Friday, October 16, 2020

Friday Food: The End of the Tomatoes


Friday

Short version: Pizza, pork, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: A meal that was foreordained by the foods on hand. Dough from the bread I was baking that day plus some of Finny's sauce from a batch I had made to freeze plus asadero cheese from the freezer=pizza. A bit of lettuce in the refrigerator plus a bit of ranch dressing that needed to be used=salad. And the leftover pork for A. and me.

Saturday

Short version: Breakfast sausage patties, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, fried tomatoes and onions, leftover coleslaw

Long version: I get 50-pound bags of potatoes from the school Sysco ordering program. The variety of potato in the boxes is not the same every time. Last time, it was a waxy variety of potato. This time, it was nice big russets. That made me happy, because russets make much fluffier, and therefore more delicious, mashed potatoes.

Sunday

Short version: Tuna patties, oven fries, green salad with vinagrette, peanut butter balls

Long version: French fries are also more delicious made with russets. Hooray for russets. 

I much prefer a vinagrette dressing for salads. The rest of my family does not agree, which is why I've been making ranch dressing most frequently lately. I decided to indulge myself with a vinagrette this time, though. Because I am a master of self-care.

Ahem.

Cubby usually chooses and mostly bakes our Sunday desserts now, but I decided on this one. Two reasons: One is that A. can eat it because it doesn't have any flour in it. Two is that we were almost out of eggs, and this doesn't use any.

It also doesn't hurt that it is insanely delicious. It's like a superior version of commercial peanut butter cups. The dipping in chocolate is messy and annoying, but the end result is most definitely worth it. I hadn't made it in a long time, and everyone is now thinking it would be an excellent permanent Sunday dessert. Which would mean this would be our Sunday night face:


The chocolate-smeared face is a sign of great happiness.

Monday

Short version: Leftover pork, chicken patties, rice, mashed squash, frozen peas

Long version: Pork for A. and me, those frozen chicken patties for the kids, and nothing remotely exciting otherwise. Must be a workday.

Tuesday

Short version: Oxtail vegetable soup, grilled cheese

Long version: We're getting pretty low on meat, which means I'm much more motivated to use the packages that have been sitting at the bottom of the refrigerator for a long time. Like the package of oxtail.

It's not really an ox's tail, of course. It's just the tail from the cow we bought almost two years ago. It looks pretty gross, since it's literally just a skinned and partially segmented cow's tail, but it makes excellent stock. All that cartilage, you know.

Anyway.

I browned and simmered the tail in the morning, then did the tedious job of pulling the meat off the bones. It never looks like a lot, but I got over a cup of meat from the tail. Enough for soup. Which is what I made, with the meat, the broth, onion, garlic, tomato, carrots, potatoes, green beans, and peas.

The kids thought it was hilarious we were eating a cow's tail. "Did it have poop on it?" they asked. Har har.

Grilled cheese to fill things in a little. Because a cup of meat in a whole pot of soup may be enough, but it's not a lot.

Wednesday

Short version: Leftover soup, scrambled eggs, rice, tomatoes or frozen peas

Long version: Workday. Leftovers and scrambled eggs. The end.

Thursday

Short version: Beef goulash with sauerkraut and carrots, mashed potatoes, mashed squash, frozen peas

Long version: This was the very last package of actual meat from the cow we got two years ago. Now all that's left are nasty organ meats, fat, and soup bones. Time for another cow.

We were anticipating a freeze this night, and I decided it wasn't really worth covering the tomato plants again. So we harvested all the tomatoes, ripe or not.

Poppy and Charlie--who was home from school with a slight sore throat, but was otherwise fine--helped me.


"These aren't plants!" exclaimed Charlie. "This is a jungle." Accurate.

Odin helped, too.


Well, he was willing, but his lack of opposable thumbs made him quite ineffective.

