Friday Food: Cafeteria Food

Friday 

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: Stir-fry for some, chicken taco meat for others. All fed.

Saturday

Short version: Bull meat, garlic bread, roasted carrots, raw green beans

Long version: Another session of pressure-canning bull meat to get it out of the freezer, another opportunity to pressure-cook more of the same. This time I added some pesto I had made earlier in the day to the meat, along with some asadero cheese.

I already had a pan with butter in it from A. making an omelet earlier in the day, so I figured I might as well throw something in the oven with the bread as it baked. That something being carrots.

In case you didn't know, ponies like carrots, too.

They don't require them to be roasted, either.

Sunday

Short version: Oven-fried chicken, pasta with pesto, raw cucumbers, steamed green beans, chocolate chip cookies

Long version: Another Sunday, another meat bird down. The kids had said they were getting tired of roasted chicken (?), so I had A. part this one out for me and I used the (GIANT) pieces to make oven-fried chicken. 

First the chicken is marinated in yogurt with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika, then it's shaken to coat it in masa (corn flour) with the same spices, then baked in a buttered pan.

Cubby was SO HAPPY with this. He asked me to make every chicken this way from now on. 

Everyone else was happy with the pasta. Because pasta with pesto made from homegrown basil really can't be improved upon.

Calvin chose the chocolate chip cookies, but only because I didn't have any cream to make his preferred desserts. He allowed as how chocolate chip cookies would be acceptable. They were.

I used the recipe in Cubby's ATK kids' cookbook for the chocolate chip cookies that calls for melting the butter. This is my favorite, because I detest hauling out my mixer and creaming butter and sugar. 

While I was in the kitchen with dirty bowls and pans anyway, I decided to make some more of these "breakfast" cookies for Cubby and Jack to bring to school for their snacks (I use maple syrup, walnuts, peanut butter, Craisins, raisins, and mini chocolate chips). Since I had just made the chocolate chip cookies, I experimented with using the same melted butter method.

I am pleased to say that they were a success, and now I need never cream butter again. Amen. 

Monday

Short version: Cafeteria spaghetti and meat sauce, cucumber slices

Long version: One of my duties at the school now is helping the cook clean up after lunch. I told her that if she had any food she was going to throw away, I could bring it home for my children and/or dogs and chickens, and so she gave me the remainder of the spaghetti and meat sauce she was going to toss.

It went to the children this time.

The tomato sauce came out of a can, though, so it needed some doctoring. More salt, garlic powder, and a little vinegar, and it was quite tasty. The kids were excited to get spaghetti, too, which I never buy.

Tuesday

Short version: Leftovers, raw green beans

Long version: The younger kids had leftover bull meat and leftover pasta with pesto. Cubby had leftover chicken and more spaghetti when he got home from football practice.

Wednesday

Short version: Bunless hamburgers, calabacitas and tomatoes, cafeteria green beans, cucumber spears

Long version: Hooray, the calabacitas are coming! Calabacitas are the squash we got seeds for from Rafael. They make both an edible summer squash that's like zucchini--but better--and a hard-skinned winter squash.

I sauteed the calabacitas in some bacon fat with a few tomatoes, and they were delicious.

The green beans were leftovers from the school lunch. I buy the same frozen green beans from Sysco myself, but these I didn't even have to cook. Bonus.

Thursday

Short version: Chicken salad sandwiches, carrot sticks

Long version: I subbed at the school in the afternoon, so I made the chicken salad in the morning with the last of the leftover oven-fried chicken. A good meal for another hot day.

For Charlie, who does not like chicken salad, I sauteed some of the chicken in olive oil. Then I took some of that chicken and added it to my salad with cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden, plus some feta cheese, to make a very tasty Greek-ish salad.

Yum.

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

T.T.: A Song for Our Times

Due to my freakish ability to remember song lyrics and melodies, I go around with a constant soundtrack of changing songs in my head. Something the other day reminded me of the song "Hands," by Jewel. 

I can't remember exactly when it came out--must've been almost 20 years ago now--but it sure is applicable now. 

You can see the official video here if you want to hear the song, but the lyrics can be read like a poem, as can almost all of Jewel's songs.

"Hands"

If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be that we're all OK
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these

I won't be made useless
Won't be idle with despair
I'll gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear

My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken

Poverty stole your golden shoes
It didn't steal your laughter
And heartache came to visit me
But I knew it wasn't ever after

We'll fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing

My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken

In the end, only kindness matters
In the end, only kindness matters

I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray

My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken

My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
We are never broken

We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's mind
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's heart
We are God's eyes
We are God's hands
We are God's eyes

Monday Bouquet: Bouquets and Books

I only got a close-up photo of one of last week's arrangements.

