We've been seriously winging things lately in the dinner department. The question "what should we eat for dinner" has been met by... crickets lately. What the heck. I mean, we go food shopping in a given week more often than I'll admit, plus we have a bin of beautiful produce (what we can't grow here) delivered on Thursdays.... plus there's that VEGETABLE GARDEN out back. Dude. The only thing I know how to do in situations like this is Make A List.
Commence meal-planning.
Mon :: Taco Nite w/spicy pickled carrots, onion & jalapeños
Tue :: Shrimp and Chive Dumpling soup w/steamed bok choy (soup in summer you say? hello, San Francisco.)
Wed :: Southwestern Turkey Burgers (served w/pickled onion & jalapeños from Mon)
Thu :: Jamie Oliver's lamb & pistachio kebabs (served w/homemade yogurt & garden lettuces)
Fri :: Skirt steak, veg & potatoes of some sort (Toby's beloved week-ending steakhouse-style meal)
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And... since we were away from home for a week, today was a serious Catching Up With Ma Ingalls type of day. I'll never ever get sick of a day spent in the kitchen, assisted (when awake) by my favorite helper.
Today's kitchen 'did-do' list:
- vegetable stock (for Tues dinner)
- bread dough for 3 loaves (will bake on Tues morning)
- pickled veg for Mon & Wed
- roasted beets for random lunches
- pot o' black beans for Mon and rest of week
- yogurt (part one; on Tuesday we drain, Greek-style.)
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What are you eating this week?! Any good recipes? Need more data.
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dude. that's what i call meal planning.
ReplyDeleteand your kitchen to-do's?
i kinda want to *be* you.
bread and yogurt making are on my goal list.
and how do you do your black beans? mine never seem to come out as yummy as i'd like.
thanks lady! this level of planning isn't all that frequent, but it sure feels good. i gotta keep with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm jumping up and down for you to try bread! Ha :) I started with the 5 Minutes a Day book, but really, 100% prefer Tartine Bread.
For the beans, I soak them from the morning till around 3 or 4. Drain them, then they go in a pot with a carrot (cut in half), half an onion, 1 celery stalk (cut in half), bay leaf, couple small dried chile peppers (works for J, but leave out if no dice for D... it's pretty subtle), plus a couple garlic cloves (whole or just cracked). Sometimes I add a little parsley. (I like to tie all these seasonings up in cheesecloth for easy removal.) Add fresh water to cover by 1", then bring to a boil. Immediately turn down to the very lowest setting and barely simmer (covered) till they're still whole but tender (for me: ~2 hours, but check 'em often so they don't go mushy). When cooked, salt to taste (not enough salt can really mess it all up). Remove cheesecloth bundle and let beans cool in the cooking water (or eat immediately!). Desi taught me that they store best in the cooking liquid, in the fridge.
This is the way I like 'em: whole, shiny and not mushed. The trick is super gentle cooking (like, you think they're not doing much.. but they are). Is this what you're after? Hope so! :)
waaaaitaminnut here missy. i thought friday was pizza night!!
ReplyDeleteAw, I miss you lots--hearing about your food adventures and such.
R: The management hereby disavows any claims of Pizza Night Consistency. PN can and may happen on any night, without prior notice. In fact, PN may or may not coincide with a future visit from yourself. ;)
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