What's Cooking
menu planning, week of May 10th
Am I the only one struggling to find neutral? I’ve never even used that gear in my car, but I imagine it’s kind of what I’m looking for as we navigate re-entry into the world post-Covid? Even that term feels a little too quick on the draw since we’re very much still in a pandemic globally even if we’re making progress here in the U.S.
After being extremely cautious and limited in what we do, where we go and who we see (spoiler, it’s been basically no one the last 14 months), I’m having a hard time figuring out how to do things again. This could also be partly due to my introverted nature. While I missed seeing friends deeply, and even miss commuting to work and seeing colleagues in person, I don’t necessarily miss all the other things that come with fully integrating into society again, you know?
All this is to say, weekends are starting to look and feel different, as the weather gets warmer (hello mowing and gardening) and restrictions ease, allowing us to venture out and do things safely. I’m not sure how to structure (or maybe restructure?) my weekends. Instead of cleaning first thing this morning, I decided it was wiser to plan my menu for the week over a couple cups of espresso.
Some notes about the recipes I’m going with for this week. I’m excited to cook two new recipes from Heidi Swanson’s most recent cookbook Super Natural Simple (book link below is to find it at your local bookseller via IndieBound —I make no commission on that link, it’s just there to encourage you to shop local!).
The ditalini recipe is cooked risotto-style, meaning the pasta isn’t cooked separately. It feels very reminiscent of the pasta with broccoli we ate a lot growing up. I’m omitting the pine nuts in Heidi’s original recipe because they’re expensive and hard to find good quality pine nuts from Italy. Rather than use a different nut, I’m thinking I’ll just bump up the lentils a little?
Her Som Tom Noodles are based off the popular Thai papaya salad recipe which immediately made think of Mikey. He loved that salad so much whenever we went out for Thai. I’m not sure I’ll be able to find green papaya up here but will try my best, or sub cucumbers as she suggests. Not entirely sure my kids will like the dish but I think they’ll be curious enough about the rest of the flavors to give it a taste.
One of these days I’m going to put my Moroccan Vegetable Tagine to pen and paper. Currently is resides in my mind, a vivid memory from eating it in the mountains of Morocco on a trip there some eight or nine years ago.
Menu, week of May 10th
Monday - Ditalini with Broccoli & Lentils from Super Natural Simple (p. 125)
Tuesday - Pizza night! It’s my girls’ 13th & 18th birthdays.
Wednesday - Som Tom Noodles with Tofu from Super Natural Simple (p. 122)
Thursday - Clean Out the Fridge Fried Rice (using my veggie fried rice recipe as a base)
Friday - Moroccan Vegetable Tagine with homemade challah (or maybe pita?)
Essentials: Blueberry jam bars (based off this recipe using a method posted in my Instagram highlights), chocolate tahini banana bread (paid subscribers, you’re getting a separate post emailed with this exclusive recipe). Interested in ad-free, members only recipes? Click the button below to subscribe for only $9 month or get two months free with an annual subscription.
Weekend prep: make & freeze pizza dough, make marinara sauce, make a pot of rice for fried rice later in the week
Recipes for pizza dough (I’ve been using my basic dough these days), marinara sauce and fried rice:
Wish list: I’ve had Emiko’s budini di riso (rice pudding pastries) bookmarked for weeks now from Torta della Nonna. I’d love to try making them this weekend but with the girls’ birthdays on Tuesday, I may have to push this wish list baking project off one more week.
Shopping List (I have lots of what I need in my pantry, and this is what’s on my grocery list for the week): broccoli, kale, limes, frozen corn, green papaya, mint, butter, cream, strawberries, eggs, mozzarella & pecorino. Need to check status of rice noodles, peanuts & tofu.