Five things, one prep session, then under ten minutes of assembly on any day of the week. Prepped in the order below, the oven and the Instant Pot never collide.
Superseded 22 September by the CSA rework — the current version is here. This page is the pre-delivery plan, kept for reference.
| Item | Active time | Keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Vegetarian Salad Olivieh | 30 min | 4 days — better on day 2 |
| Frijoles Colombianos | 20 min | 5 days, 3 months frozen |
| Banana oat baby muffins | 10 min | 5 days, 3 months frozen |
| Chia seed pudding | 5 min | 5 days |
| Smoky eggplant dip | 10 min | 4 days |
| 2 min | Beans into a bowl, covered with plenty of water. Leave on the counter. |
| 5 min | Chia pudding: whisk the whole batch in one bowl, wait ten minutes, whisk again, divide into jars, fridge. That second whisk is the entire technique. |
| Clock | Do this |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Oven to 425°F. Prick the eggplants, onto a tray, in. They want 25–35 min and you will forget them, which is fine. |
| 0:05 | Drain the beans into the Instant Pot with the plantain, carrot, bay and cumin. High Pressure 12 min, then let it release on its own. |
| 0:10 | Potatoes whole and skin-on into salted water, plus the eggs. Eggs out at 10 minutes into cold water; potatoes need 20–25. |
| 0:15 | Second burner: the hogao. Onion and scallions, then garlic, then tomatoes and spices. Simmer until jammy, about 20 min. |
| 0:35 | Eggplants out, oven down to 350°F. Potatoes drained — peel them while hot, the skins slip off — then spread everything out to cool. |
| 0:40 | Muffin batter, straight into the tin, into the oven. 18–22 min, or 12–14 for minis. |
| 0:45 | Scoop the eggplant. Set the baby's plain spoonfuls aside first, then mash the rest with tahini, lemon, garlic, oil, salt. Dip done. |
| 1:00 | Beans: stir the hogao through, mash some against the side, salt, simmer uncovered a few minutes. Half into freezer containers. |
| 1:10 | Muffins out onto a rack. Minis go on a tray into the freezer once cool, then into a bag. |
| 1:15 | Olivieh, now that everything is properly cold: dice, fold, dress, chill. Nothing warm goes near the mayonnaise. |
The one rule that decides whether this works: the potatoes and eggs must be cold before dressing. Everything else is forgiving.
| Meal | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Olivieh plate | Scoop, flatten, sliced egg and a few pickles on top. Cucumber rounds or lavash alongside. | 3 min |
| Beans and rice | Reheat the beans with a splash of water. Rice from the freezer. Cilantro and lime at the table; a fried egg on top if it needs more. | 8 min |
| Snack | Muffin, a chia jar, dip with cucumber and carrot sticks. | 2 min |
| Baby | Plain portions are already set aside from each dish — eggplant, potato and peas, beans and plantain, an unsweetened chia jar, mini muffins from the freezer. | 2 min |
Nothing to buy. Cumin, smoked paprika, bay, cinnamon, black pepper and sea salt are all on the shelf.
Last time a plan overshot, it was rye berries and skipped meals. So: the beans make six and half go straight to the freezer, the muffins are minis and get frozen flat, and nothing else outlives four days in the fridge.