Friday Food: A Daily-Dessert Revolt

Friday 

Short version: Pork and sauerkraut, cornbread, kohlrabi sticks, rice pudding

Long version: This was the last really cool day we had in our forecast, so I took advantage of it by cooking a pork shoulder in the oven for a long time. I had a can of beer that had gone flat to dump over the pork while it was cooking, along with sauerkraut. When the pork was done, I defatted and reduced the juices and added extra sauerkraut. It was very tasty.

Rice pudding because the oven was on so long for the pork. As always.

Saturday

Short version: Tuna/salmon patties, mashed potatoes, fresh peas, ice cream

Long version: This was the day the kids shelled all those peas for me.

Bowl o' peas.

As I expected, they were quite starchy, and probably should have been simmered longer, but about half the family loved them. A pretty standard percentage.

Everyone loves the tuna/salmon patties, and there was much sadness that I only made six of them. 

In my defense, they were six very large patties.

They were cheered up by giant bowls of ice cream, though.

Sunday

Short version: Fried pork/sauerkraut/rice, pan-fried sweet potatoes, ice cream

Long version: Leftover pork fried with more sauerkraut and leftover rice. Simple, but surprisingly tasty.

Poppy had asked about sweet potatoes out of the blue the other day, so I bought some at the store. I prefer them roasted in the oven, but it was too hot for that, so I just cooked them in a skillet on the stove.

A couple of the children very seriously told me that we need to stop having ice cream so much, claiming that it wasn't special anymore and we should save it for Sundays.

Well, if you insist.

Monday

Short version: Lamb, leftover mashed potatoes, sauerkraut

Long version: I had thawed a boned leg roast, but didn't want to tie it up rolled and roast it. So instead, I marinated it flat, then browned it that way before slicing it. Then I returned it to the pan to finish cooking. This is a good, fast way to get it cooked.

Second time in the pan.

If I slice it before browning the whole piece, I find the slices release too much moisture to brown. That's why I brown first and then slice. Meat doesn't dump juice all over the cutting board either if it's sliced when it's still raw inside.

I had made some oatmeal/peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies a couple of days before to be the snack cookies for the week, and I asked after dinner if anyone wanted one. "OH NOOOO," wailed the children. "Not dessert every night!"

Guess not, then. 

Tuesday

Short version: Leftover pork and rice, pork sandwiches, coleslaw

Long version: I didn't have enough of the pork and rice for everyone, but I did have another piece of the plain pork still. I took that out, and remembered the child who had asked for pork in a sandwich last time I had some left over.

So a couple of kids had pork sandwiches. Both chose to have them with barbecue sauce this time.

I did not offer dessert.

Wednesday

Short version: Ground bull burritos, kohlrabi sticks with ranch dip

Long version: I added canned black beans to the ground bull, along with the rest of the onion from making the coleslaw that of course I had already cooked, plus onion and garlic powder, cumin, paprika, chile powder, vinegar, and a little salsa.

The children were very pleased with this. Kids just really like burritos with ground beef. 

They also really like the kohlrabi. There is one more in the garden, but it's really small, so the kohlrabi is pretty much done for the year. But the basil is just starting up . . .

Thursday

Short version: Chicken and spaghetti with pesto, carrot sticks with ranch dip

Long version: The basil really took off recently, and the plants are just big enough for a small batch of pesto. Much rejoicing.

I used the pesto on both the spaghetti and on the chicken, which were just breasts that I chunked up and fried, then added the pesto and Parmesan to it. I kept the chicken separate from the spaghetti, since A. and I don't eat the pasta. He had his chicken with bread and butter. I had mine with leftover coleslaw.

Unfortunately, I was rushing out the door to pick up a child right as I was trying to finish up dinner, so I totally forgot that I meant to take out some of the pound of spaghetti I cooked for something else later. This meant that I did not have nearly enough pesto for the pasta I had cooked. I added butter, garlic powder, and salt, but it was still pretty bland. Boo.

Refrigerator check:

Lots of leftover bland spaghetti. And cheese. Perhaps I will combine the two . . .

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

A.P.D.: Dream Houses

Yesterday, pretty much out of nowhere, Poppy said, "I would like to live in a mansion."

Okay. 

"Why?" I asked.

"Because it would have so much SPACE!"

Yes. That it would. My first thought--and response to that--was that also all the SPACE needs to be CLEANED. This being my experience at Blackrock, which is not a technically a mansion, but is also not a normal house.

Poppy acknowledged the truth of that, and then she asked me what my dream house would be like.

This is a fun question. I will answer it here for you now.

Random photo of part of our current house, which shelters us adequately, but is neither photogenic nor my dream house.

I like stone houses. Not brick. Stone. They just look nicest to me. They also have excellent insulating properties, and tend to be cool in summer, warm in winter.

I like one-story houses, BUT, I also like the bedrooms to be separated from the living areas in some way. My current set-up of having my bedroom open out to the kitchen is not ideal for me. Stairs serve the function of separation in a two-story house, but so do courtyard-style houses. 

Houses built around courtyards are my favorite style. You can have wings of the house that are far enough away from the living areas to be private without having stairs. And then, of course, you have a courtyard, which are the perfect outdoor spaces. 

I like doors in the interior of houses. These open-plan houses that are so common now are not for me. I like to be able to close and open doors as needed.

Although I acknowledge its utility, I do not like heating with wood, and my dream house would be heated electrically. I know this requires depending on the electrical grid, and thus comes with a lack of independence, but I really don't enjoy messing around with wood, propane, natural gas, or anything else.

I do like propane fireplaces, though. They're nice. Clean, and they provide the cozy atmosphere of a fire.

I like carpet in bedrooms, but rugs and wood floors everywhere else. 

I don't like those open showers that have become so popular. I like contained bathrooms, with the shower and tub together. It's nice if the toilet is in a separate alcove, though.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but you're probably getting the idea.

So! How about you? What is your dream house?

 

Snapshots: Lookit What I Found!

I went out our gate to go for a run, and look what was there on the side of the road.

Sunflower season has started!

That tiny bottle with the purple flowers in it was Poppy's contribution to the table before I found the sunflower. I didn't have any flowers there for a few days, so she brought the dried ones from her room. I guess the table doesn't look right to her without something in the middle of it.

Raising that girl right.

I have some bright-pink hollyhocks this year, and I'm not sure if the MiL sent these seeds to me and I totally forgot about planting them, or if they somehow are the product of the paler pink ones that come up every year. Either way, I love them.

Pretty pink.

A. and the three boys spent several very hot days doing stone work at a ranch down the hill. The lower elevation there means it's hotter than at our house on the high plateau, so it was right around 100 degrees some of the days they were there. 

When doing manual labor in such temperatures, there can never be enough liquid. And not just water, either. This calls for switchel.

Three jugs of water, one bottle of switchel.

A reader here (hi, Jody!) e-mailed me to suggest that I could also add cream of tartar to switchel for the potassium. I had never considered this, but I don't see why it would be a bad idea. I'll have to try it this coming week when they go back down the hill to finish their work there.

The truck selling cherries in the city also had shelling peas when I was there yesterday. I do not grow shelling peas because, well, they have to be shelled. So tedious. 

A. loves fresh peas, and even though I knew it's past prime pea season and these were likely to be starchy, I got some anyway.

There was great excitement among the children when I brought them home, and they set right to work shelling.

They chose the back steps as their shelling location.

About halfway through the bag of peas, one of the children came in and asked how many they had to shell. ALL of them, child. And that is why I don't grow them. It was a fun novelty, though.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.