Yesterday was a busy day - I almost forgot I had Top Chef Taste of The Boroughs tickets, and then I needed to head down to do my weekly shopping. I’m going to do a separate post about the Top Chef event - lots of chefs, lots of food, lots of schmoozing - well I wasn’t, they were. Anyway, I did discover that Trader Joe’s is much more bearable around 2:15pm, rather than in the morning which is when I usually go. They were still out of a lot of stuff, but I got the bear minimum, plus some fondue - my weakness. I also went to Whole Foods for the first time in a few weeks, they had the crab I needed for the crab cakes, that’s how they got me. I’m also using shrimp I had in the freezer for the dish on Halloween, so I’ll add that amount here also. Here are the totals:

Union Square Greenmarket

2 pie pumpkins - $10

2 butternut squashes, 3lb Yukon Gold potatoes, 3 shallots - $6.00

3 bulbs of garlic, sage - $1.75

Fresh organic sourdough bread - $3.50

Frozen Shrimp - 1.5lb - $11.00

Total: $72.68/2ppl/10meals =

$3.64/person/meal

As I mentioned earlier, I was inspired again by the bounty of the Greenmarket. If you’re close, or visiting NYC this is a great place to hang out on Saturdays. It was actually hard for me to keep tabs on how much cash I was going through in my wallet. I got a bit too excited I think, but wanted to showcase all the great veggies available right now. I went to the market on Saturday, and Trader Joe’s today (Monday - they were wiped out!) I had some time to think about what I wanted to make from my market purchases and developed a menu, I also got inspired by some Barefoot Contessa. I’m still craving cozy fall meals, and the bounty of veggies other than tomatoes at the farmer’s market. I think everyone is getting excited by the pumpkins, gourds, and ruffage offerings that are appearing. Here are the totals for this week:

Farmer’s Market - Union Square

Rainbow Carrots, 3lb potatoes (various colors), turnips, 3 onions - $6.50

Arugula, spinach, shallots, 2lb butternut squash - $5.00

2 Zucchini, 3 eggplants, 1lb green beans - $4.50

2 Organic Duck Breasts - $10.00

Organic local ham - $8.00

1 Bottle of Trader Joe’s Sauvignon Blanc - $3.00

Grand Total: $82.34/2ppl/10 meals = $4.11/person/meal

I was again really inspired by what I saw at the Greenmarket this Saturday, and I had my favorite fuzzy friend Paddington to help. I want to continue to keep my meals simple as the season gets busier and busier. I’m also going to experiment a bit and possibly make a dish Rachael Ray would be really proud of. Here’s what’s on the menu for this week:

Monday - Pan-Seared Duck Breasts with Turnips

Tuesday - Butternut Squash Pizza

Wednesday - Mac&Cheese Lasagna

Thursday - Baked Potatoes, or Jacket Potatoes as Jamie Oliver calls them

Friday - Pappardelle with Sweet Tomato Sauce and Baked Ricotta

An appropriate symbol of my afternoon

On this Saturday afternoon I suddenly find myself at LaGuardia Airport staring at the overpriced gourmet snack stand waiting for a flight to Atlanta. I was finishing up my farmer’s market shopping for the week - and I had planned to buy everything from the farmer’s (sorry TJ’s and WF) - a new experiment and challenge. Well, I got a call from my Dad, asking if I’d come down to Atlanta for a few days and help my Mom, who hurt her back this week while he was at a large business conference. So here I am, stuffing kale, broccoli rabe, red bell peppers, and NY State apples into my luggage so I can continue to bring you the best recipes, and no food goes to waste. However, I did leave behind the duck legs and fresh baby back pork ribs in the freezer, as well as fresh butter and cheese, and hopefully my awesome parents will contribute to this weeks groceries once I get to the ATL. I wasn’t planning on this week’s menu being as structured as every other week, and wanted to get inspired by what I saw at the Saturday Greenmarket, have a set ($80) budget, and see what I could make of what I bought when I got home. I had a little bit of time to collect my culinary thoughts, and once I pick up a few things in Atlanta, I’ll have a budget total for the week, minus what I left in Brooklyn in the freezer (I’ll add the value of those items next week when I use them). Here’s what we have so far:

Monday: Kale, and hopefully a duck cut of some sort. Johnathan and I have started a group circuit training class with some friends, and our homework this week from the trainer is to eat kale.

Tuesday: Eggplant, maybe roasted?

Wednesday: Tagliatelle with Broccoli Rabe in a cheesy cream sauce (A staple in our house, and I was inspired to make this again when I saw the beautiful broccoli rabe at the market)

Thursday: Something SUPER easy - I fly back to NYC at 3pm, and go to the Food Network Wine and Food Festival at 8pm that night.

Friday: Curried Butternut Squash Soup - I was invited to a wheat free/gluten free/dairy free dinner party, and my contribution is the soup course. I’m a bit skeptical, but I know my friends will cook some amazing food - I’m just so thankful I don’t have those dietary restrictions!

Saturday: (!!!! - hopefully a good extra meal, making 12 meals instead of 10) Stuffed acorn squash - I think I need to try Quinoa as a stuffing.