Menu for September 11-16

In this weeks basket we got sweet potatoes, spinach, green beans, lettuce, cauliflower. We also got an extra fruit basket so we have a ton of fruit which is excellent since Todd has been wanting to avoid sugar lately, and fruit can help avoid the sweet craving. Here is my plan for the week:

Aloo Gobi (Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes) and Chole Palak (Indian Chickpeas With Spinach) and basmati rice -definitely a Sunday meal, this one requires quite a bit of time and specialty ingredients if your not already set up for Indian cooking.
Russet and sweet potato fries and a large salad- Hey, We're in college, french fries still can count as a meal :)
Egg and veggie fried rice and green bean stir fry
Cacio e pepe (simple pasta)- sometimes I add garlic and salt to taste and this Sauteed zucchini and salad
Butternut squash soup -you can substitute bacon for the pancetta, or just leave it out and bread and salad

Also I have a ton of leftover cabbage from the huge head we got last week for gyoza. With it I'll be making Okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza) for breakfast or lunch, and this salad while I'm doing the Japanese thing.

Enjoy!

Menu Planning for Sept 6-10

This week we just got back from a trip to Yellowstone and we are without a bountiful basket. So I planned this weeks menu according to what was available in my parents garden. Here is this weeks dinner menu:

Vegetarian chili (recipe to follow) and corn bread (I switched out the white flour with whole wheat)

Boiled/ Smashed potatoes with cheesy vegetable soup (making this one up as I go, but getting inspiration from here and here)

Egg and veggie fried rice (making it up) and gyoza (recipe to follow)

Butternut squash risotto and salad

Also I want to make this corn salad, and something like this to use up our zucchini. And as tomatoes come on I'll be canning whole tomatoes and I want to try this tomato jam.

Vegetarian Chili

Because this recipe call for lots of different peppers I just used all the peppers we had on hand from our garden and others gardens to equal about 1 cup. I also used a mix of dried beans I had boiled that day, so feel free to play around with this one

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers.. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder, brown sugar and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

 Vegetable Gyoza
Feel free to substitute your choice of vegetables for the filling. Bean sprouts would be really good.

• 1 package pot sticker wrappers
• 1/2 a block chopped tofu 
• 1-2 cups cabbage, finely chopped (green or bok choy)
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1-4 clove garlic chopped (how garlicky are you?)
• 1 tsp fresh ginger chopped
• 1 egg (optional)

Sauce-

• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1-2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp rice vinegar

Stir fry all filling ingredients in a hot wok or frying pan with a little oil until cabbage is wilted and veggies begin to brown. Transfer to a food processer and chop until mixture begins to stick together.  Add all sauce ingredients to the filling mixture. Put a small amount of filling in the middle of the pot sticker wrapper and seal with a little water. From here you may freeze them or, to cook, place them in a hot wok or frying pan coated with oil. Add a couple tablespoons of water and cover the pan. After a few minutes of steaming remove the lid and let them brown. Dip in your choice of sauce.