Menu Plan Monday and a cute fruit roundup

Our lovely host this week is Gluten Free Mommy, and she’s chosen cherries. Cherries just hit the Farmer’s Market today, but quite honestly, weren’t great. So I may hold out a week or two before I go overboard with cherries, though I do hope to bake with them. Baking has been a bit dicey lately, because I’m doing a challenge for a nutrition conference I’m attending and going grain-free for a month (in addition to normally being gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and egg free, too.) No, I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea, but I’m 15 days in, and not giving up now!

However, first I need to brag about my babies. If fruit pics just aren’t your thing, you may want to skip down to my menu plan…

Here’s my peach tree! What a cutie she is. She was my birthday present to myself last year. I didn’t know much about peach trees, and like all children, she came with no instructions, so I figured we’d wing it. Well, if a peach tree is inside, it’s up to you to be momma pollinator. It took me a while to figure that out, and though I dutifully played with a paintbrush to move pollen, I didn’t do a stellar job. There were 4 peaches total, most didn’t do too well, but look! One left, and I’ll know better next year. But actually, it’s best for the tree’s health to have few fruit the first year, so let’s just pretend I planned that, shall we?

These are my blueberry bushes–we have 4, all in pots. If you want to actually eat the blueberries you grow, netting is a must. The first year the birds ate them all before they ripened…and then pooped blueberry blue all over my car. Lesson learned.

And these are my raspberries, large and in charge. I get a big handful each day, and always keep them covered, too.

On to the menu!

Monday:
Grilled rotisserie Chicken with collards and sauteed onions
Caramelized cabbage
Leftover almond rosewater cookies...yum!

Tuesday:
Roasted turkey breast with celery and carrots
Roasted Asparagus–last of the season

Wednesday:
Grill:
Grilled salmon with roasted mixed peppers
Cherries for dessert!

Thursday:
Quick and easy:
Nighshade skillet meal–for Carrie’s One Pot meals “Go ahead, honey”

Friday:
Vegan
Caramelized spring onions, avocado, and whatever leftovers I can scrounge up

Baked good: (maybe) a black bean brownie concoction featuring cherry

Weekly Harvest:
From my garden:
green pepper! (first of the season)
spring onions
basil
rosemary
thyme
marjoram

From the Farmer’s Market
Collards
Onions
Cabbage
Asparagus
Cherries