Around the Table With the Burkes: The Week With No Food

“I just learned, in researching for this article, that Soda Bread recipes are often unique to a family, passed down through the generations, with different fruits and spices added as available. Ours is a fairly standard version, though I guess it qualifies since I got it from my mom.”

My happiness with avoiding fast food last week was replaced by all of the fast food this week. It was a rough one.

On Saturday I went with the Instant Pot pulled chicken standby. It has rescued dinner at least five times in the last few weeks. Last Sunday was St. Patrick’s Day, I’m the daughter of a Barry and a Carey and married to a Burke, so Irish Traditions are a thing in our house. I have never been on the corned beef and cabbage train, so I went with stew for dinner — beef rather than lamb, with lots of potatoes and carrots. I also made Irish Soda Bread, a recipe from my mom, who got it from her grandmother. I have vivid memories of baking it with mom as a kid. She’d pull out her weathered and worn recipe notebook and tell us stories about Great Grandma Peg. I just learned, in researching for this article, that Soda Bread recipes are often unique to a family, passed down through the generations, with different fruits and spices added as available. Ours is a fairly standard version, though I guess it qualifies since I got it from my mom. It’s a little late for the holiday this year, but we always made it whenever the mood struck.

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Irish Soda Bread

• 2 cups flour

• 2 Tbsp Sugar

• 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder

• ½ tsp Salt

• ¼ tsp Baking Soda

• ½ cup Raisins

• 1 Tbsp Caraway Seeds

• 1 Cup Buttermilk (I have never in my life used buttermilk, I make sour milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice mixed with enough milk to make a cup. Let it sit for a few minutes, then add it)

Mix all ingredients until combined, pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

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Thus ended the week’s real dinners. We went with Publix chicken on Monday, Pizza on Tuesday, Happy Meals Wednesday, and my kids were fed by my friend on Thursday while I had a bowl of cereal. Friday I made pancakes because it seemed on-brand for the week.

I would love to do better this week, but it seems unlikely with all of the work I have to do. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, however, and then I think there will be an explosion of food at our house. Maybe I’ll throw a party, Irish hospitality lasts year-round.

Around the Table with the Burkes: It’s the little victories

…I have three small tornadoes
destroying every room immediately
after I’ve cleaned it.

My parents came for a visit last week (a “visit” where I use them for free labor and my dad’s construction expertise). I’m frantically trying to prepare my house for sale, no small task when my other half is away from home four days a week, and I have three small tornadoes destroying every room immediately after I’ve cleaned it. Mom and dad cleared more than a few things off of my list, though it still seems like there is stuff EVERYWHERE. All of the house projects made mealtime difficult, as we reached the end of each day too tired to think, so shortcuts were key to filling empty bellies this week.

On Saturday I had a rare evening out with my friends to celebrate a birthday and see Captain Marvel. I ate what I wanted and no one stole my French fries. Travis made pork chops, spaetzle, and green beans for the kids, which my parents were also thrilled to have when they arrived Saturday night. On Sunday Grillmaster Burke made steaks.

Lightly Sweetened Mashed
Sweet Potatoes:
Cube the sweet potatoes and boil until they’re soft. Add ¼ cup of butter, a splash of milk, and a few tablespoons of real maple syrup. Mix until uniformly mashed.

After Monday’s projects – which included deck repair, door replacement, and so much cleaning – I ordered takeout. Tuesday’s exhausting to-do list was followed by a rotisserie chicken with corn and noodles.

Wednesday I succumbed to guilt over feeding my parents shortcut food, so I roasted a pork loin and squash and made mashed sweet potatoes. The secret to my sweet potatoes, beloved the family over: after boiling the potatoes until they’re soft I add ¼ cup of butter, a splash of milk, and a few tablespoons of real maple syrup. We pretend it’s still healthy – maple syrup is practically a vegetable, right?

Travis arrived home on Thursday to chicken chili (thank you McCormick packet) and cornbread. On Friday we had pasta night, with the addition of sweet Italian sausage (baked from frozen for an hour at 350 degrees, then added to the sauce).

It was a week of quick dinners, but I’m happy we managed to avoid fast food. We also managed to sit down at the table together each night (sans Travis for three of them). It’s the little victories.

Around the Table with the Burkes: Cosmic Space Odyssey

After my bout with bronchitis, I was hopeful that the illnesses were over…No such luck as my youngest came down with a nasty cold and decided the only cure was to attach himself to me like a barnacle.

A common mantra among the self-help crowd is some variation on the idea that you get out of life what you put in. What goes around, comes around; self-fulfilling prophecies; positive mental attitude. So I wonder if my continuing declaration that 2019 is a rough year is making 2019 a rough year. And what does that have to do with food?

