hope!
Have a fantastic week, my friends. I hope you enjoy these meal plans. It is much easier to make food in advance, although you must invest several hours preparing meals during the weekend.
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The Viking Heart Within 