Ok, I need to write down the last two weeks, just so I don't forget. I'll write more about them later, but here are just the dishes.
Monday, April 19: Pizza.
Tuesday, April 20: Asparagus risotto, dill green beans, honey glazed sweet potatoes.
Wednesday, April 21: Grilled mahi and chicken with harissa, mustard greens with onions, and rosemary sauteed red potatoes.
Thursday, April 22: "Sunshine" soup.
Monday, April 26: Mixed vegetable curry with white rice and naan.
Tuesday, April 27: Couscous with black olives, onions and peppers, steamed carrots and broccoli, salad.
Wednesday, April 28: Baked cod in a tomato-white wine sauce, angel hair pasta, roasted brussels sprouts with hazelnuts.
Thursday, April 29: Vegetable kebabs, mixed mushroom rice, and artichoke, onion, and potato hash.
Ok...I will elaborate later, but at least now I have a list of what I cooked. : )
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Week #6: April 12-15, 2010.
This week seems like it was mostly about mush. I need to work on making my food more aesthetically pleasing.
Night #17: Monday, April 12. Mini-polenta pizzas and caprese salad. Well, I didn't so much make the caprese salad as just sent the tomatoes, cheese and basil with my mother and let her cut it all up at home. Ha...by the time she got there, I was so exhausted from trying to figure out the polenta business that I just sort of threw everything at her and said "bon freaking appetit!" The polenta did not at all turn out like I had hoped...it was originally supposed to be one big polenta pizza. I cooked it just as I've cooked it before, but it did NOT stiffen, so I made an emergency run back up to the store to see what I could find. All I found was premade polenta in a tube, which I thought I could just roll out into a crust and make a big pizza. Um, no. This polenta was meant to be cut one way, and that was sliced. So, I ended up making slices, and putting pesto, tomatoes, and onions or peppers on them, and then baking them in the oven for a bit. They weren't the best thing ever...but it was dinner. I think I'm going to do a bit more research on polenta, and make sure I'm using the right stuff. Also...vegetable stock is maybe not the best base for polenta. It adds a little too much flavoring, especially when you're putting other things on the polenta.
Night #18: Tuesday, April 13. Spanish potatoes and peas with pearl onions in a cream sauce. This turned out much better. The potatoes were in this sort of spicy tomato sauce with green peppers and onions...I got the wrong kind of tomatoes, I was supposed to get strained but I picked up chopped instead...so it might have turned out a little differently had I gotten the correct thing. The potatoes also took FOREVER to cook...I might have chopped them too large. Anyway, it was good, if perhaps a little more done than I usually prefer. Also, peas with pearl onions. This was fun, and a little unusual...the sauce was whipped cream (not sweetened), which gave it an interesting flavor. Jacob and I really liked it, and I think the family did too.
Night #19: Wednesday, April 14. Seared scallops, with white beans and spinach. The scallops in this meal were so awesome...I just took sea scallops, sprinkled them liberally with salt and pepper, and seared them in butter for a few minutes on each side. They were so good! The beans and spinach were all cooked in one pot, with onions and garlic...I doubled the recipe for everything, but I still didn't have enough. That's a recurring thing with me lately...especially when it comes to pot-meals, I can double the recipe and still not have enough. I guess I need to start tripling some recipes...good grief.
Night #20: Thursday, April 15. Pasta with green beans and onions, roasted eggplant with plum tomatoes and feta cheese. The pasta is an old favorite of mine...it's just pasta (previously cooked) mixed with french style green beans, onions (previously sauteed in a little butter), and cream of celery soup, with some fried onions sprinkled on top. It's kind of like a green bean casserole, but with pasta and no mushrooms. That turned out pretty good...I might have cooked it for a bit longer, but my proportions were alright. The eggplant stuff ended up kind of mushy...I understand that that's how eggplant is supposed to look, but it was sort of blah. Also very bitter...I think salt beforehand might have helped with that. I'll have to do some research before I try it again.
Overall, good week. Next week, I think I'll try some simpler things...like vegetables without anything mixed in. I'll have to look for recipes.
