I needed to make a simple dinner tonight due to headache woes. I have a box of Morningstar Chipotle Bean Burgers from Costco for just such nights. After microwaving the burgers for one minute per side, I put them in a hot frying pan in the hopes of getting a little crust. I also sautéed an onion slice. This was served on a toasted roll with a side of homemade cole slaw. WW blue points = 9 (bean burger, roll, lite mayo)
Tomorrow is my birthday so no cooking for me!
Bean burger and cole slaw
Fishawarma, see what I did there? I made a portmanteau out of fish and shawarma! This recipe originally started out as chicken shawarma but I figured it would work just as well with fish so I bought a package of cod at Trader Joe’s.
The whole thing cooks on a sheet pan and we gave the vegetables a 15 minute head start. It was my first time using delicata squash and I can report that it is very hard but cooks quickly and you do not have to peel it. Also on the tray were a cut up red onion and some tomatoes from our daughter’s last harvest. I marinated the vegetables in olive, lemon juice, and an array of spices and garlic. They turned out great.
On the other hand we mis-timed the fish and overcooked it, Sigh.
WW blue points = 4 (oil, pita)
Fishawarma with roasted vegetables and pita
On Monday for our belated Thanksgiving dinner we made mashed rutabagas. The rutabaga that we bought was massive, one of those waxed ones that we rarely see here on the west coast. It was delicious but we had a lot left over. I used it in a root vegetable soup for lunch today.
The recipe calls for a chopped up onion and then one cup each of diced butternut squash, rutabaga, carrots, Granny Smith apple, and sweet potato. I did not have a sweet potato but I did have my leftover mashed rutabaga, a delicata squash, the onion, carrots, and a Honeycrisp apple. You are supposed to start with a stick of butter so I splurged and put in a tablespoon. I used a quart of vegetable stock as the cooking liquid. When everything was soft I used a stick blender to whiz it up, added some more salt, an ounce of heavy cream, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. I had a bowl. John had two bowls and there is still a bunch left over. It made a Friday lunch taste like a holiday!
Root vegetable soup
Omit yogurt on top and the cream, and sweat the onion in oil for a vegan version.
WW blue points for one serving = 2 (cream, butter)
Note: For a vegan dish omit yogurt.
Delicious, vegan or vegetarian fare! These lentils are cooked in a soupy broth with onions, ginger, garlic, and spices. These more tender red lentils cook quickly, and once they come up to a boil, the lentils are done in fifteen minutes. The rest of the dinner was really easy—some basmati rice from last night and a bagged kale, cabbage, and Brussels sprout salad.
WW blue points – 3 (olive oil, rice)
Red lentils, basmati rice, salad
This recipe started out as a one-pot, Instant Pot dish. But the shrimp just cannot stand being hammered in the Instant Pot for even a short amount of time. So John cooks the shrimp on their own after a short marination in a little of the biryani spices. (Ginger, garlic, turmeric, chili powder, paprika, add salt when ready to sauté the shrimp) He does not start cooking the shrimp until the rice is done.
I sauté onion, garlic, ginger, and a Serrano chile in the Instant Pot. Then I add the rest of the spices and give that a stir. This is followed by boiling water, a can of tomatoes, and curry leaves if you can find them. (I used basil.) Three minutes on high pressure, an immediate cool down, and a five minute rest under a tea towel and you are done.
Shrimp biryani
I plated up our shrimp on top of the rice and added a crunchy cabbage and kale salad. We made two cups of raw rice which makes a lot of rice! Later this week I will use it with Afghani dal and then again as a side with fish shawarma.
WW blue points – 3 (1 tsp. oil, 1/2 cup cooked rice)
We missed Thanksgiving because we were away on our trip. Our son had Thanksgiving at his house with his wife and family and her parents. Our daughter had a Friendsgiving. But John and I felt we should have our own belated celebration. Seeing how many people live in some parts of our world made us even more aware of how much we have to be thankful for.
The turkey comes from our daughter’s celebration, the broccoli has been in the refrigerator waiting for us to come home, the gravy was in the freezer from Thanksgiving 2018, and we bought the rutabaga today and cooked it in the Instant Pot.
Happy belated Thanksgiving!
Roast turkey breast with gravy, rutabaga, and broccoli
WW Blue points – 3
Here is the menu for this week. Hey, I just realized my week has eight days and eight meals! I guess that is what jet lag does to you! I also see I left the cursor in the picture after “bread.” And did not catch the auto correct from “delicata” to “delicate.” I think I need a nap!
I am back from cruising around Southeast Asia. We had an incredible time seeing the beautiful people and places of this region. During our two weeks we took two cooking classes, one in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and the other in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Plus we had a dinner cooked for us by a famous Vietnamese chef in Hue, Vietnam. Hopefully I can try some of these new recipes in the weeks to come.
It is our first day home and we are jet lagged and do not have the energy to go to the grocery store so we decide to make our dinner from kitchen and pantry staples, Spicy Chickpeas with Pasta.
I add a can of spicy Rotel instead of regular canned tomatoes and my celery and carrots are a little limp but they will work in a stew. The recipe calls for some greens which we do not have so I run out back to see my little parsley plant is still alive! So armed with a handful of parsley and the green leaves from the celery, we have the bitterness from greens that we need.
Spicy chickpeas with pasta
In case you are wondering about whether there are vegetarian choices on a cruise, I have found that Viking, especially at lunch, has a lot of vegetarian choices. Every day there are usually two types of rice, always pasta, and potatoes. Sometimes farro. Then there are a whole array of vegetables to pair with these. Today there were black beans, some delicious chickpeas with figs, eggplant in a spicy ratatouille, and cabbage in soy sauce to name a few.
Black beans, chickpeas, steamed vegetables, and spicy ratatouille
In addition there are always steamed vegetables, pizza margarita, and frequently lentils. And of course there all sorts of salad fixings. My lunch is almost always vegetarian or vegan and I am happy and satisfied with it.
Eating sanely while on a cruise is a difficult task. I thought I was going to sail right through this challenge but I was wrong. An extra piece of bread, a cookie, a glass of wine or two, it is all available and hard to pass up. But here is a dinner that I felt good about eating.
Lemon grass cured salmon first course
Seared tuna entree
I even ordered extra vegetables!
It is important to give yourself a little pat on the back when you do something right!
Omnivore 