Meal Plan | Week of 12-29-13

This will be the last meal plan of 2013. Wow, I can't believe it!

Even with the holidays, I've been trying to stay on track with cooking at home. Since I have a couple days off this week, I'm going to go a little "all out," especially with the baking.

I bought my proteins from Sprouts. My CSA is still on break, so I'll be getting my produce from Winder Farms.

Organic Produce Box Items:
3 Apples
2 D'Anjou Pears
4 Kiwi
1 lb of French Fingerling Potatoes
1 Bulb of Fennel
1 Bunch of Carrots
Lettuce
1 Bunch of Broccoli I still have two heads of broccoli from last week, too. Any ideas aside from soup & roasting? Please comment below!

Pumpkin Spoonbread

Pumpkin Spoonbread - Baked

My eyes have been opened to the world of spoonbread. After I made this basic version, I decided to make a holiday version using pumpkin. 

Recipe from Bon Appetit Thanksgiving Edition

Here is my adaption for a less savory version of Bon Appetit's pumpkin spoonbread. It's a super moist cross between pumpkin pie & bread pudding. 

Ingredients

• 2½ cups whole milk
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 
• 2 tsp kosher salt 
• 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal  
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg I grated my fresh from the nut
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin purée Bon App recommends Libby's
• 3 large eggs, separated
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger  

For a sweeter version, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar

Persimmon Cookies

A Little Persimmon Cookie

Persimmons are in season in the Fall, so I have been getting the Fuyu variety in my CSA basket every other week.

I like firm and crunchy fruit. So, when my persimmons start getting a little soft, I get a little sad.

About five years ago, a former co-worker told me about how she uses persimmons in bread puddings and cookies. I grew up eating persimmons, but haven't really seen them in baked goods.

With my mushy persimmons, I decided to make cookies for the first time in my life. Enough of the excuses for not baking, I needed an excuse to use my overripe autumnal fruit!

Just a note, persimmon cookies aren't really your idea of cookies. They are more like cookie-shaped muffin tops or non-custardy bread pudding bites. These "cookies" are soft and incredibly moist. They are the perfect bite for this season.

Before I share the recipe for the cookies, you'll need to prep persimmon puree in advance.

Meal Plan | Week of 12-22-13

Photo Credit: http://www.hdwallpapersinn.com/

My CSA is on break due to the holidays, so I'll be drawing my cooking inspiration for this week from my impromptu visit to Zion Market today and what I have in my pantry already.

Sunday

• Dine out at Pho 21 - spring rolls, pho well-done brisket I usually get rare steak (pho tai), but I was feeling adventurous.

Monday

• Bourbon-glazed ribeye steaks (marinade prepped day prior)

Tuesday - Christmas Eve

• Lemon oregano chicken (marinade prepped day prior)
• Next time, I will try this Bourbon Molasses Chicken Drumsticks

Wednesday - Christmas

• TBD  
• CSA is skipped this week, so I will get veggies & fruits through the Winder Farms' organic produce box

Thursday

• Gluten-free Sweet Potato Gnocchi (bake sweet potatoes earlier)

Friday

• Broiled Lobster
• Gluten-free Fresh Pasta (prepped day prior) with EVOO, tomato, basil, and Parm

Saturday

• Meat loaf Thanks, Lauren, for the recipe

Breakfast 

• Gingerbread Oatmeal variation
• Baked Blueberry Oatmeal variation

Dessert

• Gluten-free Carrot Cupcakes

Drinks

• Hot Toddy
• Ginger, lemon, honey tea
• Spinach & apple green juice

Do you have any special meal plans for Christmas week? Please comment below.

Cornmeal Spoonbread

As you know from a previous post, I've been cooking from a new gluten-free cookbook where I came across this recipe for spoonbread. It has minimal ingredients and I had all of them in my pantry already.

Interestingly, I've never heard of "spoonbread" before. (Blame it on my Southern Californian Asian-American upbringing)

Spoonbread is a moist cornmeal-based dish prevalent in the South. Although named a "bread", it's åcloser in consistency and taste to savory puddings, such as Yorkshire pudding. (Source: Wikipedia)

Below is my execution of Nicole Hunn's original book recipe. I recommend serving it with a savory meat dish with juices or sauce. Or, eat it the next day with some butter, or sweetened with honey or jam.

Oatmeal Banana Bread

The baking bug has officially bitten me for the first time in my life. (My sister, now a pastry chef, was the one who baked while growing up.)

I have been feverishly stocking up my pantry with baking essentials, and have been buying in bulk to save money in the long run.

So, what to do with the excessive amount of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free Quick Cooking Oats from Amazon that I have? Oatmeal Banana Bread! I found this recipe on Bob's website.

Here's what I like about this spin on a classic:

• It has more texture due to the oats
• The flavor profile is mild as it doesn't have the usual spices like nutmeg and cinnamon
• Honey is used as a sweetener that gives it a sticky, caramelized exterior
• And, of course, it's gluten-free!

Meal Plan | Week of 12-15-13

South Coast Farms CSA | Fall Quarter Week 7

In this week's organic CSA box, I received the following:

• Baby turnips
• Radishes
• Fresh herbs including parsley, cilantro, and dill
• Oranges They are curiously yellow like lemons
• Grapefruits
• Fuyu persimmons
• Fuji apples 
• Spinach
• Arugula
• Rainbow Chard
• Spaghetti squash
• Potatoes I traded in a couple heads of lettuce to double my portion
• Onion
• Celery

Recipe Ideas

• Entrees
• Homemade Gnocchi
• Spaghetti Squash Lasagna with ground bison (instead of turkey)
• Flank steak I bought two (1.5-1.75 lb. steaks, each) from Costco
• Asian-style flank steak with sautéed rainbow chard
• Grilled flank steak with herb salsa verde
• Thai-style flank steak
• Flank steak with shallots and red wine sauce
• Sauces
• Herb salsa verde, or chimichurri
• Sides
• Brown butter baby turnips
• Rosemary & dill roasted carrots
• Spicy radishes
• Arugula salad with proscuitto and persimmons (see tweet below)
• Waldorf-ish salad (spinach, apples, walnuts)
• Breakfast
• Grapefruit brûlée
• Banana Orange Smoothie
• Desserts
• Orange Olive Oil Cake

Persimmons in your salad? Yes! Inspired by Bruno's (Brea). Fuyu, arugula, parm, prosciutto, lemon vinaigrette pic.twitter.com/S8I6QCOxLB
— Succulent Succotash (@asucculentblog) December 10, 2013