G'night! : )
Night #17: Monday, April 12. Mini-polenta pizzas and caprese salad. Well, I didn't so much make the caprese salad as just sent the tomatoes, cheese and basil with my mother and let her cut it all up at home. Ha...by the time she got there, I was so exhausted from trying to figure out the polenta business that I just sort of threw everything at her and said "bon freaking appetit!" The polenta did not at all turn out like I had hoped...it was originally supposed to be one big polenta pizza. I cooked it just as I've cooked it before, but it did NOT stiffen, so I made an emergency run back up to the store to see what I could find. All I found was premade polenta in a tube, which I thought I could just roll out into a crust and make a big pizza. Um, no. This polenta was meant to be cut one way, and that was sliced. So, I ended up making slices, and putting pesto, tomatoes, and onions or peppers on them, and then baking them in the oven for a bit. They weren't the best thing ever...but it was dinner. I think I'm going to do a bit more research on polenta, and make sure I'm using the right stuff. Also...vegetable stock is maybe not the best base for polenta. It adds a little too much flavoring, especially when you're putting other things on the polenta.
Night #18: Tuesday, April 13. Spanish potatoes and peas with pearl onions in a cream sauce. This turned out much better. The potatoes were in this sort of spicy tomato sauce with green peppers and onions...I got the wrong kind of tomatoes, I was supposed to get strained but I picked up chopped instead...so it might have turned out a little differently had I gotten the correct thing. The potatoes also took FOREVER to cook...I might have chopped them too large. Anyway, it was good, if perhaps a little more done than I usually prefer. Also, peas with pearl onions. This was fun, and a little unusual...the sauce was whipped cream (not sweetened), which gave it an interesting flavor. Jacob and I really liked it, and I think the family did too.
Night #19: Wednesday, April 14. Seared scallops, with white beans and spinach. The scallops in this meal were so awesome...I just took sea scallops, sprinkled them liberally with salt and pepper, and seared them in butter for a few minutes on each side. They were so good! The beans and spinach were all cooked in one pot, with onions and garlic...I doubled the recipe for everything, but I still didn't have enough. That's a recurring thing with me lately...especially when it comes to pot-meals, I can double the recipe and still not have enough. I guess I need to start tripling some recipes...good grief.
Night #20: Thursday, April 15. Pasta with green beans and onions, roasted eggplant with plum tomatoes and feta cheese. The pasta is an old favorite of mine...it's just pasta (previously cooked) mixed with french style green beans, onions (previously sauteed in a little butter), and cream of celery soup, with some fried onions sprinkled on top. It's kind of like a green bean casserole, but with pasta and no mushrooms. That turned out pretty good...I might have cooked it for a bit longer, but my proportions were alright. The eggplant stuff ended up kind of mushy...I understand that that's how eggplant is supposed to look, but it was sort of blah. Also very bitter...I think salt beforehand might have helped with that. I'll have to do some research before I try it again.
Overall, good week. Next week, I think I'll try some simpler things...like vegetables without anything mixed in. I'll have to look for recipes.
G'night! : )
Monday, April 12, 2010
Week #5: April 5-8, 2010.
I'm a bit late in writing about last week because my prospectus was due this weekend. Whew, whew, and whew again. : )
Night #13: Monday, April 5. 2 varieties of Bean soup, broccoli with cheese sauce. I made a couple of different versions of the bean soup...one meated, one non-meated. I had beans that I needed to use, and potatoes that I needed to use. Basically, I just soaked kidney beans, great northern beans, pinto beans and black-eyed peas overnight, and then simmered them in veggie stock for a couple of hours with onions and garlic. In one of the pots, I put chunks of potato...in the other, I put ham. Both turned out pretty good, although the potatoes I used were from my grandmother's house and tasted a little green. Weird. I also steamed some broccoli florets, and made a cheese sauce with milk, butter, lots of shredded cheddar cheese, and some garlic salt. The family loved this a little too much...my mother ended up eating the cheese sauce straight out of the container. : )
Night #14: Tuesday, April 6. Lentils and rice with onions, steamed carrots with allspice and cinnamon. The lentils and rice were good, but I'm not a fan of the seasoning. The onions were simmered in oil and butter, and spiced with cinnamon, paprika, cumin and coriander. I think it's just the cumin that I don't like...it's got a dull taste to it that does not go well with lentils, which also have a dull taste. Lentils need more of a spicy seasoning to wake them up, and cumin does not work for that. The carrots were a popular repeat...I had to repeat a couple of things this week due to being pressed for time. Subsequent weeks will not involve quite so much repetition.
