Sunday Morning In Paradise

Ahhhh, Sunday. Lazy, quiet Sunday. It's... not quiet at all. It's busy as can be and isn't going to let up.

Just household chores and cooking - roasting Brussels sprouts with garlic and quartered mushrooms. Baking my chicken and cooking my rice and sauteing my bell peppers and mushrooms. None of it's hard, it's just time consuming and rather boring between the waiting for it to finish and the clearing up. The good news is that I do this just once a week. It's not like I do this every day or every few days, so that's not bad.

What I make today will feed me for at least a week. Although the sprouts might not last that long. They come out of the oven so sweet and so savory that I have a hard time not eating all of them in a sitting. It's amazing what just a little olive oil, a few sprouts (trimmed) and some balsamic vinegar can do. So yummy. My mouth is watering.

Before getting downstairs this morning, though, the first thing I did was strip my bed and turn my mattress. It's a good thing it's only a full-size. In my next phase I'm thinking of getting a queen set but when I get to the store to pick it out, I'm going to see if I can woman-handle it by myself - spin it laterally and turn it over. If I can't, I'll stick to the smaller mattress. After all, just how much acreage does one person need? A queen set would be nice because, honestly, the full is just a little too short - my feet stick over the end (and I'm not that tall!) when I stretch out and it's not wide enough for me to sleep diagonally all stretched out and not have my toes poke out over the end.

The sheets are in the dryer after being washed with my new pants - hot water because by the time I left the store yesterday my hands were stained with dye from the pants. I also hope they shrink a little. They were just a little too big but the size smaller was just a little too small. I want a happy medium, something that fits perfectly and comfortably. That's another reason I hate shopping - it's an impossible task to find the "perfect" fit which is why there are seamstresses out there. But I don't have the money, or the talent or skill, to refit the "one-size-fits-all" stuff I get from the store.

Compromise, all of life is compromise and this is another one.

It's raining today - which is lovely. We've been getting days upon days of rain interspersed with dry spells, and I'm still not tired of it. I'm still not to the point where I'm turning my back to the mirror, checking over my shoulder to see if the duck feathers are starting to sprout down my spine. That might be the case in another month or so, if the rain keeps up, but I've always liked rain.

I dug around in the garage this morning, too, looking for the old silverware we've kept from our early days of marriage. Sam, our cat, has his own set of utensils and dishes. We keep them in the bathroom drawer upstairs, in the same bathroom where we use the medicine cabinet as his pantry - full of cans of cat food. I prefer using a fork to break up the food while hubby prefers using a spoon. I win. Since I do the majority of the feeding, and since I ran out of forks day before yesterday, I went out into the garage, got some more forks and now the mix will be heavy on the forks. Fascinating stuff, huh?

It's all a part of life and living here, though, and it's a little opening into my world for you to peek through and see how this speck of the other half lives.

Hubby's coffee is set up. MIL's pills are sorted for another week. The kitchen counters are cleaned. The dishwasher has been emptied and the dishes from last night that wouldn't fit are tucked inside. Just little things, normal things we all do. So, no. Not fascinating, really. And this afternoon I'll roast my Brussels sprouts and saute my mushrooms and bell peppers and cook the rice and bake the chicken.

I may even make another batch of my berry syrup since I finished what I made last week. It is so good with yogurt or oatmeal or even over a banana as dessert. Yum.

Well, enough of this. I have hours of cooking ahead so I should get going and stop procrastinating.

Have a wonderful day doing what you choose and like!

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories

Yeahhhh... It's Saturday.

One o'clock in the afternoon, the must-dos are done, and I have a few hours ahead of me to just chill out and relax.

I've been playing Farm Heroes as time allows. Usually when I'm standing at the sink, watering Sam, who increasingly refuses to bend down to drink. I'm increasingly convinced it's because he has arthritis in his neck and shoulders. When not standing at the sink I was running errands and at the bank and picking up MIL's prescription of the week. Every week I'm at the pharmacy because every week one of her many scrips needs refilling. Not a routine I'll miss, when the time comes that it's over, but not one I mind, either. Except this morning because of a woman in line ahead of me.

