Here is the menu for this week which is hanging in my kitchen. We are doing a lot of celebrating this week!
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Weekly Menu. 9/10/18
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Harissa Chicken Thighs with Shallots. 9/9/18
We are having dinner mid-afternoon today since we are going to our son’s concert later. He is a beat boxer/bass in an a capella rock/funk band. We decide to try something new, a braised chicken dish with Mediterranean flavors.
The sauce on this includes harissa and cinnamon-a little too much cinnamon in my opinion. After searing the chicken thighs, you braise them in the cinnamon, harissa and chicken stock broth, covered. This cooks the chicken through and also makes the skin which you previously crisped up, soggy.
Harissa chicken thighs with shallots
In addition to the soggy chicken we have couscous which is quite good with the sauce. Couscous goes better with with cinnamon. Plus I make a cucumber, tomato, cilantro and mint salad.
Posted in Mediterranean, Pasta, Poultry, Vegetables
Tagged chicken thighs, couscous, cucumbers, shallots, tomato
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Cacio e Pepe. 9/8/17
According to my planned menu I was supposed to be making spaghetti with breadcrumbs, olives, and capers yesterday but I am still feeling the jet lag and by dinner time I just wanted something even easier than my original plan. I have a block of pecorino Romano so I figure I will grate up some cheese, mix it with ground pepper, put the hot linguine in it and add a little pasta water and olive oil. Voila, dinner!
My cheese comes out a little clumpy but who does not like a clump of cheese?
Linguine cacio e pepe
Burgers and Caprese salad. 9/7/18
After being in the cooler climes of Scandinavia it is a shock to be back in the heat of California. Although the morning is cool (in the upper 50’s) by the afternoon it is 93F! A dinner that does not heat up the house is a good idea. So we fix burgers on the grill and a Caprese salad. My burger has onion google eyes!
Funny face hamburger
Since we have been away for three weeks our daughter is imploring us to eat up the tomatoes. I think she is a little tomato-ed out. Using some small mozzarella rounds, some basil from the backyard and a ripe tomato from her garden we enjoy a light Caprese salad with our grilled hamburgers.
Caprese salad
Posted in American, Beef, Grilling, Vegetables
Tagged basil, caprese salad, hamburgers, mozzarella, tomatoes
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Breakfast Margherita, Vegan Dinner. 9/6/18
Whaat!? Tequila for breakfast?
Sorry, wrong Margherita. This is the pizza variety and made straight from the garden. A toasted English muffin, a couple of slices from our daughter’s bounty of tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, basil from the backyard, and a sprinkling of kosher salt and that is a tasty breakfast. It probably would be best to broil the top but I am lazy and just stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
Breakfast Margherita (Barilla pasta on sale 10/$10 this week!)
For dinner, a vegan favorite packed with lots of healthy veg and chickpeas. I made a ton of this soupy stew today so we can be eating it for dinner tonight and for lunch a couple of days. Sauté onions, carrots and celery, add some hot pepper flakes and salt while that is cooking, next add garlic, a bunch of cherry tomatoes (yellow ones from our daughter’s garden but using petite diced from a can is okay too), some optional zucchini, and the rinsed, canned chickpeas. Then pour in some vegetable stock (or chicken stock for a non-vegan alternative) to cover and bring it to a boil. Add a small pasta like ditalini or orzo and cook until al dente. You may need to add some water to make sure that there is enough liquid to boil the pasta. Final step, stir in and wilt some greens and adjust the seasoning.
I top mine with just parsley but John likes to use some good finishing oil along with the parsley and a grating of Parmesan cheese.
Chickpea and vegetable stew
Finally here is the menu for our post-vacation rest of the week. It only goes until Sunday since you know I like to begin my week on Monday.
My menu hanging in the kitchen
Posted in Legumes, Pasta, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Tagged carrots, Celery, chickpeas, ditalini, garlic, Onions, tomatoes, Vegan, Vegetables, vegetarian, zucchini
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Back from vacation? Eat like it’s Monday. 9/5/18
You know what I mean. Monday is the day you start a diet, or turn over a new leaf, or just get things back to normal. We got home from vacation on Tuesday so Wednesday is my Monday. And what do we eat frequently on Mondays? Classic chicken dinner.
Chicken breast with jus, rutabaga mash, quick-steamed broccoli
I have had a pretty indulgent three weeks. It is a long time to be away and my resolve to eat in a healthy manner started at a high and slowly ebbed away. I gained three pounds. But you know what? I forgive myself for making some sub-optimal choices and it is “Monday” and I am back on track!
