Mushroom Hot Pot

Date:  10/24/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Mushroom Hot Pot with Black Pepper Grilled Tofu

Jen cooked up a delicious mushroom hot pot, inspired by today's post on the PPK. It was another instance of me feeling very grateful for meal group since I had a long and unpleasant day, including driving for 6 hours and eating lunch at what some people refer to as the world's worst restaurant (without hyperbole). Living in such a vegan-friendly place, one does get a little accustomed to restauranteurs taking veg*ns into account.

Jen's soupy meal was deliciously flavored and added much needed warmth and flavor to my day. It was eaten so quickly that there is no photographic evidence of it's existence.

Gnocchi Soup

Date:  10/17/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: SOUP! With GNOCCHI!

Jen and I had shared a lunch of leftovers together this afternoon but she still provided us with a soup for dinner (pictured here with a piece of bread from yet another loaf of No Knead Bread). With autumn in full swing, the chilly weather makes soup eating even more important.

Lasagna, Oh You

Date:10/04/11

Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Lasagne, Curly Kale Salad and Blood Oranges

Jen delivered a fine, veggieriffic lasagne to my porch just when I needed it most. I cannot begin to describe what a relief it was to pop that sucker into the oven and not have to worry a whit about preparing dinner that night because I was really running with other projects, as was the other person capable of meal preparation in our home.

We all really liked it, my kid is a big lasagne fan and loves to deconstruct the layers. I prefer a more tidy approach to my own lasagne ingestion but either way you slice it, it was great. We all loved her idea of tossing some black beans into the mix.  The kale salad was a perfect side.

Super Healthy Burritos and Salad

Date: 05/02/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Burritos with Greens, Beans and Mushroom Filling; Salad

Every Monday evening I feel so fortunate to have a little delivery from Jen of a healthy, delicious, nourishing meal.  This one was no exception.  Merci beaucoup, Jen!

Beans/Veggies with Rice, Curly Kale Salad

Date: 05/10/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu:  Beans and Veggies with Rice, Curly Kale Salad

We  love our beans, rice, veggies and salad in this house!! I wrapped mine in a corn tortilla and topped with some salsa that we had lying around.  Fabulous.  My kid ate a ton of the kale salad, which is always very fun for a mom to see.

Pierogi, Potato Salad and Beans!

Date: 04/25/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Pierogi, Potato Salad, Beans, Steamed Green Beans and Peas and Horseradish and Beets

Jen told us this was mostly leftovers from her Easter weekend.  I loved it!  So did my son-- six months ago, there is no way he would have come within a foot of a pierogi.  Last night, he ate all but two.  Luckily, the rest of the meal was fabulous and filling..."I always love Jen's potato salad!" said one happy eater.

Chickpea-flour Crepes with Greens and Beans Filling

Date: 04/19/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu:  Chickpea-flour Crepes with Greens and Beans Filling, Tahini Dressing and Green Salad

These were so yummy!  The savory crepes were pancake-y and toothsome, especially when piled with the filling of greens and chickpeas and topped with tahini dressing.  Jen packed us a generous amount, which fed three easily.  Our house guest suggests that this meal pairs well with a Blue Moon.

P.S. Our schedule this week is a little wonky-- we miss Stefanie and Jen and I have both taken different days to cook.

Indian Burritos, and...Salad!

Date: 04/11/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Indian Burritos with Mango Chutney, Cucumber Salad with Mango Apricot Dressing

This was tasty and filling.  My son is liking putting his own burrito together (despite the fact that most of his filling generally falls out, but such is life when you are young) which surprises me, and everyone really liked the curry and chutney flavors all comingled in our burrito.  The light side salad was a perfect vehicle for the dressing.

Pad Thai!

Date: 04/04/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu:  Pad Thai with Veggies

Holy moly, I just LOVE pad thai.  And it turns out my kid does too.  We chowed this down in a New York minute!  It was rich in delicious ingredients - veggies, nicely flavored tofu etc. Really yummy.

Bean Burritos and Salad

Date: 03/28/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu:  Bean Burritos and Salad

Bean burritos and salad: simple and delightful.  My son chose not to eat the beans.  Or the rice.  He just wanted a salad burrito.  Which, you know...ok.  Last I knew, he didn't like tortillas so lets just say I know when to zip my lip.  I didn't just fall off the parenting turnip wheelbarrow.

Some of us had a salad burrito

Sloppy Lentils, SUPER Red Soup and Kale Chips

Date: 03/21/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu:  Sloppy Lentils, Six-Shades-of-Red Soup and Kale Chips

Jen dropped this delicious meal by and we eagerly dished it up.  I'd been eying the Six-Shades-of-Red Soup from Color Me Vegan and it was really nice.  I also loved the lentil sloppy joes.......mmmmmm......but I must say-- the most surprising thing was the quantity of kale chips that my kid sucked down.  I've made kale chips before but they were roundly ignored.  Funny how that works.

