Weekly menu: #9

Currently Listening To:

Weekly menu: #8

Monday:

Mini Tortillas with Kale and Garlic Puffs  -  This was basically two appetizers.  I wanted to make a bunch of small things that we could enjoy throughout the week.  I think it only lasted two days.  I lined a muffin pan tortillas, filled with beans, cheese, red pepper and garlic and baked for about 10 minutes at 350F.  For the Puffs, I blended kale, spinach, and chard (all from the garden) with some garlic and added bread crumbs and eggs.  I also baked these on  a greased cookie sheet for about the same amount of time.  I drank Izze Sparkling Grapefruit Soda and Willis enjoyed a homebrew.

Tuesday:

The Fishwife

Wednesday:

Grilled Cheese - Field Roast, avacado, & pepperjack cheese on sourdough bread.

Thursday:

Pizza - I made a Cinco de Mayo Pizza.  I combined refried beans and salsa to create the sauce and topped it off with pepperjack cheese and red peppers.  Willis picked up some Corona on his way home to enjoy with this meal.

Currently Listening To:

this week's menu: #7

This is only a partial menu.  I worked a lot near the end of the week, so didn't have time to cook.

Sunday: 

Pepper Jack & Kale Pizza - I was going to make mini pizzas and freeze them, but was so hungry, so I just made a full pizza.  Homemade dough, homemade sauce from preserved garden tomatoes, pepper jack cheese, & garden kale.

Monday: 

Tomato Soup & Buttermilk Biscuits - I used the rest of the pizza sauce and some more preserved garden tomatoes to make an easy creamy tomato soup.  I love making soups.  I cooked some onions and garlic then added in the tomatoes and seasonings.  I added a little stock to thin it out and let it all simmer.  Then I added in the cream.  I made these buttermilk biscuits with the buttermilk I made earlier.

Tuesday:

Nachos- Again a super easy meal.  I had some tortilla chips that I purchased to get me through an overnight and wanted to get rid of the leftovers.   I basically just spiced up a can of kidney beans with some garlic, onions, paprika, and dried chili flakes.

Wednesday:

Blossoming Lotus - Willis didn't have to work on Thursday, so we took the opportunity to catch up with some friends, so we met them (kind of) half way between our two houses at the Blossoming Lotus.  They focus on vegan, raw, and local foods.  This was the first time we've been since they moved to the east side.  The food is still good but it's a lot more fancy.  Willis and I split the  pesto white bean dip and the bbq tempeh with chili and cornbread.  I really liked the chili but I'm glad we split.  The portion was big enough for the both of us.

this week's menu: #6

Sunday: Lentil & Garden Kale Soup

We have some winter kale in the garden still, so I was planning on making a chickpea and kale curry, but I forgot to soak the beans over night.  So instead, I made a soup.  I used this recipe.  I didn't have onion, so I used onion powder instead, and just threw the mustard seeds in with the soup, I also didn't add any lime, but did add red pepper flakes.  And I blended it, because I am now obsessed with using my immersion blender.

Monday: Battered Tempeh w/ Garden Greens, Rice & Cilantro Ginger Pesto

I used this recipe for the tempeh.  I'm not sure how much of a fan I was, but it was edible and the recipe was simple (just a lot of excess batter).  I've made better tempeh before using a different recipe, but I was looking to try to something new.  The mustard greens were in the freezer from our spring/fall garden.  We finally used up the rest of them to make way for this year's harvest.  We also used up the Cilantro Ginger Pesto we made from garden cilantro last year.  I love making different varieties of pesto and then freezing them in ice cube trays, it's so convenient and relatively inexpensive!

Tuesday: Parsley Pesto & Feta Pizza

Again, the pesto was from Parsley from the garden that we made last year.  We use walnuts to save on costs.  The pizza was pretty good.

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: Parsley Pesto Risotto
A  friend had a potluck, so I wanted something relatively simple to cook and I didn't have time to run to the store, so I made a risotto.  I combined a few different recipes to come up with this:

• 2 cup risotto rice
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped or minced
• 6-8 cups stock
• Salt & Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• 6 Pesto cubes

1. To make the risotto, heat 3 tablespoons of butter and add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and the rice and stir to combine. Stirring constantly, cooked everything for a minute or so or until all the rice is well coated with butter.
3. Turn the heat to high and add 2 cups stock into the rice. When it starts boiling strongly, turn the heat down to medium and stir often, at least every minute or so, until the rice absorbs the stock.
4. Repeat with a 2 more cups of stock.
5. Add the pesto and the last cups of stock. Stir well to combine. Let the stock absorb.
6. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.

This makes a lot of risotto.


Friday: The Doug Fir Lounge:

On Friday, we went to see our friend Jordan's band, Toro y Moi, play.  We met a bunch of friends there and had a good time.  BRAIDS also played and they were amazing!  Anyway, we got there early to eat before hand.  I had a mushroom hazelnut soup and Willis had pasta with kale.  We ate there out of convenience, but I wouldn't go there on a regular basis.

Currently listening to:
Joan of Arc

this week's menu: #5

Monday:
Portobello Burger & Parmesan Potatoes - Last week, I got two portobellos from work via the food bank (thanks Marijke!).  I destemmed them and soaked them in a bowl with some olive oil, tamari, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, paprika, basil, salt pepper, and red chili flakes.  I cooked them in the cast iron until tender and added some cheddar cheese near the end.  I topped my burger off with some ketchup and Nayonaise, that I bought from the new Grocery Outlet near our house, for 49 cents!!
Willis made his famous Parmesan Potatoes and as always, the meal was delicious.

