Penne with Arrabbiata Sauce

So I had a delicate balance here. I wasn’t sure where to start, and I wanted to avoid getting the heat to be too much for Shannon. So without guidance, I had to guess. And it really wasn’t as spicy as I wanted (that gentle space on the edge of Shannon’s tolerance. 


Also, Fresh Iowa strawberries and whipped cream.

Lamb Brats

Option presented by Ethan, at Crooked Gap, it has the spices of a brat and the taste of lamb. Quite good.

Charred Red Pepper and White Bean Salad

I assumed this would require me to turn the oven on, and on a particular, perhaps the broiler, so when it was quite hot out, I said, nah. But apparently, it did not. So I guess I’ll try again next week.

Spiced Beef Pitas

So I trimmed this down a bit, Pretty much just did the spiced beef. I served it with naan, instead of pita, cause that’s what I had. We were in a rush, cause, for some reason, we were running late. Combo of me picking up Shannon a bit late, find out out to pick up our CSA share, and Shannon working until 5. We did get Shannon’s car detailed that day, and they did a fantastic job. It’s really to bad we live close to very large trees that drop pollen all the time.

Slow-Cooker Citrus-Braised Chicken Tacos

I started getting things ready after running downtown to pick up from Blue Gate, stopping at Daisy Chain Coffee to get a bit of a pick me up. It was pretty easy to prep the parts ready for cooking in the crock pot. I wanted to add a bit of heat, so I added a bit of Momofuku spicy salt, and some chipotle powder. I set it for 5 hours on low, then ran off to the store to get some cream, and sour cream.

I then spent a good chunk of that time working with Shannon to hang some window treatments. some black out curtains for our bedroom and a translucent set for the new windows in the living room. I used my handy drill and followed the directions. I even had Shannon do one because my left hand is dumb. I watched a quick video on hanging stuff on plaster. Things are looking pretty good.

After taking a break, listening to a bit of music, medicating the cats, I got to work finishing off dinner. I cooked off a lot of the liquid, while prepping a lot of the other things, spilled a bit, added a bit of salt.

All and all, a pretty good meal, without a ton of effort.

I did, however, use the last of the Cheese Bar Batch 1 Hot Sauce, which is sad, but now I’ll get to head into batch 2.

Also, Iowa strawberries and whipped cream, cause ‘tis the short season for it.