“Let’s make a list of all the life events we’ve experienced while being friends,” one of my girl friends exclaimed during our recent Girl’s Trip Reunion just outside of Chicago. And it made me think how so much of our life is marked by the moments women spend together. 27 years ago we met, and since then we’ve done our best to have our Girl’s Weekends, even as we scattered to the four corners of the country.  Although the trips have been less frequent, we still rendezvous and celebrate friendship as only women can. Now that daughters are being added to the mix, we find a deep sense of satisfaction in having nurtured each other through thick and thin.

That’s why I was happy to create a farewell dinner for all of us, with the help from my friend’s daughter, and excellent cook on her own.

So, while my daughter and one of our friends spent the day viewing Lake shore Drive from the top of the Hancock building, Kaitlyn and I were busy chopping apples, slicing pears, and generally furrowing through every ingredient in the pantry as we created our meal. And did we ever have fun! Discovering a jar of Cherry Salsa, we found the sauce to be spicy and perfectly fruity. By pairing it with canned pears, maple syrup, and some sliced onions, the chicken was on its way to being famous. Then we reduced leftover fruit and sugar down into a luxurious and colorful compote to layer over blueberry scones before topping it all with whipped cream. To round out the meal, we simply took a bag of quality frozen vegetable medley, cooked and drained it, and then added an easy apple cider vinaigrette for a warm vegetable salad.

We knew we had done our jobs when, at the end of the meal they all exclaimed, “We need the recipes!”

Job DONE!