Ok, I’m vaguely ticked. For Years I’ve be going George’s Best Gyros stand in the Ped Mall. I always looked forward to summer gyros. However, George seems to be slacking. IMHO, it has been a long slide ever since he lost his storefront. I was walking through the Ped Mall and I finally saw the familiar blue and white stand. Great, I can finally get that Gyros I been dreaming about (Aside: Some guy my age have sex during usually involving cheerleader s whipped cream and a goat. Me, its food dreams.) I get up to the stand and I see that it’s closes. It’s 1:20 PM. Ok, maybe they are here late and just starting to set up for the afternoon. I’ll check back in ten or twenty minute and I’ll have my gyro. I go into the public library, and do some browsing. I come out at 1:30, lips smacking and tummy rumbling. I look around, and no Cart. WTF. Nothing like putting in a full day of feeding the hungry masses for two hours then splitting.

George you are so messing up. Stop with the part-time college kids and get your ass back on the Ped Mall from 11 AM to bar time. Start making some money. I know darn well I’ve brought so many Gyros I’ve put your grandkids through that private school and started working on that college fund too.

Ok, now that I have Gyros on the brain, time to do something about it. So last Wednesday was gyros for lunch at Technomage’s Kid Summer Camp. Basically, I spend the summers watching my kids, making sure the don’t burn down the house, kill the neighbors’ cat, or dies in some horrible way that I have to Explain to the High Priestess what happened. Of course, the one thing I have to do is feed them. Most of the summers I just muddle through fixing lunch. Usually fixing the same thing over and over again. So much so, it has become the running joke in the house. The little Techs complain to the High Priestess, “Daddy just feeds us rolls (Breakfast Carmel Roll, Biscuits, or Toast) with water, then he takes us to Menards, and then he feeds us Chicken Nugget. Save us Mommy, save us!” (Aside: I should give you the recipe for the Carmel Rolls.)

I’ll admit I get into a rut in the summer, with trying to fix the house, take care of all the little chores that build up over the winter and find food the kids will actually eat. Last year, it really did seem to be daily trips to Menards or some other store. Lunch just seemed to get lost in the shuffle.

So this summer I’m changing that. I planned a monthly menu. I’ve kicked around menus before but the HP always shot them down, but since she is not home during the day I can be the Dark God and impose order in the chaotic Universe of my house. Actually, I’m quite proud of myself. It goes something like this:

Mondays: Thing on a grill Day: Hot Dogs, Brat, Hamburger, etc.
Tuesdays: Pizza Day: Homemade, Take Out, Frozen, Pizza rolls, etc.
Wednesdays: Ethnic Food Day: Chinese, Gyros, Spaghetti, Tacos, etc.
Thursdays: Fun Things with Meat Day: Sloppy Joes, Tacos in a Bag (Walking tacos), Turkey Rollups, and Chicken Salad
Fridays: Fish Day (A Catholic Upbringing): Fish Sticks, Clam Chowder, Tuna Salad, etc.

You get the point. There are enough choices that each day can be different and there is no repeating the same thing with in two weeks. So this week was, Brats on Monday frozen Pizza on Tuesday, Gyros on Wednesday, Walking tacos on Thursday and Fish stick on Friday. The Kids also got milk, veggies and a fruit.

Remember the 6Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.