Tuesday, February 20, 2024

It's Another Rainy Monday and a Meal Plan of Sorts

Uppuma (Indian-Style Cream of Wheat)

It was a rainy day, today, with some high winds in the afternoon.  Mostly light rain, slowing down to a drizzle, but, a wet and grey day.  

For brunch, I made my version of uppuma or Indian-style cream of wheat, which is a savory breakfast dish with curry leaves, dried red chilies, and other additions such as vegetables and nuts.  I added the last of a jar of roasted peanuts; if I didn't have peanuts, I would have added cashews.  I had listed uppuma on my meal plan a couple of weeks ago, but, didn't make it then.  I also made another freshly squeezed juice drink to have with my brunch - oranges, lemons, and passionfruit, diluted with water and sweetened with sugar as the juice was rather tart.  

I spent a good portion of my day reading one of my library books.  In between, I put away the last of the load of laundry I had done earlier, washed a pair of wool knitted socks by hand, cleaned up after Dancer, took the trash and recycling cans to the curb, watched news and some TV programs on one of the public TV channels.  

Dinner was soup and a deli meat sandwich.

Later, I video chatted with my daughter.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Rain for the garden
- Working appliances
- Hot water on tap
- Library books
- Video chatting with my daughter

Today's joyful activity was reading.

February Week 3 Meal Plan Options:

I am not following my meal plans that closely, but, I like seeing the options written out!

Brunches: Uppuma (Monday), French toast,  the last of the yogurt flat bread with chicken curry, soup, a sandwich with the last of the deli meat, peanut butter toast, scrambled egg and toast, muffins (if I feel like baking)

Dinners: Sausage stir fry with rice or pasta; baked chicken with corn and snow peas; baked salmon (from the freezer) with sides of rice and broccoli; leftovers!

Those are the meal plan options for this week, unless I change my mind and have something different!  LOL!

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for the rest of the week?  Are you doing a meal plan this week?

There are more flowers on the peach tree, now:

Peach Blossom

18 comments:

  1. The peach tree looks beautiful, I hope that promises a harvest of lovely fruit. I'm in a state of confusion re "trash". After YEARS of the collection being Tuesday, they announced at Christmas that at the end of February it was changing to Wednesday. I thought that was tomorrow. Just found out it is NEXT week. Been dashing round trying to get it all done before the truck arrives!! Still Very Wet here....

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    1. Thank you, Angela. I, too, hope that there will be a good crop of peaches, this year. Last year, it was such a wet and cool spring that many of the peaches rotted from the bottom where the rain water would gather on the peach and linger because it wasn't hot enough to evaporate right away.
      Oh, it's always so confusing when they change collection days, isn't it? Sometimes, when a holiday takes place on a Monday, our trash collection days (usually Tuesdays) get pushed back to Wednesday, but, it doesn't happen with all holidays, just the major ones, and I never seem to be able to remember which ones they are!

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  2. Bellissimo vedere i tuoi fiori di pesco già sbocciati.

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    1. Stefania said (per Google Translate): Great to see your peach blossoms already in bloom.
      Thank you, Stefania; this is an early bearing variety of peaches, with the fruit usually ready to be picked by the end of May/early June, before the really hot weather scorches them. :)

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  3. The peach blossom is gorgeous. It's good to have your plan written out and nothing wrong with changing your mind and have what you fancy on that particular day. I don't do meal plans, I do a weekly grocery shop and watch the use by dates on the fresh food and eat from the freezer stock as well.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. Your way of planning what to have each day, based on what needs to be used first, works, too. :) I tend to plan my meals around what I have on hand because I don't always grocery shop every week (more like every 2 to 3 weeks). I often run short of fresh produce by the end of the 2nd week, but, I have frozen and canned items, so it works out well enough. :)

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  4. Uppuma is another new dish for me. Not sure if I would like it or not, but it looks good. Peach tree blossoms are so pretty. We had a peach tree at our old house, but never got peaches to use from it because of the bugs and squirrels.

