Saturday

Salmon with Thai rice salad (recipe in the comments)

Hot tea
Caramelized pineapple
______________________________________________________________
This is one of the only salmon recipes we make. We're not really sure why, but we're sure this is an excellent meal. The Thai rice salad is great on its own and the recipe makes plenty for leftovers. We love the Thai flavors and the salmon is wonderful with it. The caramelized pineapple is a new recipe, we thought was a fun side/dessert. The rice salad has quite a few veggies and the whole thing was intended as a one dish meal, but who could resist a tropical fruit side?

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: cucumber, carrots, scallions, cilantro, pineapple
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: No question. The fish is goos hot, warm or cold. Just warm the rice salad to room temperature.

Reaction
J: "An unbelieveably good flavor combination."
M: "Fabulous summer fish dish."

Friday

Beans and greens (recipe in the comments)
Carrots, wax beans, and haricot verts with balsamic glaze

Hot tea
______________________________________________________________
This is a true oldster. One of our first cookbooks was Moosewood Cooks at Home and this was one of the first recipes we made from it. It's featured more or less regularly in our repetoir for over ten years! We actually haven't had it in a while, but the flavors tonight made us wonder why not. The creamy beans and the bitter garlic-y greens combine to form the most perfect fusion of flavors. It's simple, complete, and OH SO satisfying. Make sure you serve these on a flavorful bread. We used to use a loaf with Parmesan baked on top, but sourdough is good and tonight was a roasted garlic loaf - perhaps my favorite.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Escarole
Time: 20 minutes
Make ahead: Yep, just do the toasts right before you eat.

Reaction
J: "Old home week!"
M: "Excellent."

Thursday - Dinner out at Gratzi in Ann Arbor

Antipasti misti

Orecchiette Rustica (J)
Bistecca al Forno (M)

Cappucino Gratzi (J)
______________________________________________________________
Our first date night in a long time. Totally excellent.

Wednesday

Tofu with peanut-ginger sauce (recipe in the comments)
Cucumbers with lemon and salt

Hot tea
______________________________________________________________
This was the first tofu recipe we ever made that we hadn't eaten somewhere else first. Regular readers will remember that our first positive experience with tofu came at our friend F's house, with the amazing Grandma's Savory Tofu Casserole AKA Tofu Loaf. We made that first and, thus, began our quest for great tofu. Tofu with peanut-ginger sauce was our first foray on our own and we were richly rewarded. Not only is this an excellent dish, but this was the source of our transformative no-fail skillet tofu base recipe that MANY other tofu dinners are based on. This is an unusually hearty tofu dish and the flavors are intense and yummy. It's really hard to beat.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Tofu, zucchini, scallions, garlic, ginger, cucumbers
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: You can make the sauce ahead, but do the tofu last minute.

Reaction
J: "Peanut perfection!"
M: "Hearty, stick-to-your-ribs tofu!"

Tuesday

Spinach and arugula pesto (recipe in the comments)
Sauteed grape tomatoes and garlic

Hot tea
Chocolate ice cream
______________________________________________________________
Michael and I are HUGE pesto fans. In a typical summer we make pesto once a week to keep up with our basil crop. We typically plant four plants and by summer's end they're huge! This year we're not certain what will happen, as we won't be in the new house until early July, long after we typically plant. I do hope we'll get some herbs into the ground, even if it's late. However, this is our non-summer pesto, made with spinach, arugula, and walnuts. It's incredibly easy to make and unexpectedly wonderful. The flavor combination is truly perfect. We always make it with a colorful side dish so it's not such a completely green meal. Yummy.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Everything just goes into the food processor
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: Make the pesto ahead and toss with fresh pasta.

Reaction
J: "Perfect pesto."
M: "MMMFRGHMMFRGH" (comment unintelligible due to full mouth!)

Monday - Happy Memorial Day!

Brazilian hamburgers on onion poppyseed rolls (recipe in the comments)
French fries
Grilled red and green peppers and Vidalia onions
Sliced tomato

Hot tea
Fresh pineapple
______________________________________________________________
These are the hamburgers my mom made for our family when I was growing up. When you look at the recipe I think you'll have some idea where I get my food tastes. These are chock full of flavor - a bit of cheese, green onions, parsley, even cayenne. It's an amazing combination and makes me wonder why people eat burgers any other way. All the flavors make cheese superfluous, keeping them pretty healthy, especially if you use a very lean ground meat. I don't recommend them with ground chicken or white meat turkey alone, but those blended with a higher fat meat would be fine. The french fries are an experiment - we're getting the from McDonald's (gasp!). I know it sounds crazy - especially coming from me. However, we have made homemade French fries three or four times (the last time was the night I went into labor with T!) and they come out great, but we both commented that they were about as great as really good McDonald's fries. SO, we testing this to see. We tried to crisp them in the oven, but think we had it too hot. Next time we'll try it lower. I think it may be the easiest way! Otherwise, it's very simple grilled veggies, fresh fruit and tomatoes. A perfect welcome to summer!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Parmesan, parsley, green onion, onion, peppers, pineapple, tomato
Time: 40 minutes
Make ahead: We often make the whole batch of burgers and freeze half after forming them into patties (put wax paper between the patties) for another night.

