Making Supper

Most evenings, making supper has drifted to my household task.  I mostly like doing this.  It ties with my other generally weekly chore of the supermarket, divided between Shop-Rite for most items with bread, eggs, cheese, and a few others better obtained at Trader Joe's.  Merging the two, as I shop I think about what my wife and I will eat.  This skill has acquired value now that food prices have spiked but Shop-Rite continues to tease people to shop there preferentially with its weekly on sale circular.

Having done this for a while now, I have generated a pattern, if not a routine.  As Thanksgiving approaches, I could not possibly squeeze a turkey into my freezer since the repertoire of daily meal options has taken up most of that volume.  Meat is usually only once weekly, for shabbos, either chicken or beef, elaborate when guests come, seared or dumped in crock pot when dining as a couple.  We eat what we can, maybe save some for a second meal, and for stewed items which are better made in large quantities, freeze half for a subsequent shabbos.  Add a starch and a vegetable.  Not much for desserts.

I have my specialties:  Lasagna with a spinach and cheese base or Macaroni & Cheese a la Horn & Hardart, their automat serving as my culinary destination when I ventured into Manhattan in my youth.  These each make four meals, one the day of preparation, the second a day or two later, the last two as fast food from the freezer.  No additional starch needed with these.

Then I have fast food.  Veggie burgers of a variety of types depending on what was discounted.  I particularly like phony beef.  Pierogies come in boxes of twelve, don't even have to thaw.  Just dump in boiling water.  Nature has its own fast food in the form of fish.  Modern processing has made this easy.  Instead of a display case, not totally abandoned, the better way is frozen.  Trader Joe's has pairs of tuna steaks which I divide and put in plastic wrap before freezing.  Other species get frozen at sea after they have been portioned, then sold in one or two pound frozen bags.  Whether tuna, haddock, or cod, just thaw the fillets the night before, season with whatever inspires me at the time of preparation, then either sear if tuna or broil if something else.  Add a potato.  Add a vegetable, usually stored in the freezer, and we have a day's nutrition with no leftovers.   

Eggs have their own versatility.  Quiche is surprisingly easy to make.  Crust forms in minutes with a combination of four parts flour to one each of olive oil and water with a trace of salt.  Squish into a pie pan.  Custard is just four eggs, some milk, some cubes taken from whatever chunk cheese I have in the refrigerator, and the spices of momentary inspiration.  I could just pour this over the crust, but I prefer a filling, mushrooms and onions if in my possession, perhaps carrots or broccoli boiled, then sliced.  Into the crust, pour the custard over them, and into the oven.  Two meals.  Frittatas I make less often but also an invitation to improvise.

So we eat reliably, mostly economically, and I have a measure of creativity with planning and execution followed by some moments of accomplishment while eating.