Menus May 1, 2013

I keep turning over new leaves, and spoiling them; I make so many beginnings there never will be an end.

Louisa May Alcott

Two and a half weeks. Two and a half weeks of new roads and new cities and new music and new ideas and new beginnings and new shops and new restaurants (new food!) and new books and new ideas....what an excellent series of adventures!

Adventures that led to adventures that have eventually led, as most adventures do, back home. 

And when I arrived back home, after having learned much- including the lesson that I can indeed live (mostly) without the internet for whole days at a time, I found that I had brought a virus home with me. 

Fret not- it was not I who fell victim to the nasty bug.

it was my computer

I was distraught! Inconsolable! My poor faithful laptop, still, quiet, and a deathly blue.
All was not lost. For long ago, I had demonstrated a great deal of foresight and good sense by asking the only man of my acquaintance who can resurrect a dead computer to marry me. He knew precisely the words with which to offer comfort:

"Don't worry sweetie. I think I can salvage
most of your pictures. And maybe even
your itunes library."

However, any patience and any sympathies I had extended to this anthropomorphised collection of keys and circuitry were frayed ragged, when less than 48 hours after it had been pulled back from the brink of death, my computer had succumbed again. 

I was quite close to trying a rather energetic reboot.

Although, to be fair, it was I who opened the door to the Trojan Horse, and I who failed to protect it against that near fatal virus. I imagine my computer may be more exasperated with me than I am with it. I imagine that if I could open it quickly enough, I'd find it giving me, you know, a look:

"work my keypad to the bone for you, play
your boring music and your stupid Netflix all day,
and it's MY fault when I break down?! I'd like to show you
a hard reboot or two, I would."

Anyway, we've reached an uncertain truce. A sort of not-quite-mutual agreement.

I will offer my laptop electricity, allow it to spend a little more time on reddit, and do my best to avoid clicking  any deceptively innocuous looking buttons that might as well be labeled "kill me".

The computer, in return, has agreed to help me plan dinner.

Wednesday: Stir fry with Teriyaki sauce 

The home audience is in a less than carnivorous mood this week, so I'll be making this a veggie stir fry, but a stirfry is  perfect for leftover meat, or thickly sliced deli roast beef, or shredded rotisserie chicken.

 The recipe I've linked is America's test kitchen teriyaki sauce- if you have time, try it. Five ingredients, and almost five minutes, and you've got a great sauce for grilling, broiling, dipping, glazing, or topping a plateful of ramen noodles and vegetables. And don't let a lack of mirin stop you. If you can't easily find or afford it, substitute beer, white wine, water with a little rice or apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice....you get the idea. 

And. Here's an all time awesome stir fry tip. 

Go to Tuesday Morning, or Big Lots, or anywhere, and get yourself one of these:

an electric kettle.
It'll change your life a little.
In a good way.

I know, I know. My electric kettle is crazy cool looking. Don't let yourself or your countertop appliances be put off by the cooler-than-thou attitude my kettle sometimes assumes.

  This trick works no matter how cute or cool your kettle may be.

Cut into bite size pieces any veggies that are harder than, oh, snow peas. Broccoli, carrots, maybe onions, and toss them in a bowl and cover them with that water that your oh-so-awesome kettle just boiled up for you, and let them sit in that hot bath while you prep the rest of the veggies.

When you're ready, drain them and throw them in the pan- you'll find that the hot water cooked them just enough so that they're done in the same amount of time that it takes the softer veggies to cook.  

Thursday: Linguine with zucchini and chickpeas

Fast, cheap and easy. Put this together with sausage or pork chops or chicken if your audience is clamoring for some non vegetable protein.

Friday: cauliflower and lentil curry

Record low temps are predicted here on Friday night; a great opportunity for a warm, nicey, spicy curry. And I'm going to believe that when the home audience said he wanted to eat more vegetables, he meant that he's okay with eating less meat.  

I may throw a little spinach in here, and if there's a zucchini leftover from last night, I'll put that in as well.

(note to self) we are currently out of chutney. Do not forget the chutney.

Saturday: Tilapia with Pecan butter and tomato, cucumber and quinoa salad

The most effortvescent meal of the week here, and it's really not that hard. The wild rice and green beans have been voted off the plate- this salad is easier, faster, and looks tastier. I'll be cooking extra fish for tomorrow.

Sunday: Tilapia tacos 

This'll come together in less time than you can say "I think I've had it with yard work for the day, what's on TV?"  And I'm super interested in this cucumber relish idea. If it's good, there could be a wide range of applications.....

I wonder if for you too these last weeks have been full of the finding and facing of new things.

I wonder if for you too these weeks have been full of re-wording-

You know- replace, reassess, rearrange, reassemble, refresh, reboot, resume....

Words about beginning.

or beginning again.

And new beginnings can be a little....exey. You know-

exhilarating. or exhausting.

but if you look out your window, I'll bet you'll see the whole springtime world is re-working.

and I hope this week, once or twice, the whole reawakening world will find a way to give you courage, peace, and all the energy you need to, you know,

Restart.