Dear John,
I’m talking good game about meal prepping on weekends, about eating leftovers, about using the instant pot for rice pilafs, the slow cooker for soups, about scrambling eggs. But I still don’t know how to have dinner on the table ten minutes after walking in the door on a routine basis. And I think that’s what life needs right now. It’s a yet another shift to how we approach meals to adapt to our shifting needs.
I feel like I used to have a small arsenal of meals that I could quickly deploy. I remember stocking up on the Taste of Thai noodle boxes, basically a side shuffle away from ramen. Which, honestly, maybe something to consider if there’s a version that fits the other diet constraints. I’m afraid it’s meal prepping sauce or flavoring packets or full jars ourselves the weekend before. (And now I miss the fancy ramen restaurant across the street from where I lived once upon a time.)
Please share if you have specific inspiration for gluten free, allergen adaptable, vegetable forward meals that are super fast, make leftovers all week, or cook while we’re out of the house.
Today’s Box
- Bartlett Pears
- Honeycrisp Apples
- Kiwiberries
- Baby Green Bok Choy
- Green Romaine Lettuce
- Lacinato Kale
- Mixed Heirloom Tomatoes
- Yellow Wax Beans
Community Produce
- Green bell peppers
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Apples
- Oranges
Things in the fridge
- Sunchokes
- Muscadines
- Green tomato
- Peppers
- Fennel stems
- Greens: Lettuce, Red Cabbage, Green Cabbage
- Onions
- Peaches
- Pears
- Watermelon
- Fingerling potatoes
In the Garden
- Who knows! We’re overdue for a visit
- Probably collards, dahlias
- If we’re lucky cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, tomatillos
Open Preserves
- Fridge still organized!
- Fridge still not inventoried!
- Fig jam
- Preserved eggplant
- Pickled banana peppers
- Pickled fennel
- Curdito–just a little left
Pantry Beans
- Yellow Split Pea
- Split Red Lentil
- Black Caviar Lentil
- Garbanzo Bean
- Buckeye Bean
- Black Calypso
- Good Mother Stallard
- Pinto Bean
- Flor De Junio
- Christmas Lima
- California Corona
- Royal Corona
- And maybe one more on the shelf?
Cook something. Somehow. Somewhen. Again.
- First, buy carrots. Second, make more curdito!
- These tomatoes look gorgeous and should be put to yummy use. The Six Seasons tomatoes and chickpea and za’atar and yogurt dish? We haven’t make it yet this year. This weekend!’
- I do think Taco Tuesdays. Taco Thursdays. Taco Wednesdays, Mondays, Fridays, might be our new life. Cause we can have rice and beans ready to go. We can roast a veggie (still have beets and butternut squash in the fridge and a cilantro sauce to top). Those can be microwaved while the tortillas warm on griddle. Or maybe we skip the tortillas and go the burrito bowl route.
- Pasta is also quick. More than ten minutes from door to table because we have to turn the water on to boil. I’m eyeing the fennel stems as a pesto-yogurt sauce that could be made in advance.
- Use the kale or collards or even the bok choy to make these tofu bowls. (Is bowls our new lifestyle?)
- Wax beans and hopefully cherry tomatoes in a red curry. I think that’d make yummy leftovers.
- Bok choy noodle soup. In the slow cooker?
- The recipe card suggested a southwest sweet potato salad. Maybe try that. Maybe just chop the sweet potato, roast, and have on hand for salads or tacos or bowls of other varieties.
- Stuffed bell peppers in the slow cooker? This seems very doable. And could let our beans and rice feel different for a day.
- You know what. Microwave baked potatoes don’t take that long. And are a yummy non-rice canvas for toppings. Maybe we experiment. Or stick with chopping, roasting, serve as hash.
Love,
Sarah
PS We learned yesterday that we are eligible for a community food distribution program. I asked if our participation makes the program stronger or stretches resources for others. And now we have a bonus box of produce coming in. I am glad I had already started thinking about food to make before the influx of produce to avoid being overwhelmed. We should think about what donations we make with the money we aren’t spending on food. Local food bank? World Central Kitchen? Other Food for Gaza efforts?
Planning Inside The Box 