Friday Food: Kohlrabi for Days

Friday

Short version: Tuna salad, leftover garlic bread, strawberries and raspberries with cream

Long version: This was the hottest day of the week, so I announced to A., "It's too hot. I am not cooking tonight."

He thought I meant that I was not preparing dinner, when what I actually meant was I wouldn't be turning on the stove or oven. He was pleasantly surprised when I called everyone to dinner and there was food.

I had made two garlic breads when I had thought I would be serving them to eight people the day we had a guest that didn't eat gluten. This was the smaller bread. I just heated it up in the microwave.

The berries had been on sale at the grocery store the day before, and thus really needed to be used promptly. I haven't yet had a quantity of berries that couldn't be used up by covering them with sugar and heavy cream. So that is what we did.

Saturday

Short version: Spanish tortilla, kohlrabi sticks with ranch dip, ice cream

Long version: Still pretty hot, which is why I made the Spanish tortilla--potatoes, eggs, bacon, onion, bell pepper, lamb's quarter--in the morning. 

The vegetable component of it is very pretty.

I had bought the ice cream the day before, too, and was once again very displeased at buying a dinky 48-ounce container for almost five dollars when I'm used to paying six dollars for a full gallon that will last us for more than one meal.

I really need to get to the city with the Walmart. Too bad none of our appointments are in that city.

Sunday

Short version: Pizza, kohlrabi sticks, coconut flour cookies, ice cream sandwiches

Long version: It was finally slightly cooler, and I really needed to bake bread. So I used some of the dough to make two pizzas.

A. and I had ground the last of the bull meat in the afternoon, so I cooked some of that with salt, garlic powder, and an Italian spice mix and used that on one pizza with the cooked onions that had been hanging out in the refrigerator for awhile.

The other pizza was just cheese.

About those cookies . . .

I had coconut flour because I had bought two coconuts. The children didn't really care for the coconut flesh on its own, so I decided to make coconut milk with it (coconut flesh and warm water in a blender, then strained). They really liked that.

And then I had the remaining solids, which are coconut flour.

Coconut flour and coconut milk.

I used to bake with coconut flour sometimes when the MiL bought it, and I remember it being somewhat difficult to get right in recipes. This recipe I used was no exception.

The "dough" that resulted in following that recipe was very, very wet and sticky. It was like cookie batter is when only the wet ingredients have been mixed, before the dry ingredients are added. This may have been because my coconut flour wasn't all the way dry.

In any case, it was way too wet to bake as is. So I added wheat flour until it seemed about right, and then I added a bit more salt and sugar.

The dough was still pretty wet, so I decided it would be prudent to bake them on parchment paper. You can see by the layer of cookie left behind by the first batch that that was the right call.

The resulting cookies were very soft and cake-y. They were okay, though I don't really care for that texture. I had the idea of using the last of the ice cream with them to make ice cream sandwiches, and that was a popular use for them.

Monday

Short version: Lamb ribs, potatoes, baked beans, raw produce, rice pudding

Long version: The high this day was only in the high 60s, which meant the oven could be on all day. That's about how long it takes to make lamb ribs tender. 

While those were in there, I made the rice pudding and baked beans (with a quart jar of pressure-canned pinto beans), and also baked a few huge potatoes. At dinnertime, I just heated everything up, roughly mashing the potatoes and adding lots of butter and salt to them.

It was good I made such a large meal, because A. and the older two boys had been at a ranch down the hill all day. Eldest is working there this summer as an all-purpose hand, and A. and middle son are doing masonry there on a historic stone corral that's falling down. They were all extremely hungry by the time they got home around 6 p.m., and very appreciative of such a big meal.

Tuesday

Short version: Pork and gravy, porky rice, kohlrabi sticks, ice cream

Long version: Since the three men were at their work site, I only had the two younger kids. So we took a trip to the city with the Walmart. We needed to stock up on quite a few things that are waaaay cheaper there--A.'s instant coffee, butter, the giant containers of peanut butter--and of course, we needed ice cream.

