Tiffanie: this week's menu

Spring is here and I'm meal planning on the weekends again!

My plans:

• this delicious looking Mushroom Stout Pie with Potato Biscuit. *drool*
• I am beginning a weekly chili -- it's time the children learn to appreciate chili and fixings. This week's will be the Cook's Illustrated Best Vegetarian Chili. It's a fun recipe, lots of dried chilis and secret ingredients like walnuts and shiitake and bulgur. 
• on my solo dinner night, sweet potato hash, with a bit of carrot and kale and red onion, and fried eggs on top. Tried this last week, and it was so so good.
• something quick and easy, based on what I have from my CSA box. Maybe a tofu kale scramble, or a breakfast-for-dinner... I kind of wish I could sneak in a pureed soup, but this might not be the week for it.

I just put together a quick fennel pickle, with Meyer lemons sliced in, and black pepper. I'm worried I made it too salty, but I can always dilute it, I suppose. I might pickle up some beets and carrots, too... our visit to Happy Girl Kitchen has brought pickles back into my life. 

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Oi, I have not kept up this month! I shall do better! We had guests last week, so I made a batch of slow cooker posole verde with the last of my Rancho Gordo hominy. It was so yummy and gone in one sitting. Then we ordered in pizza. Then I left for the weekend for Monterey (thanks, child-raising partner!).

This week we didn't have many dinners with the husband (working late), so we had/are having:

• leftover lal dal
• spaghetti and beanballs
• rosemary white bean soup
• sweet potato hash with kale and carrots and fried eggs (a solo dinner for me)
• creole hoppin' jean

My CSA has started up the spring season! If you are looking for a CSA, I do like High Ground Organics.

My veggie box included fennel, which I want to quick pickle over the weekend. It's a decent way of eating fennel, better than everything else I've tried.

I have a lot of spouts seeds (around 12 oz), so I am going to start up making sprouts for sandwiches. It's a good excuse to make yummy no-knead bread. And to eat cream cheese. :-D

How is spring changing your diet? 

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Hmm... seem to have missed posting last week. I blame the return of school. We ate something.

This week's plans include:

• quinoa and bean croquettes, with more quinoa and mushroom gravy. Green salad.
• African peanut soup with mustard greens. I shall sub in tofu for the chicken.
• Lentils and basmati rice and caramelized onions with spiced pita crisps. Sauteed chard.
• Biscuits and gravy, hash browns, fruit smoothies.
• a butternut ginger soup, homemade bread.
• roasted butternut squash, with a pilaf of chickpeas and cranberries and nuts.
• a gluten free muesli I made once and liked...
• trying a strawberry cobbler recipe... I have a bunch of frozen strawberries that defrosted unexpectedly and refroze, so they're good for baked things.

I am also snack parent on a field trip day, so I'm brainstorming ideas. I'm thinking of making a wholesome oaty fruity bar. What else? Baby carrots? I'm trying to stay away from sugary snacks, so no yogurt tubes. Could do cheese, though they get plenty of cheese in their diets already... Then there are the parents. I could just double up everything for them...

What We Cooked for Grandpa

My father-in-law came to visit - a little unexpectedly - so I had to re-work the meal plan a bit (I didn't think he would like black bean chili or braised kale with chickpeas), but this is what I managed to feed him.

While browsing the web, I came across a cookbook title that was so applicable to my life that I had to borrow it from the library: Parents Need to Eat Too: Nap Friendly Recipes, One-Handed Meals, and Time-Saving Kitchen Tricks for New Parents. I'm not a new parent but with the baby demanding to be held all the time and snatching anything in my hand so she can shove it into her mouth, I thought it would give it a try.

Honey Soy Salmon - A winner. The marinade is made of honey, soy sauce, and sriracha. Incredibly easy. Marinate salmon fillets for 20 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the fridge and stick in the oven for 12 minutes then serve. Everyone loved this meal, including the 4 year old, who gobbled it up, and my father-in-law, who ate it with as much gusto but with much more refined table manners. My husband asked that I add this one into the regular meal rotation. I served it with steamed rice and stir-fried broccoli.

