Menu Post #10

We got a job offer (!!!!!)! I am going to wait until the contract is signed before I tell you anymore about it, but needless to say, we are thrilled! It is a great opportunity and we think it is going to be a great thing for our family!

Because we knew we would be moving sometime this summer (At least, we hoped we would get a job to move for), we ended our CSA share, because it costs less when you buy a bunch of weeks at a time, and I didn't know how long we would be around to use them. This has meant shaking up my menu planning/grocery routine.

I decided to make one big change and go to our local farmer's market every weekend.  In an effort to make a greater contribution to my community, I buy at least a few of my vegetables and a treat for us to share each week.  I can't get all my vegetables there, because it would blow my budget out of the water, but I figure some contribution is better than none.  Plus it is like a little treat each time we go!

Even if I am only spending $5-$10 a week, I know I am directly helping someone in my area by supporting their business/family.  It makes me feel really good, and is helping me feel more like part of my community.  In the future, I hope to spend a greater portion of our spending budget on local products from small businesses or the farmer's market.

The initial idea of making shopping local a bigger part of my life came from this fabulous book that my mom sent me for Christmas.  The premise is that if you shop local, you invest more in your community, will feel more connected to your community, and your community will do more for you in return.  While my contribution might seem very insignificant (and it is), I feel like doing something that my small budget can afford is much better than nothing.

Do you shop local?  Go to the farmer's market regularly?  Is that something that even appeals to you?  Maybe you have some great ideas that I can start incorporating in my life. If you do, I would love to hear them!

Fabulous: 

Beet Soup:  One of my very favorite soups.  Thick, creamy and a lovely pink-red color!
Veggie Panini's with Cilantro Lime Dressing: WOW.  Just Wow. I used yellow squash and sweet potatoes, and it was terrific.
Asian Cabbage Salad: I keep making this one, and will post my adaptations in a few weeks.

Worth a Try:

Shredded Carrot and Chickpea Salad: This soup was surprisingly delicious, despite the fact that it was basically carrots and chickpeas.
Black Bean Tacos with Coleslaw: Easy and fast (unless you make your own tortillas like I did)
Coconut Lentil Curry: This made SO much, but it was delicious, so I didn't mind eating for lunch for like 5 days in a row.

Read More

Menu Plan #10

I hope you had a good and restful weekend!  I have decided to revamp this post a little bit, and rather than putting a big description of what each dish is, just to sort them into categories and give you a brief summary of changes.

I always like having a little end of the week review.  It helps me remember what I liked, what to make again, and what I didn't like so much, and what changes could be made.

Let me know if this format is easier for you!  Happy Monday!

Fabulous: 
Chickpea Feta Salad - I can eat bowls and bowls of this.  It is delicious.  I use peanuts for the nut.
Carrot Quiche - An old favorite.  It is like eating a savory soufflé

Worth a Try
Bok Choy Noodles - I make it with Ramen noodles.  Easy and tasty.
Vegan Enchiladas - These were pretty good.  They tasted best when topped with a homemade ranch with chipotle powder swapped in for the dill.

Needs some work: 
Turnip Au Gratin - decent flavor but dripping in grease... half or quarter the butter next time!
Collard Greens Cobbler (based on this recipe) - probably okay, but I hardly remember it. I think I made some modifications and added bacon.  It was better with sausage or sweet potato.
Pizza with Cilantro Pesto - Not bad, but nothing life-changing. Better with a flaky salt on top (then again, so is everything).
SaveSaveSaveSave

Read More

Weekly Menu Plan #9

This winter has been kind of bizarre.  We have had a roller coaster weather pattern that has topped out in the 80's and then promptly dropped to the teens for a week.  It has been very strange, and a little difficult to keep up with.

I usually try to make food based on what is seasonal, as well as what the weather is like (salads for hot days, soups for cold days), but I just can't keep up right now.  I will plan a gorgeous soup, and it will be 75 degrees, and we are all wishing for a picnic with sandwiches instead.

Are you snowed in?  I feel like all I am seeing is photos of freezing places on social media, and it is making me grateful that I live in a mostly warm place.

And now, on to the menu!

Vegetables to use up:

*Some of these were from my CSA box, and others were purchased at my grocery store.

