Week of June 23 - 29

Saturday:

• Penne pasta with "blender" pesto - Classic Italian, p. 140
• Salad
  

Sunday:

• Fried Polenta
• Skillet Fennel with Capers, Lidia's Italy*, p. 222
  

Monday:

• Huevos Rancheros, AmericasTestKitchen.com
• Black Bean and Corn Salad, AllRecipes.com
  

Tuesday:

• Roasted Red Pepper Sandwiches w/Goat Cheese Spread and Olive Vinaigrette, adapted from Once Upon a Tart (transcribed into my private recipe box)
  

Wednesday:

• Black Bean Burgers
  

Thursday: Carrie at NCFPD Conference

• Leftovers
  

Friday:

• Acquacotta, Lidia's Italy, p. 169

_________
* Lidia's Italy is a cookbook we checked out from the library after seeing her cooking show on PBS. True to the best Italian cooking we've explored (like The Silver Spoon cookbook), the best recipes are simple but immensely flavorful.

Week of June 9 - 15

Saturday:

• Mung Beans & Rice with Spicy Tomatoes (aka kichuri), Everyone, p. 303
• Salad
  

Sunday:

• Tunisian Chickpea Soup, Med Vegan, p. 52
• Grilled asparagus

Monday:

• Cacio e Pepe (Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano & Black Pepper) like this
• Spinaci e Pomodori Piccanti, Italian Country Table, p. 283
  

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Week of June 2 - 8

Saturday:

• North African Lentil Stew, Jump Up & Kiss Me, p. 92
  
• Rice
• Fennel and Orange Salad, allRecipes.com

Sunday:

• Caramelized Onion and Gorgonzola Pizza, allRecipes.com
  
• Veggie pizza with queso blanco
• Broccoli
  

Monday: Event: Nathan's Baseball Regional Playoffs

• Veggie chorizo
• Salad
  

Tuesday: Event: Nathan's Baseball Regional Playoffs

• Leftovers
  

Wednesday: Event: Nathan's Baseball Regional Finals

• Dinner at Baja Sol
  

Thursday:

• Pasta w/Arugula and Grape Tomatoes
• Zucchini and Squash

Friday:

• Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches (loosely based on this)
• Imagine Foods Corn Chipotle Bisque Soup

Week of May 26 - June 1

Saturday:

• Bhaigan Bhartha (Mashed Smoky Eggplant with Tomatoes)
• Basmati rice
• Naan
• Carrie: This was very tasty - it had some real Indian flavor! Advice for next time: skip roasting the eggplant. It was a pain and didn't cook it enough, so we wound up slicing it an putting it under the broiler
  

Sunday:

• Orrechiette with Cherry Tomatoes and Dandelion Greens
• Salad
• Carrie: This was a recipe inspired by Lidia's Italy. She used a different green that was not in stock at our market, so we substituted. Wow, the dandelion greens were a nice surprise! They had a great peppery sharpness to them.
  

Monday: Memorial Day

• Brats
  
• Potato Salad w/Olives, Tomatoes, and Capers, epicurious.com
• Vegetarian Baked Beans - from various recipes here and here
• Carrie: Well, the beans were a lot of work for less-than-great results, partly because I miss-read the recipe. The potato salad was a nice change from the overly-dressed American variety.
  

Tuesday:

• Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
• French Bread
• Camembert
• Carrie: A last-minute decision to go with an old stand-by. The soup is a great from-a-box brand called Pacific. Soup, bread, and soft cheese... mmmm - it's always good!
  

Wednesday:

• Risotto Alla Primavera, epicurious.com
• Sautée de Champignons Sauvage (Wild Mushroom Sautée), epicurious.com
• Carrie: This turned out quite well! The mushrooms were fabulous! I cut this recipe in half (1 lb. of mushrooms instead of 2) mainly because these types of wild mushrooms are expensive. But we did find a nice "chef's mix" of all sorts of mushrooms, and that worked out well. The full-flavored mushrooms was a nice accompaniment to the more mild-flavored risotto.
  

Thursday:

• Indian!
  

Friday:

• Veggie stir fry
  

Week of May 19 - 25

Saturday:

Sunday: Round trip to Madison to pick up Emily

• Slow-cooker chili
• Buttermilk biscuits, Baking Illustrated, p. 55
  
• Benjamin: The "best vegetarian chili in the world", as the recipe claims? Not quite, but still good -- and it was definitely nice to get home from a 10 hour road trip and have dinner ready!
• Carrie: It sure was tasty! And I love this biscuit recipe - so easy! You can use a food processor to make the dough, pull out the dough and shape into a round (like a cake round) and cut into cake-like slices with a dough cutter. Put them on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Flaky and yummy!
  

Monday:

• Spaghetti and Salsa Verde with Walnuts & Tarragon, Everyone, p. 55
• Cauliflower with Bread Crumbs, Everyone, p. 354
• Benjamin: The salsa verde is in the same family as the trapanese pesto we tried a week or two ago (olive oil, green herbs, nuts) but the flavors were different: all parsley rather than a basil/parsley mix, walnuts in place of almonds, the addition of capers. I especially liked the subtle anise flavor from the tarragon.
• Carrie: Wow, this hit the spot! Nothing more to add but that the flavor had a nice fresh zing to it (not spicy).
  

Tuesday: Carrie in DC

• Green Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Warm Spices
• Green salad with grape tomatoes
• French bread
• Benjamin: The soup was milder than I expected, but I enjoyed it.
  

Wednesday: Carrie in DC

• Leftovers
  

Thursday: Carrie home late

• Italian vegetable soup with gnocchi
• Benjamin: The recipe I found online provided inspiration, but I didn't follow it to the letter. I'd just made a fresh batch of vegetable stock and we had a package of shelf-stable gnocchi in the cupboard, but for the rest I basically used this as an excuse to clear out various neglected vegetables from the drawers in our fridge. Turned out very nicely nevertheless....
• Carrie: Another one of Benjamin's great concoctions. And great for lunches, too!
  

Friday:

• Pizza from Pappa John's
• Carrie: Hey, we had a coupon...
  

Week of May 12 - 18

Saturday:

• Pan Bagnat with Saffron-Basil Vinaigrette, Everyone, p. 127
• Crispy Roasted Garlic Potatoes, Cook's Country Magazine
  

Sunday:

• Vegetable Gratin-Soufflé, Everyone, p. 288
• Tomato and mozzarella salad

Monday:

• Curried Crookneck Squash Soup, Everyone, p. 214
• Buttermilk biscuits, Baking Illustrated, p. 55
• Grilled asparagus
  

Tuesday:

• Tacos

Wednesday:

• Indian!
  

Thursday:

• Galettes with mushrooms and Pont L'Eveque cheese
• Salad

Friday:

• Stir-Fired Brown Rice with Broccoli Rabe, Everyone, p. 268

Week of May 5 - 11

Saturday:

• Creamy Macaroni and Cheese, AllRecipes.com
  
• Salad
• Carrie: The best! It was a little cooler and rainy, so I suggested this comfort food favorite.
  

Sunday:

• Pasta with pesto Trapanese - recipes include epicurious.com, Erica De Mane, and RecipeSource.
  
• Broccoli
• Mango Upside-Down Cake, Baking Illustrated, p. 331
• Carrie: We saw this type of pesto on a cooking show and thought it sounded good. We couldn't find the recipe from the show, but we compiled a plan from some other recipes. It was excellent! Not too heavy, but rich and garlic-y.
  

Monday:

• Pizza

Tuesday:

• Leftovers
  

Wednesday:

• Sautéed Eggplant and Bell Pepper, Krishna, p.205
  

Thursday:

• Leftovers
  

Friday:

• Take-out from Huong Sen