Table For Two

Vaughn and I tend to splurge when it comes to food - we just can't resist tasty treats! In an attempt to curb our spending, we have set up a weekly budget and limited dining out. Planning is another great way to curb the splurge - keeps my eyes on the list rather than on the shelves. Here is what's in store for this week:

Monday (yesterday): Dine out.

Ate at Guanajuato (a little Mexican place) last night. We're trying to keep eating out to once a week.


Tuesday: Brown Rice Supper with tofu, roasted peanut sauce, and stir fried carrots.

This recipe is from Deborah Madison (queen of vegetarian recipes). A simple, tasty, healthy, seasonal meal. The carrots get a spicy punch from fresh ginger. The roasted peanut sauce is lighter than the usual peanut butter based sauce and unifies the entire dish.


Wednesday: Mac & Cheese with spicy sauteed broccoli.

Super simple and delicious! I like to make homemade baked mac & cheese, but our co-op was having a sale on boxes of Annie's Homegrown. Nutritionally, there is not much of a difference between Annie's and Kraft, but Annie's does boast organic wheat macaroni and annatto extract for natural color instead of synthetic food dyes.


Thursday: Rice and black beans with chorizo.

Rice and beans is becoming a weekly staple. Our co-op has a sale on their homemade chroizo, which will be a very nice addition to the meal.


Friday: Oven-roasted miso sesame salmon served with soba noodles and broccoli slaw.

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks that I've forgotten about - the Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers cookbook.

Miso and sesame seeds should be a staple in our pantry, so I'm going to pick some up this week. Salmon is a great fish because, since it is a cold water fish, it is higher in omega-3 fatty acids than tropical fish like tilapia. I'll reserve some broccoli florets and the stems from Wednesday's dinner to make the broccoli slaw - don't want the stems to go to waste.


Saturday: Eggs baked on a bed of sauteed mushrooms and croutons

Breakfast for dinner! Another one of Deborah Madison's that I'd like to try. Eggs are a delicious, healthy and cheap alternative to meat or fish. Our cage-free eggs come from a local poultry farm called Yuppie Hill. Sure, they cost more than their caged counterpart, but they are $3 a dozen - $.25 an egg!


Sunday: Tuscan lemon chicken, whole grain bread salad and roasted squash

I saw Ina Garten make this chicken on Food Network and it seems like a great alternative to roasting a whole chicken. She butterflies the chicken and lays it flat on the grill which would speed up cooking time. Instead of a broiler chicken, which would be too big for the two of us, I'll make this recipe with a rock hen (Cornish game hen) which our co-op usually has frozen. I'll pick it up early in the week to give it plenty of time to thaw.

The bread salad is a recipe from Mark Bitmann's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and is like a fresher, brighter stuffing. Whole grain bread, kale (my favorite green), and dried figs make this a tasty, nutritious side.

I will try to post recipe total prices, photos, and recipes this week!

and now I'm off to the store...