As I type this post, my eyes are shielded with amber goggles, my kids are snug as bugs in rugs, our living room couch is buried under an avalanche of unfolded (but clean!) laundry, and my dear hubby is 7,719 miles away in Delhi, India. I want to just throw my Ostrich Pillow over my head and pass out.
I’m pooped. I’ve been a single parent since Friday morning, and to prepare for my workweek, I’ve been cooking like a maniac for the past two days.
It all started innocuously enough. It’s cold and flu season, but I can’t afford to get sick while Henry’s on the opposite side of the planet, so I made a big pot of steaming-hot pressure cooker bone broth…
…and a new batch of fizzy kombucha to help me ward off any nasty bugs.
My kombucha exploits have gone largely unmentioned on my blog, but I’ve been diligently making sweet tea and refilling my continous brewer at least once a week. Before the second ferment of each batch, Big-O and I like to add frozen cherries, peaches, or sliced apples to flavor our ‘buch. I’m enjoying my transformation into a hippie-dippy mom, slathering coconut oil as body lotion, buying natural deodorant, applying fermented cod liver oil balm on my face, gifting our friends with jars of SCOBY babies. Mark my words: Soon, I’ll be wearing patchouli oil and tie-dyed parachute pants.
Next up: Solid foods.
One can never have enough “emergency protein” in the fridge, so I made plenty of it this weekend. I started off with a variation on Slow Cooker Kalua Pig (seasoned with Magic Mushroom Powder)…
Mexican Braised Beef in a pressure cooker (40 minutes on high pressure and decrease the broth in half)…
…and Italian meatballs.
I’m still refining my meatball recipe, but I think I’ve finally landed on the perfect Paleo substitute for panade – and it doesn’t involve bread, coconut, or nut flour. Any guesses?
To top off our larder, we stopped by the Mountain View Farmers’ Market on Sunday. There, we stocked up on strawberries, apples, and quick-cooking vegetables (baby kale, young broccoli, and asparagus). That should round out the rest of our meals nicely, don’t you think?
I’ve still got a lot of work ahead of me, but thankfully, reinforcements (i.e. my parents) are arriving Wednesday night to help with the kids while I kick off another string of hospital nightshifts. Hooray for grandparents!
I want to hear some meal planning tips from you guys. Leave ‘em in the comments!
