Scallops!

We're using the scallops tonight. Banana pancakes just didn't sound good. It's so sunny and lovely, so we're making a beautiful salad instead. And scallops with barbecue sauce.

Just wanted to share the scallop news.

April 25 - 29

I'm ready to eat stuff that's fresh-grown... I keep checking the secret asparagus spots, but it's still a little too early, I think. Our rhubarb has come up, though, so I found a recipe we can use for dinner. Yay for the first home-grown produce of the season!

Sunday

Lamb chops with strawberry rhubarb sauce (this comes from the book Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool): rub some lamb chops with garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper. Let them sit. In a pan, saute some chopped red onion, then add some thinly sliced rhubarb, then some balsamic, then some sliced strawberries, sugar, and nutmeg. Simmer. Broil the chops, then serve with the sauce.

We'll also have mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Monday

The 8 minute dinner:

Venison chops: super-quick sear/saute in a pan, just a bit of salt and pepper

salad

bread

Tuesday

Pasta with zucchini, mushrooms and tomato sauce

Wednesday

Grilled sole with capers and olive oil -- do it on a piece of foil, and it gets sort of browned and crispy and lovely, then sprinkle a little lemon juice right at the end.

asparagus

couscous

Thursday

Banana pancakes (with a shout-out to Alan and Rachel, who introduced us to this wonderful, wonderful thing)

turkey sausage

fruit

And for the weekend...

As of now, the paper says rain for next weekend. So already I'm thinking big pot of weekend soup. With actual soup bones, and hours of simmering, and stuff like that. If the forecast changes, the plans might change too. But for now, that's what we're going with...

April 18 - 22

The Big Scallops Confession:

Scallops seem to show up quite a bit in the plans. They're yummy, they're quick, it doesn't take much planning to thaw them out... so I usually plan to have them on a night when I know things will be rushed. I feel the need to confess that I've planned to use the same bag of scallops about five times, and haven't yet. Last week we planned them with salad. But by Wednesday, we were out of anything green and leafy that could be used to make salad. So we went out.

But someday, someday, I will use those scallops. Promise.

So here's the plan for this week (but if we run out of green leafy things earlier than we thought, all bets are off!):

Sunday

Pan-Seared Shrimp and Arugula Risotto: This will be my first try at making risotto. I'm excited but a little nervous. It seems like a high-maintenance food -- all that stirring. Hence, we're giving it a go on a Sunday, when we'll have a bit more time.

Monday

Pork tacos: simmer a pork steak in spicy taco-ish spices and some water, maybe add some sauteed onions, peppers and garlic, then put in a tortilla and top with all the usual taco suspects: diced tomato, lettuce, salsa, avocado, etc.

Tuesday

Omelet with spinach, onion, red bell pepper, mushroom, and canned salmon. Yummy bread and salad to go with.

Wednesday

Gnocci with spicy Italian turkey sausage and tomato sauce

Salad (if we have any left!)

Thursday

Lo mein-ish noodles with venison steak, broccoli, onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, garlic, etc.

Saute all the veggies, cut the venison into thin strips and add that to the saute. Add some cooked noodles (I have some rice noodles I'll probably use), and my favorite chile paste with garlic to make everything spicy and wonderful. Soy sauce and maybe a little rice vinegar. Stir it all in, give it a taste and adjust the seasonings. This makes lovely leftovers, so lunch on Friday will be a happy thing.

April 11 - 15

So, we cleaned out the freezer yesterday. I had some idea of how much meat-type stuff we had, since we've been trying to keep an inventory on a sticky note on the fridge. But I was a little bit amazed by all the veggies and fruit that I've just sort of forgotten about... the stuff that I blanched and froze last summer and fall. Some of it totally surprised me, and I had only the vaguest sense of ever having seen it before -- like pumpkin puree. I did this? What did I do with it? And why, why, why, do I have SO many lentils in the freezer?

So last night we had a side dish of lentils with our barbecued salmon and asparagus. I think there will be lots of sides of lentils in the near future...

I also made pumpkin muffins with the pumpkin puree. Haven't tasted them yet -- I'll try one at breakfast tomorrow.

So, here's our menu for the week. We're also looking to use a bunch of dried red beans that I had in the freezer...

Sunday

We're playing with the rotisserie again. This time, we'll try it with one of the venison roasts.

Also, roasted sweet potato.

And some red bean and corn salad:

1 lb dried beans, soaked and cooked

chopped red onion

chopped red bell pepper

chopped garlic

corn

parsley

cilantro

cumin

cayenne

salt and pepper

olive oil

lime juice

This salad gets better the longer it sits. So we'll have it again tomorrow (and until it's gone!).

Monday

Venison tacos (with the leftovers from our rotisserie roast)

Bean and corn salad

Tuesday

Lobster ravioli (found some at Trader Joe's and I was hungry, so now we own it) with a sauce with, probably, mushrooms, spinach, pesto, parmesan cheese

Salad

Sauteed green beans (from our garden last summer... they've been waiting patiently in the freezer)

Wednesday

Sauteed scallops over salad

Thursday

Hamburgers with sauteed peppers, mushrooms and onions

Sweet potato fries

Salad

And of course, lentils may or may not make an appearance at any point this week. I like them best with some onions and pepper, and a bit of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. Yay, lentils!

Oh Eek, It's April 9!

As I mentioned to my mother-in-law a few weeks ago, when I'm not posting on here, it's not because I didn't have time to post -- it's because I haven't gotten around to planning what we'll eat. So you can do the math... 3-ish weeks of flying by the seat of our pants, dinner-wise. But I'm back and I'm ready. Haven't planned next week yet, but I thought I should just check in and make sure I still remembered how to log on. And share what we had for dinner last night!

Thursday

Corn and Crab Chowder

This is kind of a make-it-up-as-you-go soup. Here's what I did:

In a big green enameled stockpot, saute:

1 chopped onion

2 chopped celery stalks

1 chopped carrot

3 chopped cloves of garlic

a bit of salt, pepper, thyme and cayenne

When they're cooking nicely, add:

1 can chopped tomatoes, let it simmer

2 cups or so of chicken stock, bring to a boil.

Then add 3 potatoes, diced large, skins left on.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until potatoes are done.

Add more stock if you need to. Check the seasoning and adjust.

Add 2 cups frozen corn kernels and heat through.

Add about 2 cups of milk, then one can of lump crab meat.

Stir and heat, then eat.