Sunday, June 20, 2010

Meal plans and the week ahead

Oops, must have hit 'save draft' this morning instead of 'post.'....

I think this week is going to be pretty low key. We'll see. I'm really hoping I don't have to work late everyday like I did last week. That sure hinders my ability to get anything done. I did manage to get another 5 pounds of asparagus blanched and frozen as planned and made my first batch of water kefir (post to come another day), but didn't get much of anything else done. We picked up our almost half side of beef from my SIL's yesterday. We got it from the same source we did last year (my BIL's uncle) and it was fabulous beef then, so I'm sure it will be now, too! We'll definitely be trying it out this week! We are so spoiled having this great beef. Kevin and I can't even eat steaks at other people's houses or restaurants now. The taste of our beef is just so superior to the normal stuff. Even though we ate the normal stuff all our lives, it honestly just tastes gross to us now.

We'll be heading out to the lake today for a family party. Friday is my flex day. Other than that, the rest of the week is up in the air. I think its supposed to be pretty hot all week, so maybe we'll see if my SIL, niece, and nephews want to go to the splash pad at Bicentennial Park on Friday. We're trying to work out some plans to go to dinner at Mongolian BBQ with some of my cousins. That will be either Friday or Saturday. And we may be getting together with Kevin's family for a belated Father's Day celebration as we had been planning on either Saturday or Sunday, even though my SIL, BIL, and niece aren't coming now. We'll see how it plays out.

I'm hoping to have a productive week in the kitchen. Our raspberries are ripening! So I want to get some washed and frozen. I might try making a raspberry sorbet, as well. I plan to pick up another flat of strawberries (definitely organic and local... did you know that strawberries are the top fruit for pesticide use?) to freeze, dehydrate, and possibly make some syrup or sauce to can. I will also be experimenting with a little more lacto-fermentation. I really want to try making sauerkraut and kim chi, but I will wait for cabbage to be in season and on sale first. This week, I think I will try making pickled asparagus (if it is still only $1/pound at the farm stand down the road... its about the end of its season, so we'll see what they have) and pickled spicy carrots. I may try some fermented ketchup, as well. I'm going to try out another water kefir this week - a strawberry kefir, yum! I'll be making some chocolate pudding pops with Carson using some some carob powder I picked up about a month ago. And I am hoping I can make some sourdough english muffins since I didn't get a chance last week. I also need to bake another loaf of bread at some point... and get that recipe posted, too.... I am so behind. I will probably make another batch of yogurt on Friday, as well. And I know we'll be working outside a lot... doing some more seeding, weeding in the gardens, and cutting down a tree maybe.

So anyway, here's the plan.

Sunday ~ Happy Father's Day!! - family party at the lake
(roast veggies)
B: scrambled eggs with bell peppers, mushroom, ad spinach
L & D: family party at the lake... appetizers; grilled pork tenderloins; mashed potatoes; green beans; corn; strawberry shortcake; chocolate brownie trifle

Meatless Monday ~
(freeze raspberries or make raspberry sorbet; feed sd starter)
B: cantaloupe; watermelon; grapes
L: almond butter and raspberry jam sandwiches; sliced cheese; raw carrots and cukes; apple
D: whole wheat linguine with roasted asparagus, roasted carrots, spinach, spinach pesto, feta; apple slices and raspberries

Tuesday ~
(make rhubarb compote; freeze rhubarb; feed sd starter; make pickled spicy carrots; make pickled asparagus)
B: sourdough toast with cashew butter
L: leftover pasta
D: grilled porterhouse sirloin steak; grilled asparagus; corn on the cob from freezer; fresh raspberries

Wednesday ~ Allen Street farmers market
(make strawberry kefir; chop and freeze strawberries; slice and dehydrate strawberries; prep salads for Th lunch; prep meatloaf or burgers; feed sd starter)
B: fried eggs; sourdough toast
L: fermented bean dip; tortilla chips; cheese slices; raspberries and strawberries
D: salmon with rhubarb compote (didn't have it last week); broccoli from freezer we ate at my parents' house

Thursday ~
(make strawberry sauce or syrup; prep sd bread for rising overnight; feed sd starter)
B: yogurt with peanut butter banana
L: buttercrunch salads with leftover salmon; walnuts; raw milk parmesan cheese
D: meatloaf or burgers; beans and broccoli from freezer; fruit salmon with rhubarb compote (didn't have it last week); broccoli from freezer

Friday ~ flex day! Splash pad? dinner with cousins?
(make chocolate pudding pops with Carson; make sd english muffins; make sd bread; prep for sd fry bread; feed sd starter; make yogurt?)
B: omelets with veggies and cheese
L: misc. leftovers
D: navajo tacos with sourdough fry bread or Mongolian BBQ with cousins

Saturday ~ family party? dinner with cousins?
(work outside; feed sd starter; freeze more raspberries)
B: sourdough pancakes stuffed with homemade cream cheese and topped with fresh strawberries and bananas
L: leftovers or family party
D: navajo tacos with sourdough fry bread or Mongolian BBQ with my cousins or family party (we'll be getting together with the in-laws on Sunday instead... and we'll be finding another date for dinner at Mongo BBQ) so I think we'll have corn and spinach enchiladas in the crockpot instead

2 comments:

Mary Voogt said...

Lots of good meals and interesting kitchen projects. Our raspberries are coming in too! (forgot to mention it in my weekly post). We'll be picking more today. Not sure what I want to use them for yet. We'll see how much we get.

I want to try sauerkraut too! Our ketchup is already running low. So good! Can't wait to hear about your water kefir. I may have to try that too. And I just got some carob powder as well. Trying to cut back on chocolate/caffeine. Not sure yet what to do with it. I have to do some searching.

Bummed we can't celebrate this weekend with everyone. We're still trying to figure out if there is another weekend in July that will work.

Sara said...

I bought the carob powder back when I had decided to eat more raw foods. Its also NT. You just use it where ever you would use cocoa powder, just sub the equivalent.