Let's not talk about how long it's been since I've posted. Just know that I have lots of ideas about what to write, and I write them in my head, but I don't get to the sitting down and posting part. Rest assured I'm cooking and eating all the time though, because, well, that's what I do.
I've enjoyed some deep dives into foodiness lately, including attending the launch party for a new product called Saskatchewan Snow Beef, and this has gotten me excited about eating and cooking...and sharing about eating and cooking.
While in the car en route to Moose Jaw, where we stayed to attend the SK Snow Beef BBQ, I had the forethought to pack some of my favourite summer cooking magazines, and I made this meal plan which was so refreshing and delicious, I had to share:
Monday
Grilled Halloumi Salad
Prosciutto & Melon
Tuesday
Swiss chard, white bean and turkey on cornbread cakes
I looked everywhere for this recipe online, but it is nowhere to be found. I found it in a seasonal magazine published by Fine Cooking, called 'Farmstand Fresh' from 2014. Too bad that they didn't publish it online as well—we really enjoyed it.
I'll share it here for anyone who is coming into their Swiss chard crop and needs some ideas:
Serves 4 to 6
1 large bunch Swiss chard, ends trimmed, thick ribs cut out and reserved (ours were still young and tender so we skipped that part)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
8 oz. turkey kielbasa, diced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 28 oz. can of tomatoes (or 8 medium tomatoes, chopped)
2 14 oz. cans white beans, like white kidney or cannellini beans, drained
1 t. fresh lemon juice
A few drops of hot sauce (we served it with hot sauce so as not to traumatize tender tongues)
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan
Finely chop stems and leaves. If you have large chard stems, heat the oil and add onions and chard stems, seasoning with salt and pepper. Sauté about four minutes, or until soft and fragrant. Add the kielbasa and garlic and cook for another minute or so.
Add the chard leaves, handfuls at a time, tossing until they wilt and allow room for the next handful. Add tomatoes, season with more salt and pepper, adjust heat to simmer, and cook until chard is tender and liquid is slightly reduced. Add white beans and simmer to blend flavours. Finish with lemon juice, hot sauce and Parmesan. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper, lemon juice or hot sauce. Serve with warm cornbread cakes.
Cornbread Cakes
Makes 12 3-inch cakes
2 c. cornmeal
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 large eggs
Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.Crack the eggs into a measuring cup with one cup of water and beat with a fork to blend. Pour the egg and water into the dry ingredients and mix together with a few strokes of a wooden spoon or spatula. A few lumps are ok.
Heat 1 T each oil and butter in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add 1/4 c. batter for each cake, being sure not to crowd. When the edges show bubbles and start to brown (after 2 or 3 minutes), flip and cook for another minute. Add more oil and butter as needed for the next batch. Serve the cakes topped with beans.
This kind of meal is one my husband and kids love. It was a cooler summer day, so the stew hit the spot.
Wednesday
Speaking of cooler days, I swapped my original Thursday plan for Wednesday when I saw the forecast. Wednesday was rainy and cool, and so I allowed myself to use the oven and served up tahini marinated chicken thighs and gluten free quinoa salad with tahini, alongside the last of our spring asparagus crop. It was amazingly satisfying, and the nutty tahini marinade on the chicken was a hit with the kids.
Thursday
Pickerel and potato packets
Sweet and sour cucumbers with fresh dill (this is one of my constant go-tos in the summer for dressing up fresh cucumber)
Fresh greens with creamy lemon-chive dressing (four ingredients and an almost-instant, fantastic refreshing dressing)
Friday
Well, let's just say we felt like we earned a break by Friday. It was 30+ degrees Celsius (in the 90s, for those of you who operate in Fahrenheit) and I was scheduled for a night out with the girls. We picked up supermarket sushi for the kids and called it a night. I'll be sharing an Instagram post of my dinner out at Bar Gusto, so check them out if you're interested!
It's good to be back.
Showing posts with label Meal Plans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meal Plans. Show all posts
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Sunday, January 3, 2016
First (of many) Meal Plan for 2016
Instead of offering excuses or blathering about resolutions, I am simply going to say I'm back and intend to make more time for blog posts. A few things have shifted in my life so that I just might be able to stick with this on a regular basis. Yay!
For today, I will get back to the basics—providing my meal plan and recipes for the first week of January, and also sharing a bit of my current challenges around feeding my children.
As many parents would agree, the challenges seem to constantly shift, so once you think you've solved one problem another one seems to arise. Once we adjusted to D deciding he hates mushrooms, we suddenly also have to take into consideration that G has turned against pancakes (this is a tough one, since D doesn't consider a weekend to be complete without a large serving of pancakes).
At 5 and 7, my boys are considered by most to be good eaters. D in particular is growing fast enough that he can't afford to be fussy. Several moms have commented that when my boys are over, they are delighted by how enthusiastic they are about food. They eat most vegetables, they like all kinds of meat and starches, including lentils and whole grains. But if I try to mix things up in some kind of casserole, or too much spice of any kind, it is branded "too spicy" by five year old G, and rejected outright.
The strange thing is that G loves to eat when he likes what is put in front of him, and I've seen him literally break down in tears when we've had too many meals in a row where he has to try things he doesn't like or pick through things that contain ingredients he doesn't like. I don't want that to be his food experience either. It's tough on everyone.
If I were willing to serve what I have heard some chefs call "prison food"—a meat, starch and steamed vegetable, served untouching on the plate, my kids would for the most part be happy. It's me and my insistence on variety that get me into trouble. But I also know that sometimes they'll reject something one day and enjoy it the next, so I don't want to give in to their requests for simplicity just yet. It's all so confusing.
I'm trying to do more planning in order to make better use of what is in our pantry and freezer. I'm also trying to provide a variety of food experiences that both serve my kids' preferences for plain and simple and offer some new flavours and healthful options. I'm hoping it will do us all a service in the long run.
Starting with our meal tonight, I've set up a plan for six nights, offering a mix of vegetarian, meat, and options for using leftovers. Here goes!
Sunday
Emeril's Asian-Style Braised Short Ribs
Steamed brown and wild rice
Braised Bok Choy
This meal has been a hit in the past, so I was pretty confident going in. I don't get fancy with the sauce, just braise the ribs and then put them not the table. The kids love the ribs and the rice. The bok choy, while loved by my husband and me, and scarfed down by D, was rejected by G. Oh well. He ate the kale salad the night before, and both a romaine salad and roasted broccolette the night before, so I'm just going to have to accept my losses along with the wins.
Monday
Fried rice with leftover roast pork, peas, corn and eggs
Asian inspired salad (Probably this salad dressing, Romaine lettuce and fresh mandarin oranges and cashews)
I don't really have a recipe for fried rice. I will just dig around in my fridge, pull out what I can find for veggies, chop it small and stir-fry it with the roast pork and leftover rice. Then I'll mix in an egg. I have already been informed by D (and G will certainly follow) that this will not be a popular meal. Maybe I'll bend a little and make up plates of all the stuff in the fried rice, but not mixed together, for the kids.
Tuesday
Vegetable Upside Down Cake (from Mollie Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest (I have the old edition, but there's a new one))
Coleslaw
I've never done this before, but it is a novel idea, and it fits my goal to pack in more vegetables in novel ways. I have lots of sweet peppers in my fridge after Christmas and New Years' parties. G declared sometime last year that he hates them, but he can usually be persuaded to pick them out.
Wednesday
Monster Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (from Canadian Living's new seasonal slow cooker magazine, Easy Does It)
Caesar Salad
At worst, G will eat plain spaghetti with cheese. Strangely, his favourite cheese of all time is fresh Parmeggiano, which he will eat by the handful. I'll maybe save him some lettuce without the 'spicy' Caesar dressing so he gets some vegetables.
Thursday
Quinoa egg muffins by slenderkitchen.com
Roasted acorn squash
Salad (of some kind)
Squash is slowly becoming accepted in our household...very slowly. I'm not sure how this will be met in our house, but since I can't let the poor thing go to waste, I'm going to cook it. I'll try to work leftovers into my lunches.
As for the egg muffins, I will have a sense of what else needs using up by Thursday, and I can hopefully make a few without red peppers, so that G will enjoy them too.
Friday (Date night!)
I will only be cooking for the kids on Friday, since my hubby and I are planning to head out for a much needed adult night. We've been either traveling for work or just too busy to schedule a night out together for well over a month. We're looking forward to dinner and a movie.
My food fallback for date nights is usually smokies and perogies, some fresh veggies and a bowl of frozen peas. Weird, I know, but my kids plough through frozen peas like you wouldn't believe. Try it sometime! I often offer them as an after school snack.
Looking back on this meal plan, it may be too pushy for poor fussy G. But we have leftover roast pork and short ribs that we can make a meal of somehow if needed. And tomorrow, we're back to school lunches so I made a big batch of Morning Glory muffins, switching out the pecans for pepitas, to abide by the school's nut-free policy.
I thought I could find the morning glory muffin recipe link that I have been using for years, but I've been thwarted by the ephemeral nature of the World Wide Web. The original link is gone! But lucky for everyone, I have two hand-written copies of it in my recipe binder, so I will share here:
Morning Glory Muffins
Mix together in a large bowl:
4 c. flour (I used half white and half whole wheat)
4 c. oatmeal
2 1/2 c. sugar
4 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
4 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 c. sunflower seeds
1 c. sesame seeds
1 c. raisins
1 c. pecans (or pepitas)
1 c. coconut
In a separate large bowl, mix the wet ingredients:
6 eggs
1 c. buttermilk (or milk kefir)
1 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
2 c. grated carrot
2 c. grated zucchini
2 green apples, peeled and grated
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well. Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I make these as mini muffins too. Then you only need to bake them for 10 minutes. This makes 4 dozen large muffins. You'll be enjoying them out of the freezer for a few weeks!
For today, I will get back to the basics—providing my meal plan and recipes for the first week of January, and also sharing a bit of my current challenges around feeding my children.
As many parents would agree, the challenges seem to constantly shift, so once you think you've solved one problem another one seems to arise. Once we adjusted to D deciding he hates mushrooms, we suddenly also have to take into consideration that G has turned against pancakes (this is a tough one, since D doesn't consider a weekend to be complete without a large serving of pancakes).
At 5 and 7, my boys are considered by most to be good eaters. D in particular is growing fast enough that he can't afford to be fussy. Several moms have commented that when my boys are over, they are delighted by how enthusiastic they are about food. They eat most vegetables, they like all kinds of meat and starches, including lentils and whole grains. But if I try to mix things up in some kind of casserole, or too much spice of any kind, it is branded "too spicy" by five year old G, and rejected outright.
The strange thing is that G loves to eat when he likes what is put in front of him, and I've seen him literally break down in tears when we've had too many meals in a row where he has to try things he doesn't like or pick through things that contain ingredients he doesn't like. I don't want that to be his food experience either. It's tough on everyone.
If I were willing to serve what I have heard some chefs call "prison food"—a meat, starch and steamed vegetable, served untouching on the plate, my kids would for the most part be happy. It's me and my insistence on variety that get me into trouble. But I also know that sometimes they'll reject something one day and enjoy it the next, so I don't want to give in to their requests for simplicity just yet. It's all so confusing.
I'm trying to do more planning in order to make better use of what is in our pantry and freezer. I'm also trying to provide a variety of food experiences that both serve my kids' preferences for plain and simple and offer some new flavours and healthful options. I'm hoping it will do us all a service in the long run.
Starting with our meal tonight, I've set up a plan for six nights, offering a mix of vegetarian, meat, and options for using leftovers. Here goes!
Sunday
Emeril's Asian-Style Braised Short Ribs
Steamed brown and wild rice
Braised Bok Choy
This meal has been a hit in the past, so I was pretty confident going in. I don't get fancy with the sauce, just braise the ribs and then put them not the table. The kids love the ribs and the rice. The bok choy, while loved by my husband and me, and scarfed down by D, was rejected by G. Oh well. He ate the kale salad the night before, and both a romaine salad and roasted broccolette the night before, so I'm just going to have to accept my losses along with the wins.
Monday
Fried rice with leftover roast pork, peas, corn and eggs
Asian inspired salad (Probably this salad dressing, Romaine lettuce and fresh mandarin oranges and cashews)
I don't really have a recipe for fried rice. I will just dig around in my fridge, pull out what I can find for veggies, chop it small and stir-fry it with the roast pork and leftover rice. Then I'll mix in an egg. I have already been informed by D (and G will certainly follow) that this will not be a popular meal. Maybe I'll bend a little and make up plates of all the stuff in the fried rice, but not mixed together, for the kids.
Tuesday
Vegetable Upside Down Cake (from Mollie Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest (I have the old edition, but there's a new one))
Coleslaw
I've never done this before, but it is a novel idea, and it fits my goal to pack in more vegetables in novel ways. I have lots of sweet peppers in my fridge after Christmas and New Years' parties. G declared sometime last year that he hates them, but he can usually be persuaded to pick them out.
Wednesday
Monster Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (from Canadian Living's new seasonal slow cooker magazine, Easy Does It)
Caesar Salad
At worst, G will eat plain spaghetti with cheese. Strangely, his favourite cheese of all time is fresh Parmeggiano, which he will eat by the handful. I'll maybe save him some lettuce without the 'spicy' Caesar dressing so he gets some vegetables.
Thursday
Quinoa egg muffins by slenderkitchen.com
Roasted acorn squash
Salad (of some kind)
Squash is slowly becoming accepted in our household...very slowly. I'm not sure how this will be met in our house, but since I can't let the poor thing go to waste, I'm going to cook it. I'll try to work leftovers into my lunches.
As for the egg muffins, I will have a sense of what else needs using up by Thursday, and I can hopefully make a few without red peppers, so that G will enjoy them too.
Friday (Date night!)
I will only be cooking for the kids on Friday, since my hubby and I are planning to head out for a much needed adult night. We've been either traveling for work or just too busy to schedule a night out together for well over a month. We're looking forward to dinner and a movie.
My food fallback for date nights is usually smokies and perogies, some fresh veggies and a bowl of frozen peas. Weird, I know, but my kids plough through frozen peas like you wouldn't believe. Try it sometime! I often offer them as an after school snack.
Looking back on this meal plan, it may be too pushy for poor fussy G. But we have leftover roast pork and short ribs that we can make a meal of somehow if needed. And tomorrow, we're back to school lunches so I made a big batch of Morning Glory muffins, switching out the pecans for pepitas, to abide by the school's nut-free policy.
I thought I could find the morning glory muffin recipe link that I have been using for years, but I've been thwarted by the ephemeral nature of the World Wide Web. The original link is gone! But lucky for everyone, I have two hand-written copies of it in my recipe binder, so I will share here:
Morning Glory Muffins
Mix together in a large bowl:
4 c. flour (I used half white and half whole wheat)
4 c. oatmeal
2 1/2 c. sugar
4 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
4 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 c. sunflower seeds
1 c. sesame seeds
1 c. raisins
1 c. pecans (or pepitas)
1 c. coconut
In a separate large bowl, mix the wet ingredients:
6 eggs
1 c. buttermilk (or milk kefir)
1 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
2 c. grated carrot
2 c. grated zucchini
2 green apples, peeled and grated
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well. Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I make these as mini muffins too. Then you only need to bake them for 10 minutes. This makes 4 dozen large muffins. You'll be enjoying them out of the freezer for a few weeks!
Monday, March 30, 2015
San Francisco-Inspired Weekly Meal Plan
This week's meal plan is something of a balance between my memories of San Francisco and the reality of April in Saskatoon. We can't all have cardoons growing in our backyards in the middle of winter, and we can't just pull shellfish out of the bay when you live in a landlocked location.
Hence, my dinner menus this week are relatively light, but still making use of what is available in the stores, and what I have to use in my freezer (read: meat).
Monday
Molly Katzen's West Indian Red Beans and Coconut Rice with Collard Greens
I made this tonight, and while I had to ixnay the chili flakes from the red beans and the Tabasco from the collard greens so that my kids could handle the spice level, I was gratified to see D power through everything on his plate, and announce that he loved the cooked greens. "Cabbage?" he asked. "Collards," I said. "Kind of like a cross between cabbage and spinach." "Mmmm!" he said.
My husband was also a fan of the collards. We had the collard salad last night, and he said, "Can we have collards every day?"
Before we had kids we'd often have a beans and rice meal. But then our little kids rejected those kinds of meals. While G wasn't super keen on the meal, he is also recovering from a cold, so we'll test him again once his appetite returns.
Tuesday
Grilled lamb chops
Ottolenghi's Orange and date salad, posted by Stacey Snacks
Ottolenghi's Carrot & mung bean salad
I bought myself Plenty More after Christmas after I'd accepted that no one had fulfilled that wish from my Christmas list. I haven't spent enough time with it, but I intend to start.
Wednesday
Mark Bittman's Sesame Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Chicken from We Gotta Eat
Soba Noodles
Thursday
We're off to my parents' place for Easter on Friday morning, and I want to do a 'finger food' theme on the last day of school before a week off. I've decided to introduce my kids to cheese fondue. I'll hopefully give a report on how that goes...bread and cheese and dried beef, apples and grapes...how could it be anything but delightful?
Hence, my dinner menus this week are relatively light, but still making use of what is available in the stores, and what I have to use in my freezer (read: meat).
Monday
Molly Katzen's West Indian Red Beans and Coconut Rice with Collard Greens
I made this tonight, and while I had to ixnay the chili flakes from the red beans and the Tabasco from the collard greens so that my kids could handle the spice level, I was gratified to see D power through everything on his plate, and announce that he loved the cooked greens. "Cabbage?" he asked. "Collards," I said. "Kind of like a cross between cabbage and spinach." "Mmmm!" he said.
My husband was also a fan of the collards. We had the collard salad last night, and he said, "Can we have collards every day?"
Before we had kids we'd often have a beans and rice meal. But then our little kids rejected those kinds of meals. While G wasn't super keen on the meal, he is also recovering from a cold, so we'll test him again once his appetite returns.
Tuesday
Grilled lamb chops
Ottolenghi's Orange and date salad, posted by Stacey Snacks
Ottolenghi's Carrot & mung bean salad
I bought myself Plenty More after Christmas after I'd accepted that no one had fulfilled that wish from my Christmas list. I haven't spent enough time with it, but I intend to start.
Wednesday
Mark Bittman's Sesame Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Chicken from We Gotta Eat
Soba Noodles
Thursday
We're off to my parents' place for Easter on Friday morning, and I want to do a 'finger food' theme on the last day of school before a week off. I've decided to introduce my kids to cheese fondue. I'll hopefully give a report on how that goes...bread and cheese and dried beef, apples and grapes...how could it be anything but delightful?
Sunday, July 6, 2014
A Belated Summer Meal Plan
Here in Saskatchewan, summer has been painfully slow to arrive. Now that we have hit July, it seems to have committed to being here, at least in between rainstorms. This week was the first time I started feeling the need to cook summery things, but considering this summer may be particularly fleeting, there is also a sense urgency about it.
It feels more like summer now that I have stocked my fridge with rosé wine, Stiegl Radler, and ginger beer. And now for the food...
My summer favourites have been popping into my head at intervals. I've already made a few. Last night was Crispy-skinned trout and salsa verde rice, posted in an earlier blog. I also made a trip to the Farmers' Market today, and paid an ungodly price for new potatoes, among other things. And this urge, combined with my list of Farmers' Market produce has inspired my menu plan this week.
Monday
Burnt eggplant with tahini (from Ottolenghi's Plenty, but reprinted here thanks to Veggies and Gin)
Marinated lamb chunks (I have these weird cuts of bone-in stewing lamb from the last time I got a whole lamb, but I've discovered they make great finger food if you marinate them in herbs and lemon juice and roast or grill them)
New potatoes with dill
Tuesday
Marinated buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes
Grilled Italian sausage
Cucumber salad (recipe to be determined, although Ottolenghi's Cucumber salad with garlic and ginger, but another of my favourites is Sweet and Sour Cucumbers with Fresh Dill)
Wednesday (one of my must-have summer combos)
Grilled pork chops with garlic lime sauce
Black bean and tomato quinoa
Watermelon with feta
Thursday and Friday I am off on our annual Wild/Wise Womyn's Trail Ride. I have offered to make Spatchcock chicken, partly for the chance to experience everyone cracking off-colour jokes about the name. It will be a challenge, as we cook over an open fire, and it will take some balancing of heat to cook the chicken without burning it. I'll report back later, hopefully with pictures. I also need to provide a marinated vegetable salad and another salad to go with the chicken. I haven't quite decided on that one, but am leaning toward cider-glazed carrot and quinoa salad. Have I mentioned I love Bon Appetit??
It feels more like summer now that I have stocked my fridge with rosé wine, Stiegl Radler, and ginger beer. And now for the food...
My summer favourites have been popping into my head at intervals. I've already made a few. Last night was Crispy-skinned trout and salsa verde rice, posted in an earlier blog. I also made a trip to the Farmers' Market today, and paid an ungodly price for new potatoes, among other things. And this urge, combined with my list of Farmers' Market produce has inspired my menu plan this week.
Monday
Burnt eggplant with tahini (from Ottolenghi's Plenty, but reprinted here thanks to Veggies and Gin)
Marinated lamb chunks (I have these weird cuts of bone-in stewing lamb from the last time I got a whole lamb, but I've discovered they make great finger food if you marinate them in herbs and lemon juice and roast or grill them)
New potatoes with dill
Tuesday
Marinated buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes
Grilled Italian sausage
Cucumber salad (recipe to be determined, although Ottolenghi's Cucumber salad with garlic and ginger, but another of my favourites is Sweet and Sour Cucumbers with Fresh Dill)
Wednesday (one of my must-have summer combos)
Grilled pork chops with garlic lime sauce
Black bean and tomato quinoa
Watermelon with feta
Thursday and Friday I am off on our annual Wild/Wise Womyn's Trail Ride. I have offered to make Spatchcock chicken, partly for the chance to experience everyone cracking off-colour jokes about the name. It will be a challenge, as we cook over an open fire, and it will take some balancing of heat to cook the chicken without burning it. I'll report back later, hopefully with pictures. I also need to provide a marinated vegetable salad and another salad to go with the chicken. I haven't quite decided on that one, but am leaning toward cider-glazed carrot and quinoa salad. Have I mentioned I love Bon Appetit??
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Finally! A Meal Plan!
Wow, the last meal plan I posted was in June. I have written up meal plans for myself since then, but not as regularly as I'd like. Glad I'm back to not only making them, but sharing them.
It's a quiet week, so I have a bit of time to cook. A good foodie friend gifted me with a Bon Appetit subscription for my birthday, and the first issue arrived this week. I'm definitely inspired, and one of this week's recipes is from there.
Monday
Pork chops with cabbage
Steamed barley (saving some for Wednesday's meal)
(since this meal has already happened, I have a few edits to share. The original plan assumed I had pork chops in the freezer. Sadly, I discovered only one package of two, which is nowhere near enough to feed two adults and two carnivorous children. I had just ordered a package of Boerwors (South African sausage) from Cool Springs Ranch, so I decided to add those to the recipe as well. When I read to the bottom of the recipe, I noted Martha Stewart recommended serving the chops with a side dish of carrot and parsnip puree. I have those! So I made that as well. The results blended together beautifully. Nutty barley, sweet cabbage and carrots, savoury meat...mmm. It may be a strange idiosyncrasy, but I love braised cabbage.)
Tuesday
Roast chicken
Roasted sweet potatoes and (more) parsnips
My mom's frozen bean and carrot medley
Tossed salad
Wednesday
Baked Wild West Steelhead trout (from Lucky Lake)
Warm Cauliflower and Herbed Barley Salad
The salad is from my first issue of Bon Appetit, and I was delighted to discover I have virtually all of the hard-to-find ingredients, like gigante beans (I buy them regularly from Italian Star Deli) and fresh parsley and tarragon (well...mine aren't fresh, but I froze some fresh from my garden, and that will work for my purposes)
Thursday
Ragout de Boulettes (a winter favourite that we haven't yet enjoyed...and dare I say we might be running out of winter...in the next month or so?)
Pugliese bread from Christie's Bakery
Raw veggies
By the time we get to Friday, I'm guessing we'll have leftovers, and I am scheduled for a book club event that night, so I may leave 'the boys' to fend for themselves. There you have it. Something of a plan.
It's a quiet week, so I have a bit of time to cook. A good foodie friend gifted me with a Bon Appetit subscription for my birthday, and the first issue arrived this week. I'm definitely inspired, and one of this week's recipes is from there.
Monday
Pork chops with cabbage
Steamed barley (saving some for Wednesday's meal)
(since this meal has already happened, I have a few edits to share. The original plan assumed I had pork chops in the freezer. Sadly, I discovered only one package of two, which is nowhere near enough to feed two adults and two carnivorous children. I had just ordered a package of Boerwors (South African sausage) from Cool Springs Ranch, so I decided to add those to the recipe as well. When I read to the bottom of the recipe, I noted Martha Stewart recommended serving the chops with a side dish of carrot and parsnip puree. I have those! So I made that as well. The results blended together beautifully. Nutty barley, sweet cabbage and carrots, savoury meat...mmm. It may be a strange idiosyncrasy, but I love braised cabbage.)
Tuesday
Roast chicken
Roasted sweet potatoes and (more) parsnips
My mom's frozen bean and carrot medley
Tossed salad
Wednesday
Baked Wild West Steelhead trout (from Lucky Lake)
Warm Cauliflower and Herbed Barley Salad
The salad is from my first issue of Bon Appetit, and I was delighted to discover I have virtually all of the hard-to-find ingredients, like gigante beans (I buy them regularly from Italian Star Deli) and fresh parsley and tarragon (well...mine aren't fresh, but I froze some fresh from my garden, and that will work for my purposes)
Thursday
Ragout de Boulettes (a winter favourite that we haven't yet enjoyed...and dare I say we might be running out of winter...in the next month or so?)
Pugliese bread from Christie's Bakery
Raw veggies
By the time we get to Friday, I'm guessing we'll have leftovers, and I am scheduled for a book club event that night, so I may leave 'the boys' to fend for themselves. There you have it. Something of a plan.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Meal Plan for First Week of Hot Weather
We've had some warm days here and there, but this week's forecast is the first time that temperatures are consistently in the mid-20s. BBQ time!
Here's the plan:
Monday
Grilled bison sirloin tip roast (currently marinating in red wine, onion, bay leaves, salt and smoked black pepper, and I plan to rub it with garlic and Dijon and grill on indirect heat)
Roasted sweet potatoes
Steamed green beans (I bought a monster bag of Canadian-grown organic green beans at Costco this winter, and I need to clear it out of the freezer before my bean crop matures).
