Summer on a Saturday

It has been abnormally cold this past week. Well, I guess not abnormally cold for March, but abnormally cold for San Diego. There are brief windows of warmth midday, when most of us are stuck in our offices. By the time I leave for work I shiver on my way to the parking garage.

This morning, at 8 am, I was struck by an unusual sensation. It felt like pressure was moving up my body. I opened my eyes to see Thatdog, army crawling his way up my body on his elbows, dragging his little legs behind him. When he reached my face, out came the tongue. Guess Thatdog decided 8 o'clock was pretty much as late as anyone should sleep. I blame this on the gorgeous weather. I slipped on my running gear and we headed out while Thatboy remained asleep. Once we got outside, I could see why Thatdog was so anxious to start the day. I quickly shed my jacket.

We got back and woke up Thatboy so he could join us. And then Thatmom headed down to spend the day with us too. We spent most of the day doing fairly boring things like errands, not really getting a chance to take advantage of the weather. Which made me even more glad I got to enjoy my run this morning. I hope it holds up until at least tomorrow so Thatboy, Thatdog and I can hit up the beach.

Not expecting it to be such a warm and lovely day, most of my meals this week have been centered on warm, belling filling dinners. This is no exception. I'm a huge fan of mashed potatoes in the winter. They stick to your stomach almost as well as oatmeal. So anything served over mashed potatoes is bound to be a sure fire cold weather winner. I'm especially a fan of tender, braised meats that fall apart on the tines of your fork. Things like pot roast, short ribs, and Swiss Steak. What? You haven't heard of Swiss Steak? Don't worry, I hadn't either. And in my mind, Swiss Steak would be something covered in a fondue like cheese. Because isn't Switzerland known for three things - clocks, chocolate and cheese? So you can imagine my surprise when looking over recipes and seeing Swiss steak described as a cross between a pot roast and a stew, in a thick tomatoey sauce.

Sounds like the perfect solution to a winter day. Except of course, when it turns out to be Summer in March.

Swiss Steak (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
1 1/2 lbs rump, round, or chuck steak
2 Tbsp flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
3 Tbsp shortening (psst Sophia that means Crisco in Thathouse)
1 1/2 cups canned stewed tomatoes
1 onion, sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Trim the excess fat from the steak. Combine the flour, salt and pepper.
2. Sprinkle half the flour on one side of the steak and pound in with a meat tenderizer. Flip and repeat.
3. Melt the shortening in a dutch oven. When it's melted, add the meat and brown on both sides.
4. Add the tomatoes and onion, cover and bake for 2 hours.