As I mentioned the other day, Parker and I have a lunch tradition for his last day of school.

The afternoon before, he and I head downtown. He is allowed to shop wherever he wants to fill his lunch box for the next day with whatever appeals to him.

A couple years ago, that resulted in this:

 

Tapioca pudding… Some sort of berry tart… A slab of black forest cake… And some sort of chocolate cake thing…

Obviously, that year he did all of his shopping at the bakery. It’s the last day of school. Might as well celebrate, right?

Last year, he took a more moderate approach. He started at the local candy shop, moved on to the wine and cheese shop, hit up the natural foods store, then finished up with the bakery. And we ended up with this:

 

His favorite smoked ham… Golden raspberries… Swedish fish… A lemon bar… Part of a chocolate eclair… A slice of chocolate cake… AND a tapioca pudding.

Oy.

Not sure what he has planned this year, but I’m sure it will be equally indulgent.

Today’s lunch is slightly less so. I went with leftover flank steak from last night’s dinner and paired it with a few lemon wedges. Not quite the carpaccio he loves, but I doubt he’ll complain.

Round it out with a couple cream cheese and strawberry jam “sandwiches” on graham crackers and a hunk of leftover roasted cauliflower from dinner last night and we are good to go.

Read the original on: Lunch Box Blues