Monday plan day, 10/5

Organic delivery this week: Bosc Pears, Gala Apples, Valencia Oranges, Lacinto Kale, Carrots with tops, Red beets, red potatoes, red romaine lettuce, spinach, white onions, yellow squash, zucchini, green onions, leeks

Dairy delivery this week: Two 1/2 gallons of 2% milk, cream

Monday -  Spending the day at the zoo, so it's definitely a leftovers night

Tuesday - Olive stuffed chicken, onion trio pasta, zucchini (using zucchini, spinach, and onions from the delivery, chicken from the freezer (I'll cook extra to us later in the week))

Wednesday - Vegetarian kale soup (using kale and potatoes from the delivery, and beans from our pantry)

Thursday - Chicken salad served over romaine and twice baked sweet potatoes (using the extra chicken I cooked Tuesday, celery and sweet pototoes from last week's order, romain from this week's, and several pantry and fridge items)

Friday - Oktoberfest!  Rather than going out, we're having our own, with German sausage and applekraut (using apples and onion from our order, and several pantry items)

Saturday - Leftover soup before we head out for a fall night creature hike!  (we'll be taping the game, so shhh!  Don't give it away)

Sunday - "Fried" green tomatoes, leftover sweet potatoes, cheese, and fruit (what a hodgepodge dinner!  But it's all from our garden, our delivery, our pantry, and leftovers of the week...)

Monday - leftover Oktoberfest

Grocery list - More shopping than usual this week! For dinners I will need olives, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, veggie broth, sauerkraut, German sausage, German beer, and coarse mustard. For lunches I'll be picking up some more Greek yogurt (also for recipes), and for breakfasts OJ as usual. And with cream cheese on hand I'll be trying my hand at making bagels this week! I'll let you know how it goes.

Monday plan day, 9/28

Organic delivery this week: kiwi, red plums, granny smith apples, grapefruit, cauliflower, celery, zucchini, grapes, pears, sweet potatoes, green onion, green beans

Dairy delivery this week: Two 1/2 gallons of 2% milk

Monday -  Eating out on a generous gift card from Oma and Opa.  Thank you!

Tuesday - Chicken salad with grapes and homemade bread (using chicken grilled last week, celery from the delivery, and almonds from our cupboard)

Wednesday - Lasagna, zucchini (using all things already on hand, and zucchini from the order)

Thursday - stuffed portobellos and cauliflower (using cauliflower from the delivery, cheese, stock, and nuts from our cupboard)

Friday - Edamame bread salad (using beans from our delivery, the last tomatoes and basil from our garden, and bread homemade using ingredients from our pantry)

Saturday - Homemade pizza (it's a game day!)

Sunday - Leftover mushrooms

Monday - Leftover edamame

Grocery list - for dinners this week I need portobellos, edamame, greek yogurt, and feta cheese.  For breakfasts we need OJ, and we'll also need to replace our pantry hold of stock and flours.  Shrimp is on sale at Meijer this week, so I'll pick up a couple of those packages for the freezer. 

Something that you might notice is forever missing from our grocery list is coffee, and you can bet your bottom dollar that's not because we don't drink it.  Actually, we buy our coffee whole bean in bulk from Borders, because we only buy Seattle's Best, Henry's Blend, and for a while that was the only place we could find it whole bean (in fact, for a while there we coudln't seem to find it whole bean anywhere in Michigan and were importing it through our very accomodating friends, Steve and Rachel).  Even though now it is available in other locations, we feel loyal to the one place that served us well all these years and we keep going back.  Well, that and the fact that if you buy a pound of coffee on Fridays you get a free drink, and Jon is always careful to time coffee shopping just right...

Granola topping

I can never quite get rid of the snack urge.  I love crunchy things, or sweet things, or salty things...you name it.  I've done a pretty good job of eliminating junk from our diets, and our cupboards, but that doesn't mean that every day, shortly after Calvin slips into nap time sleep land, I don't get that sudden desire to start munching.  So my goal has been to find things to munch on that satisfy those cravings without blowing the day's sugar or sodium intake right off the chart (aside from carrot or celery sticks, which just don't do it).  I know I've also mentioned, umpteen times before, my complete aversion to pre-processed over-packaged foods, and I think that we belong to a society that supports the notion that many foods are a mystery and are not creatable in our own kitchens.  So much the better for companies like Kraft and Keebler (or are they the same company?).  But a quick and simple search on the internet, and a relatively short amount of time, is all it takes to break through the unfair force shield protecting those commercial interestes; we can make just about anythign we need in life with a handful of naturl and basic ingredients.

