by Sam Tackeff | Jan 11, 2016 | Meal Planning
I spent much of the weekend preparing for Secrets of Self Care and am just now sitting down to one of my favorite rituals of the week – my meal planning! Still a few spots left in the program if you are “Monday motivated” and want to LEAP into action today. Send me an email!
For the past few weeks I’ve been trying out Blue Apron to assess whether I’d recommend it as a service to some of my health coaching clients. I’ll write up some thoughts soon, but after this week, I’ve put the service on hold – perhaps not indefinitely, but I miss coming up with my own meals! I decided this after getting the last shipment, so most of these dinners will be from the kit this week.
The other thing I’ll be eating is butternut squash. Somehow I’ve managed to amass a small arsenal of butternut squash, and haven’t been keeping up with cooking it. There are five on my kitchen counter, so I’ve been chopping and roasting like a mad woman this week. Do you have any favorite butternut squash tips? I’d love some more ideas!
Here’s what’s on the docket:
:: The Weekly Meal Plan: Week of January 11th, 2016 ::
Monday: seared cod and date vinaigrette (Blue Apron) with browned butter, quinoa, and spinach salad. Truthfully, I’m not big on quinoa these days, so this is likely going onto cauliflower rice.
Tuesday: cheese and snacks at the Wellesley College Club of Boston board meeting. In some of my spare time, I’m the co-VP of admissions and get to coordinate off campus interviews for prospective Wellesley women! Undoubtedly the best part is that I get to meet up with other amazing alums once a month and partake in high class snacks and wine.
Wednesday: chicken and udon noodle soup (Blue Apron) with napa cabbage and dried lime. I’ll be eating a late dinner because I’m going to try to head to Porter Square Books at 7pm for my friend Annelies’ talk about her wonderful tea cookbook Steeped! After that I have my business mastermind meet up – so this is going to be a late dinner!
Thursday: juicy lucy burgers (Blue Apron) with frizzled onion and romaine-walnut salad. Burgers are always a huge hit in this house. We’ll probably eat them bun-less, because I prefer them that way (and find that hamburger buns tend not to last several days in the fridge.
Friday: Out! Or more likely takeout from one of our favorite neighborhood spots.
What’s on your table this week?
by Sam Tackeff | Jan 3, 2016 | Meal Planning
No Puptron, the cinnamon roll is not for you.
January is usually the month I get back into home cooking after a holiday hiatus, but almost all our meals have been at home since getting our puppy – which is probably better for our health, but driving me a little bit crazy – I definitely need to get out of the house!
And it’s not been exclusively home cooking around here – we’ve ended up eating quite a few convenience-ish foods along the way. Cafe Spice Tikka Masala meals have been on sale for 3.49 at Whole Foods, and I’ve eaten probably a dozen of them. Have you tried them? They are so good! This week on the docket I have a few Blue Apron meals, a few classics, and some seafood. Easing my way into 2016 with some good stuff.
:: The Weekly Meal Plan: Week of January 3nd, 2016 ::
Sunday: chicken & garlic chive meatballs with quick apple & brussels sprout kimchi (Blue Apron) I also have some roasted butternut squash that will go with this on the side.
Monday: butternut squash and gouda casserole (Blue Apron) I’ve been getting a few pasta dishes in the meal delivery kits and am looking forward to trying this one. They typically include some panko breadcrumbs as crispy topping.
Tuesday: cabbage and beef emergency protein a version of this technique that I got originally from Nom Nom Paleo and have adapted over the years. Also perfect for those of you doing a Whole30.
Wednesday: tray baked kielbasa, red pepper and potatoes with a side of sauerkraut. This is a childhood favorite – my dad would cook kielbasa on Sunday mornings with our eggs, and it’s one of my favorite sausages.
Thursday: shrimp braised in tomato sauce with parsley over cauliflower rice a little bit of Greek inspiration. I might add feta to this as well. I use Rao’s Marinara for almost everything around here – it’s really the best jarred sauce on the market.
Friday: Out! Or more likely takeout from one of our favorite neighborhood spots.
What’s on your table this week?
