Are you a regular meals person? Do you serve the same thing each Wednesday, and do you find comfort and rhythym in a predictable routine? Or do you have a looser rotation - the same large handful of meals, appearing regularly but in no particular order?
I have been torn in the past - I love the idea of a structured rotation (easy to plan ahead, shop ahead, you can look forward to a specific meal) but since I love to cook, and like to cook a real mish-mash of dishes (from oyako don to paella to lacquered duck to bolognaise), I quickly worked out that I could never commit to a weekly rotation. Choose just seven dishes? Impossible!
For a while, I tried a monthly meal-plan. I know, it seems crazy to me now too! Each month I would sit down and plan every meal for the following month - I'd need to schedule any nights out (such as a planned dinner with friends) and would try and schedule meals so that leftover ingredients would be used up (for example, risotto on one night, then a couple of nights later, another meal requiring a little chicken stock).
It sure was fun to plan (for a weirdo list-nerd like me), but it proved unsustainable. Inevitably, plans would change, and we'd go out for dinner on a night when I'd planned to cook something specific. Ingredients went to waste, favourite meals were missed for the month, and there was no room for whims - "gee whiz, I really feel like a massive plate of chili con carne and cornbread tonight!" sort of whims.
So now, I am back to drifting. I do have an extended list of meals I like to cook, which I keep on my iPhone when I need some inspiration, and there are certainly dishes which we eat more often than others, but I prefer the freedom of being able to decide what to cook on the day, or to wander around the market and buy whatever looks particularly good at the fishmonger, poultry man or butcher.
I love hearing about what other people eat! I like peeking at other people's menu plans, shopping list, shopping trolleys, and I always ask my friends what they are having for dinner when I talk to them during the day.
So in the interest of sharing, here is the list of foods which appear on our dinner table - regularly or just occasionally. Tabitha can easily eat all of the below, with the exception of soups. When we have soup, I dip fingers of toast into the soup, and she eats it that way.
Poultry
- Green curry
- Paprika chicken and nokedli
- Coq au vin
- Chicken and mushroom pie
- Teriyaki chicken
- Oyakodon
- Udon noodles with sesame poached chicken and bok choi
- Chicken Kiev
- Lemon chicken
- Chicken schnitzel and vegetables with Israeli couscous
- Chicken Provincal
- Roast chicken
- Southern-style chicken and dumplings
- Duck breasts with orange / soy / ginger glaze
- Congee
- Chicken risotto
- Pot roast chicken
- Yakitori
- Hainanese chicken rice
- Soy sauce poached chicken
- Chicken satay
- Fajitas
- Chicken and corriander quesadillas
- Chicken and cashew stir fry
- Chicken rice
- Pan-fried chicken with thyme, cream and mustard sauce
- Chicken marylands with spiced skin, potatoes and lemon
Seafood
- Teriyaki salmon
- Salt and pepper grilled fish
- Tuna and zucchini pasta
- Salmon kedgeree
- Tuna mornay
- Garlic prawns
- Spaghetti marinara
- Salmon Patties
- Paella
- Hot smoked salmon pasta
Meat
- Roast pork / beef / lamb
- Baked ham
- Lasagna
- Bolognaise
- Chilli con carne
- Pork chops with apple cider
- Osso bucco
- Lamb shanks
- Sausages with mash and onion gravy
- Meatloaf
- Beef burgundy
- Beef and vegetable stew
- BBQ pork ribs
- BBQ steak with salad or vegetables
- Shepherd’s Pie
- Homemade rissoles with grated vegetables
- BBQ Pork Fillet
- Char Sui Pork
- Beef stroganoff
Vegetarian, Pasta and Vegetable-Based
- Pita pizzas with roast veggies
- Agedashi tofu
- Spinach quiche
- Potato salad
- Roast vegetable frittata
- Carbonara
- Pesto
- Polenta corn fritters
- Vegetable lasagna
- Bubble and squeak
- Baked potatoes
Soups
- Roast pumpkin
- Lentil
- Dad’s Healthy Soup (veggie / bean / bacon)
- Chicken and matzo ball
- Winter chicken soup
- Pea and ham soup
If I don't feel like cooking, we get take-away, generally a few times a month. We are fortunate to have lots of great takeaway options in our area, including some healthy choices. Our favourites are:
- Japanese from Ocha2Go
- Thai from Sukhumvit
- High Tech Burrito (amazing healthy burritos full of Spanish rice, beans, salad etc.)
- Charcoal chicken (our local uses free range chicken)
- Hainanese Chicken Rice from Hawker's Cafe
- Baked potatoes from Spudbar
- Indian from Bombay Beat or Tandoori Den
- Chinese from Choi's or Chun's
- Indonesian from Kedai Nasi Uduk
- Pizza from Mojo's Weird Pizza
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