Quickies

This has been a week of quick eats. Monday I made a one pot fish dish: haddock and vegetables (potatoes, carrots, celery, shallots, etc) seasoned and layered in a casserole dish and baked in the oven.  Tuesday night it was "sushi" from Whole Foods Alexandria. Wednesday I planned to make burgers but we were out and about so we stopped at Elevation Burgers at National Harbor. 

I was hesitant, but my daughter insisted that it was my kind of place...hand-scooped milkshakes; organic, grass-fed, free-range beef...a company with a philosophy centered around people and the environment as opposed to profits.  I was a little disappointed when I walked in the door; the decor seemed a little too industrial, it lacked the connection to "the environment" that I was expecting.  However, the burgers were good and comparably priced to what you would expect to pay at McD or Five Guys; the fries cooked in olive oil were ok (perhaps they should consider grapeseed oil).  I couldn't help but wonder how they supplied the entire franchise operation with 100% organic, grass-fed, free range beef unless they either own a ranch or are importing the USDA beef from South America. 

It would be disappointing if it were the latter - organic beef from South America is a bit of an oxymoron; many of the ranches are clearclut rainforest and the meat has to travel at least 5,000 miles to reach the USA.  For some reason, that meat is substantially cheaper per pound than the same locally produced product.

I cooked a few veggies but I was mostly taking it easy...Thursday night we topped it off with a visit to Jimmies on the wharf.  Last night was the epitome of throwing something together. 

We stopped at my brothers on the way home from Alexandria. My sister-in-law said she would make some baked chicken leg quarters. I said I'd rather have something a bit Filipino but neither of us felt like cooking;  the crowd has come to expect us to go all out in the kitchen but we were low on energy and supplies.

She didn't have pancit noodles but she assured me that spaghetti would make a great substitution. I know the whole Marco Polo story, but I was highly doubtful as all noodles are not created equal - Asian noodles vary by culture,and Italian pasta is higher in gluten because it is made from durum wheat. 

She boiled two legs while I cut up and sauteed onions and garlic, added frozen mixed vegetables, then the cooked shredded chicken, seasoned, tossed with the pasta and soy and hoisin sauce. We all agreed that it was more akin to lo mein than pancit but it was certainly a quick meal.