Week of January 4

If you're here via Public Radio Kitchen ... Hello! Feel free to look around and see what catches your fancy.

I'm going to try to get back in the swing of posting weekly menus again (sorry for this late one). Like everyone else, I am starting out 2009 with an effort to eat more healthfully (vegetables, whole grains) and cheaply (cheaper cuts of meat, dry beans, less glamorous vegetables (hello cabbage!)). As always, I'll keep preparing dinner in large enough quantities to provide enough food for lunches a day or two after.

This also means that it's even more important to shop with a plan to ensure that everything is in the pantry for the meals I plan to make. It's also important to not to overshop: how many times have you sadly looked into your trash can at the pile of vegetables you meant to cook, or the bread that went moldy too soon?

I'll try to share some of my make-ahead, money-saving tricks with you as the weeks go on. We can all save some money and continue to eat well!

Menu for the Week
Sunday
Rabbit braised in white wine and herbs
Mashed potatoes
Sauteed Swiss chard with roasted cherry tomatoes

Monday
Red lentil hummus (this post inspired me, but I made up my own recipe)
Savoy cabbage-fennel slaw
Roasted cauliflower with cumin and mustard
Whole wheat bread (baked using the no-knead method)

Tuesday
Black bean chili
Roasted sweet potato wedges

Wednesday
Oven-broiled chicken souvlaki
Fava (a Greek yellow split pea spread - think hummus, but not really) topped with sun-dried tomatoes and capers
Green salad
More whole wheat bread

Thursday
Slow-roasted pork shoulder (from the Feb/Mar issue of Fine Cooking) with carrots and onions
White beans with sage

Friday
Tomato and brown rice soup
Onion-walnut muffins (from Arthur Schwartz's Soup Suppers - which, happily, is still in print)
Green salad