A little free library - but for cookbooks...
...and two great lunch salads!
Okay, I have a fabulous idea! Let me start at the beginning…
I love cookbooks. Like capital L.O.V.E. them. Can a girl have too many? Nah. Can I possibly read them all in the way they should be - cover to cover, like a novel? I’m working on it.
It seems like every day I see a new cookbook annouced that I just have to have. I love to sit curled up in my chair and literally read every word on every page. And what works of art cookbooks are these days! The authors and editors have put so much thought into them, not to mention the food stylists and photographers. Just wow.
Whenever I’m in a dinner rut and have no new ideas, I can run to my shelf, grab a book or two to flip through, and instantly be inspired - whether I cook what’s actually on the page or it’s sparked a thought of my own.
And I want everyone else to be able to do the same! Enter my Little Free Library idea…
You know those adorable Little Free Libraries you see out and about? I know we have several around town, including a friend just down the street from my dad and at our community center. What a great way to share the books you love! (Here’s the website for Little Free Library if you want to learn more.)
Wouldn’t it be so cool to have one for just cookbooks?! I’ll fill it with some of my favorites, you grab one to flip through and add some of your own. Of course, all of the books will have notes in the margins and stains on the pages - just how a well-loved cookbook should be. Maybe we could add a little box inside for handwritten family recipes. I don’t know, in the age of “everything can be found on the internet”, this just seems like a fun way to build community around the thing I love.
**If you also think this sounds like fun, and have a great idea where we can put it, let me know, and I’ll get dad to build us one!"**
Okay, enough dreaming, on to this week’s recipes (which is really why you’re here)! This week I decided to share a couple of my go-to big-batch lunch salads. Even with the weather starting to cool off, I’m still a salad-for-lunch girl most days. We’ve been having beautiful days of cool mornings, but sunshine and moderate afternoon temperatures, and I’ve been enjoying my lunches on the patio watching the dogs run around and the leaves fall.
Both of the salads this week make enough for several days, they keep well, and they’re full of healthy things like veggies, protein, and fiber so I’m not starving again by 3:00.
The Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad uses my Chili Crisp Caesar Dressing giving it just the right amount of zing. The chicken and pasta make it hearty (and the shape of the rotini pasta are great for holding onto the dressing and extra parmesan cheese) And, while not traditional in a caesar salad, I love the tomatoes for the little pops of sweetness.
The Lentil Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette is my go-to for when I feel like I need a little healthy reset. Loaded with crunchy veggies, a tart lemon vinaigrette, and those superfood lentils, it’s a great “meal-prep” style salad I can put into containers for lunch all week. I even took it with me on an airplane once!
That’s all for today, but hey, if you want to dream up a cookbook version of a Little Free Library, come on over. I’ll make lunch!
MONDAY - Beef Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts
A chuck roast, low and slow in the oven (because I’ll be around all afternoon) gets fall-apart tender and is perfect over mashed potatoes. Skillet brussels on the side for something fresh and green.
TUESDAY - Pasta with Tomato Sauce, Italian Sausages, Focaccia
I love this recipe for Bucatini with Butter Roasted Tomato Sauce from Bon Appetit and have been making it for years. (It might be behind a paywall, if so, it’s pretty much just roasting canned tomatoes in the oven with lots of butter and garlic, mashing it all together and then tossing with pasta.) I’ll make my 48-hour Focaccia dough on Sunday afternoon, and it will be ready to go!
WEDNESDAY - Wonton Soup, Egg Rolls
Using grocery store helpers tonight! Frozen mini wontons make a quick soup, like this one from Half Baked Harvest, and frozen egg rolls are always an easy side for a little something extra!
THURSDAY - French Dip Sandwiches and Potato Wedges
Happy Halloween! We’ll take the leftovers from Monday’s beef roast, shred it up and pile it high on rolls with provolone cheese, then toast them up and dip them in gravy/au jus for home made french dips before heading down the street with the neighbors!
