Monday Musings: 09.28.2009

And here it is, Monday again already – and the last Monday of September, to boot!  Where does the time go?  It seems like only yesterday, I was reveling in my baby tomato plants in the garden, looking forward to a great harvest, and now I’m worrying about Halloween candy!

You know what Jarly likes?  Our dog loves him some bread.

While he’ll pretty much take anything that’s offered (he’s a 110-pound beast, after all!) he’s particularly partial to two things:  pizza crust (of course!) and baguettes.

Peeps brought a couple of stale baguettes home from work the other day, and we let them get . . . staler.  It’s almost like a big old piece of rawhide or something . . . only when it get slobbered on, it does eventually get chewy.

Aww. . . isn’t that sweet?  Kitty’s playing with her feather stick.

She’s so lonely and just wants someone to pay attention to her. . .

But she does have a way of letting me know when she’s had enough, doesn’t she?

It’s just too bad she won’t make a little effort to get along, isn’t it?

I dragged my brother to the public market this weekend, and we scored a ginormous bunch of mustard greens – I’m talking HUGE!

Or course I couldn’t pass them by – I love the peppery taste of mustard greens, and the entire bunch was only a couple of bucks – we have enough for dinner one night this week PLUS to freeze some!

Also, I picked up some absolutely beautiful fennel bulbs and several artichokes.  It’s just a good thing I like vegetables!

Did I mention that the dog also loves ice cream?

And not just plain old ice cream, either.  Oh, no.  He absolutely loves Abbott’s Frozen Custard –  we started walking him up to the ice cream stand earlier in the summer for a “baby cone” – you know, for the baby!

He’s very good about waiting politely while his order is being filled.

And he’s learned how the cone itself works –  you know, it’s shaped a little differently than his food dish!

But he’s figured out that once the ice cream is gone, you gotta stick your tongue right down in the cone to get the rest out!

And then, when there’s nothing much left in the cone –

– CRUNCH – and we’re done!

I may have mentioned last week that Peeps and I spent the a good part of last Sunday making a roasted veggie lasagna.

Oh yes, it took most of the day to get the vegetables roasted, the sauces made, the filling put together, plus a bonus layer of Swiss chard right from the garden, then to put it all together besides!

But you know what?  It was well worth it.  That was the best meatless lasagna EVER (and there’s still 2/3 of it in the freezer, too)!

We’ll be sharing this over the course of the week – hopefully someone out there in the Internet will be inspired to take advantage of all the lovely fresh vegetables that are in season and try it!

And once again, it’s time for the weekly menu plan.  Last week’s plan worked well for us – who doesn’t love hot roast beef sandwiches, with leftovers for lunch?    And the lasagna was absolutely fabulous!  Thursday’s experiment was . . . not bad, though there is definitely room for improvement, if I’m ever inclined to try it again.  So what’s up for this week?

Monday – A few weeks ago, we picked up some frozen fish on sale, including mahi mahi.  We’ve not done much with this fish, so we’re going to basically brown it with olive oil and garlic, then braise it with some balsamic vinegar and serve with pasta.  I’m also going to try a baked fennel – it’s got some real potential for the holidays!

Tuesday – A simple night – we pulled some pulled pork out of the freezer to go with some basic rice and mustard greens.  A classic, full of bold flavors!

Wednesday – Swim class night – Peeps wants to put together his version of a Mexican meatball soup – some tiny pork meatballs in broth with rice and, well, some other stuff.

Thursday – Last winter, we found Chicken Goulash with Biscuit Dumplings and absolutely loved it – we’ve been looking forward to cooler weather so we can enjoy it again!

Friday – As always, it’s pizza night.  I’m going to try to squeeze in a couple more weeks of fresh tomatoes – I love my pizza with fresh tomatoes and lots of fresh herbs, a bit of freshly shredded parmesan (or romano) cheese and topped off with just a bit of mozzarella – what could be better?

Be sure to click on over to The Organizing Junkie’s Monday Menu Plan post for loads and loads of other ideas.