Grilled hamburger and salsa slaw. 8/18/22

Posted on August 19, 2022 by Beebamom
Grilled hamburger with tomato, onion, and lettuce on bun plus salsa slaw

When I was growing up in New Jersey this type of hamburger was called a “California Burger.” I guess it was because it had produce on it. Now that I live in California we just call them burgers. LOL! Since this type of meal is infrequent on our table it seemed particularly wonderful.

John cooked the hamburgers outside on the grill. I sat outside while he was grilling just to smell the burgers cooking. It reminds me of summer. I put light mayonnaise on the bottom bun and ketchup on the top. We had a slice of one of our daughter’s tomatoes, a piece of crisp Romaine lettuce, and a slice of red onion. It was perfect!

I made salsa slaw. This consists of shredded cabbage and carrots plus thinly sliced onion. The dressing is a combination of medium fresh salsa and light mayonnaise.

Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Grilling, Hot weather meals, Methods, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 3 Comments

Vegan gazpacho and avocado toast 8/17/22

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Beebamom
Gazpacho and avocado toast

John could not stop raving about how good this dinner was! Seriously it is so simple to make that all the praise was rather embarrassing. In our week of hot weather meals gazpacho and avocado toast was the easiest and best dinner so far this week.

I garnished my bowl with sriracha while John used a bit more olive oil. You could be fancier and dice up some cucumbers or add a sprig of cilantro. Although you blend it until it is smooth there is still some texture which we like. You could strain it if you prefer.

Avocado toast is also very simple. Toast bread, mash up an avocado in a bowl with a little salt. Spread the mashed up avocado on toast. Done.

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

Cannellini beans with tuna. 8/16/22

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Beebamom
Cannellini beans and juniper berries with tuna and pickled onions on kale

It is hard to know exactly what the temperature is going to be where we live. The San Francisco Bay Area is made up of many micro climates. It can be 105F 35 miles inland where we live and under 60F on the Golden Gate Bridge at the same time. So depending on shifting winds and the marine layer a lot of times the forecast is just wrong. Tuesday it was supposed to be hot. Depending on your weather app the temperature could be anywhere from mid 90s to mid 100s. We figured it was a good day not to use the cooktop or oven.

As it turned out the high was106F in the afternoon but about 60F around 7:30 AM. John and I played tennis in the morning but hunkered down inside in the afternoon. I had decided on tuna and beans for dinner. I am really glad I picked a no-cook dinner.


Dinner prep consisted of opening a couple of cans of cannellini beans, a can of tuna, quick-pickling half an onion sliced thinly, and making a vinaigrette. I also had John pulverize 12 juniper berries in a mortar and pestle. We like the taste of them with cannellini beans. We put our beans and tuna over a bed of raw kale.

This simple and easy dinner was a great way to have a tasty dinner without heating up the kitchen!

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Hot weather meals, Legumes, pescatarian, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Vegan herb-y marinated tofu salad 8/15/22

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Beebamom
Spinach and arugula salad with herbs and marinated tofu

As predicted it was HOT here on Monday. I think the temperature hit 102F. Since our house is built on a slab it is usually cool and if we get up early and open the doors to let the cool morning air in and keep the shutters closed during the hottest part of the day then we can use minimal air conditioning. Of course turning on the oven is not what we are wanting to do. So it is cool dinners until the heat wave breaks later this week.

Along with spinach and arugula in our salad we had basil, mint, tarragon, tomatoes, jalapeño, red bell pepper, scallions, and carrots. It was dressed with a soy vinaigrette and garnished with a sprinkle of slivered almonds. Thumbs up all around from the family!

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

Vegetables and eggs 8/14/22

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Beebamom
Stir-fried broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, celery, mushrooms, onions, and garlic with cherry tomatoes and eggs

For this Sunday’s BFD (Breakfast For Dinner) I made an Italian flavored stir-fry. In addition to salt I seasoned with dried oregano and red pepper flakes. My garnish was a drizzle of olive oil. The fresh cherry tomatoes were a nice textural and temperature contrast to the vegetables. As usual I topped the veg with soft scrambled eggs.

I love the bright colors of tonight’s dish. All the different vegetables gave me a different bite with every forkful. This same dinner could easily be transformed into a different cuisine by adding spices and herbs from a different cuisine. The possibilities will lead me to a different take on this dish next week!

Posted in American, Breakfast For Dinner (BFD), Easy, Eggs, Italian, Kitchen tips, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu August 15 – 21, 2022

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Beebamom

After weeks of nice weather it is supposed to be really hot this coming week, 90s and 100s hot. So we are going to be making mostly no-cook kinds of meals or meals where we can make the cooked components early in the day before it gets too hot. Obviously that means a lot of salads, a cold soup, hamburgers on the grill, and an Instant Pot dinner that we can reheat later in the microwave. August and September are the hottest summer months here in Northern California and we have been really lucky with moderate temperatures, but not this week!

Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Seared scallops, steamed potatoes, snow peas. 8/13/22

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Beebamom
Pan-seared ocean scallops, steamed potatoes, and sautéed snow peas

John and I sat in the dining room for dinner tonight. Usually we are in the family room with the TV on but we decided that scallops needed our full attention. John was in charge of searing the scallops and I was in charge of the potatoes, the snow peas, and the tartar sauce.

Usually I buy the small new potatoes but they were over $4 for 1.5 lbs. and I felt like that was just too much. So I found a 3 pound bag for $5 and decided I would just cut them in quarters and steam them like I would the small potatoes. As a consumer I have an idea about what things should cost and there are some lines that I just cannot cross, at least not yet. The potatoes took about 25 minutes to steam and then I covered them to keep them warm. While they were cooking I made the tartar sauce.

At this point John sprang into actions and heated the cast iron frying pan to cook the scallops. I put the snow peas on at the same time. Both the scallops and the snow peas take very little time.

John opened a nice bottle of white wine and we had our elegant, dining room dinner. We actually had a conversation during dinner, something that is impossible with the television on. I think I may try eating in the dining room more often!

Posted in American, Easy, Kitchen tips, Methods, pescatarian, Shellfish, Special occasion, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Crispy tilapia with roasted vegetables. 8/12/22

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Beebamom
Crispy tilapia with roasted broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and cauliflower

All I had to do for my portion of the dinner is cut up some vegetable, toss them in a bag with olive oil and salt, and roast them in a 400F oven for 25 minutes. Roasted vegetables are so delicious!

John coated the fish with a combo of yellow mustard and light mayo then rolled them in seasoned panko mixed with regular breadcrumbs. They cooked briefly in a pan with olive oil and olive oil spray.

This is a quick and easy dinner that delivers good flavors with minimal fuss.

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Methods, pescatarian, Sheet pan, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 2 Comments

Chicken enchiladas, spicy beans, salsa slaw. 8/11/22

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Beebamom
Chicken enchiladas, spicy black beans, and salsa slaw

I used a number of shortcuts to make this plateful of yummy Mexican flavors doable for a weeknight dinner. The chicken came from a packet of pulled white meat from the famous rotisserie chickens at Costco. John heated up some corn tortillas on the stove top to make them pliable and I stuffed each of them with salsa verde from a jar, some chicken, diced onion, and pre-shredded cheese. I nestled the enchiladas into a baking dish that was coated with salsa verde and then poured the rest of the salsa verde over the top of the enchiladas along with what was left of the cheese.


While they were baking in a 350F oven for 30 minutes I made spicy black beans- a can of rinsed black beans, a can of Rotel, a few shakes of cumin and a squirt of sriracha. With that heating up I turned to the slaw for which I actually shredded cabbage, carrots, and onions but you could totally use a bag of pre -shredded slaw mix. The dressing is some store-bought fresh tomato salsa and a couple of tablespoons of light mayonnaise along with salt and sweetener to taste.

Tonight’s dinner which got rave reviews from the family was more about assembling pantry and convenience items and less about cooking. Nonetheless it was a popular and tasty dinner made in about 45 minutes.

Posted in American, Easy, Kitchen tips, Legumes, Methods, Mexican, Poultry, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment

Vegan fusilli arrabbiata over kale 8/10/22

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Beebamom

Oh, yum, it’s pasta Wednesday at our house! The sauce I made consisted of three fresh tomatoes from our daughter’s garden, a can of original Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles, a dollop of tomato paste, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes, plus sautéed mushrooms, onions, and garlic.

Since I needed to peel the tomatoes I looked up online to see if there is a way to peel them without boiling and shocking. Yes, there is! After making slits around the stem end and an X slit on the bottom, I merely put them on a paper plate and microwaved each one for 30 seconds. I was then able to grab a hold of one of the inner points of skin on the bottom of the tomato a pull a section of peel right off! So much easier than the whole blanching rigmorale. I had medium sized tomatoes. You need more or less time depending on the size of your tomato. Be sure to make all the slits because otherwise your tomato will explode all over your microwave!

I cooked the chopped, peeled tomatoes, spices, tomato paste and canned tomatoes for about half of an hour before adding the sautéed onions, garlic, and mushrooms. John added the cooked pasta to the sauce and I swirled it around and added a half cup of pasta water to finish the cooking. I served the pasta on a bed of raw kale and garnished my bowl with a drizzle of good olive oil.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment