A Menu for May
One Shopping List, Four Meals, No Waste:TEW May, 2026
Hello and welcome to The Edible Week, where I do the dinner math for you- four meals off one grocery list, without feeling repetitive or leaving you with a fridge full of forgotten produce.
This week brings a lineup of May-appropriate, aspirationly sunny recipes that will hopefully usher in the sunshine they deserve. A salmon salad that belongs on a patio with a glass of wine. A banh mi smash burger that is the perfect prelude to your classic summer burger. And for that day that won’t quite cooperate with the sunshine, a soup from the Yucatan that is perfect for the overcast spring day… and does a little foreshadowing for the newsletter next week.
The final fourth recipe is more of a suggestion for using up odds and ends around the kitchen. This week especially I needed a no-brainer fridge clear-out to end the week.
We are enjoying avocados, relishing their season of perfection. We are deep diving into cilantro, scallions, hot peppers, cucumbers, limes and radish showing up again and again. Rather than overlapping proteins, I’m focusing on the different expressions that the same aromatics, herbs and veggies can give you from recipe to recipe… a couple Southeast Asian, a regional Mexican, and something distinctly Californian.
Next week’s edition will be something a little different. Less meal plan, more dispatch. I’m looking forward to sharing it.
But first, a menu for mid-May.
Hi, I’m Miranda.
I’m the one behind The Edible Week, a guide to seasonal, low-stress cooking built around meals that overlap and make sense across a real week. This is a one woman show, I am the cook, recipe researcher and developer, writer, food stylist and photographer.
My background is in art and design, which inevitably shows up in how I cook, thinking not just about flavor, but about how a meal looks and feels, and the small details that make it memorable.
Most weeks I’m less interested in single recipes than in how dinners relate and play off each other, keeping things diverse, interesting, and efficient without feeling repetitive. I started The Edible Week to share that process and hopefully take some of the planning off your shoulders. My hope is that these menus bring a little ease, a little inspiration, and a few new favorites into your kitchen.
If this newsletter is the friend who figured out dinner so you don’t have to, the paid subscription is how you buy her a glass of wine. Recipes, pairings, and shopping list are all below.
And now for this weeks lineup….
Citrus Salmon with Cucumber and Avocado Salad
It’s avocado season and they are beautiful right now and I’m trying to remember to indulge whenever I can. Look for fruits that are firm to the touch with just the most subtle hint of give under the flesh.
Salmon and avocado is a classic combination for good reason. From hand rolls to poke bowls to avocado toast topped with smoked salmon, it shows up again and again. This presentation is just another iteration of something that works.
I love the broiler for cooking salmon, it’s the easiest way to control the cook temp. But if you like cooking your fish outside you can easily grill your salmon skin-on, and the flesh will separate easily from the skin after cooking. Get yourself a fish spatula to make that job even easier. The smoky flavor will be beautiful set against the cleaner palette of the salad.
We add cucumber and radish for some crunch, and a citrusy gently spiced dressing, and some soft greens. That’s a perfect little light spring dinner. Enjoy it with a chilled glass of white wine and a seat outdoors.
Bahn Mi Smash Burgers
I love a banh mi, as you may have gathered from previous newsletters. When making them at home I had my little method, and I’ve stuck to it for years.
Somehow the idea of translating the sandwich into a burger format never occurred to me until recently, and now I am mystified as to why I didn’t try this years ago.
A nice soft brioche bun toasted just slightly, all the crunchy fresh and pickled toppings, a good slather of sriracha mayo, that pile of fresh cilantro, and a little squeeze of lime. And as someone who is trying to eat a little less red meat, it’s also kind of cool that this forgoes the beef for ground chicken, ground vegan meat, or in this case, ground pork. The meat gets flavored with all the things that would normally marinate it, plus a little extra this and that because we have the advantage of mixing rather than just marinating. It’s a really fresh way to switch up burger night, and in a way, the perfect burger for spring before tomatoes are at their peak.
I know making a jar of quick pickled veg is sometimes optional, but in this case it must be done. Matchsticked carrots are a must, and while I was at it I put the cucumbers and jalapeños into the brine briefly as well. Start them right before making the patties and by the time you’re done cooking they’ll be ready to go.
