Roasted cod with chickpea purée and asparagus. 3/12/19

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Beebamom

This morning we went to Whole Foods where there was a sale on fresh Atlantic cod for $8.95 a pound. Combine that with the Amazon discount and we bought enough cod for dinner plus 2 bananas for $7.95.  What a deal!

John marinates the fish in some lemon zest, olive oil, bay leaves, rosemary, salt, paprika, and garlic powder for about a half an hour and then bakes it to perfect doneness in about 12 minutes in a 400F oven.

Baked cod with chickpea purée and asparagus

I make some chickpea purée by whizzing up a can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained) with a little olive oil, lemon juice, water, garlic, salt and pepper. The purée is then warmed up (no boiling!) on a low flame.

In another buy of the week asparagus is $1.99 so I buy a bundle and use half tonight and save half for our steak dinner over the weekend. I cut it up so it looks like more and steam it quickly.

This dinner is elegant enough for company but is quick enough to prepare for a weeknight dinner!

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Whole wheat linguine with meat sauce. 3/11/19

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Beebamom

We start off our dinner with a pre-made Italian salad from Turner Farms. I add some cherry tomatoes and extend the dressing with a little extra oil and vinegar. We are trying to eat salads or soups as a first course to cut down on pre-dinner snacking and the portion size of our main course.

Italian salad

I decide to take a shortcut and just doctor up some jarred spaghetti sauce – my mistake! The jarred sauce makes  the resulting sauce too sweet for my palate! And, seriously, after browning the meat, chopping up and sautéing the onions, red bell peppers, and garlic plus picking some fresh oregano and adding red wine and tomato paste, what kind of shortcut am I taking?! The sauce would have ended up tasting a lot better if I had just added a couple of cans of tomatoes and let it cook down. Lesson learned!

Whole wheat linguine with meat sauce

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Fried scallops with confetti rice, broccoli. 3/10/19

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Beebamom

We try something different with the breading on the fried scallops. I suggest we try fresh breadcrumbs instead of panko breadcrumbs. I also suggest we try shallow frying but I do not win on that one. I am not the animal protein cooker and I should just mind my own vegetable business. Anyway I figure using fresh breadcrumbs will mean fewer calories and carbs on the breading as well as a more delicate crunch.

While John is dealing with the scallops I take out the leftover rice from yesterday and cook it in a frying pan. I am trying to achieve the soccarat on the bottom of the rice that John likes so much. I think I achieve some crustiness and while the rice is cooking I steam some broccoli on top. One pan cooking!

Confetti rice achieving soccarat with steamed broccoli on top

The scallops get dark way faster with the fresh breadcrumbs and although they look a bit dark, they are cooked perfectly inside.

Fried scallops with rice and broccoli

Today for breakfast John made congee with the last bit of the confetti rice so no more rice reappearing this week!

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Weekly menu. 3/11/19-3/17/19

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Beebamom

Recently we have been having some difficulty sticking to the menu but I am an optimist, maybe this week? The menu has some old favorites such as cod with chickpea purée and red lentils. I making tabbouleh on Thursday and am using it again on Friday. I hope my menu isn’t too repetitious but I want the tabbouleh relatively fresh the second time we eat it so I cannot spread the two dinners apart. New dish this week is chicken enchiladas with salsa verde.

 

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Vegetable stew with chickpeas and ditalini. 3/9/19

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Beebamom

Vegetable stew with chickpeas and ditalini

If you are looking to use up vegetables that have sat a little too long in the crisper this vegetable stew is a great way to turn them into dinner. Carrots, onions, fennel, celery, garlic, tomatoes, and broccoli (or what ever you have) get cut to a similar size and cook in 4 cups of vegetable stock or, as I do, jut plain water with a parmesan rind for extra flavor. Once the vegetables are par-cooked add the chickpeas, bring the pot up to a boil, and add the ditalini. When the pasta is cooked (about 10 minutes) your vegetable stew is ready to serve. I finish mine with a sprig of thyme and a drizzle of good olive oil.

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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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