So...whats for dinner?
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Maggie, thank you for the recipes. I didn't even consider ground chicken! The black-eyed peas salsa is pretty. It's similar to Cowboy Salsa with other types of beans.
We had meatloaf for dinner. Sides were Bob's mac and cheese and slices of yellow squash and zucchini roasted on a sheet pan. I ate only a spoonful of the mac and cheese.
Happy New Year to everyone. We'll be staying home tonight and will go to bed with the sound of fireworks in the surrounding neighborhoods.
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Happy New Year to all!
I'm making braised lamb shoulder steak with caramelized onions that will rest on a pool of creamy polenta and a side of steamed broccoli.
We had canned split pea soup last night. I added a small can of baby scallops into mine.
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Hi everyone, I’ve been away and just catching up on all the posts.. I always get so hungry reading your yummy meals, even the meat based ones which I don’t eat lol… I could read about food for hours. The NYtimes had an article on the most influential cookbooks and it was all I could do not to order them all. I did buy one The Book of Jewish Food , an Odyssey from Samarkand and Villa to the Present Day by Claudia Roden . It has 800 recipes interwoven with stories , reminiscences and history. Feeling a pull toward my roots, remembering my grandmothers kitchen and my mother, both long gone now.
Here are the recipes for Pumpin Bread pudding and vanilla bean whip, both from Forks over knives cookbook.
Pumpkin bread puddingServes 8
1 1/2 cups of pumpkin purée ( 15 ounce can is fine)
1 cup of unsweetened plant based milk ( I like almond milk)
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoons ground allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
8 slices stale whole wheat bread, cut into 1 inch cubes ( about 6 cups)
1/2 cup raisins
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Have ready an 8x8 nonstick or silicone baking pan if you have. Otherwise lightly grease a pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, plant based milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add the arrowroot or cornstarch, salt, cinnamon ginger, nutmeg allspice and cloves and whisk well. Stir in the bread cubes and raisins, and toss to coat completely.
- Transfer to the prepared pan, and bake for 25 minutes. Serve warm.
Vanilla bean whip
Makes 2 cups
IngredientsOne 12 oz package of extra firm silken tofu, drained
1/2 cup cashews, soaked overnight and drained
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1 Vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- Combine the tofu, cashews, maple syrup, lemon juice and salt in a blender. Purée until smooth.
- Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise with a sharp knife and scrape the seeds into the blender ( or add in vanilla extract instead) , and blend until very smooth .
- Transfer mixture into a bowl and cover. Chill for several hours in the fridge, or until ready to eat.
Happy eating, and wishing everyone a joy filled new year ! 🎊 Rhonda
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The joke was on me! I bought a big package of beef stew meat at Sam's. Interpreted the tiny numbers, 3.96, as being the price per lb. At home I inspected the label more closely and the 3.96 was the weight, not the price. How optimistic I was!
Yum on polenta.
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Happy New Year everyone.
The squash recipe I make for DD.
I cut a butternut squash, remove the seeds and bake it until it's soft.
I saute a couple of chopped carrots, a couple of chopped ribs (pieces) of celery, a whole chopped yellow onion and a couple of minced cloves of garlic.
When the sauteing is done,I add two cups of vegetable broth to the above mixture, plus a half cup of wild rice, stir and cover. When it's time, I add a half cup of white rice and continue to simmer the veges-wild rice-white rice. I time things so that the two types of rice are ready at the same time…if the wild rice takes an hour and the white rice takes 15 minutes, I cook the wild rice for 45 minutes before adding the white rice.
When all that is ready, I add some walnuts, a quarter cup of dried cranberries, some chopped fresh thyme, a bit of chopped fresh sage, salt and pepper. The walnuts and S&P are "enough". :-) I used an entire envelope of chopped walnuts which I think is around 1/2 cup and the S&P is "to taste".
I forgot….scoop out the squash and put it in with the rice-vege mixture.
I'll then bake the mixture for 20-30 minutes at 350F degrees..mostly to get it hot.
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Wally, I never thought of adding scallops to split pea soup but that combo sounds good.
Rhonda, Thanks for the vanilla bean whip recipe. My neighbor just gave me some organic maple syrup so I’ll have to make it. Cookbooks with stories to go with recipes, especially those that reference your heritage, are awesome. I have one of traditional Irish recipes with old photos as well as the cookbook my MIL (a home ec teacher) taught from at one of the first free secondary schools in Ireland. Until 1967 public education ended at age 14.
Eric, That squash “stuffing” is much more interesting than the usual. No wonder your DD requests it. Thanks for the recipe.
Dinner tonight was corned beef and cabbage since the new year, not St. Patrick’s day, is when the Irish have boiled bacon (ham shoulder) and cabbage.
The fireworks have already started here. Happy New Year!
