i should warn you i go to sleep

I try to be sympathetic to DH, I really do.

They jerked his schedule around every day this week so his body, not only having to deal with jet lag had to try to figure what shift to work, oh and they only gave him about a day and a half off between traveling from Alaska and here. So when he said he wanted to take a nap I was understanding, especially when he followed it up with a "wake me when you're ready to start supper, so I can help".

Cause I'm in a half cast remember? Broken finger/hand?

So, a hour and a half-ish (maybe two hours) later I go up to try and wake him, NO DICE. That man is dead to the world. And sleeps till the next morning when he needs to get ready for work.

Now I'm left with a completely thawed pork roast that needs to be cooked or it will be spoiled and wasted.

So I do what every sane person would do, I take my cast off (it's removable) and make dinner on my own, and hey, my hand's not hurting that bad after all (for now).

I placed my roast in my roasting pan and surrounded it with chopped fresh carrots and Beni Imo (purple sweet potato) and one can of chopped pineapple and it's juice, and enough water to be level with the veggies. Salt and Peppered the lot and added several drops (10 or so) of liquid smoke and about 1 and a half Tbs of Chinese Five Spice (that's what it's called, you should be able to find it with the other spices by McCormick or in the Asian isle). This is an interesting seasoning mix that is savory and slightly sweet at the same time. There is defiantly some cinnamon happening there and probably some anise as well but that's about as far as I'm willing to go with my guesses as to what's in it. It will fill the kitchen with lovely cooking smells tho! Bake at 375 till veggies are tender and meat is about 165 internal temp (oo look at me getting all fancy with a temperature setting!) Since Pork plays so nicely with sweet flavors and the sweet potatoes and carrots, while not overly sweet have more of a sweet background than most veggies, is why I tossed in the pineapple, to bring that out, and the citrus would help to balance that some. The 5 Spice has enough savory happening that it's not overwhelming or cloying.

I also made some coconut rice, 3 scoops of rice in my rice cooker and 2 cans of coconut milk, turn it on. Steamed and acorn squash, cut up, scraped out seeds, place in Pyrex with lid and about 1 inch of water and in microwave for about 20 min. Scrape out soft squash butter, salt and brown sugar to taste (I used my fancy wheel of brown sugar I got from my neighbor via her dad in NY who is Panamanian, had to grate it, which was a new experience for me, but that stuff has a way better flavor than the bagged stuff that I use for baking!).

We didn't eat till about 9pm. Cause I spent about 30 min trying to wake DH earlier, and it turns out that while it didn't hurt my hand to be out of the cast, wielding a knife on the other hand is an entirely different matter, and slowed the preparation process a lot. My hand was so sore that I couldn't eat. The kids were so tired (cause bed time is at 8 for them) that they tasted everything on their plate and were practically falling asleep at the table, DD#2 fell asleep on the sofa well before the meal was ready.

So, this dinner sits in the fridge waiting for us to eat it Saturday! LOL