So...whats for dinner?
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Last night's dinner was a large romaine salad topped with chicken strips and a side of broccoli salad.
Tonight's dinner will be at Boulder's restaurant in Walker, a 50 minute drive. We're meeting a couple we met several years ago when we played in a couples' golf group. They have a beautiful place on Long Lake on property his family acquired in the 1930's. Boulder's is an elegant restaurant and we're going early like true senior citizens to take advantage of their special senior menu and special prices on drinks. There's a whole page of martinis.
We're caught in a dilemma. The north wind brings cool temperatures and also brings the smoke. I will be buying N95 masks. The air quality today is rated unhealthy for all, not just those with impaired breathing.
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illimae - is that a cousa squash? Shaped more like a spaghetti squash but looks like a zucchini on the outside. I've never tried one but I haven't met a squash I didn't like yet. Agree that it looks fantastic! I have made a sausage, apple, and cheese stuffed acorn squash that I like - the hardest part is cutting the acorn squash in half, always makes me nervous to break out the really big chef's knife.
I have been playing a game at home - how long can I go without grocery shopping? Last night I made mac 'n cheese and added leftover ham from the freezer, and topped it with extra cheese and crushed French fried onions (the kind that go on the Thanksgiving green bean casserole) and it was good! Also had some green beans from the freezer that come in a steam-able bag. I have a couple of pork tenderloins, some chicken thighs, hamburger patties, cooked large shrimp, bratwurst and previously cooked pulled chicken still in the freezer. The pantry has all kinds of ramen, other kinds of pasta, and several kinds of rice, and I also have frozen tiny potatoes and mashed red skin potatoes, as well as sweet potatoes and sweet potato fries, and some flat bread I can use for pizza or burger buns. Also have frozen asparagus, more green beans, Brussels, and riced cauliflower. I feel like I could go at least another week, lol! The only fresh fruit/veg I have is celery and tangerines though - and I usually eat salad daily, so... might have to go and shop. I need to go out today anyway and feed my friend's kitties while she is out of town.
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Specialk, DH says it’s a Calabasa squash, I only recall that it was green with white freckles and common in the grocery store. Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to cut, I have bad luck with sharp objects, so extra careful too.
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Sharon cooks squash in the microwave oven to get it slightly warm and then she uses the smaller "that's a knife" to cut it. So far, we've not had any need to visit a doctor for sutures... :-)
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Special - I made it from 7/8 to 7/27 "shopping" just from my fridge, freezer & pantry. Yup towards the end there were no fresh greens, veggies or fruit. I had plenty of frozen, but I did miss green salads. I could have gone longer but needed a green pepper to make 3 bean salad. And more critical, I was running out of tonic for my nightly G&T. To be fair, I ate out for two lunches and one dinner in those 18 days - but still it's amazing what I was able to concoct with what was on hand.
I like Sharon's squash trick. Thanks for sharing Eric.
Carole - hope the smoke has moved on.
Because of the burgeoning Covid cases, I'll still be masking when I go out unless I'm outside walking or mowing a lawn. I'm also pulling back on discussing or accepting lunch or dinners out. No way to be sure the wait staff will be masked here in Texas, and it's a pretty sure bet a significant portion of the customers will NOT.
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The last three nights I have made zucchini rollatini, baked chicken tenders with roasted garlicky potatoes and salad, and "street-cart style" tofu and rice and seared asparagus with pan-fried capers.
Tonight, I totally won in that my stepkid is here for the night, so my DH made quesadillas for dinner and I didn't have to do anything!
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Do you have a recipe for the zucchini rollatini that you could share?
