Back in the Saddle

Howdy, folks. Here I am again, back to blog another day.

So, here's the deal: I read a lot of food blogs. Some of them are great, some not so great, but the point is that I read them every day. I find myself wondering about these random people, whom I've never met, thinking about their daily lives. Ain't the Internet grand?

Damn. I just realized I have no photo above the fold for your viewing enjoyment. Welp, Internet to the rescue!

Why yes, I am the most adorable thing you've ever seen!
(Source)

 

 

 

 

Several of these food bloggers have enough readers and earn enough money that blogging is their full-time job. What with the current suckage factor of my blog, I'm not expecting any miracles, nor do I think I would want to have blogging as my full-time job. I'm a pretty private person (hence the anonymity here), and I wonder sometimes how these bloggers are able to just put all those details of their lives out there for everyone to see. Perhaps I'm a bit paranoid, but there are a lot of creepers out there, far smarter than I am about how to do creepy things, so I like to keep as much as my life off the 'Net as possible.

But hey, if I want to at least run behind this bandwagon, frantically waving for them to wait up, then I gotta at least show up, right?

So, in that vein, I took pictures of food today. For now, I have something simple. But I have chili in the Crockpot right now, and some tzatziki chilling in the fridge, so I've got some more on the way.

And now may I present to you: My lunch. Da da da daaah! (In case you couldn't tell, those were trumpets.)

Here we have a salad with:

red leaf and romaine lettuce

tomato

cucumber

carrot

baked cubed tofu from Trader Joe's 

crumbled turkey bacon

Dressed with a little drizzle of low-fat ranch

And to accompany said salad, a sandwich with:

turkey

yellow squash

cucumber

tomato 

turkey bacon 

on a honey wheat sandwich thin. 

One side is spread with cream cheese, the other with roasted red pepper hummus.

 

 

And here it is in its entirety:

I actually didn't end up finishing the salad; it was a little too much.

So here we are. Let's see where we can go from here.

Boston Restaurant Week Lunch

Cookie Monster and I recently ventured to Boston for a long weekend. While there, we did plenty of eating. But also plenty of walking. So it evened out.

On our last day, we took advantage of Boston's Restaurant Week and had a two-course lunch at Henrietta's Table in Cambridge for $15.10 each. It was a stellar deal and great food.

Here is my first course: Spinach Salad, Native Blackberries, Westfield Farm's Goat Cheese, Spicy Maple Pecan Vinaigrette

Wow. This was so simple yet so delicious. The goat cheese was mild and creamy, the berries were bright and incredibly fresh, and the candied pecans were sweet and nutty. 

The dressing (which I ordered on the side) had more whole pecans in it. The maple flavor was pretty subtle, and really, it was not all that exciting. But the salad was so good, it didn't really need anything extra.

The meal came with a bread basked with myriad flavors of bread: there was cranberry walnut (which I tried but gave most of to Cookie Monsters, since walnuts and my tongue do not get along), some kind of molasses-y bread, and a plain roll.

Perusing their cocktail menu, I saw this cocktail, and since it was my last day of vacation, I said to hell with it and ordered a cocktail at lunch. It was a very good call.

This would be the Sangria Sorbet Martini: A Scoop of Sangria Sorbet topped with Ketel One Vodka

Um, wow. The sorbet was full of  fresh fruit flavor, though I did have to heed the waitress' warning to stir it all together, lest I just be drinking straight-up vodka.

For my entree, I ordered the Assorted Grilled Vegetable Sandwich on Seven Grain Bread, Olive Relish, Creamy Cole Slaw.

Honestly, the sandwich was just ok. It came with lots of tasty grilled vegetables, but the strong olive tapenade flavor sortof took over the sandwich and muted the flavor of the vegetables. Also, it was a bit greasy. Maybe less butter on the bread and the addition of basil and goat cheese would've made it great. And the coleslaw was completely forgettable. It was quite heavy on the mayo, so I only took a few bites. I typically don't like coleslaw, and while I thought Henrietta's version could make me a convert, alas, it did not.

Here are Cookie Monster's two courses.

That would be the Cornmeal Crusted Monkfish Sandwich, House-made Tartar Sauce, Lettuce and Tomato.

