Carnivore's delight

I've been wanting pancit for awhile now...finally made it to H Mart Saturday to get the ingredients but it doesn't look like I'll be making it until Wednesday.  Saturday night I caught the Memorial Day bug and decided to throw together a family dinner with BBQ as the headliner.  I thought I would keep it simple, drumsticks, burgers, potato salad, and baked beans.  Simple is not how I do things.

Sunday I started the bbq sauce and of course I was pissed off because I checked the blog for the recipe and it was only a listing of ingredients...as-if.  Fortunately I was able to successfully recreate the sauce and it was a big hit!  I decided to make a marinade for the drumsticks - evoo, tamari, brown mustard, garlic, and some other ingredient that totally escapes me.  Then I made up the hamburger patties - mixed 90/10 ground beef with ground turkey, onion soup mix (if anyone has alternative to this msg-laden powder, please let me know), garlic, and the last bit of TJ salsa.  For the steak I simply rubbed it was garlic paste and sprinkled a bit of bizaara.  In the interim my mom was making the baked beans (I think I've stated this previously - hers are absolutely the best), potato salad, and macaroni salad (the Anna cavatappi she used was delicious)...the only problem was she kept asking for Hellman's while complaining about the TJ mayonnaise.

Everything was delicious, the chicken was gorgeous, the burgers meaty, and we had lots of fun...today we realized that we should've had a tossed green salad to balance the carnivorous meal. 

Random

I have been on a decluttering mission and as a result our meals have been kind of sporadic.  Last Saturday we had fried whiting and kale for lunch.  Sunday Bertucci's for a late lunch/early dinner.  Tuesday we had a very late dinner of okra & salt fish and kale.  Wednesday my daughter requested timtimo around 7pm and I obliged.  While we ate she said it was her favorite dish.  We went to PF Chang's Friday night for dinner and this Saturday it was fried whiting and kale for brunch.

Living in an urban area facilitates this randomness - ethnic ingredients are readily available and often late into the evening.

Avocado improv

I remember when I first tried to peel an avocado...ten years ago I grew an affection for guacamole but also liked avocados for their vitamin E content when I was obsessed with having healthy skin and hair.  We bought an avocado let it ripen (like a banana it can ripen after picking which is why it can be shipped all over the world) and I tried to peel it...disaster (similar to my experience with an artichoke). 

While in the UAE I fell in love with avocado shakes several years ago and was finally able to recreate them while visiting a friend in New Rochelle.  They had several avocados so I asked her boyfriend how to peel them, he said, you don't - just cut it in half, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh...wow...I made the shakes and they were a hit...been making them ever since.

My husband bought 10 avocados two weeks ago because they were on sale at Genuardi's...amazingly enough they haven't rotted in the refrigerator (probably because they're a GMO).  This morning I was scavenging for food and saw the remaining avocados...problem - no milk...out of desperation, I used coconut milk and half and half and the shake is absolutely fantastic. 

I'm thinking I may step my avocado game up and start doing other things with this fatty, smooth, flesh that is rich in vitamins, fiber, and potassium.

The big city

Sunday I took the three top sellers for a day out on the town.  I think I successfully tantalized all of their senses but I'm a bit concerned that I set the bar a bit too high...

First, we saw Cirque du Soleil OVO - it was absolutely fabulous...the costumes, the set, the music, and most of all the talent - the things that people can do with their bodies is just astounding.  Then it was off to the Upper East Side- Alice's Tea Cup - the girls fell in love with the quaint restaurant before they even stepped in the door. Once they entered, they morphed into the paparazzi, taking pictures of everything.  The table was set with china and we each tried a different tea blend - I had a wonderful Earl Grey blended with lavender.

The potato soup was an interesting texture...it was essentially pureed potatoes with leeks and chicken broth, basic yet decent.  I had a wonderful warm salad - Golden Afternoon - roasted gold and red beets with orzo with a dressing made from tea-infused goat cheese...I also had a burger that was quite scrumptious. 

