Getting in a Rut

I fell back into my weekend rut this week. I failed to leave the house all weekend long, at least I haven't left it by now. I woke up this morning with a headache, so I have something of an excuse for not going anywhere today. Yesterday, I did get the weekly house chores done and even folded my laundry. I debated going to the bookstore for coffee and wireless time, but wasn't sure I really wanted to do that either.

There are plenty of things I could be doing today, but I have spent the majority of it surfing the internet and eating Mary Janes. I'm not a big fan of candy or of taffy, but I just can't stop eating these things. I am incredibly grateful that I can only find them in October. Until this year, I was very good about only eating one bag of 67 pieces. I would have continued this trend, but Twitchh mailed me a second bag when he sent me a care package the last week of October. The good news is that I'm nearly finished with the second bag. I'm very grateful that I don't have any fillings in my molars because I'd have probably pulled at least one of them out by now. I will haul my behind out of my comfy chair and get in a solid weight workout.

Recipe Repertoire
One of the items perpetually found on my "To Do" list that never gets done is to build a recipe repertoire. The idea is that with a core of a dozen or so recipes it will be much simpler to figure out what to cook when I'm out of ideas but need to eat something. I don't like subsisting on PB&J or small snacks as meals. I want to eat better than that and I think I'd feel better if I ate more "real" meals at home. I just can't seem to be able to pull together a simple list of things to eat, however. Most of my meal planning seems to involve cooking things to pack for lunches.

I'm not sure what the barrier is. I'm able to come up with general categories of food, like Soup or Casserole, but not what kind of soup. Thinking about it, it seems to be mostly main dishes that are holding me up. The veggies are easy because I nearly always default to cooking frozen veggies and serving them plain or else I just throw a bunch of leaf lettuce in a bowl and call it a salad. Pasta with marinara sauce is on the list, but I rarely make or eat pasta at home. I think I may still be burned out on it from my undergraduate college days.

Perhaps I need to pick a cookbook for a week or a month and just use the recipes from it. That would certainly help me focus at bit. Right now if I want to start looking for a recipe, I haul out half a dozen books out and then an hour goes by before I have even picked a recipe (if I find one at all) and I usually resort to eating a sammich anyway. This week I think I'll try How to Cook Without a Book. In fact, I believe I will make myself a little big fat omelet with caramelized onions and roasted red peppers for a late lunch/early dinner and serve it with some sort of green veggie. I think I've got spinach and green beans in the freezer.

Three Beautiful Things
  • The tiny crackling sound that freshly roasted pepitas make when you pull them out of the oven.
  • A warm, leak-free house on a cold, windy, rainy day.
  • The beauty of fall leaves against a dark, cloudy sky when the sun peeks through.

Comments

Stefaneener said…
I have a basic repertoire of things I make without a book -- if you want a list, I can give it to you. Most of them are veg or veg-convertible.

Staying home sounds nice, especially in a pretty place.

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