Another Yummy Saturday Night + A Sleepover!

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Chicken Alfredo in Spaghetti Squash Boats

We have had another delectable Saturday night. The healthy Chicken Alfredo made with Greek yogurt instead of cream and served in a half of a spaghetti squash was just delectable. We also had a Greek Salad mixed with spiralized cucumbers, and one of our favorite dishes, a warm Kale salad with pine nuts and feta. We cooked with a glass of well chilled chardonnay at hand and oldies playing and we laughed and talked and had a wonderful time. Dinner was SO good, we eat like Queens on Saturday night, and always double the recipes so we have leftovers to have through the week. And this week was extra special.

Last week Tropical Storm Hermine blew through and Noni spent 2 nights here with me. On those nights we got into watching the wonderful Netflix series which I had seen but Noni never had, “Grace and Frankie,” and we laughed our way through the tropical storm and the aftermath and Sunday evening while she was waiting for a ride we watched more “Grace and Frankie” and we are HOOKED! Binge watching this show is the way to go! I did it the first time I watched it and we are doing it now. So last night after our dinner we decided Noni would spend the night and she brought her jammies and I put mine on after getting the dogs out and we curled up and watched several episodes until after 12:30 a.m. We had such a ball and laughed so much it was the best time ever.

Noni had to be at work at 1 today so we had the morning to have coffee and visit and have a little breakfast and it was a nice leisurely morning. Coffee tastes so much better when you have a friend to share it with! And she will be coming by after she gets off work at 4 so we can divide up our leftovers and package hers up to take home. This was truly the best of all worlds. Friendship, cooking, a marvelous dinner, and a fun night of laughing and watching “our show.”

I think of all of the Saturday nights I have spent alone and so lonely and now we have the most wonderful times together. And I wonder how many sweet souls are sitting home alone and lonely when they might have someone they could invite to cook with them. Usually we watch a movie after dinner and then Noni goes home but binge watching our show means it is really late, too late for her to drive, and I have a little guest room she can use. And the thing is, I have known Noni for over 20 years but we never became really close friends until we started cooking together. You might have an acquaintance that you know from church or some other venue that would make a perfect cooking buddy and you can get to know them and form a lovely friendship as your cooking times grow along.

It is a fun activity all week because after the weekend is over we have leftovers to enjoy, and then we start hunting for recipes for the next weekend. By Friday we either get together in person or over the phone and go through the recipes and divvy up what we need. One or the other of us will already have lots of ingredients, for example I have olive oil and seasonings, minced garlic and maybe other standard items, and Noni will have a number of things and then we divide up what needs to be purchased, we each make our shopping lists and by Saturday I shop for what I need and Noni gets her things together and then it’s Saturday and time to cook again. The sweet experience of cooking together infuses and gives a framework to the whole week. It makes me less lonely through the week too as I hunt for recipes and talk to Noni and plan and prepare.

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 So another Saturday has come and gone but the friendship lingers and fills the days. Noni will be off work and here soon to divvy up our leftovers and we will begin to prepare for next week. It will be here before we know it. What a blessing and a joy it is. May these special nights continue on forever!

MaitriSz4.4.16.09