Fresh Figs? Yes, Please!

Just another reason to love reading the grocery ad! And if you think using the word love there is a bit strong, just ask Marshall if it's true. I do love it. I don't believe I had ever considered fresh figs until they were buy one get one free last week. That's a good reason to try almost anything! I first bought Brown Turkey figs which I enjoyed, and this week I bought Black Mission figs which I enjoyed equally. Who knew you could eat the whole fig?! Be honest - doesn't the outside look unappealing and tough? I think so! In reality it tastes oh so delicious.

 
I made this Fresh Fig and Cheese Sandwich with Honey and Walnuts, which earned it's own whole post, as well as this Fig and Chocolate Bread which was also delicious (I'll be trying and sharing a 'healthi-fied' version of this in the semi-near future for those of you who are interested).

Anyone tempted? They are not around long, so if you can find them now, buy them now! Any experts in the realm of figs who might have recipes to share?

One final word - don't miss the fig season!

This Menu = Fast-Easy-Cheap

This week is a bit busier than normal and it's also the last week of my monthly budget, which happens to mean it's tight this time around. That being said, we are having a fast-easy-cheap, not-much-meat, cook-what-you-have-in-the-pantry week. I like the challenge : )

Monday - Korean Ramen (we like it more than the "normal" kind) with eggs poached in it
Wednesday - Quinoa n' black beans with a new addition of grilled pineapple
Thursday - ravioli with marinara sauce and Italian sausage
Friday - mac n' peas -- which is actually mac n' cheese with peas and tuna...I just think mac n' peas sounds so cute!
Saturday - crushed red pepper and Parmesan tilapia
Sunday - sweet potato-carrot-apple-red lentil soup and homemade focaccia bread

Marshall will be cooking dinner on Monday, though he can handle much more than Ramen in the kitchen, and poaching eggs has become a specialty of his so he will enjoy it : ) 

I have been doing a lot of experimenting in the kitchen so we decided that starting next week we will go back to some old favorites, as well as some of our favorites from all the new things we have had recently. I'll highlight meals in the coming weeks that we love!

Bonus Post! This Sandwich is Delicious!

I just had to do a quick post about this delicious sandwich we had for lunch today! I had this on my previous menu, along with This link. Because of our taste in cheese and the availability (and sale price) of fresh figs I did this sandwich quite differently than the link I gave. Here is the "recipe". It's very flexible and think of these more as guidelines. Make this how you think you'd prefer it. But whatever you do, eat it!

Fresh Fig and Cheese Paninis with Honey and Walnuts

·        4 slices of your bread of choice

·        Layer of mozzarella cheese (1 – 2 oz. per sandwich)

·        Generous drizzle of honey

·        A couple tablespoons of chopped walnuts

·        4 fresh figs, sliced (mine were brown turkey figs, I’m sure others would be fine)

·        Layer of farmers cheese (1 – 2 oz. per sandwich)*

-Putting this together barely requires instructions. Lay out your bread, place your mozzarella, drizzle the honey, sprinkle the walnuts, place the figs, and lay down your farmer’s cheese. I cooked my up like a grilled cheese since I don’t have a Panini press. Make sure to cook this on low heat (I used a lid) so the cheese is fully melted.

*You may not be able to find farmers cheese; I’m not sure how available it is. I think the flavor is pretty unique but you can cater the cheese for this sandwich to your taste anyway. Try Brie, Ricotta, provolone, Swiss  goat cheese….anything you like could work. I think I’d stay away from cheddar for this though.

What I Ate Today

Today I am posting for you everything I ate - with pictures! Not great pictures I will add, but they are there nonetheless.

I started my day with Blueberry Breakfast Bread, milk and grapes.

After my late-morning run I had some apricot mango yogurt.

Lunch was leftover turkey sausage-tortellini-spinach soup, radishes, and a few un-pictured cherries.

At work I ate a plum and a "Gnu Foods" banana walnut flavor-fiber bar, and about 5 grapes : ) (didn't bring my camera).

Dinner was This Cheddar and Smoky Cherry Panini, broccoli, and cheddar pretzels. I don't have a panini press, so technically it's not a panini - it's a sandwich...oh well. I'll continue to call them panini's because I think it's a much more sophisticated word, and one day I'll have the press. Once I started eating my dinner I realized I should have cut this open for my picture so the beautiful colors were exposed. Then I proceeded to take a picture after I took a few bites thinking that I could just post two pictures of my dinner...how smart!....Nope, didn't look as beautiful as I thought in the photo. So here I'll just reveal to you my un-exposed "panini".  

I hope you enjoyed reading about and seeing what I ate today! I sure enjoyed eating it : )

Our Menu - And Blueberries!

