Fangirl Forever

Until Saturday, I had only ever written two fan letters.  Both were school assignments - likely the teachers' way of making letter-writing lessons fun.

The first was to Maureen McCormick, aka Marcia Brady, when I was in about third grade.  That was so long ago that I don't remember much about the experience, but I'm fairly sure I didn't hear back.

The second, written in about grade six when I was much more mature, was sent to my heartthrob Eric of the Bay City Rollers.  The sole remaining memory of that experience is of my bursting into tears when the letter was returned due to insufficient postage.  Apparently our lesson in letter-writing didn't cover the intricacies of international postage. Oh the heart-break of discovering that the love of my life was unaware of my adoration.

In spite of these failures, on Saturday I decided to throw caution to the wind and send out my third-ever fan letter.  Given the wonders of the internet, I didn't even have to worry about postage.

This time, the object of my admiration was Stephanie Kay.  I've mentioned Stephanie's cookbook "Red's 5-Ingredient Meals" a few times here on the blog. This has become one of my most-used cookbooks.  Stephanie also regularly shares recipes, tips and, most importantly, lunch ideas on Instagram.  I was pretty sure that she had said somewhere that she welcomed questions from readers, so I decided to reach out to her with my question.

Here in BC we are looking at going back to work in the near future. I usually bring my own lunch, and I rely my staff room's fridge, toaster over, and microwave. I'm predicting that those things won't be available when I get back. (The staff room is just too small for more than one person at a time under current restrictions.) Any ideas for packed lunches that don't require refrigeration or re-heating? I'm already feeling stumped.

Given my past experience with fan letters, I honestly didn't expect a response. I thought that Steph (notice how it's "Steph" now?) might share some ideas in a blog or an Instagram post if she felt enough readers were in a similar situation. So, imagine my giddy surprise when this landed in my inbox Monday morning.

Hi Laurie, 

Thanks for reaching out, I hope that all is well with you!

Depending on how long it would need to be without refrigeration, you could probably get away with simply eating any hot dish or leftovers cold, especially if it’s a vegetarian dish with beans, lentils or grains. They would easily withstand several hours without refrigeration.

Alternatively, I have a few no-cook or no-refrigerate lunch ideas on my website. You can find them at the links below:

https://kaynutrition.com/2017/09/5-no-cook-work-lunch-ideas/

https://kaynutrition.com/2018/05/bistro-box-lunch-ideas/

I hope that helps!

Talk soon,

Steph 

This seriously made my day.  Steph's suggestions are just what I needed to get me back into meal-planning mode, and her kindness and generosity have ensured that I'll always be a grateful fan. 

Snazzy

Last week's meals went exactly as planned even though the week didn't.  I thought I was going to have a week of activities and extra work.  Instead, by Monday evening, I was back on the sofa with a new version of the plague. Like the door I shared earlier in the week, I am alarmed. I'm using up all my sick days and COVID-19 isn't even here yet. Not good. Still, in spite of my illness, every meal went as planned.  I'm sure that's because we had planned, and prepped and kept it simple.  

It wasn't perfect though.  By Thursday the tofu and rice for the tofu bowls were a bit stale. I guess that's why the authors of "Simply Bento" suggest doing so much of your prep work in the morning.  That's not going to happen in our household.  We already get up at what I've been told is a "grotesquely early" hour.  There's no chance that I'm going to get up earlier to prep rice, tofu and veggies.  (And no, it's not going to happen the night before either.  Getting up at grotesque o'clock means that we're in bed before most people are finished their dinner.  There's just no time for that kind of meal prep on a work-night.)  Oh well, the tofu bowls were edible, if not fresh, and now I'm sure that "Simply Bento", though beautiful,  isn't the right cookbook for our current cooking needs.

This week, I tried to make sure that prepped food gets consumed closer to the day it was prepped.  I'm still keeping it simple.  I'm on the mend, but I'm certain that I'm not going to have a lot of energy for cooking, and I'm certain Hubby won't either.  This week it's meat and veg, 5-Ingredient Meals and items from the freezer for the win.  Oh, and I also have a back-up plan in mind should things go sideways.  You never know when the plague is going to stop by for dinner.

Ooh!  Look!  I've snazzed-up the dry-erase board.  So sparkly!

(*Note:  I don't get anything for the links above.  They're there for your information.  Hope you find them useful.)

Keeping it Simple

Last week's meals went almost as planned!  I think that's a first since I started sharing my meal plans here.  I swapped chickpea-and-orzo salad for bean salad, but I figure that was close enough, and it allowed me to use up leftover orzo from earlier in the week.   

This week we'll be relying on big-batch cooking to provide leftovers for several suppers.  I know a lot of people balk at leftovers, but I can live with eating the same meal more than once if it means less cooking and clean-up.  It's going to be a busy enough week as it is!

Still figuring out the new board.

On Sunday we'll prepare a big shepherd's pie using a recipe from my old "Second Harvest Cookbook" as a guide.  I have had this cookbook for years.  I remember seeing an article about Second Harvest in the Globe and Mail. I was so intrigued that I mailed a cheque to get the cookbook. Newspaper, cheque, mail. That should give you an idea how long I've had this cookbook. 