Salad with home-grown sprouts
Tuesday
Zucchini and corn frittata (I have a sudden influx of farm eggs, now that my aunt's chickens are in full production. Time to make eggs the main course of some meals...and time for some lemon curd!)
Broccoli salad
Wednesday
Crispy-skinned salmon and rice with salsa verde (not sure if I'll fry or grill the salmon, but I do know this: a trip to the Farmers' Market is in order to stock up on fresh basil, until my newly planted basil babies are ready to harvest)
Salad and/or fresh veggies
Thursday
I am enjoying a windfall of moose meat as well as wild caught fish thanks to some good friends of mine. The salmon is from them as well, and I'm going to start turning the moose hamburger into sausage patties.
Moose sausage patties
Quinoa pilaf
Broccoli and cauliflower
I won't actually be eating the meal on Thursday, but I have to have it ready to go before I leave for my editorial meeting at 5pm. I aim to make something everyone likes, and that can either be cooked ahead of time or be prepped and easily cooked by my husband. I'm thinking I'll have the pilaf cooked and the veggies in the pot ready to be steamed, and the sausages mixed and formed and ready to grill or fry.
Then I'm off to my parents' place for a quick visit and some horseback riding and fishing with the boys before coming home Sunday to cook for our Goat Curry party. I'll post that menu closer to the date. I'll be making Paneer and shopping at the Swadesh Market for some special ingredients sometime this week.
Here's the plan:
Monday
Grilled bison sirloin tip roast (currently marinating in red wine, onion, bay leaves, salt and smoked black pepper, and I plan to rub it with garlic and Dijon and grill on indirect heat)
Roasted sweet potatoes
Steamed green beans (I bought a monster bag of Canadian-grown organic green beans at Costco this winter, and I need to clear it out of the freezer before my bean crop matures).
Salad with home-grown sprouts
Tuesday
Zucchini and corn frittata (I have a sudden influx of farm eggs, now that my aunt's chickens are in full production. Time to make eggs the main course of some meals...and time for some lemon curd!)
Broccoli salad
Wednesday
Crispy-skinned salmon and rice with salsa verde (not sure if I'll fry or grill the salmon, but I do know this: a trip to the Farmers' Market is in order to stock up on fresh basil, until my newly planted basil babies are ready to harvest)
Salad and/or fresh veggies
Thursday
I am enjoying a windfall of moose meat as well as wild caught fish thanks to some good friends of mine. The salmon is from them as well, and I'm going to start turning the moose hamburger into sausage patties.
Moose sausage patties
Quinoa pilaf
Broccoli and cauliflower
I won't actually be eating the meal on Thursday, but I have to have it ready to go before I leave for my editorial meeting at 5pm. I aim to make something everyone likes, and that can either be cooked ahead of time or be prepped and easily cooked by my husband. I'm thinking I'll have the pilaf cooked and the veggies in the pot ready to be steamed, and the sausages mixed and formed and ready to grill or fry.
Then I'm off to my parents' place for a quick visit and some horseback riding and fishing with the boys before coming home Sunday to cook for our Goat Curry party. I'll post that menu closer to the date. I'll be making Paneer and shopping at the Swadesh Market for some special ingredients sometime this week.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Easter Week Short Meal Plan
On Thursday this week, we're headed to my parents' to celebrate Easter with them, so I am practicing restraint in my meal plan and trying my best not to have to go to the grocery store before then. Here's my (fairly) simple meal plan for Monday thru Wednesday:
Monday
Kale chips (my new favourite thing; and it's got my kids singing, "Yum! Yum!" when I drop a bundle of organic kale into the grocery cart. Everyone loves them. My husband missed my first two times serving them because the kids ate them all before he got home from work. When he finally did try them, he said, "What a great way to eat kale!" We have been having them at least once a week since the price of organic kale became more reasonable.)
Chicken vegetable stew, thickened with quinoa flour, recipe provided in an earlier post
A note on this stew: I thought that I had enough quinoa flour to make it (it requires a half cup), and it turns out I was wrong. Luckily, I have some experience with grinding whole wheat berries for a whole grain pancake recipe, and decided to try blending some whole quinoa grains and water together to create the required flour/water slurry. Success! Remember this if you ever require flour for thickening and you happen to only have the whole grains on hand.
My boys LOVE chicken soup, but they have not yet been convinced of the merits of chicken stew. D picked through to get at all the meat; G went for the potatoes and then called it a day. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.
Tuesday
My parents just brought me a couple of cuts of bison meat, which they acquired in one of my dad's famous small town trades. I am going to make bison burgers tomorrow.
Because I'm trying to avoid the grocery store, I entered into an intense negotiation with myself over what kind of salad we're having. I have a whole cabbage in the fridge, so coleslaw is in order. My first urge was to make blue cheese coleslaw, a family favourite, but that would require me to go purchase mayonnaise and blue cheese. Or, I could make the mayonnaise, but I would still need to buy blue cheese. In my world, burgers MUST have cheese, but since I have some really good white cheddar, I don't NEED the blue cheese to make the burgers. I also have some leftover bbq sauce from a meal I made last week, as well as some coleslaw vinaigrette in my fridge. So I can still make coleslaw, just not my first choice. But I like the vinaigrette, too.
Coleslaw vinaigrette
1/2 c. vineger
6 T. canola oil
6 T. sugar
2 1/2 t. dry mustard
1 t. celery seed
Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan, then turn off heat, season with salt and pepper, and let cool before using. Pour over your favourite slaw ingredients. My favourite combination is fresh-cut cabbage, grated carrots, green onion and green pepper if I have it. Sunflower seeds, craisins or raisins are a great addition as well.
I have also decided to make hamburger rolls, since I have ingredients for bread, and have been enjoying that process. My dough is rising as I type this; I will shape the buns and let them rise overnight. I've never made larger kaiser rolls with my whole wheat roll recipe. I'll give a report tomorrow.
I've been growing my own sprouts and having fun with that too (how can you tell I'm ready to get back out in the garden?), and I think instead of going to buy lettuce, we'll top our burgers with them.
So what will go on these burgers? Thanks to what is in my fridge, here's the list:
Sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onion
Old white cheddar
Spicy home-grown sprouts
Tomatoes (NOT in the fridge)
BBQ sauce
...and the pièce de resistance...wild boar back bacon! (I have a few slices leftover from breakfast on the weekend)
Plus the coleslaw and some raw veggies for the kids to munch on. They are hamburger fiends, and they also go nuts for fresh bread, so it should be a good eating day for them.
Not bad for not having to go to the grocery store...
Wednesday
Did I say I'm trying not to go to the grocery store? Just as I wrote that, I realized I have scheduled the next phase in my adventures as a foodie for Wednesday night: I am teaching my 18 year-old cooking-illiterate nephew to cook. We're starting with a trip to the grocery store for an orientation, and then I am going to have him cook us some pasta. So I do have to go to the store after all. But I won't really be buying anything except pasta.
I made a dead-simple pasta sauce for dinner one night for my kids, involving a can of tomatoes and some butter (heat the tomatoes, mash them, simmer for a while, then stir in some butter and throw cooked pasta in to soak in it a bit while it simmers). I was amazed by how good it is. I'm thinking I might throw that at him, instead of letting him pick up a jar of sauce...unless he gets to buy a jar for a taste comparison...
So that's this week. I'll report back on the buns and how Wednesday goes.
Monday
Kale chips (my new favourite thing; and it's got my kids singing, "Yum! Yum!" when I drop a bundle of organic kale into the grocery cart. Everyone loves them. My husband missed my first two times serving them because the kids ate them all before he got home from work. When he finally did try them, he said, "What a great way to eat kale!" We have been having them at least once a week since the price of organic kale became more reasonable.)
Chicken vegetable stew, thickened with quinoa flour, recipe provided in an earlier post
A note on this stew: I thought that I had enough quinoa flour to make it (it requires a half cup), and it turns out I was wrong. Luckily, I have some experience with grinding whole wheat berries for a whole grain pancake recipe, and decided to try blending some whole quinoa grains and water together to create the required flour/water slurry. Success! Remember this if you ever require flour for thickening and you happen to only have the whole grains on hand.
My boys LOVE chicken soup, but they have not yet been convinced of the merits of chicken stew. D picked through to get at all the meat; G went for the potatoes and then called it a day. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.
Tuesday
My parents just brought me a couple of cuts of bison meat, which they acquired in one of my dad's famous small town trades. I am going to make bison burgers tomorrow.
Because I'm trying to avoid the grocery store, I entered into an intense negotiation with myself over what kind of salad we're having. I have a whole cabbage in the fridge, so coleslaw is in order. My first urge was to make blue cheese coleslaw, a family favourite, but that would require me to go purchase mayonnaise and blue cheese. Or, I could make the mayonnaise, but I would still need to buy blue cheese. In my world, burgers MUST have cheese, but since I have some really good white cheddar, I don't NEED the blue cheese to make the burgers. I also have some leftover bbq sauce from a meal I made last week, as well as some coleslaw vinaigrette in my fridge. So I can still make coleslaw, just not my first choice. But I like the vinaigrette, too.
Coleslaw vinaigrette
1/2 c. vineger
6 T. canola oil
6 T. sugar
2 1/2 t. dry mustard
1 t. celery seed
Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan, then turn off heat, season with salt and pepper, and let cool before using. Pour over your favourite slaw ingredients. My favourite combination is fresh-cut cabbage, grated carrots, green onion and green pepper if I have it. Sunflower seeds, craisins or raisins are a great addition as well.
I have also decided to make hamburger rolls, since I have ingredients for bread, and have been enjoying that process. My dough is rising as I type this; I will shape the buns and let them rise overnight. I've never made larger kaiser rolls with my whole wheat roll recipe. I'll give a report tomorrow.
I've been growing my own sprouts and having fun with that too (how can you tell I'm ready to get back out in the garden?), and I think instead of going to buy lettuce, we'll top our burgers with them.
So what will go on these burgers? Thanks to what is in my fridge, here's the list:
Sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onion
Old white cheddar
Spicy home-grown sprouts
Tomatoes (NOT in the fridge)
BBQ sauce
...and the pièce de resistance...wild boar back bacon! (I have a few slices leftover from breakfast on the weekend)
Plus the coleslaw and some raw veggies for the kids to munch on. They are hamburger fiends, and they also go nuts for fresh bread, so it should be a good eating day for them.
Not bad for not having to go to the grocery store...
Wednesday
Did I say I'm trying not to go to the grocery store? Just as I wrote that, I realized I have scheduled the next phase in my adventures as a foodie for Wednesday night: I am teaching my 18 year-old cooking-illiterate nephew to cook. We're starting with a trip to the grocery store for an orientation, and then I am going to have him cook us some pasta. So I do have to go to the store after all. But I won't really be buying anything except pasta.
I made a dead-simple pasta sauce for dinner one night for my kids, involving a can of tomatoes and some butter (heat the tomatoes, mash them, simmer for a while, then stir in some butter and throw cooked pasta in to soak in it a bit while it simmers). I was amazed by how good it is. I'm thinking I might throw that at him, instead of letting him pick up a jar of sauce...unless he gets to buy a jar for a taste comparison...
So that's this week. I'll report back on the buns and how Wednesday goes.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Meal Plan Review
I promised I would let everyone know what I thought of the new recipes I was trying this week, but then my new computer arrived, and I had to spend a couple of days transferring files, etc. So I was offline, unexpectedly. The good news is that now I have a working disk drive, and can post the photos of our new kitchen! I will do this for my next post. For now, I would like to say that Tuesday's skillet tamales didn't rock my world. They weren't too exciting, and mostly contained a lot of corn—both cornmeal and kernel corn. Mark Bittman has another tamale recipe that calls for quinoa, and I think I'll try that one next time I'm in the mood for tamales.
Wednesday's tortilla melts, on the other hand, rocked everyone's world. I knew they would. How can you go wrong with roasted portabellas, cream cheese, pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella, all in one sandwich?
Tortilla Melts (from Moosewood's Simple Suppers)
3 T. olive oil, plus more for brushing on tortillas
1 T. balsamic vinegar
2 large portabella mushroom caps
1 small red onion
salt and black pepper
6 flour tortillas (about 8" in diameter)
3 T. cream cheese, softened
3 T. pesto (I had homemade in the freezer)
1 large tomato, sliced
6 oz. sliced mozzarella, smoked mozzarella or provolone
Preheat the oven to 450F. Lightly oil a baking sheet
In a bowl, whisk together 3 T. olive oil and the vinegar. Slice the portabellas and red onion and add to the bowl. Stir well to coat evenly with marinade. Spread on the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the onions are softened and the mushrooms are juicy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.
To build sandwiches, lightly brush one side of two tortillas with oil and place them oiled side down on a clean baking sheet. Spread the top side of the tortillas with cream cheese. Pile roasted portabellas and onions on the cream cheese. Spread pesto on two more tortillas and lay them on top of the onions. Top the pesto-covered tortillas with tomato and cheese slices. Place the last two tortillas on the stacks and brush the tops with oil. Bake until the cheese is melted and the top and bottom of the tortillas are crisp, about 15 minutes.
Let the sandwiches cool for a minute or two before cutting.
While Baby G went for the potato, bean and arugula soup, D loved these sandwiches. Me too! Will definitely be making this sandwich, or variations thereof, again.
Wednesday's tortilla melts, on the other hand, rocked everyone's world. I knew they would. How can you go wrong with roasted portabellas, cream cheese, pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella, all in one sandwich?
