Miss "I Don't Know it All"!

So, Mark and I are at the Campbell Farmers Market, Sunday morning after yoga, and I see, what I think are some sort of varigated string beans, and I decide to get some. As I'm picking through these "kind of dry, hard string beans", the woman next to me says "You like black-eyed peas too?" Wow, I guess these are fresh blackeyed peas...not string beans! I didn't let on that I didn't know, lol, and I simply said, "I like everything!"

I've never had fresh black-eyed peas! I came home and shelled them, I can't wait to try them later today!

Kitchen Journal

Friday I picked up 20lbs of roma tomatoes from Wayne and Carolyn, as well as quince, Indian blood peaches, and squash. I roasted 4 trays of romas, I'll make some roasted tomato pesto with 2 , I ate 1 tray (on Sunday) and the other I froze to use with spagetti squash.

I finally put the quinoa salad together with fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes, radishes and queso fresca cheese, dressed with cilantro almond pesto (cilantro, I only had 10 almonds, garlic and 3 tbls olive oil)

Saturday

lamb and white bean chili in PC.
yellow squash soup w/jalapeno, 6 cups, and grilled the zucchini (some of which I'll use in a salad)
barley in PC w/organic chicken stock
grilled hamburger patties (4)

Sunday

washed and prepped farmers market veggies.
made 3 qts organic, pasture fed chicken, chicken stock in PC.
roasted 4 ears of corn

Food journal

Since I had my clean, and not so clean cheat day on Friday, Saturday was a low calorie day, in addition to a hard training day.

Saturday

6:30am KB w/client
7:15 45 min. walk w/client
10am Bikram yoga
12:30 200 rep KB workout


Menu
coffee w/cream 100 cal
1/2 apple, 2 small peaches 150 ca.
small bowl lamb bean chili 350 cal.
grilled squash 100 cal.
roasted tomatoes 100 ca.

Total 800 cal. (all clean)

Sunday

8:ooam Bikram yoga

I was hungry from the amount of training I did the day before so I tried not to stress about the amount of food I was hungry for, instead my focus was on eating clean foods. Even though I wanted one, I didn't have a chocolate sucker because it's sweetened with HFCS!

Menu
coffee w/ cream 100 ca.
almonds 100 cal
Fresno raisin grapes 3/4lb. 180 cal.
Monterey Bay cod (seared) 300 cal.
sm. squash, jalapeno soup w/roasted corn 130 cal.
roasted tomatoes 250 (the calories are in the oil)
nonfat plain yogurt w/1tbl honey raisins, 3/4 barley 410 cal
quinoa salad w/fresh young tender spinach and lamb 400 cal.
orange juice 1/3 c. + water and fiber 40 cal.

Total calories 1910

The almonds, grapes, cod, and spinach came from the farmers market earlier in the day. Eerything else was homemade with good quality organic ingredients, with the acception of the jalapenos, which I bought at the "un-organic" Mexican market.

Binge Eating, Compulsive Overeating, "clean", and "not so clean"

For the most part I think I eat "cleaner" than anyone I know (that might not be saying much!), but when it comes to my binge eating, and compulsive overeating I throw any care about "cleanliness" out the freakin' window!

That's not completely true, but if I eat processed foods, it's almost always sweets. I never, ever eat fast foods. Fast foods do not appeal to me in any way, anymore, ever....not even pizza. A pizza in a good resturant is a different story, but from any of the chain pizza resturants, no. If given the option of eating a meal out, I find myself comparing what I already have at home, and I always chose to go home and eat. What could I possibly order that I can't make myself? Chicken? Steak? Lamb? Pasta? I mean what? Nothing I could order would be the natural flavor and quality of the foods I have at home.....but sweets......

I don't bake, not because I don't know how, but because there's no way I need to have 4-6 dozen cookies, or a whole cake in my house! Nor do I need white flour, for any reason (I haven't bought white flour in years), nor do I need white sugar in any amount larger than a small box, even that I haven't bought in years. Home baked goodies are of much higher quality than store bought.....a good bakery that uses real butter and higher quality ingreients is as good of a choice too, but when my compulsive sweet tooth is looking for a "fix", most times the closest, fastest option is the nearest "Dollar Store", grocery or mini market! Talk about junk food!

