Friday Food: Heeey Kiiids! It's TESTICLE TIME!

 

Friday

Short version: Bull goulash, garlic bread

Long version: I cooked the bull meat for this for almost 8 hours, and it wasn't too chewy. Certainly not falling apart, but not as tough as before. 

I also added sauerkraut, carrots, and green beans to the goulash, turning it into more of a soup, I suppose, but I am all about one-bowl meals and not cooking a separate vegetable, so there you go.

Saturday

Short version: Pork roast, roasted potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: This salad came entirely from the garden, which is pretty remarkable for mid-November. The lettuce was mostly Cubby's lettuce, which is in a sunnier spot than mine in the backyard. I did use some from my planting, though, which is also remarkable, because I didn't even cover it when we had the last cold snap. Which means that it survived 12 degrees without any protection.

The carrots survived, too, although they were covered. I dug up a few at the end of the row that I had never thinned, and they were like very, very small. Like mini baby carrots. Fine for a salad, though.

The tomatoes were from the boxes of green tomatoes that Charlie and Poppy helped me pick before the freeze a month ago. They've been slowly turning red ever since.

Sunday

Short version: Pizza, testicles, yogurt with maple syrup, carrot sticks, candy bowl

Long version: I was making bread again, so I made a pizza this time with some extra dough, rather than the usual garlic bread. I didn't have any asadero cheese, so I just used a mixture of store-brand "sharp" cheddar (more like medium cheddar), good extra sharp cheddar, and Parmesan. That, plus some bacon and Finny's sauce, was the pizza.

It was good, but because there was only one, it wasn't enough. Good thing A. fried the testicles from the lamb he killed on Friday! The kids don't mind the taste, but they're not huge fans of the squishy texture, so they each only ate one slice. And then they finished their meal off with some yogurt and maple syrup. Except Cubby, who had some walnuts.

I did not make a dessert, but the candy bowl is still well stocked from Halloween. It was fine.

Monday

Short version: Breakfast sausage patties, chicken patties, Grandma Brown's baked beans, rice, tomato salad

Long version: Oh man, this was A DAY. I sprained my ankle in the morning right before work on the steps leading into our living room, so I was gimping around all day, and then my stomach started feeling less than stellar in the late afternoon.

I still made dinner, though. Albeit an easy dinner. 

I ate some rice and declared myself done with the day. A. did all the dishes. Good man.

Tuesday

Short version: Lamb, garlic bread, frozen green peas

Long version: An even worse day, health-wise. I spent the day napping every few hours, in between helping A. butcher the ram and watching Poppy.

In truth, A. did almost all the cutting of the meat, and I just labeled the bags and got everything in the freezer.  And cleaned up. 

Poppy helped us cut up the backstrap:

It was surprising to everyone.

Though really, she mostly watched quite a bit of Berenstain Bears on YouTube.

Whatever. I got through the day, and even made dinner.

The lamb was the backstrap of the ram, which I marinated in red wine, olive oil, garlic powder, and salt, then fried in its own fat. I made a sauce for it with more red wine and the very last cube of garlic scape pesto. Tasty.

Wednesday

Short version: More lamb, leftover sausage, leftover rice, more green peas

Long version: I was feeling better and went to work, but was pretty tired by the time I got home. I hadn't cooked all of the piece of lamb backstrap the day before, so I made the last of that. Plus the leftovers.

Thursday

Short version: Pasta, leftovers, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: The only thing I made for this dinner was the pasta, which was just pasta, some of Finny's sauce I already had in the refrigerator, some sneaky pureed squash I put in there, and asadero cheese. The kids ate that, plus salad.

This was the first salad in many months that was made of store-bought lettuce. The end of an era.

A. had the leftover lamb with Finny's sauce and asadero, plus a potato I nuked, and some leftover peas.

I had a salad with salami, Parmesan, leftover peas, and the leftover tomato salad. It tasted like an antipasto salad. That is, good.

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

Tuesday Tips: A Gift for You

As some of you may have figured out by now, I am not a recipe person. To a rather ridiculous degree, actually. I don't follow them (certainly not well . . .). I don't write them. I am just not into recipes.

