Life

Ravings: That whirlwind is still blowing and I feel like I am completely dizzy and disoriented because of it. I still haven’t really been home. I did finally sleep in my own bed last night, but I literally fell into bed half asleep. After work, I went home to be greeted by the oblivious dog, who acted as though I had just left and was now interrupting his nap. I had secretly hoped he would come running into my arms, clinging to me as if I had been lost and had unexpectedly returned. But no. I had to force him to snuggle me. I did sneak in a quick nap, hoping to stave off the headache that was fast approaching. And then we were off to my sister-in-laws birthday dinner. After a super yummy dinner and some laughing with great friends and family, we drove home and I collapsed into bed.

I am forcing myself to do some grocery shopping tonight.

Cravings: I believe I am home for good now, so hopefully the creativity can begin again. I am working on my menu and grocery list at work. This just puts me further behind at work, but I really have no other time to do it this week! It’s looking rather yummy. So instead of some recipes, I’ll talk about my process. It’s pretty simple really. I read Cooking Light magazine every month and will mark recipes that look good or will get inspired by something I see and develop a dish on my own. I have to write it down when inspiration hits or I will forget it. I try to keep a list of recipes I want to try and reference that when I go to make my menu list for the week. I basically just write down 5-6 menus without attaching days to them because whenever I’ve tried to match it to a day, something ends up making me change it anyway. So now it’s just a list that I can choose from as I go through the week. I include sides that go with each dish and I have been trying to throw a dessert or two on the list as well.

From that menu, I develop my grocery list. I do try to keep seasonality in mind when I’m developing the menu and am constantly getting up to look at see what we have already that I can use. I’ve also really been focusing on using the same base ingredients for the week so I don’t end up throwing produce away. Most of the time I try to get my produce from the Basketeria at the West Side Market because it’s local and organic, so I also like to reference their weekly mailing when I’m developing the menu. I didn’t make it this week, so it will be grocery store produce for us. Jason and I buy grass fed beef by the half cow so I never buy beef at the grocery store. I get most of my chicken from my boss’s kids who raise chickens for the fair. My family has been discussing splitting a hog, but we haven’t found one available at a price we’d like to pay yet, so I will have to buy that at the store when we want it. And as you know from the last post, I try to purchase only sustainable seafood. So the grocery store, other than on weeks like this, is for those other items like dairy (we go through so much milk and cheese!), beans, grains, snacks, etc.

So that’s pretty much it. Feel free to ask any questions. I’m happy to share. I love cooking and I manage to do it most nights. I think anyone can do it, they just need to be willing to try things.