Transitioning to winter meals

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get. I now know exactly what that means.  Lately I've been too busy to sit down at my computer to write my regular posts, and I do have some things to write about.  In the meantime the weather has changed drastically, making all that I have to tell you about the garden old news. But, I'm just not ready to give it up.  Some things you have to do in order, so I will continue to tell the of the aging of our garden and our transition to a winter diet.

  Any of you who have been regular readers know by now that my M.O. is to wander through my garden until I receive divine inspiration regarding what to cook for dinner. That approach has worked so well for me this summer, although in recent weeks the pickings have been slim, indeed.  I have fought many an internal battle about food planning.  For months I have made trips to the grocer only when milk, flour, or some other essential was needed. Now I'm facing the need to plan and shop.  What a drag. Well, only if that's what I tell myself.  Finally I have taken on the challenge.  And, really, once I got started, it wasn't so bad.  It's true that we can still eat well in the winter.

Last week I finally spent a day drinking tea and pouring over some of my favorite cookbooks.  I organized myself, made a list of about 25 meals I wanted to make, sorted out some for the first week, and made a shopping list.  The following day I shopped.  Since then we have been eating, mostly according to plan, vegetables still provided by the garden, but supplanted by the grocer.

We still have very nice salad greens, carrots, leeks, and a few tomatoes that were picked when still green and have been slowly ripening in the house.  We also have cabbage and brussels sprouts.  For this meal I combined our lovely greens with gently blanched carrots from the garden, our tomatoes, hard cooked eggs from a friend, and Oregon-caught tuna for a  Salad Nicoise.  I tossed the greens with a vinaigrette and topped the tuna with a dab of dilled mayonnaise.  A few slices of fresh bread and a glass of red wine made a very nice meal.  November 11th, our very last summer-like dinner.