We almost lost my brother, John, last week. He collapsed while working out and fortunately two guys were there and knew cpr. Triple bypass. So, he's out of commission for several weeks. And, he's the primary cook. I spent the weekend cooking recipes from our kidhood so he'll have familiar stuff to eat and so Pam won't have to cook on top of everything else she's got to do. One of my favorite recipes is

Lou's Barbecue Beef. You take about a pound of stew beef and cut it in smaller pieces. Brown it well in olive oil. Pour in a 46 oz can of low-sodium beef broth, about 1/4 c- 1/3 c ketchup, a couple of tablespoons of mustard, a couple of cloves of finely minced garlic and a good dash of Worcestershire sauce. Let it cook on medium-low heat until the meat is very well done. Toss in a large onion cut in pieces, an 8 oz package of mushrooms sliced and a green pepper cut in 1" pieces. Let it all cook until the vegetables are very well done. Great served over brown rice and better if you let it sit in the refrigerator overnight then reheat it.

Tonight we were back to "normal." Had rigatoni with mushroom pesto, leftover salad fixings from last night and a wonderful new broccoli dish:
Broccoli with Lemon Crumbs
One head broccoli, cut into florets.
1 Tbs butter
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 shallot, finely minced (I use Penzey's dried shallots)
1/3 c panko
1 tsp lemon peel
1 Tbs lemon juice

Melt the butter and stir in the garlic and shallot. Cook until they're all happy together. Toss in the panko and stir until they're browned. Add the lemon peel. While you're doing the bread crumbs, bring some water to a boil and toss in the broccoli. Cook until it's barely done. Drain and drizzle with lemon juice. Serve topped with the bread crumbs.