Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu for September 8th

Marin Mama's weekly dinner menu - September 8th

Yep, that’s a 20 pound salmon that Eli caught last week and that’s what we had for dinner 3 nights in a row.  So you can basically say that we are all salmoned out (not really a word, but let’s go with it).  Eli and John went fishing on Monday with our neighbor, Captain John of New Rayann Sport Fishing.  Captain John was kind enough to take Eli and John along on a fishing trip, as he heard that fishing was one of Eli’s favorite things to do.  It was a long day as they set out at 5:00 in the morning and didn’t get home till 5:30 that evening.  I had two happy, but tired boys when they got home.  Here’s a picture of Eli by the Golden Gate Bridge as they were starting out in the dark.

Eli fishing in the dark

Eli caught the first catch of the day and boy was he proud. He was totally in his element as he loves fishing.   He was super helpful on deck checking everyone’s lines and baiting their hooks with anchovies, as that’s one of his favorite parts.  John and Eli had an amazing day on the ocean and Eli was super proud that he provided dinner for us for 3 nights as well as dinner for a few close friends.  Here’s a picture of my two favorite boys!

John and Eli out fishing

So, because of all that salmon, our menu last week totally fell apart from what was originally planned, but what we ended up making was delicious.  We ate salmon the traditional way served up with our favorite almond-lime yogurt sauce with some couscous cakes, and then instead of making up the vegetarian banh mi’s like I was supposed to, I made salmon banh mi’s because we had all this salmon. These were great and I will try and post the recipe later this week.  I still want to get out the recipe for the vegetarian banh mi’s, so I will be making those again this week so I can get some photographs of the process.

Vegetarian banh me sandwich

We also took the night off last Sunday from cooking, as it was just too beautiful out and it was our last free Sunday before dance and baseball started.  We wanted to take advantage of that freedom and spend some family time together doing what we love to do best biking (and eating, of course). We biked to San Rafael via the Cal Park Hill Tunnel to Sol Food for some dinner.  Sol Food always has a line out the door, even at 5:30.  Biking to Sol food was the way to go and I would highly suggest it to those of you that live close to Larkspur. It’s a quick and easy ride, and it just feels good to bike to dinner and dessert, as we stopped off at Three Twins for some ice cream on the way home.  You gotta have your dessert, right?

John and Eli at Sol Food restaurant

Since this was the kid’s last week off from school, we treated ourselves and went out to lunch at one of our favorite spots, Table Cafe.  Our lunch was so good!  Zoe and I split the chicken, spinach and goat cheese dosa and the Niman Ranch bacon and scrambled egg dosa.  Eli had some breaded chicken with a caesar salad on the side.

Zoe and Eli dining in restaurant

Here’s a picture of my dosa that I posted to Instagram.  I’m so craving one of those dosa’s right now!

Dosa

I also made up 2 huge batches of heirloom tomato soup as well as some grilled bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes, as Whole Foods had heirlooms on sale for $1.99 a pound last week. I had to take advantage of that special!  I mean come on, prices that low don’t happen to often.

Heirloom tomato soup with grilled bruschetta

All in all it was a great last week of summer and I think the kids are I are ready to get back to a fall school routine.  The kid’s got their teacher notices on Friday and they both got the teachers they really wanted and even got some great friends in their classes to boot.  Eli was super happy because he got Zoe’s former 3rd grade teacher.  He’s excited because she’s of course an amazing and super sweet teacher, but she also has this beautiful yellow lab, Montana, that comes into the classroom once a week to read with the kids.  I thought it would be sweet to post an old picture of Zoe and Eli on Zoe’s first day of 3rd grade.  Look at how little and sweet they are. I can’t believe how quickly they have both grown and that Eli is now going to be a 3rd grader and Zoe an 8th grader.

Super young Eli and Zoe

So since it’s the first week of school and all, I thought I would let the kids each pick out a favorite dish for dinner one night.  Zoe chose the citrus-marinated chicken which we will serve up on Tuesday, and Eli choose to the green bean and shallot ravioli which we will serve up on Wednesday.

Sunday night dinner

Chipotle shrimp tacos, grilled sweet peppers and corn on the cob.   Zoe starts her dance classes today and Eli has a baseball game, so goodbye to quiet and low-key Sundays.  I won’t get a quiet, low-key Sunday till the end of November, but that’s not too far off, right?  I guess having all that salmon last week made us crave some shrimp, so that’s what were having tonight.

