September 25, 2021

WEEKLY MENU 09.26.21

The Weekly Menu 09.26.21 shares the love for all things veggie in a very farm-standesque manner~

The Weekly Menu 09.26.21 is completely crafted around the fabulous bounty we have around Erieland this harvest. One of my favorite cousins-in-law dropped off a bagful (literally) of vegetables that he and his family had grown. (Thanks, Nick & Emily!) He also dropped off a frozen whole chicken (see Sunday dinner) and a jarful of absolutely fabulous tomatillo salsa. It’s almost like Christmas – it really IS the most wonderful time of the year!

I adore all veggies. Well, almost. I really don’t like kale. I liked that better when it was garnish on the plate that we were meant to avoid. This bag had some of my all time faves, though. I start most days with a low-carb Zucchini Pancake. We’re having a gratin with zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes Sunday night. I’ll make a smaller batch of these – Bert and the boys aren’t huge eggplant fans. More for me.

Peppers never fail to make the grade, and this variety is especially fun – there are at least four different kinds, with varying degrees of spiciness. I’m hopeful that the jalapenos will be spicy and not like the washed out grocery store kind.

I know tomatoes aren’t actually veggies, but they are spectacular at this time of the year. The uglier the better as far as I’m concerned. My mother loved in-season tomatoes like no one else – she habitually had a tomato and mayo on white bread sandwich during the fall. She created the Broiled Tomatoes I love as well as one of my all time favorites, Creamy Fresh Tomato Salad.

Mom also canned – copiously.

She canned whole tomatoes, tomato juice, and her specialty: Chili Sauce. This sweet and spicy sauce was tomato based and had so much sugar in it, we had to stir (and stir, and stir) while it was thickening up to avoid scorching. It was fantastic on eggs, sandwiches and even as the base for sauces. Hmmm. I might need to make up a batch. It was always a little dicey heat-wise. The peppers could be less or more spicy, so we had to taste test to verify. Holy hot mouth, Batman.

The radish appetizer on Sunday is based on a classic treatment: unsalted butter slathered on a piece of toasted baguette with sliced radishes and a sprinkle of coarse salt. It sounds funny, but it’s a classic for a reason!

Have you seen the prices of macadamia nuts?

In Erieland, they cost around twenty dollars a pound. Honestly. So we’re switching them out of the OMCWS (Oatmeal/Macadamia/Cranberry/White Chocolate Cookies) we’re having on Sunday for the OWCWS (Oatmeal/Walnut/Cranberry/White Chocolate Cookies). Hello tasty walnuts. The walnuts are something we always have in the freezer – we buy them when they’re cheap during holiday baking season and dole them out as needed. We need them this week! These cookies taste so good I pretend they’re actually good for us. They might be on the menu for breakfast on Monday.