A Night Off

I took the night off from cooking and brought in one of the healthier offerings from Subway. I had to get my Mega Millions ticket and the store also contains a Subway shop that smells too good to pass up sometimes.

I think I get my BMT mainly for the veggies they pile on at request — everything but the jalapenos for me.  It’s like a salad sandwich.  I know I shouldn’t be eating the bread at all, but the Italian Herb and Cheese on the top is sometimes a temptation I can’t resist at least a bite of.  Whether I eat it off the bread with a fork or just pull it out with my fingers, at least it’s not food I have to regret later.

I bought more copies of Delicious Dishes for Diabetics because I have friends requesting it, and I need a copy I don’t mind getting fingerprints in — I don’t want to spill stuff on Robin’s inscription.  I came close the other night, and so decided to be more cautious with my precious autographed copy.  Also, his memoir Making Poldark, which Mr. Ellis (aka Ross Poldark) has expanded with new stories and pictures, is now available, and I of course had to get a hard copy of it, which will be treated gently as it awaits the next opportunity for its author’s signature.  Amazon also offers a Kindle version, but as I own a Nook tablet, will have to wait and see if B & N will offer it as an e-book.  At present they don’t have it in any form.

So, this Friday night, I cocoon with my take-away food, and after Kitchen Nightmares is over, slip in my Poldark  DVD to give me pleasant things to dream of after a brutal work week.

I have to decide on my menu for next week and shop, but I’ll think about that tomorrow.  Sweet dreams!

Popeye Would Be Proud

Spinach Salad with Bacon and Avocado was my menu tonight.  Sounds decadent, but without the sugar I used to put into the bacon fat-based dressing, Robin’s take on this classic bistro salad leaves little to regret.  It’s a satisfying meal, as the husband (Mr. Meat and Potatoes) just popped in to tell me.

You’d think bacon and avocado would be heavy and oily, but they were balanced out by the slight bitterness of the spinach and the tang of the mustard and red wine vinegar dressing.  I mixed only a tiny bit of the bacon fat in with the EVOO because it sounded from the directions that bacon in France may be different than here. Maybe less fatty than our typical American slab bacon? (Can anyone comment on this?)

When I cook a half-pound of bacon, half of it renders out, leaving a lot of bacon grease in the pan.  I formerly poured off all but a couple tablespoons and concocted a traditional sweet and sour dressing from the drippings.  Tonight, I shook up the vinegar, dijon mustard, and olive oil and just spiked it with a tiny bit of the bacon fat in order to stay true to the recipe.  The result was a bright, acidic vinaigrette which cut the richness of the bacon and avocado for a nice balanced bite.

I ate spinach salad the old way for a long time, so my first reaction was that I had forgotten something because the “sweet” was missing.  In its place was the surprising savory crunch of the lightly toasted walnuts.

I could see serving this salad with a lovely home made tomato-basil soup or perhaps a light pasta dish to make a more filling repast with guests.  We just made two big salads from the recipe since we ate a little bit late this evening.

One of the tricks to losing weight is to avoid eating for 2-3 hours before retiring for the night (also a good tip for avoiding acid reflux).  When I’m close to the edge of my time limit, and eating thoughtfully, a light supper is all I need.  It seems to be working, anyway — I haven’t hit a diet plateau yet (knock on wood!).

If you want to try a new take on Popeye’s favorite dish, I recommend this sassy, satisfying spinach salad.

Keen on Quinoa

Tonight I made quinoa (keen-wa) for the first time.

I’ve heard about it for many years, and wish I’d tried it sooner.  I had decided on the Red Peppers Stuffed with Tomatoes and Chevre for dinner, and thought the Sam Talbot quinoa recipe Robin posted on his blog would be a fine accompaniment to round out the meal.  Turned out to be a good call — it’s gluten free, and all the flavors complemented one another so well I was able to eat the chevre without any trouble.

Red Peppers Stuffed with Tomato and Chevre

Ah, yes, the chevre . . . I don’t think it will ever be my favorite flavor, but since I still have half the knob I bought for this dish, I will experiment with it until it’s gone.  The peppers were superb — each bite packed a surprise of tomato, garlic and olive oil to counter the pungency of the cheese.  Still, I think I’d like to try a nice fresh mozzarella in the peppers.  Either way, I do believe I’ve found another go-to selection from Delicious Dishes.  This one is on page 95.

