What’s for Dinner?
A seasonally inspired approach to the nightly existential crisis.
Written By: Laura DeFeo
“What do you want for dinner?”
It doesn’t seem to matter whether we’re trying to plan for the week or one of us is asking at 5:30 PM while staring blankly into the refrigerator… the responses in our house are usually:
“I don’t know.”
“Whatever.”
“Food.”
Meanwhile, Julia remains deeply committed to two highly specific culinary paths:
“Rice with soy sauce!”
“Chipotle.”
The funny thing about figuring out dinner is that, at least for me, I tend to need one “stake in the ground” before my brain can really “get cookin’.” After all, while art is theoretically about limitless creative possibility, the act of creativity usually begins with committing to a direction. Otherwise, every painter would still be standing in front of a blank canvas saying:
“I don’t know.”
“Whatever.”
“Food.”
(Maybe that explains the abundance of still life paintings???)
Even Michelangelo eventually had to stop staring into the distance and decide what to put on the ceiling.
Cooking can feel a little like that, too. (Although hopefully not as great a test of endurance as painting the Sistine Chapel!) This is just one of many reasons I’m grateful the farm is in production season! When the humans in my house have reached peak decision fatigue for the week (or even just for the evening), we often find ourselves letting nature make a few inspired decisions for us.
Here’s how that tends to play out in our kitchen:
Our beloved asparagus is only in season for about six weeks? Wintertime tomato-based pasta dishes transform into springtime pasta primaveras or asparagus-lemon linguine. Or, in a real time crunch: roasted asparagus, parmesan, and prosciutto sandwiches.
Spring greens mix (my personal favorite) is in full bloom? There’s the base for a roasted beet, goat cheese, and hard-boiled egg salad with homemade honey mustard dressing. Or even just a side salad for Friday pizza night.
Just did our monthly run to pick up chicken from Back Rhodes Farm? Maybe Saturday night is the perfect time for Alton Brown’s smoked paprika chicken and potatoes.
Didn’t sell all of the bok choy at the farmer’s market this week? Time to stir fry the leftovers with olive and sesame oils, soy sauce, a splash of rice wine vinegar, garlic, and ginger and serve with some seasoned & sauteed chicken or pork. (And yes, Julia… this is a perfect pairing for rice with soy sauce!)
When the collective answer to “What’s for dinner?” in our house is simply “Food,” I’m grateful (and relieved!) that the season itself can offer a few suggestions. And suddenly, with a few seasonal starring subjects in mind, dinner feels much more possible - and much more inspired.
