This Week's Menu

This is going to be a busy week for me! We're nearing the holidays, and we have a new director at work in my department starting this week, and I have a concert on Thursday, in which I will be a soloist. We're having a gathering for our director that will involve cookies and cider, and I'm supposed to bring a treat to the concert. My parents are also coming into town to watch me play, and Friday is my mother's birthday, so I'm taking her out for some high tea. Here's my plan for the week:

Treats for the director and the concert (makes a very large batch of cookies, so it should last for both): Docinhos de goiabada (or goiaba cookies. Sorry, I can't share the recipe here since this is a family recipe that has been sworn to secrecy)

Lunch for the lunch group:
Burritos made with "refried beans with cinnamon and clove" from "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper" (the recipe was given to me from a coworker whose partner is a chef and loves this recipe) and with roasted sweet potato, guacamole, micro greens, green onions, olives, and sour cream (inspired by Fran's Spicy Sweet Potato Burritos)

Dinners:
Sunday: Burritos (see above)
Monday: Fresh pasta from the farmer's market
Tuesday: Baked polenta with mushrooms, and marinated beans and spinach salad on the side
Wednesday: Coconut mung bean soup
Thursday: Another fresh pasta from the market
Friday: out for dinner with my parents

You'll notice that a couple of recipes either come from or are inspired by a blog I just found today that I think will become my new favorite blog, Fran's House of Ayurveda. This is the kind of blog I would have loved to create if I knew enough about Ayurvedic cooking, so I know I'm going to learn a lot! I've been looking for good Vata recipes (my dosha, or constitution, is Vata-Pitta), and I've also been looking for some good breakfast recipes. I'm always amazed at how difficult it is to find healthy and satisfying breakfast recipes since we all know that this is the first meal of the day and is quite important. I'm looking forward to it. Have a great week, everyone!

Thanksgiving Planning

Thanksgiving is only a couple of days away, and if you haven't planned what you're making yet, check out our Thanksgiving menu from last year.

We aren't hosting Thanksgiving this year and are instead driving to my parents' house in Santa Barbara. Here's our menu this year, as far as I know it. We're bringing the pecan pie and apple crisp, as well as a red and a white wine.

Turkey marinated in brine
Chestnut stuffing (Dad's family recipe)
Mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes
Baked brussel sprouts
Cranberry sauce
Apple Crisp
Bourbon pecan pie
Double ginger pumpkin flans

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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UPDATE

Here are some of the pictures of our Thanksgiving Dinner!

Pinto Bean, Southern Greens, and Campanelle Pasta Soup with Paprika Bean Puree

"Cold weather" has arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area, meaning that I actually need to wear a sweater or light jacket outside and that we're running our heat in our apartment. I must be a wimp because this weather chills my bones, like there's no getting away from feeling cold all the time, even though I spent my childhood on Michigan. I adjusted to the subtle weather changes here way too easily!

For my lunch group at work this week, I made a warming and comforting soup that is a modification of a recipe from The Wednesday Chef, Amy Scattergood's Cranberry Bean, Lacinato Kale and Pasta Soup. Unfortunately, I can never find the ingredients I need when I choose to make our meals from a recipe, and this time was no exception. I couldn't find cranberry beans or Mother Stallards, but I do know that pinto beans are cousins to cranberry beans, so I used those commonly found beans instead. I couldn't find lacinato kale, but I did find a bag of already washed and cleaned southern greens (collard, mustard, and turnip greens) at Trader Joe's. I couldn't find orrechiette (!), so I used the bell-shaped pasta, which I find more interesting anyway, campanelle. The soup turned out just as fabulous as I hoped, and it made enough servings for four people at lunch at work, lunch for my husband for two days, and dinner for the two of us! You might want to look at the quantity of the ingredients before making this -- it calls for 3 cups of dried beans and 12 cups of water, so it's certain to make a metric ton. Make sure you have a very large pot before you begin!

What I found interesting about this recipe is that you cook the pasta separately, and I actually stored and transported it separate from the soup, which kept the pasta from bloating too much before consuming the soup. The bean puree with two kinds of paprika, sweet and smoked, and fresh herbs, added a freshness to the soup and had a beautiful color. I might just need to try making other flavors of bean purees to add to soups -- it has the effect of adding creaminess, fresh herbs, and color to a soup that you might be storing for a few hours or days.

We ate this soup so fast that I didn't get a picture, but you'll get the idea from the post at The Wednesday Chef. I suggest trying different beans and greens and herbs in the puree for a yummy, transportable creation!

Cooking for Friends

One of my best friends recently had a baby, and I finally had a chance to visit this past weekend to meet the little peanut for the very first time. We had a great time (and I'm not a baby person)!

