I have gone from feeling slightly smug about the lovely weather that we have been having here to joining the rest of the nation in feeling constantly sticky, red-faced and overheated (unless I am in my hammock where there is miraculously always a breeze.) Too many dinner ingredients have been consigned to next day lunch in a different format because it was too hot to eat, so I propose an experiment until Labor Day. It goes against my very ingrained and organized way of shopping and menu planning, and I am not sure that it will do my budget any good, but I’m game if you are.
Heat aside, living on the Cape during a pandemic, has certainly shown flaws in their supply chain. I have had it up to here with placing a weekly order as I usually do and then receiving ¾ of my order with a notice stating that the other items are currently unavailable, even though they appear on the supplier’s website and I was allowed to order them. I equally dislike having to then scrabble to find what I need over the course of the week, hither and yon and often having to improvise at dinner time because I din't find what I had originally planned on.
It is not that I am not adaptable: last week Monday’s planned dinner of grilled sardines, lobster and some sort of starter salad of roasted beets and pickled cherries turned into a fantastic heirloom tomato salad and grilled swordfish with preserved lemon salsa dinner due to the present laws of supply and demand and I was perfectly happy. I just didn’t enjoy the 3 different store visits and 4 phone calls while attempting to track down non-existent sardines. I also didn’t enjoy having committed to L.’s impassioned request for lasagna for Tuesday’s pasta night and having the oven on in an 80-degree kitchen in order to keep that promise. Toiling over a hot stove, indeed!
All that to say that, until Labor Day, I will not be posting weekly menus. I will instead post a list of dishes that I hope to make and will post the recipes if they do, in fact, make it from my head to the stove. There will probably be more bonus recipes than usual, and more beverages because there is nothing like the clinking of ice cubes in a glass or pitcher for it to feel like summer. Do keep an eye out on Instagram as well (subscribe...) as I post items there which are not mentioned on the blog.
So here we go. Let me know your thoughts on the new, temporary format. In no particular order:
Cold Carrot and Rhubarb Soup with Pickled Ginger
Ham Steak and Hot Mustard Pickled Peach Salad with Bitter Greens
Lemongrass Palomas
Plus whatever L.'s dad, who is visiting tomorrow, comes up with in the BBQ department.
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