Baked Beans, Cauliflower Millet Mash, Cabbage Rolls

Date: 03/14/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Baked Beans, Cauliflower Millet Mash, Cabbage Rolls Stuffed with Kasha and Dried Cherries- topped with Asian Onion Sauce


Thank you Jen C. for such a filling, nourishing meal.  It was so delicious, and we had leftovers the next day that tasted even better!  I loved that the cabbage rolls were done with purple cabbage.

Rice and Veggies

Date: 03/07/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Rice With Sausage, Beans and Veggies with Asian Inspired Dressing and Red Cabbage Slaw

Jen whipped up a hearty and delicious meal of rice, beans, sausages and veggies with a simple and tasty dressing from Color Me Vegan.  Side of slaw and we all were happy!

Lentil Pecan Burgers, Oven Fries, Edamame Salad and Cookies

Date: 02/28/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Lentil Pecan Mini-Burgers, Oven Fries, Edamame and Corn Salad and Chocolate Chip Cookies

This was a delicious meal!  Funny that Jen made mini-burgers; I've been reading a lot about sliders and thinking about what a delicious concept they are.  I loved the salad, too, and in the interest of full disclosure, I will mention that no one else in my family ate any of the cookies: I grabbed the container as I ran out the door to a meeting and they were so good that I ate them all myself.

Stuffed Cabbage

Date: 02/21/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Lentil Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

We were continuing to whirl around in the busyness of our lives and I was coming off a head cold that had really brought me down when Jen appeared at our doorstep with a container full of yummy stuffed cabbage rolls.  Lentils and rice surrounded by cabbage and served with a light tomato sauce-- they were just the thing to send me hurtling back to good health.

African Peanut Soup, and We're All Busy!

Date: 02/14/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: African Peanut Soup, Coleslaw and Delicious Rolls

We have all been very busy for the last few weeks so our meal sharing has been dialed back a bit.  Rachel is taking some time to focus on some other projects so we'll hopefully be welcoming her back in a few months.  We'll miss her yummy meals in the meantime, though!

On Monday, Jen delivered a superior soup -- an African peanut soup, with coleslaw and these extremely delicious rolls which I later found out were from Trader Joes.  Perfect tasty, light and nourishing dinner.

Lima Bean and Edamame Soup, Macaroni and Cheese

 Date: 01/31/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Creamy Lima Bean and Edamame Soup, Whole Wheat Mac and Cheese, Green Salad

Jen C. does it again -- an extremely good meal!  The soup was divine, I wished there were more leftovers!! The mac and cheese was flavorful and somehow Jen magically got the pasta the perfect texture.  I also love a simple green salad on the side.  A lovely meal!

Tamale Pie

Date: 01/24/2011

Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Tamale Pie


I picked this meal up on the coldest night we have had yet and Jen C. seemed frazzled.  "Sorry," she said as she handed me our bag, "it didn't turn out well."

SAY WHAT?  It was deeeeelicious!!  Even my normally picky kid gobbled it up and asked for seconds.  We put hot salsa on it and served with a salad.  I don't know what kind of crazy high standards Jen C. has, but Jen!  Yum!

Enchiladas

Yeah, not the best looking picture, but it was tasty as heck.

Date: 01/10/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Enchiladas with Cabbage-Carrot Slaw

Jen C. gave us the hook up with some really delightful enchiladas this evening.  Even the kid said, "oh, those look GREAT!" when we opened the container.  (He also enthusiastically told his dad upon the latter's arrival home from work, "IT IS A MEALSHARE NIGHT!! AND JEN MADE US ENCHILADAS!!")  The sauce was supergood and a brilliant use of leftovers from a brunch that Rachel and her partner hosted yesterday (Rachel did this awesome thing where she created a make-your-own-ranchero station).

I spent all day and evening working on a project that is due this weekend, and then had a steering committee meeting to go to for a local grassroots environmental group.  It was a joy to not have to worry about providing dinner tonight-- I am grateful for meal group.  Thanks!

Thai Veggie Stew

Date: 01/03/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Thai vegetable stew with basmati rice

I could regale you with tales of the fun afternoon the three of us (randomly) spent at Corrado's - which is a really bizarre place, and skilled in parting you from your money, because OMG I TOTALLY SHOULD GET BLACK SESAME SEEDS! AND GARLIC OIL! TEA IS ON SALE! HAHA LOOK AT ME, STANDING IN FRONT OF THE CHICKPEA FLOWER WHILE ASKING RACHEL WHERE IT IS! OOOH!...and...and...and... - but instead I will talk to you about Jen C.'s thai veggie stew. 

It was full of cauliflower, broccoli (two favorites in our house), snap peas, peppers...all in a flavorful, coconut milk base.  I am not skilled in the rice department, so I always appreciate people who serve me non-crunchy, tasty rice.  Thank you for another wonderful meal, Jen C.!