what happens when meal planning falls apart?

you bastardize your leftovers

Well this is embarrassing. I just wrote a whole issue on meal planning like 2 weeks ago, and now this?

I always have the best intentions when it comes to meal planning, but sometimes… I’m just too busy for this shit. The freelancing musician life can really pile up and cramp my style when it comes to writing the newsletter, and this week was just one of those weeks. But I have loved every second of being on stage for this week’s program: Debussy’s Prelude to ‘The Afternoon of a Faun’ (orchestral classic), Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 (a cleanse for the soul), and Richard Strauss’ massive tone poem ‘Ein Heldenleben’ (an epic journey) — it was an absolute pleasure to play with the incredible musicians at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Obviously, I had to be on top of my shit.

And in between all the practicing, rehearsals, and running the errands of life, I’m taking on a small part-time administrative assistant job for the summer?? If it sounds like a lot, it is. But freelancing is unpredictable so you have to think and act a few steps ahead, always preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Also, I feel like I usually thrive in a crazy schedule of a wide variety of things — it makes me feel purposeful and keeps me sharp. Otherwise, I’m sitting at home staring at all of the cleaning things that are driving me absolutely bonkers. That usually has me feeling like that’s a whole other mountain to tackle and once I’d get to the top I would feel simultaneously accomplished and like I did absolutely nothing with my life. One thing that I’ve learned about all of that in the past few months of living the working mom life: you take care of that when you can take care of that. And hire a house cleaner.

But what about the whole meal planning falling apart thing? What did I end up doing about that? I had a lot of things working against me this week: I had no time or energy to do what I had set out to do at the beginning of the week — I forgot to put beans in the crock pot for 2 days in a row — I spent more time than I had originally planned to do the admin assistant job because it just made more sense for various reasons. Shit happens.

On top of all of my work stuff, my kid got sick and had to stay home from school for a couple of days. I wasn’t even home, but this threw a wrench in the general flow for the week. Not the worst wrench, though. Because sick kids don’t necessarily have the best appetite, that allowed for some flexibility in what I could make for dinner. If he wasn’t going to eat much of anything, why not just make something up on the fly?

So all the random leftovers and vegetables came together in the perfect medium for random leftovers and vegetables: a delicious soup.

---

It’s hard to write a recipe for something that comes together completely in the moment, but what I can provide for you today is a framework for forcing your leftovers to get along.

basic ingredients to have on hand:

• broth (note: keep a jar of bouillon cubes or paste on hand in case your broth

• fats:

  • extra-virgin olive oil

  • avocado oil

  • coconut oil

  • bacon grease / tallow / lard

• alliums:

  • garlic

  • onions

  • shallots

  • ginger

• vegetables

  • carrots

  • celery

  • bell peppers

• cooked grains

  • rice

  • barley

  • farro

ideal proteins:

• shredded meat

  • chicken

  • pork

  • beef

• thick-cut ham or bacon

• cooked beans

  • black beans

  • kidney beans

  • white beans

  • chickpeas

pantry/fridge items to take you in certain flavor directions:

• Mexican

  • cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne, chili powder

  • limes

• Asian

  • five-spice powder

  • soy sauce

  • rice vinegar, black vinegar

  • sesame oil

  • hoisin sauce

  • kimchi

• Indian

  • cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, paprika, cloves, cayenne / kashmiri chili powder

  • ghee / coconut oil

• Western European

  • thyme, oregano, tarragon, rosemary

  • red or white wine vinegar

  • small dried pastas (orzo, couscous, ditalini)

First, check out what’s in your fridge and pantry. What do you have ready to go? Do you have items that fit together in one cuisine or are you going to make a fusion dish? What cuisines have enough overlap to complement each other? Are you ready to risk it all? Read my “recipe” below to get an idea of how this works:

MY BASTARD LEFTOVER SOUP

Ingredient Estimates:

• 2T bacon grease

• ¾ medium yellow onion, diced

• ½ cup carrot sticks, chopped

• ¾ green bell pepper slices, chopped

• 4 stalks celery, sliced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 3” knob ginger, minced

• 1T five-spice powder

• 3-4T soy sauce

• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 4 cups chicken bone broth + 2-3 cups water

• 2T black vinegar

• 1T rice vinegar

• 1T hoisin sauce

• 2 blocks cooked long-grain brown rice (frozen)

• 2 cups leftover carnitas (Mexican shredded pork)

Directions:

• heat a dutch oven over medium high heat for 1 minute, then add the bacon grease and fully melt it.

• add the carrots, bell peppers, and celery, sauté until just tender and maybe starting to lightly brown, then add the garlic and ginger, cook for 30-60 seconds more until fragrant.

• add the five-spice powder and stir to evenly cover the vegetables, cook for 30 seconds. then add the soy sauce, letting it bubble and slightly cook down for another 30-60 seconds.

• drizzle the sesame oil over the vegetables, then add the broth, vinegars, hoisin sauce, and bring to a boil.

• bring the heat down to low to simmer the soup, then add the frozen rice blocks, stirring around occasionally to help thaw.

• once the rice is mostly thawed, add the carnitas, stir until heated through.

Notes:

• I’ve never made a Chinese-Mexican fusion dish before, but I knew that I had to find a way to connect the bridge between these cuisines. I figured that the salty umami of bacon grease would infuse the vegetables to play off the fat that would come from the carnitas and the sweetness that would come from the five-spice powder, adding a layer of complexity to this soup to help create a perfect but intriguing harmony.

• The addition of hoisin sauce was a game-time decision in the spirit of having recently done a big fridge purge. There wasn’t much left and I got the little that was left out of the bottle by swirling some water around in the jar and dumping it in the soup. Ta-da 🪄

---

SARAH’S SATURDAY FARMERS MARKET HAUL

April 26

produce: radishes, chives, curly kale ($12); french breakfast radishes ($4)

protein: 2 dozen eggs ($10); 6 pound chicken, 2 pounds chorizo ($56.62)

plants: basil, parsley, lettuce greens ($30)

total spent = $112.62

• $82.62 on food

• $30 on plants

other ingredients on hand, from last week or in freezer:

• frozen protein: pork shoulder, chicken livers, beef liver

• leftovers / thawed meat: beans + greens, quick-pickled radish/chard stems/cucumber, roast chicken (meat ready for shredding, save the carcass for broth), ground beef, side of sockeye salmon, hummus, lemon chive vinaigrette

• produce: salad turnips, yellow onions, white onion, shallot, garlic, cilantro, lemons, limes

• freezer ingredients: pestos from last year, chicken broth, tomato sauce, butter

potential recipes, off the top of my dome:

• pesto salmon with beans + greens with diced quick pickled radish/chard stems/cucumber

• chicken salad with radish + chives (need carrots + celery)

• spaghetti + meatballs

• steamed kale + radish greens with lemon chive vinaigrette

• crudité plate (french breakfast radishes + salad turnips) with hummus and toddler-approved savory yogurt dip

• chicken liver + chorizo tacos / rice bowls

• crockpot carnitas tacos / rice bowls

A lot of overlap from last week due to my failings at following through with my good intentions, but hey, at least I’m relatable. Remind me to not buy meat at the market next week, I think we’re good for the next two weeks, maybe even three if I’m smart about it. Follow my Substack Notes (on the app) to see how this week of recipes unfolds. And tune in next Saturday for another farmers market haul!

Let’s see if I can be a better meal planner next week…🥴

---

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being here.

❤️ Sarah