(End of) Summer Menus

Well, these just didn't have the rhythm of the spring menus. There were a couple reasons, I suppose. First - we ran into a couple recipes we were ho-hum about (time-wise or taste-wise) and had to shuffle things around. I got lucky with the spring plan and didn't have to toss any recipes after the first go-round. Second - the available summer produce changes pretty rapidly and I really wanted to buy fresh or use whatever was growing in the garden. Turns out those things don't follow my Type-A "plan". At any rate, we used these, but not in constant rotation like the spring ones. Summer is a little more free-form and that just worked better for us. But I'll post them here anyway, just because.

Summer Meal Plans:

(Click on an image to bring it up and right click to save it)

Enjoy! Sorry it's already out of season!

[And by the way, I never ended up getting the WW points on here. And I still have to add the links to our recipe page... but that's got to wait for a shift in priorities. I've got fall knitting to do!]

Whitefish Chowder

It's a staple around here (whitefish chowder, not milkweed). We like to do fish on Fridays and whitefish is fresh and local. Kind of a no brainer. Our version is adapted from Hollyhocks and Radishes, one of those local/regional cookbooks that is always a little suspect. But we really like this one. It's big on character and big on yum. Whitefish chowder is a year-round soup for us. 

Speaking of our seasonal menus, I'm working out the kinks in our summer rotation. I somehow got lucky on the spring menus and didn't really need to edit much after the first 4 weeks. But summer has been a little trickier. I'll post them here when I think they're ready for prime time. 

In the meantime, Whitefish Chowder. Enjoy!

Whitefish Chowder
2 Tbsp butter
6 green onions, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1 large potato, diced (we leave the peel on)

Melt butter in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Saute onions, carrots, and potato (you may want to put celery in here. I don't of course).

1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dill
2 Tbsp flour

Add herbs and flour, stir to mix.

16 oz can of diced or stewed tomatoes
3 cups of milk
1 1/2# Lake Superior Whitefish (we've also made with lake trout, walleye... other meaty white fish)

Add the tomatoes, milk, and fish. Simmer until heated through. Stir in:

1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp parsley

before serving. Serves about 4-6 happily.