Apparently, this is also a freezer friendly meal. Just marinate the fillets and freeze. The fish will marinate while it thaws.

Overnight French Onion Chicken - I wasn't a big fan of this dish but I'm glad that I tried it. The recipe calls for caramelizing 6 finely sliced onions in the slow cooker overnight and then adding chicken, broth, sherry, and thyme in the morning. Just before dinner, I also toasted Italian bread in the oven and melted gruyere on top. The preschooler refused to touch it. The husband picked out the onions. I thought it was a little too sweet and slightly disappointing for the effort. My father-in-law really liked it. One note in the book suggested keeping the leftover onions and using as a base for French Onion Soup so I may do that.

I haven't decided what else I'll make from the book. Below are recipes that I found elsewhere.

Lacinato Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad - This was my first time making a raw kale salad, which I served with the French Onion Chicken above because I wanted some kind of green added to the meal. I liked it but everyone else refused to touch it. I think I'll try to make other raw kale salads.

Roasted Mushroom and Beef Barley Soup A nice standby soup recipe for cold weather. My 4 year old used to love the barley in this soup and would ignore the mushrooms, but this time around, she refused to touch the barley and would only eat the mushrooms.

Chocolate Banana Bread - A recipe I found off the Cook's Illustrated site - I didn't add the link since you need to be a subscriber to get the full recipe. I am not a good baker, but this was simple and good. The bread was nice and moist, it had good banana flavor, and it wasn't too dense. It has been our unhealthy snack of the week.

Candice: Turns Out I'm Horrible at Planning Meals

Meal planning is something I aspire to, but just isn't happening. I did join the winter CSA and I keep the newsletter up on my fridge, checking off veggies as we go. This winter has been brutal for me. It's unusually cold for Northern California, and I'm about 20 weeks into my third pregnancy. We're also in the middle of renovating our master bathroom and repainting the master bedroom so our bed has been relocated to the living room. The novelty has long worn off. All of the above, coupled with a body clock that is still confused by my distance from the equator even after a decade in the Bay Area, has made for a really sessile mama. I normally love the meals of winter: hearty soups and stews, chunky casseroles, more bread and pasta than is wise…but we're not making any big culinary plans over here.

My childhood memories, though, are filled with my mother's obvious disdain for cooking, so I keep trying to be less bitter about the fact that I have to produce meals for my family every damn day. It certainly didn't make her any happier to feel that way and it's not working for me, either. And, when I do force myself to plan out meals in advance, I find it makes things easier on everyone because my husband is grateful to have an "assignment" even if I am too exhausted to assist in the kitchen.

Here's a list of things we've been eating for dinner: 

-Meat Muffins (really just fritattas in muffin tins)

-Butternut squash soup (with ham, beans and greens)

-Nacho night (a weekly favorite. I probably should establish a set day of the week for it)
-Pad Thai (homemade and thus peanut free for the boy. He LOVES it. I get weepy knowing he will probably never experience real pad thai out in the wild)
-Beef Stew
-TJ's corn penne and some kind of tomato-based meat sauce

I've also been trying to reduce the amount of packaged cereal and cow milk eaten by my children. My husband takes breakfast duty and has been pretty good about trying new ideas. He mixes and matches from the list below depending on hunger levels:

-Sprouted-grain toast and jam
-Plain puffed millet with almond milk (the girl loves and requests this)
-Yogurt with jam
-Leftover meat muffins
-Oatmeal
-Scrambled eggs
-Fruit with everything

When I am functional in the morning I make myself pretty much the same thing every time: Full fat greek yogurt, nuts and seeds (sunflower, chia, sliced almonds, pepitas), some kind of freeze-dried fruit from TJ's (blueberries or grapes), a diced apple (minus whatever the kids claim when they see me cutting up an apple) and a boatload of honey. Lots of fat and calories for incubating, yay!

