A Look at Menu Planning

This week's box contains:

• Desiree Potatoes
• Red Cabbage
• Lettuce (traded for more potatoes)
• Strawberries
• Chantenay Carrots
• Sweet Corn
• Walla Walla Onions
• Heirloom Tomatoes

Great box, especially with the lettuce traded for more potatoes.  Like last week, this proved to be a busy weekend.  I have a lot going on at work, so don't expect to have time to get creative during the week.  Next weekend I'm out of town.  Same sad story ~ great food, desire to eat well, not enough time...

One way I manage situations like this is through planning.  There is no one "right" way to plan a menu for the week and I use several.  This week I'm going for my fast and easy method:

1. Pick some generic preparation methods and map them to the days of the week.
2. Take a look at the ingredients I have on hand and align them with the selected methods.
3. Scan recipes as needed to determine what other ingredients will be needed, then build a grocery list.

Do you plan your meals for the week?  If so, what's your method?   Here's how it went for us this week:


Step One: Preparation Methods

This is as simple as listing the days of the week on which you plan to cook and picking a method or meal type that will fit in the amount of time you expect to have available.  Grilling (with charcoal anyway) takes more time and is a leisurely meal for us, so I chose that for Sunday.  All the rest are quick and easy assuming ready made ingredients or pre-preparation of those that take time (more on this later).

• Sunday: grilling
• Monday: risotto
• Tuesday: wraps
• Wednesday: stir-fry
• Thursday: pasta

Step Two: Ingredients on Hand

A quick scan of the pantry, refrigerator, and the freezer gave me a solid list of ingredients to work with.  Here's what I found that looked promising or time sensitive:

• onions
• potatoes
• tomatoes
• ginger
• garlic
• bread
• vegan sausage
• Thai curry cubes
• pesto
• chipotle tofu
• black beans
• whole wheat tortillas
• salsa
• frozen spinach
• carrots
• cabbage
• fennel
• parsley root
• turnips
• green onions
• veggie stock
• asparagus stems

After that, I just matched the list of ingredients to the list of meal types.

• Sunday: grilling (vegan sausages, green onions, fennel, corn, potatoes, bread, tomatoes
  
• Monday: risotto (sweet corn, tomatoes, onions, vegetable stock, salsa)
  
• Tuesday: wraps (whole wheat tortillas, chipotle tofu, salsa, black beans, onions)
  
• Wednesday: stir-fry (red Thai curry, potatoes, carrots, turnips, frozen spinach)
  
• Thursday: pasta (pesto, vegan sausages, carrots, fennel)

Step Three: Choose the Recipes, Build Grocery List

As I sorted out the ingredients, likely dishes came to mind:

• Sunday: Grilled Sausages with Vegetable Kabobs and Grilled Farmer's Market Bruschetta
  
• Monday: Sweet Corn Risotto with Salsa
  
• Tuesday: Black Bean Burritos
  
• Wednesday: Thai Vegetable Curry with Jasmine Rice
  
• Thursday: Whole Wheat Pasta with Pesto and Sausage and Roasted Vegetables

By dish, I referenced cookbooks and websites to find recipes that I could follow or adapt.  By looking at the recipes, I was able to build a grocery list to fill the gaps.  After a quick trip to the store, we had everything we needed on hand.

One final note.  As the saying goes, the best laid plans ... often go awry.  I know that in order to be able to prepare these dishes, I'll need to do some prep work today.  I'll clean and chop the vegetables we'll use this week, cook the rice and store it in the refrigerator, etc.

Food Sources: Farmer's Markets

CSAs are a great way to connect to your local food source.  Another way is through the farmer's markets in your area.  At farmer's markets, local farmers bring their wares to a specific location
 and members of the community show up at the predetermined time to purchase these products directly from the source.

While on our trip across the country, we visited the farmer's market in Salt Lake City, Utah.  This weekend we rode our bikes to a local farmer's market in Mountain View, California.

Like CSAs, farmer's markets offer the opportunity to see what is in season and to buy your food directly from the grower.  Unlike CSAs, you have a choice of what you purchase rather than accepting what is harvested that week by the farm with which you have a contract.  For those unable to consume a random box of produce or unwilling to deal with the unplanned variation, farmer's markets are the best choice.

A few benefits of farmer's markets include:

• Recently harvested, local food in the peak of season.  Food purchased at your local supermarket are harvested early and shipped across unknown distances.
• Investment in your community.  Not only do the dollars you spend at your farmer's market stay in the area, they create jobs in the area.
• Inexpensive, high quality food.  We found produce at 1/3 the cost of our local grocery store, and in far better condition.
• Knowledge.  Often you'll meet the farmer.  It's a great opportunity to ask questions and learn more about your food.

There are many more reasons to visit your local farmer's market.  What's in season in your area?  What do you appreciate about your farmer's market?

Grilled Farmer's Market Bruschetta ~ Early July 2010

1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
basil
2/3t culinary salt, such as Maldon
rustic loaf of bread, we chose an olive loaf
olive oil

Start your grill.  Halve the cherry tomatoes and place in a large bowl; add salt and stir.  Add the garlic, through a garlic press to the tomatoes and mix well.  Slice the basil into thin strips (chiffonade) and stir into the tomatoes.  Slice the bread ~ 1" thick and brush lightly with olive oil, set aside.

Grill the bread until toasted to your liking.  Cut the grilled bread into individual portions and top with tomato mixture.  Enjoy!

Grilled Farmer's Market Corn ~ Early July 2010

1 ear of corn per person
olive oil
salt
Aleppo pepper (any spicy, dried red pepper will do)

Prepare your grill. Peel back the husk of the corn and remove the silk.  Brush each cob with olive oil, salt lightly, and sprinkle to taste with the pepper.  Wrap the husks back around the corn and place on the outside of the grill.  Turn the corn every 5 minutes or so for a total cooking time of 20 minutes.

We also made a Wild Fennel Sorbet from the tops of the fennel we purchased on Sunday.

Farmer's markets are a worthy stop, even if just to meet people who grow the food we all eat every day. Beyond that connection, you'll have access to a wealth of incredible food. Just take a look at the Flickr feed embedded above.

To find a farmer's market in your area, just click here.