This week's Shabbat menu is built around the produce I got at Kim'at Chinam for 1 NIS/kilo, and the produce I got at Yesh for 1.99 NIS/kilo. Both really great deals! I just have to learn how to figure out how heavy 3 kg is, as the maximum you can usually get when they have these sales is 3 kg per type. Unfortunately, I lowballed all my purchases, and could have easily come home with twice as much produce for these awesome prices...
When we don't have guests, I try to keep my menus simple - that means fewer courses and fewer dishes, but still plenty of good food to fill everyone up! Since we have no guests this week, here's my plan:
Vegetable-Noodle Soup
Pomegranate Chicken
Pan-Fried Tofu Steaks for my favorite vegetarian (my 12 yr old - yes, a boy!)
Carrot Kugel
Oven Roasted Beets
Oven Roasted Cauliflower
Toasted Barley with Mushrooms
Salad - lettuce, purple cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and avocado
Lentil-Barley Stew (in the crock pot, for lunch)
Some notes about these dishes:
When making a vegetarian vegetable soup, I always sautee all the veggies in extra virgin olive oil, then cook, covered, to reduce, for 10-15 min. before adding any liquid. I don't know, I just think it tastes better this way in the end. I use onions, garlic, celery, tons of carrots, zucchini, and other veggies as the mood hits me. It's a really easy soup.
I also save all the trimmings from vegetables (don't use potato peelings or beet trimmings, though!) in gallon-size zipper-close bag in my freezer. when the bag is full, I simmer the trimmings in water for many hours in my huge stock pot, to make vegetable stock. Just make sure you strain it well when it's done. I then use some for the day's cooking, and freeze the rest in pint-size containers for later use.
Carrot Kugel - I usually make 6 of these at a time, and freeze for later. My 3 year old can't get enough of them, so I serve carrot kugel almost every week. I use a modified muffin recipe, bake in loaf pans, wrap well, and freeze.
Oven-Roasted Veggies - what could be easier!
The toasted barley recipe is new for my family, but I have promised them that we'll be trying out new dishes, in order to find some new favorites (this is what I need that vegetable stock for this week)
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Someone asked for the recipe for toasted barley. Here's what I did:
ReplyDeleteIn a cast iron frying pan, saute 1 medium onion and 2 cloves of garlic in olive oil till onion is translucent. Add 1 -2 cups of barley (rinsed and drained) and cook over med-high heat, stirring frequently, till toasted (it will start to brown and become fragrant). If you want to be a short cut cook like me, transfer this mixture to a casserole dish, add 1 cup chopped mushrooms (fresh or frozen), cover with soup stock, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake it in your oven (while you're cooking other things) until the water is absorbed.
You can also finish cooking it on the stove, if you like, but it requires more watching and stirring.
Hope you like it!
Wow, your simple menu puts mine to shame! I am impressed - everything sounds delicious and frugal.
ReplyDeleteShavua Tove!
Mara ~ Kosher on a Budget
Thanks Mara! Really, these foods are so simple to make. That's a big goal of mine - find ways to make good food without spending too much time or money.
ReplyDelete