 Oh yes, and the Henrietta's World Famous Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum Caramelized Bananas, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. It was pretty much amazing. The caramel with the bananas and ice cream was an amazing combination, and the chocolate added a little somethin' extra to the bread pudding.

The stars of this meal were easily the salad and the bread pudding. An interesting dichotomy, but a tasty one.

I really liked Henrietta's pledge to use local, seasonal ingredients. Here's what they say about that:

Henrietta's Table prides itself on "Fresh from the Farm and Honest to Goodness Home Cooking." Chef Davis and his staff are committed to finding the best regional and organically grown produce, not only to support the local farmers and community, but to bring award-winning dishes to our guests.

That's definitely something I can get behind.Well, that and bread pudding.

Tres Chic Salad

I was craving something light yet filling on one of our most recent 71-degree days. Though they were short-lived, they were certainly welcome springtime days, and they made me long for my quaint little patio deck, shaded by an ancient, enormous tree, where I would set up the hammock and nap in the lulling summer air. It was also the site of many a dinner al fresco.

I didn't want anything heavy for dinner, so I made a light yet still filling salad. Very French. Also inspiring the salad was an orange that needed to be eaten. These oranges are from our gentle neighbor to the south, the Sunshine State. SoSo good! I could not let it go to waste.

So, into this salad went:

*A bed of romaine lettuce (I would've preferred spinach or other mixed greens, but we were out)

*Aforementioned delicious, juicy orange segments

*Garbanzo beans

*Dried cranberries

*Chopped pecans

*Bleu cheese

*A homemade vinaigrette of honey mustard, lemon juice, S&P and a little olive oil

 So, as you can see, this salad is light, yet still calorically dense enough to satiate your appetite for dinner. I served it with a piece of leftover homemade Irish soda bread (exactly the same recipe I made last year) spread with a little of my mother-in-law's todiefor homemade jam.

And normally, on a weeknight, I don't drink wine. But this tres chic Frenchy salad, along with the 70-degree weather, just begged for a nice, crisp glass of Pinot grigio.

I picked this up for $6.99 I think, and it was really good. Especially alongside the salad!

I poured myself a small glass, taking a page from my previous post by paying homage yet again to another fabulous thing from my home state in my choice of drinking vessel. 

Especially for one of the first warm springtime days after a winter of a record-breaking 54 inches of snow, this was a tres chic and delightful dinner.

Just wish I could've enjoyed it on my patio.

Grilled Caesar Salad

I recently tried a delicious grilled caesar salad at this place near our house. Good lord, the salad was amazing! The lettuce had a lovely charred flavor and the croutons were nice and garlicky. I tried to recreate the salad at home.

I started by making my own take on caesar dressing. I combined Greek yogurt, parmesan cheese, dried parsley, lots of cracked black pepper, garlic, hot sauce and salt, then thinned it just a bit with some milk. It was pretty close!

Then I washed and dried my whole romaine lettuce leaves and grilled them on my George Foreman. This was not ideal, and I would just grill them in my cast-iron skillet or even over open flame next time. 

Finally, the croutons. This was the weakest aspect, as we only had what I call "sandwich" bread, which, in our house, is just plain ol' sliced whole wheat bread. I would've preferred ciabatta or French bread, but you gotta work with whatcha got. So I just made garlic toast with two slices of bread, using butter, minced dried garlic, season salt and parmesan cheese.

Alongside, we had some ricotta gnocchi I made a long time ago and froze. The sauce for the gnocchi was sauteed artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, garbanzo beans and parmesan cheese.

The verdict on the salad: A good first effort, but still needs work. But I'm willing to try again!

Bleu Cheese Potato Croquettes

We bought a whole rotisserie chicken from the store the other night, and made some mashed potatoes to go with the chicken. There were a lot of leftover potatoes, so I decided to make potato croquettes with them. Typically, croquettes are deep-fried, but since I 1) Don't have a deep fryer and 2) Would never want one, I just pan-fried these instead.

The potatoes weren't quite as thick as they needed to be to form patties, so I added some panko bread crumbs as well as some oat bran just to thicken them.

