Friday Food: And Then There Were Four

A. and Calvin left last Saturday to visit the MiL in New York for a week, so it was just four of us most of the week. And hey! I did actually cook! Well, a few days, anyway.

Friday 

Short version: Pizza, green salad with vinaigrette

Long version: I went to the store on Thursday and bought asadero cheese (our substitute for mozzarella) and I was making bread anyway, so there was dough hanging around. AND, it was only 72 degrees.

Sounds like a pizza day to me.

For the sauce, I used some of a can of "classic pasta sauce" we got from commodities via Miss Amelia. It's low sodium, so I added salt to it, plus garlic powder, pepper, dried oregano, and some balsamic vinegar. I microwaved it for a few minutes to thicken it up, and ta da! Pizza sauce.

Not as good as homemade, but pretty good.

The larger pizza was just cheese. The smaller pizza had bacon and sardines on it. Both had fresh basil from the garden.

Fresh basil is so good. Definitely at the top of the list of things I will always grow no matter what. (Also on that list: tomatoes.)

Saturday

Short version: Leftover pasta skillet for the kids, salad for me

Long version: A. and Calvin left in the morning for New York, leaving me with just ("just"--ha) three kids. They had leftover pasta mixed with leftover barbecue beef and leftover pizza sauce, plus some frozen peas thrown in there for greenery. And some grated asadero for deliciousness.

I had a salad. Which had an avocado in it, because I had been to a store. Hooray.

Sunday

Short version: Patriotic hot dogs, broccoli salad, potato chips, deviled eggs, and an Ugly Flag Cake

Long version: I thought ahead while I was at the store and got some beef hot dogs for the Fourth of July. And, because it is a tradition of Our Great Country, I charred them over an open flame.

Few things will motivate me to actually grill anything (given that grilling for us involves actual charcoal and is a pain), but Independence Day is one of them. Is it really the Fourth of July without meat charring on a grate? No.

So. Hot dogs on a grill. Our grill probably doesn't look like yours.

Rustic, but it charred some hot dogs satisfactorily.

I had a small head of broccoli that I had also gotten at the store, and I very randomly decided to make broccoli salad with it. I don't think I've ever made broccoli salad before, so I have no idea why this idea popped into my head, but it was delicious. Well, I thought it was delicious. The children were not so enthused.

I very loosely followed this recipe, except I used pecans instead of sunflower seeds, only raisins that I did not bother soaking, and I steamed the broccoli instead of blanching it.

I had boiled some eggs figuring that would be my protein, because I do not eat hot dogs, but then I remembered how much Cubby loves deviled eggs, so I made those. They were all eaten well before dinner, though.

We were all set to have a picnic outside, but then there was thunder and flies and few raindrops, so we moved into the house. It was still a picnic, just a kitchen-floor picnic.

Far fewer flies.

And now for the Ugly Cake. It was Cubby's turn to choose a toilet-cleaning dessert, and he was enthusiastic about my idea to make a flag cake. But of course, as is always the case for me, I didn't have any special ingredients on hand to decorate the cake, and sure as shootin' wasn't driving to a store to get any. And so, as is always the case for me, I improvised.

Yellow cake frosted with white buttercream frosting and decorated with frozen blueberries and raspberry preserves.

Funny how "blue"berries are only blue when they're fresh. As soon as they're frozen or cooked, they're purpleberries.

As I said to my sister, it was ugly, but it's the patriotic thought that counts. And the kids sure enjoyed eating it.

Monday

Short version: Ham and cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks with curry dip, raw grape tomatoes

Long version: Is this the cliche of a meal Mom makes when Dad is out of town? Absolutely. Did the children love it? Also absolutely.

It's rare for us to have deli ham, and even rarer to have flour tortillas, but I bought both when I was at the store last week. Much to the children's delight.

I had some ham with some of the curry dip, which is delicious. If I ate sandwiches anymore, I would definitely make ham sandwiches with the mayonnaise plus curry powder now, rather than plain mayonnaise.

I felt ridiculous paying four dollars for a small plastic container of cherry tomatoes, but I am VERY IMPATIENT for my own tomatoes to get ripe already. I think they have a couple more weeks to go. Boo.

Tuesday

Short version: Beef pot roast, garlic bread, collard greens, roasted peppers and onions

Long version: It was quite cool in the morning, so I cooked an arm roast before it got warm, just with half a can of leftover low-sodium pasta sauce we got from Miss Amelia, sliced onion, garlic, and a sprig of rosemary A. accidentally broke off when he was weeding the herbs.

The collard greens are literally the only thing I have been able to harvest in the garden for a couple of weeks. It's extremely irritating to have all these luxuriantly growing plants out there, but still nothing for eating.

The asparagus on the right is all done, and the tomatoes on the left aren't ready yet. Annoying.

Thank goodness for the two volunteer collard plants that came up. Next year I really need to be more careful to bridge this gap between spring plantings and summer plantings.

Wednesday

Short version: Breakfast sausage patties, curried split peas, rice, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: Cubby eats three servings of curried split peas every time I make it. He explained to me that he would eat four, but he's afraid it might make him sick.

It's good to learn the lessons of moderation at an early age, I suppose. Although I'm not sure three servings of anything counts as notable moderation.

Thursday

Short version: Barbecue beef sandwiches, carrot sticks with ranch dip

Long version: Re-purposed pot roast with amended barbecue sauce. Not exciting, but serviceable.

I had a salad with some of the beef in it, because the baby lettuces have finally made it to the adolescent stage, so I could harvest enough for a salad. Hooray!

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