Back in the Saddle

Wow, what a crazy 2 weeks it's been since I last wrote. To begin with, I dropped a gigantic bamboo cutting board on my left big toe on the Tuesday before last, causing almost a week's worth of a gauze-wrapped foot, hobbling on crutches, doctors visits, and a small amount of painkillers. Needless to say, I spent very little time in the kitchen. In fact, I only made one meal the whole week! It actually worked out well that our kitchen was in shambles until the following Sunday, because I wouldn't have been able to stand in front of the stove anyway.

Then I left for London, and had a whirlwind week of incredible service, delicious food, and lovely company. I stayed at the Ritz London (not the Ritz-Carlton...no relation) as part of a press trip sponsored by the hotel, and it was one of the most fabulous weeks I've ever had.

So now that I'm back, our kitchen looks wonderful, and everything is all put away—it's time to get cooking again. I've posted a fairly similar menu to the one I last did, because I wasn't able to make any of it while I was out of commission. As I mentioned before, I'm testing recipes for an upcoming cookbook, so those recipes will make up many of our meals the next few weeks.

Sunday - Veggie night: Tomato & Onion Salad with Mustard Basil Vinaigrette (cookbook), watermelon-feta salad (cookbook), sauteed squash, peppers, and onions from our CSA box
Monday - Chana Punjabi, brown rice, green salad with Coconut-Buttermilk Dressing (cookbook)
Tuesday - Simple grilled shrimp with grilled lemons, sauteed eggplant from CSA
Wednesday - Black-Bean Chipotle Cakes with Brown Rice (cookbook), TBD veggies from CSA
Thursday - Sopa Azteca (cookbook), TBD salad from our CSA box goodies

I'll post some before/after pics of the kitchen later! Have a great week.