I'm sure you are not surprised to see sage and sunflowers yet again.

For the rest of the week, I just had a couple of sunflowers in the Topo Chico bottle. I didn't get a close-up photo of that, but you've seen that before. And I did get a photo of it in action, you might say.

And there they are! On the table with the books I bought the children to celebrate their successful completion of the first week of school.

And just in case you're like me and always want to know what the books are:

Top three for Cubby, Richard Scarry for Poppy, deadly animals for Jack, and the dragon series for Calvin.

I hope you have a lovely Monday, with or without flowers (or books.)

Snapshots: Come Walk with Me

The dogs are ready . . .

The sun is rising . . .

Let's walk.

There are almost as many spent flowers as blooming ones on the sunflower plants now.

Bill is waiting at the walk-up window when we get back.

Hay to start the day off right.

Then inside to start emptying the dishwasher, making breakfast, and getting on with the day.

And there you have it! My beloved morning walk, snapshotted.

Friday Food: School Days

Friday 

Short version: Lamb ribs, curried split peas, garlic bread, roasted carrots and green beans

Long version: I'm trying to clear some of the bulkier packages of meat out of the freezer in anticipation of having an entire steer to cram in there in a few weeks. The lamb ribs qualify a bulky.

All I did was marinate them in lots of apple cider vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper, then cook them covered for a few hours until they were tender.

Cubby tells me lamb ribs are his favorite meal, and if he had a million dollars, that's what he would buy.

We don't have a million dollars, but we do have the sheep from which we can harvest ribs. Lucky Cubby.

I doubt there are many millionaires who eat lamb ribs, anyway.

Saturday

Short version: Bull and gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans

Long version: The other thing I'm working on from the freezer stock is pressure-canning more of the bull meat. It's much more useful to me in the pressure-canned form, since that means it's tender. Since I had the pressure canner/cooker out, I used it after I did my canning to pressure cook about ten pounds of bull steaks. 

The pressure cooker obviously seals in all the juices, so I used the liquid from the cooker to make gravy ("lots," at Cubby's request), and then just sliced the meat and covered it with gravy.

Gravy=meat juices, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cornstarch, and milk.

I rarely make gravy, but both Jack and Cubby wish I would do it much more often. It is pretty good.

Sunday

Short version: Roasted chicken, roasted potatoes, cucumbers with salt and vinegar, cow patty cookies

Long version: A. butchered another white meat chicken for me. We're down to three. I'm trying to just eat them fresh, rather than freeze them, to conserve freezer space for the steer.

Potatoes and cucumbers from the garden. Yay!

And . . . the cookies.

Cubby was looking over my shoulder a few days before when I was looking up a recipe and saw a video for these cookies. And then he chose them for his Sunday dessert choice.

I don't know why my children never choose anything basic like chocolate cake or chocolate chip cookies or something.

Anyway. The recipe is flourless, which means almost the entirely of the cookies is powdered sugar and chocolate chips. And egg whites.

There is much discussion of the egg whites, with the recipe calling for two or three depending on how dry the dough is as you're mixing it. I apparently don't have the same definition of "too dry," because I added the third egg white and ended up with something less like cookie dough and more like cake batter. That is, wet.

The dough is supposed to be rolled with your hands, but there was no way my dough/batter was rollable. So I just plopped it right onto the cookie sheets, where it promptly started spreading. And then it spread even more in the oven, until . . .

Yeah. Like I said, Cow Patty Cookies.

They ended up pretty tasty, although very sweet. As you would expect given the ingredients. The rest of the family enjoyed them quite a bit. Calvin even said they tasted like pots de creme, which I'm pretty sure is the highest compliment he can give.

I wouldn't make them again just for me, but Cubby wants to try again to see if we can make them more cookie-like and less . . . cow-patty-like.

Monday

Short version: Leftover chicken and gravy, leftover mashed potatoes, bread and butter, frozen peas

Long version: First day of school for the boys, first day of work for me, leftovers for dinner.

You'll see this a lot on Mondays and Wednesdays, which are my work days. Rummaging in the refrigerator and re-heating is the best way to get dinner on the table in short order.

I feel just like Poppy looks when I'm riding home on the bus at the end of the day. The bus aide is discouraged from napping, however. More's the pity.

Tuesday

Short version: Rooster tacos, carrot sticks

Long version: Our elderly neighbors brought us two more roosters, which A. killed and skinned for me, and I pressure cooked.

Then I picked the carcasses clean, shredded the meat, and combined it with salsa, garlic powder, and chile powder to make very fast taco meat. It was good.

