What do you do when you have an empty fridge and a rumbly tummy?

The only way I’m able to keep on schedule with my cooking is by planning ahead. One afternoon per weekend is spent grocery shopping and prepping the week’s meals. I take stock of what perishables I have, I make a meal plan for the week and I get down to the business of feeding my household! This is a wonderful cost and time effective way of living, but it does mean I have to carve out time for shopping and planning. What do I do when that time just isn’t available? Well my friends, I’m still working on it.

Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it on here yet, but I get a biweekly CSA box delivered to my home. CSA boxes definitely aren’t for everyone (I used to waste a shameful amount of produce when I was younger and received one) but they are great for my cooking now. I end up with produce I never would have bought otherwise.

Rhubarb is in that category, but I’m really not sure why. I like rhubarb, I grew up eating wonderful strawberry rhubarb pies that my mother and grandmother made. My sister is crazy for the stuff. It definitely has a presence in my life – but not on my shopping list. I have never, ever gone out of my way to buy rhubarb. I’ve just ended up with it, either as a gift or in my CSA box. And thank goodness for that!

On the heels of last week’s delicious disaster, here is the recipe for Lemon Lime Layer Cake with Lemon Whipped Cream Frosting and Raspberry Filling. This cake is springy (texturally speaking, but it also suits the warm weather) and flavorful - the lemon makes it taste lighter than all that whipped cream should make you feel. Raspberry is meant to be paired with lemon! I served this alongside fresh strawberries and ended up dipping the berries in the whipped cream ( another match made in heaven!) If you are fancier than me, try decorating the cake with fresh berries on top of the cream.

Sometimes, life just doesn’t work out the way you want it to.

Lemon lime layer cake with whipped cream frosting

Take last weekend for instance. It was Friday night and I was so excited for the weekend to come. It was my sister’s birthday AND my grandfather’s birthday, so the whole family was getting together to celebrate and I was in charge of the cake. I found out I was in charge of the cake when my sister texted me a recipe link and the words “My Birthday”. Nothing else. We communicate so easily in my family.

There are certain basic foods that I keep in my freezer at all times to build quicker (but still homemade) meals with. I always have a few jars of homemade stock. I always have a basic herby tomato sauce. I always have cookie dough balls that can be baked off 3 or 4 at a time. Once a month or so (whenever I have time) I set aside one weekend day to cook all these things up. I’m always grateful later!

Potato and vegetable enchiladas

Though I don’t think I’ve ever told her, my friend G’s cooking has been hugely inspirational to me. In college, G lived in a communal-type household. Everyone there agreed to live intentionally, cooking meals together and living their lives in a more harmonious way. They were a big bunch of friendly hippies and I just loved spending time there. Most of them were vegetarians, meaning that if I ate with them there wouldn’t be any meat products on the menu. The meals never suffered from this.