Ironically, hours after writing my blog post about eating clean I stopped to get gas and my eyes caught the Chick-O-Stick candies and that was it.......

I had been eating super clean all week after my return from the weekend in St. Paul, (at the Sept. Cert), and I knew I was jonesin' for some serious sugar, the day before while at Longs I cruised the candy isle looking for an Abba Zabba, but managing to get out of the store before an all out candy binge, but this day it was not to be! I grabbed 4 Chick-O-Sticks, one Abba Zabba, and a king size package of Peanut M&M's (stinkin' RKC Meet and Greet, lol, you have to go to one to know what I mean). After eating 2 of the Chick-O-Sticks I managed to talk a little bit of sense into myself by reasoning, if I'm going to binge, I might as well stop off at a good bakery and get some better quality sweets.....which I did.....blah, blah, blah (I ended up throwing most of the candy out, I still have a Chick-O-Stick on my kitchen counter because I wanted to study the ingredient list....yeah right, lol)

Anyway, that was around 8:30am! I crashed and burned, going into a sugar coma around 12noon for about an hour. When I got up (I skipped yoga that morning, big mistake), I made myself a yummy hamburger with 2.5oz grass fed beef, and a big pile of qunioa salad in between 2 slices of sprouted wheat bread (400 cal.), boy did that feel good! Later for dinner I had a small bowl of tomato soup with 3oz poached halibut (recipe coming soon!), at that point I could've stopped eating, but......

My all or nothing mentality got the better of me. I figured I had already "blown it" so I decided to consider it my cheat day (all day, lol) and treat myself to some "clean" junk food. this is what I consider cleaner junk food.....

Good quality ice cream (real sugar), mixed with an equal amounts of good quality yogurt. I added brown rice and a little bit of honey for my version of rice pudding. I decided against adding peanut butter, only because of my earlier candy and bakery binge. Whole grain bread (TJ's) with cranberries and hazelnuts, toasted with real butter and jam....OK the jam was not homemade, so I get strikes for that....but I would've used homemade if I had it! I also had some Grape Nut type cereal with milk, because I rarely eat dry cereals, I consider them dessert!

So there you have it! Was my "clean" binge all that clean? No, but light years better than Chick-O-Sticks and Abba Zabbas. loaded with high fructose corn syrup, fake oils, hydrogenated, cottonseed, etc. My clean binge had processed sugar (white), but no fake fats, and I could always clean it up more. I could've had a soup and salad binge, lol! In fact many times when I feel like overeating I chose to start with good foods, giving myself the option of eating whatever I want, junk or no junk, only after a healthy meal....many times I don't want to eat junk afterwards. The more clean foods I eat, and the longer I focus on the quality of the foods I eat, instead of the amount that I eat the better and better the choices I make. I never used to have a clean binge, now I prefer eating cleaner foods, binge or no binge.

Life is good. Having the freedom and ability for make my own choices is good. Food is good. I am good.

Shredded Chipotle Chicken w/rice and beans....using "bone in" cuts of meat

Have I mentioned that I love my freakin' pressure cooker? I swear, if you don't use one, get in the habit, because it has changed my cooking life. No other tool helps me cook more balanced nutritious meals, inexpensively and quickly like the pressure cooker. In fact, I'm so convinced of it's value that I'm willing to put together some sort of pressure cooker classes/lessons, in my own kitchen for anyone interested in hands on learning! So there it is....if you live within driving distance of me and want to learn more about this type of cooking then shoot me a comment or e-mail and let's get these PC parties started!

One of the great things about the pressure cooker is that if you use meat with the bone you create your own stock at the same time as you cook. In other words, like this chicken, rice and bean meal, everything is cooked in the stock made by the bones in the chicken leg/thighs. Talk about adding in precious nutrition....and meat with the bone is less expensive!

