Hi everyone! I’m reading along but struggling to post regularly. A new month is a new beginning. Cooking for 2 adults + 2 kids in Toronto. We’ve had a few good wins lately, with the kids trying things they had previously rejected repeatedly, without any coaxing from us. It’s a sloooow process but I’m still putting my bets on this whole strategy of letting them decide if and how much they will eat, rather than forcing a taste. Sigh. Anyway, I’ve been enjoying cooking and eating lately, so here’s this week’s plan:
Mon (tonight) - Smashed peas with marinated feta on baguette (Repertoire), mackerel bruschetta inspired by this random recipe, and a simple green salad
Tues - Pasta with pesto (I use the Art of Simple Food pesto recipe as it uses more garlic than Marcella’s)
Wed - Crispy chicken (Smitten Kitchen), kale salad with anchovy-date dressing (Cook this Now)
Thanks for the link to the shrimp and grits. The recipe is very similar to what I already use, with the exception of the dredging. I would like to try that. Have bookmarked it for a future dinner.
I loved that shrimp and grits recipe - FYI, most of us who made them on EYB and Chowhound, myself included, wanted more of the sauce, so I’d highly recommend doubling.
I don’t usually have cream cheese in the house so I just use a little extra sour cream. And I’ve never seen tomato sauce with garlic, so I follow the headnote and add a bit of garlic powder or minced garlic in with the plain tomato sauce.
And now I am subscribing to letter from Berlin! I also pay for David Leibovitz’s newsletter, and get SK, Just to Delight, Bill Clark’s Piece of Cake… and… many others. Those are the best though//
Cooking for two adults and an 11yo in the Boston burbs.
Sunday: we spent the day at an amusement park and ate far too much junk (I had a root beer float for lunch). Sandwiches for dinner.
Mon: cod with roasted cherry tomatoes and shallots (NYT), couscous, and green beans. Liked the tomato pan sauce, but I think I prefer my fish to be pan cooked as in The Dinner Plan.
Tues: beef bulgogi tacos (from the last SK cookbook) and my mom’s broccoli slaw
Weds: waffled falafel (from Will It Waffle?) and a tomato/cucumber/feta salad.
Thurs: this is where I ran out of planning energy. Right now I’m thinking maybe chicken and maybe pasta. Or maybe chicken pasta of some sort. We’ll see how I feel…
In addition to Caro Chambers’, I also get SK and Bill Clark’s Piece of Cake. The rest of my subscription dollars are spent on non-food related newsletters. It’s so hard to keep it in check though, because there’s so much good content out there. Will check out Letter from Berlin - thanks for the recommendation!
Between full-on summer gardening activities and providing support for my 94-y.o. Dad, it is crazy busy around here. Outside of a day of sanity-baking, my strategy to carry us through this week is to make a giant vat of pasta salad on Friday, and use it, along with fresh greens, to round off what are otherwise slam-dunk dinners.
Cooking for two adults in the (still rainy) PNW:
FRI: Applewood-smoked tri tip on the grill. Macaroni salad with lemon and herbs. Garden green salad.
I’m pretty excited to have this recipe bookmarked, thank you! I can see mixing in some canned tuna or salmon and having a week’s worth of lunches, changing up a bit by throwing a bit of whatever is around in every day (some blanched veg, a bit of chopped jarred giardineira, some tomato, a few chickpeas, etc).
It’s a really versatile recipe - we love it. I’ve found it holds up well, and I like that it is light and doesn’t leave you with that heavy feeling. I’ll have to try it as you mentioned - with some tinned salmon thrown in.
Here you go! I vaguely remember that this came from one of her friends, but… who knows. I usually don’t add the sesame seeds or almonds, but the noodles (even untoasted) help give it a variety of textures.
