Detox

For anyone who has never taught high school, you should know that final exam time is hectic.  Thus, the entire month of December, having both finals, Christmas, and (for us) a trip to Michigan, there really wasn't a lot of great eating.  There were some pretty good things thrown in there, but I admit that more than one meal may have consisted of M&Ms while I was grading or prepping for next semester.  And, certainly, one doesn't plan to go on vacation and follow any food rules (yes, Jillian Michaels, I am talking to you!).

So, after three weeks of sugar and more red meat than I care to confess, it was a week of vegging - the good kind.

Our CSA didn't deliver over Christmas (hey - those guys work hard and deserve a little break, too!), so I had to slum it at the grocery store.  Thankfully, Sprouts has a good produce selection, and I was able to pick up ALMOST everything that I needed for the week.

We had some leftover sweet potatoes, radishes, and turnips, so I made the following menu for us this week:

• Monday - black bean and sweet potato empanadas and Spanish rice (the rice turned out terrible, so thank goodness the empanadas, made with CSA sweet potatoes and jalapeños from my MIL's garden, were big and filling)
• Tuesday - sweet potato ravioli with lemon sage brown butter (very tasty, but I added a wee too much butter to our dishes, so it was a little rich - next time I'll use a little ladle)

I used wonton wrappers for the ravioli... someday I'll have my own pasta maker, but until then, the wrappers are fine.

• Wednesday - quinoa with kale, chickpeas, and sunflower seeds (this was something I attempted before, subbing black beans.... I would not recommend that substitution, if I were you; the feta and the sunflower seeds, though, made this AWESOME - I am adding this to my rotation... hopefully with the mustard greens that the recipe calls for again)

That brings us to today.  I made a veggie pasty filling on Tuesday when I made the ravioli, and after HRH went to daycare, I made the dough.  Instead of potatoes and carrots, I stuck to the turnips and radishes.  I am looking forward to trying this, and my fingers are crossed that the crust isn't too dry, as some of the reviews said.  I am chilling the dough, so I'm hoping all turns out OK.  If not.... well, NYPD Pizza is not that far away.
But what about New Year's Eve?????  Well, let's just say, for now, that the plan is to be decadent philistines.