Snapshots: What Have We Here?

What we have is whatever I found that I had already taken pictures of and not yet posted, because I have not done much worth photographing this week, what with working and gimping around on a swollen ankle.

So! Let's see what I found.

Some nice carrots from the garden.

Two cowboys and a dog.

Funny dog photo.

Why do I have this photo of laundry? I think to show how tall the asparagus behind the line will get. 

And . . . yeah, that's all I got. That's my life, snapshotted.

I'll do better next week. I hope.

Friday Food: Everyone Fed, the End

Between the county fair last weekend, starting work for teacher in-service this week, and a pretty bad sprained ankle mid-week, my only goal was "everyone fed." 

I met that goal, but not much more.

Friday 

Short version: Bunless cheeseburgers, bread and butter, cucumbers and carrot sticks

Long version: I actually managed to make cheeseburgers from the ground beef I had thawed. Given that we spent another five hours at the county fair, I was quite proud of myself for the accomplishment.

Standards are low these days.

Saturday

Short version: Extemporaneous tacos, cucumbers, hot chocolate with marshmallows, parade candy

Long version: It's our tradition to buy the kids dinner at the county fair concession stand on the last day after the kids' rodeo. There's only one concession stand, and by the end of the fair, they usually only have hot dogs and chips left, but the kids always enjoy it.

However.

Just as the calf riding was getting underway, a storm blew in and the torrential rain put a quick end to the event. That's the last event of the rodeo, anyway, so we just went home. 

These young cowboys were very disappointed to miss their chance to ride. Disappointed to miss the hot dogs and chips, too.

Luckily, I still had a pound of ground beef from the day before that hadn't been cooked, so I browned that, added half a pint jar of pinto beans, garlic powder, chile powder, mild salsa, cumin, and salt, and put that in corn tortillas with cheese. 

I made the hot chocolate to console disappointed children, forgetting they had bags stuffed with candy from the fair parade. And then, when I was reading in bed after dinner--county fair exhaustion always drives me to my bed--they got into their bags and ate . . . a lot of candy.

Oh well. The fair is but once a year.

Sunday

Short version: Pot roast, spaghetti with pesto, summer skillet, raw green beans, chocolate ice cream sandwiches

Long version: I made the pot roast in the morning, but I didn't quite let it cook long enough. So then I had to slice it and simmer it again just before dinner. Oops.

It was fine.

The ice cream sandwiches were left over from a social sponsored by a local group at the county fair. The lady who supplied them didn't want to take them home and offered them to me since we were about to head home. My children were more than happy to take them off her hands.

Once the calabacitas and tomatoes start coming in larger numbers, I pretty much always have some of this on hand.

This is the (uncooked) summer skillet. Sometimes I put onions in there, too. This time it was just the calabacitas, tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil, cooked down until very soft and bit caramelized. So good. My children do not agree, but that's fine. More for me!

Monday

Short version: Leftovers skillet, raw tomatoes

Long version: And here's where the crazy really started. I worked all day, and then had to go pick up Cubby from his first football practice of the year. But since I wasn't sure how long their practices were going to be, I got there way early and sat there for over an hour. I didn't get home with him until about 7:30 p.m.

Luckily, I had started dinner before I left home, so A. could feed everyone else easily. 

I had baked half a dozen potatoes in the oven with the pot roast on Sunday, so I just chopped those up and fried them with the leftover taco meat and beans in butter, along with some more spices. I was going to add shredded cheese when I got home, but it was fine as it was.

Well, I thought so. The younger boys told me there were too many potatoes and not enough meat. 

Unrepentant carnivores, the lot of them.

Tuesday

Short version: Leftovers again

Long version: I was gone at an off-site training all day and didn't get home until A. was leaving with the kids for judo* at 5:45 p.m. So he fed them his own combination of leftover pot roast, spaghetti with pesto, and the summer skillet.

Pretty sure they picked around the calabacitas, but that's fine. I wasn't there to see it.

Wednesday

Short version: Bull tacos, cucumber spears

Long version: I had taken out a bag of prepared bull meat before I left for work. When I got home, I found most of an onion in the refrigerator from Cubby making an onion-heavy omelet for breakfast. So I used the onion, all the Roma tomatoes on the counter, and the bull meat--plus a lot of butter/oil, garlic powder, cumin, and chile powder--to make taco meat to go in corn tortillas with cheese.

Thursday

Short version: Yet more leftovers, plus some raw green beans and giant donuts

Long version: I had to stop at the tiny store in the village to get milk, and while I was there, I saw a package of flour tortillas. I very rarely buy flour tortillas, but I did this time. They made for a very quick dinner when I put the leftover bull meat and some cheese in them and fried them in butter.

The donuts were brought to school by our very nice team of IT guys. They brought three dozen giant donuts from a city bakery. There were only 16 staff members at the school, and not all of us even eat donuts, so when I saw the boxes were still almost full by the end of the day, I figured nobody would mind if I took four of them home. 

I chose four identical chocolate-frosted donuts (because then there couldn't be any fights over who got what), each the size of a toddler's face, and the children were very happy.

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

* I think I haven't mentioned before they've started judo. The guy we used to buy milk from is an instructor and started classes for kids in the community center of the village about ten miles from us. All four of them have been doing it since about July, and they all like it and will continue. 

T.T.: Fair Footwear

Before I met A., I had never been to a fair. I had been to carnivals, with the rides and all, but I had never been to an agriculturally-based fair.

In the past twenty years, however, I have been to many. County fairs, state fairs, some very tiny (here), some very big (The Great New York State Fair--always in caps, always with the "Great" adjective). And one of the most important things I have learned is what to wear on my feet.

Comfortable, closed shoes.

County fair shoes, Day 1.

County fair shoes, Days 2 and 3.

This is no time for cute sandals. If you're going to a fair, chances are you're going to be walking a LOT. Hence the requirement for comfort. 

And where you are walking will almost certainly not be paved. It will probably be a combination of dirt, grass, dust, and mud. Or worse, if you visit the livestock barns. That's why the shoes should be closed.

So that's the main tip for today: If you're heading to a fair, make sure your shoes are comfortable and protect your feet.

A secondary tip: It always feels ten degrees hotter at a fair no matter what the actual temperature is. And you will almost certainly be in the sun at least part of the time while you're walking around. Therefore, you should either be fully covered by clothes--pants, long sleeves, and a hat that covers your neck--or wear sunscreen. AND, brings LOTS of water. LOTS AND LOTS. Water bottles that have been half-filled and put in the freezer the night before work well, because they'll stay cold.

Oh! And! Bring food. Especially if you will have children with you. You will not want to be buying them food at a fair all day. I mean, unless you want to spend a small fortune on funnel cakes and french fries. I never went to The Great New York State Fair with children, but I remember being a bit shocked at how much it cost just to feed A. and me. 

Okay, this was supposed to just be what to wear on your feet--remember: closed and comfortable--but then I remembered a couple of other important things.

So. Good shoes, sun protection, water, and food.

And probably a nap afterwards, because man, fairs are tiring. Fun! But tiring.

Snapshots: Summer's End

I go back to work tomorrow for the in-service week at school, and then the kids start back the week after that. So this is pretty much it for our summer break.

We took advantage of our last week off to go fishing at the lake near Cubby's friend's house.

And a little wading, too, of course.

Adventure Van waited patiently at the top of the hill.

Calvin caught the only fish, but it was too small to keep. (His hand is in a sling because he landed on it when he jumped off the pony. He's fine now.)

The county fair is the real culmination of the summer. It's a big deal in our county. A large percentage of the kids raise animals to show and sell at the livestock auction. My children don't do that, but they do all enter something for the indoor exhibits. 

This year we had a flower collage from Poppy; a diorama of a pig farm from Jack; a wood carving from Calvin; a forged pony bit and a wooden plane from Cubby; and canned pickled beets, sourdough bread, and calabacitas from me.

The family crafts (that's the pony bit on top of the diorama box.)

Every single thing up there got a first place ribbon. Poppy's collage got Reserve Champion (not sure of the category for that), Cubby got Reserve Champion for the pony bit and Grand Champion for the plane, and I got Grand Champion for my pickled beets. 

Cue Queen's "We Are the Champions."

The first day of the fair is the day all the exhibit items are turned in, and is also when all the animals are brought in and weighed. That was the day of the horse show, as well.

I believe this is the gelding class, but don't quote me on that.

The second day is the rest of the livestock showing, including sheep, goats, bottle calves, and steers. All of my children had friends who were showing--even Poppy's friend, who is only five and showed a bottle calf way bigger than she is--and their friends all placed, so that was nice.

The last day is the parade, the horse racing events--barrel, pole, and flag--activities for the little kids, and the kids' rodeo.

The parade on Main Street, at which insane amounts of candy are tossed.

And Poppy's much-anticipated first try at goat dressing. That's her in the blue shirt on the left. All they have to do is get the t-shirt over the goat's head, and the little kids always get some help from the older ones. The little ones also all get a dollar for participating, which is very exciting.

The boys' highlight of the fair is calf riding, and this was Jack's first year trying it. He did well, and didn't get hurt at all.

As it happened, he was the only one of the boys who got to do it, as a big storm broke just after he had his turn. So the bigger boys didn't get to ride, and they were very disappointed. 

There's always next year.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: Fishing and the Fair

Friday 

Short version: Barbecue bull, boiled potatoes, raw green beans

Long version: I should probably be saving the easy things--like the already-processed bull meat fried with barbecue sauce--for the beginning of the school year, when I have much less time. But, well, I didn't. And there's plenty of bull still in the freezer.

Saturday

Short version: Meatballs, garlic bread, tomato and cucumber salad

Long version: I had to bake bread, so while that was in the oven, I also roasted a small pan of tomatoes and a few cloves of garlic. Then I used my immersion blender to puree that with fresh basil and balsamic vinegar, and that was the sauce for the meatballs.

I had a mostly empty bottle of mustard, so I added olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper to that bottle and shook it all up to make a salad dressing. That's what I used for the tomatoes and cucumbers. Yum.

Sunday

Short version: Steak, mashed potatoes, carrot sticks with curry dip, brownies

Long version: I don't know why mashed potatoes seem like a cold weather sort of food, but I certainly don't make them much in the summer. Maybe because all that mashing makes me too hot.

Monday

Short version: Pork, leftover mashed potatoes, tomato and cucumber salad

Long version: Pork country ribs cooked in the morning in the oven (along with some blueberry/oat muffins), then fried in their own rendered fat at dinnertime.

I am very happy it's the season for tomato and cucumber salad. It's one of those things that is really not worth making with the tasteless produce from a grocery store.

Tuesday

Short version: Tuna/rice skillet, apricot popsicles

Long version: We went fishing!

This big lake is an hour from us, but only about fifteen minutes from Cubby's friend's house. He stayed there Monday night, so we took everyone--including his friend--fishing after we picked him up on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, the only fish caught was a small catfish, so we had canned fish for dinner instead. I didn't actually plan that, but I'm always wrecked after a fishing expedition, and tuna is easy.

All I did was dump some cooked, frozen rice into a skillet with a bunch of butter and bacon grease and fry that with two cans of drained tuna and some frozen peas. And then mayonnaise and shredded cheese. Sorta white and bland, but serviceable.

Wednesday

Short version: Barbecue stir-fry, fresh bread and butter, carrot/cucumber sticks and raw green beans

Long version: I had taken out beef stir-fry meat, but didn't actually have the motivation (or the appropriate vegetables) to stir-fry. So instead I marinated it in the last of the mustard vinaigrette, fried it in butter, and added barbecue sauce.

This is the time of year when our vegetable is whatever I pull from the garden, usually raw. Although when I start to get calabacitas in greater numbers--like next week--there will be more cooking of vegetables.

Thursday

Short version: Pork tacos, cucumbers, canned peaches

Long version: We spent over five hours at the county fair, watching animals get prepared for showing, viewing the horse show, and running around like maniacs with friends.

Well, that last one was what my kids did. Despite my lack of actually running, I was still totally wiped out when we got home. The fair has that effect.

Maybe I should have taken a break midday like Jack did.

So all I did when we got home was fry a can of commodities pork in butter with garlic powder, chile powder, and cumin, then put that in corn tortillas with cheese.

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

T.T.: De-Shelling Hardboiled Eggs

I really dislike peeling hardboiled eggs. Even when the shells come off easily, the little pointy bits of shell always make my fingers hurt after a couple of eggs. And then, of course, everyone knows those particularly infuriating eggs that refuse to release their shells without half the egg going with them.

So, except for when I'm making deviled eggs, I don't actually shell them. Instead I use a spoon. You can do this for anything in which the eggs are going to be chopped up anyway.

Start by using the edge of a spoon to tap and gently crack all the way around the equator of the egg. Then break it in half and pull the two halves apart. 

Next, use the spoon to scoop the egg out of the shell on one half.

Let the spoon do the work.

Repeat with the other half, using the spoon to scrape off any egg that's sticking to the shell.

And that's it. A shell-less hardboiled egg with no sore fingers or shredded egg sticking to the shell.

Snapshots: Two Inches of Rain!

Behold:

It has been months since we've seen anything like this in our rain gauge.

All that rain filled some of the holes the children have randomly dug in the pasture. And so of course they must play in them.

Just like a wading pool, except mostly mud.

And another good puddle outside the gate that apparently is perfect for lying down in.

All that rain has of course meant that I haven't had to water the garden lately, which I very much appreciate. I'm starting to get some good harvests of summer vegetables from it. 

That's basil in the colandar, which I made into pesto for the freezer, and those big cucumbers became refrigerator dill pickles.

Speaking of the garden, A. built a stone wall in the front of the vegetable garden by the driveway to replace the rotting board fence with peeling paint.

Old nasty fence with the wall behind it (and a LOT of tomatoes in front of it).

And with the boards removed. But posts left so I can put fencing on them next year for green beans.

And finally, I was able to pick the first sunflower for the return of the sunflower and sage table arrangement.

Now we know it's summer. (That greenish yellow thing in the front is a flowering head of dill, which I was using for a contrast to the purple until I had the sunflower.)

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.