Wednesday, September 8, 2010

MENU Wed 9/8 through Tue 9/14

Leftovers Week!
.... Three goals achieved: no waste, cleaner kitchen, and low grocery bill!

I was excited to receive this week's delivery from The Produce Box. Apples and peaches and all sorts of wonderful things. Even a jar of pickled squash... not sure what I'm going to do with that one just yet.  The Produce Box is Raleigh's local Community Supported Agriculture group that provides a box of farm-fresh, local fruits and vegetables right to my door. To find a CSA near you, check out LocalHarvest.org.

This week, I received:


  • 5 Cucumbers (3 lb) 
  • 2 Zucchini (1.75 lb)  
  • 4 Field Tomatoes (1.75 lb) 
  • 1 pint Okra (6 oz)  
  • Apples (2.5 lb) 
  • 5 Peaches (2.25 lb) 
  • Pickled Squash (1 pint jar) 

Last week had a couple of menu changes - we did takeout on Friday night (yes, even I give in sometimes) and I was out of town Monday, so Dinah made his own dinner. Between those decisions and the general, inevitable buildup of ingredients, it's time to have a cleanup week!


Here's the Week's Menu: 

WED 9/8 - Nothing Says Summer Like...  Cheeseburgers, Sweet Potato Fries, Fresh Cucumber Salad, and Watermelon.

Lunches: I'm going to pre-cook some bacon tonight, to enable me to have BLTs for lunch the next few days.


THU 9/9 - Easy Dinner Night.  Enchiladas made from shredded chicken (previously frozen). Leftover (previously frozen) black beans on the side. These are the same ingredients that, along with some salsa, made Burritos earlier in the week. There's a lot of overlap between burritos and enchiladas - a different sauce, and different cooking & assembly, but same base ingredients.

Bagels: Attempt No. 2 ... and this time, I'm taking pictures. The process overall takes a long time, but it's mostly waiting time. There's not that much time spent actively working on the bagels. Keep your eyes out for a future post with details.

Blueberry-Banana Smoothie
FRI 9/10 - Fishy Friday is Back Again!  Cajun Blackened Catfish, Zucchini Fritters, Corn (frozen), and Watermelon. I'll use the rest of that zucchini to make baby food for Rosie.

SAT 9/11 - Cajun.  Shrimp and Okra Gumbo, using fresh Roma tomatoes from last week's Produce Box. 

Snack Idea: If you have yoghurt, fruit, honey, and ice, you can make smoothies! Smoothies work well with frozen berries - or even this week's peaches! I decided this would be a great use for the yoghurt I have hanging out in the fridge.

Saturday, Late Night:  After baby goes to bed, I'm making Gougeres - Cheesy Puffs of Goodness with Bleu Cheese and Rosemary. I think I'm going to serve these with chunks of blue cheese and lovely glasses of Port. I love Saturday nights! They're just made for staying up late (with a great snack like this, of course!).


SUN 9/12 - Fancy Dinner Night.  Cedar-Planked Salmon, wild rice mix, grilled vegetable skewers. Dessert: Apple Dumplings. I've made them before (picture here is of mine), but I can't find the recipe!

Weekly Muffins: Use a zucchini bread batter to make muffins instead of bread.

MON 9/13 - Good Food, Easy Recipes. Pan-Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops, Rosemary Roasties, cucumber salad of some sort. 

TUE 9/14 - Italian Night.  Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss.

And, at some point, I'll be making apple pie. 


Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness. 
  - - Jane Austen

2 comments:

Chris said...

Do you get the small box or large box? I live in Raleigh and was looking for a CSA and this sounds like a good one, you seem to be happy with it : )

Jessica McRackan said...

@Chris, I get the smaller box, and I am very happy with The Produce Box overall. The strawberries last spring were superb! The only place I've had their equal was when I picked my own. The grocery store isn't even in the same ballpark. I will be interested to see what the fall boxes are like!