To celebrate a few recent birthdays and because my grandfather had put in a request for honey-baked ham, my mom invited the whole family over for a late lunch/early Sunday dinner. It was a really mellow way to spend the afternoon.

The food was a slightly random assortment of favorites: ham, salad (with mint, chickpeas, tomato, and cucumber), mashed potatoes, German potato salad (made with truffle oil), thin crust whole wheat pizza (one with anchovies, one without), carrots and homemade hummus, bread, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, and pesto gnocchi. I am definitely forgetting a few things. There was a lot of food. I loaded up on veggies and tried some of the other stuff, as per usual, and decided that I need to learn to make roasted broccoli ASAP.

There was also a lot of dessert.

Though it was hard to decide, sometimes you just have to go with the cake your ten-year-old cousin just made that morning. You know, the one buckling under the weight of frosting (aka awesomeness)…

I know I spend a lot of time discussing the value of choosing whole foods over processed as often as possible, but it’s nice to be able to pick that “once a year”/”once in a blue moon” occasion and enjoy every bite. With ice cream.

Tomorrow’s my first day at my new volunteer site, so wish me luck!