Tiffanie: this week's menu

Oh, the heat continues... I've got to get ahead of my CSA box somehow this week! I pickled all the beans last week, so that was new. I still haven't tasted them, but I'm hopeful they are edible. Canned pickled dilly beans, and romano beans with rosemary and lemon.

The plans this week include:

• cauliflower mushroom pot pie, fennel orange salad. Uses up the rest of the HUGE head of cauliflower that arrived last week, and one head of fennel.
• polenta with sauteed chard and toasted pumpkin seeds, spicy tortilla soup. Uses up a big bunch of chard, and the spicy tortilla soup was a big hit with the adults last week so I'm making it again.
• BBQ tempeh and peppers, green salad. Another winner from last week, and it uses up more peppers from the box. And lettuce and tomatoes!
• pasta night: more of the delicious spaghetti with garlic and pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes, salad. I am in love with this simple pasta dish. And I will use up more lettuce.
• baked potatoes and snack plate night. I want to try this recipe for English jacket potatoes. And the kids love snack plates. Probably will add broccoli to the mix somehow...
• baked oatmeal (forgot to do this last week).
• make more muesli. I love muesli these days. It is perfect for life with children: it gets better the longer it sits in milk on the table while I deal with child emergencies.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Still in summer mode, trying to get through the CSA box...

The plans include:

• white bean and tomato salad, potato frittata and nachos (depending on one's opinion of eggs)
• golden spanish rice, tortilla soup, tacos with fried mushrooms
• spaghetti with garlic, pine nuts, and sun dried tomatoes. Green salad.
• cozy hummus bowl (i.e. rice, lettuce, sprouts, hummus, etc.)
• BBQ tempeh and peppers in pita, for lunch
• possibly a breakfast dinner of pancakes, hash browns, etc.
• a steel cut baked oatmeal recipe, veganized.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Mostly tried-and-true recipes, plus one new stew. And lots of salad. I have too much lettuce, thank you CSA.

The plans are:

• lentil sloppy joes on brioche buns. Salad.
• Millet spinach polenta with sun dried tomato pesto. Roasted sweet potatoes, braised romano beans.
• tempeh meatballs and tomato sauce with spaghetti. Salad or roasted cauliflower.
• Dilly stew with rosemary dumplings. It is a vegan take on chicken stew with dumplings. Lots of carrots, celery, potatoes, and navy beans, plus steamed dumplings and dill. Salad on the side.
• dilly green beans; dill came in the CSA box and a friend gave me green beans, so I'd better try out dilly green beans. I hear so much about them...

Tiffanie: this week's menu

I rediscovered the joys of homemade focaccia with caramelized onions on top, so it's all about the soup this week.

Plans include:

• golden curry to use up veggies and tofu
• white bean and escarole soup, with focaccia
• minestrone soup (to use up veggies), with focaccia
• curried peanut sauce bowl of tofu and rice and kale
• summer squash with baked eggs (for my solo night)
• going out for ramen at Orenchi!

I'm hosting some kids for lunch this week, so we'll make pizza together, too.

If I have enough zucchini, I'll make chocolate and zucchini bread. So decadent and delicious!

Tiffanie: this week's menu

The hot continues, but we persevere...

My plans include:

• creole hoppin' jean, with chips and guac, plus braised romano beans with chard and leeks and garlic.
• mushroom and cauliflower pot pie with olive biscuit crust. Salad?
• vegan ramen attempt #1. Trying out a grilled ramen recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen. It looks very edible.
• posole verde (vegan) with mushrooms. An old favorite, and spur of the moment, as I saw both tomatillos and the poblano peppers at the grocery store this week. I'll probably use the slow cooker, despite using canned hominy and beans; the flavor is just so good with the slow cooking.
• breakfast for dinner, as the kids love pancakes and I love home fries.
• snack plate! Such a big hit with the kids.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Last week was apparently too boring to write about? I made lentil-rice-caramelized onions with spiced pita crisps, broccoli tofu stir fry, bok choy and chickpea saute with cashews, and spaghetti with tempeh meat balls. Also a snack plate night, which included leftover fried spaghetti and a cold green bean salad.

But this week! I made plans!

