This week, Red Beets, Sweet Potatoes, Yellow Onions, Lacinato Kale, Pinto Beans, Cilantro, Red Leaf Lettuce, and Fennel.

I immediately turned around and used two of the items for an adults only dinner for two that evening. It happened to be Adam and I’s 8th anniversary and having new and different veggies made for a great and adventurous new meal.

First I made a salad with the kale. I used a recipe from Marin Mama Cooks. It was called Lacinato Kale Salad. It was really good and now I think I’ll have to explore her blog more! My husband said it kind of tasted like a healthy caesar salad.

I paired the salad with Linguine with Sardines, Fennel, and Tomato. I didn’t have sardines so I used tuna. And I only had spaghetti, not linguine. Turned out perfect. I don’t usually cook with fennel because I’m not crazy about licorice flavor. But after fennel is cooked it mellows and sweetens quite a bit. I loved this and would definitely cook it again. Adam has already claimed the leftovers for his dinner tonight.

The next night I used up the red leaf lettuce as a side salad for the leftover pasta. I also used the beets. I roasted them along with the sweet potato for my sweet potato boats (more on that later) in the oven. Then let the beets cool, peeled them and diced them. I layered the red leaf lettuce, beets, grapefruit, sliced red onions and feta. I dressed with a vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, honey, olive oil, dijon mustard, and minced garlic. It was wonderful!

For my newly roasted sweet potato, I topped it with some left over black beans and ripe avocado from the fridge. I sprinkled a little salt on top, because nothing is more yummy then a salted avocado. It was so filling and so delicious I was sad. Sad it took me 41 years to discover the combination. So easy, so nutritious and so tasty!

In fact, I can’t believe how many wonderful new dishes I’d gotten out of this delivery! And so pleased I didn’t have any failures this time around.

Pinto Beans were soaked over night and cooked on the stove then used in a big pot of chili for the superbowl. Also some of the onions got used in this recipe. Cliché, but I had to do it. It was easier than I thought to work with dried beans and as a bonus no possibly damaging tin cans. Made me think about changing my pantry a bit.

This week carrots, parsnips, cucumber, cabbage, fingerling potatoes, onion, and parsley.

Carrots, parsnip, cabbage and some of the parsley were used for a hearty winter vegetable soup. I also added butternut squash, leeks, celery, tinned tomatoes, cauliflower and some seasonings. I like to make a big pot of healthy vegetable soup in the fridge in the winter. I can eat it every day, it’s super healthy and filling and keeps me from grabbing something that is easy and quick to make but not as nutritious.

Cucumbers went into home made sushi rolls.

I meant to put the potatoes in the soup but forgot so I made them into a side dish, diced and roasted with garlic and rosemary. When I cut them open they were a gorgeous speckled purple. They tasted the same as regular potatoes, though.

Along with the potatoes I used the rest of the parsley turkey burgers which were grilled up on a snow covered grill one night.

Onions always get used up as a base to many dishes but I think I used these two for a sloppy joe night and a gorgeous, spicy chana masala.

One of Jack’s favorite meals is sushi.

It’s great to introduce expensive food to your kids when you have one. You are so proud of their diverse tastes that spending $8 dollars to watch them basically crush a california roll and sprinkle it onto the floor at a Japanese restaurant seems worth it.

But when you have four kids, it stops looking like money well spent for the sake of an exposed palate and starts looking like you are throwing money down the drain.

Still, I want my kids to be adventurous eaters, especially in my favorite area of foray – asian food.

So lately I’ve been making sushi at home. It’s actually pretty easy. I’m going to show you how right now…

Tonight I made California rolls. For those, you will need:

1. Rice. Brown or White. I use sushi rice but if you can’t find it Arborio rice works great too. I used that tonight.

2. Rice wine vinegar.

3. Sesame seed. The black ones look really great mixed with the yellow ones, but I could only find yellow so I used that. You could skip these all together if you wanted to.

4. Avocado.

5. Cucumber.

6. Crab Sticks. I just buy the imitation ones from the supermarket.

7. Nori. This is the seaweed paper.

8. Bamboo roller and plastic wrap.

Cook the rice according to the instructions. I have a rice cooker because I’m a good Chinese daughter. In my world it’s right up there on the level of toaster oven and microwave. Definitely not an optional appliance.

When the rice is done put a couple of sprinkles of rice wine vinegar. I made rice out of 2 cups of uncooked stuff, and added about 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar.

Then, since everyone seems to be rolling the sushi inside out (with the rice on the outside), I cut the nori in half and put it, shiny side down, on a bamboo roller that was wrapped in plastic wrap.

Next put enough rice on the nori to cover the whole thing.

Then wet your fingers with water and spread rice out evenly on the nori.

Please do not get grossed out by my black finger nail. I slammed it in the bathroom door on one of my more “over tired mom days” a few weeks ago. Twice. It’s slowly turning completely black and half of it has come off already. I heard it may never grow back. Which makes me glad I’m already married off because I’m sure ten fingers and nine nails would be a deal breaker for some.

Next sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Now flip it over. Fill the other side with avocado slices, crabmeat, and cucumber. (I peeled the cucumber, deseeded it, sliced it into long strips.)

You can see my nori ripped. It doesn’t matter, it did not effect the rolls at all.

Next use the bamboo roller to roll it all together.

Finally, using a sharp knife, cut the roll into bite size pieces.

There are a lot of ends, uneven bits of sushi wrap that still taste delicious. Sometimes I can make a whole meal out of them! The rice made about 8 logs. It was enough for dinner for everyone (it was served with some other things) and some leftovers for Jack’s lunchbox tomorrow.

I know it was a good meal because when I snapped this photo there was absolute silence at the table…

California rolls, Edamame, and Pot Stickers.

I probably should make a comment about Jack dressed at the Ultimate Spiderman, Ben the Hulk and Aaron’s favorite way to wear his shirt, with one arm in and one arm out. Let’s just say I’m just happy they are all actually wearing some sort of clothing for this picture. And that no one is crying or complaining about the menu for once.

My New Year’s goody bag included Red Cabbage, Celeriac, Sunchokes, Sweet Potato, Red Onions, Carrots and Watercress.

The red cabbage was used for Za’atar Spice Roasted Red Cabbage Steaks.

I really enjoyed this dish, a great find and something I would do again!

The sunchokes made another side dish. Sliced thin and roasted in the oven with simply olive oil, salt and pepper. They were okay, but since they looked like potatoes but didn’t taste as creamy or starchy that was kind of hard to get my head around.

I added the celeriac and carrots to a minestrone that I ate all week. Paired with some crusty bread is a meal I never tire of.

Sweet Potato always gets eaten in our house. This time we decided to have another thanksgiving night, sometimes one thanksgiving turkey dinner is not enough! Why should we only spoil ourselves with marshmallow topped sweet potatoes once a year?

Red onions were used in an egg salad and also in a “everything left in your crisper” salad along with the Watercress.

People always ask what salad dressing I use when they try my salads. Here is my secret: dijon mustard, any vinegar, and olive oil. So simple! This salad I used a special bottle of olive oil my friend Hedy brought me. Yum!