Remembering, oh wait a minute... I forgot

Each weekend I sit and write a bit of a menu for the following week. The meals aren't extravagant but it is just so that I am a little more focussed at meal times. Although the menu is planned once a week, the shopping is done every few days. I find this to be a great way to eat as the veg is always fresh. But the main reason behind shopping so regularly is that we don't have a car, and children will only carry so much.

Three times this week I have gone to do the shopping and three times this week I have left the supermarket without one of the main ingredients for the evening meal. Firstly it was corn chips that were needed for the nachos. The second time it was the mince that is generally a pretty important ingredient for hamburgers. Luckily on these two occasions I remembered before we were more than a few metres from the shop. With cash in hand, a child was sent back in the make the necessary purchase.

I realise you are probably thinking that some sort of list is called for but I did write a list! I just happened to leave it on the lounge chair at home.

Today my memory didn't do it's thing until I was already home. My selection of root vegetables had been unpacked and were out by the chopping board ready to be sliced and diced up for the evenings curry. Did someone say 'curry'? Whoops. As I know we are here for a limited time I have been buying a few convenience foods as I don't want to end up with a cupboard full of different herbs and spices. Curry sauce in a jar (tastes so much better than it sounds) was the one vital ingredient that would transform this veg into a spicy feast, and it was still on the shelf at the supermarket.

There was no way I was heading back out the door so a change on plan was needed. I had a sourdough loaf cooling on a rack so the decision was a bit of a no-brainer: soup.

Amanda Blake Soule's new book had just arrived in the post and one of the first entries is regarding soup. I figured that this was reinforcing my alternate menu plan.

All of the curry ingredients went into the pan with some sautéed onions. Water, some stock and a handful of red lentils (shhhh, don't tell the kiddies) covered the veg and it was all left to simmer.

Give it a blend. Add some grated cheddar. Cut off some sourdough, and there you have dinner. The grownups even added some a kick of chilli as we were feeling a little daring.

Not quite the curry I had planned. I console myself in the knowledge that it is always best to let something spicy sit for a day or two anyway. It just wasn't meant to be, today.

Take care