Ann Davis-Rowe

🍴:

Mon – a 30° degree temp drop + tornado warning + what I had to finally admit was probably a cold and not allergies + Hampton’s Friday = boxed Mac and cheese with Italian sausage, salad OTS, no regrets.

Tues – I didn’t have rehearsal, so we planned to do bigass salads with shrimp after my yoga class. Then I worked from home to finally deal with said annoying cold. Hampton headed out to Smoke City Meats for inspo and grabbed half of their last piece of corned beef to go with the cabbage in our fridge and mashed potatoes in the freezer.

We can never go back to regular grocery store corned beef again.

Holy cow, that was good and I’m so sad I didn’t take a pic. We mainly followed this, but with the end of some fennel instead of onion and some carrots in the cook. Both were melty and divine and went great with the cabbage and mash.

Wed – Hampton was now feeling squiffy, so we did another comforty pasta. This one with frozen calamari and bay scallops and a sauce from the leftover rouille from bouillabaisse the other week. I added some roasted red pepper and kalamatas to make it more puttanesquish.

Thurs – Hampton’s upset stomach kept him out of work… which meant we didn’t have groceries. I had my car since I went to early yoga, so I hit the closest non-TJ’s grocery store on the way home and ended up with rotisserie-style turkey tenderloins, a box of Betty Crocker au gratin potatoes, and fresh green beans. I don’t know the last time I had boxed scalloped potatoes, but they were as happy and comforting as I remember. Given my lack of success with gratins for two, we may have to start keeping a box in the pantry along with TJ’s mac and cheese. Plus, the pre-seasoned turkey stayed moist on the grill pan. Success!

Fri – Hampton went with friends to dinner and a show I was to tired to see, so he had sushi, and I did my usual solo cook trying to recreate a seafood and pea dish from a restaurant that no longer exists.

Sat – We had dinner plans, but then Hampton had Domino’s points expiring and I did way too many physical things after the week of a cold sooooooo…. I did also cut up a big pile of crudités. Hashtag balance.

Sun – Delayed beer and mustard pork chops with peas and grilled potatoes in a creamy mustard vinaigrette.

🥃: I had a touch of Jameson with our Irish dinner and forgot how much I love it. And how nice it is for a cold. Sláinte.

🐶:

📚: Operation: Get Your NetGalley Ratio Under Control continues, and, my goodness, what fierce feminine gems this week.

• Lady Tremaine, Rachel Hochhauser. Yes, that Lady Tremaine, aka Cinderella’s evil stepmother. I did not expect to love this book but was quickly drawn to Etheldreda. The narration is spellbinding (fairytale pun not intended) with descriptive throughlines (twin braids, a freckle on a calf) that feel like poetry. In that way, it reminded me a lot of my youthful obsession, Robin McKinley’s Beauty. I was captivated and am mad I let this languish in my TBR for so long.

• Sweetbitter Song, Rosie Hewlett. I am a sucker for a mythological reimagining, and this is right up there with the best. The courtly descriptions were tactile and visceral, and I loved seeing the women slowly — so very, very slowly — reach their understanding; just like the Odyssey, it’s a story not wrapped up in a summer or two. This was a surprisingly quick and immersive read for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t believe I missed Hewlett’s Medusa tale! Must remedy ASAP.

🎭: we were largely on a Fantasticks break while TPPA works on their inclusive theatre program, but we had a music rehearsal today and this group is solid! We have another down week this week, and I’m so excited to get into blocking. So I should go study now.