Vegan Instant Pot Chana dal (split chickpeas stew) 9/8/20

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Beebamom

Chana dal over rice with zucchini, mushrooms, and onions

John and I really love this easy recipe for Chana dal. We made a double batch so that we would have it left over for lunches. The base recipe for Chana dal comes from pipingpotcurry.com but of course we have changed a few things. We use a can of diced tomatoes with chiles and decrease the water a little. Our cooking time is 15 minutes under pressure and then 10 minute cool down before releasing the remaining pressure. Also we do not have Asafoetida in our pantry so we skip that. We served it over rice or, in my case, a mix of some rice and cauliflower rice.

I made a side of zucchini from our daughter’s garden. It was a sauté of mushrooms, onions, garlic, ripe jalapeño, and zucchini. It was seasoned with plenty of salt, oregano, and a pinch of sugar. I used some vegetable broth to steam it a bit. I staggered introducing the vegetables to the pan. First I cooked the mushrooms, then the onion and chile, next the garlic, and lastly the zucchini. It got two thumbs up from John.

Posted in Easy, Indian, Instant Pot, Legumes, Recipes, rice, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Grilling time! 9/7/20

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Beebamom

Grilled flank steak, grilled sweet potato, and IYBS (incredibly yummy Brussel sprouts)

It is Labor Day! We have managed to get through almost the whole summer without seeing anyone except our immediate family and the checkers at the grocery store. Luckily I Zoom with my sisters in Florida once a week and Facetime with my best friend in South Carolina every Thursday. So there is no celebration with our clan on this Labor Day. However, what says end of the summer more than grilling!?

John does a masterful job at our new grill. The flank steak which is seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and garlic powder comes out a rosy pink. I have given him a head start on the sweet potato by microwaving it until a knife meets no resistance when I stick it in. Then I cut it in half and doctor the cut sides with butter spray, salt, and nutmeg. He puts a nice char on it. Lastly I make my Incredibly Yummy Brussel Sprouts, so named by my kids. After cooking the seasoned sprouts cut side down until they are almost done and the water in the pan has mostly evaporated, I add dry sherry and butter. The sherry cooks off leaving a complex nutty flavor behind and the butter helps the sprouts get some browning. Yum!

Happy distanced Labor Day!!

Posted in American, Beef, Grilling, omnivore, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu – September 7 – 13, 2020

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Beebamom

This week we are starting off with the flank steak that we failed to get to last week. In addition I am planning on making a new recipe which is a creamy corn pasta with basil that has no dairy products in it, so it is totally vegan!  In addition to the pasta we will make John’s special request vegan Chana dal. He loves this and always asks for a double batch so he can eat it for lunches too! Finishing off the menu are a chicken dinner, a clam soup, and good-enough-for-company sea bass. As usual we will complete our week with vegetarian Breakfast For Dinner.

Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Breakfast for Dinner, Omelet 9/6/20

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Beebamom

Normally for BFD I just make some sort of scrambled eggs. Last night I tried to be a little more creative and it turned out really well. The omelet I made consisted of two eggs, a slice of ultra thin Swiss cheese, spinach, and mushrooms. In addition on my plate is a veggie patty, a slice of our daughter’s homemade sourdough bread, and some of her garden cherry tomatoes.

Two-egg, Swiss cheese, mushroom, spinach omelet with veggie patty, toast, and cherry tomatoes

Posted in American, Easy, Eggs, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Seared scallops, new potatoes, and broccoli. 9/4/20

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Beebamom

Seared scallops, new potatoes, broccoli, tartar sauce

Look at the sear on these scallops! What a great job John did cooking these scallops. He got our cast iron pan ripping hot and cooked the scallops in a teaspoon of oil for about 2 minutes on each side. I steamed the potatoes before he started the scallops cooking and I cooked the broccoli while he was searing them. I added some more light mayo, non fat Greek yogurt, and mustard to the tartar sauce we ate earlier in the week.

Such a delicious dinner!

Posted in American, Easy, pescatarian, Shellfish, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Whole grain penne with mushrooms, asparagus, and pine nuts (vegan). 9/3/20

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Beebamom

This pasta is fast to make and delicious to eat! While your water is heating up and the pasta is cooking you can complete the sauce. I did the sauté-ing in steps but you can totally do it all at once if you want. First I cooked the mushrooms, then the leeks (or onions) and garlic, then I added back in the mushrooms and added the asparagus stems. I reserved the bud ends until the very end to keep them from getting overcooked.

High sided sauté pan with mushrooms, asparagus stems, leeks, and garlic

While John was standing around waiting for the water to boil, I had him toast some pine nuts. They need special attention since they burn easily. They give the whole dish a buttery flavor when you sprinkle them on at the end.

Right before the pasta is ready add the bud ends of the asparagus to the mushrooms and asparagus stems and then add the drained pasta on top. Be sure to reserve a cup of your starchy, salty pasta water to add as well in little increments until it has made a little sauce with your vegetables. Garnish with the pine nuts, your best olive oil, and Parmesan (if you are not eating this as a vegan dish.)

Completed penne with asparagus, mushrooms, and pine nuts

Posted in Easy, Italian, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Pan-seared salmon with tartar/parsley sauce, rice, and snow peas. 9/2/20

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Beebamom

Seared salmon with a parsley tartar sauce, rice and cauliflower rice mix, and snow peas

Tonight’s dinner of salmon, rice, and snow peas is really easy and really tasty. John cooked the salmon to perfection. I doubt that it took more than five minutes in the pan. To accompany it I made a tartar and parsley sauce that I know John really likes. I started by making a basic tartar sauce, added some parsley, half a teaspoon of curry powder, and some water to thin it out. The rice was left over from yesterday and I added some cauliflower rice to my portion so I could feel like I had a lot! Our vegetable, snow peas, are super simple. I string them and then they cook for a couple of minutes. I think I could probably serve this dinner to company and they would think, wow, what a nice dinner, and I would be congratulating myself on making a lovely dinner with very little work.

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, pescatarian, rice, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Red lentils and rice with broccoli. 9/1/20

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Beebamom

Red lentils with rice and broccoli

Oh, it is so good to be home and cooking in my own kitchen and eating my own kind of food. Tonight’s dinner is a porridge-y mix of red lentils, ginger, onions, and garlic with lots of spices in a vegetable stock. I spent a little time earlier in the day chopping up all the ingredients so that all John has to do is saute the vegetables, add the spices, then the washed and picked over lentils and the stock. It cooks in about 15 minutes. We are serving the lentils with some white rice which, for me, is a combination of rice and cauliflower rice. I cook the broccoli until it is just tender  The yellow of the red lentils, the white of the rice, and the green of the broccoli make an appealing palate.

Posted in Afghan, Easy, Legumes, rice, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu, August 31 – September 5, 2020

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Beebamom

A change that I am making to the usual weekly menu post is that I am changing the start day to Monday from Sunday so it coincides with our weigh-in day. Interestingly even though we did not strictly stay on our diet plan while we were on “fire vacation“, we both lost weight. Now that we have been doing our diet for almost one year is it possible that we have changed some bad eating habits? I hope so.

This week features three vegetarian or vegan meals, three seafood, and one carnivore meal. Being cozily at home again inspires a week of simple favorites.

Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Substituting ingredients. 8/30/20

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Beebamom

Tonight we are making chicken chili with the last bit of our rotisserie chicken. Problem is, we do not have most of the ingredients that we normally use since we are still inhabiting the desert island of a rental unit. I really do not want to buy a bunch of expensive spices. We have half of a Fresno chile left so we will use that. We buy a can of white chile beans which come with some seasoning and a jar of salsa verde. Our last purchase is a packet of chile seasoning. It has chile powder and cumin in it.

This is our last night before returning home so we need to use up as much as possible from the refrigerator. I chop up onions, bell pepper, and garlic, the Fresno chile, and a carrot for sweetness. We add the beans, the salsa verde, and some chicken stock. Taste, adjust, taste again. It does not come out great but is an approximation of chile. John puts crumbled corn tortilla chips on his. I try to coax out some umami flavor with a packet of soy sauce. I also make cauliflower rice with the rest of our “power greens.”

Some times you just do the best you can. We will be driving all day Monday and just figure on some sandwiches for supper. I will be posting again on Tuesday with a new menu for the rest of the week and Tuesday’s dinner.

Chicken chili with cauliflower rice

Posted in American, Kitchen tips, leftovers, Legumes, Mexican, Poultry, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment