Grilled shrimp tacos. 6/3/18

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Beebamom

Since it was around 100F outside and we were trying not to heat up the kitchen, we decided to make our tacos with grilled shrimp and tortillas on our patio grill. This was such a delicious way to cook them. Both the tortillas and the shrimp had a bit of tasty char which went really well with the fresh salsa, cilantro, and crema. (Made with equal parts yogurt and sour cream, a teaspoon of cumin, and a dash of salt.) Our side dish was spicy black beans. (Rinsed and drained can of black beans, drained can of Rotel, cumin, cayenne, Tabasco sauce to taste.) We washed this down with one of John’s Earl Gilmore Memorial Margaritas. Super Sunday Supper Fiesta!!

0BB1F72B-AAA4-4453-B876-32610895BD79Tacos ready to assemble!

Posted in Grilling, Kitchen tips, Legumes, pescatarian, Shellfish, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carolina Caviar and a Burger. 6/2/18

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Beebamom

So what, you ask, is Carolina caviar. I make a dish called Texas caviar which is a bunch of diced vegetables and beans in a spicy oil and vinegar dressing. Texas caviar was first made and served at the Houston Country Club around 1940. The name was given ironically due to the expensive nature of caviar and the humble nature of black-eyed peas. Carolina caviar (my name for it) is those same vegetables plus golden beets in a sweet/sour sauce with tarragon. It is kind of like the sweet tea of diced vegetable salads. We had something similar when we stayed at the Sourwsood Inn outside of Asheville, NC in 2007.

And a burger is a burger.

Grilled hamburger with Carolina caviar

 

Posted in Beef, Grilling, Legumes, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Spaghetti night! 6/1/18

Posted on June 2, 2018 by Beebamom

I cannot think of a better way to start off June than with a big bowl of spaghetti. Recently when I have been making my tomato and meat sauce I make enough to freeze two containers. Last night’s dinner was a breeze. I prepared a kale, tomato, and spinach  salad with homemade croutons (made in a frying pan which is so much better than baking them), then John boiled the water and cooked the spaghetti while I heated up my thawed sauce. Dinner prepared in about 20 minutes!185D59F3-9CA4-4E72-A933-67ED80963E6E

Posted in Beef, Kitchen tips, Pasta, Vegetables | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Roast cod with parsley sauce and chickpea purée. 5/31/18

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Beebamom

This dinner has a lot of moving parts. There is a parsley sauce, a chickpea purée, the cod itself, and we added a vegetable, Brussels sprouts. The recipe suggests that you make the  parsley sauce in the blender and chickpea purée in the food processor. That is too many gadgets to wash! I made them both in the food processor. John roasted the cod in the oven after marinating it. You can find the recipe for this dish on the Food and Wine website. Actually the only thing that did not turn out as well as we would have wished was the cod. We had thawed individually frozen cod portions but the fish had lost its internal structure and ended up spongy. Make this with fresh fish if possible.

Roast cod with chickpea purée and parsley plus sauteed Brussels sprouts

Posted in Fish, Legumes, pescatarian, Vegetables | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Chicken dinner in Red Rock Country. 5/30/18

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Beebamom

We made it to southern Utah and it only took about 11 hours and 15 minutes. Wow, what a long time to be in the car! It’s hot here but everything looks great. If you have never been to this part of the states, I would suggest a visit. The national and state parks are gorgeous and the hiking is great. It is hot in the summer but at least it is not humid.

Pond with red cliffs behind in Utah

Since it is our first day here it seems like a Chicken Monday even though it’s Wednesday. We have a rather large chicken breast in the freezer that will be enough for the two of us so John fires up the immersion circulator.

Chicken breast cooking to 155F

My job is to reheat the leftover rice from Mr. Kabob, char up some lemon slices, and steam the broccoli. John makes a little sauce with some lemon juice, white wine, chicken drippings, and butter. We are happy celebrating our first night here with a winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Chicken breast slices with lemon sauce and charred lemons, basmati rice, and steamed broccoli

Posted in Poultry, rice, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Persian treat from the desert. 5/29/18

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Beebamom

Yesterday on our trip through the Mojave Desert on our way to Utah we had to stop somewhere for lunch. There are a few small towns which have the usual array of fast food. It is fast but is it really food that you want to eat?

