E is for Eats

Another busy week and another week of failing to follow our meal plan. It seems like I'm starting to get caught up in late hours at work and overextending myself again. It's time to review those resolutions I made and start taking better care of myself. So, with that in mind, below is what we plan on making this week. Meal 1 - Roasted Chicken, onions and potatoes Meal 2 - Stirfry with chinese broccoli and mushrooms Meal 3 - Roasted turnips, shredded carrots with tahini dressing, couscous Meal 4 - Veggie burgers, kohlrabi salad Meal 5 - Enchiladas!! We have some friends coming over for dinner on Thursday and Craig is making homemade enchiladas - complete with homemade tortillas and enchilada sauce. Hot damn! We have some posts planned for the week, so be sure to check back.

what a difference a week makes! This is the time of year that it's a serious challenge to eat locally. Even though last week's snow has melted, the sun was shining and the temperature was in the 50's yesterday, it is still winter. Which means slim pickings at the market. And with the damage caused by Hurricane Irene last fall, there are even less offerings than usual. There is one vendor at our local market that has a greenhouse, so they sell greens - they have lettuces, arugula, kale and more. But they are so expensive! The greens are $5 for 1/4 pound. I'll treat us for one meal a week, but it's too much to buy all our veggies from them. I also try to spread my dollars around and make sure that I buy something from each of the vendors. It seems even more important this year, seeing that every single farmer at our market suffered damage from the hurricane. So that means a lot of cabbage, onions and potatoes. To be honest, I'm having a hard time coming up wi...

It's that time again - let's see how we did with our meal plan last week . Meal 1 - Christmas lima beans with caramelized onions and bacon, spinach salad I had been curious about heirloom beans and was poking around on the interwebs when I found the Rancho Gordo site . They have an almost rabid following and I decided to give one of their samplers a try. These are expensive  beans, so I was hoping they would knock my socks off. Either beans are beans or I have a terribly unsophisticated palette, because I truly didn't notice much of a difference between these and other dried beans (now these beans and canned beans, no contest. The Rancho Gordo beans kick canned beans in the .... well, can). It is important to me to support small farms and it's VERY important to keep heirloom varieties around (we don't want another potato famine now, do we?), so I'll probably keep heirloom beans in the pantry along side the conventional dried beans. I would like to find a pro...

the first real snow of the season! It snowed yesterday! Honest to goodness snow! It was so pretty ....... and so f'n cold. But there isn't enough snow that can keep me away from our Saturday Farmer's Market. I figure if the farmers can come down to Brooklyn and stand in the freezing cold for 8 hours, the least I can do is waddle over in my heavy winter coat and buy what they are selling. Unfortunately, they aren't selling much. I was able to get some spinach, but yet again we have cabbage, kale and onions on the menu this week. And I'm back to a meat heavy menu. I was too hungry last week to try to go vegetarian again. Here's what we have planned: Meal 1 - Christmas lima beans with caramelized onions and bacon, spinach salad Meal 2 - Kale, potato and sausage soup, shredded carrots with tahini dressing Meal 3 - Italian turkey sausage and onions over polenta, spicy coleslaw Meal 4 - Red lentil bake, cabbage and corn salsa salad We have some fun pos...

Here we are, another crazy week finished. I'm really looking forward to a snowy weekend tooling around the house. But first, let's take a look at the week and see if we stuck to our meal plan this week... Meal 1: Rutabaga and apple soup, picked beet and goat cheese sandwiches This was my first time cooking with a rutabaga (I actually don't know if I had ever laid eyes on a rutabaga before moving to NY). It was a little intimidating, but with a bit of cookbook and internet research I felt pretty confident going in. And really, soup is the easiest thing to make with a new vegetable. I was pleased with the results and I'll post the recipe later in the week. Meal 2: Seared tofu with spinach, ginger-sesame slaw Blech. This was my least favorite meal - it didn't taste all that great and 15 minutes after eating I was hungry again. The ginger-sesame slaw was good, but never again will I make this stupid tofu dish. Meal 3: Creamy mushrooms over polenta, gree...

