Tiffanie: this week's menu

That white bean escarole soup with orzo was really delicious! I never made the pumpkin soup, so it's on the plan again this week. I'm also snack parent for preschool on Thursday, so I have planning around that, too.

The plans:

• linguine with sauteed chard and Field Roast sausage
• pumpkin soup, homemade bread with cherries and walnuts, wild rice pilaf
• vegetable chili, corn bread, roasted sweet potatoes. This will be for two dinners; a different side vegetable, maybe some cabbage salad or avocados.

It's a CSA box week, so I'll know soon what I'm getting on Wednesday. That'll inform the meal for the rest of the week, since there will be greens in it.

For the preschoolers and parents... I'm thinking I'll be progressive and make a big batch of the pumpkin soup. It is very simple, just onions and a bit of ginger sauteed in olive oil, then you add broth, some cut up potatoes and squash, and a bay leaf, and simmer until soft. Then puree and add soy milk. I can serve this to both the preschoolers and the parents. For the kids, I think I'll also offer bagels and cream cheese.  For the parents... a baguette sliced up, maybe a baked oatmeal? I do love baked oatmeal. I should really make it for home sometimes. 

Tiffanie: this week's menu

After all that rain, the weather is now sunny and cool. I'm craving warm food!

The plan:

• taco night, as usual, with mushrooms. Also going to make Mexican rice, the type with tomatoes. Love that!
• my old favorite, tofu mushroom potato stew with miso gravy. This is a two-meal dish, so one night will be over rice, with roasted brussels sprouts. Another night will be over pasta, with a green salad or sauteed chard.
• mapo tofu, with rice, and onion pancakes, and roasted seaweed. I need to visit Ranch 99 for my onion pancakes and silken tofu...
• pumpkin ginger soup... I have two red kabocha squash on my counter, so this will use one of them. I may even make my first loaf of bread for the winter, perhaps with cherries and walnuts in it. 
• if I can find some escarole, I'd love to make a slow cooker white bean soup, with some orzo and escarole stirred in at the end. Such a fantastic thick soup... perhaps I'll get some Field Roast sausage to fry up alongside.

Today I made a batch of dough for St Lucia buns, from the King Arthur Flour recipe on the web. It's a yellow dough, with lots of milk and butter and eggs. You roll bits of dough into a snake, then shape a compact S. Two golden raisins are tucked into the folds, then brushed with egg white and sprinkled with coarse sugar. The kindergarten class will be making these tomorrow, and I felt I needed a practice run. I'm happy to announce they are good -- slightly sweet, fairly dense, very pretty color. The original recipe uses 1/4 tsp of saffron to add color to the milk, but as I ran out of saffron, I decided to try 1/8 tsp of turmeric. It worked very well; the turmeric is not detectable by scent or taste. Just a lovely yellow color!

Jolene: this week's menu

Last night, I made "Tilapia en Papillote" - meaning something (tilapia) cooked in parchment paper.  It took about 4x as long to cook I think because I used a hybrid - aluminum/parchment paper mix. Turned out pretty good with sliced tomatoes, yellow squash, zuchinni, a sprinkle of salt and Penzeys "Mural of Color" seasoning, and feta cheese. Also, steamed some brussel sprouts as a side.

Made a friend of a friend's recipe of mac n' cheese. It called for a stick of butter, 8 cups of cheese (cheddar and mozzarella), evaporated milk, and elbow pasta. I think the box stuff has got to be healthier than this concoction, but it sure tastes good.

I have makings for vegetable lasagne tonight, which I haven't started... Boca burgers as back-up and some frozen TJs fettucini alfredo meal, too. Not feeling food inspired at the moment. May make "Silician style halibut" later this week. More later...

p.s. Bought the Cuisinart waffle maker at a sale last week, but also have the Caphalon version on its way -- will be returning one.

Jolene: this week's menu

Thanks for the invite, Tiffanie! This is my first official blog. I haven't really been much of a meal planner (lately, or ever?) -- more like a meal forager -- searching the fridge and cabinets to scramble up a last minute dinner. I confess, I'm also a short-order cook for the kids -- which makes for more work (I know, I'd like to phase this out).

Anyhow, this week I am planing on:

• Veggie burgers with garlic aioli
• Creamy polenta with meatless ragu
• Some sort of tofu veggie stir-fry with Penzeys "Sate" & "Trinidad" seasonings w/brown rice topped with (a newly discovered fav) rice seasoning -- Nori Komi Furikake
• Baked sweet potato w/yogurt chipotle topper

Rainy weather may (hopefully) inspire some soups and/or baked goods...we'll see....

p.s Searching for the ideal belgian waffle maker...any recommendations?

Happy cooking!

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Skipped last week due to lots of restaurant eating during a family visit. The CSA season is over, and the winter season doesn't start until next week, so I've got a chance to empty my fridge, yay!

