The first few blows come at the grocery store, when I realize that the feta is way too expensive for this week's budget, the cilantro looks like it has been sitting there for months, and that Super Fresh does not carry French green lentils, OR regular coconut milk, OR my favorite green curry paste. Suddenly my list and menu begin to carry the signs of re-evaluation: meals put in parentheses, ingredients circled with question marks. Smudges of dismay mar the clean page, right along with the drips of sample coffee.
Home, and armed with at least a partially stocked kitchen, the parade of meals begins for the week. Inevitably, there are changes to the perfect plan. I'm too tired to tackle the cutlets. The broccoli must be used immediately. We ate all the bread instead of saving some for bread crumbs. I shift, rearrange, and make-do. Some of the meals are successes, some are most definitely not. By the end of the week my menu plan is much more real. Much more useful, in fact.
So I thought it might be interesting (primarily to myself) to share a before-and-after menu. I usually plan only five or six dinners per week, since leftovers, eating out, or fried egg sandwiches cover the rest.
Here is the pristine menu, pre-shopping.
A May Menu
(Inordinately Influenced by Jamie Oliver)
Picadillo
Brown Rice and Tortillas
Carrots Boiled with Orange, Garlic and Herbs
Jacket Potatoes with Smoked Salmon and Sour Cream
Simple Salad
Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Simple Salad and Pain Ordinaire
Grilled Zucchini, Onion, Pesto and Mozzarella Sandwiches
Green Lentil Coconut Soup
Bread
Notes, already:
The lentil soup was eliminated after a frustrated search for the proper lentils and curry paste. We'll probably just have macaroni and cheese, probably not homemade. It's already begun.
(Inordinately Influenced by Jamie Oliver)
Picadillo
Brown Rice and Tortillas
Carrots Boiled with Orange, Garlic and Herbs
Jacket Potatoes with Smoked Salmon and Sour Cream
Simple Salad
Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Simple Salad and Pain Ordinaire
Grilled Zucchini, Onion, Pesto and Mozzarella Sandwiches
Green Lentil Coconut Soup
Bread
Notes, already:
The lentil soup was eliminated after a frustrated search for the proper lentils and curry paste. We'll probably just have macaroni and cheese, probably not homemade. It's already begun.
What kind of curry paste do you like? I just had to buy some for the first time. Also, Whole Foods carries French lentils in bulk :)
ReplyDeleteSis, could you drop in and put pen to paper on a couple ideas I've been tossing around? Honestly! I can't even read your blog for fear that I might be thrown into a several-hour depression, knowing that your writing skills are never to be matched.
ReplyDeleteSarah...all I've ever used is that Thai Kitchen Curry Paste (both red and green). I'm not sure it is the best, just all I know. There was NO curry paste there at all! And, given the cold, I was just too crabby to attempt Whole Foods:) Maybe later this week.
ReplyDeleteWell my dear bro, as long as we're self-deprecating here, could you drop in and take some photos for me? Mine can only be described with an expletive and yours can only be described with excellent adjectives. And you don't fool me-I've read your words:)
Glad to know I'm not the only one who abandons meals after planning them out! I'm just not so good at making use of the half-the-recipe-ingredients after they're at home with me.
ReplyDeleteAxon I just love you! Reading this just made me smile and think about all our fun time in Tally. I'm so glad you started this blog --- I can't wait to keep up with your kitchen adventures! Tell Dave and Rowan Drew and I said hello. Love!
ReplyDeleteMenus? What are those? My poor family...since moving to Texas and becoming a teacher, if it can't be grilled, heated, or have milk poured on it, we don't eat it. And if I do plan a meal and buy ingreadients, some ravenous teen or pre-teen will eat one of the ingredients before I get home from work! So, when's dinner, Axon? We'll be right over.
ReplyDelete