Audrey's blog

4-day Cabin Plan

Audrey — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:23:13 +0000

Jon and I have found a great rental "cabin" about 1.5 hours outside of DC (not giving our secret away!). We go there about once or twice a year to unplug and relax. We invariably have a great time.

Each time we go, we plan a menu and bring everything we need to execute it. To help with future planning, here's the menu and basic shopping list we used this time.

Lunch D1 (optional): Stop at Ashby Inn

Dinner D1: Grilled fish with grilled sides and salad

For the Record: Komi 5/28

Audrey — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 09:58:54 +0000

1. House-made brioche with smoked trout roe and greek yogurt
2. Cured salmon with squid ink toast and raw pacific mexican whitefish with green tomato
3. Raw scallops two ways - with coconut milk and with crumbled pistachios
4. Burrata with asparagus and lemon breadcrumbs
5. Egg ravioli with ramps and dried tuna flakes
6. One-bite spanakopita
7. Smoked fois gras with pea purée
8. House-made half smoke with spicy tomato chutney, half sour pickle and beer
9. Warm date stuffed with marscspone topped w olive oil and sea salt

Fresh Chickpeas - Another Delicious Sign of Spring

Audrey — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:09:27 +0000

Jon and I first had fresh roasted chickpeas about a month ago when spring first appeared in DC. At the suggestion of our waiter at Zaytinya, we ordered this dish which neither of us had had before. And it was delicious!!!

Today, for the first time ever, I saw fresh chickpeas for sale at Safeway (of all places), and so we got some and tried to replicate that delicious dish. The result was delicious.

Menu for Week of March 1st

Audrey — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:55:18 +0000

Last week was New Orleans week ... not my favorite week. The food is growing on me (and last week's gumbo was pretty delicious), but its still more of a "Jon-week." So this week was an "Audrey-week." I'll call it "California ethnic." I focused on four of my favorite California ethnic cuisines - Iranian, Jewish (...sort of a cuisine), Asian (broadly), and Mexican (also broadly).

Saturday - Homemade Sushi

Sunday - Tah Chin (Persian Rice Casserole)

Arganica Week 5

Audrey — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:50:12 +0000

We decided to add a second "trial month" to our Arganica membership. We repeated some favorites from earlier weeks and tried new things too. This week we received:

Plain Yogurt (with "yogurt cream" on top ... delicious)
Cucumber
Red Onion
Fresh Parsley
Avocado
Hydroponic Lettuce
Croissant
Lemon Poppy Scone
Granola
Polyface Farms Delmonico Ribeye Steak

... and a local food magazine.

Arganica Week 3

Audrey — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:24:08 +0000

This week we received our third Arganica delivery (apologies for forgetting to take a picture and post about our second delivery, which included locally milled flour).

This week's delivery includes:

Farm Eggs
Pizza Dough
Roasted Garlic Linguini
Cremini Mushrooms
York Apples
Hydroponic Lettuce
Avocado
Parsley

When this 1-month trial is done (next week), expect a longer post on our overall experience.

Our First Arganica Delivery

Audrey — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:59:24 +0000

Today we received our first delivery from Arganica, a DC-based local farm foods delivery business. Basically its a cross between a farmer's market and a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farmshare. They carry a broad list of produce, breads, cheeses, and prepared foods from a variety of local farms. They send you a list of products and prices on Monday, you choose exactly what you want to order, and they deliver it to your door on Thursday evening.

The Secret to Good Salads

Audrey — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:07:24 +0000

After a long and careful study of what makes a good salad, I have decided upon three key components, in addition to your standard greens and veggies:

1. Something sweet (like dried cranberries, raisins, pomegranate seeds, chopped apples, etc.)
2. Something crunchy (like croutons, crushed pita chips, tortilla chips, nuts, etc.)
3. Cheese (depending on the salad, goat cheese, feta, and parmesan are all good choices)

Of course you must use these things in moderation to avoid overdoing it and adding too much fat/calories/etc to a dish that, essentially, is supposed to be a healthy addition to your meal.

