Menu for Oktoberfest

This week we celebrate our annual Oktoberfest (2 Birthdays and the return of the prodigal daughter) -- so it's time to give some thoughts to the menu.

Beer (we don't mess around -- we get a small keg for this occasion!)
Bratwurst (variety: from Knockwurst to spicy Cajun)
Sauerkraut and Rotkohl (red cabbage)
Mustard selection
Potato salad (german, so no mayo!)
green salad(s)
raw salads from grated carrots, celery root, beets
coleslaw
salmon-burgers
Soups: lentils, squash (curried)
Dessert: Apple crisp w/ homemade icecream

This week, our CSA box promises to contain
From local harvest: carrots, new potatoes (farmer’s choice), cabbage
From Outside: Honeycrisp apples, d’anjou pears, green leaf lettuce, garlic, sunburst squash, Rainbow chard
Possibilities: Alaskan Brussels Sprouts | Alaskan beets |Alaskan broccoli | Alaskan celery root |Alaskan turnips

This week's family menu
Meatless Monday: Bubble & Squeak
Tues: eating out after lessons
Vegan Wed: vegetable curry in coconut-ginger sauce, quinoa
Thurs: spaghetti & meatballs, salad (B-day girl sleep-over, so they got to vote)
Fri morning: Biscuits and Gravy (B-day girl's special request!)
Fri: flanks and greens over rice
Sat: OKTOBERFEST
Sun: Brussels sprouts gratin, turnips with bacon, purple mashed potatoes, leftover salads

Fall special-occasion Meat Pie Recipe

I haven't posted a decent menu in quite a while.
Yes, I'm still cooking, and there's been a great variety of fall produce in our CSA box. Tonight we had a very special dinner guest: the prodigal daughter Kitchensister has returned!
(disclaimer: the photo is from last T-giving: no snow yet!!!)

Special-Occasion Cajun Meat-n-veggie Pie
Roasted baby taters w/ herbs du Provence
Roasted yams
Kale with proscuitto and honey
German Carrot salad

The RECIPE
The pie is my variation on Paul Prudhomme's "Paulette's Wonderful Meat Pie" -- it's an unusual recipe in that it calls for grated potatoes in the meat filling, and is topped by a white (dairy) topping. I use less meat & more veggies, but it still feels rich & tasty! It's about the yummiest dish I know that uses ground meat.
This is not a dinner you can throw together in a hurry. Although it's not complicated, there are LOTS of ingredients, and you gotta start early in the day.
I make the pie crust and filling well ahead of dinner (maybe even right after breakfast) -- then all I have to do later is assemble and bake.

Pie crust
1.3 c flour
3 T sugar
3/4 t salt
1/4 c butter
1 egg, beaten
3 T milk
Refrigerate dough, then roll out and freeze in pie tin.

Meat and Veggie filling
1 # ground beef, buffalo, moose, wallaby or whatever
(original recipe called for more meat, combo of beef and pork)
tons of veggies:
onions
garlic
celery
green or red bell pepper
several potatoes, carrots, turnips or other root crops, grated finely
spice mix: salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, basil (make it spicy, if desired, by adding cayenne?)
liquid as needed (water or stock)

Cook the ground meat. Drain if too fatty. Set aside.
Saute onion, celery and peppers, in batches, in a little olive oil. Add spices and meat.
Add grated root crops, together with enough (but not too much!) liquid to allow them to cook, simmering on low heat. Make sure liquid is mostly evaporated/absorbed by the potatoes before removing from stove. Let this mixture cool down completely.
Hint: might want to drain the filling, using a sieve. This is the only "tricky" part of this recipe -- watch out or the pie will be "soggy".

Topping:
Combination of cream cheese and plain (greek) yoghurt
Warm cream cheese slightly until you can stir this into a smooth paste --thin w/ milk if needed.
Add spices: salt, pepper, thyme (thanks, Susitna Cafe!)

Preheat oven. About 1 hour before planning to serve dinner, take out frozen pie crust, add filling and spread the topping. Bake 45-55 min, checking after about 30 min and protecting pie crust edges with shield or alu foil.

Roasted baby potatoes
Just toss them w/ oil, salt and herbs. It's so easy!!!!