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Still reeling from the news about Cellars closing in just over s month. Tough to turn a profit being open only 4 nights a week plus weekend brunch--but they were unable to find enough staff to add days. But they'd been planning to make last Thanksgiving their swan song until a GoFundMe campaign and PPP grant convinced them to reopen in March for at least takeout. They've been at capacity on the patio and 3/4 full every night since the announcement. With the nice weather we've been having, every restaurant's patio is chock-full. Because of the uncertainty over the Delta variant in Cook County (surprisingly, it accounts for the fewest new cases in Chicago), people are also trying to cram in as much indoor restaurant dining as they can before a possible reinstatement of stricter mitigations. (Masks are recommended indoors even for vaccinated people in Chicago--which is teetering on the brink of going from "moderate" to "substantial" transmission rates--but now required in the Cook county suburbs, which are "substantial"). I've started wearing mine again in all indoor public spaces even in my own neighborhood. I figure I'd been doing that since mid-June when the city fully "reopened," so it's no big deal to resume. After all, I wore it last week from the time I stepped into my Manhattan hotel elevator at 1pm, in the cab to LGA, at the airport & on the plane, till I exited the Red Line CTA train station near my home at 9pm. (And that was 1pm EDT and 9pm CDT--so that made nine straight hours).
So we ate at Cellars Thurs. night (I had the honey-brined pork chop with mustard sauce, Brussels sprouts and green beans--the leftovers will be tonight's dinner, as Bob's working and I'm home alone). Last night we went to Barba Yianni in Lincoln Sq., now that their kitchen reno is done. We snagged the last available patio table. Shortly after we ordered I smelled the unmistakable odor of cigar smoke--and so did Bob. Smoking anything within 100 feet of where people are eating is illegal in Chicago, so we looked around to see who the culprit was and threaten to call the police. To our utter chagrin, it was a cop, angle-parked in a tow zone right next to our table! I kept covering my face, putting on my mask (to no avail--the smell was that strong), coughing into my sleeve. The cop kept sitting in his car, windows open, puffing on his stogie while schmoozing with his partner. I told Bob I would go over and ask politely--and he said "please don't" (he is utterly averse to making any kind of complaint). I got up and sweetly said, "Officer, I'm 70, have asthma and am about to eat. Could you please either roll up the windows or put out the cigar?" He said "no problem" and actually backed the car out and parked elsewhere. (That it ended well for me might have been an example of white privilege).
Anyway, we shared appetizers of pork souvlaki (very juicy & tender) and broiled calamari, and a side of horta (dandelion greens), My entree was a whole broiled branzino, with green beans instead of rice & potatoes. Bob had the Greek sampler plate of moussaka, pastitsio, lamb, rice & potato. He finished his entire entree, but we took home half of mine, plus one pork skewer (and the accompanying mini-salad) and about a third of the calamari. For brunch this morning I made a bigger Greek salad, topped with the leftover calamari.
I did have a minor cheat when I went out shopping for pet stuff and White Sox gear this afternoon. (After the cheapskate Cubs owners traded away all five fan favorites from the World Series team, I'm washing my hands of them. Besidea, we owe our family income and resources to the South Side, which is where Bob has worked his entire career). I was craving frozen yogurt--which I hadn't had in over two years. So I squirted a scant half-cup of the EuroTart flavor into my dish and topped it with a very few dark chocolate chips, slowly savoring it outdoors. I hope it doesn't derail the loss I'm hoping to show at my weigh-in on Tuesday. (I don't understand how there can be almost 10 varieties of keto ice cream but not one keto-friendly fro-yo).
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Yes, I'd like to see the zucchini recipe also Saltmarsh. I have a couple in the fridge that are starting to call out to me.
Lunch was a deviled egg & a bowl of fresh raspberries in heavy cream. Dinner was a large bowl of popcorn dripping with melted butter.
Made salads today. It's difficult to cut many recipes for one, but I've been in the mood so WTH. I've been eating 3 bean salad every night this week. Now I've added carrot & raisin (a recipe from Luby's cafeteria I've never made before); English cucumbers & sweet onions marinated in a dash of Tarragon vinegar and dill - now resting with sour cream; the lime jello I love whipped with mayo after it firms up a bit & then add avocados, celery, crushed pineapple & cashew nuts; deviled eggs. Tomorrow I'll cook a broccoli/cheddar quiche. Meals for the week taken care of.
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Last night was fresh yellow beans with new potatoes, cooked in chicken broth and a wonderful salad of tomato, cucumber, avocado and blue cheese. DH's salad included sweet onion. No meat and it wasn't missed. One plus this time of year is the fresh veggies, arriving much later than in the south but abundant when they do reach harvest time.
