Ridiculously delicious week.
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Actuals for August 8 week, cooking for 2 in MN. Where we’re enjoying the Colorado peaches, and my cooking-mojo shifted temporarily to breakfasts, inspired by a make-ahead video by Julia Pacheco. Monday & Friday breakfasts were great and made enough to fuel this week’s mornings, plus some to freeze. I also baked the last of last-year’s frozen shredded zucchini into a cake and am ready to say “YES!” if any free garden zucchini get offered by friends & neighbors.
Mon - Breakfast bake - Sheet pan omelette https://www.juliapacheco.com/sheet-pan-breakfast-omelette/ Dinner - Turkey potato hotdish (from freezer stash), corn on the cob, Colorado peaches, red grapes
Tues - Tortellini mozzarella and pepperoni salad with a terrific dressing, green grapes, crackers https://scratchpantry.com/recipes/2022/7/tortellini-salad
Wed -Salmon, peas, sweet potato, fresh pineapple, fresh cherries
Thurs - Appetizer: avocado/spinach dip with cubed Hawaiian bread & pita chips. Frozen pizza
Fri - BAKED – breakfast blueberry French toast cups https://www.juliapacheco.com/blueberry-french-toast-cups/
Dinner - OUT - Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Surf and Surf (Salmon and shrimp, with rice & broccoli) Dessert at home – Chocolate zucchini swirl “bread” made & frozen a year ago, topped with chocolate sauce & ice cream. The not-sweet recipe (thus the chocolate sauce topping) was transcribed from a “Healthy Meals in Minutes” card image posted on the old CH.
Sat - Orange chicken using grocery deli Chicken tenders / orange sauce (Julia Pacheco recipe) & brown rice, beside Schwans egg rolls, salad
NOTE – online recipe has typo in cornstarch amount for sauce
BAKED – Snacking Cakes cookbook Chocolate Zucchini cake, using the optional poppyseeds (for me these were undetectable in the cake) and the suggested swap-in of half-cup whole wheat flour.
Sun - (today) -Chicken spaghetti with Rotel/cream cheese sauce asparagus, red grapes Recipe from Our Tribe of Many video – recipe text is in video description. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGS8X3jjmiY
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I made a double batch to use up all the zucchini I had and used 4 mini loaf pans. I subbed ricotta for the yogurt cause that needed to be used up. I did half AP and half whole wheat flour. I also cut the sugar by a third- but I put sprinkles on top as the kiddos like that.
I like the mini-loaf size as it bakes faster and easier to defrost from the freezer.
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Thank you!
Greetings from the Greater Boston area, where I have about a week and a half left before I return to school and the kids come back! We’re trying to make the most of what I have left for summer vacation. Saturday, we went to Boston Comic Con, which was fun, although very crowded and with far fewer mask wearing individuals than I’d have preferred. We got to meet the cast of Clerks 3 though, so that was neat! Here is what we’ve eaten so far in the past week, for two adults and 1 small cat:
Sat. (8/14) - Breakfast sandwich in the morning from Leo’s here in town (omelet for BF). Then into Boston for the comic convention. Dinner at Row 34 in Seaport. It was ok. The host stand didn’t have itself together and reversed itself on the possibility of a patio seat after initially saying it was possible. After getting mixed messages about the possibility of bar seating, we were then offered a table next to the servers’ station unless we were willing to wait a half hour. The food was good; the vibe was not. I might give their Burlington location a shot, but I doubt I’ll be back to the Boston one.
Sun. (8/15) - Local pizza delivery for lunch. Dinner was tortilla chips, pepper jack cheese, and salsa with beverages while we did a double feature of Clerks and Clerks 2, a nice cap to the weekend.
Mon. (8/16) - Tried the crustless vegetable tart with saffron aioli from At Home In The Kitchen by David Kinch. It was a little labor intensive, but good. You caramelize onions, garlic, and thyme to be the “crust”. Those are bedded in a 9" pie tin and then you overlap thinly sliced tomato, zucchini, and eggplant over the top. Season and drizzle with olive oil and bake until the vegetables are pretty well roasted (about 45 minutes). I cheated on the aioli and added some saffron I’d bloomed in hot water to some storebought mayo with a little lemon juice. Rounding out the plate was pasta salad with mushrooms (BF’s request) and some rainbow trout from our monthly fish subscription.
Tues. (8/17) - Leftover pasta salad and vegetable tart. I added some goat cheese to the pasta salad. Realizing the previous Saturday that we were more spent from walking around the convention center than we expected to be, we took a walk before dinner after BF finished work.
Wed. (8/18) - BF was feeling somewhat inspired by Kevin Smith’s weight loss, so was more than happy to left me take a run at a bean chili for dinner tonight instead of a meat based one. It has been cooking in various stages all day. I am using a tomato base, but also a five chile blend of pasilla, guajillo, morita, and ancho, along with freshly toasted and ground black pepper, cloves, coriander seed, and cumin seed (and Mexican oregano). Today’s bean of choice is pinto. So far, everything smells and tastes great! This is going to make way more than what two people need, but leftovers should freeze ok. I will have rice, cheese, and sour cream available for bowls, along with fresh tomatoes, radish, scallions, and cilantro. All this and I even found time for the exercise bike and a load of laundry. Go me!
