Colin is in Rwanda this week for work (??), so me and my dog, Hannah, are chilling at home solo.
On the bright side, this offers us girly bonding time (long, rambling one-sided chats, too many treats).
We can watch embarrassingly terrible romantic comedies when they’re on TV, without any fear of judgement (most of them are pretty bad, but I appreciate the McDonalds-like trashy nature of how easy they go down).
I don’t have-to/get-to cook for anyone, so I end up eating a random assortment of non-meals instead of proper dishes (dinner last night was a bowl of leftover risotto, three spoonfuls of cottage cheese, a handful of strawberries and a Skor bar).
… maybe that last one isn’t part of the bright side. Hm.
On the flip side, the house seems eerily empty after a couple days without one of our main pack members. Obviously, we both miss him (Hannah still wont settle down in her own bed until after midnight, when she’s fully given up hope that he’s just coming home late from work).
It also leaves all the household responsibilities to me. Cleaning is a non-issue since less people = less mess. I’m far too organized to miss things like checking the mail, paying bills, etc. The only real challenge is managing my schedule and Hannah’s schedule- solo.
Oh yes, my dog has a schedule. She goes to daycare 5 days a week these days, since we found a daycare that we really, really like, and she gets to run hard with her buddies instead of loitering at home alone for 10-12 hours. Daycare hours are from 7-6. I work from 8-5. Considering it takes me around 30-45 minutes to get home, this usually works out pretty well. Except- oh yeah- my hours aren’t really 8-5 because, being more senior now means a lot of meetings and deadlines fall outside ‘working hours.’ It’s not ‘overtime’, it’s just a reality of the job.
So, I’m racing my heavily pregnant butt around like I’m in Mario Kart, trying to hit all the right spots at all the right times, at breakneck speed. Honestly, I don’t know how single parents do it- this is just a DOG and I’m out of breath.
So, for both deliciousness and convenience, I decided hand-held snacks were the key to getting through this next couple weeks.
Chelsea and I both have a long documented love of frozen puff pastry. I mean, even Jamie Oliver swears by it. It’s so easy, so convenient, so versatile, so… good!
I’ll be honest, I don’t even use straight Peach Jam for this, I use my favourite Heavenly Jam, which combines Peach, Pear and Apple. I still kick up the whole recipe with some added fresh ginger, because peaches + ginger = heart-eyes emoji. Add a healthy spoonful of creamy, tangy goat cheese and some flaky pastry- I don’t even know if there is an emoji that properly captures that kind of delicious.
Maybe the praying hands? (Which I’m told is actually supposed to be a high five?) (No one sees it as a high five, do they?)
| Peach, Ginger & Goat Cheese Turnovers | Print |
- 1 square frozen puff pastry, thawed overnight in the refrigerator
- ⅓ cup peach jam
- ½ tsp fresh ginger, grated
- ⅓ cup goat cheese
- 1 egg, lightly beaten + sprinkle of water (egg wash)
- Sesame seeds (optional)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix together peach jam and ginger. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry into a large rectangle. Cut rectangle down the centre lengthwise, then cut each half into 3 smaller rectangles of roughly equal size.
- Place a heaping spoonful of goat cheese on each rectangle, follow with a spoonful of the peach jam mixture. Fill a small bowl with water. Gently brush the edges of each rectangle with water and then fold them over, width-wise. Crimp the edges of each pastry with a fork to seal everything in.
- Gently place the pastries on a large baking sheet, at least 1.5 inches apart. Brush the tops with the egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and puffed up.
Oh my word… these look divine! My kind of meal – LOVE 🙂 Good luck managing solo!
Thanks, MB! So far so good (although, again… no one can call my solo snacking balanced eating haha 😉 )