Beets

Turnips

Sweet Potato

Spinach

Carrots

Bell Pepper

Zucchini

Onions

Avocado

Weekly Menu:

Rainbow Power Salad - This was fun to make (I used my spiralizer, because I love it), but I was not totally impressed with the flavors.  It was fine and super fresh, but not amazing. Granted, it might have been better had I been able to toss the veggie noodles with fresh basil... But I didn't, so maybe it was all my fault.

Vegetarian Thai Pizza - I love the original pizza, but this was quite a good vegetarian version.  I used thinly sliced sweet potato, zucchini, carrot pieces and cilantro leaves.  I faked the sauce (because I only had curry powder), and it was truly magnificent.

Black Bean Mexican Bowls - This is my favorite meal of late.  It is filling, healthy and just dang delicious.  I am planning on posting this one really soon.

Red Pepper and Chickpea Curry - This is a tasty one. I used onions, left out the sugar snap peas (they are SO expensive!) and used curry powder, but it was delicious.

Asian Veggies and Noodles with peanut sauce - This was quite tasty, but I wish I had used this peanut sauce instead.  It is a little more flavorful.  Also, we have church at 2PM now (which means we don't get out until 5), so quick meals have become my favorite.  This meal took about 25 minutes, which was perfect.  

Carrot Soup with Focaccia Bread - This soup is about as simple as they get, and it is delicious!  Dip a little homemade focaccia bread in it, and you are in business!  

Have you been making anything fun lately? 

Read More

Weekly Menu Plan #9

It has been a while since I have posted one of these menu plans.  Truthfully, it is because there were many days in December where I felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants, and dinner was an afterthought that barely made it to the table.

And, with it getting dark so early these days, photographing dinner doesn't happen most days, so the menu plans were a set of guidelines that sometimes were followed, but not always.  At any rate, this week, I have done much better about preparing meals that I bought ingredients for, and using up the vegetables in the fridge.

Here are a few things we ate this week:

Kale Almond Pesto and Cheese Pizza - This was a great way to use up Kale and Fox ate a ton of it.
Salmon w/ Brown Butter Dressing and Rice - We had this for Fox's birthday (he has been a big fish fan, lately), and it was delicious.  I think next time I will double the sauce.
Black Bean Soup - I know this is on here again, but it is a family favorite.  It shows up at least once a month.
Lemon Parmesan Cod - This was a big disappointment.  I thought it was going to be great, and it was very medium.  If you are looking for a better fish recipe, see the above salmon recipe, or this super easy halibut recipe that knocked the socks off of all of us, it was so good.
Butternut Squash Soup - This was a new one for me.  I actually used half in half instead of coconut milk, but it still was pretty tasty.  A little too spicy for Fox, but I liked it.
Sweet Potato Peanut Stew - This is easy, I almost always have the ingredients for it, and it is a crowd pleaser.  So tasty, and nice and filling.

I also made these Saturday night pancakes from Janssen's blog.  They are SOOOO good!

*Also, if you are looking at this menu and wondering why it has fish on it twice, since I proclaim myself to be mostly vegetarian, it is because some friends had extra fish from their Alaska fishing trip and gave it to us.  I am not normally a huge fish person, but I have enjoyed trying new recipes with it, and everyone has enjoyed having fish the last few weeks.  
SaveSave

Read More

Menu Plan #8

Meal planning the last few weeks has been stressful and fuzzy.  I guess it has something to do with the rapidly approaching holidays, the crazy election and subsequent events, deadlines for blog posts and cooking with a toddler, but somehow, I could hardly remember making any food this week, because I was making so much food.  Does that make sense?

Anyway, I made a number of delicious dishes this week.  Some will be coming to the blog, others were the work of an evening, and may never show their face again.

Carrot, Dill and White Bean Salad - This is an old classic in our house and one of my favorite ways to use up dill when I have a huge bunch of it (which I did this week).

Broccoli Cheddar Soup - This is a very hearty and healthy feeling broccoli cheddar soup.  No velveeta here, and I added spinach and peeled broccoli stalk for to try to keep my "No Waste November" going.

Arugula Pesto Pizza - I love Arugula, and this was quite a tasty pizza.  I subbed in a peppers for the tomatoes and thought it was a nice change.

Curried Root Vegetable Pot Pie - This was delicious.  I loved the sauce, but need to make more of it next time, and adjust the ratios accordingly.  Then I will share it.  It was a perfect winter's night meal. Plus it was pretty, which is why the photos from that meal are monopolizing this post.  