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 25, 2015 | Meal Planning
The season is winding down at the farm, and I picked up my last regular season share on Friday. After the next one, I’ll have two winter pickups (mostly root vegetables) before Stearns closes up shop for the year.
It’s been a while since I’ve written out an actual meal plan – I go through phases where I’m completely sure about what I want to eat, and then ones where I’m finicky and can’t plan in advance. I still manage to feed myself wholesome meals (most of the time), but it really helps to have things organized.
When in doubt, I opt for a protein and two vegetables, and go from there. Sometimes it’s chicken, brussels sprouts, and a salad. Other times it’s eggs, tomatoes and potatoes. Occasionally, and very rarely, it’s no vegetables at all. But when that happens – you know, it’s okay! Because sometimes you just need Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese and lobster.
Vegetables I’l be eating from the farm share:
Acorn squash, cabbage, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, peppers, carrots, bok choi, broccoli, potatoes, kale, daikon, and mixed greens.
Things I’ll be cooking this week:
:: A big green salad with grilled chicken thighs, fennel fronds, roasted peppers, roasted acorn squash, feta, nuts, and whatever else needs to be used in my fridge.
:: Some tomato sauce to freeze, with the last of my summer tomatoes. I haven’t decided which recipe to use yet, but I want something relatively basic that will go well with different flavor profiles and cuisines.
:: I’m tweaking a Turkish red lentil soup recipe for my forthcoming quick weeknight meals e-book.
:: Some
pickled daikon and carrot salad from Elizabeth Andoh’s
Kansha cookbook. I made this for an event at Omnivore once, and it was a total hit.
:: Beets! Beets! Beets! I’m going to make a twist on the
Veselka Borscht , and
quick pickled beets with cumin and coriander.
Treats I want to try: I make my pumpkin chocolate chip cake at least once a season! This week is going to be the week.
What’s cooking in your kitchen this weekend?
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 13, 2015 | Holidays, Meal Planning
Tonight is the eve of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, so I celebrated with friends and family, and partook in some of my favorite foods: Tsimmes, a dish of braised beef, carrots, and sweet potatoes, my grandmother’s potato kugel, blueberry cheese pie (what we call cheesecake), and my mom’s carrot cake!
My aunt pulled out all the tricks. She always has a great wine selection (and hard liquor – clutch for any family situation.) And the evening starts with a well curated cheese board, and chopped liver for us traditionalists. Cooper, the lab, was sniffing around for crumbs, but feeling under the weather, so alas, I couldn’t share with him any of my generous cracker schmears. Not that I’d ever do something like that.
We also had salmon, beef tenderloin, a deconstructed cabbage roll casserole, green beans, and vegetarian lasagna. And then dessert: the aforementioned cheese pie and carrot cake, a Venezuelan layered dessert called Marquesa, lemon meringue pie, apple crumble, and fruit.
So it’s possible that I won’t need to eat for a few days, but I’m still on the hook for a healthy meal Monday through Thursday this week. On Friday, I’m running Reach the Beach (a 200 mile relay through my home state of New Hampshire, so my meal will likely be some American Chop Suey served to me in an elementary school cafeteria around midnight!
Here’s what’s on the docket this week. The weekly cook-up, which, in addition to my dinners make up my breakfasts, lunches and snacks for the week:
– cook a large batch of greens
– hardboil eggs
– braise green beans with tomato
– make fennel salad (this holds!)
– chop peppers for snacks
– make pesto
Monday: grilled jerk chicken with fennel salad
Tuesday: pork tenderloin with pesto and zucchini noodles
Wednesday: roasted fish with sticky roasted tomatoes and garlic
Thursday: steak and potatoes with green beans.
And here’s a closing note for you of my favorite evening ritual: a pot of herb tea. I’ve been alternating between fresh mint, and dried lemon verbena. I took a good portion of my mom’s plant, and have been supplementing my habit with the leaves from Stearns Farm.
What’s on your dinner table this week?
