A Ploughman’s Lunch

A scattershot images; the faintest whiff of meal inspiration.

With kids, weekends can often veer quickly into the chaotic. Despite our best efforts to overlay some structure onto our Saturdays and Sundays, every so often, Mrs. CWD and I still find ourselves scrambling¹. Such was the case recently, when, after a morning of swim lessons and grocery shopping, farm visits and pretend school, we looked up at the clock and realized it was lunchtime, bordering on nap time.

Typically, weekend lunches for the Kiddos consist of leftovers from the night before — protein, a starch, fruit, and vegetables, arranged on a construction plate² or right on the high chair³. We like to eat as a family, so Mrs. CWD and I will typically have sandwiches or leftovers as well. Having had takeout the night before⁴, however, we found ourselves staring at a mostly empty fridge. Needing something to satiate both the Kiddos and adults, we had to improvise. So onto a cutting board and served cold went some roasted leg of lamb from earlier in the week, a variety of cheese cubes, some sliced salami, buttered bread. We collectively picked at the board, kids about as happy as we could expect during mealtime⁵, and Mrs. CWD and I satisfied with a delightfully casual and easy lunch.

Sitting down to write this week’s dispatch, I found myself at a bit of a loss for inspiration. I figured it would be as good a time as any to revert to my standby for times like this, a bunch of random screenshots dropped into a post without context. Having done that — as you’ll see below — I set about trying to come up with a title for the post. Screenshots seemed to generic and I had already used 1,000 Words. I wanted something a little more evocative, more on brand with the gastronomic flair that is typical in usual weeks. So I started thinking about meals reminiscent of this scattershot styling. Smorgasbord, bibimbop, charcuterie, even tapas. But when the ever-trusty ChatCPT suggested “plowman’s lunch,” I figured I’d have a winner.

A plowman’s lunch is, of course, exactly what we ate over the weekend: an assortment of meats, cheeses, breads, and other components readily available, easy to pack for a day working in the field⁶. And, as I now realize, what works well for a day of manual labor works equally well in a pinch for a busy parent⁷.

So, in order to stay on theme, this week’s dispatch is my own version of the plowman’s lunch. A scattershot of images saved to my phone, presented without context. Those of you who studied close reading in AP English could probably use those skills to suss out a theme, but who am I to spoil that fun?

We’ll be back here next week with some more substantial fare.

1. There’s a great video I saw awhile ago of a guy exclaiming to his fellow parents on a Sunday evening that “we’ve made it; the two-day work week is over and now we can start our five-day weekends” — which, is only hilarious because it often feels so true.

2. For Kiddo.

3. For the Warthog.

4. Yes, even here, at the home of radical eating, do we order out every so often.

5. I’ve written many times about Kid Food in our family. Right now, we’re in a tough spot. Kiddo continues to be a picky eater — currently subsisting primarily on fruit, pasta, and cupcakes — and the Warthog, sensing opportunity, has boycotted most solids as well, insisting on mango jerky and milk “straight from the source.”

At times like this, I remind myself of the mantra that for kids, all nutrients are macronutrients and as long as they are eating something and growing, that’s enough. (Uncle CWD in Florida, as I’ve written before, received the majority of his calories from the ages of 6-12 from Dove Chocolate Ice Cream bars.) That being said, I don’t think it would kill our kids for them to have a vegetable every once and awhile, maybe to remember how much they like bison meatballs and venison steaks, like pork chops and chicken, mussels and salmon. Kiddo is excited as can be seeing the seedlings we planted sprout, knowing they’ll be tomatoes and peppers soon; is quick to point out turkeys and deer on our drives, inquiring when it’s hunting season so we can eat them — but when the rubber meets the road and the food is on her plate, she’s simply not hungry.

6. It’s now also a quintessential British “pub meal,” probably because the pubs realized they could throw a random assortment of leftovers on a fancy wood board and charge Londoner’s and tourists £30 a pop.

7. Much in the same way pasta carbonara — another meal with a similar provenance, this time for Italian coal workers — is our go-to for weeknights when we haven’t a meal planned. With just pasta, cheese, bacon, eggs, and fifteen minutes, you can have a meal on the table that even the pickiest eaters can enjoy (especially if you cook a few slices of bacon separately and reserve some pasta undressed to serve on the side).