We had the COZIEST weekend! Friday night I made veggie molé burritos, he played his zombie game and I worked on a new scarf for a coworker.
Saturday I got up early and met the Minnesota Jam Queen for breakfast. I ate the absolute BEST swedish pancakes I’d ever had. I could write poems about these things, light, decadently eggy without being dense, perfect. I was in heaven. Afterward we headed over to Penzeys for some much needed spice shopping. I’ve got my trips down to once a year. Mostly I just pick up replacement spices and herbs. I picked up some sweet curry and some of their chili con carne spice. Both of these have a lot of flavor without any heat. I appreciate that because it means I can make a dish to any heat level. I picked up some sanaam peppers (which have a medium heat rating) to use to heat things up as I need to. I also own their ground chipotle powder which is wonderfully smokey, but as such is kin dof limited in its application. It’s just not right in curries.
I kept my haul pretty low, though I did manage to fill a whole bag.
We then made a quick stop at the grocery store where I picked up three bags of flour to feed my bread machine addiction. 2 bags of bread flour and one whole wheat. I wanted to get some whole grains, but Kowalski’s, while hip and happy, is not so much into the whole grain thing. The few whole grain mixes and flours they had were exceptionally overpriced. I need to head over to the co-op and freak the bulk bin section.
The last stop was Brianno’s where we picked up the most delightful basil vinaigrette.
I got home and whipped up a quick lunch of sliced italian bread with the basil vinaigrette and tomatoes for the boy and I.
Then it hit. I’d noticed that the sausage with my breakfast was a tad underdone. I didn’t mind, I don’t get freaked out over the things that are a tad underdone. I know for as much as people freak, a little undercooked pork isn’t going to kill you. It will, however, give you an oogly belly for the rest of the day. I slid into bed around 3 hoping to sleep it off. Got up around 6:30 and knew it wasn’t going away. It wasn’t terrible, it was just unbalancing. So, I sent David out on his own to chill with his friends and I watched season two of Sealab 2021 while crocheting.
Before I went to bed I set up the bread machine with a loaf to be ready by 10:30 in the morning.
This morning we awoke to the lovely scent of fresh bread filling the house. After some lazy sunday morning cuddling, is there anything better than cuddling up with a boy and two dogs? on the most comfortable bed in the world?! It’s like you’re a little snuggle bunny and the whole world is working on keeping you warm and happy.
When I finally did extricate myself from the happy rumple, I went to make coffee and get the bread ready. David soon joined me and I got breakfast on the table. Fresh, hot bread, slathered with butter and the Jam Queen’s very own Cherry jam. So delicious. I’m a big fan of cherry jams and I like this one a lot as it’s not too sweet and it’s crammed full of cherries.
Over breakfast the Jam Queen and I discussed jam making. I have ideas for making jams and chutneys, things that would be very different and creative. The thing is, I’m afraid to preserve or can any of these things as I do not want to kill anyone. She assured me that I could not kill anyone with fruit jams and explained the various processes to me. It’s fairly easy and I feel confident enough to get started. I may not be super creative or confident, but the one thing I am good at in the kitchen is combining unlikely flavors. I can throw in an ingredient that is super subtle but would round out the high notes of a dish so you end up with a more full bodied flavor. I add different seasonings to things that will ‘sound’ at different moments so you’ll taste say something citrus, then cinnamon, then some ginger, then maybe the slow heat of a pepper.
I want to utilize this skill and make some jams, both sweet and savory.
I’ll keep you posted on the progress, I won’t tell you all the flavors I have in mind. If they don’t turn out I won’t tell you about them.
This afternoon I sent David to the store while I cleaned the kitchen and when he returned I made dinner. I made a 3 bean chili with fake meat (one of my dishes that showcases the way that I manipulate flavors) along with a loaf of jalapeño cheddar bread. Dinner was good and I have enough of everything to pack lunches for both of us.
Please note that I made two loaves of bread in a day. this is the problem with having a bread machine, you eat too damned much bread and butter.
After dinner I made a curly scarf for a certain little girl and I am searching for maybe a complimentary purse pattern.
An uneventful dog walk and now I am up way too late. This was my cozy weekend with the boy. It was so relaxing I really don’t want it to end.