Scrumptious Salads and Fear of Food
Friday weigh-in. Lost another pound.
I keep thinking that if I was reasonably serious about this, I could actually lose some serious weight. But, on the other hand, by not really trying to lose a lot of weight - and definitely not dieting - the pounds are actually dropping a bit. I really do know how easy it is to gain weight. I could very easily walk into a 12-step program and say "Hello, my name is Tim. I'm a foodaholic."
I love food. I love to eat. I love all types of food, all areas, regions, nationalities, and cuisines. The absolute perfect vacation for me would be to spend 2 weeks in a place - a villa in Sicily, a flat in Paris, or something in the south of France... Someplace with a reasonably-equipped kitchen, a view, and a marketplace within walking distance. I could cook and eat for two weeks and never feel the need to "go out and do something". Hello, my name is Tim. I'm a foodaholic.
And because I love food so much, I just don't understand how so many people can be afraid of it. And so ignorant of it. All day long I overhear conversations from people who "won't eat this because it has carbs in it" or zero in on the 6 grams of fat per serving and completely disregard the 20 grams of protein and other nutrients.
Or won't buy potato chips (1oz = 150 kcal, 10gr fat - 1gr sat, 180mg sodium, 15gr carbs, and 2 gr protein) but pick up bags and bags of "Veggie Chips" (1oz = 150 kcal, 9 gr fat - 2gr sat, 100mg sodium, 16gr carbs, and 1gr protein). I don't buy a lot of potato chips because I know that while they are really crunchy/salty/good, they're also high in calories. I can polish off a bag pretty easy. I don't buy them often. But I also don't try and fool myself that I can have my junk craving by buying "veggie chips".
Of course, my favorite is the evil of all evils - butter.
You know... butter. Ingredients: Sweet cream.
1 tbsp = 100 calories, 11gr fat - 6gr sat, 0gr sodium, 0gr carbs, 0gr protein.
Instead, it's some sort of oil-stuff made to semi-resemble butter. With all sorts of stuff in it. "Leading Brand" Ingredients: Natural Oil Blend (Palm Fruit, Soybean, Canola Seed, and Olive Oils) Water, contains Less than 2% of Salt, Whey, Vegetable Monoglycerides and Sorbitan Ester of Fatty Acids (Emulsifiers) Soybean Lecithin, Potassium Sorbate, Lactic Acid (to Protect Freshness) Natural and Artificial Flavor, Calcium Disodium EDTA, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin E (DL-a-Tocopheryl Acetate) Beta-Carotene Color.
1 tbsp = 80 calories, 9gr fat - 3gr sat, 90mg sodium, 0gr carbs, 0gr protein.
Why would I want to eat something like that? What on earth is Sorbitan Ester of Fatty Acids? Oh. Here we go... Sorbitan esters of fatty acid is called sorbitan ester, which is produced by esterification of sorbitol and fatty acid. It is a mixture of sorbitol ester and sorbide ester, which are simultaneously produced as well as sorbitan ester.
In my phony butter spread stuff. Because Sorbitan Ester of Fatty Acids is better for my body that sweet cream?!?
I don't think so.
I'm not trying to fool myself here, either. I know what butter is and what it does. Too much of it - or of just about anything for that matter - is not going to be a good thing. It's just a matter of knowing what it is you're eating and knowing that too much of even a good thing is not always a good thing. But real, fresh ingredients will always be better than something that came out of a chemistry class. Our bodies were designed to eat and process food - not stuff that has been engineered and re-engineered to look like food. Do you find it a mere coincidence that as a nation, we have gotten fatter and fatter with the introduction of more and more "light", "lite", and "diet" foods?!?
I don't.
I did put some butter on our homemade whole wheat garlic, fresh herb, and cheese bread tonight. Not a lot. It didn't need a lot.
The bread dough was the no-knead to which I added some chopped fresh herbs and garlic, along with a tiny bit of grated cheese I had left over in the 'fridge.
The salads were mixed greens, heirloom cherry tomatoes, zucchini, diced plums, and a bit of cauliflower with a balsamic vinaigrette Victor whipped up. Topped with half of a thick-sliced grilled boneless pork chop.
Real food. Stuff my body recognizes as food and knows how to process.
And speaking of real food...
It's time for dessert.
A Raspberry Scrippelle.
