Here are this week's recipes.  Monday – Portobello, Mushroom and Caramelized Shallot Omelet and Frisee Salad Tuesday –Rosemary Mustard Pork Tenderloin with Peaches and Green Beans Wednesday – Turkey Sloppy Joes, Steamed Broccoli and Sweet Potato Fries Thursday – Balsamic Chicken over Angel Hair Pasta and Green Salad Friday – Tortellini with Fennel, Tomatoes and Spinach and Crusty Bread   Recipes: The recipes serve four people unless otherwise noted. In my house there are two adults and two little kids. Portobello Mushroom and Caramelized Shallot Omelet (from Simple Vegetarian Pleasures, 1998…

This week includes grilled chicken with in-season peaches, a slow-cooker pork stew and a new twist on Friday night pizza.    Monday — White Beans with Spinach Garlic and Tomatoes with Crusty Bread  Tuesday — Grilled Chicken with Peaches and Grilled Corn  Wednesday — Spaghetti with Pancetta, Green Beans and Basil and Bread  Thursday — Thai Style Pork Stew  Friday — Phyllo Pizza and Salad  Recipes  The recipes serve 4 unless otherwise noted – in my house 2 adults and 2 little kids.  White Beans with Spinach, Garlic, and Tomatoes (from Simple Vegetarian Pleasures, 1998)  ¼ cup olive oil 6 garlic…

School is finally back in session and family fall routines begin—soccer, dance class, homework. It always feels good to get back on schedule in September, and after a summer of minimal cooking on my part, I am happy to get my meals organized again.  Here are this week’s recipes.   Monday – Jerk Turkey Burgers with Mango Slaw and Grilled Potatoes  Tuesday – Spaghetti from Garden and Crusty Bread  Wednesday – Mustard Swordfish and Spinach Salad   Thursday – Polenta with Broccoli and Garlic  Friday – Pizza  Recipes  The recipes serve four unless otherwise noted—in my house, two adults and two …

My last column was about the wonderful meals and food we enjoy while vacationing on Squam Lake in New Hampshire. Food is such a big part of our trips there, from cooking meals at home and visiting the local markets and farms, to frequenting our favorite restaurants. There are a few meals we cook every year, but this year, one meal in particular engendered a strong emotional response from my older daughter. We always enjoy cooking lobsters in our big pot out on the deck. This year, we had a spectacular evening planned: cocktails inspired by our favorites from Woodberry Kitchen, clams, steamed …

Tomatoes, basil, rosemary, chives, and parsley from my garden; zucchini, potatoes, and lettuce from the farm make for a week of good meals. Here are this week’s recipes.   Monday Roast chicken and mango salad with yogurt Tuesday Couscous topped with white beans, tomatoes and zucchini Wednesday Burger Argentina with Chimichurri sauce and green salad Thursday Rosemary-lemon grilled turkey cutlets and red-skinned potato wedges Friday Orecchiette with fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes and garlic chives Recipes  The recipes serve four unless otherwise noted—in my house, that's two adults and two …

I have had many great meals in my life so far.  I remember the first time I picked crabs with my soon-to-be husband, my first meal in Paris, my first filet mignon with béarnaise sauce, the first hoagie I had after my daughter was born, the first time I tasted yellow curry.  But there is one meal I remember so fondly that I remake it every summer. In the 1990s, my husband and I were living a childless life in Washington, D.C. and spending a lot of our free time with two other couples from our neighborhood in Dupont Circle. One summer, the six of us went on vacation to my husband’s family house…

After a little vacation from my regular cooking routine, I am starting up again with regular meal planning. This week my recipes incorporate many items I received from my community-supported agriculture program and that you can pick up at a local market. Zucchini is in abundance now and we love zucchini pancakes. We have them a couple of times a month during the summer. I have also spent many mornings at the pool combing through years of old food magazines to tear out recipes, so many meals this summer will come from magazines.  Here are this week’s recipes.   Monday Grilled chicken with …

The farmers' market season is in full swing and there are plenty of opportunities to sample locally grown produce and support local farmers. I am not a weekly regular at the markets, only because I get so much produce through my community-supported agriculture program. But I do try to go a couple of times a month to see what the farmers and other local vendors are offering and pick up locally grown fruit, which I don’t get through my CSA. Many of the markets also have artisan breads and baked goods, grass-fed beef, free-range chicken and other specialty goods. As a family we love to go to the…

The CSA has started up, and I am going crazy with vegetables. My menu choices will now revolve around what I get with my CSA, but these vegetables are also all available at the local farmer’s markets. There is always an abundance of greens at the beginning of the season. This week, we got lettuce, spinach, arugula, chard, kale, cabbage and broccoli. With swim meets on Monday and Wednesday nights, I will bring the pie and the orecchiette pasta to the pool to eat at room temperature, thus saving me money on hot dogs and providing us with a healthier dinner option. On Friday night we will try to…

