May 31
Going to work again-- I normally wouldn't today, but my boss's daughter is graduating from high school this morning. Breakfast: lemon water, black coffee, smoothie made from carrot juice, hemp protein powder, peanut butter, canned pumpkin (left over from kid's vegan cookie baking), strawberries and kale. The smoothie is delicious, but distinctly autumnal, between the carrot and pumpkin influences and the intensely-flavored kale. Just like the farm lettuce, the farmer's market kale has a lot more flavor than its supermarket counterparts, even the organic ones. Hopefully the same goes for its nutritional value.
This time I remember to dole out the chocolate tart to my coworkers. At work, I manage a cup of decaf with half and half, and also drink a juice that was made in error by a new employee: cucumber, celery, and apple. It tastes incredibly sweet.
At home again briefly in the afternoon about 2:45, I eat a reprise of my Saturday night diner dinner: big glob of tuna salad with cheese melted on top, some coleslaw, four big onion rings. Also drink a cup of coffee with half and half. Then I have to quickly rush over to the middle school with kid's cookies. I have agreed to meet kid in front of the school at 3:20 (they will get there via the high school school bus). At 3:16, kid texts me: Are you almost here? This happens almost every time kid arrives someplace before I do, even if I am not late. Do cell phones mean that kids cannot be patient for 4 minutes anymore? Do they imagine that their texts will cause our cars to go faster?
A few errands, home again to finish that cup of coffee I started, make another cup, decaf this time. Do some household bookkeeping. Back out to the store.
Shopping (Co-op): 2 bunches bananas, organic lactose-free 2% milk, organic whole milk, Equal Exchange coffee, unbleached flour, cage-free brown eggs, 3 kiwis, 3 plums, whole cantaloupe, 2 lemons. $43.
At 5:00-- or maybe closer to 5:30-- I start baking the "Birthday Cake" from Jennifer Reese's book. This did not go incredibly well. First of all, I forgot to put any salt in the cake. So, while it was OK otherwise (texture, etc.), there was a noticeable lack of flavor. Second, I don't get Reese's "White Mountain Frosting." Why would you make frosting with egg whites? And why didn't my frosting work? It was way too runny. Perhaps the problem comes with the instruction to "beat egg whites until foamy." I feel like I have misjudged "foamy" before. I know what "stiff" is, or "soft peaks," but in a literal sense egg whites become foamy almost immediately. So, I stop beating them, start beating in the sugar syrup. Maybe this is wrong. Anyway, you can see from the photo how I ended up simply pouring the frosting over the top of the cake. It never did do anything except become sticky, like a thin, slick layer of marshmallow fluff; certainly none of the crunchiness Reese mentioned ever came to pass. At least I remembered to put salt in it.
Going to work again-- I normally wouldn't today, but my boss's daughter is graduating from high school this morning. Breakfast: lemon water, black coffee, smoothie made from carrot juice, hemp protein powder, peanut butter, canned pumpkin (left over from kid's vegan cookie baking), strawberries and kale. The smoothie is delicious, but distinctly autumnal, between the carrot and pumpkin influences and the intensely-flavored kale. Just like the farm lettuce, the farmer's market kale has a lot more flavor than its supermarket counterparts, even the organic ones. Hopefully the same goes for its nutritional value.
This time I remember to dole out the chocolate tart to my coworkers. At work, I manage a cup of decaf with half and half, and also drink a juice that was made in error by a new employee: cucumber, celery, and apple. It tastes incredibly sweet.
At home again briefly in the afternoon about 2:45, I eat a reprise of my Saturday night diner dinner: big glob of tuna salad with cheese melted on top, some coleslaw, four big onion rings. Also drink a cup of coffee with half and half. Then I have to quickly rush over to the middle school with kid's cookies. I have agreed to meet kid in front of the school at 3:20 (they will get there via the high school school bus). At 3:16, kid texts me: Are you almost here? This happens almost every time kid arrives someplace before I do, even if I am not late. Do cell phones mean that kids cannot be patient for 4 minutes anymore? Do they imagine that their texts will cause our cars to go faster?
A few errands, home again to finish that cup of coffee I started, make another cup, decaf this time. Do some household bookkeeping. Back out to the store.
Shopping (Co-op): 2 bunches bananas, organic lactose-free 2% milk, organic whole milk, Equal Exchange coffee, unbleached flour, cage-free brown eggs, 3 kiwis, 3 plums, whole cantaloupe, 2 lemons. $43.
At 5:00-- or maybe closer to 5:30-- I start baking the "Birthday Cake" from Jennifer Reese's book. This did not go incredibly well. First of all, I forgot to put any salt in the cake. So, while it was OK otherwise (texture, etc.), there was a noticeable lack of flavor. Second, I don't get Reese's "White Mountain Frosting." Why would you make frosting with egg whites? And why didn't my frosting work? It was way too runny. Perhaps the problem comes with the instruction to "beat egg whites until foamy." I feel like I have misjudged "foamy" before. I know what "stiff" is, or "soft peaks," but in a literal sense egg whites become foamy almost immediately. So, I stop beating them, start beating in the sugar syrup. Maybe this is wrong. Anyway, you can see from the photo how I ended up simply pouring the frosting over the top of the cake. It never did do anything except become sticky, like a thin, slick layer of marshmallow fluff; certainly none of the crunchiness Reese mentioned ever came to pass. At least I remembered to put salt in it.
