The Other Baby
On May 7th, my book Homemade Snacks and Staples was released. It has been such a long time coming and believe, I am so excited that people can now read it (and hopefully) cook from it.
In Madison, the book will be available at Orange Tree Imports and Barnes & Noble over the next few weeks. I am hoping to get into more local stores and will keep you updated.
Farmer’s Market
Manatee and I are not receiving our first CSA share until mid-June because we changed our plan this year. Last year, we had the full vegetable share (plus fruit), but discovered that we really don’t like any Fall vegetables. Yes, I know. All the trendy foodies gobble squash like there is no tomorrow, but I just don’t like it. I still have pumpkins, squash, and sweet potatoes from last Fall. I just can’t bring myself to prepare them. That was about the time I was in my first trimester so just the smell of baking these items brings memories of nausea washing over me. We decided to change our plan to the peak vegetable share which covers more of the summer months. At first, I was disappointed we would be left out of the spring veggies, but then I remembered what we received last Spring, and suddenly I was okay with it.
Since we won’t be receiving a CSA for awhile, I decided that I would make it a weekly habit to hit up the Farmer’s Market with a $20 bill. This ensures that we are getting some local goodies and seasonal produce while also supporting local farmers (and other artisans). This week I got:
Spring Onions
Asparagus
Spelt Tortillas
Mini Bread: Carrot, Pineapple, and Walnut
Spicy Jerky (for Manatee)
Spicy Cheese Empanada (not pictured)
The Spelt tortillas and the spicy cheese empanada were the biggest splurges at $5 a piece. I can tell you that the spicy cheese empanada was totally worth it. The spelt tortillas are really good and (almost) gluten-free. I tried one at the stand, but haven’t started using them yet. I am excited to use them over the weekend for some wraps and maybe a mini pizza.
Quick Meal Formulas
In an attempt to not just sit around and wait for the baby to come, Manatee and I have over-scheduled ourselves for the week. We are both running around slightly crazy so we let go of meal planning this week and are relying on some basic formulas like:
– crumbled veggie burger + guacamole + salsa/ketchup all over a salad of spinach and shredded lettuce
– egg whites + guacamole + heated salsa all over a salad of spinach and shredded lettuce
– marinated tofu squares + guacamole + spinach/shredded lettuce wrapped in corn tortillas
As you can see, as long as we have guacamole, spinach, and shredded lettuce, we have a meal.
Since we have that gorgeous asparagus, I am guessing we will have asparagus milanese for a quick lunch or dinner. Yum!
Moving Forward
I have several posts in queue for you including an amazing recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies, some tips for grilling pizzas, and why I am eating dates like there is no tomorrow.
Once Baby A comes, there may be a slight lapse, but you can expect posts once a week after we have established our routine. Also, don’t forget to stay in touch via the Facebook page. There will be more updates through that medium as I can do those on my phone.
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What are some of your quick meal formulas? Do you have any strategies when hitting up a farmer’s market?
New to your blog in the face of an impending move (back) to Madison late this summer–thanks for your great recipes and cooking tips!
Our go-to quickie meals often revolve around the Bluephie’s black bean-corn relish, which is easily freezable in sandwich bags and is great as a dip, enchilada filling, quesadilla filling, or in rice-and-bean bowls. The recipe is in their cookbook, which has lots of other great recipes as well–we make a full pound of their tasty black beans and then scale the relish recipe for the entire pound. It’s a septuple batch! I also make pizza dough and keep it in the freezer for pizzas and calzones, and we freeze baggies of cheese measured out to the right amount, too. I’m also reaching the end of my pregnancy, so quick meals (especially freezable ones!) are becoming more and more important!