I’m back, but not quite myself. I feel like someone pressed the pause button on our life, and I’m not yet ready to press play.
Thanks for all your well wishes, kind thoughts, and prayers during this difficult time. For a couple of days, I retired the camera and simply ate my meals without documenting them. It felt so liberating not having to worry about how a dish was plated – plus it was awesome going to bed at a reasonable hour without satisfying the requisite blogging duties.
Everyone in the Nombomb household feels like they’re floating around in a weird, dream-like, parallel universe. Even though the kids don’t totally understand what’s going on, they recognize that mom and dad are out of sorts. I demand family hugs throughout the day and hover over them with a strange intensity that’s annoying them. On my request, we all shared a family bed the other night and squeezed ourselves like mismatched spoons in a cluttered utensils drawer. It was a better idea in theory than in practice because no one got a good night’s sleep – our kids are way too restless and bony.
I’m going to resume regular blogging activities tomorrow. As a teaser, here are some photos of the low-key dinner we hosted at our house tonight.
Even though we invited people over for dinner, our buddies graciously contributed a bunch of the nosh. Dr. HA deep-fried a HUGE batch of delicious Brussels sprout chips…
…in bacon grease(!)…
…that she seasoned with lemon zest, juice, and salt.
These were even BETTER than the ones from Marlowe because they were made with love and fried in bacon grease.
She also brought over a big pot of comforting curried butternut squash soup that we served with dinner.
K and R contributed some fantastic homemade headcheese…
…fermented beverages, and a jar of lard. If you’re wondering, porcine fat = love.
As we waited for the 4505 Meats Paleo-style Turducken Junior to finish roasting in the oven…
…we chowed on the Brussels Sprouts chips…
…chicharrones…
…and toasted Paleo bread (from Paleo Comfort Foods)…
…topped with Braunschweiger (from U.S. Wellness Meats)…
…head cheese, mustard, and dried cherries.
When we were done snacking, I sliced up the roasted Turducken Junior…
…heated up the gravy…
…and plated the sliced roulade with roasted root vegetables.
I also served roasted spiced chanterelle and portobello mushrooms…
…and a tray of braised cabbage.
For dessert, we ate some pumpkin, maple, and coconut custard cups that I made the night before in the SousVide Supreme (195 F for 90 minutes) and chilled in the fridge.
The dinner was just what we needed – a restorative evening of rib-sticking chow, laughs, and sound advice from good buddies.
