Shrimp, vegetables, and beans over rice with nuoc cham
After a non-cooking Friday night due to an event we attended we were supposed to have shrimp tacos on Saturday. As often happens towards the end of the week I was not feeling like what had seemed a good idea when we put the menu together. So I made a weird concoction. John was still eating shrimp tacos so I took my shrimp, the green onions, cabbage and beans from the tacos and added shredded carrots. I enveloped this in a nuoc cham sauce and served it over rice. Vietnamese/Mexican fusion!
Tonight was Sarah’s night to cook. With some leftover components from the lasagna she made last week she cobbled together a lasagna bowl. She had tomato beef sauce, pasta, ricotta, and mozzarella in it. With your eyes closed it tasted, smelled, and gave the consistency of a real lasagna. We always look forward to her pasta nights and this did not disappoint!
The salmon we made was adapted from a NY Times Cooking recipe which included a mango/cucumber/avocado salad. The recipe below is for the fish and the salad. I did not make the salad so I cannot vouch for how it tastes. The original recipe called for maple syrup and chile-garlic sauce. I substituted sriracha and a little sweetener because I am not a huge fan of sweet savory dishes. Our dinner turned out really well and I imagine we will make it again.
BBQ ribs with asparagus in a mustard and soy sauce
We did not make these ribs. Our local grocery store had a BOGO sale on them in their deli department. To be honest I have never made ribs so this is probably the only way our family will get to eat them. My critique on these ribs is that there was way too much bbq sauce and it was too sweet. The too sweet factor is just me. No one else complained about it.
To make up for the fact that I had not done any cooking I made asparagus with a soy mustard sauce. I adapted an old Mark Bittman recipe and it turned out pretty well.
Sliced rotisserie chicken breast in chicken gravy, mashed potatoes, and broccoli
Sarah bought a rotisserie chicken so that there would be some food in the house when we got home from vacation. We already made a burrito bowl out of one of the chicken breasts and on Monday we ate the other one. The chicken was warmed up in some chicken gravy that was also tasty on the mashed potatoes. Broccoli crowns were on sale so that was our vegetable.
Spaghetti with onions, garlic, and cherry tomatoes
On Sundays we usually have some sort of egg dish but I just was not feeling like it. I decided I would boil up a couple of ounces of pasta and add it to some sauteed onions, garlic, and cherry tomatoes. It turned out great and was a quick and easy dinner.
Sarah was such a sweetie gathering all the ingredients we needed to make chicken burrito bowls when we got back from our trip. Just think of all the things you like in a burrito and put it in a bowl. So easy and less messy to eat!
We are home from our vacation in the Pacific Northwest. We had a great time and discovered once again that we like our own cooking better than most of the restaurants we ate at. Luckily we stayed in a unit near Forks, WA that had its own kitchen so we went to the store and bought lots of ingredients for our own dinners. Here’s some of what we made.
John grilled a steak and I made broccoli and baked potstoYummy lentils and turkey sausageShrimp scampi with rice and broccoliTonight’s dinner – chickpeas with elbows, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and zucchiniHere’s the kitchen in our little unit
We had so much fun shopping and cooking for ourselves. Plus we ate much healthier and saved a ton of money. On the trip home we stopped for Ethiopian and Thai cuisine. And we had a fabulous anniversary dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant. (Glad we saved all those dollars!)
Hey, I know it seems like I have gone dark on my site but it is only because John and I are on vacation! We are celebrating our 53rd anniversary of being married. I was going to say wedding anniversary but there was no wedding. We just sneaked off to a Justice of the Peace that we found in the Yellow Pages (an antiquated book where residential phone numbers were in the white pages and businesses were on the yellow pages.) So John and I eloped on July 17, 1972.
Anyway we are now traveling up the Northwest coast of the U.S. having more or less success finding restaurants we like, eating picnic lunches, and making breakfast in our hotel rooms. Here are a few pictures of our successes and failures.
We always start a vacation by having breakfast at McDonalds. We get the Big Breakfast (no pancakes) with an English muffin, a freshly scrambled egg, and their sausage patty. I must admit to loving the salty sausage. I give my crispy potato thing to John.
Later on we have a picnic lunch at a California State Park in the Redwood Forest. I got a free pass to many of the parks through my local library
Our lunches are half a peanut butter and jam sandwich, pretzels, and carrot and celery sticks.
Later on we try some seafood at a restaurant in Arcata, California.
Fried calamariOctopi!
On Monday we eat breakfast at the hotel and have another picnic lunch next to the Rogue River.
John enjoying lunch by the Rogue River
Our next two overnights are in Yachats, Oregon. We try finding a restaurant with good, fresh, seafood. All the seafood around here seems to be fried or in a sauce with pasta. We order three appetizers and two smallish glasses of wine and the bill comes to over $100. We need to find a different way of approaching our food!
calamari that we have requested that they h put the sweet hoisin sauce on the side instead of drenching the calamariI have a not-so-good tuna tatakiJohn orders an appetizer crab cake
Okay, we are getting tired of mediocre food for high prices. It is time to switch gears!
Today we enjoy a leisurely lunch in our room watching the waves crash ashore .Later we watch the sun set while we eat some snacks in the room.
We have figured out a set-up for hotels that do not to include a free breakfast.
We brought our induction burner from home, a toaster, and a water boiler for coffee and tea.
Yum, a good breakfast!
A tasty scrambled egg and toast
I guess I just really dislike spending too much money on substandard food. John and I have been happier on the days we roughed it a bit. One way to bring consumer prices down might be to take a vacation that eats like ours.
Omnivore 