Back to our regularly scheduled chaos

So with this latest drama winding down things are getting back to normal – well normal for us anyway!

Cassie is feeling and acting much more like her usual self. Her eyes are still red and you can tell that bright lights are uncomfortable, but she’s keeping her eyes open now, running around yelling at her brothers and doing her “happy feet” dance again. Currently she’s right by my leg begging and stealing bites of my warm carrot oatmeal bread. The house just cleared out for the third ballgame of the weekend and I have a blessed few minutes alone with Cassie, my laptop, a cup of coffee and a snack…life just really doesn’t get much better.

It’s been a great day all around. Back to normal around here means that I spend the first half of my Sunday cooking for the rest of the week so that means that we have homecooked meals this week instead of the takeout and convenience food we’ve had for the past two weeks – Yeah!

When things are running smoothly, Mike and I have a pretty good system going. He’s responsible for the bulk of the weeknight cooking, but I try to prep as much as possible for him on Sundays. This week that means there is meatballs and sausage ready to be heated up and served with pasta and foccacia topped with the last of the grape tomatoes that just needs to be warmed in the oven. The enchilada sauce is made and the chicken cooked and shredded ready to be put together for Tuesday night’s dinner. There’s quahog chowder sitting in another pot and the clamcakes are prepped, he just needs to mix the wet with the dry and fry them. A casserole dish full of macaroni and cheese just needs to be baked off and served with some ham steaks on Thursday. The carrot oatmeal bread is ready for a couple of breakfasts this week and there’s a quick brioche in the oven ready for French toast one day and bread pudding for dessert one night. All in all not too shabby for a few hours time and as an added bonus it relaxes me and helps me to get ready for the long week at work.

Back to normal around here also means that all this productivity was not without its pitfalls.

Although this isn’t a cooking blog and I’ve already talked enough about food, I do have one (painfully earned) kitchen tip to share with you…

You know that foodsaver we’ve all seen the commercials for? The one we look at, thinking it’s a good idea but who wants to buy all those rolls of bags when you can just suck the air out of regular bags on your own?? It just got added to my wishlist.

If it’s that time of year and your hot pepper plants have gone nuts producing fruit because they feel the nip in the morning air, and you are just SO. OVER. IT. and decide to pull the plants up, pick every last pepper, freeze what you need and pawn of the rest on unsuspecting friends, coworkers and family heed the following warning.

If you are freezing HOT peppers, sucking all the air out of the freezer bag before sealing it is a BAD idea. You won’t realize it for a second or two and then suddenly your lips will go numb, your mouth will start burning and your throat will be on fire…if that doesn’t convince you (and it wouldn’t convince me either – I never heed warnings thinking that I’m just so much smarter than the average bear) let me also warn you that you will not be able to taste that wonderful sandwich you just made yourself. You know, the one where you toasted a bagel lightly, rubbed a cut clove of garlic over it ever so lovingly, covered it with slices of the last beautiful Brandywine tomato from the garden, sprinkled it ever so lightly with fresh cracked pepper, and few delicate crystals of your hidden stash of Fleur de Sel, showered the whole thing with mounds of Pecorino Romano, drizzled it with a light fruity olive oil and then popped it under the broiler till it was luscious and bubbly and perfect? Yeah - THAT sandwich…you will not be able to taste it because you just fried all your taste buds – you may as well eat cardboard! You’ll end up giving it to your sixteen year old son, who will inhale it in two seconds flat, not even thinking to savor it and you’ll want to cry.

If that sad tale doesn’t convince you, don’t say I didn’t warn ya…