Tortilla Melts (from Moosewood's Simple Suppers)
3 T. olive oil, plus more for brushing on tortillas
1 T. balsamic vinegar
2 large portabella mushroom caps
1 small red onion
salt and black pepper
6 flour tortillas (about 8" in diameter)
3 T. cream cheese, softened
3 T. pesto (I had homemade in the freezer)
1 large tomato, sliced
6 oz. sliced mozzarella, smoked mozzarella or provolone
Preheat the oven to 450F. Lightly oil a baking sheet
In a bowl, whisk together 3 T. olive oil and the vinegar. Slice the portabellas and red onion and add to the bowl. Stir well to coat evenly with marinade. Spread on the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the onions are softened and the mushrooms are juicy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.
To build sandwiches, lightly brush one side of two tortillas with oil and place them oiled side down on a clean baking sheet. Spread the top side of the tortillas with cream cheese. Pile roasted portabellas and onions on the cream cheese. Spread pesto on two more tortillas and lay them on top of the onions. Top the pesto-covered tortillas with tomato and cheese slices. Place the last two tortillas on the stacks and brush the tops with oil. Bake until the cheese is melted and the top and bottom of the tortillas are crisp, about 15 minutes.
Let the sandwiches cool for a minute or two before cutting.
While Baby G went for the potato, bean and arugula soup, D loved these sandwiches. Me too! Will definitely be making this sandwich, or variations thereof, again.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Signs a Sick Foodie is Feeling Better
I don't know about other foodies, but for me, as an illness starts to wane, there are sure signs that I'm feeling better.
First, I start craving comfort food from my childhood. Fridays when I was growing up were pizza and milkshake days. I made pepperoni mushroom pizza and strawberry milkshakes for the family.
Second, I start flipping through cookbooks, thinking about things I would make if I had the energy and inclination. Yesterday, I was making a list of things I want to make from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking cookbook. For the record, my to-bake list now includes coconut scones and oatmeal cinnamon swirl bread. Earlier today, I pulled a couple of slightly neglected cookbooks off the shelf and flipped through them for ideas, both for family meals and future entertaining.
Third, I start thinking of ways to make the meals I cook just a little more special. I wanted to have a nice meal tonight, so I had thawed some steaks. I didn't just want any old steaks, though. I was tempted to run to the store to get blue cheese, but opted instead to make a garlic-chive butter to slather over them. Along with that, I decided to make roasted Brussels sprouts, Caesar salad, and potatoes Anna.
Potatoes Anna are my new favourite thing. They have so few ingredients, and the final results are stunning. They do require a couple of special tools, though—it's helpful to have a mandoline or some kind of slicer that will slice the potatoes as thin as possible. You also need a good skillet that can go from stove-top to oven at 400F. Other than that, you just need butter, salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Peel and slice thinly 5 or 6 medium potatoes. Butter a 9- or 10-inch oven-proof skillet and then layer the potatoes into the skillet, overlapping them in a decorative fashion. Salt and pepper each layer. When all the potatoes are layered, dot the top with a 1/2 cup of butter, and cover the pan with foil. Place over medium heat on the stove-top for 10 minutes, then transfer to the hot oven for 30 minutes. Slide a knife or spatula around the potatoes and carefully turn upside down and unmold onto a serving plate.
The top of the dish (the part that cooked against the bottom of the pan) will be golden and crisp; the rest of the potatoes will be tender and buttery. It's as if a French fry, cooked in butter, married some mashed potatoes, and had a family. Potatoes Anna would be their offspring.
My kids always love steak. Baby G focused on the meat, as usual. D, on the other hand, ate his half-wedge of potatoes and promptly asked for more. He ate almost a whole wedge, after that, and seemed quite delighted that it "looks like a pie!"
I know it isn't always a challenge to get kids to eat potatoes, and there's probably more butter in potatoes Anna than you normally need in a side dish. But it's still gratifying to watch my family enjoy a meal with such gusto.
Besides the flavour and texture of the potatoes, which I enjoy very much, I also enjoy how little attention I need to pay to them once the dish is assembled. Simple dishes like roasted or mashed potatoes require some care. You need to make sure the roasted potatoes aren't burning or sticking, and you need to stir them occasionally. Mashed potatoes require all the action right at the last minute, when everything else requires attention, too. Potatoes Anna, while slightly fussy to put together, can be completely ignored (indeed, they do better if you don't fuss over them) up until they are ready to be plated and served.
I roasted the Brussels sprouts alongside them, and had ample time to attend to the steaks on the grill, mix up my homemade Caesar dressing, and wash and prepare the lettuce. I have often found the salad not ready when everything else is, because I have too many other things (like mashing the potatoes) to do at the last minute. So I'm a fan of Pommes Anna. These pretty little potatoes will be trotted out for dinner parties in the near future.
First, I start craving comfort food from my childhood. Fridays when I was growing up were pizza and milkshake days. I made pepperoni mushroom pizza and strawberry milkshakes for the family.
Second, I start flipping through cookbooks, thinking about things I would make if I had the energy and inclination. Yesterday, I was making a list of things I want to make from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking cookbook. For the record, my to-bake list now includes coconut scones and oatmeal cinnamon swirl bread. Earlier today, I pulled a couple of slightly neglected cookbooks off the shelf and flipped through them for ideas, both for family meals and future entertaining.
Third, I start thinking of ways to make the meals I cook just a little more special. I wanted to have a nice meal tonight, so I had thawed some steaks. I didn't just want any old steaks, though. I was tempted to run to the store to get blue cheese, but opted instead to make a garlic-chive butter to slather over them. Along with that, I decided to make roasted Brussels sprouts, Caesar salad, and potatoes Anna.
Potatoes Anna are my new favourite thing. They have so few ingredients, and the final results are stunning. They do require a couple of special tools, though—it's helpful to have a mandoline or some kind of slicer that will slice the potatoes as thin as possible. You also need a good skillet that can go from stove-top to oven at 400F. Other than that, you just need butter, salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Peel and slice thinly 5 or 6 medium potatoes. Butter a 9- or 10-inch oven-proof skillet and then layer the potatoes into the skillet, overlapping them in a decorative fashion. Salt and pepper each layer. When all the potatoes are layered, dot the top with a 1/2 cup of butter, and cover the pan with foil. Place over medium heat on the stove-top for 10 minutes, then transfer to the hot oven for 30 minutes. Slide a knife or spatula around the potatoes and carefully turn upside down and unmold onto a serving plate.
The top of the dish (the part that cooked against the bottom of the pan) will be golden and crisp; the rest of the potatoes will be tender and buttery. It's as if a French fry, cooked in butter, married some mashed potatoes, and had a family. Potatoes Anna would be their offspring.
My kids always love steak. Baby G focused on the meat, as usual. D, on the other hand, ate his half-wedge of potatoes and promptly asked for more. He ate almost a whole wedge, after that, and seemed quite delighted that it "looks like a pie!"
I know it isn't always a challenge to get kids to eat potatoes, and there's probably more butter in potatoes Anna than you normally need in a side dish. But it's still gratifying to watch my family enjoy a meal with such gusto.
Besides the flavour and texture of the potatoes, which I enjoy very much, I also enjoy how little attention I need to pay to them once the dish is assembled. Simple dishes like roasted or mashed potatoes require some care. You need to make sure the roasted potatoes aren't burning or sticking, and you need to stir them occasionally. Mashed potatoes require all the action right at the last minute, when everything else requires attention, too. Potatoes Anna, while slightly fussy to put together, can be completely ignored (indeed, they do better if you don't fuss over them) up until they are ready to be plated and served.
I roasted the Brussels sprouts alongside them, and had ample time to attend to the steaks on the grill, mix up my homemade Caesar dressing, and wash and prepare the lettuce. I have often found the salad not ready when everything else is, because I have too many other things (like mashing the potatoes) to do at the last minute. So I'm a fan of Pommes Anna. These pretty little potatoes will be trotted out for dinner parties in the near future.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
(Belated) Meal Plan #16
This week, I had the time to make my meal plan and do my shopping on Sunday, which felt very civilized. The weeks that I don't manage a meal plan, I find I run out of mental capacity to make decisions mid-week, and get stuck on what to cook. I hate that feeling, so I was relieved to get back on track.
My apologies to my readers though, that I wasn't able to post my meal plan until Thursday, in spite of writing it up Sunday. The sad truth is, I couldn't resist kissing my husband last week, in spite of knowing that he had a sore throat. The result? I spent the last three days sleeping as much as possible, and suffering from a sore throat. Still worth it, I say.
I hope you can still benefit from some of my ideas, even if they didn't arrive in real time.
Saturday:
Homemade chicken noodle soup
This is fast becoming a go-to standard, because the kids never seem to get enough chicken noodle soup. This weekend began with a trip to the Saskatoon Farmers' Market, where I purchased a small stewing hen for $3. I came home with plans to turn it into soup to soothe my boys' sore throats, and ended up with extra shredded meat for another meal as a bonus. Cheapest foundation for two meals I've had in a while!
Sunday:
Turkey with Red Wine Sauce & Chopped Dates (inspired by Rose Reisman Brings Home Light Cooking)
Baked Barley
Steamed Broccoli
Fresh green salad
The benefits of hearing my meal plan after the fact is that you get to hear the review. I used turkey because I had legs and wings from the turkey that I had dismantled and frozen before Christmas. This was a hunter-style sauce with a nice amount of vegetables, and it was DELICIOUS. It went particularly well with the baked barley (3 c. water, 1 c. barley, a pinch of salt, placed in a casserole and baked for an hour), with its homey, nutty flavours. We all enjoyed it.
Monday:
Shredded chicken soft tacos (with a mild chipotle sauce a la Rick Bayless. I used half the chipotles called for, in hopes that my kids would be okay with the mild heat. D's response: "I love it!" G's response was less verbal, and a bit more conservative, involving coughing, sticking out his tongue and shaking his head back and forth. He ate quite a bit of it, though, and washed down the heat with milk when prompted.)
Avocado, radish, cabbage, cucumber, Monterey jack and homemade ricotta salata as toppings
Tuesday:
Dal with Lots of Vegetables (from Mark Bittman's Food Matters)
Whole wheat chapatis, also from Food Matters
Raita and chutneys
Coconut brown rice pudding, also from Food Matters
We had friends over for dinner this night, and the meal, while simple, was filling and satisfying. I finished it off with the brown rice pudding, which took longer to cook than I allowed, so we lost the attention of the kids in the meantime. I liked it enough that I am thinking about dipping into the leftovers right now.
Wednesday:
Stir-fried sweet potato and beef with Vietnamese flavours (also from Food Matters. Are you sensing a theme? On Sunday night, I sat down with one cookbook and found enough recipes to last me the week. It's a really good book! And I'm not finished with it yet!)
Brown/wild rice blend
Stir-fried green beans with oyster sauce thanks to Kalyn's Kitchen Blog
My brother was in town for meetings on Wednesday, so we fed him as well. I really enjoyed the stir-fried sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes to begin with, and the Vietnamese combo of fish sauce and lime juice goes pretty well on just about anything. I'll be making this again.
Thursday:
Miso soup with Bok Choy, Soba Noodles and Broiled Fish (also from Food Matters)
There are times when I try to predict how a recipe will be received by my family, particularly the kids. So many of those times, I have thought, they like everything that goes into it; they're going to love this! Only to get lukewarm or worse reviews. Tonight was not like that. I had thought, D loves miso soup, and soba noodles and fish. But I won't count on him liking this recipe, because that's too much to hope for. His response? "Thanks Mom! This is SO yummy! I love Mom's food!!" Can't get much better than that, and it kind of makes up for all the times he's turned his nose up at stuff I was sure he would love. We liked it too!
The boys didn't really appreciate the small portion of fish, since I followed the recipe the letter (except for the species of fish—I used freshwater burbot instead of salmon or mackerel). It was a small portion and both boys were clamoring for more fish even after it was all gone. Note to self—two fast-growing boys don't appreciate the finer points of eating less meat for health and environmental benefits...
Salt
8 oz soba noodles
8 oz salmon, mackerel or other fish fillets
1 T. vegetable oil
1 t. five-spice or chili powder (I used five-spice)
Black pepper
1/3 c. miso (any kind)
1 lb. bok choy, stems separated and chopped, leaves cut into ribbons
2 T. sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 c. green onions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Heat the broiler at the same time. Bittman says to preheat the pan you're going to cook the fish on, but I didn't do that. Add soba to boiling water and cook until tender, but not mush, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 c. cooking liquid and rinse the noodles with cold water until cool. Put one quart of clean water in the pot with the reserved liquid and set it to boil again (don't salt).
Brush the fish lightly with oil and sprinkle with 5-spice powder and salt and pepper. Place on the pan skin side down and broil for 5 to 10 minutes without turning. When the fish flakes easily, remove from the pan, break the fillets into flakes.
When the water in the pot is almost boiling, put the miso in a small bowl, ladle in a cup of the heated water and whisk til smooth. Add the white parts of the bok choy when the water boils, cook for 1 minute, then add the greens and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Turn heat to low, pour in the miso mixture and the noodles, and heat just long enough to warm everything. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve, garnished with flaked fish, sesame seeds and green onions.
Friday:
I had hoped to do a family-style sushi night with friends tonight, but it may be postponed until Saturday, or until some later date when more friends are available to partake. I'll keep you posted on the outcome.
