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Our Weekly Cadence – 2023 October 22-November 4th
Hey there, lovely readers! Welcome back to ‘Our Weekly Cadence,’ where we invite you to join us in the heart of our home. We have created a list of early fall dinner ideas for the next few weeks. Rainy weather, cold fronts and Halloween are filling our weeks with excitement and change. So with all the new weather and fun, our meal ideas center around warm spices and cozy broths. We are also trying a new coffee for our batch coffee roasting that should last us a few weeks. And for our natural living DIY we’ve created a homemade dog conditioning rinse for our hypoallergenic dog Moose’s curly coat. Even though we created it for the dog’s hair — we plan to try it on our curly haired family members as well!
Biweekly Meal Ideas for Early Fall
Given that our weather is trying to catch up to the fall season, we have come up with meal options that are great for rainy, cool weather and also for days we wished it were cooler! Spice is making its way into most of our meals whether it be in the form of something more piquant and hot like cayenne, or warm and embracing like cinnamon. We also love soups throughout the fall season as they are so versatile and are great as leftovers. And of course, pasts is always a quick and easy crowd pleaser.
Dinner Ideas for Early Fall:
- Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya
- Pastrami hash with sweet potatoes and fried egg
- Spicy Farfalle all Vodka
- Chicken noodle soup
- Fasolakia Yiahni (Greek Braised Green Beans with Cinnamon and Potatoes) with Feta and Sourdough bread
- Sourdough supreme pizza
- Green Chicken Enchiladas
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Kale, Italian sausage Orecchiette
- Cheese soufflé
Lunch Ideas
School Lunches
- leftover pizza
- tuna salad, pretzels and homemade pickles
- yogurt with honey, chocolate granola, and fresh berries
- soft boiled eggs with toast and pickled vegetables
- grain bowls with black beans and crispy tortillas
- breakfast for lunch: homemade breakfast sausage, waffles and fruit
- grilled cheese sandwiches with salad
- bean quesadillas with pickled vegetables and chips and salsa
Workday Lunch Ideas
- leftover jambalaya
- bean quesadillas with southwestern Casear salad
- chopped salad with homemade butter herb croutons
- leftover Fasolakia (braised green beans)
- black bean and avocado tacos
- leftover herb chicken sandwiches
- leftover chicken soup and salad
- leftover kale sausage pasta
- leftover cheese souffle
- pear, walnut and blue cheese salad with honey balsamic vinaigrette
Breakfast Meal Ideas
- almond butter toast with homemade strawberry preserves
- overnight sourdough oat pancakes with spiced whipped cream
- breakfast tacos with black beans and avocado
- overnight oats
- waffle Wednesday
- fried eggs and toast
- frozen dutch pancake bites
- homemade breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs
- avocado toast with poached eggs
Meal Idea Tips – Batch Cooking Early in the Week
- Batch Chicken/Broth: Simmer a whole chicken to make broth and chicken at the beginning of the week
- the poached chicken meat will create soup, enchiladas, tacos, sandwiches, and chicken salad
- use part of the broth for soup and freeze the rest in small portions for use with other meals in the future
- Batch Beans: Like the broth above, make a large batch of black beans to use in tacos, soups, grain bowls, etc.
- Batch Yogurt: batch of our homemade yogurt will help with breakfast, lunch and dinner and is great for topping the green enchiladas
Early Fall Batch Coffee Roasting
We are trying a new green coffee bean for our next roast. Malawi Mangochi Peaberry is a tiny green coffee bean with fantastic aromas. The scent is toasty with a caramel fruity sweetness. Because this bean seemed small to us and we also wanted to achieve a City+ roast, we did a quick 12 minute roast for the Malawi bean. We let the beans roast about 6 minutes before shaking the roast bags to redistribute the beans (first crack was around 3-4 minutes). Then we roasted another 4-5 minutes to round out the roast. Our roast is a bit inconsistent with a combo of City to Full City beans, which should make for a nice blend. Next time we will probably shake the beans sooner and more frequent to gain a more consistent roast.
Natural Living Ideas
Our dog Moose has a ton of curly hypoallergenic hair. We love using Ethique’s dog shampoo bar and dog conditioner bar because using bars makes distributing soap evenly so very nice during his showers. But since he has such a curly coat, he needs a bit more moisture to keep his hair nice and soft. So we came up with a rinse to pour over him at the end of his shower. It can be rinsed off or sprayed on as a leave in conditioner and we are also trying it out as a dematting spray. This is a human friendly moisturizing hair spray as well, good for curly haired people who’s hair loves moisture.
DIY Dog/Human Conditioning Rinse Recipe
- 1 tablespoon natural dye free aloe
- 1/2 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
- 1 tablespoon jojoba oil
- 1 tablespoon fractionated coconut oil
- 1 drop German Chamomile Essential Oil
- 1 drop Lavender Essential Oil
- 1 drop Rosemary Essential Oil (do not use if your dog suffers from seizures)
Add ingredients into a 12-14 ounce container/jar and top with water. Use distilled water if you will keep the spray around for a few weeks. Shake and dispense over your pet’s coat. Rinse or leave in depending on what you like.
Ethique also has a human line of products that our whole family uses as well. Shampoo bars are the best!
Until Next Time! Enjoy These Early Fall Ideas
Enjoy our early fall breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas and stay tuned for more inspiration. Until next time, savor the flavors of the season and explore a world of delicious possibilities! And feel free to drop us a comment of what you’d like to see more of in the future.