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
  

Week of April 28 - May 4

Saturday:

• Pizza from the Italian Pie Shoppe
  

Sunday:

• Baked Potatoes w/Green Chile-Cream Cheese Sauce, Jump Up & Kiss Me, p. 243*
• Shredded Brussels Sprouts salad
• Carrie: The sauce was quite good but I had two issues with it: (1) it was too thick - I'd keep some tomato juice (or veggie stock) on had to thin it, and (2) it didn't make enough for four potatoes - I'd double this recipe.
  

Monday:

• Pasta w/Cannelini Beans and Broccoli, Jump Up & Kiss Me, p. 95
• Tomato vinaigrette
• Carrie: This was an easy and tasty pasta recipe. It calls for steaming the broccoli beforehand, but I think the broccoli got a little overcooked, so I'd steam the broccoli for a shorter time. The tomato viaigrette that Benjamin whipped up was excellent: grape tomatoes, cilantro, and a homemade dressing - yum!
  

Tuesday:

• Vegetarian Gumbo
• Wild and brown rice
• Carrie: Benjamin had the great inspiration for using up some ingredients we had in the fridge and pantry: a vegetarian gumbo! We used Emeril's recipe as a guide, omitting the meat, using vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, and adding canned tomatoes and fresh zucchini that we had laying around. Boy, was it great! A nice kick but not too hot. The roux gave it a velvety texture. I had it for lunch several times and never got tired of it!
  

Wednesday:

• Indian!
  

Thursday:

• Veggie bratwurst
• Broccoli rabe
  

Friday:

• Black Eyed Peas w/Mustard Greens, Jump Up & Kiss Me, p. 143
• Rice
• Carrie: I haven't been too impressed with the recipes from our new cookbook, but this one was easy, hearty, and tasty - a perfect combination!
  

____________
* We recently purchased Jump Up and Kiss Me from a used book store and added it to our cookbooks library.

Week of April 21 - 27

Saturday:

• Leftovers
  

Sunday: Event: Dinner w/Renée, Mira, and Kathleen at Fasika

Monday:

• Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Pancetta, & Wilted Watercress -Eating Well, May/June 2007, p. 24
• Broccoli
• Carrie: Yum! The sauce was easy and lovely. The little splash of vinegar added at the end gives it a nice, fresh bite. The shelf-stable gnocchi isn't as good as home-made, of course, but a nice, quick dinner.
  

Tuesday:

• Grilled Trout with Lemon-Tarragon Bean Salad - Eating Well, May/June 2007, p. 24
  

Wednesday: Event: Benjamin returns

• Spaghettini with Walnuts and Parsley Pesto - Vegetarian Times
  
• Grilled asparagus
  

Thursday:

Friday:

Week of April 14 - 20

Saturday: Event: Benjamin to Mumbai

• Enchiladas - combination of a couple of recipes:
  
• Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas, all|recipes.com
• Potato and Bean Enchiladas, all|recipes.com
• Salad
• Carrie: This was excellent! I used the first recipe as the main recipe, but instead of the brown rice, I used the roasted, spiced potato cubes from the second recipe. I also substituted enchilada sauce for the picante sauce and salsa - some went into the filling, lots more went on top. Really flavorful and filling!
  

Sunday:

• Egg Thread Soup with Asparagus, Eatingwell.com
• A nice crusty bread
• A selection of cheese odds & ends
• Carrie: This was a nice, delicate soup. The flavors were almost too mild to my taste, but that is probably so as not to overwhelm the asparagus, which was lovely. I thought there were too many egg threads and it made the soup too bulky. Not sure I'll make this again, but I'll definitely seek out another asparagus soup recipe.
  

Monday:

• Slow-cooked Chili, all|recipes.com
• Carrie: This hit the spot! Sautéed the ground beef and onions the night before (no, this was not vegetarian) and put everything in the slow cooker pot to set overnight in the fridge. Put it on low in the morning for about 10 hours. Nathan's game would up going very long, so how fortuitous to have a hearty chili waiting for him. The two of us nearly cleaned the whole thing out (save one serving for lunch the next day).
  

Tuesday:

• Pizza
• Corn/Edamame mix
  
• Carrie: Yes, very unimaginative. Nothing more to say.
  

Wednesday:

• Indian!
• Carrie: Another unimaginative dinner, but I'm never disappointed in the Deep frozen Indian dishes. I ate this thinking of Benjamin having the real deal this week!
  

Thursday:

• Salmon Burgers
• Salad
• Carrie: Got home from work and checked our stock. We had some salmon burgers and buns in the freezer, a tomato, and an onion. Sounds like a meal to me!
  

Friday:

• Emily's Excellent Taco Casserole, all|recipes.com
• Carrie: I was about to leave work and I thought I'd skim all|recipes.com for dinner ideas. This recipe was exactly as promised: quick, easy, one pan. Well, I turned it into two pans by sautéing onion and green pepper with some cumin, but it sure was easy! The 6 cups of tortilla chips seems like a lot, but they do compress down and keep everything together nicely. Chili, cheese, onions, tomatoes, sour cream - what's not to like? It's not gourmet, but it hit the spot!

I didn't do much planning this week beyond Monday, and it shows. But there were a few winners in there. I hope to get back on track when Benjamin returns this week.