#7: Dinner Ideas (Spring - April 25, 2024)
Easy and delicious menus+recipes!
Hi! I am late to post an update, due to life and work hecticness. We spent a week in the Outer Banks over spring break and then I traveled for work. I have taken no photos of food but did take some pictures in NC and TX, so will substitute food photos with travel photos. Hope everyone is doing well and having an amazing spring!
Menus+Recipes
Menu 1: Shrimp Tacos!
Thinly sliced raw cabbage (red or green)
Tortillas (corn and/or flour)
Guacamole (handmade or storebought)
Salsa
Sour cream or greek yogurt
Notes: We prepared the shrimp using the NYT Yewande Komolafe recipe. It was delicious! This is a great vacation meal to prepare for friends or family. The recipe is adaptable — you can prepare without the shrimp and/or with steak and/or with chicken. If you prepare the meal with rice and beans, everyone can decide if they want a rice bowl, or tacos, or cabbage salad, or something in between.
Menu 2: Meatballs and pasta, salad, bread
Notes: Another excellent vacation/entertaining meal. We have tried many meatball recipes. We currently use more or less this recipe to prepare the meatballs, but roast them like this.
Menu 3: Creamy mushroom pasta
Notes: Easy and delicious, not much to add! Andy Baraghani is fantastic, love his cookbook.
Menu 4: Chicken and dumplings
Notes: I have made chicken and dumplings quite a few times with varied results. This Alison Roman recipe is delicious, best chicken and dumpling I have made.
Menu 5: Lemony Shrimp and Bean Stew
Notes: This was easy and quite good. For prep to result ratio, worth trying.
Food and Beyond
Books: Loot is historical fiction and one of the central characters in the book is Tipu’s Tiger. Delves into appropriation of art, land, people, etc.
Startup is fiction about startup culture and (mostly young) men and women trying to figure out relationships and modern work culture.
And for those who like sci fi, the Three-Body Problem is brilliant, weird, and hurts the brain. I haven’t seen the Netflix show yet, looking forward to watching it.
TV: I watched Expats while traveling. It is about a group of individuals who had their lives altered by a tragic event. Sad, beautiful depiction of life in Hong Kong for various groups of people, well done.
Meals for my family while I was traveling: I know my family is supercompetent and can fend for themselves. However, before traveling for work I stocked the fridge with: 1) storebought pizza dough, pizza sauce, shredded mozz; 2) ravioli and pasta sauce; 3) tortillas, black beans, guac, and salsa; 4) veggie burgers and rolls. Also a lot of lettuce and fruit. Easy meals!
Traveling 101: I took six+ flights over the course of two weeks. I was a bit out of practice on the first one, and boarded sans charged phones and headphones and had no entertainment downloaded. On the plane, there was no way to charge electronics and no option to access entertainment. Not a huge problem. However, for the flights after that I prepared by charging electronics in advance, carrying a charged battery, having one of those universal charging cables, and loading my phone with TV shows and books. Also, brought a cashmere scarf and bottle of water. I attempt to maximize comfort (may still be fairly minimal) and tend to watch entertaining movies while on a plane (i.e. silly movies I would not watch if not on a plane).
Happy Spring! Will send another update soon.
