Weekly Meal Plan

The CSA has started up, and I am going crazy with vegetables. My menu choices will now revolve around what I get with my CSA, but these vegetables are also all available at the local farmer’s markets.

There is always an abundance of greens at the beginning of the season. This week, we got lettuce, spinach, arugula, chard, kale, cabbage and broccoli. With swim meets on Monday and Wednesday nights, I will bring the pie and the orecchiette pasta to the pool to eat at room temperature, thus saving me money on hot dogs and providing us with a healthier dinner option. On Friday night we will try to head to Belvedere Square with a picnic of grilled salmon salad. 

Here are this week’s recipes.  

Recipes 

The recipes serve four, unless otherwise noted—in my house, that's two adults and two little kids. 
 

Chard and Fennel Pie (from The New Vegetarian Epicure, 1996) 

This recipe is a little involved, but it's one of my favorite ways to eat chard. I have made it simpler by using store-bought pizza dough for the crust rather than the homemade dough called for in the original recipe. On several occasions I have also prepared the filling the day before and put in it the refrigerator until I assemble and bake the pie. You can do all the prep work on Sunday and just assemble and bake your pie on Monday. 

This recipe calls for a 13-inch round gratin dish. If you don’t have one, you can make two pies in 9-inch pie pans by dividing the dough and filling in half. 

Store-bought pizza dough

3 lbs. (2 big bunches) Swiss chard, thick stems removed, leaves chopped

1 ½ large yellow onions (about 2 cups chopped)

1 ¼ cups sliced green onions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium fennel bulb, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 tablespoon chopped fennel greens

½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

pinch of salt

fresh-ground black pepper

4 eggs

½ cup milk

10 oz feta cheese, crumbled

3 tablespoons uncooked white rice 

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet and cook the onions, green onions, and garlic in it over a medium flame for a few minutes, then add the chopped fennel and keep cooking until the vegetables are soft and beginning to color.
2. Add the chard by handfuls, tossing it with the hot vegetables to wilt it down, until it’s all in the pan. Add the cider vinegar, the fennel greens and parsley, a dash of salt, and some pepper, and keep cooking until the chard is much reduced and all the excess liquid is gone.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly. Separate one of the eggs, reserving the yolk in a small bowl, then add the other 3 eggs to the remaining white and beat them with the milk. Stir the egg mixture into the cooled vegetables along with the crumbled feta cheese and uncooked rice. Mix everything together well, taste it, and adjust salt and pepper if needed. (You can stop at this point and refrigerate your pie filling for one day.  Let the filling come to room temperature before filling the pie.)
4. To assemble, divide the pizza dough into two parts, making one a bit larger. On a lightly floured board or surface, roll out the larger part into a circle with a diameter 2 inches bigger than your gratin dish. Pizza dough is hard to roll out—one tip is to stretch it over the back of your hands.
5. Oil your gratin dish lightly and lay the circle of dough onto it, bringing it evenly up the sides and letting the extra inch hang over the edges.  Spread the filling inside the dough.
6. Roll out the smaller piece of dough into a circle just large enough to cover the dish and lay it over the filling. Fold the overhanging edge of bottom crust over the edge of the top crust and pinch together.
7. Beat the reserved egg yolk lightly with a tablespoon of water and brush glaze over the pie. Poke a few holes in top of crust with fork and bake the pie at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. 

Serve your pie in wedges with frisee salad.

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Orange-and-Chipotle-Glazed Turkey Tenderloins (from Cook’s Illustrated 30-minute Suppers, spring 2011) 

¾ cup orange juice

¼ cup juice from 2 limes

¼ cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo

2 turkey tenderloins (1 to 1 ½  pounds)

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 

1. Stir orange juice, lime juice, brown sugar, molasses and chipotle in a small bowl. Pat tenderloins dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook turkey until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium. Add orange juice mixture and cook, turning turkey occasionally, until turkey registers 160 degrees, for 14 to 17 minutes. Transfer turkey to cutting board, tent loosely with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Simmer glaze until thick and syrupy, three to four minutes. Cut tenderloins crosswise into ½-inch thick slices and arrange on platter. Stir cilantro into glaze and season with salt and pepper. 

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Sauteed Kale with Sweet Potatoes

I came up with the recipe last week when we got a new variety of sweet potato from our CSA. I am still trying to figure out its origin, but it had purple skin and bright purple flesh. We all loved this dish so much that we are having it again this week. 

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

½ sweet onion, chopped

5 garlic scapes, chopped

1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

olive oil

crumbled goat cheese 

1. Heat large skillet over medium high heat and add several tablespoons of olive oil.  Sautee the sweet potato, onion and garlic scapes until potato pieces are soft, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Add kale in bunches and cook until just wilted and bright green, stirring mixture together.
3. Remove from heat and top with crumbled goat cheese.

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Orecchiette with Broccoli, Currants and Pine Nuts (from Cook’s Illustrated 30-minute Suppers, spring 2011) 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ red onion thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup pine nuts, toasted

½ cup dried currants

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

salt and pepper

1 pound orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta)

1 pound broccoli florets

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons lemon juice 

1. Bring large pot of water to boil. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about one minute. Add garlic and pine nuts and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add currants and chicken broth and simmer until slightly reduced and flavors meld, about 4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon salt and orecchiette to boiling water and cook 6 minutes. Add broccoli and cook until pasta is tender, broccoli is bright green, and florets start to break down, about five additional minutes. Drain and return pasta and broccoli to pot.
3. Add sauce to pasta and stir to combine, allowing broccoli to break up into bits. Stir in cheese and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve your pasta with crusty bread.