Reaction
J: "The perfect welcome to summer!!!"
M: "The best burgers east of the Mississippi!"

Sunday

Peppered halibut (recipe in the comments)
White and wild rice pilaf
Balsamic asparagus and shallots

Hot tea
Chocolate ice cream
______________________________________________________________
This is an amazingly simple fish recipe that produces INCREDIBLE results. We have never had any problems with getting the fish overcooked. We're trying it tonight with mahi mahi instead of halibut, because halibut steaks were unusually expensive tonight. The mahi mahi worked very well - you just want to avoid overly delicate fish so they stand up to the grilling without falling apart. A grill basket is VERY handy for this and perhaps one of the cheapest cooking implements ever - I think ours was $4.99. We may love this recipe most though because of the traditional asparagus side dish. This may be the best preparation of asparagus ever. Why do we only make it when we have this fish? Probably because we have the recipe printed on the same page as the halibut. Oh well. M and I developed a love of wild rice when we were in college in Minnesota (where wild rice is a state delicacy) and so the rice blend is a perfect accompaniment.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Shallot
Time: 25 minutes
Make ahead: I would make the dressing ahead, but do everything else last minute.

Reaction
J: "I'm wishing we did only make 10 dinners so that this could be one fo them!"
M: "Proof that grilling fish needn't be scary."

Saturday

Athenian pasta primavera (our annotated recipe in the comments)
Composed salad of hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, and pickled beets

Hot tea
English toffee
______________________________________________________________
This is a new recipe I noticed in the last Eating Well. M and I love pasta primavera AND we love Greek flavors. What a perfect fusion concept. The recipe is actually very similar to a traditional pasta primavera, but is finished with mint and feta, instead of basil, parsley and Parmesan. We are also using whole wheat pasta, which we haven't liked as well in our "normal" primavera recipe. In the end I think this recipe is very good as is, but that an alternative suggested in the comments might eb even better - replacing the yellow pepper with grape tomatoes and adding chopped kalamata olives. The feta seems to stand alone a bit and I think both the tomatoes and the olives would enhance the Greek flavors. Additionally, I might replace the mint with fresh oregano. Even with these changes, the recipe is definitely worth having in the repertoire.

BTW: This side could be very high in salt, but we use un-marinated hearts of palm and artichoke hearts and rinse them before we cut them for the salads.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, yellow pepper, zucchini, garlic, mint, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: You could saute the vegetables ahead and toss with fresh pasta and finishings.

Reaction
J: "Persephone would be proud."
M: "Zesty and springy."

Friday

Chinese take out
______________________________________________________________
T opened our front door while I was in the bathroom this evening and he walked out, disappearing into the neighbors garage. We found him quickly, but it was still pretty horrifying. Anyway, we need a relaxing night and this is it. No work :)

Thursday

Tuscan chickpea soup (recipe in the comments)
Arugula salad with oranges and feta with sweet lemon dressing (dressing recipe in the comments)

Hot tea
______________________________________________________________
We have clearly made this recipe before since it's in our cookbook and we've annotated it extensively, including writing in the preferred side salad and dressing combo. What's weird is that neither M nor I remember making it. This is rare for us. Even if one of us has forgotten a recipe, the other will remember. If neither of us remembers, we usually can jog our memories by looking at the recipe. Not so here. Who knows how this was lost to the mists of time. we rediscovered it because we have recently put all our typed recipes into Google Docs so they're searchable (I bless the ground M walks on for thinking of this, it's FANTASTIC). We had an extra can of chickpeas hanging around and we're already trying to clear food out pre-move, so we were looking for a chickpea recipe and weren't thrilled with the usual suspects. Up pops this soup. It was amazing. What a great day!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, garlic, Parmesan
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: Yep, no problem.

Reaction
J: "An incredible re-discovery!"
M: "Delicious and filling."

