Burritos, Energy Balls, Tomato Garden
Good morning, and welcome to Week 10 of Your Quarantine PPP. It was gorgeous in New York all weekend and we tried to make the most of it by hiking at Rockefeller State Park again (we spotted two Baltimore Orioles, a prime sighting in our neck of the woods); lounging and reading on the patio with the dogs; and planting a few more things in the garden. We've mostly been supporting local places for our Friday night takeout ritual, but this time we picked up Shake Shack burgers and fries and I have to say: It was pretty damn awesome. On Saturday night, at the girls' request, we made burritos and watched Obama's commencement special...
Pantry: Burritos
...It felt a little sacrilegious not to be grilling on a warm Saturday night, but burritos are the perfect eat-in-front-of-the-TV food and this batch was particularly delicious because we had a batch of Rancho Gordo pinto beans. We rolled them up with guacamole, storebought salsa, brown rice, and shredded cheddar, and served it with sour cream, and a really simple red cabbage slaw (tossed with cilantro, scallions and this dressing). You can use this old burrito bowl post as a guide for what and how to prepare your fillings. We almost always stuff up our burritos with a combination of store-bought and homemade goodies.
Project: Phoebe's Energy Balls
Phoebe, my cross-country runner, was recently cleared to exercise again after an injury sidelined her for a few months, and maybe that's why she felt compelled to make three batches of energy balls in as many days last week. Each batch was different but they were all some version of these chocolate chip trail mix balls, from a Runner's World book called Meals on the Run, and she wants you to know that she likes the recipe because it's flexible. She halves the honey. She sometimes uses peanut butter instead of almond butter; if you don't have wheat germ, just substitute with more oats. We've all been into them as mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.
Purpose: Birthday Planting
We planted the second bed of our garden over the weekend -- all tomatoes. It took all of 10 minutes because we are still waiting for some tomato seedlings to arrive. I planted a little Mikado sprig in honor of my friend Jenn who celebrated a birthday last week. That was her quarantine birthday gift from across the country.
Stay safe.
The goal of the Project, Pantry, Purpose series to keep us sane, distracted, and connected. Please continue to comment below with suggestions for recipes, projects (for kids and adults), good deeds, donation ideas, stories, movies, games, puzzles. Or just tell me how you’re doing, what your daily routine is, and especially how DALS can help you or people in your community. You can also email me directly at jenny@dinneralovestory.com.