Shredded Chipotle Chicken w/rice and beans

Pre soak 1 c. black beans overnight, or bring water to a boil, turn off heat, soak beans covered for 1 hour prior. Drain soaking liquid.

olive oil, 1-2 tbl
onion, large (always, lol)
garlic, 2-4 cloves chopped or minced
canned chipotle peppers, 2-4


Saute onion in oil for 5-10 min.(on high), add garlic for one minute. Add chipotles with some of the adobo sauce, but leave the chipotles whole, so you can remove them easier after cooking.. Add,

2-6 large chicken leg and thigh pieces, skin removed
1 c. pre-soaked black beans (or any bean, I think I used pintos also)
1 c. rice (I use brown rice)
4-6 cups water to cover

You can add about 1/2 t. salt at this point, or wait to season aferwards.

Place lid on PC, bring pressure to high, cook for 25 min., let pressure come down naturally....remove large chipotle (their job is done, lol!), adjust final seasoning and that's it. You don't have to shred the chicken, it will, literally, fall of the bones.

I kept the dish soupy, and added some shredded spinach leaves, but if I ate tortillas, this would make a killer burrito filling!

You can use any kind of meat with, or without the bone, beef shanks, or cross cut short ribs, pork shoulder or butt, just remember that the bones add flavor.

Bones add flavor, but just as important nutrient value to foods, and the pressure cooker takes advantage of this. One more important note about using cuts of meat with the bone in.....I am not or never have been a vegetarian (obviously), but a few years ago I decided that the least I could do is, if I'm going to buy and eat meat I would never let it go to waste. I can't tell you how many times I had bought some meat and was too lazy to cook it before it went bad, having to throw it out. Out of some sort of respect for the animals that give me their life I now feel I will not waste it, so if I buy meat I cook it and eat it! Fawn Friday brought up anither important point, which was....buying meat with the bone uses more of the animal, so again preventing waste, using as much of the animal as possible.

Back In the Kitchen

Taking off for the RKC for 4 days I was able to clean my kitchen out pretty good before I left, but that didn't leave much on my return. And arriving home on a Sunday too late for any farmers markets I was forced to make a salad with mainly green stuff, for dinner last night. Wilty cabbage, green onion and jalapeno, some good celery, week old garlic chives was about all I had, tossing that with yogurt/anchovy dressing (back to calorie counting) and poached chicken breast from the freezer. It was still tasty though, lol!

Getting up early this morning I started some tomato soup with the remainder of Waynes garden tomatoes from last week, adding in some yellow orange peppers from CSA last week. I don't know what kind of peppers they were(photo right), kind of long and thin, but I threw them in not knowing how they might change the flavor, but adding in nutrition is never a bad thing. I also added in some red peper flakes at the same time as the garlic (after the onions, peppers and celery, before the tomatoes and stock).

I had 3 cups of organic chicken stock I pulled from the feezer yesterday using 1 c. for the soup, 1 c. for some barley in the PC, and 1 c. for the red and white quinoa. The stock was rich so I also added 1 c. water to both the barley and quinoa.

I'm meeting Mark this morning at Country Sun Market in Palo Alto to do my grocery shopping. I know it's a 20 minute drive for me, but since I missed the farmers markets this weekend it's the only place I know to get local produce and meats (Guess what? Whole Foods isn't!).

Taking into consideration the foods I have at home, since I had the time early this morning to do some food prep, here's what I got done (to finish later after shopping) in addition to making soup, barley and quinoa.....(top photo)

Orange Tomato Soup. I went ahead and diced onions and tomatoes, along with the pale part of some celery, minced garlic. I want to keep this soup bright orange, I only have to add in a carrot.

Chili Verde with Beans and Pork. Tomatillos came with the peppers from CSA last week, so I diced those up and sliced onion, soaked black and pinto beans, all I have to get at the market is the pork and one can of tomatillos. I want more tomatillos than what I have, and besides because they're canned with vinegar it gives the dish a flavor I like. (I only use some of the canning liquid, not all!)