It smelled as if she had trouble with the perfume bottle this morning. I think she spilled it all over herself because the scent was not just strong, it was overwhelming to the point where I took two steps back, turned my head and struggled to breathe. And I don't have allergies or asthma, so I know it was overpowering.

I'm one of those who never wear scent. I don't even like scented deodorant. I mean, the whole point with deodorant is not to smell, right? So why coat your pits with perfume? I don't get it.

Anyway. Enough of that because I don't want to think about my pits, so I'll tell you about my plans for tomorrow.

I'll get up early and make up a big pot of chile verde and another pot of Spanish rice. Warming comfort food for fall. Of course, it's still hot enough here that it doesn't feel much like fall, but that's okay. It's supposed to be in the 80's early this week, even though it's heading toward mid-October, but that's normal. We might get some rain Sunday after next. If Yahoo is right. Then it might really start feeling like fall.

Still, I'm looking forward to the chile. Hubby bought some peppers - Fresno and serrano - for taco meat and didn't use all of them, so I'll use 'em up. Along with celery, tomatillos, cilantro and an onion. I'm going to see if I can't reduce the liquid this time. I don't like thin, runny stews. I like them thick enough I can stand a spoon up in it, and I've had trouble figuring out how to make this chile thick. Perhaps one can of chicken broth instead of water and chicken broth? I don't know. I'll see. Which is where the rice comes in. If it's too thin, I'll dump the rice in and use that to soak up the excess liquid. Otherwise, if the chile is thick, I'll keep the rice separate and serve it with the chile over the top.

Fascinating stuff, huh?

Then, after the cooking is done, hubby and I are going to start going through the house, clearing things out. I think it's the aftermath of the clean-up of the backyard. He likes the new, clean look, so he's started to think about the house - which is REFRESHING!!! He's even talking about replacing the fence next year!!! It's like a miracle. Of course, I'm not holding my breath. We'll see what happens after tomorrow, but if we get some stuff cleared out, I'll be happy.

There's all sorts of stuff to go through. I started today with simple things that have been cluttering up my half of the closet. Little things that I picked up somewhere along the way and set down on the shelf but never used. Gone. Easy stuff will be just that - easy. Then we'll get to the next level where things will be harder.

Still, I have to keep my eye on the prize. If I don't really need it or really want it, it's going to go. Either to the garage sale pile (and trust me, I ABHOR the idea of holding a garage sale), the donate pile or the garbage pile. I may suggest E-bay for some of this stuff because then we wouldn't have to spend a weekend with a garage sale - setting up, breaking down, setting up, breaking down and getting rid of whatever is left.

It's a personal thing, but I just don't like garage sales. It's like I'm offering my junk for someone else to take home. Which is fine, if the buyer is willing, but why do they want my castoffs? I don't get it. But that's me and I understand there's a pleasure some people get from garage sales. I see it when the neighbors have them. The early birds who show up at seven-thirty or eight o'clock or whenever the start is advertised. The laggards who come to pick through whatever is left. We'll see.

First, I have to get there. In fact, I think I'm going to go get a jump on tomorrow. Grab and toss the low-hanging fruit, and start thinking about the other things.

Have a lovely Saturday!

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories

Chow Mein Sunday

This has been a good Sunday.

I slept well last night, woke up reasonably early, and got started. Got the laundry going, emptied the dishwasher, got my mother-in-law’s pills done for the week, took care of the cat, made the bed and was ready to start cooking up my stir-fry by eight o’clock. After getting the cooking done, I spent several hours editing and writing before starting this. Which is why this is being posted so late in the day.

I'm looking forward to eating pork chow mein for lunch this week. It is really good! Yep – I cheated and had some. The best part of it is that it cost me about $11 to make, but I’ve got plenty for at least ten or eleven meals. At a buck a meal, that’s pretty good value. It’s great being a cheap date!

In case you’re interested (this recipe takes less time to write than it does to make), here’s how I did it. That’s a bit like:

Only it’s better.

One pack chow mein noodles

One pork tenderloin about four pounds, slivered (1/4-inch thick strips)

One head (head, not clove) of garlic, peeled.

Two medium sweet onions, chunked

Three small fresh jalapeno peppers, sliced (optional)

Two red bell peppers, seeded and chunked

Ten large mushrooms, chunked

Two baby bok choy

Six stalks of celery, chopped and soaked

Bamboo shoots, one can, drained well

Salt – just a little, for the meat

White pepper, to taste

Turmeric, to taste (because it’s really, really good for you!)

Chinese Five Spice, to taste

Powdered cloves, to taste

Vietnamese Garlic Sauce

Soy Sauce

Sesame oil (this is for flavor)

Peanut oil (this is for cooking)

Yeah, it’s a lot of prep, but with how much this makes and how good it tastes, it’s worth it. Get out a lot of small bowls. One for each veggie that’s big enough to hold as much of that veggie as you’re going to make. It makes dealing with the cooking easier if everything is separated before you start. You’ll also need a great big bowl to hold all of this stuff as you go and once it’s all cooked. You’ll also need a big kettle or stockpot because this is pretty much a one pot meal. Except for the bowls, those are extra.

Before we get started, just so you know, I don’t follow recipes. I like to be creative so I fly by the seat of my pants. The worst case scenario is that it probably won’t kill me. Everything I add is edible and it will probably still be edible when I’m done.

Given the edibility of everything, I’m not going to measure or suggest how much of anything to use because this is your deal, not mine. You need to cook this so you like it because, unless you invite me for dinner, you’re going to eat this. So you’re on your own with the measuring.

When I say ‘spice’ I mean add as much or as little as you like. If you want to use something other than I’ve listed here, go for it. Okay, we got that?

First, cook the noodles in oiled and salted water (the little bit of oil, about two tablespoons worth – and I use olive oil – keeps the pasta from sticking together). Keep an eye on them and stir them a few times. They cook quickly, about five minutes. Once they’re cooked, dump them into a colander or large sieve and rinse them under cold water, then let them drain while you do the rest of the stuff. I just leave them in the colander on top of a plate. They’ll dry, but that’s okay because no one likes soupy chow mein.

Next, because it’s easy, open and drain the bamboo shoots. Just cut the lid off the can, hold the lid in place, leaving a gap, and drain them. No need to waste a sieve or strainer for them. Just get as much of the liquid off as you can, without making a production out of it (if there’s a little left, that’s okay).

I prep the veggies first, so I’m not doing the veggie-prep (like a new dance move) on a board on which I’ve prepped the raw meat. That’s icky.

Peel the garlic head and separate the cloves of garlic. Take one clove at a time and lay the blade of a large kitchen knife flat on top of it. Keep the blade flat with the cutting edge away from you so you don’t cut your hand. Smack each clove sharply. If you do it right, you won’t demolish the garlic clove (it’ll taste the same if you do, but it’s better not to), but it will burst the skin making it easier to peel. Peel them and put them in a bowl.

To chunk onions, peel them (like, DUH!). Trim the top and root. Cut it in half, through the axis. Take one half and lay it flat. Cut it in half across the middle. Turn the halves together, keeping them flat, and cut those two halves three times so you end up with six sections. Those are chunks. That’s how you do it. Do the other half and the other onion and put them into a bowl.

Next, chunk the red peppers. Slice the seeded bell peppers along the seams. Finish cleaning them out and then slice each section into three strips, then cut the strips crosswise, in half. They are chunked. Put ‘em in a bowl and set ‘em aside.

If you’re adding the jalapenos, use rubber or plastic gloves to handle them. As you probably know, you do not want jalapeno juice on your fingers or hands. Even if you don’t have a cut, it can irritate your skin and if you get it in your eyes, I swear – you will wish you had never been born! Slice ‘em and put them in a bowl. Wash the rubber gloves with soap and get rid of them.

Wash the mushrooms and trim the bottom of the stem. Cut each mushroom into chunks. You’re on your own because I don’t know if you like big chunks or little ones and, since you’re eating this, do as you will. Put them into a bowl (are you seeing the theme here?).

