Friday Food: School's Out!

Friday 

Short version: Pintos and ham, chicken stir-fry, rice

Long version: A completely random meal. It was cool, so I thought I should simmer some pinto beans while it was still comfortable to do so. I put a ham bone in with the beans.

And then I made chicken stock with the rotisserie chicken carcass. I pulled about a cup of chicken off the bones after making the stock. There were two bags of stir-fry vegetables in the freezer that had been in there for awhile, so I used those with the chicken to make the stir-fry, and then I used the stock to make the rice.

Ham and chicken.

So everyone got some rice and then could choose what to put on it. It was about an even split. One child actually had both. In separate piles, though.

Saturday

Short version: Lamb and chickpeas, mashed potatoes, carrot sticks

Long version: I defrosted a bag of lamb stew meat, which was some meat that had been cut off the bone and some bony chops. The chops I simmered with a few onion ends until I could pull the meat off. Then I combined that meat with the deboned meat, a container of cooked chickpeas from the freezer, tomato sauce, chicken stock, onions, green garlic, thyme, paprika, and cumin. This simmered for a long time, until everything was very tender. At the end I added a bunch of yogurt with cornstarch to thicken it. 

Sunday

Short version: Nachos or Frito pie, ice cream

Long version: Earlier in the week when I had quite a bit of elk taco meat left over, I decided to freeze it for an easy Mother's Day dinner. So all I did was thaw the meat, set out both tortilla chips and Fritos, plus toppings, and let everyone make their own combinations.

I myself had Frito pie. I do love Frito pie.

Monday

Short version: Toasted bean burritos, still-frozen green beans

Long version: I had a lot of the pinto beans and ham left, which is what I used to make the burritos after work.

Tuesday

Short version: Pizza, cherries

Long version: There were only four of us eating, because the two FFA boys were at a dinner, so I decided very last minute to use some of the bread dough I had going to make one pizza. I did this mostly because I had opened canned diced tomatoes in the refrigerator, plus I had extra bacon on hand. So half the pizza had bacon and pickled onions, and half was just cheese.

Pizza dough, along with muffins, cake, and meatballs that were used at other times.

The cherries were the first of the season from Colorado. I was very excited when I saw the sign up for the truck on the side of the road in town the week before, even though I knew it was a little too early and some of them wouldn't be all the way ripe. This was true, but there were enough ripe ones that it was worth it. I love cherries.

Wednesday

Short version: Barbecue meatballs, baked beans, bread and butter, radishes

Long version: The meatballs were a small bag of extra ones I had frozen some time ago and baked the day before when the oven was on to bake bread. I heated those up with barbecue sauce after work. 

I had made the baked beans the day before, too, with the rest of the pintos and ham, plus some of the bacon. I knew I would need an easy dinner after work because it was field day for the elementary students, and that always tires me out.

Thursday

Short version: Cocktails, chips and salsa, ham steaks, roasted potatoes, cucumbers with ranch dip, ice cream sandwiches

Long version: Last day of school, hooray! That is why we had the cocktails. I trust you know without me having to tell you that it was only A. and I consuming cocktails. 

A. was for some reason inspired to make a rhubarb syrup on Wednesday, which is what we used for our drinks. He added a few frozen strawberries for a nice color. 

Our rhubarb is mostly green, and therefore not pretty. We mixed this with vodka and lemon juice.

The children got to have the chips and salsa to celebrate. And ice cream sandwiches. The actual food--ham and potatoes--just went in the oven to roast all together, which made for a nice easy dinner.

Refrigerator check:

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

A Very Vegetal Mother's Day

I had many surprises on Mother's Day. The first was actually the day before Mother's Day. A. had brought most of the children to fish at a lake about an hour away. As they were driving through town to the lake, they came upon a small backyard plant nursery and, of course, stopped in. 

So when they got home, I was brought outside to see the "magnificent Mother's Day present" they had bought me.

