Dinners and Things: Week 2/26-3/3

I used to try to write out menus for the week here. Then I'd occasionally just write about a meal or dessert I made that was noteworthy or an essay about food would pop up. Then I stopped because it took up time I didn't have. But I'm back to keeping track. My first attempt in a while. 

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 This was a week that I didn't start with a grocery shop or a meal plan. I started it just cooking from the pantry and with more work meetings in a week than I used to have in a year, I was kind of uninspired.

On Monday I made a riff of this pasta, sausage and cabbage dish. To be honest there were too many steps for a Monday and I only had chicken sausage so there weren't any drippings. So I did a variation of a theme. Still, I like this combination and it made me think that we don't use the smart little cabbage as much as we should in recipes. 

The next day was rougher and it ended with a work meeting (so fun!), so in anticipation of that I woke earlier than usual to work out. By the time the work meeting ended and I got home, I was starving. I'm not really proud of it, but I ate leftover pasta with my backpack still on my back standing in the kitchen, staring into the void. It wasn't until an hour or so later that I was able to make some polenta which served up a proper burn because it was bubblier than usual or I was just less attentive to it than normal. Then I also made this cheesy white bean tomato bake because it's what I thought of making for dinner before the meeting ever started. Since lunches are almost always leftover based, it served its purpose.

Thankfully, Wednesday finally arrived. It was its usual busy self and I was drowned on a run by the rain that threatened all day, but when I finally arrived home, I fried up some leftover polenta for my dinner and then made some gnocchi and brussel sprouts for Nuala and Watts, but then worried it wasn't enough so I cooked up some more gnocchi and spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil.

On Thursday, I thought of making a couple of different kinds of pastas, but by the time I actually made it to the kitchen I knew it had to be pasta with vodka sauce. I don't use any one particular recipe, it's just the one in my head... A chopped up onion and two cloves of garlic (maybe more). Saute that. Then throw in some vodka, maybe 1/2 cup, cook it off. Throw in a can of crushed tomatoes, maybe some water from rinsing out the can and simmer it for a bit. Then throw in probably a 1/2 cup cream. Salt and pepper of course. And cheese. It's a family favorite. 

Friday was cold and rainy. A lot of times Watts and I just go to Freemans, right across the street from the shop, but lately it's been busy on Friday nights and we're not really wait an hour for a table kind of people. So I made this potato soup. It's got a lot of milk in it and I'm not gonna lie, I sometimes feel a little weird about it when I'm eating it and remember how much milk is in it. BUT that was one of the reasons I used it... I had a half gallon of whole milk in the fridge with a looming March expiration date. I think I bought it when I was keen on making a custard or something and then I lost that keenness. Maybe? After I made the soup I made the recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding in this month's Food & Wine because it uses a whole can of coke and I have a bunch of cokes knocking about our basement fridge that no one wants to drink. I feel really proud of myself because instead of eating half of it, I brought half to our neighbors. and at least a quarter to the bike shop.

On Saturday I didn't cook, but I did think about Sunday's dinner which will be Pork Schnitzel inspired by the cover of this months' Food & Wine. God damn those cutlets look good. Watts saw them and was like, "can you please make that?" So, I did. I also made my usual Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. The ones I've been making for years that I can make in my sleep.

When Sunday arrived, we did indeed have schnitzel, an arugula salad and german potato salad. By the time it was dinner time it was warm and the sun had come out so we sat out on the deck eating it. It made me look forward to the spring nights that are coming. Where it's warm, but not too warm. The bugs aren't out in full force, but the light is lingering.