But I have a recipe for you today. Because as far as I can tell, there is nothing like this on the entire Internet, and that must be remedied.

It's a recipe for spiced nuts that I made up several months ago and have been making ever since. It started because my mother gave me a five-pound bag of raw almonds, and I wasn't sure what to do with them. I mean, roast them, of course, because almost all nuts are better roasted. And all nuts are better with seasonings.

But when I went searching on the all-knowing Internet for spiced almond recipes, what I found mostly fell into two categories: sweet, or spicy-hot.

I like cinnamon-sugar roasted nuts as well as the next person, but I wasn't looking to keep something covered in sugar around as a snack in my pantry. I also wasn't looking for anything that would burn my sensitive mouth, or my children's. 

So I used the general method and made up my own recipe, with a spice mixture consisting of only salt, paprika, and garlic powder. The resulting nuts are delicious on their own, but when they're eaten with sharp cheddar cheese--I prefer to take a bite of cheese, then a few nuts--they taste surprisingly like nacho cheese flavored Doritos. 

I can't explain this, but I know I like it.

I kept thinking I should actually measure ingredients and time baking and all that jazz so I could share these with you, and now seemed like a good time, what with the holidays coming up. These are, in my opinion, an excellent option for gift-giving. (Assuming, of course, that you know the recipient isn't allergic to tree nuts. But you're all intelligent enough to know that without my admonitions.)

I mean, they're tasty, convenient, portable, shelf-stable, and not filled with sugar, which I think we all get enough of this time of year. Is there a better gift for those random people you don't know well enough to buy a gift for, but feel like they deserve something? Nope. 

Here we go.

Spiced Almonds

Ingredients

3 cups raw almonds

1 egg white

1.5-2 teaspoons regular ol' table salt (I like mine pretty salty, so I use the larger amount, but if you're not into a lot of salt, you will obviously use less)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons sweet paprika (all the spiced almond recipes online that use paprika call for smoked paprika. I don't care for smoked paprika, but if you think you'd like that, have at it)

Method

Dump your raw almonds in a pile directly on a half-sheet baking pan. You do not need to line the pan, oil it, or anything else.

Beat your egg white in a small bowl with a fork for one minute. It will be frothy. 

Dump the egg white on top of your pile of almonds and mix it around with your hands until the almonds are all coated. 

Sprinkle on the salt, garlic powder, and paprika, then mix with your hands again until all the spices are evenly distributed. Spread the almonds out into one layer in the pan.

Bake in a 325 degree oven. After about ten minutes, use a spatula to stir the almonds around and loosen them from the bottom of the pan. They'll be a bit stuck, but you won't have to pry them up or anything.

Bake fifteen more minutes (for a total baking time of 25 minutes), then remove from the oven and let the almonds cool on the pan.

When they're cool, put them in a jar with a screw-on lid. 

Ta da! That's it.

And look, I even took a picture of the finished product for you.

I probably should have had them artfully strewn across a decorative platter, but . . . no. Here they are in the jar, because that's what they look like in my kitchen.

Now go forth and roast some nuts. You won't be sorry.

A Coming Attraction

 

Although I don't consider myself an expert on anything in particular, I do seem to get asked for advice quite frequently.

Not, like, relationship advice or anything, but practical advice. One time when we were living at Blackrock, my brother called me to ask if hens would lay eggs without a rooster around*. My brother was wandering around somewhere with his friend and they disagreed on this point, so naturally, the first person he thought to call and ask (this was before smart phones) was his crazy rural sister who had chickens.

I get asked a LOT how I make bread, which I already covered here in great detail. Or yogurt. Lots of kitchen questions, unsurprisingly.

Anyway, what I'm getting at here is that I am going to share my hard-earned knowledge and wisdom here, with you, every Tuesday. 

Why Tuesday? Because I love alliteration and decided to call it "Tuesday Tips." As good a reason as any, I suppose.

Also, if I know I'm scheduled to do it every week, I'm much more likely to do it at all. As evidenced by the 139 weeks straight of Fridays that I've been cataloging our dinners in the Friday Food posts.

We're starting off with a surprising bang tomorrow with an actual, written-out recipe. With measurements and everything! You all know I don't really DO recipes, but I wrote one out just for you. Get excited.