This week's menu is a combination of super easy-fast meals for the days I get home late and exciting new recipes (That I may or may not have danced around the room because I was so excited about making....see Saturday's dinner)!

Mon - Cheese Ravioli with Marinara sauce and Italian sausage
Tue - Turkey Sausage Tortellini and Spinach Soup
Wed - Cheddar and Smoky Cherry Panini's
Thur - Sourdough Waffles, Bacon, and fruit (I'm hoping my honeydew will be ripe)
Fri - Kickoff picnic with Fellowship of Christian Graduate Students
Sat - Fig and Cheese Panini's with Honey and Walnuts
Sun - Grilled Brats (sides still to be decided)

Now to the blueberries! : )

Bundo took us to Super H Mart yesterday, a Korean grocery store, and one of the reasons I like going there is for their sometimes fantastic produce prices. Yesterday when I walked in I was greeted by beautiful blueberries, which makes me happy almost any day, but this particular day my reaction was a gleeful gasp followed by giggling when I saw the price. Here's a breakdown for you; I normally pay $2.50/pint on sale - yesterday I payed $1.50/1 and half pint containers! I bought 3! Which means that I paid $4.50 for what I would normally pay $8.75 (and that would be the sale price). I enjoy feeling such pleasure from simple things like the price of blueberries : )

My Grocery "Cart"

Today I'd like to share with you some pictures of my groceries! These are (for the most part) regulars around here. I'll highlight a few items for you below.

In the first photo we have Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzel PIECES, and also the cheddar kind. Marshall loves these, so I buy a couple of bags when they're on sale. The turkey sausage in the picture has become a regular. We both enjoy sausage quite a lot, so in order to reduce our red meat intake a bit I started buying this sometimes. Marshall was the first to say that it was really good and seasoned well! That makes it a keeper! There's some pork sausage hidden under the turkey sausage too. I bought the oatmeal bread in the back as a low fiber choice that I can eat (sandwiched around PB!) while I run. It is yummy for french toast as well. The rest is mostly produce, which is self-explanatory, but I'd like to say that I LOVE when blueberries are on sale, plums are delicious, and those radishes are HOT!

In the second photo (which was taken two days later...I go to the store often) we have the Mini-Wheats, brats, sharp cheddar, and the apple. So basically I was shopping for Marshall that day : )

I pick up some ravioli and tortellini when they're on sale like they were last week. These days I'm working more than before so it's nice to have a super easy dinner now and then. Since you saw my menu for this week you could probably guess what most of the produce is for. You don't need to try though unless you feel compelled : )

Well, that's it for the groceries for now. Hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of what we consume on a regular basis. Feel free to share what you might make with these ingredients, or those snack favorites that you just have to buy now and then!

Our Menu

Here's our menu for this week:

Monday - Homemade Spaghetti with Italian Sausage (pulled out of the freezer from last time I made it)

Tuesday - Pancetta Carbonara

Wednesday - Baked French Onion Soup

Thursday - Pepper Steak

Friday - BBQ Mango Tilapia Tacos

Saturday - Honey Pig (It's a Korean barbecue...We're splurging with Bundo before the semester starts!)

Sunday - Cabbage and Turkey Sausage Soup

This past weekend was our road trip through Texas. We saw many things and places we hadn't seen before, such as a LONG stretch of road between the ocean and swamp-land in Louisiana that was very strange. Almost nothing was there, so it seemed somewhat creepy. Especially with these dead trees that were scattered about. In Austin, Texas there is a bridge that has approximately 1.5 million (Yes, million) bats living underneath it that come out every evening at around 7:30. I can't really describe what it looked like. You can dream something up I'm sure. Start by thinking of gnats or flies swarming, and then times that by about five thousand and turn the flies into bats. Crazy! We also went to a cave, ate delicious BBQ, and saw a fabulous view of Houston from the top floor of one of their tallest buildings. Here are a few pictures we snapped on the trip.

 Waiting for the ferry to come back and pick us up! While on the ferry we saw a dolphin in the water!

 Birds on a frame

 Marshall and Lothar building sand arches

On the beach in Galveston

The Purpose of Sharing my Menu

For the previous few months I've been e-mailing my weekly menus to my Mother-in-Law, then added my Sister-in-Law, and now I've added my Mom as well. I do this to give them ideas for their own meals and to simply keep in touch. I've also found that it motivates me to develop a menu plan when I may not have had one otherwise. My menus are heavily based on what is on sale. Therefore, it's easier to stay in my budget with a plan because I'm not buying based on what I have a taste for at the grocery store, but what the ad tells me I ought to have a taste for that week : )

Today is the end of those e-mails, but the beginning of this blog which will replace them. Hopefully this will allow others who "find me" to be inspired to provide their families with tasty menus through...

 Our Tasty Menus