E is for Eats

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...

Now that we are officially in the throes of winter (a high of 23 today!), it's time to start working our way through all of our summer canning. Some of it is easy to use (tomato puree) and some is a bit more challenging (the 4 pints of asian plum sauce I did last year). And sometimes, when you have 4 or 5 pints of the same thing, it can be a challenge to think of ways to use it. Semi-regularly (at least through the winter), I'll share with you how I'm using my canned goods, under the title "Using What You Can". So, today we have Pickled Sweet Peppers from Sherri Vinton's Put 'em Up!  These peppers are actually one of my favorite treats in the wintertime. They are great in salads or even just snacking on through out the day. What else can you do with them, you ask? Well, how about a goat cheese and pepper sandwich? I took one of Craig's freshly baked baguettes, smothered both sides with creamy goat cheese (I'm sure an herbed goat cheese would...

As I mentioned in this week's check in , roasted cabbage with bacon is one of my favorite dishes. The sweetness of the cabbage and onions with the smoky saltness of the bacon just can't be beat. There are a bunch of very similar recipes all over the internet, but I first saw it over at the kitchn . Roasted Cabbage with Bacon adapted (slightly) from Faith Durand 's recipe at thekitchn.com 1 head of green cabbage, outer leaves removed, cored and quartered (I've made this with red cabbage and it's just as good) 2 red onions, peeled and quartered 5 slices of thick bacon, cut into large pieces Salt and Pepper Heat the oven to 450. Place the cabbage and onion in a large roasting dish. Drape the bacon over the veggies. Please in the oven and cook 15 minutes. Flip the cabbage and onion and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Check your cabbage - if it's roasted to your liking, toss with salt and pepper to taste and serve. If it needs furth...

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...