17 hours ago, liamsaunt said:I menu plan. I have a chalkboard in my kitchen and write out the menu for the week. This serves two purposes: it keeps me on track to use the vegetables I get in my CSA, and it allows my nephew to identify the meals he does not want to eat (it varies, but always includes anything fish unless it is deep fried) and make plans for an alternate meal (usually leftovers from an earlier meal that he did like). This week he passed on the fish dishes, and will not eat the Buddha bowls we are having tonight (he is having leftovers from the turkey tacos). Here is this week's menu:
Where are your breakfast and lunch chalkboards?
My dinner planning starts about 4 PM, day of. Sometimes earlier.
But let's take yesterday, which is the day after I got my reserved weekly delivery from Fresh Direct. Said delivery included 4 chicken thighs (FD is pissing me off because they appear to not be carrying the poulet rouge from Joyce Farms at the moment, so my weekly order of a whole Joyce Farms chicken has been shot to shit - it's my favorite bird, and it's a small bird at 2.5 lbs, not too big for the two of us), a package of wings (interestingly, they do carry this chicken from Cooks Venture, and the first of these chickens I tried was quite good, if way bigger than the poulet rouge I like so much - and yes, I'm done with battery chickens), 2 thick heritage pork chops, not much produce since I've been going to the farmer's market again, and a big canister of Clorox wipes (since they had them even though I don't use them much...preparing for the next wave!).
So after lunch, (a just-received delivery from Chef Collective, of cheeses, Sullivan St. Bakery breads (yes, the no-knead bread guy), and 1/2 lb. of prosciutto - I made sandwiches) I put up a pot of pre-soaked beans, cleaned up, cut up, and dry brined the just received chicken for the paella I was gonna make for dinner, with a quart of recently made chicken stock that wants to be used, since there is no room in the freezer.
Then I took a nap. When I woke up, I was having second thoughts about the paella, not because I didn't want paella, but because I didn't want to make the paella. Dinner plan - shot to hell. Around 6 PM, I figured I better make something for dinner, as it's about the time Significant Eater starts asking about, you guessed it, dinner.
First, I cracked open a bottle of Beaujolais to calm her nerves. With a small bag of pretzels for her alongside, I could now hit the kitchen.
I did have a poached chicken breast from that giant Cooks Venture chicken. Poached in that stock, as a matter of fact. So I cut that up, heated up some previously made red chili sauce, and heated the chicken in that. I made a quick tomato/cucumber/red onion salad. The beans were done. And I had a beautiful Sullivan Street Bakery pizza bianca to serve alongside. Sig Eater was quite content.
Dinner plan? We don't need no stinkin' plans.