But that's a big topic.  For the moment, let's just start with granola.  What I really wanted to make was a crunchy snack, and this most certainly was not it, but this version, which is soft and sweet, does make a great topping for Greek yoghurt!  And it was a lot of fun for Calvin to help cook and then eat with lunch.  Down side?  Way too much sugar, as far as I'm concerned.  Back to the drawing board.

Granola topping

Dry Ingredients:
  ● 5 cups rolled oats  (you can also use a combination of rolled grains)
  ● 2-3 cups of raw almond halves or slivers
  ● 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  ● ¾ cup sesame seeds
  ● ½ cup wheat germ or ground flax seed (I used flax)
  ● 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  ● 1 tsp ground ginger
  ● 1 tsp salt

Optional
  ● 1/2 - 1 cup unsweetened coconut
  ● ½ cup dried fruit—(add after cooked)(I used raisins)

Wet Ingredients:
  ● ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
  ● 1/3 cup agave nectar, brown rice syrup, honey or maple syrup (I used honey)
  ● 2 Tbsp canola oil

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 300°F.

2.  Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix the wet ingredients together, and then stir into dry ingredients.  Stir well to mix thoroughly.

3.  Spread the mixture into two baking dishes. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until evenly golden brown.  Stir every 10 minutes to ensure even browning.  Stir again when removed from oven to keep it from cooling into a solid mass.  The granola will crisp as it cools.  If you use fruit, stir once it is cooled.

Yield: 10 cups
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Monday plan day, 9/21

Organic delivery this week: kiwi, black plums, gala apples, valencia oranges, broccoli, celery, chioggia beets, grape tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, russet potatoes, onion

Dairy delivery this week: Two 1/2 gallons of 2% milk, eggs, cottage cheese

Monday -  It's slated to be a rainy evening, and we used up our leftovers, so loaded baked potatoes it is (using potatoes, onions, and broccoli from last week's order, cheese from our fridge, and cottage cheese delivered last week from our dairy), with homemade tomato soup on the side.

Tuesday - Sticking to a stuffed theme, we'll have stuffed squash (using squash and onion from previous deliveries, ground beef from our freezer, and homemade croutons), with the last of our zucchini crop on the side.

Wednesday - Grilled chicken fajitas (using chicken from our freezer, onion and green pepper from previous orders, cheese from our fridge, and homemade tortillas)

Thursday - Leftover stuffed squash

Friday - Leftover grilled grilled chicken made into chicken salad (using olive oil mayo from our fridge, almonds from our pantry, and lettuce and celery from our delivery)

Saturday - dinner with family

Sunday - Vegetarian stuffed green peppers (using beans and rice from our pantry and peppers from a previous delivery)

Monday - Up for grabs

Grocery list - for dinners this week I need sour cream (loaded potatoes and fajitas), lime and salsa (for fajitas), and I need to look for organic meats on sale to stock up our freezer.  For lunches we'll pick up some greek yoghurt, we also need to replenish our stock of fruit leather (for the occasional picnic meal).  For breakfast we'll need OJ, grapefruit (at Calvin's request), more coffee cream for Jon, and cream cheese (to go with bagels we brought home from Saturday's tailgate).  Additionally we are out of vinegar (for canning), vanilla, Olivio (a guilty pleasure, the one thing I can't give up!), coffee filters, and various pet care items (like cat food and litter).  And this concludes our shopping list this week.

Butterscotch pudding

I remember with great fondness those nights in my youth when we had, sometimes for special occasions and other times for no reason at all, special desserts after dinner.  I'm sure there were lots of different nights and nearly as many different desserts (cheesecake and apple pie have to top that list) but the particular ambrosia that visits my memories with odd regularlity is pudding, made by my mom and served in little glass dessert cups.  It's a memory that conjures up feelings of cozy warmth and familial love, so today I recreated that slice of my childhood by making scratch butterscotch pudding for an after dinner treat.  It wasn't exactly the return to youth I'd hoped for, partly because I didn't have dessert glasses and had to resort to coffee cups, and also because my husband and son are so used to my stinginess when it comes to sugar that they treated this sudden onslaught with a slightly suspicious eye (Calvin is not familiar with bribery yet, but Jon is no stranger).

Speaking of sugar, I felt like the final product was a little too sweet, and next time I might see if I can do with less sugar.  Otherwise it was a successful endeavor, the only tedious part being the constant stirring.

Butterscotch pudding

Ingredients:
  ● 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  ● 2 tbsp cornstarch
  ● 2 tsp cornstarch
  ● 1/8 tsp salt
  ● 2 cups fat-free milk
  ● 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  ● 1 tbsp butter
  ● 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add milk and egg yolks; stir until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes longer or until thickened.
2. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool to room temperature, stirring several times. Pour into four individual dessert dishes. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until chilled.