Five (and Two Days)

Happy birthday to

easygoing Jack. 

Friday Food: Now with Old, Random Photos of Tiny Children

I did not take a single photo this week. So to keep things interesting while I blather on about food, I pulled some old photos from my Google photos. Please enjoy.

Friday

Short version: Tuna salad sandwiches, frozen green beans

Long version: I was all set to make pizza, but then A. decided last-minute to go camp where he and Cubby were hunting for deer the next day, so instead the remaining children and I had tuna salad with the fresh bread I had baked that afternoon.

And yes, the green beans were still frozen. The boys like them that way, and I was eating squash, so I didn't care.

Saturday


Short version: Pizza, green salad

Long version: This pizza was courtesy of my parents, who brought the mozzarella cheese, as well as fresh basil from my dad's Tucson garden.

I made one cheese pizza and one with onions, mushrooms, and bacon on half. I used the bacon because I forgot to get pepperoni at the store. The bacon was good, though, so I might just use that from now on.

Too bad I oversalted the dough a bit. Boo.

Look! It's baby Poppy!

With crazy hair courtesy of brother Cubby.

Sunday

Short version: Ribeye steaks, mashed potatoes, squash, raw tomatoes, chocolate pudding

Long version: A. had requested a chocolate roulade--a flourless chocolate cake rolled around whipped cream--for his birthday, but I couldn't get enough heavy cream to make it. I made the pudding instead. It was very good, and held a candle satisfactorily for the birthday wish. Maybe I'll make the roulade for Christmas.

As per the MiL's advice, I was very careful not to taste the pudding as I was making it, and I had no problem getting it thick this time. Lesson learned: No spit in the pudding or it won't thicken.

Monday

Short version: A plethora of previously-prepared foods, plus an omelet for A. and frozen green beans

Long version: So many lovely leftovers to choose from on this workday on which I was also battling a cold.

Let's see . . . Charlie and Jack had chicken tacos.

Poppy had a tortilla and cheese.

Cubby had steak and mashed potatoes with cheese.

A. had steak, an omelet with cheese and leftover mushrooms and onions, and tortillas and cheese, and the last of the mashed squash.

I had mashed potatoes with cheese and a separate avocado half just plain with salt. I was planning on having a salad, but it was freezing and I was sick and comfort food won out.

Everyone had green beans. The green beans from our garden are really SO much better than the frozen store ones. This is not news to me, but a good thing to remember when I'm snapping the ends off my millionth green bean in the summer and doubting if it's really worth it.

Look! Tiny Charlie and Cubby!

And some enormous zucchini from our garden on the Canadian border.

Tuesday

Short version: Elk, vegetable soup, garlic bread

Long version: The elk was marinated in olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, then seared on the griddle pan with more garlic powder, pepper, and some paprika.

The soup had onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, tomato juice, green peas, and chicken stock in it. I totally forgot to put in garlic, so I shook in garlic powder, which is definitely not as good as fresh garlic.

Jack, Cubby, Poppy, and I had the soup, bread, and some very good extra-sharp cheddar cheese my parents brought us. I love sharp cheddar, and it's hard to get here.

Charlie had the elk, bread, and some still-frozen peas, and A. had everything.

While I was putting the elk on the griddle, Jack came in and said, "Oh no, meat again."

Then Charlie came in and looked in the soup pot and said, "Oh no, not soup."

And that is why we had both. Welcome to life with young children.

Wednesday

Short version: FFA food

Long version: We went to the Future Farmers of America Christmas program at the school. First we watched all three boys perform with their various classes, and then we all ate ham, rice, startlingly sweet green beans with bacon, salad, and lemonade pie.

This was Jack's birthday, but we couldn't do any real celebrating thanks to school and the evening entertainment. I told him we would do whatever he wanted and have his cake and everything on Friday. So that's why I didn't post the traditional birthday picture.

Sure it is. It had nothing to do with the fact that my cell phone permanently lives in the school bus and I was kind of drowning in holiday cheer expectations.

Look! Tiny Jack!

With a giant beer can. Classy.

Thursday

Short version: Elk, mashed potatoes, salad

Long version: Earlier in the week, while I was silently planning things like teacher gifts and the children's outfits for the school performance and calling our neighbor to see if we could cut a Christmas tree in his canyon and how I could festively wrap the school gift exchange gifts (since I don't buy wrapping paper) and all the other million things that go along with the most wonderful time of the year, I suddenly vocalized my innermost feelings to A. by saying, "You know, this season is a marathon for moms. I mean, maybe there are some dads who help out, but I don't think there are too many dads out there who are making the Christmas magic happen."

