Lunchbox Dinners

11/01/2024

Here's the menu for Tuesday, 11/5. I've been waiting for November to make this fall-inspired "Macaroni and Cheese" dish, with a buttery crumb crust, crumbled bacon, and a creamy sauce of fontina, sharp cheddar. The star ingredient is a puree of roasted locally grown butternut squash to give it a velvety texture, good flavor, and of course, all the good stuff that comes from winter squash!  In addition, California pears are at their peak so I'm looking forward to bringing in a ton of them to make this poached pear dessert  :)

Bacon Butternut Mac and Cheese-

Roasted Broccoli-

Cider-Poached Pears with Star Anise, Cinnamon Sticks & Spiced Almond-Oat Crumbles-

10/27/2024

Oaxacan food for my birthday ♥️♥️♥️

10/24/2024

Here's the menu for this Tuesday, 10/29!
Polenta Lasagne
Creamy polenta layered with fresh mozzarella, basil, handmade tomato sauce.

Caesar Salad-
The classic, with organic romaine hearts, croutons, parmesan and our handmade Caesar dressing.

Apple Brown Sugar Crumble 
We'll use sweet Opal and tart Granny Smith apples, baked with a crumbly topping of brown sugar, butter & oats, scented with cardamom, ginger and cinnamon.

10/18/2024

Yummy food in a crazy rainstorm! Young coconut "ceviche," shrimp pizza and cute kitty...

10/10/2024

Here's the menu for this Tuesday, 10/15.

It's time to savor the flavors of early autumn! Concorde pears are out now, as well as my favorite golden Opal apples! We'll use them in a big salad along with lots of roasted autumn vegetables. You can warm up the veggies and dressing, if that sounds good to you. Of course it also works as a regular ol' tossed salad or as a composed salad.

Fall Salad with Chicken & Roasted Organic Vegetables-
organic chicken breast, roasted delicata squash from Dwelley Farms, red and gold beets, roasted Tomatero fennel, Opal apples, Concorde pears and toasted walnuts with cider-maple vinaigrette, mixed greens and a little bit of chevre.

Curried Yellow Pea Soup with Indian Spices & Coconut Milk-

Cornbread-

10/05/2024

Art Lovers Wanted
Big time, first ever, ART SALE

Shopping for yourself or for Christmas giving, visit Mount Shasta High School Gymnasium at 710 Everitt Memorial Hwy where more than 25 artists who work in various media gather for a
ONE DAY ONLY
Selling art.

It’s a fundraiser for Siskiyou Arts Museum to purchase their 1925 historic building.

Shoppers choose from paintings, woodwork, ceramics, jewelry and much more.

If you’ve always wanted to collect art from our local community, it’s a free to the public opportunity to shop and talk with artists.

Sponsored by Siskiyou County Art Council (SCAC) and Siskiyou Arts Association (SAA)

Doors open at 9am and close at 3pm on October 19, 2024.

For more information: Anne McTavish [email protected].

Art by Chris Messer

10/03/2024

We are pretty excited about all the fall produce coming in! Pomegranates are here, and my trees are bursting with red and gold apples! Plus the many different kinds of winter squash, each with it's own unique characteristics: creamy, starchy Kabocha, sweet, tender Honeynut, and nutty, earthy red Kuri. I think the flavor of the roasted squash goes so nicely with corn tortillas and guajillo chilies in this week's dinner on 10/8:

Pumpkin Red Chile Enchiladas-
Pan fried corn tortillas with a filling of shredded organic chicken breast, roasted organic kabocha/honeynut/kuri squash, caramelized onions, jack cheese and handmade red chile sauce, with a side of Mexican crema and tomatillo salsa.

Smoky Black Beans-

Pomegranate Kale Salad w Toasted Pumpkinseeds, Balsamic Vinaigrette-

09/26/2024

I love Peruvian food and I've been wanting to make this chicken ever since I found my mom's stash of "Time Life Foods of the World" cookbooks when I was first getting into cooking. To make it authentic, you need to use Aji Amarillo chilies for the sauce. I was able to get ahold of a case of them from Durst Organic Farm. Aji Verde sauce is creamy, spicy and so delicious!
Here's the menu for this Tuesday, 10/1:

Peruvian Chicken with Aji Verde Sauce

Roasted Potatoes & Yams-

Criolla Salad w/ pickled onion, organic tomato-

09/19/2024

Here's the menu for this Tuesday, 9/24!

This week, I'm thinking lasagna. Specifically our big veggie lasagne of fresh pasta sheets layered with spinach, crimini mushrooms, leeks & puree of roasted butternut squash & roasted garlic. We'll use some ricotta and fontina cheeses, and a little bit of tomato sauce.

Autumn Veggie Lasagne-

Roasted Green Beans with olive oil & thyme-

Janet's Apple Caramel Cake-

09/15/2024

If you have a treeful of plums...consider making this Plum Torte. This NYT recipe is famous for good reason: it's simple, quick & delicious!

For those of you who may not already be familiar with Marian Burros' iconic plum torte cake, it is arguably the most famous recipe from the New York Times.