Rinse the bok choy well. Peel the leaves and clean the bases, wash the tops. I like the stem part, not the leaf part, so I usually cut the tops of the leaves, keeping most of it but getting rid of the tops. Slice the bigger stems into two or three strips. Get a bowl and…

Trim the tops and bottoms of the celery stalks and slice them into pieces as large or as small as you like. I just cut them across the stem, about 1/2-inch or so wide. Now this, because I like crispy celery, is where I add water to the bowl in which these are going to wait.

A way of keeping celery fresh for longer is to stand it up in a pitcher and add fresh water before you stick it in the refrigerator. You know those stringy things inside celery stalks? Those are tubes and water gets sucked up inside, making the stalks crisper. Like a straw you used to play with when you were a kid. This is the same idea while the celery hangs around, waiting for its turn in the pan.

Now, spend a bit of quality time with your meat. Slice it and dice it until you end up with a bunch of strips about 1/4-inch on a side and a few inches long. I keep the 12 quart stockpot in which all of this is going to be cooked handy and just toss the slices in as I go.

This is a rare time when I use salt. Not a lot – just a little.  Put the kettle on the burner and turn it on. Pork has a lot of water in it, so you don’t need to add oil or water or anything just yet. Cook it on medium low. It’s pork, so you have to cook it all the way through and slow is better. Salt it and let it go for a few minutes, stirring whenever you feel like it.

I like spices, so I’ll add some white pepper, turmeric, powdered cloves, and Chinese five spice at this point. I’ll also add some of the sesame oil because I like the flavor. Just add a little. The goal is not to grease this pig. It’s just to add the taste of the sesame oil.

Once the meat starts to brown and you’ve turned it a couple of times, put a lid on it for a few minutes. Let the seasoning cook into the meat until the meat is done through.

Spoon the meat out of the pan, leaving the liquid behind, and put the meat into that great big bowl I asked you to get out and set it aside. Pour the liquid from the pan, right down the sink and put the pan back on the burner, turn the heat to medium.

Put a little peanut oil into the pan and let it warm up. When it thins, spread it around and toss in the garlic cloves. Let them cook, stirring a couple of times, and add the jalapenos.

Cook those for a couple of minutes (you want to take some of the garlic out of the garlic and some of the heat out of the jalapenos, so be patient).

Toss the onion into the pan and let that cook for a few minutes, stirring.

Drain the celery and add it, cooking for another couple of minutes. Add some more spices, however much you feel like and stir it all up. Let it cook for a couple of minutes, stirring. Once you’re happy with the way these are cooked, take them from the pan and add them to the meat and stir it up so the flavors blend.

Add a little more peanut oil to the pan – you don’t want to get crazy, just add enough to keep the ‘shrooms and peppers from sticking. Add the ‘shrooms and get them started. Once they’ve had a minute or two and you’ve stirred them around, add the red bell peppers and go for another three or four minutes, until the peppers start to look cooked. Splash some soy sauce over them, maybe add some more spice if you feel like it, and cook them for a bit longer.

Once you’re happy with the way they look, dump in the bok choy. You don’t want to cook this to death – it’s good to have some texture when you’re done, so go easy. Just cover the pan for about a minute or a minute-and-a-half, and then take the lid off. Pour back in all the other stuff you’ve already cooked, except the noodles, and stir it up.

Add about two or three tablespoons of the Vietnamese Garlic Sauce – it’s potent so if you don’t like heat, use a little less – maybe one or two, but it’s good stuff so be brave and at least add some! Mix it in well and let everything blend together for a couple of minutes, stirring so the heat gets mixed through.

Add a bit more soy sauce and cook it for another minute, still stirring.

When you think it’s done, start spooning this creation out, into that great big bowl that’s big enough to hold it all, letting the liquid drain off, back into the pot. Don’t get rid of this liquid – you’re going to cook the noodles in it for a couple of minutes.

Once all the veggies and the meat are in the bowl, let the sauce in the pan cook down for a minute or two. Add the noodles and heat them up. After a minute or two, turn them over. They’re going to be solidified into whatever shape the colander had, so just treat it like a pancake and do your best to flip it over. Try to separate them a little once they heat, but don’t re-cook them.

Once the liquid is absorbed, pour the meat and veggie mixture back into the pot and mix it all together. When it’s heated through, take it out and put it into that bowl you have that’s big enough for everything and, except for the clean-up, you’re done.

