I’ve been in a horrible cooking rut for the last few weeks. Even with my efforts to create weekly meal plans, I’ve been at a loss for what to feed my family. I just stare at my planner with my red pen, ready to write out what we’re having for dinner, and nothing comes to me. Well, usually I have one meal idea, but that’s about it.

I had an epiphany though today about the cause of this cooking rut. With just over 3 weeks until baby #2 is coming, I have about a billion different things running through my mind. Creating lists to organize myself has helped, but when it comes down to it, my mind basically just has about zero capacity to think of what to eat. I think realizing this is helping me have more grace with myself, because honestly, I’ve been feeling pretty lame about what I’ve been feeding, or not feeding, my family.

This last weekend though, for the first time in weeks, I got inspired, and I just ran with it. We’ve had loads and loads of spinach coming out of our garden. It’s bolting with the hot weather, (aka: going to seed, also aka: coming to its sad end) which means I need to get it out of the dirt and into our bellies, right away.

A few of our favorite ways to enjoy it include sauteing it in garlic with mushrooms or adding heaps of it to one of my favorite Korean soups, daen-jang chi-gae. My new favorite cookbook, Vegetable Literacy, by Deborah Madison gave me the idea to use the sauteed spinach in a fresh take on an open faced sandwich. I picked up a loaf of ciabatta at the farmer’s market on Sunday morning, and my noon, we were enjoying these simple but luxurious sandwiches.

Now, if only I could think of what to cook for dinner this week…

Open Faced Smoked Mozzarella + Spinach Sandwiches,

ciabatta
smoked mozzarella
sun-dried tomatoes
avocado
sauteed spinach with mushroom and garlic
fried eggs

This is really all about layering the ingredients. Cut your ciabatta to the desired size. Place slices of smoked mozzarella (or really any cheese) on top and toast in the oven until the cheese has melted.  Add slices of avocado, a few sun-dried tomatoes, spoon on the sauteed spinach, and top with fried eggs.

Then next time, take it a totally different direction, whatever you’re feeling like that day.