When cooking for the week, don’t create complete dishes, instead make building blocks for meals, to be assembled throughout the week. This approach yields more variety and interest to meals. At Buckman Street Kitchen, meal building blocks are called “foundational intermediates” and they are prepared early in the week. 

Foundational Intermediates examples [prepared early in the week]

• Steamed White rice

• Garbanzo beans

• Creamy vegetable soup

• Hard-boiled eggs

• Simple broiled chicken

• Grilled vegetables

• Roasted vegetables

Foundational intermediates are prepared with no seasoning other than olive oil, salt, and pepper. Therefore, there is no flavor commitment and the cook can decide which direction to go when the meal is created.

At the time of meal preparation, an impactful, simple way to introduce flavor is a combination of olive oil, minced allium, dried spice, salt, and pepper. At Buckman Street Kitchen we call these “flavor bumps”. Flavor bumps can be easily made in single-use amounts for each meal.

Flavor bump examples [quickly prepared for each meal]

• Olive oil + minced garlic + salt and pepper

• Olive oil + minced red onion + cumin + salt and pepper

• Olive oil + minced yellow onion + oregano + salt and pepper

• Olive oil + minced scallion + curry + fresh cilantro+ sat and pepper

Simple combinations [prepared at each meal]

• Steamed White rice + frozen veggies + flavor bump

• Garbanzo beans + canned tuna/chicken + olive oil + red onion

• Creamy vegetable soup with: chicken | cream | butter | garbanzos | flavor bump

• Chicken + flavor bump 

• Salad Greens with a few foundational intermediates + citrus/olive oil

• Roasted vegetables + flavor bump

This strategy is a way to allow creativity and options as you navigate through your week. Let me know how this approach works for you!