Morning report

I finally got a complete good night’s sleep, my first since returning home. (I’ve been waking up at 7:00 a.m., which isn’t bad, but 7:00 a.m. East Coast time, and I live on the West Coast: 4:00 a.m. here. 😦

But this morning, though I went to bed early, I slept well the entire night and awakened at a reasonable hour.

I’ve also continued to some degree the holiday eating pattern, but today I’m making a batch of Mike’s Melange and will get back in step with my regular diet, which is more moderate and more healthful. My planned recipe (and I’ll revisit and update after I make it; NOW UPDATE):

In 6-qt pot (it may be fit within the 4-qt pot, but the greens are bulky when first added):

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 enormous spring onion (about the size of a large Spanish onion), chopped
good-sized pinch of salt

Sauté until softened and starting to brown, then continue to sauté, adding:

2 Tbsp smoked paprika
good sprinkling crushed red pepper
several grindings of black pepper
15 minced garlic cloves

After a minute, add:

1 medium zucchini, diced
3/4 cup (more or less) chopped celery
1 wad slivered sun-dried tomatoes (these are not in oil, just plain)
1 qt green beans (I got the quart of green beans as a free side-dish for a supermarket rotisserie chicken, but the beans were not really cooked—something I often experience these days (insufficiently cooked green beans), so I chopped them up some and dumped them all into the Melange.)

After that’s cooked a while:

2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp shoyu sauce
2 Tbsp mirin
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 c water

Got that hot, then added:

1/3 c. Penzeys dried red bell pepper
1 bunch green curly-leaf kale, stems minced, leaves chopped small
1 bunch collards, stems minced, leaves chopped small
1 large Meyer lemon, ends cut off and discarded, then diced (with peel)
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, cut in half (stretches the olives plus checks for pits)

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, then add:

3/4 c Barilla Plus penne pasta

Cover and simmer for 5 minutes then add:

12 oz cod (was frozen, now thawed) cut into chunks
8 oz coho salmon (was frozen, now thawed) cut into chunks

Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

That’s the plan, at any rate. Should make 5-6 meals.