The Sound of Silence

Not so much silence in my world, just silence in my blog. We've had a whirlwind month of travel---Over 3000 miles driven to the East Coast (and more!) and back. I've done a little cooking, almost all of it off this blog and have made absolutely no new recipes. I traveled back in time to when pea season (M thought freshly picked peas--that she picked no less--made the perfect breakfast) existed. We visited a farmer's market, repeatedly, and found wonderful blueberries, cling peaches, fresh sweet corn, cucumbers, green beans, and pastries. M picked peas and helped dig potatoes. J helped plant sweet corn, dig potatoes, and pick off potato beetles. Little I just ate. For the drive home, we carefully packed a cooler full of ice packs, frozen sour cherries my parents picked, and peas I helped shell. Sour cherry pie is in our future!!

I returned to a CSA box of wonderful, height-of-summer veggies. I traded my patty pan squash for my eggplant and scavenged my eggplants to plan this week's menu. I've been able to pick some sungold and yellow grape tomatoes off my own plants and am still hoping my heirloom tomatoes just might produce.

Here's the menu for the week. Hopefully, soon, I'll have all sorts of new recipes to share.

Tuscan Panzanella
Ratatouille
Caponata
Baba Ganoush
Sicilan Beef Roast (new recipe!! using a crock pot!!)
Fajitas
Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Alas my friends, I have been a blogger slacker. May I blame it on spring fever? No? Well, how about planting a garden? (Woohoo!! We now have a raised bed in our front yard with 6 transplanted tomato plants--4 different kinds of heirlooms, 3 transplanted pepper plants, zinnias and nasturium seeds planted, and arugula seeds planted). Does cooking meals for 4 beautiful, brand new babies (well, actually they're families--the babies weren't up for it yet) in the past month or so count for anything? How about the fact that I've actually been cooking more or less just off the recipes on this blog instead of finding new ones? I've been uninspired and have just made the beloved recipes I had neglected in my hunt for new, shinier, tastier, ones.

Here's some of the tried and true recipes I've been making:

Spinach Manicotti (which my almost 5 year old daughter mostly made herself!)
Japanese Noodles with Tofu, Bok Choy, and Carrots
Handheld Pot Pies
Roasted Chicken Quarters with Cumin Roasted Carrots
Reuben Sandwiches
Lasagna
Shrimp Scampi
Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Orange Cinnamon Rolls
Scallion Pancakes (with Spaghetti and Pasta Sauce--didn't really go together but we didn't care)

I also tried some recipes that I don't want to make again, so I'll not take them time to inspire you to make them when I thought they were just mediocre. Of course, I also made the new recipes that have been on the blog, plus a few more I haven't shared yet. Hopefully, I will avoid yard work long enough the next few days to get some more recipes posted. Or maybe I just need to put down the new book I've started reading. :)

Olympic Foods

We are Olympic junkies at our house, in particular, the winter Olympics. Our kids get to watch TV in the afternoon and/or evening to see the Olympics. Curtis and I spend way too much time talking about it. The Olympics have even bled into our food.

I've decided that over the next two weeks, I should cook foods from countries who are at the Olympics. I started by saying it would be from the four countries that are major contenders to win men's Olympic hockey (Sweden, Russia, Canada, and of course, the US). Then I realized Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday) and pancakes were in order. Scallion pancakes immediately came to mind because I had about 3 bunches of scallions that desperately needed to be used. Since scallion pancakes by themselves don't constitute a meal (even in my sometimes slacker balanced meal world), I found some other Chinese recipes and decided to celebrate China's gold in pairs figure skating. Here's a little of the Olympic foods we've been eating. Recipes for many of these things will follow.

Opening Ceremonies (Oh, Canada!): Teriyaki Salmon, Canadian Wild Rice, and Naniamo Bars
A Little bit of Sweden: Swedish not-Lamb Stew
French (because the French are rocking the Nordic events): Steak Diane and Roasted Root Vegetables
Chinese Pairs Figure Skaters Rock (and aren't teenagers!!): Scallion Pancakes and (not very) Orange Chicken

I need to find some Russian recipes (that should be fun) and maybe a Swiss or German one as well.

