Another day in the life; Sweetbreads with Zucchini and Mushrooms for dinner. Yep, among all the changes this past year, we are still eating organs every week. These meals tend to be mashups of meat, veg and spices that we have on hand. They have been plain and simple, quick and easy, accessible and no-fuss.
A new normal
Last spring we were with our four kids in a condo, our downstairs neighbors and my husband suddenly working from home, and all the parks were closed. As the days got longer and hotter, it seemed like we might all burst. So we decided to experiment with traveling west, eventually checking in with my family on the west coast. We stayed for several weeks in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado on our way to the coast and back; we loved the wide open spaces.
In August, we returned to Chicago thinking that we’d start school again, but a lot of businesses were still boarded up in our neighborhood. And so, we decided at the last minute to homeschool and head back to the mountains. And we’ve been here since then.
What’s next
In the meantime, energy is shifting and reopening is imminent. Yet, I don’t feel compelled to make any big changes. We’ve settled into an easy routine of school and remote work. We have few personal items with us, few commitments and a lot of free time for playing outdoors and creative pursuits.
But that’s not all that’s shifted. In our urban day-to-day, small stresses compounded and I always felt compelled to do my best for myself and our family: whole foods diet, lots of organ meats, early bedtimes, limited screens – what with all those billboards everywhere! Out here though, we feel more fit and resilient than ever before.  It’s easy to trust the beauty around us; know that everything is ok; the kids are alright.
Still eating organs
I do still maintain our weekly meal schedule (religiously): liver on Mondays, homemade broth and soup on Wednesdays, raw meat on Thursdays, seafood on Friday, and we do eat plenty of organs in between. But more convenience food slips in between. Like everything else lately, food preparation has been simplified.
So it’s mostly just meat and veg and mixing up the spices. Yep, we do eat soaked, spouted or sourdough grains here and there. During covid, we introduced ice cream to our kids and I confess it’s been fun. (In a taking-risks-during-covid, Pure, White, and Deadly kind of way.)
That said, most of the organ meat meals we share these days are simple mashups. These are rarely planned in advanced and use whatever is staring back from the fridge. Or family favorites that we can’t eat too often, like menudo, liver tonic, or liver tacos.
Sweetbreads with Zucchini and Mushrooms
Back in Chicago, I used to buy all my produce at local farmers markets and through CSAs. However, Sweetbreads with Zucchini and Mushrooms was inspired by the organic produce section in Costco. What to do with a 3.5 pound bag of zucchini or a tub of mushrooms? So, we cook what we have and mix it up.
Also, I confess that I have the habit of serving main courses first, alone. After plates are clean, it’s often a free-for-all of sweet potatoes, rice, more of the same, whatever we’ve got. I’m not happy when the main course remains, yet children claim to be ‘full.’ So I tend to avoid that situation all together.
And that’s pretty much all I’ve got. I’m on the slow path these days. Minimizing the shoulds and have-tos in my life. However, I really appreciate those of you who have messaged me and subscribed to this blog over this past year. Thank you! That said, I intend to resume sharing what is on our plates a bit more often. Be well, beautiful people.
Poached and Fried Sweetbreads with Zucchini and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1-2 sweetbreads (thymus)
- zucchini, mushrooms or whatever you have on hand
- lemon
- salt
- butter
- fresh or dried herbs
Instructions
For the sweetbreads
- For detailed prep notes, scroll down here. Rinse and optionally soak sweetbreads in water with a squeeze of lemon and pinch of salt for an hour or three in the refrigerator, to remove impurities. Change water as often as desired.
- Add a teaspoon of salt to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Gently set sweetbreads into boiling water and poach for about 8 minutes. Drain when they give some resistance to the touch, but are not necessarily fully cooked. When cool enough to handle, peel off extraneous (chewy) membrane from the meat and disgard.
- When the vegetables are cooked and ready to be mixed in (see below), cut sweetbreads into slices and pan-fry on medium-high heat in enough butter to coat the bottom of your pan. After about 2-4 minutes, when you notice they are brown on one side, flip over to warm on the other side. To complete the dish, toss in vegetables, let everyone become friends for a moment, check for seasonings, along with fresh or dried herbs of your liking. Serve immediately.
For the vegetables
- Slice mushrooms. Heat a pan with a generous amount of butter to cover the pan, add a pound of mushrooms, a teaspoon salt, and juice from half a lemon. Cover on low heat for 8 minutes. After this time, remove the lid, turn up the heat to medium high and saute until nicely browned. Remove from heat and reserve.
- For the zucchini, saute on medium high heat with butter and salt, uncovered to allow the generous water to evaporate. When starting to brown, remove from heat and reserve.
Nice to see a new post here!
I know, right?! Thanks, Andrea!