My husband and I have just had a four-day weekend with it being Canada Day. And I didn't cook a thing.  Not a single thing!  And that's the way I usually want it when it's a holiday. I can't be the only one?

As much as I love to cook, I would much rather spend my holidays doing other things I enjoy. This long weekend was all about being out by the water, bicycling, bird-watching, or just lazing around on the lawn reading a book.

So what did we eat if no one was cooking?

We were quite happy with cold baked beans, crispbread, watermelon, raw veggies and frozen blackberries. (I love eating frozen blackberries - straight from the freezer!)  Black soybean sushi rolls, one of my favorite summer meals, made an appearance twice. Then the closest I came to cooking anything was simply reheating some chana dal masala that I made (again!) right before the long weekend. That was it.

Now I'm thinking about our dinners the rest of the week...

I do plan on cooking and will be making peach pancakes one night and a quick rice noodle stir-fry another night. The Lemon Bulgar Soup from A Wee Bit of Cooking is definitely getting made. And in fact, I'm going with the entire meal Wendy cooked up with the bulgar soup, hummus and toasted pita.  Those three meals ought to be enough to get us through to the end of the week with some leftovers for the weekend.

I'll be back with my recipes as they're ready.  Hope everyone's having a beautiful week!

Updated to include all relevant links related to this meal plan...

The meals:

• Black Soybean Sushi Rolls
• Chana Dal Masala (recipe from Hooked on Heat)
• Barley, Oat and Quinoa Pancakes with Raspberry-Peach Topping
• Quick Rice Noodle Stir-Fry
• Lemon Bulgar Soup, Red Lentil Hummus and Pita (soup recipe from A Wee Bit of Cooking)
  

Comments (9)

Meena said:

I know exactly what you mean about not wanting to cook during holidays! We had a no-cook-4-weekend too - two days out of town which means dining out, then the other two days of BBQ dinners with friends. It was just great, and I hate to think of what I need to make for dinner tonight!

July 02, 2008 | website

Courtney said:

I am glad you enjoyed your weekend! I have a 3-day weekend coming up, but I am planning on cooking! I love to use my time off to cook and experiment in the kitchen...I am a geek, I know! Courtney

July 02, 2008

Wendy said:

So glad you're trying out not just the lemon bulgar soup but the pitta chips and hummus as well. It was a great meal. Really fresh and cheerful.

July 02, 2008 | website

CassieYoung said:

Meena, something about those long weekends always leave me feeling like I need a couple of more days. Just as I'm settling into it, it's suddenly time to get back to work again. It turned out to be a little difficult for me to get back into the cooking groove last night and I really didn't want to mess with dinner either. And you know what? I ended up making another pot of your chana dal masala. I just love how simple it is to cook yet when eating, it tastes like something I would have had to slave over the stove for. I'm addicted - and my husband adores it as much as I do. Courtney, I wish you a wonderful, beautiful 4th of July weekend! I would love to hear about what you're cooking up in your kitchen sometime! Wendy, I can't tell you how anxious I am for the lemon bulgar soup meal. It appealed to me the moment I saw it on your site and I know it's going to be wonderful. And it really does look fresh and cheerful! Oh, and I've never put bulgar into a soup before and am excited about it as I think it could also be a great idea for camping this summer.

July 03, 2008 | website

Johanna said:

It is all about balance. I love to cook but also love having nice food in the freezer so I can relax and still eat well. In summer I am less inclined to cook but on long weekends when the weather is cold I find it relaxing to bake bread and do long stews when I have more time, especially if it means a break during the week. I am curious to see if the peach pancakes are savoury or sweet - was surprised to see a recipe for a savoury peach pizza yesterday (link from cookinpanda's blog)

July 03, 2008 | website

CassieYoung said:

Hi Johanna! I went with sweet pancakes and ended up tossing peaches on top with some raspberries. It's finally getting hot here and my desire to be in the kitchen is definitely waning with the heat. But I'm loving it as our winter was an especially long and cold one. I hope you're keeping warm and cozy there with your winter now! Your pumpkin buckwheat pancakes you made yesterday sure look good!

July 04, 2008 | website

Johanna said:

thanks Cassie - I don't think our winters are as arduous as yours sounded this year but they are cold enough to enjoy cooking in a warm kitchen

July 05, 2008 | website

Duckey said:

Having a plan is really great it helps you to keep in shape, when you plan a meal you tend not to "snack" and you also save expensive by not buying extra food. Your weeks plan looks very tasty and i'm sure you enjoyed it.

July 28, 2008 | website

CassieYoung said:

Planning really does help to save me money as I won't buy extra food I don't need, plus I greatly reduce the number of trips to the store, we don't eat out as much, and I minimize my food waste by first using and planning with what I have on hand. Thanks for your comments, Duckey!

July 28, 2008 | website

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