Poached Garlic Dressing and the Rough Day

I had a really tough day Sunday.

It started out with Mooree face butting me before I fed him. He is always very hungry in the morning so I let them out and feed them right away.  I was reaching down for his bowl and he was looking up to lick me and caught me right under my chin, I have a lovely little bruise and tender spot from his hard head.

I got my coffee and started some meal prep.  I made french toast muffins from Kyndra Holley's cookbook, Craveable Keto, cooked some sausage links and breakfast was prepped for the week.  Then I made some salmon patties and cleaned the kitchen while they baked.  After they came out of the oven and cooled, I stuck them in the freezer. I checked my list and saw that I forgot the artichokes, so I grabbed them out of the fridge, prepped them and popped them into some water to cook.  I went upstairs and got dressed (yes, I cook in my pajamas because Dave was still sleeping when I started), went back to the kitchen and the artichokes were not finished so I decided to go outside and weed a little while they finished.

About an hour and a half later Dave came outside and asked me what I had burned this morning.  

"I didn't burn anything this morning, why?" I asked.

"Something smells like you burned it." he said just as I remembered the artichokes and ran inside.  

Of course, the pan was black, the artichokes burned and hard and the house had started to smell. We grabbed the pan and took it outside to cool and to get the smoke out of the house.  Dave asked if I was serving smoked artichoke dip with dinner.  Very funny.

Then later that morning, we were emptying the greenhouse.  I have several little garden statues for the flower beds and I had two in my hands as I tried to step over the gate that separates the deck from the grass.  We keep the gate shut to keep the dogs off the grass and encourage them to use the dog yard.  Well, I made about three successful trips over the fence but this trip was not so successful.  I ended up on the ground, the statues went flying but I was able to get up on my own (I did have to lay there a little bit though).  I do have some lovely bruises on my legs to show for it (this morning Dave just laughed when he saw them and walked out of the room).

The final straw was when I was making dinner.  I had planned some grilled kabobs and grilled vegetables with this delicious poached garlic dressing.  I poached the garlic the night before and let it cool so all I had to do was give it a quick blend and it would be ready for the beef and veggies.  

Most of the prep was mixing some ground burger with spices and making meatballs to grill on some skewers.  I grabbed my mother-in-laws green bowl (I always laugh to myself and say "I hope this is a good try") put the burger in it and I needed some vinegar.  I reached into the spice cabinet and instead of taking everything in front of it out, I just tried to lift it over everything.  I bumped a glass jar of balsamic vinegar that was sitting at the front and it fell out of the cupboard and hit my green bowl and broke it.  Glass was everywhere...on the counter, on the floor, in the meat.  I saw what I had done and burst into tears.  I had broken June's green bowl because I was trying to cut a corner.  Dave was really kind, and calm. He took the broken bowl and the ruined contents to the garage to throw them away and helped me clean up the mess.  We ended up eating chili from the freezer with hot dogs and brats.  The grilled veggies would wait for another day.

So tonight, barring any accidents, we are going to grill veggies with the poached garlic dressing.  This is so delicious and good for anything, chicken, shrimp, pork, veggies...  I've heard that eating garlic is good for clearing up bruises, good thing because I am one giant walking bruise.

Poached Garlic Dressing
1/2 cup garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife and peeled of paper
1/2 cup avocado oil, or oil of choice
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. brown sugar substitute, or honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper



In a small saucepan, over medium high heat bring garlic and oil to a simmer, reduce to low and let simmer for 15 minutes until garlic is golden brown.  Remove from heat and let cool (I usually do this the night before I am going to use it, while I cook dinner).
Transfer garlic and oil to a blender, add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.  Use as a dressing, marinade, or basting sauce.

1 year ago:    Seed Crackers
3 years ago:  Ruining the Surprise and Drunken Watermelon Drink of the Week
5 years ago:  Bacon Burgers and the Grilling Season
7 years ago:  Spinach Salad with Warm Mushroom and Bacon Dressing


May 22, 2019  Sunrise 4:04 am  Sunset 11:33 pm  Temp. H 72/ L 52˚F