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Missed last week; developed some severe jaw and tooth pain that is either sinus related or one of my molars is dying. Lovely times! So I ate very little and all of it was soft.

But! This week I am cooking again, just in time for a cold winter storm.

My plans:

• mushroom taco night
• white bean rosemary soup, with no-knead bread and green salad
• a lal dal (red lentil curry) with jasmine rice and roasted brussels sprouts
• posole verde; a vegetarian version with mushrooms, tomatillos, poblano peppers, hominy.... so very good.
• potato leek soup (my comfort soup), aloo samosas (filled with peas and mashed potatoes; the kids will help make these), and possibly smoothies.
• shakshuka, from this recipe: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2013/02/shakshuka-recipe-eggs/. It looks perfect for me when I'm eating alone. It's a spicy tomato sauce with poached eggs. 

Happy eating!

the latest dishes

What I've been making:

Chicken and Pork Adobo from a recipe cobbled together with my parents' offhand instructions and two Filipino cookbooks (adobo is one of those recipes where everyone's version is very individual and everyone is very attached to their version of the dish). This wasn't a new recipe but I haven't made adobo in a long, long, long time so I thought it worth noting. While what I made wasn't quite like my parents (too much sauce!), the flavors were right and the father-in-law and husband were very happy with it. My mom also told me that adobo is very freezer friendly so it can be made in huge batches but leftovers of adobo never last long.... Served with rice and sliced tomatoes on the side.

Butternut Squash Risotto from the Pioneer Woman - This was delicious. I haven't made risotto in a long time - maybe 3 years? - and this was my first time making butternut squash risotto. Will definitely make again but not too often since it does require standing by the stove for a little while to add the broth in 1 cup increments and stir the rice. Served with roasted asparagus.

Mushroom Stroganoff with Goat Cheese from Alton Brown - This was the first mushroom stroganoff recipe that I've tried and liked. Definitely a keeper although more of a once in blue moon dish rather than one to put in the regular meal rotation.

I almost forgot to mention that I made potstickers for Lunar New Year. Mine were filled with ground pork, water chestnut, and chives. mmmm.

Also, old standby recipes such as chicken cilantro burgers, turkey tacos, pasta, and breakfast for dinner.

Up next:

Seven Vegetable Couscous with Spicy Harissa
Chicken and Pork Adobo (again)

The baby also started solids! She's been eating bananas, pears, avocado, and rice cereal (okay, well, maybe the avocado hasn't really made it in to her mouth but she was very good at mushing it with her hand....) Next up for baby are roast yams.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Very late this week!

My plans/history:

• bok choy and chickpeas with toasted cashews. Onion pancakes, baked marinated tofu.
• sweet potato corn chowder with kale. A no-knead loaf, of cherry and walnuts.
• a wild rice pilaf to supplement the soups (from Clean Food).
• green salads with beets, to eat up the two lettuces in the CSA box.
• pancake night, with roasted potatoes and smoothies. (Kid request)
• an apple and squash soup (puree)

Tiffanie: this week's menu

A nice normal week!

My plans:

• finally made the quinoa black eyed pea croquettes with mushroom gravy from Vegan with a Vengeance. Delicious as always! Added sweet potato fries on the side.
• have two more Field Roast sausages, so I'll put in another pasta and kale night with sausage. I have two beets left over from my big batch of roasting, so they'll become salad.
• a big stew: the potato tofu mushroom stew with miso gravy. Love it. It's a solid two meal dish; and is great over rice or pasta. I want roasted cauliflower on the side.
• I have a few lovely leeks from the last CSA box, so I shall make a leek potato soup. 

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Feeling lazy this week... here we go! Most of these are easy meals.

