Small Fry's Shopping List

Not a good speller and a carb addict, to boot. But at least the Small Fry is trying to help out. My favorite is how she spells schedule: skegual.

Even more fried

It was a very tiring week, with, among other things, a car breakdown and a dog who ate an entire bottle of Ambien. Technically, she should sleep till mid December, but she's trotting around, tail wagging, like nothing ever happened.

It being the second week of work, I came home Thursday night - having picked up the car, a new prescription for Ambien and the dog - and couldn't find the energy to even heat anything up!

A Trader Joe's run is in order. And instructions for Small Fry so she can start helping out.

This week, I am going to try cooking a big crock pot meal on Sunday (pot roast with veggies from the CSA farm), and then another one-pot meal on Tuesday. The first one-pot meal, from a cookbook called Glorious One-Pot Meals, was not so glorious. My oven temperature could be off, but it wasn't done in one hour as the cookbook said. Most recipes in the book make two servings in a 2-quart Dutch oven. (Two? Why bother cooking at all?) So I have to triple the recipes and then add one-half more to fit my 5.5 quart Dutch oven. I'm sorry but that is way to much math after a 10-hour day. For me, it's almost too much math for a Saturday.

I've decided to try two recipes from each cookbook. Hopefully, this next one will work. I'll do the math ahead of time.

Cookbooks from the library

Now that I'm a working girl again, I need REALLY easy dinners. I leave at 6:45 am and don't get home till 4:45. Plus, I have that weird, can't-stand-the-smell-of-food-in-the-morning thing, so the crock pot is out.

I decided I would get a cookbook a week from the library.

Last week, I used two recipes from a cookbook that promised it was the most uncomplicated way to prepare dinner for the family, with five tips to make it even easier. Her big tip? Don't change out of your work clothes until after dinner is made.

Are you kiddin' me?

If I had paid money for the book, I'd have demanded a refund.

This week I am trying recipes from a one-pot meal cookbook, where everything is piled into a Dutch oven and baked for about an hour. Tonight's recipe was frozen hash browns, frozen chicken breasts, teriyaki sauce and frozen vegetables. It wasn't done when the timer went off, so maybe putting it in for 15 minutes longer wasn't the thing to do. But it was underwhelming. That's not to say I won't try other recipes, though, because if it really does work, it would be great. Very few dishes and a hot meal.

Arrow Eggs

One of our hens has been laying double-yolkers. The eggs are so big, we can't close the carton.

School lunch

Every morning, I make Small Fry a peanut-free lunch so that, at her new middle school, she can have lunch with her friend Aru. She's the one with the peanut allergy. And Small Fry is fine with abandoning her usual PB & Js for this new friend.

I now make ham and swiss on homemade buns. It looks like I will begin making a lunch for myself; I am going back to work full time in two weeks. In the meantime, I also get to go to Puerto Rico with a friend. And we are adopting a dog that we meant to foster. We've named her Pumpkin, since we got her in October and there is something about her face that reminds me of a small pumpkin.

So here is a recipe I tried today, in an attempt to simplify the homemade buns. I am already planning for having way less time to cook.

School Lunch Sandwich Buns

1 cup water
2 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter
4 cups of bread flour
1 teaspoon bread machine yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine and use the dough setting. After it rises, shape into buns. Brush the tops with an egg wash. Let rise, egg wash again, then bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

After Forty Years of Marriage, She Tries a New Recipe for Hamburger Hot Dish

After Forty Years of Marriage, She Tries a New Recipe for Hamburger Hot Dish

by Leo Dangel

"How did you like it?" she asked.

"It's all right," he said.

"This is the third time I cooked it this way. Why can't you ever say if you like something?"

"Well if I didn't like it, I wouldn't eat it," he said.

"You never can say anything I cook tastes good."

"I don't know why all the time you think I have to say it's good. I eat it, don't I?"

"I don't think you have to say all the time it's good, but once in awhile you could say you like it."

"It's all right," he said.

Eggs

We started The Chicken Project last spring, with chicks from the farm store. They grew really fast, but then it seemed like there was a 2-3 month plateau - it took f o r e v e r to get our first eggs. When we finally did, it's like they all decided at once it would be a good idea to start laying. We got a ton. Small Fry sells them (company name: Arrow Eggs and she has a logo, flyers and stickers for the egg cartons. Little entrepreneur.)

Now, I am finding that one of my hens is laying double-yolkers, and they are perfect for omelettes. In fact, my first attempt at an omelette, using Cook's Illustrated instructions, was the best omelette I've ever had. Sorry to boast but it's true. The eggs this hen is laying are too big to fit in the carton - too big for the indent, and the cover can't close over it.

Having fresh eggs is worth all the upkeep for the flock. And the colors are gorgeous. Most lay various size brown ones. Hedwig lays green ones. Even our little bantam, Legs, lays tiny little white eggs.

Breakfast for dinner - can't beat it.