I have a couple repeats this week. We had quite the exciting weekend. Jerome, who is definitely winning the head injury competition, tripped down the driveway and landed on his mouth and chin in the gravel. This happened Friday night, 20 minutes after prompt care closed, so we had to get him to the ER for stitches in his chin and to glue his lip together. We had a small party of people over, and were just getting a fire ready in the fire pit for the children to roast marshmallows so that has been postponed as well.

Also, I had the first ever failure of my melanzane al forno recipe. And it happened with guests here who had to eat it and pretend like it was all okay. Somehow, the eggplant we picked up was really bitter. I've never had eggplant this bitter. I don't know if it was just picked unripe or if the plants did not receive enough water, but it was not good. We scooped out the insides and mixed it with the sauce and pasta, added some more salt and ate it that way the next day for lunch. Because, of course, we had tons of leftovers. I still feel like I need to apologize to everyone who ate it. Sorry!

We have an abundance of rhubarb at our home right now, so I will be making some rhubarb desserts this week. My goal is to make our favorite rhubarb shortbread from Baking with Julia. You make a ton of shortbread dough, chill it a long time, make a rhubarb vanilla jam with fresh rhubarb and vanilla beans, grate half the dough into a pan, cover it with the jam, grate the other half of the dough over the top and bake it. It is lovely. I also would like to make a rhubarb crumble cake, which will take less effort. If I still have any left over, I will make this. I don't know how well these last two freeze, so I guess we'll just have to eat them up. Anyone in the South Sound area, Summit near 108th & Canyon in Puyallup off of 512 has rhubarb for $0.99 a pound if you buy 10 pounds or more.

• Monday: Veal Meatball Soup, Crusty Wheat Bread, Salad


• Tuesday: Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken and Garlic Green Beans


• Wednesday: Fiesta Casserole & Tomato Rice


• Thursday: Deviled Chicken, Baked Lemon Pasta (using whole grain pasta), Salad


• Friday: Spinach Egg Puff, Garlic Bread, Salad


• Saturday: Barbecue Beans (from freezer), Cornbread, Fruit Salad


• Sunday: Church Picnic, we're bringing Potato Salad, Chips & maybe a Watermelon if we can find a seeded one.

If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can.
What is on your menu this week?

Here is the list of foods from the freezer, fridge and pantry that I'm using this week. Anything from the freezer, pantry or fridge that was not bought specifically for this meal or this past week will be included in my lists.

Freezer:
Chicken Thighs
Chicken Breasts
Ground Veal
Pineapple
Peppers
Green Beans
Peas
Spinach
Barbecue Beans
Ricotta


Fridge:
Eggs
Butter
Cheddar Cheese
Parmesan
Milk
Sour Cream
Mayonnaise (homemade, of course)
Lettuce
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Scallions
Lemons


Pantry:
All Herbs & Spices
Salt
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Oyster Sauce
Mustard
Bread Flour
Whole Wheat Flour
Corn Meal
Basmati Rice
Whole Durum Wheat Spaghetti
Yeast
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Sugars
Honey
Black Beans
Canned Diced Tomatoes
Water Chestnuts
Sesame Seeds
Cashews
Tortillas
Bread for Bread Crumbs

Basil from the Herb Garden
Parsley from the Herb Garden

Labels: Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen