Friday Food: Where the Antelope Roam

This has been quite a week. A saddening, frightening, and confusing week for everyone who has followed the news. Food seems to be a silly thing to be talking about when there are so many other conversations to be had that are so much more important, but still, we eat.

Friday

Short version: Antelope, boiled potato chunks, frozen green beans

Long version: Thanks to a neighbor, we unexpectedly find ourselves with quite a few pounds of antelope, which we have only eaten once. I'm always a little wary of game meat until I taste it, because it varies so much based on the animal and the conditions in which it died and was processed.

When it doubt, though, marinade is my friend.

So I marinated a couple of small roasts in yogurt, lemon juice, salt, and garlic powder, then seared them, sliced them, and returned them to the pan to finish cooking.

Verdict: Very good. Not gamy. Jack, who is not generally a meat-eater, even had three servings. Hooray for palatable meat!

Saturday

Short version: More antelope, leftover potatoes, bread and butter, frozen peas

Long version: This was the backstrap, which I didn't marinate because I was now confident it wouldn't taste gamy. Instead I just seared the two pieces of backstrap, then sliced them and added them back to the pan with some garlic scape pesto to finish cooking.

A good combination.

Sunday

Short version: Carnitas-style pork, garlic bread, green salad with ranch dressing, butterscotch pudding

Long version: Due to a confluence of milk sources, I found myself with seven and a half gallons of milk in the refrigerator on Thursday. It seemed advisable to use six cups of it for pudding.

I have never made butterscotch pudding, but I was kind of low on cocoa powder, so I thought I'd try it instead of the chocolate I would normally make. Every time I make pudding, I am surprised at how long it takes to make pudding. The heating of the milk really can't be hurried, lest it scorch, so it's kind of like making risotto or a roux: Long periods of contemplative stirring.

Or, in my case, impatient stirring, because it takes even longer to heat up the milk for the double batches I'm always making. Like more than half an hour.

Anyway.

I used this recipe and it was very good, except only A. and Cubby really liked it. Boo. Guess I'd better get more cocoa powder, because there is no point in spending all that time making pudding only half the family will eat.

"Chocolate or bust," says Poppy the tough girl.

Monday

Short version: Bacon, pasta with garlic scape pesto, frozen peas

Long version: Nothing to see here. Just more pesto. Forever.

I need to make sure to cook the pesto a little more when I'm using it for a pasta sauce, though, because just putting it straight on the hot pasta doesn't tame the spiciness of the raw garlic scapes enough for the smaller children. Microwaving it for a few seconds is enough.

I was reading something about garlic scapes just the other day, and the author claimed they had a "mellow sweetness." I had to wonder what kind of garlic he had, because ours have no mellowness at all. Sweetness, either. You try eating one of our scapes raw and it will punch you in the mouth with the garlic burn. But after a few seconds of cooking, no problem.

Tuesday

Short version: Tuna patties, leftover pasta, steamed broccoli trees

Long version: One nice thing about having a continuous stream of toddlers in the house for the past decade is that we can continue with the broccoli tree game. "It's a broccoli tree!" They take a bite. "The tree is losing its leaves! It must be fall!" Another bite. "More leaves gone! Winter is coming!" And so on until the tree is felled and used for firewood.

The fun we have at the dinner table is just never-ending.

Wednesday

Short version: Italian sliders, leftover pasta, roasted sweet potatoes/bell pepper/onion, green salad

Long version: I can't decide if these should be called Italian sliders or flattened meatballs, but I think the former sounds more appetizing. It's just ground beef seasoned like meatballs, but without the bread crumbs and egg, and then cooked as very small hamburgers before being covered in marinara sauce and melted asadero cheese (our--much cheaper--substitute for mozzarella).

Whatever you call them, they're very good, and much less time-consuming than meatballs.

Thursday

Short version: Antelope stir-fry, rice, salad

Long version: Marinated antelope, frozen vegetables, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, peanut butter, done.

It was 81 degrees in my kitchen when we sat down to eat. That does not make me happy.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week? And more importantly, how are you feeling these days?

Knock, Knock

Did you know knock-knock jokes are a two-year-old's joke of choice? At least, they're Poppy's. She can even tell one all on her own.

Here is her favorite joke, just in case you need to entertain a two-year-old in your life:

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Meyer.

Meyer who?

Meyer nosy!

Okay, so it's funnier when she tells it and then laughs hysterically at her own wit. Twelve times in a row.

The repetition can get a little tedious, but I'll take all the laughter I can get these days.

What I Hold On To

These past few months have felt like a continuous figurative body slam any time I read the news. And the past week? Slam after slam after slam after slam.

There are many things I could say. Many thoughts I have, and far too many emotions to go into here.

So instead, I focus on the things I can hold close to me.

The potatoes that we planted over two months ago are coming up. Finally. They need lots of water, as does everything else, because it's going to be almost a hundred degrees every day this week. But I'm grateful to have so many things to water, because that means food for my family is right here, in my soil.

I have three tiny tomatoes on one of the plants. The day of the First Tomato draws nigh, and there will be much rejoicing.