My apologies to my readers though, that I wasn't able to post my meal plan until Thursday, in spite of writing it up Sunday. The sad truth is, I couldn't resist kissing my husband last week, in spite of knowing that he had a sore throat. The result? I spent the last three days sleeping as much as possible, and suffering from a sore throat. Still worth it, I say.
I hope you can still benefit from some of my ideas, even if they didn't arrive in real time.
Saturday:
Homemade chicken noodle soup
This is fast becoming a go-to standard, because the kids never seem to get enough chicken noodle soup. This weekend began with a trip to the Saskatoon Farmers' Market, where I purchased a small stewing hen for $3. I came home with plans to turn it into soup to soothe my boys' sore throats, and ended up with extra shredded meat for another meal as a bonus. Cheapest foundation for two meals I've had in a while!
Sunday:
Turkey with Red Wine Sauce & Chopped Dates (inspired by Rose Reisman Brings Home Light Cooking)
Baked Barley
Steamed Broccoli
Fresh green salad
The benefits of hearing my meal plan after the fact is that you get to hear the review. I used turkey because I had legs and wings from the turkey that I had dismantled and frozen before Christmas. This was a hunter-style sauce with a nice amount of vegetables, and it was DELICIOUS. It went particularly well with the baked barley (3 c. water, 1 c. barley, a pinch of salt, placed in a casserole and baked for an hour), with its homey, nutty flavours. We all enjoyed it.
Monday:
Shredded chicken soft tacos (with a mild chipotle sauce a la Rick Bayless. I used half the chipotles called for, in hopes that my kids would be okay with the mild heat. D's response: "I love it!" G's response was less verbal, and a bit more conservative, involving coughing, sticking out his tongue and shaking his head back and forth. He ate quite a bit of it, though, and washed down the heat with milk when prompted.)
Avocado, radish, cabbage, cucumber, Monterey jack and homemade ricotta salata as toppings
Tuesday:
Dal with Lots of Vegetables (from Mark Bittman's Food Matters)
Whole wheat chapatis, also from Food Matters
Raita and chutneys
Coconut brown rice pudding, also from Food Matters
We had friends over for dinner this night, and the meal, while simple, was filling and satisfying. I finished it off with the brown rice pudding, which took longer to cook than I allowed, so we lost the attention of the kids in the meantime. I liked it enough that I am thinking about dipping into the leftovers right now.
Wednesday:
Stir-fried sweet potato and beef with Vietnamese flavours (also from Food Matters. Are you sensing a theme? On Sunday night, I sat down with one cookbook and found enough recipes to last me the week. It's a really good book! And I'm not finished with it yet!)
Brown/wild rice blend
Stir-fried green beans with oyster sauce thanks to Kalyn's Kitchen Blog
My brother was in town for meetings on Wednesday, so we fed him as well. I really enjoyed the stir-fried sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes to begin with, and the Vietnamese combo of fish sauce and lime juice goes pretty well on just about anything. I'll be making this again.
Thursday:
Miso soup with Bok Choy, Soba Noodles and Broiled Fish (also from Food Matters)
There are times when I try to predict how a recipe will be received by my family, particularly the kids. So many of those times, I have thought, they like everything that goes into it; they're going to love this! Only to get lukewarm or worse reviews. Tonight was not like that. I had thought, D loves miso soup, and soba noodles and fish. But I won't count on him liking this recipe, because that's too much to hope for. His response? "Thanks Mom! This is SO yummy! I love Mom's food!!" Can't get much better than that, and it kind of makes up for all the times he's turned his nose up at stuff I was sure he would love. We liked it too!
The boys didn't really appreciate the small portion of fish, since I followed the recipe the letter (except for the species of fish—I used freshwater burbot instead of salmon or mackerel). It was a small portion and both boys were clamoring for more fish even after it was all gone. Note to self—two fast-growing boys don't appreciate the finer points of eating less meat for health and environmental benefits...
Salt
8 oz soba noodles
8 oz salmon, mackerel or other fish fillets
1 T. vegetable oil
1 t. five-spice or chili powder (I used five-spice)
Black pepper
1/3 c. miso (any kind)
1 lb. bok choy, stems separated and chopped, leaves cut into ribbons
2 T. sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 c. green onions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Heat the broiler at the same time. Bittman says to preheat the pan you're going to cook the fish on, but I didn't do that. Add soba to boiling water and cook until tender, but not mush, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 c. cooking liquid and rinse the noodles with cold water until cool. Put one quart of clean water in the pot with the reserved liquid and set it to boil again (don't salt).
Brush the fish lightly with oil and sprinkle with 5-spice powder and salt and pepper. Place on the pan skin side down and broil for 5 to 10 minutes without turning. When the fish flakes easily, remove from the pan, break the fillets into flakes.
When the water in the pot is almost boiling, put the miso in a small bowl, ladle in a cup of the heated water and whisk til smooth. Add the white parts of the bok choy when the water boils, cook for 1 minute, then add the greens and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Turn heat to low, pour in the miso mixture and the noodles, and heat just long enough to warm everything. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve, garnished with flaked fish, sesame seeds and green onions.
Friday:
I had hoped to do a family-style sushi night with friends tonight, but it may be postponed until Saturday, or until some later date when more friends are available to partake. I'll keep you posted on the outcome.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Preparing for a Busy Week
I'm not sure if what I'm doing this week is really an official meal plan; but I am planning meals for the next couple of days as I prepare for a business trip that will keep me away for 32 hours (when you're still breast-feeding, every hour away needs to be counted!) over Tuesday and Wednesday.
I have once again been blessed (?) with a large box of food from my parents who are traveling to BC to see my sister and her new baby. This time, besides fresh vegetables (asparagus, a head of lettuce, and peppers, as well as parsnips, three small cabbages and parsley (still fresh, which is amazing) from the garden), there is a substantial amount of dairy product (yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, feta) and lemons and cooked wheat berries, from our Ukrainian dishes at Christmas.
I already worked some of the cooked wheat into hamburger patties for last night's supper, inspired (again) by Mark Bittman. I used the wheat, ground beef, and thawed frozen garden chard for my grain, meat and greens. The texture of the greens mixed into the meat seemed to slow my kids down a bit, but I still like how these patties include meat as well as a substantial amount of grains and vegetables.
I have to account for an early meal tonight, since my volleyball schedule has us playing from 6PM to 9PM tonight. I am about to throw a large, farm-grown half-chicken (that is, a chicken cut in half, not some sort of weird hybrid) into the oven with parsnips and a sweet potato to roast along with it. I will be going veggie heavy and serving roasted asparagus and peppers alongside it, and finishing with a salad.
I have to include a side note that I would never personally buy asparagus while it is being shipped from Peru, but now that I have it, I'll have to make use of it.
Among my own list of items to use up from the Christmas season is some mascarpone cheese, which is too pricey and too delicious to waste, so I found a recipe for fruit gratin with mascarpone and Calvados, which is in the oven right now. I don't have Calvados, but I do have my own homemade crabapple brandy, which I am using instead. Looking forward to a yummy fruit dessert.
I'm trying to build up my leftovers, considering I have to leave enough food behind while I'm away to feed my kids and inlaws who are going to be watching the kids. So for lunch I pulled some stuff out of the fridge and made quite a lovely minestrone-style soup:
Alphabet Minestrone
2 T. butter or oil (I used turkey fat)
1 onion, chopped
2 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 1/2 c. chicken stock
2 c. cooked white navy beans, plus cooking liquid, to equal 3 c.
28 oz can tomatoes
1 t. salt and 1/2 t. fresh ground pepper
Generous 1/2 c. whole grain alphabet pasta
1 c. fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 3/4" pieces
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 T. fresh parsley
pre-made pesto (preferably homemade) as a condiment
Heat butter in a large Dutch oven. When it is hot, add onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Saute until onion is clear, about 5 minutes. Pour in chicken stock, beans and liquid, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Mash tomatoes with a potato masher. Bring to a boil at high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add whole grain pasta and simmer 5 minutes more. Add green beans and red pepper; simmer 5 minutes more. Stir in fresh parsley. Remove from heat, ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of pesto.
Tomorrow night, I will have a full-on roast beef dinner (although not sure about the popovers), and possibly an old-school iceberg and blue cheese salad, since I have that to use up as well. That should see the family into their mom-free time with enough food to reduce stress for all involved.
I figure when I get back home around 4PM on Wednesday, there will be enough leftovers to carry us through dinner that night. Between the packed freezer and the generous amounts of fresh stuff in our fridge, we should be covered. The grocery list this weekend was the smallest it's been in a LONG time:
• vinegar (primarily for the diaper pail)
• table salt (primarily for making homemade playdough)
• Miracle Whip (my favourite for making salmon sandwiches)
• onions
And that, as they say, is that.
I have once again been blessed (?) with a large box of food from my parents who are traveling to BC to see my sister and her new baby. This time, besides fresh vegetables (asparagus, a head of lettuce, and peppers, as well as parsnips, three small cabbages and parsley (still fresh, which is amazing) from the garden), there is a substantial amount of dairy product (yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, feta) and lemons and cooked wheat berries, from our Ukrainian dishes at Christmas.
I already worked some of the cooked wheat into hamburger patties for last night's supper, inspired (again) by Mark Bittman. I used the wheat, ground beef, and thawed frozen garden chard for my grain, meat and greens. The texture of the greens mixed into the meat seemed to slow my kids down a bit, but I still like how these patties include meat as well as a substantial amount of grains and vegetables.
I have to account for an early meal tonight, since my volleyball schedule has us playing from 6PM to 9PM tonight. I am about to throw a large, farm-grown half-chicken (that is, a chicken cut in half, not some sort of weird hybrid) into the oven with parsnips and a sweet potato to roast along with it. I will be going veggie heavy and serving roasted asparagus and peppers alongside it, and finishing with a salad.
I have to include a side note that I would never personally buy asparagus while it is being shipped from Peru, but now that I have it, I'll have to make use of it.
Among my own list of items to use up from the Christmas season is some mascarpone cheese, which is too pricey and too delicious to waste, so I found a recipe for fruit gratin with mascarpone and Calvados, which is in the oven right now. I don't have Calvados, but I do have my own homemade crabapple brandy, which I am using instead. Looking forward to a yummy fruit dessert.
I'm trying to build up my leftovers, considering I have to leave enough food behind while I'm away to feed my kids and inlaws who are going to be watching the kids. So for lunch I pulled some stuff out of the fridge and made quite a lovely minestrone-style soup:
Alphabet Minestrone
2 T. butter or oil (I used turkey fat)
1 onion, chopped
2 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 1/2 c. chicken stock
2 c. cooked white navy beans, plus cooking liquid, to equal 3 c.
28 oz can tomatoes
1 t. salt and 1/2 t. fresh ground pepper
Generous 1/2 c. whole grain alphabet pasta
1 c. fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 3/4" pieces
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 T. fresh parsley
pre-made pesto (preferably homemade) as a condiment
Heat butter in a large Dutch oven. When it is hot, add onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Saute until onion is clear, about 5 minutes. Pour in chicken stock, beans and liquid, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Mash tomatoes with a potato masher. Bring to a boil at high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add whole grain pasta and simmer 5 minutes more. Add green beans and red pepper; simmer 5 minutes more. Stir in fresh parsley. Remove from heat, ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of pesto.
Tomorrow night, I will have a full-on roast beef dinner (although not sure about the popovers), and possibly an old-school iceberg and blue cheese salad, since I have that to use up as well. That should see the family into their mom-free time with enough food to reduce stress for all involved.
I figure when I get back home around 4PM on Wednesday, there will be enough leftovers to carry us through dinner that night. Between the packed freezer and the generous amounts of fresh stuff in our fridge, we should be covered. The grocery list this weekend was the smallest it's been in a LONG time:
• vinegar (primarily for the diaper pail)
• table salt (primarily for making homemade playdough)
• Miracle Whip (my favourite for making salmon sandwiches)
• onions
And that, as they say, is that.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
First Meal Plan of 2012
Notwithstanding the fact that this meal plan is being posted on a Thursday when it began on Monday, I hope this will be a help in planning meals for your family in the weeks to come, and you'll get mini-reviews for the meals from Monday thru Thursday.
Monday
Panko crusted pike with lemon, Parmesan and dill (I had hoped this would turn out better, as I recently made Baked Cod with a Panko Crust, which was fantastic. I used buttermilk and egg instead of mayonnaise and Dijon, and tried to put all the seasoning into the breadcrumbs. It had less flavour, and the pike itself didn't take to the treatment, being a little to dry and a little too 'lake-tasting'. It all got eaten anyway...
Barley spinach pilaf from Mark Bittman's Food Matters (it uses a whole pound of spinach! It certainly fit into my New Year's resolution to put more vegetables on my family's plates)
Steamed carrots
Leftover Beet tartare
Tuesday
Here's where I start relying heavily on Canadian Living's Eat Right cookbook.
Herbed lambchops with Tuscan beans
This was quite good and easy to make. The lamb we have right now is absolutely amazing. However. I have made a very similar recipe that I enjoyed much more, which I thought was also from Canadian Living. But now I can't find it. It finished the dish with balsamic vinegar, which I found much lighter and cleaner than the pan sauce for the above recipe. I have more lambchops to cook, so I'll hunt down the recipe that I'm thinking of and share...
