TOMATOES TOMATOES
I had planned on making roasted broccoli on Sunday night but it was SO HOT I couldn’t bear to turn on the oven. So instead I picked tomatoes and basil from the garden and turned that into our other side dish.
And then made my favorite lentil salad from America’s Test Kitchen Vegetarian Cookbook.
I just adore the combo of hazelnuts and chevre and the simple dressing that coats all the lentils. Superb simple Sunday meal.
For some reason I woke up on Monday with the urge to clean. Luckily for me, the kids were playing SO NICELY together all morning that I was able to get a ton of stuff done. In addition to vacuuming I mopped all the hardwood floors downstairs. All by 8:45 am. And then we had to hit the road. I hardly wanted to interrupt them but the kids are back in swim lessons so we did that whole stroller strides straight to swim thing. And then hit up Nugget for salad bar lunches (it’s the kids’ favorite thing and it’s SO CHEAP) and grocery shopping. Oh! And I discovered Bar Keeper’s Friend and went to TOWN on the stainless steel appliances in the kitchen! Before I knew it, it was 2 pm and still hadn’t showered and was starving.
BUT LOOK HOW SHINY!!!
I can’t even handle it. I hardly want to touch anything! Ha! It took me four hours to scrub every nook and cranny (I did every single teeny tiny part of the stove) and now the dishwasher and sink are blinding me with their glossy finish and I feel like I’m cooking in a brand new kitchen. Sooo just in case you didn’t already know it (YEAH RIGHT) I am a total neat freak. I have always been this way, but it’s probably gotten more extreme over the years for a variety of reasons…first, working in a hospital. That nasty environment will make anyone OCD about germs I think. Second, having a kiddo with allergies. That just exacerbated my already extreme tendencies. And if I’m being totally honest, I think there’s also a bit of the behavior that is a sort of coping mechanism when I’m grasping for control. It makes me happy having things in order. And the chaos of raising kids leaves little for me to cling to. So I keep things tidy. And while it might seem a little…sterile, it’s not the worst habit, so whatcha gonna do?!
Food!
I made the brussels Caesar salad from the True Roots cookbook.
The star of the show was this manchego.
The dressing had avo in it, and then I cut it up to add to the salad as well.
I should have steamed the Brussels first. They were too tough on my gut.
The most surprising thing about this meal was how V inhaled the sprouts. She’s all over the place with salads these days, but usually lettuce that’s really well dressed gets a thumbs up. This was almost too raw even for me, and yet, she polished hers off immediately and asked for more. Well ok then!
After my whirlwind day of cleaning, I was very happy to kick up my feet and indulge in some chocolate before bed.
How much do you like to clean? Any other neat freaks out there?
Total neat freak!! Why my kids aren’t that way us beyond me!! So when my daughter gets married on September 30 and moves out, I’m taking a week off to… you guessed it… clean!! Especially the kitchen!! We both love to cook, but she doesn’t like to clean! So October… I can’t wait!!! And Barkeeper’s Friend? Some of the best stuff out there!!
Whoahza- those are some crazy sparkly appliances you have! That bar keeper’s stuff is totally magical. I’m more of the clean and tidy yet lived in , i do a good cleaning once a week but the process certainly does not bring me joy ;)) cleaning ladies are really expensive here! Haha. I tackle bigger cleaning projects on a rotating basis, fridge cleaning washing shelves and such maybe once every six weeks or so, that kind of thing. My mom was a bit obsessive about cleaning when i was a kid (she mellowed with age) so my attitude is much more lax.
Raw brussel sprouts are rough, they either have to be cut paper thin or let marinate in a vinaigrette overnight for me to like them- much like kale salads i want thin kale ribbons and some time for it to soften.
Those tomatoes are so gorgeous! With the lentil salad that sounds like a fantastic summer dinner.
“…if I’m being totally honest, I think there’s also a bit of the behavior that is a sort of coping mechanism when I’m grasping for control. It makes me happy having things in order. And the chaos of raising kids leaves little for me to cling to. So I keep things tidy.”
I could have written this. the obsession with keeping things tidy makes me crazy when the kids mess the place up 2 MINUTES after I tidy it and I’m so obsessed with mess that it’s hard be fully relaxed and happy with disorder everywhere. It’s all about control. And I can’t even control the mess!! I’m set up for failure. Need to learn to be happy IN the chaos. Somehow kids are!
I am not a neat freak at all. I get frustrated when the house is a mess, but the organizational piece stresses me out. I can merrily put things away for hours if they already have their place, it’s just that initial set up that I struggle with. My brain does not do spatial tasks very well. Having a routine/schedule is definitely a coping mechanism for me. I’m working on being more “go-with-the-flow” because it drives me crazy how rigid I can still become. Work in progress! And that lentil salad looks good. I passed the wheat and onion/garlic fodmap categories, but have been wary of trying lentils and beans. My guts don’t do well with too much fiber, but I will bite the bullet at some point…
Always a work in progress!! Glad we aren’t alone 🙂
Ha! I love it. Happy October 🙂
It’s funny because I’m pretty much a clean as I go kind of person too so the house is never very messy. Kyle and the kids are pretty tidy as well, so it’s never crazy getting things straightened up, but having a big space just means there’s so much to do…I do the rotating thing as well…vacuuming a couple times a month, cleaning one of the bathrooms every few weeks or so, and things like that…but every once in a while I get in these super cleaner moods and just want to deep dive and get things all shiny and sparkly. I do love it. HA. I’m a freak 🙂 I wonder if my kids will be the same or not…