What Did We Eat Today?

[PRgal]

Went to a music-related event in my neighbourhood last night.  It opened with a cocktail hour, so that was our dinner.  Had rather delicious vegan "meatballs" made with black beans.  NOM!!!!!!!!!

[BooksRule]

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I enjoy yellow squash steamed w/ thinly sliced onions. Never heard of oven-fried. Is panko involved? I've got that.

I sliced the squash, dipped each piece in beaten egg and then coated with cornmeal (with some Cajun seasoning added).  Then baked on a cookie sheet until browned, turning once.  They were okay, but nothing special.  I tasted more cornmeal than squash. Maybe panko would work better.  I still have some left, so I'm going to steam with some onion.  Thanks for the suggestion!

[NewDigs]

On May 31, 2016 at 9:02 PM, annzeepark914 said:

That's a good kitty---patience is overrated (or, underrated?).  We had Parmesan Chicken Cutlets from a 03/2013 Bon Appetit. I must say they were good and something to serve when company comes to town (I can make ahead of time).  We still only have fans to cool the first floor (hope this gets fixed asap) so I boiled some tiny bowties & dressed them with butter, freshly ground Parmesan & lemon juice w/ S&P, and served them w/ some salad, & cooked spinach. I love the crispiness of the chicken cutlets.

It's not a Bon Appetit recipe but I've had good luck spreading cutlets with a mixture of equal parts mayo and parmesan, topping with Panko and baking. I think it's a Hellmans recipe. Easy and tasty. Probably good on fish.

[JTMacc99]

I've done that, and yes, the chicken does come out great.

Tonight it's looking like a leftover night. I've got food in the fridge that I know each child likes and would happily eat again, and it makes room for me to cook something new this weekend.

[annzeepark914]

I have found that the more ingredients in a new recipe, & the more effort put into making the dish, the more likely it will be that I'll end up hating the results. A few nights ago I made a recipe for North African meatballs & sauce.  There was cumin and cinnamon in the meatballs, fresh o.j. in the tomato sauce + more cinnamon.  I ended up adding garlic powder and Mural of Flavor to the sauce which helped a bit.  I served it over angel hair pasta.  Geez...we still have leftovers & I can't bear to eat it any more. The recipe called for ground lamb but I just cannot eat lamb so I used lean ground beef.  Blech!  I've had cinnamon in ground beef when I make moussaka which I love.  Oh well...onward & upward as they say :>)

[NewDigs]

Agreed, anzeepark914. I love paging through cookbooks and when I see an arm's-length list of spices etc. I just keep turning the pages. Spices are expensive and I hate spending x amount of dollars on something I use once only to find out I don't like them. I prefer to use familiar ingredients, kind of like the Thoreau caution: Beware of enterprises that require new clothes. If that makes any sense.

We usually enjoy meals of leftovers. They're like a kind of mash-up of familiar favorite flavors. And it feels good to use that food!

[DeLurker]

I found a few grocery stores that sell spices by the ounce (you pour whatever amount you want from a large container).  I found that to be handy because sometimes I see a recipe that calls for spices I have never used/rarely us so tend to avoid them.  This allows me to try them without spending a zillions $ on spices I will never use again.

[NewDigs]

42 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

I found a few grocery stores that sell spices by the ounce (you pour whatever amount you want from a large container).  I found that to be handy because sometimes I see a recipe that calls for spices I have never used/rarely us so tend to avoid them.  This allows me to try them without spending a zillions $ on spices I will never use again.

Great idea. Plus, it gives you an oportunity to smell them. I can usually tell if I'm going to like something by its smell/scent. I think we pretty much taste what we smell.

Cupboard's a little bare and energy's a little low so might just have a frozen Home Run Inn Chicago Pizza tonight. Hubster brought one home last week (organic, sausage, pepp., mushrooms and peppers) and it was delish. Maybe the best frozen pizza I've ever had. And only about 600 calories for the half. 

[Quof]

Canada has a chain store, Bulk Barn, which is just what the name suggests.  I only ever buy a little bit of any spice at a time, also great for baking ingredients, dried beans, grains, etc.  Also bad for those of us with no impulse control because of the rows and rows and bulk candy.

[annzeepark914]

Actually, that recipe didn't require any ingredients that I didn't have on hand (except for a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes that I had to go out & buy), no strange spices.  It was just the time involved.  I get my spices either from Penzey's or the supermarket.  I probably should've used supermarket cinnamon in the recipe as it's mild compared to the cinnamon I did use (Chinese cinnamon which is quite strong).  Live & learn!  

