It was a pretty good week, food-wise! No catastrophes, and the kids mentioned dinner in the “gratitude” section of our evening prayers. Here’s what we had:
SATURDAY
Pizza
I have no memory of Saturday at all, but my blackboard says “pizza” on Saturday. Have I showed you my blackboard, by the way? I love it so much. I got in on clearance at Walmart:
[img attachment=”92128″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”blackboard” /]
This way, when the kids ask, “What’s for supper?” over and over again, I can say, “Look at the blackboard!” over and over again. Even better, it hangs in my kitchen, and every time I look at it, I can think, “Ah, something is settled, anyway.” Priceless.
SUNDAY
Chicken; salad; challah
I stopped at the expensive supermarket for seltzer, bananas, fresh herbs, and whatever else Aldi doesn’t have, and there was a little mob around the freezer section, so I leaned in and saw these individually-wrapped, boneless, skinless, organic, cage-free, vegan-fed chicken breast portions, 99 cents for 1.5 pounds. Don’t ask me why your chicken can’t eat bugs like the rest of us, but the old ladies had spotted the sale and there was no time to quibble. I bought six packages and my chakras felt more holistic instantly! Then I pulled the Lululemon out of my crack rushed over to the cash register before it started being New Hampshire again.
I marinated the chicken all day in olive oil, lemon juice, basil, salt, pepper, and tons of fresh garlic, and then put it under the broiler. Yum yum.
Couldn’t find my challah recipe, so I went with this one. I made the dough in the standing mixer with the dough hook. My lovely assistant helped me brush it with egg wash:
[img attachment=”92131″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”challah benny” /]
and they turned out great! (I just divide the dough into four, braid thee strands, then divide the fourth into three and braid that, and then put the little braid on top of the big one.) A single recipe made both loaves.
[img attachment=”92132″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”challah” /]
Sweet, fragrant, and lovely, bread of happiness. You do have to be home all day, but it wasn’t hard to make at all.
MONDAY
Beef barley soup; baked potatoes
I made the potatoes so the jerks would eat something. It was some very fine soup. Someday they’ll be sorry.
TUESDAY
Chicken nuggets; cheesy weezies; frozen peazies
WYSIWYG.
WEDNESDAY
Gochujang Bulgoki (Korean spicy pork)
On Tuesday, I got this amazing package from my friend Elizabeth:
[img attachment=”92144″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”korean food box” /]
including a hefty jar of gochujang (fermented hot pepper sauce), 5 lbs. of Nishiki sushi rice, tons of roasted seaweed, and the prettiest chopsticks I’ve ever seen, plus a ton of crazy, self-inflating valentines, sesame seeds, and a bamboo mat and rice paddle, which caused much squealing in my Asian-crazed daughters.
I made a triple batch of the sauce recipe she sent me, as follows:
per 1.5 pounds sliced pork:
1 bag matchstick carrots
1 white onions sliced thin
5 generous Tbs gochujang
2 Tbs honey
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
5 cloves minced garlic
with about 4.5 lbs of pork sliced thin. I marinated it overnight with the onions and carrots. Good thing, too, because the next day (this is Wednesday. I’m telling this wrong) we ended up stranded and languishing at the library in the next town until after 6:00, waiting for my husband to come rescue us.
[img attachment=”92142″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”corrie library” /]
Pretty rough, but we survived. It turns out you need to add coolant to your vehicle once every three years or so! Who knew.
So we got home super late with no time to try any fancy side dishes. Cooked up the pork following this recipe, cooked up a pot of excellent rice, and served it rolled up with lettuce and rice, and also bundled up some rice in seaweed, and we also had some rice rolls they had on sale at Aldi, which we ate in a most authentic fashion:
[img attachment=”92141″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”moe chopsticks” /]
O my brothers and o my sisters. Say it with me:
Gochujang Bulgoki.
If I were going to be hanged in the morning and they offered me whatever I wanted for my last meal on earth, it would be this. It was everything.
[img attachment=”92140″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”korean plate” /]
Eventually we had to stop eating because our jaws got tired, but that was the only reason. The kids loved it, too, even though it was seriously spicy. And I have more gochujang, too! Elizabeth says “mix a bit of it with a little sesame oil, apple juice, or honey, sesame seeds and green onions and use like a veggie dip, or mix with tuna.”
I will. I will.
THURSDAY
Hamburgers with fried onions; oven roasted potatoes; asparagus
Down to our last 5+ pounds of fancy-pants local beef. I campaigned hard for stroganoff, but the kids had their hearts set on 1/3-pound burgers. Can’t really blame them.
[img attachment=”92134″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”burgers potaotes asparagus” /]
I only had about five pounds of potatoes, so I sliced them thin instead of into wedges. Before I roasted them, I mixed them with oil and something called “Adobo all-purpose seasoning.” I think it’s pretty much garlic salt — not too thrilling. The kids sprinkled vinegar on them and declared it good.
FRIDAY
Spaghetti with jarred sauce; broccoli and peppers with hummus
And that’s that. Next week is school vacation, so who knows what we’ll come up with. My mother-in-law gave us a pasta maker that was sent to her in error, so that should be entertaining.
What’s for supper at your place? Anything thrilling to report? Don’t you want some Gochujang Bulgoki???
