Local leftovers

Being surrounded by a three guys sneezing and coughing finally caught up with me, so as they came out of their low energy state, I hied myself to bed with tea and orange juice. Because this is the way things work out, the boys are on break, which means I can’t just sleep through their school hours and bumble my way through the two hours before Darling Husband can come home. Nope, this is full-day parenting. Darling Husband, my hero, always rises to the occasion, juggling telecommuting with dadding with amazing alacrity.

Lucky for us all, they can go off in search of fire stations or whatever it is guys do together and still have a hot supper, since we’re fixed for leftovers. Last Saturday, I stocked up on loads of local goodies at the farmer’s market, but kids with colds don’t eat as much as I’m used to, so the fridge was literally bursting. From Monday, there was corned beef, a lovely uncured one from Hempler’s, some garlic and leek mashed potatoes (I am reminded of a video of Julia Child, noting that if you didn’t want to use that much butter in mashed potatoes, well then, why not use some cream instead!), and some stubby young carrots, as well as the requisite cabbage wedges. Add to that some incredibly sweet red beets, and we have been enjoying a local feast without really cooking: corned beef hash, veggies and rice, you get the picture.

This morning, I actually got quasi-dressed and took Number One Son across the bridge to cello lesson, and Little One and I headed to Bedrock to look at recycled glass tiles for the kitchen backsplash. He always delights in the one-of-a-kind oddities that these folks create from broken bottles. While I fussed with different shades of glass tile, he tinkered in the lower bins, finding stars hiding in a dark blue sky (vodka bottles), some crinkly plates (old windows), and the place where the cat sleeps (next to the solar panel that powers the radio playing kitty jazz).

Irish neighbor still has her tricolor flag hanging in her front yard, which means we can still celebrate St. Paddy’s day. Which I think means we’re having corned beef sandwiches for lunch.