I just kicked off another week of zombie drug dealer shifts, so the past two days have been a blur of cooking prep and laundry. The kitchen duty I can handle, but laundry is the bane of my existence. (Insert mental picture of me with gritted teeth and bulging eyes, shaking my fist at the sky.) I’m still waiting for my robot maid to swoop in and rescue me from the avalanche of clothes that is pouring out of my dryer. Whatever happened to the future that the Jetsons promised?
Before heading off to CrossFit Palo Alto in the morning, I downed a plate of scrambled eggs and quickly threw the ingredients for phở into my trusty slow cooker. I toasted some spices…
…seared onion, ginger…
…beef shanks, and oxtails…
…and tossed everything in the pot.
Once I added brisket, water, and fish sauce…
…I set it to cook on low for 12 hours.
Curious about the recipe? It’s almost identical to the Pressure Cooker Phở recipe from my iPad cookbook app, except that you use a slow cooker instead of a pressure cooker. (And for those of you without an iPad, don’t fret; the recipe won’t be exclusive to the iPad forever. I’m working on ways to spread the love!)
When I came home after class, the phở had already perfumed the house with fragrant, meaty aroma. It made me hungry (as did the workout of deadlifts, push-ups, and box jumps), so for my post-workout meal-slash-lunch, I fried up some leftover crispy pork belly and plated it with sautéed, greens and purple sweet potato.
After lunch, I was ready for more kitchen fun. I cut up a flank steak and skewered each piece…
…and stored them in the fridge. I’ve been working on a new cherry barbecue sauce, so I made another batch and simmered it on the stove…
…before trudging off to bed for my weekly Wednesday siesta.
When I woke up in the evening, I tossed some root vegetables and bacon slices onto a tray, and popped it all into the oven.
Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I shuffled outside to fire up the barbecue. I spent a few minutes standing in the backyard in my pajamas, grilling the skewers with a camera in hand, and looking more than a little ridiculous.
I reheated the cherry barbecue sauce and brushed them on the meaty sticks…
…and plated the veggies for supper.
(The recipes are in the works. Patience, my friends.)
Once dinner was in our bellies and the kiddos were tucked in bed, I pulled on my scrubs and headed to the hospital for the first of seven consecutive overnight shifts. Yes, my day job is a night job.
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