(Tea party with the kids in our hideously dark dining nook!)
Oops! I missed my usual Sunday posting. Apologies! I was very busy with nothing in particular, which is generally what happens on a weekend when you have small children (especially if it’s the first sunny day in eons). The fact that we’re officially on Spring Break around here only made it worse! To top it all off, I just didn’t feel like cooking, so our Sunday dinner involved burgers, fries, and milkshakes from a local drive-thru.
It was glorious.
But Lenten observances wait for no woman, and now I’m back to trying to clear out my pantry. (Side note: why, oh why did I buy all of these canned artichokes? Or maybe I didn’t. Maybe they are secretly breeding when my back’s turned…)
You’ll note some heartier dishes on this week’s menu. In part, that’s because I’ve got to use up some russet potatoes. But it’s also because this weekend’s brief moment of sunshine ended all too quickly. The forecast for the rest of the week is both gloomy and soggy. Again.
Sigh. So much for Spring Break.
At least our boots and raincoats had a little time to dry off. And an excuse for more hot chocolate isn’t a bad thing, right? Ah, well. Here’s everything I’m trying to use up this week… and the menu I’ll be following to do so. (Bonus: if I get really inspired, I might even make some homemade hummus. Take that, random chickpeas and inexplicable bounty of garlic!)
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Fridge, freezer, and pantry items I’m using up with this week’s plan: frozen broth, frozen razor clams, buckwheat, linguine, canned artichokes, sweetened condensed milk, potatoes, garlic, onion, lemon, giant hunk of Parmesan cheese from Costco
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Vegetarian: mushroom and garlic buckwheat risotto (I’ll throw in some spinach, too)
Big Easy 1: razor clam linguine with sliced fruit and sauteed asparagus
Big Easy 2: roast chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and some sort of steamed veggie
Reusing Leftovers: chicken noodle soup with stock made from boiled chicken carcass
Tea Party: I love serving well-styled odds ‘n ends to my family, and it’s one of my kiddos’ favorite meals. This time around, I’ll be making spinach-artichoke dip to serve on our favorite Dutch oven bread. We’ll also have sliced strawberries with condensed milk pound cake. I’ll serve with whatever cured meats, sliced fruits, and crunchy veggies happen to be lying around our fridge.
Kate Diamond, Author 