By November. Thanksgiving planning begins. This year is massive: the usual family Thanksgiving on Thursday, plus Lily's wedding two weeks later on December 14. I am running two event timelines simultaneously, which means the whiteboard in my kitchen now has two columns and looks like a quarterback's playbook. Column 1: Thanksgiving (turkey, brisket, sides). Column 2: Wedding (four briskets, James's jollof, Mai's spring rolls, Grace's suya, pho, the works). The columns overlap in the brisket row. Brisket is always present.
Jessica is at thirty-eight weeks. Tyler is on standby in Midland. I told him to drive to Houston if the baby comes before Thanksgiving so I can see my second grandchild before it's a week old. He said, "I can't predict labor." I said, "I know. I'm asking you to prioritize." He said, "You sound like Mom." I said, "Which mom?" He said, "Both of them." Fair.
The restaurant is nearly complete. Final inspections next month. The kitchen equipment is all installed. The smoker is seasoned — James and I went in last Saturday and ran it for eight hours, breaking in the steel, building the initial patina. The first smoke in a restaurant called Smoke and Nuoc Mam happened at 6 AM on a Saturday in November, and the only people there were me and my future son-in-law, feeding oak into a firebox and watching smoke pour through the chimney into the Montrose morning. It smelled like the beginning.
Made a big batch of phở gà for the week — chicken pho, lighter than beef, easy on the stomach, the kind of food you eat when you're running at maximum capacity and need fuel without heaviness. Ate it standing at the counter Monday through Friday. Sometimes the recipe is whatever keeps you standing.
I didn’t have time to write down what I was eating most days that November — I was too busy running smoker breaks with James and texting Tyler about labor timelines. But I kept a container of these Nutella energy bites on the counter next to the whiteboard all week, and every time I crossed something off one of the two columns, I grabbed one. They’re not pho, but they were the second thing keeping me upright, and some weeks that counts for a lot.
Nutella Energy Bites
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 45 min (includes chilling) | Servings: 20 bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup Nutella
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Combine. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, Nutella, honey, ground flaxseed, mini chocolate chips, vanilla extract, and salt until everything is evenly coated and no dry oats remain.
- Chill the mixture. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This firms the mixture enough to roll without sticking to your hands.
- Roll. Using a tablespoon or small scoop, portion out the chilled mixture and roll between your palms into compact 1-inch balls. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan or plate.
- Set and store. Return the finished bites to the refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week — or leave them on the counter if your week looks anything like mine did.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 108 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 12mg