Day Ten: Salmon

Back before Jack came along I used to go to the grocery store once a week.  I would sit down on Sunday, plan the week's meals, and prepare my list.  One hour at the grocery store and I was finished for the week. 

Wait, it gets better. 

I would also make sure we ate well balanced meals every night.  We ate a variety of foods: one night each for pasta, chicken, beef, fish, and maybe even a vegetarian meal if I could sneak it by Mike. 

Then Jack came along.  Since his arrival, I havn't had the time, energy, quiet or patience to sit and plan a week's meals.  Therefore, I go to the store a lot and we eat whatever I can think of making last minute.  It's all a big waste of time, I know, but that's how it ends up working.




It dawned on me that for the past nine days of Home Cook Challenge, we haven't eaten any fish.  Luckily, I had some frozen salmon in the fridge (see above, I no longer plan in advance).  One quick trip to the store and I had everything I needed to make a healthy dinner. 

This recipe comes from my Old No. 3 cookbook, a collection of family recipes Karla Wilkerson gave us as a wedding gift.  The recipe is actually my parents' contribution.  I can remember my mother discovering this recipe when I was in high school.  She liked it so much we had it twice a week for a year.  Of course, this turned me into an opponent quickly.  Once I grew up and tried it myself, though, I really liked it.  

It's pretty darn easy to make.  Just whip up a little sauce of tarragon, dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and olive oil.

This was easily accomplished while I threw the salmon filets in the sink to defrost (another problem with not planning ahead... I always forget to defrost the frozen food!).  Meanwhile, Jack hung around in the kitchen enjoying a fruit snack. 

He even offered to share his coveted snack with the cat, Penny.  She gave it a good sniff, but declined.

Once dinnertime rolled around I heated up the oven to broil and brushed some olive oil and lemon juice on the salmon. 

The salmon broils for five minutes per side, so it was ready quickly.  I just had time to make some noodles, spinach salad, and open up a can of pears.  When the salmon came out it just needed a few swipes of the tarragon sauce.

What do you know?  We had a balanced meal tonight!  Fruit, vegetable, protein, carb... it's all there!  I was very proud of myself.  Nothing was more pleasing than seeing Mike clean his plate. 

You're probably wondering how Jack liked the salmon.  He gave it a big no and several decisive shakes of his head.  He loved the noodles, which was a success in itself.  These were the same noodles from the chicken noodle soup which he refused.  Jack also liked digging through the salad bowl to find the Craisins.  He gobbled up his pears. 

After all that eating Jack proudly displayed his belly button.

We were all feeling good after this dinner.  Mike cleaned up the kitchen and even shooed me away when I tried to help.  That gave me more time to work with Jack on his fine motor skills by ripping paper.  Goodbye, Pottery Barn Kids!  Take that, Williams Sonoma! 

This was a deeply satisfying activity for all involved.  Jack spent most of the time bouncing between ripping paper with me and jumping off the chair onto the cushion.  Fine motor, gross motor... the kid likes balance.  When Mike saw our big mess, he remarked that he was happy his clean up duty was finished. 

The next few days will be interesting, because I will be teaching Spanish classes at night.  Mike will be responsible for Jack tomorrow night, and Thursday they will be coming to class with me.  That means a carseat dinner for Jack and parents who will be wishing for take-out.  We shall see how we fare...

Day Nine: Mike Eats a Vegetable

All morning I could feel lunch lurking, waiting, taunting.  No matter how long we stayed at the library this morning, as soon as we got back it would be lunchtime.  When the inevitable finally happened, I decided to beat lunch-crankiness by taking it one step at a time.  First: feed Jack. 

Jack has never eaten lunch meat for me, and never eaten an egg (no matter how many ways I present it).  At day care last week, though, he reportedly gobbled up his turkey wrap.  What was this?  Does he eat new and different foods for his teachers but not for me?  Was he peer pressured by the other toddlers?  Either way, it worked for them so I had my fingers crossed it would work for me.

I am not a wrap eater.  I like bread way too much.  I didn't even know how to make a wrap, but I've heard people say they put cream cheese in them.  I gave it a try by spreading a little cream cheese on half a tortilla, then sticking in a bit of turkey and cheese.  This seemed too easy, so I used the other half for a little breakfast burrito, putting scrambled egg and salsa on the tortilla.  Jack loves salsa, so I thought this might trick him into eating an egg.