I knew that I wanted to help out in whatever way I could during my visit, and I also knew that during our college years together as roommates, I would often cook us a nice dinner to make us feel at home. As a new mommy, my friend definitely hasn't had time to cook some nutritious home-style meals, so I brought a few recipes and had her choose what she wanted most. The recipes needed to make a large quantity of food that could be eaten that night and frozen for later or that could teach her how to make a good meal within her schedule as a mother and private music teacher. We chose two recipes, a Slow-cooked Red Curry Chicken with Butternut Squash from Cara's Cravings that was fabulous and utilized her slow-cooker, and a Spicy Turkey Sausage Lasagne from Epicurious that could be frozen. Both were very successful in case you want to use them as a similar treat for your friends!

Apricot and Fig Crunchy Muesli

Here's a hearty cereal that you can make yourself which includes grains, protein, and fiber. Be sure to serve this with plenty of milk, as the cereal is quite crunchy and can use the soak. I purchase the nuts and dried fruit from Trader Joe's where they tend to be cheaper.



Apricot and Fig Crunchy Muesli
Makes 2 pounds

1 pound rolled oats
4 ounces bran ceral (the twiggy type)
1 cup roasted, unsalted pistachio halves
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup slivered almonds
4 ounces chopped, dried figs
4 ounces chopped, dried apricots
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Pour the maple syrup and vanilla over the mixture and toss to coat. Divide the mixture between two, large, non-stick baking sheets and bake for 20 minutes, stirring often. Allow the cereal to cool and store in an airtight container.

This Week's Menu

We have a very bad habit (or should I say that I have a very bad habit) of buying too much food every week because it looks so good! Well, we all know that food is getting more expensive, and it really is a shame to throw any of it into the compost bin. So, I decided to plan a half a week of food for now to see how things go. We recently discovered a fresh produce shop within walking distance of our apartment, Dan's Fresh Produce. In addition to their store, it looks like they offer a weekly box of produce from local growers, similar to the Community Sustained Agriculture I discussed before. Because we're only two people, sometimes our meals can last more than one dinner, and it's hard to gauge when this is going to happen. I'll see how it goes with a plan until Wednesday to see if we need to buy more or just extend our current recipes. With Dan's Produce down the street, I can easily take a walk after work and get my workout and dinner, too!

Sunday
Breakfast: Oatmeal and figs
Lunch: White bean and basil hummus with pita, carrots, dolmas, sliced feta, and arugula salad
Dinner: Chicken marinaded in yogurt vindaloo curry, butternut squash curry, sauteed chard

Monday
Breakfast: Banana bread
Lunch (lunch group): Lavash sandwiches and pasta salad
Dinner: Goat cheese ravioli with summer pitta sauce

Tuesday
Breakfast: Banana bread
Dinner: Tilapia marinaded in citrus-herb marinade with harvest blend couscous and veggie and arugula salad

Wednesday
Breakfast: Pugliese toast with jam and nut butter
Dinner: Adzuki "black" beans and rice

This Week's Menu: An Anniversary Trip to Wine Country

We're heading to Napa and Sonoma mid-week for our 3 year wedding anniversary and have planned a special breakfast before our drive out on Wednesday morning and a picnic lunch to bring with us that first day to the Nichelini Winery that might last us more than one day if we have a fridge in our hotel room. I hope the menu pairs well with a nice summer wine. Nichelini describes themselves as:

"The Nichelini Winery is the oldest family owned and continuously operated winery in Napa County. Nichelini Winery is listed on the Registered Historic Places in Saint Helena, California, Napa County. Each winemaking process is conducted and managed by a descendant of Anton Nichelini, our founding father."

For the other days of the week, I tried to plan meals based on leftovers in our fridge so we don't come home to spoilage. Leftovers include smoked applewood bacon, smoked ham, and pears from a coworker's tree. I take part in a vegetarian lunch group at work (usually 4-5 people), and we each bring lunch for the others one day per week. At the moment, my days are Mondays. Because I'll be busy this week with travel plans, I'm going to make some simple pizzas. Here's the breakdown:

Sunday
Breakfast: Blueberry muffins and peaches with chai
Lunch: Something at the farmer's market
Dinner: Smoked ham and asparagus risotto - I might make this with broccoli or a different vegetable if the asparagus doesn't seem to be in season (I doubt it is)

Monday
Breakfast: Cinnamon raisin break with cream cheese and fruit
Lunch: Pear and gorgonzola pizza with carmelized onions over whole wheat crust; Greek pizza with olives, red onions, and summer squash over herbed crust; salad with a light vinaigrette
Dinner: Fresh pasta from the farmer's market

Tuesday
Breakfast: Triple berry danish
Lunch: provided by lunch group
Dinner: BLT sandwiches with applewood smoked bacon, heirloom tomatoes, and sourdough bread and veggie chips

Wednesday: Wine Country Day 1
Breakfast: Whole wheat buttermilk pancakes with seasonal fruit and fruit sauce
Lunch: Picnic at Nichelini (recipes from The Vegetarian Bible - Onion braid with mustard seeds (bread) topped with brie, kuku with spinach, potato and squash turnovers, blueberry summer pudding
Dinner: A restaurant in Napa - adventures will lead us somewhere

The rest of the week will consist of trying some wine country restaurants and some yummy wines. And of course, there will be a spa day.