Dining out. 4/28/23

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Beebamom

John and I went up to Wine Country on Friday. We stopped at our favorite winery, Imagery, and did a tasting.

White Burgundy is my favorite wine from Imagery

After our tasting we went out for a late lunch at Salt and Stone. It replaced Kenwood Restaurant where I got the recipe for the eponymous Kenwood Shrimp. We made that for dinner on April 13, 2023 and many times before. Unfortunately it is not on Salt and Stone’s menu.

John and I rarely eat out except on vacation so this was a treat. We figured a late lunch would count for lunch and dinner. We started out sharing a plate of crispy calamari with two dipping sauces.

Crispy Calamari with Jalapeno Peppers, Harissa Aioli, Brandied Caper Cocktail Sauce

I ordered a salad and John had one of their small plates.

Roasted Beet Salad with
Wild Arugula, Crème Fraiche, Chive Oil
Pork Belly with
Bánh Mi Veg, Vietnamese Fish Sauce Glaze, Sambal Aioli, Peanuts

It was a lovely day with a yummy lunch!

Posted in Dining out | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Baked tilapia with mustard sauce, mixed rice, and broccoli. 4/27/23

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Beebamom
Baked tilapia with mustard sauce, farro and rice mix, and broccoli

Easy dinner tonight. John baked the tilapia in a 400F oven while I microwaved a container of already prepared rice for 90 seconds and steamed some broccoli. I am very impressed with this microwave rice. It is a combination of brown, wild, and red rices and it cooks up just fine in the microwave. John mixed his with some of our leftover farro and I mixed the rice with farro and riced cauliflower. I made a mustard sauce with three mustards, lemon juice, garlic and onion powders and water to thin it to a sauce consistency.

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Methods, pescatarian, rice, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment

Tofu bowl. 4/26/23

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Beebamom
Marinated tofu over rice with jalapeños, green onions, cabbage, cucumber, edamame, avocado, cilantro and lime in a soy/ginger vinaigrette

We had a ripe avocado and that means “bowl time.” We make three versions of this bowl – shrimp, salmon, and tofu. Mostly this tofu bowl is just an assemblage of cut up ingredients over rice and dressed with a soy/ginger vinaigrette. Since I am pretty zippy with my knife and mandolin the prep goes quickly. The vinaigrette is made easily with my mini prep processor taking care of the ginger and garlic.

Here’s a link to the NYTimes recipe using salmon. Unfortunately it is behind a paywall. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022255-sesame-salmon-bowls?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share If you do make it be sure to double the dressing. Everybody loves plenty of dressing!

Brightening my dining is a vase of flowers that I picked from my back patio.

Posted in Asian, Easy, Hot weather meals, Kitchen tips, Legumes, Recipes, rice, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Scallops, potatoes, and broccoli 4/25/23

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Beebamom
Seared scallops, steamed new potatoes, broccoli, and tartar sauce

Our dinner tonight made a weeknight feel like a special occasion! I steamed the potatoes and when they were ready John seared the scallops and I sautéed the broccoli. I made a thin tartar sauce which I enjoyed with the scallops and the potatoes.

Scallops are my favorite protein. They are too expensive to serve often so they are really a treat. John cooked them wonderfully and the rest of the dinner was good too!

Posted in American, Easy, pescatarian, Shellfish, Special occasion, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment

Chicken enchiladas with salad

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Beebamom
Chicken enchiladas with salad

This is another dinner from the Costco rotisserie chicken that I bought on Friday. So far from one $4.99 chicken I have made a roast chicken dinner with gravy and sides, 2 quarts of chicken stock, these enchiladas with shredded breast meat, leftover enchiladas for lunch, and I still have a leg and thigh plus some shredded meat left! I am feeling pretty good about my economically savvy meals.

I also made spicy black beans as an accompaniment to the enchiladas but I opted for just salad. Definitely no one left the table hungry with chicken enchiladas, black beans, and a salad!

Posted in American, Easy, leftovers, Legumes, Mexican, Poultry, Salad, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Scrambled egg salad. 4/23/23

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Beebamom
Scrambled egg salad

Sunday is almost always make-your-own-egg dinner. John always makes a ham, scallion, mushroom, and cheese omelette. I make something different each week. This week I made a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, scallions, and croutons then topped it with scrambled eggs. The dressing was simply oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. It was delicious!

Posted in American, Easy, Eggs, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Weekly Menu. April 24 – April 30, 2023

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Beebamom

I think I could call this “Favorites Week.” I picked out favorites from each category that we normally eat. We will be making three vegetarian/vegan dishes, two fish/shellfish, one chicken, and a pasta with mushrooms and ground beef.

Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Pesto noodles and zoodles over kale. 4/22/23

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Beebamom
Pesto noodles and zoodles over raw kale

In October of last year we got lots of basil from the community garden. I made quite a bit of pesto and froze it in large cubes. I defrosted two of them for our pesto pasta. To add volume to our pasta servings, John spiralized a zucchini to mimic noodles and then we served our pesto noodles and zoodles over a bed of raw kale.

Posted in Easy, Italian, Pasta, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Rotisserie chicken, squash, and broccoli. 4/21/23

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Beebamom
Rotisserie chicken with chicken/mushroom gravy, mashed butternut squash, and steamed broccoli

We made a quick visit to Costco and picked up a rotisserie chicken. When I got home I disassembled it taking off the meat and then made stock out of the bones etc.

For dinner I had the chicken tenderloins and John had the leg, thigh, and wings. We made a chicken gravy packet and sautéed some mushrooms for it. The chicken pieces were reheated in the gravy.

I peeled the butternut squash, chopped it into 1 inch pieces and cooked it in the microwave. It took 15 minutes on high. The broccoli was simply steamed.

This dinner is like a stream-lined Thanksgiving, delicious and satisfying, plus made easier by the use of a rotisserie chicken.

Posted in American, Methods, Poultry, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Grilled hamburger with salad and chips 4/20/23

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Beebamom
Grilled hamburger with salad and chips

I am a person who likes a good buy. When I saw that I could get a pound of local ground Kobe beef for $4.99 and a bag of Kettle chips for $2.50 plus it was senior day with an additional 10% off, it was time to change plans. What better way to celebrate that it is finally Spring and it has stopped raining than for John to fire up the grill and have a “picnic-ky” dinner.

There is nothing on my plate that I don’t love. First I would rather eat a grilled hamburger than a fancy steak. Salad with blue cheese dressing? Yes, please! And potato chips are my all-time favorite evil pleasure.

So I threw my healthy eating menu out the window for one night and had a glorious splurge of all the things I like best! You just have to do it occasionally. No regrets!

Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Grilling, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment