I’m feeling a little more inspired this week and better able to function, probably partially since my husband’s last final for the term is Tuesday morning, which gives us over a week and a half for “spring break.” (And thanks to Sharon and Betsy for your encouragement and ideas!) I’ve been cooking quite a few things the past few days and planning to cook more this coming week, including lunches, which is probably as a reaction to eating sandwiches and other simple fare so much in the recent past.
As I was reading about my “personality type” result from an online Meyers-Briggs-like test I took last week (INFJ, but almost exactly between an F and T), I realized that some people, even people who love to cook and cook very well, don’t like to experiment with their food. They aren’t compelled to try out new recipes, experiment with old ones, or, well, change anything. I have to admit that this was just a concept I had never really considered before (though I have the utmost respect for those people just as well). As you might have noticed if you’ve been reading my menu plans for very long, although we do have some staple recipes in our household, I am forever trying new ones. When I’m not over-busy and mentally bogged down (like last week), we try at least two new recipes every week. And usually I don’t follow them exactly. I have probably never purposely made something exactly the same way twice. So, uh, thanks for being along for the ride and being a good sport about seeing something appear on our menu plan never to hear about it again (even if it was fabulous). And as for the recipes I post, although at the time I post them I certainly think they are the best, most well-thought-out and experimented-with version of the recipe, I will not promise not to tinker with it more the next time I make it.
Totally unrelated, tonight I baked two rhubarb pies to celebrate Pi Day tomorrow. Yes, we are math-loving nerds in this household. I blame it on my husband doing a PhD in statistics and both of our Caltech undergraduate upbringings, where our whole dorm/house gathered to eat pie at 1:59 in the morning on March 14th every year. And yes, we were (and are) weird.
(For reference, L is for lunch and D is for dinner. Links are to the recipes we’ll be using.)
Monday
L: chicken sandwiches with remaining pesto from last week’s pizza and leftover roasted chicken
D: with family, bringing rhubarb pies
Tuesday
L: leftover pizza
D: leftover sausage, tomato and brown rice casserole from last week
Wednesday
L: PB&J, fruit
D: Cajun etouffee using leftover roasted chicken and a pre-packaged mix that was a gift and has been sitting in the pantry forever, brown rice, mixed green salad with simple balsamic vinaigrette
Thursday
L: leftovers
D: leftovers, making rhubarb coffee cake for a gathering in the evening
Friday
L: leftovers – clean out the fridge
D: potato-leek frittata (with 8 whole eggs instead of 4 whole eggs and 8 whites), simple green salad
Saturday
L: chicken noodle soup using stock made from the roasted chicken carcasses from Sunday
D: Boston baked beans adapted for the slow cooker (see reviews of the recipe), cornbread, simple vegetables from Tuesday’s farm share basket
Sunday
L: leftover chicken noodle soup
D: leftover frittata
Breakfast options for the week: cold cereal with milk, oatmeal with peanut butter and raisins
