a week of meals no. 30
meal plan for May 5-11, 2024
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Hello dear readers, and happy Saturday. How has this week treated you? Well, I hope. May is already here, and with it the promise of summer just beyond. The evenings are deliciously lengthening and staying warmer. This week has been a week for the garden, in which I removed almost all the cool season crops (except for garlic and onions which are still finishing up) and finished planting the final summer crops I had yet to get in the ground (seeds of zucchini, cucumber, and romano beans. At my community garden plot, I finished weeding and planted seeds of cosmos, green beans, winter squash, cucumber, and tomato starts. We raked off the remains of cardboard and plastic littering the ground and plan to bring in new cardboard to suppress weeds as I can’t be there every day to hand pull. There is some Bermuda grass, lots of morning glory, thistles, crabgrass, and catchweed. I delight in the garden because it’s a place I can always find peace and contentment. The repetitive nature of the tasks invites meditation, and the small beauties to discover daily are never ending.
In last week’s newsletter, I was talking about how life is so busy right now in the season of motherhood that I am in. This week is no less busy, but I’m carving out a day for myself with another mum friend. We are taking off Monday (and leaving the dads in charge) to head to the beach for a day of reading and sweet nothingness to recharge. The ocean is my special place, and I always come away feeling new- “For whatever we lose(like a you or a me) / it's always ourselves we find in the sea”1
I hope you can all find time to do something like this too, we all need it. Whether it be a small 5 minute coffee in silence or an afternoon to yourself at a museum or meeting a friend to share food and conversation, going for a walk in nature, or reading a book in the bath, choose something to recharge yourself. Often we spin narratives for ourselves that there’s just no time, that we must push forwards. My natural tendency is towards productivity and perfection, and I have to constantly remind myself- this is not an emergency, or a race. I can slow down and things will be ok, the laundry can wait, I cannot be a good mother, partner, or friend without taking care of myself- I am not able to pour from an empty cup.
In reading this week, I still have been finishing the two novels from last week, Francisco by Alison Mills Newman and The Promise by Silvina Ocampo. I watched the film Lady Macbeth, which made me curious to read the 1865 novella it’s based on, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov. I have also been slowly working my way through The Montessori Child by Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike (I really enjoyed their previous books in the series for baby and toddler). In picture books, may I recommend The Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaitoand Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett- we have been reading both of them on repeat lately.
This week in food, there are lots of favas, peas and strawberry rhubarb treats- ‘tis the season for such delights, which will be gone before you know it, yielding to stone fruits and the first zucchini and basil. If you missed it last week, you may enjoy reading my post about my pantry staples, which includes the brands I prefer, and a list of favorite cookbooks.
Here are some plates enjoyed this week:
the meal plan
weekend prep: make hummus, prep sourdough for baking on Monday
Sunday: vignarola, blob of ricotta, whole wheat sourdough
Monday: leftover vignarola (screenshot of basic “recipe” below) tossed with whole grain orecchiette, little gem salad with radishes and dill
Tuesday: spring minestrone (cook down leeks and fennel instead of onion/carrot; broth, wilt in peas, asparagus, spinach, add tiny alubia blanca beans), parm, leftover sourdough toast
Wednesday: leftover minestrone, steamed new potatoes and carrots tossed with butter and parsley/thyme/chives, steamed artichokes with aioli
Thursday: risi e bisi, green salad with thinly sliced fennel, strawberries, and mint+ vinaigrette (olive oil, lemon juice and zest, shallot, salt and pepper)
Friday: pizza night- one pizza bianca and one pizza rossa, kale caesar with crispy chickpeas
Saturday: crispy tofu with coconut quinoa and broccolini (will add some snap peas in, too)
weekend bake: strawberry rhubarb galette
midweek treat: strawberry rhubarb popsicles, inspired by this recipe
weekend breakfast: strawberry rhubarb buckwheat waffles, inspired by this recipe
cocktail: just a nice glass of sparkling rosé to celebrate warmer weather this week.
Leaving you with a poem, as always. Wishing you a delightful week xx
E.E. Cumming’s poem maggie and milly and molly and may
Thank you for the poems. You have reignited my love for poetry that I put aside since HS. I want to go to the library to explore some poetry books.