I don’t know about you, but there has been such a cacophony of noise from the media cycle, and such an influx of petitions and newsletters in my mailbox – from political ones to those devoted to the joys of Black Friday -- that I hesitate to contribute to the general din by adding a huge long rant to your reading list.
Also, as I do from time to time in November, I am participating in Nanowrimo this year, a competition where the objective is to write 50,000 words in one month, with the goal of having a book to show for it when December 1 rolls around. While I am a little behind at today's half way mark, with 119 pages (20,055 words) written so far (whether any of it is any good is a whole other issue), I find myself so engrossed in the workings of the other land that I presently inhabit that I have let housekeeping, the finer points of cooking, and this blog get a leetle out of hand. So much so that I have just had to throw away my carefully prepared sauerkraut maturing on the counter. Since my mind is elsewhere, I forgot about it, let it ferment a tad too long, and was forced to get rid of it when exploring the brewery smell that took over the entire apartment while L. and I were sleeping.
I am off to vacuum after this, as even those of us who have been visiting a cloud cuckoo land of our own creation know that there comes a point where it must be done, especially if one is on the staff of two ever shedding felines. I hope that you don’t feel that last week’s menu suffered too much from my mental absence (please note however that a lot of the recipes were repeats and links to them are added in the menu post itself even of they do not get their own new post in pride of place in last week's photo lineup on the home page.)
And, Just in case you feel that it has, here is a cheerful bonus photo for you.
This Week's CSA box contained:
Herbs: a bunch each of Italian parsley, sage and lavender, 2 stalks of lemongrass
Greens: a baggie of baby arugula leaves, a bunch each of collard greens, Dinosaur kale and Rainbow chard
Alliums: a head of garlic, 2 shallots, small yellow onion, a huge bunch of thick scallions, each over a foot long
Vegetables: a generous handful of Brussels sprouts, a huge bunch of celery, a few carrots, a Cinderella pumpkin, the first parsnips of the season, several red beets, a punnet of beautiful red Fresno peppers, 5 beautiful Yukon Gold potatoes still coated in dirt, a few purple potatoes, and the very last of the farm collective’s grape tomatoes for the season. These are tiny -- the size of my thumbnail --and so concentrated in tomato flavor that I have been popping them like candy since they arrived.
Fruit: 3 middling sized Fuji apples
Remainders: Most of the Red Napa cabbage and pink celery, 2 Honeynut squash, 2 Gala apples, a gigantic turnip, half a head of radicchio, and half a bunch of coriander
So, with the addition of the above abundance of remainders and a whole mess of Meyer lemons which I purchased to make an enormous batch of Olive Oil Preserved Lemons for the winter to come (and minus snacks and lunches unless something is so good that it makes into the “bonus recipe” category), the above items will be transformed into:
Sunday “Pantry Roulette”; fridge, freezer, and pantry item dinner but this week a family dinner with my mother and my sister]
Spiced Honeynut Squash and Cinderella Pumpkin Soup
Charcuterie and Cheese Board with Crispy Baguette
No dessert because neither I nor anyone else felt like making one 😞
Monday [Wildcard; a more complex or fiddly dish than usual to test my culinary skills]
Arugula Salad with Meyer Lemon Dressing
Popovers
Tuesday [Pasta]
Crunchy Celery Salad with Dates, Walnuts and Parmesan
Pan Fried Gnocchi with a Roasted Garlic, Red Fresno Pepper, and Beet Cream
Wednesday [L.'s choice]
Steamed Purple Potatoes
Thursday [Fish]
Friday [Veggie-centric]
Crispy Soy Ground Pork, Roasted Veggie and Wild and Brown Rice Bowl
Saturday ["Picnic"; something that is easy to assemble and easy to eat in front of a movie]
Mixed Salad
Grilled Cheese and Greens Sandwiches
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