Despite the deep and abiding love for food that we feel in this household, last week, after weeks of lockdown with even less physical activity than usual, even the teen appetite faltered. I ended up not making several of last week’s dinners as we both knew that neither of us could be bothered to eat them. We ended up having a tomato salad for dinner in lieu of my grandmother’s much anticipated pierogi and a green juice instead of mushroom hand pies. How the mighty home diners have fallen…
I still enjoy the routine, comfort and creativity of cooking and think that it is important to maintain the status quo in as much as possible, and wherever I can find it, for L.’s sake so have planned a regular menu again this week at least. Because of fluctuating interest and appetites, depending on the evening, we shall either dine, be merry and grateful for what we have, or there will be much repurposing of ingredients for future use. This is not a bad thing anyway, despite the freezer groaning at the seams already, as items come and go due to issues with the supply chain and it is nice to have backups ready on occasion. I have also taken to sticking the tail ends of vegetables in soil for my own gardening sans garden enjoyment, though some will contribute to our dining experiences at some point, I hope. I have a nice head of bok choy rejuvenating itself on my kitchen counter, along with some chives. The beets illustrated above, grown from the end of an organic beet, look ready to be transferred to a proper container rather than a martini glass soon. Thus do we entertain ourselves in limbo.
Though my CSA box was again available this week, chicken was not when I placed my order, so duckling is making an appearance much to L.’s delight. I was just notified by email that the delivery company will be unable to fulfill my weekly order for 3 gallons of milk as they have none. The media seem to indicate that meat may become an issue in weeks to come but I will cross that bridge with L. when I come to it. Family members reading this may remember the time in my childhood when, over dinner, my father told me as a joke that as of the next day we were going to become a vegetarian household and I put my head on the table and wept inconsolably. L. does not feel that strongly about it I hope, and obviously my views have changed, but I would not like to run a meatless household when in lockdown with an already put-upon teen…
We are not big exercise folk in this household and mostly maintain a reasonably (ahem) healthy weight through a combination of burning nervous energy and lots of walking. Walking is still a possibility, we know, but we just really do not wish to leave the house any more than we have to. The large number of covidiots who are not wearing any form of face cover or practicing social distancing in any way, including, as recently witnessed, the police in our neighborhood is a bit off putting and as L. can testify makes me expend even more of the above mentioned nervous energy than usual.
To the cats’ great bemusement, I have taken to dancing exuberantly throughout the house before L. is up as replacement therapy for my usual walks. Being a teen, he can sleep through pretty much any volume of music and I find the process very cathartic, while being keenly aware that this medium is not one of my given talents. Unfortunately, though not on a regular basis so that I can plan ahead, L. has started waking early himself in order to go jogging before anyone else is out and about. I have mentally prepared myself for the day when I get caught in full extravagant disco spin, and for all of the teenage teasing that will follow with nowhere for me to go to escape it!
This Week's CSA box contained:
Herbs: huge bunch of coriander, absolutely gorgeous bunch of mint
Greens: a large baggie of mixed spicy baby greens, a head of little gem romaine, a huge bunch of red chard
Alliums: 4 stems of green garlic, a bag of ramp leaves
Vegetables: 8 mini cucumbers, a bunch each of hakurei turnips and purple radishes (whose greens were instantly removed to preserve them for eating), a huge slice of daikon, a handful of creamer potatoes
Fruit: 2 punnets of blackberries, 8 stalks of spring rhubarb
Cucumbers (which will be pickled) and rhubarb (which will be folded into a fool) aside, the contents of this week's box (with the addition of 2 artichokes, an avocado and broccoli and mushrooms left over from last week’s veggie largesse) will be transformed into:
Sunday “Pantry Roulette”; fridge, freezer and pantry item dinner]
Steamed Rice
Monday [Wildcard; a more complex or fiddly dish than usual to test my culinary skills]
Mixed Salad
Tuesday [Pasta]
Little Gem Romaine Caesar
Wednesday [L.'s choice
Green Salad
Veal Cutlets with Tonnato Sauce 🔁
Roasted Broccoli
Thursday [Fish]
Tilapia Tacos with All the Fixings 🔁
Friday [Veggie-centric]
Mixed Salad
Andouille and Vegetable Stuffed Artichokes
Saturday ["Picnic"; something that is easy to assemble and easy to eat in front of a movie]
Duck and Vegetable Ramen with Soy Marinated Eggs
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