Grocery Monday

Monday is grocery day at our house.  And, yes, I do love Mondays.

I usually go to a couple of stores when I grocery shop.  One store for staples such as canned goods, condiments, maybe this week's produce.  Then a second stop for proteins and specialty items.  Here in Ann Arbor, I'm lucky to have a myriad of choices of grocery stores.  In dreary January that helps, since grocery shopping in the middle of winter doesn't deliver much excitement as, let's say, a trip to the farmer's market in June.

(Bonus points for me today...I remembered to use my own grocery bags.  I didn't leave them at home and then curse at the cash register when I realized that I left them at home.

Roasted poblano peppers.

 G and I have been enjoying homemade burrito bowls since we tried them at Chipotle during our Christmas road trip to New York.  So the first stop I made when I returned home from the store was at my gas stove top.  I placed two poblano peppers on a high flame and let them char on all sides (for about 5 minutes).  Then I placed them in a paper bag and let them sit for about 10-15 minutes.  Once I was ready to make my bowl, I peeled off the skin and then sliced the peppers into strips, discarding the stem and seeds.

Today's protein of choice was beef.  In a medium saucepan, I browned:

1 1/4# ground beef

Then I added:

1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Then I added some seasonings:

1 T. chili powder
1/8 t. cayenne
1/3 c. water
salt and pepper, to taste

I let the beef and bean mixture sit at a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.

In a bowl, I placed chopped Romaine lettuce, halved grape tomatoes, roasted poblano peppers, corn, cilantro, and drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and lime juice.  Then I topped everything with the beef and bean mixture and sprinkled on some chopped green onions.

If G and I wanted to indulge more with these burrito bowls, I could add:

Guacamole
Salsa
Sour cream
Crushed tortilla chips
Pepper jack cheese or Queso Fresco, which is a crumbly white cheese similar to feta, but with a milder flavor.

Instead...

Once I woke up and entered the kitchen this morning, I realized that I had three bananas on the verge of over ripeness.  Those bananas challenged me and the next thing I knew, the white layer cake with lemon curd was trumped.

Throwing away produce is against my religion.  If some berries or greens or herbs are still sitting in the fridge after a few days, I consider it a challenge to use them creatively before they expire and I have to face the guilt of throwing away food (which = money).

So I found a recipe for a banana layer cake and went to work.

Mashed bananas with buttermilk and vanilla.

Mixing dry ingredients into wet.

Cakes rising in the oven.  A beautiful sight.

Cooling cakes and thinking that I need something else to jazz up this dessert.  What can I use as a filling between the layers?

Nutella!

Cream cheese frosting and a bit of garnish.

What's for Dessert?

So we're eating healthier around here, G & I, and we've instituted a new plan.  We eat healthy Sunday-Friday and Saturday is Free Day.  Saturday we can eat anything we want in whatever quantity we want.  We've just started this in the new year and I can already report that Saturdays are a whole new brand of happiness for me.

Tomorrow is Free Day and I woke up immediately daydreaming about what will be on the menu tomorrow.

I'm not a huge sweet eater.  I never order dessert except on a birthday or an anniversary.  (I'll save the tales of my addiction to salty crunchiness for another day.)

On Free Day, though, I save room for dessert.  It's no holds barred.  It's guilt-free.  It's bliss.

Tomorrow evening, our friends, P & J, are coming over for games and dessert.  I'll ask them to bring something chocolate-y and I'm going to make something to share.  I've felt the urge to bake this week so I'm going to take advantage of that on Free Day.

But what shall I make?

Cookies?  A cake?  A crumble?  Ooh...a crostata.  A free-form pie.  That's more for summery fruits though.  And I feel a bit more ambitious than that.

After perusing my usual foodie sites, I've decided to make this:

White Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

Thank you, Martha Stewart.

Photos to follow!