What’s for supper? Vol. 385: Hot, hot, hot

Happy Friday! We are being unusually sociable this morning, and after making arrangements for Benny to have a little pool party, I took Lucy and Irene to their friend’s house. It’s only 25 minutes away, but very rural, and last time I went there, it was dark and foggy. But I COULD NOT FIND MY PHONE, which I depend on utterly to help me get around.

So, intrepidly, I went to Mapquest and printed out instructions just like in the olde days. And just like in the olde days, we couldn’t find any papere, so had to print over paper that already had something on it, and it ran out of inke before it was done, so we had to write the last few turns in with pen.

But, INTREPID, we started out, and after twenty minutes were pretty thoroughly lost. I shifted fairly seamlessly from my standard “really all it takes to get through life is a little confidence” monologue to my “you know, all my life I thought I was dumb because I got lost all the time, but now I know that everybody’s dumb about something, and it’s okay if you aren’t good at anything” monologue, and then modulated to a slightly desperate commentary on “It sure is pretty out here.” But we got there eventually, and I told the kids to go in and give me the high sign so I know it’s the right house. 

They never did, so I left.

I was — it’s hot. I’m not at my best. And no matter what I say to my teen daughters, I am pretty sure I’m stupid. 

Then I got even more lost on the way home, like, really, really lost. And then I found some roads that looked right, but I wasn’t sure which way I was supposed to be going on them. But eventually I went past a ski lodge that I had a very strong memory of being on the right hand side when I went there to pick up a kid with a sprained wrist, and, long story short, that sure was a big loop I made. But I did get home. And then I found my phone.

If anyone asks, this is a story about how Mapquest is subpar.

Here’s what we ate this week!

SATURDAY
Italian sandwiches

Geting ready for the big family independence day party, so I figured just simple sandwiches. Forgot to get sliced meat at Aldi, so I stopped at the deli counter at the second supermarket, and there was an ollllllld man with his olllllllld wife in a Rascal Scooter there, and he kept saying things like, “How’s about a taste of that uhhhhhh say that buffalo chicken?” and the deli guy would fetch the buffalo chicken and put it on the slicer and turn it on and cut a slice and fold it in half and put it on a little plastic square and hand it to the old man, and he would examine it and hand it to his wife, who would carefully unwrap it and, with great dignity, take a small bite, and she would say shakily, “That’s pretty good, but you know Stan I was wondering about the sodium” and the old man would say, “Ohhh, yahhhh, that’s something, the sodium. What about uhhhhh that Krakus ham?”

So I says to myself, I says, I will come back later.

Then I forgot. So I sent Damien out, and he got some meat, and we had sandwiches, and all I can say is, I hope I never turn into one of those ollllllld couples that goes on and on telling pointless stories about —

Hey, have you noticed, this website is free? 

SUNDAY
Cookout!

Sunday was just plain great. Lots of family and friends came, and we had lots of food, and my brother Izzy brought lots of sparklers and fireworks. Kids swam in the pool and splashed in the stream and played in the sandbox and on the swingset and trampoline, everyone had plenty to eat and drink, and it was just lovely. Glow sticks, glowing cups, temporary tattoos, torches and sticky kids. This is my favorite party. Bunch of photos here:

 

Oh, and we rented a COTTON CANDY MACHINE.

I cannot recommend this highly enough. There was a bit of a learning curve, but once we got it going, it was super easy, and it was delightful.

Much cheaper than I expected, too. Loud as heck, but it made a huge amount of cotton candy with each batch, and we ran it three times. It was a nice way to keep the party going, and just about everybody, of every age, wanted at least some. 

The rest of the menu was: Lots and lots of vegetables with dip and hummus

and several watermelons; wonderful savory baked beans from my sorta sister-in-law Elizabeth, guacamole from my brother Joe, and Damien cooked hot dogs, brats, hamburgers, and chicken thighs on the grill, and we had a mountain of chips, and for dessert, red and blue Jello cups with Kool Whip, and ice cream cups, and then just straight up bags of candy in the dark at the end. 