See you tomorrow.

* No, the rooster has nothing to do with egg production. Just with the fertilizing of said eggs.

We're Ready for Thanksgiving!

 

We've got decorations!

These are not Christmas lights. They are Thanksgiving lights, because they're only white and only in the kitchen, which is the center of all Thanksgiving festivities.

Window decals courtesy of my sister and applied by my very careful children.

Preschool art from one of the children. Maybe Charlie? There's no name on it, and I have now had three children go through preschool, so who knows.

Turkey centerpiece given to me by my mom seventeen years ago (yikes), with the further embellishment of two malformed squash that never matured before the frost. Festive!

We also have lots of meat on hand:

Conveniently located in the apricot tree right outside our front door. 

A. killed the ram yesterday--for reasons mostly to do with wanting to avoid inbreeding with his incoming group of offspring--and it is currently aging for a few days before we butcher it. So that, along with the bull, will ensure we have a very full meat freezer.

How are your Thanksgiving preparations coming along (if you're American, of course)? Any big plans?

Friday Food: Beef, Beef, Bull

 

Friday

Short version: Green chili bull soup

Long version: I decided I really should use the beef stock that was in a cracked jar in the freezer. I don't know why glass jars ALWAYS crack in my freezer, but they do. I don't freeze things in glass jars anymore, mostly, but this was a jar that had been sitting in the refrigerator and I just popped it into the freezer when I was afraid it was about to go bad.

And then, of course, it cracked. Annoying.

Still usable, though. I just let it thaw in a big bowl and lifted out the big pieces of glass.

So I used that for the soup, which also had half a can of tomatoes that had been in the refrigerator for awhile, onion, garlic, quite a bit of roasted green chilis, carrots, and potatoes. Plus the bull beef, of course, which this time was a package of "steaks" that I cut up small.

I simmered the meat for about four hours, but I should have done it for another couple of hours. It was still pretty chewy, though the soup was tasty.

Saturday

Short version: Leftovers and garlic bread

Long version: Cubby and I had some of the leftover soup, and everyone else had some leftover taco meat with rice and cheese.

Random photo that is not at all timely.

Cubby got a new bike a couple of weeks ago--an early Christmas present from my parents--and had a great time putting it together with A. That boy still loves his tools.

Sunday

Short version: Let's burn everything! Roasted chicken with onions and peppers, baked potatoes, calabaza squash, peanut butter cookies.

Long version: Okay, I didn't burn everything, just several things. Charlie helped me make peanut butter cookies for dessert, and I charred those. I spent about ten minutes scraping the black bottoms off, and they were eaten, but definitely tasted pretty, uh, barbecued.

Incidentally, I was not going to make a dessert this Sunday, because we have a huge bag of candy from Halloween still, of course. But then Cubby asked what I was making, and when I informed him of my plan, he said, "But candy doesn't feel like a dessert. It isn't baked."

Okay.

I also charred on one side the squash cubes I was roasting, and allllmost burned the calabaza I was steaming in a pot when the water boiled off and the calabaza started sticking to the bottom of the pot. 

And, as a fun bonus, I burned my mouth when I tasted the peppers I had randomly put in the pan with the chicken. Apparently, immature Alma paprika peppers are spicy.

The chicken and baked potatoes survived unscathed.

Monday

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: Actually, the same leftovers as Saturday, but no garlic bread. The kids all ate rice, taco meat, cheese, and sour cream. A. ate the last of the bull soup, with some of the hot peppers from the roasting chicken added. I had a salad.

Tuesday

Short version: Meatloaf, roasted potatoes, mashed squash, frozen green peas

Long version: Miss Amelia gave us a couple of pounds of real ground beef from her son's ranch last weekend, and Cubby wistfully asked me if I could make meatloaf with it. I don't make meatloaf from the cheap Sysco ground beef, because it's too mushy and wet, so I haven't made meatloaf in awhile. There wasn't quite enough of Miss Amelia's ground beef to make all the meatloaf for this family, but I mixed it with some of the cheap stuff, and it was good.