Corn and Kale Chowder - A last-minute rushed meal for a night when I had already done an insane amount of cooking for my book club.  It actually turned out okay, which was a relief.  I didn't write down the recipe, but it was some milk, onions, kale, corn, sweet potatoes and spices.  

Pear, Onion, Balsamic Pizza - This was delicious!  I used pear, caramelized onion, feta, mozzarella and dijon mustard and topped it with balsamic reductions.  Wow.  It was yummy!

A few other things I made this week:

Salty Honey Pie - Oh my yum!  It felt like a pie that came from the 1950's.  It was rich, sweet and delicious.  

Arugula Almond Salad - I love this one. 

Homemade Rolls - I am not sure I will ever find a roll recipe that I like more than this one.  They are SOOO good.  

SaveSaveSaveSave

Read More

Weekly Menu Plan #7

Happy Halloween!  This week has been a great one, and I loved getting our costumes ready for Halloween (did you see our family costume? I am kind of obsessed!), despite the fact that I had to practically chain myself to my sewing machine one afternoon in order to finish them!

Also, this week was full of video editing (check out my youtube channel if you missed the two new videos I posted! One of them has some of the cutest footage of Fox ever!), which is always a little crazy, because you have to filter through a ton of footage, and make lots of hard decisions about what to cut, and what music to use, and stuff, but I really enjoyed the process of making my last two videos, and have two more tutorials filmed, that are waiting to be edited!  I can't wait to share them with you!

This weeks meals were less exciting than usual.  We got back from California on Sunday, and I had to go shopping to fill our empty fridge on Monday morning, so I fell back on some old favorites.  Thankfully they are all recipe I know and love, but they are not really new to share with you.  Here is what we had this week!

Menu:

Black Bean Soup - This is a no-brainer meal.  I love making this soup, because Fox and Adam are always thrilled when this shows up on the table, and it is super easy to make.

Butternut Squash Pie - This is the third time I have made it in the last 3 or 4 weeks, and it still isn't perfect... Bleh.  It is incredibly delicious, but I am having issues with the sauce separating in the oven.  I promise to post it when it is perfect!

Sundried Tomato Pesto Panini - I love a good sundried tomato pesto.  I will be posting the recipe I used in a week or so, so check back for that!  We just spread some pesto on, slapped a few slices of cheese on the bread and toasted it under the broiler.  I dipped mine in ranch, because I just can't help myself :)

Zucchini Gratin - I know posted this a few weeks ago here, but it was delicious, so I decided to make it again.  Besides, Analon just sent me this gorgeous au gratin dish, and I really wanted to try it out.  This seemed like a perfect dish to go in it.

Roasted Carrot Quiche - This might be my favorite quiche ever.  It is really so good.  If I could recommend any recipe to you on this blog, I would probably give you several, but this quiche would certainly be on that list!

Kale Rainbow Salad - I loved the dressing from this salad so much, that I adapted the sauce and put it on this vegan vegetable curry.  I have to say, I like the vegan curry recipe better than this salad.  That being said, the salad was tasty, and the sauce is to die for!

Cabbage and Corn Tacos - I love these tacos, and they are a great way to use up lots of left over cabbage. I often make them without the chicken these days.  You can add blackens or rice to beef them up.

Read More

Weekly Menu Plan #6

We have really had a pretty great week.  Adam and I got to go out for our first date night in a quite a while this past weekend.  One of our friends has a daughter who wants to learn how to sew, so I am teaching her, and she is babysitting once a month for me!  It is really a pretty great trade-off.  It is fun to be able to pass on a life skill, and wonderful to be able to save myself the cost of a babysitter.

In other news, Fox is becoming more and more delightful all the time.  A few favorite moments from this week include Fox learning how to say "tasty," closely followed by the time he was yelling from his crib (post-nap) "I need tasty!"

He also has started squeezing my hand when we walk down the stairs together.  I started it a few weeks ago, and would squeeze his hand to remind him to keep walking, and he now tilts his little head up at me, gives me an impish look, and squeezes back.  It is totally darling.

He also recently discovered that his ikea cart is big enough for him to sit in, so we have spent a lot of time running up and down the hall pushing him in the cart.  Our neighbors downstairs probably hate it, but Fox is a huge fan.

I also made a fabulous batch of applesauce this week.  The apples were super cheap, so I bought like 4 pounds and turned them into a delicious chunky applesauce.  If you can promise you will ignore the horrible photo, you can see the recipe I used in this post.

