A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

What a beautiful September day in Tucson! After two days of heavy monsoon rain, the air was fresh and clear this morning, with a steady--dare I say it--crisp breeze. It felt almost fall-like. Let's hope it keeps up. Anyway, it was great weather for riding to Sunflower Market. Let me say a few words about Sunflower. I think I might be in love. If you've never been to one before (as I never had until two weeks ago, when I happened to go with a friend), it's kind of like a Trader Joe's on a bigger scale. Like Whole Foods, it has a lot of natural and organic options, and bulk grains and nuts and things, but like Trader Joe's, you can actually afford the prices and the people who work there are very nice. They had everything I needed (except 1% milk quarts, so I went with skim). The produce section is great, and so is the meat counter. I found fresh andouille sausage, which they never seem to have at Safeway. The cost was pretty close to the $70 range I was predicting; the total bill ended up being $74.23. I suspect that I would have spent at least $100 at Whole Foods for the same items. So here's that list again, with some notes:

1. Bacon (1/2 pound bulk)
2. Pork (3 lbs boneless pork shoulder)
3. Andouille sausage (1/2 pound)
4. Quart of 1% milk (not available in quart size so I got skim)
5. 1/2 quart of lowfat plain yogurt (Nancy's brand)
6. 1/2 gallon of orange juice
7. Frozen lima beans
8. Coffee beans
9. White rice
10. Walnuts
11. Peanut butter
12. 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
13. 2 15-oz cans chickpeas
14. 2 15-oz cans red beans
15. Fresh fruit (2 6-oz cartons of raspberries and a pound of pluots)
16. Lemons (3 for $1)
17. Limes (3 for $1)
18. Cherry tomatoes (1 pint)
19. Avocados (3)
20. Bell peppers (3 green)
21. Serrano peppers (2)
22. Celery
23. Fresh basil
24. Salad greens (red-leaf lettuce head)
25. Whole-wheat pita bread
26. Freezer bags

So here's what I'm going to do with this stuff. As I mentioned previously, I plan my menu out for two weeks. To be more specific, I plan for 28 meals: 14 dinners and 14 lunches. (Breakfast isn't included because it often doesn't involve cooking. On most school mornings when I'm pressed for time I just have a bowl of oatmeal of a smoothie or something.) I allow for about four meals eaten outside the house in the course of two weeks (one dinner + one lunch out/week), which means I need to shoot for 24 meals. Because I am not about to make 24 separate meals, I come up with seven or eight recipes yielding 3-4 servings each (or more if it's freezable) that complement each other in terms of the ingredients required, the amount of prep time required, and the variety of flavors, to stick to and stretch out over the two weeks. Usually I'll have a couple things that are a bit heavier on meat and other things that are mostly vegetarian, some things that are more labor intensive and some that are quick and easy. I also try to incorporate at least one new recipe into the mix. It's not unusual for me to end up with more of one thing or less of another than I anticipated, but it works surprisingly well. Finally, if I do things right, I'll end up with at least one "transitional" recipe that will get me through the end of the two weeks into the next shopping cycle.

So my menu items for the week are as follows. Recipes that are new to me are italicized; transitional recipes are in green:

Tuna salad pita sandwich x 1

Ratatouille with chicken and rice x 4 (possible extra for freezing)

Puerco pibil and rice x 4 (adapted from Robert Rodriguez; possible extra for freezing)

Summer succotash with bacon x 3 (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Red beans and rice with andouille sausage x 4

Angelhair pasta with walnut pesto and chicken x 4 (hopefully extra pesto for freezing)

Kofta (Middle Eastern spiced meatballs) and rice x 2

Channa Masala (chickpea-tomato curry) x 2

Et voila! 24 dishes from 8 recipes, all of which function as complete meals within themselves including vegetable, protein, and a starch.

Since ratatouille is going to be my dinner tonight, let's end with my ratatouille recipe. Ratatouille is a highly-spiced vegetable stew with a tomato base traditional to French and North African cuisine. It's a good choice for a weekend meal because, though it is not difficult, it takes a bit longer to prepare. The cooked vegetables freeze well, so this is also a good recipe to double, so that you can freeze half and turn it into an easy meal sometime in the future. Ratatouille pairs well with rice, but could also be served with some rustic bread or couscous, or even a chunky pasta like rigatoni. Because ratatouille is pretty hearty, I prefer to have chicken with it instead red meat, but I imagine it would be tasty with beef or lamb kebabs. To turn it into a balanced vegetarian meal, add a can of drained chickpeas to the pot just before serving.

Because I don't have a grill, I plan to saute my chicken. If this is something you're unfamiliar with, it's quite easy. It works best if you pound the chicken breast first so that it's of an even thickness. You don't want a thick part staying pink inside. Place the chicken breast in a freezer bag or wrap well with saran wrap (maybe a couple of layers--there's nothing grosser than having pulverized bits of raw chicken flying at you). Beat the shit out of it until it's about a quarter inch thick. You can use a mallet, or if, like me, you don't have one, a rolling pin or the bottom of a small sauce pan will do. Heat a little olive oil in your skillet. Rub your chicken breast with a little olive oil and a spice rub of equal parts cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper (this is something you can mix a quantity of and have lying around so you don't have to measure the spices out every time). Place the breast in the skillet and cook about five minutes on each side. That's how you saute a chicken breast. Easy. On to the ratatouille:

You will need:

Olive oil

1 yellow onion, sliced in thin half-moon slices

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium eggplant*, peeled and cubed

1 zucchini, cubed

1 yellow (summer) squash, cubed

2 cups crushed tomatoes and juice (about half a 28-oz can)

(Optional: 1/4 cup pitted green or kalamata olives)

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground cloves

salt and pepper to taste

In a deep skillet, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the onion begins to soften. Add the eggplant and cook until the eggplant softens, stirring constantly. This is important, because eggplant is a squirrelly vegetable. It can suck up oil like a sponge, with the result that half your eggplant chunks are oily and the other half are bitter and dry. Stirring will ensure that it is evenly coated with oil. Once the eggplant is soft, add the remaining ingredients and, stirring, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1/2 an hour to an hour, until the vegetables are all soft and the sauce has thickened. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve. Yields 4 servings.

*You may want to salt your eggplant cubes before using them. Salting draws moisture out of the flesh and makes it less bitter and easier to cook. Toss the eggplant with salt and let sit in a colander for an hour. Rinse the pieces well and squeeze them in your hand to expel moisture. Pat dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel. You can do this with squash, too.