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Sometimes I'll scoop out most of the squash from the "shells", leaving enough in the "shells" to keep them strong enough to hold together, mix the removed squash into the rice mix and then make a sort of "stuffed squash". When I do that, I tie the two filled squash halves together and cook them in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F degrees. One squash stuffed like that can be a main dish for serving four people.
I love old cookbooks… :-) I have at least five shelves in a large bookcase that are devoted to them. They are great for ideas for now unusual dishes.
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Tonight's New Year's Eve feast was oven fried buffalo chicken wings, spring rolls and jalapeño poppers. More like super bowl food. I should have made a salad to go with it but I wasn't feeling it and it was enough. We seldom have these things so we enjoyed it.
Tomorrow will be spent undecorating the house. DH took advantage of the good weather yesterday and took down the "exterior illumination " so that leaves the tree and a few other holiday themed knickknacks. I'm happy for the holidays to be over.Happy New Year my friends!
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I too love cook books. I gave my nephew & his wife a cookbook this Christmas. He's a vegan and she's Chinese - raised in Hong Kong - so a Vegan cookbook with Hong Kong recipes. As you might imagine, I copied several recipes before I gave them the book.'
Happy New Years to all. Years ago we always used to have a NY's gathering of my son's friends and their parents at my house. That way no one had to worry about driving or kids running the streets. I made a punch bowl of 'doctored' egg nog and lots of appetizers. The parents hung out in the kitchen and the teens stayed in the TV room. We had a swimming pool then. By the time the kids were 16, the tradition after the ball dropped at midnight, was they all jumped in the pool. Yeah, its Houston - but often quite cold. Like tonight will be 40 degrees. Brrrr.
I'm in my PJ's and will be in bed reading by 10pm. Maybe I will be able to sleep through the fireworks - which are considerable even though illegal in the City limits.
I had a nice card from Lacey. I was fortunate to meet her & Susan for dinner In Boston before Susan died. More details later.
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Minus, I would love to hear what's happening with Lacey. I miss her.
I had missed Rhonda's post and went back to find it.
Eric, the rice and squash recipe sounds good.
Last night was more noisy than usual with loud explosions of fireworks. I didn't fall asleep until after midnight and don't feel "perky" this morning.
I had a huge collection of cookbooks and got rid of about half of them a few years ago. I mostly read them from cover to cover when I first got them. Everywhere dh and I traveled, I would buy at least one cookbook.
Last night's dinner was warmed up slices of meatloaf with tomato sauce and grated cheese on mine. Leftover mac and cheese for dh and salads for both of us. Dinner tonight will be the corned beef brisket with potatoes, cabbage, carrots and onion (secured with toothpicks!) and a side dish of black-eyed peas and brown rice. I plan to get out the Instant Pot for the brisket.
Good eating in 2025.
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It was almost perfectly quiet here….just the coyotes howling.
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It started raining shortly after midnight so that put an end to the fireworks. They'll keep exploding over the next few weeks until they are used up, however. People are now setting off fireworks for all kinds of celebrations including birthdays so it's something I'm reluctantly getting used to. They are manufactured locally; maybe it’s part of supporting hometown industry. I prefer the howling of coyotes.
Minus, I do the same with cookbooks I give as gifts.
Dinner tonight was corned beef hash, black-eyed pea salsa and cornbread.
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Minus - I'm so glad you heard from Lacey. I miss her too and hope she and her family are doing well.
Tonight was sliced ham, hoppin' John, sautéed spinach with garlic and hot pepper vinegar and cornbread.
We were lucky The fireworks ended shortly after midnight Happy New Year!
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Ah, Hong Kong….❤️. I too am a cookbook addict. Over 800 and counting. I moved all those books from WI to here and wonder if I need to start purging. They're like my kids…hate to give 'em up.
Leftover polenta, cut up and pan fried with leftover broccoli and scrambled eggs, last night.
NO idea what tonight will be. Maybe yakisoba noodles or a frozen pizza.
DH goes for his nerve conductivity test in Sequim, tomorrow, so juggling that and Seattle and food purchases/waste/using up….
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@wallycat hope all goes ok for your DH today.
800 cookbooks.. oh be still my beating heart lol. Like kids, like old friends… agreed ❤️I also love the food bloggers , found someone new today The Buddhist Chef, will try his tofu with spicy peanut sauce tonight.
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Wally, I hope DH's tests provide some information for providing relief.
When Susan was mentioned, I also thought about 'RVing, Apple and others…long sigh…..
I must have some dyslexia.. "Buddhist Chef" caused me to pause a moment and re-read that part of the sentence. :-) I'm still laughing at my mistake.
The number of cookbooks is tiny compared to the overall number of books we brought when we moved. I sometimes think I'm trying to outdo the Library of Congress.
