We are still embroiled in the vote count so we just made a quick pasta dinner. As long as you do not eat too much pasta, orecchiette is a fine food plan dinner to have. The sauce which is made up of onions, mushrooms, garlic, and broccolini stems and florets, is tossed with the pasta and about half of a cup of pasta water.
Orecchiette with mushrooms and broccolini
Hummus, tabbouleh, olives, tomatoes, and golden beets on salad mix
We are still watching the returns drip in from the U.S. election. There is no clear winner yet although Biden looks more promising (in a lot of ways) than Trump. It is important that every vote be counted so it may not be settled until Friday or beyond. In the meantime we have to eat so I whipped up this salad-y dinner. Here it is November and I think we should be eating heartier cool weather fare but it is still in the 80s here.
I bought a pre-made hummus but made the tabbouleh myself. It is very parsley forward and not so much bulgur. In addition there is lots of lemon, a little olive oil, scallions, mint, and garlic. While I made the tabbouleh the golden beets were roasting in the oven (45+ minutes in a 400F oven depending on the size of the beets.) The olives and tomatoes were mostly for decoration. A drizzle of our good olive oil finished off the plate.
Since we wanted to watch the U.S. election returns, John and I made our Chana dal in the Instant Pot during the afternoon. I love this dish! We still do not know who will be our next president but I do know that Chana dal is a real winner!!
Chana dal over white rice garnished with cilantro
Today I met my weight loss goal!! I have lost 60 pounds in a little over a year, about a pound a week. (That is a total loss of a little more than 27.2 kg.) As you read through my blog this past year you will see exactly what I ate to accomplish the loss. John, who has been my helpful partner all through this, lost 50 pounds or 22.6 kg. I feel so much better and now my cholesterol and blood sugar are within healthy parameters. Also I was able to throw out my blood pressure pills because my blood pressure is on the low normal side after losing the extra weight.
So of course we celebrated on Monday evening with a steak, baked potato, broccoli, and cake. And we started off with popcorn and wine. Now I have to eat sensibly for the rest of the week to get back to my goal weight! I am planning on eating plant-based meals until we leave for our little vacation.
Grilled flank steak, baked and grilled potato half, and broccoli with onions and mushrooms
This was not quite the traditional full English breakfast. I was careful to stay within the parameters of my healthy eating for weight loss plan. My Breakfast For Dinner was delicious, easy to prepare, and filling. I made scrambled eggs, veggie breakfast patty, sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes, and rye toast.
Scrambled eggs, sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes, veggie breakfast patty, and rye toast
I have an abbreviated menu this week since some of us are going out of town for a week starting either Friday or Saturday. I will be posting what we are making but I do not know what that is yet!
Sometimes Saturday’s LFD means Leftovers For Dinner and other times it’s Lunch For Dinner. Either way Saturday’s dinner means a casual meal. It is certainly a good way to relax after a busy cooking week.
Kale, cabbage, and white bean soup plus egg salad and Romaine lettuce in a whole wheat pita
Luckily I was experimenting with a soup recipe earlier in the week and had plenty of this kale, cabbage, and white bean soup to serve for dinner tonight.
CABBAGE AND KALE SOUP WITH WHITE BEANS
This soup turned out very well. It was like eating soup from a trattoria in Florence. The original recipe from Food and Wine Magazine called for farro and pancetta instead of white beans and turkey sausage. Serving size 2-3. Cooks for about an hour.
Olive oil spritz
2 oz. turkey sausage
⅓ medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ tsp fish sauce
I 15 oz can cannellini beans (including some of the goo)
¼ head of cabbage
Some kale (no stems)
1 large chopped carrot
1 quart chicken stock
½ cup water (use it to rinse the bottom of the cannellini can)
3 sprigs thyme
½ sprig rosemary
A Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
Salt and pepper
Garnish with good olive oil and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
In a large pot heat the olive oil spritz. Add the turkey sausage and cook over moderate heat until the fat is rendered, 3-4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened about 5 minutes. Add the fish sauce nad cook for 30 seconds. Add the white beans and stir in. Add the cabbage and kale and cook, stirring until just wilted.
Add the chicken stock, water, thyme and rosemary sprigs and the cheese rind and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano and good olive oil.
Shredded tofu with mushrooms, edamame, cabbage, and carrots
This is the second time John and I have made this dish and I think it still needs tinkering. Here is the recipe by Melissa Clark with my first round of tinkering. *Changes to the original recipe are noted with an asterisk.
Shredded tofu with mushrooms and edamame
1 (15-ounce) package extra firm* tofu, drained
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
Juice of 1/2 lime, plus lime wedges for serving
1 teaspoons toasted sesame oil*
2 teaspoons vegetable oil*
1 teaspoon sriracha*
1 teaspoon oyster sauce*
7 oz. cremini mushrooms*, thinly sliced (4 cups)
1/4 cup sliced scallion
1 (1-inch) knob of ginger root, grated or minced
1 large garlic clove, grated or minced
1 small red chile, seeded and finely chopped
Salt, as needed
1 cup shelled edamame (defrosted if using frozen)
1/4 head cabbage, chopped*
1 carrot, grated*
Using the coarse holes of a box grater, shred the tofu. Spread tofu out on a clean kitchen towel to drain while you prepare the sauce and mushrooms.
In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, dry sherry, sriracha, oyster sauce, lime juice and sesame oil.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until it’s very hot, then add the peanut oil; it should thin out on contact. Once the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and cook, tossing occasionally, until most of the mushroom liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are browned and slightly crisp, 8 to 12 minutes. Stir in the scallion, ginger, garlic, chile and a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
Carefully transfer the tofu from the towel into the skillet. Toss in the edamame, cabbage, carrot,and the soy sauce mixture. Cook until mixture is heated through. Season with salt as needed. Serve with lime wedges.
My additions or omissions were an attempt to give the dish more bulk, spice, and sweetness. I think next time I will try a more nuoc cham type sauce and add some basil.
This made a lot of food for the two of us with low calories which is good for my diet. We served it over a white rice/cauliflower rice mixture.
This is one of our favorite pasta meals. We actually prefer the heartier flavor of the whole grain penne. The asparagus is from Peru where it is springtime. We have also been getting some tasty blueberries from Peru lately. I know we should be trying to eat locally but I really enjoy them and the season here is not for another 6 months.
Whole grain penne with asparagus and mushrooms
Back to the meal, I sautéed the mushrooms, onions, and garlic first. Then, when John put the penne into the boiling water, I added the cut-up asparagus stems and a little water to the sauté pan and covered it. With one and a half minutes left on the pasta I added the asparagus bud ends. John drained the pasta, emptied the penne into my sauté pan, and I finished the sauce with a little pasta water and a teaspoon of olive oil.
John garnished his plate with parmesan cheese, olive oil, and toasted pine nuts. I drizzled a little of our good olive oil on mine.
Hardly a week goes by that John and I do not make what I call Classic Chicken! Our son says that he makes a similar meal every Monday. I guess he inherited the chicken gene!
Sous vide chicken breast with chicken/mushroom gravy, roasted mashed butternut squash, and sautéed broccoli
Although everything was delicious, the star of the dinner was the butternut squash. Roasted in a 400F oven for about an hour, the squash gets a sweet nutty flavor. I sprinkle on some salt and nutmeg before cooking and a little butter is added when mashing. The most difficult part of making the squash is cutting it in half. It is really hard!
Omnivore 