Pan seared Pacific cod with rice and Vietnamese salsa. 7/7/21

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Beebamom
Pan seared Pacific cod with rice and Thai salsa

Originally John was going to pan sear the cod and I was going to make some sort of vegetation. I don’t know, maybe I was planning on doing a sheet pan veg but I made that veg yesterday and our lackluster fish needed something more exciting. Hmm, I have a mango and a Fresno chile, what can I do with that?

Voila! Vietnamese mango salsa!! It is a combination of corn, scallions, Fresno chile, and mango in a Vietnamese nuoc cham sauce. It was great! There was sweetness from mango and corn, spiciness from chile and scallion and the salty umami bomb from the nuoc cham. Here is my lo-cal recipe for this sauce.

Nuoc cham. (Light version)

  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 packet Splenda
  • Juice of one lime (1/2 cup)
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 small spicy chile, sliced
  • 6 drop sesame oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

Whisk all ingredient together. This recipe is just something I made up so you really need to taste it as you go along. It might need more lime juice depending on the lime, or maybe more sweetener if you like things really sweet (I don’t). Fish sauce is very intense so maybe start out with a tablespoon and work your way up to an acceptable fish sauce level for you. I actually do not know how much sesame oil I put in, once again the sesame oil is up to you. At the end I correct how it tastes with a little soy sauce. Start with a quarter teaspoon.

As it turns out we took a mediocre fish and turned it into a yummy dinner by making an inventive salsa.

Posted in Easy, Fish, Healthy tips, Kitchen tips, pescatarian, Recipes, rice, Vegetables | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Chicken piccata with sheet pan veg 7/6/21

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Beebamom
Chicken cutlets piccata with sheet pan vegetables

We were too busy to go to the grocery store today so I ended up with a sheet pan of vegetables which did not really go with chicken piccata. But since they still tasted really good, the dinner was a success.

John cut a large-ish chicken breast into smaller pieces and pounded them to a uniform thickness. He dusted the pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a little Wondra. After sautéing the pieces in a combination of cooking spray and 2 tsp of olive oil he made a sauce with chicken broth, capers, lemon juice, lemon zest, and mushrooms. A little butter (2 tsp.) thickened the sauce.

I gave the little potatoes and cabbage a head start in a 425F oven and after 10 minutes added onion, carrots, and celery to the sheet pan. All the vegetables were sprayed with olive oil and salted before they went in the oven. The vegetables were cooked and browned in about 30 minutes. Roasting vegetables is such an easy and delicious way to prepare them and the clean-up is minimal.

Posted in American, Easy, Kitchen tips, Poultry, Sheet pan, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Whole grain spaghetti with pesto, salad 7/5/21

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Beebamom

Tonight we started with a salad since we were having pesto rather than vegetables in our pasta. The salad had a mix of greens, mushrooms, scallions, and cherry tomatoes.

I make a very low fat salad dressing using two of the Good Seasons Italian dressing packets. To do this I substitute all the oil in the preparation with water and keep the vinegar content the same. Then I add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and mix it all together with a plunge blender. With the blender still running I add 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum. The xanthan gum stabilizes the emulsion and gives the dressing a salad dressing texture.

Mixed green salad with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and scallions dressed with low fat Italian dressing

The whole grain spaghetti with pesto was made using basil from our back patio. I bought two of the basil plants you see in grocery stores and planted them in pots. Because they were too top heavy with leaves to stand up in the pots, I cut lots of the top leaves off, enough to make pesto. Pesto is a combination of basil, parmesan, pine nuts, and olive oil. It is very yummy and I still have enough left to freeze some for two more dinners.

Whole grain spaghetti with pesto and basil garnish
Posted in Healthy tips, Italian, Kitchen tips, Pasta, Salad, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Weekly Menu. July 5 – July 11, 2021

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Beebamom

I am looking forward to a week of varied dishes. I am keeping the protein healthy and lo-cal with lentils, chicken, fish, and shellfish.

Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Grilling on the Fourth. 7/4/21

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Beebamom
Open faced bean burger and portobello mushroom burger with tabbouleh

Happy Fourth of July! We took advantage of a beautiful day here in Northern California grilling our dinner and eating al fresco. Because we like to eat volume so we used our one roll to support two different burgers.

Black bean burger

This is a spicy black bean burger that I made in May. We froze our leftover patties and we each had one with mayo, tomato, grilled onion, and salad greens on half of a kaiser roll. Here is the recipe I used to make these. https://dininglite.blog/2021/05/25/spicy-black-bean-cakes-with-roasted-veg-5-24-21/

And in addition…

Portobello mushroom burger

John marinated the mushroom in balsamic vinegar, thyme, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. We used the other half of our roll for the mushroom along with some mayo, grilled onion, tomato, basil, and salad greens. It was so delicious! Juicy and satisfying.

In addition I made tabbouleh which is a lot of work but really yummy. The food processor really helps with all the chopping up of parsley, scallions, mint, and garlic. The bulgur wheat is soaked for 20 minutes which helps to soften it up and I made it a couple of hours ahead so the bulgur wheat could soak up the vinaigrette. I used cherry tomatoes as well but I had to chop those up by hand. This is a delicious, fresh salad.

Posted in American, Grilling, Healthy tips, Legumes, Recipes, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Kitchen sink salad. 7/3/21

Posted on July 4, 2021 by Beebamom
Cleaning out the fridge salad with chicken

I decided to make a salad tonight rather than the planned eggs. John opted for a bowl of cereal. I finished up the last of a bag of carrots and stalk of celery as well as making a significant dent in my lettuces. I find salads quite boring so the more I put in one the more interesting it is to me. I dressed my salad with an Asian style dressing which was left over from Monday’s zoodles fiasco.

Tomorrow is Fourth of July! We have our flag out and I will decorate our outdoor table festively even though it is just John and I celebrating. It is a good time to reflect on past celebrations and the state of our country. I hope all my American readers have a happy and patriotic day and my non-American followers have a happy and restful Sunday!

Posted in American, Easy, Poultry, Salad, Vegetables | Tagged | 1 Comment

Healthy shrimp scampi with broccoli and rice 7/2/21

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Beebamom
Shrimp scampi with broccoli and rice

John and I were wondering tonight, why don’t we make this more often? Good question because it is healthy and delicious. I am definitely going to make sure that it appears on the menu at least once a month from now on!

Tonight we served it over rice because we had leftover rice but its usual accompaniment is some whole grain pasta. Two ounces of spaghetti with all this goodness is plenty per person.

There are so many seafood and veg dishes that you can enjoy without any guilt. You could definitely serve this to guests and they would not know that you are on your healthy eating regimen. The shrimp is cooked in 2 teaspoons of oil and I adorned the broccoli with a tablespoon of faux butter and lemon zest.

LIGHT SHRIMP SCAMPI for 2
4 oz. whole grain spaghetti or linguine
2 tsp. olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
12 large shrimp (21-25 count)
1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 T lemon juice
2 T capers (or chopped olives such as Kalamata)
3 T chopped parsley
1/2 T lemon zest

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

While the pasta is cooking heat up the oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Cook until the shallot (or onion) until it is soft and translucent. Add the shrimp and the salt and cook on medium high heat turning over after a minute or so. At that point stir in the broth, wine, lemon juice, and capers. Bring to a boil for one minute then turn heat to medium and add the pasta, the parsley and the lemon zest. Stir. Add some pasta water if it does not seem saucy enough. Top dress with more chopped parsley and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Posted in American, Easy, Healthy tips, Italian, Kitchen tips, pescatarian, Recipes, rice, Shellfish, Uncategorized, Vegetables | Tagged | 1 Comment

Seared scallops, collards, and corn 7/1/21

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Beebamom
Seared scallops with collards and corn

The only negative thing I can say about this dinner is that there were not enough scallops!! We have been getting frozen scallops at Costco in the counter with the fish for ages but the past two times that we have looked the only scallops were smaller ones in the frozen food cases. It is harder to cook these smaller ones and get a good sear. We like U-12s and the scallops I am writing about are sea scallops not bay scallops.

