Welcome to mamaeats, a twice-weekly newsletter (Tues. & Sat.) inspired by a simple + seasonal home life. I’m a mother of three, avid reader, gardener, and home cook who focuses on nourishing, plant based, whole food meals. Subscribe below for weekly meal plans, reading and garden talk, and simple living inspiration.
Hello lovely readers, and happy Saturday. I hope you have been well? It’s been quite an enjoyable week for us. I visited a friend’s garden, met up with another friend at our local creek, picked wild blackberries and took a trip into the city (SF) with my almost 18 year old.
She had really wanted to see the Monet and Venice exhibit at the DeYoung that I had seen earlier this summer, and had the day off from work, so we set out early in the morning and spent the whole day out—exploring the city for a taste of newness without going too far. We saw the exhibit, which was extra special for her since one of the paintings on display we had done an in-depth study on during our homeschool years.
We then spent the rest of our day in leisure: lots of walking around, getting coffee and visiting bookstores, indulged in excellent ice cream and people watched. We took public transit—Amtrak to bart to bus—and once again, I was reminded how much I love passive travel and the community feel of public transit. We both brought books with us, and read during the train/bart ride once we tired of chatting. It was a lovely day together.
The book I brought with me was Just a Little Dinner by Cécile Tlili, tr. Katherine Gregor, and I finished it that same day. It was not what I expected, after reading some glowing reviews, but a good reminder that not every book is for everyone. I enjoyed the feeling of it; it’s set on a oppressively hot, muggy August night in Paris, and you can feel that summer heat through the pages. The pacing of the story is also beautifully done, it truly teases out the story in such a delicious way. But ultimately, the plot and the characters felt a bit flat and I wasn’t able to connect with it.
I’m now reading Elsa Morante’s Lies and Sorcery, which I was led to after a little rabbit hole I went down after reading Natalia Ginzburg’s Family Lexicon. Morante sent Ginzburg a proof of this book and Ginzburg read it in one sitting, which I find incredible beause it’s around 700 pages! Elena Ferrante also lists the book as a huge inspiration for her, reading it when she was sixteen— “There I discovered what literature can be.” I’m about 70 pages in so far and very much enjoying it.
In food this week, chickpea zucchini fritters return to the menu, a favorite way to eat zucchini in our house. Also, BLTs for an easy Saturday dinner, falafels, and eggplant parm, plus a chocolate silk pie requested by Joel. Hope you find something here to cook for yourself this week or to bookmark for later.
p.s.—here is my finished Aurora top, knit as a birthday gift in Sandnes Garn Tynn Line, colorway ‘matcha’. It’s even cuter in person/on a body and it was a very fun, easy knit. The pattern is very clearly written and I would reccommend it even for more beginner knitters.
notes: I make a meal plan every week based on what’s in season, always focusing on getting a wide variety of plants, legumes, lots of fiber (and overall satisfaction!). You can read about my meal plan process here.
I cook for 5; 2 adults, 2 teens, and 4 year old with a big appetite. I always make extra food (often doubling recipes or components of recipes; for example, if I am roasting potatoes I will roast some extra, if I’m baking baguettes I will double and freeze the extra), as at least 3 of us eat leftovers for lunch the next day, whether packed or at home, and I hate cooking a new lunch from scratch. This makes cooking more sustainable for our family and ensures we are eating healthy, home cooked food.
Breakfasts: everyone is on their own, as everyone has their particular favorites and eat at different times. We always sit down and eat dinner together, which you can read about here.
Weekend prep work: Clean out the fridge, go to the farmer’s market and grocery store to re-stock pantry and fridge. Bake our weekly 2 loaves of sourdough bread.
Sunday: eggplant parmigiana + simple green salad and overnight, no-knead ciabatta (from Jim Lahey’s excellent book My Bread or find online here). My method for the eggplant parm is to make a very good red sauce (28 oz can of high quality canned tomatoes such as Bianco di Napoli—or make your own with fresh tomatoes— a few garlic cloves, olive oil, salt) and then to slice 3 large Italian eggplants up, drizzle them with olive oil on both sides, and broil them on a sheet pan, flipping once, till each side is golden brown, more cooked than you’d think it should be. Slice up a chub of mozzarella of choice and some grated parmesan. On the bottom, layer some eggplant, then some red sauce, then the cheese. Place a big handful of whole basil leaves over. Then repeat, ending with a layer of eggplant topped with some red sauce. Drizzle the top with some olive oil and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling.
prep before bed: soak chickpeas
Monday: tomato nectarine salad, chickpea zucchini fritters, tzatziki
prep before bed: pickle red onions. I never use a recipe but measure by eye, approx 1c vinegar, 1c water, 2 T sugar, 1 t salt brought to just barely a boil and then poured over 1 sliced red onion in a clean glass jar, let sit at least 30 minutes-1 hour before using, lasts 1.5 weeks in fridge.
Tuesday: falafels I squirreled away in the freezer from last time making a double batch, in a salad: green lettuce tossed with vinaigrette, pickled red onions, toasted sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes, and a bottom layer of hummus on the plate before the salad is put on top (a favorite order at local restaurant Revolution Wines)
Wednesday: out for a picnic dinner at our farmer’s market with friends
prep before bed: toast pine nuts
Thursday: marinated za’atar chickpea salad with castelvetrano olives and artichoke hearts + sourdough discard pita and Ottolenghi’s tomato salad with sumac onions and pine nuts
prep before bed: make pizza dough, defrost pizza sauce
Friday: pizza night topped with mozzarella, thinly shaved zucchini, torn zucchini flowers, crumbly parm and basil + leftover chickpea salad from Thursday night
prep before bed: press and marinate tofu
Saturday: BLTs with smoky tofu bacon and thick slabs of early girl tomatoes from our garden; thick cut potato “fries” roasted in our air fryer
Date night cocktail: Ottolenghi’s “The Lawnmower”: iced peach and green tea topped with sparkling water or wine
Weekend sweet: chocolate pudding pie
Weekend breakfast: sorghum pancakes with roasted peaches
Thank you so much for reading. If you can’t swing a paid subscription right now, but you’d like to contribute towards my work here, I’m always delighted to receive a one-off tip via my ko-fi—thank you! I appreciate you all so much.
x A.
p.s.—Have a wonderful week. Leaving you with a poem for the week, as always. This one, by Maya Angelou.
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