To which A. replied, "Well, I wouldn't want to intrude on your purview."

Sure.

Anyway. The marathon isn't really over with yet, since it's not Christmas yet, but this at least was the day the external obligations ended. They ended with Cubby and Charlie's class parties, to which I contributed brownies and two extra children in the persons of Jack and Poppy.

Then I came home, prepped everything for dinner, and had a Sidecar.

While we were eating, both Cubby and Charlie remarked how particularly good the food was. "Maybe," I suggested, "Because it's not sugar?" They acknowledged the truth of this.

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

The Woodchuck Man's 39th Year Commences

Today, A. turns 39 years old, and we all know what that means. It means it's time for my own terrible "The Woochuck Man Can" song! Whee!

This is actually the eighth version of this song. I think they get worse every year, but it's the thought that counts, right? Links to all previous versions can be found here.

Okay, you ready? Here we go!

Who can grow garlic
To feed us through the year?

Who can drive the family cross-country, avoiding many tears?

The woodchuck man
The woodchuck man can
The woodchuck man can
'Cause he uses what he has and makes it work for him.

Who can do the laundry
When the washing machine got broke?

Who can take his son out hunting where other men would choke?

The woodchuck man
The woodchuck man can
The woodchuck man can
'Cause he uses what he has and makes it work for him.

Who can rig the rake
To pick up all our crap?

Who can build a double clothesline that makes his wife clap?

The woodchuck man
The woodchuck man can
The woodchuck man can
'Cause he uses what he has and makes it work for him.

Happy birthday to A. Long may you prosper in your woodchuck ways.

Friday Food: Look! Food!

Friday

Short version: Pizza elk, pasta, frozen peas

Long version: "Pizza elk" = browned elk cooked with marinara sauce and covered with mozzarella.

The pasta for the kids ended up being mostly butter and garlic powder, because I didn't have much of the sauce left. They didn't care. Pretty sure they'd eat pasta with nothing on it at all.

Saturday

Short version: Barbecue elk, rice, squash, raw tomatoes

Long version: I cooked the elk pieces in some of the smoked venison stock to get them tender, then added some barbecue sauce.

The squash was another one of our big green volunteers, and that means a LOT of squash. Good thing it's tasty.

Sunday

Short version: Leftover elk, bread and butter, coleslaw, more squash

Long version: I had actually made the coleslaw a few days before to use some of an enormous cabbage Rafael gave us, but there were some delicate digestive issues in the house, so I held off on serving it until everyone was feeling better. Unhappy stomachs are not going to be soothed by coleslaw.

Monday

Short version: Breakfast sausage, fried eggs, bread and butter, more coleslaw, more squash

Long version: Hello, workday.

Tuesday

Short version: Elk, bacon, roasted potatoes, more coleslaw, more squash

Long version: This elk was marinated in vinegar, olive oil, salt, and garlic, then seared on my grill pan after I cooked a few pieces of bacon that needed to be used up.

Finally finished the coleslaw. Nowhere near done with the squash, though.

Wednesday

Short version: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, squash, green beans

Long version: My parents arrived for a very short visit right before dinnertime. It was a workday for me, so I prepped the meatloaf the night before and just shoved it in the oven along with the potatoes--parcooked in the microwave for a few minutes first--as soon as I got home.

Both the squash and the frozen green beans came from our garden, which is kind of fun. If you're crazy like me, that is.

Thursday

Short version: Chicken tacos with homemade corn tortillas, pinto beans, blueberry pie, butter pecan ice cream

Long version: It's not a visit from family if I don't make corn tortillas with the tortilla press my dad made me. Plus, my parents never arrive without bringing coolers full of produce--because they know the way to my heart--which is why we had lettuce AND tomatoes AND avocados.

A feast, indeed.

The pie was the same one that's always at the lodgings my parents stay at when they're here. I usually get vanilla ice cream, but the store was out, so we had butter pecan with it, instead. An excellent combination.

Before dinner, my mom and the two younger children made guacamole, out of which I pretty much made my meal.

Fun with Nana. And a large knife.

Meanwhile, my dad-the-former-pilot was instructing the older two children in the use of the flight simulator on the brand-new computer my parents brought for the children's Christmas present.

Because if you're going to be staring at a screen, you may as well be learning how to fly a plane.