My husband took dinner duty on Saturday with grilled pork chops, green beans, and spaetzle. Sunday I made roast beef with broccoli and noodles. We’re eating a lot of noodles these days.

After my bout with bronchitis, I was hopeful that the illnesses were over and we could get through a busy week as planned – meals, activities, and meetings. No such luck as my youngest came down with a nasty cold and decided the only cure was to attach himself to me like a barnacle. Fortunately, my mother-in-law arrived on Monday (seriously, thank goodness for excellent in-laws), and she helped immensely with my older kids and getting my house in order. I went prepackaged on Monday with a frozen lasagna from Costco that was surprisingly acceptable!

Tuesday we celebrated my sick toddler’s second birthday. I made some of his favorites in the hope he would eat some real food. BBQ chicken in the Instant Pot, corn, and (shocker) noodles. He ate virtually nothing. However, he did provide his only smiles of the week when presented with cake. Cake: the cure for everything!

One of the things on my plate last week was Teacher Appreciation Week at my daughter’s school. I’m a person who really, REALLY appreciates my children’s teachers, and as Head Room Mom, I had quite a lot planned with a fun Outer Space theme! Wednesday was dessert day and I LOVE to bake, so I made Cosmic Brownies for the teachers, and – since my oven was already on – banana bread and pumpkin bread for my family. (My banana bread recipe is a favorite, found here.) For Cosmic Brownies I made a Ghirardelli boxed brownie mix and drizzled the top of the finished brownies with white chocolate colored blue, purple, and pink. In a Pinterest-packed frenzy I also made fruit rockets from strawberries and bananas.

For dinner on Wednesday we went with beef tacos, accompanied by black beans, corn, lettuce, and cheese. Thursday and Friday we went simple with leftovers and pizza night. Another week survived. Now I’m putting out into the universe that the coming week will be amazing and all will go according to plan. Whatever works!

Photos by Norah Burke

Around the Table with the Burkes: Super Spouse Dinner Takeover

“Tonight we’ll be roasting hot dogs over a campfire with friends. The side will likely be s’mores and chances are good there will not be a vegetable in sight.”

Photo by Norah Burke

Photo by Norah Burke

This week seemed to fly by, didn’t it? I didn’t get to the Farmer’s Market last Saturday thanks to a migraine, fortunately winter vegetables have a delightfully long shelf life so I still had cauliflower from the week before as well as some meat in our freezer to create our meals this week.

On Saturday I helped throw a last minute birthday party for a good friend (hi Kelly!). My contribution was homemade baked mac n’ cheese and a chocolate cream pie. I know you want those recipes, the mac n’ cheese can be found here (note: I replace the onion with a tablespoon of onion powder for kid friendliness). The chocolate cream pie recipe is here, for this one I have made the crust in the past and it’s phenomenal, but when I’m feeling lazy I pick up an Oreo crumb crust from the grocery store.

My husband Travis racked up some super spouse points this week by taking the lead on dinners. On Sunday he made hamburgers, sweet potato fries, and corn.

Photo by Norah Burke

Monday he grilled pork chops (from the Market), and I roasted cauliflower. I coat the cauliflower in 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp olive oil, black pepper, and garlic and then roast it on a sheet pan in a 425 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was out of the house, so Travis served up leftovers to the kids. Supposedly they ate them all. I never look a gift break from parenting in the mouth.

Thursday I assuaged my mom and wife guilt with roasted butternut squash, rice pilaf, and soy-ginger-garlic-brown sugar chicken. Lest you think I’m some culinary professional, the chicken was… not great. I didn’t cut my pieces uniformly so some were overcooked to rubber, blech. The rice pilaf isn’t authentic, per se, it’s more of a 1950s midwestern version (my source lived in Ohio for a long time…), but it’s a favorite of the husband and yummy.

Photo by Norah Burke

Oma’s Rice Pilaf

• 1 ¼ cups Parboiled (converted) Rice

• 1 10.5 ounce can Beef Consommé

• 1 10.5 ounce can French Onion Soup

• 6 Tbsp Butter (I always cut this to 4-ish)

Combine the ingredients in an oven safe covered dish. Cook in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, remove lid and cook uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

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Tonight we’ll be roasting hot dogs over a campfire with friends. The side will likely be s’mores and chances are good there will not be a vegetable in sight. I’ll be back at the market tomorrow on the hunt for spinach, broccoli, and carrots. And let’s be honest, coffee from Good Cup and some kind of pastry. Bundle up and join me!

