10.24.2009

This Week's Menu: Food as Life

I've had one of *those* weeks. You know the ones. First, I was sick so I missed lots of work and sat around the house. Second, I had to make some difficult Life Decisions - those choices where you know the answer but you hesitate to take that leap. These Decisions aren't easy to make and are the cause of many, many tears...yet when the choice is made, you feel lighter inside. Anyway, I had to make one of those Decisions. Last, because I was out of town last weekend, I didn't do any food shopping for this past week...so you can't imagine the haphazard, crappy way we ate this whole week. It made me feel discombobulated and out-of-sorts.

So today I made the menu for the upcoming week. Here it is:

Sunday - Goat Cheese Tart, green salad (tart recipe from The French Market)
Monday - Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup, ciabatta bread with dipping oil
Wednesday - Blue Cheese Pasta (from Real Fast Food)
Thursday - Grilled cheese sandwiches, red pepper soup

When I looked at the menu, I realized what I had done unconsciously: I had created a healing menu. These are comforting foods, unapologetic in their warmth and simplicity. And I love the power of food - and the prospect of sharing it with my family - to make me feel better.

Eat, drink, and find comfort.

4 comments:

LaurieA-B said...

Matthew has been making penne vodka for ten years now. The difference between his recipe and the one you linked is the addition of pancetta, which is good. Hope all is well with you and your family.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2002/0414/taste.html

Stasia D said...

Eat well and be well. I admire your ability to plan menus for the entire week. I may give that a shot myself today!

Millennium Housewife said...

vodka sauce?? I may have to get me some of that. Do you have to have the pasta with it?

Louis Anthony Woodbine said...

I really enjoyed your identification of food with comfort. I am a great believer in mood foods, though I normally shop for the day rather than in advance (unless it is a dinner party, for which I last did a French themed one for six, with tonsillitis, so can truly sympathise) so that I can really make that impulse buy. Rich winter warmers versus Autumn spice ( for your information, I did a roasted chilli squash with crumbled goats cheese and oak leaf salad for the dinner party served with a spicy French syrah or shiraz).

I am also glad to see that Nigel Slater has some readers over there. I like his simplistic style; that cooking is never too complicated. I must try your mustard pork recipe though.

Lou