Comfort Food

I'm always on the lookout for simple and delicious one pot meals, and I think I just found a new favorite!

Arroz con Pollo

Image Courtesy of Martha Stewart Online

My meal did not turn out as picturesque as the above image, but it tasted delicious. I am glad I splurged and bought some saffron. Yellow rice is so comforting. This entire meal is wonderfully comforting. Comfort. I can't think of a better word right now. Comforting nursery food. Perfect for a week when everything turns topsy-turvy on you.

If you pray, would you take a moment to say a quick prayer for me and my family? We would appreciate it very much. We are all working very hard to make ends meet, and we are all very weary. (As are many people in this world.)

May we all find some rest and a bit of "home" every day.

To Autumn, With Love

I miss Virginia.

Autumn, you think you are so sneaky. You trick me with your Summer-like weather, but I know you are here,
              and darling, I think you are wonderful.

Your coming is always heralded by the arrival of pumpkins and squash at my local market. Why do squash come in such funny shapes? They make me laugh!

Oh yes, I bought my first pumpkin this week. I thought it might make you happy to know.

Also, all I want to do is eat root vegetables and listen to James Taylor. You probably knew that already, because, well, it happens most every time you arrive.

Remember when I made my first sweet potato pie?

 Do you remember how awful it tasted?  It was a romantic idea, though. Oh well.

Autumn, thank you for bringing woolen sock and sweater weather.
Thank you for making me feel like Laura Ingalls whenever I wake up in the morning and hurry to dress by the heater.
I promise to cook something with bacon. Y'know, the bacon I squirreled away in my deep-freeze, back when, I, uh, butchered my pig...Kind of...

I'm going to go roast some squash, Autumn. Please send some Autumnal culinary inspiration to me, mostly because my last attempt at squash was a disaster.

We'll be seeing each other soon.

(As soon as I walk outside.)

Cheers!

Love,
-Me

A Happy Moment On An Otherwise Hot and Sticky Afternoon

Yesterday my friend R. gave me a little piece of chocolate for "on the road to the Library". Being the silly goose that I am, I put the chocolate in my bag (for safe keeping) and forget about it during my walk.

Oh well.

I was very happy to later find a somewhat squashed and melty piece of chocolate in my bag! Luckily the piece was still wrapped in foil and free of Roaming Bag Fuzz, leaving me with a clean bag and an edible bit of chocolate. Hooray!

...

I think chocolate rejuvenates those who are weary from reading pages and pages about fallen and blessed angels.

...

R.'s little gift of chocolate reminded me of the communal aspect of food. As I shared the melty candy with the fellow-book-reader-to-my-right, I realized that even a little square of chocolate can bring people together. Remember when Hagrid brings Harry a pack of squishy sausages and that birthday cake (with green icing letters)? What a very merry and beautiful act of kindness, pocket fuzz and all. Harry receives cake and a friend!

Rather like in Betsy-Tacy, or Heidi, or The Odyssey.

Mmm. Much to ponder. I'm looking forward to Soup Saturday with chumlet S. 

Thanks for the chocolate, R.!

Sun Gold Glory in San Francisco

"We ate fistfuls of tomatoes by the sea."

-A. 

I promise that I was not grumpy when this photo was taken. How can you be grumpy after eating Sun Gold tomatoes? 

 

Photo Credit: A.O.*

Today I introduced my sister to Sun Gold tomatoes. 

She loves them just as much as I do.

:)

And I love my sister much more than I love Sun Gold tomatoes!

(A different kind of love. Yes, yes, I know.) 

My sister and I picnicked on the dock overlooking the ocean. 

Our luncheon consisted of chicken pot pie and Sun Gold tomatoes.

It was a perfect meal. 

Later, we walked through the Ferry Building and picked out presents, jam jars, and little sweeties.

When an angry madman accosted us, 

(Something about not giving him blueberries. What blueberries?)

we hid near the Cheese Shop. 

He never found us.

Whew!

I wish I were a better photographer. Then I could finally take decent pictures of my sister.

Until then, check out her blog*.

Good Eats

Well, I kept my promise. Ellie and I had fun, and we ate very well, too. Rather than spending my vacation money on traveling, I indulged in a most amazing grocery splurge at Trader Joe's. It was important that my fridge be filled with delicious yet allergen-free foods since Ellie and I both have sensitive stomachs. Grocery shopping is always such a pleasure! Especially when your options are limitless and your pocketbook is feeling a bit less tight.

Ellie and I filled our cart with everything delicious: hummus, salad greens, a red and orange pepper, grapes, apples, sausages, bacon, different kinds of meat, ice cream, chocolate, and two kinds of cheese (herbed goat cheese and English Cheddar with caramelized onions). It was a very good day.
...

It was a very good week!

...

Despite the fact that I am not a very good cook, Ellie and I still managed to eat delicious suppers every evening. We agreed that they got better each time. I think I'm finally learning how to properly season and bake chicken tenders. Finally.

...

Sometimes remembering our meals helps me feel a bit less sad now that Ellie is home in N.M. Here you go:

Proof That You Can Eat Delicious Meals sans Gluten/Corn/Soy/Nut/Nitrites/Guargum/Tropical Fruits:

Monday's Supper

Rice Noodles alla Puttanesca with Herbed Goat Cheese and Salad Greens.

Tuesday's Supper

Burgers topped with Caramelized Onion Cheddar and Bacon.

Served with Salad Greens and Steamed Sweet Potatoes.

Dessert: Flourless Chocolate Cake drizzled with Rum and served with Coffee Ice Cream.

Wednesday's Supper

Pasta with Sautéed Squash and Herb Seasoned Chicken

Thursday's Supper

Wednesday's Supper was so very delicious that we cooked the same meal again.

:)  

Friday's Supper

Pan Fried Chicken Sausages served with Green Beans, Squash, and Potatoes sautéed in Garlic Butter.  

Saturday's Supper

Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, and Tomato and Green Bean Hash.  

Sunday's Supper

Pork Chops with Apple-Onion Chutney

served alongside Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Sautéed Summer Squash.

Dessert: Dark Chocolate Mousse

...

My little food adventures with Ellie taught me a few things about cooking:

-Garlic Salt. Use it. Enough said. 

-Chili Pepper Flakes. Use them. Also enough said. 

-Squash tastes delicious when cooked in butter. Everything tastes delicious cooked in butter. (Almost.) 

-Garlic Salt. Salt. Don't under salt. 

-Taste your food throughout the cooking process! Avoid over salting! 

-Be patient with yourself. Cooking is hard! There is no definite right or wrong method, but you know when something tastes good, and you definitely know when it tastes bad. Delicious or disgusting. You know what I mean. Think of term paper writing: Practice, practice, practice. Have a plan. Ditch the plan. Fail. Try again. Fail again. Try again. Practice, practice, practice again. 

-Perhaps the activity of eating becomes "meal-taking" or "partaking of a meal" when you are joined by all the people you love. Maybe this is why people get married and buy dishes together. They want to cook meals! What a happy little thought.

:)

Happy meal-making to you all!

A "Little House" Day

Sometimes I like to pretend I'm a Pioneer Woman and a friend of the Ingalls Family. I think Laura would find me too stuffy, but maybe Mary and I would get along. Maybe. 

While I don't butcher pigs or milk cows, I still find shopping for a week's worth of groceries deliciously satisfying. And of course I buy good and wholesome foods, like bacon. Oh, and dried cranberries. (And bacon.) And almond milk. (And bacon.) And frozen green beans and a package of Persian cucumbers. (And perhaps bacon again.) 

Don't worry, I only bought one package of bacon. 


Then to come home and lay bacon slices on a tray to freeze, because, you know, winter is coming (in 8 or so months). Or because I can only eat so much bacon before it spoils in the refrigerator! Even better is putting a tray of lemony-garlic onions, potatoes, and chicken in the oven to roast. (And freezing the leftover pieces of chicken, 'cause, well...winter, right?)

Didn't Ma do something similar? Except she probably slaughtered, drained, and plucked the chicken herself. And she set it to bake with Rye n' Injun bread and a pan of beans. 

OH WAIT. 

Wrong Mom. That's "Mother" (Almanzo's) who always did that.


Don't forget the sour pickles, quivering salt pork, piles of mashed turnips, and that final slice of pumpkin pie. Yeap, it takes a lot to feed a growing boy.


It takes a bit to feed a girl who-won't-grow-much-taller, too. 

While my cooking does not always turn out tasty, I still enjoy the weekend when I have time to shop and play "Little House" in preparation for a busy week. 

And there's something so fun about wrapping meat or slices of cake to squirrel away in the freezer for  later. 


Can I name my freezer "The Attic"? 


I need strings of onions! 


But I'll pass on the headcheese, thank you.