A Week in Meals (and the commentary you didn't ask for)

I love summertime cooking.  It goes well with an unprocessed diet since most of what we need is in our garden, in the chicken coop, or growing on bushes somewhere.  Isis told me today I take a lot of pictures of food.  I can't help it.  Fresh food is beautiful and colorful. Sometimes I can actually take the time to snap a cool picture of it.  Sometimes I have two starving girls waiting at the table and don't have time for thoughtful pictures.  Nonetheless, here is our week in meals...and how we keep trying to cook from scratch with local, natural, or homegrown ingredients.

"Cooking from scratch is the single most important thing we can do as a family to improve our health and general well being." -Michael Pollen

Dear Michael Pollen,
While you are smart and know most things, you probably do not have little children running all over, are obviously not nursing tiny babies, and probably know what day it is.  No one in your house just crapped up their back or spilled an entire box of cereal on the floor.  That is why you have the time to do things like write nice books. But I think your point has a lot of value and now that I have two older children and see the light at the end of the tunnel, I am willing to try to do more in this area.  Everyone else out there, do what you can, slam some coffee and remember time with your little ones is pretty damn important too.  And sometimes you can find fresh food at restaurants which really frees up your afternoon!

Meal #1

Whole grain pasta with Chris's homemade pesto, fresh tomatoes, and fresh basil...sweet corn...Commentary...we don't make pesto until the winter time...we pick the basil in the summer, freeze it in olive oil, then when things die down and we have more time, Chris takes on the pesto project.  So this pesto is not fresh, but it is delicious.  Eliza eats it with straight with a spoon.

Meal #2

Sausage and Cheese Quiche (our eggs)...Whole Wheat Zucchini and Blueberry Muffins...Commentary...We try hard not to make meat a main dish at every meal.  We also try hard to stretch a package of meat into two or three meals.  This helps offset the cost of buying local meat...which we buy sometimes, but not everytime cause that stuff gets pricey yo.

Meal #3

Fried Yellow Squash and Zucchini...Sweet Corn (again)...Hand breaded chicken sandwich on whole wheat bun...Commentary...I have never made a fried chicken sandwich before.  But last year Isis decided to buy school lunch and that is what they served.  She apparently liked it so I thought I would make her a healthier version.  The outcome?  She liked it but assured me the school cafeteria's was much better.  Thank you sweet, honest child. Additional commentary, both of our children actually ate some squash because we told them they were "chips" and they could dip them in ketchup. I don't care if they dipped them in chocolate milk...my children ate zucchini!

Meal #4

 Veggie Quesdillas...black beans, sweet corn, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, squash, freshly shredded Monterey jack cheese, whole wheat tortillas.  Commentary...Eliza pounded these.  Chris pounded the leftover filling on some nachos the next day.  Isis ate half of one and asked to be excused. 

Meal #5

Squash Galette...Sliced summer squash served on a bed of lemon and thyme infused ricotta cheese baked in a homemade pastry shell.  I'm dabbling in becoming a food critic.  Commentary...This looks much prettier before than after.  Especially if it burns to the wax paper which mine did.  But I have to say it tasted as good as it looked before.  Additional commentary....Eliza pulled all the squash off of hers and ate zucchini bread instead.

 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread...Yes I fed my children chocolate chip bread for supper.  Why? Well for one it has zucchini in it.  Two, there is zero sugar in it...Zip. Sweetened only with local honey and maple syrup and well, chocolate chips.  Isis turned the leftovers into mini muffins and was estatic when I kept saying yes every time she asked for one more.  She thought I was crazy but really the joke was on her.  Silly healthy muffins that trick kids.

 

Meal #6

 



Burgers with Fresh Tomatoes, Sweet Corn (yep), Zucchini-Onion Stir Fry...Commentary...After eating veggies for a week straight with only hints of meat, I stumbled upon a grocery list that read...Meat! Hamburger, steak, chicken, sausage, pork chops!  Apparently Chris needed some protein so I grilled up these fatties.   Additional commentary...Eliza ate the zucchini raw and Isis housed some red meat. 

The end.  Stay tuned for Herbs for Dessert and What They Really Taste Like.