Plans:

• Sunday night leftovers, of the yummy lentils and rice with caramelized onions and spiced pita crisps. I found my zatar, so I used that on the pita. The young kale that I braised with red onion was also leftovers; husband thought it was bitter, but I liked it.
• Pasta with greens and Field Roast Italian sausage, roasted butternut squash (with leeks?), and vegan chocolate pudding.
• fundraiser night at Aqui on Tuesday, so doing that.
• White bean and roasted garlic soup. Two heads of roasted garlic! Yum! More no-knead bread, and also beet salad.
• A breakfast dinner, with pancakes, corn fritters, smoothies, and veggie bacon.
• Quinoa and black eyed pea croquettes with mushroom gravy, and sweet potato fries.

Still trying to work through my fridge and not buy so much each week. Not quite as successful this week, but I'll be using up my chard, butternut squash, leeks, beets from the CSA box. I may also make myself some kale and baked eggs for a solo dinner; I can add some carrots and beet greens, too.

The soup and the corn fritters and the croquettes are from Vegan with a Vengeance. I haven't made the soup before; it calls for Great Northern White beans, and the bulk section was out of them, so I took the easy way out and bought them canned. At least it's from Eden, they do excellent canned beans, and they were on sale. :-) 

I flipped through the cookie and dessert sections of the cookbook, and I may try out the chocolate thumbprint cookies. I have raspberry jam... might be good. I'm also tempted by an orange rum tea cake, but I don't have any rum on hand. Would brandy be as good?

comfort food recipes

I have been lousy at meal planning this year but here are a few recipes that I've tried which have worked out well. Pretty much all of these are kid friendly recipes and mostly from the Food Network. I've been in the mood for comfort food since the new year began.

The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup from Paula Deen. When I got back from Ohio on New Year's Eve, the entire family was sick with a cold. As far as making chicken noodle soup from scratch goes, this was very easy and quick and quite good. Definitely a recipe I'll try again. Unfortunately, the preschooler refused to taste it but hopefully she'll be more willing to try it out next time. I left out the heavy cream.

Big Chocolate Birthday Cake from Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. The preschooler's birthday was Christmas but we celebrated in January. This makes a huge cake! It's meant to be 4 layers but I separated it into two cakes each with 2 layers and one cake was enough to feed a party of 30 people. I thought the cake was a little bitter the first day but that it mellowed out and was much better the next day. It was also a nice moist, dense chocolate cake, which I prefer over drier, airier cakes. I also used a different frosting recipe since I needed something simple and quick but while the frosting was simple and quick, I wasn't a big fan of the frosting recipe so I'm not going to add that link here.

For some reason, I was unable to bake a decent cake in 2012, even with tried and true recipes. Every time I tried to bake a cake, it was disastrous, so I'm happy that I'm starting off with better luck in 2013.

Mac and Cheese from Ina Garten. I made this for the preschooler's birthday party and didn't get a chance to taste it while it was still warm. It seemed to heat up okay. I may try this one again.

Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Tenders from Giada de Laurentis. A big hit with my husband. Not so much with the preschooler. They're baked so slightly more healthy, and the breading on the top of the chicken tender was crunchy. My only changes were to use panko bread crumbs and add my own seasonings plus I left out the garlic vinaigrette that Giada devices as the dipping sauce.

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits. I had extra buttermilk from baking the preschooler's birthday cake, so I made the chicken tenders mentioned above and these buttermilk biscuits. I always thought biscuits were labor intensive but was pleased to find out that they're very easy to make. Definitely a keeper. I want to make more and the recipe says you can shape the biscuits and store in the freezer for a month so I may make another batch if I don't think of another use for the rest of the buttermilk.

As far as food resolutions, my big project for the year is trying to get the preschooler to eat a wider variety of foods, particularly vegetables, and for me not to become a short order cook for her. I also want to get the baby off to a good start on solids. I can't believe she's almost 6 months already!

A belated happy 2013!

