Now playing in the kitchen

For this month, at least, I've decided to shamelessly copy a great idea from a couple of my favorite foodie blogs, CityMama and This Week for Dinner. For the next 4 weeks I'll be posting my meal plan for the week. I'll list down the dishes I plan to cook from scratch, and maybe write a little bit about a couple of them.

I've actually been doing this for a couple of weeks (planning, not posting) and I've found that I really like it. It really lessens the stress of figuring out what to eat five minutes before I cook it, and it has cut down on impromptu visits to the grocery store.

I know, I know, I'm acting like I've discovered a new planet (when I bragged about it to my sister, she told me she's been doing it since she got married 10 years ago). But I'm the kind of cook who doesn't like recipes, with all the reading and the measuring. I like to just throw things together. But I've realized that I can still do that; all I'm doing with the meal planning is deciding in advance which things I'm going to throw together.

So here goes... my menu for the week of November 3:

* Sausage, cauliflower and white bean stew
I think there's some fancy French name for this but that's what I call it. This is one of my favorite dishes. My grandmother's cook makes this all the time in the Philippines and would give me the recipe if I asked her, but as I said, I don't do recipes. I just kind of figured out what sorts of things go in it. My version probably has a lot less olive oil, garlic and spanish chorizo so it doesn't taste as fabulous -- but it's healthier, and still pretty darn good.

* Teriyaki chicken and rice

* Torta Espanola (potato omelet)

* Roast pork loin and potatoes


So why only 4 dishes? Because we usually have enough leftovers from these 4 meals for at least 1 Leftover Night, and I like to leave the other 2 nights open. Because there will be at least 1 night that I don't feel like cooking. Because that's what canned soup or Trader Joe's noodles or takeout is for. Because I still like to be spontaneous and throw together something at the last minute. Get out the chopping board and turn on the stove, supper's a-comin'!