Ever since Ward discovered the fun of cooking, meal planning has taken on a whole new look for me. Even though he loves to cook, he usually prefers me to say, “oh, I’d really like to try this one”, and then show him the recipe, rather than having to look through various cookbooks himself.
When we go on a cookbook-buying binge, which we tend to do at least twice a month, it’s a different story. His favorite thing is to read through each new cookbook, as well as all the new cooking magazines that came in the mail, and pick out recipes he’d really like to try out.
But this usually nets him a handful of recipes and once these are exhausted, he heads over to my “oh, I’d really like to try this one” list. These days, most weekends will find me settled comfortably in an armchair, stack of old and new cookbooks by my side, pack of Post-Its at the ready, and a steaming cup of tea right next to the cookbooks.
Ward really has only one criterion: he prefers recipes with lots of ingredients and lots of steps, or at least one or the other. A lot of peeling and dicing doesn’t put him off a recipe, nor does any new or different kind of technique. The more complicated it is, the happier he is. (Of course, he only tackles complicated recipes on the days he’s not teaching, so faster recipes come in handy for days when he has to rush off to class.)
Occasionally I’ll sneak in an easy, simple recipe that looks utterly delicious. But luckily, a lot of the things that look good to me generally involve either lots of ingredients or lots of steps or both.
Tonight is our “Family Game Night” - we instituted these nights after we got back from our recent trip to Nova Scotia, where we spent many nights at the beach home we rented playing board games while snacking on various foods. We’re testing out an appetizer-filled game night tonight, so I just spent the bulk of the morning picking out some really nice-sounding appetizers. In this case, it was fine to pick easy dishes, since Ward plans to make several of them - and of course, if they don’t have to be served steaming hot, that’s even better!
My choices for tonight include yummy dishes like Chicken Fried Rice with Basil Leaves (from Vatch’s Thai Street Food), Fried Ricotta with a Little Tomato Salad (from Jamie’s Italy), Pork Noodle Balls (from Feast: Food to Celebrate Life) and Courgettes (Zucchini) and Tuna Chunks with Garlic (from Japanese Pure and Simple). That’s just a bit of a sampler; I actually picked out a ton of recipes from quite a few cookbooks, enough to last us for several Family Game Nights!
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