Behold, the Pink Peace rose bathed in celestial glory.

A. was very excited by this rose because he had just the day before created a new garden bed outside our front door. Knowing we have a lot of bulbs that need to be separated and re-planted in the fall, I chose a spot for a new bed and A. outlined it with rock, dug it all out, and added many wheelbarrow-loads of manure from the horse pen.

The new garden bed is flanked by two posts, so A. wanted to get a wisteria--a climbing vine--for one post and a climbing rose for the other. This is why he considered it divine intervention that the very day after he had made this flower bed for which we had no flowers, he literally just happened upon a nursery that had a giant climbing rose for sale.

Coming soon to the other post: wisteria.

It was very appropriate that A. should bring me home a giant live plant rather than a dozen roses from a store or something. He knows me well. As does the son who brought these flowers home for me.

It's wildflower season, hooray.

And the daughter who made me this:

Also salad season, more hooray.

Poppy always (since last year) has made me what she calls my "summer salad." She forages in the garden for the ingredients, then makes ranch dressing for it. Last year's first attempt at making the dressing--which must be done in secret, so she's totally on her own--was pretty good, although she forgot the garlic powder and mayonnaise. This year she remembered all of that, and then she found lettuce, asparagus, a radish, and some green onion in the garden. She also added some grape tomatoes that were not from the garden.

This was my morning salad. I got another one in the afternoon, along with other gifts. The younger children got all whispery and secretive, insisting that I not come in the kitchen, so I knew something was up. After a few minutes, they called me in to this:

A Mother's Day table.

Another salad contributed by Poppy, who also made that drawing, plus a little bowl made by the youngest boy--that's the little object above the salad--and a frame of flowers courtesy of the older boy. I was very touched.

I was also impressed by Poppy's drawing after she showed me its secret.

Backlighting reveals hidden hearts.

I'm not sure how she discovered that trick, but I thought it was pretty cool.

I was also the recipient of a motivational bracelet that was given to the middle son during basketball last year. I guess he figured I could use the motivation more than him now.

A good reminder.

The best part of this day was that my family knows what I like--plants and salad, obviously--and gave it to me. Feeling seen and known is an important part of feeling loved, and that is exactly what they did.

Snapshots: A Mom's Life

We had a remarkably rainy start to the week. It was pouring when we left for school on Monday, and had been most of the night.

Not much a view from the school bus window.

Lawn-lake at school.

And the lake by the track.

Given the weather, there was most certainly not going to be recess outside. Indoor recess in the old, echo-y gym is a real drag for the staff on duty (me). It was further complicated by the fact that graduation had been in the gym on Saturday, and there were still podiums, tables, etc. around the walls. Not so great when there are 30 kids racing around with basketballs.

Luckily, all the balloons from graduation were still there, too, so I banned the basketballs, but put balloons out for everyone to play with instead.

Recess equipment.

There had actually been two big balloon arches at graduation, and the balloons from those lasted all the way to Wednesday recesses. When we were still in the gym.

It was also Teacher and Staff Appreciation week, so on Monday, the front office was pretty much a staff snack bar.

Too bad I was still not really eating on Monday to enjoy any of this. Although I did have two seltzers, which was a nice treat.

I made the trek to Walmart on Thursday and, as is my habit, stopped at the old church in this town for their noon Mass after I was done shopping.

I love this vestibule that's to one side of the church.

And the absolutely giant organ. One of these days I'll have to get here for a Mass at which this is played. 

Incidentally, I first learned about our new Pope at this Mass, which seemed a very fitting way to hear that news.

Relatedly, we continue to burn the old Paschal candle at home. This week's flowers on the table with it were courtesy of the exploratory walk one son took far afield. He returned with a large handful of wildflowers for me.

Candle bouquet.

I put them there because I already had something on the dining room table.

Decorative alliums and apricot branches.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Happy Mother's Day to my fellow moms. I hope you have a lovely day.