So that’s how I did it. I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful time trying this recipe. Better still, I hope you enjoy it!

Best~

Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories

The Beginning of Success

Oh, frabjous day! A month ago I decided, firmly, to do something about my weight. Then I had my confrontation with flax. Flax won, temporarily, but now I’m back on track. Last weekend I finally sucked it up, gathered my courage and stepped on the scale. Surprise! It wasn’t as bad as I expected. It also set the bar – the benchmark of my starting point and told me how far I have to go to get to where I want to be.

Today I stepped on the scale again, after a week of ‘being careful’ and watching what I eat, denying sometimes (not as often as I should). Four pounds – one tenth of my goal – is gone. Yay, me!

I have a long way to go, and there will undoubtedly be ups and downs, times when I do better than others. It’s a start though, a good one. It’s also the downhill portion because it was mostly water so now starts the *ahem* heavy lifting.

Yeah, yeah. I know this is boring, no one but me cares, but it’s important to me so, because this is my blog, I’m going to crow about my successes.

As I said in a previous post, I’ve been here, done this diet / weight loss thing before. I know what’s required. It takes discipline and I know from hard experience that denial is a death knell for any diet.

When I was in high school, where my weight problem started, I would get home from school and make toast. Not just a slice or two. It was usually four or five slices, slathered in butter. It was like my gateway drug. From there I expanded to bags of chips. Not little bags, big ones, and cans of premade frosting.

Thinking of that stuff now it makes me sick, but that was how I got started. Then, when I was seventeen, I started to change how I eat, and I lost the weight. Then I got married and the yo-yo started.

Within a year after our wedding, the Fates delivered their twenty pound wedding gift to my belly, hips and thighs. To get rid of it, I tried a ‘fad’ diet. It was the early 80s and the diet du jour was the Cambridge Diet, a powder that you mixed with water and drank.

You were ‘allowed’ to eat celery and then one ‘good’ meal per day. In other words, not enough to keep an emaciated rabbit alive and, because I had nothing in me, I ended up with massive stomach pains. That time I went to the ER and the doc was like, ‘Duh!’

That was all I needed to teach me that fad diets are probably a bad idea. Won’t do ‘em, won’t pay for food separate and apart from what the family is eating because, undoubtedly, I would end up looking longingly at the other plate, thinking how unfair life is.

So I cook for myself. I like to cook, but I don’t like to spend hours in the kitchen and I certainly don’t want things that use a gazillion pots, pans, or utensils. Cleaning up is the worst part of it. Prep is only slightly behind cleaning, so I want things that are quick and easy, tasty but simple. One pan, maybe two and I make things for breakfast and lunch that I like, things that are reasonable in calories and fit my requirements. For dinner I typically eat what the family eats and, after years of struggle, have made it clear that I prefer to serve myself.

For two decades my husband served everyone – he is the cook, he deemed it his right. Since he’s a guy, he always served more than this gal needed or wanted but, dutifully, because I had been taught as a kid: if it’s on your plate, you eat it because of starving children in China. One day I decided ‘this is really stupid’. I said, ‘no thanks, I’ll serve myself.’ We argued, more than a few times over more than a couple of years, but I eventually won. Now I serve myself – small portions. Not necessarily as small as they should be, but smaller than if he portioned it out.

One of my favorite movie lines – and I only saw the trailer, not the movie – was a family sitting around the dinner table. Skinny sister looks at ‘fat’ sister and says something along the lines of, ‘who’s holding a gun to your head to make you put that into your mouth?’ Too true! So it’s on me and I have it pretty much under control.

This week’s lunch menu is pork roast, roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic, sautéed mushrooms with bell peppers, and rice. In case anyone is interested, here’s my recipe for sautéed mushrooms and bell peppers. Try it, maybe next time you’re having company so if you don’t like it you’re not stuck with a bunch of it. Or you can make less, if you’d like, but I make this and then keep the extras in the fridge to be rewarmed to have it with my meat, over rice, inside a warm tortilla or on pizza.