While the cake sat there in its puddle of sticky white glory, we ate some dinner: open-face egg salad and tomato on whole wheat bakery toast, garnished with parsley; sauteed farmer's market kohlrabi and shiitake mushrooms; sliced Gold Rush apples, also from the market. Then I removed the cake from its puddle and onto a clean tray. It looked somewhat less ridiculous there.
A kohlrabi.
For dessert, while watching a couple of old episodes of The Office, we ate slices of the cake with vanilla ice cream. It was okay. Not great. Because of the salt.
June 1
Going to waitress again! Third day in a row. Technically I am only supposed to be working 2 days/week, but I have been home from my trip 8 days and have worked 5 of them. Breakfast: lemon water, coffee with half and half, smoothie made from carrot juice, coconut milk from a carton, plain yogurt, canned pumpkin, hemp protein powder, avocado, strawberries, banana, and kale. I discover that too much canned pumpkin in a smoothie tastes kind of weird.
I bring half of the imperfect, unsalted, sticky cake to work with me on a tray. I don't actually witness anyone eating it, although some people claim that they did and it was good.
At work, I have decaf coffee with half and half, and about half a cup of regular at the end of the shift, while I am rolling silverware. I also buy a side order of bulgogi to take home and use in dinner tonight.
Lunch at home, about 2:45: another cup of coffee with half and half. The rest of the coleslaw (there was a lot of coleslaw!) from Saturday night. The rest of the asparagus pesto from Sunday night, with pickled shallots, eaten with Whole Foods tequila-lime tortilla chips. Small dish of the Japanese snack mix I bought at HMart a while back. After this I have, I think, another cup of decaf with half and half. But it is difficult to say. For some reason this afternoon is a blur.
At dinnertime, I try to create the omelet my husband has been craving: bulgogi and sweet potato. First I cut up the sweet potatoes and roast them at a low temperature (350) in the oven so that they are soft but not excessively caramelized. Then I make omelets with the sweet potatoes and the bulgogi I brought home from the restaurant. On the side we have roasted asparagus from our CSA box (this week's batch was lovely, with incredibly thin stalks), and fruit consisting of CSA strawberries (amazing flavor), cantaloupe, and kiwi. My husband is happy.
June 1
Going to waitress again! Third day in a row. Technically I am only supposed to be working 2 days/week, but I have been home from my trip 8 days and have worked 5 of them. Breakfast: lemon water, coffee with half and half, smoothie made from carrot juice, coconut milk from a carton, plain yogurt, canned pumpkin, hemp protein powder, avocado, strawberries, banana, and kale. I discover that too much canned pumpkin in a smoothie tastes kind of weird.
I bring half of the imperfect, unsalted, sticky cake to work with me on a tray. I don't actually witness anyone eating it, although some people claim that they did and it was good.
At work, I have decaf coffee with half and half, and about half a cup of regular at the end of the shift, while I am rolling silverware. I also buy a side order of bulgogi to take home and use in dinner tonight.
Lunch at home, about 2:45: another cup of coffee with half and half. The rest of the coleslaw (there was a lot of coleslaw!) from Saturday night. The rest of the asparagus pesto from Sunday night, with pickled shallots, eaten with Whole Foods tequila-lime tortilla chips. Small dish of the Japanese snack mix I bought at HMart a while back. After this I have, I think, another cup of decaf with half and half. But it is difficult to say. For some reason this afternoon is a blur.
At dinnertime, I try to create the omelet my husband has been craving: bulgogi and sweet potato. First I cut up the sweet potatoes and roast them at a low temperature (350) in the oven so that they are soft but not excessively caramelized. Then I make omelets with the sweet potatoes and the bulgogi I brought home from the restaurant. On the side we have roasted asparagus from our CSA box (this week's batch was lovely, with incredibly thin stalks), and fruit consisting of CSA strawberries (amazing flavor), cantaloupe, and kiwi. My husband is happy.
Strawberries are the prettiest.
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During our after-dinner walk, we discuss his arrival time home from work. This has a tendency to creep later and later. Originally we agreed that dinnertime was at 7:00. Over time, he began to arrive more like 7:15-7:30. I can live with that. However, lately the new normal has not been until 7:45-8:00. By the time we eat the dinner-- even if I have it ready to go immediately on the table-- wash the dishes, and take our after-dinner walk, it is 9:00, or even later. My kid goes to bed at 9:30 (they have to leave for the bus at 6:45 am), and I tend to go to sleep around 10-10:30. This does not leave much of an evening for family time. My husband agrees. He will try to get home earlier. On a positive note, no matter how late it is, we are committed-- without any need for discussion or negotiation-- to eating a family dinner together. Even my kid does not complain about this, though they sometimes spoil their appetite with snacking. So I should be grateful for a dinner tradition that remains strong.
At 9:15, after our walk, we all watch an episode of The Office together, and I eat my second allotted piece of low-sodium chocolate cake, giving bites to my loved ones on either side, who have already eaten theirs.
At 9:15, after our walk, we all watch an episode of The Office together, and I eat my second allotted piece of low-sodium chocolate cake, giving bites to my loved ones on either side, who have already eaten theirs.