FRIDAY - Friday Night Pick-up
SATURDAY - Date Night
We’ll send the Kiddo to YaYa’s and take a date night for ourselves this week so we can catch up on Only Murders In The Building!
SUNDAY - Dinner at Dad’s
The grocery store has been running ribs on sale pretty regularly, and he’s been grabbing them! Oven baked BBQ ribs and cheesy potatoes for dinner!
LUNCHES for this week -
Lunches for this week are going to be based on all the “extras” and things I’m testing right now. See below! And if I need to, I’ll grab a stashed away soup container from the freezer.
EXTRAS for this week
When we were in Chicago, we ate at a fabulous Greek restaurant. We had a bean dish as part of our hot “mezze” (appetizers), and I’m trying to re-create it because it was fabulous. Gigante beans (like a giant greek lima bean) are baked in a tomato and herb mixture and served with crusty bread. My first attempt came out really tasty, but not exactly what I remembered. No worries, I’ll try, try again! Also, I’m working on some roasted spiced sweet potatoes and a wild rice dish as Thanksgiving foods are taking over my brain these days!
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad (with Chili Crisp Caesar Dressing)
Makes 6-8 servings
· 1 pound Rotini Pasta, cooked and cooled
· 4 cups diced cooked Chicken
· 1 pint Grape Tomatoes, halved
· ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
· Chopped Romaine Lettuce, optional
Chili Crisp Caesar Dressing
· 2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
· 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
· 2 cloves Garlic, minced
· 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
· 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
· ½ teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
· ¼ teaspoon Sugar
· ¼ teaspoon ground Black Pepper
· ¾ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
· ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
· 2-3 teaspoons Chili Crisp
In a large bowl, toss together the cooked pasta, diced chicken, halved tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.
In another bowl, or measuring cup, make the dressing. Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire, salt, sugar, and pepper until smooth. Then slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continuously, until it is all combined. Stir in the parmesan and chili crisp.
Combine the dressing with the pasta salad ingredients in the large bowl, mixing well. Serve now, or cover and refrigerate.
When serving, if desired, stir in a couple of cups of chopped romaine lettuce.
NOTE - If you made the salad ahead of time, give it another good stir before serving!
Lentil Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Makes 4-6 servings
· 1 cup dried green or brown Lentils (make sure to pick through them checking for small rocks)
· 1 cup Shredded Carrots
· 1 pint Grape Tomatoes, halved
· ½ cup roughly chopped Castelvetrano Olives (substitute Kalamata if necessary)
· 1 cup diced Cucumber
· ½ - ¾ cup crumbled Feta Cheese
· Toasted Pepitas for topping, optional
Lemon Vinaigrette
· 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
· 2 teaspoons Honey
· ½ teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
· 1/8 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
· 2 tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice
· 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in lentils, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Drain in a fine mesh strainer and rinse to cool.
While lentils are cooking, chop veggies and make the dressing.
For the dressing – whisk together the mustard, honey, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Then slowly whisk in olive oil until well combined.
In a large bowl, toss together the cooked lentils, carrots, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, and feta cheese. Mix in all of the dressing. Serve immediately at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for later. (If refrigerated, leave at room temperature for 15 minutes and stir well before serving.)
NOTES – Start by mixing in ½ cup of the Feta, then add more if you think you want it. My personal opinion is that more feta is bettah. When serving, sprinkle the pepitas over the top. I don’t mix them in because I want them to stay crunchy. You can also add in some greens if you wish, I like baby arugula in this salad. Leave out the feta and change the honey to maple syrup to make this salad vegan.
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! See you back here next week!
(Don’t forget you can see all of the past newsletters and recipes at the archive link below!)
All recipes categorized by type can be found in the index!
I love the idea of a cookbook share box BUT, I'm not sure that I could actually walk away from a beloved cookbook (or not be greedy when looking at the selection in the little library). Each cookbook is a new frontier to explore and dream (because I actually don't cook that often -- just think about it and hope my amazing daughter-in-law is sharing samples of her fabulous dishes!!!).