..over garlic mashed potatoes. We tried this before – potatoes instead of pasta and it works very well.

I made a huge sammich using half a loaf of Italian bread. It’s an ersatz muffuletta, made with cheddar and ham. I wrapped the thing in paper and pressed it for a few hours before slicing it into manageable pieces. Traditionally the meats and cheeses would be Italian deli style. It does have the olive salad top and bottom. It really needed a side, and chips works just right for a lunch. Those chips are Utz brand vinegar and salt flavor and they are very good.

Slow simmered cubes of rib eye beef with Bob’s Red Mill barley. I used a broth I made a while back and froze. It has some dried mushrooms in it that I had forgotten and was perplexed for a minute when mushroom slices turned up in the soup. The faint red tinge is from a squeeze of tomato paste. Those toothpaste looking tubes of tomato paste are handy when you just need a little bit.