Omnivore

June 19, 2016 – Father’s Day

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Beebamom

As I mentioned in an earlier post, on Father’s Day John wanted meat. MEAT! That means not vegetarian, seafood, or chicken. Since we were having the whole family over and the grandkids love Zayde burgers, then burgers it was. However after buying a whole lot of everything, it turned out that Nathan was sick so our Father’s Day turned out to be just the three of us and a ton of food.

Sarah and I went to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and bought eggplant spread, tomatoes, strawberries, nectarines, candy cane beets, and this beautiful Malabar spinach.

Malabar spinach for underneath the roasted beet salad

I roasted golden and variegated beets and combined them with orange supremes and a light dressing. The salad was topped with red onions, crumbled blue cheese and glazed pecans. Very delicious!

Roasted beet salad

We were also supposed to have a Caesar salad with crispy polenta croutons but I decided to save the polenta for dinner on Monday night. All the fruit is making a showing with yogurt on Monday as well.

Finally John cooked his famous Zayde burgers which were delicious as always!

Zayde burger with roasted beet salad

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beets, Golden beets, hamburgers, Malabar spinach, roasted root vegetables | Leave a comment

June 18, 2016 – No mayo potato salad

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Beebamom

We bought some pre-made ribs at the grocery store. Rather than go with fatty salads from the deli, I bought some small new potatoes and zucchini. After slicing the zucchini and salting it to draw out some of the liquid, I put the potatoes on to steam.

When the potatoes were done I cut them up right away and dressed them with olive oil, salt, and celery seed so the potatoes would soak in the flavor. I also added onions and celery. The potato salad would be served warm or room temperature.

Delicious potato salad made with a little olive oil and no mayo

After sautéing onions, mushrooms, and garlic I added the zucchini to cook. Some thyme from the backyard finished the dish.

Zucchini in the pan with mushrooms, onions, and garlic

Finally John heated the ribs in the microwave and we had a “real” dinner.

Grocery store ribs with no mayo potato salad and zucchini

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Potato salad, zucchini | Leave a comment

June 17, 2016 – Something for nothing

Posted on June 18, 2016 by Beebamom

On Sunday we are having a Father’s Day do and one of the dishes I am making is a roasted beet salad. (I will be posting that on Sunday.) The beets come with their leaves attached so we used the leaves in a pasta dish. It’s a food with a bonus!

Penne with beet leaves, garlic, pine nuts, and raisins

Penne with beet greens, garlic, pine nuts, and raisins

So easy and so good! While the pasta cooked I sautéed garlic and pine nuts in some olive oil and then added the beet greens. Next the still firm pasta went in and I cooked the whole thing together with some plumped raisins and 1/2 cup of pasta water. It was topped with some Parmesan cheese and a good finishing oil.

Note: for a vegan recipe omit Parmesan cheese

Posted in Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged beet greens, garlic, Olive oil, penne, pine nuts, raisins, Vegan, vegetarian | Leave a comment

June 16, 2016 – Moo Shu

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Beebamom

Moo Shu pork

Okay, one last indulgence. Even though I am perfectly fine with moo shu vegetables, John likes the pork. So pork it is. Sunday is usually our take-out day but we are having a family get-together for Father’s Day. I asked John what he wanted for his special day and his answer was “meat!” Sigh. Maybe I will get a portobello mushroom for him to grill for me.

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June 15, 2016 – Time to get back to rational eating

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Beebamom

We drove all the way home from Utah yesterday. The driving time is about 10 hours plus an additional hour or so for eating, refilling the tank, and traffic. We were pretty tired out by the time we got home. Sarah was so sweet and made us a chickpea curry served with farro. After all these meat meals, eating out, and fast food on the road, it was like a little vegetarian oasis.

Back to rational eating!!

Posted in Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged chickpeas, Curry, farro | Leave a comment

June 10, 2016 – Marrow madness

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Beebamom

Jon and I love going to the store together. On one of our first trips he saw these marrow bones in the butcher’s case. He decided that for our last dinner before they left we should make marrow bones.

Okay, I find a pretty simple looking recipe and we go back to the store at the end of the week to buy the bones. We explain to the butcher how we want them cut. He asks us what kind of dog we have. We burst out laughing explaining that the bones are for us. He admits that he has never sold the bones to people before. They ring up as pet bones.

Pet bones

Roasted marrow bones with parsley, onions, and garlic and a crusty piece of bread

Pretty tasty and not very expensive!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Marrow | Leave a comment

June 5 & 6, 2016 – Meat and more meat

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Beebamom

Jon and the kids are here in Utah for a week and this means a week full of meat and more meat. I will probably end up gaining weight from this but feeding them a bunch of vegetarian meals is not going to make them happy.

On the day they arrived we had Zayde burgers. These are just grilled hamburgers but everyone says they are the best. In all the hoopla surrounding their first dinner I forgot to take a picture.

On June 5th we had grilled lamb chops with couscous and sautéed kale. Nathan ate a lot of lamb! I cannot imagine how much he will eat as a teenager.

Grilled lamb chops with couscous and kale

The next night we had Jon’s comfort meal – meatballs with noodles and gravy and snow peas.

Meatballs with noodles and gravy, snow peas

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged couscous, Grilling, kale, lamb chops, meatballs, noodles, snow peas | Leave a comment

June 3, 2016 – Grilled everything

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Beebamom

Today we bought a new gadget to use on our grill. It is just a piece of perforated steel but the holes are a good size for letting vegetables get grill marks but not fall through.

Potatoes and cauliflower ready for the grill

I cooked the potatoes a little in the microwave first and tossed both vegetables in some oil before grilling them. Along with a flank steak, this was a great meal.

Grilled flank steak, new potatoes, and cauliflower

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cauliflower, flank steak, Grilling, new potatoes | Leave a comment

June 1, 2016 – Farfalle with carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, and onions in peanut sauce

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Beebamom

Farfalle and vegetables in peanut sauce

We really stretched the pasta tonight by adding a bunch of vegetables. I sautéed the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and carrots while the pasta cooked. John toasted some sesame seeds and chopped up some green onions. Right before the farfalle was done I added some pasta water to my pan and started the broccoli. This way the broccoli retained its color and texture. Add the farfalle to the vegetables, as much peanut sauce as you like, and some more pasta water for a good consistency.

Posted in Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged broccoli, carrots, farfalle, green onions, mushrooms, Onions, pasta, sesame seeds, Vegan, Vegetables, vegetarian | Leave a comment

May 31, 2016 – Grilled chicken thighs with zucchini and couscous

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Beebamom

Grilled chicken with zucchini and couscous

Now that it is heating up here in Utah, it is time for more outdoor cooking. John cooked the chicken thighs on the grill painting them with barbecue sauce on the last turn. This way the skin gets crispy and the sauce caramelized without the whole thing catching on fire. In the mean time I sautéed onions, mushroom, and garlic. I added a little liquid and the zucchini for the last five minutes. The couscous was cooked with some green onions and dressed with olive oil.

Happy summertime cooking!

Posted in Poultry, Vegetables | Tagged chicken, chicken thighs, couscous, mushrooms, Onions, zucchini | Leave a comment