Aaah...I love the Olympics!

What We've Been Eating Lately

Here is the menu for the past couple of weeks. It's been a nice combination of tried and true recipes and new-finds.

Black Bean Chili
Apricot Chicken with Almonds
Individual Pot Pies: featuring sweet potatoes, turnips, peas, and kohlrabi
Cioppino
Pibil-Style Pork with a Pot of Black Beans and Pickled Onions
Beef and Bok Choy Sesame Stir Fry
Baked Fish Sticks
Swedish Lamb Stew
Greens with Beets and Potatoes
Sun-dried Tomato Tortellini Soup
Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette
Homemade Pizza

Plus for snacks/desserts we had:
Oranges, Grapefruits, Apples (last week was the last week for apples at the Farmer's Market--we really enjoyed those this year and will miss them), Morning Glory Muffins (recipe coming soon!), Homemade pretzels (substituted 1 1/2 c whole wheat flour to make the slightly healthier), Peanut Butter Torte (recipe coming some time), carrots, and homemade challah bread.

What We've Been Eating Lately

I must say, my family has been no fun to cook for lately. Curtis still has no appetite and is not eating much in the evening due to his nausea---hence nothing tastes great. M is getting pickier and J has been snacking too much. Thus the past few days menus have looked like this:

Spaghetti and meatballs made with store bought sauce and meatballs from Costco
Leftovers and freshly made big salad.
Take out (and the kids didn't even like that).

Ok. It hasn't all been that bad. :) Also on the menu:

Potato Soup with Kale
Butternut Squash and Kale Risotto
Salmon with Bok Choy
Baked Ziti (frozen this summer and pulled out for an easy meal)
Homespun pot pie (which had perfect biscuits on top--light and flaky. I used chicken, kohlrabi, turnips, and sweet potatoes as the vegetables)
plus the above mentioned meals.

We've also had several big salads (a big salad is one that has more than just lettuce on it---the latest had a sliced bell pepper, boiled eggs, and sliced carrots). Now that Curtis is through with radiation, hopefully he'll start eating better again. I miss having a good audience to cook for.

What We've Been Eating Lately

Fennel in Roasted Chicken with Fennel (pictured)
Poblanos and Tomatoes in Pork and Tomatillo Stew
Chard in Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti
Mustard Greens in Greens and Smoked Gouda Sandwiches
Bell Pepper, Lettuce, and Salad Turnips in salads
Kohlrabi in Boiled Pot Pie
Poblanos in Cranberry Salsa

Plus, new recipes coming this week and Christmas Cookies!

What We've Been Eating Lately

I've gotten behind here. Sorry about that my friends! As I sleep less, I seem to post less. Funny how that works. Here's what I've been cooking the past couple of weeks (I'll remember as much as I can--sorry if I can't remember everything!)

Eggplant Parmesan (I had some ricotta I needed to use so I dotted each eggplant layer with some ricotta cheese before adding the other cheeses. Mmmm, more cheese.)
Sweet Potato Burritos
Lamb and Eggplant Shepherd's Pie (my new go-to cold, rainy day comfort food. This time though I made it with stew meat in a 9 x 9" pan and it was fabulous!)
Pecan Crusted Salmon
Vegetarian Chili with Cashews
Penne with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Arugula
Old Bay Seasoned Fish and Vegetables
Spinach and Feta Focaccia
Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries
Brisket
Pizza

Plus:
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Almond Scones
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake (I had a hard time finding chocolate wafer cookies, so I bought a package of oreos, scraped the white filling out, and just used the chocolate cookie part in the crust. It worked great.)
Whole Wheat Bread (I am using honey instead of brown sugar now.)
Brioche
Eggplant and Arugula Sandwich
Hummus

What We've Been Eating Lately

Here are our menus and links to recipe from the last 2 weeks. We'll see how much I can remember!