But back to the quinoa — it really blew me away, because I wasn’t expecting it so be so good.  I guess it’s sort of the tofu of the grain world — I’ve heard it was bland to the 10th power on its own.  (I’m no fan of tofu, either.  Something about the texture creeps me out.)  I can imagine playing with a lot of different seasonings.  I saw some quinoa Tabouli on a TV show not long ago — I think I will try that soon.

This meal took only about an hour from start to finish.  Prep time for the peppers was only 10 minutes at the most, while waiting for the oven to warm to 400.  It only took about another five or so minutes to chop up the shallot and parsley for the quinoa, and both were done at about the same time.

And lest you think it’s not good man food, the husband gave it his thumbs up.

So much better than Taco Bell! 😉

Another Fish Tale

I found answers to two dietary questions today.

The first refers back to the Salmon Fishcakes.  I wondered if it was the sort of salmon I used that made them so mild-tasting.  The answer:  Yes.

I used the odd piece left over for lunch today.  I had marinated it in lemon juice and curry powder, as I often do with salmon.  I then pan-broiled the filet and set it atop a bowl of spring greens, with a garnish of green onion tops and some kind of hot-curry snack mix that I used in place of croutons.  I dressed the salad with yogurt-dill-mustard sauce left from the other day.   The salmon had the same mild un-fishy flavor as when it was chopped up into the fishcakes.  So my conclusion is that the Keta salmon, at least the frozen kind I used, must have a lighter flavor and consistency than other types I have cooked.

I could easily have had this for dinner last night, as quick a meal as it was.  But NO!  I had to give in to temptation and pick up some Taco Bell last night on the way home from class.  The whole time I was asking myself, “Isn’t this a bad idea, since I’ve been eating pretty clean for a couple of months?  Or will my system be able to handle this pseudo-food better since it’s been treated royally for a while?”

Sometime around 2:30am, I understood just how bad an idea it really was.  😦

Sexy and I Know It — Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen

Sexy and I Know It — Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen

This is so totally off topic, but so hilarious I had to post it.  Hope to be this sexy one day 😉   Try to enjoy this without peeing your pants!

Tons of Tonno e Fagioli

Well, the Salmon Fishcakes were such a success (the husband scarfed up 3/4 of them) last night, how to follow that?  And what to make for lunch since all the salmon “sliders” were gone?  Just the right thing — the Tonno e Fagioli I’d been waiting to try.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the same recipe on the cans of cannellini!  Maybe the dog in the Bush’s Beans commercial hasn’t given away the family secret to baked beans, but he must have read Delicious Dishes for Diabetics.  Or maybe it’s just a time-honored traditional recipe . . . d-uh!

It really was a quick dish to do, and I can hardly believe something so simple is so satisfying and delicious!  I had one moderate serving and it kept me going the rest of the day.  I really debated offering the husband any, since I would really like to have some more tomorrow.  But I couldn’t not share something this wonderful.  He doesn’t really go for tuna all that much, but I have a sneaking suspicion he’ll like this.  And I made a full recipe so I don’t think he could eat it all if he tried.  I have the feeling it will taste even better tomorrow.

I’m also surprised I like this so much — I’ve never been much for beans, except green beans of different varieties.  I like beans in my chili, and occasionally a dollop of baked beans at a barbeque.  But now I find myself with a growing taste for white kidney beans (cannellini).  And hummus — I nearly forgot that hummus is garbanzo beans beaten into silky submission.  But that’s a different blog post.

I think I will have the Red Peppers Stuffed with Tomato and Chevre on Wednesday.  Chevre — another as yet unacquired taste, and I used to have dairy goats.  Well, the goat feta is in the fridge waiting for its debut in my kitchen, and as it’s a fresh cheese, I don’t want to wait much longer before using it.  So tune in later to see how it goes . . .

Not Your Grandma’s Salmon Patties

Tonight’s special:  Salmon Fishcakes

It took me a little while to warm up to the idea of making these.  I first had to dispel memories of the odious salmon patties my mom would make with canned salmon during Lent.  It wasn’t her fault they were awful — I’m not even sure one could get fresh salmon at the grocery store, and it wasn’t until I was a full-grown adult that I had my first salmon steak.  Hard to believe they called the nasty stuff in the can by the same name.  My trepidation stemmed from the fear that somehow making the lovely Keta filet into little sliders might become a fishy fiasco.  As it turns out,  I couldn’t tell I was eating any kind of seafood at all.

I had expected some kind of salmon-y flavor, but the lemon and dill must have taken all the fishiness out of it.  I have never had Keta before (unless that’s what was in those cans Mom used), so I’m not sure if it would be much different from the Atlantic salmon most often found in our stores here, but unavailable when I shopped for this meal.  I ended up with a frozen wild Alaska filet which I defrosted, dried and chopped up in the food processor per recipe directions.

My mixture was wet but not too loose to form into respectable little cakes.  I found it had none of the rich oiliness I am used to finding in salmon, and that again may be  due to my fish selection.  This made it a lovely, light entree that went nicely with the fresh asparagus available now.  The yogurt-dill sauce went well with both fish and veg, and lemon wedges on the side.  Because I was dining later than usual, I skipped the grain/starch dish, but some nice brown basmati would have worked perfectly for an earlier meal.

As usual, I am already planning my next go at this recipe, with a truly fresh filet that I don’t have to skin myself.  I usually have to do a new recipe two or three times to make sure I’ve done it correctly, and that I am comfortable enough with the process  to judge how well it really went.  First time out,  I am delighted with the result, because they are nothing like mom used to make.  I definitely should send her this recipe.

Oh, I almost forgot — seeing as this blog is about cooking my a** off —  I have dropped 15 pounds since the beginning of February.   About half that weight loss came after I started using Robin’s recipes and advice not quite a month ago.  I am so grateful, and happy that I have many more new dishes yet to experience as I continue to change my old ways and adopt this new, and most importantly, satisfying way to eat my way to health.  Merci, M. Ellis!

Seriously Committing

I have reached the point where I know I am seriously committed to following the new way of eating Robin has presented in his book.  I have taken on the horrifying job of cleaning out the science experiment that is my refrigerator.

For reasons I can’t understand, much less explain, the only thing I like about being in the kitchen is cooking, and the pleasure it brings to see people enjoying the food.  I abhor the cleaning up, whether it be dishes or the cupboards, or the fridge.  I believe that people who make good food should all somehow have magic wands to deal with the aftermath.   I share my home with a spouse who doesn’t see things the same way — his idea of helping is to show up to eat before the meal needs reheating.  To give proper credit, though, he does often manage to get any leftovers into plastic containers and into the fridge when he’s done.

Good thing those containers are cheap — I pitched a good number of them because of unidentifiable contents I did not wish to investigate by opening lids.  God only knows what might have happened if I’d let any of that stuff loose into the atmosphere.

For now, I must get back in there and sanitize everything so the lovely new produce I bring in for next week’s meals do not turn to brown liquid before I can find and use it.  Bright shiny crisper drawers and glass shelves will hold my fennel and herbs and courgettes and perhaps aubergines if I can get them reasonably.  I will have my menu set and my supplies ready for the next week’s Delicious Dishes.

Next week I tackle –The Pantry!

Some Like It Hot!

As promised, I did attempt the Spicy Courgettes and Prawns tonight.  The prep took quite a while, but I expected as much the first time out with a new recipe, as Robin warns about this. But, as he stated, the cook time is very quick.  So I think that with a little practice, I will find the right occasions for this dish.

I am one of those who do like hot, spicy food.  This dish reminded me of Thai curry, and since I had some Pad Thai noodles I wanted to use up*, that’s what I served with it.  The noodles did cut the fire factor, so I hope not to hear too much whining from the husband when he eats his.  (Too much to ask — the caterwauling has begun!)

I have to say, I’m impressed with an Englishman who likes his food so spicy!  I couldn’t imagine Ross Poldark chowing down on this without a few oaths directed at the cook.  I can see the plate crashing into the hearth along with yet another brandy glass!  I wonder what other surprises Mr. Ellis has in store as we continue down his culinary path?

*In addition to my glycemic issues, I am also gluten intolerant, so I use rice pasta. The trouble with classic Pad Thai is that they are made of white rice, and I want to use whole grains as the body does not convert them into sugar as rapidly as with refined carbohydrate.

Lunch from Leftovers

I wanted to do the Tuna and White Bean salad for lunch, but alas! I have only 30 minutes and the dog needed a walk. No time to fix it for today’s noontime meal. I do have some chicken left from the the other night, and always keep organic spring mix around for a salad, so here’s what I came up with in a flash: Sliced chicken breast on greens with grape tomatoes. I whisked together a quick viniagrette of white balsamic vinegar cut with water, a spoonful or so of Dijon mustard, 3 of the soft roasted garlic cloves from the chicken, a sprinkle of tarragon, and a couple tablespoons of California EVOO. Topped it off with a few grinds of black pepper and shredded parmesan-romano-asiago, and YUM! A healthy “what would Robin do?” lunch in 5 minutes. I just wanted to share that before I forgot.

Tonight it’s the Spicy Courgettes and Prawns — sounds good for a summer-like day in MARCH!