Tonight I'm taking it easy.  I'm going to gussy up some leftover pork fried rice (from last night's Chinese delivery) and add some fresh pineapple cubes, a little soy sauce and sesame oil (cause the fried rice is a bit bland).  Mr. P914 will eat the leftover North African meatballs & pasta  (he hates to see food thrown away and that's what I'd do with it!).  Cooking--it's a good thing I enjoy it!

[biakbiak]

If your grocery store doesn't sell spices in bulk I have found that health food stores often do.

Tonight doing a big chopped salad and a nice rose!

[BooksRule]

I had a big green salad (and a bowl of '15 bean' soup) for lunch, so I'm having baked chicken thighs with some Cajun seasoning sprinkled on them and a baked potato for dinner.  

Edited June 5, 2016 by BooksRule

[EllieH]

Roasted beets and butternut squash with balsamic vinegar, and goat cheese biscuits with honey

[PRgal]

21 hours ago, Quof said:

Canada has a chain store, Bulk Barn, which is just what the name suggests.  I only ever buy a little bit of any spice at a time, also great for baking ingredients, dried beans, grains, etc.  Also bad for those of us with no impulse control because of the rows and rows and bulk candy.

How do you control yourself??? :p.  I try to avoid the place because I end up buying more than I need (and this goes for grains and spices more than candy.  I only like chocolate).

[DeLurker]

At the bulk food places, I only bring a limited amount of cash and no other forms of payment.  I shop for what I need first, add it up in my head and then peruse the rest of the store.  Otherwise, the coffee aisle will blow my budget every single time.

[Qoass]

When I'm feeling short on self control, I don't let myself take a carriage or basket and therefore can only buy what I can carry in my arms.

I'm on my way from my day job to my night job so "dinner" is a 4pm Hot Pocket.

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

I'm on my way from my day job to my night job so "dinner" is a 4pm Hot Pocket.

Tonight I do the show up at my house and 5-10 minutes later I'm back out the door with my daughter to her game. This is the reason I buy that half pound of cold cuts on Sunday.  Tomorrow night is nacho night. 

[NewDigs]

2 hours ago, Qoass said:

When I'm feeling short on self control, I don't let myself take a carriage or basket and therefore can only buy what I can carry in my arms.

I'm on my way from my day job to my night job so "dinner" is a 4pm Hot Pocket.

Jim Gaffigan salutes you.

Is there one that's better than others? Haven't had one in ages.

Mmm. Nachos. Had nachos/tacos-in-a-bag at an outdoor event. Pretty neat! They took an opened snack-sized bag of fritos and layered on the meat, cheese, tomato etc. and handed you a fork. Really clever and good. Individual servings that travel.

[Qoass]

Well, I lean toward the ham turkey bacon one but it turns out, it was not enough to hold me through the evening.  I'm going to have to find something more filling and portable going forward.

[NewDigs]

Recently (semi)retired and wish I could suggest beyond sandwich and chips. I brown bagged it for years. Now I graze and eat small every couple/few hours. Some peanuts, a yogurt-freshfruit-granola thingy, a protein bar, a hard-boiled egg, dried apricots, cheese'n'crackers, etc. And a smallish meal for dinner. Not for everyone.

Geesh. Just writing that made me hungry.

[Qoass]

I've got a banana and some candy for tonight.  I'm sick of the usual granola bar/trail mix/peanut butter crackers stuff so I'm on the hunt for something I can stuff into an already crowded backpack that needs no prep or refrigeration and is easy to unwrap and eat on the sly.  I think a six inch from Subway may be the way to go.

[PRgal]

Speaking of bulk, a Lindt shop just opened near me.  #mustnotgonearit

[DeLurker]

Realized Plan A requires more time to marinate than I have. Plan B is gussied up ramen (which we all love). So ramen in chicken stock (from my freezer), slices of steak,carrots, celery, napa & green onions.  

[MargeGunderson]

Meatball subs and fries. Earlier today I made chocolate and pistachio buns that turned out really well. 

[Quof]

Quote

Speaking of bulk, a Lindt shop just opened near me

We have one, that styles itself as an "outlet."   Lindt products are cheaper in my grocery store so I only go there to get something that my store doesn't carry.  Like the Dark Absolute bar.  99% cocoa.  It's an acquired taste.

[DeLurker]

Thursday night's Plan A became Friday's Plan A, so citrus roasted chicken breasts.  It was quite tasty - chicken breasts marinated in lemon juice, orange juice, a splash of soy sauce & honey, garlic, oregano and pepper.  I probably got overzealous with the lemon and orange zest, but it was flavorful without being a sodium or sugar bomb.

