This week, I was kind of thrown off my game by the holiday weekend.
We had some great family time over Memorial Day weekend and accomplished a lot of work around the house and yard.
The weather was fantastic here for the first time in untold years; it has rained the last several Memorial Days, so the sunshine and warm temperatures were very welcome.
I certainly did a lot with food this weekend.
The Weekend
SATURDAY
Saturday, we had A.’s parents over for lunch and dinner.
I prepared a brunch-style spread for lunch: a frittata with zucchini, peppers, and onions; homemade sourdough bread with hard-boiled eggs, pickles, and mustard or just plain butter; vegan “bacon” and “sausage;” roasted potatoes courtesy of A.’s mom; and cut pineapple.
We also had fresh sourdough cinnamon rolls too – which came out pretty well, if I do say so myself!
Then for dinner, I tried out this vegan “poke” bowl recipe I’ve been wanting to attempt.
Here were the components:
- Beet “poke”
- Shredded tofu “crab” salad
- Seasoned rice
- Shredded seaweed
- Chopped cucumber
- Shredded carrots
- Spicy vegan tofu mayo
- Sesame seeds
SUNDAY
We spent time together as a family again on Sunday and enjoyed a late lunch of jerk tofu bowls.
I basically made a jerk marinade with peppers, onions, scallions, vinegar, and a bunch of spices like allspice and cloves. I marinated the tofu and then pan seared it.
Meanwhile, I also sauteed green cabbage and plantains for sides.
I served everything with leftover rice from the previous day that I tossed with coconut milk and some of the remaining roasted potatoes from Saturday too.
It was not what I had imagined, but everyone seemed to enjoy it; I didn’t even manage to get photos!
MONDAY
After a leisurely, slow morning, A. and I headed up to his brother and sister-in-law’s house for a more traditional Memorial Day cookout.
His brother made burgers and hot dogs on the grill, which we enjoyed with watermelon, roasted potatoes, and a big arugula salad with tomatoes, vegan feta, sunflower seeds, and balsamic glaze dressing that I brought.
I also enjoyed a veggie burger wrapped in some of our homegrown butter lettuce. Delicious!
We ended the day with fresh berries and cheesecake.
What about the rest of the week?
Given the busy, family-filled weekend, I didn’t manage a full meal prep to kick off the working days this week.
Tuesday, A. and I had leftover poke and jerk tofu bowls. He also enjoyed some sourdough waffles that I whipped up Monday morning before we headed out for the day, and I had some oat milk yogurt that I had made over the weekend with thawed berries and granola.
I had also turned the spent oats from the oatmilk that I prepared for the yogurt into muffins – which were delicious! If they turn out equally good again, I’ll try to record what I do and share the recipe.
Wednesday was more leftovers (random cut veggies left in the fridge, another yogurt parfait, and jerk tofu). Then I made basic pasta with marinara and an arugula salad for dinner. I also made another batch of cinnamon rolls because I wanted to share some with our neighbors, and A. continued working on the sourdough waffles I had made for him.
Thursday, I thawed some chili and tomato soup from my freezer and served that with oyster crackers and tortillas, and Friday was another freezer pull: plant-based “chicken nuggets,” fried rice, ravioli, one pizza cut into small slices, etc. My kids were excited about having “appetizers” for dinner.
A. took over dinner Saturday evening and cooked a delicious meal over the campfire – potatoes, trout, chicken skewers, and veggie burgers that I served with a shaved brussel sprout salad. Yum!
I have to admit that I totally missed meal prepping. The week felt a lot more chaotic and disorganized because I hadn’t cooked everything in advance!