Tiffanie: this week's menu

The Spring CSA season has started up, so I'm back to weekly veggie boxes and the challenges in keeping up with them. I definitely became lazy over the winter, with only biweekly deliveries.

My plans this week include:

• Red Wine Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Sausage... a nice recipe find from my CSA newsletter. The box had a gorgeous medium red cabbage, so it'll go in here. I put in practically every variation to make it a very hearty meal.
• millet and spinach polenta with sun dried tomato pesto and roasted sweet potatoes. This recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance. I love it; it is packed with flavor and is a great way to use up ugly spinach (got a big bunch from the box). The kids are on the fence about this one... they like the crispy polenta edges, don't like the pesto, and always love the sweet potatoes.
• Rice and lentils and caramelized onions with spiced pita crisps. This one comes from Veganomicon. It's a delicious unattractive dish. Since it'll be cooler and rainy this week, it'll be perfect. I have green cabbage from the box, so I'll make a cabbage slaw, or maybe a fennel and orange salad (I finally learned that if you chop up the fennel pretty finely, it tastes way better in salad).
• the usual sweet potato hash with eggs night.
• I'm making curried couscous salad today (Barefoot Contessa recipe) for a potluck, so I should have leftovers to enjoy this week, too.
• the boy would like to learn how to make madeleine cookies, so I bought some butter and we'll try out a couple of recipes. Should be tasty fun.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Plans this week include:

• mapo tofu, rice, roasted seaweed, scallion pancakes. I meant to make cabbage salad, but I forgot.
• cajun hoppin' jean (rice-tomato-rice-spices dish), corn chips, pepper sauce, guac.
• harira soup with chickpeas and angelhair pasta, no-knead bread.
• sweet potato veggie hash with eggs for no-daddy night.
• pizza night.

The spring season of the CSA is starting up this week, so we'll see what I get for later meals in the week. I still have many turnips, so I may make a curry stew with them.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Going for easy last minute meals, especially now that the weather is so warm.

This week's plans include:

• curried peanut sauce bowl (knocked over from last week). So yummy. Lots of rice, tofu, and kale.
• broccoli tofu stir fry. A big hit with the kids, they eat it all.
• pasta night: spicy slurpy sauce (an Isa recipe), beanballs, greens, some Field Roast sausage for the kids since they don't like beanballs, steamed artichokes.
• pizza night. Did this last week with homemade dough and lots of olives. Was easy and fun for everyone. Lots of leftovers to use up for this, plus I need to make some tofu ricotta.
• sweet potato hash and eggs (for the night without the strict vegan)
• taco night with mushrooms.
• sushi night -- mostly an excuse to eat lots of seaweed, rice, and avocados. So much cheaper than taking my rapacious children to a restaurant.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Early this week! Mostly because I'm going shopping today instead of tomorrow. Do you shop more than once a week? I used to, when the kids were in school, but now that we're all together all the time, I prefer to go alone on the weekend.

My plans this week include:

• taco night, with mushrooms and chard
• spaghetti and beanballs, raw kale salad
• massur dal and carrot soup, bread, white bean and escarole (kind of a side-stew). I just love escarole and white beans together.
• pizza night
• vegan beef stew. This is a new recipe from Isa; it has vegan sausages in it, so the kids might like it. They're very fond of the Field Roast Italian sausages. It's full of red wine, potatoes, carrots, etc., so I'm excited. I miss a good beef stew.
• curried peanut sauce bowl. One of my favorite new recipes from Isa -- lots of brown rice, fried tofu cubes, steamed kale, and scrumptious curried peanut sauce over it all. I know it sounds very healthy and vegan, but the flavors!

This meal plan seems to be inspired by the winter storms we've had this week, but next week will be warm and sunny. I expect I'll welcome my allergies, since all the trees are turning green very quickly.