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

There's No Escaping Sheep

At least, not if you're married to A., who considers life a sad and empty thing if there aren't wool-bearers somewhere on the property.

The last sheep we had were the three ram lambs A. bought to fatten over the summer and feed us over the winter. The last proper flock we had was at least five years ago.

It was a long, sad five years for A.

But no more! For yesterday, the sheep man brought home the beginnings of his new flock.

Baa.

Those are Merinos. A. drove to the southern part of the state to get them (sleeping in the open trailer on the open range so he could be at the ranch early in the morning, but that's another story) and got them from a large sheep operation that was shipping older ewes to Mexico. There are six ewes there and one ram lamb. Most, if not all, of the ewes are probably pregnant and could have a lamb anytime in the next couple of weeks.

A good start to a flock, indeed.

Although A. and the children were very excited at the arrival of the sheep, you know who wasn't? Samson. 

Well, that's not strictly accurate. He got excited all right. As soon as he caught the scent of the sheep when A. was preparing to unload them, he galloped right across the pasture and jumped two five-foot-high fences to get away from them.

Twenty-three-year-old horses are NOT supposed to do that.

Luckily, we live in a ghost town, so he can run quite a ways before he gets to anything. What he did was make a beeline for one of our neighbors about half a mile away to visit her horse. A. went after him and brought him home with no trouble, and thankfully no injuries from his athletic endeavors.

Then A. spent some time in the pasture with Samson and his halter, feeding him hay, patting him, and reassuring him that his new pasture-mates were nothing to be afraid of. He's fine now.

Don't even think about trying to leap that fence again, Samson.

I have no idea why Samson freaked out the way he did. He's been around plenty of cows, but I guess the scent is different. Luckily, the sheep are accustomed to both horses and dogs, so they were perfectly placid.

Anyway. The current menagerie stands at four chickens, two puppies, one horse, and seven sheep, and who knows how many lambs to come.

At least it's never boring around here.

Friday Food: Mostly Courtesy of Rafael

Friday

Short version: Chocolate-chip pancakes

Long version: Yup. That's it. It was just Poppy and me for dinner still, so I made chocolate-chip pancakes.

I could try to justify it by telling you that we ate leftover fried rice with lots of vegetables for breakfast, and vegetable soup for lunch, so we got in our healthy food for the day early. And I could virtuously claim that the pancakes are made of buckwheat flour, which is higher in protein than wheat flour, plus yogurt, eggs, and milk.

And then I would sing, "Mom is great, give us the chocolate pancake."*

But really? They were chocolate-chip pancakes. And they were highly satisfying. So there.

And here we have an unrelated photo of Poppy in action:

Faster than a speeding bullet when fueled by chocolate-chip pancakes.

Saturday

Short version: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and onions, frozen peas

Long version: I think it's obvious from the completeness of this meal that the family was reunited for dinner this night.

Sunday

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: Cubby and I went to the 4-H awards, which included a catered dinner of beef, mashed potatoes, salad, and desserts. Everyone else had leftover meatloaf, rice, baked potato, and peas.

Monday

Short version: Scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage links, bread and butter, pinto beans, green salad

Long version: My children get incredibly excited about sausage links. Jack actually said, "Sausage! It's just like dessert for us!"

If you say so, Jack.

The green salad was a romaine mix in a bag from the store, and the whole thing tasted like chlorine. Plus, I always feel as if all bagged lettuce is infected with salmonella. All in all, not the most enjoyable salad experience.

I miss my own lettuce.

Tuesday

Short version: Venison and hominy stew, roasted vegetables

Long version: Rafael stopped by on Saturday with a smoked leg of venison and the ribs from the deer. His son-in-law shot it and did the smoking. He gave it to Rafael for his dog, but Rafael wasn't about to waste it on his dog when he knew perfectly well we would eat it.

Yes. We will certainly eat this kind of dog food.

A. cut the meat off the ribs and used it to make one of his chili stews with hominy in it. No pig's feet this time, but only because he didn't know I had put them in the big freezer.

The roasted vegetables included the biggest sweet potato in the world. Seriously. This thing was like four times the size of even a big sweet potato. Rafael got it from the commodities drop-off--which is essentially free food for old people who don't get Social Security--and gave it to us because he knew he would never be able to eat it on his own.

We wouldn't have eaten all it ourselves either, but it gave me an idea . . .