Next, we walked to Serendipity 3 for dessert...my plan was to have the Frozen Hot Chocolate...there was a 45 minute wait but that was no problem because Dylan's Candy Bar was right down the street.  my daughter had heard rave reviews about Dylan's and when we entered, I immediately understood what is meant by "a kid in a candy shoppe" - candy everywhere...all kinds, gummies, chocolate, sour, sweet, taffy...you name it, it was there, all for $12.99/lb...they went crazy, dashing around, filling their bags.  After we checked out, we discovered that there were two more levels...we dared to go downstairs but quickly realized that we couldn't handle it so we walked up the candy covered steps and went back to Serendipity.

Serendipity 3 is a crowded whimsically decorated establishment - we ordered dessert to the tune of $50 - two girls shared a Coward's Portion Banana Split, one girl had a "Big Apple" Pie a la mode that was humongous, and I devoured a Fresh Fruit Sundae that was absolutely delicious courtesy of the maple walnut topping. 

We were stuffed...the walk back to the car served us well to aid with our digestion...we stopped briefly at Grand Central  and walked to Times Square where they was once again dazzled...our day in the big city was complete...next year they want to stay in an expensive hotel...

Busted

I called myself making a home cooked dinner Monday night...I suppose it was more of a thrown together meal masquerading as a home cooked dinner.  I took some drumsticks out of the freezer, defrosted in water, then seasoned.  I sauteed onions, celery, garlic, and a red pepper, then pressure cooked.  I made Tilda rice on the side and was opening the frozen green beans when I was busted.  My son said - are those frozen string beans mom...I said yes, then he called my daughter and announced that I was cheating, using frozen string beans.

Needless to say, I was speechless...talk about great expectations.  Apparently it was a dud, because there's still some lurking in the refrigerator.  i tried to spice it up last nigh by frying the rice with garlic, onions, eggs, and peas but I think they're looking for something a bit more exotic.

Fast food

Around 645pm it occurred to me that there was nothing on the menu. Last night I bought fixins for corned beef specials (pumpernickel instead of rye), so that was going to be the focal point, but what was the side dish?  Why not soup....soup and sandwiches...I didn't have any cans of Progresso or Campbell's so I pulled out the onions, garlic, celery, and peppers and got to work.  Within a half hour I had a decent soup complete with egg noodles and frozen peas.  It was a big hit with the family especially since we topped it off with our kosher for passover Pepsi. 

I have one problem though, I have not been able to locate a corned beef without the nitrates (although this meat was tasty and not that ridiculous pink color, it wasn't nitrate free)...I guess I'm going to have to learn how to corn my own beef.  I'm thinking that it can't be that difficult; I imagine I would brine a beef brisket similar to how I brine a turkey.

Slacker

In recent weeks, dinner has been a rotation through my core meals - I haven't had the time nor brain power to think of anything new so I've been making due with lentils, chicken, veggies, and seafood mostly in the form of soup.  The only variation has been baked ziti this past Tuesday and tuna hoagies on Thursday. 

The tuna hoagies were quite tasty.  I used Italian canned tuna (solid light in olive oil) on an Amoroso roll with sharp provolone, sauteed spinach, roasted peppers, and garlic with a caesar salad on the side.  Tonight we're having a pseudo-family dinner with party pans from Maggianos...times have certainly changed. 

Once this semester is behind me, I would like to explore healthy, kid-friendly campfire recipes.  Last weekend I took a few girls to the Outdoor Skills weekend...I cooked a peach cobbler in a dutch oven over the fire, we made cornbread in a cardboard box covered with aluminum foil, and a host of easy to make outdoor recipes...but I think we traded nutrition for convenience because shortcuts come with a price, usually measured as increased chemical additives to food.  This weekend we prepared tacos on our overnight STEM trip. Instead of buying a kit, I gathered individual ingredients (except the ground turkey thigh)  from TJs with a substantial savings of MSG - delicious. 

In hindsight, menu-planning would have helped maintain the spice in my life.