I've been trying to get together a list of recipes that are going to fit in nicely with my Dad's dietary guidelines so when I visit this summer, I can do some of the cooking and not completely derail his diet.

Tonight looks like spaghetti so I can use up an abundance of tomatoes I got from my brother's garden while he's out of town.  I'll just cut them up, throw them in with my sauce and let it all simmer for a good long time.  When I was a kid, my neighbor was Italian and she would make these big vats of sauce starting with tomatoes.  It was a long process, but she made some outstanding sauce.

[annzeepark914]

I wish I had an Italian neighbor who would cook vats of sauce and share with me!!!  I love the way Italians make sauce at home.  It has almost a nutty flavor to it (must be the olive oil) when it's a marinara.  I've only been to Italy once (the Liguria section along the Mediterranean--looked like a fairy tale land, so misty & gorgeous, and OMG...fabulous food).

Last night I cheated and cooked Bertolli's Shrimp, Asparagus & Penne (that I enhance w/ garlic powder & Mural of Flavor).  I could eat the whole thing myself but had to share it with Mr. P914 so I also crunched away on salad.  Tonight I'm making a cheater's version of paella in a throwaway foil pan that you wrap in foil and put on the grill.  Esta bueno!

[Bastet]

Quote

Bertolli's Shrimp, Asparagus & Penne

I haven't had one of those in a long time, but I used to get either that one or the chicken florentine & farfalle.  But the last couple of times I had the latter, I noticed the amount of chicken had been significantly reduced.  Really, Bertolli?  This bag of sodium is not cheap, you can give me some damn chicken.

[JTMacc99]

Sliders on the charcoal grill, some sort of frozen potato item, green salad with Ken's Lite Asian Sesame dressing (not bad!), and after we're done eating, we are making s'mores!  

[harrie]

9 hours ago, DeLurker said:

Tonight looks like spaghetti so I can use up an abundance of tomatoes I got from my brother's garden while he's out of town.  I'll just cut them up, throw them in with my sauce and let it all simmer for a good long time.  When I was a kid, my neighbor was Italian and she would make these big vats of sauce starting with tomatoes.  It was a long process, but she made some outstanding sauce.

Very jealous - we're 6-8 weeks from fresh tomatoes, and that's if all goes well.  As a kid I was meh on tomatoes, but now I understand that there's nothing like a truly fresh one. Yum!

For no good reason, or for some partially random reason, tonight is kind of a feast: some oysters with cocktail sauce to start;  lobster; boiled tiny taters (fresh from a local farmer guy, I don't know how he did that; maybe it was the mild winter); quick-pickled beets; and if we we have room, vanilla ice cream with fresh local strawberries from a place near my work. Also, champagne - partly because why not, and partly to toast the late, great Gordie Howe. 

Edited June 12, 2016 by harrie

[annzeepark914]

Yay harrie:  What a great excuse to enjoy champagne!  and I also like your menu.

[mansonlamps]

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I wish I had an Italian neighbor who would cook vats of sauce and share with me!!!  I love the way Italians make sauce at home.  It has almost a nutty flavor to it (must be the olive oil) when it's a marinara.  I've only been to Italy once (the Liguria section along the Mediterranean--looked like a fairy tale land, so misty & gorgeous, and OMG...fabulous food).

Last night I cheated and cooked Bertolli's Shrimp, Asparagus & Penne (that I enhance w/ garlic powder & Mural of Flavor).  I could eat the whole thing myself but had to share it with Mr. P914 so I also crunched away on salad.  Tonight I'm making a cheater's version of paella in a throwaway foil pan that you wrap in foil and put on the grill.  Esta bueno!

Hah!  I come from a vat of sauce family.  And now I never make it because I had it so much growing up.  Although I seem to be the only one, my brother and cousins still do the sauce all the time.

[DeLurker]

I always thought champagne shouldn't just be for a special occasion or New Year's Eve.

Impromptu bottle popping is hardily approved and encouraged. 

[ethalfrida]

Homemade veggie pizza..

[annzeepark914]

I made Ina's Eggplant au gratin today.  Gosh I love that dish (I always add garlic powder & Mural of Flavor to it)...so easy to make and so delicious.

[Bastet]

I don't like eggplant, so I've never made that one, but I love Ina's spinach gratin.  And since the spinach in my garden is overflowing, even for how much I regularly use, I made a batch of that gratin this weekend and took half to my parents.  That means I'll be having it as a side dish for every meal this week - I normally make a half batch to share, because her portion sizes and mine are very different - but damn the calories -- that thing is good!

