If you work in a school, this is the time of year that is nuts. Kids are done, even though they are not done, teachers are trying to get through the last few units, parents start panicking about the grades and everyone is counting down until summer vacation. Given that, I haven’t been as creative in the cooking department as I wanted to be, but I used Mother’s Day (and Bob’s birthday) to be a little creative. 

  I started with ribs. I accidentally picked up boneless ribs, but they can still work. I marinaded them overnight in a mixture of soy sauce, orange juice, brown sugar and ginger. This morning I braised them at 275 for two and a half hours. I think I should have done 250 for two hours – they were a little dry and not my best. I did add an Asian BBQ sauce that I had in the fridge and basted them with that while we grilled them, just for a few minutes, to crisp them up.  

  To go with the ribs, I made a pesto pasta. I had made this dish a week ago as a main course fir Bob and I, but I had extra led to and extra pasta, so I went with it. I read several jake pesto recipes and ended up mixing a few together. My version was:

• 2 cups chopped kale, packed
• 2/3 cup pistachios, shelled
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• ~1/3 – 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt to taste

Mid everything together except the olive oil in a blender and pulse a few times to combine. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in until you have a nice paste. It should retain some of the crunch from the nuts, but not be very course. 

 For a salad, I went with a version of an Asian Slaw. 

• 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1yellow pepper, sliced thin
• Whites of 2 scallions, chopped
• A few cups of shredded cabbage
• 1/4 cup soy sauce 
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

I put all the vegetables, including the scallions into a bowl and mixed. About 20 minutes before serving, I added the dressing (the rest of the ingredients mixed together) and mixed it well then tossed on a few sesame seeds and greens of the scallions to the top. I also added the sesame seeds and scallion greens to the grilled and glazed ribs. 

  The final bit for lunch was a caprese salad. Louise included a cream filled mozzarella in our box this month and it was incredible. Light, but with a ton of flavor. Mom brought me a few tomatoes and I sliced those down and layered the cheese, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar between the slices. I forgot to take a picture of the whole plate, but you can see it in the final plate.  

 For a meal that was not planned with great detail, it came out fairly well. I was a little disappointed with the ribs, but overall, it was a lovely lunch.