Our Dinner Notebook

I got the idea for keeping track of what Matt and I ate for dinner every night from Margo over at Thrift at Home.  She calls hers a Supper Notebook, but the gist is the same.  

Seitan on a Wheat Montana roll with pea fritters and creamy potatoes and peas.  7/7/22

Purple mashed potatoes and gravy with chxn fried seitan. 10/9/22

[Read more on the use of "dinner" versus "supper" here.] 

A vegetable pot pie with a Grateful Dead motif.  If memory serves this was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Dead's Europe tour.   5/4/22

Dining out at Tasty Harmony while in Colorado on vacation.  9/4/22

I read Margo's post about her Supper Notebook back in 2011.  I thought it was a fabulous habit and I considered implementing it myself several times over the following decade.  I'm not sure what finally prompted me to pull out a blank journal and record the details of our Indian Feast on October 14, 2021.  It seems pretty random from here, but it was as good a place to start as any.  I mean, it WAS a good feast!

Indian Feast at Jill and Alex's house.  10/9/22

Vegan pepperoni and sausage pizza. 10/14/22

Recording what we ate for dinner is a habit I've kept up for a year now.  Though I have missed days here and there, especially when traveling....or recovering from traveling.

Chxn fried rice. 5/25/22

Pinto bean patties with mashed potatoes and rich mushroom gravy.  8/9/22

Like Margo, I jot down daily what we ate for our main meal.  If there is any deviation from the me-and-Matt-at-home scenario I will also note where we ate and/or who we ate with.  I do not record where the recipe came from as Margo does, though that's a good idea and something I might consider adding in the future.  

The Dinner Notebook (stacked on top of the Household To-Do list, as it happens).

I thought I'd shoot for a year of such notes and then reflect on the practice.  I've decided to keep it up.

French Onion Soup 10/15/22

A grilling bonanza with Michelle and Sky. 7/17/22

Ultimately I expect that this Dinner Notebook will be a useful tool for our household.  A guide that will remind us of dishes we haven't enjoyed in a while, especially if we're feeling "stuck" on our menu planning.  A useful tool for seasonal eating--so that when we're being buried in pounds of green beans from the garden, say, we can flip back to previous green bean seasons and see all the different ways we put them to use.  

JoJean's piquant green beans and pinto bean patties with smoked chili sauce. 10/20/22

Black pepper tofu stirfry.  6/27/22

Plus, I think it will be cool to have a record of how our eating evolves.  I mean, our diet back in 2011 contained virtually no eggplant.  These days there are a few months when eggplant features quite heavily on our menu.  Like almost daily.  Until we're basically more eggplant than human.  :)

Cassoulet with dumplings. 9/8/22

Mushroom and sausage pizza.  4/29/22

I very much enjoy personal stats and record keeping after all.  And eating.  (And taking photos of what I'm eating...clearly.)