It’s going to be a quick one this week (phew, I hear you sigh) because I am out quite a lot this week, and am not entirely sure what is planned for Easter weekend. BUT I am at least pleased to say that last week, for the first week since I started my meal planning Monday schedule, I actually stuck to plan. I am quite surprised it took me so long to manage it, but as we all know life gets in the way of the best laid plans, so I probably won’t stick to another one for a while!
The only thing last week I hadn’t been sure of was Friday night’s pre-gig dinner in Brixton. I did a quick bit of research online (googled “Jay rayner”+brixton) and discovered Brixton Village. It’s jam-packed full of little informal eateries and so we headed there before our gig and found a gem called Mama Sans, where we gorged on fresh dumplings and spicy beef noodle soup. It’s a perfect pre-gig dinner as it was quick (despite everything being freshly made to order) and light (despite the amount of food we managed to pack in) and good value for money to boot. If you are ever in sarf London then head for Brixton Village and take a look around as I am sure there will be plenty to take your fancy.
So this week is going to be the usual porridge for breakfast as there is still a slight chill in the air in the mornings. Lunch is going to be butternut squash falafels with hummus and salad (in wraps or out – I am still deciding) … Andrew will have to have the previous night’s leftovers as he would heave at the very idea of having to eat butternut squash.
Dinners are likely to be as follows:
- Monday – I am out with the girls to celebrate a friend’s new job so not sure where we’ll end up …
- Tuesday – Mum is coming over and so I have demanded that she makes homemade battered fish for us. She made it before I started this blog and it was seriously the best fried fish I have ever eaten. Andrew was astonished by how good it was (he’s still traumatised by mum’s attempts to feed him broccoli hidden in the peas), and I want to see it made again so that I can add it to my repertoire.
- Wednesday – I think I’ll go for an easy dinner from the freezer – probably rabbit stew, which feels appropriate in the lead up to Easter!
- Thursday – I am almost overwhelmed with excitement as we’ll be heading over to Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium on Thursday. Don’t tell Andrew but I have just discovered that the cafe is vegan (a dirty word in Andrew’s book) so we’ll probably just have a drink there, play with the cats and then head to Dalston for a Vietnamese at Song Que.
- Friday – woo hoo – bank holiday! I suppose the tradition would be to eat fish so if we are at home all day then I will probably make a simple fish dish with potatoes and a Frankfurt green sauce which my colleague Ursula shared the recipe for … it’s a German tradition to eat at Easter and I imagine it goes beautifully with fish so I’ll give it a go.
- Saturday – I think that chicken kievs, jacket potato and mushy peas will be the comfort food of the day.
- Sunday – CHOCOLATE EGG (and maybe some eggs and soldiers for breakfast and roast lamb for dinner … followed and preceded by chocolate egg).
You can find out more about meal planning At Home with Mrs M.