June 11, 2012

MENU FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 11, 2012

I now feel that summer is here – finally.  I put up a double recipe of fresh pesto for the freezer and the winter.  It is such a productive feeling to begin to stash stuff.  Be it in the freezer or in the canning pantry.  The basil grows so quickly, it is easy to forget it needs to be cut back to stay in full form.  So a few batches of pesto every so often does the trick.

At this point I have 10 and a half tomato plants on the deck.  The half due to the fact that the deer got the other half.  (along with one of my big flowering plants….) Yesterday I counted 19 baby tomatoes coming along, I believe I have (one never knows till one sees the fully ripened fruit) yellow grape, red cherry, and heirloom tomatoes in red, pink, purple and green as well as the regular varieties.  We shall see. I also grow big pots of herbs on the deck. Basil, parsley, Greek Oregano, Bicolored Sage, Lemon Verbena, Lots of rosemary and lots of thyme.  I’ve tried things like peppers and squash but with very limited success.  So I do what I can and f ill in with tons of flowering annuals. And curse the deer and the woodchuck.

And I do love my deck….

Mon. AM             Cold Cuts

Mon. PM              Grilled Chicken Thighs 

                             with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

                             Cole Slaw, Cukes in Sesame Mustard Sauce

                             Devilled Eggs

                             McWilliams Pinot Noir 2008

Tues. AM             Grilled Sausage with Sauerkraut

Tues. PM              Polish Cold Veal Loaf 

                              with Horseradish Sauce PTTT

                             Potato Salad, 

                             Cole Slaw

                             Mozzarella & Tomato Salad

                             Penfold's Koonunga Hill Cabernet Shiraz 2009

[Note: Tuesday and Wednesday dinner were actually reversed, but changing it here is more than I want to bother with]

Weds. AM          Cold Cuts

Weds. PM           Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Vinegar Sauce

                             Cole Slaw, Tomatoes with Mozzarella

                            Penfolds Koonunga Hill Cabernet Shiraz 2009

Thurs. PM           Tilapia Meuniere WTC

                             Pasta with Fresh Pesto

                             Sautéed Zucchini

                             Penfolds Koonunga Hill Chardonnay 2009

basil pre-pesto

Fri. AM               Costco Pizza

Fri. PM                Smoked Mozzerella & 

                             Sausage Lasagna BA 3/04 106

                             Tossed Salad

Sat. AM               Cold Cuts 
                            Cold Veal Meatloaf

Yes, that is a hard boiled egg with home dill pickles on each side

Sat. PM               Garlic Shrimp Tapas

                            Tuscan Style Chicken 

                            Grilled Under a Brick PB 377

                            Tuscan White Bean Salad with Ham Hocks GWC

                            Sautéed Sweet  Peppers with Basil

Sun AM             Lasagna revisited 
                          Pizza

There is a story behind that peel, would never have seen the big stove if I hadn't been shopping for the peel.

Sun PM               Headcheese Vinaigrette CWCCPF

                            Grilled Brazilian Stuffed Beef Roast BB 116

                            Rice Salad Provencal with Black Olives 

                            and Anchovies SBFF 269

                            Ted’s Hungarian Cucumber Salad 

                             with Paprika and Dill NYCB168