I've got cherry tomatoes, so I'll pick up some other veggies to finish the quinoa salad for Mark, probably baby greens, green onions, green beans or corn, and cilantro. I'm walking to the Mexican market this morning for Queso Fresca cheese, canned tomatillos, onions and jalapenos.

Kitchen Journal and Red Quinoa

I freakin' love to cook! I love how fresh food looks! When I buy produce, or go to the farmers markets I always am so taken with the miracle of nature. Fresh, live foods that I get to eat, that I get to build my body with....from the inside out....wow! How lucky am I? How lucky are we?

I found this red quinoa at Whole Foods. Sometimes I just cruise the grain isle to see if find any beans or grains I haven't used before look interesting! Quinoa is flying off the shelves! Trader Joes runs out of it regularly, and even Whole Foods has a hard time keeping it stocked in the bulk section, so I expect the red version to be popular....I better stock up, lol! Mark loved the quinoa salad I made for my neices bridal shower, so I make it every week now, slightly different depending on what in my fridge.

Tuesday

Pork butt with chipolte and black beans in my pressure cooker.

This took me back to Fawns kitchen! (I stole it from her)

I have an early morning phone consult on Tuesdays and I take my walk, with my earplug, at the same time. Since I usually walk in my neighborhood, I'll walk 5 blocks down to the Mexican market and the things I buy there are pork butt, beef shanks, queso fresco cheese, jalapenos, sometimes garlic and onions. Of course I would prefer to buy meats that are organic and ideally pasture fed, but guess what...I lived for over 40 years eating nothing but grocery store meats and I didn't die, lol! Torturing myself with this "only organic" stuff can be crazy, besides until I write a blog post about so-called "free range" and organic chicken, it's not what you think anyway!

Wednesday

blanched purple cauliflower and 2 bunches of kale

Thursday

barley in PC
cooked hamburger patties

Friday

tomato soup w/fennel
kale mushroom quiche with feta cheese
red quinoa w/chicken stock (I mixed 1/4 c. regular quinoa w/1 c. red)
roasted 2 ears of corn
barley in PC
soak black beans

Saturday

blanched white and green string beans (CSA)
Made salad with red quinoa, baby greens, roasted corn, tomatoes, blanched white and green string beans, green onions, dressed with olive oil and lime, topped with queso fresco cheese. (picture at top)
Shredded chipotle chicken with rice and beans ( next blog post)

I went to the Saratoga farmes market to specifically buy a pasture fed chicken ($5.50 lb), I didn't need much else, but I couldn't resist an organic Crenshaw melon. I purchased some yellow, and green onions, and that was it!

Sunday

ceasar salad
hamburger patties

Can you believe that at this moment, (Tues, 5:30am), I haven't had one fresh tomato in my house for 2 days! That will change later this morning, lol! I haven't needed much from the grocery or famers market, in fact I didn't shop the FM on Sunday at all, instead using most of what I already have.

Tomato Soup

Well, tomato soup is as basic as it gets, or as fancy as you want to make it. The only thing you absolutely need, besides tomatoes, is a food mill, (ok, and an onion), a food mill will save you tons of time and effort from having to skin and seed beforehand. If you don't have a food mill, buy one, I recommend Cusipro (about $75), but OXO looks like they have a good one...at the very least I'm sure someone you know, (maybe your mother!) has one, just ask around.












Here's the basic ingredient list,




olive oil
onion
garlic
tomatoes
salt / sugar

And even the garlic is optional.

If you want it fancier you can roast the veggies beforehand or add stuff like,

celery / carrot
other vegggies like diced butternut squash or pumkin
potato
fennel
red bell (jalapeno)
basil, thyme, oregano, dill, parsley, sage, etc.
red pepper flakes
lemon
white wine, red wine, balsamic
cream, milk
blah, blah, blah....

And once the basic soup is finished the possibilities are endless,

rice
barley (my fav)
vermicelli

croutons
white beans, garbanzos
corn (roasted)
cheeses, parmesean, chedder / jack, gorgonzola, etc.
greens, spinach chard, etc.
protein, chicken, hamburger meatballs
bacon

Good Lord, I could go on and on....


