Perhaps using this: https://github.com/nlsandler/nqcc2

?

> I can’t imagine writing everything in C

I will say that C is a perfect low level language for bootstrapping more complex systems and languages. If I were building a bootstrap compiler I would write it in C and have it emit C. Specifically C89/99 ONLY with no POSIX/GNU deps. that will guarantee a large swath of compiler and system support out of the box.

Wow that's super nostalgic. You're on a great path! After doing something similar, I switched to Haskell. Give it a go if you have the time.