Saturday: Shopping List

It’s hard to plan a week’s worth of recipes to feed your family, so I’ve put together a list of some of the items I’ll be purchasing this week for the following meals. Clearly, this is not a 3-meal/day 7-day/week list, but it’s a glimpse at what will be cookin’ in my kitchen. I hope that you’ll find it helpful and that it makes your week a little easier, too!

Some of these dishes are based on leftovers of other dishes, so you’ll see ingredients pop up more than once.

Here’s the Menu:

Monday: Grapefruit Salad with Watercress and Avocado; Brussels Sprout and Potato Frittata

Tuesday: Open Faced Baguette Sandwich with Braised Red Onion, Marinated Feta and Shaved Fennel

Wednesday: Couscous Salad with Walnuts and Orange

Thursday: Vegetarian Minestrone Soup; Quinoa Cornbread

Friday: Roasted Parsnips with Fresh Sage and Cabbage Slaw

Saturday: Homemade Mac and Cheese with Squash and Brussels Sprouts

Sunday: Lentils with Indian Spiced Potatoes

Breakfasts: Grapefruit and Yogurt; Couscous Cakes with Poached Eggs and Greens; Morning Smoothie with Cucumber, Pear, Kombucha, and Celery

Here’s the Shopping List:

Items labeled with an (*) are staples in my pantry. You may or may not have these on hand.

• 1 Bunch Fresh Sage
• *Nutmeg
• 1/2 lb Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2 lb Gouda
• Local 2% Milk
• 5 oz. Pecorino
• (*) Pasta – preferably a short noodle, I like campanelle
• 3-4 Handfuls Fresh Green Beans
• Garam Masala (I’ll be making my own with peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cumin seed, whole cloves, mustard seeds, cardamom seed, and nutmeg)
• (*) Dried Lentils
• (*) Tumeric
• 1 Chunk Fresh Ginger
• 1 Hot Chile Pepper – I like Serrano
• 1 lb. Unsalted Butter
• 2 Grapefruits – red, white or pink – your choice
• 2 Lemons
• (*) Olive Oil
• 1 Avocado
• 1 Fresh Basil Bunch
• 2 Bunches Fresh Watercress (if you can buy it pre-washed in a bag, that’s good, too)
• 1 Bunch Kale
• 2 Bulbs Fennel
• 8 oz. Goat Feta
• 2 Red Onions
• 1 Yellow Onion
• 1 Baguette, or your bread of choice
• 1 Bunch Fresh Thyme
• (*) Vinegar – I like Sherry or White Wine
• (*) Sea Salt
• (*) Peppercorns
• 1 Bulb Garlic
• (*) Sundried Tomatoes
• 3-4 Handfuls Brussels Sprouts
• 1 Squash – your choice, Butternut, Acorn, Hubbard
• (*) Breadcrumbs – you can make homemade if you’ve got any stale bread hanging around
• 10 oz. Parm (with the Rind)
• 5-7 Potatoes
• 1 European Cucumber
• 1 Ripe Pear
• 1 Kombucha
• Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 Dozen Large Eggs
• (*) Whole Wheat CousCous
• (*) Almonds
• (*) Walnuts
• 1 Orange
• 8-10 Parsnips
• 1 Head of Cabbage
• 5-6 Sunchokes
• Apple Cider
• (*) Quinoa
• 1 Bunch Celery
• 2-3 Carrots
• (*) Tomato Puree, Crushed Tomatoes, or some sort of tomato product
• (*) Dried Beans (cannelloni or flageolet, or whatever you’ve got on hand)
  

  click for source

 Buy as much organic as possible, if you’re into that – which I absolutely am. If you don’t like a particular ingredient, sub it out with something that appeals to you. Your meals should speak to you and satisfy you, simply and deliciously and without pretension. And if you can, make it a point to sit down, at a table, as many times during the week that you can.

Sunday, we’ll begin the week’s prep.

Root Vegetable Pita Sandwich

We’re in the process of moving, so the kitchen is a bit…. out of sorts. Hauling all our books is a workout (which I appreciate) and it’s led me to rediscover some of my favorite standbys that had fallen dusty behind newer interests. I love to read. I love all sorts of books, not just cookbooks. The blog Civil Eats recently posted Farmers Talk About the Books that Inspire Them and I took some suggestions off their list, a few I haven’t had the privilege of reading yet.

Here’s what I’m adding to my winter reading list:

Find Rest in Working Hands

As almost always, my taste goes in the direction of health and tastiness. More and more, I hunger for convenience as well. That’s why I make Sunday my day of rest. By day of rest, I mean cranking up my oven to 450, boiling water, cleaning and prepping vegetables, making stock, roasting garlic, grinding spices, etc. It’s how I get ready for a busy week ahead, and I find rest in working hands.

photograph by Margaret Bourke White, 1939

 

What to Do with Wilting Spinach

So sad.  My kitchen has a big basket filled with wilting spinach on the counter, a fridge full of turnips, bok choy, kale, carrots and salad greens… and last night we went out to eat and this morning I’m eating cold pizza for breakfast. 

crossing the finish line

Not the best way to utilize my farm share, but after running my first half marathon yesterday, I’m tired.

Unfortunately, that’s not an excuse to eat poorly.

The last thing I made using our share ingredients was a day or two ago:

From the Share Box

Hydrating bok choy, purple radishes so spicy your eyes tear up, two types of kale, collards, swiss chard, broccoli, and leaf lettuce.  Clearly, an abundance:  our first crate harvested this season.  Worked by hand, from seed to savor.

photo by elena rego

This marks our second year reaping the benefits of organic, local produce.  As someone who focuses on a plant-based diet, this makes complete sense economically (full disclosure:  I have the great advantage of being partnered with an organic farmer who brings home tasty treats almost daily), and as a cook, this makes complete sense for the palate.