Plans for this week:

• cabbage vegetable soup (lots of white wine!), baguette.
• baja tempeh tacos with fried mushrooms and fixings.
• massur dal and carrot soup, bread, roasted brussels sprouts.
• broccoli tofu stir fry, onion pancakes, rice. Smoothies?
• black eyed peas with collard greens, over noodles, plus leftover Field Roast chipotle sausage.

Extras:

• popcorn balls, with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cranberries, currants.
• musubi... trying to figure out what to fill it with. My Vegan Lunch Box cookbook says either pickled plum or peanut butter.
• pumpkin cranberry scones
• kale sauteed with red onion
• roasted cauliflower
• quick pickled fennel

I actually planned on Saturday, so I'm actually a bit short on meals for the week, as I've done the cabbage soup and the black eyed peas already. Tonight will be the tacos... the soup is probably a two-nighter, but I need to plan more meals. Maybe a breakfast for dinner, with biscuits and gravy, or pancakes. And rosemary roasted potatoes, of course.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Hooray, Sunday night and I'm writing my week's entry!

I've been drooling over Home Made and Home Made Winter, which have lovely photos and drawings of the British Isles and food. So this week I'm trying out a few recipes in their honor (besides the 3 minute sticky chocolate cake in a mug). Also, using the vegetables from my CSA box!

Planned meals:

• a cauliflower gruyere risotto dish, that is baked with bread crumbs on top. Not vegan, but decided to try it as it seems kid friendly and delicious.
• a sweet potato cabbage parsnip mash (this is my Scottish heritage speaking up), with cornbread and Field Roast sausages on the side.
• a soup of sweet potatoes and chickpeas and leeks, with buttered cashews on top. Can't resist dishes with cashews on top... Also, a nice loaf of rosemary olive bread I picked up today at Whole Foods.

I haven't figured out what desserty things are due. Maybe a chocolate chocolate-chip walnut cookie?

My in-laws are visiting for nearly a week, starting Friday, so we'll be doing a bit of eating out. And I've decreed Thanksgiving to be Chinese food, either take-out or restaurant. Kids don't appreciate my food enough for me to cook for three hours so they can be done in ten minutes. Liberation!

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Late again, writing this up!

Plan for this week:

• polenta with sauteed swiss chard and pumpkin seeds, with some Field Roast sausages. Sliced tomatoes.
• Spaghetti and beanballs, roasted seaweed, cantaloupe.
• lentils and potatoes and spinach and sausage stew, cantaloupe.
• corn chowder with sweet potatoes and kale, bread.
• peanut noodles, baked tofu, onion pancakes, cabbage salad.

Sauerkraut turned out well, onwards to kimchi! Also need to make granola for our breakfast habit...

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Oops, Wednesday already! Well, we had a lovely cabbage vegetable soup with lots of white wine in it, and a vegan Irish soda bread with currants and millet. Still eating the bread, actually (and happily). It is great toasted with jam.

I'm trying to really use my CSA veggies up each week, both to minimize waste (40% of food waste is at the consumer end, I blame the kiddos) and to minimize grocery bills. And because I don't play enough games and need an optimization problem to play with. :-)

Plans for this week:

• it's Halloween tonight, so a quick and easy dinner of pasta for the kids, and red wine braised kale on baguette rafts (perhaps with an egg on top for me). Also roasted cauliflower for everyone.
• butternut squash with sage, with cajun hoppin' jean on the side, and some sauteed greens. The cajun hoppin jean will be with pinto beans, for a change.
• a corn chowder soup with sweet potatoes and kale. I am sure bread will be served alongside.
• if I still have chard (quite likely, since I have a lot growing outside), some garlic sauteed chard over polenta with toasted pumpkin seeds, and roasted brussels sprouts.

On the extra food front, I need to make more granola, my sauerkraut is probably done and should be harvested and stored in the fridge, and dear friend Dea gave me a couple of pounds of raw green olives to cure. I may have the kids hit them with hammers to start the process (you break the skin with a knife or a hammer, and soak them for a couple of weeks in water until they aren't bitter anymore, then put them in brine with herbs. I wonder if I should get more olives? We go through them so very quickly... I also need to pickle some fennel that I will never eat otherwise.

The King Arthur Flour catalog came today, and goodness but they have a lovely chocolate section. I ordered the Guittard dark chocolate wafers last year when I was making peppermint bark, and I used the leftovers in my dark chocolate cherry mini loaves... so very good. They also sell chunks, which might be even better?

Tiffanie: this week's menu

The rainy season starts this week, so I'm going for stews and pot pies.

My plans:

• mushroom taco night
• tofu potato mushroom stew with miso gravy. Roasted delicata squash.
• cauliflower pot pie with olive biscuit crust. Roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes.
• Field Roast Italian sausages fried with onions and peppers, in sandwich rolls. Potato salad of some variety.

I've got two built in sets of leftovers, with the stew and pot pie. I may also make a soup, perhaps a carrot soup? I need to use up a bunch of green beans somehow this week. I've got kale; I found a lovely red wine braised kale recipe -- you put it on toasted baguette rubbed with garlic, with an egg on top. That will be a lunch for me! 

