Today I bought a pineapple, mostly because I like how they look. It was a toss up between daffodils or the pineapple, and the pineapple won out. At some point I’ll get to eating it, but for a few days at least it’ll be decorative – they are just such cheerful looking fruit. (On a side note, I’ve always been a fan of that Williams-Sonoma golden pineapple emblem. I’ve considered stealing it and making it my own, but I don’t really have any connection to the pineapple other than a passion for its spiky top, patterned body, and golden flesh.)

This afternoon, we experienced a minor kitchen tragedy: our microwave bit the dust. The control panel turns on, but the microwaving doesn’t actually happen. I suspect a fuse has blown, or something has burnt out, but you can’t really go and tinker with a microwave, lest you’d like to risk going back in time or exploding into a million small particles. (So I’m telling myself.) I suspect we’ll be living microwave free for quite a while. I’ve gone years at a time without one, and while they are very useful for steaming vegetables and reheating coffee, I find that I eat better when I don’t have immediate magical cooking rays at my disposal – mostly I end up snacking on things that I’d probably be better off not. I’ll have to figure out this coffee re-heating business though. If you have any brilliant suggestions, do let me know.

Week of Sunday, March 30th

Last week I tried out Cook Smarts, and enjoyed the relief of not having to make any meal planning decisions, but this week I was eager to mix it up a little bit and get inspiration from some of my cookbooks as well. Instead of the menu of the week, I wanted to try some of the Cook Smarts “favorite” week recipes, or at least use them as a starting point for my own meals.

Sunday: Maple-dijon salmon with asparagus. The maple dijon salmon was a Cook Smarts “favorite” pick that caught my eye – users rate the dishes they cook, and write short reviews – so I decided to try it out. For some reason Whole Foods had king salmon (I’m assuming it was frozen), and I decided to splurge in anticipation of salmon season starting at the end of spring. King salmon is hands down my favorite salmon.

Monday: Pork chops with balsamic brussels sprouts and orzo. Another Cook Smarts “favorite”, although I’m skipping out on the red onions because we’re ambivalent about them in this household.

Tuesday: Cumin-spiced lamb meatballs with shepherd’s salad + hummus. One of our favorites around here, I’ll be making Turkish köfte. I also picked up some roasted red pepper hummus, and will serve it all as one big salad.

Wednesday: Chicken thighs roasted with grape tomatoes. I try to operate under a meat and veg or two veg or three veg policy, but sometimes I just want a big bowl of slow roasted tomatoes with chicken. Does this make me weird?

Thursday: Salad plus fixins’. The truth is, I went to the store and the last few meals on my list weren’t sounding so good anymore. So I bought extra romaine lettuce, and I’ll crack open the pantry and the freezer and round out a good salad with all the fixins’.

Friday: Out!

What’s on your table this week?

–– Sam