Mexican Spaghetti Pie
A while back I picked up a package of corn noodles at the Asian grocery store. I had no idea what I was going to do with them - corn noodles really aren't something I associate with the Far East - but I picked them up, anyway. I think they may have been 99¢. Inexpensive and different. Two of my favorite things. Into the shopping cart they went.
At home, they went into the cabinet. And stayed there, languishing amongst the other things I've picked up here and there but have yet to use.
Until today.
Last night, while taking inventory for my grocery shopping this morning, I saw them and took them down. I decided they were going to be a part of dinner tonight. I wasn't sure what, but they were going to be dinner.
As I said, corn noodles don't immediately shout out Asia to me, but corn screams Mexico. I was trying to envision some sort of Mexican spaghetti dish but all I was seeing was tamales. Then the idea of spaghetti pie hit me. It's like a tamale pie but with corn noodles instead of masa. How could it be bad?!?
The answer, of course, is "It wasn't!".
I dirtied several pots and pans making the "one-pot" dinner, but the end result was worth it. And I sliced it almost immediately after taking it out of the oven instead of waiting for it to set up a bit, so... no pictures of the plate. It wasn't exactly photo-quality. But it sure did taste good.
Mexican Spaghetti Pie
- 8 oz corn spaghetti noodles
- 4 oz cheddar cheese
- 4 oz quesso fresco or ricotta salada
- 1/2 cup ricotta, drained
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 jar Sofrito sauce
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- butter
- salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter 10" pie plate.
Cook corn noodles according to package instructions. Drain and cool. Mix 1 pat melted butter into noodles. Add two slightly beaten eggs and the shredded cheddar cheese.
Mix well and place in pie plate, working it up the sides to create a "crust".
Saute onion in a pat of butter or oil. Add cumin and chipotle powder and cook until fragrant. Add pork and cook completely.
Spread cooked pork mixture over noodles, staying within the noodle crust.
Mix the ricotta with the quesso fresco. Spread on top of the pork mixture, covering it completely.
Spoon one jar of Sofrito sauce on top, covering the cheese mixture completely.
Top with sliced tomato.
Bake at 350° for about an hour.
I suppose I should have let it set longer and tried to take out smaller slices.
It didn't look that great falling apart, but it had all the flavors I was looking for!
I can see a few different variations on this.
And who knows... maybe I'll even find a Vietnamese recipe for the corn noodles.
It could happen!
BBQ Ribs
I've been thinking about ribs all day.
Messy, spicy, falling-off-the-bone ribs. And I got my wish.
I got a good deal on a whole slab of ribs and - for a moment - thought about cooking the whole thing. For two of us. Common sense prevailed and I cut it in half and froze the rest for another day. I sliced the ribs into individual bones and into a pot they went with garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. I simmered them on the stove for about 90 minutes and then started the grill. And broke out the Memphis BBQ Sauce. It was my weekly freebie from Wegmans and it had clean ingredients. Slightly sweet with a nice tang to it. One of the better bottled BBQ sauces I've had in a while.
I slathered it on, set the ribs off to the side of the grill and closed the lid.
Fall-off-the-bone-good!
I took some assorted fingerling potatoes and mixed in some garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper along with a bit of olive oil and coated them nicely. Into the grill-pan they went with the ribs.
And then I made some creamed corn.
I've been looking at fresh corn-on-the-cob and haven't seen anything I really want to bring home, yet. I'm fussy about my fresh corn. I want it fresh. And it ain't local corn season, yet.
So, I settled for frozen. I boiled up some nonfat milk, added the corn and let it simmer for a bit. I then added some S&P and just a little bit of Kasseri cheese. I thickened it with a bit of cornstarch, smashed a few kernels of corn with my spoon, and that was that.
And while all that was going on, I baked a loaf of bread.
It was a loaf of the infamous No-Knead Bread I've been making for the past few months, now. The recipe calls for 6 1/2 cups of flour. This batch I used 2 1/2 whole wheat and 4 white.
All-in-all, a successful dinner.
And there's still Buttermilk Cake.
Monday Ham
An 8.6 pound ham is a bit of a commitment for two people. Ham sandwiches last night, sliced ham tonight. I think tomorrow a good portion is going to be vacuum-packed and placed in the freezer. I want fried ham this Sunday. Besides veal cutlets and dirty potatoes, nothing can invoke my father more than fried ham. And french bread toast. It's just amazing how some foods can conjure up someone. Not that we ever has "spiral cut" hams growing up. Back in the dark ages, ham came in a funny-shaped can you opened with a metal key. (Coffee cans were opened the same way). Fond memories, indeed.
