Jan 06 2009
Two Week Challenge
Over the holidays, I spent so much time baking, candy-making, cooking, and canning for my gift baskets that when meal-time rolled around, I often didn’t have the energy or kitchen space to fix myself a meal. So I started stocking my freezer with frozen pizzas, and when I grew sick of those, I would get take-out. Not exactly the back to basics lifestyle I was trying to achieve.
To kickstart my efforts post-holiday, I’ve issued a challenge to myself: no eating out, only natural foods free of preservatives, for two weeks. When possible, I will buy local or simply make things myself.
So far today, I’ve made a homemade breakfast bread (kind of like an Irish soda bread) that takes all of five minutes of mixing, then bakes in the oven while I get on with my morning. I’ve also made a very delicious lunch of pumpkin ravioli (that a local company makes, with all natural ingredients) with a sage brown butter sauce, toasted hazelnuts, and grated nutmeg; and a salad of greens, cranberries, toasted hazelnuts, shaved parmesan, and toasted hazelnut oil. It felt decadent, yet it was simple and fast to make. Start to finish on the cooking and plating was about 20 minutes (take that, Rachael Ray!). The cleanup was easy, as well.
I figure the challenge should be relatively easy, but it will involve creativity and planning in order to keep my meals exciting. The ultimate goal is to continue way past the two weeks, and to rely 95% on my own cooking, and to use restaurant meals what they are meant for: a treat, rather than the solution to “I don’t feel like cooking or cleaning up tonight.”