Wednesday
Whole wheat pasta with blue cheese sauce
Raw veggies
This pasta served the purpose of helping me use up blue cheese leftover from my catering adventures. D was super pumped to get spaghetti, and even though it was covered in pretty strong tasting blue cheese sauce, he had two bowls full. The walnuts on top were an added bonus for him. He's a nut nut.
Thursday
Lazy Shepherd's Pie
Steamed green beans
My husband's favourite dish is anything with ground beef, and Shepherd's Pie is a childhood favourite. I could never really get behind it, because casseroles were rare in my childhood home. And the peas get so mushy! I did used to love "hamburger goop" which in our household was ground beef, onions, celery, mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup over pasta. Lazy Shepherd's Pie makes both my husband and me happy. It's easy, the peas are still a nice bright green, and it's like Hamburger Goop without the canned soup. A winner!
Friday
This is going to be a bit of a 'seat of my pants' day, but I'm thinking I'm going to pull out my little package of chicken hearts and do grilled chicken heart skewers, along with rice or noodles and stir-fried veggies. I'll give you the update on what I settle on. The kids go crazy for chicken hearts, though, so it should be a popular meal.
Monday
Panko crusted pike with lemon, Parmesan and dill (I had hoped this would turn out better, as I recently made Baked Cod with a Panko Crust, which was fantastic. I used buttermilk and egg instead of mayonnaise and Dijon, and tried to put all the seasoning into the breadcrumbs. It had less flavour, and the pike itself didn't take to the treatment, being a little to dry and a little too 'lake-tasting'. It all got eaten anyway...
Barley spinach pilaf from Mark Bittman's Food Matters (it uses a whole pound of spinach! It certainly fit into my New Year's resolution to put more vegetables on my family's plates)
Steamed carrots
Leftover Beet tartare
Tuesday
Here's where I start relying heavily on Canadian Living's Eat Right cookbook.
Herbed lambchops with Tuscan beans
This was quite good and easy to make. The lamb we have right now is absolutely amazing. However. I have made a very similar recipe that I enjoyed much more, which I thought was also from Canadian Living. But now I can't find it. It finished the dish with balsamic vinegar, which I found much lighter and cleaner than the pan sauce for the above recipe. I have more lambchops to cook, so I'll hunt down the recipe that I'm thinking of and share...
Wednesday
Whole wheat pasta with blue cheese sauce
Raw veggies
This pasta served the purpose of helping me use up blue cheese leftover from my catering adventures. D was super pumped to get spaghetti, and even though it was covered in pretty strong tasting blue cheese sauce, he had two bowls full. The walnuts on top were an added bonus for him. He's a nut nut.
Thursday
Lazy Shepherd's Pie
Steamed green beans
My husband's favourite dish is anything with ground beef, and Shepherd's Pie is a childhood favourite. I could never really get behind it, because casseroles were rare in my childhood home. And the peas get so mushy! I did used to love "hamburger goop" which in our household was ground beef, onions, celery, mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup over pasta. Lazy Shepherd's Pie makes both my husband and me happy. It's easy, the peas are still a nice bright green, and it's like Hamburger Goop without the canned soup. A winner!
Friday
This is going to be a bit of a 'seat of my pants' day, but I'm thinking I'm going to pull out my little package of chicken hearts and do grilled chicken heart skewers, along with rice or noodles and stir-fried veggies. I'll give you the update on what I settle on. The kids go crazy for chicken hearts, though, so it should be a popular meal.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Three Sisters, Take 2 (and, how plans don't always make things easier)
I am usually an enthusiastic supporter of planning. Hence meal plans. Lists. Calendars. Schedules. Today, however, I was thrown by the addition of one appointment to my already hectic day.
My menu for this evening was a little more involved than some, because there were three separate recipes, none particularly complicated, but all requiring a bit of time. This is kind of ironic, considering I pulled off brie, walnut and apple phyllo triangles last night—also a bit ambitious for a weeknight. But delicious! And regarding last night's Montebello beet soup
Last night was a success. Tonight, technically, was also a success, but my equanimity suffered. Last night I was zen through the whole thing and even had time to read the kids a story and construct a lion for D out of modeling clay. Today, while supper got on the table on time, in between a last minute chiropractic appointment for G and me (G had his first, hopefully only...but I can't count on that, tumble down the stairs, and even though he seemed fine, I wanted to get him looked at sooner than later), a preschool executive meeting, and my husband's first night of pilates classes.
I started prep as soon as G went down for his nap (1:00), and I continued working on everything until I headed out the door (around 4:30), with of course pauses for diaper changes, pee breaks, plugging in G's soother, nursing G AGAIN, getting D snacks, putting the bbq back together (which was needed for the recipes, and I didn't know until I went out to turn it on that it was taken apart), emptying the dishwasher, and so on.
So truly, the entire meal would only have taken an hour to prepare, without interruptions. That was not how today went.
So here's the menu. Note the corn, beans and squash components:
Cumin Carrot Tofu Patties
Baked Spaghetti Squash (from Whitewater Cooks at Home)
Marni's Roasted Corn and Feta (also from Whitewater Cooks at Home)
The baked spaghetti squash was just the squash, halved and baked in the oven (be sure to scoop out the seeds first) until tender, then the strings tossed with butter, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, parsley and nutmeg. The nutmeg threw me off. I just did a couple of other searches for baked spaghetti squash, and found some that use basil and oregano. I think I might enjoy those more.
The roasted corn and feta, on the other hand, was perfect. But really, how can a side dish drenched in garlic butter, feta cheese and lime juice be bad?? Here is the recipe for you to sample (I used the last of this season's corn from my parents' garden):
6 ears of fresh corn in husks
2 red peppers (I used several mini-peppers instead)
1/2 c. butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
juice of two limes
salt and pepper to taste
Soak the corn in cold water for an hour or so, then place on a bbq preheated to low. Roast, turning occasionally, for 45 minutes. Throw on the peppers for 20 minutes. Remove the red peppers, peel off the charred skins (I actually just shut off the bbq with the peppers and corn still on it, because I was late for my appointment. The peppers' skins were loosened just perfectly after cooling on the bbq).
Melt butter and add chopped garlic. Remove husks from the corn and slice off the kernels. Place in mixing bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and toss. YUM.
I kept looking at this recipe and swinging between determination to make it because it sounded so good and the temptation to just boil the damned corn, because my kids would like it just as much that way. I was won over by the recipe eventually, and pulled it off, and am grateful for it. I think I have a new favourite when corn season rolls around again next year.
Tomorrow, my parents are coming through on the way to British Columbia to see my sister and her new baby (imminent arrival), so they're stopping here for supper. I had already planned to cook Greek Style Flank Steak with Feta Green Pea Orzo and Greek salad. Should be good.
My menu for this evening was a little more involved than some, because there were three separate recipes, none particularly complicated, but all requiring a bit of time. This is kind of ironic, considering I pulled off brie, walnut and apple phyllo triangles last night—also a bit ambitious for a weeknight. But delicious! And regarding last night's Montebello beet soup
Last night was a success. Tonight, technically, was also a success, but my equanimity suffered. Last night I was zen through the whole thing and even had time to read the kids a story and construct a lion for D out of modeling clay. Today, while supper got on the table on time, in between a last minute chiropractic appointment for G and me (G had his first, hopefully only...but I can't count on that, tumble down the stairs, and even though he seemed fine, I wanted to get him looked at sooner than later), a preschool executive meeting, and my husband's first night of pilates classes.
I started prep as soon as G went down for his nap (1:00), and I continued working on everything until I headed out the door (around 4:30), with of course pauses for diaper changes, pee breaks, plugging in G's soother, nursing G AGAIN, getting D snacks, putting the bbq back together (which was needed for the recipes, and I didn't know until I went out to turn it on that it was taken apart), emptying the dishwasher, and so on.
So truly, the entire meal would only have taken an hour to prepare, without interruptions. That was not how today went.
So here's the menu. Note the corn, beans and squash components:
Cumin Carrot Tofu Patties
Baked Spaghetti Squash (from Whitewater Cooks at Home)
Marni's Roasted Corn and Feta (also from Whitewater Cooks at Home)
The baked spaghetti squash was just the squash, halved and baked in the oven (be sure to scoop out the seeds first) until tender, then the strings tossed with butter, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, parsley and nutmeg. The nutmeg threw me off. I just did a couple of other searches for baked spaghetti squash, and found some that use basil and oregano. I think I might enjoy those more.
The roasted corn and feta, on the other hand, was perfect. But really, how can a side dish drenched in garlic butter, feta cheese and lime juice be bad?? Here is the recipe for you to sample (I used the last of this season's corn from my parents' garden):
6 ears of fresh corn in husks
2 red peppers (I used several mini-peppers instead)
1/2 c. butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
juice of two limes
salt and pepper to taste
Soak the corn in cold water for an hour or so, then place on a bbq preheated to low. Roast, turning occasionally, for 45 minutes. Throw on the peppers for 20 minutes. Remove the red peppers, peel off the charred skins (I actually just shut off the bbq with the peppers and corn still on it, because I was late for my appointment. The peppers' skins were loosened just perfectly after cooling on the bbq).
Melt butter and add chopped garlic. Remove husks from the corn and slice off the kernels. Place in mixing bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and toss. YUM.
I kept looking at this recipe and swinging between determination to make it because it sounded so good and the temptation to just boil the damned corn, because my kids would like it just as much that way. I was won over by the recipe eventually, and pulled it off, and am grateful for it. I think I have a new favourite when corn season rolls around again next year.
Tomorrow, my parents are coming through on the way to British Columbia to see my sister and her new baby (imminent arrival), so they're stopping here for supper. I had already planned to cook Greek Style Flank Steak with Feta Green Pea Orzo and Greek salad. Should be good.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Meal Plan #14: Tail end of summer
Autumn literally rode in on a wind this evening, with the temperature dropping 10 degrees in a couple of hours, and a rainstorm ending our week-long heat wave. I'm wavering between disappointment and relief, because I was loving the bonus hot days, but was actually running out of hot weather meal ideas (well, that's not really true. It was more like I had mentally started preparing for cooler weather, and then had to shift gears back into hot weather mode, which was hard to do).
Yesterday when I served D some pasta (a kid-friendly recipe that puts zucchini to good use), he announced that he didn't want that; he wanted pizza. So tonight I decided to do pizza on the grill, since it was too hot to use the oven. By 5:30pm, the temperature was plummeting, and we could have used the oven, but I was already committed. The pizzas were simple, but delicious—homemade pesto as a base, and then sliced tomatoes and bocconcini laid over top. D had a great time helping me roll out the pizza crust and messing around with the dough, which makes me think that an afternoon of making buns that he helps me shape might be a really enjoyable activity. I'll tack it to my to-do list and try to remember to take photos.
Here is the remainder of the week's meal plan, which is a concerted effort to use up a long list of seasonal ingredients. Although I realized, after I had made the plan and done my grocery shopping, that I have a gallon pail of ripe tomatoes sitting on my counter, and I neglected to put them to use in any meaningful way. I have an abundance of chicken stock at the moment, so perhaps I will be making them into soup...
Monday
Grilled pork chops (my favourite seasoning for good quality chops from happy pigs is to do a quick cure in the morning, sprinkling them with generous amounts of kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, a tiny pinch of allspice and some crushed bay leaf. So simple, but that's all that is required when you eat the meat of healthy, happy animals. Thanks to Alice Waters and the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook for this perfect recipe)
Roasted beet salad with beet greens and feta (I mentioned in my last post that I am always looking for the 'best' of everything. So far, I haven't been able to top this beet recipe for simplicity and flavour. This is a standard summer dish at our house, and I have shared it with countless friends and family members who have tried it and then asked for the recipe)
Baked spaghetti squash (simply done, cut in half, seeded, baked cut side down for about 40 minutes, served with farm butter and sea salt)
Tuesday
Meat and grain loaf (The recipe, from Mark Bittman's Food Matters, has been posted on the blog "Simple Food. Healthy Life". I've chosen the recipe primarily because it uses a large amount of spinach, which is one of the things I have to use up this week)
Grilled patty pan squash
Fresh tomatoes
Wednesday (my husband is away for two nights at a conference. I have cleared my schedule of all other stresses so that I can be a happy and calm mom for my boys for those two days. I'm grateful to have the luxury to do that, but at the same time, I will still be doing my best to keep the cooking simple)
Teriyaki noodles with broccoli and edamame (also from Food Matters—you'll note the original recipe calls for asparagus, but the asparagus at the store came from Peru. I figured I'd opt for broccoli that had been grown a little closer to home)
Thursday
Hubby still away, so I'm thinking I'll just plan for leftovers, of which there should be plenty. If I can find a sitter, I may also have to go to a preschool executive meeting that evening, so limiting the amount of prep and dishwashing is probably a wise coping strategy.
Friday
My husband is back, but not until right at dinner time, so I'm thinking of doing something simple and popular: our chicken wing/sweet potato oven-fry/veggie sticks and dip supper. And probably a beer. Or some more rosé
.
Speaking of my 'quest for the best', I have just made my all-time favourite muffins, which are a perfect option for this time of year, since the recipe calls for large quantities of grated zucchini, carrots and apples, all of which are in ample supply right now. These morning glory muffins, sourced from a bed and breakfast's website, have to be one of the most requested recipes I make. My kids, my family, my volleyball team, all either want me to bring the muffins or share the recipe or both (I have occasionally been persona non grata at volleyball tournaments when I neglect to bring a bag or two of these muffins.) They have also been fantastic sellers at bakesales and fundraisers. I thought D was a huge fan of muffins in general, but it turns out that his concept of 'muffin' equals these particular muffins. All others are at risk of rejection. Try them—and let me know if they fulfill your own 'quest for the best'.