But back to the present...
I had sweet potatoes, I had carrots, I had mushrooms, I had asparagus, and I had fresh herbs. I had our side dish.
I peeled one sweet potato and one large carrot. Sliced both and nuked them for about 5 minutes. I then put them into a buttered casserole with the mushrooms and asparagus, chopped dill, rosemary, basil, and oregano, salt and pepper. That went into a 400º oven for about 15 minutes.
The fresh herbs from the garden were great. Veggies perfectly cooked.
And there's Buttermilk Cake for dessert tonight.
I can't wait for Sunday!
Sunday Ham
My thought this morning was to have a Sunday Ham Dinner. Ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls... the whole megillah. That burger at lunch, however, curbed my enthusiasm. It takes a lot of work to maintain this figure, but even I have to conceded defeat once in a while.
We decided on sandwiches.
Little sandwiches. On little rolls.
The 'fridge still has lots of little pieces of right now - I did a Wegmans run last Monday - so we got to choose different cheese and different mustard for each sandwich. Sweet beer mustard with provolone, grainy Dijon mustard with creamy gorgonzola, and hot Irish mustard with aged San Joaquin Gold. Last nights parslied potatoes on the side.
It was just enough to do the job, and light enough to save room for dessert.
There's a buttermilk cake with blackberries coming up .....
Stuffed Pork Chops
Victor cooked dinner tonight. He had a rough day at the office and wanted to decompress a bit in the kitchen. I had a great day at the office, and was more than happy to oblige.
I had pulled a couple of thick bone-in pork chops out of the freezer this morning with no real idea for them, other than I thought I would stuff them with something. Victor had the same idea.
The first thing he did was make a cold green bean salad. He blanched some fresh beans and then cooled them quickly. Diced a ripe tomato and mixed it in with some chopped garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, fresh basil from the garden, salt and pepper. Mixed it all together.
It was perfect. Simple flavors that blended perfectly together, yet were individually present. Did I mention perfect? Perfect.
And the pork chops...
Fresh bread crumbs, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, mushrooms...
He sauteed the vegetables in olive oil, then added the sun-dried tomatoes to the milk-soaked crumbs. He added just a bit of the sun-dried tomato butter I made a while back just for grins and giggles. He slit the chops and stuffed them, adding the leftover stuffing on top. They baked at 400° for about 35 minutes.
He boiled some yukon gold potatoes and served them simply with butter and parsley - also from the garden. (The herbs have taken off!)
It was one of those meals that just work on every level. Simplicity and complexity of flavors, colors, textures. I loved it!
Not that I would ever wish a bad day on someone, but... It was definitely my gain that Victor had one, today!
(And speaking of gain - I was down a pound at weigh-in today!)
One-Pot Pork Chops
My original plan was to cook a pork loin on the grill today. It was a whole loin and I figured I could get several meals out of it. It's the perfect cooking mode when it's a perfect 74° outside.
Windows open, birds chirping, light breeze.
Naturally, when I got home, there wasn't enough charcoal to get the job done. It was Saturday at 3:30pm. I was not about to go to the store. I had dealt with enough people for one day.
Time for Plan B.
I cut off two chops and wrapped the rest for tomorrow.
I floured the chops and browned them in a casserole. After they were browned, I took them out of the pan and added thick slices of peeled sweet potatoes. I put the pork chops atop them, and added brussels sprouts. I sprinkled on some salt, pepper, and sage, and then poured about a quarter-cup of maple syrup over everything. I put on the lid and into the oven they went.
350° for 45 minutes.
It was the perfect no-brainer, no-effort dinner.
Tomorrow I will tackle the pork loin and the grill. We're taking Victor's mom out to breakfast in the morning, so I should be feeling sociable enough to tackle the grocery store on the way home.
I'm thinking vaguely Mexican..... I have some tomatillos in the 'fridge..... and tortillas...
Chorizo and Potatoes
I do have to admit I was feeling lazy tonight. Just not feeling the creative spirit. But, feeling creative or not, we have to eat. It's a rule, I think. Besides, it takes calories to maintain this figure! (As an aside, I was down one at the weigh-in, today!)
But I digress...
I had potatoes, I had chorizo, I had spinach, I had provolone cheese. I had dinner!
I quartered the potatoes and oven-roasted them. I browned the chorizo and added the spinach. Mixed in the cooked potatoes, then some cheese.
About as basic as one can get.
And it did the job.
