‘Tis the season for graduations and weddings, and this year, I’m particularly excited to be celebrating two graduations. My 13-year-old daughter is coming out of middle school next month,  and my 22-year-old daughter graduates from college this week. The elder daughter is a dancer and I’m not only thrilled about her degree but that it’s in an area that I know little about.

For me, both occasions will be a mixture of joy and sadness because while I love every minute of watching my children grow up, I also miss the days when they were really small, especially since it means they are moving further away from me.

Letting children go is hard, and the occasion is also bittersweet for me: my elder daughter is the first of my five children to graduate from college.

With five kids, three still in the house, this daughter has never had it easy trying to secure her education, and she tells me that getting it was harder than I could have ever imagined. Even though she paid for most of it herself, her education was always a family affair because for four years we all helped her in one way or another. So this week we celebrate not only her, but the fact that we all worked together to help her get through.

And  that sounds like a great reason to have a feast ! Although we’ll have a full-blown celebration for her at a later date, on the day she graduates we’ll have a small reception for her at home with immediate family, her close friends and lots of comfort foods. My daughter wants an eclectic menu with a Southern/Mediterranean flair. My shish kabobs aren’t traditional, since I don’t have a grill and my oven is broken, so I cook the meat,  onions, carrots, mushrooms and peppers  and then spear them onto the sticks and serve with dipping sauces on the side.

Dij’s Delights

Assorted fruit, red grapes and cheese platter

Bread, breadsticks and crackers

Crudités with hummus

Chips with salsa and guacamole

Angel-stuffed eggs

Barbecued lamb or chicken shish kabobs

Grilled salmon

Couscous with yellow raisins, scallions and dates

Pasta salad

Arugula with beets and shaved parmesan in a vinagrette dressing

Strawberry/peppermint lemonade

Cake with fruit compote and chocolate sauce

Teriyaki/ barbecued lamb kabobs

Ingredients

2 dozen wooden shish kabob spears

2 lbs boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1  ½ -inch cubes, marinated and dredged in flour

¼ cup virgin olive oil

1 clove finely minced garlic

Salt, pepper, onion powder, Sazon to taste

2 lbs medium button mushrooms

1 lb baby carrots

1 lb small heirloom tomatoes

Four yellow and red peppers, quartered X 2

Directions

Brown lamb with 1/2 of the oil on high heat for 7 minutes. Add garlic when nearly done and  turn on all sides, then set aside.

In separate pan, heat olive oil and  sauté  vegetables until they are just past crunchy.

When ingredients are cool enough to handle, put them on the sticks.

Serve near couscous with your favorite dipping sauces.

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1. Small plates for holiday parties
2. The Beet goes on