Halloween, squash and pumpkins, scarecrows and hayrides, apples and pears… Autumn is in the air, in its own strange Southern California way… An eventful week past, en route for another! I’m in a bulletpoint kind of mood tonight ;-), so here it is:
– Finally launched a Facebook page, follow it and “like” it here if you’re so enclined…
– Thrilled to be on the raw milk bandwagon, in part thanks to very informative sites, here, here and here, shared by Shanna at Food Loves Writing. I also found raw cream at the Hollywood Farmer’s market, and will be making homemade raw butter and crème fraîche tomorrow!
– Found fresh, local fava beans,sunchokes and English peas on the same day at Whole Foods… You can imagine my excitement.
– Visited our CSA Farm, had a walk and picnic amidst beautiful orange groves and humongous avocado trees, Pablo picked out a pumpkin and carved it for the first time (well, with a little help)…
– Realized getting our organic basket delivery every other week is a little bit reminiscent of Christmas, with vegetables! When the “veggie fairy” magically drops a box full of produce on our doorstep, Pablo gets almost as pumped up as I do!
– Had the most fantastic soup ever. Seriously, you have to try it.
– Had a fabulous German meal with our friends from Gopher Springs Farm, and one thing is certain: Pablo likes veal Vienna sausage and sauerkraut.
– Finding ways to get Pablo to eat pears. He doesn’t seem to be too fond of them… yet. I need to be creative and offer it to him in different ways. This could be one.
All right, sharing some images and moving on to this week’s menu.
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| Our CSA delivery this week… Vibrant veggies that looked like they were just picked. |
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| A picnic and a walk amidst orange groves near Fillmore, CA |
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| It’s fall, but it is Southern California… still so warm, we’re lucky to still enjoy gorgeous organic heirloom tomatoes |
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: Creamy Italian Blue cheese, Camembert, Goat gouda.
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
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Leeks, hearts of palm & tomato salad
Main course: Tofu with kale puree
Goûter (4pm snack) – Banana
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Vegetable noodles
Main course: Ham, with baby bok choy puree
TUESDAY
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Cucumber in yogurt tarragon sauce
Main course: Beef patty with rainbow chard ribs au gratin*
Goûter – Grapes, passion fruit
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Authentic Greek salad
Main course: Guinea fowl with fresh fava beans, and chard leaves puree*
WEDNESDAY
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: White asparagus tips with tarragon yogurt sauce
Main course: Sardine and creamed fava bean with cumin tartine*
Goûter – Apple & pear compote
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Sunchoke velouté
Main course: Chicken Basquaise
THURSDAY
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Trying the beetroot & blue potato tatin from Cannelle & Vanille
Main course: Prosciutto and lamb’s lettuce salad
Goûter – Blackberries
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Endive & promegranate seed salad
Main course: Oxtails braised in coconut*, with Jasmine rice
(A great crock pot recipe, we were supposed to make it last week and had a change of plans.)
FRIDAY – Pablo’s 18 months today 🙂
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Cold (cooked) zucchini, mint & feta salad
Main course: Veal liver with green beans (with garlic and Italian parsley)
Goûter – Persimmon
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Roasted butternut squash & coconut soup inspired by The Lovely Pantry
Main course: Dover sole fillets with quinoa
SATURDAY/SUNDAY – Out of town to visit relatives… we’ll have to see what good things we find to eat!
Tu peux essayer de découper la poire en forme amusante avec un emporte-pièce. Ça motive les enfants.
Merci beaucoup, j'essaierai. Il risque de jouer avec sans pour autant en manger, mais je tenterai le coup!
Lucky girl, finding raw cream at the farmers market! Oh, California! So excited for you on this new path!
Yes, that is pretty cool, though it unfortunately remains really expensive (8-9$ for 1/2 gal milk, and 8$ for 16 oz cream)… Sure wish I could find a farmer with a cow to sell it to me directly like you guys are doing!! California is great, but your blog and a couple of others sure make me want to visit Tennessee!
Oh so excited to see new things on the menu once he has a solid appetite! re: pears, I find poaching them makes them really soft and mellow and sweet, so he quite likely might like them after that. I love pears!