Mondays

I haven’t posted for two weeks, and now Monday is looming large before me. What do I say, what do I write? I had (foolishly) planned a post on portobella mushroom bacon, but it turned out pretty badly, so for now that project is going back to the lab for some more R&D, and I am sitting here staring at my screen. The portobella bacon was going to be the inaugural post for what are going to be Healthy Mondays where I’ll be exploring ways to make what I consider healthy foods, and to make them delicious and simple to prepare. What is challenging is that the weeks I expected to spend cooking, and thinking and looking for inspiration were spent on vacation and being sick.

My daughter and I have close friends who live in Colorado, outside Boulder, and we try to see them at least once a year. I got sick the day before we left, and when we arrived they swept us off to the mountains, another mile higher than Denver, where I experienced every possible symptom of altitude change, and was generally a wet blanket for most of the trip. Despite all that it was a great trip, including and especially a trip to Glenwood Springs, a gigantic pool fed by volcanic hot springs. Of course our trip included great food, like lunch at the Pullman Restaurant in Glenwood Springs, and a amazing and decadent breakfast in Boulder, in addition to being taken care of and cooked for every day.

Sunday is the day I sit down and make my plan for the week. I plan my schedule, my posts, and my menu. I pull things out of the freezer, I take my inventory of my fridge and pantry, and make a shopping list for my Monday afternoon trip to the grocery store. If I’m feeling energetic (which I was not today) I’ll go the farmers’ market Sunday, and plan my week’s menu around what looks good. This time of year I can always count on stone fruit, tomatoes and lots of zucchini. It’s still kind of early for corn, but soon.

Summer has to be the easiest time to eat lots of fruits and veggies. They are plentiful, inexpensive and so good, but what do you do when you’re feeling tired and not particularly inspired to cook anything, much less healthy fare?

I’ve looked back on some easy and healthy recipes from summers past, and for your consideration I offer these:

Summer Gazpacho, Guacamole, Cucumber Salad, Beet Salad  and a nice cooling borscht.