After consulting Yelp! we settled on Mr. Kabob in Barstow, CA. They have recently reopened in a new location and are getting a lot of good reviews. At Mr. Kabob’s I am able to get a vegetarian/vegan lunch! It is quite tasty although needs some salt. Mr. Kabob’s also needs to turn up the air conditioning and use a little less oil. The food is Mediterranean cuisine based on the Persian food the owner grew up with.

Eggplant with peppers, grilled tomato, and green basmati rice

 

Posted in Dining out, Grilling, rice, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Eat down, fried rice. 5/27/18

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Beebamom

We are leaving for Utah this week and need to make dishes which will use up some of our produce. I suppose I could make a soup or pasta but we have  quite a bit of rice in the refrigerator. We combine the rice from our daughter’s takeout with some brown rice we have left over. I add some new vegetables. John scrambles an egg into our concoction. A little ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil complete our dish. It turned out very well and was a good way to use up some tired vegetables.

Fried rice

Posted in Eggs, Kitchen tips, leftovers, rice, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Turn a leftover into a new dish! 5/26/18

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Beebamom

Whoa, I have been derelict in my blogging duties and have sat around for a couple of days not posting my meals and pictures. No excuse. I just did not do it even though John and I cooked some excellent meals. So now I am casting my mind back to what I ate, how I cooked it, and whether I liked it.

Tonight’s dinner was 3-cup chicken with peanut sauce and pasta. We had the chicken earlier in the week and had to extend the sauce by adding some chicken broth and soy sauce. John suggested we sprinkle some peanuts on top which made me think of adding some peanut butter to the sauce. Then I decided to cut collard greens into pasta sized strips and add it at the last minute to the sauce. It turned out super good!

Leftover 3-cup chicken with sauce enhanced with peanut butter over spaghetti and collard greens garnished with chopped peanuts

Yummy close-up

 

Posted in leftovers, Pasta, Poultry, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Fancy wine night. 5/24/18

Posted on May 26, 2018 by Beebamom

Every so often we have a fancy wine night. Over the years we have collected a small stash of “better” wines which we normally save for special occasions. Other times we just open a bottle as a special treat to ourselves. Tonight we had a Chateau St. Jean 2004 Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon.

Fancy wine with rose from our garden

Obviously a fancy wine deserves a special meal. Tonight we prepared ribeye cap prime steak, steamed new potatoes, and Brussels sprouts.

Prime rib eye cap steak, steamed new potatoes, and brussel sprouts

We cooked the steak using the sous vide method and setting our immersion circulator to 125F for a perfect medium rare.  John gave it a quick sear on the grill afterwards. I steamed the new potatoes and gave them a dusting of smoked paprika so they would not look so plain. The Brussels sprouts were place in a pan cut side down with a little water and some butter. Once the water had almost evaporated I added 2 tablespoons of dry sherry. Once that had evaporated the sprouts browned up in the residual butter in the pan.

Yay! Fancy dinner night!

Posted in Beef, Grilling, Kitchen tips, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saffron Pernod Shrimp. 5/23/18

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Beebamom

Saffron Pernod shrimp, brown rice, and collard greens with corn

Having finished up our leftovers of this dish last night our daughter declared that it was like eating in a restaurant! That is high praise indeed since she rarely eats any of our food. Saffron shrimp with Pernod sauce has become a real favorite around here and we seem to be making it every week or two.

It takes quite a bit of chopping since you have to make a brunoise of fennel, onions, bell pepper, and onion. There is also a cup of chopped tomato and a chiffonade of collard greens. I took care of all that before John got home from work so his job was just to do the cooking. I also made the brown rice ahead in the Instant Pot but have decided it has a better flavor when I make it in the oven.

 

Posted in pescatarian, rice, Shellfish, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment