Friday Food: A Non-Food Surprise at the End

Friday

Short version: Leftover goulash, fried eggs, mashed potatoes, green salad, roasted bell pepper/onion/sweet potato

Long version: The MiL arrived the night before for a visit, and what did I serve her for her first meal in our home? Yup, leftovers and fried eggs.

I also gave her a list of things to pick up at the grocery store in Albuquerque before she drove to our house, because that is standard protocol for guests driving into the great emptiness where we reside.

Saturday

Short version: Italian sausage, roasted potatoes, peppers and onions, green peas

Long version: Of her own volition, the MiL stopped at an Italian market in Albuquerque and bought fifteen pounds of Italian sausage for us. She was determined we should have good sausage. Apparently, all it takes is driving three hours, because it was good sausage. Everyone was very excited.

I threw this meal together very quickly after we got home somewhat late from an excursion to a mission church forty minutes away where they have Mass once a month. The same one we took my parents to and then had a picnic. I didn't pack a picnic this time. Good thing we had some quick-cooking sausage and those handy par-cooked roasted potatoes when we got home after 5 p.m.

The peppers and onions were a frozen stir-fry mix. I had fresh peppers, but this was quicker.

Sunday

Short version: Pizza, green salad, chocolate pudding pie

Long version: I always make pizza for guests, so that's nothing new. The pie is new.

You may notice I never make pie. Well, actually, you probably didn't notice, but I don't. I don't actually like pie that much, and I just don't have any practice or skill at it. The MiL, however, is a Pie Master. She actually won a ribbon at the fair for her pie once.

Unlike me, Cubby does like pie, so I've decided he should learn from the MiL and be our resident pie expert.

So the MiL and Cubby made a crust (with all butter, because I don't have any lard on hand):

Master Pie Class in my kitchen.

The rest of the children feel as I do about fruit pies, but they do all love pudding. So I made chocolate pudding (using this recipe) for this pie:

I'm sure there's some trick to avoiding those unsightly cracks, but . . . I don't care.

And then I took a picture of a piece covered in whipped cream and sent it to my dad, because it was his birthday:

Happy Birthday, Dad! I got you a piece of pie you don't even get to eat! Who's the favorite child NOW?

Monday

Short version: Tuna salad, bread and butter, carrot sticks, raw tomatoes, iced animal cracker cookies

Long version: We took an excursion down the hill to a ranch where A. fixed a crack in a brick house for the lady who gave us Samson. The MiL wanted to see the horses there, and there's an abandoned settlement there with yet another historic church.

We're chock-full of historic churches around here.

Because we didn't go until the afternoon, I brought a dinner picnic with us, which we ate in the shade of the church. Here are some pictures.

Poppy was the only child who actually sat down to eat. The others took their sandwiches to go.

I'm so glad I live in a place with so many lovely churches. Ugly churches are a sad thing to me.

I mean, look at all the decoration on the altar. All this for a place with maybe a hundred people in its heyday, and certainly almost no money.

Tuesday

Short version: Carnitas tacos with homemade corn tortillas, refried beans

Long version: I also always make tortillas for guests. We had this meal early so the MiL could drive back to stay in Albuquerque before a very early flight the next morning.

Wednesday

Short version: Scrambled eggs, potatoes/bacon/cheese, roasted sweet potato/pepper/onion, green salad, baked custard

Long version: I'm still trying to finish the last box of huge potatoes we got at Christmas. They're starting to sprout, so I need to partially roast some more and get them in the freezer. I will conquer the potatoes in the end.

I made the custard specifically to use up some milk that was past its date, as well as some of the ten dozen eggs in my refrigerator. (Long story.) Unfortunately, I found when I heated the milk--as well as a full cup of cream--on the stove that the milk was far enough past its date that it curdled. Ew.

I had already separated and mixed eggs and egg yolks with sugar, so I opened new milk and tried again. This recipe calls for two cups of milk, a cup of cream, three whole eggs, and two egg yolks. I made a double recipe this time, with five cups of milk, one cup of cream, seven whole eggs, and three yolks.

I couldn't tell a difference from the original, so it's nice to know I can make it with less of the cream and separated yolks and still get a good result. Cream is sometimes hard for us to get (as you well know), and I hate separating eggs and storing random whites in my refrigerator, so this is how I'll do it from now on.

Thursday

Short version: Chicken drumsticks, potato soup, steamed broccoli

Long version: Cubby had a sore throat, so I made him some potato soup for dinner. He was feeling better by dinner, though, and also ate two drumsticks.

I meant the chicken to be for Charlie and Jack. Charlie ate three drumsticks. Jack ate one, then two servings of soup and two of broccoli.

A. ate everything, along with some leftover pork. Poppy ate everything, too.

I just never do know who is going to eat what, and in what quantity. Good thing I made the whole package of drumsticks, because they were all eaten.

This was the night that we got the official notice of a three-week cancellation for all K-12 schools in New Mexico. The boys have always wanted to try homeschooling. Here's their chance. I suspect it's not going to be as much fun as they think it will.

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

Parallel Conversations

Yesterday afternoon, I was cooking at the stove--as usual--and A. was in the kitchen with me, discussing how and when we could get our van to the Chevy dealership to have what seems to be a worrisome transmission issue looked at.

The nearest Chevy dealership is over a hundred miles away*, and this is likely going to be a very costly fix if it can be fixed at all. This was a Very Not Fun Adult Conversation.

Meanwhile, Poppy was humming an unrecognizable song and running at full speed from the stove to the dining room, stopping to give me quick updates whenever she reached me. So A. would be talking about buying new tires for the van and then . . ."Mommy, I singin'!"

A.: "But if they tell me the transmission only has another ten thousand miles, then we'll just get a set of used tires and run it until it dies."

Poppy: "It's a song about snowflakes!"

A.: "I'm not giving up on the van yet, but it's going to be an expensive fix if they can do it."

Poppy: "The snowflakes comin' down!"

A.: "And then there's so many computer sensor issues, it's hard to decide which of them to fix."

Poppy: "Mommy, I smilin'!"

A.: "I hate going to dealerships/cost of driving these days/can't keep a car on the road, etc."

Poppy: "Mommy, I happy!"

I know, my sweet. And thank God for that.

* The whoooole happy family is going this morning. Happy Spring Break, kids! Let's drive 250 miles in one day to do something not at all fun! (Pray for us.)

Friday Food: Back To the Elk

Friday

Short version: Homemade corn tortillas, homemade refried beans, fried eggs, green salad

Long version: Those on Team Refried Beans include Cubby, Jack, and me. Team Eggs is A. and Charlie. Poppy chooses as the mood strikes. This night, she chose beans.

Everyone's on Team Tortilla. At least, when they're homemade.

Saturday

Short version: Elk stir-fry, rice

Long version: I marinated the elk pieces in soy sauce, vinegar, corn oil, and garlic powder before searing them and adding them to the frozen bag of stir-fry vegetable mix. The sauce in the stir-fry itself was all the things in the marinade, plus peanut butter.

When I make stir-fry, I pull out some meat for Charlie before I mix in the sauce and he eats that with plain rice (plain except for butter, that is), and some frozen vegetables. This time, he ate some meat and then turned to me and said, "Good job with the meat, Mom. What is this?" And both Cubby and Jack went back for more meat. Not even rice. Just meat.

You know what this means, don't you? It means I win the elk disguise medal.

That's a thing, yes. A thing that I just made up.

Photo break!

This was meant to be a photo of Cubby riding Samson in our neighbor's pasture across the road, but he's so far away, it's mostly a photo of the startlingly blue New Mexican sky.

Sunday

Short version: Elk goulash, garlic bread, green salad, root beer float popsicles

Long version: I haven't been making a Sunday dessert in order to impose some Lenten penance on the children. But Cubby keeps finding a way to ensure a dessert, anyway. He went for a walk with Jack earlier in the day, during which Jack got hot and Cubby promised him root beer popsicles if he would walk back home.

I thought this was actually a pretty good idea for the flat root beer that's been taking up space in the refrigerator for two weeks now. Better than cooking it with pork, anyway.

I don't have a popsicle mold, but I do have extra ice cube trays and toothpicks, which is what my mother used to use to make us orange juice popsicles.

Like so.

I decided the root beer would benefit from being mixed with heavy cream. To make it sort of like a root beer float, I guess. I also added a tiny bit of vanilla. After mixing those things, I filled the ice cube tray and froze it for about forty minutes, by which time it was frozen enough to hold the toothpicks up straight when I stuck them in.

They weren't bad, actually. The texture wasn't too hard. Kind of icy, like an Otter Pop or something. The kids loved them. Except Poppy, who decided they were too cold.

Monday

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: It's a Monday/workday! Let's scrounge for leftovers!

So Cubby and Jack finished up the stir-fry and rice. Charlie had some goulash meat and frozen green beans. I had a couple of fried eggs and frozen stir-fry vegetables. Poppy had everything, because she kept seeing what other people had and demanding it.

