As we all know I am not very good at staying current with blogging, especially now that we are all here together all day and I’m multi-tasking to the extreme. Anyway, I’m going to really quickly summarize the days around Mother’s Day because we ate well 🙂
Kyle was out of town, but then he got home in time for dinner so I made a tofu stir fry.
Farm Fresh to You messed up my order and sent me braised tofu instead of plain tofu so I tried that for the first time and none of us were really that big of fans.
You know how I finally went to the grocery store? I bought SO MUCH ice cream. The freezer fare is the stuff you can’t get online (obviously) so it’s where I focused my efforts. That and the fancy cheese section. I have $$$ taste.
Nugget didn’t actually have a great non dairy selection so I couldn’t get my usuals, but this was REALLY good. I managed to make it last for two servings, which I’d consider a great feat.
Is this the most perfect avo you’ve ever seen?
On Saturday night I decided to make Kyle one of his favorite dishes from our college days.
Brisket!
My girlfriend used to make this for “family dinner” once a month or so and even though I didn’t eat meat back then, Kyle was always with me and so he got to enjoy it.
I got this beautiful cut from Five Mile Ranch. I seared it and then cooked it in my 8 quart pressure cooker with onions, mushrooms, celery, olive oil, herbs, and salt and pepper.
When it was done I used an immersion blender to puree the liquid into a gravy.
On the side I made cornbread, which is another thing Kyle’s been asking for recently.
I usually cheat and use Bob’s Red Mill cornbread mix, but I had to make so with what we had…cornmeal and all purpose flour!
So I made a small batch in this cute baking dish I got way back when from MOPS for being on the leadership team.
It makes the perfect amount to serve four.
I didn’t measure anything, which is why it came out perfect. I know I have a food blog and should really measure things to help you guys (or myself) to repeat them, but when it comes to quick breads, I always mess them up when I try to keep track of how much of everything I use. I do know I was a little heavy handed with the salt, but that didn’t seem to get any complaints. We are a sodium loving crew.
And now I’m going to admit to you that (a) this was my first time trying brisket and (b) it is my new favorite cut of meat.
This specific cut is Five Mile’s 1/3 flat, which is a very lean portion, and after an hour in the pressure cooker it was so tender. And with the umami packed gravy!! Dang!! I will for sure buy this cut again.
I think Kyle felt like it was actually Father’s Day. Not that we shouldn’t celebrate him always, but I like to make him feel extra special after he returns from trips away. I know he misses us terribly and feels super bad for leaving me in this crazy time.
The next day was Mother’s Day, and while I told them I didn’t need or want anything (I’d already done my own card craft with each kid for home school that week), they of course ignored me.
They got me a bread baking book from the always reliable America’s Test Kitchen.
And then the kids and I immediately picked out what to make and set right to work.
So that we would have a fresh loaf of walnut cranberry bread for dinner that night.
Yum!
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
First was breakfast…oatmeal with strawberries (picked a mere two nights before)…and then lunch…my fave salad (which I made the night before so that it would be all ready for me to enjoy).
I usually make enough for 2-3 days at once, but then add the nuts and cheese right before I eat it.
For dinner, the only thing I knew I wanted was artichokes.
The kids like them, but they kinda want to skip the leaf part and just get to the heart. Ha! You gotta put in the work! Kyle isn’t a fan though, so I don’t get them often.
But today was about me! So I got artichokes.
I was indifferent to the rest of the meal. Frankly, I am meal planned out. Sometimes it feels like I can’t think of any more meals. So nowadays there are lots of repeat meals. Maybe it’s because my brain is in overdrive with more important things? Sure, we can go with that…
Anyway, the point I’m getting at is that I could barely be bothered to come up with the rest of the meal, so I basically threw together whatever else I could find in the freezer and fridge. Which ended up being imperfect foods sausage and a Caesar salad.
One of these days we will try to do takeout, but there’s barely anywhere in Davis I wanted to get food from before the shelter in place, so I just haven’t even looked into who is open for business now.
Check out this loaf!
I swear the Cook’s Illustrated books/recipes never let me down.
Dinner is served!
Don’t forget the mayo. There’s no point in eating an artichoke without mayo!
And that’s a fact.
Then I finished off the night with chocolate (another part of my gift).
And that’s the food part. As for the family time, it was SO needed and I went into Monday feeling all restored after a tough week of solo parenting. We didn’t do much of anything – chalk in the driveway, hot tub, sprinklers, washing Kyle’s car, hair cuts, puzzles and board games – but it was nice to be doing it together. Obviously I’m a little sad we couldn’t continue our tradition of going to Muir Woods, but we will find the time when the National Parks reopen and it feels safe to go.
I did set up this herb ladder on the side of the yard as a treat to myself. The thyme, chives and mint was all transplanted from elsewhere in the yard (places that will eventually get demolished once our construction begins). I’ve wanted to do this for a while and was going to wait until the yard work began to do it, but once that got indefinitely delayed, I just decided to go for it.
Consider it my Mother’s Day/Teacher’s Appreciation/Nurse’s Week gift to myself 😉