Those young roosters always look they have no meat on them, but after the meat is stripped off, it's a surprisingly large amount. I really dislike picking meat off bones, but it's always worth it.

Wednesday

Short version: Barbecue beef, chicken tacos, carrot and cucumber sticks, bread and butter with apricot jam

Long version: Another workday! Hence, the random foods.

The last of the pot roast simmered with barbecue sauce for A. and me. That meat also went into sandwiches for Jack and Poppy.

Calvin had the tacos. And so did Jack. He ate two tacos after his sandwich. Jack is currently eating more than Cubby, who is quite a bit larger and also has three-hour football practices every day.

Kids' eating phases are weird.

All the kids had the bread and jam after Cubby got home from practice. Because sometimes, you just need to fill in the corners with bread and jam.

Thursday

Short version: Chicken stir-fry, rice

Long version: Surprise work day, to sub for the other teacher's aide. Luckily, I had made rice on Tuesday to have on hand for this dinner.

After getting home and lying down for a half hour or so--the first week of school is exhausting for everyone--I put together two bags of frozen stir-fry vegetables, the last of the leftover roasted chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic powder, and peanut butter, and called it dinner. 

Forgot the ginger. Bummer.

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

Remote Living: Alas for Italian Sausage

More questions!

Has your cooking changed much since the move?

In some ways. It was a good thing that I already had some experience with growing, harvesting, preserving, and butchering, because those things are obviously much more important out here where our access to high-quality food is greatly hampered by distance. I mean, we can buy food, obviously, but it's not always what I might want or the quality I wish to have.

As for the differences in actual ingredients . . .

Is it more because of what you have access to, or what you don't have access to?

Both. I have always allowed my environment to dictate what's in my kitchen. So in New Mexico, it was inevitable that I would end up using green chiles in my cooking, which is an ingredient I had never in my life cooked with.

Likewise, I'm sure I would never have started making my own tortillas if I weren't living somewhere with ten varieties of masa at the grocery store. 

Also, although we have always made an effort to buy cows wherever we have lived, it's so effortless to do here in cattle country, we have and eat more beef. 

Cows are so numerous here, they're often the only impediment in the road when we're on the school bus.

What I do not have access to here that I used to rely on a lot more are quality dairy products and Italian sausage.

Upstate New York is a paradise of dairy. It's easy to find unpasturized heavy cream and real aged cheddar cheese. It is not easy to find those things here. It is, in fact, impossible to get real cream without milking your own cow.

Italian sausage is something I always had on hand in New York for a quick meal. Here, it's not an option. I don't like spicy sausage, and that's the dominant kind of sausage here. Also, it's not really high-quality sausage. It tends to be too much fat, gristle, and salt.

Oh, and apples. There are some local apples, but they tend to be kind of dry and tart. Not good for applesauce or baking, so I don't make the same quantities of applesauce I used to make, which the children miss.

T.T.: Don't Fear the Fat

I feel like these could really just be called "cooking tips," since that's what 90% of the tips are about. Stick to your strengths, I suppose.

So! Let's talk about bacon.

I grew up draining bacon of accumulated grease as it cooked, and then laying it on a paper-towel to drain further after cooking. Plus actually blotting the bacon with the paper towels to remove as much of the grease as possible.

I no longer do any of those things. I am now of the opinion that if I'm going to eat bacon, I really can't be worried about the grease. I mean, pretty much the point of bacon is fat.  

Plus, it cooks way better in all that grease.

First bacon tip: Lay the pieces out flat. A. has this habit of just tossing the bacon in all tangled up and basically stirring it around, but that makes it hard to cook it evenly and the pieces won't be uniformly crispy. So I lay it flat. I do kind of layer over more pieces than will fit in a single layer, because they shrink so much as they cook that they will eventually all be in a single layer.

Second bacon tip: Don't drain the grease as it renders out. I just let all the fat build up until the bacon is almost deep-frying in its own grease. This prevents scorching and lets the bacon pieces cook more evenly.

Third bacon tip: Don't bother with paper towels; just put it right on a plate. There will be a little bit of grease that accumulates on the bottom of the plate, but at least I'm not wasting paper towels. Because we all know how I feel about that.

I SMELL BACON!*

Of course, when the bacon is all out of the pan, I save the majority of the grease in a small bowl, leaving the rest in there to fry eggs. I leave the bowl right next to the stove. I don't bother refrigerating it, because we'll go through it quickly enough that it never goes bad.

So tell me, how do you cook bacon?

* Do you remember the dog in the commercial running around looking for the bacon? No? Well, here it is. You're welcome.