All the children also had bread and butter. To fill in the corners, I suppose.

Tuesday

Short version: Sausage pasta bake, green peas

Long version: A. bought a tube of breakfast sausage when he was at the store last week. I used some of it to make a pasta sauce with tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and basil, which I mixed with some cooked elbow pasta and a bit of grated cheddar cheese. Just before baking it, I decided it would be too dry, so I poured in a little cream and milk, then I topped it with a layer of cheese.

It was tasty. Unsurprisingly.

For myself, I mixed some of the meat sauce with those oh-so-handy frozen stir-fry vegetables (however did I get along without them?) and a little cheese. Also tasty.

Another photo break!

We'll call this one "Girl With Truck."

Wednesday

Short version: Bunless cheeseburgers, fried onions, roasted potatoes, green salad

Long version: Roasted potatoes would normally be too ambitious for a worknight, but these were potatoes I had previously peeled, cut into chunks, and partially roasted, then froze. This is one of the best ways I know of to preserve potatoes. All I had to do was shake them out of the bag onto a pan, and then continue roasting them for another half hour or so until they were crispy.

Thursday

Short version: Leftovers, mashed potatoes, frozen peas

Long version: For the children, I diced the remaining two hamburgers and heated them up with some of the leftover goulash sauce. They ate that over the mashed potatoes.

For me, I heated up the remaining sausage tomato sauce with some frozen vegetables and cheese. A satisfactory way to clean out the refrigerator.

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

Contemplating Eternity

Yesterday while I was on lunchroom duty in the elementary school, wiping applesauce off the floor and reminding the kindergarteners for the 26th time to please stay in their seats and eat their food*, Charlie came over to me and asked, "Hey, Mom, do you know what would happen if a watch and time had a fight?"

Not really being in the mental place to give such a question much thought, and also not really sure what he was talking about, I asked back, "No, what?"

"Well, time would win. Know why?"

"Why?"

"Because the watch would eventually stop, but time goes on forever."

That was not really what I was expecting, but I had to acknowledge the logic of his philosophical train of thought.

And then he went back to his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, no doubt to mull over the meaning of life and the purpose of human existence. At least until recess, when the game of tag on the playground drove all the philosophy out of his head.

* Yes, being a teacher's aide is pretty much just like being a mom. Except I get paid to wipe up applesauce and nag at the school.

An Easter Cholla

Way back in December when we went to cut our Christmas tree near our neighbor's canyon, Charlie called me over to take a look at something. That something was this:

Yes, it's a cholla in the shape of a cross. And yes, it is pink.

Even though we found it around Christmas, it seems more appropriate for this Sunday in Lent.

That's all.

Friday Food: I Got Root Beer in My Food

Friday

Short version: Bunless cheeseburgers, garlic bread, carrot and celery sticks with ranch dressing

Long version: I don't know why I'm so lazy about making ranch dressing. It takes like two minutes and makes the children happy.

A. spent some time during Poppy's nap helping the boys put together these wooden cars from a kit Cubby got for Christmas two years ago.

Promptness is obviously my first concern.

It took 30 minutes to glue the cars together, another 30 minutes for the boys to paint them, and about two minutes for the cars to get broken while the boys were playing with them. Par for the course.

Saturday

Short version: Homemade corn tortillas with fried eggs or refried beans, more carrot and celery sticks with ranch

Long version: The pinto beans Miss Amelia makes are much, much softer than mine. I mean, I cook mine until they're soft, but because Miss Amelia just keeps the pot simmering on her wood-fueled cookstove all day, hers are already broken down and thus, perfect for refried beans.

All I did was cook a minced garlic clove in oil, then add the beans with some salt and mash them with my potato masher until they were mostly smooth and thickened. They were way better than you would think mashed beans could be. Yum.

Sunday

Short version: Potatoes with cheese sauce and bacon bits, frozen green peas, annoying microwave cakes

Long version: Erma Bombeck used to joke that in her house growing up, gravy was considered a beverage. Well, in my house growing up, cheese sauce might be considered a beverage, too. We ate a LOT of cheese sauce--on rice, on vegetables, mixed with potatoes . . .

Cheese sauce was one of the first things I learned to make, and despite the fact that I make it maybe once a year now, I still remember the proportions.

I used a bit of some low-fat, low-sodium American cheese (yeah, yum) (but not really) that Rafael had given us, and the rest was sharp cheddar.

