Actually, that’s a lie. I’ve been making myself keep work hours. Or trying to, anyway. Weekdays, my goal is to get 3-4 hours of work done in the morning (video editing/filming/zoom calls at home) and then the same amount in afternoon (email/script writing), often at a coffee shop in town.
To crystalize the division between work and non-work, at the end of the day I shut everything down — work account, video editing software, Discord chat — and then I yell to no one in particular, SYSTEMS SHUTTING DOWN, a la Cal Newport.
Weekends are still a little iffy. Sometimes I succumb to partial work days — video editing is tedious and the more I can spread it out, the more productive I am — but I’m getting better at sticking to my guns. I know I need the break, even though I kinda freak out at the end of the week because what am I going to do for two whole days without my work?
Why write a blog post, m’dear. That’s what!
Actually, my weekends are mostly for getting done all the things I don’t do during the week — i.e. cooking and playing and chillin’ on the porch. Anything other than thumbnails, market research, and tracking software.
Take today, for example. Here’s what I’ve done thus far. (As I type, it’s 3:14 p.m. on Saturday.)
I woke up before 6 to go on my first-ever trail run with my daughter-in-law. I had no idea what to expect, but it was pretty darn fun: a new setting, focused running (i.e. trying not to fall), dense green, quiet, darkly wooded, and it used a totally different set of muscles. I feel the run in my legs now, but it’s a good feeling.
I was planning to make a Gruyere today, but on our drive home from the trail run, my husband called to say that the calves got out during the night. So, no fresh milk which meant I wouldn’t have enough to make a big wheel.
So I switched to Plan B: process as much of the week’s stockpiled milk as possible so I don’t have to do it next week (when I will be making that Gruyere). Specifically, this meant: 3+ gallons of yogurt, a double batch of ice cream base (hot weather is coming!), pasteurizing cream for the week’s coffees, skimming the rest of the milks. (The skimmed milk, I clabbered for the pigs. The cream, I stuffed in the freezer for a future butter experiment.)
I made 3-ingredient pancakes for breakfast — cottage cheese, rolled oats, eggs (and salt). I thought they might be a bust, but they were actually pretty yummy: dense without being gummy and with a lovely nuttiness. My husband said they weren’t amazing but he wasn’t offended by them either. Translation: they’re better than oatmeal and not as good as ordinary pancakes.
Friends are coming for supper tonight, so I thawed some steaks, baked two chocolate loaf cakes with peanut butter cup-lined bottoms, and I made a rockin’ Moroccan carrot salad and another batch of onion relish. I washed a bunch of dishes, made multiple trips out to the cheese cave to monitor my husband’s progress — newsflash: THE CAVE HAS RUNNING WATER — and then I fizzled out.
I still need to make a potato salad and chop up a watermelon for next week, and I want to make a menu for the week and then knock out a few more staples — but I can do that tomorrow. No need to tucker myself out entirely.
(There is still a chance I’ll get a little wild and make some corn tortillas to go with tonight’s supper. I made corn tortillas last week and the leftovers, reheated, were wonderful with onion relish, scrambled eggs, and wedges of fresh ricotta salata, mmm.)
Now it’s time to gather my nerve and go wash down the porch furniture and scrub the kitchen stove. Company will be here soon!
When you host a gathering, you never know what will be The Thing that gets people’s attention.
At the hot dog roast at my brother’s house during the family gathering, turned out it was a jar of onions that garnered the most chatter. I hadn’t even noticed them (I didn’t eat a hot dog so I didn’t pay attention to the condiment tray), but then I overheard, These are amazing! What is in them? How did you make them? So I had to see what all the fuss was about.
I scooped some of the onions onto a potato chip to sample. The onions were gently sweet with just a tiny kiss of acid, and they were jammy-soft with a slight crunch. I could’ve spooned them from the jar straight into my mouth.
After everyone left, my brother texted a photo of the half-full jar of zucchini relish that I’d contributed to the supper. “Want to trade for onion relish?”
Uh … yessss!
And then I made an amazing discovery: grilled cheese stuffed with onion relish. Typically, I love me a thick layer of sweet pickles with my grilled cheese, but these onions, good grief. I couldn’t pack the sandwich full enough.
I made a batch of onion relish this weekend, and then I made another round of grilled cheese. We also ate the onion relish on our Sunday lunch of beans and rice and my Monday eggs and beans. I imagine it’d be fabulous over scrambled eggs, too, or on a salad, stuffed into subs, on a cheeseburger, etc, etc.
Onion Relish Adapted from my brother’s recipe.
All amounts are guesstimates: play around. (Optional variations at the bottom.)
2 cups of chopped onion ¼ cup white vinegar, divided 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon dried basil
Put the chopped onions and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar in a microwaveable bowl and cover with water. Microwave for 2 minutes. Drain the onions, give them a quick rinse, and drain again.
Place the drained onions in a bowl and add the remaining vinegar, brown sugar, olive oil, and dried basil. Toss to combine. Transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator. (No idea how long these last in the fridge. Haven’t gotten that far yet.)
Options to play around with, if you so desire:
The quantity and type of vinegar — I bet apple cider vinegar would be good
Different herbs, like oregano, chives, parsley, or go wild and use fresh
Cook them a little longer or shorter, depending on the desired crunch level
Omit the sugar, or swap it out for white sugar, maple syrup, or honey
