Weekly Menu. April 29-May 4, 2019

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Beebamom

We did a lot of cooking this past week. Nonetheless I did punk out on Wednesday and ordered pizza instead of making linguine with clam sauce.  Oh well, I am not perfect and linguine with clam sauce is a pantry type meal and will keep for a future dinner. Our big dinner on Saturday, soup, boneless leg of lamb, mashed potatoes, and asparagus with two different sauces took a lot of effort so I am going a little easier on us this week. Three vegan or vegetarian meals, two fish/seafood meals, and chicken will make this a pretty healthy week.

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Holiday dinner. 4/27/19

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Beebamom

Our belated family Passover dinner was a big success culinarily. It was less of a success family-wise because both grandkids and their mom were sick and could not come. So that was a real letdown.  Feel better soon! But since we were down to five diners instead of eight there was plenty of food for everyone (and lots of leftovers!)

Our festive table

John cracked the code on fluffy matzoh balls for our soup by adding baking powder and whipping the egg whites for the batter. Delicious, tender, fluffy matzoh balls were the result.

Matzoh ball soup (thanks to Fine Cooking for the image)

I made some wonderful mashed potatoes. I say that unabashedly because these were the best! Could it be the leftover cream from our shrimp night early this week? I think so!

Fluffy, creamy mashed potatoes

I also contributed asparagus which I served with Sauce Grabiche. This thick sauce is a hard boiled egg, parsley, cornichon, caper vinaigrette.

 

John did a great job with the sous vide and then seared on the grill boneless leg of lamb. It was a beautiful pink edge to edge. I served the lamb with a chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri sauce hails from South America and is served with roasted meats. It is made of finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano and red wine vinegar.

 

(Thanks to Wikipedia for the pictures of the two sauces)

Our daughter finished the dinner off with her wonderful homemade coconut-almond macaroons. We served these with ice cream and strawberries with port wine.

Fabulous coconut-almond macaroon

It was fun to serve this holiday meal but thank goodness we don’t eat like this often!! Between the hours of preparation and the clean up which will be going on through Sunday, not too mention the zillions of calories, we are exhausted and stuffed!

 

Posted in American, Desserts, Grilling, Holidays, Lamb, sous vide, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lentils and tabbouleh. 4/26/19

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Beebamom

Since I have been trying to add more vegan and vegetarian meals to my repertoire, I am always searching online for something new and delicious to make for dinner. I had a potato, some cabbage and lentils on hand so I though I would try a recipe for lentils with cabbage and potato. It was abysmal! Tasteless and blah.

I also made tabbouleh which came out much better and I ended up piling some of it on top of the lackluster lentils hoping for improvement. But there was no saving this dish of uninspired ingredients and no spices.

Lentils with cabbage and potato with Lebanese tabbouleh piled on top

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Chickpea salad. 4/24/19

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Beebamom

Chickpea salad with lemon parsley vinaigrette

Note: This is either a vegan or vegetarian entree salad. Omit feta for the vegan rendition.

Doesn’t this look good! Summertime in a dish. And a cool dinner is what I need tonight because it is unseasonably hot today. In the 90’s, yikes! This dish is chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, green onions, olives, shallots, avocados, and some chopped up pepperoncini for a little zing.  It is dressed with a lemon-parsley vinaigrette. I garnished mine with some feta.

After eating some of the salad, I scooped the rest up in a whole wheat pita. Salad or sandwich, it’s up to you.

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Shrimp and brown rice. 4/23/19

Posted on April 24, 2019 by Beebamom

Yesterday I made a 9”x 9” glass oven-proof dish of brown rice using the oven method. It’s not as fast as using the Instant Pot but it turns out great rice every time. See end of post for instructions. I used the brown rice in yesterday’s “It’s All About the Sides” , our daughter used some in her dinner, I am using the brown rice in tonight’s dinner, and I still have a bit left over for lunch today. So one recipe’s worth can serve multiple uses.

Shrimp in a Pernod cream sauce with brunoise of vegetables over brown rice

With the exception of the chopping up, making the shrimp in a Pernod cream sauce is pretty quick and easy.  My portion had six shrimp, 1/2 cup rice, and maybe 1/4 cup of sauce and John had about the same and we have at least one portion left over. Someone will be eating a yummy lunch later this week!

Brown rice, oven method

Heat oven to 375F. Using a Pam-type spray, lube up a 9” x 9” oven-proof dish. To the dish add 1 1/2 cups brown rice, 2 1/3 cups boiling water, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon butter or olive oil. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for one hour. Remove from oven, fluff up, and then recover and let sit for five minutes.

