As I am easing my way back into eating after being sick, eggs seem like a good choice plus they are our usual Sunday night dinner. I toasted a piece of rye bread and set a chickpea patty on top followed by scrambled eggs. It was filling and gentle. I am looking forward to regular eating starting on Monday.
I need to get back into the whole food process — planning, preparing, eating. Since my stomach virus I just have not felt like doing any of it. But new week and I think I am ready to dive in again.
There are three holiday celebrations this week. We have candle lighting and latke eating planned for Hanukkah on Tuesday, our annual Christmas Eve party with the family on Saturday, and Christmas dinner at our son’s house on Sunday. What a week!
I have been sick with a stomach virus or food poisoning. Hard to say which it might be but it was horrible. After being so sick I did not eat anything yesterday so no post for 12/15/22. I imagine whatever I eat today will be very mild, maybe chicken soup or something with rice. It is going to take me a few days to get back to regular eating.
I cannot imagine that there was anything in Wednesday night’s dinner to cause my stomach upset. It is the usual kind of Wednesday fare, pasta with mushrooms and some sort of additional vegetable. I threw in a cube of my frozen pesto which made the sauce yummier. I added some Parmesan on top but for a vegan dish omit or replace with a plant-based product.
Dal are lentils and the type of lentils you use in this recipe are red lentils. Red lentils are actually coral colored and they turn yellow when you cook them. They tend to break down a bit which gives this dish its creamy texture. They are also faster cooking than brown lentils.
I got this recipe from an Afghani website and we make it fairly frequently. It is economical, nutritious, and delicious! Adding a base of raw kale and a portion of rice makes it quite filling. We made a double recipe yesterday since our daughter was eating with us but we still have plenty left over for a couple of lunches.
I added some plain yogurt on top of mine since John is in charge of the spices and I know his spice level is higher than mine. The yogurt is a nice cooling element. But if you want to keep it vegan skip the yogurt or use a plant-based yogurt.
We went to Costco today and bought one of their rotisserie chickens. What a deal for $4.99! I should buy one every time we go. When we got home I took the chicken apart. I knew John would like a leg and thigh while I would prefer white meat. After I deconstructed the bird I put the carcass in a pot with some water and thyme and cooked it for an hour.
At dinner prep John took our pieces from the fridge and warmed them slowly in a gravy made from the stock I made earlier. I cooked the potatoes and squash together in the Instant Pot for 10 minutes on high and then mashed them. The broccoli was simply steamed.
What a good dinner! And so economical! Plus I have more than half a chicken left! The Costco chicken, twice the size for almost half the price of a grocery store rotisserie chicken.
Tonight I took the leftover edamame and cabbage and stretched those with onions, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, and celery to make a big vegetable bowl. Keeping with the theme of all-veg I set those stir fried vegetables on top of cauliflower rice. As a condiment I used the leftover soy vinaigrette from Saturday as well.
This bowl of vegetables was very satisfying and kept me eating for quite a while, which I always like. No guilty feelings tonight!
I have been having some trouble with a painful knee. It is obviously arthritis brought on by years of running, hiking, and playing tennis and mostly because as you get older your joints start to wear out. In order to postpone knee replacement as long as possible I looked into what foods help reduce inflammation. Foods that fight inflammation include salmon, legumes, cruciferous vegetables, and avocados. So why not put them all in one bowl!?
Luckily combining all these components with a delicious soy vinaigrette is also super tasty! In fact this dinner is the number one favorite at our house. Sometimes we make it with tofu or shrimp instead of salmon. All are equally delicious.
I think my knee feels better already!
This is my birthday dinner. I love fried scallops and have not had them since July 17, 2020! That’s the thing about having this blog I always know what and when I ate something. So obviously frying stuff is not usually on the menu.
The downside to not making something very frequently is that we are sometimes a little a hazy about the procedure. I suggested to John that he heat the oil to 375F. That temperature turned out to be a little hot and the scallops turned out a little dark. But they were still delicious.We all enjoyed the scallops with my Fish Market Tartar Sauce, my secret recipe!
Otherwise we also had a bunch of crispy Tater Tots and a packaged Caesar salad. Where’s the cake? No cake for me. Sweet things are just not in my wheelhouse. Instead my daughter made spice cookies, thin and crispy and about the size of a 50 cent piece, (Do they have those anymore?) The cookies are just barely sweet and get their heat from powdered mustard.
It was a lovely birthday dinner made lovingly by John, me, and our daughter.
About a month ago I cut off all the leaves from our basil plants and made pesto with the basil leaves, almonds, garlic, and olive oil. I froze the pesto in a quarter cup ice tray and then transferred the cubes to a zip lock bag in the freezer. It is so easy and delicious to plop one of those cubes in a pasta to make a yummy dinner.
I paired the pesto with onions, mushrooms, and asparagus. Asparagus was on sale this for less than $2.00/lb! It was like a delicious breath of springtime before winter has even started!
Omnivore 