Posting our menus late this week as we took a short trip to the seaside near Cambria, California, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A wonderful combination of sea and countryside.
I thought I’d share in this week’s menu what we picked for Pablo when we ate at restaurants. I’m always baffled at kids menus here, offering nothing but dry chicken with steamed broccoli, overcooked beef patties, fries or spaghetti. We chose from the appetizer menu for him to have smaller portions, and shared some of our dishes with him, he loved to get a little taste of everything. This makes the restaurant experience just as exciting for him as it is for us (he already does get excited when I tell him we’re going to eat at a restaurant!). We have always taken Pablo out to eat since he was a newborn, not often, but on a semi-regular basis, so having a meal out with him has never been an issue. I’m also thinking that eating family meals together with Pablo on a daily basis,in courses (taking about 1 hour for dinner), is really what makes it feasible – and pleasant – to go out to dinner with him, he is fairly well-behaved (i.e. engaged) and stays seated with us for the duration of the meal (with minimal entertainment if the wait’s a bit long, like a book, maybe a toy car or a couple of crayons).
We brought back some wonderful fresh fish, which we’re cooking up this week. Sharing some images of a simple baked fish as my mom made it, with lemon, onions and fennel, as well as some gorgeous brown beech mushrooms we got in our CSA basket, which we also cooked simply with olive oil, parsley and garlic. With fresh quality products, the simpler the better.
Hope you are having a flavorful week, and have been feeling Spring “whispering”, as Sarah Kieffer so poetically writes it here.
Cheeses of the week: Following French tradition, I always offer a little bit of cheese at the end of every meal, between the main course and dessert. Rotation this week: “Coupole” aged goat cheese from Vermont Creamery (amazing), Gruyère, Babybel for the road.
Desserts: At lunch, I offer a fruit yogurt (or plain yogurt with fresh fruit), but at night, I prefer sticking to plain yogurt (regular homemade* whole milk, sheep’s milk, goat’s milk and Greek yogurt for extra protein) to avoid too much sugar before bedtime.
If you would like a particular recipe on the menu, feel free to contact me! (I marked with a * the recipes that will be the topic of upcoming posts).
MONDAY
Lunch (picnic at the beach)
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Shallot lentil salad, cherry tomatoes, saucisson (dry salami)
Main course: Prosciutto, avocado.
Goûter (4pm snack) – Brioche (on the road)
Dinner (at Robbin’s in Cambria)
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Carrot ginger soup with coconut cream
Main course: Hanger steak, creamed spinach
TUESDAY
Lunch (at Dockside in Morro Bay)
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Baked oysters with lemon/garlic (Pablo just loved those)
Main course: Pink shrimp, rice pilaf & coleslaw
Goûter – Clementine
Dinner (at The Black Cat in Cambria)
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Celery root soup with cream of cilantro* (this was amazing, I will be experimenting with this recipe to share it here)
Main course: Mushroom sage gnocchi, vegetable cheese polenta
WEDNESDAY
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Tomatoes & cucumber salad
Main course: Tofu, baby bok choy puree
Goûter – Pear-strawberry compote
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Spring pea & chive salad
Main course: Dorados (brought fresh from Morro Bay!), jasmine rice in coconut milk
THURSDAY
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Grated Carrots French-Style
Main course: Beef patty, quinoa noodles
Goûter – Banana
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Sunchoke soup
Main course: Soles fillets with micro-radish puree
FRIDAY
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Avocado, cherry tomatoes
Main course: Ham, purple potatoes (boiled, with little butter and salt)
Goûter – Mango compote
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Cauliflower & green beans salad with lots of herbs
Main course: Duck confit, cannellini beans
SATURDAY
Lunch- OUT
Goûter – Pear-blueberry compote
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: White asparagus in creamy tarragon yogurt sauce
Main course: Buttermilk chicken thighs, creamy rosemary heirloom carrots baked in a parcel*
SUNDAY – Happy Easter!
Lunch (with friends)
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Andalusian Gazpacho
Main course: Grilled leg of lamb with flageolets beans French-style
Goûter – Chocolate pudding (it is Easter after all!)
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Watermelon radish, endive blue cheese salad
Main course: Cold leg of lamb with mustard (the best!)
I love the weekly menus!
I am seriously thinking about doing CSA where I live in South Carolina.
Would you recommend it? I'm worried it would be too much produce for just my boyfriend and I.
Hi Vanessa! I really love CSA and would definitely recommend it, ours offers various sizes, and we do it every two weeks so as not to have too much stuff, so you could give that a try. It's such a great surprise when it comes in, and it gets you to cook some produce you might not have thought of. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
I might have veggies left over, but I have good neighbors and friends I can always give extra veggies to. 😉 The farm near me doesn't offer different sizes, unfortunately, but I'm going to try it anyway.
Thanks so much, Helene! Love your blog!
A great idea to share with other families if it's too much! Thanks so much, Vanessa 🙂
I love love love the photo of the fish, especially the one on the left, with it staring at us innocently with its one glassy eye. I know it will freak some people out, a lot of people still seem slightly scared by the idea of eatign the whole fish and seeing its head, but fish cooked whole is just so deliciously moist and the best way to eat it, and the way I've been eating it growing up, so I'm not squeamish at all. Think it's brilliant you're teaching Pablo to not be squeamish at a young age. Anyway, loving the menu as always! Have a good easter helene! xxx
Aw thanks, Shu Han! I do share your passion for cooking (and seeing) whole fish, and I particularly love taking pictures of fish for some reason (I really went overboard at a fish market in Bali a few years ago, must have taken hundreds of pix there!) I had fun with this one, as they were my first pictures with my new 50mm lens! I'm defintely all about knowing what we eat, no squeamishness about it! Thanks for coming by, have a wonderful Easter too! 🙂