Posted in French, pescatarian, Recipes, rice, Shellfish, Vegetables | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

It’s all about the sides. 4/22/19

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Beebamom

I am really pleased with this dinner, chicken and brown rice with chunky tomato vinaigrette and cucumber-avocado salad. Not only is it delicious but it is so versatile. We served it with some rotisserie chicken that we picked up from the grocery store but this would be great with fish, shellfish, white beans, or tofu. Or you could omit the rice and dress some pasta with the chunky tomato vinaigrette and serve the cucumber-avocado salad on the side.

Chicken and brown rice served with a chunky tomato vinaigrette and cucumber-avocado salad.

The tomato vinaigrette is simply seeded diced tomatoes, slivered shallot, chopped basil, olive oil and red wine vinegar. It benefits from being seasoned well with salt and pepper.

The cucumber salad became cucumber-avocado salad when I ran into some $.50 avocados at the store. (one of the pleasures of living in California is inexpensive and great produce.) I also added a little mint, a sprinkling of feta (which you would omit in a vegan rendition), and some finishing oil.

So whether you are an omnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan, chunky tomato vinaigrette and cucumber-avocado salad will make deliciously colorful and summery additions to your dinner.

Posted in Mediterranean, Poultry, rice, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Weekly menu 4/22-27/19

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Beebamom

This week I am trying a more a Mediterranean take on our dinners. In Spain we learned that the local people tend to eat vegetables, whole grains, fish and shellfish, and the occasional chicken or rabbit. Red meats are mostly infrequent, saved for special occasions. So this week my menu has one chicken, two seafood,  two vegan,  and one special occasion lamb meal. 

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White bean and cabbage soup/stew. 4/20/19

Posted on April 21, 2019 by Beebamom

White bean and cabbage soup/stew

For reasons relating to jet lag we still have not made it to the grocery store for a general re-stock shop. I am running out of dinners to make using what is left in the pantry and fridge. Luckily I have two carrots, an onion, garlic, some very bendy celery, and a small head of cabbage still remaining. I combine these with some stock (vegetable or chicken), a can of white beans, and optional Parmesan rinds. Sauté the veg then add the beans, cabbage, rinds, and stock. Simmer for twenty minutes or so. I dress up the top with parsley and a good olive oil. It’s a combination that can be vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore.

How you dole it out makes it either a stew or a soup. I like one bowl of stew heavy on the vegetables and light on the broth. John prefers two bowlsful of a much soupier mixture.

Posted in Easy, Legumes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Spring menu. 4/19/19

Posted on April 20, 2019 by Beebamom

If I had remembered to take a picture of our dinner last night it would have looked something like this.

Sliced grilled lamb with chimichurri sauce, mashed potatoes and asparagus with chopped egg

The difference is that John sous vide two racks of lamb instead of boneless leg of lamb. He set the water temperature at 136F and they cooked to a lovely rosy pink. They were in the water bath for about three hours. He then did a quick grill. Unfortunately the grill flared up and the beautiful double chops came out somewhat black. They were still nice and pink inside but lost some of their visual appeal. We served them with a chimichurri sauce.

I made mashed potatoes and asparagus with crumbled egg just as shown in the picture. We had this for company. Why is it we can make dinner for ourselves and it goes without a hitch but when we try it for company invariably something goes wrong!

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Mediterranean vegan spaghetti. 4/18/19

Posted on April 19, 2019 by Beebamom

We got back from our trip yesterday and I am ready to get cooking again! John and I each gained about 4 lbs. eating our way across the Atlantic, Spain, and France. We are going to work on this weight gain by adopting a more Mediterranean diet mindset.  Tonight’s dinner is whole wheat spaghetti with a quick sauce of San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, onions, capers, and olives. I garnish mine with chopped parsley and toasted breadcrumbs while John also adds Parmesan cheese and a finishing olive oil.

Ingredients and garnishes for our sauce

San Marzano tomatoes

After toasting some garlic slices and breadcrumbs along with chopping up some parsley I set those aside for the finished dish. In the time that it takes John to bring the water to a boil and cook the pasta, I make the sauce. It is just a quick sauté of garlic, onions, and pepper flakes, then add the tomatoes, olives, and capers. Don’t add salt to the sauce! The capers and olives take care of the needed salt. I adjust the flavor with a pinch of sugar. Be sure to save a cup of pasta water to thin out the sauce before you toss the drained spaghetti into the sauce.

Spaghetti and sauce cooking on the stove simultaneously

This great vegan dinner is my adaptation of a NY Times Cooking recipe. It is quick, easy, inexpensive, and totally delicious!

Vegan Mediterranean spaghetti

 

Posted in Easy, Healthy tips, Italian, Mediterranean, Pasta, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment