Going to Be a Crazy One

This week is going to be crazy. Passover and Easter are in the same week so there will be all sorts of stuff going on at work around both. But I do get a couple of nights where I'm home to make dinner so that's a plus! I just about finished the baby sweater that I started last week and I'm still working on the bag for Ash's Taiko sticks. But there should be some good family/car time to work on those and get them off the needles. See you on the flip side!

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Pastrami Ruben
Tuesday: Moroccan Lentil Soup
Wednesday: Grilled Chicken & Potato Salad
Thursday: No one is home.
Friday: Pierogi with family
Saturday: Free For All

Vacation ate my brain

That's really the only excuse I have for not posting the last couple of weeks. I'm super excited about this week though as I am getting a new fridge! The time has come that I finally admitted that my darling Kelvinator just isn't big enough for us. That said, I'm not getting rid of the jolly green giant, it's just retiring a bit into it's new role as beer fridge!

Sunday: Pizza
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Beans with Sausage & Kale
Wednesday: Baked Potato Buffet
Thursday: Donald will fend for himself
Friday: New Fridge day!
Saturday: Minestrone w/ Fresh Bread from Donald's BAKE class

Seeing Green

It's one of my favorite weeks. It's the week of St. Patrick's Day and I get to break out some of my most loved foods. Plus I got the Feb/Mar issue of Fine Cooking the other day and after drooling a little bit I picked out a couple of things to add to the menu this week.

Monday: Stout & Cheese Meatloaf
Tuesday: no one will be home
Wednesday: Corned Beef with all the fixin's
Thursday: Quinoa Salad
Friday: Potato Leek soup
Saturday: Moroccan Lentil Soup
Sunday: Leftovers

We'll see if Friday's meal plan actually happens. We now have a funeral to attend that morning so I might not get a chance to get everything put together. Something will happen, I'm just not guaranteeing that it will be what I said will happen! So with that I leave you with some lovely pictures of the meat loaf that was dinner tonight before I cooked it and after it came out of the oven. Enjoy!

Portents of Spring

This week so far has included some of my favorite portents of spring. First was weather warm enough to start tapping the maple trees for sap. Last year Donald and I tapped our trees for the first time and even when imperfect the joy of having home-made waffles with syrup that you boiled down yourself is so special. Second was Fat Tuesday and the beginning of Lent. Though neither of us were raised Catholic both sides of my family have strong Catholic roots and so over the years it just kind of slipped into my personal traditions of observing the period of Lent as a time for reflection and restraint. This year once again I have given up frivolous spending. It means no eating out for the entire 40 days of lent and no big indulgences. The basics of food and bills and such will still get paid for but the rest is set aside in savings. The nice thing is that my new years resolution fits nicely with the "fiscal fast" concept. This week's menu is:

Monday: Roast Salmon with Green Salad and Carrot-Fennel Rice
Tuesday: Spanish Mushrooms with Rice and Lentils
Wednesday: Pot Pies
Thursday: Roast Chicken with Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes
Friday: Chili
Saturday: Ash will fend for herself
Sunday: Leftovers

A Weird One

The weather is supposed to get better this week. I hope. But we won't be home much to enjoy dinners together this week so I guess I better make the ones I am home for count!

Monday: Sweet Potato & Chickpea Stew
Tuesday: No One Home
Wednesday: Venison Stew with Dessert Custards
Thursday: No One Home
Friday: Moroccan Glazed Lamb with Green Beans & Mashed Potatoes
Saturday: Pancakes & Bacon for Breakfast
Sunday: Leftovers

The Weather Lies

So after a couple of days of above 40 degree days with sunshine Mother Nature decided that was enough of spring for the moment. Over a foot of snow later we are digging out again, but that was a really cruel trick. But other then that this should be a good week. Ash got us tickets to see the Kodo Drummers at Hill Auditorium this Wednesday and I am super excited. When I was in Osaka in 2002 I had a chance to see a traditional drumming performance as part of the musical culture exchange trip that I was on and this should be just as awesome.

Monday: Pasta with Tomato Sauce
Tuesday: Spanish Braised Lentils with Sausage and Chard
Wednesday: Venison Burgers and Oven Fries
Thursday: Polenta with Taleggio Cheese
Friday: Chickpea and Tomato Stew
Saturday: Corned Beef Hash with Backyard Eggs
Sunday: Leftovers

The Sun Came Out!

If you do or ever have lived in Michigan you know how precious the sun can be in the months of January and February. And in a winter where the sun has not been much in evidence two whole days where the sun came out and the air outside wasn't quite as frigid might just mean that winter will end eventually. Not that this cook is holding her breath. So with a shred of hope I am starting to incorporate more veg and greens into the menu. Just a little bit here and there, but it may be time to come out of the brown food days.

Monday: White Beans with Sausage and Kale
Tuesday: Beer Braised Venison Chops with Smashed Potatoes
Wednesday: Maple/Ginger Squash
Thursday: Carrot & Fennel Rice Pilaf
Friday: Slumgullion
Saturday: Homemade Corned Beef Hash with Backyard Eggs
Sunday: Leftovers

Saturday has become a bit of a non-day around here. Donald and I usually work closes that night and Ash has game nights out usually so I've been planning bigger brunches for us at home and we all eat packed dinners or eat out that night.

Tradition

Every year for Easter my family gathers on Good Friday and celebrates. The day starts at around 9am with all of my aunts and my grandmother in the kitchen, making pierogi. The finished dumplings are so delicious, when I make them for myself I usually make a couple of batches and freeze them so I have them for a while. We usually do just a potato filling. This year I did 5 pounds of potatoes mixed with 1/2 a pound of cheddar, finely grated. That amount of potatoes filled 2 recipes of dough. Alternately you can use the same dough and put a spoonful of your favorite pie filling inside and serve with ice cream or just powdered sugar for a fun desert. Other filling options traditionally include meat, and sauerkraut, but the sky is really the limit.

Pierogi Dough
Makes about 70 pierogi.

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
5 tablespoons dairy sour cream
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
pinch of salt
about 3/4 cup water

Sift flour into a large bowl or onto a flat working surface; make a well in the center.
Break eggs into well.
Add sour cream, 3 tablespoons oil and salt.
Blend ingredients with your fingertips.
Gradually add water, working and kneading mixture into a smooth, pliable dough.
Divide dough into quarters.

Roll to 1/16 inch thick
Cut into 3-1/2 to 4 inch circles.
Place 1 heaping tablespoon filling -- fold over -- crimp edges. (crimp very tightly, if there are any holes all of the filling will leak out when you boil them)
Boil in salted water (1/2 teaspoon salt per 2 quarts water)
Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until pierogi float.

At this point you can freeze the pierogi, or if you want to eat them right away, you can either pan fry, deep fry, or bake them until they are golden brown and lightly crispy. If you want to freeze them, I recommend laying them out on a greased sheet pan and putting them in the freezer until they are solid, then put them in gallon zip-lock bags to store them. If you put them in before they are frozen, they will freeze together into a solid mass and be impossible to separate without tearing the dough.

Enjoy!