Roasted chicken thighs and confetti rice. 3/8/19

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Beebamom

John cooks these chicken thighs in a slow oven and then crisps the skin under the broiler. They are juicy and satisfying. I serve mine with barbecue sauce.

Roasted chicken thighs with confetti rice

I cook jasmine rice in the Instant Pot. It turns out perfectly using the automatic rice setting. For a cup of rice that has been soaked briefly and rinsed I add a cup plus a little more water, some salt, and a pat of butter. Oil the inside of the pot so the rice does not stick. I sauté the vegetables separately and then combine with the rice when it is done. For this rendition I use everything I have leftover – carrot, onion, celery, eggplant, red bell pepper, broccoli, and corn. Red pepper flakes, some garlic powder, and soy sauce are the extra flavorings.

John and I are pretty pleased with this simple and easy dinner.

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Macaroons. 3/7/19

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Beebamom

Wait, what?! Aren’t I supposed to be writing about the glory of chicken thighs and confetti rice? After all, I was just waxing poetic yesterday about getting home and cooking with John. However, we live in a two generation household. Our adult daughter lives upstairs and shares the kitchen with us. Right about chicken starting time she pulls out her cookie sheets and heats up the oven for a bunch of macaroons. She is the cookie queen and is making her niece, Alex, a batch for her thirteenth birthday tomorrow.

Omnivore’s daughter’s fabulous macaroons

So without a word of discouragement we shelve our chicken dinner and decide we will cook it on Friday instead. (Hmm, just thinking that maybe a should start featuring non-meat meals on Fridays during Lent. I will start that next week.) Anyway, here is the amended weekend menu. Friday-roast chicken with confetti rice, Saturday-vegan/vegetarian chickpea stew with ditalini and greens, and Sunday-fried scallops with new potatoes and snow peas.

So what do we eat instead? A can of soup and open face peanut butter sandwiches on rye bread that the cookie queen baked while we were away.

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Mini-vacay over, weekend menu. 3/7/19

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Beebamom

We are back from the California Desert which, by the way, is blooming due to the tons of rain we have had.

Picture taken from The I-10 freeway near Palm Springs. Abundant yellow flowers and giant wind turbines.

I used to think that all deserts were like the Sahara, all sand and dunes, but out here there is enough rain and underground water to support sage, cacti, Joshua trees, plus other plant life and desert animals. Yesterday it rained hard on the first leg of our trip home. Driving in rain in Southern California is like driving in snow everywhere else. We are not used to it and the traffic creeps along except for a few crazy people.

Threatening sky

While we were in Indian Wells we watched the tennis pros practice and play preliminary matches.

Practice courts

And of course dined out.

But now it is back to reality and in the car on the way home we conjure up a weekend menu to tide us over until Monday.

Weekend Menu

Thursday – roast chicken thighs and confetti rice

Friday – chickpea stew

Saturday – pasta with tuna

Sunday – scallops with new potatoes and snow peas

It is fun to be away but I always enjoy coming home and cooking in my own kitchen with my favorite assistant chef!

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Good choice when dining out. 3/3/19

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Beebamom

We are down in SoCal which is what Californians call Southern California. We are here to see a couple of days of the BNP Paribas Tennis Open. We have attended this event in whole or in part for many years. This year we are just catching the first two days.

One of the things we enjoy eating while traveling is sushi. Light and filling, it is the perfect food. We stop at the hotel lounge and order some. Our hors d’ouevre is edamame and then I have hamachi two ways, as a roll and as nigiri. John has hamachi and eel.

Edamame and hamachi rolls and nigiri

Sushi is tasty and light. We see many of the professional tennis players here eating it. They are all in fabulous shape so they must be doing the right thing by their diets!

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Mexican food on the go. 3/2/19

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Beebamom

Our original plan to travel down CA1 has been scratched due to the incessant rain. If you have never taken the coast road from Carmel down to Cambria, it is a gorgeous two lane road perched on a cut in the edge of the cliffs rising out of the ocean.  It is a little hair raising on a sunny day but what with all the rain and the possibility of slides we take US101 south instead.

In Soledad we stop at Taqueria Pacheco for lunch. It is highly rated on Yelp and other rating sites and surprisingly in a La Placito grocery store.

Taqueria Pacheco

While their combo plates are pretty pricy at around $13.00 the tacos are either $2.50 or $3.00 each. John and I decide on two each. I order two shrimp tacos which could of done with a bit less cooking of the shrimp.