Night #15: Wednesday, April 7. Shrimp fra diavolo, with garlic bread. This was AWESOME. I once again used the Cook This, Not That cookbook, and was not at all disappointed. I even doubled the recipe, and had barely enough left for lunch the next day. I used the Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes, as suggested by the book, and I don't think I will ever use another kind of tomatoes for anything ever. Also, with the recipe doubled, I used 2 whole cups of white wine in the sauce. WIN. The garlic bread was the same I did the week before, and it was just as awesome as before. But yes, this shrimp recipe is going down in my list of favorites.
Night #16: Thursday, April 8. Tofu, squash and rice, and broccoli with cheese sauce. Bleh...more repetition. But hey, they liked it. The tofu, squash and rice is a recipe from my friend Amanda. Brown rice, cooked in veggie stock...yellow squash, cut in half and broiled with some olive oil and Cavender's Greek seasoning...extra firm tofu, sliced very thin and sauteed in a pan with olive oil and Cavender's...and then everything cut up and mixed together. It's a great recipe...the tofu is cut so thin that it's almost like chips, and it tastes like chicken if done correctly. I used a whole two blocks of tofu, at my mother's request, and I think I'll do that again in the future...it leaves plenty for eating as I go along. : )
So, that's last week. This week will be slightly more original, with some new experiments. Every Wednesday features a new kind of seafood...this week is scallops. Fun, fun.
Ok, later! : )
Night #13: Monday, April 5. 2 varieties of Bean soup, broccoli with cheese sauce. I made a couple of different versions of the bean soup...one meated, one non-meated. I had beans that I needed to use, and potatoes that I needed to use. Basically, I just soaked kidney beans, great northern beans, pinto beans and black-eyed peas overnight, and then simmered them in veggie stock for a couple of hours with onions and garlic. In one of the pots, I put chunks of potato...in the other, I put ham. Both turned out pretty good, although the potatoes I used were from my grandmother's house and tasted a little green. Weird. I also steamed some broccoli florets, and made a cheese sauce with milk, butter, lots of shredded cheddar cheese, and some garlic salt. The family loved this a little too much...my mother ended up eating the cheese sauce straight out of the container. : )
Night #14: Tuesday, April 6. Lentils and rice with onions, steamed carrots with allspice and cinnamon. The lentils and rice were good, but I'm not a fan of the seasoning. The onions were simmered in oil and butter, and spiced with cinnamon, paprika, cumin and coriander. I think it's just the cumin that I don't like...it's got a dull taste to it that does not go well with lentils, which also have a dull taste. Lentils need more of a spicy seasoning to wake them up, and cumin does not work for that. The carrots were a popular repeat...I had to repeat a couple of things this week due to being pressed for time. Subsequent weeks will not involve quite so much repetition.
Night #15: Wednesday, April 7. Shrimp fra diavolo, with garlic bread. This was AWESOME. I once again used the Cook This, Not That cookbook, and was not at all disappointed. I even doubled the recipe, and had barely enough left for lunch the next day. I used the Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes, as suggested by the book, and I don't think I will ever use another kind of tomatoes for anything ever. Also, with the recipe doubled, I used 2 whole cups of white wine in the sauce. WIN. The garlic bread was the same I did the week before, and it was just as awesome as before. But yes, this shrimp recipe is going down in my list of favorites.
Night #16: Thursday, April 8. Tofu, squash and rice, and broccoli with cheese sauce. Bleh...more repetition. But hey, they liked it. The tofu, squash and rice is a recipe from my friend Amanda. Brown rice, cooked in veggie stock...yellow squash, cut in half and broiled with some olive oil and Cavender's Greek seasoning...extra firm tofu, sliced very thin and sauteed in a pan with olive oil and Cavender's...and then everything cut up and mixed together. It's a great recipe...the tofu is cut so thin that it's almost like chips, and it tastes like chicken if done correctly. I used a whole two blocks of tofu, at my mother's request, and I think I'll do that again in the future...it leaves plenty for eating as I go along. : )
So, that's last week. This week will be slightly more original, with some new experiments. Every Wednesday features a new kind of seafood...this week is scallops. Fun, fun.
Ok, later! : )
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Week #4: March 30-April 1, 2010
This week was much, much better.
I'm still tired tonight, but I feel like every night this week was a success. I even got to watch my goofy vampire show tonight, because I was on time with everything! Win.
Night #10: Tuesday, March 30. Minestrone, garlic bread and a salad. The minestrone turned out AWESOME...but it definitely required a little effort. The beans had to soak for at least 8 hours, then drained...then cooked for 15 minutes, and drained again...add vegetable stock, red wine, tomatoes, and parsley, and cook for 2 hours...add potatoes, turnips, carrots, celery and tomato paste, and cook for 15 minutes...then add green beans, zucchini, and macaroni and cook for another 15 minutes. Whew! It tasted SO good, though...totally worth the effort. The garlic bread also turned out perfectly...I bought a Tuscan roasted garlic loaf from Publix, cut thick slices almost all the way through it, and slathered each side with a mixture of Smart Balance, minced garlic, and garlic salt. Mmm. Garlic makes everything better. Also...salad. Bleh.
Night #11: Wednesday, March 31. Black-eyed peas, turnip greens, and cornmeal breaded catfish. Ha...you know you're cooking Southern food when the smoke alarm goes off! Fun times. But yeah...the catfish was a lot thicker than the rainbow trout recommended by the recipe, so I shouldn't have tried cooking it at medium-high heat. The breading was really done on that first piece, but the inside was still raw. It ended up being ok...I rebreaded part of it, and cooked it for longer, and then I ate that piece. : ) I made turnip greens instead of collards because I had leftover turnips from the minestrone, and I just cut those up and cooked them with the greens. The black-eyed peas I made according to package directions, but with vegetable stock instead of water, and with onions and garlic added. Turned out pretty good...beans were a little soupy, but whatever. Nomnom.
Night #12: Thursday, April 1. Polenta-stuffed peppers, refried beans. I was wondering how this would go, and it worked! The only thing that really took a long time was soaking the pinto beans for 24 hours (!) beforehand. Once they had been soaked and drained, I cooked them with some onions and green and jalapeno peppers for a few hours, and then mashed them a little to get that good "refried" texture. They taste just the same as regular refried beans, but they're better for you! Rad-tastic. The peppers were absolutely divine...I made the polenta in a pot, and added a can of corn, chopped olives, and some cheese. I had roasted some pepper halves, and when the polenta was done I filled them with the mixture. I did half of them without meat, and then added some cooked ground beef to the rest of the mixture and filled the rest with that. A little cheese on top, and perfection. Whoever came up with that recipe is an absolute genius...I now know what I'm making for parties from now on.
So, that's this week. I'm really happy with how everything turned out...I was a tad discouraged last Thursday, because I felt like I spent a whole lot of effort to come up with a mediocre product. This week, I feel just the opposite...I put in just a little effort, and got something amazing in return. My step-father has apparently devoured everything I made this week...at least he's a fan. : ) I'm recreating the frittata for my grandmother this weekend...we'll see how that goes.
Later! : )
I'm still tired tonight, but I feel like every night this week was a success. I even got to watch my goofy vampire show tonight, because I was on time with everything! Win.
Night #10: Tuesday, March 30. Minestrone, garlic bread and a salad. The minestrone turned out AWESOME...but it definitely required a little effort. The beans had to soak for at least 8 hours, then drained...then cooked for 15 minutes, and drained again...add vegetable stock, red wine, tomatoes, and parsley, and cook for 2 hours...add potatoes, turnips, carrots, celery and tomato paste, and cook for 15 minutes...then add green beans, zucchini, and macaroni and cook for another 15 minutes. Whew! It tasted SO good, though...totally worth the effort. The garlic bread also turned out perfectly...I bought a Tuscan roasted garlic loaf from Publix, cut thick slices almost all the way through it, and slathered each side with a mixture of Smart Balance, minced garlic, and garlic salt. Mmm. Garlic makes everything better. Also...salad. Bleh.
Night #11: Wednesday, March 31. Black-eyed peas, turnip greens, and cornmeal breaded catfish. Ha...you know you're cooking Southern food when the smoke alarm goes off! Fun times. But yeah...the catfish was a lot thicker than the rainbow trout recommended by the recipe, so I shouldn't have tried cooking it at medium-high heat. The breading was really done on that first piece, but the inside was still raw. It ended up being ok...I rebreaded part of it, and cooked it for longer, and then I ate that piece. : ) I made turnip greens instead of collards because I had leftover turnips from the minestrone, and I just cut those up and cooked them with the greens. The black-eyed peas I made according to package directions, but with vegetable stock instead of water, and with onions and garlic added. Turned out pretty good...beans were a little soupy, but whatever. Nomnom.
Night #12: Thursday, April 1. Polenta-stuffed peppers, refried beans. I was wondering how this would go, and it worked! The only thing that really took a long time was soaking the pinto beans for 24 hours (!) beforehand. Once they had been soaked and drained, I cooked them with some onions and green and jalapeno peppers for a few hours, and then mashed them a little to get that good "refried" texture. They taste just the same as regular refried beans, but they're better for you! Rad-tastic. The peppers were absolutely divine...I made the polenta in a pot, and added a can of corn, chopped olives, and some cheese. I had roasted some pepper halves, and when the polenta was done I filled them with the mixture. I did half of them without meat, and then added some cooked ground beef to the rest of the mixture and filled the rest with that. A little cheese on top, and perfection. Whoever came up with that recipe is an absolute genius...I now know what I'm making for parties from now on.
So, that's this week. I'm really happy with how everything turned out...I was a tad discouraged last Thursday, because I felt like I spent a whole lot of effort to come up with a mediocre product. This week, I feel just the opposite...I put in just a little effort, and got something amazing in return. My step-father has apparently devoured everything I made this week...at least he's a fan. : ) I'm recreating the frittata for my grandmother this weekend...we'll see how that goes.
Later! : )
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Week #3: March 22-25, 2010
I am so tired.
Really, tonight was exhausting. I seriously considered at some point just saying "fuck it" and telling my family to order a pizza.
At least it turned out alright, or at least the family seems to think so.
Night #6: Monday, March 22. Corn patties and lentils with mixed vegetables. This was pretty complicated, only because the lentils and veggies had to be made separately. It ended up being pretty tasty, though, with a higher proportion of lentils than I expected. I've decided I really like lentils, I'd like to use them more in the future. The corn patties were Indian-tasting, with some curry and coriander...they were good, but I'm not much of a fan of those particular spices. I think I would have preferred more garlic. But, then, I would always prefer more garlic.
Night #7: Tuesday, March 23. Broccoli and sun-dried tomato frittata, mashed potatoes with leeks, and a green salad. It was my first time making a frittata, although I have made scrambled eggs with stuff in them before, which is similar. I minced the broccoli and the tomato really finely...I was worried that the frittata would burn on the bottom, and that maybe it would stick to the pan. Surprisingly, it turned out PERFECTLY. Hooray! As for the mashed potatoes, I really just wanted to use the leek and potatoes I had left over from the colcannon last week. I boiled the potatoes, and put the leeks in with them towards the end. I then took the leeks back out...not too difficult...mashed the potatoes, and added the leeks back in. I also put sour cream and milk in it, and it was pretty yummy. Salad was...bleh. Bagged spinach and greens and stuff, with carrots and tomatoes sprinkled on top. Zero effort FTW.
Night #8: Wednesday, March 24. Crab cakes, corn on the cob and roasted butternut squash. The absolute most difficult thing about this night was the butternut squash. That shit is HARD to peel! And to cut, and to do anything else with. But, thankfully, the actual dish itself was the easiest thing ever...chopped squash, tossed with olive oil, maple syrup and fresh chopped sage, and some salt and pepper, baked on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes. The crab cakes were my mother's request...she wanted me to double the recipe, which meant $60 worth of crab!! It's totally worth it for the jumbo lump crab meat...the recipe I have is from the "Cook This, Not That" cookbook, and it is amazing. Not too much other stuff, besides peppers, lemon, egg and breadcrumbs...mostly crab, which makes it de-licious.
Night #9: Thursday, March 25. Vegetable fritters with fresh tomato sauce, and spinach rice. I just don't know why I thought this would be easy. This was the most ridiculously difficult dinner yet. I had to HAND GRATE the damn butternut squash, potatoes, zucchini, and carrots, because I have no machine that does such a thing. Well, I suppose the Magic Bullet might do it...but I don't know, and I didn't have time to try. The fritters turned out alright...a little bland, I should have added a little more salt and pepper to the mixture. The spinach rice was actually really good...long-grained rice cooked in vegetable broth, with frozen spinach and onions added once it's cooked. Way easy, and very yummy, provided the correct amounts of salt and pepper are added. I think that, overall, the night was successful...the family enjoyed it...but I definitely, seriously need to read the directions more carefully. When it says to squeeze out the grated vegetables BEFORE adding the egg...it's for a reason.