When presented with the two wraps, his immediate response was disdain.  I was quick, though, and offered a ramikin full of salsa for his dipping pleasure.  I showed him how to dip his breakfast burrito in the salsa.  Look, Jack, dip dip dip... mmm yummy!  Jack eyed the eggy mess suspiciously and reached for the turkey wrap.  One good dunk in the salsa and one timid bite.  Then another dunk and another bite.  And we have a winner!!! 

Jack ate the entire turkey wrap, and then proceeded to eat the remaining salsa by hand.  The egg tortilla turned out to be great fun to squish and smash, so at least it served a purpose. 

I was riding high from this lunchtime success, so when Jack was napping and it was time for me to make something, I didn't mope at all.  Nothing sounded good, of course, but I saw that we had eggs.  I could make a fried egg sandwich in no time.  It wasn't the world's best meal, but it would be better than lunch meat.

All that salsa put a little fire in Jack's belly, and the rest of the day he was a little pistol.  We visited my dad at his office, during which time Jack asserted his independence in many ways.  He pressed the elevator buttons.  He bossed us into walking up and down two flights of stairs with him.  He answered no to every question.  By the time we dragged home at 5:30 I felt tired from the inside out, and he was just getting started.  Thank goodness it was a leftovers night!  To my surprise, Mike was already home and had cut up all the leftovers and put them in a salad.

Yes, I said salad!  Mike was going to eat a vegetable.  On purpose!

This bit of good news really perked me up.  I love salads like this, and thankfully we had just bought a new bottle of Ranch.  We even had some rolls left over from Saturday night, so I warmed those up in the oven while I tried to recuperate by lying on the couch.

I mentioned earlier that I love bread, and I'm really not kidding.  I feel like no meal is complete without bread.  If there isn't any bread at a meal I will stalk through the kitchen the rest of the night, eating whatever carb-rich snacks call to me at the moment.
It would have been an act of insanity to try to make Jack eat a salad and a roll tonight.  You pick your battles, and tonight would be a night of many battles.  Yes, you must wear pants.  No, you may not throw the cat.  Yes, you will brush your teeth.  No, you cannot paint the dog.

In another rare stroke of luck, Mike gave me the greatest gift a mother could get: a night off.  He offered to take Jack somewhere while I relaxed.  Amazing!  He ate vegetables and gave me a night off?!  He must be up to something... we will see.

Day Eight: Grill-a-thon

It's a lazy Sunday, which means Mike fired up his grill first thing this morning.  Since Mike has no speed but full throttle, this meant firing up both his Big Green Egg and his Kamado Joe.

I was able to pull him away for a few minutes to head to the grocery store.  We had to address our lunch issues.  Our "quick trip" turned long as we wandered the aisles trying to think of things that might make a good lunch.  Jack got restless very quickly.  Driving the car-shaped cart, sitting in the cart, pushing the cart, and walking next to the cart all failed to impress today.  Running away from the cart was a little more fun.  By the time we were checking out he was in a full blown tantrum. 

This did not improve our attitude toward lunch foods.

Once home, Mike made a lovely sandwich.  I was so cranky I just ate some leftover beans and cornbread, distancing myself as much as possible from the disastrous grocery store trip.

Once Jack went down for this nap, Mike went straight for his happy place.  He spent the rest of the afternoon and evening grilling obscene amounts of meat.  He couldn't resist doing his favorite appetizer: bacon-wrapped shrimp.  No recipes today, folks.  Just wrap the shrimp in bacon and toss it on the grill.

The ribs were easy, too.  Just sprinkle with a little seasoning, let sit in the fridge overnight, then pop them on the grill.  Three hours at 300 degrees, the last 30 minutes of which you wrap them in foil.

Mike snuck in one final addition while I wasn't looking: sausage.  I was not aware that people ate sausage like this until I met Mike. 

Before we were married, Mike would eat sausage at nearly every meal.  I mean every meal: breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner.  As soon as we were married I put my foot down and said it wasn't happening.  Mike was still in the honeymoon phase, where he would agree to almost anything, so he acquiesced.  Note to brides, WORK this stage.  It does not last long.