Photo by Norah Burke

Around the Table with the Burkes, December 14, 2018

Photos by Norah Burke

It’s Friday, Beaconites! That means another week of real life Matthews meals. This week the Burke family weathered the storm, the Plague, and general exhaustion. So what did we eat?

THE FARMERS MARKET FRESH INGREDIENTS:

Pork Chops, Pork sausage (saved for a later plan), Green Onions, Mustard Greens, Sweet Potatoes, Garlic, Arugula, Green Peppers

THE PLAN:

Photo by Norah Burke

SATURDAY:

If you were watching closely, you might have noticed I did not use my whole chicken from last week. Never fear, I roasted it on Saturday, paired with sautéed broccoli and spaetzle (any other spaetzle lovers in the house? Tiny German dumplings, we serve ours with butter and black pepper, but they’re delicious with gravy. Publix carries the Maggi brand, my house favorite, though I dream of making it from scratch). My preferred chicken roasting method is to make a paste of olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, and onion and rub it over the chicken. Cover with tin foil and cook at 350 for 1.5 hours, then remove the foil and cook for an additional 30 minutes to crisp the skin.

Sunday:

Sunday was cold and wet, and thanks to downed trees we were trapped in our neighborhood. It was a good day for Chicken Chili. I 100% cheated by using a McCormick seasoning packet (refer to the aforementioned plague), however, I have made this incredibly easy recipe in the past. Just right for warming our bellies on a gross weekend. I added some fresh bell peppers from the market to increase the nutritional value and flavor.

Monday:

When I roasted the chicken on Saturday, my intent was to use the leftovers for a big pot of chicken soup… but there were no leftovers (excellent chicken!). Never fear, grocery store rotisserie chicken to the rescue. I used green onions and garlic from the market. As mentioned previously, I’m dealing with some picky eaters, so celery in soup is forbidden. My secret: celery seed. All of the flavor, none of the “eew, it’s slimy.” Here’s my recipe:

Chicken Soup

• 2 tsp Olive Oil

• 1 Small Onion, minced (or a bunch of green onions, which is what I used this time around)

• 4 Carrots, peeled and chopped

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced (or make it 4? I love garlic.)

• 3-4 cups leftover chicken

• 1 Tbsp Celery seed

• 3 bay leaves

• 2 tsp dried thyme

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

• 8 cups chicken broth

• ½ Package egg noodles (6-7 ounces)

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven. Add onions and carrots and cook for a few minutes until onions are clear and carrots have softened. Add garlic and cook a few minutes more. Dump in chicken and dried herbs, stir to combine. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer and let the flavors come together for as long as you have to leave it. 15 minutes before serving return to a boil and add egg noodles. Cook until noodles are soft, then serve hot with crusty bread.

Tuesday:

In the throes of the Plague, I ordered a pizza. Life happens.

Wednesday:

Still barely functional, I realized barbecue is the key to defeating the world’s worst cold, so we took away some sandwiches from Mac’s Speed Shop. Little known miracle cure.

Thursday:

Homemade food again! To celebrate my family’s renewed health, I made sweet potatoes, sautéed mustard greens, and grilled pork chops. A 100% Farmers’ Market supplied meal! And readers. The pork chops! We are not joking when we tell you fresh and local is better, because the taste difference is mind-blowing.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

• 2-3 Large Sweet Potatoes

• 2-3 Tbsp Butter

• ¼ cup whole milk

• 2-3 Tbsp maple syrup (the best kind is the real maple syrup from the trees in your childhood backyard, just me? #yesthatwasahumblebrag #sorry)

Peel potatoes, chop into 2-inch chunks

Boil until potatoes are soft

Add the butter, whole milk, and maple syrup and mash

I served my sautéed mustard greens on top of the sweet potatoes. The mix of sweet and spicy was delightful.

Friday:

More wet weather calls for something hearty. Looks like a job for beef stew and biscuits! Full disclosure: I love to cook. I would spend all day in the kitchen if I were free to do whatever I wanted. However, with my schedule, it’s virtually impossible on a weekday. So while I have experimented with many a beef stew recipe, most of them delicious, on a weeknight I return to a tried and true seasoning mix or packet that gives my family the benefit of homemade food, without the cost of my limited time. I’ll use a grocery store packet, or if we’re in a regular stew mood (September through March) I’ll keep a container of Rachel Cooks’ Beef Stew Seasoning ready made.

That’s the week! I’ll be back at the winter market tomorrow, hoping for more root vegetables (yeah, root vegetables!) and hopefully more pork chops (all the pork chops!).