Yesterday when I served D some pasta (a kid-friendly recipe that puts zucchini to good use), he announced that he didn't want that; he wanted pizza. So tonight I decided to do pizza on the grill, since it was too hot to use the oven. By 5:30pm, the temperature was plummeting, and we could have used the oven, but I was already committed. The pizzas were simple, but delicious—homemade pesto as a base, and then sliced tomatoes and bocconcini laid over top. D had a great time helping me roll out the pizza crust and messing around with the dough, which makes me think that an afternoon of making buns that he helps me shape might be a really enjoyable activity. I'll tack it to my to-do list and try to remember to take photos.
Here is the remainder of the week's meal plan, which is a concerted effort to use up a long list of seasonal ingredients. Although I realized, after I had made the plan and done my grocery shopping, that I have a gallon pail of ripe tomatoes sitting on my counter, and I neglected to put them to use in any meaningful way. I have an abundance of chicken stock at the moment, so perhaps I will be making them into soup...
Monday
Grilled pork chops (my favourite seasoning for good quality chops from happy pigs is to do a quick cure in the morning, sprinkling them with generous amounts of kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, a tiny pinch of allspice and some crushed bay leaf. So simple, but that's all that is required when you eat the meat of healthy, happy animals. Thanks to Alice Waters and the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook for this perfect recipe)
Roasted beet salad with beet greens and feta (I mentioned in my last post that I am always looking for the 'best' of everything. So far, I haven't been able to top this beet recipe for simplicity and flavour. This is a standard summer dish at our house, and I have shared it with countless friends and family members who have tried it and then asked for the recipe)
Baked spaghetti squash (simply done, cut in half, seeded, baked cut side down for about 40 minutes, served with farm butter and sea salt)
Tuesday
Meat and grain loaf (The recipe, from Mark Bittman's Food Matters, has been posted on the blog "Simple Food. Healthy Life". I've chosen the recipe primarily because it uses a large amount of spinach, which is one of the things I have to use up this week)
Grilled patty pan squash
Fresh tomatoes
Wednesday (my husband is away for two nights at a conference. I have cleared my schedule of all other stresses so that I can be a happy and calm mom for my boys for those two days. I'm grateful to have the luxury to do that, but at the same time, I will still be doing my best to keep the cooking simple)
Teriyaki noodles with broccoli and edamame (also from Food Matters—you'll note the original recipe calls for asparagus, but the asparagus at the store came from Peru. I figured I'd opt for broccoli that had been grown a little closer to home)
Thursday
Hubby still away, so I'm thinking I'll just plan for leftovers, of which there should be plenty. If I can find a sitter, I may also have to go to a preschool executive meeting that evening, so limiting the amount of prep and dishwashing is probably a wise coping strategy.
Friday
My husband is back, but not until right at dinner time, so I'm thinking of doing something simple and popular: our chicken wing/sweet potato oven-fry/veggie sticks and dip supper. And probably a beer. Or some more rosé
.
Speaking of my 'quest for the best', I have just made my all-time favourite muffins, which are a perfect option for this time of year, since the recipe calls for large quantities of grated zucchini, carrots and apples, all of which are in ample supply right now. These morning glory muffins, sourced from a bed and breakfast's website, have to be one of the most requested recipes I make. My kids, my family, my volleyball team, all either want me to bring the muffins or share the recipe or both (I have occasionally been persona non grata at volleyball tournaments when I neglect to bring a bag or two of these muffins.) They have also been fantastic sellers at bakesales and fundraisers. I thought D was a huge fan of muffins in general, but it turns out that his concept of 'muffin' equals these particular muffins. All others are at risk of rejection. Try them—and let me know if they fulfill your own 'quest for the best'.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Meal Plan #13: Favourite Summer Recipes
It will be an interesting week in the Amazon Kitchen. Among preschool executive meetings and preparing for a long weekend visit to my parents' farm, I am hosting a work party for my husband where I will be demonstrating how to make apple liqueur, since their office lunch room has been inundated with bags of apples from co-workers' trees. I've just spent the evening researching potential snacks to go with apple liqueur drinks. More on that, later.
My poor garden has been partially decimated by sparrows, who apparently have a great appetite for Swiss chard, strawberries and green peas. We're still doing well with zucchini, green beans and kohlrabi, and I managed to steal some Swiss chard from my sister-in-law's garden this weekend, so that will also be factored into our meal plan.
Monday (before I rush out to the preschool executive meeting)
Roast chicken on the bbq (we'll see how this goes, since it's a BIG chicken. Too big to be roasted on a beer can, and too big for our crappy little bbq rotisserie. I'll be experimenting with indirect heat roasting. I can't bring myself to roast a chicken in the house when it's going to be 27 degrees.)
Dolmathes (from the gigantic can we opened a while back—don't worry, they were packed in oil so they're still well preserved, and they're no longer in the can)
Steamed green beans
Roasted cauliflower (an amazing way to eat cauliflower—just toss florets with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and roast until tender and browned). I usually roast it in the oven, but for the same reasons the chicken is going outside, the cauliflower will go into my new bbq grill pan to get roasted there.
Tuesday
Checking off my list of favourite summer recipes (we're running out of time!!):
White bean salad with Swiss chard, olives and capers (recipe to come Tuesday)
Simplified roasted vegetable salad with goat cheese (the one I like to make calls for piles of vegetables, including eggplant, asparagus and cherry tomatoes as well as zucchini, peppers, onion, green onion. I'm going to use what I have: zucchini, onion, mushrooms and a red pepper. I'm pretty sure it will still rock our world, since melty goat cheese on warm roasted vegetables is soooo good.)
Tuesday I'll also be doing some simplified prep work for our Wednesday event (making little pork meatballs and apple brandy applesauce)
Wednesday
Work party:
Liqueur making demonstration, including three drink recipes, and an appetizer platter of pork mini-meatballs, apple slices, smoked cheddar and fried sage, with apple brandy applesauce for dipping. I'm excited! I LOVE doing this sort of thing.
Thursday
Herbed Beef and Rice Noodle Salad (can't wrap up summer without serving this, one of my all-time favourite recipes, packed with fresh herbs from my garden!)
Friday: off to the farm
I am trying something new in my efforts to streamline our road trips. The trip to the farm, which takes about three hours, always overlaps the supper hour if we want to leave right after my husband is done work. We have tried stopping part way to have a sit-down meal in a restaurant, but I noted on our recent road trip that our efforts to give the kids a break where they sit down and eat something fails on all counts. D is free! He wants to run around! Running around is a much higher priority than eating! Our efforts to corral him and get him to sit down only draw out the experience and reduces the enjoyment of our own meals. The second he's strapped into his carseat again, he says, "I want to eat something!"
So this weekend, I've decided, perhaps later than most parents would have, that we should eat on the road. I will pack salmon sandwiches, a kid favourite, and pass them back when requested. We will drive straight through, getting there before bedtime, well-fed, less frazzled, and hopefully happier.
Will it work? I'll keep you posted.
My poor garden has been partially decimated by sparrows, who apparently have a great appetite for Swiss chard, strawberries and green peas. We're still doing well with zucchini, green beans and kohlrabi, and I managed to steal some Swiss chard from my sister-in-law's garden this weekend, so that will also be factored into our meal plan.
Monday (before I rush out to the preschool executive meeting)
Roast chicken on the bbq (we'll see how this goes, since it's a BIG chicken. Too big to be roasted on a beer can, and too big for our crappy little bbq rotisserie. I'll be experimenting with indirect heat roasting. I can't bring myself to roast a chicken in the house when it's going to be 27 degrees.)
Dolmathes (from the gigantic can we opened a while back—don't worry, they were packed in oil so they're still well preserved, and they're no longer in the can)
Steamed green beans
Roasted cauliflower (an amazing way to eat cauliflower—just toss florets with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and roast until tender and browned). I usually roast it in the oven, but for the same reasons the chicken is going outside, the cauliflower will go into my new bbq grill pan to get roasted there.
Tuesday
Checking off my list of favourite summer recipes (we're running out of time!!):
White bean salad with Swiss chard, olives and capers (recipe to come Tuesday)
Simplified roasted vegetable salad with goat cheese (the one I like to make calls for piles of vegetables, including eggplant, asparagus and cherry tomatoes as well as zucchini, peppers, onion, green onion. I'm going to use what I have: zucchini, onion, mushrooms and a red pepper. I'm pretty sure it will still rock our world, since melty goat cheese on warm roasted vegetables is soooo good.)
Tuesday I'll also be doing some simplified prep work for our Wednesday event (making little pork meatballs and apple brandy applesauce)
Wednesday
Work party:
Liqueur making demonstration, including three drink recipes, and an appetizer platter of pork mini-meatballs, apple slices, smoked cheddar and fried sage, with apple brandy applesauce for dipping. I'm excited! I LOVE doing this sort of thing.
Thursday
Herbed Beef and Rice Noodle Salad (can't wrap up summer without serving this, one of my all-time favourite recipes, packed with fresh herbs from my garden!)
Friday: off to the farm
I am trying something new in my efforts to streamline our road trips. The trip to the farm, which takes about three hours, always overlaps the supper hour if we want to leave right after my husband is done work. We have tried stopping part way to have a sit-down meal in a restaurant, but I noted on our recent road trip that our efforts to give the kids a break where they sit down and eat something fails on all counts. D is free! He wants to run around! Running around is a much higher priority than eating! Our efforts to corral him and get him to sit down only draw out the experience and reduces the enjoyment of our own meals. The second he's strapped into his carseat again, he says, "I want to eat something!"
So this weekend, I've decided, perhaps later than most parents would have, that we should eat on the road. I will pack salmon sandwiches, a kid favourite, and pass them back when requested. We will drive straight through, getting there before bedtime, well-fed, less frazzled, and hopefully happier.
Will it work? I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Kitchen Reno Countdown
Today I entertained for the last time in my existing kitchen. Friends came over for brunch, which evolved into a snack and a beer in the backyard around 2PM, because we were still visiting. We had breakfast burritos, filled with slow cooker black beans—thanks to lennisdottir for the idea, although the aroma of simmering beans while we slept was distracting and even confusing: "Did you leave a burner on?" asked hubby at 3AM—chorizo and Monterey Jack from the Bulk Cheese Warehouse, scrambled eggs, and salsa. A lovely way to spend a lovely summer day (although I have a bit of a sunburn as a result. Those first warm days always seem to sneak up on me)!
My meal plan this week is as bare bones and simple as possible. Not much inspiration here, unless you're looking for the minimalist version of healthy family cooking. In between work, the usual childcare and keeping everyone fed, I will be hauling my stuff out of the kitchen and stashing it wherever I can find space for it in the basement. Part of me loves handling all of my wine glasses, serving platters and pottery; the other part of me marvels at how home renovations bring out the most materialistic side of me. I found I had to remind myself that it is just stuff after all. But stuff I LOVE.
I have managed to take some "before" photos, and I've included them here. I'll be sure to include "after" photos as well. The wall with the shelving and cookbooks on it is already gone, and will be replaced by an island. Just that change has made a huge difference to the feeling of openness and the light coming into the kitchen and living room. Very exciting!
My meal plan this week is as bare bones and simple as possible. Not much inspiration here, unless you're looking for the minimalist version of healthy family cooking. In between work, the usual childcare and keeping everyone fed, I will be hauling my stuff out of the kitchen and stashing it wherever I can find space for it in the basement. Part of me loves handling all of my wine glasses, serving platters and pottery; the other part of me marvels at how home renovations bring out the most materialistic side of me. I found I had to remind myself that it is just stuff after all. But stuff I LOVE.
I have managed to take some "before" photos, and I've included them here. I'll be sure to include "after" photos as well. The wall with the shelving and cookbooks on it is already gone, and will be replaced by an island. Just that change has made a huge difference to the feeling of openness and the light coming into the kitchen and living room. Very exciting!
 |
| We're building in cabinets on this wall. The buffet is for sale. Any takers? |
 |
| This wall is already gone. It opens up the view to dining room and living room. Island will go here. P.S. I really hate the blue walls. |
 |
| So looking forward to making this a functional space!! And getting rid of the temporary (plywood) casing for my dishwasher!! |
In case you're ever desperate for basic, simple food, here are the last meals I'll be making in my kitchen:
Sunday
Pan-fried pickerel
Lemon-scented rice (add zest and juice of one lemon, 2 T. butter, and salt and pepper to hot steamed rice)
Steamed peas
Fresh veggie plate
Monday
Small pork roast (delivered to my door by my lovely dairy delivery folks)
Roasted root veggies (mostly celeriac, since I have some that needs using before we leave the house for three weeks)
Simple salad
Tuesday
Broccoli cheddar melts
Wednesday
Bean and cheese quesadillas
Pacific Organic roasted pepper and tomato soup (from a carton)
Construction starts Wednesday afternoon, so the remainder of the week will be restaurant food. I've never taken D to Fuddruckers, and since he has recently developed a passion for hamburgers (I made some for Saturday's supper this week, and he was yelling, "I want one of THOSE!" the second he caught sight of me on my way to the bbq. I was hard pressed to convince him that they should be cooked first), so I was considering that as an option for Thursday. Friday and Saturday will unfold as they come.