Ah, what a good party. Somebody found some of those weird black snakes, and we lit them all up at once while everyone chanted “SNAKE! SNAKE! SNAKE! SNAKE!” 

We always seem to have chanting at our parties. 

MONDAY
Cookout leftovers!

So many cookout leftovers. 

This would be a good time to talk about the Jello Hand. I had some leftover Jello after filling up all the cups that would fit in the fridge, so I filled up a glove and, because it had recently been the Fourth of July, called it The Invisible Hand of the Market, which, NO, picky-picky, that doesn’t make any sense. 

Some people might find it hard to figure out how to get a Jello hand such as this to stand up and keep its shape while it gels, but it happens that my almost entirely otherwise useless brain is really good at solving this kind of problem.

So then after the party, we had this Jello hand, and we didn’t know what to do with it, so Corrie ate it. 

and that’s-a my story. 

TUESDAY
Aldi pizza

Tuesday we still had more cookout leftovers in the fridge, but I couldn’t bring myself to serve them again, but I also couldn’t bring myself to cook anything. And that’s what Aldi pizza is for. 

WEDNESDAY
Chicken pesto pasta, bread

Wednesday I went to West Lebanon to have lunch with my friend Jenni, who I’ve been friends with for something like 24 years but have never met in person!

The internet was basically a mistake, except for the part where you make online friends that are absolutely real friends. (And also the part with the maps that tell you where to go.)

Got home and it was SO HOT. It’s been so hot and so humid all week. Not in the 100’s or anything, like some parts, but still pretty freaking hot, and it’s just exhausting, and everything makes you sweaty, and it’s hard to think or do anything. So I did the quickiest shortcut meal I could think of without heating up the kitchen too much, with ingredients on hand, which was: A few pounds of rotini, a bunch of butter, a bunch of shredded parmesan, and a few jars of pesto, and chunks of chicken breast I had cooked in the Instant Pot. 

A decent summer meal. I honestly don’t think it would have tasted better if I had gone through a whole hot ordeal making a cream sauce or whatever. 

THURSDAY
Korean pork ribs, rice, watermelon

An actual recipe! I got a giant rack of pork ribs for like $10, without a solid plan, but found this likely-looking recipe from Glebe Kitchen. Super simple. You just sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and cook it in the oven for an hour or so, until it hits 180 degrees.

Toward the end of cooking, you make a quick gochujang sauce, with garlic and ginger, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sesame oil, gochujang, and brown sugar. It also calls for fish sauce, which I didn’t have. 

I wanted each rib to have plenty of sauce, so I cut the ribs up first (and that was a bit of a travesty. I think I need a meat cleaver), and then brushed them with sauce

then put it back in the oven for another ten minutes or so, finishing it with the broiler, until they got a little bit blackened in spots, and were sizzling

OH, so good. The sauce was thick and sticky, spicy and a little sweet, and the meat was tender and juicy. Probably could have left it in the oven for another five minutes to really let the glaze get a little thicker, but there were no complaints.

I had made a pot of rice in the Instant Pot and cut up the last remaining watermelon (yes, I bought too many watermelons for the party) and it was an excellent meal.

Briefly considered making Korean-inspired collard greens, because this meal is really callong for something green; but did I mention it’s HOT, and I’m not like other people, and when it’s hot, I don’t want to cook? It’s true. 

Definitely making these ribs again. I was afraid the sauce was going to be too spicy and maybe a little harsh, which is how it tasted when it was just sauce; but once it got cooked onto the meat, it mellowed and was perfect. MANY of us thought it was perfect. 

Many of us had to be cautioned to slow down so as not to accidentally devour our own little fingers, which are not made of Jello. 

FRIDAY
Honestly, probably pizza again

You’ll never guess: It’s hot out. Kids are swimming, dog is panting, cat is stretched out pathetically on the bathroom floor, barely even able to muster the strength to bite anybody’s ankles. Very sad. I think he needs some Aldi pizza. 

