Chicken and waffles

This is 36.

Since I didn’t have anyone to make me a chocolate pecan pie this year, P and I went out for coconut milk ice cream.  It was actually something I promised him a few weeks back but it coincided with the day after my birthday so we will just call it my cake this year since I didn’t have anything on my actual birthday.  P started Awana this year and it gets out really late which is already a special treat, but I’ve so enjoyed our solo drives to and from, I just wanted to soak up more time with him in that state. I let him pick out whatever he wanted.  And boy was he thrilled to get chocolate ice cream.

Anyway, on my actual birthday I went about my usual parenting business, but after picking up the kids from school we all went out to Pushkin’s for lunch.

Pushkin’s is GF and we all looooove it.  So so much.

We all got the same order!  Chicken and waffles for the table please!

O M G.  This was my first time getting this (because we usually go for breakfast and I prefer sweet over savory to start the day).  It is LEGIT the best lunch I’ve had in as long as I can remember.  And the perfect amount of food.  We all finished our plates and there were no leftovers, but I left feeling totally satisfied and not stuffed.

It’s seriously all I wanted.

I didn’t plan dinner because I was hoping inspiration would kick in, but it never really did.  I was slightly annoyed by this since food is my life and basically what I plan my days around, but I was also still trying to meal plan after a weekend away…and well, it never really happened.  I came home to too much stuff and couldn’t get to the grocery store so I just had to make due.  In the back of my head I was thinking I had a second chance anyway for my mom to make me something, but then that fell through so whatever.

This was my birthday dinner and it was great but it may as well have been any other night.

I made the Vietnamese Caramel Salmon from Melissa Clark’s cookbook, which is probably the cookbook I used most this past year.  And then on the side I pulled broccoli from the freezer and sautéed it with quinoa and cashews.

Then I poured the Vietnamese Caramel sauce over it all.

Kyle and I watched the SERIES finale of The Sopranos (!!!) after the kids were in bed.

What a ride this show has been.  I’m sad it’s over but glad we timed it out so that I could find out how things end on my birthday.  I’m telling you guys, I’m a simple person really.  Just give me a box of See’s candy (or something else I wouldn’t treat myself to…kale chips, fancy nutmilk, kombucha, literally anything) and I’m happy.

In the end, though, I waited until the next day to buy myself a Sugar Plum whoopie pie because I didn’t have the time or energy to bake myself a cake.

It looks better than it tastes, to be honest, and so I only had a few bites.  Not Sugar Plum’s best.  Definitely no chocolate pecan pie.  🙁  Oh well.

These are my treasures.

The next night was farmer’s market, which we haven’t been to in f o r e v e r because it really doesn’t work with our Wednesday schedule at all right now.  But this was the last one so we sucked it up and went.

I packed us salads which were better than anything we’d buy there anyway.  Per usual, I’m kinda over the limited offerings from the food vendors.  I’m sure I’ll be excited for them again come Spring though.  [Technically the market is year round, but the musical guests stop once the nights get dark so we rarely attend between October and March]

The salads had dino kale, roasted squash and sweet potatoes, bacon, avo, candied pecans, and a balsamic vinaigrette.  Kyle’s had chickpeas too.

The kids had leftovers (roasted potatoes, tofu, and apple slices).  Plus cheese for dairy dosing.  I dosed him AT MARKET (!!) after which he proceeded to run around and play on the play ground with his friends and carry on like nothing was different in his life.  No post-milk rest period observed and no reaction!  Look at what a difference a year makes!!

Before I sign off…leftover quinoa recipe coming atcha!

Massage a bunch of (washed and destemmed) curly kale in a honey dijon vinaigrette (EVOO, apple cider vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, salt and pepper) until it is coated in dressing and softened.

Top with chopped dates, crumbled feta, candied pecans, and quinoa.

My dates were a little hard so I soaked them in hot water for a few minutes to get them softened up.  Worked like a charm!  Then I cut them in half easy peasy and pulled the pits out before chopping them up.

Another day, another hippie bowl.  Now I realllllly need to get to the grocery store.

Can I freeze time for a second to play catch up?  The 1-2 hours at the end of the day when the kids are in bed are’t sufficient for taking care of all my crap and it’s cutting into my husband time, not to mention my anxiety is at an al time high.  Deep breaths.  Just keep swimming.