Shrimp stir fry with rice
Finally we are back to eating something reasonable. Along with the shrimp that John marinated, I cut up a variety of vegetables – onions, carrots, celery, snow peas, garlic, ginger, poblano chile, and Brussels sprouts. I usually add cabbage but since we didn’t have any, Brussels sprouts would have to do. We also made some steamed white rice which I decorated with some black sesame seeds.
This is the best way to reheat pizza in my opinion. Reheating pizza in the microwave alone gives you a sodden crust but don’t abandon your microwave completely! Microwave a slice for 30 to 45 seconds and then put the piece in a preheated frying pan. The crust crisps up in a minute or two. Watch that it does not burn. You end up with warm toppings from the microwave and a crisp crust from the frying pan. Good as new!
Reheated day old pizza with a small salad
This was a pretty fancy dinner for a Wednesday night especially since we opened a bottle of Deerfield Ranch 2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc. What was the occasion? It was our grandson’s 11th birthday! Even though he was not here to celebrate with us (that will be Sunday when we go to the movies and out for pizza) there is no reason to pass up a chance to celebrate.
Rib cap steak with grilled potato and asparagus
John sous vide the beef and then hit it and a nuked russet potato on the grill to give them an even better flavor. And, yay, it is asparagus season (at least in Mexico) so these yummy stalks are on sale and should keep coming as the asparagus season moves north to California. Tip: if you peel the bottom of the stems you will get a better yield per stalk. It will snap off closer to the bottom.
Angel hair pasta and meatballs with tomato sauce
Yes, this is a go-to dinner when there is not enough time to make something else. I think I need to take the time to make some meatballs and freeze them instead of using these frozen ones from a bag. I ended up coughing the next morning and wonder if there is something in the list of ingredients that bothers my asthma.
South Indian thali
How delicious does that look!? Today daughter and I had lunch at a South Indian restaurant. I haven’t been out for a lot of Indian food and was pleasantly surprised at how terrific this dish was. This is thali. It is vegetarian and consists of many dipping sauces and a bowl of basmati rice plus a couple of pieces of naan. The dipping sauces were really delicious. Some were spicy and others sweet. Of course it was way too much for me to eat but now that I’ve tried this dish, I am eager to go again and try something else.
Seasonal vegetables with rutabaga/sweet potato chipotle mash and chicken breast with cilantro sauce
I have railed against those insipid saucersful of vegetables that restaurants call seasonal vegetables before. Let’s be clear, that dish of zucchini or yellow summer squash with horrid baby carrots and perhaps the odd bit of bell pepper or broccoli has nothing to do with what happens to be growing at the moment. It is either what they have leftover or what is cheapest or what comes out of a frozen bag (shudder!) If you are going to make this pathetic melange at least use fresh ingredients and put a little effort into it.
I took out the seeds and salted the zucchini and left it to sit for an hour or so to release some of its liquid and firm up. Into an oiled pan first go the onions and poblano chile for a little spice. When they are soft add the rinsed and patted dry zucchini and a carrot. (OMG, I actually spent a whole minute peeling and cutting it up instead of using tasteless baby carrots!) Cook this until crisp tender. Then I added the sliced garlic and halved cherry tomatoes. I seasoned the dish with a little chipotle powder and salt. It tasted good!
The rest of the meal included a mash of leftover rutabagas and a microwaved sweet potato. John sous vide the chicken breast and served it with a lime/cilantro sauce.
Pretty tasty Chicken Monday!
Seasonal vegetables
Penne pasta with mushrooms and onions
I see the pasta is a little blurry due to steam rising off of it. I am always in a hurry to eat pasta and did not wait to take the picture until it stopped steaming. Tonight we both ate dinner but each made our own. John was eating left over Chinese food and I am avoiding Chinese takeout because it triggers my asthma for some reason. So I guess from now on I will have to make Chinese food at home so I can control all the ingredients. There was a little penne left in the box from the other night so I made it simply with some sautéed mushrooms, onions and kale mix. It was fine.
Penne and cannelloni beans with vegetables
The real trick to this recipe is to make a sauce using the pasta water. I probably used about one cup. The water has the starchy goodness from the pasta and is further enhanced by the sweet starchiness of the beans. Along with a little olive oil the sauce is light and tasty. I sautéed the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and carrots. The penne was cooked very al dente and right before I dumped it on top of the vegetables I add cherry tomatoes, the cannellini beans, and a lot of a kale and arugula mix (Kale Italia.) With the heat fairly high I kept adding the pasta water until the penne was done to our liking and there was a little residual sauce. This was a real winner.
We have a sandwich place out here, Lee’s Sandwiches, that makes banh mi, the Vietnamese sandwich. It comes on a crunchy, flaky French roll and often has some sort of liver spread, pork cold cuts, pickled vegetables and spicy pickled jalapeños.
I have been craving this salty, spicy, sweet sandwich but know that the version I get at Lee’s Sandwiches is much higher in calories than I want. So I have been working on building my own. An important component is the Thai pickled vegetables.
Thai pickled vegetables
I started with a recipe from Ted Allen of Food Network. It called for a brine of equal parts sugar, water, and vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. You heat the liquid up until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Well, Ted must like his food way sweeter and a lot less acidic and salty than I do. So I kept adding salt and vinegar until I got a flavor combination I liked. Then you put your julienned vegetables in the brine and set them in the refrigerator for at least a half an hour. I used cucumbers (which I should have cut up smaller), carrots, land onions.
For my banh mi I use a pita half with a little smear of liverwurst, a half piece of turkey from the deli, the pickled vegetables, and some pepperoncini.
It’s not quite as good as Lee’s but it hits all the flavor components I crave. Sometimes I eat the vegetables as snack!
Snack of pickled vegetables, cherry tomatoes, and pretzel sticks
Last day of February and on the menu was polenta with sweet Italian sausage with a side of zucchini.
Polenta with sweet Italian sausage plus a side of sautéed zucchini
Tonight John is in charge of sausage and polenta and I am taking care of the veg. From a DiningLite point of view, this is a small portion of polenta and one sausage with more than half the plate covered with vegetables. Controlling portion size is the key.
Instead of watery pale limp zucchini, I made some robust, firm, browned zucchini. Here’s the secret. Split the zucchini in two length-wise and scrape out all the seeds. Put the zucchini in a colander and salt it with kosher salt. Let it sit over a bowl for at least one half hour. You will be surprised at how much liquid comes out. Rinse off the zucchini and pat dry. Start your vegetable by putting some sliced onions in a pan that has a teaspoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of butter in it. Add the onions, when they are soft and translucent add the zucchini and as the zucchini starts to brown add the sliced garlic and pine nuts. Continue to cook another few minutes until the garlic and the pine nuts are slightly brown. Do not let the garlic or pine nuts burn because they will become bitter. You will find that the zucchini has good texture and a nutty flavor.
Sautéed zucchini with onions, garlic, and pine nuts
Omnivore 