Tuesday:
Baked Potato Soup - my favorite recipe.  I love this soup.  It is so easy and so delicious.  I skip the bacon and just use olive oil and bacon salt.  I used leeks from the garden, instead of onion; veggie stock instead of chicken broth; and hot pepper flakes instead of hot sauce.

Wednesday:
I was at work all night and just ate leftover soup.  I am not sure what Willis made.


Thursday:
Proper Eats -  I had the kid's burrito and a side of chips and salsa.  Willis had the Proper Plate.  I love this place.  It's an organic vegan cafe (but you can cheat and get dairy cheese added to things) and market.  They have an amazing bulk section in the market and the food in the cafe is always amazing. 


Friday:
Sushi Mazi - I went out to dinner with my family and we attempted to go to Papa G's.  Unfortunately, it was kind of crowded, so we went to a sushi restaurant a couple of block away.


Saturday: 
Horse Brass Pub - We went out for the third night in a row. Gasp!  But, it was for a good cause:  Courtney's 30th birthday!!!!!

this week's menu #4

I took a break from the weekly menu posts due to us being on vacation.  But rest assured, we ate plenty of deliciousness overseas: chips, jam donuts (berliners), maultaschen, chicken man, etc.

This week's menu has included:

Saturday:
Winter Squash Nachos  - Willis made a delicious mix of winter squash, beans, and cheese to eat with nachos.

Sunday:
Focaccia & Seitan - Willis loves making focaccia.

Monday:
Seitan, Kale, and Baked Parmesan Potatoes

Tuesday:
Leftovers

Wednesday:
Pinto Beans & Rice w/ Kale & Hushpuppies w/ Almond Honey Butter

Thursday:
Frozen Pizza

Friday:
Pasta Dinner @ a friend's house.

this week's menu: #3

Monday:

Sweet Potato Mac n Cheese: I used this recipe.  I substituted broccoli for the spinach and soymilk for dairmilk, added way more garlic as well as nutritional yeast and red pepper flakes.  It was an alright meal, Willis really like it, but I don't know if I'd make it again.

Tuesday:
Tempeh Sandwiches & Sweet Potato Fries:  Sweet potato fries, just like regular fries, are super easy to make and they are super delicious.  I was really craving a tempeh sandwich with vegannaise.  I've never been a fan of mayonnaise, but I do like vegannaise.  We didn't have any, so I made some mayonnaise.  Yet another super easy thing to make, but still not as good as vegannaise.


Wednesday:
Happy hour at Vita Cafe:  Willis had the "fish"wich with fries and a beer.  I had the seitan cheesesteak and a margarita.

Thursday:
Rice & Beans:  I don't like white rice, but I love New Season's wild rice blend.  I added some tomato and chili peppers to some kidney beans and rice.  Super easy and super good.

Friday:
Delta Cafe with Nick & Courtney.  I had a groupon, so we checked it out.  Not the best place for a group of vegetarians, but it was alright.  The portions were a lot bigger than expected.  My ginger elixir drink and the hush puppies were the best part.

this week's menu: #2

Monday:
Split Pea Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Tuesday:
Burgerville

Wednesday:
I can't remember

Thursday:
Sesame Noodles 


Friday:
We went out to a friend/neighbor's birthday


Saturday:
Willis made the most delicious Curried Squash Pizza ever!

this week's menu: #1

I'm going to try to be better about talking about what we cooked.  I'm needing a little more inspiration in the kitchen these days, and why not spend the new year blogging about my kitchen adventures?

Monday:
Black Bean Burgers & French Fries - We've had these garden burgers in our freezer for awhile now.  I'm not sure exactly where they came from or how they got there, but I figured it was about time to use them up.  I made french fries with the extra potatoes I had from Christmas dinner.  I love homemade fries.  They are so easy to make: just cut up the potatoes, no need to peel.  toss them with some oil and your favorite seasonings, i like salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.  then put them on a baking sheet in the oven for about 30-45 mins.  at around 400-425 degrees.  yum!

Tuesday:
Tempeh Tacos - I love the bulk tempeh from the Alberta Coop.  It's huge.  Since we moved to North Portland, we rarely have it around anymore.  I was recently on Alberta with a friend and stopped in to get some essentials from the coop, including a giant sheet of tempeh!  I made the spicy tempeh & black bean burrito recipe from Hungry Vegan.  I also made tortillas and a vegan cheese sauce, since we were all out of dairy cheese.  Everything was delicious if I do say so myself.

Wednesday:
Winter Squash Curry - We had one small squash left from the garden stored in the basement and some precooked stored in the freezer.  I've been craving a coconut based curry lately, so I decided to make some with the squash.  Another super easy thing to make.  I used this recipe but substituted mustard greens that we had frozen from the garden for the spinach.

Thursday:
Leftovers - Willis had to work late, so I just finished off the leftover curry.

Friday:
Frozen Pizza!! - We like to treat ourselves to lazy evenings.  So we ate frozen pizza, chips & salsa, and watched Heroes.  It was a good night.