Weekly menu

This morning when I woke up, I was considering the odds of getting avocados in our Bountiful Baskets, and also wondering whether if we were lucky enough to get them, if they would actually be ripe (they're usually not).  I really wanted to have beer-battered avocado tacos for my birthday lunch tomorrow, but figured I'd probably have to hit three grocery stores in order to find enough ripe avocados.  The birthday fairy must have read my mind, because we got 9 perfect avocados in our baskets.  :o)  Clearly, it takes very little to make me happy.

This week's menu is heavy on the "Mexican" stuff, but that's just how it worked out.

Here's a list of what came in our baskets.  I got three conventional baskets, a tropical pack, and a flat of strawberries.


bananas
coconut
mangos
strawberries
oranges
cantaloupe
peaches
lemons
peaches
pineapple
lychees
plantain
vanilla bean

grape tomatoes
broccoli
avocados
green leafy lettuce

I also have a lot of apples, oranges, pears, carrots, peaches, cucumbers, mushrooms, bananas and mangos from last week, or that I purchased for meals for this week.

I'll be making strawberry muffins with some of our strawberries, but most of them will get cut up and frozen for smoothies.  We still have oodles of strawberry freezer jam left from the last time we got a flat of strawberries.

Recipes:

Beer-battered avocado tacos  If you're paying attention, you may remember that we ate these just last week.  But they're that good.  And it's my birthday.  :oP

Black bean enchiladas - these are super easy, and I totally cheat and make them like a lasagna.  I pour a little enchilada verde sauce in the bottom of the 9x13 pan, and then break several corn tortillas in half.  I put the straight edges around the bottom of the pan (2 halves on each side, one on each end, one whole one in the middle, and two 1/4 pieces at the top and bottom of the whole one).  It sounds confusing, but it fits perfectly.  Then I sprinkle about a cup of drained black beans on top, spoon on more sauce, and sprinkle Daiya cheddar or pepperjack cheese.  I repeat those layers 4-5 times, ending with a layer that just has sauce and cheese on top.  I cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 35-40 minutes, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes.  For one pan, you need about 2 dozen tortillas, a big can of enchilada sauce, 2 cans of black beans, and about 3/4 lb cheese.

Broccoli and tofu curry - For this dish, I press my tofu by putting a cutting board on top of my tofu and placing a couple of big pumpkin puree cans on top for about 2 hours.  I do it close to the sink because the water from the tofu runs all over.  Once it's pressed, I cut it into slices or strips or triangles and put the pieces onto a greased cookie sheet.  I spray them lightly with oil and salt them a bit, and then I broil them until they're brown and just beginning to get crispy.  In the meantime, I stir fry the broccoli in a little oil, and when it begins to get tender, I stir in a can of coconut milk and 2-3 tablespoons of curry paste. When the tofu is down, I add it to the broccoli mixture and then serve it over steamed jasmine rice.  Easy and yummy!  And trust me on the tofu thing - it's GOOD that way!

Barley bean burritos - I posted this slow cooker recipe on food.com a few years ago, and the only thing we do differently is use vegan cheese and double the spices.  It's really easy and filling and because you it's a crock pot recipe, you can make it ahead of time.  We'll be using our frozen Bountiful Baskets tortillas for these.

Vegan crepes/blintzes