For more than two years now I have planned weekly menus. The goals have changed over time, but the quality of life that results from my semi-obsessive planning habits remain choice and flavorful. Sometimes we find a theme for the menu- an ethnicity, a region, a cooking technique, a desire for cheeses or meats, etc. Throughout this process of reading recipes and planning feasts at home, I have noticed one big shift – my conception of a “simple meal.”

For most people a simple meal is one they don’t make – they eat out. For others, a simple meal might be cooking from a box or can. For me, ‘simple’ is defined by the list of ingredients, the required prep work and the time needed to make the meal. By the end of every week I want to plan a simple meal – minimal prep work and little time used. And yet, come Friday when I post my menu I see that this goal of mine is again, disregarded. In my attempt to write an easy menu for next week’s pre-Thanksgiving meals, I may have failed myself all (again.) That’s the bad news. The good news is that we will be eating some more fabulous dinners. Maybe this is a win-win paradox?!

Starting tomorrow and following through till Tuesday, here is what I put together:

• Coconut curry squash soup
• Baked lamb shanks with mashed sweet potatoes
• Pasta with tomato cream sauce and steamed broccoli
• Fennel risotto with dried chili and ricotta

My desire for simplicity originated with Mark Bittman, and he is still a guiding force in my food-focused thinking. I recommend his modern bible, How to Cook Everything to anyone new to the kitchen. When I think about simple foods I think about Bittman. The soup recipe I’ll use this week comes from Bittman, specifically an article he published this week on 101 simple holiday meals. It’s almost mechanical how easily he creates easy to prepare meals. I didn’t take the time to read through the list, but I imagine if you are interested it would be a good site to bookmark for future use.

The lamb and risotto come from another favorite chef of mine, Jamie Oliver. He’s another celebrity chef hailing from Britain and eager to spread the gospel of healthy eating. I won’t go into great detail here, but if you come across any of his cookbooks or his website, I highly recommend reading about him, his philosophy and the numerous recipe ideas he creates. I would say he is a step up from Bittman, at least when I compare their recipes. Oliver is especially honed in on fresh, seasonal and sustainably-raised ingredients. No matter who you choose, both gentleman are excellent starting points for novice home cooks.

The grand irony of the week is Thanksgiving. For the first time in my life I will not be going home (to Virginia) for the holiday. The trip is too costly and too short in length to make sense. And so, an almost dream-come-true scenario is born this week. I will be cooking and hosting our Thanksgiving meal. One day I hope this will be one of the traditions we take on as a household; a day when my East coast family travels West for the celebratory turkey day.

I digress. The irony of the holiday is my strong desire to cook as simply as possible, something I rarely do on a daily basis. I will write more on this later next week, as I want to share the menu I planned and discuss the tasty possibilities of single-ingredient dishes. Until next Thursday though, it looks like I’ll continue to complicate my kitchen plans!

Related posts:

1. Thanksgiving Menu
2. Between the Holidays (weekly menu 14)
3. The Recipe vs. Spontaneity (weekly menu 11)
4. Winding Down Winter (weekly menu 26)
5. Lessons Learned

Tags: lamb, Mark Bittman, Recipes, Soup, squash