I slacked off on menu planning this week due to illness. I have to say, when I don't feel good, I don't enjoy planning and cooking. (My heart goes out to anyone living with chronic pain...)
Anyway, on the way home from camp, we pass Trader Joe's. M wanted to go in (she wasn't too excited about her mango and oatmeal cookie snack, and I think she was excited about the sucker you get for finding the hidden bunny... She die end up eating some oatmeal cookie with milk, but skipped the mango-a former favorite. Remember, small ones are not "rational" or consistent about food, that's why we have to be!)
Back from "tangent-land..."
I smelled these amazing brioche rolls and thought I'd make some kind of knock-off on a Phily-cheese steak. I bought steak, griddled a bunch of onions and peppers. (Folks from Phily, please forgive me...)
I wasn't sure how it would be, so I kept the Fajita option open. I served kind of a buffet with tortillas, buns, jarlsburg cheese, steak, avocado, onion mix- a kind of "onions and steak two-ways" if you will...
Here's what happened. The brioche was not yummy with the steak, but I did enjoy it immensely with butter and Jarlsburg, which is probably what I wanted all along! Kid and spouse preferred the Fajita-inspired route, though M ate mostly onions and peppers, skipping the meat this time.
It ended up that everyone was satisfied with a hap-hazard meal. If you are making something new, it's a good idea to pair it with something familiar. FYI, M is having re-heated onions in her lunch (along with a tortilla/cream cheese and ham, some yogurt and 2 pickles,) hope she doesn't want to give any kisses at camp today!
I think had I not had the tortilla option, it would have been a less fun/satisfying meal. What do you think? How do you improvise?
I have found that a well-stocked pantry and freezer are the keys to flexible dining and successful improvisation. In my case, because of work-related issues, buying, storing and preparing fresh produce is not always an option, so I like to stock up on frozen and tinned vegetables that can be boiled, steamed, sautéed or grilled in a matter of minutes. They come in really handy in very busy periods, when I am forced to rely on sandwiches and other quick fixes for weeks at a time: even the humblest grilled cheese sandwich feels like a real meal with a side of grilled (frozen) asparagus or sautéed (tinned) mushrooms.
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