holiday food blahs things have been a little off-norm at the ol' homestead meal-wise. thanksgiving begins the holiday season of irregularity, followed by back-to-back birthdays (mine and zuska's), followed by holiday meals, inter-family get-togethers, crazy nights eating out because we've run out of time, and so on.

the usual.

yesterday it occurred to me that we really didn't have anything in the house, no real meals planned. I was asking everyone for meal suggestions. the young'uns are sweet but if they had their way they'd eat the same three things over and over. then zuska says "i want you to make those cheesy scalloped potatoes you made."

huh? i vaguely remember such a dish, but i couldn't for the life of me remember where i got the recipe. on line? from better homes and garden? so then i check out my own damn blog and there not only is the recipe for cheese-y scalloped potatoes but another recipe for meatloaf.

duh, like i posted that recipe last week thinking i hadn't done it before. and it's different. and the recent version wasn't as good.

like i'm making the same meals over and over again. and not very well.

is it a sign of my advanced middle age that i don't even remember things i WROTE a mere month ago? am i going to become one of those old people who eats the same thing several days in a row because they forget they ate it before? am i going to wake up at 4 am and eat breakfast because the only other thing i have to look forward to is lunch and the early bird senior buffet?

sad.

so tonight we've got kid company and we're keeping it simple -- turkey burgers and salad and tater tots. because burgers require potatoes. and i'd like to get back to cooking but i haven't really been feelin' it, if you know what i mean. nothing excites me and i have a hard time getting excited about meals. i haven't lost the old appetite, nor am i tired of cooking, it just feels like the cooking center of my brain has shut down for holiday and didn't leave the rest of my brain any food for thought.

honestly, the most exciting thing that's happened in the kitchen lately is the arrival of a bundt pan -- a treasured birthday gift. i've made a triple chocolate cake in it and am looking forward to making some monkeybread but it isn't like a bundt pan is going to snap me out of this. not even a meatloaf made in a bundt pan would pull me out this funk.

someday... a home with a separate freezer for all the frozen summer goodness to pull me out of winter blahs; a separate fridge for beverages and ice; and a gas range. fifteen years on electric ranges and ovens and i've managed okay, but nothing beats gas.

in the kitchen, that is.  ¶ Monday, December 11, 2006