Wednesday

Short version: Bunless cheeseburgers, rice, leftover squash and peas

Long version: Just some more of the Sysco ground beef I had left in the refrigerator, knowing I would need something I could make quickly after work. Cheeseburgers and rice are it.

Random photo break time!

Watching Daddy's house demolition from a safe distance.

Thursday

Short version: Bull meat, pasta with Funny's sauce, frozen green beans

Long version: I don't really know what this cut of meat was. It was labeled "London broil," but it was labeled by us and we don't know anything. It was very thick. I marinated it in vinegar and oil, plus spices, to hopefully tenderize it a bit. Then I just seared it, then sliced it as thin as I could against the grain. It was still basically raw inside. I put the slices back in the hot pan--now off the heat--and mixed in some of Finny's sauce and finely grated Romano cheese. It tasted really good, but it was still pretty chewy.

I think that's going to be the continuing theme with this bull meat.

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

House Progress . . . and Rabbits

 

So! When we last left our intrepid house-rehabber, he had pulled down the ceilings and was slowly and arduously wheelbarrowing the detritus into the dumpster parked outside the house. He also continued removing paneling from the walls to expose the original stone or plaster, revealing all the many colors the house was painted inside at one point.

He definitely filled that dumpster, which was picked up last week, but he did not quite finish the clean-up. Even absent that handy dumpster, however, the work must go on, so he started filling trash cans and old feed tubs for transport to the dump.

There are still a couple of rooms that need to be cleaned up, but it's beginning to look more like a house that can be worked on, rather than a house that should just be razed.

It's a long time before we will be inhabiting this house, but we've moved in some new tenants in the meantime.

Hasenpfeffer!

We have, in the past, discussed getting meat rabbits, but I'm always reluctant to add yet more animals to our menagerie. Unlike A. and the children, who want allll the animals. 

However, when our neighbor asked us if we would like to take his granddaughter's 4-H meat rabbits--she's no longer doing 4-H, and he's a cattle rancher, not a rabbit-fancier--I couldn't really say no. He wouldn't even take any money for the rabbits. Or the home-built hutch he insisted we take, as well. Or the half-full bag of rabbit food he likewise bestowed upon us.

So now we have six meat rabbits. Two bucks, and four does. 

Our neighbor had them all in the hutch, but we felt bad having them in such a small enclosure.

Jasper sat here by the hutch for HOURS the day we brought the rabbits home. He wasn't the least aggressive, interestingly, he just appeared fascinated. Maybe he thought they needed herding.

Rabbits can actually be somewhat difficult to keep in, due to their habits of digging and gnawing. That's why we put them on the concrete porch of the casita next door. No rabbit is gnawing or digging out of a concrete-floored room with concrete walls. 

We were originally going to separate the bucks with two does each by having the white ones in the casita and the brown ones in the hutch, but we decided instead to put a divider down the center of the casita porch so the brown ones have more room, too. A. is going to do that today.

We might have to use the hutch to separate the bucks after the does have babies, because we're not sure how aggressive and problematic the bucks might become with the young. To be honest, we're not sure about anything, because we've never had rabbits before.

We'll learn, though. And isn't that what life is all about? Growing and learning every day?

Right. Or something.

A Round of Applause for Karen.

You see that cool header there with the photo and the nicely placed text in my favorite color?

I did not do that.

I wanted to do that. I tried to upload that photo into my new theme in Blogger, but it wouldn't re-size automatically, and then I was all, "Okay, that's that," and I gave up.

I am really, really not a tech person. More like a Luddite.

But then! Karen., who is a professional design person, and a regular reader here, and also someone I have never met in real life, offered to help me design a header.

Perhaps it was apparent that it desperately needed to be done, and that I was not the person to do it?

Perhaps.

Anyway. 

I provided that photo--which was actually taken by me and shows the pasture across the road from our house--but she did everything else. A few e-mails and questions later, and she sent me that nicely designed header in a file that was all ready to go and upload to Blogger. Just like that! Like it was easy! Because it was. For her.

Hooray for Karen.! 

We can all thank her for providing us with something pretty to look at up there, instead of just the boring old template that I would definitely have left forever and ever.

Thank you, Karen., for saving me from my own technical ineptitude. We all appreciate it.