I still have four little roasted beets which will get eaten in a salad, too. And two older fennel bulbs I think I will pickle, as they taste pretty good that way. 

I am fermenting about three pounds of cabbage, starting today, so perhaps it will be ready for some sampling by the time we get to the sausages.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Lots of leftovers from last week in the mix! I am really tired of chili; I froze a good portion of it finally. It was good, however -- Cooks Illustrated wins again! The pumpkin soup never happened last week, so it pushed into this week.

My plans this week:

• pumpkin ginger soup, sourdough baguettes rubbed with garlic
• leftover chili and rice, roasted zucchini and sweet potatoes. Grilled cheese for the kids.
• leftover pumpkin soup, date and almond rice pilaf, roasted brussels sprouts. 
• bok choy chickpea saute with cashews, onion pancakes.
• lal dal (red lentil curry). Sauteed swiss chard with garlic. Pita bread.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

It's a busy week, with me and the kids going solo at least three evenings and over the weekend. So, easy food!

My plans:

• taco night (our usual Sunday)
• vegetable and tofu curry (Japanese brown curry), rice, roasted seaweed, onion pancakes
• butternut squash ravioli, beet salad
• pumpkin ginger soup, possibly with potato frittata. 
• vegetarian chili, from the recipe in the latest Cooks Illustrated. Uses bulgur wheat, and some dried shiitake mushrooms (ground up) for umami. This should be a multi day dish. Cornbread will be made! And maybe a pilaf. 

Tiffanie: this week's menu

I did plan my meals over the weekend, but then I forgot to share them with you. :-)

Here it is:

• taco night
• peanut noodles, sesame crusted tofu on a bed of spinach, roasted seaweed, ice cream.
• pasta with broccoli and edamame and walnuts, fruit smoothies, banana splits.
• cajun hoppin' jean (a spicy bean/rice/tomato dish), with chips and roasted sweet potatoes, strawberries.
• red bean, potato, and arugula soup. 

I am going to make a ricotta chocolate pudding, mostly for the kids. Trying to get some fat on them before winter. :-D

Of the meals above, the kids ate the tacos, the peanut noodles wrapped in seaweed and some tofu, pasta with olive oil and cheese (did not like the broccoli!), the fruit smoothies (made with tofu). They don't like spicy yet, so they ate sweet potatoes and chips with beans and cheese on them instead of the cajun hoppin' jean. Tonight is the soup night, and I imagine they'll eat a cheese omelet or a potato frittata. 

this week's meal plan

I'm back in the kitchen after having been away so long. I didn't make a formal meal plan this week and am winging it, but this is what I decided to make while food shopping:

• Ginger Teriyaki Chicken, Roasted Asparagus, and Steamed Rice (the toddler was served dumplings)
• Steak (not sure yet what seasonings), Roasted Squash and Assorted Veggies
• Spaghetti with Meatballs
• Leftover Veggie Lasagna from last week and taco fixings to go into a taco salad
• Sandwiches, Pumpkin Bolani, Orzo salad, and assorted fruit for lunch and snacks

Friday, the husband and I dine out (hurray for babysitters!) so the toddler may get mac and cheese that night.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

My plans this week:

• burrito night, with mushrooms and sauteed chard, plus regular fixings
• roasted tomato basil soup. Thinking of trying some stuffed peppers, with a rice and hummus filling I read about. Also garlic bread. Green salad.
• mapo tofu, rice, onion pancakes, chinese cabbage salad.
• a fried potato, onion, and pepper mess. French toast (vegan) for the less discerning small people.
• biscuits and gravy (vegan style, with tempeh sausage crumbles). Fruit, or maybe a smoothie.

What are you making this week?

Tiffanie: this week's menu

I've been slacking due to illness, but here I am again!

Plans for this week:

• broccoli tofu stir fry, with rice and onion pancakes
• potato and kale enchiladas with pepitas
• kale and tofu scramble with chipotle jam sauce, probably over rice with roasted sweet potatoes
• spaghetti and beanballs, green and tomato salad

Last week I made a carrot ginger soup, which had oats and miso in it. Really tasty. I've been thinking of making a pureed soup during the winter to have on hand for snacks -- just microwave a mug of it! I always get so many winter squashes from my CSA, and the occasional carrot or potato soup would add variety.

I also made a new granola/muesli mix -- oats, millet (soaked first), pistachios, coconut flakes, raisins (or cranberries), maple syrup/honey, coconut oil, and salt. Everything but the dried fruit is mixed together (the sweetener and oil are heated first), then baked at 325 until golden. It's attractive (love those millet grains!), and potentially gluten free.

The enchiladas I'm making this week are a lot of work, but they do last at least two meals, and I miss eating them. They're vegan, but packed with flavor and texture. You make a spicy tomato sauce first, steam the kale, boil the potatoes and make a lime flavored chunky mashed potatoes. Then you assemble everything (the toasted pumpkin seeds are in there somewhere). Delicious!