Wedding Time and Summer's End

From Karen Danielson:

I went to a wedding yesterday.  My son Chris was the best man-- the groom is one of five guys that used to "live" at my house when they were growing up, even straight through their teen years.  The groom, A. J., was so used to being here he would come in and head straight for the refrigerator to see what was good in there!!  This is the last one of my "boys" to get married.   Next step I will be knitting baby blankets!!

The wedding was beautiful.  The reception was fun, the food was good and we danced the night away.  Today my feet and hips are reminding me that I am 58 years old, for goodness sake!  How did that happen?

I wonder myself where the years went, Karen.  Your mention about the groom "living" at your house and in your refrigerator reminded me of when my kids were in their teens.  We had a next-door neighbor with six kids ranging from older to younger than mine.  One girl,  in her teens, was watching her weight and didn't like to eat her mother's  high-calorie cooking.  My own youngest daughter sometimes fled our house depending on what was being served (herring omelet, lentil stew, pig's feet, tripe soup, things she was seriously allergic to like seafood, pears, green peppers and lots more....). The girls had milk-crate steps over the fence and whenever one or the other didn't like their mama's offerings, over the fence and next door with them.  Cathy ate about a quarter of her meals over there, and Maria Jauregui about a quarter of her meals here.  I can't say that either Mama Jauregui nor I were overjoyed about it, but whatever kept the girls happy and well-nourished, right?

Karen continues:

Fall is fast approaching and my garden is coming to an end.  The recipe I'm contributing today for Penne with Shrimp and Summer Vegetables is representative of most of my garden vegetable recipes in my up and coming cookbook.  You'll note that I did open up a can of diced tomatoes.  That was because I was in a hurry the day I created this recipe and didn't want to take the time to peel and dice tomatoes from my garden.  When I do use my own in cooking, I like to use the Roma plum tomatoes.  They are meaty and contain less water and seeds.  I usually peel them although I know some sources say you don't need to do that.  It's true that leaving the skins on will give you more fiber and nutrition.  Let's just say it's a personal preference thing-- I don't care for the "mouth feel" of tomato skins in my sauce, as much like I don't care for egg shells in my egg salad!   I hope you enjoy this summer's end recipe.