Monday: ate at friend's house
Tuesday: Eggplant Baked Ziti
Wednesday: Macaroni and cheese and green beans
Thursday: Pappardelle with Butternut Squash and Arugula and Chile Cheese Gratin with Sausage
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: Beef Roast with Mushrooms
Sunday: Brisket
Monday: Spaghetti with Found Bolognese Sauce (found in the freezer)
Tuesday: Tilapia with Chile Lime Butter
Wednesday: Prosicutto and Arugula Stromboli
Thursday: Poblano Chicken Enchiladas (recipe coming, I was sure I had already posted this, but I can't find it now!)
Friday: Eggplant Parmesan (recipe coming if it's worth repeating)
Saturday: Eating at a birthday party (leftovers for lunch)

What we've Been Eating Lately

It's been awhile since I've done a week's menu. I thought I'd include some of the things we've been eating lately since a lot of them are repeated menus, in case you've forgotten them and need some dinner ideas.

When my beef-lovin'-summer-squash/eggplant-hesistant cousins were here:
Pecan Crusted Salmon with Mango, Black Bean Salsa, Green beans, and Rice
Italian Meatloaf and Peas
Shortcut Moussaka and a green vegetable
Beef with Zucchini Enchiladas and Rice (recipe coming)
Grilled Pizza--one pepperoni and cheese and one mushroom, green olive, black olive, and pepperoni pizza

This past week:
Hotdogs with Baked Beans and Peas
Summer Pasta with Beans and Sausage with Arugula Pecan Salad (I used canned diced tomatoes and omitted the roasted garlic this time for the pasta)
Pasta with Mushrooms
Thai Beef Basil Stir Fry (recipe coming)
Arroz con Pollo (I used the chorizo and the correct amount of marinade. My piminetos had grown mold, so I sliced some green olives on top instead).
Potato and Sausage Gratin and green beans
Smoked Burgers with Roasted Potatoes and Bush's Baked beans with Cappuccino Brownies for dessert (recipe coming for the Smoked Burgers and Cappuccino Brownies

Plus, we've snacked on an apple custard tart (didn't love the recipe, so I am not adding it), granola bars, apple cake, Queen of Sheba cake (recipe will be coming at some point), cucumber slices, baba ganoush and pita, apples dipped in almond butter, and frozen grapes (a great snack for hot days--just freeze a bunch of grapes and eat once they're crunchy). We've also made bread a time or two and blueberry jam muffins (with both blueberry and blueberry jam that I froze earlier in the summer) for breakfast.Whew. I think that sums up our past two weeks of eating.

In the CSA Box this Week

It seems like each week is more of the same in the CSA boxes. I have been challenged though because it seems like the things I can make a meal out of are getting scant. I can't seem to get enough eggplant or cucumbers (or even, unbelievably, summer squash some weeks) to make a week's worth of meals. I've been having to get into that quarter cow that's stashed away in our freezer.

I have made a wonderful discovery though a couple of weeks ago. By our closest library, there is a farm stand that is open Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. I've been supplementing our box with tomatoes from there and fruit--either plums or peaches lately. My kids love plums!! I'll get the CSA box, look and see what I need and then hit the farm stand to round things out. It's less than 5 minutes from my house (by car) and overall, the produce is great.

In our box:
a watermelon (M wanted both a watermelon and cantaloupe and had a melt down at the box pickup because we could only get one)
a cucumber (which I've discovered J will eat if I peel it first)
several zucchini and summer squash
bell peppers
variety of chile peppers (most of which got left behind)
a butternut squash
a bag of potatoes
a couple bulbs of garlic
a bag of onions
3 eggplant
a bunch of basil

A note about the butternut (and most winter squash)...these are best if you don't eat them right away. Winter squash need 2 months or so to develop their flavors, so find a cool, dry, dark (if possible, I don't have such a place) to stash the winter squash for a couple of months.