Wednesday

Pancit (recipe in the comments)
Broccoli (the planned cucumber salad didn't work as the cucumbers got mold - eww)

Hot tea
Pecan Sandies
______________________________________________________________
This is an old-y, but goodie. We have been making Pancit (or Filipino noodles) for many years and every time we come back to it, we're really happy this recipe is in the repertoire. The rice noodles and seasoned pork come together to make a dish far more satisfying then you would get in most restaurants. When we lived in California many places served a version of Pancit. These were often very oily and unappetizing. Not true with this version. Make sure you add the egg and scallions as toppings - they really make the dish.

BTW: I hard boil the eggs (plus a couple extra for snacks or breakfasts) early in the day or right when we get home to make prep on this even speedier.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Pork, onion, cabbage, egg, scallion, cucumbers
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: Do everything but the eggs last minute.

Reaction
J: "Perfect."
M: "Noodle-y goodness."

Tuesday

Mexican molletes (recipe in the comments)
Salad with salsa verde dressing
Salsa

Hot tea
Pecan Sandies
______________________________________________________________
Molletes are like a Mexican-style French bread pizza. In fact, you use a baguette as your base. These are spread with beans and cheese, baked, and topped with bacon (or vegetarian bacon or vegetables as you prefer). It's super easy, super satisfying, and unusual. You can pair them with a fruit salad or a basic green salad for a very speedy dinner. I love the comfort aspect of them - melty cheese and beans go a long way on my comfort meter. We're entering the high stress phase of house buying and a comforting dinner couldn't be more welcome.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Grate cheese
Time: 20 minutes
Make ahead: Best made just before serving.

Reaction
J: "Crazy easy comforting fare."
M: "A twist on comfort food."

Monday

Egyptian edamame stew (recipe in the comments)
Whole wheat cous cous
Greek yogurt
______________________________________________________________
This is a highly unusual dinner. I expect that is because we don't often eat Egyptian food, though this isn't quite authentic. The flavors blend very well and become a slight twist on your standard middle eastern flavor. We have added a few seasonings and the raisins, making this even less authentic I expect, but the result is very satisfying. The original recipe called for cilantro or mint and we have always used cilantro in the past. We tried it with mint this time and find ourselves solidly back in the cilantro camp (reflected in the attached recipe). It was good, but not as excellent, nor as unusual, with the mint.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, zucchini, garlic, cilantro
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: Absolutely, just make the cous cous last minute.

Reaction
J: "Apparently, Egyptians eat very well!"
M: "Still good, but better with cilantro."

Sunday

Tilapia corn chowder (recipe in the comments)
Roasted asparagus and red peppers

Hot tea
Dark chocolate covered raisins
______________________________________________________________
This is another wonderful chowder that's much lighter than a traditional clam chowder (see Plum Island Clam Chowder). It's rich due to a small amount of bacon and half and half, but all the vegetables, the lemon juice, and the light fish make for a very light finish. We paired it with some basic roasted spring vegetables. It's a satisfying and oddly elegant dinner, perfect for a Sunday. Today has been an unusually cold day for late May (highs in the low 50s and very windy), so soup seems especially perfect.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Celery, leek, potatoes, tilapia, chives
Time: 45 minutes
Make ahead: Sure thing.

Reaction
J: "This soup is truly unbelievable."
M: " 'Soup'er good!"

Saturday

Farfalle with salmon sauce (recipe in the comments)
Herb salad

Hot tea
Pecan Sandies (actually knock offs of Pecan Sandies, but you get the idea)
______________________________________________________________
We don't eat meals like the double decker tacos from yesterday very often and, boy, afterwards we need a quick and sure return to a more normal eating style. This is a new recipe, but was certain to fit the bill. A light, spicy red sauce for pasta with some salmon for body. The original recipe wasn't spicy enough, didn't contain enough garlic, and had no red wine, BUT it was a great inspiration for us. In the end, this turned out to be a lot like trollop pasta, one of our favorites. It's a bit weird that they're so similar, because other than fish and tomatoes they have dissimilar ingredients. One would think a sauce made with olives and capers would be very different from one without, but actually, no. Anyway,a yummy meal that brought us back to basics.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Garlic, parsley
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: Make the sauce ahead and toss with fresh pasta.

Reaction
J: "A return to our regularly scheduled cuisine."
M: "A new twist on a classic."

Friday

Double decker tacos (recipe in the comments)
Sliced peaches and raspberries with red wine vinegar
______________________________________________________________
We're back! The trip was a success and we have a wonderful house that we will move into in early July. To welcome us home we're having a meal we haven't made in a LONG time. This is pure comfort food - tacos with meat and beans. It came out of a newspaper ad for Kraft shredded cheese and has the health profile to match. If you use low fat meat, fat free beans and are judicious with your toppings, this can be a pretty healthy meal (especially if you keep the portion size down). That said, we never do and it's always a blow out. However, it's a blow out we love and probably have once every few years. I think it's worth it :)

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Taco toppings
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: Best made last minute.