Sliced tomatoes on all our lunch sandwiches.
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minus - it is kind of interesting to make different things, and familiar things, shopping form the freezer and pantry - kind of like a version of the show Chopped from the Food Network, lol! We are having the downtown house tented this week for termites - which I hope is the end of that story after subterranean treatment, this tenting, and new windows - I am really, really over termites as they have been EXPENSIVE! In any event, that means that all food from that house needs to come over here so it is good that I have essentially emptied one freezer completely to make room. Like you, I have meals lined up from stuff I had made and previously frozen since this will be a busy week - some chili made with steak rather than ground beef, chicken baked with Swiss cheese, a creamy sauce and topped with bread crumbs.
Dinner last night was a small pork roast, a sweet potato and yellow potato gratin from Trader Joe's that was pretty good, and some Brussels with diced bacon and aged balsamic.
chisandy - so sorry about Cellars - I know that it is a beloved place for you. I made a cauliflower crust pizza yesterday for the first time with a prepared product I wanted to try and thought of you - I used Caulipower All About The Base brand and wondered if you've seen it or used it? It has a cracker like quality once baked and I really enjoyed it a lot. It didn't get soggy at all and I used pesto as the sauce - would totally purchase again.
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I hate to see a small business go out of business because of circumstances beyond the control of the business owners...all the hopes, dreams and hard work seem to disappear. It sounds like Cellars circumstances were out of the owners' control.
Packing up has moved into the kitchen and we'll be leaving a minimum of stuff there, so meals will likely be a bit "less" for awhile.
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A real shame about Cellars. I feel like I've been a customer through Sandy.
Last night's dinner was pork piccata and cauliflower mash. Tasted really good.
I have three really pretty eggplants in the refrigerator, bought from the Amish venders at the farmers market on Saturday. I plan to make eggplant lasagna today.
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I don’t have a recent dinner pic but a friend was given fresh eggs from a neighbors chickens, so here’s breakfast. It was amazing!
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@eric95us and @MinusTwo: My brother is the one who adapted this recipe...
https://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/zucchini...
He made a quick sauce from scratch and we omitted the turkey so two of the four of us would still eat it. I think if you like meat, the turkey would have made it yummier for you.
Tonight, said brother and his gf made us improvised caprese portabella caps on the grill, which were delicious!
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Tonight is baked cod, seared bay scallops, roasted rosemary mini potatoes, rainbow carrots, garlic rubbed cauliflower and creamy garlic kale.
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Special, I've seen CauliPower frozen crusts & pizzas, but IIRC they have way too many net gm. of carbs (rice flour &/or tapioca starch, I think). I find Quest keto-friendly pizzas (4-5gm net. per 1/3 of a pizza) pretty good, but very small.
Last night we went to Mas Alla del Sol for upscale Mexican. We split a ceviche, nopales (cactus leaf) salad and grilled veggies. Bob had carne asada with rice & beans. I had seared scallops in tomato cream sauce--and brought home my rice for Bob to eat tonight.
Tonight Bob had his leftover steak & rice. I pan-seared fresh sable fish (a type of Alaskan black cod that is like silken butter) and gave Bob a little bit to make a surf & turf. Sliced up a homegrown Cherokee Purple tomato with basil & olive oil; sauteed sugar snap peas in garlic-ginger oil with sesame seeds; and stuffed three squash blossoms with Boursin & pan-fried them in butter. We split the leftover grilled veggies. We will go out tomorrow night, likely Cellars (especially if we can sit outdoors). He's working late & staying over Fri. night in Oak Lawn, so Fri. dinner will be tomorrow night's leftovers. If he gets home in time Sat. night we'll go to our favorite little French BYOB, Chez Simo (which, alas, closes at 8pm). If not, probably L. Woods Tap & Lodge (steak or BBQ). He's off all day Sun., so we'll do brunch at Cellars.
Tomorrow morning I'll stuff the remaining squash blossoms, dredge them in beaten egg, panfry them in butter and make a mini-omelette (likely mushroom & peppers) with the leftover beaten egg.
