BBQ ribs with Super Protein Salad
We went to the grocery store and bought these prepared foods. I should have made dinner but just did not feel like it. It was nice not to have a big mess to clean up tonight.
Note: for a vegetarian dish omit the tuna and add another half egg.
I found this Gwynth Paltrow recipe a while ago and made it according to her instructions. I wasn’t happy with the results. Putting everything in a pan and roasting it just didn’t work well. So I took it apart and made the components separately and came up with a better dish I think.
Warm Niçoise salad
One of the things I did differently was to par-steam the vegetables starting first with the potatoes and then adding the beans, onions, and bell peppers for a couple of minutes. Everything goes on a sheet tray along with some halved cherry tomatoes and into the oven with olive oil, lemon, and herbs. In the meantime I cooked the eggs and John seared the tuna. Then I assembled the plates adding a little more oil and lemon, the olives, and some basil. I took a picture including the tuna but I kept it vegetarian on my plate.
Our adult daughter is living at home at the moment while she decides what direction her life is going to take next. I love having her around but she likes to cook and bake items that are not in my best interest. It is hard to pass up her delicious dishes plus, I don’t like hurting her feelings by not trying what she has made. Sigh.
Here are two things she made this week –
Fabulous coconut macaroons
Quiche Lorraine
Lamb chops with grilled potato and asparagus
I find it really difficult to take an appetizing picture of meat. They always just look like brown blobs. Then add a darkly grilled potato and you have a pretty blah looking plate. I tried draping the asparagus around to make it more exciting. After a few days of more complicated dinners, grilled lamb chops, microwaved then grilled potato, and sautéed asparagus was a welcome change.
I wonder why fish is called brain food. Is there some sort of scientific proof behind this? At my house growing up, my father detested fish, even the smell of it. No fish was ever allowed! Even our poor cat grew up without it! How much smarter we would have been if we’d been able to eat fish before we went away to college.
And speaking of fish…
Pan-seared halibut with parsley sauce, a purée of chickpeas and braised carrots, onions, and fennel
This dinner had a lot of moving parts and used several pots and the food processor. First I made the parsley sauce. The recipe said to use a blender but I already was getting the food processor dirty for the chickpea puree so I opted to use the food processor for both. The parsley sauce would come out smoother in a blender. Then I made the chickpea puree. Both these dishes are basically “add water, olive oil, lemon juice and puree.” Then season. The braising of the fennel, onions, and carrots took about 20 minutes. I started these in a little water and olive oil and then cooked off the water at the end and let the vegetables brown.
Speaking of fennel, carrots, and parsley, the all come from the same plant family as do caraway, parsnips, and Queen Anne’s lace (is that edible?) So I added some caraway seeds which were tasty. Also put in some fennel fronds at the end.
So that just leaves the fish. Since I don’t cook the proteins in our house, all I know is that John followed a recipe for pan-seared halibut from the New York Times cooking site. (I will no doubt become a full-time vegetarian when John stops cooking.)
On our recent trip the most northerly city we reached was Vancouver, B.C. It is a really nice city, clean, with lots of parks and flowers, good restaurants, and friendly people. I found an article naming Maenam, a Thai restaurant, as Vancouver Magazine’s best restaurant of 2016. So we went. In fact we liked it so much that we went twice!
We ordered the chef’s menu which offered a wonderful sampling of six dishes. And all for only $C45! There was also a three course wine pairing for $C30. So this was a real bargain.
The food was really, really good and the service was friendly and knowledgeable. If you are ever up Vancouver way, don’t miss Maenam!
Here are a few of the dishes we tried –
Hot and sour sablefish soup
Steamed clams with lemongrass and Thai basil
Salad of duck and lichi with mint and Thai basil
Green curry of sturgeon
I went to the store on Friday to replenish my vacation-emptied kitchen. John and I planned a menu and chicken was not on my list. But whole chicken was on sale for $0.99/lb. and I could not resist a bargain. For $5.60 I can make three meals.
BBQ glazed chicken with couscous and broccoli
Here is the first meal, pan-roasted wings, thighs and drumsticks with a BBQ sauce glaze, couscous with green onions, parsley, and a fresno chile, and simple steamed broccoli. Obviously I made too much food. With the leftovers and the stock I made from the chicken carcass, today we had what we call sludge soup, meal #2. I added some vegetables which float on top and the leftover couscous sinks to the bottom and creates the sludge. Meal #3 will be something made out of the two chicken breasts that I have frozen. Two tasty and economical meals!
Sludge soup!
Chickpea Stew
Note: For vegan rendition omit parmesan cheese and use vegetable stock.
I am home from vacation! We had a cool and relaxing time traveling up the coast to Vancouver. There were lots of great things to see and to eat! We cooked for ourselves about half the time and ate out the other half. I will be posting some of the hits and misses over the next several days.
My first dinner at home was the warm and welcoming chickpea stew. Good for vegans, vegetarians and even omnivores if you want to add, say, sausage. It is so easy and quick to make plus so tasty. Here are the guidelines.
Chop up and sweat one onion, two carrots, and two celery stalks with a couple of pinches of salt. Add garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and herbs. (I used thyme and oregano.) Then add a quart of stock, chicken or vegetable. For extra flavor toss in a parmesan rind. Bring to a boil. Add a drained and rinsed can of chickpeas and some sliced cherry tomatoes. Simmer briefly. Bring back to a boil and add a cup of ditalini. When the ditalini is almost done add some torn up greens. Correct seasoning. Serve with some good olive oil, green onions, and grated Parmesan cheese.
Today we were in eat-down. It was time to get the leftovers out of the refrigerator. John ate the leftover shrimp curry in a soup for lunch while I ate most of the piece of Dutch crunch bread with some older tomatoes, a few stray pieces of cold cuts, and some tired lettuce. First up tonight, make a Caesar salad with the rest of the Romaine, toast up some croutons from the last bits of bread, and shave some Parmesan.
Caesar salad with croutons and shaved ParmesanFor the main course we finished the last of the farro and mushrooms stuffed in red peppers. This was the third time this week! Maybe next time I won’t make so many portions!
Farro and mushroom stuffed peppers
Fried scallops
Okay, this is the picture from the first time I made the fried scallops. It was so busy at dinner time since Jonathan had come over for dinner, that I forgot the picture-taking. He had heard us boast about our fabulous fried scallops and decided to take the day off from work and come over for tennis, a binge watch of Wallander, and the crowning event, fried scallops with waffle fries, and Caesar salad with homemade croutons. It was a great day topped by an even better dinner.
Omnivore 