Happy Things, and a Vegetarian/Pescatarian and Somewhat Gluten-Free Menu of Meals

It’s been a while! These last few weeks have been so full and happy, but exhausting all the same. In fact, I write this after taking a sick day to nurse my irritatingly fragile constitution. One, my husband’s amazing parents were visiting for Italy for a couple of weeks. I really struck gold with them – they are brilliant, supportive, energetic, and loving people. Also, I’ve recently been voted onto the Steering Committee of a remarkable organization called KALCA (Korean American League for Civic Action), which works to encourage Asian Americans to become more civically and politically engaged. I’ve found myself an Italian language tutor to help me structure my learning so that I no longer have an excuse to lazily try to “learn” the language via osmosis. Finally, I’m en route to finding a gym. Though I’ve been spending a lot of time and energy on my emotional and mental health and well-being, I’ve still ignored the real importance of physical health (I probably walk 1-2 miles/day in NYC, but clearly that isn’t enough to strengthen me against sickness, back and neck pain, and other boring ailments). With all these new and exciting endeavors, I have been hard pressed to find the luxury of time I experienced over the summer. And this has definitely impacted my energy-level and desire to cook with my usual gusto. And I feel super guilty about that. Womp.

Anywho, while Nico’s parents were here, we ate incredibly well. Combining Nico’s family and mine, we all spent a four-day weekend in Vermont. There, we saw a huge surge in consumption of cheese, pasta, meat, alcohol, and fatty things, which makes me really happy (and definitely made me a bit rounder). However, too much of all of this goodness has resulted in a more fatigued body and mind, and I’m going to have to get used to having other activities beyond work and cooking/eating, so this week’s meals are going to be about balance. Please enjoy this uncharacteristically vegetarian/pescatarian and somewhat gluten-free menu of meals:

Monday

L: Vegetable soup
D: Fish in a bag (cod steamed in a pouch with potatoes, fennel, olives, cherry tomatoes, and lemons) + salad
*make pickled eggs and egg salad

Tuesday

L: Pickled egg salad sandwiches with avocado and lettuce
D: Quinoa & chickpea patties with tzatziki sauce, cucumber salad, and roasted lemon potatoes
*roast fennel/stem, potatoes, shallots, and beet and

Wednesday

L: Leftover quinoa & chickpea patties
D: Olive oil poached salmon salad with roasted veggies, potatoes, and mustard vinaigrette
*make cherry and dark chocolate cashew granola bars

Thursday