Whether you’re cooking indoors or out, use a big cast iron to cook in, it gives you that griddle surface. And for the smashing… you don’t need a smash burger weight (although that doesn’t stop me from wanting one). A firm press from a strong spatula does enough.
Once the burgers are cooked through, pop your buns straight into the pan for a quick toast, then layer your toppings, ending with a big pile of cilantro (more than you think). It’s so fabulous that you might want to double the recipe and have it for lunch the next day. I did.
Recipe, drink pairings, and shopping list below the paywall.
Sopa de Lima
One particularly grey and blustery day, when I couldn’t shake a chill off, I decided to make a soup to warm up with. I wanted something cozy but definitely not anything that took me straight back to wintertime... Something that still felt light and fresh and bright. Looking at my ingredients for the week, sopa de lima seemed like an obvious answer.
A particular soup from the Yucatan, sopa de lima is reminiscent of a tortilla soup but more delicate. It’s got a clean brothy broth that feels both savory and grounding thanks to the chicken, and a touch of warm spice, but the lime juice, cilantro and avocado at the end keeps things bright. And it gives me a little prelude to my travels next week.
The heat level is entirely up to you. You can use poblano alone for a mild soup, add a serrano or jalapeño to bump things up, or go for habanero, which is authentic to the region and to this soup, but quite spicy and need to be handled with care. Removing the seeds will cut back on the heat.
I like cooking the rice separately and adding it when serving, it keeps it from getting too soggy in the broth. But if you don’t want the hassle of another pot, you can add the rice straight to the soup and give it about 20 minutes to cook through. It’s not always included in this recipe but I felt like it gave the soup enough heft to become a proper dinner.
Also optional but pretty lovely are fried tortilla strips, which are a small extra step but worth it if you have the time. Cut fresh corn tortillas into thin strips and toast them in neutral oil until golden and crunchy, sprinkle with salt and let drain on paper towels. Add them on top of the soup after all the other fresh garnishes have gone on, so they stay crispy and hot for the first few bites before they soak into the broth. A little treat.
Have your fresh toppings laid out and ready to go before you serve… avocado, cilantro, a wedge of lime, and perhaps some freshly chopped chile for anyone who wants an extra hit of heat at the table.
Recipe, drink pairings, and shopping list below the paywall.
A Friday Omelette
By the end of this week you might find yourself with a little cilantro that needs using, a few scallions, lime, chile, and maybe the last of the jar of pickled veggies. It might not look like much, but these are the makings of a little thai omelette.
I’ve shared a version of this omelette on TEW a long time ago, and with a few tweaks we can make a slightly similar version this week. The shrimp and bacon are delicious, but optional. If you had a little leftover ground pork mixture from the burgers you could just brown it and use it in the filling.
The dipping sauce balances all the richer flavors really well- fish sauce, lime juice, a little soy, sugar, sliced chile and a squeeze of sriracha. Things we have in the pantry this week already….
If you’re using bacon, start by rendering 3 to 4 strips in your pan until crisp. Remove, crumble, and set aside, leaving a couple tablespoons of fat in the pan. If you’re skipping the bacon, warm a little neutral oil instead.
For two people, whisk four eggs with a teaspoon of fish sauce, a small splash of oyster sauce if you have it, half a diced jalapeño or serrano, the green tops of a scallion or two, and a pinch of sugar. Set aside.
Warm the pan over medium high heat. Sauté the white parts of the scallions and a couple of thin-sliced garlic cloves until fragrant, just a minute. If you’re using shrimp, add them now and cook briefly until just beginning to turn pink, turning once. Pour in the egg mixture and gently pull the edges inward to let the uncooked egg run underneath, then leave it alone. If using bacon or cooked ground pork from Bahn Mi night, scatter it over the top now. Cover and cook on medium low until just set but still a little glossy on top. Unlike a French omelette, you want the underside to puff and turn golden in the oil… the idea is pillowy, slightly crispy folds around the filling.
Scatter a handful of arugula and some torn cilantro along one half, fold the omelette over and slide onto a plate. Serve alongside your pickled veggies, and toasted rice in sesame oil if you have any leftover from soup night.
Recipe, drink pairings, and shopping list below the paywall.
And thats the week. Please email any questions or comments to mh@mirandahope.com or hop into the comments section. If you know anyone who might love TEW, please share it with them and let them know the first week is free to try out. This is how we grow!
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