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Gouda Cheeseburgers with Fennel-Onion Relish (from Real Simple: Dinner Tonight Done, spring/summer 2011) 

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon olive oil

Kosher salt and pepper

½ small fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced

½ small red onion, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 ¼ pounds ground beef chuck

4 ounces Gouda, sliced

4 hamburger buns

arugula for serving 

1. In a medium bowl, toss the fennel and onion with the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of oil and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper; set aside.
2. Form the beef into four ½-inch thick patties and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties to the desired doneness, three to five minutes per side for medium. During the last minutes of cooking, top the burgers with the gouda and cook, covered.
3. Place the burgers on the buns with arugula and fennel-onion relish.

These burgers could be grilled.  They also could be made more kid-friendly by leaving off the fennel-onion relish. 

Cole Slaw (adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/creamy-cole-slaw-recipe/reviews/index.html) 

1 head green cabbage, finely shredded

2 large carrots, finely shredded

¾ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste

2 tablespoon grated onion or chopped green onions

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

½ tablespoon dry mustard, or to taste

1 teaspoon celery salt, or to taste

salt and pepper 

Combine the shredded cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery salt, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl, and then add to the cabbage mixture. Mix well to combine and taste for seasoning; add more salt, pepper, or sugar if desired. You can make the slaw in the morning or the day before to let is sit and the flavors meld. 

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Grilled Salmon Salad with Grapefruit (from Real Simple: Dinner Tonight Done, spring/summer 2011) 

My kids love salmon, avocados and grapefruit, so this is a winning picnic dinner for Belvedere Square. 

4  6-ounce pieces skinless salmon fillet

Kosher salt and pepper

1 grapefruit

4 cups mixed greens

1 avocado, diced

¼ small red onion, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

1. Heat grill to medium. Season the salmon with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and grill until opaque throughout, 5 to 6 minutes.  Using a fork, flake the salmon into large pieces.
2. Meanwhile, cut away the peel and pit the grapefruit. Working over a large bowl, cut along the membranes between segments to release them, adding them to the bowl as you go.
3. Add the greens, avocado, and onion to the bowl and gently toss with the oil, vinegar and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve the salad topped with the salmon.

Grocery Shopping

This grocery list is divided into sections you'll find at the grocery store so it is easier to manage. There is a section at the bottom of the list for your pantry. Check your pantry for those items, and if you don’t have them, add them to your shopping list. I have coded the grocery list by dinner item. If your family doesn’t like a particular side item, substitute something else.  

Chard and Fennel Pie with Frisee Salad=CFP

Orange-and-Chipotle-Glazed Turkey Tenderloins and Sauteed Kale=TT

Orecchiette with Broccoli, Currants and Pine Nuts=OBC

Gouda Cheeseburgers with Cole Slaw=GB

Grilled Salmon Salad with Grapefruit=SS 

Grocery List 

Dairy

Store-bought pizza dough (CFP)

4 eggs (CFP)

milk (CFP)

10 oz feta cheese, crumbled (CFP)

orange juice (TT)

crumbled goat cheese (TT)

Parmesan cheese (OBC)

4 ounces of gouda, sliced (GB)

sour cream (GB) 
 

Produce

3 lbs (2 big bunches) Swiss chard (CFP)

2 large yellow onions (CFP)

7 bunches green onions (CFP, GB)

garlic (CFP, OBC)

1 medium fennel bulb and 1 small fennel bulg (CFP, GB)

flat-leaf parsley (CFP)

fresh cilantro (TT)

2 limes (TT)

1 sweet potato (TT)

sweet onion, chopped (TT)

5 garlic scapes, chopped (TT)

1 bunch kale (TT)

2 red onions (OBC, GB, SS)

1 pound broccoli florets (OBC)

arugula (GB)

1 head green cabbage (GB)

2 large carrots (GB)

1 grapefruit (SS)

4 cups mixed greens (SS)

1 avocado (SS) 

Grocery

3 tablespoons uncooked white rice (CFP)

canned chipotle chiles in adobo (TT)

½ cup pine nuts (OBC)

½ cup dried currants (OBC)

1 can low-sodium chicken broth (OBC)

1 pound orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta) (OBC)

4 hamburger buns (GB)

mayonnaise (GB) 

Bakery

Crusty bread (OBC) 

Meat/Fish

2 turkey tenderloins (1 to 1 ½  pounds) (TT)

1 ¼ pounds ground beef chuck (GB)

4  6-ounce pieces skinless salmon fillet (SS) 

Check your pantry for:

Coarse salt (like Kosher salt)

Pepper grinder

Salt

Pepper

olive oil (CFP,TT, OBC, SS)

cider vinegar (CFP)

brown sugar (TT)

molasses (TT)

vegetable oil (TT)

lemon juice (OBC)

apple cider vinegar (GB)

dry mustard (GB)

celery salt (GB)

sugar (GB)

red wine vinegar (SS)