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."

Thursday

Penne with lamb and eggplant (recipe in the comments)
Romaine and cherry tomato salad with garlic dressing

Hot tea
______________________________________________________________
I suppose this pasta sauce has a bit too much ground lamb to officially be a "meat as condiment" recipe, but the sauce does seem more like a vegetable base with meat as an accent. I love the Mediterranean flavors here, transporting the pasta out of Italy and a bit farther east. The crumbled feta on top hits just the right note. We're having a romaine salad, which is unusual for us as certified baby lettuce fans. T has recently started doing better with crunchy lettuce and the idea that he could one day join us for salad is delightful. All in all this is another great light recipe to greet the new year! Hi 2008!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Eggplant, zucchini, basil, romaine
Time: 40 minutes
Make ahead: This is best done last minute so the veggies don't get mushy.

Reaction
J: "Mediterranean flair!"
M: "Pan-Mediterranean delight."
L: "So easy, so good."

Wednesday

Pasta Amatriciana (recipe in the comments)
Mixed greens and shredded carrot salad with bacon balsamic dressing

A few spice drops
Gingerbread spice tea
______________________________________________________________
This is one of those dinners that the recipe we started with bears no resemblance to what we ended up with except the name is similar. We started with a recipe for Perciatelli all'Amatriciana from a Weight Watchers Simply the Best Italian cookbook and, as is so often the case with "diet" cookbooks, had to increase both portion size and calories. That said, we have ended up with a very healthy and very tasty outcome. This is one of our "meat as condiment" recipes, where just a bit of meat changes the character and the taste in dramatic ways.

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

Reaction
J: "Pasta is the best food on earth."
M: "Excellent when you make it our way."

Monday

Red beans and rice with chorizo (recipe in the comments)
Herb salad with grape tomatoes

Dark chocolate dipped shortbread
Hot tea
______________________________________________________________
This is another Whole Foods recipe. M and I love beans and rice in all forms and many of our standard recipes contain that yummy combo. Stick with the daily meals for long enough and you'll see recipes for beans and rice from most cuisines. You can make this with frozen rice (a great timesaver, but not the most ecologically oriented or cheap) or you can use an equal amount of cooked rice. We use chicken chorizo, not pork, to keep this relatively healthy.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Moderate
Chopping: Onion, celery, pepper, garlic, chorizo, tomatoes
Time: 15minutes to prep, 30 minutes to cook
Make ahead: Not a problem.

Reaction
J: "Our whole house smells yummy."
M: "Stick to your ribs goodness."

So, I better fess up right off: M and I have a jar of bacon grease in our fridge. Yes, you heard me (read me?), bacon grease. How is this healthy? Isn't one of "the 5" health consciousness? Yes, it is AND I believe a jar of bacon grease can take you a long way down the road of healthful eating. I know, many of you are about to stop reading, thinking I have been taking some sort of illicit substance, but read on.

Bacon has flavor. Lots of it. It makes things very tasty, even when you only use a bit. A dressing made with a little bacon grease, red wine vinegar, water (for bulk), and some minor seasonings (salt, pepper, a bit of Dijon) can be transcendent with FAR LESS FAT THAN ONE MADE WITH OLIVE OIL. Here's another idea, a ho hum lima bean soup can become a culinary masterpiece with some crispy bacon crumbled on top (await a future recipe for Leek and Lima Soup!). A pretty standard sweet potato hash becomes transcendent with Canadian bacon (and the grease from cooking it) as your starting ingredient.

You all have probably realized that we don't eat much meat. Frankly, I don't think our society can afford to eat much meat (but that's another post). While there are times when we (M & J) sit down to a meat intensive meal, most of our meat eating comes in the form of "meat as condiment" - a small amount of meat, lending big flavor notes to whatever we're cooking. I think this is one of the most healthful, inexpensive, and sustainable ways to continue to eat meat, not to mention the fact that it can result in some very tasty products. In other words, this is the main way that meat fits into "the 5".

I don't think eating in a way that is healthful to ourselves or the planet should be about penance. I think that the main purpose of food is to taste good and when we forget that we lose something precious. A bit of bacon can really make your dinner - be it one of 10 or 10, 000.