More Dinners For This Week

On the last day of January, we have great winter deals, like organic yams at Sunflower for 99 cents a pound, while spring creeps in with asparagus at Sprouts at $1.49/lb. On the spring side, it's time for asparagus and leek risotto with prosciutto, one of my favorites. Keep in mind that the deli at the Pearl Street Whole Foods usually has small chunks of prosciutto for dicing that run about half the price of the freshly sliced product. You can also substitute something like Black Forest ham, but if you care about nitrates/nitrites, look closely at what you're buying (I know at least Whole Foods is good).

Always out for midweek convenience, the chipotle beef stew from last night makes an easy reheat dinner, with a salad on the side. For more midweek convenience (so nice to not have to face a recipe in the middle of the week), it might be time for linguine with clam sauce, made with a nice canned sauce like Cento, maybe with a can of clams tossed in for an extra boost. I know true Italians would cringe at the thought, but I like freshly grated parmesan on my linguine with clam sauce (horrors!).

Finally, with those organic yams at 99 cents a pound at Sunflower and chicken breasts $1.97/lb at Sprouts, it's time for crystallized ginger chicken. The crystallized ginger might seem like an odd ingredient, but it will keep a long time in the fridge, and you're likely to want to make this again. The dish hardly needs anything else, maybe just some edamame out of your freezer stock on the side.