I formed them into patties, and then put a hunk of bleu cheese in the middle, then sealed it up. Maybe I should've called them bleu cheese surprise croquettes.

I coated each croquette in more panko to make them crisp on the outside.

Then I pan-fried them until golden brown! (I know they kinda look like scallops in this picture, but they are definitely not.)

Alongside the croquettes, I made some interesting salads.
Cookie Monster's was a little different than mine. It had:
Spinach
Carrots
Cucumbers
Shredded chicken
Bacon Bits
And popcorn! It functioned like a crouton
(My salad had a lot more vegetables--the ones Cookie Monster doesn't like--and no bacon bits.)

 

I also served myself some leftover roasted butternut squash (none for Cookie Monster--he hates squash. I don't know why. It's delicious.) to go with the croquettes.

They turned out pretty well! Although they were a bit dry. I added too much oat bran to keep them in patty form--I think I would add less next time. Also, deep frying is not friendly to my pants, but it does keep a lot of the moisture in. I think some of the dryness was unavoidable with the pan-fry method.

It was an interesting dinner!

Greek Salad

I made a tasty Greek salad for lunch the other day. Here's what I put in it:
A mix of butter lettuce + baby spinach

Phallic-shaped vegetable, aka cucumber

Pepperoncini

Kalamata olives

 

Lowfat feta cheese

1/4 cup chickpeas

And a dressing I made from Greek yogurt, dill, scallions, garlic, season salt and hot sauce.

(Some unpictured leftover roasted eggplant also went into the salad.)

 I served my salad with one side of a whole wheat English muffin, toasted, then topped with lowfat cream cheese, thinly sliced radishes and S&P.

All together now: A tasty lunch is served!

Cream of Broccoli Soup (+ salad)

I had some leftover steamed broccoli in the fridge, and I didn't feel like just heating it up for lunch--I wanted something a bit more exciting. Enter "cream" of broccoli soup (I say "cream" because it was actually soy milk. If I'd had nonfat regular milk, that's what I would've used).

I started by sauteeing some onions in a little olive oil. Then I added some mushrooms and garlic.

After the onions had softened a little, I added a little zucchini to the mix.

Then I got out my chicken stock. I froze some of it in ice cube trays to have smaller amounts readily available, as opposed to having to defrost one giant block of frozen chicken stock in a tupperware.

To go with the soup, I made a salad. I made a weird dressing for it: I combined Greek yogurt for some creaminess, then added pineapple salsa and taco sauce. I was trying for a sweet/spicy/creamy dressing but it just ended up kinda weird. I think it'd be good for a taco salad, but it wasn't that great on a regular salad.

While the vegetables were simmering, I scrounged in the cupboards for a crunchy topper for the soup. There were just a lot of crumbs left, so I used these. They are quite possibly my new favorite kind of chip. In Baltimore, they are crab chip flavored. This does not mean they are flavored to taste like crab. (Side note: Yuck! Seafood-flavored chips? Reminds me of our trip to the bonito flake factory in Japan, where a lot of the high school boys ate the bonito chips like potato chips. Blech! And yes, we went to a bonito flake factory when we were in Japan. Don't ask me why.) It means they are flavored with Old Bay, a popular seafood seasoning blend.

On a funny side note, this is the clip that was holding the chips closed. It was a souvenir from our recent trip to Amish country in Pennsylvania. An Amish town called Intercourse. Ironic, no?

After I added the chicken stock to the pot, I then added my already steamed broccoli (plus a small amount of leftover roasted butternut squash to thicken it a little) and some S&P. Then in went a bit of milk for the "cream" part of the soup. After a healthy dose of hot sauce, I pureed the whole thing with my handy-dandy immersion blender, and voila! Healthy, homemade cream of broccoli soup.

Soup + salad = healthy lunch at home.

ChezVCK Solo Dinner

Cookie Monster plays softball one night each week, and while I am a pretty loyal cheerleader, I draw the line at shaking my pom poms at games that begin at 9:45 p.m. So sometimes I dine alone. Here is a dinner I made during one such evening. It's the ChezVCK healthified version of pizza.

