Vinnie's Party/Grand old day

We went to Fargo for my nephew Vinnie's high school graduation party on Saturday.
Here is the graduate in the plaid shirt. His brother Jessi is wearing the white shirt and black hat. The taller girl is Vinnie's girlfriend. She had nice shoes.

See the smile on Vinnie? He was smiling like that all day! He was so happy and so full of promise that it almost hurt to look at him. Do you have younger relatives that you love like that?

The whole day was full of love and no drama. Since my Nate will graduate next year, I was taking careful notes of all the nice touches at this party, like photos of Vinnie on the water bottles, School color M&M's, the computer slide show. I asked Nate what ideas he thought we could use. "Plastic silverware would be good", he said! Party planning is not his thing.

This is Vinnie holding the quilt I made for him. I like to give graduates a quilt. It's my best thing, and I want to honor their effort with an effort of my own.
















My mom and I with my three brothers, Erik, Gene and Chris. My sister couldn't make it, so the Spartan helmet represents her.











I went to Grand Old Day on Sunday with my BFF Reenie. We used to go to this when we were kids and wander down the street and buy junky trinkets. It's a little different now. There were not so many merchandise booths, just food booths, although I did buy a "GO-Girl". This is a funnel for girls so we can pee standing up. (There goes my resolution to keep down the "earthy" blog content!) The go-girl's inventor suggests that one practice in the shower BEFORE taking to the woods. We are going fishing this summer and I think this will come in handy in the boat. (The children are mortified). I will let you know how it works!
This is a picture of one of the street bands, they had a ghost thing going on. The people watching was amazing. Am I the only person in America without a tattoo? I seem to be the only woman who didn't think high heels were needed to walk for miles down Grand Avenue!


There was good food (but so expensive) at Grand Old Day. Gyros are always tasty. I made these last week and the kids loved them, although they wouldn't use the tzatziki sauce.

Chicken Gyros
Ingredients:
For the tzatziki sauce:
16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
Salt and pepper

For the chicken:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

To assemble:
Pita bread
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin

Directions:
To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible. You can skip this step, especially if you use greek-style yogurt, or if you don't mind the sauce a little runny.

Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. (I butterflied the chicken breasts and then cooked them under the broiler.) Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips.

Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.