Reaction
J: "Still amazing after all these years!"
M: "The ultimate taco. Soft taco? Hard Taco? Why choose?"

M and I leave tomorrow to go house hunting in buffalo, leaving T and C (our dog) in the capable hands of M's mom, Mn. Tonight we're having Chinese take out for an easy pre-departure dinner. We'll be back (and back to the blog) on Friday (check in then for double decker tacos - a gastronomic delight!), hopefully the proud owners of our first house! Holy cow!

Friday

Warm salmon salad (recipe in the comments)
Arugula salad
Cous cous

Hot tea
Chocolate chess pie
______________________________________________________________
Mn (M's mom) came today to spend a few days with us before we leave to go house hunting in Buffalo. We were looking for something easy to do for dinner, so that we could have a festive meal, but that wouldn't take very long to prepare. This is a very simple and elegant salad. You can serve it over raw greens or along a more traditional dressed salad. It makes a WONDERFUL (shall I say, show stopping? I think I shall!) appetizer on grainy crackers. It's warm enough for a chilly spring night, but cool enough for the heat of summer. It requires almost no cooking (heating the dressing ingredients is all) and the salmon is simply drained and flaked right out of the can. Excellent food, excellent speed, excellent price! Does this remind anyone else of "the 5"? I think so!


Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Shallots
Time: 20 minutes
Make ahead: Make this as early as you want and just zap it in the microwave for a short time to warm it up again. It is best warm, not cold.

Reaction
J: "Salmon is scrumptious."
M: "Canned fish. It's not just tuna anymore."
Mn: "Yum."

Thursday

Turkey and balsamic onion quesadillas (recipe in the comments)
Salad with balsamic vinaigrette
Grapes

Hot tea
mini oreos (we got a sample!)
______________________________________________________________
This is a speedy meal that is surprisingly decadent. We usually make it with deli turkey (lunchmeat), but had leftover turkey from our freezer that we tried tonight. It's not smoked and the fresh texture is very different from the deli type. In the end, I didn't like it as well this way. The thin deli meat and the smoky flavor both seem important. It's a good recipe though and I'm sure we'll turn back to it soon with the lunchmeat filling.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Onion, cheddar, turkey
Time: 25 minutes
Make ahead: You can do all the chopping in advance and I don't think there's a limit on how long you soak the onions, but grill the quesadillas right before you serve.

Reaction
J: "Better with deli turkey."
M: "I miss that smoky flavor."

Wednesday

Penne with broccoli rabe (recipe in the comments)
Grilled bell peppers

Hot tea
Cocoa almonds
______________________________________________________________
This is a very light dinner that highlights the spicy flavor of the broccoli rabe. Many people would want to have a heavy side dish with this (bean bruscetta, sounds good), but we usually just have it on its own. It really benefits from a colorful side dish, like multi-colored peppers or sauteed or broiled tomatoes. The original recipe didn't call for the whole wheat pasta, but we like it better with whole wheat. The nutty flavor really adds something to the overall flavor.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Broccoli rabe, garlic, peppers
Time: 25 minutes
Make ahead: Best made last minute.

Reaction
J: "This was even better than usual tonight. I wish I knew what we did."
M: "Simple, but bold."

Tuesday

Pad Thai (recipe in the comments from 11/11)
Cucumber salad

Hot tea
Pralines
______________________________________________________________
This is an unsurprising repeat. M and I love pad Thai and this recipe is pretty easy and tastes great. In fact I have come to like our version of pad Thai better than most versions I try at restaurants. I think the extra dose of vegetables and lime really kick this recipe into high gear. It's a wonderful dish to make on a busy night because it is pretty easy and it can sit. It's good hot,warm, or even cold. We have used this many times as picnic fare. Be sure to watch the volume on your rice noodles. We used a new brand and didn't look at the package very clearly and it was more noodles than the recipe calls for. This made the flavors less intense and we had to add sauce ingredients at the end. It still turned out yummy.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy with two chefs (see post from 11/11)
Chopping: Peanuts, garlic, carrots, cucumbers
Time: 40 minutes
Make ahead: It saves well, but I haven't had the best luck reheating it. Serve leftovers room temperature or cold.

Reaction
J: "Did I really get seconds?"
M: "Mmmmmm" (said while scooping the remains out of the pot with his fingers!)

Monday - Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!!!