Sauteed Bell Peppers and Mushrooms

Three or four bell peppers, seeded and sliced into strips

One pound mushrooms, washed and trimmed, then sliced

Optional: Thin sliced scallion

Optional: Black pitted olives, sliced

Butter

Good quality balsamic vinegar (can substitute Worcestershire Sauce)

White pepper

Melt a small amount of butter, enough to coat the bottom of a large pan. Sauté the mushroom slices, cooking them until they are golden brown or darker (depending on preference). If needed, cook in batches. Use a slotted spoon to remove the mushrooms from the pan, leaving the liquor. Put them in a glass bowl large enough to hold all of the mushrooms and peppers, once they’re cooked. To the pan, add the sliced bell pepper in batches, without crowding, add more butter if needed. Sauté until cooked through but still firm (you should be able to cut one in half with the edge of a spoon without too much effort). As each batch is done, move them to the bowl with the mushrooms.

After the last batch is cooked, put all of it back in the pan. Add, if desired, the sliced scallion and sliced olives and reheat. Sprinkle with white pepper to taste and splash with vinegar, to taste. Reheat for about two minutes, to take the ‘edge’ off the pepper, stirring frequently.

Once the veggies are cooked, remove them from the pan leaving the juices. Continue cooking the juices down, until it thickens. This is where the salt will really come out, so you don't need to add any - you're concentrating whatever was already there from the vinegar, the olives (if you added them). When you're satisfied with the consistency, pour the liquor over the veggies, toss and serve. Or refrigerate to use later.

* * * * * *

Yes – I know the butter is ‘bad’ for you, but if you try to use cooking spray or olive oil, it’s not going to taste as good. They’ll be slimy for one thing (I’ve tried it). Just use a little – just enough to keep the ‘shrooms from sticking and keep stirring until they give up their water (and, believe it or not, mushrooms have a lot of water in them). Use the butter judiciously.

Another favorite of mine is roasted Brussels sprouts. The recipes I’ve found say ‘use a pound’ or some defined quantity. Nah. I buy two pound bags of them from Costco and use however many will fit in the roasting pan. I use a big roasting pan, so it’s usually the whole bag. If they're big and the pan won't hold all of them, I put whatever is left into a Ziplock bag, squeeze the air out and put them into the veggie bin in the fridge. They'll keep for a couple of weeks.

For roasting, though, the keys are to get ‘em all in in one layer, and to leave a little room so you can stir them and they’ll actually cook.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

One or two pounds of Brussels sprouts or however many will fit in the pan (see above)

Olive oil - get the good kind, it's worth it

One head garlic, peeled and cloves separated (you don't need to trim them - the cooking will soften them enough that they're edible by the time it's all over)

Optional: one medium sized sweet onion, chunked*

Balsamic vinegar

White pepper

*Chunked – it’s what I call it. There’s minced and chopped, we all know what those are. Chunked is when you cut the onion in half, then in quarters, then cut it until you have big chunks, like eighths or ‘steenths. It’s bigger than chopped so it’s chunked.

If the Brussel sprouts aren’t already trimmed (stems), trim them. Wash them in any order – before, after, I don’t think it matters. I usually do it after because I think the water helps steam them. If you feel inclined, you can slice them down the middle. I never do because it’s too much trouble and they cook just fine.

Put a little olive oil into the bottom of the roasting pan. Add the sprouts and sprinkle the peeled garlic cloves around the pan, among the sprouts. If you're adding the onion, do that. Stir it all up to coat the veggies with the oil.

Splash with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with a little white pepper.

Now, recipes call for salt. I never use salt. The vinegar has salt. There’s naturally occurring salt in the sprouts and onion. I don’t think the salt adds anything but if you’re a salt-o-holic, knock yourself out and have at it.

Put the pan in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes. At 30 minutes check on them. Stir them, turn them over, and see how they’re doing. Put them back for as long as you think they might need – 10 minutes, 15, 20, use your judgement.

When they’re done, take them out and let them relax in the pan for a few minutes. They’ll keep cooking until you take them out of the pan or until they get cold (whichever comes first – that’s my disclaimer), but that’s okay.

