Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bittman, budget, csa, granola, health, Indian, local produce, meals, menu planning, Mexican, planning, recipes, vegetarian, Vegetarian Times
Thursday evening is my CSA pick-up time. I usually come home, prep all the veggies and plan out some meals for the next week. Last night I had a dinner obligation so I couldn’t do the normal routine. So, this morning, I planned out some meals over breakfast.
Perusing How to Cook Everything Vegetarian for ideas over breakfast:
- Berry smoothie: frozen berries, vanilla soymilk, splash of pomegranate juice
- Mug of mint green tea and a glass of water
- Handful of almonds (not pictured). I eat a scant handful… about 12 almonds
This week’s CSA bounty included:
- 6 ears of corn
- bowl full of carrots
- small head of broccoli
- 2 purple peppers
- bunch of basil
- kale
- head of lettuce
Since today’s a rainy day, I’m going to stay in and cook/bake a bunch of meals for the upcoming week so I can fridge/freeze them. Meal-planning is a really great thing: it saves money, time, and can often ensure you are eating more healthy, complete meals. Once I’ve chosen a few meals, I start a grocery list. I check the cabinets to see what I already have and create a list of only the things I need. Then, I create a chart for the next week and, taking serving sizes into account, space them out over the week. Once that’s done, I’ll “fill-in-the-blanks.” I cook and menu plan for my husband and I. Since we have different tastes and nutritional needs, I generally plan separate breakfasts/lunches/snacks for us.
This is what my process may look like…
Here are the items I picked for the next week (note: since my CSA pick-up is on Thursday, I plan my weeks from Thursday to Thursday).
- Black Beans and Corn, enchilada style (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
- Cabbage and Carrot Slaw, Mexican-style (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
- Pesto
- Olive Oil Granola (New York Times)
- Aloo Palak (Vegetarian Times)
Here’s my map of the week. I’ll plug in our meals, taking into account our social schedule. For example, we’ll be at my parents’ house on Saturday and Sunday, so I don’t need to include any Saturday meals or breakfast on Sunday.
Next, I go back and fill in all the blanks. This is where I’ll include any fruits/veggies, snacks that I’ll pick up, yogurt, etc… As I add them to my chart, I’ll add them to my grocery list. Here’s the finished map:
So I’m off with my grocery list, and I’ll post on al of the recipes later today. Happy Friday!
Filed under: People/Person | Tags: Bittman, cooking, diet, kastor, marathon, nyc, running, video
On a long run, I looooove thinking about what big meal I’m going to have when I finish. (At around mile 22 of this year’s NY Marathon, I began to set my sights on a burger and a nice cold beer).
Recently, the NY Times blog Well (one of my faves), featured an article and video with Mark Bittman and Deena Kastor. Mark Bittman, of whom I’m a HUGE fan, is a NYTimes foodie. Apparently, he’s also a runner who is training for this year’s marathon. Deena Kastor is a super US marathoner. The two paired up for a run, and for some cooking.
Check out the article and the video here.
Happy Fourth of July!
Filed under: People/Person, Produce | Tags: Bittman, chard, cooking, csa, dough, kale, vegetarian
Yes, kale pie. Sounds strange, I know. I received a massive bunch of kale last week from my CSA. It was more than I knew what to do with. Luckily, Mark Bittman and his “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” did. Hence, kale pie.
Kale or Chard Pie
adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
- 2 tbsp butter
- about 8 large kale or chard leaves, sliced
- 1 medium onion (I chopped it finely)
- salt and pepper (I used Celtic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper)
- chopped herbs (I didn’t have any fresh ones on hand so I threw in some Herbs de Provence)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 375. Heat butter in skillet, add onions and kale. Stir until the kale leaves wilt (like cooking spinach). Add salt, pepper, herbs and remove from heat.
In a bowl, combine sour cream, mayo, and eggs. Add flour and baking soda.
In the bottom of a glass baking dish (I think mine may have been 8×8), butter/grease/Pam the inside. Smooth half of the dough mixture across the bottom. Add all of the kale mixture. Top with the remaining dough.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Verdict: The pie was tasty. Definitely something a little different than our usual sauteed kale. It was best served at room temp. My only gripe was that the dough seemed a bit dry or bland. That may have been my own fault. In all, if I am again hit with loads of kale, I may try this again but play around with the dough a bit.