I joked with Mike at the Bulk Cheese Warehouse that by the end of the week, we'd be down to eating bread and cheese. His face lit up, and he said, "So you'll be shopping here, then!" Could be worse.
...and somewhere in the midst of all this, there is a garden to plant...
...and somewhere in the midst of all this, there is a garden to plant...
Monday, April 4, 2011
Meal Plan #11: The Calm Before the Storm
At the end of this week, my kitchen will have undergone the first steps of deconstruction, beginning our renovation. I'm torn between wanting to get in a few last minute new recipes, and accepting that I might have to ease off on the cooking for the next six weeks or so (ACK!! That's a long time!!). One important thing I realized is that I have three large bags of beef bones in my freezer, waiting to be turned into stock. I kept forgetting about them, but now I've realized that if I don't make stock this week, they will be sitting in my freezer until the kitchen gets put back together in June, at which point it will be summer (at least in theory), and I will be loathe to have my stove on simmer for eight hours at a time. So. I will be making beef stock tomorrow. The resulting stock, stored in my freezer, will be far more useful in a pinch than a bag of bones.
So. Meal Plan.
Monday
Lamb ribs in honey and wine
Tabbouleh, with extra vegetables (green peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion)
Tuesday (beef stock day/yoga)
Soba noodles with ginger sauce (also uses a couple of eggs from my glut of farm eggs thanks to my aunt. Brunch was great for using up eggs.)
Wednesday (preschool board meeting...)
Mexican polenta-stuffed peppers from Moosewood's Simple Suppers
Thursday
Moosemeat sausage patties (that's right. Moose meat. I often end up with somewhat unusual things in my freezer, and wild game is one of my favourites)
Autumn vegetable, barley and wild rice pilaf (both the sausage patties and the pilaf are from Anita Stewart's The Flavours of Canada, a gorgeous cookbook that I discovered years ago while on a juice fast. My husband, who was also fasting, and I purchased the book and sat mesmerized, flipping through the pages, blurting out the names of recipes like some kind of prayer for healing: "Onion Soup a la Blanche de Chambly!!"; "Pan-seared Arctic Char with Golden Oat and Cheddar Cheese Risotto and Balsam Fir Browned Butter!!!" I've made both, by the way, and they are FANTASTIC). Incidentally, my favourite beef stock recipe comes from this book, too!
Green salad
Friday
Not sure...plans will be made once I have more information on the arrival of my demolition crew. Family will be showing up to help with knocking out walls, installing water heater, and so on. I will be in the process of hauling all of the cookbooks, currently shelved on those walls, into the basement, where they will have to reside until their new home is ready. Trying not to think about the level of inconvenience. The final result will be so so so worth it.
So. Meal Plan.
Monday
Lamb ribs in honey and wine
Tabbouleh, with extra vegetables (green peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion)
Tuesday (beef stock day/yoga)
Soba noodles with ginger sauce (also uses a couple of eggs from my glut of farm eggs thanks to my aunt. Brunch was great for using up eggs.)
Wednesday (preschool board meeting...)
Mexican polenta-stuffed peppers from Moosewood's Simple Suppers
Thursday
Moosemeat sausage patties (that's right. Moose meat. I often end up with somewhat unusual things in my freezer, and wild game is one of my favourites)
Autumn vegetable, barley and wild rice pilaf (both the sausage patties and the pilaf are from Anita Stewart's The Flavours of Canada, a gorgeous cookbook that I discovered years ago while on a juice fast. My husband, who was also fasting, and I purchased the book and sat mesmerized, flipping through the pages, blurting out the names of recipes like some kind of prayer for healing: "Onion Soup a la Blanche de Chambly!!"; "Pan-seared Arctic Char with Golden Oat and Cheddar Cheese Risotto and Balsam Fir Browned Butter!!!" I've made both, by the way, and they are FANTASTIC). Incidentally, my favourite beef stock recipe comes from this book, too!
Green salad
Friday
Not sure...plans will be made once I have more information on the arrival of my demolition crew. Family will be showing up to help with knocking out walls, installing water heater, and so on. I will be in the process of hauling all of the cookbooks, currently shelved on those walls, into the basement, where they will have to reside until their new home is ready. Trying not to think about the level of inconvenience. The final result will be so so so worth it.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Meal Plan #10...still simple...
Still taking it easy and making sure we have no leftovers carrying us into the weekend, when we'll be away again.
Sunday
Oven-fried chicken
Sweet potato and yam oven fries
Steamed asparagus
Monday
Beef roast (aiming for sandwich meat for lunches)
Mashed potatoes
Carrots and green beans
Creamy coleslaw
Tuesday
Orzo primavera (from The Occasional Vegetarian). The recipe is very similar to the one posted here.
Green salad
Wednesday
Pork stirfry with bok choy and broccoli—the stir-fry sauce will be the thickened rib-braising liquid from a previous post, Busy Mom Tip #6.
Rice (with enough leftovers to go into our bean burritos the next day)
Thursday
Bean burritos, based on the recipe titled "Guilt-free refritos" in The Rustic Table. Basically just pinto beans mashed with bottled salsa, onions and garlic. It'll be good with some rice, cheese, chopped tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and extra salsa. Plus any leftover beans can be frozen.
Sunday
Oven-fried chicken
Sweet potato and yam oven fries
Steamed asparagus
Monday
Beef roast (aiming for sandwich meat for lunches)
Mashed potatoes
Carrots and green beans
Creamy coleslaw
Tuesday
Orzo primavera (from The Occasional Vegetarian). The recipe is very similar to the one posted here.
Green salad
Wednesday
Pork stirfry with bok choy and broccoli—the stir-fry sauce will be the thickened rib-braising liquid from a previous post, Busy Mom Tip #6.
Rice (with enough leftovers to go into our bean burritos the next day)
Thursday
Bean burritos, based on the recipe titled "Guilt-free refritos" in The Rustic Table. Basically just pinto beans mashed with bottled salsa, onions and garlic. It'll be good with some rice, cheese, chopped tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and extra salsa. Plus any leftover beans can be frozen.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Meal Plan #8
My precious meal planning notebook is FULL! I'm going to have to find another one. I'm using an interim notebook for now. I love flipping back through it and remembering the menus I planned and the guests I served, since most of the time I include my guests' names in the title.
But I digress. Here's my meal plan for this week (note that ingredients are aimed towards potential finger foods for Baby G, who, at 6 and a half months, has no interest in eating foods off a spoon. If he can't hold it, he won't sample it).
Monday
"White trash" sweet and sour spareribs (I confess to a love of westernized Asian food that is made from non-Asian ingredients. Like ketchup)
Baked brown and wild rice (some formed into little finger food patties for Baby G)
Broccoli with oyster sauce (with some broccoli pulled out of the steamer for Baby G)
Tuesday (vegetarian/yoga night)
Ryan's Moroccan Yam Burgers (from my new cookbook, Whitewater Cooks at Home!). If you go to the link for the recipe, scroll down a bit in the forum, and you'll find it.
These sound awesome--grated yams, pureed chickpeas, nuts, tons of spices and more. I'll cook up some yams separately for Baby G. I think I'm also going to try stewed prunes as finger food...which might be messy, but so is everything else he eats.
Wednesday
I'm away at a meeting over the supper hour, so I'll be popping this in the oven ahead of time:
Navy bean and squash gratin with bits of sausage (from Mark Bittman's Food Matters). I'll mash up some beans and cook some separate squash chunks for Baby G.
Thursday
Oven roasted Pine View Farms chicken thighs
Sweet potato fries
Asparagus (or some other veggie if I can't find organic asparagus). Baby G will suck on asparagus, as well as sweet potato fries. He's not currently interested in meat, but I might make like a mama bird and chew some up for him to try.
Friday
Pasta with tomatoes, tuna and capers from Mark Bittman's Food Matters. There are several versions of this recipe, and I found a similar one on Epicurious, here. Mark Bittman's recipe calls for tuna packed in oil, which I will use if I can find it. Has anyone seen it anywhere in Saskatoon?
As for Baby G's meal on Friday, I'm guessing we'll have something in the fridge from earlier meals that we can use, since the pasta meal isn't terribly baby-friendly. That reminds me, though--if I pick up some rice pasta, he can have pasta as finger food, too! (he hasn't tried wheat yet)
Note on tuna: I truly don't eat tuna or serve it to my family very often at all (less than one can per month), because I do have some reservations about its mercury levels. When I was pregnant, I didn't eat it at all. But I can't seem to avoid it completely, because I discovered it so recently, and love it. I figure with the levels of healthiness we enjoy in the rest of our foods, the benefits out-weigh the costs of the occasional meal using tuna.
But I digress. Here's my meal plan for this week (note that ingredients are aimed towards potential finger foods for Baby G, who, at 6 and a half months, has no interest in eating foods off a spoon. If he can't hold it, he won't sample it).
Monday
"White trash" sweet and sour spareribs (I confess to a love of westernized Asian food that is made from non-Asian ingredients. Like ketchup)
Baked brown and wild rice (some formed into little finger food patties for Baby G)
Broccoli with oyster sauce (with some broccoli pulled out of the steamer for Baby G)
Tuesday (vegetarian/yoga night)
Ryan's Moroccan Yam Burgers (from my new cookbook, Whitewater Cooks at Home!). If you go to the link for the recipe, scroll down a bit in the forum, and you'll find it.
These sound awesome--grated yams, pureed chickpeas, nuts, tons of spices and more. I'll cook up some yams separately for Baby G. I think I'm also going to try stewed prunes as finger food...which might be messy, but so is everything else he eats.
Wednesday
I'm away at a meeting over the supper hour, so I'll be popping this in the oven ahead of time:
Navy bean and squash gratin with bits of sausage (from Mark Bittman's Food Matters). I'll mash up some beans and cook some separate squash chunks for Baby G.
Thursday
Oven roasted Pine View Farms chicken thighs
Sweet potato fries
Asparagus (or some other veggie if I can't find organic asparagus). Baby G will suck on asparagus, as well as sweet potato fries. He's not currently interested in meat, but I might make like a mama bird and chew some up for him to try.
Friday
Pasta with tomatoes, tuna and capers from Mark Bittman's Food Matters. There are several versions of this recipe, and I found a similar one on Epicurious, here. Mark Bittman's recipe calls for tuna packed in oil, which I will use if I can find it. Has anyone seen it anywhere in Saskatoon?
As for Baby G's meal on Friday, I'm guessing we'll have something in the fridge from earlier meals that we can use, since the pasta meal isn't terribly baby-friendly. That reminds me, though--if I pick up some rice pasta, he can have pasta as finger food, too! (he hasn't tried wheat yet)
Note on tuna: I truly don't eat tuna or serve it to my family very often at all (less than one can per month), because I do have some reservations about its mercury levels. When I was pregnant, I didn't eat it at all. But I can't seem to avoid it completely, because I discovered it so recently, and love it. I figure with the levels of healthiness we enjoy in the rest of our foods, the benefits out-weigh the costs of the occasional meal using tuna.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Meal Plan #6
Back to being organized (at least in theory) this week, thanks in part to the long weekend. All I need to stay on top of things is an extra day off, once in a while...
Monday
Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Meat Sauce from Mark Bittman's Food Matters
Tuesday
Red Lentil Soup with Greens from The Moosewood Collective's Simple Suppers
Greek Salad
Wednesday (Dinner party! Friends are coming over)
Quick Cassoulet from dee Hobsbawn-Smith's The Quick Gourmet (no duck confit here—Chinese BBQ pork instead, if you can believe it. But it's an excellent winter warmer, and should match up perfectly with the Alsatian Gewurtztraminer that I want to serve. Sometimes, the menu is just a foil for serving certain wine.)
Some kind of salad, haven't yet decided
Chocolate peanut butter pudding cake (after the popularity of last week's pear gingerbread pudding, inspiring D to chant "I love cake, I love cake," I'm all about trying similar recipes. And what could be better than chocolate and peanut butter together in gooey cake?)
Thursday (need a quick dinner so that we can be ready for the arrival of our kitchen remodelers (!!!) who are coming at 7:00. More on kitchen reno to come)
Egg foo yung omelet (will use up cabbage, peppers and green onions) from Simple Suppers
Friday
Rarebit Risotto, also from Simple Suppers (This was formerly a huge kid favourite, so we'll see whether it's still a winner)
Monday
Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Meat Sauce from Mark Bittman's Food Matters
Tuesday
Red Lentil Soup with Greens from The Moosewood Collective's Simple Suppers
Greek Salad
Wednesday (Dinner party! Friends are coming over)
Quick Cassoulet from dee Hobsbawn-Smith's The Quick Gourmet (no duck confit here—Chinese BBQ pork instead, if you can believe it. But it's an excellent winter warmer, and should match up perfectly with the Alsatian Gewurtztraminer that I want to serve. Sometimes, the menu is just a foil for serving certain wine.)
Some kind of salad, haven't yet decided
Chocolate peanut butter pudding cake (after the popularity of last week's pear gingerbread pudding, inspiring D to chant "I love cake, I love cake," I'm all about trying similar recipes. And what could be better than chocolate and peanut butter together in gooey cake?)
Thursday (need a quick dinner so that we can be ready for the arrival of our kitchen remodelers (!!!) who are coming at 7:00. More on kitchen reno to come)
Egg foo yung omelet (will use up cabbage, peppers and green onions) from Simple Suppers
Friday
Rarebit Risotto, also from Simple Suppers (This was formerly a huge kid favourite, so we'll see whether it's still a winner)
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