Cooking When It's Just Women

My husband is away for a few days, so at dinner it's just my daughters and I. One daughter is housesitting this month, but is coming home for dinner on these nights. The way I cook for just us three women is so different from how I cook when we have the four of us here. And when my son and daughter-in-law come over, I cook differently then too. My son and daughter-in-law eat a lot of meat and eggs, so I cook for that when they're over. My husband likes traditional meals, with plenty of starch and protein. But my daughters and I tend to be lighter eaters, which is making these few days super easy for me.

Tonight, we made a large chef's salad, using leftover salad, the dressing, and cooked peas from last night. We added extra lettuce, tomato, celery, and cabbage to stretch the salad base. We topped the salad base with sliced cheese and boiled eggs. As side dishes we finished off the leftover herbed rice and rhubarb jello from last night as well. Easy peasy done. 

When it's just us women, I can get away with salad for dinner, or rice and veggie bowls, or veggie and pasta dishes. And if I do cook a "regular" meal, we'll likely have enough for two nights with a little stretching.

It can also easy to cook for just my husband and I. A couple of Fridays ago, it was just he and I for dinner. Our usual is pizza and a movie on Fridays. Instead of making a whole pizza, I made pizza sandwiches using frozen pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cheese on slices of lightly toasted bread. I sometimes cook up a small steak, microwave a couple of potatoes, and heat some frozen vegetables when it's just he and I. Simple meals.

There's something about cooking for a larger group that feels more involved, as I'm catering to multiple tastes and likes. So it's a treat to cook for myself and two other people who will eat as I prefer.

So, while we miss my husband at home with us, at least it's easier cooking for these few days. 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. I'll be gardening, taking breakfast to the beach on Monday, and maybe hitting up one of the vintage malls over the weekend. What's on your weekend plan?

May's Magic

I love this time of year. Everything seems so hopeful. My garden is getting a start. 

my deck container lettuce garden

Salads made with freshly harvested lettuce are so much better than grocery store salad kits. I have the opportunity to begin food preservation before I tire of it. 

2 small jars of chive blossom vinegar -- will be ready by the end of June

Chive blossoms are opening and ready for making chive blossom vinegar. The rhubarb is at its best.  And it's not too hot to sit outside during the middle of the day or by a fire in the early evening.

Now not every day is great. We've had some chilly and rainy weather this month. And the slugs ate most of my carrot sprouts. We've also had some unseasonably warm weather that necessitated watering everything daily. But overall, it's pretty nice.

We've had several hot dog cook-outs this month, most recent on Wednesday. 

my plate from our cook-out

I harvested lettuce from my plastic bin container lettuce garden, made herbed rice (one of our three times of rice this week), made a bowl of rhubarb jello, and heated some frozen peas. No need for buns for our hot dogs. Rice was our starchy dish.

Rhubarb jello is my family's favorite way to eat rhubarb sauce. How I make it: 

• I make a batch of sweetened rhubarb sauce
• allow to cool, then run through the blender
• measure the sauce
• soften the appropriate amount of gelatin (based on the measure of rhubarb sauce, plus about 1/2 teaspoon extra gelatin) in a small amount of cold water -- basically for every cup of sauce, use 1 teaspoon plain gelatin, then add an extra 1/2 teaspoon to ensure set.
• after gelatin has softened, heat in the microwave to melt
• stir melted gelatin into the puréed rhubarb sauce
• refrigerate for 5 or more hours

I'm an optimist in May. Bunnies are still cute. So are squirrels. I have big hopes for my garden's harvest. Watering my seedlings is a joy. Vibrant new flowers bloom each day and provide cheer for my outdoor work. May is magic, a renewal of the land as well as my spirit.

What makes the month of May special for you?