Grilled fish tacos (recipe in the comments)
Black beans and rice
Sliced watermelon
MARGARITAS

Hot tea
______________________________________________________________
Michael and I became true devotees of Baja style cooking when we lived in southern California. The pinnacle of this cuisine is the fish taco - seasoned tender chunks of fish (sometimes fried, sometimes grilled) in warm tortillas with crunchy veggies (always including cabbage) often with a creamy sauce. It will probably not surprise most readers that the fish taco is not made in Ann Arbor and I have little faith I will find it in Buffalo. So, we have found our own version, made a bit easier using bottled dressing of choice. Unsurprisingly, if you know about "the 5" we don't fry our fish, but the grilled version is my favorite anyway. We weren't big celebrants of Cinco de Mayo in southern California, but we miss the broo ha ha here. It's always good to have an excuse to feast - and what a feast!

Note: The beans and rice really stretch this meal, so even though it's not a lot of fish, you can easily serve three hungry or four normal folks with this dinner.


Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Monterey jack, cabbage, tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, limes
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: You can chop all the toppings ahead, but grill the fish last minute.

Reaction
J: "Fabuloso fish feast!!!!"
M: "Authentic Baja anywhere!"

Sunday

Spaghetti with caramelized onions and anchovies (recipe in the comments)
Grilled red and green peppers

Hot tea
New wave vanilla wafers
______________________________________________________________
So, I have to admit that I share virtually everyone's prejudice against anchovies, but M does not. He likes the salty, fishy little guys. While we don't always agree on food, I do trust his palette. It helps that I have heard from multiple sources that anchovies have a bad rap - that when cooked they become these mellow little bursts of flavor. So, this is a recipe I found to test this out. Besides having anchovies, it's also a whole wheat pasta recipe, which many of you know we're trying to eat more of. The result was amazing. This is rich and satisfying and is neither fishy nor salty. It's a complex onion-y flavor that we will want to repeat often. Anchovies may become a new staple!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onions, garlic, anchovies, parsley, peppers
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: This saved pretty well for lunch, but it was best fresh.

Reaction
J: "I think I'm a convert."
M: "Don't fear anchovies!!!!"

Saturday

Black bean croquettes with fresh salsa (recipe in the comments)
Corn tortillas and lime wedges
Herb salad with M's famous salsa verde dressing

Hot tea
Pralines
______________________________________________________________
This is a new recipe from Eating Well that M and I have been wanting to try. We are big fans of croquette like things and vegetarian croquettes are something we're always excited about. One of our earliest food debacles occurred over some white bean croquettes that would not hold their shape during cooking no matter how long we chilled them or how we changed the ingredients. We were gluttons for punishment back then and tried them three or four times before giving up! This time the recipe is simpler and the croquettes are baked. The Mexican style is also appealing and makes them very different than most meals like this that we make. I loved the texture of the croquettes and the blend of the salsa and croquette flavors.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, avocado, oranges
Time: 45 minutes (20 minutes baking)
Make ahead: I think these will save well, but should eb reheated in the oven, not the microwave to maintain the crunch.

Reaction
J: "Croquette-ish and surprisingly easy."
M: "The ends justify the beans - I really liked it!"

Friday - Delivery from Cottage Inn

Antipasto salad

Thin crust pizza with black olives, sweet red peppers, broccoli, and onion
Thin crust pizza with black olives, green peppers, extra mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, onions, and extra sauce
______________________________________________________________
This has been one of those weeks. We decided to move on Monday (posts will start originating in Buffalo, NY sometime this summer!) and the repercussions of that decision (mostly in terms of long lists of things to do!) have drained our energy. We couldn't face cooking tonight and just needed to veg. Cottage Inn to the rescue!!!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Delivery was my level of difficulty tonight.

Reaction
J: "After Cottage Inn I always think, 'We should eat more pizza.' "
M: "Always fabulous."

Thursday

Pasta primavera (recipe in the comments)
Salad

Hot tea
Cocoa almonds
______________________________________________________________
It's spring, so pasta primavera has to make an appearance. We couldn't call ourselves seasonal cooks without it! This is a fairly simple recipe, though I have no idea how authentic it is. That said, it does somehow perfectly capture spring flavors. The white wine, lemon, and light herb-y flavors mingle with the tiny amount of cream for a perfect combination. It has warmed up again here into the upper 50s and we had a partly sunny day that's drifting to rain overnight. It's quintessential spring. We couldn't have picked a better meal for tonight!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Squash, garlic, Parmesan, basil, parsley
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: This will reheat fine as long as you are VERY careful not to let the sauce boil (AKA curdle).

Reaction
J: "Perfect spring!"
M: "Spring in a bowl!"