Dinner 7/31

Pasta Genovese
(pesto, potoatoes, green beans, fusilli, salt and pepper)

Sauteed Morel Mushrooms

Homemade Focaccia

Dinner 7/30

Sauteed Chantarelles

Grilled Corn

Wilted Kale
(kale, pine nuts, raisins)

Dinner 7/29

Skillet Chili*
(onion, garlic, soyrizo, tomato sauce, kidney beans, red pepper)

* I had a gig tonight, and didn't get to eat until I came home -- thankfully there was some leftover chili, usually the kids eat it all. ;)

Dinner 7/28

Raw Pad Thai
(young coconut, red cabbage, carrot, zucchini, with spicy tamarind sauce -- from Charlie and Roxanne's book)

Raw Tomato Soup
(tomato, kalamata olives, sherry vinegar, olive brine, olive oil and shaved fennel -- slight variation on a Trotter recipe)

Dinner 7/27

Pasta Puttanesca*
(tomato sauce, soyrizo, garlic, onion, basil, red pepper, kalamata olives, over spaghetti)

Homemade Focaccia

Zucchini Carpaccio

* my son's second pasta sauce -- after learning how to make the classic sauce, we built on that lesson with this easy addition of spices, herbs and olives.

Dinner 7/26

Grilled Asian Eggplant
(garlic, ginger, sesame oil)

Jasmine Rice

Stir-Fried Tofu & Shiitake Mushrooms

Seared/Steamed Green Beans
(sesame oil, soy, sake, szechuan pepper)

Dinner 7/25

Ratatouille over Rigatoni

Homemade Focaccia

Dinner 7/24

Carbonnades a la Flamande
(Seitan Braised in Beer w/Onions -- from Julia Child)

Velvet Corn Soup w/ Truffles
(corn, potato, tarragon, cilantro and cream and veg stock, heated, pureed and strained, topped with truffle pieces sauteed in olive oil)

Homemade French Bread

Glazed Carrots

Dinner 7/23

Focaccia and Tapenade

Ratatouille
(roasted zucchini, eggplant, grilled red bell pepper, tomatoes, thyme, basil, salt and pepper)

Dinner 7/22

Pasta Genovese
(from Jamie Oliver's book -- pasta, potatoes and green beans in a pesto sauce)

Steamed Eggplant
(also from Jamie Oliver's book - steam the eggplant chunks for 10 minutes, mix with the dressing -- sesame oil, thai pepper, hot sauce, soy sauce, lemon juice, scallion, celery leaf, basil, mint, salt and pepper)

Dinner 7/21

Arroz Rojo
(Traditional Red Mexican Rice - tomato, onion and garlic puree added to briefly sauteed rice, then add veg stock, cover for 15 minutes, add parsley)

Pollo a la Uva
(Tofu [Chicken] w/ Grapes -- from Diane Kennedy's book, sauteed tofu cutlets covered with a tomato sauce with grapes added at the end -- unusual, but tasty)

Dinner 7/19

Fennel Soup
(fennel stock, ginger, lemongrass, red bell peppers, jalapeno)

Shredded Seitan and Zucchini Stir-Fry*
(seitan, zucchini, scallion, cornstarch, sesame oil, tamari)

Grilled Japanese Eggplant
(w/ sesame oil, salt and pepper)

Jasmine Rice


* this comes from a certain "Mrs. Chaing's" book, and the dish is often abbreviated around the house using that name...

Dinner 7/18

Seitan and Lentil Stew
(pressure cooked lentils, sauteed seitan, onion and carrot)

Glazed Carrots

Dinner 7/17 Bastille Dinner*

Seitan Bourguignon

Glazed Carrots

Boiled Russian Fingerling Potatoes

Velvet Corn Soup
(corn, potatoes, tarragon, cilantro, soy cream, veg stock, cooked, pureed and strained)

Green Fig Salad
(spinach, frisee, red leaf, arugula lettuce, green figs, tomato, carrots, green beans, nicoise olives)**

Tapenade

French Bread

* yes, I know Bastille was the 14th

** kinda like a nicoise salad, without the tuna

Dinner 7/16

Mixed Greens Salad
(lemon vinaigrette)

French Bread

Tapenade


* prepping for the Bastille dinner, so a light dinner

Dinner 7/14

Tempura
(scapes, shiitake mushrooms, zucchini w/ citrus soy sauce)

Hoisin Green Beans

Stir-fried Tofu

Jasmine Rice

Dinner 7/13

Green Fig Salad
(w/ fig vinaigrette)

Sauteed Scapes

Pasta Shells w/ Tomato Sauce

Ciabatta

* the power went out in the middle of making dinner, and thankfully I had already made the pasta for the kids and there was some leftover. Also good was the fact that one burner was already on (it uses an electronic ignition), otherwise it would have been an unintentional raw dinner ;)

Dinner 7/12

Cranberry Bean Risotto

Green Beans in Tomato Sauce

Steamed Broccoli

Spicy Cauliflower in Red Wine Sauce

* The first non-raw dinner in a week features many bits of produce that were in danger of going bad ;)

Dinner 7/11

Asian Gazpacho
(Via Ming Tsai -- the recipe was mostly raw to start with, I just omitted the sambal oelek and worcestershire sauce and added another thai chile)

Zucchini Lasagna*

Wine

Coturri 2001 Sangiovese -- the last of the case :(

* we were going to make summer rolls (chard stuffed with a soaked mung bean mixture) but our afternoon got away from us and it was almost 7pm before we started on dinner. we had the just enough marinara and the last bit of cashew cheese to make the lasagna.

