Mediterranean lunch at home – 1/16/17

Hummus, tabbouleh, salad, toast points, olives, and pepperoncini

Hummus, tabbouleh, salad, toast points, olives, and pepperoncini

We have a place we go to here in St. George called Mad Pita Express and they make an appetizer sampler that includes hummus, tabbouleh, olives, pepperoncini, pita, pickled beets, and some sort of potato salad. I don’t have all those things on my plate but this is near enough and only lacking in things I do not need like a lot of olive oil and the potato salad. I bought the hummus but I made the tabbouleh. Here’s how –

Soak a cup of bulgur wheat for 15 minutes or so to soften. Meanwhile in the food processor whiz up a big bunch or two of parsley, a quarter cup of mint leaves, 3 green onions, and a clove of garlic. Drain and squeeze out as much water as possible from the bulgur. In a large bowl combine the bulgur, the mix from the food processor, the juice of one lemon, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add salt to taste.  Let the flavors combine for an hour or so.

 

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Burger and a salad – 1/15/17

Burger and a salad (and the best beer ever!)

Burger and a salad (and the best beer ever!)

John is the grill man and I am the vegetable lady. Tonight while he was preparing the burgers I was busy making a tasty salad and the cauliflower from the previous post. For my salad I used the mix “Kale Italia.” It consists of radicchio, kale, mizuna, and arugula. Using these mixes is not exactly cost effective but I know if I bought all those different kinds of salad greens that they would turn to slime before I used them all. The salad also had tomatoes, green onions, mushrooms, and croutons. I am not a big salad fan so if I am going to make one, I like to throw in a lot of stuff.

Burger note: John mixed in a quarter teaspoon of baking soda along with some salt.  The baking soda keeps the meat tender.  We saw the cooks on America’s Test Kitchen do this.

Amazingly we found Schneider Weiss beer at the liquor store here in Utah. It is my favorite. If you are ever in Munich I strongly suggest you stop by Schneider’s.  It is just off the east end of the pedestrian area near the Isar Gate. Along with fabulous beer they have all kinds of sausages, pretzels, and tasty traditional German food.

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Cauliflower snack! – 1/15/17

High temp roasted cauliflower

High temp roasted cauliflower

This cauliflower is so delicious! We eat it like it is a snack. Here’s the way to make it.

Heat your oven to 500F convect. Cut the cauliflower into florets. Lay out on a sheet tray lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and mix it in thoroughly so that all pieces have some. Sprinkle with salt. Put in the oven on the middle rack. They should look like the ones above in about 10 minutes or so. (Keep your eye on them!) Add more salt if needed.  Enjoy!

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OMG, delicious fried scallops! – 1/14/17

Never tried fried scallops? They are fabulous- crunchy on the outside and soft and sweet inside. They are the only fried food that we make.

Fried scallops with rice medley and haricot vert

Fried scallops with rice medley and haricot vert

After drying the scallops thoroughly, I dredge them in seasoned flour, then dip them in egg, and finally roll them around in panko breadcrumbs. John uses our electric wok to cook them (outside so the kitchen is not coated in grease!) I made the combo rice this morning in the oven and gave it a little more flavor with the addition of bell pepper and green onion. The beans are simply steamed.

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A rare steak – 1/13/17

Yes, we rarely have steak and we rarely have a steak so rare!

Ribeye steak with grilled potato and "seasonal" vegetables

Ribeye steak with grilled potato and “seasonal” vegetables

On Thursday and Friday we traveled to St. George, Utah for a little fun in the sun. Most of the way here it rained furiously and it is still raining today (Saturday). So much for sun. But we can have fun anywhere and part of yesterday’s fun was going to the grocery store and John negotiating with the butcher to cut him just the steak he wanted.

Our grill at home has a propane tank and the one here is natural gas. Propane cooks hotter and unfortunately John did not leave the steak on long enough. Fortunately after we ate the bits that were cooked enough to eat, we have a lot of steak leftover which we can use for another day.

I microwaved the potato until it was almost done and then oiled it up and John stuck it on the grill. We always laugh at “seasonal vegetables” because when you get them at a restaurant they are usual a dismal mound of summer squash, baby carrots (ugh), and the odd piece of broccoli. My seasonal vegetables were tasty sliced carrots, garlic, onions, mushrooms, and a good bit of broccoli all sautéed together until just crisp-tender.

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Who me, make a dessert? – 1/11/17

On Wednesday we celebrated our grandson’s 8th birthday.  We decided on a pizza party and got a couple of pizzas and I also made an “Italian salad.” But it being a birthday I really needed to come up with some sort of candle blowing dessert.  Our daughter pointed out that kids don’t really care how “real” a cake and frosting is so I went with a box cake and a tub of frosting. I am not proud of this but both grandkids ate two cupcakes and did not seem offended by my meager offering. Plus I left the extras behind so there was no chance that anyone at our house we eat any more.

Happy 8th birthday, Sam!

Sam just before he blows out the candles

Sam just before he blows out the candles

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Tuesday’s GBOF (giant bowl of food) – 1/10/17

Just as Monday is a themed dinner day so is Tuesday. I think Tuesday is my favorite, Giant Bowl of Food day. It consists of copious vegetables, a little bit of protein, low fat, and complex carbohydrates. It is important, at least to me, to be able to have seconds.

Chicken fried rice

Chicken fried rice

Today’s GBOF is yesterday’s chicken and an assortment of vegetables plus an omelet sliced up. I made some brown rice in the morning and let it cool. Flavorings are sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic.

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Out to lunch with no damage, the “sad lunch” – 1/10/17

We are having rainpocolypse here in Northern Cal. John is off to work and my daughter and I are deciding to brave the unfriendly weather by going shopping and having lunch out. In my family I am known for ordering the “sad lunch” at Chili’s. This consists of a garden salad (no croutons and cheese, dressing on the side),  steamed broccoli (no butter or Parmesan), and 6 small broiled shrimp. Sometimes I even bring my own zero-cal dressing! However, if you use your dressing judiciously by only dipping the very ends of your fork tines in the salad dressing, you can make a small amount go a long way.

Sad salad :(

Sad salad 😦

So while my daughter has her endless soup, salad, and chips, I plow through my sad salad. To be honest I quite like it plus I like myself afterward.

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Chicken Monday (on Monday!) 1/9/17

As promised, I gave myself a night off last night and we had take-out Chinese food (moo shu pork and Mongolian beef, Yum!) Now back to cooking. There is a reason why we have Chicken Monday. It is a way of bringing us back to eating properly for the week. The protein decision is made. We only need to decide how we are going to put our dinner together. Since frying is never (except scallops) an option, there are lots of interesting ways to craft a dinner that is healthy and satisfying.

Chicken breast with creamy polenta and zucchini

Chicken breast with creamy polenta and zucchini

I am resolute in trying to make interesting meals this year. So instead of the same-old same-old chicken, tonight’s dinner is somewhat more interesting. John sous vides the chicken and stirs up a 5.5 to 1 polenta. The broth for the polenta is flavored with bay and thyme and finished with minimal olive oil and butter. I made sautéed zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Served with a tomato sauce, this was a pleasing plate.

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Lunch fav – 1/9/17

Crushed chickpeas with olive oil, lettuce and tomato

Crushed chickpeas with olive oil, lettuce and tomato

Delicious, healthy vegan lunch!

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