What we're eating this week (and last which may not have been posted about):
Robust Summer Sauce and Pasta
Grilled cheese sandwiches with basil and tomatoes (at least for the adults)
Italian meatloaf and smashed potatoes
Burgers and roasted potato wedges
Baked Leftover Cheeses Mac and Cheese
Tuscan Panzanella
Ribs
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Squash Yeast Rolls
Whole Wheat Bread

Hopefully I'll get some of these recipes posted (if they aren't already). If you want a recipe that I don't put up, comment and I'll try to be sure to get it up (although it may be photoless).

Absence Explained

Sorry about my 2 1/2 week absence, between being out of town, having my brother in town, and trying to get a better night's sleep, the blog has fallen to the wayside. I have been relying on a lot of old recipes the past couple of weeks, but have recently started trying some new ones. Here's what I've been cooking:

Grilled, herb marinated chicken breasts on pasta with black olives and feta
Ribeye and T-Bone steak and potatoes
Skirt steaks with poblano rajas and zucchini with cumin roasted potatoes
Cuban chicken thighs and rice (basically arroz con pollo)

Coming up: Leftovers/Sandwiches for lunch
Sunday: Caponata on Pasta
Monday: Mushroom pizza

I suspect this coming week's menu will have more meat---I haven't gotten around to renewing my CSA subscription yet (must do that next!). Left from my box are eggplants for the caponata, a large zucchini, a whole bunch of mild hot peppers, bell peppers, and potatoes. We'll see how that can help me last until we get our new box.

Hopefully baby will keep sleeping and I will get back to posting recipes!

In the CSA Box this Week

Summer loving! We got:

a cantaloupe
potatoes
chard
a bunch of mint
a bunch of parsley
a bunch of basil
5 lb bag of San Marzano tomatoes
3 zucchini/yellow squash
3 cucumbers
2 onions
2 bell peppers
a couple of eggplant
a massive amount of assorted hot peppers
a dozen eggs

On the menu:
Wednesday: Beef and Mushrooms over noodles (I know using nothing from the box, but I had left over uncooked meat from kebabs on Monday I needed to use).
Thursday: Oven Dried Tomato Tart
Friday: leftovers or something with chard
Saturday: Beef Fajitas with homemade salsa (and, of course, grilled peppers and onions)
Sunday: Lunch-leftovers, Supper-Ratatouille
Monday: leftovers or something with chard
Tuesday: Cooking break (plus no box next Wednesday--the blog will be rather quiet from Wednesday until Sunday more than likely)

For the things not included in the menu---the mint has already been made into tea. The potatoes are collecting in my pantry (I need to start using those!!). The cucumbers are sides for suppers or snacks for M. The cantaloupe will be dessert tonight. I have no idea what is happening with all those peppers. It would help if I knew what kinds they were. Some look like very ripe (red) poblanos. I left the bag of jalapeno looking peppers. I just won't use those. That pretty much takes care of everything!

In the CSA Box today

The box wasn't as packed today as I was used to it being in the summers. I actually wished for more squash and eggplant! I can't complain about the tomatoes though. I think I may make another batch of juice--it's pretty easy to make and doesn't take as long as pasta sauce.

In the box:

5 lbs San Marzano tomatoes
potatoes
hot peppers
two heirloom tomatoes
a medium-large eggplant
basil
2 cucumbers
3 squash
onions
a dozen eggs
a cantaloupe

Plans for the produce:

tomato juice
cantaloupe is already mostly eaten (a good way to find a sweet cantaloupe is to smell the end where it connected to the vine. It should smell sweet (a strong smell is sweeter than a not strong smell)
squash will be made into zucchini bread
eggplant will be baba ganoush

Between being exhausted (crazy infant and toddler sleep patterns!) and having things in the evenings, I haven't been doing as much cooking. From the past week and into the next week:

Monday-Grilled Portabella Bulgur "Burgers"
Tuesday- Tacos on Rice
Wednesday-Summer We-Just-Got-Our-Box and I-Am-Tired Pasta
Thursday-a casserole plus cucumbers
Friday-Baba Ganoush for snacks
Saturday-Leftovers and Za-atar Salad
Sunday-Leftovers and Jerusalem Artichoke and Dill Salad

In the CSA Box today

Mint
5 smallish cucumbers
4 small squash--yellow and zucchini
7 hot peppers
3 bell peppers
2 heirloom tomatoes
eggplant
chard
basil
a bag of onions
a bag of tomatoes
a dozen eggs
5 potatoes

What am I going to do with all those peppers?