As I mentioned in an earlier post, I made this in a tradional soup making method of sauteing onion, celery, carrot, in olive oil, (adding the garlic in the last minute). In my last batch I added 1 fennel bulb diced, along with these. I sauteed them for about 10 minutes, and then turned the heat down to low to let them cook and carmelize longer while I diced the tomatoes, which took about 15-20 minutes.

Because I was uaing a foodmill, which removes the skin and seeds at the end, I added diced tomatoes, skins, seeds and all, along with 1/2-1 cup chicken stock, tasted for seasoning (salt), brought it to a boil, and then turned the heat down to low and cooked it 10-15 min., slightly covered.

When cool enough to handle I passed it through a food mill and tasted for final seasoning if needed, salt and sugar....done! I've been going super light on salt these days, and opting to not add sugar, as I get enough sugar in other foods I eat (although I admit, a little sugar, or brown sugar would make it super yummy....ok, next bowl I'll add a pinch of sugar!) I've been adding pre-cooked barley to mine and whatever protein I have on hand.

To skin and seed tomatoes without a food mill, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Score the bottom of the tomatoes with an "X" and drop them into the water for 20-30 seconds, then remove. Peel back the skins, cut them in half lengthwise (romas) and pull the seeds out with your fingers over a bowl,or the sink.

The Grand Finale

It's about 6:30 am, and I'm making my 3rd and last batch of fresh tomato soup this week, using the end of the 25 freakin' pounds of romas I got from Wayne last Friday. The soup is slightly different than the previous 2 batches, and from the little taste I had, it's the best so far! But before I post the result I have to finish it and and have a final taste! So I'll be back later and let you know the exact formula.....

It's the weekend, treat yourself and your body to fresh tomato soup while the tomatoes are at their peak!

Chinese Long Beans

Well, I've wanting to blog about these stinkin' beans for over 1 year! I took a bunch of photos last year of how to cook and use chinese 'yard' long beans, but Mark erased them( by accident) from the camera, and true, this vegetable is available year round, the purple variety is only at the markets for a short time. Purple, or red, chinese long beans taste the same as the green, but when cooked they almost appear black. I like using all of the colors of the rainbow when I cook, especially when I put salads together.

















I know most people have ordered chinese food, and in that case you are likely to get this variety of green bean, usually stir-fried with chili, served also with a flavored meat like chicken or beef. I don't stir fry them, I blanch them in salted water uncut, since they're hollow, they tend to get waterlogged if you cut them first (4-5 min). Blanch the green ones first as the purple will change the colr of the water.

What I like about them is they have a "meaty-ness" about them. They get chewy in a good way, not a tough way. And since the're mild in flavor, you can throw them in practically any kind of salad. I put them in the potato salad I served at my neices bridal shower (baby new potatoes, green and white string beans, purple chinese beans, spinach with a lemon scallion dressing).












I used purple and green chinese long beans in Tuna Ceasar salad w/tomato.



I used purple and green chinese long beans in quinoa salad w/roasted corn, tomato, green onions, spinach.
All week I not only threw them in salads, but also in soups (of course, lol) Last night, after getting back from Healdsburg I had a simple salad of just tomatoes and the last of the beans with a splash of red wine vinegar, and a pinch of salt, that's it.

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Kitchen Journal



Friday I picked up 25lbs of roma tomatoes and other heirloom varieties, and about 4lbs of yellow squash from Waynes garden, I had no time or energy to deal with any of it, so I washed them and left them on the kitchen counter until my return on Sunday. I also brought home some honey to take to Ross and Gayle from Waynes hives.

Gone for the weekend, but took my lunch of coleslaw w/chipotle dressing and chicken, along with carrot sticks and raisins for Saturday, knowing I was going to dinner later in the evening and more than likely drinking wine!

Monday

6 cups Fresh tomato soup.

