This is not going to seem like much of a Valentine’s Day dinner but it’s what we like. For Valentine’s Day I made a meatloaf, roasted new potatoes, tomatoes and broccoli. No chocolates, no dessert. Only foods that we really like.
Meatloaf with roasted potatoes and tomatoes, steamed broccoli
I feel great trepidation when I look at these crabs. We have never had Dungeness crabs at home before. I know that there is stuff in them that you are not supposed to eat. The crabs are already cooked so it is just a matter of heating them up. I can’t look at this crab without imagining that he’s feeling sad about his fate. I am feeling guilty.
Sad looking crab
Potatoes steaming away
Collard greens, garlic, fresno chiles and corn ready for the pan
Picture before the crab carnage begins
Happy Lincoln’s Birthday! When I was a kid we actually celebrated Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthday separately and on their actual birthdates. I think, though, we only got Washington’s birthday off from school. Well, anyway, to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday we were going to have Dungeness crab because Lincoln always looks pretty crabby in his pictures. But the crab didn’t thaw in time so we decided to have a multi-course vegetable dinner. Our amuse bouche were artichokes zapped in the microwave for a few minutes each and served with some faux butter spray. In my hurry to eat the artichoke, I forgot to take a picture.
Remnants of the artichoke
Asparagus
On our way back from Carmel a couple of weeks ago we stopped at a farm stand and bought a stalk of Brussels sprouts. I find that they last better in the refrigerator attached to their stalk rather than loose. We had about 10 sprouts left so I put them in the oven with the potatoes which were finishing up cooking. Our main course turned out to be baked potatoes with roasted Brussels sprouts. This was an exceptionally good dinner and we didn’t miss the crab at all.
This is about a third of the Brussels sprout stalk I bought. The sprouts snap right off.
Baked potato – I had mine with ketchup and John had his with hoisin sauce
It seems like we’ve eaten this a couple of times recently. That’s because we bought the ravioli at Costco and the amount you have to buy makes three meals for us. It’s becoming a favorite though. First I saute some carrots, onions, mushrooms, Brussels sprout slivers, and celery. Then add stock. The ravioli cooks right in the soup. It’s good, filling and easy.
Mushroom ravioli in broth
I see that my last post was Wednesday of last week. On Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday we had pizza, leftovers, pasta, and dined out. I should have taken a picture of the pasta but eating pasta is always so exciting that I forget to take pictures!
We return our planning to include a Chicken Monday and move our meatless day to a different day of the week. This is just the typical Monday – Pan roasted chicken coated with dukkah, butternut squash, and green beans. John sears the chicken and then finishes it in the oven, I roast the squash and then scoop out the innards. This particular squash needs a lot of help. I end up putting in a little Splenda, faux butter and chipotle powder. We also have green beans, the little ones that they have at Trader Joe’s. They are a little overcooked because the chicken takes longer than John predicts. We serve it all with chicken gravy from a packet.
Today is my meatless day. Cereal for breakfast, hummus for lunch and bell peppers with a stuffing of mushrooms, baked tofu, farro and assorted aromatic vegetables for dinner. I made the farro yesterday. It is such a tasty grain! I bake it in the oven using America’s Test Kitchen recipe for brown rice. It comes out perfectly. The mushrooms which have been processed into small pieces are sauteed until browned and dry. The mushrooms lend a meaty flavor to the dish.
The other day we were at Trader Joe’s and found savory baked tofu. We have been disappointed at how little texture and taste ground turkey lends to the dish. As it turns out the tofu is quite tasty especially when browned with the some spices. The texture also holds up well. John cuts it into little cubes.
I microwave the pepper shells to soften them. We add tomato sauce to all the rest of the stuffing ingredients and bake for 45 minutes.
It turns out tasting pretty good. Better than the ground turkey version. It still needs a bitter note, though. Maybe next time I will chop up a bitter green and add it to the stuffing mixture.
Stuffed bell peppers with faro, tofu and mushrooms
No wonder it is hard to figure out what day it is! Chicken is always my Monday dinner except when I decided to make Monday, meatless Monday. I think, though, as long as I have a day when there is no meat, I can take Monday back to chicken. Maybe meatless Wednesdays.
Anyway, John does a superb job cooking the chicken. He dusts the outside with dukkah, an Egyptian side dish consisting of a mixture of herbs, nuts, usually hazelnut, and spices. Normally it is served on bread that has been dipped in olive oil but it makes a great flavoring on the chicken. I do a superb job roasting the butternut squash and cooking the broccoli. I use a little butter spray on both but no actual butter.
Look for chicken next Monday as I put my world back in order!
Pan roasted boneless, skinless chicken breast dusted with dukkah, butternut squash and broccoli
This is a springtime dish. It’s the kind of thing we might eat on Passover. It’s not the kind of thing we eat on Monday. Monday has always been for chicken or Meatless Monday. Every once in a while, though, I need to throw John a bone, so to speak, and have a change from vegetarian, chicken, fish or seafood. Unfortunately the lamb is not quite perfect. John has put a lot of seasoning on the outside and it is overpowering. Once through the crust the lamb is quite delicious. He did the lamb on the grill and I roasted the potatoes and asparagus in the oven. I think this will take care of any meat cravings for a while.
Grilled lamb with roasted potatoes and asparagus
I don’t usually eat anything with the name “pea” in it. It’s a leftover trauma from my childhood that has turned me against them. For some reason, though, I had bought a bag of dried black eyed peas. I think I was pretending that they could stand in for beans. I soak them and cook them and taste them. I am not impressed. Plus their cooking liquid looks like dark gray sludge. It is not a hopeful beginning. I bargain for time and ask if can’t we please have takeout Chinese for last night’s meal? Yes, I can. The Chinese food turns out to be not very good. I am hoping they have not changed chefs again.
Tonight we must eat the black eyed peas. I saute up a little turkey sausage and add the usual vegetables. I relieve the peas of their sludge and add chicken stock. I put in a fresno chile and a little vinegar for some zip and brightness. Voila, the stew is now better than just edible.
I do not think black-eyed peas will be on my regular rotation but with a loaf of crusty bread, some good olive oil and a glass of wine, I am definitely willing to eat them tonight.
Black eyed pea/turkey sausage soup
Last night we unfortunately ate pizza. It tasted quite good with the exception of most of the components provided by the pizzeria. Why can’t a decent pizza be made somewhere outside of Italy, and the New York/New Jersey area?! It’s a poor crust that is the culprit here and a pizza is really all about the crust. The toppings are just window dressing. Anyway, the allure of having someone deliver dinner to the front door took over and I submitted to that allure. Mea culpa.
Getting back on the track of a real food, today I use up the rest of my white beans in a soupy stew with various basic vegetables and collard greens. With a drizzle of olive oil it is really good.
White bean soup with collard greens
Omnivore 