Delicious AND Nutritious

Today I made a pesto from my inherited 1977 Moosewood cookbook.  My mom wrote "good" with a double underline, so I knew it must be a worthy recipe.  I have been preparing giant batches of salads and grilled meats to keep me from eating cereal on nights Mike is at grad school.

In my opinion, the trick to tasty wholesome food is in the dressing.  I will eat a plate of plain raw veggies, but I enjoy a tossed salad with a mustardy vinaigrette beneath grilled chicken with a Mediterranean, yogurt-based marinade.   My favorite dressings are light (not saturated in mayonaise) and savory.  I prefer lime and cilantro over lemon and mint.  I avoid garlic because I cannot stand the aftertaste (still...hours later), but I do like green onions, chives, and red onion.

Tonight, I tossed whole wheat noodles with a couple scoops of the pesto (recipe below- as noted, I skipped garlic and butter) and served them with tomatoes and olives over salad greens.  Delicious!  (And...nutritious! as I like to say!).

Dinner Menu- After the fact

Over the last two weeks, we had some great meals thanks to a solid menu plan and an eager cook (my mother!).

Here's the rundown:

Monday: Pasta with shrimp and Trader Joe's pesto
Tuesday: Leftovers...or, as my parents say, "Schmorgusboard!"  After Misha's arrival, we received an onslaught of delicious dishes from our wonderful friends.  We needed to clean out the fridge to make room for a new batch of groceries!
Wednesday: Joan's famous Black Bean Soup with a tasty salad and an incredible loaf of bread from whole foods.  I forgot how much I love whole food's bread.  I must also comment on Joan's soup- she made up the recipe herself and it was seriously the best black bean soup I have ever tasted.  Apparently, it had beer and cocoa powder in the mix.
Thursday: Coconut Curry Chicken Soup with grapes and orange slices and a loaf of bread.
Friday: Punch Pizza Take Out
Saturday: Gathering at friend's
Sunday: Trader Joe's pork tenderloin (cooked with rosemary) with Moosewood tabbouleh, homemade hummus, and pita wedges.

Monday: Cold pasta salad with an assortment of fresh vegetables, canned tuna, and garbanzo beans.
Tuesday: Stir fry with leftover pork tenderloin, israeli couscous, leftover stir fry veggies from Costco, some fresh veggies, and sliced pineapple on the side.
Wednesday: Greek Style Turkey Burgers in pita with arugula, tomatoes, and cucumber yogurt dip.
Thursday: Two Bean Soup with kale and dakota bread from Great Harvest and salad
Friday: Takeout pizza and salad
Saturday: Three Bean Vegetarian chili with queso and Trader Joe's cornbread

Weekly Menu Volumes 4 & 5: Feb. 23rd to March 8th

I didn't post last week's dinner menu, so this is a double feature post.  (As a side note- SAT question of the day is a routine warm up in my English class.  The subject of week's grammar question was a 1930's ploy to attract more moviegoers by offering a double feature- two films for the price of one.  I asked my students if they ever went to a "double feature."  They giggled and looked around.  I told them not to worry as my mom was a real supporter of "double feature"- one of her more rebellious habits along with McDonald's ice cream for lunch.)

Anywayssss- to the menus!

February 23rd-Friday, March 1st
Saturday- "Homemade" pizza...although there really isn't anything homemade about this pizza...store bought crust, mozzarella log, italian sausage, basil, and pizza sauce.
Sunday-Salmon, Israeli couscous, and steamed green beans.
Monday- Brocoli and cheese soup (cooking light- thanks mom!) with baked potatoes (microwave...so easy).
Tuesday- Veggie stir fry (we still have not finished a humongous bag of cosco frozen vegetables) with brown rice.
Wednesday- Pulled Pork Sandwiches (slow cooker!  cooking light!  easiest recipe ever!) with coleslaw
Thursday- Parent/Teacher conferences....
Friday-Dinner with friends- take-out style!  Our friends have a one-year old.  They invited us over for a low-key evening and to our delight, suggested take-out!  And, to our utter delight, Quang take-out!  Quang is our favorite Vietnamese spot in the cities if you ask us.  Mike gets the 301 and I get the 307.  I think take-out dinner with friends will catch on big time once baby Vasich is born!


Sunday, March 3rd-Friday March 8th

Sunday-  Dinner at our neighbor's with the Longfellow crew.
Monday- Turkey sloppy joe's with sweet potato fries.
Tuesday- Leftovers...
Wednesday-Tilapia with asparagus and couscous w/red pepper.
Thursday- Spaghetti with marinara and turkey meatballs.
Friday- Noodles takeout?  We get to babysit Otis!

Weekly Menu Vol. 2- February 10-15th

I set two goals as I planned this week's menu: 1)use up a hug bucket of chickpeas that I soaked and cooked last weekend, and 2)incorporate the sad looking cauliflower*** at the bottom of the veggie drawer.

Sunday- I decided I better tackle these goals TODAY with some Sunday soup making that will provide for a couple meals later in the week.
Soup 1: Syrian Chickpea Soup with Lemon and Tahini from New England Soup Factory Cookbook
Soup 2: Cauliflower Soup with aged cheddar and mustard croutons from Super Natural Every Day

Monday-Stir fry vegetables with tofu

Tuesday- Leftover soup!

Wednesday-Early Valentine's Day date night at Al Vento, one of our favorite Italian spots in the city.  Last year, we ordered something like a 1/2 quart of wine to share and the server brought us a full quart. Needless to say, that will not be happening this year!  :)  The olive oil for bread dipping is perfect at this little corner restaurant.

Thursday-My parents come to town!  I plan on having leftover soup and crusty bread on hand.  Although I may need to switch this Friday's meal if we're getting bored with leftovers around here.

Friday-Homemade pizzas with fixin's.

***Cauliflower was too sad; I had to buy a new one (but I used it immediately!).

Menu Planning

Sometime in the last few years, I started weekly menu planning to guide grocery shopping, save money, and reduce the frequency of the question- "What's for dinner?"  Although we allow a degree of flexibility (the temptation of half price burger night at our favorite local spot can be strong), menu planning helps us to stick to our food budget, eat healthier, and eliminate the stress of pulling together dinner after a long day at work.

Mike and I were pretty proud of ourselves when The Biggest Loser*** gave each contestant $70 to pay for one week of healthy groceries.  70$ per person?!  That's not much of a challenge.  We listed the groceries we would've added to our cart: rolled oats, bananas, milk, eggs, grains, vegetables, dried beans, olive oil...Basically, we know how to feed ourselves well and that's something to be proud of.

Here's this week's menu:

Sunday: Carrot Soup with tahini and roasted chickpeas, homemade pita chips with sesame seeds

Monday: Roasted salmon and brussel sprouts, Trader Joe's wild grain mix

Tuesday: Homemade pizza with caramelized onions, fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella, spinach salad

Wednesday: Vegetable stir-fry with soy glazed tofu over brown rice

Thursday: Trader Joe crabs cakes with sweet potato fries (roasted with olive oil, sea salt, pepper)

Friday: Whole wheat spaghetti with turkey meatballs and tomato sauce

What's on your menu?  Do you menu plan before grocery shopping each week?  

***I confess; I am a fan of the show.  I started watching this season and the emphasis on balancing healthy eating and exercise as well as the goal of reducing childhood obesity echoes some of my own priorities.  Admittedly, I do fast forward through some of the more emotional segments as I am more inspired by the contestants' hard work than their sob stories.  Furthermore, I will only watch the show on DVR as I cannot deal with the ridiculous scene breaks during the weigh-ins!  Fast forward!!!!

10 things for a long weekend

Reunions with longtime running buddies

Homemade Pizza and Bezzerwizzer

Getting my fill of talk radio

Run To Unite 

A new book

Meeting little Leo!

Preparing for Summit For Courageous Conversations

Double feature: Argo (100% recommendation) and Looper (I disagree with this review...it's forgettable)

A pretty make-up line

Dreaming about making my own shadow box of keepsakes

duly noted: bicycles and fresh bread

(via The Sartorialist)

The Twin Cites are apparently the top bicycling city(ies) in the United States. This label likely stems from our extensive bike trail network connecting the suburbs to urban centers, our hardcore winter riders, and our anarchist do-it-yourself-ers with bike powered pig roasts (no joke, witnessed it myself). Yet, there is something missing in our bike culture.

I feel like the nytimes article, "The Dutch Way: Bicycles and Fresh Bread," gets close to the heart of it.

Author, Russell Shorto writes, "The coexistence of different modes of travel is hard-wired into the (Dutch) culture. This in turns relates to lots of other things- such as bread. How? Cyclists can't carry six bags of groceries; bulk buying is almost nonexistent. Instead of shopping for a week, people stop at the market daily. So the need for processed loaves that will last for days is gone. A result: good bread."

Now this article continues with many good points about geography, urban planning, and social planning, but the connection between bicycles and good bread really strikes a chord with me. It's funny how something so seemingly obvious- when you bike, you must downsize your load- forces me to reflect on my choices and what I consider to be the "good life."

After living in Barcelona during college, I've since yearned for a daily baguette poking out of my knapsack. And for the cup of espresso ordered and drunk at the counter. And for the grocery bag on wheels that the old ladies tote through the city back to their flats.

Would I (could I) trade the comfort and ease of my car for my bike and other forms of transportation? And if I did, what might be some of the unexpected outcomes of this switch?