Speaking of the cat and dog, this week is the anniversary of the days we brought both these worthy animals home — the cat, a year ago, and the dog, four years ago. 

Look at them now!

They’re both such good boys, and such good friends

And you know what else, Damien’s going to pick the kids up from their fun time with friends who live in terra incognita. Because it’s hot.

 

 

Liked it? Take a second to support simchajfisher on Patreon!

10 thoughts on “What’s for supper? Vol. 385: Hot, hot, hot”

  1. Wow! This can be one particular of the most useful blogs We have ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Wonderful. I am also a specialist in this topic therefore I can understand your effort.

  2. *It’s been cold, cold, cold here. The superheated valleys suck the marine layer in. I have wool sweaters within reach at all times. I kind of miss those years when it felt like Mexico here, but we were about to run out of water. El Nino took care of that problem–and scoured away half of the beaches too 🙁 . They say La Nina weather is coming soon. Who knows. I’ll bet $5 the 100 degree weather returns when school resumes.

  3. Well, I have to say that getting to read several of your blog posts in a row was the best thing that the internet has done for me in a while. It was my intention to read and paint this summer but I have hardly done either in a meaningful way. This morning, between Googling “who was the gunman…” and “what did Rupnik do?” along with my regular Catholic fare (which included a graphic description of the SF Pride parade) I suddenly remembered “I Have To Sit Down”. A relief. Thank God. I loved reading about the monster cabbage, Beluga whale, Home Depot etc.

    One of my sons and his cousin actually tuned into an Alex Jones YouTube (or something of that sort) while I tortured myself with all of my garbage clicks. I know they think he’s a freak and love to be entertained by him but they listened intently. I had to say “Sandy Hook” a couple of times just to reel them back in.

    Your whole pool project looks lovely, and your talent to achieve such a thing astounds me. It is sweet to see your brick patio being enjoyed by friends and family too. I just made a DIY fountain with three ceramic plant pots, a bird bath and an amazon solar pump, and was thinking I was pretty nifty. –I can’t imagine what you feel guilty about during bouts of insomnia when you do so much for others. I for one have been hiding from my family all summer at our place in Santa Barbara. My husband has been driving the five hours back and forth, every other week. They have discovered how much work it takes to run the household on their own, and make it look beautiful. I am both guilty and gleeful to be free. (We have five of the kids home for the summer.)

  4. All hail the Jello hand! It sounds like the party was lovely. And everything sounds good and as if it’s not too much work (cooking in hot weather is horrible).

    I just remembered that my grandmother had a basement kitchen that she used for canning and cooking in the summer. Right now it sounds like a great idea.

  5. I’ve had that feeling about some roads
    too!: the ones that look familiar but I’m not sure which way I’m supposed to go on them because they’re so far away from where I usually travel. Glad you made it back home. And the picture of you is lovely.

    Happy July!

  6. Looks like a fabulous Fourth of July party! Before GPS, etc., my daughter missed a classmate’s party while I desperately drove all over a bunch of suburban roads someone from Philadelphia could never figure out trying to find the party house – you’re not the only one! It was before cell phones and I’m not sure why I didn’t stop at a gas station or something to try to get help, but I didn’t – maybe there didn’t seem to be a place to even ask foe help? Anyway, your garden looks lush and lovely, too! We do have AC but went out to dinner twice this week because a relative is in town, and had leftovers from the dinners out two other nights which makes me very happy! Back to cooking work tomorrow…this felt like vacation as I had several nights without even a kitchen to clean up!

  7. I can always tell from people’s menus in the summer if they have air conditioning. We do not, which is when I see people making soup in July, I am incredulous. And kind of nauseated.

  8. I declared last week no cooking week. It wasn’t 100% cooking free as I made noodles for macaroni salad, rice for cucumber & rice salad (New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone), put bread in the bread machine. But every meal was cold. Highly recommend. And I learned that a sliced very fresh tomato with just salt and pepper is almost as good as caprese and less work. Maybe there was too much nitrates this week but we needed the sodium with all the sweating we did. I’m so glad it’s back in the 70s.

Comments are closed.