We'll also prepare tofu and rice bowls inspired by the tofu poke bento recipe in "Simply Bento" by Yuko and Noriko.  I borrowed this cookbook from the library.  It is a beautiful cookbook, but the recipes are far too labour-intensive for my current cooking style.  I returned the book, but it has influenced how I think about packed lunches.

And once again, I'm relying on Stephanie Kay's "Red's 5-Ingredient Meals" for a big batch of Tex-Mex quinoa.  This cookbook has had a huge impact on how I think about our meals. I've been too distracted by the onslaught of "healthy eating" information out there.  This cookbook has been a good reminder that not every dish needs to be crammed full of "superfoods" to be healthy.  Delicious, good-for-you meals don't have to be complicated.  How did I forget that?  

(*Note:  I don't get anything for the links above.  They're there for your information.  Hope you find them useful.)

Sunday Bonus Recipe: Carrot Soup

I served this soup to friends on Thursday.  They liked it enough to ask for the recipe, which was awkward, as I had cobbled together two recipes, then I made changes to those recipes, to come up with the soup I served them.

I referred to carrot soup recipes in America Test Kitchen's "The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs" and Stephanie Kay's "Red's 5-ingredient Meals".  I'm really enjoying how these cookbooks are allowing me to get tasty food on the table fast, even when I don't follow the recipe.

Carrot Soup

1 tbsp coconut oil
2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
1 medium onion, diced
1 (2-inch) piece of fresh ginger peeled and chopped
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth*
1 1/2 cups water*
1/2 tsp salt
1 14oz can coconut milk

• Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat
• Add diced onion and cook until translucent
• Add salt, cumin and coriander and cook for a few seconds
• Add carrots and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes
• Stir in water/broth and bring to a boil
• Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender
• Remove from heat, and puree with preferred tool.
• Stir in coconut milk.  Return to low heat and warm to desired serving temperature.
• Serve topped with with chopped fresh herbs, croutons, or roasted chickpeas if desired

*or three cups broth, or three cups water.  Enough liquid to cover carrots and onions.

(*Note:  I don't get anything for the links above.  They're there for your information.  Hope you find them useful.)

Argh!

Planning meals for the upcoming week was particularly frustrating.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because our local paper neglected to include the grocery store flyer, so my coffee/flyer/cookbook routine was off. Maybe it's because, when I found the flyer online, nothing was particularly inspiring.  Maybe it's because the unusually large dump of snow has disrupted things so much that I'm off kilter.  Whatever the reason, I did not enjoy the process this week. 

On the other hand, it feels great now that it's done.

I've borrowed several cookbooks with Instant Pot recipes from our local library in the last year.  Daniel Shumski's "How to Instant Pot" followed me home so many times that I finally bought my own copy.  If I get the timing right, I'll be referring to it four times this weekend.  (beets, yogurt, potato/corn chowder and chili)  I may be aiming a bit high, but I can make everything but the yogurt on the stove-top should my plan go sideways.

Other than that I've tried to go for simple and comforting. We are supposed to get more snow, which always makes our one-car life a bit more complicated.  With that in mind, once we get through the weekend, all of our meals will be pre-made and/or will rely heavily on items in our freezer.  It will be a busy weekend in the kitchen, but it will pay off during the week.  

Now let's just hope that the power stays on.

As always, let me know if you have any questions.  I'd love to hear from you.

(*Note:  I don't get anything for the links above.  They're there for your information.  Hope you find them useful.)

Fish Switch

If you stopped by on Saturday, you saw that my meal plan for the week included Coconut Curry Cod from Stephanie Kay's "Red's 5-Ingredient Meals".   If you own that cookbook, you know that recipe doesn't exist.

What?

The recipe is actually Coconut Curry Salmon.  I had intended to use salmon, as it was on sale, but when I got to the store the salmon didn't look particularly appetizing.  So, after looking at other options that might work, I decided to go with cod fillets, mostly because I already had them in my freezer.  And that wasn't my only substitution. Broccolette was also on sale, so I decided to use it instead of the baby bok choy called for in the recipe.  Good thing I did.  I didn't see any bok choy when I was shopping.

How did I know the recipe would still work?  Mostly guess work.  I knew there were other recipes out there for coconut curry with cod, including this one from Meghan Telpner.  I haven't actually tried her recipe yet, but I figured if Meghan could put coconut milk and cod together, so could I.

And the broccolette?  That was guess work with a dash of intuition and lots of home-cooking experience.  It looks like it was a good guess. When I consulted the almighty Google, "long-stem broccoli" comes up as a suitable alternative for bok choy.  I'm pretty sure long-stem broccoli is another name for broccolette.

My point?  

Many recipes can be altered to suit your taste, to suit what's available, and to suit your budget.  I try to keep that in mind when I am planning my meals.  Most of the time it even works.

(Note:  The broccolette took longer to cook than I had anticipated, so I took the cod out of the sauce when it was finished and let the broccolette cook a bit longer. Sometimes winging-it with your ingredients means you have to improvise with your instructions too.)

(*Note:  I don't get anything for the links above.  They're there for your information.  Hope you find them useful.)