Next week is a short week again, I'm going to a seder service with Jacob on Monday night. : ) It really seems like this week was patties week...ha...I made some sort of patties or cakes on 3/4 nights. Next week will be easier, I think.
: )
Really, tonight was exhausting. I seriously considered at some point just saying "fuck it" and telling my family to order a pizza.
At least it turned out alright, or at least the family seems to think so.
Night #6: Monday, March 22. Corn patties and lentils with mixed vegetables. This was pretty complicated, only because the lentils and veggies had to be made separately. It ended up being pretty tasty, though, with a higher proportion of lentils than I expected. I've decided I really like lentils, I'd like to use them more in the future. The corn patties were Indian-tasting, with some curry and coriander...they were good, but I'm not much of a fan of those particular spices. I think I would have preferred more garlic. But, then, I would always prefer more garlic.
Night #7: Tuesday, March 23. Broccoli and sun-dried tomato frittata, mashed potatoes with leeks, and a green salad. It was my first time making a frittata, although I have made scrambled eggs with stuff in them before, which is similar. I minced the broccoli and the tomato really finely...I was worried that the frittata would burn on the bottom, and that maybe it would stick to the pan. Surprisingly, it turned out PERFECTLY. Hooray! As for the mashed potatoes, I really just wanted to use the leek and potatoes I had left over from the colcannon last week. I boiled the potatoes, and put the leeks in with them towards the end. I then took the leeks back out...not too difficult...mashed the potatoes, and added the leeks back in. I also put sour cream and milk in it, and it was pretty yummy. Salad was...bleh. Bagged spinach and greens and stuff, with carrots and tomatoes sprinkled on top. Zero effort FTW.
Night #8: Wednesday, March 24. Crab cakes, corn on the cob and roasted butternut squash. The absolute most difficult thing about this night was the butternut squash. That shit is HARD to peel! And to cut, and to do anything else with. But, thankfully, the actual dish itself was the easiest thing ever...chopped squash, tossed with olive oil, maple syrup and fresh chopped sage, and some salt and pepper, baked on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes. The crab cakes were my mother's request...she wanted me to double the recipe, which meant $60 worth of crab!! It's totally worth it for the jumbo lump crab meat...the recipe I have is from the "Cook This, Not That" cookbook, and it is amazing. Not too much other stuff, besides peppers, lemon, egg and breadcrumbs...mostly crab, which makes it de-licious.
Night #9: Thursday, March 25. Vegetable fritters with fresh tomato sauce, and spinach rice. I just don't know why I thought this would be easy. This was the most ridiculously difficult dinner yet. I had to HAND GRATE the damn butternut squash, potatoes, zucchini, and carrots, because I have no machine that does such a thing. Well, I suppose the Magic Bullet might do it...but I don't know, and I didn't have time to try. The fritters turned out alright...a little bland, I should have added a little more salt and pepper to the mixture. The spinach rice was actually really good...long-grained rice cooked in vegetable broth, with frozen spinach and onions added once it's cooked. Way easy, and very yummy, provided the correct amounts of salt and pepper are added. I think that, overall, the night was successful...the family enjoyed it...but I definitely, seriously need to read the directions more carefully. When it says to squeeze out the grated vegetables BEFORE adding the egg...it's for a reason.
Next week is a short week again, I'm going to a seder service with Jacob on Monday night. : ) It really seems like this week was patties week...ha...I made some sort of patties or cakes on 3/4 nights. Next week will be easier, I think.
: )
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Week #2: March 16-18, 2010
Whew. Just finished cleaning up after dinner tonight. Of course, on Thursdays, cleaning up after dinner turns into changing the cat litter, which turns into doing laundry...and pretty soon I feel like I'm going to drop. "Workout" just about covers it.
This week was truncated a bit, because Mum made spaghetti on Sunday night, and there was a ton left over. She makes a great vegetable spaghetti with fake beef...I'd like to try it at some point.