Once you serve them, they will be sweet and just a little mildly ‘sprouty’ – not overwhelming. They make a great side with pork or lamb or beef. The best part is the next day. Once they’ve chilled they will sweeten up – all the natural sugar will come to the fore and it’s like eating candy.

So that’s going to be the secret to my ultimate success: lots of vegetable dishes that are quick, easy and delicious, along with protein – mostly chicken and pork. I’ll have some bread but not a lot, and won’t deny myself much of anything so I don’t get frustrated.

Now, I’m off to get cooking and I hope you have a lovely Fourth of July!

Best~

Philippa

Follow me on Twitter:https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories

Either Ya Love It, Or You Hate It. No Neutral Feelings

Meatloaf. Say that in a group and some will make gagging noises, like 'errgh' and turn some shade of green. Some will say, with lightened expression and a joyful gaze, 'oh! I love meatloaf, how do you make yours?'

Until a few years ago I was decidedly with the 'gag-alicious' group. I did not like meatloaf. Mostly because I hate ketchup (yeah, I know, heresy, but where are you on mustard?). Even when I was a kid I hated ketchup. Wouldn't eat it and since my mom always made her meatloaf with ketchup, bleah.

I don't know what changed. Whether it's simply the distance of time and faded memory, or if I've just grown up. In either case I decided a couple of months ago to try to make a meatloaf. Since we have a ton of ground beef hanging out in the freezer (long story, but trust me) and I was worrying that it would spoil before we got around to using it, I decided to try.

This morning, even though it looks a lot like a dog's breakfast, I made one from a kind of a made-up/follow-along recipe.

Some of the recipes I found online said 'use one egg', others said 'two'. I used two. After all, that was what was in the fridge and what am I going to do with one egg after its brother is gone?

Most recipes said breadcrumbs. I don't have breadcrumbs. Some said use oatmeal. That I have, so I used it, along with a good couple of shakes of flax. I love flax, in reasonable quantity.

Most didn't talk about seasonings, at all, and that just seemed wrong. So I added minced garlic, black pepper, oregano (lots), and splashed over the combination some balsamic vinegar since some of the recipes called for vinegar. They call for more than I used, so we'll see.

I used tomato paste instead of sauce and thinned it with water. I like the robust flavor of paste, so we'll see how that goes. Too much? Too 'ketchupy'? I guess I'll find out.

Chopped onion, not minced. I like my onion, so chopped is good.

I also made some amazing sauteed bell peppers (2 of 'em, julienned) and mushrooms (1 pound, sliced) last night. I mean seriously amazing - sauteed in butter until cooked, splashed with white pepper and balsamic vinegar, cooked a little longer to take the edge off the vinegar and pepper. Having a bunch of that left over I chopped some of those and put them in, too.

The good news is that nothing in there is going to kill me, in and of itself. Will the combination? Probably not, so I won't worry. Worst case is that I'll have to hold my nose and suffer for a week. I just hope it's not dry. If it's dry I guess there's always Grey Poupon or mayonnaise.

Okay. I admit it. I have all the self-control of a three-year old. I couldn't wait for lunch so had some.

It's not bad. It's not great, but it's not bad.

A bit too wet, but that might be because I didn't measure the oatmeal. I just dumped what I had in the bag (it looked like a cup!). I could have added more flax to supplement (that stuff is so innocuous and is so good for you, if you don't already know).

Based on how it came out, I will try again. Next time, though, I'll plan ahead and get some bread crumbs. I'll add more flax - instead of shaking I'll measure and add 1/4 C. Since it's a bit on the bland side, I think I'll pop it and add either a can of diced jalapeno peppers (and add the juice instead of water) or a hefty dose of Vietnamese Garlic Paste (it's garlic mashed with red chilies - very hot and totally yummy). Maybe I'll do both.

I might even break down and add salt. Since most of the stuff I added has salt, including the paste which has a lot of salt, I don't add salt (it's like a religion with me - No Salt!). After the first bite, knowing it needed something, I salted it and it was a little better. Salty, but that was because it hadn't dissolved as it would during cooking.

For me, the exciting bit is that I did it. I overcame my Fear of Meatloaf, took it on and... kinda sorta conquered. Yay me!

Best~
Philippa

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