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Salmon with mustard parsley sauce. 5/24/2025
Today we are getting those good omega-3 fatty acids from the salmon! Plus the broccoli provides 140% of our daily vitamin C. Hopefully these two super foods will offset the white rice which does not bring much to the good nutrition table. I am thinking of changing to brown rice which Sarah eats exclusively and the rice always smells so good when she cooks it using the oven method. Of course that means I have to plan ahead since it takes an hour in the oven.
John cooked the salmon for 9 minutes in a 400F oven and it came out perfectly. I made a parsley mustard sauce which went very nicely with all the components of our dinner.
Mustard Sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard (optional)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or whatever vinegar you have)
1 tablespoon water
Dash of sugar or sweetener
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon capers
2 cornichons, finely chopped (small un-dilled pickles)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Combine all except parsley. Add the parsley just before serving
Whole grain penne with asparagus. 5/23/2025
The pasta of choice at our house is Barilla. Along with most other grocery items the price of a pound of pasta has gone up. We try to stock up whenever Barilla is on sale. This week it was selling at 3@$5 or $1.67 for a box. It is the lowest price for a couple of months and, even though too high, we bought some to keep in our pantry. Here’s a picture of Barilla on sale in Italy in 2018. Over two pounds for about 75 cents!
Anyway, we like Barilla’s whole grain penne and really enjoy a simple bowl of it with asparagus, onions, and garlic. The sauce is merely olive oil and pasta water. I like the way asparagus cut on the diagonal mimics the penne.
Posted in Easy, Italian, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners
Tagged asparagus, pasta
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Sicilian swordfish with couscous and zucchini 5/22/2025
Occasionally one of our grocery stores will have 6 or 7 ounce frozen portions of swordfish and tuna on sale for $5.99. The three of us can divide up the fish and have a fine seafood dinner for $12.00. Last night only John and I were at the table so not only did we have a fine dinner but John got to eat my leftovers for lunch!
We use a recipe from serious eats where we make half the amount of fish but make the total recipe for the wonderful sauce. Who doesn’t like a lot of sauce?! The sauce is tomato-y with lots of bright saltiness from capers and olives. It is finished with parsley and roasted pine nuts. Yum! John does a great job sautéing the fish and I am in charge of the vegetables and sauce. Once you have everything prepped the cooking takes less than 15 minutes. It’s another one of those not expensive but company worthy dinners. Here’s a link to the recipe we used—https://www.seriouseats.com/agghiotta-di-pesce-spada-sicilian-braised-swordfish-with-tomatoes-and-olives-5212333
On the side we had couscous and zucchini. We just followed the package instructions for the couscous which only takes about 5 minutes. I sliced the zucchini into half moons a sautéd them in olive oil with onions, garlic, oregano, and salt.
Posted in Fish, Italian, Mediterranean, Recipes, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners
Tagged couscous, Fish, swordfish, zucchini
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Hot night dinner. 5/21/2025
Originally it was supposed to reach 90F for the first hot day of the season. Actually I think it was only 86F but I had planned this hot night dinner and was thus commanded by the menu hanging in my kitchen to make it. Truthfully there was not much to make with the exception of the tabbouleh which came out probably the tastiest I have ever made. Here is the recipe I mostly follow—https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012585-tabbouleh?unlocked_article_code=1.JE8.hsPV.fcS-0yBRDYln&smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share. I used petite diced canned tomatoes with a little added sweetener instead of whole chopped tomatoes because it is not tomato season yet. I also use more bulger wheat. I am careful with the amounts of lemon juice, olive oil, and salt I add, tasting as a go along.
The easy parts of the dish were the pita, feta, and hummus since they were all store-bought. I got two kinds of hummus, one with red peppers and one with chimichurri, to keep the hummus interesting. My favorite pita is Toufayan.
Posted in Easy, Grains, Hot weather meals, Legumes, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Recipes, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners
Tagged feta, hummus, tabbouleh
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Shrimp tacos. 5/20/25
Tuesday was definitely Taco Tuesday at our house! Sarah and I went out for lunch and had street tacos and then, according to my menu plan, John and I made shrimp tacos for dinner. John does such a great job sautéing the shrimp which were just cooked through on the inside and had a snap as you bit through the outside. I made the accompaniments—mango salsa, sliced avocado, cilantro, onions, and shredded cabbage. Tacos two times in a day? Twice as good!
Posted in American, Easy, Hot weather meals, Mexican, pescatarian, Shellfish, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Weeknight dinners
Tagged shrimp, Tacos
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Grilled boneless leg of lamb. 5/19/25
I bought a small boneless leg of lamb that was $6.00 off at Costco so it ended up at $5.00/lb. John cut the lamb into three pieces which will make three meals for us. He then pounded the lamb into a shape that resembled a London broil and grilled it on our gas grill. He also grilled red potatoes that I had previously microwaved. I made broccoli with a sprinkling of salt and EVOO. The lamb was quite tasty although a little closer to medium than medium rare. It was an economical meal but felt like we were eating something special.
P.S. The little dish is filled with ketchup. I embarrassingly like to eat red meats and potatoes with ketchup.
Posted in American, Easy, Grilling, Lamb, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners
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Buffalo chicken wings. 5/17/25
I wish I could say I actually made these but I bought the wings frozen. They are Foster Farms Take Out Crispy Wings that I bought at Costco.
I do not have an air fryer but these wings seem just as good when you make them in the oven. We served them with carrots and celery and the included hot sauce along with blue cheese dressing.
Posted in American, Appetizers, Easy, Poultry, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners
Tagged chicken
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Grilled strip steak, grilled potato, and broccoli. 5/16/25
On Friday I sat outside for a while as John cooked the potato and steak. What delicious aromas! John had carefully trimmed the steak as we have run into some unpleasant gristle on these bargain-priced steaks. He cooked the steaks beautifully and got a nice char on my previously microwaved potato. I cooked the broccoli in a little water and butter. It was a lovely dinner that felt like the harbinger of summer grilling.
Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Grilling, Vegetables
Tagged Beef, broccoli, potato, Steak
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