This Week's Menu and Shopping List

Beet
Scallopini

Every week, I try to use ingredients from the local market that look unfamiliar. This week, it was scallopini and beet. When I bought scallopini, I thought it was some type of zucchini, but it apparently is a type of squash... I also found yellow and red beets at the market with the leaves. I made salad with the root and boiled the leaves and dressed them with Japanese sesame sauce.

Here is this week's menu:

Monday: Mackerel cooked with miso
Tuesday: Simple sausage and tomato sauce pasta
Wednesday: Sake steamed fish with ponzu
Thursday: Pork with red currant sauce
Friday: Spinach Parmesan chicken with beet salad

Shopping List:
Spanish mackerel (1 fillet cut into 2 pieces) - mackerel cooked with miso
Julienned ginger (about 1/4 cup) - mackerel cooked with miso
Konbu seaweed (about 2 inch piece) - mackerel cooked with miso
Good sausages (enough for 4 people) - simple sausage and tomato sauce pasta
Canned whole tomatoes (28 oz can) - simple sausage and tomato sauce pasta
Onion (1 medium, diced) - simple sausage and tomato pasta
Your favorite pasta - simple sausage and tomato pasta
Sole/flounder fillet (2) - sake steamed fish with ponzu
Chopped green onions (about 3 Tbsp, green part) - sake steamed fish with ponzu
Pork loin - pork with red currant sauce
Shallots - pork with red currant sauce
Gralic - pork with red currant sauce
Boneless, skinless chicken breast (1 large) - spinach Parmesan chicken
Frozen spinach, thawed (about 1/3 cup) - spinach Parmesan chicken
Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup) - spinach Parmesan chicken
Beet (2 large) - beet salad
Tomato (1 medium) - beet salad
Red onion (1/4 medium) - beet salad

Recommendations for sides:
Mackerel cooked with miso - broiled beet leaves with sesame sauce, miso soup and rice
Simple sausage and tomato pasta - salad
Sake steamed fish with ponzu - salad with Asian dressing or miso soup and rice
Pork with red currant sauce - grilled scallopini and roasted red pepper marinaded with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil

Things that may or may not be in your fridge/pantry:
Cooking wine
Miso
Ponzu (as needed) - If you can't find ponzu, you can substitute it with 3 part soy sauce, 2 part rice vinegar, 1 part freshly squeezed orange juice, and 1/2 part sesame oil
Sugar
Bay leaf
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Dried or fresh thyme
Cider vinegar
Beef broth
Red currant jelly
Corn starch
Red wine vinegar
Dijon mustard