Grilled flank steak, baked potato, steamed broccoli 8/26/22

Marinated and grilled flank steak, microwaved and grilled baking potato, steamed broccoli

Once again having good products means that they can be treated simply and be delicious. John put a dry rub on the flank steak. The rub consisted of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin. He did that around lunch time and then the meat sat in the refrigerator enjoying its rub until he took it out about an hour before dinner. After heating up the grill for 15 minutes the steak cooked for 1.5 minutes on each side followed by an additional 1 minute on each side. Then it rested for 5 minutes before he sliced it up. Flank steak is a very beefy tasting cut of meat but you have to be sure to cut it across the grain or else it turns out tough.

I microwaved an 8 ounce potato sliced in half lengthwise for 7 minutes and then handed it over to John to put on the grill. He cooked it for 3 minutes on the cut side and 2 minutes on the skin side. While he was taking care of the meat and potatoes, I steamed the broccoli and gave it a butter spritz.

Dinner was delicious! We do not usually eat red meat so it is always kind of a treat. Although this is embarrassing I like to eat my meat and potato with ketchup. It satisfies my inner child.

Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Grilling, Hot weather meals, Kitchen tips, Methods, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment

Buffalo chicken wings 8/25/22

Buffalo chicken wings with carrots, celery, and blue cheese (picture from July road trip)

On Thursday I got sidetracked with planning a trip to Boston with my best friend and dinner got lost in the excitement. Luckily we had bought a bag of frozen chicken wings and made a dinner of them plus a couple of carrots and two ribs of celery. So while I was busy texting back and forth and trying to find flights etc., John cooked up the chicken wings. The wings, from Foster Farms, were already seasoned and John baked them at 425F for 22 minutes and then turned the oven to 450F for an additional seven minutes. We had these once before and they came out a little flabby so he made sure they were crisp.

This was not the healthiest of dinners but better than John’s first suggestion which was pizza delivery. I give myself a lot of credit for turning his suggestion down.

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Gazpacho and avocado toast 8/24/22

Gazpacho

This week’s gazpacho is the same recipe as last week’s except instead of a squirt of sriracha I put in two Thai chiles. It was pretty spicy but I liked the contrast of the cold soup and the hot flavor. Here’s the recipe in case you missed it.

Posted in Easy, Hot weather meals, Mediterranean, Recipes, soup, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Leave a comment

Tilapia tacos with beans and rice. 8/23/22

Tilapia taco with spicy beans and Tex-Mes cauliflower rice

Tonight was Taco Tuesday at our house. In order to keep the dinner healthy and the calories down, I had one open face taco with a tortilla which is simply seared over the flame on our cooktop. John cooks the fish in a combination of olive oil spray and 2 teaspoons of oil.

I added to our dwindling salsa but cutting up additional tomatoes, peppers, and hot chiles. I added a little of the salsa plus a half can of Rotel to the beans and heated them up. The other half can I put in my cauliflower rice. The fish was simply served on a bed of shredded cabbage with a topping of salsa, cilantro, and yogurt crema which is a combo of non-fat Greek yogurt, salt, and cumin.

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Healthy tips, Hot weather meals, Legumes, Mexican, pescatarian, rice, Southwest U.S., Vegetables | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Salmon bowl. 8/22/22

Salmon bowl

We have been making some sort of bowl almost every week. The last one featured tofu but this week our daughter asked for salmon. After a short brine John cooks the salmon on a low flame starting from a cold pan. It takes about 20 minutes with a flip for the last two minutes.

Between the brine and the cook I have plenty of time to get all the other components ready. We each are responsible for heating up our own rice, basmati for our daughter, white rice for John, and cauliflower rice for me. Everything else is cold – shredded cabbage, edamame, cucumber, hot chiles, avocado, and green onions. The dressing is a gingery, soy vinaigrette. The garnish is Furikake.


Our “bowl” dinners are easy to make and keep the kitchen cool on these hot evenings. I think that they are the most popular thing I make so I expect there will be some version of this again next week.

Posted in Asian, Easy, Fish, Hot weather meals, Legumes, pescatarian, rice, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | 1 Comment

Simply salad. 8/21/22

Tossed salad

Sunday dinner is supposed to be eggs plus. But I just was not feeling the eggs tonight. So first I thought I would make a salad with some chicken and chickpeas but shredding the chicken seemed like too much work. So I just went with the chickpeas for my protein. I also added cauliflower, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, and red onion. Still it was lacking pizzazz. That it when I decided on the slivered almonds that I had bought earlier in the week. They added some crunch, fat, and protein. For a dressing I used Skinny Girl ranch cut with soy sauce because it is too sweet and a teaspoon of olive oil to give it a better mouth-feel.

To be honest this salad did not fill me up and I raided the refrigerator later. I mashed up a few more chickpeas, added some salt, toasted a pita pocket half and had a satisfying mini-sandwich. Then I went to bed before I got involved with the zucchini cake that our daughter had made earlier!

Posted in American, Easy, Hot weather meals, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment

Weekly Menu August 22 -28, 2022

Why is Northern California the hottest in late August to the beginning of October when the rest of the country is beginning to cool off? I asked the internet this question and got an answer. “In September, the interior of California starts to cool off with the onset of autumn. This weakens the interior thermal low, ultimately weakens the marine layer, and allows coastal California to have warmer weather in September through mid-October than is typical in midsummer.” So the low pressure area over the Central Valley sucks in the marine layer and we usually have a pretty nice summer with a much hotter beginning to fall.

And this is why I am trying to find more no- or minimal-cook dinners again this week.

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Six ideas for hot summer nights’ dinners

Herb-y marinated tofu salad

Cannellini beans with tuna

Gazpacho and avocado toast

Grilled hamburger with salsa slaw

Chicken or tuna Niçoise salad

Instant Pot chickpea stew over raw kale
Posted in Hot weather meals, Weeknight dinners | 1 Comment

Vegan split chickpea stew with cauli-rice and kale. 8/20/22

Split chickpea stew over cauli-rice and kale

After eating mostly salads all week, I was ready for something a little more substantial. We decided on this chickpea stew (also known as chana dal) because we make it in the Instant Pot so it doesn’t heat up the kitchen so much and it is full of such good things that you feel healthier just looking at it!

We make ours with a combination of Indian spices, ginger, onion, and garlic, and cook it in a broth of vegetable broth with a can of spicy tomatoes (Rotel). The stew cooks under pressure for 18 minutes with a delayed release of 10 minutes. John makes some regular white rice for his base but I like the flavor of cauliflower rice. Then a layer of raw kale, the stew, and a garnish of cilantro.

We almost always make a double recipe but it is hard not to eat all of it. I think we only have a lunch portion left!

Posted in Indian, Instant Pot, Legumes, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | 1 Comment

(Chicken) Niçoise salad. 8/19/22

Niçoise type salad with shredded chicken, green beans, potatoes, radishes, olives, tomatoes, eggs, pepperoncini, onions, and salad greens

Early in the morning while it was still cool I blanched green beans, boiled potatoes until tender, and hard-boiled a couple of eggs. The rest of dinner was just assembly. I had some rotisserie chicken that I shredded and quite a few of the rest of the components of the salad came from jars or bags. I thought the dinner was fine just not very exciting. The potatoes were the best part.

It has been difficult finding things to make for no-cook dinners. Unfortunately the hot weather shows no sign of abating. I will have to start scrolling through internet recipes to keep dinners cool. Hopefully I can find some new and interesting dishes.

Posted in Easy, Eggs, French, Hot weather meals, Methods, Poultry, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment