Hummus + pita + tzatziki = dinner
Ugh, cooking. Anyone else feeling the same?
Hi!
I don’t know how it’s going at your house, but at my house dinners have been all over the place lately.
It’s been hot, so our appetites and my motivation to cook have been lower than usual.
We’re still adjusting to a new school year and everything that entails: paperwork, homework, new friends, new schedules, new pick-up times. . .the exhaustion for kids and the mental load for parents is no joke.
It’s no wonder that some nights I’m almost forgetting to make dinner at all (And I also forgot to pick up my 3rd grader on early release day. Sorry Josie!)
As I mentioned in my newsletter a few weeks ago, I’ve been doing a lot of 5-minute meal planning on the back of an envelope right before I walk into a grocery store. Or, I’m rifling through the refrigerator at 5:15pm trying to pull together something that resembles dinner. Even when I write out a complete meal plan for the week, days get shuffled around and meals keep changing.
For some people, “winging it” is a legit meal planning strategy that works well for them. As long as your refrigerator is stocked, you can figure out what you’re cooking on a night-by-night basis.
I have the cooking skills to wing it, but I don’t have the personality for it. I like having a plan for the week. I like seeing our meals written out neatly on a piece of paper that hangs on the fridge. Meal planning gives me a sense of competence and control when everything else about parenting feels chaotic.
For this reason, I want to get dinner back on track.
Until that actually happens, though, I’ve been grateful for the big bowl of hummus that Sorin made on Monday (from the Ottolenghi cookbook Jerusalem). That hummus has been at the center of several lunches and dinners this week, served with pita bread and feta.
A revolving menu of side dishes has shown up next to the hummus, like sliced cucumbers, a simple Greek salad, olives, roasted bell peppers, chicken sausage, fresh fruit, and regular green salad.
It’s been a simple, easy and delicious way to eat.
If you want to stock up on hummus, pita bread (or pita chips) and feta for your own easy dinners, I also highly recommend making a batch of homemade tzatziki to go with it.
Tzatziki is a chilled cucumber yogurt sauce/dip made with Greek yogurt, lemon, garlic, grated cucumber and fresh herbs. It’s a sauce that comes from Southeastern Europe and Middle Eastern cuisines.
I shared a recipe for tzatziki at the beginning of the summer and it’s worth reminding you of it again because it’s perfect hot weather food. (I also have a recipe for tzatziki made with sour-cream on my blog).
Dinner Last Week
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.
Monday: Spaghetti and jarred marinara + salad. One of my kids will no longer eat pasta, so she had a tuna melt.
Tuesday: I tried yet another version of miso-marinated fish and this time it turned out pretty well. I’ll probably be sharing the recipe with paid subscribers soon. We also ate steamed broccoli.
Wednesday: Chicken drumsticks roasted in the oven at 425F for 35 minutes then brushed with BBQ sauce (we like Ray’s Original). I also served Instant Pot black eyed peas and roasted potatoes.
Thursday: After just 8 days of school Josie came down with a fever (of course) and I was too busy taking care of her to make dinner. I don’t even remember what we ate.
Friday: Josie was still sick and had a smoothie for dinner, the rest of us had Melissa Clark’s ultimate veggie burgers, which took me close to 2 hours to make from start to finish. Thank god I made a double batch so we have leftovers in the freezer for another meal. Don’t get me wrong, they are really good veggie burgers - you can actually cook them on the grill and they look like “real” burgers. Just know that you’re committing to a long recipe with lots of ingredients.
Reading
Instead of a cookbook, I’m sharing a podcast episode that I enjoyed this week and I think you will too. Especially if you have little kids.
Give a listen to Family Dinner SOS from the Burnt Toast newsletter by Virginia Sole Smith. Virginia and her best friend (and food blogger) Amy Palanjian discuss family dinners, feeding kids, picky eaters and the importance of Moms feeding themselves first.
That’s it for this week! Hope you a have a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend, especially if it’s your last big hurrah before school starts.
Josie is turning 9 this weekend, so we’ve got birthday celebrations ahead. She’s requested tacos from our neighborhood taco truck and the same cake we made a few weeks ago with airy whipped buttercream plus blue sprinkles, of course.
xo
Jenny