A Peek in My Cart - June 1 - 7

With a vacation coming, this week is all about using stuff up from in the fridge (and making meals without buying new food from the grocery store).
Note: there won't be a "Peek in my Cart" next week - I'm not cooking. But keep your eyes open for a guest blogger's "Juicy Morsel". An international correspondent will give us the goods on food from his new home town.

Monday - eggplant & chickpea stew. I'm not in the mood to cook so I defrost these leftovers. I match the stew with some rye crackers - like Ryvita crackers but these ones are from Ikea.

Tuesday - eat out at the Banana Leaf. I haven't eaten here in years. It doesn't disappoint.

Wednesday - "meat", potatoes and fiddleheads. When I shopped at Superstore last weekend I was so surprized to find fiddleheads. I don't expect to find seasonal produce there! We simply steamed them & topped them with butter & salt. For the “meat” W has lamb chops and I have a veggie patty.
We make leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Thursday – coconut curry. This is one of W’s favourite dishes. It’s a tasty alternative to stirfry, yet just as easy. I am not loyal to any one brand of curry paste. However, I am loyal to full-fat coconut milk. The curry flavour is carried in the fat – so low fat means low flavour! Today’s fridge clear-out ingredients included tofu, mushrooms, bell pepper, snow peas, and frozen green beans. We served the curry with white rice and there we made enough for leftovers for lunch Friday.

Friday – party at a friends’ place.

Saturday – pizza. W is out for a guys’ night. I enjoy the quiet house by enjoying a good book and ordering a veggie pizza from the folks around the corner. One of their pizzas feeds me dinner tonight and lunch for the next 2 days!

Sunday – “meat”, roasted sunchokes and cabbage. The crisper is looking bare. I roast the last of the winter’s sunchokes and steam the last bit of the red cabbage that we’ve gotten so many meals out of. W has porkchops and I have a veggie patty.

Roasted sunchokes
Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, are a tasty root vegetable, grown locally and related to the sunflower. They’re a great alternative to potatoes.

Sunchokes
Olive oil
Rosemary
Sage (optional)
Salt & pepper

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2) Wash the sunchokes, making sure to scrub away any dirt hiding in crevices.

3) Cut sunchokes into even sized pieces.

4) Drizzle a baking pan with oil. Add sunchokes, herbs, salt & pepper. Drizzle with more oil. Mix thoroughly so that sunchokes are covered with oil.

5) Turn sunchokes so that all the pieces are skin-down on the baking pan.

6) Roast in the oven for about 45min to 1 hour, or until the sunchokes are really soft.

7) Serve on their own. Or, for a decadent treat, dip into mayo.