09/12/2024

It's feeling like fall, and it's time for a fan favorite this week:

Turkey meatloaf made with organic ground turkey and aromatic veggies, topped with roasted tomato jam.

"Tatties and Neeps-" Mashed potatoes and turnips with butter and black pepper.

Roasted Organic Broccoli

09/05/2024

For this Tuesday, I wanted to make a menu that's kind of a "last hurrah" for summer produce, because soon it will be time for heavier food, fall produce, and casserole season! Leading with dessert, I'm bringing in a bunch of organic California peaches and nectarines for a peach shortcake with cream scones & amaretto ricotta cream. Late season fruit is better when eaten a little firm, so it will be perfect when macerated with a little bit of sugar and lemon. For dinner, I'll make a pesto with sweet white corn, tons of fresh basil and garlic to toss with pasta and zucchini. Lastly, a salad featuring local Castella-grown cherry tomatoes & eggplant.

09/01/2024

An evening at SF's famous House of Prime Rib!

08/29/2024

Adobo is the "national dish" of the Phillippines... in this version, organic chicken legs are braised in a marinade of soy sauce, cane vinegar, pepper and bay leaf.

This week we serving it as a rice bowl, with Sinangag (garlic fried rice) and Atchara (pickled vegetable relish with green papaya).

For dessert, I'm using my handmade Ube Halaya, which is a purple yam jam made with sweetened condensed coconut milk. I'll swirl this into cheesecake batter and to make "Ube Cheesecake Bars."

08/22/2024

Here is the menu for this Tuesday, August 27!
I've been dying to use some of these gorgeous organic figs from Maywood Farms in Corning! I think this salad will be the perfect vehicle.

Late Summer Salad-
Organic chicken breast, Mission figs & fragrant Athena melon, with torn fresh mozzarella, dukkah, prosciutto & organic greens, honey-thyme vinaigrette.

Tomato Basil Soup with ripe organic tomatoes, roasted sweet peppers and basil.

Polenta Rosemary Cornbread

08/16/2024

It's time for Tacos al Pastor! We make our sauce/ marinade with mild & fruity guajillo chilies, achiote paste, pineapple juice and fragrant spices. Pork shoulder is bathed in the sauce, then slow cooked, tucked into corn tortillas & adorned with pineapple salsa, a drizzle of crema, fresh cilantro and a little crumble of queso fresco.

08/11/2024

Did a test run on the chocolate butter mochi for Tuesday dinner. WOW! It's everything I hoped it would be! Chocolate flavor like a brownie but made with Mochiko sweet rice flour so it has a chewy, springy texture like mochi. So yummy :)

08/08/2024

This is a really special menu that I've been wanting to prepare for ages. It's a "summer only" dish that's perfect for hot weather...
Korean "Cold Noodle" Soup
Mul Naengmyeong-
Chewy buckwheat noodles in chilled, slightly sweet & tangy broth with different toppings so everyone can customize their own bowls. I was able to get organic Korean radish so I have a big batch of radish kimchi (kkakdugi) in progress for Tuesday's dinner :)

Toppings-
Thin slices of grass fed Wagyu beef brisket (I can sub organic chicken breast), sliced pickled local cucumber & Asian pear, handmade radish kimchi, egg, green onion, julienned carrot, toasted sesame seeds, shiso leaves

Organic Summer Melon-

Mochi "Brownies"

08/05/2024

4 cases of organic Korean radish can only mean 1 thing: a big batch of radish kimchi (kkakdugi) for next week's dinner!

08/01/2024

Here's a portable dinner for Tuesday, 8/6. It'll be good for picnicking or just eating at home... Best of all, it's Brentwood corn season and we are bringing in the organic stuff from Dwelley Farms!

Spinach, Potato and Feta Slab Pie-
Pizza-like dough rolled out and wrapped around a filling of spinach and feta, with smashed Yukon Gold potatoes and summer herbs.

Rainbow Salad-
colorful organic veggies diced up and tossed with lemon tahini dressing.

Corn on the Cob with Basil Bacon Schmear-
Organic Brentwood corn with creamy, tangy, buttery "schmear" on the side.

08/01/2024

Teaser for later this month!

Korean icy cold noodles are so savory and refreshing, they are an awesome way to cool down in the summer but I eat them all year round. Why? Because I love the tangy, savory, and a little sweet taste of the broth, and the noodles are soft but chewy at the same time. How is it possible? : )

07/25/2024

Our menu for Tuesday 7/30
Gado Gado is a classic Indonesian dish, made with crispy tofu, all kinds of vegetables, & garnishes, with a yummy peanut sauce for dressing. I'm going to add some brown rice for a Gado Gado rice bowl.

Gado Gado Rice Bowl-
Brown rice and crispy glazed tofu drizzled in warm peanut-tamarind sauce, with organic cherry tomatoes & cukes, roasted garnet yam, green bean, purple potato, sweet peppers & greens. It's garnished with chopped egg and crispy shallots, toasted peanuts, shrimp chips.

Kopi Susu Pudding-
Coffee coconut pudding garnished with sweetened condensed milk, toasted coconut, sliced banana.