There are more eggs in the incubator, so I hope to have another round of chicks hatching in a few weeks. The chicks that hatched out several weeks ago are outside and growing well.

The big boy lamb born last week unfortunately died--he never would suckle, though we don't know why--but the four ewe lambs are doing well.

And of course, there are these goobers. I hold them closest of all.

I hope you have something grounding to hold on to, too. Be well.

Friday Food: Mmmm, MSG

Friday

Short version: Leftover lamb, pasta with garlic scape pesto, frozen peas

Long version: I pulled the meat out of the lamb stew and fried it, mostly because Charlie dislikes anything stewed and I was disguising it.

For the pasta, I just used some more of the garlic scape and lamb's quarters pesto I had made the day before, plus the last of some pre-shredded Parmesan that's been hanging out in the refrigerator for a long time. How does it last that long without getting moldy?

Never mind. I probably don't want to know.

Saturday

Short version: Sausage and pasta skillet

Long version: Some of that cheap Sysco breakfast sausage fried and then combined with the leftover pasta, peas, and some shredded cheddar. Pretty good, actually. The kids really liked it. Unsurprisingly.

Sunday

Short version: Roasted chicken, baked potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: Success with the chicken! I salted the chicken heavily a few hours before cooking it, and then rubbed it with butter, thyme, pepper, and garlic powder right before putting it in the oven. I also shoved into the cavity some of the garlic stalks from a couple of plants A. had pulled up, and then, when I made a drink, I put in the lemon rind I had used.

It was another of those disturbingly large chickens, so I put it in the oven at 3 p.m. at like 425 degrees and left it there until 5:30, at which point it was definitely done.

I also put in some potatoes and the two heads of garlic A. had given me.

The high heat meant that the juices and herbs got scorched on the pan, though, so instead of of making a sauce with the pan juices I made one with some chicken stock, one of the heads of roasted garlic, and some cold butter. It was thin, but flavorful.

No dessert this Sunday because Miss Georgia gave the kids some M&Ms at church and then A. took them all to the mountains later and got them all a popsicle at some point. I figured the Sunday dessert had been taken care of, so I didn't make anything.

There was still snow in them thar hills. The children were pleased.

Monday

Short version: Re-combined leftovers with sausage and peas

Long version: Browned sausage, diced leftover potatoes, a bit of diced chicken, some frozen peas, and the rest of the liquid from the sheep stew.

Definitely not exciting, but serviceable.

Tuesday

Short version: Eggs, bacon, pinto beans, personalized garlic breads, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: Everyone got bacon, but I let each child choose either eggs or beans. There was a fifty-fifty split, but who cares! The real excitement was the garlic bread the size of their faces.

I didn't mean for them to be so big. They look pretty small when I cut the dough up, but then they rose, and rose again in the oven, and then there were these big breads for each child.

They didn't mind. They didn't have any trouble finishing them, either. And they sure do have a good time kneading in their chosen spices:

Wednesday

Short version: Pizza, frozen peas

Long version: Jack brought me to the refrigerator in the morning to point out the sourdough starter jar that was overflowing its banks. So, since I had to take some of the starter out of the jar, I decided to make pizza for dinner.

I also had to harvest more garlic scapes, with which I made more pesto, so pizza seemed like a reasonable option.

I had already taken out some ground beef, so one pizza was ground beef--just browned and then mixed with some of the pesto--and onion, and one was just cheese.

For the sauce, I opened a can of pasta sauce that was in one of Miss Georgia's boxes of food. The pasta sauce had both high fructose corn syrup and MSG in it. It was . . . not very good.

I fixed it reasonably well by adding a small can of plain tomatoes and vinegar to it--to mitigate the sweetness--plus some olive oil and the pesto. It ended up being acceptable, although I would never buy that sauce myself.

Thursday

Short version: Spaghetti and meatballs, steamed broccoli, roasted green beans

Long version: I still had about a pound of ground beef left, so I added eggs, the bread crumbs I usually have in the freezer, milk, garlic powder, salt, and basil to make the meatballs.

The pasta sauce was the leftover pizza sauce, with cream added. We had spaghetti because that was the only kind of pasta I had left. Every child proclaimed spaghetti their favorite kind of pasta. They are actually getting old enough that the eating of the spaghetti isn't a complete mess. Well, except Poppy. She still makes a mess.

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

For the Graduates (And Everyone Else)

Dedicated to G. and all her classmates. Congratulations to the Class of 2020. 

When my older brother graduated from college, I put together for him an abridged version of Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of the Open Road."

This is, perhaps, not the most usual thing for a 21-year-old to give to her 23-year-old brother, but what can I say? I was an English major.

Anyway.

The reason I put together an abridged version is because DANG, that is a LONG poem. And parts of it are, in my opinion, pretentious and unnecessary. (You didn't know I was a literary critic, did you?) But there are still so many good lines in it.

I revisited it this week because my eldest niece is graduating from high school this month.

And what a time to be graduating, right?

I still believe, though, that those first few lines of the poem are some of the most inspiring for anyone embarking on a new phase of life.

Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

Such optimism! Such breezy self-confidence!