** So ends Raw Foods Week. And what did we learn? Well, for one, that we could do it. Advance planning was important as was being flexible enough to work with whatever fresh ingredients we had access to (thanks to Kent Natural Foods and the Kent Farmer's Market). The other thing we came away with was that once you get into the routine, it's relatively easy to execute. Also having a Vita-Mix and Champion Juicer is essential...

It was exciting to learn a new method of (un)cooking and changed my perspective to what raw foods were and _could_ be. Next, we'll see how well a week in January goes ;)

Dinner 7/10

Fig and Arugula Salad
(w/ fig vinaigrette)*

Corny Soup
(soaked walnuts, miso, shoyu, olive oil, corn, jalapeno, scallion, cilantro and pepper -- Juliano p. 26)

Zucchini Lasagna
(layered zucchini noodles, cashew cheese, marinara sauce -- tomato, sun-dried tomato, lemon juice, dates, shoyu, pepper, olive oil)

Leftover Meatloaf
(the more things change, the more they remain the same...)

Wine

Coturri 2001 Sangiovese

* I don't know where these figs are coming from, but I _could_ get used to them...

Dinner 7/9

Meat Loaf*
(cashew, sunflower and walnuts puree mixed with marniated portobello mushrooms, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, parsley, jalapeno, olive oil, sea salt, shaped into loafs and dehydrated for four hours -- Juliano p. 151)

Barbecue Sauce
(tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, dates, olive oil, shoyu -- Juliano)

Mashed Potatoes
(pureed cauliflower, cashews, lemon juice, garlic, thyme and salt -- Juliano p. 85)

Gravy
(pureed white miso, onion, shallot, garlic, orange juice, dates, olive oil, jalapeno, shoyu, ginger, apple cider vinegar, sesame seed oil -- Juliano. p. 223)

Wine

Coturri 2000 Sonoma Valley Syrah

* Almost burned out the Vita-Mix grinding the nuts -- it recovered. The meat loaf was topped with barbecue sauce after an initial bit of dehydrating -- and they ended up looking a bit more like salsbury steak from ye olde TV dinner days, but tasted fantastic... and matched well with the cauliflower and miso gravy.

Dinner 7/8

Fiery Lava Soup
(carrot juice, jalapeno, avocado, cilantro, lime juice -- Juliano p. 32)

Raw "Last Minute" Burritos
(avocado, mint, onion, rosemary, cumin, kelp, dulce, lime, jalapeno wrapped up on a red lettuce leaf -- Juliano p. 144)

Raw Pobalno Rellenos
(poblanos w/ pumpkin seed puree, dehydrated for 8 hours)

Wine

Coturri Sangiovese Napa Valley 2001

Dinner 7/7

Tom Khai Soup*
(cherry tomato, marinated mushroom, garlic, ginger, cilantro, basil, lime juice, scallions, red thai chile and red bell pepper base, with a coconut water, avocado, tamari, curry, jalapeno and olive oil puree -- from Juliano p. 33)

Raw Pad Thai
(shredded red cabbage, zucchini, young coconut noodles, jalapeno, red bell pepper, scallions, etc with tamarind sauce and sesame sauce -- from Charlie and Roxanne)

* this was one of the best soups (raw or otherwise) we've ever had.

Wine

Coturri 2000 Sonoma Valley Syrah

Dinner 7/6

Radish Salad w/ Tomatillo Dressing
(boston lettuce, radish, zucchini and shaved red cabbage topped with tomatillo, cilantro, basil, salt, pepper and cayenne dressing)

Raw Chiles Relleno
(red bell peppers cut in quarters and stuffed with pumpkin seed puree and dehydrated for 8 hours, topped with some leftover cashew cheese)

Wine

Robert Sinskey 1999 Vineyard Reserve (Merlot, Cab, Cab Franc)

Dinner 7/5

Tomato Soup w/ Kalamata Olives and Shaved Fennel
(pureed organic tomatoes, salt, pepper and sherry vinegar topped with kalamatas and shaved fennel, olive oil -- from Charlie and Roxanne p. 66)

Raw Fettuccini Alfredo
(zucchini and yellow squash cut into noodles with a hand peeler, carrot, thyme, basil, tamari, garlic, and pepper topped with cashew cheese -- from Juliano p. 151)

Wine

Coturri Sangiovese Napa Valley 2001

* Raw food week for dinner begins... along with it we'll be matching the food with organic/biodynamic wines.

Dinner 7/4

Arugula and Fig Salad*
(w/ fig vinaigrette)

Pesto over Farfalle Pasta
(scape greens, garlic, basil, soy parmesan, water, olive oil, salt, pepper)

Braised Fennel

Figato Finto
(squash w/ cinnamon, sugar, parsley, vinegar, mint and olive oil)

Ciabatta**

Dessert

Strawberries in Basalmic Vinegar

*The figs were really, really good, probably the best I've ever had. Which is good, becasue I don't like figs all that much...

** did I mention how much I enjoyed Liz taking a week long bread class? ;)

Dinner 7/3

Classic Tomato Sauce* over Rotini pasta

Ciabatta Bread

* I'm a proud parent today, my son wanted to make tomato suace, so I chopped everything up and he read all the instructions, stirred and pureed (in a food mill), The result was some of the best classic tomato sauce I've ever had. Well played...