A Menu of Menus

Hello there, and apologies for not writing the past few days. It's been a bit hectic with dinners out, working early and through lunch, and lots of other things in between, but I've finally gotten the next menu together! I sat down to go through my cookbooks, waiting for something to inspire me about this menu, and it finally hit me! A menu of menus!

A lot of cookbooks sort their recipes by meals the reader can cook, including appetizers, side dishes, and desserts...not just one entree dish. There are times when I like to take recipes from different places to make my own menus, but there are other times that a ready-made menu comes in very handy. I decided to feature full menus this time around, and you can check out the upcoming meals here! (Or, just click on the current menu tab at the top of the page!)

I don't think I'll be doing a huge shopping for everything at once since I know of quite a few days coming up where we won't be home for dinner, and I don't want to see all of those beautiful ingredients go bad. Having said that, I see a few smaller trips to the grocery store and farmers market in my near future. Bringing home the ingredients for one or two meals at a time can be useful when there are lots of intermittent plans and you want to limit the amount of waste in your kitchen!

Tonight, we'll be out at Masa for a birthday celebration, but tomorrow marks the start of the new menu. Which meal should I start with? Does anyone have a suggestion? They all look so good...I can't wait to start cooking!

Autumn is here!

Well, it's been a busy week. I've worked overtime in the office, rushed around in the evenings, and also celebrated our 4-year wedding anniversary last night! There's been little time for cooking and so we've been surviving off of leftovers and of course, my go-to, chicken breasts over arugula with lemon juice. Yummy! Autumn is definitely upon us, with cooler days, much cooler nights, and evenings that become dark much earlier. With Autumn comes different vegetables in season and heartier, heart-warming meals!

from Flicker - by bluebird218

It's time for a new menu...I know, we never got to visit Germany on our little culinary world tour. I couldn't find veal cutlets anywhere, so the Weiner Schnitzel went out the window. Next time I see them at the store, I'll be all over them, and we'll revisit that one. This weekend, I will work on that new menu, as well as hopefully get to the store for a little grocery shopping. I'm looking forward to soups, stews, and the re-appearance of parsnips, turnips and celeriac as stars of the dinner table.

What do you look forward to in the Autumn months? What would you like to see on the next menu? Leave me a comment and let me know - I know my husband has made a request for another batch of delicious Bi Bim Bap this time around, so I'm already on the right track to a full, delicious and hearty menu! I hope you all have a good weekend, and to all....a good night!

A Lack of Motivation

I still haven't gone grocery shopping...

I know, I know...I keep saying I'll go, but then I come home from a long day at work and...I'm tired. Or it's raining. Or...there's laundry to do (I finished all of it - that was my excuse last night). So I have like, no food in this house. We ordered some food from a local Thai restaurant last night, and we'll be eating the rest of that tonight. I've got some homemade tomato sauce defrosting from the freezer, as well as some sausage. I've got one more box of penne before the pasta shelf is empty as well...that will be dinner tomorrow night.

I'm going to put the shopping off until this weekend, and when you put off the shopping, you tend to start getting creative. Digging through the freezer, checking the back of the pantry shelves...I wish I could snap my fingers and have my list of groceries fulfilled and sitting in my kitchen, just waiting to be put away.

from Flickr - by doortoriver

I'm thinking of doing a complete refresh of the kitchen this weekend. The pantry needs to be organized and sorted, the fridge needs to be pretty much emptied, and the freezer could use a going-over as well. Even the cabinets could use some straightening. It will be my mid-summer kitchen cleanse, making way for the new and exciting things I'll bring home from the store this weekend, and preparing my workspace for starting the new menu ... our trip around the world!

from Flickr - by fsse8info

Wish me luck!

Running on Empty

It's been a long week so far, and it's only Wednesday night! After a phenomenal birthday dinner for my dad last night (at Troquet), and some sushi for dinner tonight (Blue Fiji), I realized that this weekend will definitely see us going grocery shopping. I've got some potatoes for gnocchi on Friday night, and there's some beets and radishes left over from the crop share that I received, but all in all, the refrigerator is looking a bit bare.

from Flickr - by CubaGallery

A friend of mine passed along a few cookbooks that she was getting rid of as part of a move, and there are also a few books that I haven't used in awhile. I've also cut a bunch of recipes out of magazines recently, so I have a lot to choose from for the next menu. However, I didn't want to leave all my readers out of the loop!

from Flickr - by Horn & Ram

Do you have a ton of something growing in your garden...and you don't know what to do with it? Do you have a recipe that you've been dying to try, but are a bit intimidated by the instructions? What about a cuisine that you've never tried before...feel like something new? Let me know - comment on this post and give me suggestions for the next menu! I haven't gotten many requests as of yet, but as you've seen, I really do try to accomodate them when I get them...so get in touch! I really enjoy helping you guys learn more about flavors and ingredients that you are unfamiliar with, and in that process, I'm learning something new everyday as well! So, let's learn together! Comment now!

Nobody eat the beef! The beef has gone bad!

Here I am, on my couch, alone on a Tuesday evening. It's just me, my laptop, a Law and Order: SVU rerun and a sushi takeout menu. I know, there's one more thing on my menu, but when I took the steak out of the fridge, I realized that it had frozen and then defrosted into a sickly grayish color that was just about the opposite of appetizing...it's probably not a good idea to eat it. Matt (my husband) is at dinner with some co-workers and I'm on my own here. I tossed the steak because...well, ew. Luckily, it was on super sale, and I had only purchased enough for 2 people exactly, so I only lost about 3 bucks. Maybe I can get to the store to pick up a replacement before the end of the week. Otherwise, we'll just chalk that up to fate and scratch the recipe from the old list, because tonight...tonight is menu-planning night!

Dinner's here!

We've decided that our new grocery shopping day is Friday night. H-Mart is relatively uncrowded on Friday nights - the only time I've ever seen it less than packed! They have a great food court inside, full of wonderful Asian delicacies so we catch dinner there and then do our shopping! I have gym classes on both Wednesday and Thursday nights after work so today's a better time than ever to get this list banged out.


Yesterday I asked you, my lovely faithful readers, what you wanted me to cook over the next few weeks. Alas, only one lonely reader responded. Thank you, Rachel, for suggesting Italian fare. The suggestion of such a vast cuisine couldn't have come at a better time, because today I came home to a delivery: Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver! I spoke to Rachel a bit more in depth about what she wanted to learn most about Italian cuisine. She mentioned specifically that she wanted to know how to make lasagna. What a great lesson! But I've decided, because Italian was the only suggestion I received, and because I always get obsessed with new cookbooks, that I will make this menu entirely from Jamie's Italy!

Once we've completed cooking all the recipes I choose for the menu, we'll have a better understanding of some of Italy's greatest dishes, provided of course, with Jamie's special twists. For any of you who decide to purchase the cookbook and follow me through this Italian journey, I'll provide the page numbers of each recipe I choose to use, and of course, how-to pictures!

Who's excited!?

Also, if you are now inspired to send recommendations for menus, I'm always open to them. I'll make a running list and work from it for future menus, so send me your ideas, your questions, and your recommendations!

I've got an idea!

I've got a crazy idea! It's time to make a new menu so we can go food shopping on Friday evening - our new night of choice for this task since the stores are empty! I started browsing through my recipes, preparing to start my list when I thought, wait a minute! Maybe my readers can help!

So, here's what I'm proposing...

• Is there an ingredient that you would like to learn more about in the coming weeks?
• Have you seen a cookbook that you'd like to hear more about?
• Do you have a recipe that you've been dying to try...but you're still just a little intimidated?
• Interested in learning a specific technique?

I would love to help! Comment on this post to leave me your ideas and I will try to incorporate them into my menu this time around. If it works out well, we'll do this from now on, and if I get too many requests (ooo, I hope that happens!!) then whatever I don't get to this time around will certainly roll over into the next list, I promise. And, I will definitely mention you in my post if it was your suggestion - I'm all about giving credit where credit is due. 

If you feel strange commenting on the post to let me know what you'd like to see on the menu, feel free to shoot me an email, instead. 

Contact me.

A Quick Weeknight Meal

I don't normally go to the gym on Tuesday nights, but I promised some friends I would try this kickboxing class, so I got home a bit later than normal tonight. (And phew, what a workout! I am going to be in PAIN tomorrow!) Up next on the menu are the tuna tacos, so I will be making those tonight. While making my own salsa, and the Jicama Slaw to go with it probably won't be as quick and easy as other taco dinners, I'm sure we'll enjoy a lovely meal, albeit a little later than normal. However, tuna cooks really fast, so the prep work will be the most tedious part tonight...once that's all done, dinner will be ready in a flash! And voila...doesn't that look DELICIOUS!?