So maybe that long brown path seems a little more treacherous these days, but the open road awaits for the graduates, there to be traveled. And that is still a glorious prospect. Even if it doesn't seem like it right now.

P.S. Another line from this poem that seems particularly appropriate right now: "Out of the dark confinement! out from behind the screen!" Whitman was obviously speaking of a different kind of screen, but still. Spookily prescient, no? Get out from behind the screen! After you finish reading this, of course.

What To Do If You See a Lion

I found this piece of paper randomly on a kitchen chair the other day, written in Cubby's handwriting:

It reads as follows:

"What to do if you see a lion . . . you should run strait at them duck the mouth. Then come back up and bite the neck. Then rip a chunk off. (Repeat until it dies.)"

I have no idea what precipitated this instructional sheet. I can only be thankful we don't have any lions around here, lest my sons decide to put this advice into practice.

Friday Food: It's Scape Season!

Friday

Short version: Chicken stir-fry, rice

Long version: A. bought these huge bone-in chicken breasts when he was last at the store. I was kind of grossed out at how big they are, actually, imagining what the chicken that carries around such a breast must look like, but it is convenient that I only needed to cut the meat from one up into chunks for the stir-fry. It ended up being two whole cups of meat, which I marinated for a couple of hours.

The rest of the stir-fry was frozen stir-fry vegetables with some sliced onions I had cooked the day before and extra frozen green beans. The sauce was soy sauce, vinegar, garlic powder, ginger, and peanut butter.

Jack was very happy.

Saturday

Short version: Chicken tacos with homemade corn tortillas, refried beans, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: I poached the remaining two giant chicken breasts and then shredded the meat from them before combining that with some sauteed diced onion, two tiny cans of tomato juice from Miss Georgia's box of food, and a packet of taco seasoning from the same source. The seasoning didn't actually have any sketchy ingredients in it, but the combination of the tomato juice and the seasoning packet made for some pretty salty chicken.

I adjusted the amount of salt in the tortillas accordingly, though, and it was fine.

Sunday

Short version: Breakfast sausage patties, fried eggs, bread and butter, carrot sticks, banana "ice cream"

Long version: We woke up to the year's final lamb this morning. It was a nice big boy.

Both boys smiling.

So this year's final lamb count: 4 girls, 1 boy and no ewes left to deliver.

My original plan for dinner included a soup made from the sausage and the liquid from poaching the chicken, and peanut butter cookies for dessert. But then I spent some time chasing wandering sheep in the late afternoon and I was hot by the time I got them all in and had to start dinner, so I nixed both the soup and the baking.

Monday

Short version: Chicken-rice taco skillet

Long version: It's been awhile since we've had meat+rice+cheese, but here it is! Courtesy of leftover taco chicken, leftover rice, and the ten-pound block of cheese I get from Sysco.

Tuesday

Short version: Crispy chicken and rice burritos, carrot sticks, frozen green beans

Long version: One of Miss Georgia's deliveries included a large package of flour tortillas. My children were THRILLED, as I do not ever buy flour tortillas. They've been happily eating them for breakfast and lunch. There were just a few left, so I heated up the leftover chicken and rice, rolled it into the tortillas, and fried them for a minute on each side until they were crispy.

I was pretty sure the children would like this, but I wasn't prepared for how much they liked it.

From Cubby: "Well, this is the best food ever."

From Jack: "I could eat a million of these."

From Charlie: "Delicious and nutritious."

From Poppy: Silence, because she was too busy stuffing her face.

Too bad for them the tortillas are all gone.

Wednesday

Short version: Tuna thing, fresh bread and butter

Long version: I made bacon for breakfast, and there was quite a bit left over. So I started by cooking diced onion in bacon fat, then throwing in the leftover diced bacon, a 12-ounce can of tuna, a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise, some frozen peas, and about a cup of shredded cheese.

It was really quite tasty, although I have no idea what to call it. "Tuna thing" sounds appetizing, right?

Thursday

Short version: Sheep stew with pesto, bread with pesto, asparagus with pesto

Long version: Yay, garlic scapes!

A few of the many rows of garlic A. has.

Charlie started counting all the garlic plants but stopped at about 1,400 plants. Some of those are smaller and won't be producing usable scapes, but we still have many, many scapes to use.

I started with pesto.

I used the food processor to combine scapes, a few lamb's quarters plants we pulled up in the pasture, a handful of walnuts, and olive oil to make a pesto.

Then I put it in everything.

The lamb stew was just stew meat from the wether with a lot of sliced onion, a small jar of pureed tomatoes, the liquid from poaching chicken for the chicken tacos (it wasn't really a stock, because it was literally just the water and chicken), and some carrot and potato chunks. To that I added a few spoonfuls of the pesto, and the whole thing turned out really well.

As did the bread for the children, which was simply slices of bread with butter and pesto spread on them and then broiled.

And the asparagus, which was store asparagus that A. bought when he had to go get hay. I just cooked it covered in some butter, then added the pesto and a tiny bit of shredded parmesan that's been sitting around in the refrigerator forever.

Pesto makes everything better.

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