We harvested a lot of tomatoes--most of them green--but I didn't use any of them in the goulash. I elected to open a can of already prepared tomatoes instead of chopping up two cups of fresh tomatoes. Lazy.

I used my own sauerkraut, though! It was the sauerkraut Poppy and I started a couple of weeks ago. I just scooped out a cup or so and then covered the rest up to keep sauering.

Also our squash, of course. Forever.


Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

pork chops, roasted potatoes, green beans & mushrooms, garlic bread
take out
skillet meal of chicken breasts, squash, mushrooms, cheese in tomato sauce, garlic bread
mini meatloaves, roasted potatoes, carrots & mushrooms, applesauce, garlic bread
homemade subs, chips
pizza, salad, chips
And for tonight, roasted potatoes with beef, mushrooms, spinach & cheese on top, garlic bread
Linda

mil said...

Friday I had dinner at the Inn--a perfectly cooked steak, with potatoes and a grilled onion, a nice serving of asparagus, too. Everything was excellent, which was a first for me there, as you may remember my grousing about things. Question: do grouse grouse?
Saturday: Ham steak with sauted onions and peppers; I threw in three prune plums and cooked them along with the rest, and they really set off the flavor of the ham.
Sunday: Sauted potatoes and cousa squash, scrambled with three of my lovely little pullet eggs.
Monday: roast chicken, mashed potatoes with turnip greens (I found a lonely turnip under some squash leaves, and a baby romaine, arugula (self-seeded from the spring crop) and tomato salad.
Tuesday: random vegetable soup, leftover roast chicken, apple and a seckel pear
Wednesday: more vegetable soup, two bowls.
Thursday: finally finished the soup, with cold roast chicken, lettuce, tomato, almond flour apple cinnamon muffins. Even though I had a sister for lunch and made her eat chicken, I'm getting tired of it. Still, it was actually a very good chicken, as chickens go.

Kay said...

First: Would MIL be kind enough to let you post the recipe for Almond Flour Apple Cinnamon Muffins, please? :)

Our menu this week
Sun: Blueberry Muffins-B; Leftovers-L; Steak, baked potatoes, baked beans, salad & dinner rolls-D

Mon: TatorTot Casserole, Frozen Mixed Veg

Tue: Waffles, bacon & fruit

Wed: We finished Harvest, so went out to eat to celebrate. Hot Beef Sandwich for him, mediocre Cheeseburger and FF for me.

Thur: Took cows to sale barn. Ate out Mexican. Combo #16 (Burrito & Enchilada for him, he didn't like the Mole sauce) Shrimp & veg over rice for me. It was ok. Too many onions and cheese.

Fri: (tonight) It was the end of a very long week. We ate leftovers. Tatortot casserole for him; spaghetti with a big salad for me.

Sat: Menu says Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and more Frozen Mixed Veg (or Roasted Broccoli for me.)

Sun: (forecast is for cold, rain/snow, wind) I'm planning Muffins again; Chili from the freezer for football games for him and Homemade Chicken Noodle for me. (with enough to freeze for possible sick days.)

Kristin @ Going Country said...

Kay: Hooray for the end of harvest, selling cows, and time to watch football!

mil said...

Cinnamon Apple Muffins
2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced into 1/4 inch cubes.

Bake at 350F. You don't need directions for the standard mixing order for muffins. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes. This is from The Gluten -Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. I use melted butter instead of the grapeseed oil, since I have no problem with dairy. If you have a Mennonite or Amish store nearby, you can buy arrowroot at a reasonable cost (or order from Penzey's). I haven't tried out any substitutes for the agave nectar, since I can buy it fairly reasonably at my local membership store (BJs). I am not at all sure that such an excessive amount of expensive vanilla extract is necessary. These muffins are distinctly tasty, and they come out of my muffin tins easily, so that I do not bother with papers, but just spray the pans. The recipe makes 12 normal-sized muffins (I do not own pans for the modern huge muffins). I hope you enjoy these.