A lot of things

I've been cooking the past two months more than I have in a couple of years. My long-term temporary day job ended along with September, and my college sophomore son is suddenly at home again after a year in the wilds of Indiana. If, over time, you read much about what I cook, you'll probably find it hilarious that he has lost about 25 pounds since returning from said wilds. The end of the job, the beginning of fall, and a financial desire to avoid eating out as we are wont to do in our household has fed my obsession with feeding, and I thought it might be fun to write about it a bit.

Today I managed to get my blender, my chopper and my food processor dirty making macaroni and cheese. I tried putting the Gruyere in the chopper, but it was the wrong texture and kept getting caught. So it went to the food processor. Then I tried putting the rock hard leftover french bread in the food processor, but it was of course the wrong texture and needed the blender. So there are three large dirty implements on the counter while I take some time at the computer. My favorite mac and cheese is a Martha Stewart recipe, unless one is in dire need of the less than 10 minute Kraft variety, which dirties few kitchen implements.

Ben and I have been hungry for Ruben sandwiches for a week or so, and I finally made them for lunch today after his long morning of trombone rehearsal and lesson. Rye bread, corned beef, sauerkraut with caraway, provolone and French dressing. Food of the gods. Teutonic ones, no doubt.

I was reading my range manual a couple of weeks ago to figure out how to make it heat up before my alarm rings in the morning so I could move my french bread dough from the fridge to the oven between snooze alarms... and realized I'd never really used the meat settings for the convection oven as directed for anything in particular. So I've had it in mind to cook a roast with the proper settings, and this freezing cold day seemed like a good time. It's a chuck roast, which probably should be cooked in a pot instead, but I'm doing the great-Grandma Fry/step-mother Jane/northern rural Indiana version, which includes at least one can of cream-of-something soup on top and a rack. I went for cream-of-celery, and did things my Pennsylvania Dutch grandmother would not ever consider... like adding dry white wine and chopped garlic to the soup. And coating the roast in fresh black pepper and chili powder. But it's still Camp-BELL's cream-of-something on top... and I bet we'll like it just fine. In fact, it's starting to smell pretty good.

I'm trying to get healthier by adding things to my diet instead of taking them away for a change. I went on a weird diet a couple of years ago that made me feel pretty great and lose a fair amount of weight in a short time. For the time being, I'm trying to eat the things that one "had" to eat every day on that diet, and not freak out too much about taking things away as a preliminary step to goodness and lite. Thus the smoothie - unsweetened cranberry juice, plain yogurt, flaxseed meal, flaxseed oil, whey protein powder, organic frozen blueberries and a dose of liquid iron supplement. Sounds scary? It's actually really good - the cranberry juice and the blueberries are strong enough to mask anything else that might not be absolutely delicious.

I make two really good sandwiches every day for Brian to take to work. My friend Trish therefore calls Brian "Spoiled Rotten Brian," but I finally pointed out to her that he spends less money on food out if I do that, so it benefits the whole household. Today it was braunschweiger, which I hate, with mayo, mustard, pepper jack, lettuce, and most of a hot red banana pepper. He also takes "Shin Cups" from the Asian market, which I think he eats for breakfast and mid-afternoon.

Trish gave me a delicious breakfast today that I did NOT cook - Mississippi Market Sunrise muffins, apple and cheese, and wonderful coffee. We have to put her cat in another room for these breakfasts because he REALLY wants the muffins and the half-and-half.

Now it's time for me to go and cook the other things for the Indiana-Cream-of-Something roast supper... potatoes need to go in the oven, a spinach salad needs to come together, and I need to figure out how to bravely prepare some dreaded brussels sprouts.