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Sandy I have squash blossoms on hand. Is there a recipe for how you stuffed/ did them?
Illi lovely plate. I made Cod on Monday. Dredged in milk then panko, drizzled with olive oil and baked.
Tonight was an unexpected night out. I had a wonderful veal stuffed in homemade ravioli with a red wine with Abruzzo (?) In the name. Both wonderful.
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Saltmarsh, thank you.
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Reader, what I do is rinse and dry the squash blossoms just before cooking them. I reach in and remove the central "stigma," slit one side, and then take a couple of little coffee spoons and use them to drop blobs of Boursin (garlic & herb flavor) inside. (Can't be bothered to mess with a pastry bag, not even a makeshift one using a sandwich Baggie with the end snipped off). I then press them closed again, dredge them in beaten egg, and saute them in butter. If carbs are not a concern, you can do a flour dredge before & after the egg (which is how Southwestern restaurants do it).
Friday night, since I'll be dining alone, I may try roasting fresh okra cut up & dipped in almond meal & coconut flour with Cajun seasoning. I'll use the toaster oven.
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chisandy - yes, those ingredients are on the list for the Caulipower brand. When I bought it I was torn between two brands while standing in front of the freezer case, although now I don't remember what the other brand was - will have to check and see. My daughter did purchase the Quest pizzas when she was doing Keto, and she seemed to like them well enough - which is saying a lot because she is a pizza girl.
illimae - beautiful photo of the avo toast! DD's chickens were here briefly the other day in an airline crate. She had to relocate them temporarily to the barn where she keeps her horse because the house is being tented for termites. She was dropping off her little bird and an aquarium full of fish to stay here until they can go back in the house tomorrow night, and had to get the chickens out of the car so she could reach the bird cage. They must have been a little rattled by the car ride - or the confined space seems like the nesting box in their coop - because this was evening and when they arrived at the barn there were two eggs in the crate with the six chickens, lol!
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Sandy, thank you for the squash blossoms recipe. I'll try them that way. Different than my usual.
I am enjoying all the recipe ideas on this thread as always. I just wish I had more motivation to actually cook lately. 😉
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Saltmarsh - thanks for the roll-up recipe. I'll have to try it next time since I'd already cooked my squash. I had found a recipe on line for Creamy Rotini with Zucchini,Tomato & Red Pepper & it was very good. As someone suggested in the comments, I added spinach also, in addition to doubling the zucchini. And I used 'casarecce' - a pasta I'd never tried before but had in the cupboard.https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/creamy-rotini-w...
I ate a tasty spaghetti & meatballs meal from the freezer - extra portion I'd frozen before. Tomorrow will be Mexican black eyed peas w/sausage from the same source. Or maybe a large spinach salad. That leaves Chicken Cacciatore & one other dinner still frozen.
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Last night we went to Cellars for al fresco dining on a perfect mild night. We split "Marblehead shrimp rolls" (spicy shrimp salad on King's Hawaiian slider buns--I let Bob have the buns) as our app, and my entree was the poblano turkey burger (flash-fried poblano pepper, Monterey jack cheese, raw sweet onion, heirloom tomato. Reluctantly had them hold the brioche bun. No-crouton Caesar on the side.
For brunch this noon, I made the remaining 3 squash blossoms--and used the leftover egg wash to make a pepper-&-mushroom mini omelet. Also sauteed two sliced cylindrical "breakfast radishes" in butter and had a mini red pepper. The squash blossoms & radishes didn't just come from the farmers' market, they were as hyperlocal as it gets--grown in the Albany Park neighborhood about four miles SW. (The urban farm is part of a refugee resettlement project). Bob couldn't get a hotel room down in Oak Lawn for tonight, so he came home for an early dinner. Our fave little mom & pop BYOB French joint is closed till Aug. 10, so we went to Mon Ami Gabi (got Lettuce Entertain You points). We had gazpacho to start, then split a salade Lyonnaise (I let Bob have the egg). Bob had steak frites & spinach, I had trout almondine & haricots verts. No dessert. Quite windy even under their tent--wished I'd had a clip with me to keep the hair from my mouth. Made it home about an hour ahead of the rain.