Shrimp tacos

John has one chorizo taco and one tripe taco.

Chorizo and tripe tacos

By the way the roasted jalapeño was delicious!

When traveling we always try to try some local food. It is usually better tasting and more adventurous. Plus you are helping family owned establishments and their communities.

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Linguine with meat sauce. 3/1/19

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Beebamom

I have some leftover marinara sauce from the eggplant Parmesan on Valentine’s Day and I also have the remainder of the package of ground beef that I bought for the hamburgers last night. So I brown the meat hard with plenty of salt and then add the sauce. I let the combination simmer for a while.

Whole grain linguine with meat sauce and Parmesan cheese

John boils up some water and cooks the whole grain linguine until just al dente. He adds it to my sauce and I cook the two together adding some of the pasta water to loosen it up. I love pasta in any form but this is especially good!

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Simply a hamburger and a salad. 2/28/19

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Beebamom

This week’s menu has gone all topsy-turvy but we are actually eating what was originally on it, just on different days. I am glad because tonight and tomorrow night are two of my favorites – hamburgers and pasta.

So for this last day of February the rain has stopped and grilling outside is a possibility. While the grill heats up we have a salad. I have bought a packaged Italian salad mix from Taylor Farms, a brand I like because the dressing is not sweet. It comes with little pieces of salami and cheese. I add some sliced cherry tomatoes.

Italian chopped salad by Taylor Farms (tomatoes added)

John cooks my hamburger to medium which is the way I have been liking it lately. A little mayo underneath to keep the roll from getting soggy and some ketchup on top and a sliced raw onion and, yum, I am totally happy.

Grilled hamburger with sliced onion on a sesame seed bun

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Curry with protein and carrots. 2/27/19

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Beebamom

This curry flavored dish can be made with pork, firm tofu, all vegetables, chickpeas, or as we made it with chicken. While John is at work I do my part – cut up the chicken into bite size pieces, and chop up a medium onion, garlic, a couple of carrots, and ginger.

When he gets home John makes up a curry spice blend and cooks it in some oil/butter until fragrant. He then adds the onions. After they are translucent in go the garlic, ginger, and chicken. Lastly he adds the carrots, a handful of raisins, a cup of rice (we use brown rice) and 2+ cups of stock. It all simmers for 45 minutes or so until the rice is cooked.

Curry with chicken, brown rice, carrots, and raisins

For me it is a little sweet so I add a dollop of yogurt. I think the raisins and carrots make it too sweet but that is just me. Sweet along with savory just does not rock my world. But this is John’s creation and I do not want to be critical. I really appreciate all the cooking he does.

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Bad choice. 2/26/19

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Beebamom

Last night was supposed to be vegetarian taco night. I had it all planned-soft tacos with black beans, charred corn, shredded cabbage and cheese, and salsa. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But John said he didn’t feel like eating my plan so I said what do you want? He said, pizza. Pizza is easy. You just call someone and pizza arrives at your door a short time later. Plus I really like pizza and rarely manage to eat a reasonable portion. So we ordered pizza, I ate too much, and now I feel guilty. Bad choices result in unwanted consequences.

Pizza

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Vegan/vegetarian soup and sandwich. 2/25/19

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Beebamom

This is a no recipe week. We are just eating things that we know how to make. Tonight’s vegan/vegetarian meal is a simple homemade soup and a pita sandwich.

Celery soup is a whole head of roughly chopped celery cooked with a medium onion and a potato (both also roughly chopped) in some stock. In fact I am short on stock tonight so it is mostly water which is well-seasoned with salt, pepper, and whatever herb you have handy. I happen to have thyme in the refrigerator so in it goes. Once the vegetables are soft purée them in a blender, food processor, or with a stick blender. At this point you can add a little cream if you want but it is not necessary. I top my bowl with a few celery leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. You can add a dollop of plain yogurt or not.

Celery soup

For the pita sandwiches I spin a some canned chickpeas which have been rinsed and drained in the food processor for a few pulses with some celery, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I have the food processor out so I may as well use it for both dishes. I stuff my pita with the chickpea mixture, some lettuce, and cherry tomatoes.

Soup and a sandwich. Good for lunch or dinner!

Chunky chickpea spread with lettuce and tomatoes in a whole wheat pita pocket

Posted in Easy, Healthy tips, Legumes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment