Trying New Things, Uncategorized

Borrowing a Great Idea

Retirement Reflections

I spent a quiet afternoon reading, while my son, Creighton, prepared Mexican dinner.

After receiving inspiration from Jo Tracey’s recent post about ‘Decision Bowl Dinners,’ Richard, Creighton and I decided to borrow that idea — with a twist. 1) We drew the name of which one of us would cook Friday night dinner. 2) We put 7 different country cuisines into the draw —  Thai, Japanese, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Indian and Mexican.  Russian and Australian were both vetoed by Creighton and Richard as “too hard”.

Soon we were called to the table for a Taco Feast with all of the fixings. Absolutely delicious!

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Going with what we had on hand, Creighton served American and Chinese beer with dinner. It added an international flavour.

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And who can argue with ice cream and peaches for dessert?

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Afterwards, we drew for next week’s dinner. And the winner was:

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I could definitely get used to this!

Published by Retirement Reflections

Prior to retirement, I lived and worked in Beijing China for fourteen years (Middle School Principal/Deputy Director at The Western Academy of Beijing). Leaving international life behind, my husband and I retired to Vancouver Island in June 2015. To document both this transition and our new adventures, ‘Retirement Reflections’ was born. I hope that you enjoy reading these reflections, and will be willing to share your own.

103 thoughts on “Borrowing a Great Idea”

  1. Hi Donna can Creighton come and stay with us for a while? The dinner looks so delicious. Mike and I used to have special dinners on Saturday nights. We would take it in turn to make a special 3 course meal for each other and also try new recipes. Now you and Jo have inspired me to start this weekly tradition again. Tonight I’m making a slow cooked Tuscan Soup with Ham, Vegetables, Red Lentils and Tomatoes. It is cooking now and I’m serving with crusty bread. For Mike’s birthday I made a decadent Nougat Baked Cheesecake with Toblerone Ganache! Not living up to my healthy eating plan but birthdays are different. We should start a link up LOL:) xx

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  3. Hi Donna! I thought this was a great idea ever since it was written about in your last blog post. And are you sure you didn’t rig the drawing so that Creighton got stuck fixing dinner two weeks in the row? Smart mama! ~Kathy

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  4. O that looks so delicious! Well done Creighton! It’s a great idea to share in the cooking. We’re doing this during lockdown and I have to say my husband is pretty darn amazing – at times! Good luck with the Indian dinner Creighton!
    Thanks Donna great post 😀and have a great weekend.

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    1. Thanks, Susan. I typically prepare our dinners, and Richard is not an experienced cook. So, I greatly appreciated both Creighton’s and Richard’s quick willingness to dive right into this chalenge. Of course, if Creighton’s name is drawn next week, he may quickly lose his spirit for this game! 😀

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  5. Hi Donna – sounds a great idea … and fun to watch, discuss etc while it’s all brought together … sadly breakfast time here … happy weekend – Hilary

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  9. Donna, our variation of this meal is to nix the tortilla shells and create Taco Bowls by using a scant bit of rice on the bottom, followed by lots of shredded lettuce and all the toppings you have on display in the picture. It is definitely a crowd pleaser and fun to make with the family. Our kids aren’t very good in the kitchen, but they order great takeout!!

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    1. Hi, Suzanne – I love Taco Bowls prepared the way that you describe. When we lived in Bejiing, our favouite nearby restaurant made amazing Taco Bowls. Try as I may, I’ve never been able to prepare them exactly the same way as they did. Perhaps it was the ambiance! 😀

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  10. Great idea to take turns to cook and enjoy different cuisines. Creighton’s Taco feast looks delicious. I’d totally go for peach and ice cream as dessert, too. Fixing dinner two weeks in the row? Hmm, now I’m wondering who created the name slips in the bowl. Keep smiling Donna 🙂

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    1. Hi, Natalie – I wrote up the name slips, but Creighton pulled the winning names and cuisines for both nights. Creighton and Richard also chose the cuisines (except for Chinese). My other two suggestions were promptly rejected. 😦

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  18. So nice to have a live-in cook, Donna. Yes, I could get used to that as well. Wait a minute… I have a husband who is a fantastic cook. 🙂

    But, true, eating the same ingredients and meals over and over again gets boring (his words), so he has been more creative cooking as well, as far as our circumstances allow. Last night, he made a General Tsao chickpeas dish – vegetarian and delicious. I’ve been on a Mexican food kick. So much is possible! Having an oven remains a treat as well. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Hi, Liesbet – I wouldn’t exactly say that I have a ‘Live In Cook’. (Hey, wait a minute…I’m the ‘Live In Cook’)! 😀 Creighton is working from home so has been very busy. But he is a good cook, and his Taco Feast was delicious!

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  21. Hi, Donna,
    You’re fortunate to have your son around right now. Our youngest son is the best cook in the family but lives in another state. Looking forward to hearing how the next week turns out. Then, Creighton is due for a day off…and a raise. Have a great week! Joe

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    1. Hi, Mike – Thanks so much for stopping by. I think that Creighton would confess that he’s not been treated too shabbily. Other than dinner last night, I’ve made our evening meal ever night so far except for Mother’s Day — and on that day, Richard and Creighton ordered in. On the other hand, having Creighton here is totally worth throwing an extra potato in the pot. Win-win!!!

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  23. Dear Donna,

    This looks like so much fun and I certainly enjoy watching other people whip meals out of thin air, and reaping the fruits of their labors. (I can contribute by doing this dishes).

    I try to keep my meals as simple as possible to minimize fuss (and grocery shopping!). On Mother’s Day my husband fried us up some panko dipped chicken and we had artichokes on the side. That’s it! Recently, I got ambitious and made a chicken enchilada casserole that I hadn’t made in ages. That was ambitious for me. A Taco buffet is wonderful though – throw out all kinds of different ingredients and dig in. My style of cooking.

    So suffice to say, I would probably be a disaster at this game of pulling a card from a bowl and concocting an international special. But it’s a great idea and provides joy to those who participate. Can I come over? hee hee

    Love
    Susan Grace

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    1. Hi, Susan – The best thing about this game is that expectations are low. If the “winner” of that’s night dinner choose to heat up a Mexican Pizza (or Indian Pizza for next week) that would be fine. I’ll keep you posted on how this game continues.
      And yes, you are welcome over anytime!

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    1. Hi, Anabel – I know that if Creighton “wins the draw” next week he will be inspecting the size and weight of each of the ballots. 😀
      Oh, and to make my hints even more loud and clear, I’ve been sure to showcase our red lentils, onions, garlic, curry paste…..in the front of our pantry! I’ll keep you posted.

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  25. A great idea, Donna! I also drool at every one of Joanne’s posts. Creighton is a good cook. Healthy, colourful and it looks tasty. I thought Richard did not like ice cream?😉 A fun and inspiring post! Now I look forward to next Friday’s meal.xx

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      1. I remember the story, Donna, (I won’t mention names) where he asked someone (a kind blogging friend) to pick up some ice cream for him. A memorable story especially during sheltering-in-place. 😁

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  26. Hi Donna
    That looks absolutely delicious.
    Looking forward to next week’s fare. You know why!
    – bpradeepnair.blogspot.com

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  29. I LOVE this. And Richard’s comment about Australia being too hard, well, that’s given me a blog post idea…and maybe some Aussie inspiration for him…watch this space. As an aside, how cool would a Saturday Kitchen linky thingie be?

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    1. Hi, Jo – I’m so glad that you liked this post. Thievery is just another form of flattery! 😀 I LOVE the idea of a Saturday Kitchen Linky Thingie! I will definitely be watching this space to see what you have in store for us!

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  30. So much fun to discover cuisines with family. When my husband and I did our International.nights with friends Canada, Australia were delish. In fact most the world and regions were great, except the Vietnamese jellyfish.

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    1. Hi, Antoinette – I ❤ Vietnamese food. But I'll also pass on the Jellyfish. I think that my friend, Jo, will be posting some ideas about stress-free Australian dishes. Atleast I hope that's what she was hinting! 😀

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    1. Thanks, Susan and John – I’m glad that you were finally able to get through to my site. Let me know if you still have problems with this and I will see if there is anything that I can fix.
      Oh, and when you come to dinner, Mexican, Ice cream and Peaches it is!

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  33. Now that’s smart! Getting your adult son to cook you two dinners in a row. Love the idea of the combination of which cuisine but also which cook…. One has to infer that all three of you have the cooking chops to make any of these types of food. Pretty impressive and it looks delicious too.

    Peta

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    1. Hi, Peta and Ben – The cool thing about our Decision Bowl Challenge, is that we are all very different cooks. Richard admits that he has very little cooking experience. Still, everyone was game to give it a try. Creighton’s Indian Dinner is scheduled for tomorrow night. I am really looking forward to it!

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  35. I love that idea – what fun! But what was hard about Australian? BBQ and lamingtons? Fresh seafood and pavlova? Or apparently our national dish is Salt and Pepper Squid. Who knew?! #MLSTL

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    1. Hi, Lydia – Thank you so much for stopping by. It was our lack of knowledge on Australian cooking that put it in the “Too Hard Basket”. Point taken — I needed to look up both ‘Lamingtons’ and “Snags’. Seafood on the BBQ sounds divine! 😀

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  36. Poor Creighton – he’s become the in-house chef for your family (I wonder if he thinks you put his name in the draw more than once!) Still, great to have him home and even better having him cook for you (aren’t kind and capable adult children the best sign that we succeeded in our parenting?)
    Aussie cuisine should be easy – just throw a snag or a shrimp on the barbie x
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 😊

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    1. Hi, Leanne – Richard and I have our fingers crossed for tomorrow night’s Decision Bowl draw. We are hoping to go for 3-3 for Creighton. Creighton thinks that we should put only Richard’s name in the draw as I cook all of the non-Decision Bowl Dinners. I’ll keep you posted on how the draw goes! 😀

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  37. II’m really interested to read that ‘Australian’ food was vetoed. Even though I’m an Aussie, I’m not sure Australian food or cuisine actually exists. I certainly don’t know what it is. Our great culinary skill is stealing the best from flavours and cuisines from all over the world and melding them together with great produce and a bit of a mix up, including lots of Asian influences, but also Mediterranean, European, Persian etc – it really is a complete meld. Bit like our population. What do you consider Australian food? The only things I can think of are meat pies and pavlova (which the Kiwis may argue comes from NZ). I’d love to know what’s considered ‘Australian’.

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    1. Hi, Christine – I believe the short answer to your question is ‘laziness’. 😀 I think that Creighton and Richard didn’t immediately have an idea of what ‘Australian food’ is and didn’t want to do the research. In their defense, they would probably argue that Australian cuisine is too similiar to Canadian food (stealing the best flavours from all over the world) so would be too hard to define. I believe that Jo Tracey’s family thought the same thing when they first pulled ‘Canada’ out of their decision bowl.
      Thanks so much for stopping by. I am off to visit your site now.

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      1. Hahaha. And now I’m thinking, what is Canadian food? Nothing wrong with a good bit of pilfering, I say, when it comes to food. If I had to do Canadian, maybe I’d just eat pancakes and maple syrup for dinner!

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  38. Yay for Creighton. Are you sure his wasn’t the only name in the “pot” for the draw? If I was you, I’d be sneaky enough to make sure it was. His Mexican Tacos look amazing. My guy and I “kinda” did the same thing, only we picked up a meal during “Taco Thursdays” last week at a fabulous restaurant, curbside. We would have made our own, of course (ahem) but wanted to support local business. 🙂

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    1. Hi, Pam – Supporting our local businesses, especially now, is incredibly important.We used to take a thermos of coffee on our walk to the beach each morning. Now we tend to pick this up at our local coffee shop. We definitely want them to stay in business.

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  39. That’s a great idea for people who live in big families! What a lovely way to have a fun meal together. 🙂

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  43. Donna, like you, I’m the cook in our family. Rob cooks once a week with reluctance (he’s prone to suggesting takeout on the nights he’s supposed to cook). We my son lived with us, he also cooked once a week, and is a fantastic cook. Although I like cooking, I also appreciate a break from it.

    Jude

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    1. Hi, Jude – There’s nothing like a break from cooking, even for those of us who like to cook. Richard’s ‘Decision Bowl Dinner’ takes place this Sunday. Creighton just received a new cookbook (from his favourite band ‘Said The Whale’), so is cooking ‘Dragon Noodles’ from it tonight. And we ate lunch out today. Win-win-win!!

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