Dinner Dilemma Solved.

They say good (and bad) things happen in threes.  Here’s my three for yesterday, all combined good/bad:

#1: Really Bad Chicken Marinade

Before I left for work on Wednesday morning, I prepped a masala marinade for chicken I planned to grill later in the day using a great looking recipe.  Any number of things could have gone wrong with this lemongrass/onion/garam masala/plain yogurt/onion mixture that made it nauseatingly impossible to use, most likely:

• My portions were off  (what is “one lemongrass” anyway? I bought a few already-cut up stalks in a package, so I had no sense of how long they once were).
• I didn’t remember which bulk spice was which and used straight coriander instead of garam masala.
• My cold has tainted my taste buds.
• I don’t like garam masala as much as I think I do.

This marinade took the cake as the worst thing I have ever prepared, even beating out a molasses version on my otherwise awesome Energy Bites.  Marinade washed down the sink. Chicken to be seasoned some other way that pairs nicely with corn, cucumber salad and roti (Indian bread).

#2: No Water

Later in the day, our sitter texted me that our tile guy arrived and was re-caulking our kitchen sink.  And that we would not be able to use the sink today.

#3: Banana Split Story Gone Viral

I clicked on a link to an MSNBC story about a very ill little boy, Ryan Roberts.  When asked on her Facebook page what friends and family could do to help during this difficult time, Ryan’s mother shared these beautiful words, simple and true and incredibly graceful given her son’s dire condition:

“Go out and create a memory with your kid. Throw a banana split on the table for dinner.

Wouldn’t you remember having banana splits for dinner one night when you were a kid?”

                                            – Diane Roberts, as reported by MSNBC

The next day (June 7th), a friend of the Roberts family created a facebook page for Ryan’s Banana Split Party. As of Wednesday night, over 65,257  have  “attended” by making banana splits for dinner.

Make that 65,258.

I sent the story to my husband to see how he felt about banana splits for dinner. He was game, possibly to jumpstart our use of our 1 year supply of ice cream. He showed up by 6:30 p.m. with whipped cream, hot fudge sauce, cherries and marshmallow sauce.  I downloaded and printed these adorable printables from paper designer and event stylist Loralee Lewis.

Your turn. Now split.