It has been a good week.  I hope you are having a great week, too!

To Use Up:
Lemongrass stalks
Beets
Butternut Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Spinach
Carrots
Red Pepper

Weekly Menu Plan: 
Coconut Curry (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten Free) - I love a good curry, and this one was pretty decent, particularly since I just used curry powder instead of curry paste.
Butternut Squash Tart (Vegetarian) - This recipe is still a work in progress, but that just means I get to eat it a lot more often.  And it is delicious, so I am not complaining!  Hopefully I will get it just right the next time!
Cashew Corn Chowder (Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free) - I have posted about this one before, because it is one of my very favorites.  It has a large amount of tumeric in it, which is supposed to be great for you, and is vegan for all those vegan eaters (and non-vegan eaters.  Fox and Adam loved it!).
Beet Chickpea Wraps (Vegetarian) - There are a lot of parts, but each part is easy to prepare and delicious when put together.   I used spinach this time around, but it is better with arugula.
Peanut Stir Fry over Quinoa (Vegetarian) - I have mentioned this at least 3 or 4 times on this blog in the past.  It is SOOOO good.  The sauce is just marvelous.  And I like to eat it straight off the spoon.  Yum!
Spinach Sweet Potato Noodles with Cashew Cream Sauce (Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free) - I got to test out my new spiralizer for the first time.  It had a learning curve, but in the end, I was really happy with the result. This dish was delicious!
Carrot and Beet Soup (Vegetarian, Gluten-Free) - Another classic.  I keep making it because we keep getting beets in our CSA share, and I haven't had a lot of time to think outside the box lately, so we keep having beet soup!

SaveSave

Read More

Weekly Menu Plan #4

This past summer I read a lot of fluffy books.  After a stressful pack up and move to Utah, I felt like I needed a non-fiction break (which is what I normally read), and when I found some fluffy teen novels in a box at my in-laws house, I naturally picked them up and ended up reading stuff like that just about all summer.  I felt pretty guilty about it, because it felt like a waste of time (and it was), but earlier this week, Adam and I were talking about reading, and he brought up how I read whatever I feel like reading, even if it is a re-read, or a fluffy book, and how he thought that was kind of cool. Suddenly, something that had felt like a bad thing seemed so 'free-spirited'.

Isn't so much of life how we frame it?  Do we have to feel guilty for re-reading books, especially if they bring us a lot of joy?  Do we have to feel guilty because we don't eat and instagram avocado toast everyday for lunch, or because we haven't sold our souls to Game of Thrones?  I say DON'T GIVE IN!  I certainly try to explore new things, and occasionally try out trendy stuff (depending on what it is), but I want to do the things I want to do, even if they aren't popular or instagrammable.

This week, I think you should do something because you want to.  Not because anyone else is doing it, and not because you feel obligated to do it.  Maybe a long walk in the park, or a screen-free night.  Or watch re-runs of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (I re-watched all of this show in college... it was great!).  Whatever it is, just know I will be cheering you on!

Now, onto the actual point of this post (sorry for that random, passionate intro), the menu!  We finished up our Hello-Fresh box this week, and it was okay.  I don't think I would make it a regular thing, because it is expensive, and the portions were kind of small (we almost always eat leftovers for lunch the next day), but it was fun to try out, and I was super grateful to have some free meals show up this week!  I also made a few new things, and a few old things.  Overall, a pretty successful week. However, my fridge is just about empty, and I can't wait to go shopping tomorrow so I can fill it back up!

Items to Use Up:  
Zucchini
Beets
Arugula
Butternut Squash
Cabbage
Eggplant
Red Pepper
Sweet Potato

Weekly Menu Plan: 

Pork Potstickers - Another recipe from Hello Fresh.  This one was pretty good, and probably my favorite of the three.  In fact, we still have about 20 of them in the freezer, and I am looking forward to cooking them up sometime this next week!  Yum! I have made homemade potstickers before, and blogged about them here if you want to check that out.

Adobe Chicken Tacos - Our last meal from Hello Fresh.  They definitely didn't have enough flavor.  They should have been great, but they were kind of meh.

Butternut Squash and Gouda Pie - This was a TERRIFIC dish.  Except the sauce separated in the oven, so I have to work on that, and once I fix that, I will post it here.  If you want to try it anyway, send me an email and I will send you the recipe as it is now.  It is sososo good!

Savory Pesto Crêpes - I love these so much.  The crêpe recipe would work for any savory or sweet crêpes.

Beet Soup - I make this whenever I have a lot of beets and not a lot of ideas.  It has appeared regularly since we started the CSA box.

Bacon Gouda Soup - YUM!  Not an original recipe, but a great one that I will be posting in the next week or so.

Eggplant Tomato Pasta (sauce was similar to this recipe, but I used basil and left out the sausage) - Surprisingly good, especially considering the fact that I don't like eggplant at all.  This was a mild way to eat it.  It got rid of the icky, spongy texture.

Read More

Weekly Menu Plan #3

It has been an exhilarating week in my kitchen.  Adam made homemade pasta, I had a biscuit success (finally!), and I made a curry with okra that wasn't terrible! Hooray!

To Use Up: 
Carrots
Okra
Sweet Potato Greens
Butternut Squash
Sweet Potato
Green Pepper

WEEKLY MENU: 

Black Bean Stew with Pesto (adapted from Modern Sauces) and Rosemary Biscuits (from Green Market Baking Book) - The black bean soup was really great, and I plan on posting my adaptations soon.  It is a great fall soup.  If you can't wait until I post this recipe, try out this black bean soup recipe instead (it is my personal favorite).

Butternut Squash Stuffed Pasta with Parmesan Sauce - A surprising and delicious combination.  Also, homemade pasta always makes me feel like I am eating at a restaurant, except I am the one who gets to clean my disaster of a kitchen afterwards.

Black Beans and Rice Topped with Okra and Ranch Dressing - Surprisingly simple and delicious. These beans (throw a bay leaf in there with the beans while they cook), cooked brown rice, topped with this okra (actually, I just use salt and pepper) and this ranch dressing.
 

Okra, Sweet Potato and Pepper Curry over Quinoa (I used this base recipe with different veggies and Madras Curry Powder)- This was quite tasty.  Sadly the first day we made it, it was mostly cold by the time we got to eat it (we had a sick baby that night, who needed love, book reading and snuggles right as we sat down to eat dinner).

Sweet Potato Green Quiche (similar to this recipe) - This was kind of a failure.  I have used sweet potato greens in a few recipes, and haven't loved any of them.  I was hoping this would be the recipe, but it definitely was not.  I will add this to the list of things to work on.  For now, stick to spinach or kale for your quiches.

Italian Sausage and Broccoli Pasta:  A sweet friend gifted us a box of HelloFresh dinners, and this was the first.  It was pretty good, and I how light and fresh it tasted, despite being a pasta/sausage dish.  I did feel a little funny using this service, because I am a food blogger... but I have been curious about dinner subscription services, and I don't say no to free food.  And since Fox has been sick this week, it has actually been pretty nice to have the food all ready to go.

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

Read More

A Somewhat Comprehensive List of Fall Vegetables

The other day, I was trying to come up with some brilliant new recipe idea, and totally needed some new ideas.  I try to cook pretty seasonally, so I was looking at a list of fall vegetables, and was surprised at some of the foods the list!

I do a lot of recipe hunting and look up stuff like this relatively often, but maybe you don't.  Maybe you want to cook more seasonally, too, but don't actually know what is in season right now (this is subject to change if you live somewhere outside of the continental US). This guide is for you!  And me.  Because I don't always know what is in season either.

Fall Vegetables (parentheses indicate peak season for that vegetable):

List from The Vegetarian Flavor Bible(aka, my favorite food resource of late)

Artichokes (Sept - Oct)

Basil (Sept)

Green Beans

Beets

Bell Peppers (Sept)

Bok Choy

Broccoli

Broccoli Rabe

Brussels Sprouts (Nov - Feb)

Cabbage

Carrot

Cauliflower

Celery

Celery Root (Oct - Nov)

Daikon Radishes

Eggplant

Endive

Escarole

Fennel

Greens

Kale (Nov - Jan)

Kohlrabi (Sept - Nov)

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Okra

Onions

Parsnips

Potatoes

Pumpkin (Sept - Dec)

Radicchio

Rutabagas

Snow Peas

Spinach

Squash (butternut, acorn, buttercup, delicata, kabocha)

Sweet Potatoes

Tomatoes (Sept)

Turnips

Watercress

Yams

If I left something out (which I probably did), feel free to add it in the comments!  Happy Fall!