Kale with proscuitto and honey
variation from a recipe in Glacier Grist

big bunch of kale, tough stems removed, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
proscuitto ham, chopped
2 T honey
1 T vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Parboil kale for a few minutes (approx.5) -that helps take the bitterness out of them, which kale can have late in the growing season. In the spring, I might just saute them right with the onions.
Other than the parboiling, this saute goes together real quick!

Scandinavian supper

When we traveled through Denmark and Norway a number of years ago, we noticed something:
everything on the dinner plate was white (or yellow in the case of potatoes), with green being the only actual "color".
Last night, for Syttente Mai (17th of May), we celebrated Norwegian independence with:
Alaskan cod, baked in parchment with herb butter
roasted potatoes
spinach with onions and cream
asparagus

Sorry, no picture -- but it did look lovely, and was rather tasty and healthy, too.
Say a great big Hurrah for Syttente Mai, and take a swig of Aquavit!

menu for mid-May

CSA this week: Alaskan potatoes & beets.
From Outside: certified organic Cameo apples | certified organic choice navel oranges | certified organic kiwi | certified organic asparagus | certified organic broccoli | certified organic Romaine lettuce | certified organic Lacinto red kale | certified organic red or green cabbage raab | certified organic sweet onions

Sunday (B-day): Cajun Shepherd's Pie, Rhubarb pie
Monday: quinoa - jambalaya style, with carrots & sausage
Tues: German pancakes
Wed: Pita breads filled w/ Gyros, cucumbers, yoghurt, spinach
Thurs: Salmonburgers, green salad, quinoa
Fri: mexican burritos w/ black beans, chorizo, braised greens
Sat: B-day party potluck at friends'house -- too many pasta salads, but delicious grilled salmon!

Menu for last week of April

CSA box this week brings:
Alaskan white potatoes | Alaskan beets | Alaskan carrots,
certified organic d’anjou pears | certified organic choice navel oranges | certified organic kiwi fruit | certified organic asparagus | certified organic Romaine lettuce | certified organic cabbage raab | certified organic collard greens | certified organic mustard greens


First of all, I gotta do something with those beets -- still have some from last box!
Borscht is not exactly welcomed with open arms around here, but last week's Glacier Grist (#64) has an intriguing recipe for a red devil chocolate cake using red beets as the secret ingredient!

The greens is what I usually use up first, and our favorite application is Flanks and Greens,a cajun recipe, but this week I'm trying some different recipes.

Sunday: Jambulaya w/ spicy brats and shrimp, green salad
Monday: carrot-tahini soup (GG#64), Bubble and Squeak (GG#2), green salad
Tues: Indian Lamb and pea curry w/ brown rice
Wed: White Bean soup with collard greens, German pancakes w/ strawberries
Thursday: Salmon baked en papillote, potatoes & artichoke gratin (GG#63), asparagus
Friday: Pasta or Pizza
Saturday: Nature Center Auction & Dinner
Sunday: Pasta w/ Raab, red peppers, etc

Menu for mid-Feb

CSA boxes are full of good winter crops.
Last Wed: Alaskan onions, potatoes, carrots. From Outside: certified organic Fancy Fuji apples | certified organic large navel oranges | certified organic kumquats | certified organic romaine lettuce | certified organic Rainbow chard | certified organic sunchokes | certified organic broccoli, butternut squash.
This Wed: Alaskan beets, red or yellow onions , celery root, cabbage. From Outside: certified organic Asian pears | certified organic pummelo | certified organic Murcott mandarins | certified organic butter lettuce | certified organic green kale | certified organic living pea shoots | certified organic garlic.

When the boxes first arrive, we use the greens first -- so last week that meant a stir-fry and cajun greens (I actually bought extra greens at the grocery store)! And the fruit gets attacked as part of snacks and lunches, esp. by my youngest, the fruit-bat.

Sat: Cajun Flanks and Greens
Sun: Gumbo w/ jumbo prawns, roasted potatoes & Brussels sprouts, green salad
Mon: Grilled fish, roasted sunchokes and yams, rice, salad
Tues: squash soup, Bubble and Squeak, salad
Wed: Thai Soup w/ salmon, Thai noodles w/ pea shoots, carrots, etc
Thurs: Musselini Linguine (*), Roasted medley of root veggies: celery root, beets, carrots
Fri: eat out: pizza?