fish, it's what's for dinner We are on a bit of a roll, what with two weeks of following the meal plan. So this week, we're getting ambitious. Rather than the 3 or 4 meals we usually have planned, we have 6. You might have noticed that our plan last week  was a bit meat heavy. We'll usually have meat once a week and some of our meals will have a meat component, but last week was totally over the top. So this week, we've reined ourselves in and gone veg heavy instead. On deck for this week: Rutabaga and apple soup, picked beet and goat cheese sandwiches (are you noticing a trend here?) Seared tofu with spinach, ginger-sesame slaw Creamy mushrooms with polenta, green salad Pasta with bacon and cabbage, green salad (I didn't say we were going completely  meat free!) Rice with onions, bean croquettes, green salad Sauteed fish, roasted potatoes, green salad Like I said, a pretty ambitious meal plan. I think we can do it though.....

For the second week in a row, we've been well behaved and stuck to our plan. This may just be a record. Meal 1 - Carrot and cilantro soup, pickled pepper and goat cheese sandwiches We had a bunch of cilantro on hand and I had soup on my mind. A quick internet search pulled up this link to a recipe from Alice Waters. This soup was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! In fact, the next day I went online and bought Chez Panisse Vegetables.  It's a beautiful book and I really like her style of writing. I don't yet have any additional dishes planned, but you'll be the first to know when I do. Meal 2 - Roasted cabbage and bacon with couscous This is one of my favorite winter dishes - it seems decadent yet healthy and comforting all at the same time. And it's pretty quick and inexpensive for a mid-week meal. I'll be posting the recipe later this week. Meal 3 - Greens with Italian turkey sausage and green salad About half of the farmers at our market are gone for the winter, but t...

baguettes for sandwiches Well, it's the second year of the new year and already the holidays and our vacation are a distant memory. And even though it's January, winter hasn't really hit us here yet (it was 60 this weekend! In New York!). Regardless of the unseasonal weather, I have the post vacation blues and I'm craving wintery, comfort food. Here's what we have planned for this week: Carrot and cilantro soup with pickled pepper and goat cheese sandwiches Roasted cabbage and bacon with couscous Greens and hot sausage & green salad Smoked pork chops, roasted red potatoes & green salad I have an event one night this week, so just four meals this week. Have a great week and don't forget to check back on Sunday to see how we did.

It was a short week for us, so this is a short check in. How'd we do? See for yourself .... Meal 1: Sauteed curried chicken, sesame noodles & green salad I used the recipe from cooking light . The only change I made was to add onion with the bell peppers. For the sesame noodles, we tossed some rice noodles with sesame oil, soy sauce and green onions. Along with the green salad, it was a delicious meal (and super quick and easy to make, dinner was on the table in about 30 minutes. Just call me Rachel Ray. Actually, please don't). Meal 2: Turkey burgers, oven fries & green salad With the  curry ketchup  for the fries, pickled sweet peppers from our summer canning and fresh made bread for the turkey burgers, this was truly a home-made meal. I'm not going to lie, we were pretty proud of ourselves when we realized that the only thing not made by us on the table was the mayonnaise and mustard. Meal 3: Fish, baked potato & steamed broccoli Well, almost...

Just two of the many Belgian beers we tried on our trip Hello and Happy New Year friends! Given that it is a new year, and resolutions are an expected topic of conversation, I thought I would talk about mine quickly (feel free to skip past this, my feelings won't be hurt. Hell, I won't even know). I've never been one to really make a list of resolutions - it felt kind of silly and trite to be perfectly honest. This year though, I have one grand resolution: to take better care of myself in 2012. Yes, it's ridiculously broad. And yes, it covers the expected "eat better" and "exercise more". But it also includes working less (cutting back on those 12 hour days that I experienced throughout November and December), saying "no" more frequently (no more overextending myself) and spending more time and energy on the things I truly enjoy (like cooking and sharing our cooking experiences here).  Hopefully that means that you can expect to se...

