November 11, 2023 - My "Pretty, Please" photo of the week - This design is the cover of a journal my daughter Julia purchased for me when she was in Italy for a semester abroad during college. It's such an enduring "hug" when someone special to me knows the little things that bring me joy...and the beautiful textiles & patterns that bring me visual delight. This is a simple & small thin journal and the cover is cardstock...but nevertheless...smile-worthy.
Menu: By planning ahead, I can always count on having delicious & nutritious "fuel" for the coming week, as well as some flexibility to switch things up. If you're viewing this on your phone, you will need to scroll to the right to see lunch & dinner. Links below will send you to my own recipe, a cookbook/borrowed recipe, or the restaurant I visited. If you'd like more info on anything without a link, then please Get in Touch.
Date | Day | Breakfast (generally 8am) | Lunch (generally noon) | Dinner (generally 5pm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
23.11.11 | Saturday | Carrot, Pear & Ginger Smoothie | Chipotle grilled shrimp over salad of baby arugula, baby kale, quinoa, pickled radishes & creamy DF jalapeño dressing. | At a friend's birthday party! Pork tacos & a lime margarita. :-) |
23.11.12 | Sunday | Brunch - Made Huevos Rancheros | <-- No lunch today. Brunch instead. | Steak Frites with Skirt Steak & Chimichurri. Green Salad with green beans. (and a special treat - Lava Chocolate Chip Cookies in mini cast-iron skillets) |
23.11.13 | Monday | Smoothie - Kale, Kiwi, Macadamia nut milk &: Hemp hearts | Avocado Toast on homemade sourdough, topped with microgreens and sliced hardboiled egg. | Arugula Salad with radish and avocado dressing. Topped with slices of leftover steak. |
23.11.14 | Tuesday | Egg casserole made with leftover Huevos Rancheros sauce/fixings | Tuna melt on homemade sourdough | Salad with Tamari-ginger-sesame dressing and topped with salmon sashimi |
23.11.15 | Wednesday | Smoothie - with spinach, frozen red sour cherries, almond milk & Chia Seeds | Roasted squash topped with sunflower seeds, pomegranate seeds and Tahini crema | French Onion Soup, Chicken with Bourdalaise Sauce, green & yellow beans. |
23.11.16 | Thursday | Hard boiled egg on a piece of toasted sourdough, and berries | Big green salad with fresh veggies that my mom brought over from her garden | Dinner out - Spicy tuna roll |
23.11.17 | Friday | Smoothie - with beets, blueberries, cashew nut milk, Flax seeds & ice | Roasted squash soup (just a quick soup from Wednesday lunch leftovers) | Dinner out - at La Locanda |
As we all do, I plan my cooking time around a busy calendar. For instance, this week, besides typically working about 6:30 am - 4:30 pm each day (as a Kinder-9th grade school principal) I also plan my meals around some evening or weekend events.
Saturday - Went to a friend's birthday bash...so much fun! Had a late dinner there.
Sunday - Day of Rest, thank goodness! But this also allowed some extended "play" time in the kitchen...I've been craving Huevos Rancheros, so soaked my beans yesterday and started their slow cook early this morning, then made homemade tortillas, avocado crema, salsa, and ranchero sauce. I made extra of everything so I could have a quick revisit of this breakfast on a work day AND have extra sauce and tortillas to freeze. (Also went through some of my silver and came across a sweet baby spoon...pictured below...which I think was my mom's)
Tuesday - I'm making something that won't take more than 20mn prep, because I have cooking class: #5 out of 24 classes...Sauce night.
Thursday - I go to a wine group, so not cooking tonight.
Friday - Seeing a dance company performance at the Scottsdale Center of Perfomring Arts, & grabbing dinner out ahead of time with some family.
Pictures from this week are displayed below, in order...left to right and top to bottom...as you would read a book.
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