My weekend was all about food. After a mind-bogglingly busy week that included too much driving, too much work and too many struggles over school work, Friday afternoon arrived, and I was fried. Enough already, no more meals on the run and lunches eaten in quick gulps standing by the counter holding the baby. The boys and I set off on a walk to the market (Brennan's cannot be referred to as a grocery; it is a market plain and simple). After forty minutes spent talking with Vincent, laughing as he jumped trying to reach leaves on maple trees, singing to Simon and discussing the merits of various samples at the market with Vincent, we were back home with our blue cheese, garlic and red potatoes. Dinner was a simple and delicious combination of parmesan-crusted potatoes, garlic sauteed fish and brown-sugar baked acorn squash.

I could not tell you what I ate for lunch on Friday, but I could describe in detail the tastes and smells of that dinner and the meals we ate over the weekend. It is good to be mindful of your food. The people in the Slow Food movement know what they are talking about.

Friday night saw me mixing up Cornmeal Mush for Saturday's breakfast. The Cinnamon Fried Cornmeal Mush was a hit with the kids, and I hoarded the last two slices for my own breakfast this morning.

After breakfast, we headed to the Farmer's Market for potatoes and cabbage for an Irish-themed potluck Saturday night. Amazingly, there were none to be found. We settled instead for onions, green peppers, two pots of jam, a bag of honey candy, two painted cheeks and a conversation with an older gentleman about Cornmeal Mush.

Since I had neither potatoes nor cabbage, Colcannon and Boxty were no longer possible for potluck, I made a couple loaves of my hearty Honey Oat bread, made nutty with flax seeds, and some deep dish chocolate brownies. Oats are Irish, and chocolate is always welcome!

The food at the potluck was simply incredible. There were many Irish stews, and there was this pumpkin cheese cake roll crusted with hazelnuts that was WOW. After dinner was the concert by The Stone Ring. Normally, the concerts happens in this space outdoors. It is the foundation of their old barn which our hosts turned into a multi-functional space, complete with seating areas, a dance area and a musician area lit by old fashioned candle stage lights. Due to the cold, this concert was in one of their greenhouses instead. The ambiance was not the same, but it was still a night of fabulous people and great music shared in an intimate way.

Sunday saw me cooking the entire day with my sister. We cooked up calzones, ziti, lasagna, stew, taco meat, sloppy joes, cookies and muffins, enjoying good company and conversation while filling our freezers with easy meals.

Today, I am making a huge batch of meatballs using my long-lost internet friend Lorraine's recipe. Some are for the freezer and some for sweet and sour meatballs for dinner.

Good food, big kid cuddles, shoulder rubs from a hubby and baby kisses make for good days.