He was rennovating his house when we were first dating, and proudly demonstrated his manly prowess by ripping out the kitchen.  He proceeded to impress me with all his fantastic plans for the cabinets, countertops, sink, appliances, and floor.  Remember, Mike is the dreamer.  All he would need while this was quickly being constructed, he argued, was a Weber kettle grill, a minifridge and a microwave.  Hmm... perhaps he was pragmatic like me?  Each Sunday he would grill all day, enough food (by food I mean meat) to fill the fridge.  The rest of the week he ate the leftovers.  I thought this was funny and quirky... for a few months. 

It took nine long months for Mike to finish that kitchen.   By the end I knew that if I didn't marry him and make sure he started eating like a human being, he would be a goner.  As you can see, he's still here and going great.

Jack did not appreciate this meal.  He refused the shrimp, ribs, and the baked potato.  If I hadn't cut up some strawberries for him and slopped some leftover macaroni and cheese on his plate, we would have had another meltdown on our hands.

He was happy enough with his leftovers.  After a shower and some Elmo, he got the best treat of all: a ride on Daddy's shoulders.

Our fun weekend came to a happy close tonight.  We feel rested, recharged, and ready for another week.  Mike is happy that there is plenty of meat in the fridge, and I'm vowing to find something good for lunch tomorrow. 

Day Seven: Company Comes

Let me tell you, this is not as easy as it sounds.  Lunchtime is the worst.  I open the fridge, take a good look, and sigh.  I'm tired of chicken noodle soup and don't feel like beans and cornbread.  Somehow, the fridge is completely void of anything palatable.  Mike pokes his head around the fridge door and confirms that there isn't anything good inside.  "Just go pick up something," he says, "lunch doesn't have to count."  Excuse me?  The idea man, the dreamer, ever-optimist has joined with the little devil on my shoulder? 
"No" I tell him firmly.  All meals have to be made at home for 30 days.  Lunch counts.  Breakfast counts.  Snacks count.  Dinner counts.  And don't go trying to convince me to make a run to Andy's.  Dessert counts, too.  Perhaps we need to clarify the rules.

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THE RULES

1. All meals must be made at home for 30 days.
2. We will not have any take-out, drive-thru, restaurant, or premade meals.  This includes but is not limited to Cherry Limeaids from Sonic, frozen Stauffer's lasagna, and Strawannas from Andys. 
3.  We will accept offerings of homemade meals from other kitchens (such as Mike's mom's chocolate cake) as long as it's not the main course.

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My cheese quesadilla was a poor showing for lunch, so I was feeling pretty grim.  I tracked Mike down to complain.  There he was, on the back patio, accompanied by a juicy cutting board and dirty knife and fork.  "What is this? Did you smoke bacon again?"  Mike sheepishly replied that he had grilled a steak for lunch.  He just couldn't find anything else to eat. 
Tomorrow we will head to the store to find some appropriate lunch foods.

Our good friends, Branden and Ashley, came over for dinner tonight.  Branden and Ashley got married last weekend.  They spent much of this evening gazing at one another and canoodling.

We wanted to treat the newlyweds to a great meal, so we pulled out a sure-fire hit,the Barefoot Contessa.

What's on the menu?  Steak.  No, I'm not kidding.  Mike will be eating his second steak of the day.  Thank you, Harter House, for offering a two-for-one special on filets.

This recipe begins with searing the steaks in a hot skillet, then transferring them to the oven for ten minutes.  Ina encourages you to make sure your kitchen is well ventilated.  As you can see, ours is not.

While Mike threatened to smoke us out, Ashley and Jack had fun looking at her phone.

Ashley is really good with kids, and she constantly offers to babysit.  We love having her over!

No one minded the smoke, and we somehow escaped without setting off the smoke alarm.  This reminded Branden that one of the items on his "Before the Wedding" list is to install smoke alarms.  This item has now been moved to his Honey Do list. 

Branden is one of Mike's childhood friends.  He always tells great stories.  I love listening to Branden's stories, because each time I learn something new about Mike.  After Branden's visit, I usually spend at least a week worrying over this new story, what it means about Mike, and if Jack will end up doing all the same things.

When the smoke finally died down, it was time to put the steaks in the oven.   Everybody put on your oven mitts!

For extra fun, we served up the steaks on our sizzle platters.  These make a lovely sizzling sound when you serve your steak.  Unfortunaetly, they make a terrible nails-on-chalkboard sound when you cut your steak.  Every rose has its thorn.