We first had collards and corn with shellfish at La Salette in Sonoma, CA. Now I make it frequently with shellfish since the corn is an especially good pairing with shrimp or scallops. After cutting out the center stem of the collard green leaves, I roll them up and cut thin strips about the size of fettuccine. I give the greens a good rinse. I like to cook some sliced garlic first in a little olive oil spray and then put them aside while I make the rest of the dish. I use frozen corn so I put that in the pan to thaw it before I add the collard strands, When the collards go in the pan just the water clinging to them from the rinsing is enough to cook them. I add a little sugar if the collards are especially bitter and sometimes a teaspoon of butter. The sautéed garlic is added back in at the end. The whole cooking take about 5 minutes.

As long as you don’t overcook the scallops this is a fantastic dinner. Although scallops are pricy there is no waste and two people can dine royally on about 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound. It is also extremely low in calories. How often do dieters get a really delicious meal?! Treat yourself. Have some scallops for dinner.

Posted in American, Easy, Healthy tips, Kitchen tips, pescatarian, Shellfish, Vegetables | Tagged | 1 Comment

Penne and chickpeas with greens and mozzarella. 6/30/21

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Beebamom
Penne and chickpeas with kale, tomatoes, and mozzarella pearls

Since I do not eat much cheese, this recipe is a real treat for me. Of course, if you are eating strictly vegan you should omit the mozzarella pearls (a product by Bel Gioso that I found at WalMart.) The addition of chickpeas meant that fewer ounces of pasta were needed but you still get a filling, hearty dinner. We used 5 ounces of whole grain penne but I think we could manage with 4 ounces for the two of us.

This is another one of those NYtimes recipes that is behind a paywall but it is so straightforward that you really don’t need a recipe. While your water heats to a boil sauté some onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a little oil. Add the cherry tomatoes and the stems of whatever green you are using. When the pasta has about three minutes left add the leafy greens. Right before you pour the drained pasta (don’t forget to reserve a cup of pasta water!) into the vegetables add the chickpeas. Stir everything around with the reserved pasta water. Add the mozzarella pearls right before serving and garnish with some torn up basil. Yum!

Posted in Easy, Healthy tips, Italian, Kitchen tips, Legumes, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Sesame salmon bowl. 6/29/21

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Beebamom
Steamed salmon on sushi rice with cabbage slaw, avocado, and cucumber

This is a new recipe for us and it comes from the NYTimes cooking site which is behind a paywall and configured so it cannot be copied. If you have a subscription I highly recommend trying this dish. It is easy and very tasty.

After cooking the sushi rice (basically short grained white rice with some sugar, salt, and vinegar), we added a little more water (3TBL) to the rice pot and laid the salmon fillets on top. The salmon steams on top of the rice over a low flame for about 10 minutes. I chunked my piece up after it was cooked because we had steamed it skin side up so we could get the skin off afterwards. The skin side does not have a very good presentation look.

The dressing is made from soy sauce, vinegar, canola oil, ginger, sesame oil, scallions, and salt. I think next time I will try using my nuoc cham dressing because it takes less oil.

Other additions are cole slaw mix, avocado, and Persian cucumber. I have decided that in our next rendition I will substitute edamame for the avocado. Although avocados have a lot in them that is good, they also have a lot of calories which makes them more difficult to fit into my healthy eating food plan.

We are definitely going to make this again! It was delicious and easy to prepare. No doubt we will make a few subtle changes but unlike Monday’s Thai Green Curry with Zoodles, this recipe is not going in the trash.

Posted in Easy, Fish, Healthy tips, Japanese, Kitchen tips, pescatarian, rice, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment