[img attachment=”98244″ align=”aligncenter” size=”medium” alt=”whats for supper aleteia” /]
You may have noticed I didn’t put a food post up last Friday, and I haven’t blogged a lot this week. This is because, right in the middle of the end-of-school frenzy, Corrie got a terrible, horrible stomach bug that landed her in the ER twice, so nobody got any sleep and nobody got anything done. (She’s much better, thank goodness.)
I don’t even remember if this is what we actually ate last week, but here’s what I wrote on the menu:
Grilled pizza sandwiches
Hamburgers and chips
Greek pasta salad with chicken
Hot dogs, corn chips, beans
Pancakes and eggs
Korean tuna and rice
Spiedies; potato salad; corn on the cob
Maybe we even had a vegetable at some point, who can say? I’m sure I would have made up some nonsense, but the only thing really worth talking about was the spiedies. We used pork, and o my brothers and o my sisters, it tasted almost like steak. Amazing.
Because I’ve never had spiedies before, I used this recipe from the NYT (I know, I know. If they ran a recipe for Corn Flakes and milk, it would involve a Gruyère crema with arugula chiffonade. (Those are all real words; I checked.) But it turned out so well, I’m willing to live with my elitism.
Confession: the main reason I like cooking is because you get to play mad scientist with the marinades, like when we were little and my mother would let us make “experiments” with anything in her pantry. (If you’re looking for a weird, funny kid’s book that begins with a kitchen experiment like this, check out William Steig’s Gorky Rises.)
Here’s my magical concoction:
[img attachment=”107141″ align=”aligncenter” size=”medium” alt=”marinade” /]
How could something extraordinary fail to follow? So I marinated the pork chunks overnight, and then stuck them on skewers for Mr. Husband to cook on the grill. We had about six pounds of meat, so there were dozens and dozens of skewers.
You guys, this did not taste like 99-cent pork. It was fantastic.
[img attachment=”107144″ align=”aligncenter” size=”medium” alt=”spiedies” /]
Served with corn on the cob and potato salad that my daughter made.
We also decided to make a strawberry rhubarb pie, but we didn’t have enough fruit for two pies; so I made one big one in a square pan (and discovered why people don’t usually make pie in square pans, even though pi r squared, har har har). The kids used cookie cutters to make dough flowers, which we tossed on top. Kind of a 70s nonskid bathtub effect, but who are we trying to impress?
[img attachment=”107147″ align=”aligncenter” size=”medium” alt=”strawberry tart” /]
Served with whipped cream. No complaints!
***
Here’s what we had this past week:
MONDAY
Chili and corn muffins.
The recipe really isn’t worth sharing. Just your basic meat, various beans, spicy spices, peppers, onions, tomatoes, whatever. Hardly anyone ate it, which is great because I made enough to fill Trevi Fountain in memoriam of all the martyrs of Mexico. Aw, boo, was that in bad taste? I can’t help it, I’m sick.
Yep, the terrible, horrible stomach bug found me next. Just as Corrie was starting to turn the corner a little bit, but still needing lots of extra attention and wanting to nurse all day to replace the fluids she had lost, I was knocked flat. I could not even believe how sick I was. Fever dreams about Shinzō Abe and everything. On the good moments, I felt like a sock in a puddle on the side of the highway. On the bad moments, I found myself thinking, “I must be at least 9 cm by now!” But no.
Thank goodness we had all that chili.
***
TUESDAY
I have no memory of Tuesday. I think chicken nuggets. Husband stayed home from work and made supper.
***
WEDNESDAY
Kielbasa, sauerkraut, pierogies
This is where the whole meal plan advantage breaks down in a spectacular way. You buy food that sounds good on Saturday, and then Wednesday comes, and you’re just barely strong enough to move your jaws up on down to make a little headway on a Saltine. You drag your eyelids open at 5 PM, vaguely aware that people will want to eat dinner, and there’s a big, bad kielbasa staring you in the face with obvious malice.
I remember whimpering and lurching in the direction of the couch while the kids made supper.
***
THURSDAY
Pizza
I actually felt well enough to make supper, but then had to go lie down again. That cheese was heavy.
***
FRIDAY
Crunchy jalapeño grilled cheese
Again with the ideal food for those very slowly recovering from gastroenteritis. You use Colby Jack, and add sliced jalapeños and broken-up corn chips to the cheese before grilling. I haven’t been this angry at my past self since I woke up with a tattoo of Roy Orbison on my bum.
I haven’t had any coffee since Monday. I’m living on Gatorade and Saltines.
The washing machine broke several days ago and flooded the laundry room floor, which was covered with clothes.
I haven’t had any coffee since Monday.
I cancelled so many appointments. We skipped portfolio night and are bad parents. My daughter’s high school graduation is tonight, and I really, truly want to care.
I haven’t had any coffee since Monday.
I am a wet sock in a puddle by the side of the highway.
But there is still plenty of leftover chili!