Chipotle shrimp tacos

Monday night dinner

Simple egg salad sandwiches (made with Greek yogurt) and fresh cut red pepper and carrots. Monday nights are going to be sandwich or leftover night, at least until the end of November that is, as Zoe has soccer practice and two dance classes and Eli has baseball practice.  I’m basically going to be a chauffeur from 2:45 until 9:00 on Mondays with an hour off in-between, but that’s ok because I love doing this for the kids and that’s just what you do as a parent.  When you sign your kids for activities, you don’t always know what days the practices are going to fall on and sometimes it just happens to all fall on one night, like Mondays.  I can now totally relate to that song “Manic Monday.”

Egg salad sandwith

Tuesday night dinner

Citrus-marinated chicken, green beans with mint, dill, lemon and feta and french bread.  Ahhh, this is a much calmer night for us and I’m happy for that.  This is also an easy weeknight dinner to prepare and I’m happy for that as well.

citrus marinated chicken

Green beans with mint, dill, lemon, and feta

Wednesday night dinner

Green bean and shallot ravioli and crispy garlic bread.  Eli has soccer practice at 5:00 so this is a quick and easy meal to make up once he gets home. I usually just prepare it all while he’s at soccer and then when he comes home it only takes about 20-30 minutes to cook everything up.

Ravioli and green beans

Garlic Bread slices on a cutting board

Thursday night dinner

Vegeterian banh mi sandwiches and lacinato kale salad.  I never made these sandwiches last week because we had all that salmon, so I made up salmon banh mi sandwiches instead. I really want to make these up so I can get some photos, so I’m going to attempt to make these up again!

Vegetarian banh mi sandwich

Kale Salad

Friday night dinner

Ok, I’m giving myself an out tonight as I know I’m going to be tired and craving a night off from the kitchen, as well as a nice tall glass of wine, so we will probably head out to dinner after Zoe’s soccer practice or else order pizza in.  The first week of school is always tiring as were all getting used to getting back into a routine.

Stay tuned for Tuesday as I will post the recipe for this super easy and tasty avocado-tahini dip.  I’m also going to attempt and post the recipe for the salmon Banh mi’s later this week as well.

Avocado tahini dip

Have a great Sunday!

With love Jackie
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11 thoughts on “Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu for September 8th”

  1. aww…the old picture of the kids is SO cute! They look so much the same just taller. haha.

    My dad has a fishing boat and catches lots of fresh salmon, crab, etc. I really don’t enjoy being out on the boat though. I get way too scared of the big waves. haha. But, I do loveeee when he gives me fresh fish! There isn’t anything like it! Congrats to Eli for catching the first of the day.

  2. It’s so cute how happy Eli is in all those pics! Also, I’m totally craving dosas now, too and love the look of the ravioli dish. Have a good week, Jackie! It sounds so jam-packed but also seems like you’re well equipped and ready to take it on 🙂

  3. Hope the kids had a great first day of school yesterday! The picture of Zoe and Eli of their first day of school a few years back is so precious! They are adorable and growing into beautiful people, both inside and out. 🙂
    I love that your menu totally got changed up last week with the windfall of salmon and heirloom tomatoes – gotta take advantage of those things that come in unexpectedly!
    The menu for this week looks scrumptious as always. I’m really looking forward to the salmon banh mi sandwich recipe – it looks so fresh and delicious!
    Have a great first week of school! xoxo, Sharon

    1. Hi Sharon! You know my weekly menu usually changes around a bit every week as I hit the grocery and see a sale or some amazing looking produce or I just plain get tired and fall back on making something easy. I should do a post each Friday on what I actually made that week and see how much I actually followed my own menu 😉
      I will try and post that salmon banh mi recipe this week. I’m playing catch up around the house and in life and it feels so refreshing to work for 6 hours uninterrupted! xoxo, Jackie

      1. I bet! It is nice to have some time and a bit of a routine to get things done. I like the idea of a Friday post with what you actually ended up making for the week, that could be a cool new feature on your blog! Just add that to your to-do list. 😀 Talk soon! xoxo, Sharon

    1. I would have totally dropped off some salmon to you but you were in Tahoe. Next time 🙂 I want your recipe for those salmon cakes so send it over sister 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

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