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On Amazon I found a replacement for an old Betty Crocker paperback that was falling apart. I use it for only about five recipes now since I rarely make desserts but I would have felt lost without it. I sometimes google recipes for what needs to be used up in my fridge and have come up with some good dinners that way.
Wally, I hope the nerve conductivity test and the drive to Sequim go well.
Eric, Being surrounded by books makes me feel secure, maybe because I know I will never be at a loss for something to do.
Dinner tonight was aromatic beef stew with butternut squash on couscous. DH really liked it as made but with the Moroccan spices I think it needed olives and dried fruit which I’ll add next time.
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I'm always getting a book off of the one of the shelves and reading it, even if I've read it before. I agree about physical books offering a sense of security and are available even if the power is out/internet is off.
I have read quite a bit by the light of a generator powered lamp. :-)
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Dinner last night was a skillet dish of okra and tomatoes with fresh okra from Honduras. Included one slice of bacon, fresh garlic, onion powder, pepper flakes, canned mini diced tomatoes, s & p. DH had two helpings and then the small amount left in the skillet. The other dish was the leftover Hoppin' John which was a real winner. I used canned Trappey's black-eyed peas. I'll be making Hoppin' John again.
Tonight may be hash made with leftover corned beef. Also butternut squash. I paid extra for a package of peeled and cut squash.
I read information on tofu yesterday and watched the video of the Buddhist Chef making the recipe Rhonda mentioned. Dh ate tofu when he was stationed on Okinawa and visited Japan. His attitude is neutral. He said it has no flavor, absorbs flavors of a sauce.
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Carol I agree with your DH, tofu is all about the sauces and I would add the texture too. I love the taste of soy milk though, fresh from the tofu diary in Chinatown.. yum. I love Crispy tofu when made well, is amazing crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. I haven’t made it yet that way lol.. I keep trying to find the right recipes, where I can bake it, but I’ve had it in restaurants with dipping sauces that was amazing. I ended up not making the Buddhist chef recipe, mostly because of the ketchup. Couldn’t get my mimd around adding that in… I’m so funny sometimes. I did make curried sweet potatoes and chickpeas though, Nora Cooks blog. It was fabulous.
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Carole, I wish they sold fresh okra in the winter but it’s not very popular here even when in season.
Rhonda, You can make your own ketchup to avoid all that high fructose corn syrup and mystery chemicals. This easy recipe uses honey.
Dinner tonight was leftover stew for DH and doctored Snow’s clam chowder for me.
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Maggie - thank you ! I will definitely make my own Ketchup. Didn’t even think of it. I’ve missed that taste. DH puts it on his egg whites every morning, see if I can’t get him to switch. Googling recipes is fun, I also love finding ways to make new meals from what’s left in the fridge. I love experimenting. I took vegetarian cooking classes from The Natural Gourmet Cookery School many years ago, and the chef I studied with Peter Berley (love his cookbooks) said if you were prepared to throw out half of what you make, you’ll love experimentation. Takes the pressure off…
We went out last night , it’s cold here but the walk was nice. Celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. DH had fish tacos and I had crab cakes and salad. Nice for a change. Even had a glass of red wine, first time in 2 years lol..
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Maggie, I don't think okra is a popular vegetable in the US outside of the south. I cringed at paying $8 for a package because it's so easy to grow. The problem with growing it in the garden is having to cut it every day once it starts producing pods. The bushes get taller and taller until you need a ladder to pick it. LOL. Then there's all that okra. There are now varieties that aren't slimy when you chop the pods but the okra from Honduras was slimy when fresh chopped. I used to cook batches of okra and tomato and freeze in portions for adding to gumbo.
I included cabbage in the potato and corned beef hash. It was very tasty. So was the butternut squash.
I rarely use ketchup but dh is a ketchup-aholic.
DH is making beef stew for dinner.
Rhonda, the anniversary dinner sounds wonderful. I like fish tacos and crab cakes. I'll look up Peter Berley and Nora Cooks.
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We had leftover hot dogs and beans with broccoli last night. DH's nerve conductivity test was sad. The tech said he should RUN, not walk, to surgery. If he waits much longer, he may lose the use of his hand(s). My heart just aches for him. He was impervious to anything until he hit 80 and then all hell broke loose.
I was put on lexapro for my esophageal spasm and my anxiety over DH's situation. I am having insane amounts of issues with new drug plan. Plus the lexapro weight gain. Deep breath and I need to pull up my big-girl pants and face life. Not a fan.
TOnight, I made sweet potato, cauliflower and a ham steak. I will use the leftover hamsteak tomorrow and make mac/cheese, diced ham and a veg of choice.
Tuesday we head to Seattle to see what the oral surgeon has in store for DH. Maybe I'll make peanut noodles to bring to eat in case timing/restaurant options are slim pickings.
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