Read More

Why I love my vegetable subscription box

I talk a lot about  my CSA box here.  CSA subscriptions are growing in popularity, as the real food and organic food movements are on the rise. My sister, Janssen was the one who turned me on to them, and I have now had one on and off for several years.  

In case you don't know what a CSA subscription is, let me tell you. First off, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  Farmers need money to run their farms.  When you sign up for a CSA subscription, you typically choose to a period of time (this time, I chose 10 weeks, and I get my box every other week), and pay up front for the subscription.  This guarantees that the farmer sells some vegetables outside of whatever they can sell at a farmer's market.  And you get a box of locally grown (in my case, organic) vegetables and herbs.  Win-win. 

Now there are a few concerns that a lot of people have about getting a CSA box.  Understandably so, really.  My experience has been pretty positive, and at this point in my subscription, I really look forward to picking up my box.  

Here are a few things that I love about getting a CSA: 

1. I see my CSA box as an opportunity to grow my tastebuds a little.  We have gotten a lot of vegetables that I didn't love.  Some that I downright hated.  But, with time, and trying new recipes, I have come to enjoy eating (or at least tolerating, in some cases) vegetables that I used to despise.  I feel like my palate has grown up significantly since we joined a few years ago, and I am thrilled.  It has been a long process, but I think it has been worth it.  

2.  I feel obligated to eat lots of vegetables.  I actually really like vegetables.  A large salad is one of my favorite lunches, and I regularly seek out vegetarian food.  Despite this, I still struggle to eat a lot of vegetables.  According to a number of articles that I saw online, the general consensus among nutritionists is that most people should be eating 2 1/2 cups of vegetables a day.  I may not hit this everyday, but I certainly do a lot better when we have tons of veggies around the house that I paid good money for.  Also, eating lots of organic vegetables totally feels like an investment in my future.  

3. It forces me to be creative at meal time.  I run a food blog, so I obviously try to be creative at mealtimes no matter what, but I have to be extra creative to find ways to use up squash, collard greens, turnips and arugula for dinner all in one week.  And I take that challenge seriously and try not to waste anything.  

4.  I am supporting my local community.  The last few years, I have been trying to put my money where my mouth is.  I am not always great at doing this, but I feel strongly about supporting my community, and reducing shipping pollution, so I feel great about getting vegetables locally.  Also, the vegetables are much fresher, because they got picked two days before I pick them up, rather than two weeks before I picked them up, like at the grocery store.

5.  I am saving money on organic produce.  Sometimes I feel like organic produce is one giant racket.  Another way for the food industry to make a mountain of money off of us consumers.  Organic produce can be so expensive.  I try to buy organic when I can, and buying from a CSA means that I get a sort of discount on the produce that I buy.  It is cheaper than buying individual items from the farmer's market, and it is usually less expensive than buying from the grocery store.  The trade off is that I don't get to pick the items that come in the box.

6.  I love the farm that I buy from.  They have an incredible website with detailed photos of what will be coming in your box (vital for my menu planning), an easy way to swap out 2 or 3 items you don't want (I always get rid of the eggplant if I can) for items you do want, and they have a delivery stop just up the road from my apartment.

7.  I really love having lots of vegetables on hand to use and photograph.  There are few things I like to photograph more than fresh vegetables.  I love having a gorgeous cabbage or rainbow chard to photograph every week.  It is fun and super fulfilling for me.

I am not an expert about the CSA box, but I have done one for 2 years now, and I love it.  If you have more specific questions, please feel free to ask!  I would be happy to answer them!

Read More

Weekly Menu Plan #2

This past weekend, I spent almost 4 hours garage sale-ing.  This has never been my element (I am sort of afraid to talk to strangers/wander into their garage, I often think other people's junk is gross, etc.), but a few years ago, I went with a friend who is a pro garage-saler, and had fabulous luck, scoring some super awesome baby items!  It was quite encouraging, but then garage sale season ended, and I moved on with my life.  

But when we moved to Utah this summer, we sold our couch, and our new living room is a totally different shape than the old living room, so it was time for a little redesign that didn't cost thousands of dollars (furniture is expensive!).  Enter fall garage sale season.  

I was ready this time, with a specific list of things to get for our apartment (i.e. a baby booster seat, a coffee table, a lamp, and a chair), and was determined to discover some great finds.  I drove by probably 60 garage sales (it was a neighborhood-wide garage sale), and just before I decided to go home, I found a $10 coffee table and a $3 lamp!  Hallelujah!

