the joy of eating cold leftovers

i heard a dj talking about eating cold leftovers on radio the other day.  a heated debate ensued, namely along the gender line, on the acceptable vs. disgusting nature of consuming cold leftovers.  the host had just finished some cold chinese, male callers were singing the praises of cold pizza and other lukewarm, day-after delicacies while the female callers seemed disgusted by it.


all i could think about was cold macaroni and cheese....


but for the joy of cold leftovers, we had to start with some warm dinner.  not that i'm complaining here, it was delicious that night too.


menu (21aug10):

• another turkey burger
• butternut squash macaroni & cheese
• banana oatmeal cream pie

butternut squash mac n' cheese

the morning after leftovers were even better...

week 19: way behind here

certainly wasn't the best of weeks for any updates.  that only means that we have some making up to do this week, including some additional updates from last week.

little overdue, but here this week's box.  went with box "c," another farmer's choice box.  certainly got a variety of things, including pink-eyed peas (which we had never heard of before).  we had to add on a few jars of the spicy sweet dill pickles too.  household favorite for sure!

clockwise from top left: personal watermelon, squash, cucumber, lee's produce spicy & sweet dill pickles (add on), tomato, peaches, lee's produce spicy & sweet dill pickles (add on), sweet potatoes, asian pears, scuppernong grapes, pink-eyed peas

chopsticks vs. the cilantro

"we need some cilantro.  you get that, i'll get us some basil." 


and so the adventure began.  i walked away to get the basil; chopsticks got the cilantro.  skip ahead to dinner prep.  chop a handful of both basil and cilantro... wait... this isn't right.


um, chopsticks, what were you supposed to pick out?  "cilantro!"  well, this is parsley.  "oh, no fair!  they were right next to each other!" 


good reason to keep dried cilantro in the spice rack i guess.  regardless, dinner turned out good.


menu (19aug10):

• soba noodles with shiitake mushrooms
• pesto & lemon marinated chicken 
• citrus tomato salad (topping for the chicken)

soba noodles with shiitake mushrooms, pesto & lemon marinated chicken topped with a citrus tomato salad

week 18: add on week

we were really hoping for the spicy sweet dill pickles to be an add on this week after having demolished the entire jar last week.  and, of course, we were getting some more salsa as that mysteriously disappeared last week too (look at you, ojp!).


but, wait, what's this?!  shiitake mushrooms?!  yes, please.


to supplement out add-ons we went with box "b" this week.

clockwise from top left: tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms (add on), butternut squash, cherry tomatoes, lee's produce fresh salsa (add on), sprite melon, peaches, red potatoes, bell pepper

spoon and chopsticks tackle dinner

it started with "you have plans for the corn?"  reluctantly, i answered "no." 

having the two of us in the kitchen attempting to cook a meal usually ends in disaster.  however, we were going to give it a go.  chopsticks was excited about her use for the corn.  i just needed to add something else.

menu (14aug10):

• corn chowder, topped with crab and scallions
• crab imperial
• quinoa stuffed poblanos

corn chowder with crab & scallions

trio: corn chowder with crab & scallions, quinoa stuffed poblano, crab imperial

trio: corn chowder with crab & scallions, quinoa stuffed poblano, crab imperial

tuns out, we could survive cooking together.  

  

vegetarian fed

we've been called vegetarians by more people than i can count because we watch what we eat.  but, we certainly eat our fair share of meat.  but, with eating a little healthier and loving food, i am constantly researching anything food related.  recently i ran across the growing trend of "meatless monday."  chopsticks and i had discussed it a few times, trying to incorporate more vegetarian type meals in the house, maybe even once a week.

so, it wasn't monday.  and, while i'm aware that the eggs were not necessarily vegetarian (they were vegetarian fed, free range though!), i did owe chopsticks them from her birthday.  

menu (13aug10):

• grilled portabello, topped with tomatoes, spinach and provolone
• used my bruschetta topping as a base
• deviled eggs
• grilled summer squash

deviled eggs, grilled mushroom with tomatoes, spinach and provolone, grilled squash

week 17: spicy sweet dill pickles? of course!

after the track record of devouring lee's jarred produce (pickled squash and salsa), the mention of another offering, the "spicy sweet dill pickles made with lee's cucumbers," it was an easy decision.  that is, other than the pickles being offered in two different boxes.


decided to go sans grapes, however, and chose box "c."

clockwise from top left: squash, poblano peppers, personal watermelon, lee's produce spicy sweet dill pickles, corn, lee's produce fresh salsa (add on), acorn squash, tomatoes

chopsticks' cheesy corn bake

chopsticks had continually told me about this "cheesy corn bake from kansas city" which we had to make at some point in time.  this weekend happened to be that time.

menu (06aug10):

• turkey burgers
• pesto
• cheesy corn bake

i'll blame chopsticks for no pictures.

everyone deserves a second chance

one time, a few weeks back, some peaches, some chicken and i got in a little fight.  honestly, it was the grill's fault.  no, wait... actually, i recall something about some gas taking its party elsewhere and ruining everything.


yeah, definitely the gas.


so i needed to make up with the peaches and chicken.  invited some new gas this time, hoping it was better for the dynamic.  this party was definitely rockin'


menu (06aug10):

• chipotle peach chicken
• grilled peaches
• sauteed spinach
• cornbread

chipotle peach chicken, grilled peaches, sauteed spinach and cornbread

week 16: back to the surprises

just. couldn't. resist.


box "c" this week simply because it was a surprise box.  it's just too much fun waiting in anticipation of what's to come.

clockwise from top left: peaches, corn, lee's produce fresh salsa, honey, cantaloupe, sprite melon, squash

chopsticks guest post: i'm no peter piper

i'm no peter piper.....

so today i decided that it was time to do something with those jalapenos.  i know that poppers are the easy thing to do (and by easy i mean the simplest idea).  although they weren't difficult to make, they were time consuming as all heck and a ton of steps.  

i got a little adventurous and made two different kinds - a creme cheese/sharp cheddar mixture and a creme cheese/ monterey jack mixture.  i preferred the cheddar.  spoon preferred the jack.  go figure.  

i forkin' spoon you! happy birthday, chopsticks!

happy birthday, chopsticks!


her request:  "a picnic meal."  invited a few friends over and spent the day prepping everything.  granted, i did forget the deviled eggs (so i owe her those).  otherwise, it was definitely time to celebrate


menu (31july10):

• bbq chicken
• baked beans
• grilled corn
• apple coleslaw
• potato salad (compliments of fresh market)
• cornbread
• salad
• peach cobbler (compliments of the braxtons)

p.s.  i'll work on getting the recipes up

week 15: chopsticks is all alone

i was out of town this week, so chopsticks was in charge of the house and the box.  rather quiet week because of me traveling...


went with box "b" this week.  

clockwise from top left: cabbage, red & green pepper, corn, personal watermelon, peaches, roma tomatoes, jalapenos

doubters

i said "squash pizza."  everyone balked.  no, really, i think i can pull this off...  meanwhile, chopsticks was preparing to eat a sandwich and the friends had the "how did that turn out" text messages ready

butternut squash pizza with ricotta mixture and spinach

the verdict:  a resounding thumbs up.  the text message back "so good i had 3 pieces"

09aug update:  squash pizza recipe