Menu--
Wednesday: Sicilian Eggplant Pasta
Thursday: Zucchini cakes with Feta
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Spanish Frittata
Sunday: Fajitas with homemade salsa cruda
Monday: Chicken and chard enchiladas
Tuesday: ??

In the CSA Box today

Yay for lots of tomatoes! I must admit, many, many squash were left behind. Hopefully someone else can use all my yellow and patty pan squash. I am accepting the reality that I cannot use all the squash I get and I hope someone else can. I felt slightly guilty unloading all the squash, but my junk may be someone else's treasure right?

I ended up with:
3 zucchini
a bunch of red tomatoes and one yellow tomato
an eggplant
a cabbage
2 ears of corn
a bag of green beans
4 mild hot peppers
2 purple and 1 green bell pepper (when cooked, the purple ones turn green as well)
a bag of onions
a bunch of swiss chard
a dozen eggs

I was hoping for some basil, but alas, there was none. The corn is pretty exciting though.
Possible Menu:
Tonight: Grilled Chicken with bruschetta over polenta and a side of grilled corn (I know, I am overdoing the corn a little, but there's not that much corn on the cob)
Thursday: Ratatouille (I can't spell that...)
Friday: Hopefully pizza
Saturday: Fish a la Grecque plus a batch of Gazpacho to eat all week long
Sunday: Chard Cheese Bake

That's all the farther I can think ahead. :)

In the CSA Box today

Looks like summer is almost here in full force. With the exception of a few spring veggies hanging on, the summer veggies are here. I suspect the weeks of cabbage, kale, and carrots are very limited. The onions and potatoes will keep for a while so we will probably continue to see them for awhile. That said, in the box:

A dozen eggs
a mild hot pepper (the long, yellow kind, I forget what they are called)
a handful of green beans (I also don't think we'll see them many more weeks)
savoy cabbage
kale
carrots
tomatoes
3 kinds of squash. I left the patty pan behind,
Cucumbers
a bunch of basil that had flowered. I also left the basil behind. Once basil flowers, it becomes more bitter and doesn't have as good of flavor.
potatoes

The task for this week is to find recipe that uses zucchini. The search that will last for the next 4 months has begun! All we need is eggplant and okra to show up and we'll know summer is really upon us.

What I plan on doing with things:
green beans, eaten with some potatoes topped with pesto and Italian meatloaf tonight for supper
M and Curtis will eat the cucumbers and carrots for snacks
Tomatoes and mild pepper in black bean tostados
zucchini and goat cheese quiche
ginger zucchini cupcakes
zucchini and red onion flatbread (that and the cupcakes will go to a picnic on Saturday)
a cabbage slaw (I am thinking the chicken cabbage salad)

A note on squash, the summer squash is pretty much interchangeable in most recipes. Zucchini, yellow squash, patty pan, use whatever you got unless a recipe specifies that only that squash will work for a certain reason.

In the CSA box this week

We've switched from spring vegetables to summer vegetables. A few spring veggies are hanging on---beets, broccoli, cabbage, kale, but from what I understand we probably won't see them again for about 6 - 9 months or so.

