The week in suppers: vegetarian fail

potatopeeling
peeling potatoes

**Monday’s menu** All-you-can-eat sushi. Birthday cake.
**Mama’s day off** All-you-can-eat sushi has become something of a family birthday tradition, and Kevin was happy to choose this for his birthday supper. Plus our friend Nath made him a Guinness cake. This saved me from sweating the impossible on a day spent waiting at dr’s appointments and running errands.

**Tuesday’s menu** Turkey soup (crockpot). Quinoa. Roasted beets.
**Leftover inspiration** We have a lot of turkey meat leftover from the crockpot turkey last Friday. Truth is, I don’t much like turkey. Or meat. This soup was okay. People liked it. Just not me.
**Deep purple** A friend texted me to ask what greens would go with quinoa, beets, goat cheese and walnuts. After I stopped drooling I suggested spinach or arugula. And then I got the bag of beets out the cold cellar and roasted them on the spot–because I was already making quinoa (weird coincidence). So I ate a bowl of quinoa with sliced roasted beets and goat cheese and a dressing of vinegar and tamari sauce. Should have committed and made a real salad out of it. But it saved me from eating turkey.

**Wednesday’s menu** Harira (lentil soup, crockpot). Leftover quinoa. Roasted beet salad.
**Family togetherness** We actually got to eat this supper together, sitting at the table. Everyone liked the harira and quinoa except for CJ, who ate plain quinoa with yogurt. I dressed the sliced beets with a grainy mustard vinegrette and everyone tried it. A few even liked it and asked for seconds and thirds. “It tastes pickled,” said one child. (Pickled is a good thing at our house.)

**Thursday’s menu** Mashed potatoes. Creamed turkey. Peas. Cabbage/rutabaga slaw.
**Plus a picnic for Soccer Girl** AppleApple had early goalie practice, squeezed in directly after all four kids had a dentist appointment, so I made her a pita pizza to go. The rest of us enjoyed the meal. It felt very old-fashioned. I’m personally thankful to report that this used up the last of the leftover turkey meat.

**Friday’s menu** Mashed potato casserole. Hummus and pita.
**AKA “Leftover Surprise”** Last night’s leavings made the perfect Leftover Surprise. I mixed together the mashed potatoes, the smattering of creamed turkey, the peas, added some milk, salt and pepper, spread everything into a buttered casserole, topped with grated cheese, and baked for 20 minutes at 400. Just add ketchup. Everyone loved it.

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**Weekend cooking accomplishments** Four loaves of bread. (That’s all??? Uh oh. Zero treats. Sorry, kids.)

Feb12 128
**Cooking with kids** Albus’s turn. Sushi, maki, sashimi. With real sushi-grade raw salmon. Miso soup. (That’s a look of concentration on his face, not displeasure. He worked really hard on this meal.)

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3 Comments

  1. Margo

    we love sushi for birthdays! … although we usually buy it. You’re inspiring me.

    That comfort food stuff – we really love it too. Why is that?? We like our interesting ethnic food, but the PA Dutchy Mennonite stuff is where our hearts are. So good to eat the bland-ish cheesy food with pickles (pickles are tops at our house too).

    Reply
  2. Carrie Snyder

    Margo, my husband did the sushi-making. I’m not sure I would have attempted real raw salmon sushi/sashimi. But it was excellent. The rolls were great too. He said it really wasn’t that hard once they got going, and that it was also really fun to do. Very tactile.

    Reply
  3. Victoria

    that is so cool that you’re son is learning how to make sushi and miso soup! what a cool mom.

    Reply

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