Catching Up Again

Last week was rough. We are still on some crazy schedules with our girls' school and classroom construction and I needed to attend a funeral of a family member and it just seemed that in all the craziness, plans got set to the side. Sometimes, we just survive our weeks. Thankfully, we have green smoothies every morning. That single item often saves my day, nutritionally speaking.

One win from last week? We successfully used all our veggies from our CSA box - save a tub of okra that I am going to put into a vegetarian gumbo tomorrow. And yes, I did roast some of it just to see what it was like. It wasn't half bad in its roasted state. As someone who only eats okra largely of the sliced and fried variety, this is a big step forward.

With the remains of the CSA, I basically jumbled everything together into a veggie soup. Some weeks, this might turn into homemade veggie broth as well. But I set that okra aside specifically for gumbo.

This week, things are still crazy - mixed up schedules and swim lessons, doctor's appointment and community potlucks. But the big news, and the one that greatly affects my ability to plan for the week apparently, is that I have an impending birthday this weekend. So, it's feeling a bit like a week of indulgence. (Throw caution to the wind! Be Spontaneous!). Meal planning has taken a back seat to making plans for the weekend (where to eat? what to do? and most important, what kind of cake to make? This one, btw!).

So, what are we doing so far this week?

Monday was Tofurkey pizza (I couldn't resist trying their supreme made with vegan cheese/Italian sausage) along with the vegetable soup.

Last night, the girls succesfully lobbied for mac and cheese (which they would eat every single dang night if I let them) with fruit. David and I ate the last of the soup and we all snacked on an appetizer of pita chips and hummus (that would be the hummus I whipped up Monday morning because my littlest wanted it for breakfast). And everyone had a before bed snack of carrot sticks.

Tonight is a late appt night so I am not at all sure what we will cobble together but we do need to make a quick run to the market to refresh fruit, carrots and onions. Choices for lunches this morning were a little slim.

Tomorrow we'll have the vegetarian gumbo served with rice. Since I'll be working from home, I'll also cook our black beans for the week that I should have cooked over the weekend.

On Thursday, I am going to turn some of those black beans into the simple black bean burgers we love.

Friday is community night at our girls' school. Thankfully, the school is providing dinner this time so I don't have to think about what to bring (whew!) and Saturday, well, Saturday's the big day. Suffice it to say that we'll likely be eating some version of Italian food since *I* get to choose. Along with bellinis if I can make that happen. And, the cake.

On Sunday, I'm running my first official 5k since having babies. Yay, me!! I figured this was a good way to celebrate the anniversary of my birth as well as my renewed commitment to health as I, ahem, get older. And since it's a race, migas at Curra's are certainly in order afterward. Let the celebration continue.

Meal Plan, week of 9/5

Yes, I know it's Wednesday. Late, late, late to start meal planning. Actually, I just want to take a moment to write down what's in my head.

A few notes:

• I missed posting a meal plan last week due to a stomach bug that I couldn't shake. Nausea does not work well with meal planning. Mostly, we just limped along with feeding the girls out of the pantry and me living off of scrambled eggs and crackers - the only thing my body seemed to want.
• the fires, y'all. Da-yum. 
• our a/c is out. Thankfully, it hasn't been super duper hot lately (hooray!) but I still don't want to fire up the oven if I can help it.
• before the a/c went out, I made some vegan, oil-free, ww chocolate zucchini muffins. The taste was okay but they were "sticky," kwim? Anyone care to weigh in on that? Maybe underbaked? I was afraid that sans oil, they'd dry out to much and I may have jumped the gun. Still, the girls ate a half dozen mini muffins either not long after I pulled them out of the oven.
• in some really good news, we start our CSA today (farm share). So you may see some generic reference to "vegetables" below. I did get a list yesterday of this week's offerings, and I'll say this much, I'ma try roasting okra. Yes, I wrinkle my nose too but everyone seems to swear by it. We'll see...

This week's plan:
Monday:  was a wash. Labor Day. Not as fun as I had anticipated since we spent the day hanging hooks and room-darkening curtains and following the wildfires news - wondering if we just might need to decide what to take with us in an evacuation. We also began to notice that the a/c was out...

Tuesday: I bought these (note: I did not purchase these at WF, but at Wheatsville Coop; WF just came up in my search for a picture). Last week my vegan friend Claire had a baby, I volunteered to bring supplies from the store, and these were requested. They were also on sale so it seemed a great idea to try them out because I lust after their apple/sage sausages. So, last night I grilled them along with ears of fresh corn and served them on ww buns with fixin's and a salad on the side. David and I both agreed - two thumbs up. If I can keep these on hand, we definitely prefer them to Smart Dogs. The texture makes the difference.

Wednesday:  That's today. I'm pretty sure we're having tacos. One of the things we did last weekend is go through our pantry and clean out, make note of what we have in there. I discovered some unopened organic blue corn taco shells and I've been meaning to try lentil tacos, so...there you have it. I also happen to know that I have two very ready-to-be-eaten avocadoes just waiting to be sliced and diced. We are also trying a new Roasted Roma Salsa from Texas Texas that I picked up at Central Market.

Thursday: Chickpea patties. Yes, those patties, the ones from Veganomicon. Everyone loves them and I've never made them, so it's time. Served with "vegetables" from CSA on the side.

Friday: We've got family in (for a funeral, rather than for celebratory reasons). My dad loves simple meals and I've got frozen limas in the freezer, so I'm planning to make maple cornbread muffins (using the last of the fresh roasted corn) and a pot of seasoned limas. Served with fruit and salad. voila, the simple meal.

Saturday and Sunday: Plans are up in the air due to houseguests and schedules. I imagine we'll eat out at least once and I'll see what I can do with the rest of that CSA box (roasted okra, anyone?).