Sunday, August 27, 2006

Fifth week of August

David and I purchased a pressure cooker from Sears last Thanksgiving and we have been using it weekly if not more. If you have never had the pleasure of using one, or experiencing it, you will be amazed! I checked out EVERY book from the library for on pressure cookers and found my favorite: Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass. What I absolutely love about her is that every recipe is adaptable. She gives you the basic recipe and then tells you how you can modify it 4-5 times into new recipes. Fabulous! I have to admit this is my ONLY cookbook without pictures and I find myself using it ALL the time. This pressure cooker cooks brown rice, beans, and meat in minutes comparably. I dare you to try one, you won't be disappointed.

Sunday: PULLED PORK SANDWICHES, CARROT-RAISIN SALAD, and SAUTEED GREENS.
David and Arabella had dinner date last week so we didn't get to make this.

Monday: "Beans and Chips" a night out at our local Mexican restaurant for an Arabella special.

Tuesday: THAI TUNA BURGERS with DILLED BROWN RICE SALAD(Pressure Perfect, pg. 185) and WARM KALE SUNDRIED TOMATO SALAD .

Wednesday: TOFU KALE MUSTARD DILL SUPPER PIE (Whole Foods for the Whole Family, pg. 162) with BROWN RICE.

Thursday: SPAGHETTI with MEATBALLS (Pressure Perfect, pg. ) over Whole Kamut Spiral Pasta.

Friday: PRESSURE COOKER CHICKEN with BROWN RICE, SAUTEED ONIONS AND SUMMER SQUASH. BEEFSTEAK TOMATO SALAD (Everyday Food, v.24, pg. 117).

Saturday: Traveling to Fort Bragg to visit my parents. I guess we'll eat what they're cooking!

Monday, August 21, 2006

Fourth Week of August

Wow, last week I totally forgot we were going to Santa Cruz for the weekend. I ended up bringing most of the groceries, since I bought them already, but we shuffled things around and ate out a couple of times. Maybe this week will get better, although we are already off to a rough start.

Sunday: SOUTHWESTERN PASTA SALAD from Bobby Flay (one of my favorite chefs). A repeat from a few weeks ago, but a great recipe that will become one of my quick-fix staples. Great for vegetarians! It is so easy, even David can make it! Put a whole red pepper, a thickly sliced red onion, corn and chicken on the BBQ while you boil water and cook noodles. De-skin and chop the pepper, dice the onion and strip the corn and add it all together to the pasta with a few other simple things and you have a tasty meal. I omitted the lima beans, but add any bean to your whole grain pasta and you have a complete protien!

Monday: Impromptu Japanese Food. Arabella ordered her own "Miso Soup, extra tofu".

Tuesday: PULLED PORK SANDWICHES, CARROT-RAISIN SALAD, and SAUTEED GREENS. It doesn't call for a crock-pot, but I am going to use mine. I have to work tonight and the crockpot is an easy David/Arabella meal.

Wednesday: WHOLE SPELT TORTILLAS (from Trader Joe's) with GRILLED CHICKEN and PEPPERS. Side of AVOCADO CORN SALAD (Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, pg. 119), and PINTO BEANS. Did you know you can cook unsoaked beans in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes cooking time with a natural release and have beans without having to think about them a day ahead of time? Also, add a little Kombu seaweed for natural saltyness and to eliminate any gassy effects.

Thursday: WHOLE KAMUT PASTA with Spicy CAULIFLOWER and TURKEY SAUSAGE(Moosewood Restaurant cooks at Home, pg. 189). Something new to try, but I added meat, and may sneak in a few white beans.

Friday: RED LENTIL SOUP (MRCaH, pg. 36), SALAD from our garden, and Home-made rye BREAD. I would love to say David would eat this, but he will not, I will buy him a steak to add to his dinner.

Saturday: Mock MU SHU PORK with SPELT TORTILLAS. I will take the leftover pork from Tuesday and add Napa Cabbage, Onion, Red Bell pepper, Hoisin Sauce, sesame oil, and soy sauce (Pressure Perfect, pg. 149). More sauteed greens too! Maybe BOK CHOY, Arabella can never get enough of that.

The Moosewood book was recommended by my friend Bronwyn! I was a little disappointed in the dairy-free options, but a neat idea I saw was Sweet Potato Quesadillas, yummy!

Monday, August 14, 2006

Third week of August 2006

I think most of you know that Kelly and I swap menu's everyother week. This is the one she gave me for this week. Happy eating.

Sunday: Southwestern Barbecue with grilled burgers, baked beans, corn, tomato salad, and lemon meringue pie (yes, I know I had some the day before, I am really craving it though!). We had Don and Melissa over for dinner. These burgers were a combination of pork and turkey mixed with onion and fresh herbs, they were super yummy! I had a chipotle mayonaise, avocados, grilled onions, tomatoes and jalepenos on the side. (Everyday Food, Issue14, pg. 102)

Monday: Salmon with mango salsa, brown rice and sauteed zuchinni from the garden.

Tuesday: Chicken coconut curry (It is very similar to this, although peanuts and peas were added.

Wednesday: Mexican Bean and Corn Casserole (Feeding the Whole Family, Cynthia Lair), with Whole Spelt Tortillas, grilled veggies and salsa.

Thursday: Chicken and Artichoke Stew with sweet brown mochi rice (Everyday Food, Issue 15, pg. 57); Add bok choy or greens to side.

Friday: Eggplant Tomato Gratin with Turkey Sausage (Gardeners' Community Cookbook, pg. 182). Kelly like to spring these eggplant dishes on me to see if I will continue to try them!

Saturday: Perhaps some leftovers, or considering we already missed Monday's meal because we went to IKEA, most likely that Salmon!