The cakes were Cubby's idea. I was totally going to punk out on the Sunday dessert and just give them some of the candy left from Valentine's Day, but then at like 3:30 p.m., Cubby asked if he could make cookies or something from his cookbook.

I told him sure, but only if he could make them all by himself AND clean it all up.

First he said, "Maybe I'll just make cupcakes." HA HA. "Just" cupcakes. Cupcakes are a pain in the ass. I don't even make cupcakes except under duress. Try again, Cubby.

So then he found a recipe for Fudgy Mug Cakes or something. You know those kind you make in the microwave? They're easy! They're fast! I have made them myself!

Yeah, the one I made hadn't been developed by the entirely-too-fussy people at America's Test Kitchen. Two bowls, many ingredients, five overflowing mugs, and twenty minutes later, I concluded it would have been easier to just make an entire chocolate cake. Would have tasted better, too.

The children enjoyed theirs, though, and Cubby did trick me into making a dessert, because there was no way he was doing all that by himself.

Charlie and Poppy both woke up early and spent some time making Poppy soup:

Needs more salt.

Monday

Short version: Stir-fry, rice, scrambled eggs with bacon bits and cream cheese

Long version: I've started buying those bags of frozen stir-fry vegetables. Mostly I buy them for back-up vegetables when all the fresh vegetables are gone and there is no trip to the Outside World imminent. They don't taste as good as fresh vegetables, obviously, but they work for their intended purpose.

This is the first time I've actually used them for stir-fry, however, and I must admit it made the whole process incredibly easy.

I used the mix that has green beans, broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, onion, and water chestnuts in it, to which I added some peas. All I did was cook those in a pan with oil, add two leftover hamburger patties that I diced up, and then some soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and peanut butter. It was delicious and so fast I could make it after work. Yay frozen vegetables.

The eggs were for A., because there wasn't quite enough stir-fry for everyone. And for Charlie, who doesn't like stir-fry.

Tuesday

Short version: Root beer pulled pork, mashed potatoes, green salad

Long version: And here's the root beer.

Charlie came home with a two-liter bottle of root beer from the school pep rally a couple of weeks ago. I wish he hadn't--why is the school handing out large containers of concentrated sugar to kids who definitely do NOT need more energy?--but I couldn't just throw it away. It was his, after all.

I did let the kids have a bit of it (only Charlie and Cubby actually drank it, though), and then I decided I should try to find another use for it. Like cooking it with a pork picnic shoulder.

I should not have bothered. The root beer flavor was very there on the outside of the pork, and I've learned that I do not care for root beer flavor except in actual root beer.

I shredded the pork, mixed it with some mustard, and browned it under the broiler, so it wasn't inedible or anything, but I will definitely not be repeating root beer with pork.

Wednesday

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: The combination of work, 4-H, and an Ash Wednesday Mass resulted in the whole family getting home after 6 p.m. All I could do was heat up leftovers in the microwave and throw them on the table as quickly as possible so Poppy could get to bed and her brothers could get to their homework.

The children ate leftover potatoes and cheese with green peas. I ate some leftover refried beans with sweet potatoes and cheese.

Thursday

Short version: Leftovers again, plus green salad

Long version: The kids had leftover pork with potatoes and cheese. I put my pork in the salad with some leftover peas and sweet potatoes. I might actually have to cook new food now.

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

Step on a Nail, Break Your Mother's Tail?

How's your tailbone, MiL? Intact? Because your son just stepped on a nail.

This isn't a huge deal--I mean, other than the significant pain to A. caused by a nail puncturing his foot--except for the fact that here in Extremely Rural America, the nearest tetanus shot is 60 miles away.

Boo.

A. needs one, though, because his last tetanus shot was 15 years ago when he tried to catch a falling pane of glass while fixing windows and sliced his hand to ribbons.

He knows trying to catch glass with his bare hands was not the brightest move he could have made. His instincts, however, are much faster than his thought processes.

Anyway.

There is actually a clinic just ten miles away that's open to see a nurse practitioner two days a week, and today was one of the the days it was open. Unfortunately, the nurse practitioner wasn't in yet and the receptionist didn't know if they had tetanus boosters, and the clinic 60 miles away definitely DID have it but were closing at 11 a.m., so . . . off A. went to drive two hours for a tetanus booster.

Luckily, the puncture was in the foot he doesn't use to drive, so he can still drive the school bus. Good thing, as there really isn't a substitute bus driver.

And, well, I guess that's it. Nails hurt (as if you didn't already know that) and it's important to keep your tetanus vaccinations up to date. If you're anything like A., that is.