Okay, you get roses instead of vegetables! (Last weekend at Fuller Gardens, in New Hampshire.)
Cornerstone habits that add the most value to my week are the ones that provide structure to my days, reduce my mental load to free me up for better decision making. Meal planning uses a simple template that I repeat!
Prep: I root through my fridge, and seeing what needs to be used up. This week, I went to Farmers Market without a plan, so I have a glut of veg to use. Usually I take a quick pic of my fridge contents to help me plan.
To use this week: scallops, cod, eggs, beet hummus, labne, tomato, cucumber, scallions, garlic scapes, kale, spinach, broccoli, arugula, sweet potato, tortillas, Banza, frozen green beans, frozen onions and peppers, bamya, oatmeal, green goddess dip, piri-piri
S: cauliflower gnocchi lemon cacio pepe with scallops and arugula
M: miso-mayo cod with garlic spinach
T: tomato and wine braised fish from freezer, cucumber tomato salad
W: banza (chickpea) pasta with tomato sauce, chicken
Th: sweet potato with beef and tahini (Stone Soup)
Fr: Epicurious kale and date salad with leftover chickenSa: Cava? or Vietnamese takeout.
Lunches: (usually in no particular order) – or leftovers // broccoli with lemon, parmesan, beet hummus and eggs // arugula lemon parmesan salad with tinned fish // soft boiled eggs and pb protein shake with berries // barbunya pilaki with bamya (stewed cranberry beans and okra)
Snacks + Dessert: cheese sticks, yogurt fruit oats, soft boiled eggs, cottage cheese, key lime pineapple coconut shake, air fried green beans
To Buy: onion, vanilla protein powder, frozen cauliflower (smoothies), cottage cheese, chicken, rice, spindrift lemon, limeade, tea
It’s insidiously easy to go through your day on auto-pilot. Work, checklist, plan, execute. I’m making the effort to learn something new every day, intentionally. I want ideas that make my brain explode with curiosity. Here’s where I’m looking:
I’m gatheringbooks across a variety of my interests – and especially ones that friends are reading. I want to be able to read and then discuss salon style. I’m also a part of several book clubs to encourage this habit. (I’m also working to improve my notes to facilitate easier writing.)
How I’m trying to choose my reading: I try to read a few books on the same topic around the same time, to see commonalities and patterns, and outliers. I’ll gather:
• The top few classic books on a topic • A new book on the topic • The BIO of an expert on the topic
Why bios? I’m fascinated by the environment behind the idea. Where were the idea-makers living, what were they doing? Who were they influenced by?
It’s surprisingly easy to become passably fluent in a new topic by only reading a handful of the best books, intelligently curated.
I’m also looking for ideas from slow news, with global context. I’ve cut myself out of the 24-hour news cycle. I’m not interested in the stress, I want insight and information thats a level deeper. I try to catch up every few weeks on the Economist in print. I aim for a diversity of voices and viewpoints. I want to read about the world in a global context. I want to learn:
• How can we work together better? • How can we do better in our shared mission for a better world? • How can we learn from one another? • What are the stories around the world that are being suppressed, minimized, or overlooked?
Where do you learn the best things? What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned or read this week?
For the past week, I’ve been participating in a month long writing challenge on Twitter. Each day, we write a 250 or so word essay on a graphic. My topics are free flowing, but I’m generally writing about Startups and Entrepreneurship, Brain Productivity, Mindset, and Self Care, and Food (of course!).
Tonight I sat down to write out my June Intentions, which reminded me that I am long overdue for some time writing here as well. The graphic I created is below (and I’ll write out the text below in case the image doesn’t come through well, or you are reading on a reader; as alt text doesn’t allow for the full character length.)
Monthly Intentions: A June Shortlist
Each month, I sit down to make a list of intentions. While not set in stone, my short list helps me to take advantage of my time when I’m not feeling adventurous or creative. This is the first pass, and I’ll update as I go along.
Cook and Eat Delicious Things:
my first lobster roll of the season
new cookbook of the month; classic cookbook re-read: @davidleite New Portuguese Table
get back into the habit of friend calls on my walks
getting the crew back together with my Wellesley bffs
initiate texts and love to friends (this is hard for me!)
hand written notes to friends 🙂
Create and Consume:
cultivate my garden (pots and plot); lettuces, clip herbs daily
weekly creative dates with myself: MFA boston Basquiat, Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, Museum of Science Arctic adventure.
if I can safely see a film in the theater, I’d love to
Red Sox at Fenway
Watch and Read:
Diane Hessan’s new book Our Common Ground: Insights from Four Years of Listening to American Voters
V.E. Schwab ExtraOrdinary #0
Gentleman Jack Season 2!
Marvel watch party good times: Loki on Disney+
In the Heights! 🙌
Mare of Easttown
What else is on the docket? Work goals, drilling down into novelty, and still working on my learning goals for the month! What are you planning for June?
The Second Lunch is a (mostly) food blog by Sam Tackeff about recipes, food writing, ingredient hunting, travel, healthy living, fitness, and everything in between.
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