Seared sea scallops, steamed new potatoes, and sautéed collards and corn
This simple but delicious dinner was John’s choice for his birthday. I must admit that I had to put him to work cooking the scallops and he did his usual wonderful job. I steamed the potatoes and sautéed the collards and corn with some garlic in butter.
We also had some very nice wine and the pretzel rolls our daughter made especially for her dad on his birthday. She is such a terrific baker and even though I don’t have a sweet tooth I still fall prey to her creations. She made 15 small rolls and by Wednesday lunch they were all eaten. It was not a good diet day for me!
I enjoyed this dinner so much! Plus it only took about 20 minutes to make!
First, the sauerkraut. I read somewhere that the tastiest sauerkraut is Libby’s in a can. Sauerkraut does not like light so to stabilize the kraut in bags and jars they have to add chemicals so it won’t turn ugly looking. Read the ingredients. Choose the one with no chemicals in a can. (I used Walmart’s canned brand.)
To brighten up the taste I use a recipe from Loaves and Fishes – https://www.loavesanddishes.net/how-to-cook-canned-sauerkraut/ It uses a little sugar, apple, and caraway seeds. Since you drain the kraut and add some chicken stock it is less astringent. It is always a winner at a cookout.
For the beans I use a simple can of pinto beans. I add a tablespoon of BBQ sauce, a little ketchup, and a glug or two of Worcestershire sauce. Then I tasted it. It was too sweet for me so I added a few drops of fish sauce. Perfect!
John microwaved for 2 minutes my 4 ounce piece of turkey sausage (not raw but like Jenny-o that you find near the hotdogs in the grocery store). The beans and the sauerkraut heated up on the stove top. And there you have it, a super easy, super fast dinner!
This week’s menu includes a celebratory birthday dinner for John. Because I rarely cook meat, poultry, or seafood proteins, I am afraid he will have to cook the scallops for himself but I’ll do the rest and maybe even wash the dishes!
Stir-fried shrimp and vegetables over white rice/cauliflower rice mix
Tonight’s division of labor had me doing all the chopping and John doing all the cooking. Normally what I would have done is cook the mushrooms, add the onions, and then the rest of the vegetables in order of hardness. When all the vegetables were cooked I would have taken them out of the pan and then cooked the shrimp.
John, on the other hand, is much more meticulous. He cooked each vegetable individually to perfection and then did a fabulous job cooking the shrimp. I have to say that his way of doing things results in a better dish. Will I start doing things his way? Probably not. I am a turn-the-heat-up and get everything cooked as quickly as possible kind of person.
I did do an excellent job heating up the rice in the microwave, however.😝
We finally got around to making clam chowder since the weather has cooled down some. Rhode Island style chowder is much lighter than its super thick and creamy cousin to the north. Of course I have pared down the cream even more and my recipe only calls for two tablespoons. We lived it up a bit and used 1/4 cup .
I make this from time to time and here is a link to my blog post that includes the recipe.
As the temperature keeps hovering in the mid- to upper 90s, I am finding ways to keep from heating up the kitchen. On Thursday I made gazpacho from the myriad Roma tomatoes that our daughter brought home from the Community Garden.
Spicy gazpacho
Making gazpacho is as easy as putting a bunch of vegetables in the blender and letting it rip. In addition to the 2 pounds of tomatoes I added a can of Rotel spicy tomatoes, some onion, garlic, white wine vinegar, a good glug of olive oil, and plenty of salt. I don’t even strain it. Putting the blender on liquify for a few minutes does a good enough job on the tomato skins. Anyway, some fiber is good for us.
Since I figured we would still be hungry after the gazpacho, I made a salad with chickpeas, carrots, onion, celery, yellow and green summer squash, and tarragon on top of some lettuce leaves. The dressing is a couple of tablespoons of light mayonnaise and a tablespoon of Skinny Girl ranch dressing.
Mixed vegetable and chickpea salad
Tomorrow it is supposed to cool off so I am hoping we can return to our menu and make delicious Rhode Island style clam chowder. Any entrees leftover from this week I will put on the menu for next week.
In the San Francisco Bay Area September is the hottest month of the year. For those of us brought up in the mid-Atlantic states and New England, we are expecting a cool break in the weather. Even though I have lived out here for almost thirty years I am still shocked by the really hot September weather. I keep planning these welcome to Fall menus and then I have to backtrack to dishes which will not heat up the kitchen. In other words I planned a menu for this week and have not followed it at all for most of the week thus far.
Chicken and chickpea salad with challah toast
On Tuesday we ended up eating a cold plate of leftover flank steak, a microwaved leftover baked potato, and some leftover lentils and rice. On Wednesday I took some cold rotisserie chicken and combined it with chickpeas, light mayonnaise, and pepperoncini. This combo was pretty tasty with Roma tomatoes and slices of toasted challah.
What I am saying, I guess, is that you have to be flexible. Whatever you make at home will end up being healthier than getting pizza delivered or Door Dash. I already know that we will not be eating off our planned menu on a hot Thursday and I am thinking ahead to cool gazpacho and a salad with blueberries and strawberries. Maybe over the weekend I will turn my clam chowder into a cool vichyssoise. I am looking forward to it already!
Grilled flank steak and half potato with Brussels sprouts
The dinner we had with our celebration was pretty ho-hum, a grilled flank steak and half potato plus Brussels sprouts. But the celebration platter and the fabulous round braided challah that our daughter made were spectacular!
Traditional foods for Rosh Hashanah Our daughter’s round, braided challah
On our platter we had apple (served with honey), dates, pomegranate seeds, green beans (edamame), beets, squash, carrots, scallions, fish (goldfish), and a head (eggs with smiley faces.) We took turns discussing each food and what it means and said a little blessing over each one. The challah was wonderful and we tore off hunks and dipped the pieces in honey to insure our sweet year coming up.
This week’s menu contains a holiday meal on Monday. Monday is not only Labor Day but also the beginning of the Jewish New Year celebration. Since at our house we celebrate national holidays, Christian holidays, and Jewish holidays I am combining the usual grill something for Labor Day with traditional foods for Rosh Hashanah. The traditional foods will be served on a large platter and we will discuss their meanings while sitting at the table.
Linguine made from an egg with a Primavera type sauce
Here is my Sunday egg dinner with a new spin on it. I made a thin egg disc and then rolled it up and cut it like linguine. I sautéed a bunch of vegetables—carrots, broccoli, celery, mushrooms, and fennel. When I used that bit of fennel that I had leftover from making something else I decided I was going in an Italian direction so I added garlic powder and oregano and finally some of the Roma tomatoes from our daughter’s garden. Ecco (John tells me that ecco is Italian for voila), I created Egg-sta Primavera.
I finished by creation with a drizzle of olive oil and some grated parmesan cheese. It was quite enjoyable to eat and something new. John had his usual omelet.
Omnivore 