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Oops, missed last week. It was overly busy, but I assure you we did in fact eat each night. :-)

This week's plans:

• a breakfast night, consisting of pancakes, hash browns, and smoothies.
• golden split pea soup and homemade bread; planning to make my first no-knead bread of the winter. Possibly with cherries and walnuts in it, nom nom.
• tempeh shepherdess' pie: lovely mushrooms and peas and corn and tempeh under a mashed potato crust... mmm...
• lentils and rice and spiced pita crisps. A big spiced mash of caramelized onions and red lentils and basmati rice. So so good and simple. Braised greens on the side.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Happy New Year! Have any eating goals for the year? I'm pretty happy about how I've been integrating whole foods into our diet, thanks to our CSA box. I would like to increase the variety in the kids' diets -- they would prefer that I only feed them cheese and wheat combinations (for the girl) or tortillas with beans and cheese and rice and corn (for the boy). On the positive side, they do ask for a vegetable with each meal if one is lacking, so at least they are getting some good habits. I think I'll be trying out more recipes from Vegan Lunch Box, and trying to get them to eat more soups.

I'm using my Clean Food cookbook this week, and trying to largely choose recipes that I have nearly all the ingredients for already. Frugality! We're going to be keeping a close watch on our expenditures, as part of another goal this year, so my grocery purchases will be remarked upon. :-D

My plans include:

• lentil walnut pate, as a snack food to eat with crackers.
• roasted kabocha squash and creminis, creamy cauliflower soup, baked chickpea pancake with rosemary.
• stuffed squash with rice and chickpeas, tamari-braised mustard greens.
• Goodness soup (sort of a winter vegetable bean soup), and wholegrain pancakes (baked patties of a grain (quinoa, millet, or rice) mixed with some onion and carrot and oil and flour) with applesauce.

Yes, I have many winter squash in my cold garage to eat. The CSA box this week gave me kale, mustard greens, apples, carrots, beets, cauliflower, leeks, and butternut squashes (3!). Tonight I'm using the kale and beet greens in a tofu scramble with yellow rice, and I have many roasted beets already on hand for a salad. The mustard greens, cauliflower, leeks, and the biggest squash are going to be used in the recipes above. That leaves me with many delicious Granny Smith apples, two smaller squash, and plenty of beets and carrots.

I am also going to attempt handmade pasta this week, as I am planning on running a kindergarten cooking class on making noodles on Monday. Looks straightforward enough -- I'm doing the simple flour/egg/water/salt combination, and I'm going to see if it tastes good with the traditional butter and cinnamon-sugar sprinkle (it's what the Italians did before tomato sauce, and is supposed to be very good).

Happy eating!

pork and udon soup recipe and this week's meals

I haven't posted lately but I have been cooking - although nothing worth writing about, mostly old standbys like spaghetti, breakfast for dinner, or turkey tacos, etc. However, this weekend, I did manage to make a new recipe: pork and udon soup.

It's a meal that you need to make in two steps. I did it over two days.

Day one: I roasted the pork. Very easy but it required about 3.5 hours in the oven.
Day two: I chopped the veggies and threw the veggies and pork in broth to simmer for a half hour to make the soup. I also boiled the noodles separately. I didn't have any udon so I used somen and that worked fine.

Overall, I would say that the broth is not as rich or complex as ones made from scratch but the soup was very filling and good for about 40 minutes cooking time - much of that time was made up of leaving the soup to simmer on the stove rather than active time.  The soup seemed much less Japanese as the udon in the recipe would suggest but tasted more like pho especially since the recipe recommends garnishing with bean sprouts, cilantro, and lime. The toddler picked at it since she didn't like the look of the shitake, cabbage, or carrots, but she ate the noodles. The husband gave the soup an "A."

This week's meal plan (although I'm not sure I'll get around to cooking the sinigang):

• spinach and cheese lasagna rolls
• matzoh ball soup, latkes, and smoked salmon and mache salad (I made the soup last week but never got around to making the latkes during Hannukah)
• slow cooker beef and black bean chili
• sinigang na baboy (a pork and tamarind soup with napa cabbage, taro root, green beans, tomatoes, and onions)

Tiffanie: what are you making for holiday dinners?

Tempted though I am to just make desserts and get take out Chinese food, I may just cook a real holiday dinner. What are you doing?