Thurs. (8/19) - At least one night of leftovers from the chili.
Fri. (8/20) - Might do chili one more night. Otherwise, we have an assortment of crackers, cheeses, and sausage in the pantry/cheese drawer. There’s also salmon roe and Boursin. I will see what mood we’re in when BF finishes for the day.
Sat. (8/21) - We’re probably in for the day, so dinner is whichever thing we didn’t do that seems appealing. Or, delivery!
Projecting into next week, I still have lots of fish in the freezer. There will be shrimp for one or two nights most likely. Then I will see how we feel.
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Greetings, People.
It’s still summer here! Enjoying fresh cukes and tomatoes, but still waiting on our favorite peaches and wild blackberries.
Cooking for two adults in the PNW:
FRI: Better Than Takeout noodles with cabbage and pork.
SAT: A repeat of the zucchini pizza – so good!
SUN: Fish tacos with cabbage slaw.
MON: Hot wings on the grill with veggie sticks and ranch.
TUE: Halibut and shrimp cioppino.
WED: Crying Tiger beef with Jaew sauce. Cucumber and tomato salad.
THUR: Greek-style pork tenderloin on the grill (thanks to @linguafood). Greek potatoes. Greek salad.
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I’d love a report on these, they have been on my list for months.
I’ve made this recipe many times - we love it. Fast, cheap, easy. I got the referral from another poster on CH/HO.
I use spaghetti noodles and shred the cabbage. I like to add some grated carrots to the mix, also. I’ll usually do 4 oz. noodles with 4 oz. ground pork for the two of us.
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That David Kinch recipe sounds really interesting. Do you have an online source for the recipe? I searched, but couldn’t find it. I got all the ingredients to make a tian with tomatoes, squash, and eggplant at the farmers market and have several recipes I’m considering. This sounds like tian in a very interesting “crust.”
Your chili sounds great as do all your other meals. Enjoy your last week and a half of summer!
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Thank you!
The recipe seems to be available on this Google Books link - Vegetable “Tart” with Saffrom Mayonnaise
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Oh, thanks so much! I will adapt this. I did just order the cookbook At Home in the Kitchen from the minuteman library network and your link gives me a head start. I have David Kinch’s Manresa cookbook, which I purchased aspirationally when it came out. I used to live in the area of Calif., well, north of there, and really miss it.
My husband and son and I went to the Boston Public Market for my birthday lunch last week. It was a Wednesday, and not that many people there. We were the only people in the indoor market wearing masks, which was not what I was hoping for. Oh well. We live in Somerville so it was a short drive to the BPM. Parking $3 for three hours in the garage there. I had the fried oysters at Reds and loved them; split them with my husband. Son had fish and chips that he really like. Very reasonably priced. The market itself kind of sad with not great vegetables at the peak of summer harvest.
Oops, I may be hijacking the thread. thanks again for the recipe link!
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You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it if you make it!
I’m working through pantry and freezer and CSA bits and I think I have everything on hand for this. I’m going to sub ground turkey and looking forward to trying this after a camping adventure. Thanks for the post!
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Belated happy birthday wishes Madrid!
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Appreciate these details! I will definitely be making it. I want to try it with those squared-off Chinese mein.
Hello everyone it’s another glorious summer day although a tad hot in the sun. When I went to pick up lunch today I stayed in the shade and the temperature was comfortable. Today’s take out lunch is a combination meal from a local Thai restaurant - crispy wontons to start then chicken curry, mango salad and rice as the main course. Dessert isn’t included but I anticipate I will be too full by the time I finish eating. Cooking for a singleton in Ottawa, Canada:
Tonight: Greek salad for dinner since I usually get take-out for lunch on Fridays.
Saturday: usually take out night but I am living dangerously and switching things up this week 
I will have a salade nicoise for dinner tonight and pick up take out while I am at the market tomorrow.
Sunday: market day. I get a CSA during the summer months so I’m set for fruits and veggies but I need some missing ingredients for meals this week. There are two Eastern European delis on my route so I may pick up some cabbage rolls or something I wouldn’t normally make myself and if all else fails the Italian grocer has some awesome store-made porchetta and lasagnas. I’m sure I won’t starve
Monday: corn risotto
Tuesday: chicken broccoli stirfry https://www.skinnytaste.com/chicken-and-broccoli-stir-fry/
Wednesday: one pork chop left in the freezer so pork lo mein again. This will be the last time I will have it for awhile so I can move on to some of the other meats I have in the freezer. https://www.seriouseats.com/stir-fried-lo-mein-noodles…
Thursday: fettucine al pesto, garden fresh corn salad on the side. https://cookieandkate.com/garden-fresh-corn-salad/
This week’s lunches will alternate between smoked ham potato tomato salad and roasted cauliflower and farro with feta and avocado. https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-cauliflower-and-farro…/
Have a nice weekend everyone.
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Looks and sounds so good!
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It is! The farm I get my CSA from sends us a weekly newsletter on Monday mornings and they always include a recipe that calls for one or more of the veggies they grow. Last year they included that recipe in one of their newsletters when the cauliflower was in season. I’ve made it a few times and it’s really good!
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Here’s that salad link as a direct one (without the Facebook routing) https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-cauliflower-and-farro-salad-with-feta-and-avocado/
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Thank you!