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    1. I often don't like new foods on the first try (e.g., pizza, tuna salad, Japanese curry), but, over time, I acquire a taste for them. :)
      The peach tree is looking very pretty with all the flowers! I often have trouble with birds pecking the ripening peaches and insects getting into the fruit after the birds have pecked them.

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  5. Your Monday sounds nice, despite the rainy weather. There are always enough household chores to fill the day. One of my friends who retired last year says she wonders how we ever had time to go to work. 😉
    I like your meal plan. My husband cooked pancakes and sausages on Sunday so I will have leftovers for breakfast most of the week. I’ll eat the last slice of cheese pizza from Friday night for lunch today and then have leftover chicken breast, peppers and onions with bean and corn salsa for the rest of the week’s lunches (except for tuna salad on Friday). Husband packs his work breakfast and lunch. For dinners, we’ve got 2 nights of boneless pork with sauerkraut and potatoes, leftover pasta with Italian sausage (from last night), and frozen shrimp which I’ll cook with rice. One dinner will be beef chili (already made), and I will cook a cheeseburger with Tater Tots for my husband on a night when I am going out to a wine and cheese reception before a play. I enjoy meal planning when I do it ahead for the week, because I loathe the nightly “what’s for dinner” decision. I modeled your brunch planning (although for me it’s breakfast and lunch) and it helps with the organization of leftovers so they don’t get overlooked.
    There is a curry leaf tree at my sister’s in Florida. The next time I visit, I want to be prepared to cook something with curry leaves.
    I have a load of laundry in and then I have work papers to finish. 😊

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    1. It was a good relaxed day. :) LOL, yes, I know what your retired friend meant! Housework took a back seat when I was working!
      Your meal plan for the week sounds wonderful, with a lot of variety. Tater tots! Yum! I love tater tots! Haven't bought them in years, though! I used to have breakfasts and lunches when I used to go to work, but, these days, I wake up too late to have both meals, so, I have brunch, instead. :) Some days, it is more breakfast type food and other days, it is more lunch-like. :)
      That's great that your sister has a curry leaf tree! You can make a curry and use some of the curry leaves in it. :)
      Hope you have a lovely day!

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  6. I love seeing the pictures of your meals that are so exotic sounding to me! One day I am going to try this way of eating cream of wheat. I can't stand the traditional American way of eating it because it has no real flavor or texture.

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    1. Yes, this is my preferred way to eat cream of wheat. It is usually made with semolina, but, I started using cream of wheat because when I first came to this country, cream of wheat was easier to find in any grocery store. :) There is a version made with rolled oats, too. I think you might be able to substitute cauliflower rice if you don't want to use cream of wheat or rolled oats. :)

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  7. The meal sounds good. What library book are you reading? You must be enjoying it to read it a lot. Sometimes I can get into books like that, but sometimes they can't catch my attention. I think, from now on, especially going through my own collection, if they can't grab my attention I'm going to let them go. I need to get rid of a lot of them!

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. I am reading "On Gold Mountain- The One Hundred Year Odyssey of a Chinese-American Family" by Lisa See. It's the story of her family and I am finding it very interesting to read. Good luck with the book decluttering!

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  8. Uppama looks and sounds so much more exciting than plain old "Cream of Wheat"! I like the fact that you can go out and pick curry leaves to add to your dishes.

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    1. This is my preferred way to eat cream of wheat. There's a version of uppuma (also spelled 'upma'), that's made with oats, but, I generally make the cream of wheat/semolina version.
      I, too, appreciate the fact that I can step into the garden to pick curry leaves and lemons when needed. Dried curry leaves work too, but, I think the fresh ones are so much better. :)

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  9. The peach tree's flowers are a beautiful color. Pretty soon it will be one glorious pink fluffy tree :)
    Your uppuma looks very good. I like the idea of a savory grain for breakfast or brunch.

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    1. The peach tree is very pink and fluffy, right now! :)
      I, too, usually want something savory for brunch (it could be followed by something sweet, afterwards).

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