Broccoli Slaw
1 pkg broccoli slaw
½ red pepper, chopped (I use 1 red pepper and no green)
½ green pepper, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
Toast these in hot pan or toaster: (watch because will burn easily)
1 pkg ramen soup noodles or 1 or ½ slab Chinese noodles - smashed up
1/3 cup slivered almonds
¼ cup sesame seeds
Dressing - whisk together:
Soup spices or 1 T chicken bouillon or 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon
1/2 C sugar or 5 packets Sweet and Low (too much, 1/4 C)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 clove minced garlic
Hello to everyone from the Twin Cities of MN where weather has turned particularity lovely- sunny and 70s during the day and cool evenings perfect for open windows to enjoy the wonderfully fleeting smell of the lilacs by the bedroom windows. So worth the itchy allergy eyes. . . Running hot and cold on cooking mojo as the reality of today was the last day of school sunk in- and I did not grocery shop for the extra meals I will be serving tomorrow. Oops. Fortunately the girls love grocery shopping. Actuals and plans for 2 adults and as of today a 6th grader and a 2nd grader. I’m not ready for this, especially after our nest of baby robins fledged and moved out! Although nice to get the mail without a pair of birds chirping at me
Fri 3: Crepes with ricotta and berries, bacon
Sat 4: Grilled bratwurst and cole slaw
Sun 5: In honor of the Queen’s Jubilee (the bit with Paddington Bear so made me cry) an English Afternoon tea with sandwiches (Coronation chicken, egg salad, shrimp salad, and cucumber and cress) scones: cream scones and apple cheddar both from Baking with Dorie my home to yours with rhubarb compote and tea. Got out the good dinnerware and bought a new tea pot. Quite fun!
Mon 6: Grilled halibut and asparagus with beurre blanc and shredded potatoes
Tues 7: Huevos rancheros . or a lazy riff on it
Weds 8: Leftovers from the Afternoon tea. This time the shrimp salad was a huge hit with the girls as mini sandwiches with cucumber slices as the “bread” Kids. . .
Tonight!: Last day of school- girls had tons of stuff they were unpacking and Mr Autumm came upstairs from a meeting and was just a jerk about the mess as they sorted everything and compared end of school projects. I was so mad I didn’t want to do anything food wise. He finally picked up on it and couldn’t even figure out to wash the pot that was sitting in the sink to make blue box. I grazed with a strong drink.
Fri 10: Bahn mi with the ground pork smashed meatballs I think from epicurious or improvised from the bahn mi hand book.
Sat 11: Jerk chicken has been requested or “grill something” Grill something is not a helpful menu planning idea. We are working on communication skills here.
Take care everyone and Happy Summer Break! School starts again in less than 3 months. . .
Copying your idea of macaroni salad for a multiple meal side. While the lemon-herb version sounds great, instead I chose one which features bacon & cucumber, and made a 1/3 recipe. I substituted chopped sun-dried tomatoes for fresh and chopped sliced water chestnuts for the celery. I’m planning to grocery shop this morning and will get the green olives (in 4-pack of to-go cups, so small quantity opened at a time) to slice and add before serving.
I was just looking at my notes for the lemon-herb version, and see in the past I liked adding a small can of sliced black olives to this salad. Olives rule!
We just had baby robins too! Fortunately momma built her nest on the porch light that isn’t right over the mailbox, but it was still an awkward few weeks and we mostly used the back door to avoid freaking her out.
And let me know if you figure out a good way to communicate that “grill something” is not a dinner. I struggle with “let’s have chicken” type suggestions here too. Technique and ingredients are not specific enough.
Your Thursday night sounds quite familiar! Glad you found some kind of solution and congratulations to your family for a successful ending of the school year. We are working on communication skills here, too. Husband’s job ended Nov. 2020 and we are still working on re-distributing cooking planning and execution, now that 60 hours a week have been freed up for him for 18 months.
I hope you enjoy the summer. The meals you plan sound delicious. I’m having a very small tea party for the 5 year old next door tomorrow, and I used the grocery shopping opportunity to get a decent frozen pizza. Dinner solved for tonight!