• millet spinach polenta with sun dried tomato pesto. Roasted sweet potatoes.
• chili (the kind with zucchini and mole sauce) and cornbread. Smoothies?
• lal dal with basmati rice, greens.
• pasta night. Maybe the garlic-sun dried tomato-pine nut variety, I miss that one.
• sweet potato hash
• snack plate/leftover night

This might be the week I finally try out a vegan pineapple upside down cake. I suspect the sweetness will make it good for kids.

I still like the muesli I made, it's almost gone, so I'll try a cherry-hazelnut recipe next.

Discovered the boy loves dry roasted almonds, hooray! He was not a fan of raw almonds, and I'm coming around; the raw ones make my mouth a little itchy. And we both love ones covered in dark chocolate and salt and sugar.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Oh, it is hot and I am lazy. And trying to get the kids to eat what I eat at dinner. I did have good luck last night with brown curry (from the box) with tofu and veggies over jasmine rice. The girl actually ate the rice and the tofu!

I'm fascinated with snack plates after seeing this post. So Fridays will be snack plate day all summer. The kids are excited! I'm going to try some goat cheese; I think it should bypass my milk issues.

I am also going to try muesli after reading this. And I will probably try to make almond milk.

My plans this week include:

• another curried peanut sauce tofu bowl, for tonight, cause I have leftover sauce on hand and some chard to use up.
• nacho night
• pasta night -- homemade tomato sauce, maybe some greens and olives and capers. Salad.
• roasted cauliflower soba bowl. The kids like this one a bit, cause of the soba and cauliflower. I think this carrot salad.
• sweet potato hash night with eggs
• snack plate night: various crackers, hummus, dried fruits and nuts, pickles, olives, goat cheese, honey, chocolate, jams, etc.
• lentils, rice, and caramelized onions with spiced pita crisps. Surprisingly good for summer (except for the long oven time) since you can eat it lukewarm.

Tiffanie: recap of last three week's meals

I've been sick for about two weeks, and I guess I missed a week before that... so here's what I wrote down on scraps of paper about my meal plans!

The plans were:

• pineapple tofu fried rice
• taco night
• pasta night of sun dried tomato pine nut garlic deliciousness
• homemade pizza
• curried peanut sauce tofu kale bowl

Then:

• pasta with tempeh meatballs and sauce
• burrito night with tortilla soup
• lentils with spinach and Field Roast sausages, slaw salad
• chana masala
• I'm pretty sure we ordered in pizza this week

Then:

• snobby joes (lentil based), salad
• spaghetti with sun dried tomatoes/garlic/pine nuts, salad
• homemade pizza
• curried peanut tofu bowl
• lots of zucchini-banana muffins
• tabbouleh and hummus for me (no one else likes parsley)

bernadette: what we ate

I haven't posted in forever because I haven't been meal planning very well. We've had more pasta than I care to admit so I'm trying to get on track.

• teriyaki chicken with steamed rice and roasted cauliflower
• longinisa (a type of Filipino sausage), gyoza, steamed rice, roasted caulifower, and edamame
• shrimp tacos with mango cole slaw and roasted corn on the cob, mango for dessert
• chicken cilantro burgers and sweet potato fries
• chicken tinola (chicken and ginger soup with papaya) with steamed rice
• slow cooker black bean and beef chili 

Tomorrow is a leftover night. Friday is a picnic dinner. And I'll hopefully have the next few meals planned by Saturday. 

Also, I made a huge batch of iced coffee. It was easy. I'm addicted. Bye, bye Starbucks.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

It's hot! And the husband is sick, so I'm making him some garlic tomato soup to kill all the germs.

My plans include:

• cajun hoppin' jean, cause it's yummy and easy and we both love it. We eat it with chips and guac and hot sauce and roasted sweet potatoes and maybe something green.
• curried peanut sauce tofu and kale bowl. Cause we're vegan. And it is really really good. Also I have a bunch of kale to use up.
• tempeh meatballs and spaghetti. New recipe, I usually make beanballs, but this sounds interesting. It includes pasta, so the kids are happy.
• mushroom potato tofu stew with miso gravy. An old favorite from Isa, so very good as leftovers. Brussels sprouts on the side.
• no-bake energy balls (peanut butter, oats, honey, coconut, chia, etc)
• quick pickled beets for salads
• vegan blondies cause I need more temptation
• fermented mustard, if I can find some seeds... maybe a trip to Penzeys is in order
• smoothies all over the place, and popcorn. The kids like both, and popcorn is a whole grain. :-)