Night #3: Tuesday, March 16. Cheese (for the veg-people) and chicken (for the carnivores) quesadillas, and a hot salad. Quesadillas are from Dad's recipe...just a flour tortilla with a layer of shredded "Mexican" cheese blend, with a layer of diced bell peppers and onions and minced jalapenos, a sprinkling of chicken breast (I buy Oscar Meyer's Southwestern chicken strips, because I am NOT going to the trouble of making the chicken, too), some seasoning, and another layer of cheese. I tried jalapenos for the first time the last time I made them...they're not as hot as I thought they would be, and they add flavor. The hot salad is just broccoli, cauliflower, red and green bell peppers, carrots, and zucchini, steamed in a big pot with seasoning, and with a little dressing mixed in at the end. Pretty good, if you like vegetables. : )
Night #4: Wednesday, March 17. Colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage and leeks) and baked trout with a spinach-butter sauce. Well, it was supposed to be a spinach-butter sauce...it was more of a realllly buttery creamed spinach. The recipe called for reducing 2/3 cup heavy cream down to 3 tablespoons...and I am just not that patient. So, I got it reduced down quite a bit...then added more cream. Whatever...it tasted fine. The colcannon turned out ok...I don't like the recipe I used, or maybe I just didn't use the right proportions of everything. The recipe calls for boiling 5 tablespoons of milk, and then cooking potatoes in that for 20 minutes...how do you boil 5 tablespoons of milk without automatically scalding it? That's weird. So, I think I'll use a different recipe next time. The fish was pretty good...I think I needed to clean it a little better, though. Also, coarse salt and fresh ground pepper would have been better than the refined stuff I used. Those I cooked in a foil packet in the oven with butter and fennel. It did remind me how much I don't like cooking anything that was once alive and walking or swimming or flying around. Bleh.
Night #5: Thursday, March 18. Caprese salad with pesto pasta and steamed broccoli. Everything was laughably easy in this dish except for the pesto. This was my first time making my own pesto...I think it tasted alright, but I didn't really follow the instructions, and it might have been better if I'd done so. I also think that it would be better with a different blade in my Magic Bullet, which is what I used to blend everything. It ended up being a pureed sort of paste...which may be right, I don't know. Anyway, they liked it. All it had in it was basil, olive oil, walnuts, garlic, and parmesan cheese. My favorite was the caprese...I chopped up basil in long strips, and sprinkled it on thick slices of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with just a bit of salt and pepper on them. Cheeeeeese goooooood.
Ok, that's my week. I'm sitting on the couch currently, in rebellion against movement. Next week will be a full cooking week, hopefully. : ) G'night!
This week was truncated a bit, because Mum made spaghetti on Sunday night, and there was a ton left over. She makes a great vegetable spaghetti with fake beef...I'd like to try it at some point.
Night #3: Tuesday, March 16. Cheese (for the veg-people) and chicken (for the carnivores) quesadillas, and a hot salad. Quesadillas are from Dad's recipe...just a flour tortilla with a layer of shredded "Mexican" cheese blend, with a layer of diced bell peppers and onions and minced jalapenos, a sprinkling of chicken breast (I buy Oscar Meyer's Southwestern chicken strips, because I am NOT going to the trouble of making the chicken, too), some seasoning, and another layer of cheese. I tried jalapenos for the first time the last time I made them...they're not as hot as I thought they would be, and they add flavor. The hot salad is just broccoli, cauliflower, red and green bell peppers, carrots, and zucchini, steamed in a big pot with seasoning, and with a little dressing mixed in at the end. Pretty good, if you like vegetables. : )
Night #4: Wednesday, March 17. Colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage and leeks) and baked trout with a spinach-butter sauce. Well, it was supposed to be a spinach-butter sauce...it was more of a realllly buttery creamed spinach. The recipe called for reducing 2/3 cup heavy cream down to 3 tablespoons...and I am just not that patient. So, I got it reduced down quite a bit...then added more cream. Whatever...it tasted fine. The colcannon turned out ok...I don't like the recipe I used, or maybe I just didn't use the right proportions of everything. The recipe calls for boiling 5 tablespoons of milk, and then cooking potatoes in that for 20 minutes...how do you boil 5 tablespoons of milk without automatically scalding it? That's weird. So, I think I'll use a different recipe next time. The fish was pretty good...I think I needed to clean it a little better, though. Also, coarse salt and fresh ground pepper would have been better than the refined stuff I used. Those I cooked in a foil packet in the oven with butter and fennel. It did remind me how much I don't like cooking anything that was once alive and walking or swimming or flying around. Bleh.