We had an extra special dessert tonight, thanks to Ashley.  She loves to bake all kinds of sweets, and even did all the desserts for her own wedding.  Tonight, she brought a homemade apple cake and homemade ice-cream.  I couldn't believe it!  Homemade ice-cream!  Who is she?  Laura Ingalls Wilder?

Ashley picked her recipe knowing that Jack liked apples, and wondering what kid would refuse ice-cream.  We felt pretty confident he would devour the sugary dessert and then run wild through the house for hours after his bedtime.  Jack turned up his nose, surprising us all.  No apple cake; no ice-cream.  This was pretty disappointing, especially after Ashley had put so much thought into her recipe selection.  On the upside, this meant Jack went to bed on time and the adults had plenty of time to sit around on the kitchen counters finishing the wine. 

Nights like this recharge our batteries.  Great friends, good food, and funny stories to last all night. 

Day Six: Leftovers

It's Friday night, which makes me sad that we aren't going out to a restaurant.  We always close the kitchen on weekends, and enjoy eating food that is much better than ours at places that Jack finds entertaining.  The weather is nice again, which means this would be a great night to sit on a patio somewhere.  Just look how beautiful it was at the park this afternoon! 

Our own patio will have to do tonight, because we are committed to Home Cook Challenge!  (And even if we fail, I'm not going down this early).  Thanks to the plentiful ham, we have enough to live on leftovers today.  I simmered some beans in the crock pot and threw in most of the leftover ham.  After a few hours I added some onion, chilli pepper, and the secret ingredient: lemon juice.  One of Mike's many grilling buddies on Facebook notified him that today is National Bean Day.  Mike was very pleased we were celebrating appropriately.

The only other thing we needed tonight was some cornbread, which is a jiffy... and I do mean Jiffy!  I have always loved making cornbread because it was the second thing my mother ever allowed me to make on my own.  Jello was the first, and Jello hardly counts- just a little stirring and waiting while it sits in the fridge.  Jello is not all that different from cornbread, now that I think of it.  Just a little stirring and waiting while it cooks in the oven. 

Although, there is the all important breaking of the egg.  I always get nervous breaking eggs.  As a child, I would watch my mother and sister break eggs with wonder.  A few soft taps on the mixing bowl, and their shapely, polished nails would gently ease the shell apart, letting the insides glide down into the cookie dough.  My brother, too, loved to break an egg, but more from the desire to break something than to be helpful.  He would smash the egg against the rim of the bowl, then yank the two halves apart.  Amazingly, no shell made it into the bowl.  My efforts never ended that well, and I preferred not to try while my siblings watched.  As you can tell, I still overthink this simple task.

The breaking of the egg went well tonight, and we had a great dinner of bean soup on cornbread.  Mike likes to load his soup with relish, while I eat mine plain.

I think this is pretty strange, but relish is technically a vegetable, so I don't pick a fight over this one.  Jack resisted all attempts to coax him into eating a bean or a bite of ham. 

We add another success to our story tonight, because Jack finally ate cornbread for the first time.  He also devoured his pickle over several minutes, leaving behind a wet, slimy sleeve for the duration of the evening.

Our first Friday is under our belt.  Although it was not nearly as fun as eating out, we had a great time together at home.  Jack was welcome to wipe his slimy sleeve on anything he wanted, and Mike and I could lie on the floor to race Matchbox cars down the hallway.  Tomorrow we'll have to perk it up a little, because we have guests coming!

Day Five: Green Eggs & Ham

The weather was gorgeous today.  It was warm and sunny, and made you want to go sit down on the sidewalk and play with a leaf.  Days like this feel like a gift from the past, a little reminder that Fall is way better than Winter will ever be. 

This kind of weather is just right for grilling outdoors, and we were happily prepared with a ham in the fridge.  At lunch, Mike had plenty of time to fire up the Big Green Egg and get the ham prepared. 

It was easy enough: just mix up a little honey and brown sugar until it's goopy, then slather it all over the ham.  I must acknowledge that we have never done this before, but it seems like you really can't go wrong, so we proceeded with confidence.  

Mike popped the ham on the Egg and headed back to work.  By the time he got home at 5:00 and prepared the side dishes, the ham was a nice, toasty little sucker. 

