Some days ago, my sister asked me for a few week-in, week-out meal suggestions. We were talking on the phone as she made her way to work in London and I waited for a bus in Rome. As Rosie asked me the question, the bus numbers and estimated times on the electric indicator scrambled before going blank. Despite being a full-time food writer working on a book that involves the repeated testing of 120 recipes, I couldn’t, at that moment, think of a single helpful recipe. I started rambling about chicken thighs, at which my sister, wisely, ended the call with a breezy: “Well, if anything comes to mind, let me know.” A minute later, the indicator flashed back on and the 792 arrived.
In late September, still limping into a routine after the summer and interminable Italian school holidays, I also need my indicator resetting. As the bus took me home, I started making a list of week-in, week-out recipes to live by at this time of year, good and good-value recipes that are flexible and accommodating for just a few or many. I wrote it out for my sister, and it struck me that it might be useful for you, too.