Wow! I impressed myself with this, it turned out so yummy! No recipe, I just made it like any other soup.....diced onion, carrot, celery, garlic, in 2tbl oil (10 min), I used 4 lbs of romas diced, about 1 c. chicken stock, cooked it for additonal 15 min (after boil), and then ran it through my food mill to remove all skin and seeds. Since I have...... oh I don't know, maybe about 20lbs of roma left, I guess I'll be making more and freezing it, lol!

6 cups yellow summer squash and yellow bell soup.

I had 2 large yellow bells from CSA last week so I threw them in with the onion at the start of this soup to make sure it came out a pretty yellow color....which it did! I ate it for lunch with 1 c. brown rice and some diced grilled chicken breast.

Quinoa Salad w/beet greens, summer squash, yellow and orange bell, baby tomatoes dressed with cilantro pistachio pesto

I was so happy to find some pesto in my freezer for this salad. I made the quinoa with chicken stock and tried to use all appropriate veggies in my fridge.

I'm low on protein sources, but I'm trying to not go to the store for anything. I've got plenty of tomatoes that's for sure, but I've been eating them so regularly my lips and tongue are becoming sensitive to the acid! Yikes.

I picked fresh figs from my neighbors tree, well...picked and ate, lol, talk about a kid in a candy store....whoops, ther goes a whole days worth of calories.

I love figs. I love my life.

Hey, Is That Soup in My Trash?

Although I did make more stem and leaf soup, with kale, today, using leftover red chard stems, broccoli stems, kale stems and leaves (and a couple of jalapenos), because I had to clean out the fridge before picking up CSA this afternoon, I did manage to throw away all stems from the veggies in my box! 2 bunches of lacinato kale stems, purple cauliflower stems, yellow beet stems (I left the beets in the trade box too! OK, I confess I took the head of romaine someone left and the extra bunch of kale...oops) No more stem and leaf soup fo a while, lol!


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Kitchen Journal

Monday

blanched chinese long beans
roasted tomatoes
poached chicken thighs, and made light stock from thigh bones in pressure cooker


Tuesday

steel cut oats
quinoa w/chicken stock for Marks salad
lemon and scallion dressing for salad (I decided to make some fresh, instead of using last weeks
assembled quinoa salad
yellow chard, bacon. mushroom, green onion quiche
chipolte, tomato salad dressing

I decided to make some fresh lemon and scallion dressing, instead of using last weeks. When you make a salad dressing that has a fresh ingredient like garlic, in this case scallions, count the dressing as fresh as each of it's ingredients. Would you eat garlic a week old? Ick.

Wednesday

pressure cooked barley w/stock
stem and leaf soup w/kale
pre-chopped salad ingredients
washed and prepped CSA veggies

I wanted to make a pasta dish with the red chard stems, but then I'd have to eat it, and I already have too much food. I'm working on eating some of the soups in my freezer. taking out beef and barley for Mark, cauliflower/chipotle and pattypan/leek for me. Today's stem and leaf will be for the next two days, I'll add poached chicken and barley to it.

CSA huge carrots, lacinato kale (2 bunches), strawberries, yellow beets (I kept the greens and left the roots), purple cauliflower, red, yellow and orange bell pepers, romaine lettuce, tomatoes

Good Lord! Does that Woman Do Anything Other than Make Soup?

Um no! Just kidding! Last year I realized that I ate soup practically everday, even through summer. Soup isn't considered a 'summer' meal. Oh, I guess there are cold soups, fruit soups, gazpacho and such, then there are lighter soups and seafood soups, and corn chower has to be a summer soup since summer is corn season. But for the most part no one is thinking soup in the summer time. If you would of told me that I'd be eating soup everyday a couple of years ago I would not have believed it, in fact I think I can safely say that I probably had gone years, if not a decade at a time never eating a bowl of soup, and I can guarantee never a 'homemade' bowl of soup!

So why do I eat so much soup? Well the reasons why I start eating a certain way, are not always the reasons why I stay eating that way, and I'll save you the whole boring story for another blogpost because I think I can make some important points, but in a nutshell, I started making and eating soup for the 2 simple reasons.....I could eat alot for few calories, and it could be pre-made in quantitiy. (That's why I have 12 stinkin' quarts of soup in my freezer right now, and 3 quarts in my fridge lol! but anyway....)