I also had to look up pummelo: it's a large citrus, ancestor of the grapefruit, and also called a pamplemousse, pomelo, Bali lemon, Limau besar, and shaddock. My little fruitbat should be happy!

Menu for mid-January

This past weekend we went on a cabin trip, and our meals were simple, yet tasty.
Upon returning, I continued to cook simple meals as we're catching up with life, laundry, etc.
"E-zy" Meals, to me, is defrosting something cooked previously in a more industrious state -- so we ate wholesome tasty food. I LOVE having a freezer full of ready meals!

Wed we finally got some fresh produce when the CSA box arrived, plus I went grocery-shopping, and now the frig is full of fresh ingredients again. (Aside: I used to worry about whether we could get thru the produce in our CSA box during the week before the next one arrived, and now I'm buying extra vegetables!)

Sunday (at cabin): jambalaya w/ carrots and sausage
Monday: Gumbo and crab
Tues: Mexican: burritos w/ black beans & chorizo, grilled veggies & meat.
Wed: Chili and cornbread, green salad
Thurs: Flanks & greens over rice
Fri: Thai fish soup or bouillabaise, Pasta w/ carrots, cabbage & roasted walnuts, salad
Sat: Beet and Carrot soup, Pasta w/ goatcheese, broccoli & smoked salmon, green salad
Sun: Bubble & squeek, roasted turnips, celery roots, potatoes, salad

Menu for early January

No CSA box this week -- just working on various hardy root crops stored in frig and cellar, plus taking stock of what's in the freezer... Need to do a Costco run too!
Started some Mung sprouts today, and looking hard at the head and a half of cabbage...

Having completely ran out of bread, and not feeling like venturing out Monday morning ("I got a throat", an expression coined by one of my kids), I even baked some homemade bread -- aaaaah, heaven: a quiet house now that everybody's gone back to work/school...

MON: corned beef, potatoes, cabbage & homemade Beerbread
TUES: Thai Kitchen (eating out)
WED: Leek soup, braised greens, Baked Ziti, Soprano-style, salad
THUR: Chicken&veggie stir-fry w/ sprouts, rice, potstickers
FRI: Gimme More Pie (recipe here), braised greens, roasted potatoes
SAT: Porrotos Granados (recipe here), empanadas, carrot salad
SUN: Pasta w/ veggies, smoked salmon and goat cheese, green salad

Menu for last week of December

It's that wonderful week after Christmas, when the frig is full, but the calendar is not!

We're about cookied-out, and I find myself craving mostly fruits and vegetables. Perfect for all that wonderful produce from the CSA box: carrots, taters, celery root, cabbage, pears, apples, oranges, greens, etc.
At Costco I bought 2 special treats: King Crab, and Leg of lamb, imported from Australia.
The lamb will last me a few month: I cut it up into chunks and freeze it in 1-pound portions, plus I make stock from the scraps...) I love making an indian feast with lots of vegetarian dishes plus lamb korma or lamb stew!

An old Southern tradition is to eat black-eyed peas and greens on New Year's Day -- so we're adding this to our family tradition. My Swedish-American husband is the force behind our family's predeliction for CAJUN food -- every year for the last 17 we turn the turkey left-over into a great big batch of GUMBO. It freezes very well!

SAT "Boxing Day": leftover turkey, mashed pototoes, etc.
SUN: Polenta w/ red sauce, super-garlicky garlic bread, big green salad
MON: Cajun Flanks & greens, over rice, oven-roasted celery root
TUE: Bubble & Squeek (potatoes and cabbage)
WED: Cardamon Lamb Curry (recipe from Dingo Dave Downunder), other veggies & rice
THUR: Gumbo and King Crab (more here)
FRI: Cajun black-eyed peas, mess of greens, cornbread
SAT: Corned beef, potatoes & cabbage

Mid-December Menu

This week in our CSA box: Alaskan potatoes - farmer’s choice | Alaskan Brussels Sprouts | Alaskan carrots | Alaskan onions | Alaskan cabbage | Alaskan celery root. From Outside:certified organic Honeycrisp apples | certified organic kiwi fruit | certified organic pears| certified organic red romaine lettuce, cauliflower| certified organic garlic

I also did the big Costco shopping trip, and came home with a box of japanese Mandarins (a favorite for lunches), 5 pack of avocadoes, organic whole chicken, scallops and king crab for Christmas eve!