Dinner was ready in a jiffy tonight, but Jack and I still found a little time to play in the backyard.  It felt strange, since it has been too cold to play in the backyard for over a month.  Jack exclaimed with joy each time he rediscovered a familiar object.  The fire pit: aha!  Garden: hello, old friend.  Stairs: I remember you!

We opted for easy side dishes that we had on hand tonight, because I just couldn't handle another grocery store trip.

The people at Price Cutter are beginning to wonder if I've lost my mind; my usual once-weekly trip having become nearly a daily affair.  Our dinner was perfect: healthy, easy, cheap, and yummy.  Of course Jack refused everything expect the pickle. 

I actually did see him eat a green bean.  I was afriad if I shouted out for joy that he might become alarmed and spit it out.  I sat very still with my eyes wide, trying to signal to Mike.  Mike gave me a puzzled look, and looked around for a spider or bug or something else that might provoke such a strong reaction.  He never saw the green bean.  Thus, there is only one witness to this small miracle.  Jack did not go back for seconds, unfortunately.  He chewed and swallowed and didn't make a fuss, so I consider this a very good sign.  We're making progress.

One step at a time, people.  I don't do sweet potato.  While kicking his feet and shaking his fists to demonstrate his true feelings about sweet potatoes, Jack discovered the tablecloth.  We enjoyed several rounds of peek-a-boo.

What could be better to finish a meal than a great big piece of cake?  Mike's mom, Kay, spent the day making German Chocolate Cake, and brought two pieces by to keep us going strong. 

Kay always has a homemade dessert to serve after dinner.  This means that dinners at her house always end well.  This also means that you can sneak a bite of something sweet at her house any time of day.  Since I like to eat cake for breakfast, this works pretty well for me when we spend weekends together at the lake.

Day Four: Lamb Chops with Mint Pepper Sauce

Mike finally got his chance to get in the kitchen tonight.  He wanted a strong start, so he picked our very best cookbook: Great Food Fast.

This cookbook is way better than others because it is organized by season, and because all the recipes take less than an hour.  Our first year of marriage I cooked nearly every recipe in here because they look really pretty on a plate but they're not that hard.  Perfect for the new cook!  That year consequently marked the beginning of my obsession with Martha Stewart.  Although, I must say, I don't have the stick-to-it to handle the monstrous recipes in her other books.

Mike had some chopping to do to make the yummy sauce for the lamb chops.  He was greatly distressed at the lack of fresh mint in the grocery stores... but, hey, that's what happens when you cook out of the Spring section.  He made it work.

Note the lovely green asparagus.  The lamb broils in the oven, but Mike can't cook without firing up the Big Green Egg, so he did the asparagus outside.

The lamb only broiled for four mintues per side, so this dinner was ready in a jiffy.  Mike brushed the asparagus with a little butter and garlic, then threw it on the egg for five minutes.  How about that for a pretty looking dinner?

We knew that it would be ridiculous to even try to get Jack to eat this, so Mike made him a grilled cheese.  We offer this photo as proof that Jack actually does eat some things. 

We love this dinner every time we cook it, and tonight was no different.  It always stirs up a recurring disagreement, however.  I get mad because I spend the entire meal cutting hunks of fat off each bite.  Mike gets mad because I'm wasting precious flavor, and tells me that I should eat the fat.  Those iridescent little globules just don't scream flavor to me, and I wonder how Mike can enjoy eating them.  I look across the table, see Mike digging in, and start to wonder about his blood pressure and cholesterol.  He has to reassure me that he has great life insurance before I'll let him finish another bite.

There is really no solution to this problem.  We've had this argument lots of times before, and we'll have it lots more.  I've seen my parents have this same argument, too, only about bacon.  I threw in the towel on bacon long ago.  Some things about Mike are never gonna change- they're written in stone.  His insatiable need for bacon is at the top of the list.  And don't try sneaking turkey bacon on him... he will not be fooled.

The only way to to ease the tension tonight is to have another glass of wine.  Since we have our favorite wine opened tonight, that's easy to do.  The clean up tonight was fast and easy, and I was happy to get a chance to give the kitchen a good once-over.  We had finished eating and cleaning up by 6:30, and didn't know what to do with our extra time. 

Jack had some ideas.  The trains, of course, needed their nightly exercise.  And Mike needed to do some curls.

Our fourth day of home cooking was a breeze.  With meals this great, we're wondering why we used to eat out so much!