Collecting and filing

As I ride the pleasantly surprising wave of positive response to “Meal Planning: The System,” I feel the need to clarify and elaborate on one small point. That is, I don’t have to persuade JG to contribute to the meal-planning, list-making process. Since he cooks the majority of our dinners, he usually brings up the week’s meal plan; I’m merely the recorder. JG and I are on the same page about having a plan, being efficient, and shopping with an objective in mind. Sometimes, we differ on the how-to of the plan, but it really is a combined effort, and for that I am eternally grateful.

That said, if I had to take on the meal-planning and cooking all on my own (perish the thought!), I would be even more regimented. I imagine that I would cook a lot on the weekends, freeze, and reheat. Part of that comes from me coming home much later than JG, but most of it is my affection for casseroles. Thankfully, we don’t have to talk about this set-up, and JG is the chef of the house.

I will, however, take full credit for the magnetic caddy. That is all.

- - - - -

Today’s topic is the much-loved recipe binder, for which I will also take the glory, thank you very much. Now, our binder is not for every single recipe that we use. I don’t cull from our collection of cookbooks to create a comprehensive source. The main objective is to tame and file loose recipes. Previously, we had a floppy pocket portfolio with pages flying about, and it drove me crazy. When I had finally had enough of the madness, I went out and bought a binder (green, of course), a package of clear, plastic sleeves, and a set of binder pockets. I stuck an index card in the cover so that I’d know which way was up and assembled my fledgling system. I’ve made minor tweaks to my original scheme, and the days of that messy folder are a distant memory.

I have four categories of recipes: entrées, pasta, sides/soup, and desserts. Each section is marked by a pocket that holds all of the recipes I have not tried yet. Once we deem a recipe good enough to join “the rotation,” the recipe goes into a plastic sleeve (two per sleeve, back to back), and hooked in behind the appropriate section pocket. The pockets facilitate easy filing, and I can flip through the clippings quickly while we’re brainstorming up the meal plan. I don’t bother to alphabetize or keep a specific order for the recipes because we usually just leaf through the pages, and we don’t have so many that things get lost in the shuffle. I have a supply of extra plastic sleeves on hand, as well as a spare pocket in case I want to re-vamp the sections. I like how the binder allows me to move things around as needed.

I don’t feel bad if I never try something and it languishes in the binder because I view it as a waiting room of sorts. I’m probably too aspirational with the recipes I clip, but I figure that they’re there for me whenever I get around to cooking them, and it doesn’t hurt to just file them away for another time. If I’m reading a magazine or a food blog, I don’t hesitate to clip or print recipes for dishes that sound tasty because I know that there’s a place for them to live. When the system breaks down and we are stuck for a meal, or we come home, starving, from a weekend away, we turn to the binder for salvation because it holds our take-out menus. It is a handy arrangement, to say the least.

Although it would have been nice to share the full contents of the binder, here are links to four recipes (one from each section) that have successfully made it into the rotation. I hope they make it into yours, too!

• Spinach Artichoke Calzones
• Penne with Pancetta, Spinach, and Buttery Crumb Topping
• Tuna and Chickpea Salad with Pesto
• Pumpkin Cookies

Tomorrow, I share about my deep love of the salad spinner. Exciting, yes?