Green Rice and Spice
Green rice and white asparagus. Yes, a decidedly different dinner!
We tried out th Bamboo Green Rice tonight. Way fun! Taste is a bit difficult to describe... definitely "rice" but an almost tea-like flavor from the bamboo. Besides looking great, it tasted great.
I grilled a pork tenderloin and topped it with a fresh mango salsa... Diced mango, minced jalapeño, minced onion, minced red pepper, cilantro, parsley, a squirt of lemon, salt & pepper. I don't recall the variety of mango other than it's from Mexico and very yellow when ripe. It had just the right amount of sweet and tart flavor.
The white asparagus was topped with diced tomato mixed with a bit of adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo.
And Victor baked off the last of the brioche dough.
This batch of dough has definitely gotten a work-out. I made it last Friday for hamburger buns on Sunday. I made cinnamon apple rolls with it - twice - and then tonight's sesame braid.
I'm going to have to get another batch going soon.
Let The Birthday Weekend Begin!
Victor's birthday is Monday.
After being together for almost 16 years, we've finally reached the point where we no longer have to go out and buy tons of ridiculous and/or extravagant presents we just don't need. Those early years are chock full of new cameras, new sweaters, new this, new that... but when you look in the closet and you haven't worn the last three sweaters, yet, there's just no reason to get a fourth. Besides, it's actually good to be sensible now and again.
It does, however, mean that a little extra thought and effort needs to take place to make the special day actually special.
Thank goodness for food! (Seven bouquets of flowers do not count as ridiculous and/or extravagant!)
To start the birthday weekend, I made a Pork Marsala. I sliced a pork tenderloin into medallions and pounded and then dredged them in a seasoned flour (salt, pepper, garlic, sage). I then sauteed them in a splash of olive oil.
I removed them from the skillet and added a pat of butter and then sauteed about 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms. When they were cooked, I added about 3/4 cup of Marsala.
When it came to a boil, I added the pork and cooked it down a bit. I then added about a half-cup of beef broth.
Brought it all to a boil and then thickened it with a bit of corn starch.
Rigatoni and spinach on the side.
The surprise part was throwing Victor out of the kitchen after dinner! Usually, if I cook, Victor cleans and if Victor cooks, Victor cleans. It's a great system.
Brownies have come out of the oven and I think I might even make frosting for them.
What the hell. It's Victor's birthday!
The Last Supper
Well, not exactly, because I rather doubt that pork was on the menu at The Last Supper, but this is our last meal at home for a few days. We're heading west for my niece Jessica's wedding.
Early. Really, really, ungodly early.
To add insult to injury, we're flying into Sacramento, so we can't even get a non-stop flight. Leaving in the dark and having to change planes. Thank gawd for my iPod and Kindle. Besides, Jessie's worth it.
So... last meal at home was grilled pork tenderloins. My dear friend Debbie over at Words to Eat By is writing an article on pork tenderloins and she got me thinking about how much I really do like them. I almost always have a couple in the freezer. They are quick to thaw and totally versatile - pork cutlets, pork scallopine, grilled, broiled, baked, and fried. You name it, you can do it with a tenderloin.
It was also a good choice because we didn't want any leftovers. Our dog-sitter, Donna (Pals For Pets) is a vegetarian, so leftover pork would be waiting for us when we got home. Ugh.
I'm not bringing the lap top, so there won't be any blog posts until next week, but I'll try and sneak a few pictures of fun food onto facebook with the phone.
Have fun!
We're going to!
Pork Chops, Mexican-Style
Tonight's dinner was all about having some polenta. But polenta is usually Italian, and I wasn't in the mood for Italian pork chops. But corn meal and Mexico are an even more natural combination. We went to Mexico!
The pork chops were simple. I added cumin and garlic to bread crumbs, breaded the chops, browned them in a skillet, and then finished them off in a hot oven. 425° about 10 minutes.
The polenta was even more fun.
I sauteed half a small onion in a bit of olive oil. I added chili powder and chipotle powder, a pinch of salt and pepper. After cooking it up a bit, I added about a cup of frozen corn. Then 2 cups of water, brought to a boil.
Then a half-cup of polenta slowly stirred in. (Basic polenta is 4 parts liquid to 1 part dry polenta.) I simmered it the requisite 25 or so minutes, and then stirred in about 3 ounces of cream cheese. OMG! It was really good! Spicy, creamy, and cheesy all in one!
It was a lot of fun. And easy.