The passage of time in this pandemic is really something else, isn’t it? If you asked me day-to-day, I’d say things are moving so slowly I can hardly stand the boredom. But then I look at a calendar and it’s December. I busted out my LL Bean down coat and a super-chunky, borderline silly knit hat for my walk today. And one week from tonight we light the first candle for Hanukkah. I’m totally not prepared.
I’m Jewish and my husband is Catholic, so our son has had the kind of childhood I envied growing up—he gets two rounds of presents. We’ve always done eight small items, more like trinkets, on the eight nights of Hanukkah, and saved the bigger-ticket items for under the tree. In the weeks leading up to the first night, I’d pick up small toys, cute notebooks, Pokémon cards, things like that, while I was out and about. I loved letting him choose from the wrapped-up pile each night. This year, though, I haven’t been able to impulse-buy much in the way of trinkets. The other day I told him he’d probably wind up with three or four small-to-medium gifts. He’s fine with that (at 14 he’s old enough to see that fewer-but-bigger isn’t necessarily bad). But I’m bummed.
The biggest gift, obviously, is that we’re all healthy. My family members who caught COVID have all recovered. We’re lucky. Nobody has been able to visit my mom, who has dementia, in her nursing home since March. I worry that by the time we’re allowed back in, she won’t remember us at all. But still: We’re all alive. We’re going to eat latkes together over Zoom and the kids will all get emailed gift cards instead of presents and I doubt they’ll get to play dreidel. It won’t be the same.
But we’re all alive.
Here’s the menu for next week:
MONDAY:
Carrot-Ginger Soup with Roasted Vegetables from Food Network, with bread. This is a hearty soup, thickened with cannellini beans and coconut milk. With the roasted vegetables and croutons on top, it’s a nice dinner. The recipe calls for roasting acorn squash but we’ll use butternut and cook a double batch of both soup and roasted vegetables (but not the croutons). That’ll give us what we need for Wednesday’s pasta sauce and we’ll have plain soup to eat with the latkes on Thursday. Make sure to store the soup and vegs separately—and serve it separately, too, if your kids balk at eating it all together.
TUESDAY: Vegetarian Chili from Cookie + Kate, with your favorite toppings. It’s definitely chili weather here, and this is an easy weeknight version—use three cans of beans, almost any kind will do, and whatever canned tomatoes you have, too. If you like, cook this on Sunday for a no-fuss meal tonight. Set aside a cup or two to use on Friday.
WEDNESDAY: Butternut Squash Alfredo with Broccoli from Super Healthy Kids uses Monday’s extra butternut squash to make a creamy-but-nutritious sauce for pasta. The roasted broccoli can go on the side if you’ve got picky eaters.
HAPPY HANUKKAH:
Latkes and more latkes, from me, with sour cream and applesauce and carrot-ginger soup. Whether you’re Jewish or not, who doesn’t love a nice potato pancake? I’ve got two go-to recipes for you. The first is completely traditional, the best I’ve ever eaten, and I like to call them Latkes Worth Stinking Up the House For. If you’re looking for something a smidge lighter but still crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, go with my Less-Oil Latkes. Serve them with the traditional trimmings and that leftover soup.
FRIDAY: Chips and Cheese Chili Casserole from Averie Cooks, with salad. I love the flexibility of this recipe: You can use crushed tortilla chips or whatever crunchy stuff you have, and the chili-salsa combo makes good use of the leftover chili—add another can of beans if you don’t have enough.
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Here’s the shopping list:
Produce
4 scallions (M, Th)
1 (4”) piece ginger (M, Th)
10 cloves garlic (M, T, W, Th, F)
1 medium red onion (T, F)
1 medium yellow onion (Th)
12 medium carrots (M, T, Th, F)
1 butternut squash OR 1 large package pre-cut butternut squash (M, W)
2 heads broccoli (M, W)
1 large red bell pepper (T, F)
2 ribs celery (T, F)
1 bunch cilantry (T, F)
1 lime OR sherry vinegar OR red wine vinegar (T, F)
1 avocado (T)
4 large potatoes (around 1 1/4 lbs.) (Th)
Salad fixings (F)
Pantry
Extra-virgin olive oil (M, T, W, F)
Vegetable oil, for frying (Th)
Sherry vinegar OR red wine vinegar OR lime juice (T, F)
2 (14-oz.) cans light coconut milk (M, Th)
2 (15-oz.) cans cannellini beans (M, Th)
3-4 (15-oz.) cans beans, a mix of black OR pinto OR kidney or navy (T, F)
2 tablespoons chili powder (T, F)
2 teaspoons ground cumin (T, F)
1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika (T, F)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (T, F)
1 bay leaf (T, F)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (W)
1 (28-oz.) can OR 2 (15-oz.) cans diced OR crushed OR whole peeled tomatoes (T, F)
2 cups vegetable broth, optional (T, F)
2 bags tortilla chips (T, F)
All-purpose flour (W, Th)
Baking powder (Th)
12 oz. cut pasta, such as rigatoni (W)
1 jar applesauce, preferably unsweetened (Th)
1 (10-oz.) jar salsa (F)
Dairy
16-24 oz. sour cream (depending on how much your family likes it) (T, Th, F)
16 oz. shredded Mexican cheese blend OR shredded cheddar (T, F)
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 cups milk (W)
1/2 cup grated OR shredded Parmesan cheese (W)
1 egg (Th)
Bakery
1 loaf crusty bread (M)
On Saturday, paying subscribers will get the details on how it all comes together.
Stay safe, be kind, wash your hands, and wear a mask.
Debbie
Oh, we're definitely doubling the croutons on Monday.