Sprouting the Beans

We are definitely omnivores! A few more salads intermixed with beef...

Our menu this week consists of salads, salads and more salads. While we are on the subject, thought I'd share a few more of our favorites. When I initially introduce dinner salads to the kids, I sometimes serve the individual parts of the whole either as an appetizer or as the dinner. That way they realize they really liked the "whole salad." It is that mixing things that can stir things up a bit!

May is National Salad Month. It is the perfect time of year to introduce more salads: the weather is getting warmer and fresh local ingredients are beginning to emerge. The salads featured this week are from a variety of different cuisines and go beyond your basic green salad.

Last Fall, I posted a recipe for the pumpkin muffins that we like to snack on. They are egg-free and I noted that I often make them gluten-free as well. Many people have asked what I substitute to make them gluten-free. Because each grain has a different weight, you don’t get the same results if you simply substitute 1 ¾ cups gluten-free flour for 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour.

This weeks menu has the perfect balance of easy week-night meals that I strive for:

Several vegetarian meals that are delicious and sustaining.

A couple of meals that utilize the locally raised meat in our freezer

Combined with lots of brassicas!

Every year we look forward to Cinco De Mayo. The holiday commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France during the Franco-Mexican War. The kids have the day off from school but it is a low-key holiday in Mexico. While the holiday has become quite commercialized in the U.S., it is a great day to celebrate Mexican food, culture, and traditions.

This week's menu has the perfect balance of week-night meals that I strive for:

Several vegetarian meals that are delicious, while filling and sustaining.

A couple of meals that utilize the locally raised meat in our freezer

Combined with lots of brassicas!

I’ve shared with you lots of great reasons for eating vegetables from the Brassica family. Recently I was reading an article and learned that the anti-inflammatory benefit that I’ve mentioned can also reduce inflammation that has been associated with many types of cancer.

A little Indian, a little Mexican, a little Asian… a lot of YUMMMMM!

As today was approaching, I kept thinking to myself, what am I going to write about this week??!!??!! Maybe my mind is still on vacation or maybe I’m still playing catch up after being gone, but initially I was thinking there might not be much of a post.

But as often happens, something triggers a thought and a story weaves itself together. The other day as Skoogie watched an episode of Between the Lions, a book caught my attention during the closing song: An Egg is Quiet. While we were at the library later that morning, we checked it out. We began reading the larger text and as we turned each page became captivated by the beautifully painted watercolors. Every little detail intricately captured. Who knew there was such variation in eggs! Then as we went back to the smaller print, additional facts about eggs are provided across the animal spectrum. It is always FUN to discover a great new book and learn that award winning Sylvia Long has teamed up with Dianna Hutts Ashton to create two other books, A Seed is Sleepy and A Butterfly is Patient. We can’t wait to go check the other books out as well!

So I thought how appropriate, after dying and hiding eggs last week for egg hunts, watching eagles hatch in front of our eyes , finding a quail egg that had met its demise, and being able to eat them more often now that Skoogie passed the egg challenge earlier this year, EGGS seemed like a fitting topic.