A Week of Non-Holidays in March

Last week had a lot of days that we born great, achieved greatness, or had greatness thrust upon them. None of them are federally-recognized holidays. Even so, we did plenty of celebrating on the side.

Monday was March 14, recently given the moniker "Pi(e) Day" since the date is abbreviated (in the American style) 3/14, like the number Pi that starts with 3.14. I was reminded of the fact when I went to the grocery store and saw tables of pies on sale as if I was in a Hallmark store with another of their brand-new holidays. Since we already had all the ingredients (including a frozen pie crust!), I made pecan pie at home to celebrate.

Pie are round!

Tuesday was March 15, known in the old Roman calendar as the Ides of March. It's famous as the day when Julius Caesar was stabbed to death at a meeting of the Roman Senate in 44 BC. I meant to grill out that day but things didn't come together till the next day. I grilled my typical plate of meat. Really, grilling has nothing to do with the Ides of March, it was just an excuse. Since I use a charcoal grill, I usually put an extra round of boneless chicken breasts on to cook while we eat. We also roasted marshmallows and had s'mores for dessert (the pecan pie didn't last more than two days in our six-person household).

Steaks and burgers and sausages and chicken!

Thursday was March 17, Saint Patrick's Day. In celebration, I cooked something fun and delicious again. On the eve, I browned the beef and chopped the vegetables to put in the crock pot early Thursday morning. The ingredients simmered all day, resulting in a family favorite, Guinness Beef Stew. My daughter and I made Irish Soda Bread to go with it.

Browned beef

Frying onions is a popular smell in our house

Finished product

Irish Soda Bread

The week was capped off with Saturday, March 19, Saint Joseph's Day. Our dance studio was host for the Baltimore Dancesport Challenge. It was a full day of short dance performances by students from across the region. We had not signed up for any of the challenges, we were there just to cheer on our fellow dancers. The variety of skills, songs, and styles was amazing. Our package came with lunch and dinner. The dinner was steak and shrimp with cheesecake for dessert. Delicious, and no cooking on our part (also, no picture--sorry!). The evening ended with some professional dancers putting on a show. We had to get back to the kids at home so we missed that part. 

Us there

I hope we have just as good a week next year!