This week’s grocery list

This week’s trip to Wegmans was at 8:30 or so, meaning that the crowd was light. That’s always a plus. It makes it much easier to bring The Baby to the store (side note: The Baby is 22 months old, so she’s really not a baby anymore. The Child sounds like something you might read in a legal brief or custody papers. From now on, we’ll call her The Kid, until she officially turns two. Then, she’ll probably be The Monster.) when we don’t have to stop every three feet so someone can look at her. She’s developed a personality/attitude problem indicative of her patrilineal bloodlines: she does not pay attention to you unless you give her something. She ignored the cashier’s attempts at engagement until he produced a sticker. Now, she’s going to prom with him.

Three nights of dinners this week. I’ll be in Albany for the better part of tomorrow, so we’re looking at a soup to be named later (I don’t have any clue what’s in the freezer.). Otherwise, it’s a couple of pastas, (the avocados at Wegmans were softer than the tomatoes I purchased, so the creamy avocado pasta is out indefinitely), and a TBA. My sister is coming home this weekend, so Thursday will likely be a game-time decision, though the cake and frosting means that there will be Funfetti at some point.

Vacationing

As I mentioned a few weeks back, my annual summer trip to the North Carolina Outer Banks comes up at the end of the week. When this trip started, we were 22 or 23 and perfectly content to eat hamburgers and hot dogs. When a friend introduced pasta salad to the mix in our second or third year, it was a mind-blowing addition to the table. Essentially, we went on this trip to get blasted for 4-5 days straight.

With age, children and health/lifestyle changes have come a shift in gears in the kitchen. We no longer buy 10 bags of potato chips for the week, only to go buy five more on Wednesday. While our dinners are not refined, you’re more likely to see a slow-roasted pork tenderloin with salt potatoes and two or three vegetables then, say, hot dogs on two or three nights. (It helps that many of us have household incomes above the poverty line now. Oh, to be 22 again.)

There are two or three of us that will do the lion’s share of the cooking for the week and while we used to truck our meats and selected groceries from the free states, we’ve opted to just bite the bullet and buy things at the Harris-Teeter in Kill Devil Hills for convenience and ease. That said, mealtime takes on a new seriousness, as reflected by an email I received from one of the tripgoers:

“FWIW, I’m bringing down some dry rub (homemade version of the Dino rub), which can go with either chicken or pork. Unless you have grand menu plans for the week, and I won’t at all be offended if you do. We also have eight Ommegang Witte’s that will be making the trip, along with some wine.”

So, instead of packing foods, we’re packing spices. My list right now looks like this: Symeon’s spices, herbes de provence, a blend of sea salt and ground pepper, olive oil and some dried parsley and basil from the garden.

I took the last week and a half off in preparation for this trip, where I expect to post regularly from Carolina. And, with any luck, I won’t get a sunburn.

The Weight Loss Story: Chapter XI

The annual reunion trip to the Outer Banks is a bender in a few different forms. It wasn’t unheard of for there to be a few drunken evenings, but more likely to happen is a caloric overload. We used to keep a consumption list, but the results were a touch depressing. Here’s the 2004 list of things eaten by 10 people:

I look like crap. (2009)

WE ATE: 12 hamburgers, 8 hot dogs, as many buns, five pounds of salt potatoes, 8 pounds pork tenderloin, 9 pounds chicken, two pounds pasta, one pound mozzarella, two quarts homemade tomato sauce (the preceding three becoming baked ziti), 11 pieces of Pepperidge Farms Texas Toast Garlic Bread, five bags of salad, three bottles of salad dressing, one pound of french fries, one pound of tater tots, two pounds pasta, one pound cheddar cheese, two bell peppers (last three used for a pasta salad), four pounds lunch meat, one pound provolone cheese, two loaves bread, 24-pack of “the world’s greasiest” french toast sticks, a dozen bagels, two pounds of cream cheese, one bag Utz Dark Russet potato chips, two smaller bags Munchies snack mix, one super size bag Munchies snack mix, two tubs of Helluva Good dip (and it was damn good…fat free onion and Dinosaur BBQ) five pounds homemade Chex mix, five pounds Muddy Buddy mix, one batch chewy toffee bars, one batch chocolate chip cookie, 3/4 batch of Mudslide brownies, one three-pound bag of store bought Chex Mix (cheddar-style). Eight pizzas (a note…Dare Devil’s Pizza is much better than Kitty Hawk Pizza…but then again, pizza is pizza).

Progress: The garden at six weeks

An updated look at the garden. Things are moving along nicely. The San Marzanos are growing nicely, but the roma plants are not showing a lot more than some leaves. The herbs are filling in well too. And just for fun, I tossed in some photos of the roses that are growing along the side of the house.

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Macaroni and Cheese: Part I

There’s a certain lack of consistency in my family’s food-related decision making. Add macaroni and cheese to the list. As kids, my sister and I ate from the blue box with the powdered orange cheese (but never with hot dogs…weird). I didn’t know that people made their own until I first had it at my in-laws house.

Mac and cheese has attained comfort food status; a harbinger of our childhood. And, like most comfort foods, it’s wildly unhealthy. My mother-in-law is no stranger to calorie-packed meals and her recipe for macaroni and cheese is no different. The final product is a dense blend of pasta and cheese that fills you with no need for seconds.

I’ve tweaked the recipe from time to time, adding some cajun seasoning and using different cheeses (fontina, queso blanco, havarti), but this is the base recipe. Tomorrow, I’m going to offer a different take on the dish, utilizing one of my favorite ingredients.