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 8, 2015 | Boston, Races, Restaurants
Hello from the impending blizzard zone! Yes, more snow. More Snow. Snowwwww. Why do I live here? This week I’ve been braving the weather to try out some new places, head to some food events, and even squish in a few races! Last we left off, I was making a game plan for January: lots of braising, healthy salads, meal planning, and gym going. Lofty goals. I knew it was going to be bad on January 5th, a coworker mentioned that I had been posting a lot on my blog. “That’s not going to last, is it….” ah, votes of confidence. Thanks. Of course he was right – it’s been a long, cold, month, and I didn’t think that anyone would want to hear my complaints about the MBTA. There was a lot of bitterness and salty language. California, I miss you. (You too, California friends.)
This month I’ve done little to drag myself out of the house. It’s been a lot of pathetic pantry meals. A few too many take out meals. And a whole lot of sitting on the couch. So last week after getting some energy back on my trip to Portland, Maine, I decided to get myself out, visit the new super shiny Whole Foods South End (it’s great), run a race, and meet up with some bloggers. Some of my favorite activities!
Of course, life is better caffeinated. With my dwindling coffee supply – both fresh beans from Portland, and my shameful comfort coffee (Trader Joe’s Gingerbread) being done for the season, I decided that I’d try out the new Fleck Coffee right at the Newton Highlands T-stop, because they were giving away free coffee this weekend…. and… free coffee! They brew Counter Culture, and I’m all for local coffee shops! They officially open on Monday, and keep hours of 6am – 4pm daily.
On the fitness front, I decided that I needed to “train” for my upcoming Hyannis Half marathon, so on a whim I signed up for the Super Sunday 5k and 5 miler, and ran it with my friend Matt. How do you dress for a race that has a real feel of around 5? Like a ninja. My super secret trick is to treat myself to hand warmers in my gloves for a cold winter run. I hoard hot hands like I’ll be living in the polar vortex for all time. This race was fun, cold, and flat!
The other reason that I signed up on a whim for a freezing cold race is that I was heading to a Boston Brunchers blogger brunch at Beat Hôtel (Beat Brasserie), and needed to work off some of those calories before eating ALL OF THE FOODS. The fine print: Boston Brunchers events come with free brunch (although generous tip is always provided), and provide me a comfortable space to take as many photos of my food as I want, without any of my dining partners judging me.
Beat Hôtel is in the old Tannery space in Harvard Square, and despite it’s convenient location, I really don’t get out all that much, and hadn’t been there yet. It’s the same team behind the South End’s Beehive, and they have jazz brunch on the weekends. The space is big and airy, and they have large tables for groups of friends. Another thing to note, I was a little out of it after running my race, and after rushing in to say hi to folks, I didn’t actually notice that the music was live until I turned around to look at the glowing purple stage (I mention this because, one, the live band was very good – and two, the acoustics are very well set up for the room – somehow I was sitting directly next to a drum kit and could still hear my dining partners conversation.)
We managed to get a good sampling of their brunch fare – starting off with the Bohemian Platter (hummus, dips, salads, cheese, pickled vegetables, and olives) – the photo in the top right. It was a plentiful platter, but the star for me was this really brilliant pickled radish. Yep, a superlative radish. The absolute winner of brunch was the Buffalo Cauliflower with blue cheese dipping sauce. This being Super Bowl Sunday, one of my dining partners actually took home an extra order, and I regretted not doing the same.
For our meals, we tried quiche, a few Benedicts, and I ordered the Shakshuka with merguez. Now, I do have high standards for Shakshuka, and while this didn’t make my top two of all time (my own, and the Shakshuka from Sofra), it was good! The merguez was neither here nor there, but it came with wobbly eggs served over this wonderfully creamy polenta. Plus, extra points for a beautiful presentation. (Bottom left.)
If you go to Beat Brasserie, please order the Buffalo Cauliflower. I will be returning specifically for this dish.
Before I leave you, here’s my meal plan for the week:
Sunday: lamb shanks with Ranch Gordo beans
Monday: chicken with cauliflower potato curry
Tuesday: deconstructed shepherds pie (Cook Smarts)
Wednesday: Shakshuka
Thursday: chicken soba noodles
Friday: Out
New Englanders, best of luck tonight in the storm.
