For Sunday and Monday dinners, I have a large pot of soup simmering on the stove. I used the Bob’s Red Mill Vegi-Soup blend (lentils, split peas, and alphabet that dissolves), along with a large container of turkey broth from the freezer, and carrots, celery, and a red bell pepper sautéed in olive oil, then added ground turkey to brown before I added minced garlic and sliced mushrooms. I added the broth and the rinsed bean mix, then put in 1 Tbs. coarse salt, 1 Tbs. Penzey’s Bouquet Garni, 1 tsp. fennel (trying to get a sausage flavor going), 1 Tbs. tomato paste, and minced parsley. I’ll add some ground pepper at the end. I plan to freeze some of the soup for quick dinners, which is why I made such a large amount.

Tonight we had meatloaf,mashed potatoes and butter peas.

Dinner on Tuesday was Salmon and Couscous, with Penzey's Sunny Paris seasoning. We also had microwaved fresh broccoli.

I made a small pork roast and sweet potato. I sliced the potatoes in about 1/2 inch semi circles, tossed with olive oil and roasted it in a 400 degree oven. Came out pretty good and I have enough left for tomorrow.

Tonight I used leftover lima beans for soup and we had a grilled cheese with it.

I had planned to buy cabbage at the store yesterday, but the shelves were bare.

For dinner on Wednesday, I again made “Pork Roast with Barley, Butternut Squash, and Swiss Chard, from Cook’s Illustrated. This time I ignored the recipe's oven temperature of 250F and set the oven at 325F. When I checked at 40 minutes, it was done, and perhaps might have been done five minutes earlier, but as it is a braise, the meat is fine cooked to a temperature of about 154F. As always, I substituted Kale for the Swiss Chard, since kale releases its calcium, whereas Swiss Chard binds it. It was a comforting meal on this cold, rainy day in an uncertain time. I won’t be making this recipe again until next fall, as I used my last butternut squash from the fall farmers market. They kept well out in the apt., where we have the heat set to 48F. We have leftovers for at least the next two days.