Meals like this can be put together rather quickly, and that's why they make for really great mid-week menu items. We're all running around, going here, and coming from there, but we still need to find time to cook. Not only is it healthier, but it's also a lot more budget-friendly too! The added bonus: if you get in time at the gym, you won't feel guilty enjoying your yummy dinner and maybe even a nice glass of wine to wind down the day!

Tacos are a great mid-week meal because you can put out all the fixin's and let everyone make their own. Whether there's two people in your household, or five, as long as you have enough to go around, you're golden. This is the same with salads - put all the toppings in little bowls and let everyone make their own! It's a salad bar in your kitchen! Another great idea is pizza. You can buy pre-made pizza dough in the supermarket, flatten it out, spread some sauce on, sprinkle some cheese, add the toppings, and voila...into the oven it goes (and homemade pizza is WAY better for you than the fast food variety).

Photo from Flickr - by surekat

When the process is simple, and the ingredients are simple, you're bound to score a home-run every time. Share your quick and easy weeknight meals in the comments section so we can all broaden our horizons...and quicken the pace in the kitchen!

Leftovers for Breakfast?

It's that time again, the time when I spend a few days using up what's left in the fridge, putting use to the ingredients in the pantry, and cleaning things out for the next shopping trip and even more exciting, the NEW MENU! :) My task today is to see what things I can put together for the next few days of meals, and then plan my menu and make my grocery list. Over the next week, I'll start to gather the ingredients from that list so that the menu can begin.

Shopper iPhone App

This morning, I used some of the things in the fridge to make a great scrambled egg dish! Eggs are a great base for most vegetables and they make for a great way to use up those scraps from previous dinners. I chopped up a tomatillo, which I then sauteed for a few minutes, and some leftover chives. When I make scrambled eggs, I beat the eggs with the ingredients mixed in, so that it all cooks together. Once the eggs, tomatillo and chives were cooked through, I sprinkled a little goat cheese through out and seasoned it with salt and pepper. What a delicious breakfast!

Other great ways to use leftovers: pizzas, pastas, "garbage" salads (salads with LOTS of stuff thrown in)

We have plans tonight, so there won't be any more cooking today, but tomorrow, I'll roast those beets from the farmer's market last weekend, and I have a few leftover cuts of meat from the freezer to defrost. There may even be a parsnip puree in my future!

And now...on to the menu planning!

The Menu - The Focal Point of your At-Home Culinary Journey

When it comes to planning my meals, I make a menu, and it comes in handy for numerous reasons. First of all, never again will you ask the question, "What do you want for dinner tonight?," only to be answered by "I don't know." Yea - I know, you ALL know what I'm talking about!

Second, it makes going to the grocery store a helluva lot easier, don't you think? A list of things you'll need to make meals for numerous days in a row - it's a brilliant concept, right? More on that in a later post, I promise!

You can plan a menu by day, or by type of food, or by country of origin, you can do it anyway you like...but here's how I do it: I make a list of different main ingredients and I pick ONE recipe for each of those main ingredients. You can't get bored if you're only eating chicken once every 2 weeks! My categories are as follows: Fish, Shellfish, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Lamb/Veal, Soup/Sandwich, Risotto, Pasta and Breakfast for Dinner. My husband especially likes that last one...

This little tip will help you plan ahead for your meals. You can prep things ahead of time if you know you are going to be home late one night. Marinating something overnight, and then just throwing it in the oven when you get home is the easiest way to get a great, home-cooked meal without all the fuss!

I normally just spell it all out on a piece of paper, which I then check off when I make one of the meals. Sometimes the menu lasts longer than other times, just based on things that come up - did we meet someone out somewhere for dinner? Did we both feel like sushi one night? Did I just SERIOUSLY not feel like cooking - because that happens once and awhile...and that's okay!

Whichever way you plan your menu, I promise you will find that it helps you immensely in the long run. It's much less stress to just know what you have to cook when you get home - and sometimes, even get excited about it! :)

I'd love to hear your feedback - if you try my tips and think they are good...or even if you hate them...leave me a comment and let me know! It will definitely help me figure out what road to take this blog on!