Not fast, as in fasting. I didn't ever fast pre-pregnancy and it sounds like a horrible idea now. No, I'm talking about getting a meal on the table fast.
I'll be honest: this isn't my specialty. My specialty is getting home from work at 5:15 and having dinner on the table sometime before 7. I like to pour myself a drink and stand, hip to the counter, chopping and stirring. I like to let Brian work a little longer and listen to some music. Or I ask him for help and the kitchen fills with conversation about our day. I don't like to rush. But this season in our lives, the last pre-baby season, the working three jobs for Brian, prenatal yoga class and bible study for me, youth group and church council meetings season? It's not conducive to long bouts of simmering soup. I make our meal plan most Fridays and here's how next week goes:
Sunday: Brian is at youth group from 4:30 to 8. This is my night in the kitchen, West Wing on my laptop, baking bread and making dessert and long dinners. We're having our favorite "risotto" - Heidi's Lemony Risotto with Greens.
Monday: Now that Brian's on staff, we're both going to church council. It's at 7pm. We'll have leftover risotto.
Tuesday: I have Bible Study with girlfriends at 7:30, so I'm making a quick dinner of Tortellini with pesto. I'll be swapping out parsley in the pesto for the spinach I saw at the farmer's market last weekend. I'll make the pesto on Sunday.
Wednesday: Now that we're back to the school year, Wednesday is a night off for me. We eat at church before youth group.
Thursday: I have prenatal yoga from 5:30 to 7. It's not conducive to cooking, but I can stick something in the oven when I run home to change. Praise Jesus I live 15 minutes from work and my yoga class is 2 minutes from my house. I'm trying a pinterest recipe, Spaghetti Squash Alfredo with chicken Milanese-style. The squash will roast while I'm at yoga and the rest will come together quickly.
Friday is up in the air. It's our only real, uninterrupted night in next week. I might decide to take the night in the kitchen or I might decide to pick up a pizza.
I'm aware that this is the direction our family is going. In few years, when Caleb is playing three sports and I'm forcing him through piano lessons and we've got other kids we haven't even dreamed about yet, this is going to look like a cakewalk. But right now, it's new for us and it's bittersweet to slowly ease away from the days of leisurely wine and chopping.
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