I realize, because I remember, that soup never sounded appetizing to me when most of the foods I was eating were processed, which is how most of the people in this country eat, so I'm not surprised if eating soup everyday isn't what most people aspire to, but all I have to say about that is that it's a shame. But when your taste palate gets abused by over-flavored, over-sugared-, over-salted, over-processed foods, it's hard to appreciate even the most flavorful homemade vegetable soup.

The soup pictured above is what I call Stem and Leaf Soup! I made 1 quart of soup using the stems and leaves of 3 cauliflower, yellow chard stems, and chicken stock made from the grilled chickens I served at the bridal shower I hosted last weekend. Chicken stock made from grilled or roasted chickens will always going to be a darker color than stock made from uncooked, raw chicken bones, and will have already be salted from having been seasoned. Below, pictured is an example the difference, both of these stocks were made in my pressure cooker in about 1 hours time.

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KITCHEN JOURNAL

I do alot of other cooking besides soup making and I'd like to start journaling it here on Food and Thought. My style of cooking and preparing foods is done in a way of pre-preparation, because of convenience and energy! I have the most energy at 4-7am, and besides Sunday's, that's when I get most of my cooking done(when I'm not blogging, lol) Wednesday I have to wash and prep all veggies in my CSA box, and Fridays I'll pick up anything I need, but didn't get, at the downtown farmers market. Mark and I have made Sunday after yoga a regular Campbell farmers market day where I'll buy what I'll need until Wednesday. I try and not shop at Whole Foods and only buy produce at farmers markets if I can. Alot of what, and how I eat, are foods that store well, or foods that have pre-prepped components that can be assembled quickly.

Last week I had alot of leftover salads from the party I hosted, although I sent my 2 sisters and niece home with a nice little sampling of all, there was plenty left for Mark and me. Mark blew through the quinoa salad and I hogged the coleslaw (the potato salad was awesome, but potaotes make me hold water so I had to pass....), so I made more of both of those salads, but slightly different. I put black beans in the quinoa salad and left them out of the coleslaw, and I extended the leftover chipotle dressing with only yogurt to cut the calories.

8/25 - 9/1

Chicken stock from 4 leftover grilled chickens, 3 quarts
Poached chicken and made stock from 1 pasture raised chicken + necks and feet.
Apricot lentil soup
Qunoa made w/stock of grilled chicken, and cilantro pesto, salad for Mark.
Pre-shredded cabbage salad
Kale salad w/citrus dressing (blogpost and recipe coming soon)
Roasted tons of red romas from Waynes garden, and golden romas from downtown farmers market (pictured)
3 quarts of orange califlower and chipotle soup, cauliflower from CSA box
Stem and leaf soup, 1 quart
Brown rice w/diced summer squash and pre-portioned for adding to soups

I made a couple of pots of oatmeal and a nectarine, cucumber salad. My main goal each week is to use the vegetables from my CSA box and any others purchased at the farmers market, so those usually go into salads.

CSA Romaine lettuce, 2 orange cauliflower, cilantro, strawberries, armenian cucumber, fennel, cabbage, yellow chard, 3 yellow bells.

Waynes garden. 9lbs. tomatoes, 1 pint honey

Friday farmers market. Rainbow chard, cilantro, red cabbage, yellow roma tomatoes, scallions, garlic, 2 nectarines.

Sunday farmers market. Red and green chinese long beans, raisins, italian broccoli, 2 lacinato kale, 2 nectarines 4 plums, 1 lb Fresno raisin grapes (small and green), carrots, celery, green cabbage, yellow chard, 2 ears Brentwood corn.

Trader Joes. Mushrooms, baby spinach, lemons

Today I'll make some more quinoa salad for Mark using 2 ears of corn I roasted (from the farmers market), chinese long beans, salad greens, fresh tomatoes, and the leftover lemon scallion dressing I used last time for the potato salad.