Menu for Week of November 15th

Audrey — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:55:52 +0000

This week was Indian week. We had a bottle of pre-made "Korma" sauce to use up. As it turns out, paneer is very difficult to find in DC. Yes (the organic market near our house) used to carry it, as (I think) did Harris Teeter. No such luck this time. Had to make a special trip to Whole Foods, only to pay $9 (!) for a box of paneer.

Monday - Navartan Korma (vegetable Korma - with cauliflower, peas, carrots, and potato)

Tuesday - invited our friends over for leftover Borscht and Kale

Wednesday - Shahi Paneer

Thursday - Leftover Shahi Paneer and Navartan Korma

Menu for Week of November 8th

Audrey — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:10:04 +0000

This week was another shot at a "Fall Harvest" menu. Unfortunately, a lot of our dishes just didn't turn out that great. We continue to struggle to find recipes for pumpkins that don't involve pies or ravioli (which we've already done).

Sunday - Roast Chicken with Roast Pumpkin

Monday - Buffalo Steak with Brussel Sprouts

Tuesday - Big Salad with Pumpkin French Fries

Wednesday - Steelhead Salmon (trout) with Lemon/Butter/Rosemary Sauce, with Kale and Brussel Sprouts

Thursday - Pumpkin Ravioli with Broccoli and Green Salad

Friday - Out to celebrate Jon's last day at YSA!

Menu for Week of October 31

Audrey — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:26:22 +0000

We have peppers... lots of peppers. And winter is coming soon. Mexican week!!

Sunday - Grilling (admittedly non-Mexican)

Monday - Both out

Tuesday - Chile Frittata Casserole with Enchilada Sauce

Wednesday - Shrimp Tacos with Salsa Verde

Thursday - leftover Chili Frittata Casserole

Friday - Beef Tacos

Menu for Week of October 25

Audrey — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:47:42 +0000

Plan for this week was a bit haphazard, but here goes:

Sunday - Potluck Pig Roast at P&C Market

Monday - Chili (made on Sunday by Jon) + cole slaw

Tuesday - Big Salad + Baked Sweet Potatoes

Wednesday - EBLfgT (aka Egg, Bacon, Lettuce, and fried green Tomato) sandwiches + cole slaw

Thursday - Gnocci with Tomato Cream sauce

Friday - Jake's B-day celebration in the 'hood

Another Great Community Event - P&C Market

Audrey — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:42:12 +0000

Fresh off the heels of last night's community dinner, tonight we went to a neighborhood roast pig / pot luck dinner at P&C Market.

A Literary Feast

Audrey — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:54:57 +0000

Last night we participated in the 5th annual Capitol Hill Literary Feast. We prioritized four books/cuisines and were delighted to be assigned to the Unaccustomed Earth dinner. The book is a collection of short stores, all about first generation Bengali-Americans and their struggles to blend their parents' Indian heritage with their American upbringing. Its an outstanding book, especially for anyone whose family has recently emigrated to America (from anywhere, not just India).

Menu week of 18 October

Audrey — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:40:14 +0000

This week we took advantage of the first fall crops to have a harvest-focused menu. We had thought ahead a little and bought some of the staples we'd need at Harris Teeter the week before. So we had no need to go to Safeway, and bought everything for the week at Eastern Market.

Fall Harvest

Audrey — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:12:44 +0000

This week fall arrived in full force in DC (actually, temperatures more like winter, but the first taste of cold anyhow...). We wanted to take advantage of the fall bounty suddenly available at Eastern Market, and so we spent most of our day preparing a tasty Italian-inspired fall harvest dinner (yes we began at 10 am by roasting said harvest vegetables...).

Menu for the week of Feb 16

Audrey — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:54:15 +0000

This week's menu followed our weekend away, so we didn't do very much planning or an extensive market shop. I'll call this week "Simple Comfort Foods."

Monday - bread, cheese, and sausage leftovers from winestasting

Tuesday - big salad

Wednesday - taco night!!

Thursday - lox and bagels and latkes (aka Jew food night)

Friday - gourmet burgers