slow simple meals: what I cooked this week

I’ve been wanting to keep a diary of my meals for some time. Not just in a Google Keep meal prep list, but in the form of an actual diary entry, so I can give that extra bit of attention and gratitude towards the dishes that excite me. I’ve done plenty of versions of this in the past, but I’m going to give this a go as a Slow Morning Diaries blog series.

strawberry shortcake yogurt bowl

Some summer days I get an intense craving for a yogurt bowl. It’s the perfect hot weather meal! Cool yogurt, zingy fruit… it’s the best. I prefer mine simple and strawberries are mandatory. I’m so lucky that my farmer’s market has mounds of fresh strawberries in cartons - usually 40 berries in one! I clean and store ‘em in dedicated fruit containers to ensure not one gets mushy during the week.

Here’s the quick recipe:
- one serving of plain unsweetened yogurt (I do 3/4 cup)
- 1/2 tsp. maple syrup
- chopped strawberries (however many you wish!)
- vanilla almond granola (purely elizabeth is my fav)

spicy tahini noodles

Nut/seed butters used in creamy noodles matter. Of course, it’s 100% fair to swap them around depending on allergies/availability. But tahini is my personal favorite because its unique flavor continues to excite and gets me to repeat the same meal over and over again.

Here’s the quick sauce recipe:
- 1 tbs. liquid aminos
- 1 tbs. rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbs. sriracha
- 1 tbs. tahini
- splash of hot water as needed

I toss this with noodles and top with crispy tofu and steamed broccoli!

tomato toast

This one doesn’t need a recipe, it’s just a list of ingredients lol. But the key is finding the best ingredients you can get your hands on! All you need is really good sourdough (I get mine from the farmers market, but you can check out bakeries or the bakery section of your grocery store), salty butter, and seasoned!!! sliced tomatoes. A generous amount of salt and pepper. Each ingredient and step is mandatory, okay!

creamy lemon pasta

This meal came from my desire to throw a bit of lemon into a dish because summer! And what a happy little surprise. The richness of the creamy sauce compliments the acidity of the lemon well. That’s probably quite obvious, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that it’d be a hit lol. Anyway, pair this with some roasted asparagus!

Here’s the quick sauce recipe:
- 2 cloves of minced garlic, cooked in a bit of butter until fragrant
- 1 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- salt + pepper to taste

You add the zest and juice of 1/2 lemon once the sauce has come together and your pasta has already been tossed in!

poolside sandwiches (but veggie)

I talked about the lack of a solid veggie deli sandwich in a previous post, but for those not in the know, there’s a science to this. When I say deli sandwich, I’m talking about cold cuts, cheese, and the fixin’s on a roll (NYC style). These are the perfect poolside sandwich (and imo, the anytime-anywhere sandwich) So, to make this work for vegetarians/vegans, you simply need to find the right ingredients to replicate it.

Here’s the shopping list:
- kaiser rolls
- tofurky oven roasted slices or unreal turk’y slices
- your favorite cheddar slices
- mayo + mustard + vinegar
- shredded lettuce + tomato + salt + pepper

That’s the weekly roundup! I hope these inspire you to give a simple meal a try. Sometimes it’s the simplest ones that bring me a lot of joy. And the deliciousness does come from the labor of love :)