[krimimimi]

Ok, you guys have made me curious. Got a link?

We had calamari for dinner today, because it was wet and cold enough that turning the oven on sounded like a good idea. Should be more of the same weather tomorrow, so oven baked Chinese inspired Orange Chicken is on my radar.

[annzeepark914]

Ok, you guys have made me curious. Got a link?

Which recipe do you want a link to?

[krimimimi]

Both of the gratins sounded tempting...

[annzeepark914]

This is Ina's eggplant au gratin.  Just like Ina says, with recipes that have few ingredients it really makes a difference to use "good" ingredients (we've made fun of her for using that word repeatedly, but she's right!!).  I always add garlic powder & Mural of Flavor to this recipe and I think it makes a difference :>)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/eggplant-gratin-recipe.html

[Qoass]

I'm working tonight so I've packed a banana and some grapes plus a Baby Ruth, some M&Ms, a bag of Cracker Jack and a granola bar.  That covers the major food groups, right?

Edited June 16, 2016 by Qoass
And a Slim Jim-- can't forget the Slim Jim!

[krimimimi]

Think you left out the Mounds bar, @Qoass, which might be something resembling fruit...

Thanks, @annzeepark914, for the link. Never seen that show. Had sort of assumed she was a blogger with whom I was unfamiliar, so I'd have looked in the wrong places. Also unfamiliar with the mural of flavor, but have seen it mentioned here a few times. (Will google that next. :-)) Have a pretty extensive collection of spices, I'm sure I can substitute for it once pointed in the right direction. 

[DeLurker]

In tonight's edition of DeLurker's Experimental Cooking:  Beef Fajitas!

Never made them before, so got go start things for a marinade

[Bastet]

Quote

Both of the gratins sounded tempting...

Here's the spinach gratin.  I generally make a half batch, which is my rule with all Ina Garten recipes.  Another Ina recipe rule is to cut the salt in half.

[krimimimi]

@Bastet, thanks for the link.

Could the salt thing be an issue with Kosher salt? I notice she used it. Like if I follow Aaron Franklin's grill recipes, I need to adjust for it, because he uses Kosher salt, which I can't buy here, and the flakes take up more room than normal salt does. (Augh. Crystaline Chem flashbacks. Salt is an example of closest densest packing... Ugh.) So in Kosher salt, there's less actual NaCl by volume than with regular salt. I think you need about 1/2 the amount if using common table salt, or 3/4 if using ground sea salt, IIRC.

[Bastet]

No, she and I use the same salt -- Diamond kosher.  She just likes a lot more of it than I (and many other viewers, judging by discussion) do.

[annzeepark914]

10 hours ago, krimimimi said:

Thanks, @annzeepark914, for the link. Never seen that show. Had sort of assumed she was a blogger with whom I was unfamiliar, so I'd have looked in the wrong places. Also unfamiliar with the mural of flavor, but have seen it mentioned here a few times. (Will google that next. :-)) Have a pretty extensive collection of spices, I'm sure I can substitute for it once pointed in the right direction. 

The Barefoot Contessa is a great show.  Unfortunately for those of us who love Ina and her show, it seems to only be in reruns nowadays.  I have most of her cookbooks but you can get so many of her recipes on line.  Tonight I'm getting some pork tenderloins ready for tomorrow's grilling (Ina's Herb-Marinated Loin of Pork).  It is delicious and easy to make.

Mural of Flavor is sold by Penzey's online.  I use it in soups, stews, casseroles--just a whole lot of dishes.

[krimimimi]

Shipping would make it prohibitively expensive, I'm afraid. (Always assuming they even ship internationally.) But I usually have all the ingredients except the citrus peels in stock in my kitchen...

[BooksRule]

Just came in from mowing the lawn (power mower, but not riding) in the 'cool' evening air (only in the upper 80s).  I'm going vegetarian tonight and am having brown rice mixed with sauteed onion and some steamed broccoli (drizzled with some stir fry sauce for flavor).  Right now, I'm having some sliced cucumbers for an appetizer.

[Quof]

I just made some awesome sangria.  Someone gave me a bottle of prosecco ages ago, and I don't like white wines, sparkling or otherwise, so it has just been sitting.   So I hunted down a recipe that includes orange liqueur and grapefruit soda. Delish.

Oh, sorry, should this not be my dinner?  It's got fruit in it.