In Memoriam: Weekly Menu 2.7-2.13

Isn't it fitting that today as I post the weekly menu, it also marks the one year anniversary of my grandma's passing? She inspired me to begin this journey, and I've so loved being able to help spread a little joy through food to all of you. I don't really know how to express anything more today, but my Aunt Peg (my grandma's namesake), has a way with words and the excerpt below from her blog Zuzu's Petals just nails it.

"My mom used to post a menu of the coming week’s dinners on the refrigerator. It was just one example of her organizational skills, and the simple way she managed her grocery bills within a tight budget for a family of seven. With a simple glance toward the fridge door, we knew what was for dinner, whether we liked it or not. There was no going off plan, primarily because there wasn’t the money for that kind of flexibility, but it didn’t feel rigid or limiting, on the contrary, it was comforting, it was connecting; a handwritten testament, held by a magnet, to her nourishing nurturing, every Sunday through Saturday.

My brother, Steve, recounted the weekly menu, between tears, at her funeral, and my niece, Lauren, inspired, now posts her own weekly menu on her Instagram account and blog (@lollioftheday) devoted to recipes, delicious dinners and fun in the kitchen. Mom’s practical planning became a platform for Lauren’s creativity, and for the meals she makes that are harvesting her own children’s memories.

Food works that way, circling forward and back, reheating our memories, restoring our health, providing a trail of crumbs into the past, a smoke signal toward the future, even if it’s just tomorrow’s dinner. Food has always been so much more than the plate placed before us."

I hope all of you have a beautiful week and enjoy some small moments with your family, whether it's around the dinner table or not.

In loving memory of Peggy Messina: June 17, 1932-February 7, 2020