Have you missed us? I sure have missed you. I've missed sharing our menus with you and picking my favorite recipes to share with you as well. Craig's been busy baking up a storm (pancetta and cheese bread, olive loaf, olive and truffle oil bread, his first baguettes. The man is on a serious roll. And I'm developing serious rolls). I'll nag him to write about it - it's been a lot of fun to watch him learn and experiment and I think you'd enjoy reading about it. I've been busy with....well, not with anything fun, food related or worth writing about. But starting right now, that's changing! Starting right now, I'll be busy cooking and writing about cooking. At least for the next two weeks. After that, we are off on our second annual European Christmas Vacation and you will most likely not hear from us for a while. But that's then and this is now. And now, I want to share with you what we have planned for this week (did you see our new chalkboa...

Can you believe Thanksgiving is just a few days away? I can't - I have no idea what happened to November. As I'm sure everyone else in the country does, we have a fun-filled, packed week ahead of us. Craig's mom is coming out to visit us for the first time since we've lived in Brooklyn and we are hosting Thanksgiving this year for about 10 people. But that doesn't mean that we don't have time to cook dinner! Only three meals planned this week, what with Thanksgiving and all of the leftovers that follow. Here's what we'll be having: Pasta with Cauliflower in a Tomato Sauce Leek & Potato Soup Turkey Burgers, Corn Salad and Beans In addition, we'll be spending the day baking and canning. Craig's making  more bread , this time whole wheat. If I'm lucky, he'll also be testing a Pancetta Bread in advance of Thanksgiving. And I'll be putting up some apple sauce (or maybe apple butter, I haven't decided yet) and some cranber...

Phew, am I glad that week is over! I'm happy to report in that we actually made everything on the plan this week . Here's the run down: Meal 1: Carrot and Ginger Soup   I made this Sunday night for us to eat through the week. It was really good - the right amount of spice and heat. I'll post the recipe soon. Meal 2: Beef Stew & Cheese Rolls We broke out the slow cooker for this one, the first time in a long time. Slow cooked beef, it doesn't get easier or more delicious. Craig made a ridiculous loaf of Cheese Bread. He's turning into quite the baker. My taste buds love it; my waist line, not so much. Meal 3: Ravioli with Tomato Sauce Over the 4th of July, Craig played a show in Asbury Park and we spent the weekend in NJ with some good friends. On our way back home, we stopped at the Red Bank, NJ Farmer's Market.  It was a nice little market with a handful of farmers stands and some prepared food vendors. Once of the vendors had frozen ravioli ...

Last week was such a blur, I don't remember if  we ate, much less what ate, so there will be no check in from last week's menu . But I've got big plans for this week, and boy am I hungry! Here's what's on deck for this week. Carrot and Ginger Soup (I've been dreaming of this soup ever since my friend Tracey was visiting) Beet & Couscous Salad Beef Stew & Cheese Rolls (some of my friends from work are coming over for a mid-week meal, Craig is treating them to some homemade rolls...yummmmmm) Ravioli with Tomato Sauce Mostly comfort food, as you can see. Just what the fall season calls for. I hope you have a great week and check back through out the week for some of the recipes above.

Tempting, but there aren't actually any cupcakes on the menu this week I know it seems like I've been mentioning how busy work is lately. But it really has been! And this coming up week will be busy as well. It's Market Week, the week that our customers from all over the world visit our showroom to see what we are offering for the next season. Market Week means back to back appointments, lunch with clients, late nights and the occasional business dinner. Now, don't get me wrong. I really enjoy Market Weeks. I'm just giving you a little background info on this week's "menu". Since I won't need lunch and I'm not sure what nights I'll be home for dinner, we are spending today preparing and pre-cooking some basics. The thought being that we can take what we are cooking and throw together some meals as needed. We are making the following: ~3 pound beef brisket ~Mayacoba beans (similar to Northern Beans) ~Bread and rolls ~Cabbage coleslaw ~Roast ...

