Tuesday

Curried tofu salad (recipe in the comments)
Sourdough rolls
Cucumbers with rice wine vinegar

Hot tea
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This is a new approach to tofu and a perfect summer salad. It's sort of like egg salad, but more flavorful. Best, it is another use for the Major Gray's chutney that we used in the Curried potato salad with tuna from last week. I always like to have a couple uses for specialized condiments like that so they don't totally clutter up my refrigerator. This is a great summer meal because there is no cooking required and it's INCREDIBLY quick. I think this would be awesome stuffed into pita or in cucumber boats for a different take on the salad.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Celery, grapes, scallions, walnuts, cucumbers
Time: 20 minutes
Make ahead: We enjoyed leftovers for lunch the next day, but I thought it was best room temperature, so fresh mightbe the best option.

Reaction
J: "Tofu-licious."
M: "Perfect summer tofu!"

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
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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!"