September 28, 2024

WEEKLY MENU 09.29.24

The Weekly Menu 09.29.24 straddles the seasons as we enter into October~

The Weekly Menu 09.29.24 has a little of this and a little of that for the entry into October. It’s not quite cold yet, although that could change at any time. It’s not beastly hot anymore either. That could change at any time too. What to do? We’ve got all the bases covered with one-pan meals, a comfort meal, a vegetarian meal, a crockpot meal, and what we describe as a “last blast” dinner for the Blackstone.

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I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with the Blackstone Griddle. The thing can, honestly, be a real pain in the arse. A little rain will make the top rust faster than you can blink an eye, regardless of what we’ve got going on with covers. Bert’s okay with us increasing our iron ingestion. Me? Not so much. So we/(I) get the scrubbing block out and go to town to get the griddle ready to go. The food Bert cooks on the Blackstone is a delight, but it sure is a whole different time investment level than the grill.

I’m saying I’m okay with retiring it for the season.

Tuesday is World Vegetarian Day on the Weekly Menu 09.29.24. I think it’s key that it falls on a Tuesday—there isn’t much that lends itself better to a vegetarian feast than Mexican food. Not that anyone cares, but I think I could eat vegetarian full time, although I’d miss meat. I love almost all veggies. Except kale. Kale should be retired.

I could absolutely not go Vegan. I love cheese, eggs, and dairy way too much. I’d probably turn into a Potatoist. All spuds, all the time. Anywho.

A few of horrifying (and odd) facts about vegetarianism~

Wine isn’t always vegetarian.
For decades after the Bolshevik revolution, vegetarianism in Russia was essentially banned, leaders of vegetarian societies were persecuted and sometimes arrested, and the word “vegetarian” was removed from Russian dictionaries.
Hitler was a vegetarian and against any form of animal cruelty.
Most hard cheese is not vegetarian.
Almost 84% of American vegetarians return to eating meat.
According to the FDA, 100 grams of wheat flour contains an average of 150 insect parts. This contamination has traditionally been an important source of protein, vitamins, and minerals for “vegetarians.”
Kickass facts

And a couple of good ones~

Vegetarians are linked with lower levels of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and certain types of cancers.
India has one of the lowest rates of meat consumption in the world.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was among the first celebrities from the European Renaissance era who supported vegetarianism.
On giving up vegetarianism, Benjamin Franklin wrote, “So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.”
Kickass facts

Weekly Menu 09.29.24

Sunday dinner is a one-pan meal during the Weekly Menu 09.29.24! Marry Me Chicken Pasta is a family favorite, too, which makes it perfect. We’re starting with “Pizzettes,” which are little (cute) pizzas. We’ll use sliced, toasted baguettes as a base, top with good tomato sauce and a sprinkle of mozzarella before a spin under the broiler. Burst Tomato Spread would be fantastic on this.

My favorite cake is White Cake, and my birthday was this past week, so we have some leftovers. To change it up a bit, I’m going to make homemade chocolate syrup (the kind you could add to milk if you desire).

Our comfort meal is Meatloaf Meatballs, which we’ll pair with Weeknight Mashed Potatoes. These are baked along with the meatballs and then scooped out and mixed with buttermilk and butter. We serve the potato skins, too—they are a delight with a schmear of butter and a sprinkle of kosher salt.

We’re going meatless on Tuesday with a Veggie and Black Bean Enchilada. These are so good you won’t miss the meat.

Our Crockpot comes out on Wednesday, and the Wok is out and about on Thursday. Then the dreaded Blackstone comes out on Friday. See what I mean? We are all over the place walking into October.