We did much better this week than we did the week prior . Really, Craig did much better as he ended up bearing the brunt of most of the cooking responsibilities this week. If it's even possible, it seemed like this week was busier than last. Work continues to be a bit crazy and in addition to our weekly French class, we also took a Knife Skills class at Brooklyn Kitchen on Tuesday. Thanks to some clever advanced planning on Craig's part, we actually followed most of the meal plan. Meal 1: Creamy mushrooms with polenta, green salad Craig made this later in the week, one of my late nights at work. I was craving comfort food, which usually means pasta for me. So while Craig ate his mushrooms over polenta, I ate mine over pasta covered in grated parmesan. For some reason, Craig really dislikes making green salads, so no leafy greens with this meal. Meal 2: Turkey sausage and potato hash, collard greens We had this after our class at Brooklyn Kitchen. We didn't get home until 9:...

The veggies at this week's greenmarket As you may have heard, the east coast got hit by a freak October snowstorm yesterday. Usually I look forward to the first snowfall of the season like a giddy school girl looking forward to her first school dance. But that's also usually in December! There were nothing but grumbles all around yesterday when the snow hit. And the poor farmers at the market - they looked cold and miserable and all of the produce was covered in snow. Needless to say, we ran through the market as fast as we could, grabbing produce willy nilly. The only plan in mind was the plan to get back to our warm apartment. When we got home and I surveyed what we bought, we actually did pretty well. Between the left over veggies from last week's meals that never were , we had the makings for a delicious week. Here's what is planned: Meal 1: Creamy mushrooms with polenta, green salad Meal 2: Turkey sausage and potato hash, collard greens Meal 3: Butternut...

We were so bad this week. Really, I was the instigator of our naughtiness, but Craig was a willing participant. I set a perfectly lovely menu for the week, but somehow we managed to eat out three times. Not only does this fly in the face of eating from scratch, home made goods, but it's a serious drain on our wallets as well. Truthfully, it was a very busy week at work for me - most nights I wasn't home before 9. The last thing I want to do at that point is cook dinner. Excuses, excuses, I know. But if I can identify why I end up eating out instead of making dinner at home, maybe I can plan around it. Anyway, here's how we did last week. Meal 1: Pot Roast, boiled potatoes, steamed romanesco, green salad Yes! I spent most of Sunday afternoon making the pot roast. I mentioned that I was new to the world of roasts and would be looking for a good recipe. I ended up using Bittman's recipe from How to Cook Everything . I followed it to a T, not changing a thing. And holy hel...

Again, nothing to do with the post, but pretty all the same! Now that you know how we did last week , it's time to list what's on the menu this week. This week is the first time it's truly felt like fall, with temperatures dipping into the low 50's. With the beginning of fall, I always feel like roasts and stews, so we picked up a few pounds of top round from Rexcroft Farms at the market yesterday. I'm still relatively new to the world of roasts, so I tend to follow recipes pretty closely. I'll let you know how it comes out in our weekly update. And if you have any pointers, please share! Keeping with the autumnal theme, we also picked up a butternut squash. My usual go to for butternut squash is soup, but our meals have been pretty soup heavy lately ( here , here and here just to name a few!). This week I think we'll keep it simple, and just stick with simple, roasted squash. Meal 1: Pot Roast, boiled potatoes, steamed romanesco, green salad...

It's been a busy week and the numerous posts in my head never made their way to the keyboard. How did we do with our weekly menu though? Actually pretty well. Usually our biggest challenge is Monday night - that's the night we have our French class and we don't get home until 8:30. At that point, the last thing we want to do is cook. I kept that in mind when I planned out the week, and planned the pork chops for dinner that night. Firstly, it was a super quick and easy meal (I think dinner was on the table within 45 minutes of getting home) and secondly, how can you not look forward to pork chops for dinner? The only night we missed was Thursday. I ended up going out for dinner for a friend's birthday so we skipped it (and since I had way too much wine that night, the next day called for greasy fried chicken. I did say that I would confess when I gave into a craving for Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich....). Meal 1: Red lentil bake, radish and corn s...