Week Menu Plan and My First Chard!

Oh how I am enjoying having my own garden.  I like looking out the window when I come downstairs and seeing green.   Mostly it is the 2′ tall tomatoes.  But there is also a bumping crop of five chard plants.  Well four now.  I pulled this one up because a whole plant looks more photogenic (at least I hope so).  In a few weeks the heat will come and it will be too warm for leafy greens so sacrificing this plant wasn’t a complete waste.

And what did I do with my first chard plant?  I sautéed it up with olive oil and a little salt and pepper and served it alongside Thai food leftovers.  Mmm.  It looks just as vibrant as it tastes.
And on that note, dinner!

After stuffing myself on chips last night and feeling super sick, I vowed to make healthy dinners and graze on small portions throughout the day.  I had a small breakfast of fresh strawberries, grapefruit, and yogurt and headed off to my local co-op to stocked up on dried fruit and bulk items like rice.  Jonathon and I put back the beer, but we did splurge on a small bag of chips to snack on in the store.  My CSA provided me with the strawberries, grapefruits, favas, shelling peas, snap peas, arugula, green garlic, and salad mix.

Saturday-Leftover Thai food and chard.  Last night Jonathon and I were supposed to go out to dinner.  I was too polite to tell him I was full and ordered a large plate of noodles.  After a few bites, I decided I could not eat anymore and boxed it up for later.  Where was my self restraint when it came to the chips just hours before?

Sunday-Arugula pizza with a side salad.  The recipe was featured on Top Chef and it is AMAZING.  Although it calls for some atypical ingredients such as burrata cheese, it is a relatively simple recipe.  I’m not sure that it is particularly healthy per say, but it does have a pound of arugula in it.

Monday-Pasta with arugula pesto and fava beans.  I’ll make anything into pesto….basil, cilantro, parsely, and one of my personal favorites is arugula.  I like the peppery flavor.  It adds character to any boring pasta dish.  I haven’t put favas on pasta before but I’m sure it will be yummy.

Tuesday-Spring vegetable risotto featuring asparagus and peas.  And of course salad.  (Gotta use up those salad greens.)

Wednesday-Stir fry.  There will be green garlic and a bunch of snap peas.  I might have bought a bell pepper and some frozen green beans.  Bad bad.

Thursday-Fish and bread salad.  Once again I’m deviating from in season veges.  This meal is more appropriate in June or July, but I just couldn’t wait.

Friday-Lab dinner at my place. There will be grilling.  I think I will make ice cream with strawberries from last week.  They are sitting in my freezer just waiting to be diced or pureed.  If I am feeling really daring, I might make cheesecake.  We’ll see.

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!

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For more garden updates/pictures you can visit J’s blog.