I'm not quite sure where it went, but it went there fast. Most of Sunday was spent on food prep for the week. And here we go...
Whole 30...
First, I prepared a roast chicken. This little bird got carrots and leeks in the cavity, and a rubdown with olive oil. Then, some frozen sage was tucked into the breast meat area under the skin. A little water, a thermometer and pop-you-go into the oven for about an hour or so. I want to get a better meat thermometer, but what we have works, so I can't really complain. I just like the old one (it died).
After I finished the chickie-bird, Hubby dissected it and then I froze the carcass for use making bone broth.
That was, at least, the plan for the weekend - doing as much prep as I could so that I wasn't scrambling for meals. The Non-Scotch eggs were done, and I then turned to the veggies.
The prep area of the kitchen was a bit crowded after a quick trip to the store, but I got everything portioned out. The sausages were individually wrapped and tucked away. I found some uncured Polish sausage (yay!) and I made up several packages for future use. Hubby and I actually love that grilled, so it's going to be a nice thing to dive into now and in the future. The mushrooms were used for my "squash surprise" and I cleaned up a nice fresh leek. 
Cleaning leeks is easy and it's important, unless you like chewing on sand. Cut off the green part of the leek, and then split the white part down the middle. Rinse it thoroughly under running water and spread apart the layers to get all the way down in there. 
Hubby likes to dice his. I like to slice mine. I took one half and put it in a little zipper bag for the freezer. The other half went into Squash Surprise. Leeks freeze well, and since you have to cook them anyway, it doesn't matter what their texture is after being frozen. Then I started on the squash, after rinsing them in Young Living Essential Oils Thieves Fruit & Veggie wash. It really takes the "stuff" off your veggies. Even the wax on the cucumbers comes right off.
Put a couple teaspoons of it in a bowl of cool water, plunk in the veggies, and let them sit for about 2 minutes. Rinse. Good to go...I rinsed the mushrooms in plain water, gently rubbing them to get rid of the dirt.
Sliced them up, sliced up the yellow and zucchini, sliced up several carrots on the bias and a parsnip.
Sauteed the leeks and about 3 cloves of chopped garlic in a saute pan with a little olive oil, then removed those items and set them aside. While those were cooking, I boiled the carrots and parsnip for about 6 minutes in a pan to start them softening - I wanted to partially cook them so they wouldn't take forever, or burn while I was trying to put this all together. I added everything except the leeks + garlic back into the pan, added salt, pepper, and Penzey's Spices Mural of Flavor salt-free blend, and some tarragon. Stir it around, let it cook a bit, so the mushrooms and squash give up their juice.
Then add in the leeks and garlic, stir it all up, and when the carrots and parsnips are just past fork-tender, you're done!
Squash surprise.
You can use this as a base - add tomatoes if you want. Serve as a side dish, or on top of pasta or spaghetti squash. It would also be great on top of rice with some pulled chicken, or if you add some beans, you have a nice vegetarian dish. I put it with some cod that I cooked up so it was almost a "fish stew" kind of thing. And otherwise? I'd be good with it alongside scrambled eggs, or inside an omelette.
So. Veggies done, fish done, chicken done... I also roasted some asparagus, but ran out of both energy and time to make an asparagus soup.
I also used a little of my fresh mayo and made up a "ranch" style dressing!
I was a little sparse on protein today for the salad, but I survived! And I think I'm ahead for the week, in total. I have a meeting tomorrow, and I have no idea what's on the menu (I guess I could read the newsletter for our group...). I know I'll have to wing it. So I'll likely bring my own dressing and hope there's nothing breaded on the plate. Or I'll eat the salad and veg and bring the meat home for Hubby.
Knitting...
Shout-out to Sandy at Rembrandt Yarns!! I got my sock yarn, and I can't wait to knit this one up! She was prompt and kind about getting me what I ordered - and she let me keep the worsted weight skein! I have some lovely white/cream yarn that will go with the worsted weight, so I can make a shawl with it. Or maybe a hat. I'll have to see. Here's the sock yarn. Sorry about the shadow of my hand - I thought the flash took off, and I didn't notice it till now.
I did another point on the Close to You shawl as I was in between cooking tasks. Hubby said that was as much cooking as I'd done in the past 6 months, and he's right.
Now if I can up my knitting, I'll be in good shape. This sock yarn is destined for a shawl of some sort - it's too pretty for feet. And the sock blank I ordered will definitely be a pair of socks - maybe that's the time I'll shoot for trying a cable up one side? Up both sides??? Hmmmmmm.
Lots of options, for sure.
Random Picture...
Well, not entirely random. This was on my drive to work. Yes, it's April 9. And yes, that's snow. And yes, we're all kind of over it. And yes. There may be more coming.
It depends on how the latest weather pattern unfolds. Could just be rain, which is good, but could also be snow.
Which is weird.
I'm in a strange state. I feel kind of bloated and tired, as I'm trying to clean up my diet and habits. I'm so impressed with the kindness of some people. And then, in the space of 10 minutes, going to the grocery store, I almost get T-boned because two guys (yes, they were guys, because I saw them as they looked right at me) blew stop signs at the side roads and careened onto the main road, cutting me off.
I was trying to be kind about the first one, figuring "maybe there was a family emergency. After the second one in a few blocks, I went right to "dirtbag morons."
Maybe I'm in the same tizzy as Mother Nature - we're not sure WHAT she's up to lately!
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