Next week I am going to have to start a whole new lunch routine – lunch at the pool.  Just when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel on packing school lunches, I realized that with swim team practice every day, on most days my girls and I will be eating lunch at the pool.  And our pool does not have food for sale.  I feel like I have the girls covered—throw some fruit, veggies, cheese, yogurt and the occasional sandwich in the cooler and they will be happy.  They seem to mostly want to “snack” at the pool rather than sit down for lunch.  I, on the other hand, need to figure out what I …

It was hot, hot, hot last week and we have no central air conditioning. So I am barely turning on my oven this week—only one time.  I love horseradish, so the steak is a favorite. The produce  list is long; look for zucchini, romaine, spinach and other vegetables at the farmers' market. The portabella sandwiches are best with fresh bread, so don’t buy that until Friday. Here are this week’s recipes.  Monday Spring Chicken Salad and Italian Bread Tuesday Couscous Topped with White Beans, Tomatoes, and Zucchini Wednesday Baja Fish Tacos with White Rice and Black Beans Thursday Horseradish-…

Last week ushered in some serious heat, several early dismissals and the start of swim team. All those things made me not want to cook. And to be honest, I barely did. After a week of eating random things in my pantry, I need to get back on track.  I have chosen simple quick recipes because I won’t make it back from the pool everyday until almost 6 p.m. If I make it through Claire’s first week of no preschool and Ellie having swim team practice all week, we will be having pizza Friday night, probably at the pool! Here are this week’s recipes.  Monday Pork Chops with Garlicky Broccoli and Rice…

I will never forget the first time our family went to pick our own strawberries in Wisconsin. By the time we left the field we had picked enough berries to feed a small army, and my daughter Ellie, who was 2 at the time, was covered in strawberry juice. She ate as many as she picked.  That first year I had a neighborhood strawberry shortcake party, ate strawberries nonstop for three days and then had enough to freeze and last an entire year.  Needless to say, this pattern has repeated itself every year since, the only change being adding daughter Claire’s drippy chin and strawberry-soaked …

Because my kitchen isn’t very large, often times I go through my pantry for ingredients and find recipes to use up things I have on hand.  This week I wanted to get rid of the Panko that I bought several weeks ago for another recipe, egg noodles that have been around for a while and goat cheese in my refrigerator.  Here are this week’s recipes.   Monday – Pasta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Asparagus  Tuesday – Panko Crusted Fish Sticks with French Fries and Napa Cabbage Slaw Wednesday – Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak and Grilled Green Beans Thursday – Chicken Paprikash with Buttered Noodles …

Let’s face it: there are days when I don’t feel like cooking, don’t make it to the grocery store or am in a funk.  These days definitely seem to happen more in the spring—the school routine is getting a little stagnant, days are getting longer and everyone just wants to be outside before it gets hot and humid. Occasionally I will order takeout but we are trying hard in our family to limit those types of expenses.  So then what do I cook?  I try to keep things on hand in my kitchen that store or freeze well for a quick, semi-healthy dinner.   Here are 4 meals that I always have around:  Egg …

Here are this week’s recipes.  I made the stuffed shells for 5 hungry kids last week and they were a big hit.  Monday – Poached Salmon with Asparagus Tuesday – Spinach and Ricotta-Stuffed Shells with Green Salad and Bread Wednesday – Baked Mustard Tarragon Chicken, Brown Rice Pilaf and Steamed Sugar Snap Peas Thursday – Greek Meatballs with Herb and Lemon Orzo over Swiss Chard Friday – Ziti with Cauliflower, Tomatoes, and Hot Peppers and Bread  Recipes The recipes serve four unless otherwise noted—in my house, that's two adults and two little kids. Shallow-Poached Salmon (The Art of Simple …

I know we are really into spring when I see locally-grown asparagus at the market.  It is the first sign for me that all types of local produce will be coming very soon and that my need to rely on vegetables shipped across the country will end. As an adult, I always liked asparagus but I actually didn’t know that I really loved it until, while living in Milwaukee, I had thin spring asparagus spears grown in Wisconsin.  Barbara Kingsolver devoted an entire chapter in her book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” to the family’s wait for spring asparagus. From that book I learned of the origins of the …

Because of the fond memories I have of watching Princess Diana’s wedding nearly 30 years ago, I couldn’t resist planning a Royal Wedding Watch Party for Friday morning,  when Prince William marries Kate Middleton.  Since the kids will be in school, I felt it would be a perfect time for the ladies to enjoy brunch, and dish about Kate’s dress and all the pomp.  While the attention the royal wedding is getting may seem silly to some, I confess to being fascinated with watching this little fairy tale unfold and forgetting the troubles of the world that morning.   With invitations emailed out and …