Monday: butternut squash-filled ravioli in a sauce with red peppers and scallops, green salad w/ beans, etc
Tues: It was going to be a roast, but hubby and kids ate in Anchor-town on acct of crazy roads due to snow -- so I had some delicious left-overs...
Wed: stir-fry with chicken, broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts, brown rice, spring rolls (from Costco's freezer section, not home-made)
Thurs: Coconut-curry squash soup, pizza, raw celery & apple salad, green salad
Fri: Gimme more pie, potatoes, Brussels sprouts
Sat: chili night - white chili & red chili, cornbread, salad
Sun: salmon? bubble and squeek (potatoes and cabbage)

Menu for last week of October

The theme seems to be potatoes & cabbage -- very proper for a blog by a "kraut".

Sunday: Corned Beef, with potatoes and green beans
Monday: White Bean soup with ham, biscuits
Tuesday: Gimme More Pie, mashed potatoes, braised kale
Wednesday: Salmon soup, Bubble & Squeak
Thursday: Beef Stew with Irish Soda Bread
Friday: Shepherd's Pie, cabbage & bacon
Saturday: Papa's cooking?

Menu for German Week (Oktoberfest)

Sonntag: Zwiebelkuchen, Kartoffeln und Salat
Montag: Huehnchensuppe mit schwaebischen Eiernudeln, Roggenbroetchen, Selleriesalat
Dienstag: Paprikash mit Spaetzle, Gruener Salat
Sauerkraut mit Wurst und Kartoffeln, oder Himmel und Erde
Mittwoch: Goulash und Kartoffelknoedel, Gruener Salat, Rote Beete
Donnerstag: Linsensuppe mit Wurst, Vollkornbroetchen, Moehrensalat
Freitag: Sauerkraut mit Wurst und Kartoffeln, oder Himmel und Erde
Samstag: Koenigsberger Kloepse, Rotkohl und Kartoffeln

I'll be translating this gobbledigook, plus post recipes as the week goes by...

September Menu (South of the Border)

This week we're heading SOUTH - to Chile in South America where I grew up, by way of Mexico and other Central/South American dishes.

Sun: Carne asada, black beans, rice, tomatoes, avos, all rolled up in a tortilla
Mon: White chili, corn muffins, salad
Tues: eat out -lessons
Wed: empanadas, porotos granados
Thurs: Pastel de Choclo (*)
Fri - Sun: they're on their own while I'm in Homer on a mini-vacation with Eldest daughter.

September menu (Greek week)

The mediterranean theme is continuing this week -- too good to move away from, esp. with missing several days with us gone camping over the long weekend (Labor Day)...

Mon: return from camp trip -- threw together a meal of grilled meat (carne asada), baked potatoes, mess of greens, and freshly-grated carrots from Liesl's garden!
Tues: eat out at Nino's (lessons in Anchorage)
Wed: chicken-orzo soup w/ fennel, Greek-style burgers w/ onions & feta, fresh tomatoes, salad
Thurs: Indian Take-out (let's just say it was a CRAZY day!)
Friday: Prasoryzo (leeks & rice), Greek-style baked chicken, greens
Sat: Moussaka w/ potatoes and eggplant
Sun: something on the grill or Chicken w/ ouzo and cream sauce over rice, steamed veggies

Menu for September (Italian Week)

Lots of stuff from the garden is going into our dinners now.
Carrots, potatoes, kale, and even zuccinis are producing well right now. And the tomatoes growing in containers on the porch are ripening too -- yummy!

This week is Italian week. A nice change of pace and less work for me than last week's menu.

Mon: BBQ ribs, new potatoes in cream sauce, fried zuccini, tomato & mozarella salad
Tues: Baked ziti w/ veggies and pepperoni, cucumber & tomatoes w/ oil & balsamic vinegar
Wed: Lasagna, sauteed kale, green salad
Thurs: Spaghetti w/ Clamsauce, broccoli, carrot salad
Fri: Pizza at Moose's Tooth
Sat: Camping over Labor Day Weekend!
Pasta w/ kale, soup & panini w/ pastrami & provolone

Menu for last week of August (Africa Week)

This week was shaping up to be a doozy with lots of running around, so I did some cooking ahead on the weekend (the Harira lend intself well for that). Also, several meals needed to be at least partially prepped before I left for work in the morning -- something that really helps make my afternoons less crazy.
Farmer's Market is full of zuccinis, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes.
My garden is producing as well, although weak on the squash front.