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Sandi, It was encouraging to read you. Yesterday, I had extensive peridontal work to try to reattach cleaned gum tissue to roots of teeth 8,9,10. Toddler faced marvelous periodontist. Tonight we are going to Mon Ami Gabi. Last week friends went to Joes and Evelyn won 5x in scratch off points. Am very limited in what I can eat and can put no pressure on front teeth. Pleased to read about the gazpacho. Will also have baked goat cheese appetizer, chewing all on right side. DS and I eat dinner every Monday night and frequently go to Mas alla del Sol where I have the Queso fundido with Chihuahua cheese and poblanos.And tons of quac.
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Made corn muffins today to go with my sausage & black eyed peas. I used a 'hatch chili' corn muffin mix from HEB instead of Jiffy (which my Mother always used). Even adding an extra can of chilies and and 1/2 a cup of shredded cheese - which the box listed as an option - they were REALLY boring. I ate two and will not bother with the rest. We don't have ducks but I'll take them down to the bridge and feed them to the big turtles in the creek.
Took two Waygu patties out of the freezer for tomorrow.
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minus - I like cornbread stuffing, usually with T-Giv dinner but you could also do it with roast chicken. I crumble leftover cornbread and let it dry a bit and then put it in a gallon ziplock and stash it in the freezer for that later incarnation. I usually use spicy sausage and sometimes sautéed apples with it. My son has a good recipe that uses chorizo. Another use is making croutons with it - cube the leftovers, spread out on a baking sheet, spritz with olive oil and bake in a hot oven until crispy. During the pandemic lockdown I started making my own croutons with bread heels and the little weird slices at the end of the loaf - especially with the “everything” bread my local grocery store makes in their bakery. Or, feed the turtles, lol!
Dinner tonight was a burger and sweet potato waffle fries for DH, Greek salad for me.
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Last night was BLT sandwiches made with a huge tomato purchased at the farmers market for $2. I bought four and a large English cucumber also for $2. The BLT tasted really good.
I am glad the Olympics competition is almost over. I'm exhausted from all that paddling, diving, beach volley ball, etc. etc.
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Wrapped up the week in Maine with a dinner cooked by me, my brother, and his gf. We made pasta with doctored jarred sauce, Italian sausages and a steak on the grill, caramelized onions, garlic and kale sautéed with a splash of white wine, corn on the cob, a regular salad, and a salad made from fresh corn, black beans, chiles, cilantro, etc.
Came home completely brain-fried last night, but managed to pull it together enough to do two things:
I made a pot of garlic rice, and a pot of adzuki beans, and heated up some Campbell's tomato soup with oat milk for a half-healthy dinner.
And I contemplated a new strategy for meals in my house: What if I just make rice and beans every night for dinner? I won't get tired of them, because the combinations are endless and I'm a simple girl. And I can make stuff to go with them or add in veggies whenever I have the wherewithal. But basically, if my family want anything other than that, they are going to have to start prioritizing sharing meal responsibility. If I did this, I'd explain the plan to them in advance, because I don't believe in passive aggression. I've asked for them to participate and they mostly would rather not. So, that's okay, that's a choice. And they can keep making it if they want to. But I also am just tired of doing the mental and physical and time-consuming work of taking responsibility for their nutrition and gustatory satisfaction, and it seems silly when I'm doing it voluntarily, and they're able-bodied people who could learn to do this themselves.
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carole - your post about the Olympics made ma laugh.
saltmarsh - your last dinner in Maine sounds fantastic! I am a big believer in cook once, eat several meals. I either refashion the extras, or freeze portions for later. My DH works long and erratic hours so having things on hand that are already made, or can be quickly combined with easy things to make a new dish, is the only way I can deal with not knowing when he will be home for dinner. I generally give him dinner leftovers for lunch, which he takes to work. He also eats breakfast at work that he takes from home, so I will often make extra pancakes/waffles/frittata and freeze individual portions that I can easily pull out and pack up. If I tried to make each of those meals from the get-go each time I would lose my mind.
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