Meal plans and the week ahead

I hit up a few farmers' markets again this week. I haven't really had the time to get to many these last couple of weeks, really... just one a week lately. I hadn't been to the local Allen Street neighborhood market in Lansing in a month, I think. I had a chance to make a trip over there this past Wednesday, though. It was good to visit with the vendors again and pick up some organic produce. I picked up some beautifully colored heirloom tomatoes, 8 of them, yellow, orange, pink, and green (even when they're ripe) ones... and wow, they're absolutely delicious! I've never understood how people could eat a tomato like an apple, but I could understand it with these tomatoes, they're so very tasty. I also picked up some spinach - which I turned into spinach pesto and have frozen in cubes; some pattypan squash - which we ate sauteed with some EVOO and garlic as a side dish with dinner; a super sweet watermelon - which we've snacked on all week; some leeks - which I'll be using in meals this week; and a quart of local nectarines - which we've been snacking on all week.

On Thursday, I visited another of the enormous annual farmers' markets held on the Capitol lawn. The fall one is always the best - such tasty treats and beautiful flowers. I picked up one bunch of beets, a honeyrock melon, a peck of gala apples, two kinds of local/organic goat cheese, a dip mix for veggies, some blueberry coffee (yum!), and some dog treats for Jet.

I accomplished quite a bit of work in the garden this past week. The harvest of zucchini and green/yellow beans still continues to be going strong, though I'm really expecting it to phase out here very soon with these cool temperatures. I harvested our first potatoes, buttercup squash, and brussels sprouts! I also picked and shelled the rest of my cannellini beans and have them lying out on a screen on the counter to continue drying. I harvested another round of basil and made another huge batch of pesto. I think I'll probably do one more batch to freeze and call it good for the season in terms of pesto. I also just chopped up some of the basil and froze it into cubes with a little water to add to dishes this winter.

Anyway, on to the meals...

Sunday ~ a meatless meal... whole wheat penne pasta with fresh roasted red pepper goat cheese, heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, basil, garlic, and EVOO; roasted beets; honeyrock melon and raspberries

Meatless Monday ~ macaroni and cheese with veggies; spinach salad with dried cherries, chopped fresh local pears, and mozzarella; honeyrock melon and raspberries

Tuesday ~ grilled chicken; spinach salad with dried cherries, chopped fresh local pears, and mozzarella; creamy brussels sprouts; sliced apples

Wednesday ~ meatloaf with grated zucchini and carrots mixed into it; roasted potatoes, carrots, and zucchini from our garden; fresh, local peaches and nectarines

Thursday ~ It'll be a late night for me, as I have to be in Windsor until 5pm... so I think we'll just eat leftovers from the week.

Friday ~ TBD... we might be going to another parade in the early evening. It just depends on how we've been using up our leftovers from the week - if we have enough, we'll just have leftovers for dinner. If not, then I'll do a TBD crockpot meal.

Saturday ~ We'll be going to my nephew's football game in the morning and then heading over to my in-laws' house in the afternoon for a family party and dinner. I believe we're having chips and salsa, bruschetta, pizza, salad?, jello, cake, and ice cream

As for extras this week... my focus is pears... buying them today at the farmers' market... letting them ripen up a bit before processing them into home-canned pearsauce and sliced pears. Can't wait! I'll also be making up a batch of the ABin5 dough so that I can make my own baguettes for the bruschetta on Saturday. And, of course, still working in the garden - harvesting and pulling plants getting ready to prep the garden for spring. That should keep me plenty busy in the evenings.