Wednesday

Short version: Leftover meatloaf or A.'s stew, bread and butter, raw tomatoes

Long version: The family ate leftovers while I took a big platter of various roasted vegetables--including the gigantic sweet potato--to the school staff holiday party. So clever. And tasty.

Thursday

Short version: Cabbage and venison soup, fried venison and potatoes, bread and butter

Long version: One of the pieces of meat Rafael gave us was a smoked leg. I cut as much meat off as I could, then boiled the bone to make stock. The meat left after the stock was made had pretty much no flavor, because all the smokiness went into the stock.

I used that stock, plus the smoked meat I had cut off, to make the soup, along with onion, carrot, potato, and cabbage.

The flavorless meat I fried in a lot of sheep tallow with onion, garlic, potatoes, and paprika. Half the family ate this and half ate the soup.

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

* That whole stand-up routine was one of the funniest things ever, and is therefore even more disappointingly ruined by our current knowledge of Bill Cosby's character. Or lack thereof.

Friday Food: Thanksgiving Fried Rice for Two

A. took the boys to Tucson on Tuesday, which is quite obvious in my cooking. In that I kind of . . . stopped. But don't worry! We still ate.

Friday

Short version: Cube steak tacos, Mexican slaw, pinto beans

Long version: I found one more package of cube steaks in the freezer, which I marinated with olive oil, vinegar, chile powder, and cumin, then seared and cut thin for tacos.

They were a little bland, unfortunately, but nothing a little salsa couldn't fix.

Saturday

Short version: Miss Amelia's chicken soup, bread and butter, leftover tacos

Long version: I hadn't taken any meat out to thaw and was vaguely planning on making tuna patties when Miss Amelia's daughter showed up with a large jar of soup her mother had made for us. It was a chicken soup with celery, potatoes, carrots, and I think barley. Or maybe brown rice. Something kind of chewy, at any rate.

In any case, it was good. That's what most of us had. A. and Charlie, who is not a soup fan, had the rest of the cube steak plus three leftover kibbeh heated up with salsa and put in tortillas with cheese.

Sunday

Short version: Beef ribs, accidental tongue, roasted potatoes, green salad

Long version: Yeah, about that tongue . . . I did not want the tongue from the cow we bought last year. But somehow I ended up with a package clearly labeled "tongue."

Not clearly enough, apparently, as I grabbed it thinking it was another package of beef ribs and didn't realize until after everything had braised for several hours that there was one thing in there that looked nothing like ribs. Because it was a tongue.

A tongue is very, very identifiable, FYI. I mean, it looks just like what it is. And cows have very large tongues.

I've never cooked a tongue before--and wouldn't have this time had I known what it was--but I think they're supposed to be peeled first. You know, to get rid of the tough covering that has the tastebuds on it. (GROSS.)

I was kind of slicing it open and examining the edible part inside when Cubby wandered into the kitchen and asked what was for dinner.

Could I resist? No. I stuck the very-recognizable large tongue right in his face and cheerily said, "Cow tongue!"

His response? "NO WAY! Hey Charlie, we're having cow tongue for dinner!"

So then we had to have cow tongue for dinner.

It tasted fine, although the texture was a little soft for me. The kids liked it. Nevertheless, I couldn't face more dissection of the tongue, and cut up what was left for the dogs. They liked it, too.

Monday

Short version: Meat+rice+cheese, Mexican-style

Long version: This was the remainder of the meat from the beef ribs (NOT THE TONGUE) that I put in the skillet with some green chiles and salsa before adding the cooked rice and shredded cheese.

Tuesday

Short version: Vegetable and bean soup, bread and butter, cheese

Long version: A. left early this morning with the boys to go to Tucson to see family, leaving just Poppy and me at home. It was horribly windy and I was freezing all day. So I made soup, because vegetable soup and cheese is my idea of a perfect meal. And there were no militant carnivores around.

Wednesday

Short version: Second verse, same as the first

Long version: More soup. More cheese. More bread. Why cook again if I don't have to? WHEEEE!

Sampling the chocolate chip cookies we made this day. Also whee.

Thursday

Short version: Fried rice, chocolate chip cookies

Long version: In honor of the holiday, I decided we should have something other than leftovers. Although, since I used leftover rice and leftover roasted bell pepper and onion in the fried rice, I'm not sure it counts.

Please admire my fancy Thanksgiving tablescape:

Paper-plate-and-Dixie-cup turkey courtesy of Jack's preschool Thanksgiving craft project.

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