Ramps and Eggs

Still wondering what to do with those ramps you got two weeks ago at the farmer's market? My market smells funny in the last weeks of April because those funky wild onions stink up the joint. If you still have some hanging around like I did, trim them and chop them up with a little local spinach.

Saute the ramps and spinach in a skillet with a little butter. Throw in some leftover sausage. Pork is particularly nice.


Then place in the middle of an omelet.

Bon Appetite!

Happy Mother's Day

The recent royal wedding has delighted my imagination throughout the spring. My family and I lived in London for 6 months in the fall of 1985. I remember everything, school, friends, the guinea pig that bit my hand, museums, the 'punks' with mohawks on King's Cross, castles, ruins and crown jewels. I have often thought that this visceral city experience as a child was the reason I longed to move to New York as a semi-adult.

I never had a royal sighting. But I do remember when a little girl in my first grade class was four hours late to school. When pressed as to why she said that her mother had taken her to see Diana's motorcade. To an American it seemed kind of silly to me. We don't have such a thing as royalty here. We do not think of any man as being somehow hanging between Godliness and earthliness. Yet here was Diana.

Since the royal wedding was announced some months ago I think I have clicked on every link Yahoo has posted to Diana and Charles's wedding photos. My own mother did not really look so much like Diana, but recently it occurred to me that the way she wore her hair was exactly the same. While I always attributed the style to my mother, it is likely that she was emulating Diana. She wore her hair like that for years, no…decades.

Today Diana reminds me of my own mother who was enamored of all things English. My mother drank coffee in the morning but always tea in the afternoon. I should note that my mother was not even one ounce English.

It was maybe the third or fourth weekend of my first year in college that Diana was killed. I went to church and the priest prayed for her and her family and I was sorely confused. When I returned to my dorm the first people were talking about it. I felt so deeply for her children. Yet it was only 26 months later that I would be just like her children, experiencing the loss of my own mother. And last week during William's most happy day, I admit I kept thinking how much it stunk to not have his mum there with him.

I still think of my mom every day and in many different ways. Now that I have my own children I see her so differently. If you have your mom, kiss her today. If you can't kiss her through the distance then talk to her and tell her you love her. And if you are fighting with your mom, just quit it. The path of pride is often lonely and never leads you where you want to go. If your mom is fighting with you then think of her and forgive her. We never know how many days we get to see the sunlight. Make them as beautiful as you can.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Recycling

It seems like the whole weekend was non-stop. DH was sick all weekend, the kids were squirmy. Trying to get everything done around the house is always difficult, but when anyone is sick things just get even tougher. We even had to cancel our Mother's Day plans, so that was a bummer.

But a Mother's Day gift! I got a more than an hour in the kitchen. Yes, I consider this a gift. Even while sick, DH kept the kids occupied while I got some quiet time to do what I love. I made meatballs. The below is a great recipe. It is easy, it freezes well and I have made some changes to a classic meatball to make it crazy easy.
I love meatballs because they make 'recycling' easier. There are all kind of things that you can throw into meatballs, leftover veggies (especially greens), cheese. They aren't as good as soup for recycling leftovers, but they are pretty darn good.
Fortunately too, the kids love them. Thing 1 eats the meatballs I make almost 90% of the time (factor out 10% for over snacking and not really being hungry for mealtime). And yesterday Thing 2 ate them for the first time. He shoved them into his mouth by the chubby fistful. This just makes a mama proud.
Tonight we had the leftovers. Cook Once, Eat Twice. The kids love them so much that I make them in sauce, but I also add them to an easy veggie soup by dropping the meatballs into boiling broth in which I cook veggies and orzo pasta. The kids, both of them, always inhale it!

You can make these with any ground meat. Beef is good, turkey is a little lighter tasting, and sausage is delicious too.

Lazy Mama's Meatballs

(It's best to have all ingredients at room temperature)
1 pound ground meat
1/3 cup of breadcrumbs (unseasoned are best) (ground day old baguettes are even better, they are drier than conventional canned breadcrumbs)
splash of milk
1/4 cup of parmesean cheese
2 beaten eggs
granulated garlic to taste
italian seasoning to taste
red pepper to taste
salt and pepper to taste
prepared tomato spaghetti sauce

Heat the prepared sauce on the stove top until simmering. Start with the breadcrumbs in a bowl, pour a splash of milk over them to wet the breadcrumbs, but just enough milk that it will all be absorbed, you don't want a pool of milk at the bottom. Let the breadcrumbs sit for a few minutes to soak up the milk. Add the ground meat, cheese and all the seasonings and an additional sprinkle of dry breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly. Add the beaten eggs and incorporate. Use a tablespoon measure and make 1 tbsp size balls of meat. Drop the balls directly into the simmering sauce and let them gently simmer for 30 minutes or until done. Stir the pot gently so as not to break up the meat balls.