Menu #1 - 7/10/23 - 7/14/23
This week is all about bright flavors, fresh herbs on everything, and amplifying veggies.
Hello and thank you for subscribing! Welcome to my first Substack. I realize we’re starting mid-week this time, rather than on Saturdays, as I’m planning to going forward, but I figured, why not just dive right in and keep moving forward? Your grocery list, plus all recipes and special notes/instructions for serving can be found below :-)
We're starting strong this week, with one of of my favorite summer dishes: a fresh rice noodle bowl. You can, of course, use fresh rice noodles as I refer to in the recipe, or dried ones--whichever is easiest/cheapest/most accessible to you.
On Tuesday, we're making a favorite one dish wonder: cast iron chicken with sweet potatoes, and adding some Lacinato kale. Don't forget to save the bones to make broth! I keep a bag in my freezer and when it fills up, into the Instant Pot it goes and four hours later, I'm blessed with a pot of collagen-filled liquid gold.
Wednesday is all about carrot-feta tacos. If that combo sounds weird to you, I implore you to, in the wise words of Daniel Tiger, try a new food 'cause it might taste good. These tacos are freakin' addictive.
Thursday is another veg-cheese combo I love: cauliflower mac and cheese, which strikes just the right balance of indulgent and nutritious.
We finish off the week on Friday with a super simple (and minimal dish-dirtying) custardy chinese steamed eggs with rice and cucumbers.
Be sure to take a peek at the pantry list below, and also special notes and instructions at the bottom of the page before you get started.
Happy shopping and cooking!
menu and recipes
monday: fresh rice noodle salad
tuesday: cast iron chicken with sweet potatoes and kale
wednesday: carrot-feta tacos, green salad
thursday: cauliflower mac and cheese, green salad
friday: chinese steamed eggs, rice, sliced cucumbers drizzled with rice vinegar
groceries
produce
3 medium yellow or white onions
1 head fresh garlic
8 large carrots
1 bunch fresh mint
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 bunch fresh scallions
1 jalapeño pepper
1 large english cucumber or 5-6 Persian mini cucumbers
1 medium head cauliflower
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 fresh lime
1 head Lacinato/dinosaur kale
1 16-ounce package salad greens of choice (mixed greens, baby kale, spinach, etc.)
refrigerated/dairy/eggs
1 stick unsalted butter
1 16-ounce carton firm or extra-firm tofu
1/2 dozen eggs
4-oz block feta
1 8-oz. block medium or sharp cheddar cheese
1 pint whole milk
shelf-stable
12 corn tortillas (or make your own)
meat/fish
6 skin-on chicken thighs or 3 whole legs (thighs and drumsticks)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
dried chili flakes
peanut butter
soy sauce or coconut aminos
chili crisp (optional)
black vinegar (optional)
vegetable or chicken bouillon powder (optional)
rice vinegar
honey or maple syrup
1 small (6-ounce) can coconut milk
12 oz. rice noodles
6 oz. macaroni, penne, or other short cut of pasta
1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
instructions/notes
monday: Prepare the dish as written, but feel free to swap out the tofu for another protein (grilled pork, shrimp, chicken, or tempeh would all be good), and/or add toasted peanuts, almonds, or sesame seeds. Regarding the peanut sauce, here are two things to keep in mind: if you don't have coconut milk and don't want to buy it to make the peanut sauce, just skip it. It'll still be delicious. Second, if you are allergic to peanut butter (or just don't have any on hand), any other nut butter will work. Finally, if you have another favorite peanut sauce recipe, or prefer to buy it premade, that'll work perfectly well, too.
tuesday: How much you multiply this recipe by depends on how much chicken your family eats. At my house, I usually have one, Evan eats two, and between the kids, maybe one whole thigh gets consumed, so I make it as written, but if your crew are bigger eaters, you might need to add a couple of thighs, drumsticks, or a whole leg. If your pan seems too crowded, feel free to switch to a rimmed baking sheet. It'll still be delicious. During the last 20 minutes of cooking, stir some de-stemmed, sliced Lacinato kale (curly kale will also work, as will any other hearty leafy green), and toss it in the rendering chicken fat to coat, then let it cook with the dish for the remaining time. The result will be a dish that hits all your nutritional needs and only requires one cooking dish.
wednesday: Prepare the tacos as written, and while the carrots are roasting, throw together a quick salad with your dressing of choice (I like this one with a 50-50 blend of rice vinegar and olive oil with a pinch of salt).
thursday: Prepare as written, but feel free to add more pasta and cheese depending on the appetites of your dining companions. Also, if you don't feel like making a salad, skip it. After all, the dish already has cauliflower!
friday: I cover the different ways to dress up these eggs in the recipe's headnote, so be sure to read that carefully before preparing. If you can get your hands on some Chinese black vinegar, your future self will thank you. Also, if you want to amp up your cucumbers, smash them.
Have a great week! I’ll see you back here on Saturday 7/15 with next week’s menu and list.
xoxo,
Gabi