Feb 15 Menu

Sorry, folks. Yes, it is President's day weekend and Valentine's day. We've been given a three day weekend, so of course, being who I am, I procrastinated. And last week was not a stellar menu week. We had left overs from hosting visitors over the weekend. Then we had snowstorm alert which made us go for take-out. I know, I know, excuses - for we will repeat last week's menu, except for the caesar wrap and pasta. We ended up doing the two. The wrap was great, especially the pumpkin seeds. The pasta, well, we ate it.

Tuesday - More Leftovers

• Yes, again, we had people over for the three day weekend, amassing more leftovers.

Wednesday - Kale Sausage Mushroom Stew

• http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/recipe-of-the-day-kale-sausage-and-mushroom-stew/

Thursday - Asparagus Shrimp Risotto

• http://www.asparagusrecipes.net/asparagus-and-shrimp-risotto.html

Friday - Bon Chon

• Definitely! Our west coast friends had their KFC run last weekend. So we shall reciprocate.

Shopping List for me:

• Abbreviated this week: asparagus, kale, risotto

Feb 8 Menu

It's more difficult than I imagined to get back into the swing. Just a week ago I was watching PBS with my good Japanese friend (yeah, it was a bender of a friday night) and came upon Roy Walford and the low calorie nutrient dense way of life. Unfortunately, he was aiming for over 90 years but his life ended prematurely at 79 as a result of Alzheimers. But, I'm still convinced he was onto something - because it turns out my daughter's meals are practically all low calorie and nutrient dense and she's skinny but healthy overall. So, going forward, in general I will attempt to be "low calorie nutrient dense" conscious as well. And it turns out, my prior obsession with superfoods, dovetails with Roy Walford's high nutrient lifestyle.

At any rate, here's the menu for the week:

Monday - Pasta Alfredo Primavera

• Can you believe this? I guess all those vegetables balance out all that cream.
• www.tastebook.com/recipes/539325-Pasta-Alfredo-Primavera
• I'm sure better recipes abound, but this one sounds so much easier.
• Oh, and remember to make extra for tomorrow's side and put beans in water. In the morning, but the beans in the slow cooker. OR, just get canned beans.

Tuesday - Chicken Caesar Wraps

• Let's add some navy beans, go with lite dressing, and tomato basil tortilla.
• www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/40-a-day/caesar-chicken-wrap-recipe/index.html
• This recipe even has pumpkin seeds.

Wednesday - Kale Sausage Mushroom Stew

• Here's a Bittman beauty.
• http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/recipe-of-the-day-kale-sausage-and-mushroom-stew/
• What to do for sides? Cous-cous?

Thursday - Asparagus & Shrimp Risotto

• www.asparagusrecipes.net/asparagus-and-shrimp-risotto.html
• And if we get leftovers from the prior days, this could dinner may really come together.

Friday - Thai Take Out

• Inkling for Roddee, but knowing our friends in Cambridge go on Sundays, we may have to opt for pizza and be a little patient.

Shopping List for me:

• Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs - broccoli, cauliflower, salad greens, red bell peppers, kale, mushrooms, asparagus, shallot, parsley
• Meat, Poultry, Fish - chicken tenderloins, italian sausage, shrimp
• Dairy, Juice - cream cheese, feta, milk, yogurt
• Breads, Grains - tomato basil tortillas, risotto rice
• Canned - black beans, navy beans, chicken stock
• Misc - caesar dressing, pumpkin seeds

Shopping List addtl:

• Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs
• Meat, Poultry, Fish
• Grains - Cous-cous
• Dairy, Juice - parmesan cheese
• Misc - white wine

Feb 1 Menu

It's a lot more difficult than I thought to get back into the swing of the menu again - I've been spoiled with my in-laws in town for the past two months. On top of that, our move to Belmont has required some commuting adjustments between my wife and I - resulting in her beating me home sometimes - which means she gets to yield the chef's knife. So, we're settling into a nice rhythm and the menu will reflect both her and my tastes.

Monday - Fish Teriyaki Over Rice

• Pan fry some fish filets (can be lightly coated with salted flour).
• Add teriyaki sauce either while in pan, or heated and drizzled over fish (I prefer it in the pan) http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2006/04/29/we-dont-need-no-stinking-bottled-teriyaki-sauce/
• Serve over rice.

Tuesday - Gyudon

• Start out with dashi http://japanesefood.about.com/od/soup/a/aboutdaashisoup.htm.
• Now proceed to putting together the gyudon http://japaneserecipe.blogspot.com/2006/05/beef-bowl.htm
• I'm keeping this short because by now you know we make this one often.

Wednesday - Tobiko Bibimbap

• Dice spinach, mix with rice, add tobiko.
• Drizzle sauce - put onion, carrots, apple, soy sauce, and olive oil in a blender and puree.
• Garnish with fried egg.

Thursday - Pasta and Clams

• There really is no recipe for this. You take Trader Joe's Garlic Clams and put it over some pasta - we like linguine and fettucine.
• Add some salad with beans.

Friday - Take Out

• Pizza? Bon Chon? Roddee? The options are almost endless because we don't have gogi tacos!

Jan 25 Menu

Happy new year and belated it is!!! Already almost three months have gone by since we've bought our home, renovated it, and moved in and yet - we still have boxes. Woe is us, the den/guestroom looks like it will perpetually be the storage room. What we really need are visitors that will spur us into action to buy furniture, etc. All that aside, it has been great to see our daughter run around in the new house. And there's nothing better than shoveling snow every weekend. To top it all off, I am now sitting here ready to resume our weekly menus.