In the box:

eggs
carrots
red cabbage
broccoli
basil (plus an extra bunch)
beets (plus an extra bunch)
zucchini (we left a few behind)
cucumbers
patty pan squash (which we left all of them behind)
kale
green beans
onions
hot pepper

Snacks and cucumbers are for snacking, especially for Curtis and Madeleine
Green beans we already ate for supper last night.
Some red cabbage plus savoy cabbage for Black Bean Crispy Tacos
Broccoli for a quiche on Saturday or for a broccoli salad
Onions for cooking
Basil for pesto and in tonight's pasta and ragu meal.
Beets for another beet and goat cheese salad

I'm not sure yet about the kale or zucchini.

What to do with a CSA box when you aren't cooking much

Baby I obviously came (the day after my previous post in fact) by the lack of blogging. We weren't sure how much food would be brought to us and how much we would have to prepare so we have continued to get our CSA box. We were fortunate to have two solid weeks of meals brought to us by our neighborhood, supplemented by a few meals from our Sunday School class, so I had to find some non-main course ways to use my veggies. Here are the contents of our box from last week (at least what I can remember) and how we used them. Hopefully I'll post a few recipes within the coming the weeks.


Beets, an onion, and arugula in a beet and goat cheese salad
lettuce for burgers
zucchini in chocolate chip zucchini cookies
carrots eaten raw
green beans eaten lightly cooked with a meal
two cucumbers eaten by M as a snack

Still waiting for inspiration in the fridge:
zucchini and two patty pan squash
swiss chard
a head of red cabbage (that is getting used tonight for a asian cabbage slaw)
a head of savoy cabbage
more lettuce
onions (which won't be hard to use once I am cooking more again nor will they go bad quickly)
a bunch of kale

Given to friends who brought us food:
zucchini
cucumber
lettuce

I think in the coming week I'll need to do more cooking, which is good solely for the fact that we are getting another box tomorrow that we'll need to put to good use.

In the CSA box this week

This was a very exciting food day for our house. Our quarter steer was ready to be picked up. My mom and I made the trek out to Smithville to pick up the meat. We loaded it up and now we have a packed freezer. I was excited to use some for supper tonight! We also got our CSA box today. In the box:

red leaf lettuce
chard
spinach
mint
broccoli
green leaf lettuce
arugula
salad turnips
radishes
bok choy
onions
a dozen eggs

I left some kohlrabi and kale in the trade box in exchange for double portions of chard and spinach.

A few menu ideas for the week:
Wednesday: Tacos on Rice (Rice, Ground beef, cheese, green leaf lettuce, crushed tortilla chips, tomato juice, and salsa)
Thursday: Ham and Cheese Strombolis (with arugula)
Friday: Bok Choy Tortellini Soup
Saturday: A chard or spinach recipe
Sunday: Leftovers for lunch and a chef salad supper
Monday: A chard or spinach recipe

A baby coming could easily change this menu....we'll see!

In the CSA box this week

Mmm...we had a full box of produce this week. There was nothing new or terribly exciting (like asparagus, strawberries, or peas), but I was pleased to have a full box to make cooking easier this week.

I've included a picture of the three root vegetables we got in our box this week, mainly because a couple of people at the pick up site were asking what things were. I figured I'd include a picture of those three things just in case someone else had questions too.

In the picture, from left to right are kohlrabi, radishes and Hakurei Salad Turnips.

Also in our box:
a head of red leaf lettuce
small head of butter lettuce
spinach
mint
bag of mixed greens
a couple of kohlrabi
a bunch of turnips
a bunch of chard (the white stem kind, not the usual rainbow, multi-colored ones)
a bunch of bok choy
1 grapefruit
a few small green garlic cloves
radishes
a bag of arugula
3 onions (Texas 1015's which are a sweet onion)
a dozen eggs

The corresponding menu---these things are likely to change depending on what I feel like making on what day and if baby comes any time in the next week.

Wednesday: A Somewhat Cobb Salad
Thursday: Breakfast for Supper--Arugula and Bacon Bread Pudding
Friday: Swiss Chard Tart
Saturday: Spinach Manicotti
Sunday: Easter Lunch--Ham, Potatoes, Bok Choy Salad
Monday: Possibly another chef salad type meal
Tuesday: Leftovers or something else...