Menu Planning Complete

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Oddly enough, when I started eating meat this year, I got away from the whole cooking thing. All I did each week was stick a couple of chicken breasts into the oven to bake, steam some vegetables, open a can of lentils and call it a meal. 

Now that I'm vegetarian again, I'm enjoying getting back not only to cooking but to menu planning. There's something satisfying about sitting down in front of a spread of cookbooks and magazines and getting to pick and chose what yummy delicacies or hearty dishes I'll make for the week. 

I spent some time this morning sipping hot green tea and looking at menus. I've got a bunch of swiss chard in the fridge that needs to be used so that's the focus of a couple of meals for early in the week. So far, our week is looking like this:

Sunday: Garlicky Roasted Shrimp and Swiss Chard

Monday: Crustless Leek Greens & Herb Quiche

Tuesday: On our own

Wednesday: Sloppy Lentils (on sprouted hamburger buns for Blair, plain for me) and Spicy Coleslaw

Thursday: I'm out with girls which probably means cereal for Blair. 

Friday: Carbo-loading night so some form of pizza or pasta. I found a recipe for cauliflower pizza crust which I may make for me. I thought of trying to slip it by Blair but that could have ugly repurcussions. 

I still have a damn whole chicken in my freezer. Unknown what to do with that. Again, maybe I'll just make it and send it over to my mom. 

Oh! And yesterday's clothes shopping excursion for Blair yielded a really fun new kitchen tool for me from my favorite kitchen store, The Extra Ingredient. Details soon. 

Cheers,

Dena

Caffeine & The Early Morning Workout

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I count my blessings I've never been one of those people who has to rely on caffeine to get going in the morning. Although I drink my weight in coffee each day, it's all decaf. When (highly caffeinated) friends blink in astonishment and ask, "Why bother?" I don't have a good answer other than I find the smell comforting and I like sipping from a piping hot mug of coffee while I work. One too many "Special Tasters Choice Moments" commercials in my childhood, I'm sure. 

Typically, I drink one cup of caffeine coffee a week. That would be on Saturday morning before my long run. My hope is the unexpected caffeine powers me through my run and I think for the most part it works.

What's happening lately, however...

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Smug Marrieds: Fun Fridays

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It's almost time for summer hours for Blair. This means longer work hours Monday - Thursday but the entire company takes Fridays off for the summer. We love summer hours. Blair already works the "longer" hours schedule anyway, so it's like a free Friday bonus. 

The last couple of years, we haven't done a lot with free Fridays. For the most part, they were spent doing normal life stuff - yard work, home repairs, maybe a lunch out but nothing major. This year, Blair--and by proxy, me--are determined to do better. 

Blair was typing away on his laptop the other morning when I sat down next to him. "Watcha doing?" I asked. 

"Planning our Fridays," said Blair. "I'm not going to waste them this year. I've got a whole list of things lined up for us to do. Want to hear them or would you rather be surprised?" 

 

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Guess My Algorithm

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Blair and I were out to dinner with friends on Saturday and the conversation turned (as it will when two of the four people present are wanna-be-well-known-billionaire-authors) to book sales on Amazon. I asked my friend how a book he'd edited and contributed to was doing which launched a conversation about how, only days earlier, Amazon had changed their algorithms with the unfortunate effect of making sales appear less then they would have otherwise. 

This led to a brief discussion of how Amazon periodically changes its algorithms so that people (probably wanna-be-well-known-billionaire-authors) can't learn how to game the system. 

Later in the night, the two men were whining complaining moaning discussing how every time a man thinks he has a particular woman figured out, the woman changes her mind and messes with him. 

"That's called 'changing our algorithms,'" I volunteered. "Fear it."

"I change my algorithm every 30 days," offered my friend, sipping her drink. "It's marked on my calendar." 

The guys were all, "That's not fair, blah, blah, blah," so I pretty much stopped listening. If anything, shouldn't all the men out there be thanking us ladies for keeping the world interesting? If any of you guys are looking for gift ideas to express your gratitude, here are a few hints: We like fine wine, dark chocolate, flowers just because, and you'll never go wrong surprising us by cleaning the house. 

At least, that's what all women want THIS week. I can't speak for next week when we're all due for an algorithm change. 

Cheers,

Dena