Random Notes from the Sandwich Life
1. The rest of life goes on as always, and cats are a good reminder of that. The hell with your problems and those in the rest of the world they seem to say, let's talk about ME. Oh, and nobody knows how to stretch like Rascal.
2. Our Whole 30 is going along well. I must say that Ernie going through a cystoscopy (think a camera going through your urethra to your bladder uh HUH) without coming home and having a beer is damned impressive (his test results were good by the way...just scar tissue from radiation) so the no drinking thing obviously hasn't been too hard. I'm really not hungry (unless we delay a meal too long and then I want to DEVOUR anything in my way). The meals have been filling and good so I'm not really missing anything at the moment. The cooking isn't really that different than what we already do...except the reduction in carbs. I've finally stopped peeing a billion times a night, and the general feeling of malaise has lifted. One week in. Twenty-three days left.
3. Breakfast is usually a piece of frittata, made with vegetables and perhaps whatever meat we have on hand, with some salsa (Paul Newman's mild salsa is compliant...no sugar, as so many salsas have sugar in them) and maybe a side of strawberries or watermelon. I make the frittata ahead of time and then we have it for a few days for breakfast. We just warm up a piece and put a dollop of salsa on it.
Here's last week's effort....leftover cherry tomatoes, some asparagus that was on the way out, spinach and some ground beef.
This weeks turned out tastier....zucchini, spinach, and chicken-apple sausage. I make frittatas a lot and nothing is simpler. I sauté whatever is on hand, meats and harder vegetables first, in a bit of olive oil or ghee (clarified butter), then add softer things that don't need to cook as long (spinach, halved cherry tomatoes in this case), turn the heat down and pour in about 10 slightly beaten eggs, adding salt, pepper, any other seasoning you like. Let the eggs cook, lifting up the cooked edge to let the uncooked flow under. When the bottom seems solid just put it under a low broiler until the top is firm.
4. Lunch is either leftovers from dinner (grilled chicken on something like that) over salad greens with some avocado, or a couple of chopped boiled eggs (which we make ahead and have sitting in the refrigerator) with avocado or nuts over the same greens. Last night for dinner we had a spatchcocked grilled chicken with broccoli slaw. I was too lazy to make the broccoli salad I like which needs to be neatly chopped, so I just shredded a head of broccoli in the food processor, sautéed some whole cumin seeds in olive oil, dumped those in with some chopped garlic, lots of lemon juice, salt and pepper, and a bit more olive oil. Ernie loved it which made me happy and I think if I make it ahead it will be even better next time. I was going to do some other vegetable but was getting too frazzled so I just cut up an avocado and gave us each half....it was great with both the chicken and the slaw. The other night we had Cuban pork in lettuce wraps with salsa and cucumber/avocado salad. It was delightful but I think I like the idea of lettuce wraps more than reality. Too slippery. Next time, just the pork over salad greens.... picture by my Sue, the girl with the magic phone camera....
5. Our clematis is blooming! Yay. Thank you Susan!!!! I tried to take this at just the right angle so you couldn't see the junk on the patio (including two small bikes that have needed to be donated for, I don't know, YEARS now) but it didn't quite work. Still beautiful though. I remember going to some antique shop in Indiana years ago (great shop but I became suspicious of how much work had been done on some of the things)...and rounding the corner of the building and seeing the most glorious purple clematis I had, or have, ever seen in my life. Here's our little beginning!
5. Onward, huh?