Jiggity Jig. And now it’s been a week.
Our last night in Denver we drove to Boulder to meet up with my cousin (my mother’s younger brother’s son, the ER doc, who’s moved to Denver for kind of a last 5 years of his career job, running a lab at University of Colorado Fort Collins) and have dinner. At a roof top place, limited chain, evidently, with good margaritas and tacos and guacamole. There was a thunderstorm on the way back, and I’m really glad Mark was driving. On the plus side it was light the whole time – our dinner reserve was for 5:30 – and we were under the rainbow the whole way, so how could anything bad happen? Knock wood.
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And the overleaf is my last coffee in Denver.
Our return travel went smoothly, no delays. We were home a little before 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. We got unpacked and Mark went for a walk, and I biked over to the co-op to pick up a few groceries. Only to realize when I got there that I not only didn’t have my shopping bags, I didn’t have my phone or wallet. But it was threatening rain, anyways, and I figured that it was just as well – I had nothing on me that mattered if it got wet. So I turned around and went back home and shopped at Metcalfe’s by car. One plus was that on the way back, I ran into Dorla (and Spencer & Mary) who were all biking over to the Dane County Fair to see the animals. So we got to chat and catch up a bit. Dorla’s got a new hip and I (of course) am still struggling with the knee.
And now I just got a MyChart message that they want me to come in for another blood pressure check – I just had one in June and I was 136/82 and they want me to be 130/80, so they said they’d have me back in two months. I told them that I thought that was too soon because I’m still struggling with the knee, so I guess the time has come when I need to fight with them a bit more …. My knee, or more correctly my whole leg, has been bothering me since we got back from Denver. I think maybe my Denver bike crash is part of it, but I’ve been having worse leg cramps again. I started taking magnesium w/o a Dr.’s advice at the beginning of July after my leg-cramps-after-swimming episode, and think I might’ve thrown my electrolytes off balance or something. Anyways, I’m stopping taking it.
I’m having a hard time remembering what I’ve been cooking for us to eat. I think Saturday dinner we had sandwiches, and then Monday it was all manner of leftovers, like a couple of tostadas made with the last dab of some refried beans I’d made before we went away, refried in bacon grease and they were too good to compost. I didn’t get the tortillas all the way crispy but they were still good. And I know there was a slice of pizza in there that Mark ate. Our last night in Madison before Denver I had an early beer pouring shift at Fete de Marquette. I biked over and Mark was going to meet me there and we were going to get dinner from the food trucks, but it rained so instead he drove over and rescued me and my bike, and we picked up a pizza on the way home. Oh, yea, now it’s coming back to me – I finally cooked the beets from the last CSA on Monday. I dressed some with walnut oil and lemon juice and pickled the rest, and boiled eggs and made a big salad to go with the leftovers – we bought lettuce and tomatoes at the Sunday Monroe Street farmers market. Sunday brunch was smashed potatoes and scrambled eggs with cheese and toast. I found a couple of potatoes liquefying in the pantry when I got back Saturday, so I got them all out and washed and saved what I could and we ate them Sunday. And a few of the potatoes figured into that Monday leftovers meal.
Tuesday was a Jasper day. He’s on the move, and was also having a little separation anxiety since he hadn’t seen me for a week. Whenever Al or Emma – who were both working at home – left the room he got upset. But we dealt and he was used to me again by the end of the day.
I made zucchini enchiladas for Tuesday dinner and for my original for CSA.
The CSA veggies I was on a mission to cook when I got back from Denver were the beets, some collards, and zucchini. And make cucumber relish. All has pretty much been accomplished. No pics of the beets, but I made barbecue just so we could have collards on the side. Well, and because Meredith and Anna and I have just ordered another half pig, so I need to use anything I have from the last one. The barbecue is one of the last things – two shoulder steaks that I boiled, shredded, and baked in the sauce. I was thinking of making the collards in peanut sauce, but ended up sauteing, with garlic.
This is only some of collards; the rest are blanched and can be frozen for later. Barbecue with homemade sauce and giardiniera (from the farmers market) and the collards and tots.
Finally made the relish Wednesday afternoon. It’s prettier than last years, but I don’t seem to have a picture, only 2020.
After relish making and before the above bbq sandwich dinner, we biked to the Union for the kickoff of UW’s 75th birthday celebrations. Free cups of ice cream, and a band that played college rock, hits of the early to mid-80’s seemed to me, REM, The Cure, New Order, latter day Kinks (Come Dancing), although they did play Wonderwall and that’s ’90s. While we were on the way, we had to stop at a red light in the bike lane in the construction on University Ave, where they’re building the new CDIS building, where the rest of my department will move in 2025 and lose their lake views – but not me because I’m retired! Anyways after the stop I could not get moving again because my leg cramped. Since it’s a proven fact that beer is the best muscle relaxant, I had a beer at the Union, and then another with my bbq, and slept very well that night.
I also made some zucchini muffins and a zucchini bread – the bread rose just fine but seemed thin because I didn’t have quite enough batter. I was planning to frost everything with cream cheese frosting, so I made the loaf into a kind of zucchini bread loaf cake to give to the neighbor kids who took care of our cats. I went over there Thursday night. And I took the muffins to the food pantry to share with volunteers on Wednesday. No pics, but here’s the recipe, and it was this cream cheese frosting from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I think it has a higher percentage of cream cheese & butter to powdered sugar than what I typically make, but that just made it good.
When we got back from Denver, our screen porch addition had one wall. Now it has all three and a roof.
Even though I made zucchini bread when I got back from Denver, I still want to make zucchini pickles, but since I got another CSA box Thursday, I now have more zucchini. Last time’s cucumbers are now relish, and good thing because I got four more. Well, three and a half after breakfast Friday morning.
Also on Friday, I made scones. I feel like I haven’t been feeding our construction crew enough; other times we’ve had people working in the house I passed out more cookies and other baked goods. And Mark’s usually looking for a baked good for breakfast and likes scones. Last Sunday’s dessert – these miso caramel blondies – were not the best. I absent-minded-ly put in too much baking powder, still not in the groove after vacay, I guess. Mark was reduced cutting off the edges, the best part, for breakfast & snacks, so seemed like time for something fresh!
Monday I made ricotta so I could make a cheesecake for Al & Emma’s 6th anniversary. There was a little dab leftover so I ate it on toast for breakfast on Thursday (I think).
And whoops, Al & Emma’s 6th anniversary is also my mom’s 19th yahrzeit. I guess I better blanch some of the broccoli I also got in Thursday’s box, and eat it with white wine and stinky cheese in her honor.
This is from last year. No broccoli, but toasted nuts, olives, plenty of cheese, and of course white wine in Mom’s Bennington cup.