They were both great pieces for the price (especially since I had been looking at this $90 Target lamp the day before), and after a minor modification to the coffee table (Adam sawed 3" off the legs), my two newest living room additions are great!  Garage sale-ing for the win!  After almost 3 weeks, this apartment is really starting to feel like a home.  All it needs now is a fresh batch of homemade croissants.

And with that brief reference to food, I will segway into the real reason for this post: My weekly menu post!  Here are all the delicious things I made in the last week; our menu, to inspire you to make all the seasonal food!  You can also check out my instagram for regular cooking inspiration.    

To Use Up: 

Beets

Zucchini

Bok Choy

Red Pepper

Snow Peas

Butternut Squash

Weekly Menu: 

Zucchini Parmesan Gratin - I made this once last year, and it was SO salty.  This time, I didn't salt the zucchini when I rung it out, and added salt when serving, and it was delicious!  It was kind of messy to make, but the end result was great!

Beet Soup - This will forever be one of my favorite soups.  I served it with a whole wheat bread.

Zucchini Parmesan Pizza - I love this one, too. Parmesan and zucchini go great together, obviously!

Bok Choy Ramen - I don't really like cooked greens, so I was pretty wary about this recipe, but it was delicious!  I used the super cheap ramen noodles (like the 16 cent package), and they were fine.  I also used water and added my own spices to make it taste better, and then I added carrot strips.  It was really good, and even the baby loved it.

Curry with Red Pepper and Snow Peas (similar to this recipe) - This is still a work in progress, but this week's edition was better than last week's.

Butternut Squash Bowls with Black Beans and Rice (similar idea to this) - This was lunch one day, and it was totally delicious.  Just butternut squash and onions roasted in the oven with garlic and cumin, topped combined with black beans, rice and ranch dressing.

Squash and Chickpea Salad - This was very good! I toasted the chickpeas, left out the cilantro (oops!) and added a drizzle of honey.  

SaveSave

Read More

Weekly Menu Plan #1

(I realize that this is not my first weekly menu plan, even though it is labeled #1.  But I wanted to start counting them, because I just have a bunch in the archives, and it sounded like an easier way to keep track of them. Rather than retroactively labeling them all, I am starting fresh)  

This week's cooking was so satisfying!  We got our first CSA vegetable box of the season, and it was chock full of beautiful, organic vegetables.  I have had wonderful time incorporating them into our dinners.  

We are eating vegetarian at home this fall/winter (we ate so much meat over the summer, and both Adam and I felt like we needed a break, plus we are trying to save money), so beans, quinoa, winter squash and dairy will fill the meat void, and I rarely find myself missing the meat.

This week's line up is a pretty delicious one, but sadly with not very many links (sorry!).  Several of the recipes will be coming in the future, so check back for those in the coming weeks.    

Vegetables to use: 

Okra

Bell Pepper

Zucchini

Onion

Carrots

Snow Peas

Sweet Potato

Weekly Menu:  

Black Bean Soup and Tortilla Chips - This will forever be in the repertoire, because it is just so good.  Adam requested it for his birthday this week, because it is one of his very favorites.  

Okra, Chickpea and Bell Pepper Curry - This one needs some work... Hopefully I will get it to a place where it can be shared soon.  

Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew - This was really good.  Fox was willing to eat it as well, which is a win in my book!

Zucchini Pesto Pizza - This was one of the most gorgeous pizzas that I have ever made, and was super easy (and delicious).  I need to tweak the recipe slightly then it will get posted here.  

Roasted Vegetable Pasta - I contribute to a blog called Creative Green Living two times a month, and this was my recipes.  Oh my goodness, it was delicious!  The pesto and white sauce  together are incredible.  I am not sure when it goes up on Creative Green Living, but I will add the link as soon as the post goes live. 

Peanut Soba Stir Fry - The sauce on this dish is a little slice of heaven.  It might be in my top ten sauces.  This time, I made the dish with red pepper, snow peas, onion, carrot and quinoa.  It turned out really well!  

Roasted Okra (this was a side dish) - Okra can be super slimy, but this method of roasting it makes it crispy and the seeds pop in your mouth.  This is one of my favorite ways to eat okra.  

SaveSave
SaveSave

Read More