Menu Plan Monday - November 3

This week we had snow that accumulated - only an inch or so, but it was enough to remind me that many months of biting cold and tons of the white stuff are on the way. These are the kinds of days that almost demand slow cookers and thick stews. Last week I tried two more of Julia Child's recipes, revamping them a bit to suit my vegan and gluten-free tastes. The first was French Potato Salad. Julia's recipe calls for chicken broth. I deleted that from the ingredient list and added chopped celery. It was delicious. My husband insisted I make him a potato salad with mayonnaise. I made him his own tiny bowl.

The second recipe I tried was Braised Wild Rice. Julia's recipe calls for mushrooms, which I do not like. I omitted them. Again, this recipe calls for chicken stock. it also calls for wine. I don't use either, so they were omitted as well. The rice I made came out lovely and was extremely tasty. We live in the northern part of the lower peninsula in Michigan, and it isn't too far to go to get Michigan wild rice. I stock up now and then. Some areas might find it difficult, or expensive, to get it. In that case, I would substitute a brown rice. Below are the recipes I used with my own substitutions and tweaks. For the originals, you will have to purchase or borrow Julia's Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child.

 French Potato Salad

 Halve 3 pounds of white potatoes and cut into small chunks. Boil in lightly salted water for about 5 minutes or until barely tender. Drain the water and then cover the pan and let sit for 4 minutes. In a large bowl, fold the warm potato chunks with salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 cup minced onions, a couple of stalks of celery chopped fine, and enough olive oil to coat well. Sprinkle some chopped Parsley on top and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.   

Braised Wild Rice (above)

For 1 1/2 cups of rice (makes 4 cups cooked), rinse and drain the rice a couple of times to tenderize it. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes in 4 cups of water until softened, but an al dente texture. Drain and wash in cold water. Saute 1/4 cup of finely minced onion in olive oil until softened. Stir in the rice and cook until the grains seem milky looking. Stir in 2 cups of vegetable broth. Add one bay leaf and simmer, covered, for another 10 minutes or so, or until the rice is soft. The last minute or so, take off the lid and boil down some of the remaining moisture. Season with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaf.

As for this week, I'm going to do over Julia Child's Cole Slaw. Here is the plan:

Monday

Rigatoni

Garlic Bread

Tossed Salads

Ice-cream 

Tuesday

Chili

Cole Slaw

Homemade Bread

Wednesday

Baked Chicken Breasts

Acorn Squash

Home Canned Pears

Thursday

Meat Loaf

Mashed Potatoes

Tossed Salads

Green Beans

Friday

Pizza & Pop

Saturday

Enchiladas

Chips & Salsa

Salads

Sunday

On Your Own