Stupid Simple
AnnPT77
Posts: 34,620 Member
I appreciate the mouth-watering amazing recipe threads. But sometimes - at least for me - my attention is mostly elsewhere. What I need is food I personally find tasty, that's also what I'd call stupid simple. Maybe it's the veg version of getting rotisserie chicken? 
June is a busy month for me, rowing mornings 4x a week (2x coached), serving as an assistant instructor 4 nights a week for our learn-to-row class. I get home around 8:30 (or so). Dinner needs to be Stupid Simple.
Tonight, I cut 260g of firm tofu into "fingers", and put them in the oven at 400F for 40 minutes to lightly brown and firm up further. This next won't be for everyone, but I love ketchup, so I dipped them in 70g of no-sugar-added ketchup. Doggone it, that's ketchup as a vegetable.
While those were baking, I turned to frozen veg, specifically frozen organic green peas: Zapped them in the microwave, added some tasty raw kim chi:
Next up, to finish dinner (at 10:39PM!), I had some lovely already washed local, super-ripe fresh strawberries.
All of that: Stupid simple.
What do you eat when time and energy are short, but you want to enjoy your meal?
June is a busy month for me, rowing mornings 4x a week (2x coached), serving as an assistant instructor 4 nights a week for our learn-to-row class. I get home around 8:30 (or so). Dinner needs to be Stupid Simple.
Tonight, I cut 260g of firm tofu into "fingers", and put them in the oven at 400F for 40 minutes to lightly brown and firm up further. This next won't be for everyone, but I love ketchup, so I dipped them in 70g of no-sugar-added ketchup. Doggone it, that's ketchup as a vegetable.
While those were baking, I turned to frozen veg, specifically frozen organic green peas: Zapped them in the microwave, added some tasty raw kim chi:
Next up, to finish dinner (at 10:39PM!), I had some lovely already washed local, super-ripe fresh strawberries.
All of that: Stupid simple.
What do you eat when time and energy are short, but you want to enjoy your meal?
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I do stuff like this a lot, because I’m also often short on time. It’s more like concocting than cooking. For example:
*microwave frozen brown rice/riced cauliflower while quickly sautéing some tofu (set aside) and baby broccoli or steam frozen broccoli. Toss all with Szechuan chili oil. Ready in 10 minutes.
*sheet pan: cut any vegetables that appeal (green beans and onion, or fennel are common), alongside tofu and potatoes or sweet potatoes, toss with oil, and bake for 30 minutes (a favorite to make during shower after the gym). Here is yesterday’s version (600kcal), I ate the entire pan.
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I keep a few "simple" things on hand that I can use if needed. Last night, for example, I opened my last lonely package of "Fall Zuchette" pasta I've been holding on to from Trader Joe's. When it shows up, I buy several packages and see how long I can make them last. I also have some "fresh" spinach tortellini in the fridge that can cook in just a couple minutes.
I don't use the oven in summer. I don't have A/C so don't like to add the heat to the house. In winter, it's easy to toss some vegetables in the oven to roast them.
Now that I have a pressure cooker, lots of things are pretty quick. Even beans as long as I started to soak 'em sooner.
Green salads. I love 'em. This is a great time of year for them. Yeah, they are simple but do take a little time to chop everything.
Some mornings, if I want a little more than I whip up like when I'm on my way for a hike or a paddle trip, I'll stop at the co-op and grab something off their hot bar. In the morning they have wraps. One is vegan. One has veggies and eggs. They also usually have potatoes as well as a vegan enchilada casserole.1