Tiffanie: this week's menu

I didn't get around to writing this up, but this was the plan, and it was all tasty. :-)

• spaghetti with garlic, sun dried tomatoes, and pine nuts. A delicious and easy dish! Toasted pine nuts; about a head of garlic, pressed and toasted in 3 Tbsp olive oil; 1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes, soaked and chopped; some pepper and salt and parsley, all tossed and gobbled up. Well, not by the kids, they don't love such intense flavors yet.
• snobby joes: lentil based sloppy joes. Love this recipe from Veganomicon. Fennel and orange salad.
• broccoli tofu stir fry, rice, roasted seaweed. One kid ate the broccoli, the other one ate the tofu... I ate it all.
• curried split pea soup, spiced indian basmati rice, fennel and orange salad. The salad is a repeat whenever I have fennel on hand, as it is my favorite way to eat fennel. And the CSA keeps giving it to me... The rice is a new recipe, and it was quite good. Lots of spices in it, plus onions and raisins and grated carrot. It starts with sautéing chopped almonds in oil, so those are especially delicious.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

It's heating up again! I'm focusing on kid-friendly meals this week, hoping to start a slippery slope of the kids eating whatever I put on the table. One can hope!

My plans include:

• taco night, with mushrooms and tortilla soup
• pasta with arugula, smashed olives, and garlic. Salad and bread?
• pancakes, roasted herbed potatoes, veg bacon, baking soda biscuits, smoothies.
• saucy black beans, rice, chips, guac, roasted cauliflower and sweet potato, leftover tortilla soup
• sweet potato hash and eggs

I'm finishing off a flat of strawberries, and I wanted to make a strawberry coconut bread pudding, but the stale chunks of bread ingredient is hard to come by. I may have to try another week. I might try a vegan pineapple upside down cake instead...

I still haven't made those vegan muffin pan omelets, so perhaps that will be part of pancake night.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Going back to some old favorites, and trying to figure out lunches now that I'm cutting way back on dairy. And also eat LOTS of salad, as I've got about three heads to polish off before Weds.

My plans include:

• broccoli tofu stir fry, rice, roasted seaweed.
• harira soup with chickpeas and eggplant, olive oil bread, salad.
• pasta + sauce + beanballs + fresh basil, roasted cauliflower/zucchini/sweet potato, salad.
• hoppin' jean, chips, avocado.
• sweet potato hash + kale + eggs.
• perhaps a new cake? Vegan pineapple upside down cake...

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Oh, it is going to be hot this week! So I'm keeping the cooking times short.

My plans include:

• taco night
• mapo tofu, brown rice, roasted seaweed, green salad. Smoothies?
• pineapple tofu fried rice
• homemade sushi (avocado, cucumber, sweet potato), miso soup
• cold french lentil salad, a mess of roasted veggies (cauliflower, mushrooms, eggplant, onions) and roasted wild rice/brown rice, plus pine nuts.
• sweet potato hash, cause it never ever gets old.
• those vegan mini omelets I never made last week (was sick all week, so the meal plan went sideways)
• fennel orange salad -- TJs taught me this one. Chop up fennel, mix in a drained can of mandarin orange segments (chop them lightly), add some white balsamic vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper. It is my favorite way to eat fennel now.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Feeling lazy this week, so I'm adding some "nights" to encourage the kids to build a meal they enjoy. Instead of demanding cheese quesadillas at every turn.

My plans include:

• nacho night. Trying out a new vegan quesa blanco recipe, and we'll do black beans and guac and lettuce and scallions and fried mushrooms.
• vegan sloppy joes.  It's a lentil base... maybe the kids will eat it? I dunno, but I'm craving some more messy tomatoey meals. Butter lettuce salad.
• peanut noodles, baked tofu, cabbage slaw... a reliable favorite.
• pasta night: I have a bunch of homemade tomato sauce left over from last week, so I want to make it into a puttanesca with lots of olives and capers. 
• sweet potato hash with eggs for my solo night, since I never get tired of this with variations.
• chipotle sausage hash -- still a backup meal. It's a potato and sausage hash, with a tahini miso gravy. Sounds good to me! Maybe with pancakes or waffles?
• mini omelets. A new recipe, vegan, using tofu and chickpea flour as the base. Seems like a fun way to build wraps or sandwiches for lunch.