Friday Food: A Week of Illness

Friday 

Short version: Boneless pork chops, baked pasta, cucumbers, rhubarb/peach cobbler with cream

Long version: I was sick with a cold this day, so I used the low-effort method of throwing everything in the oven at the same time to bake to get dinner on the table.

In that oven were the pork chops I had cut off the pork loin, which I just drizzled with olive oil and spices. I had to put them under the broiler at the end to get them a little browned, and then they were overcooked. Always a danger with lean, boneless pork.

For the pasta, I used some roasted tomato sauce I already had in the refrigerator, heavy cream, the last of some milk left by a child, and a bunch of asadero cheese.

The fruit was frozen. After it had baked awhile, it had reduced so far that I decided to make some sweetened biscuits for the top to stretch it a bit.

Biscuits before baking.

I hadn't sweetened the fruit enough and had to add some more sugar when I was serving it, but it turned out pretty well.

Saturday

Short version: Mom food

Long version: This was the night of the village Halloween celebration. One son was quite sick, and I stayed home with him. He wasn't eating, so I just had to feed myself. That meant I rummaged around in the refrigerator and combined a bunch of things in a skillet:

A leftover pork chop, sauerkraut, roasted carrots, and cooked onions from the freezer.

The rest of the family had baked potatoes with lots of toppings and hot dogs at the party.

Sunday

Short version: Last-harvest pork stir-fry, rice, fresh bread with butter

Long version: I spent much of this afternoon harvesting everything that was left in the garden in anticipation of a freeze on Wednesday night. That included tomatoes, peppers, beets, and green beans. The basil I left until later because I was too tired to make pesto that afternoon.

I used the peppers, green beans, and beet greens in the stir-fry, plus some broccoli my sister had left us, onions, carrots, and pork.

Obligatory beauty shot of the pretty vegetables.

I declared this day to be the beginning of our pre-Halloween sugar fast, which is why I did not make a dessert. I had baked bread just before dinner, though, so everyone got to have a piece of fresh bread still warm from the oven, with butter. Almost as good as dessert, even without the sugar.

Monday

Short version: Tuna salad sandwiches

Long version: I went directly from school/work to a volleyball game with the cheerleader. I made tuna salad in the morning so those at home could have sandwiches. And I made a tuna melt for the cheerleader when we got home. 

No vegetables were consumed. That happens sometimes.

Tuesday

Short version: Chili, tortilla chips

Long version: This was the day I was very ill. I was at least semi-functional by dinnertime, although not at all ready to eat. Both A. and one of the boys had been sick with the same thing and were also not eating. Thankfully, I had a container of chili in the freezer, so all I had to do was heat that up and set it out for the three children who were eating, with some tortilla chips my sister left.

Wednesday

Short version: Hamburgers, rice, pasta with pesto, cucumbers with ranch dressing

Long version: The three of us that had been sick were ready to eat something unchallenging. I figured plain hamburgers and rice would be a good option. 

I stayed home from work and so was able to harvest the rest of the basil and make pesto--with a lot of breaks while stripping the basil leaves, because I was still pretty weak and tired--so I made pasta with pesto for the other children.

Thursday

Short version: Candycandycandy . . . and soup

Long version: This year, due to an event in another village that was starting right around dark, the trick-or-treating in our village mostly happened before dark. So we just stayed after school let out at 4 p.m. and went trick-or-treating. Thus, no dinner before candy time.

Daylight treat gathering.

And then! While we were letting the kids run around in the dark with their friends at the village park to work off some of that sugar, I got a text from our neighbor that Bill the Pony had escaped his pasture and was wandering around by the post office.

Great.

Hop in the car, kids! We have to go home to catch a pony!

Luckily, Bill is pretty amenable to being led with horse food as long as we're bringing him back to his buddy Cora, so it didn't take too long to get him back where he was supposed to be.

One of the children drolly remarked that Bill was playing a trick on us so he would get a treat. I wouldn't put it past him.

Anyway. This meant we didn't get home until about 7:30 p.m., by which time everyone was very ready to eat something not containing sugar.

Good thing I anticipated this. I had made some chicken and rice soup earlier in the day by simmering my bag of frozen chicken bones until there was broth and I could pull off the meat. Then I used already-cooked and frozen onions and some of my many frozen carrots, plus rice, to make a very easy soup.

I had cheese slices left from the cheese and crackers I had brought for the elementary Halloween party, so I melted some cheese in there too (for those who could handle eating cheese) while I was heating the bowls of soup up in the microwave.

Dessert was unnecessary. To say the least.

Refrigerator check:

Lots of eggs, thank goodness. We keep running out now that the chickens aren't laying much.

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