Menu-Plan Monday, April 28, 2008
April 27, 2008 by glutenfreesoxfan
I apologize for not getting many recipes up lately. Life seems to be getting in the way. And I just keep making everyone’s recipes instead of creating my own.
Saturday I got some herbs and vegetables planted. I just have a small space, so I have a few of tomato plants (regular, roma and grape), pepper plants (regular and jalapeno), and my herbs: rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, sage, parsley, and tarragon. I’m going to add a few flowers in next weekend to help attract bees and to repel pests. I know marigolds work well.
I did want to kill my dog this morning though, because when she was outside she managed to dig up about three of my new plants, mangling one of the tomatoes (the others were salvageable). So now I have the tomato plants in cages and a taller fence around the garden. Why can’t she dig in the other garden that is full of weeds? That would be much more helpful.
Sunday was the first day of the “Chattanooga Market.” It is a bit of a farmers’ market, but has more arts and crafts than vegetables. There was very little there this early for produce, but lots of starter plants. But some of my favorite vendors were there - the goat cheese guy (several varieties of fresh, local goat cheese) and the honey people (three different flavors of local honey). I also found goat meat brought in from a nearby farm. I’ve never had goat meat before, but always like to try new things. They will apparently have lamb a little later this spring.
Now for the week’s menu. This week, the menu swap is being hosted by Asparagus Thin, and the ingredient is peas. Next year, I’m going to have to get planting earlier and put in some peas. I love fresh peas.
Monday:
Hot Curried Beef (Is it sacrilegious to curry beef?)
Pea and Mushroom Curry
Rice
Tuesday:
Out to Dinner
Wednesday:
Grilled Goat Steaks
Gnocchi
Asparagus, Peas and Basil
Thursday:
Chicken Stuffed With Goat Cheese
Salad with Karina’s Basil Citrus Vinaigrette
Friday:
Baked Cod with Percorino and Butter
Homefries
a vegetable of some sort
Hopefully I get to some baking this week, but I won’t really count on it.
Looks good, Karen! I gardened this weekend too!
I think it is hard to cook this time of year when the weather is nice.
I love your garden! I was inspired by Melanie of The Gluti Girls to plant an herb garden. I went to Home Depot, got the materials and instructed my husband. I was the assistant! I’d love to plant tomatoes and peppers but need to find out the correct season for Florida. I’m glad that springtime is heading your way! Have a great week!
P.S. I’m so envious of your market…I love goat cheese!!
Ooo freeze a gnocchi for me, please? To see if it holds up. You don’t have to do a whole batch, just pop a little guy in the freezer and defrost it.
I don’t want to put you through a lot of trouble but I don’t want to end up ruining the little guys after I make them.
That would be a sad day…
Thanks Karen and great menu.
Manda - I’ll try to remember to freeze a few gnocchi. I’ve been curious myself to see how well that works.
Got any tips on maintaining an herb garden? My husband and I try year after year, but they always die after a couple of weeks. I’d love to have fresh herbs at my disposal without having to worry about them going bad in the fridge!
I’m so pleased to see that you’re gardening, too! Our gardens are very similar. I need to post about mine.
Beef is widely used in Indonesian curries, so you won’t loose any karma points with your curried beef dish! I do it to as I can afford beef more often than lamb!
Croquecamille - I’m not really the one to ask about gardening - my thumb is not all that green! lol! I managed to kill off most of my herbs last year, but I’m blaming that on the drought. I have had good luck growing things in containers (see the big whiskey barrels on the porch?) However, those do drain faster and need to be watered regularly. I also cheat and start with good sized plants and not from seed.
I have found that with most, they grow better the more you use them. Particularly the basil. Don’t let it flower - just keep picking it, and you get basil all summer. That might not be the right way to do things, but oh well!
Thanks! Maybe I’ll have better luck in temperate Paris thanI did in scorching hot Texas (incidentally, the chili pepper plants did quite well there).
Your garden looks great! I’m so jealous… I want a garden, too but I have too much work to do in the yard before that happens!
Karen, I have to know, did I read that right, goat steaks? Where do you get goat steaks and what are they like? Is it goat, like baaaah, goat?
You got it right - it was that kind of goat. It’s actually a very common meat in most parts of the world (just not here). I got it at our farmers’ market from a local farmer who brings it in frozen (but fresh from this spring). It was really good. We grilled it up with just a few herbs. It tasted sort of like lamb, but not quite. Very little fat on it. The only problem was that it was rather tough. We are going to try it again, but this time I am going to marinate it for a while in something slightly acidic to break it down a little.
Karen
Hi Karen,
Suggestion when cooking ‘Goat’ or ‘Lamb’ leg steaks.
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Sear over a high heat to seal, then turn burner to lowest setting (gas is more controllable) and cover frying pan with a heavy pot lid.
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The ’steaks’ cook in steam and are also fry at the same time,
it takes longer to cook this way, when any fat that’s on the meat is soft and nearly opaque the meat should be cooked, turn a few times during cooking.
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If you like a spicy flavour, prior to cooking slash meat in a criss-cross pattern, then rub in McCormicks ‘La Grilla’ Steakhouse Spicy Pepper Medley, the taste is to die for.
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Best Regards,
David (Dublin Ireland)
David - Thanks for the suggestions! Our local farmers market will have fresh lamb soon, so I’ll be sure to give it a try.
Karen