August 29, 2026

WEEKLY MENU 08.30.26

Enjoying the sun during the Weekly Menu 08.30.26 as we say goodbye to August~

We’re making like sunflowers and turning to face the sun during the Weekly Menu 08.30.26 because August is, sadly, coming to an end. I adore sunflowers, and I’m sure this isn’t the first post with a sunflower on it. I always thought they were thus named because they look like the sun, but it’s actually because they follow the sun:

A fun sunflower fact is young sunflowers track the sun, also referred to as heliotropism. In a study by ScienceMag, scientists reveal sunflowers have circadian rhythms, which promote this behavior. A young sunflower’s face follows the sun from sunrise to sunset every day and repeats the cycle until maturity.
Proflowers

Mature Sunflowers Face East

As sunflowers reach maturity, their internal clocks start slowing down until they finish the heliotropism behavior completely. Don’t worry, this process does not harm sunflowers. A ScienceMag study reveals mature sunflowers face East for a couple different reasons:

Sunflowers can attract up to five times more pollinators because they warm up faster than westward facing plants.

Sunflowers are more productively warmed when Eastward facing.
Proflowers

Sunflowers are native to North America, but they took a fairly circuitous route getting back here.

Sunflower is aboriginal to North America, but its commercialization took place in Russia. It was only recently that the sunflower returned home after a very circuitous route. But it was the American Indian who first discovered the variety of seed colors, including black, white, red, and black/white stripes.
Snapblooms

And, just in case you thought it was all rosy (pun intended) with the beautiful sunflower…

An ancient Greek myth of Apollo and Clytie explains why sunflowers turn their head towards the sun. In that story, Clytie is in love with Apollo. At first, he also loved her back, but he fell for Leucothoe later. Out of jealousy and rage, Clytie told Leucothoe’s father about their relationship, and as a punishment, he buried her alive.
Snapblooms

Not very fatherly of him, I must say. He could have offed her first.

To avenge her, Apollo turned her into a sunflower; even in that situation, she still loved him and wanted to spend her days watching him as he, in his chariot, moved the sun across the sky, just like a sunflower moves to face the sun.
Snapblooms

Sunflower w sunglasses for the Weekly Menu 08.28.22 — _{Photo by Wan J. Kim on Unsplash}

We don’t have any sunflower seeds in the Weekly Menu 08.30.26, although they are a nice touch in a salad.

Weekly Menu 08.30.26

We’re starting the Weekly Menu 08.30.26 with a grilled din-din. The Grilled Chicken Cordon Blue isn’t breaded and deep fried, making it better for us. Sure, I’ll put together a super easy cheese sauce to go with, but it’s still better for us. I found a recipe for a homemade “Magic Shell” a few years back, and I might add some of that to the top of the sky-high Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pie. I have to do something – I’m planning on buying the pie crust. I’ll probably add some melted chocolate under the filling too.

Magic Shell, if you didn’t know, is a thin chocolate coating that hardens into a crackly shell. (Affiliate links precede and follow – see Disclaimer Page for deets.) If you’ve ever had a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone, you’ve probably had it. Which reminds me that time is running out for that summer bucket list item.

Pork Milanese sounds super fancy, but it’s basically a pork cutlet made from boneless pork chops. They’re delicious, easy, and perfect on a nice bun. We’ll top with some homemade honey mustard, but store-bought would be delicious too.

Taco Bowls will be rice topped with taco meat and all the other fixings that make tacos so good. Cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, jalapeno, sour cream, avocado, taco sauce, and some crushed corn chips. They’re something a smidge different for Taco Tuesday.

Comfort food on Wednesday: prepped Stove Top stuffing (or, more likely, the much cheaper store brand), topped with a thin layer of mozzarella and chicken breasts bake until the chicken is brown and cooked through. I’ll zhuzh up a packet of chicken gravy to go with.