While I was there, I saw a pork tenderloin on sale, so I bought that and chunked it up for dinner. I just fried it in bacon grease and butter, then made a gravy with milk, cornstarch, and some already-cooked diced onion.

The rice was cooked in the juices left from cooking the pork shoulder about a week ago. 

Wednesday

Short version: Chicken curry, leftover rice, pre-dinner cherries, cookies

Long version: One package of chicken breasts, with onion, garlic, curry powder, green peas, the rest of the leftover potatoes, and sour cream. I added more curry powder than I typically do, which made it a little spicier than it usually is.

Also a much brighter yellow.

 Apparently, everyone prefers it this way. Noted.

I got the cherries in the city the day before, from a truck parked on the side of the road. Nothing will make me stop faster than a cardboard sign advertising fruit. These trucks bring the fruit from Colorado, and it's always really good.

Both kinds were delicious, but the Rainier cherries were better.

The cookies were peanut butter/chocolate chip ones I made mostly for the workers to take with them for lunch. Everyone was happy to eat some after dinner, too.

Thursday

Short version: Leftovers, more rice, kohlrabi with ranch dip

Long version: We had both lamb ribs and curry, so I made some more rice for that. And I pulled out the last four kohlrabis from the garden, so I needed to use some more of those.

Refrigerator check:

Did the rail for my deli drawer snap again, for the FOURTH TIME? Yes, it did. Booooo.

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

A Garden Update

So half the tomato transplants died, as did most of the peppers and some of the basil.

Why? I do not know. The carrots never came up, either, which is pretty standard for here. I only have a single parsnip, too.

But let's focus on the good things, shall we?

I had almost given up on them, but the beets have finally sprouted. There's hope yet for Aunt Belva's Pickled Beets.

There were two volunteer tomatoes in this box bed:

In the shadow of that giant volunteer sunflower, which is coming out as soon as I get some flowers from it.

You can see some very healthy-looking tomato plants behind that bed, too. Those are the ones I found the tomato hornworms on this week. I pulled off five of those nasty things, which means we are on High Hornworm Alert from now on.

I actually still have twenty tomato plants, despite the attrition, so I would really like to keep them all from being decimated by the hornworms. Or the army worms, which are sure to show up any time.

This year is also the first year I've been seeing cabbage worms on the brassicas. Luckily, they're all almost all at the harvesting stage, so a few holes aren't a big deal.

Or a lot of holes.

I've started harvesting cabbages in sufficient quantity for preservation to begin.

And by "preservation," I mean "sauerkraut."

And the many peaches on the garden peach tree continue to grow satisfactorily.

Of course, these could all still be destroyed by hail or insects or another disaster, but at least there's a chance of fruit this year.

As usual, I'll just keep weeding, watering, and praying that all of these things produce a harvest for me.

Snapshots: Flowers, Tea, and a Breakdown

I mentioned on Friday that we hosted a tea party this week for Poppy's friends. The girls all dressed up and it was very, very cute. 

Poppy had this fabulous hat sent by the MiL that was perfect for a tea party.

We have flowers finally appearing in different places.

Hollyhocks!

Cactus! (And sun tea.)

And a single asiatic lily.

A. took the big truck to the hay place 90 miles away on Wednesday, where the truck wouldn't start again. He had already paid for and loaded his hay, so he had to unload it all and call for a wrecker. He had the truck towed to a mechanic there in the city, where they told him they couldn't even look at it for three weeks. So he decided to have it towed to the mechanic near our house. 

The wrecker guy actually hauled the truck back to the hay place, loaded the hay into the truck, and hauled the whole thing back here.

Hay on truck on truck.

Unfortunately, we learned that the mechanic is closing down his shop next week. Which means the nearest mechanic is now 60 miles away. 

Booooo.

A. thinks he can fix the truck, but it's still a bummer not to have the option of delegating mechanical things.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.