I am revved up to start planning menus, trying new recipes, enjoying time-tested meal plans, and filling your inbox with a few paragraphs and pictures every day!
Posted in American, Healthy tips, Poultry, Vegetables
Tagged broccoli, chicken, chicken breast, rutabagas, sous vide
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Cruise food. 8/27/18
It has been a week since I posted so I thought I would catch up with what you can eat on a cruise ship.
First we have room service for breakfast. The benefit of this is it is a set amount of food and you are not tempted to get more. And, even better, you can have breakfast in your pjs. There is quite a lot of food in the picture below but luckily John is always eager to eat extra bacon!
Room service breakfast
Lunch has the hazard of being a buffet. In addition to hot and cold entrees there is a gelato station, a pizza station, and a lot of desserts. I admit to eating a small slice of pizza margarita and yesterday John and I shared a oatmeal raisin cookie. Hey, I am on vacation!
There are always salads at lunch
Salmon and octopus/shrimp salad
On our ship there is an option to eat at one of their upscale restaurants, one of which is the Chef’s Table. It serves five small courses. We are only supposed to eat there three times but we have been ingratiating ourselves to the staff and it looks like as long as we are willing to eat on the late side (8:30) we can come whenever we want.
The first course which is not really a “course” is an amuse bouche. It is usually a couple of bites.
Crab meat amuse bouche
Next comes the actual first course. Pictured are two we have had.
Yum! Tuna tataki with lemon foam
Small first course of oxtail soup
So you can see the portion sizes are pretty small. Before the main course is some sort of little granita as a palate cleanser. Then we move on to the main course which is also on the small side. The main courses have all been quite good.
Medallions of lamb
Beef tenderloin with mushrooms and purple potatoes
Then there is a dessert which I usually do not eat or just have a little taste. Here is a picture of one that I had a spoonful of the ice cream. I know people love chocolate but it just does not appeal to me.
Chocolate brownie coated with chocolate and pistachio ice cream
Luckily for us a lot of people do not like eating at the Chef’s Table because they cannot choose what they want to eat and, being Americans, the portion sizes are way too small.
Norwegian fare. 8/20/18
Thought I would post a few of the meals I ate in Oslo, Norway. We are on our way to Sweden today having thoroughly enjoyed Oslo. Most of the meals I ordered show that I was usually trying to eat in a healthy sane manner. So far number of desserts, zero.
These are two small plates that John and I shared for a dinner. In the foreground is calamari and the green tube is a cabbage leaf stuffed with minced lamb.
For lunch one day I ordered an open-faced shrimp sandwich. Obviously it turned out a lot more mayonnaise-y than I anticipated. The dill was really good on it but I only ate about half.
Here is a better choice. John and I shared these small plates of bacon wrapped scallops on a pea purée and halibut ceviche.
This very small plate of carpaccio was my lunch one day.
On our last day in Oslo I fell and hurt my knee. I needed some comfort food.
Posted in Dining out
Tagged cabbage roll, calamari, carpaccio, ceviche, french fries, Hamburger, Oslo, scallops, shrimp salad
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Busy person’s chicken dinner. 8/14/18
This is hardly a cooking post but sometimes when you are busy buying a prepared chicken and making a quick side is the best you can do.
Store-bought rotisserie chicken with Mediterranean salad
This turns out to be a very eensy chicken. Look at the size of the yellow cherry tomato in comparison. I wish our Costco were nearer by. You can get a much bigger rotisserie chicken at Cosrco for at least $2 less.
So now I am done with cooking until September. I have no doubt that I will be longing to get back into the kitchen by then!
Posted in Mediterranean, Poultry, take-out, Vegetables
Tagged chicken, cucumbers, feta, tomatoes
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Sweet and salty flank steak over herb and citrus salad. 8/13/18
Tonight’s dinner is similar to last week’s Vietnamese Flank Steak in that it has a fish sauce, lime, and brown sugar marinade. The proportions of this week’s marinade are much better balanced though so the whole dinner is less fishy. The original recipe has this dish made with grilled slices of pork shoulder. I think I will try that in the future.
Since I cannot find escarole at my local grocery I use a lettuce blend. I also add green onions, cilantro, and basil to the salad which is dressed in reserved marinade. The grilled citrus is spectacular and so juicy! This s a really tasty light dinner.
Sweet and salty flank steak over herbs and lettuce with grilled citrus
Posted in Beef, Grilling, Vegetables, Vietnamese
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Omnivore 