Thursday Dare: Sit Down Dinner

In our little shop newsletter I often give customers a dare for the week. And this week I want to ask all of you if your dining table is more of a resting place for your laptop bag than it is for plates!

If you are guilty of the above, then whether alone or with your gang, lose that laptop bag and give yourself a nice sit down dinner. Throw away those excuses (my place is a mess, I come home late, I don't know how to cook, it's tedious and boring)! If you ask me, the last excuse answers the ones that precede it. We are all in such a hurry--sitting down for dinner is often the one and only time in the day we are giving ourselves and our loved ones a "moment."

I have some very inspirational customers who have great little "quick" tips:
--Set the table the night before. I'm not talking fine china and silverware (but if you have it, might as well go for it!). Putting out plates and silverware ahead of time will ease you into the spirit of things.
--Think of sit down dinners at home as a way of cleansing and taking a break from all of the rich, heavy, cholesterol laden dinners out during the week. Heidi Swanson is an inspirational friend who writes the popular blog, 101 Cookbooks. If you haven't visited, you need to--she provides a recipe a day along with a beautiful photo and it is all with health and taste in mind! Heidi has also written a cookbook called Supernatural Cooking. A BIG congrats goes out to her--it has been nominated for the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award! If you want to know more about her new cookbook, click here to see my QA with her. above: today's recipe on 101 Cookbooks is for a yummy Sushi Bowl.

--If you can't cook it all, then treat yourself to gourmet homestyle take out. Above: on Polk Street we have Andrew & Co. It can be a bit pricey, but you can't beat their Shepard's Pie or Won Ton Noodle Salad.
--a customer loves sit down dinners at home because you can "pig out in peace" after a long day or week at work. To make it more special, surprise your significant other or treat yourself to your favorite wine (or beer). "Put on some music, light a candle...shut the telly off and shut your mind!"