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

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Beebamom

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

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Beebamom

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!

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

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

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Beebamom

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

Kale and white bean stew. 6/22/21

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Beebamom
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.

Posted in American, Easy, Legumes, Poultry, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Easy chicken Marsala with green beans and rutabaga. 6/21/21

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Beebamom
Chicken Marsala with green beans and mashed rutabaga

I am so glad that it is finally cool enough in the evening to make one of our menu dinners! This is chicken Marsala is super simple. Rather than make a cream sauce, we use a packet of McCormick’s chicken gravy. John uses a little less water than the packet calls for to start with and after the gravy has thickened up adds 1/4 cup Marsala. He then boils it to cook out the alcohol. After cooking the chicken he deglazes the pan with a little chicken stock and adds that to the sauce. I sauté the mushrooms separately and they are added at the end.

About rutabagas, when we first came to California I was excited to see fresh, unwaxed rutabagas in the grocery stores. However, I have learned over the years that the giant waxed ones are sweeter than the fresher ones. Maybe this is a case of the vegetable needing to be cured? I make the rutabagas in the Instant Pot. They are cooked for 15 minutes at high pressure in a steamer basket with a cup or so of water and then cooled for 10 minutes before we release the steam. I mash them up with a little faux butter. The green beans are sauteed in a pan with a little water and butter.

This is a yummy dinner. Pretty to look at and delicious to eat!

Posted in American, Easy, Instant Pot, Italian, Kitchen tips, Poultry, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu. June 21 – 27, 2021

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Beebamom

Last week we had to toss a lot of our menu plans due to the unprecedented heat. For the next week, though, it looks like the temperatures will be pleasant again so I am hoping we will be able to actually carry out our plans. This week I have planned a “Meatless Middle” with vegetarian and/or vegan meals on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Father’s Day celebration. 6/19/21

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Beebamom

We had a family cookout on Saturday in honor of our two dads, John and our son. The grandkids were excited to have “Zayde burgers” and we had some tasty salads and a banana cake (made by me!) with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries.

On Sunday our daughter made her dad a boule of soda bread with caraway seeds and raisins. So far today we have managed only to eat half of it. We have shown great restraint.

I had my burger as a lettuce wrap (photo credit http://www.mantitlement.com)
Along with potato salad I made Texas Caviar, a salad of beans and vegetables with a salsa flavor that goes well with tortilla chips.
Banana cake with ice cream and strawberries
Soda bread with raisins and caraway seeds
Slice of soda bread
Posted in American, Baking, Beef, Desserts, Grilling, Holidays, Southwest U.S., Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Southwest salad. 6/18/21

Posted on June 19, 2021 by Beebamom
Salad featuring chicken, corn, black beans, olives, green onions, salsa, pepitas, dried cranberries, and greens

It is still quite hot here, maybe not quite as hot as yesterday, but still a salad kind of dinner day. This spicy chicken salad is one of our go-tos when the weather demands a no-cook dinner. I buy pulled chicken breast from Costco in 2 lb. blocks and use it for sandwiches at lunch, salads, and even a hot dish of chicken in gravy with mashed potatoes or squash, and a green vegetable. I freeze half of each pack and then thaw it when we have finished eating the first half. Rather than going to a restaurant or getting take-out, I know I will always be able to rustle up some sort of dinner from my pantry and fridge.

Posted in Easy, Kitchen tips, Poultry, Southwest U.S., Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Seared tuna and salad with nuoc cham 6/17/21

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Beebamom
Seared tuna on salad with nuoc cham

Our town hit 108F according to the gauge on our car. I suggested to John that maybe our planned dinner, White Beans and Kale Stew, was probably not the best choice. Since we were visiting Costco we picked up some tuna and a bag of kale salad for an alternative dinner.

I made some nuoc cham to use a salad dressing and a dipping sauce. It is salty and sour and sweet. John seared our thick pieces of tuna for two minutes on each side. Then he encrusted the outside with black and white sesame seeds. It was nice, light fare and perfect for a hot evening.

Posted in Easy, Fish, Kitchen tips, pescatarian, Vegetables, Vietnamese | Tagged | Leave a comment

Vegetable stir-fry with egg zoodles. 6/16/21

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Beebamom
Vegetable stir-fry with egg zoodles

Tonight was supposed to be our traditional Pasta Wednesday but the idea of boiling a big pot of water when the outside temperature was in the 90’s made it a non-starter. We decided our fallback dinner would be a BFD or Breakfast For Dinner. While John opted for a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, and a veggie patty, I went for a vegetable stir-fry with egg zoodles.

I am not sure that zoodles is the right term but my “egg noodles” looked a lot like the zucchini zoodles that I made on Monday. I made them by whisking two eggs and just pouring them into a medium hot pan to set. Then I slipped my egg disc out of the pan, rolled it up, and sliced it into fettuccine sized noodles.

The stir-fry portion of my dinner was pretty straightforward. I looked in the refrigerator for any vegetables I had and them cooked them in a stir-fry manner and seasoned them with soy sauce, ginger powder, rogan josh, and garlic.

I really like the cheery yellow look of the egg zoodles. They really brightens up the dish. I garnished my plate with sriracha and black sesame seeds for color, spice, and texture.

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