For those that are new to this blog, I look to create a weekly menu (usually Monday through Thursday with Friday being an "eating out/ take out" day) for my wife and now 21 month old daughter. I scour the webpages for what I hope are easy recipes that even I could do. I rely on many friends to help me find recipes to put on my weekly menu. I usually post the menus for the week on the Friday or Saturday before the week, complete with a grocery list, so we can do our weekly Sunday shopping.


So without much further ado, the list for the week is as follows.


Monday - Japanese Chicken Curry

• The old standby which should usually be done at the end of the week with whatever vegetables are left, but we have a chicken in the fridge that needs cooking.
• Use japanese curry cubes and don't be shy with the vegetables (at least carrots, potatoes, one celery stick). Directions on the box are simple and more than adequate. If you want to get fancy, throw in some fresh apple sauce.
• Serve with rice and kimchi.

Tuesday - Creamy Shrimp & Broccoli Fettucine

• http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/creamy_shrimp_and_broccoli_fettuccine/
• My daughter is asking for more variety in her diet. Can't give her the same meal back to back as much these days. The creamy flavor here should be a nice follow up to the more spicy curry.
• Serve with salad and garlic bread.

Wednesday - Winter Vegetable Soup

• http://www.familyoven.com/offsite?r_id=155594&u=http://www.recipezaar.com/98802
• Nice on a chilly evening.

Thursday - Shepherd's Pie

• My wife has been craving for this since last week - time to deliver.
• http://www.seasaltwithfood.com/2010/01/shepherds-pie.html

Friday - Whiskey Night!!!

• The girls may be on their own this night, because the man may have to conquer some scotch and whiskey.

Shopping List for Me:

• Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs - potatoes, celery, broccoli, garlic, salad greens, leeks, red and white onions, tomatoes, butternut squash, rutabaga, turnips, parsley
• Meats, Poultry, Fish - 2 lb ground beef, 1 lb beef bones and beef chuck, shrimp
• Dairy - heavy cream, 6 lb cheese
• Pasta - fettucine
• Frozen - green peas, corn
• Misc - lima beans

Shopping List Addtl:

• Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs - carrots
• Frozen - green
• Misc - beef stock, white wine, worcestershire sauce

Oct 19 Menu

I will have to take a brief pause from menu writing until after the closing of our new house - Oct. 31. So, please check back sometime in mid-November.

I am sorry to all my fans. I know you're out there. Don't try to deny it.

Oct 12 Menu

On Sunday, I had the bitter-sweet opportunity to have dinner at our friends who will soon be moving to Los Angeles. Bitter because they're moving to Los Angeles. Sweet because we had some great braised chicken, broiled acorn squash, and steamed artichokes. The chicken was pot braised with thin slices of ginger and a hoisin like sauce, which I didn't ask but will next time. The acorn squash was put in a bath of water until tender and then baked high with butter and brown sugar, making a nice crystalline crust. The artichoke was simply cut, steamed, and delicious.

Well, this week, I have to continue relying on some impromptu cooking as I continue to trudge through the purchase of our home. We finally did arrive at a P&S and now the going really gets going. We need to budget, budget, and budget, and the banks don't want to have any fun in this. They are as straight laced as they come and in fact BofA reneged on their offer to me regarding an FHA program. A program that promised all the goods but a program that couldn't deliver a closing date. What good is a program that can't deliver on the closing date? So I am in a scrambling mode, trying my best to piece together the pieces so that I can find a lender.

Tonight, we have some oxtail brewing in the slow cooker, so you can bet that is tomorrow's dinner. On Tuesday, I'll take advantage of the local farmer's market and bring home some hearty vegetables, ala our friend's dinner this Sunday. We'll also be having some fried fish and korean side dishes, as that is in our fridge. And of course, I have thinly sliced beef for the favorite gyu-don.

Oh, and going forward, I'll be bringing lunch to work now, to save money for this house.

Oct 5 Menu

Are we buying or not? That is the question that has been putitng me into knots for the past week. Our offer to purchase a 2 family in belmont was accepted about two weeks ago and still I don't have a signed P&S. The sellers have been less than straightforward is all I can say and they are lucky we're still around. I'm practically bending over backwards for them. If we don't get anywhere soon, I'm going to have to part ways and search for another - it's ridiculous that at this point in the negotiation, the Seller is not laying down their cards and calling a spade a spade.

So all of the above, of course, is another excuse for not having a menu for another week. It is tough, I tell you, to juggle a daughter, work, and house buying. And then on the weekends, we're trying to spend as much of it as possible with our friends who, much to our dismay, will be leaving for the sunny shores of southern Los Angeles. I think I'm still in denial.

And to top it all off, we went to HMart again this week. That means a lot of stuff was bought, much of which only my wife knows what to do with. HMart was packed, even on a Saturday night. But it seems the taste testers were not out and the grand opening sales have fallen off a bit. The food court vendors still had ridiculously long lines - for $15 short rib plates. A bit too steep for my taste.

What will this week bring? Lots of gyu-don, oden (fish cake) noodle soup, oxtail soup (not sick of it yet), and perhaps a pasta dish with the mushroom and beef.