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

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

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

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

Thai green curry with zoodles and chicken. 6/28/21

Thai green curry with zoodles, red bell pepper, carrots, onions, Fresno chiles, and chicken

What can I say positive about this dish? It is colorful but does not really taste like curry and using light coconut milk even bumped up with coconut extract gives it a thin non-coconutty flavor. I really wanted it to work in this rendition after my first try with tofu was a loser.

If you are a full fat coconut user I would recommend trying it. A dinner that does not turn out well twice means I am done trying. Here is a link to the recipe. It suggests using meatballs which just did not make sense to me. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jeff-mauro/thai-green-curry-meatballs-with-zoodles-6602978?_branch_match_id=932324760366743578

Posted in Easy, Kitchen tips, Poultry, Thai, Vegetables | Tagged , | 1 Comment

This week’s BFD. 6/27/21

As you know Sunday is Breakfast For Dinner (BFD) day at our house. This is partly to give us a break from all the heavier duty cooking during the week and mostly because our weekly weigh-in is on Monday morning. Something light but satisfying fills the bill.

Soft scrambled eggs atop sautéed mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes with a bed of baby power greens

I try to make something different every week so that I am not bored with what I eat. It can turn out to be a winner or a bad idea. John takes a different route. He makes exactly the same thing every Sunday because it is what he likes so why change it up. His Sunday omelet includes ham, cheese, mushrooms, and green onions.

Omelet with ham, cheese, mushrooms, and green onions
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Weekly Menu. June 28 – July 4, 2021

Since Fourth of July falls on a Sunday, I have moved Breakfast For Dinner (BFD) to Saturday and we will grill out on Sunday. Hope everyone has a happy and safe July Fourth celebration!

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Chana dal with rice mix and greens. 6/25/21

Dal is a term originating in India for dried split pulses such as lentils, peas and beans that do not require soaking before cooking. Chana refers to a certain chickpea that is smaller than the typical chickpea. So Chana dal is a small, dried, split chickpea which is used in combination with tomatoes, chiles, onion, garlic, ginger, and spices.

Chana dal served over cauliflower rice and white rice mix and hearty greens

We make our Chana dal in our Instant Pot. It cooks at high pressure for 15 minutes and the steam is released after a 10 minute cool down. It is garnished with lime juice and cilantro. John made some white rice and I heated up some cauliflower rice. I find a 50/50 combination has the rice still tasting like rice and not cauliflower. For convenience sake I used a bag of baby greens to wilt on top of the rice and under the Chana dal.

This is a hearty stew probably better suited to cooler weather. We usually make a double portion so there is plenty left for lunches or another dinner.

Posted in Easy, Indian, Instant Pot, Kitchen tips, rice, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Pan-seared salmon with sheet pan vegetables. 6/24/21

I love roasting vegetables in the oven. Here is a snap of my vegetables oiled and salted and ready to go into the oven at 425F for about 25-30 minutes. As a time saver, I got packages of cut up Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.

Vegetables ready for roasting: cabbage, red onion, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and carrots

John brined the salmon for half and hour in 2 tablespoons of salt in a quart of water and then cooked the salmon starting with a cold pan with a sprinkled layer of coarse salt. He starts on the skin side and finishes for a couple of minutes on the flesh side. The whole operation takes 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon. This time, hurrah, the fish did not ooze albumin. John accounts for this by brining the salmon and keeping the flame on medium/low throughout the cooking.

Pan-cooked salmon with roasted vegetables

Everything came out really yummy. All the vegetables were stars and the salmon was perfectly cooked. Do not add extra salt to your fish because the brine and cooking salt in the pan season it well enough.

Today I found a salmon recipe that I think we will try for next week. It is sesame salmon rice bowl made easier by steaming the fish on top of the rice once the rice is almost done and using easy convenience foods like pre-packaged cole slaw in a tangy sauce. Can’t wait!

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Penne with asparagus and mushrooms and an unusual first course. 6/23/21

Almost every night we have popcorn hour. Popcorn hour used to be cocktail time but in our pursuit of better, healthier eating we have forsaken the drinks part of the ritual. On Wednesday, though, we passed up the popcorn for a vegetable, an artichoke! If I can find smallish ones we each get one whole artichoke but the grocers only had giant ones so we split it in half. My easy cooking of artichoke is to rinse them off, put them in a sturdy plastic bag, unsealed, and microwave until done. The timing depends on the size of the artichoke, maybe 5 minutes, maybe 8. Sometimes I use a little spray faux butter while I am eating it but on Wednesday I had it plain.

Microwaved half artichoke

For our main course we had whole grain penne pasta with a sauce of sautéed mushrooms, onions, garlic, asparagus, and a bit of the pasta water. A drizzle of olive oil finishes the dish.

Whole grain penne with mushrooms, asparagus, onions, and garlic
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Kale and white bean stew. 6/22/21

Kale and white bean stew (with turkey sausage)

The original recipe for kale and white bean stew is from Food and Wine magazine. I was going to make it vegetarian/vegan but after conferring with John we decided it was going to need some sausage. We opted for 4 oz. of diced turkey sausage. To prepare it vegetarian/vegan just leave out the sausage and maybe add some smoked paprika. For the tomatoes in the recipe we added one can of Rotel (spicy tomatoes) and one can of regular diced tomatoes. We made the whole recipe with 4 servings which I think was more like three servings but we are volume eaters.

So what do I think? It was okay but not great. John liked it more than I did. With my blessing he is going to eat it for lunches instead of our holding it over for Saturday’s Leftovers For Dinner. We are making Chana Dal later in the week and we will just make extras of that for our Saturday dinner.

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