Here we have a whole-wheat pita. It's a whole one (not separated into halves/pockets) and fairly thin, so if you wanted to open it up and stuff it, it would be very messy. But it makes a good vehicle for pizza toppings. On this pizza I put a little marinara sauce, slices of turkey pepperoni (pretty much tastes exactly the same as regular, but 17 slices--a serving--is 80 calories, as opposed to eleventy billion like in regular pepperoni) and some chopped green bell pepper. I topped the pizza with cheddar and white cheese (I can't remember what kind exactly, but it was probably provolone) and stuck in under the broiler in our toaster oven. This gets the cheese nice n' bubbly.

I always have vegetables with dinner, so here's my vegetable portion: a large salad with the following:

*romaine lettuce

*cucumbers

*zucchini

*carrots

*pepperoncini

*a few green olives

*hot pickled peppers

and topped with Trader Joe's lowfat parmesan ranch

All together:

Pizza this way is quick, easy, healthy and, best of all, frickin' awesome!

Wheatberry Salad

I recently bought some wheatberries, inspired by Kath. I cooked up all of them in my new Crockpot, and, since we now have a shit-ton of them, decided to make a cold salad. This is just cooked wheatberries, blue cheese, Greek olives, chickpeas, pepperoncini and giardiniera (spicy Italian pickled vegetables). Tossed with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, S&P, it was tasty, flavorful and really healthy!

Zucchini & Potato Cakes (& a salad too)

I got a lovely zucchini from my garden! Finally! It was a pretty decent-sized zuke, too, because it was ready to pick, but we left it on the vine while we were gone for four days. So it was rarin' to go when we got back!

I was looking for a different way to prepare zucchini since it's so versatile, and found this recipe, courtesy of the Pioneer Woman.Thanks, Ree!

I started off by grating about half my zucchini (it was big, people) and three baby purple potatoes into a bowl. Then I made cookie monster squeeze out all the liquid so the cakes would not be watery. I know this looks like coleslaw, but trust me, it's not.

Meanwhile, I started one of my favoritist summer salads: warm tomato salad. I concocted this recipe last summer when my mom had enough cherry tomatoes to make tomato sauce that could satiate Italy. Seeing as how shipping costs for tomato sauce to the entire country of Italy were a tad astronomical, I opted instead to use the bounty of tomatoes in a new way. Thus, this salad was born. I always start off by sauteeing the vegetables we have on-hand at the time. This time, it was zucchini (surprise!) and some delicious sugar snap peas, also from our garden. Since I also had some tempeh that needed to be used up (really. Have you ever smelled rotten tempeh? Blech!) and to add some protein, I cut that into chunks and sauteed it up too. Then I added the tomatoes, halved if they were big, and let it cook away.

Meanwhile, back at Zucchini Potato Central, the lovely crimson Lady Purple Potato and Lord Zucchini were introduced to good ol' predictable Ms. Salt and Ms. Pepper, the sturdy and versatile Mr. Egg and his son, Mr. Egg II, Fru Danish hard yellow cheese and the unpredictable addition of Rabbi Matzo Meal, since I forgot Signore Breadcrumb Italiano's invitation in the mail. It was a quite the rockin' (and diverse!) party!

...And back to the salad! It's like a TV show focusing on two different plot lines. How will they intersect? [Cue suspenseful music]
After all the veggies were sufficiently cooked through, I added a clove of chopped garlic, wilted in some spinach and basil (guess from where?!) and added a handful of bleu cheese.

Here, our cast have joined into a flavorful ensemble and are cooking away a small amount of olive oil. Sorry, P-Dub, just can't use the amounts of butter you do in your kitchen. My thighs cling to it like they may never see butter again.

Everyone outta the pool!

Oh yeah! I made garlic toast too! I spread some sundried tomato and basil Alouette cheese onto some bread and topped with a little parmesan, then toasted 'til it looked like this.

Wow, my whole mouth just filled with saliva.

And here we have our dinner!

The zucchini cakes were frickin' awesome! They were starchy from the potato but still very light, with just the right amount of cheesiness (from the cheese I think was Danish fontina, but can't remember) and they had a very mild zucchini flavor. Cookie Monster even liked them, and he hates squash! Ding ding ding! We have a winner!