SISTER WISDOM : build a better life

Am I the only person whose menu is affected by the weather? I just looked up my 10-day weather forecast to help me decide what we'll be eating, and on what day, this week. Do other people do that? Can you stand eating hot soup on a warm day? Do you reject cold entrees on a chilly day? Does your menu change if it's raining? It's only at certain times of the year that I actually have to check. Summer will be, oh, HOT AS THE... well, hot. Uncomfortably hot, so there's no surprise there. Winter will be refreshingly, beautifully cold. In between is where the surprises hit me. I keep planning soup and getting 85 degree days. This week I'm looking ahead.

Monday: (Sunny; High 84/Low 59) We have a 7pm meeting on Mondays, so I'll make a big batch of vegetable stir fry and rice noodles that we can eat in a hurry, or even on the way if necessary. Plus there will be extra to nosh on when we get home (around 10, probably) if we're still hungry. Who am I kidding with the "if"? I'm four months pregnant; I'm always still hungry.

Tuesday: (Rainy; High 71/Low 58). It's DATE NIGHT, so I won't be cooking a dinner meal. I might whip up some blackberry muffins in the morning. I have just enough blackberries from my summer berry picking, bagged and frozen, needing to be used. I like muffins.

Wednesday: (Showers; High 68/Low 51). Now we're getting into my kind of weather. Cooler. I even like gray, rainy days. I didn't get to that fresh tomato soup I had on the menu last week, so this might be the night for that. Or maybe chicken enchilada soup. Guess which one my husband would like better.

Thursday: (Sunny; High 74/Low 52). My Memaw died last Thursday. She was sick, and it wasn't unexpected, but it's still sad and I feel bereft. I lost my other Grandmother in May of this year, so now I have only one grandparent left, my mom's dad. And Memaw was my Mom's mom, so it's one more link to my Mom gone, which makes me sad too. I pulled out Mom's recipe book, which I haven't really looked at since I brought it home last year. I found her chicken and dumplings recipe, and it sounds exactly like what I want. Actually, what I want is to be sitting in Memaw's kitchen watching her and Mom argue over how much milk to add. Weather really had nothing to do with this menu choice... weather of the soul, I guess...

Friday: (Sunny; High 75/Low 55). Since Thursday night meal was for me, and since my dear sweet wonderful husband doesn't really like chicken and dumplings but won't ever complain about it, I will make Friday's dinner for him: some kind of cheesy hamburger pasta casserole-type thing. I know that's kind of vague... I'll come up with a recipe before then. This is his version of ultimate comfort food. Everybody should get some comfort this week. He will have just finished his first full week at the new job. Perfect time for a congratulatory comfort dish.

Saturday: (Showers; High 67/Low 52). Since it's another rainy, cool day, soup is on the menu. I love soup. I'll make whichever one I didn't make on Wednesday, along with a Crustless Jarlsberg Quiche. It's also a recipe from my Mom's book, but a newer addition that I don't remember her having made. I think it was in the "to be tried" category. (She had a lot in that category. So do I.) Sounds amazing, I love quiche, and I really don't like making crusts. It's on.

Sunday: (Showers; High 66/Low 50). Sunday is an iffy cooking day. I keep it simple. I don't plan anything elaborate, because we often end up going to eat with my in-laws (always a yummy good time) or out to lunch with friends from church. If it's one of the rare Sundays when we come straight home, we'll have a) leftovers, b) cold cereal, c) sandwiches, or d) some sort of amazing concoction Joe comes up with while I feed the kids bananas and left-over quiche. He's a great Sunday short-order cook.

Monday: HA ha ha! You actually thought I had something planned that far away?

(Sorry. Couldn't resist. But you don't get next Monday's meal until, well, next Monday...)

Are you menu planning? If you're not, click on the button at the top of the post and get in on the fun. Yes, I said fun. And I meant it, too!