This week is going to be incredibly busy. I am over-the-moon excited about a speakers series that we're doing at the law school for students regarding management of life, law and the pursuit of happiness... Our first week focuses on student debt and its remedies. Our second week will focus on planned expenses. Our third week will talk about how to attract as much funding as possible to minimize the first two, and the fourth week will review lifestyle choices, particularly fitness and FOOD.
And what this all means is that there will be absolutely NO time leftover for me to be running to the grocery store, trying to pull a meal together. Furthermore, since January is birthday month in our house, two parties and gifts for the guys in my life has left me very conscious about sticking to the budget. And (just like Christmas), I managed - but just barely.
How? Because before paying for anything else, I just PAID ATTENTION first.
Before I left the house, I rummaged through the fridge, the pantry and the freezer. Leftover cauliflower from Harrion's birthday party. The second package of (expensive) fresh basil that I used to garnish the pasta shells and tomato sauce last week. A can of coconut milk. The bottom of a bag of dried red lentils. Some frozen vegetable stock.
Instead of just starting from something brand new, I want to use up what I already have. There isn't any point to stocking my pantry with NEW items, when I have existing supplies. So the shopping list was short, and topped out at about 43 bucks, including the expensive organic lemons which I gladly pay more for because of how often I use the zest, and I just don't think that pesticide makes a very good garnish.
The smell of an indian curry is wafting through the house, and the rice cooker is on. So I have about a half an hour to blog. Fresh ginger, garlic, basil, lemon, cilantro and coconut are perfuming the air.
Dinners this week are:
Indian Cauliflower Lentil Curry over Brown Rice
In the covered casserole dish is the leftover cauliflower florets, one jar of indian korma sauce, about two cups of lentils, some coconut milk, and some garlic.
Lemon Pesto Pasta and Caesar Salad
In one magic bullet container is the leftovers of some fresh basil, two garlic cloves, and the juice and zest of one lemon, buzzed with some olive oil. It'll go over the colourful vegetable fusili I bought for about 1.50.
Thai Coconut Curry Soup and Pad Thai Noodles
In the other magic bullet container is some more garlic, pureed ginger, a handful of cilantro (stems and all) some red curry paste and a can of coconut milk. The veg stock is thawed so when I'm ready to eat I'll just warm the stock in a pot (or I could have just poured a box of premade stock into the pot, too, if you don't have your own), heat it and add the pureed aromatic boost. I bought some clear rice stick noodles (of pad thai fame) and will heat them like pasta, maybe toss them in a peanut garlic hot sauce sesame oil dressing, garnished with carrot slivers, spouts and crushed peanuts and serve beside the soup.
Harrison's sandwiches are all made for the week, and bagged up in the fridge, ready for school lunches.
Obviously the smell of everything has drifted upstairs, since I just heard "MOM - how much longer until dinner?".
I always find it empowering to start the week with dinners ready to go, and ready for whatever the week throws at us. Hmmm... what to do with all this peace,
and quiet,
and TIME?
Instead of sitting still and finishing my remarks for tomorrow, I'm going to race the rice cooker and make a batch of sweet potato banana breakfast muffins.
I guess I'm just not the "peace and quite and time" kind of girl, after all...
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