Mon: Harira (*), Marooccan-style pizza w/ goat cheese, olives, tomato, green salad
Tues: South-African Bobotie(*), mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, salad.
Wed: African Peanut Soup w/Fufu(*) or Biscuits
Thurs: Chicken Yassa(*), Malawi-style green beans(*), couscous(*)
Fri: Lentil soup, Koushari (*), falafel, salad w/cucumber, tomato and feta
Sat: invited to dinner
Sun: Ethiopian Lamb, vegetables w/ spicy butter, Injera

Menu for first week of school

Mon: Thai soup w/ shrimp, zuccini & bok choi, baby potatoes w/ "Gruene Sosse" (*), Smoked salmon, green beans
Tues: Pasta in cream sauce w/ Italian sausage & smoked peppers, green salad
Wed: lessons & eat out
Thurs: Grilled salmon, grilled zuccini, rice, salad
Fri: Pasta
Sat: Grilled skirt steak, new potatoes w/ Gruene Sosse, big green salad
Sun: Chili & cornbread

Menu for first week of August

Went to Farmer's Market and got lots of goodies: fresh potatoes, zukes, beans, tomatoes, and every imaginable green -- even found cress and sorrel!
Sun: Burgers, corn-on-the-cob, salad
Mon: pasta w/ goatcheese & zuccini (*), salad
Tues: can't remember...
Wed: Pizza and movie "UP" at Bear Tooth
Thurs: Chicken Jambalaya(*), green beans, salad
Fri: Alpine Soup(*) & Panini, Chicken & veggies shish-kababs, potatoes w/ Gruene Sosse(*), apricot Upside-down cake (baked by Liesl!)
Sat: Kofta-kebobs, yogurt-herb sauce, potatoes, rice

Menu for last week of July

Sun: stirfry pork and snap peas in sweet-sour sauce, brown rice
Mon: Paulette's Wonderful Cajun Pie, Brown rice, mess of sauteed greens, salad
Tues:salmon/ham-burgers, XiaoMing Salad, garlic-roasted potatoes, green salad
Wed: Potluck Party: grilled halibut & lots of great dishes, the Brit's sinfully good cheesecake
Thurs: Leek-potato soup, Pasta w/ loads of veggies, rhubarb crumble
Fri: camping-- Red Beans and Rice w/ sausage and kale
Sat: camping-- lentil soup with ham

Menu for midJuly

Last week went by so quickly: busy getting ready and then doing the BIG Crow Pass backpacking trip -- more on my other blog, Borealkraut.blogspot.com, whenever I get the pictures posted...
Mon: Flanks & Greens (*) over rice
Tues: Baby rack of ribs, corn-on-the cob, left-over pasta w/ chevre, green salad
Wed: eat out (lessons in Anchorage)
Thurs: burritos on the run to catch a Youth Shakespeare play
Fri-Sun: Hubby & kids are left to their own devices, because MOM and girlfriend have gone on BIG backpacking trip (read about it on other blog: Borealkraut.blogspot.com)

Got back from Crow Pass Hike, happy but exhausted, and the kids cooked dinner!
Meanwhile, Liesl's garden plot is producing LOTS of oriental peas, and I harvested Kohlrabi and the very first baby potatoes...
CSA box comes on Wed full of Alaskan-grown produce: strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, English cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, zucchini, green onions, Russet potatoes.
Sooo, this week I need to some more serious planning to eat all these goodies!

Sunday (kids cooked!): spaghetti & meatballs, bread w/ aioli
Mon: Stir-fry chicken w/ oriental peas (own harvest) over rice
Tues: Baby taters and carrots in cream sauce, shish-ka-bobs of chicken & red peppers, big green salad
Wed: veggie Lasagna w/lots of zuccini, grilled eggplant, pork chops and garlic bread, green salad
Thurs: something w/ mashed potatoes, kohlrabi, shephard's pie?
Fri: Pasta w/ chevre & chockfull of broccoli, peppers, pinenuts, big green salad
Sat: invited to friends' house -- salmon, perchance?!?!