Wednesday, January 27, 2010

February Menu

I decided to post the really nice menu for February, finally. I've been meaning to post this stuff for many months but am just now getting to it. I think I finally got a handle on the "out of control budget" so I'm going to try some new dishes this month. I get $500 a month for groceries. For those of you who don't live in Alaska this may seem exorbitant but this is just barely enough to make it, and it's even more tight since I buy mostly organic food. I got tired of the same old food so, in the interests of accountability and comparisons, I'm posting the menu, the grocery list, the receipts, what ingredients are local and I'll post directions and pictures of the dishes as they get made. Enjoy this gastronomic journey through the month:

1- Coming from England, it's the classic Fish and Chips. We eat this at least once a month but we use halibut that was caught during the summer.
2- Ribs, Potato Salad, Corn The ribs come from the pig that Dad got in Ninilchik and the eggs are pastured, soy-free form Nikiski. I'm going to made BBQ sauce for the ribs.
3- Matzo Ball Soup I don't make this exactly right. I make a chicken noodle soup and use matzo balls instead of noodles. I'm not Jewish so I don't really care if it's kosher or not I just love the taste of them.
4- Spaghetti, Green Beans, Mozzarella Bread I started using buckwheat noodles last month, even though they have more phytic acid than rice spaghetti. The buckwheat noodles are cheaper and organic where the rice ones aren't either one. I use sausage from our pig. I am going to make the bread for the mozzarella bread.
5- Hasenpfepper, Spaetzle, Braised Cabbage I'm using snowshoe hare that my father harvested... with the van. Eggs for the Spaetzle are from Nikiski and the flour is fresh ground at my kitchen table.
6- Pizza It's UFC night but I'm thinking I might make a couple pizzas instead of going to Papa Murphy's.
7- Corn Dogs, Tater Tots I found recipes for both of them and they're really easy to make in a healthy way.
8- Fried Macaroni, Peas Classic dish from my childhood
9-From Greece, Spetsiota, Tomato, Cucumber and Olive Salad I'll do the bread crumbs myself and use halibut that was caught during summer.
10- Salmon Lasagna, Corn I use home-canned salmon from my own pantry to do this and it's better than it sounds.
11- French Canadian fast food, Chicken Poutine I can't wait to have this!
12- Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans Standard fare at our table
13- Bear Stew, Sourdough Bread We have some black bear left that the neighbor shot and this is a really easy thing to do with is.
14- I talked Mom and Dad into going out for Valentine's Day so I get to scrounge this night!!
15- Chinese Bao, Egg Noodles Steamed dumplings I'll stuff with some sort of pork product. I'm not sure if I can find the egg noodles. Stay tuned for a menu change if I can't.
16- Dad requested Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli for his birthday. I'll also make a mayonnaise cake, with home-made mayonnaise.
17- Chili, Cornbread I'll use bacon from our pigs and maybe sausage, maybe not. Eggs for the cornbread are from Nikiski.
18- Jamaican Jerk Pork, Rice and Peas I can't make it as hot as genuine because Mom can't handle hot but I think I can get close. I'll use our pork.
19- French Bouillabaisse, Gratin Dauphinois(maybe, maybe not, depends on what Dad wants) Using chunked halibut from summer, and maybe some rock fish. I might get scallops, oysters and shrimp from Homer if they aren't asking ridiculous prices this time of year.
20- From the Middle East, Musakhan, Tabbouleh I'll probably have to make bread for this dish.
21- Crock pot Pork Chops, Green Beans this is for Sunday and Mom requested something easy. Again, the chops are from our pigs.
22- Omelets This is the start of our GAPS week. We decided to do one week a month on GAPS since we can't really afford to do it all month this time of year. The eggs are from Nikiski.
23- Bacon, Scallops, Wilted Salad I can't wrap the bacon around the scallops cause the bacon's too thick but they still get put on the same plate. The bacon is from our pigs.
24- Stuffed Cabbage Will probably use sausage form our pigs
25- Salmon Salad Similar to tuna salad but with home-canned salmon. Salmon was caught last summer and eggs for mayo and egg chunks in salad are from Nikiski.
26- Lentil... Something Lentils are allowed on GAPS and I have a lot of them that I need to do something with them. Any suggestions?
27-Hungarian Chicken Paprikash, Csipetke, This is the end of GAPS week.

We will shopping for March's menu on Saturday so the last day of February is blank, depending on what's left over at the end of the month. I hope you enjoy this journey and get some ideas from it. If you have suggestions or ideas please feel free to tell me.

~Pam

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We're a family that came to Alaska in shifts. We've been here since 1995 and don't plan to leave any time soon.

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