Thursday, November 19, 2015

mindful making






everything bagel toast :: mini-calzones :: roast pumpkin :: cranberry scones :: pumpkin butter

I have come to loathe pasta. Too many dinners in the last six months have fallen back on the last resort. So much so that now, instead of enjoying a lovely pasta in red meat sauce with toasty brown garlic bread on the side and a crisp green salad, when I sling a bowl of heaped up buttered noodles across the table at Julian and call it dinner, the pasta looks back at me and says, "you fail."

A few weeks back, I was reading some Dottie Angel and she said she planned on devoting her Sunday afternoons to mindful making in the kitchen. That hit a chord with me - mindful making - and now I have been trying to do the same.

I've been making things on Sundays in big batches, then stowing them away in the freezer in portions that we can use easily. Here is a list of what I still have fresh in my mind:

- 5 lbs crock pot pulled pork {recipe}
- everything bagel toast - we will talk more about this soon
- mini calzones, baked and unbaked (we've already eaten them!)
- 3 quarts pumpkin puree
- 2 quarts pumpkin butter
- 8 quarts applesauce
- 2 loaves whole wheat bread, sliced
- cranberry lemon scones {recipe}
- waffles
- lasagna (we've already eaten it!)
- 40lbs Zaycon fresh chicken (20 pounds uncooked, 10lbs cooked as "taco chicken," and 10lbs cooked in the crockpot)- we will talk more about this soon

Long story short, I think it is working. I still have to do the other half of that HUGE pumpkin today, so I think I will toss in some red lentils, coconut milk and curry spice and make some soup for the freezer. I feel a bit like Strega Nona with my giant pumpkin!


5 comments:

  1. That really is a good idea. You spend a few hours cooking everything and you are prepared for the rest of the week. I'm so hungry now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yum and double yum! I really like this idea... thank you so much Amanda, for sharing it. :0) I live in a very small home, so cooking mindfully is actually the best way to go. mari

    ReplyDelete
  3. I need to be mindful....I hate spaghetti (noodles with spaghetti sauce) I can eat about two thirds then I just want to gag. I have found the least offensive sauce and do my best. My husband LOVES this dinner so once a month I bite the bullet. ugh. Glad I am not the only one :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes to all of this - everything seems to become just too much and the first thing to go is caring for ourselves with proper nutrition. There have been far too many nights relying on pizza take out and not enough forethought as to just being prepared for the week ahead. I used to prepare much more for the freezer than I do lately - time to get back at it and I thank you for the gentle shove in the right direction.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pasta is always best with a homemade sauce, but I know just what you mean... We tossed a pasta side this week since none of the four of us wanted to eat it. Not that it was bad, just to commonly served, I guess. I like this idea of mindful making of food and realize I pretty much do that on Tuesdays. Will have to share soon!

    ReplyDelete