Night #5: Thursday, March 18. Caprese salad with pesto pasta and steamed broccoli. Everything was laughably easy in this dish except for the pesto. This was my first time making my own pesto...I think it tasted alright, but I didn't really follow the instructions, and it might have been better if I'd done so. I also think that it would be better with a different blade in my Magic Bullet, which is what I used to blend everything. It ended up being a pureed sort of paste...which may be right, I don't know. Anyway, they liked it. All it had in it was basil, olive oil, walnuts, garlic, and parmesan cheese. My favorite was the caprese...I chopped up basil in long strips, and sprinkled it on thick slices of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with just a bit of salt and pepper on them. Cheeeeeese goooooood.
Ok, that's my week. I'm sitting on the couch currently, in rebellion against movement. Next week will be a full cooking week, hopefully. : ) G'night!
Week #1: March 10-11, 2010.
So, the first night of this business was Wednesday, March 10. Dinner was: salmon, marinated in a bourbon sauce courtesy of Publix; Alessi brand saffron risotto; and carrots with cinnamon and allspice. Salmon was most excellent, sauteed in a pan with a little olive oil and some Emeril's cajun seasoning. Risotto was also awesome...this was my first time with that brand, and I like it a lot. Very easy, too. Carrots were...carrots. Good seasoning, though. Allspice and carrots are good together. Especially with butter. Mmm, butter.
Night #2: Thursday, March 11. Brown rice with peas, carrots and onions, cooked with vegetable broth; sweet potatoes, baked in the oven in foil; and spinach with asparagus. I became concerned while cooking the rice and potatoes that I perhaps didn't have enough food, so I used a bag of spinach that I had in the fridge and some leftover asparagus to do a weird mixture of the two. It didn't turn out badly...I cooked them separately with the same seasonings, since they require different cooking conditions, and then combined them, which worked pretty well. The family seemed to like it...even my asparagus-wary sister dug it. The rice was good, if a little sticky...I wish there was a way to cook whole grain brown rice in a way that didn't make it all sticky, but I have not found that way just yet. Sweet potatoes turned out very nicely...again with a little butter, and they're divine. Thankfully for my arteries, I use Smart Balance.
I forgot to put this in my first entry, but I'm a pescatarian, which means I don't eat any sort of meat except for seafood. I also eat dairy and eggs. Lots of dairy and eggs.
My stepfather is also a pescatarian, so I make all of my meals primarily vegetarian. I sometimes add a small amount of chicken or something to my mother's and sister's meals, but I never like to make meat the centerpiece of a meal. I don't like cooking it...if it weren't for the fact that fish is incredibly versatile and just so darn healthy, I would avoid it as well.
So yeah, there's the first week. More to come. : )
Night #2: Thursday, March 11. Brown rice with peas, carrots and onions, cooked with vegetable broth; sweet potatoes, baked in the oven in foil; and spinach with asparagus. I became concerned while cooking the rice and potatoes that I perhaps didn't have enough food, so I used a bag of spinach that I had in the fridge and some leftover asparagus to do a weird mixture of the two. It didn't turn out badly...I cooked them separately with the same seasonings, since they require different cooking conditions, and then combined them, which worked pretty well. The family seemed to like it...even my asparagus-wary sister dug it. The rice was good, if a little sticky...I wish there was a way to cook whole grain brown rice in a way that didn't make it all sticky, but I have not found that way just yet. Sweet potatoes turned out very nicely...again with a little butter, and they're divine. Thankfully for my arteries, I use Smart Balance.
I forgot to put this in my first entry, but I'm a pescatarian, which means I don't eat any sort of meat except for seafood. I also eat dairy and eggs. Lots of dairy and eggs.
My stepfather is also a pescatarian, so I make all of my meals primarily vegetarian. I sometimes add a small amount of chicken or something to my mother's and sister's meals, but I never like to make meat the centerpiece of a meal. I don't like cooking it...if it weren't for the fact that fish is incredibly versatile and just so darn healthy, I would avoid it as well.
So yeah, there's the first week. More to come. : )
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