Tuesday
Curried potato salad with tuna (recipe in the comments)
Arugula salad
Watermelon
Hot tea
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Tonight is the opening of our town's summer festival, "Old Home Days", which starts with a parade. As this is a not to be missed event, we planned dinner around it. T and I made the potato salad this afternoon and we all ate early, so we could get out and watch. The parde was great and dinner was incredible. We discovered this recipe last summer and it is truly transcendent. Also, it's incredibly easy to make. The only note I really have is that this one is dependent on the Major Gray's chutney - I don't think it's as good with plain mango chutney. So, you probably have to buy an unusual ingredient. Trust me though - this is worth it.
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Potatoes, shallot, watermelon
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead:This is great warm or cool.
Reaction
J: "A celebration pre-celebration!"
M: "Off the hook!"
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday
Garlic cream farfalle with broccoli (recipe in the comments from January 7, 2009)
Arugula salad with carrots and red cabbage
Garlic cream farfalle with broccoli (recipe in the comments from January 7, 2009)
Arugula salad with carrots and red cabbage
Hot tea
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Today was long and tiring and comfort food (quick!) seemed critical. This dinner hit the spot and was both good for us and so yummy. Sometimes that's all a meal needs to be :)
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Broccoli florets, grating Parmesan
Time: 40 minutes
Make ahead: Do this last minute
Reaction
J: "Pasta saves the day - again."
M: "Hits the spot for summer too."
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sunday
Spicy Basque-style tofu (recipe in the comments)
Saffron rice (recipe in the comments)
Steamed Swiss chard with nutmeg
Hot tea
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We often cut out chicken recipes and never make them, so I recently went through our chicken file and pulled out recipes I thought we could convert into tofu meals. I was especially excited about this one,as we have no tofu recipes anything like this and both of us LOVE these flavors. Also, I love our saffron rice recipe and we never make it. This turned out to be wonderful and I love the tofu with it. We did make a few additional changes (reflected in the recipe in the comments) that I think will make it even better, including using all mild chilies. While tonight's was excellent, it was bit on the spicy side for both of us, meaning T is an unlikely contender :)
FYI: I just steamed the chopped chard leaves (discarded the stems) in the microwave (just with the moisture from washing the leaves) and tossed with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Yum.
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Tofu, olives, parsley, chard
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: I'd do this last minute.
Reaction
J: "Basque in the goodness!"
M: "Zesty! Perhaps overly so?"
Spicy Basque-style tofu (recipe in the comments)
Saffron rice (recipe in the comments)
Steamed Swiss chard with nutmeg
Hot tea
______________________________________________________________
We often cut out chicken recipes and never make them, so I recently went through our chicken file and pulled out recipes I thought we could convert into tofu meals. I was especially excited about this one,as we have no tofu recipes anything like this and both of us LOVE these flavors. Also, I love our saffron rice recipe and we never make it. This turned out to be wonderful and I love the tofu with it. We did make a few additional changes (reflected in the recipe in the comments) that I think will make it even better, including using all mild chilies. While tonight's was excellent, it was bit on the spicy side for both of us, meaning T is an unlikely contender :)
FYI: I just steamed the chopped chard leaves (discarded the stems) in the microwave (just with the moisture from washing the leaves) and tossed with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Yum.
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Tofu, olives, parsley, chard
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: I'd do this last minute.
Reaction
J: "Basque in the goodness!"
M: "Zesty! Perhaps overly so?"
Saturday - Happy 4th of July!!!!
Hamburgers ("Brazilian" for J, recipe in the comments from May 26, 2008, plain for M)
Baked beans
Grilled zucchini and summer squash
Watermelon and honey dew
Beer!
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Burgers are so traditional for the 4th that we rarely do that, but both of us had a hankering this year. The "Brazilian" ones are an old recipe of my mom's that I think make the most perfect burger ever. My only caveat is that you need to use slightly fattier meat than we usually do. Bison isn't as good here. Today we used grass-fed beef from our farmer's market and it was wonderful. M wanted something a bit plainer and his were also wonderful. The rest is just classic 4th and was heartily enjoyed. We can see the fireworks (with only a bit of blocking) from our front porch and so we got to see them for the first time since 2005 (T still goes to bed at 7 and since we're so far north they start very late here - around 10 - which isn't realistic for T). It was great to see them again. Dinner and explosions were after a great day too - touring a navy ship, lunch on the marina, walking to our local playground with T and C (the awesome dog), and enjoying the backyard for dinner. What a holiday! Happy summer!
Hamburgers ("Brazilian" for J, recipe in the comments from May 26, 2008, plain for M)
Baked beans
Grilled zucchini and summer squash
Watermelon and honey dew
Beer!
______________________________________________________________
Burgers are so traditional for the 4th that we rarely do that, but both of us had a hankering this year. The "Brazilian" ones are an old recipe of my mom's that I think make the most perfect burger ever. My only caveat is that you need to use slightly fattier meat than we usually do. Bison isn't as good here. Today we used grass-fed beef from our farmer's market and it was wonderful. M wanted something a bit plainer and his were also wonderful. The rest is just classic 4th and was heartily enjoyed. We can see the fireworks (with only a bit of blocking) from our front porch and so we got to see them for the first time since 2005 (T still goes to bed at 7 and since we're so far north they start very late here - around 10 - which isn't realistic for T). It was great to see them again. Dinner and explosions were after a great day too - touring a navy ship, lunch on the marina, walking to our local playground with T and C (the awesome dog), and enjoying the backyard for dinner. What a holiday! Happy summer!
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Parmesan, parsley, scallions, squash, melon
Time: 40 minutes
Make ahead: You can make the burgers whenever and grill right before serving.
Reaction
J: "A 4th to remember."
M: "No wonder this is traditional!"
Friday, July 3, 2009
Friday
Pan bagna (recipe in the comments from June 13, 2008)
Artichokes
Pan bagna (recipe in the comments from June 13, 2008)
Artichokes
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This dish always seems like classic summer to me. It requires no cooking and has a yummy blend of tuna, veggies, capers and olives. What's not to love. I also think sandwich-like meals seem especially summer-y. Now, that said, it was barely 70 here today, so (yes on the day before July 4th) we're having to make our own summer, but at least it's not 100! It's supposed to be warmer during the day tomorrow AND sunny, so here's to a summer-y 4th!
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Tomato, pepper, scallions, garlic, olives, thyme (if fresh)
Time: 25 minutes
Make ahead: I make the filling and then add the crumbs last minute and load it into the bread just before serving. You can eat this the next day, but it's not quite as good.
Reaction
J: "Summer even if the weather doesn't agree."
M: "The perfect summer dinner."
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thursday - Take out from Bamboo China
So, based on several recommendations when we were up for take out tonight, we tried a new Chinese place, Bamboo China. I think it's a combination of our personal taste and what we ordered (pretty standard American-style Chinese fare, not their Korean stuff), but we weren't very impressed. It looks like we'll be back to Golden Duck next time...
So, based on several recommendations when we were up for take out tonight, we tried a new Chinese place, Bamboo China. I think it's a combination of our personal taste and what we ordered (pretty standard American-style Chinese fare, not their Korean stuff), but we weren't very impressed. It looks like we'll be back to Golden Duck next time...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Wednesday
Creamy avocado and white bean wrap (recipe in the comments)
Melon
Whole wheat tortilla chips and salsa (totally unnecessary)
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This is a new recipe from an article in Eating Well on no-cook supers. It's perfect for summer and sounded fantastic when it was in the mid-80s and sunny last week. Now that it's barely getting to70 each day, it seemed like maybe this would seem un-seasonal. We were pleasantly surprised in that regard. And even more pleasantly surprised with how WONDERFUL tasting this is. The recipe is dead on - a perfect blend of creamy and tart. It is also VERY filling. I ate two chips and one burrito and feel stuffed! The last, and potentially most wonderful this, is how truly easy this is. Ingredients to table in 20 minutes or less!
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Chipotle chile, cilantro, shallot
Time: 20 minutes
Make ahead: I would do this fresh.
Reaction
J: "Surprisingly heart and super yummy!"
M: "Hearty e zesty!"
Creamy avocado and white bean wrap (recipe in the comments)
Melon
Whole wheat tortilla chips and salsa (totally unnecessary)
______________________________________________________________
This is a new recipe from an article in Eating Well on no-cook supers. It's perfect for summer and sounded fantastic when it was in the mid-80s and sunny last week. Now that it's barely getting to70 each day, it seemed like maybe this would seem un-seasonal. We were pleasantly surprised in that regard. And even more pleasantly surprised with how WONDERFUL tasting this is. The recipe is dead on - a perfect blend of creamy and tart. It is also VERY filling. I ate two chips and one burrito and feel stuffed! The last, and potentially most wonderful this, is how truly easy this is. Ingredients to table in 20 minutes or less!
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Chipotle chile, cilantro, shallot
Time: 20 minutes
Make ahead: I would do this fresh.
Reaction
J: "Surprisingly heart and super yummy!"
M: "Hearty e zesty!"
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