Katya4me

We had this for dinner tonight: https://www.vforveganista.com/recipes/chinese-bbq-flavour-tofu-sticks/ We had it over basmati rice and really enjoyed it. I soaked the sticks all day but for next time, I'd only soak maybe an hour, with the ones that I have. They kind of unrolled completely and it spoiled the aesthetics, but not the taste.

I got it at my local Asian market, but you can get it on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B085T5L71B?ref=em_1p_0_im&ref_=pe_1843280_579757680

Tried for a twist on a Spanish tortilla this morning: https://spainonafork.com/spanish-tortilla-with-mushrooms-dates-manchego-cheese/ Went for the flip and it didn't cooperate, so I popped it under the broiler and called it a frittata. I halved the recipe but still got 4 slices out of it so we had each had a slice of that and a slice of toast for breakfast. The remainder will be breakfast tomorrow. If/when I make it again, I'll do thinner slices of mushroom but otherwise, easy and delicious.

Dinner last night was rice with salt and pepper tofu: https://www.vforveganista.com/recipes/salt-and-pepper-tofu/ This was followed by a fruit salad for dessert: https://thedevilwearssalad.com/watermelon-fruit-salad-brown-sugar-boba/ I had a hibiscus and jalapeno simple syrup in the fridge, so I used that instead of the brown sugar. I made a pot of tea and had bubble tea with the remaining boba that didn't go into the salad.

We had a few odds and ends in the fridge, and ground beef in the freezer, so decided to do nachos for dinner on Saturday. Browned the beef with some fajita seasonings and layered tortilla chips on a baking tray. Had 2 taco shells that were starting to get stale, so broke those up and tossed on the tray too. Dabbed on the remains of a can of refried beans, last of some vegan queso, drizzle of spicy honey and grated the remainder of the small block of habanero cheddar. Sprinkled the cooked beef over all of it and added a bit of grated mozzarella and then baked at 400* for 15 min. Had half of it for dinner and the other half reheated Sunday night. Yummy way to use up some random leftovers.

Dinner tonight was tasty: https://www.makingthymeforhealth.com/one-pot-tofu-potato-skillet/ I suggested that we have tofu and potatoes for dinner, so my husband suggested this recipe. We had a bit of napa cabbage in the fridge, so used that instead of spinach, but followed the recipe otherwise. Felt like breakfast for dinner, in a very good way.

The last time I did something similar, I measured out them out in 2 cup servings or so and froze them in bags in the freezer. I pulled them out when I wanted to make hummus and the size I did was roughly equivalent to a can of chickpeas. Worked well for me, until I ran out of bags. I need to restock at some point. So, dinner planning started with this concept: https://recipes.instantpot.com/recipe/butternut-squash-risotto/ Upon arriving home from work, I found in the pantry that I only had Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley and sushi rice, no Arborio rice. I grabbed the brown rice, went with an Aldi jalapeno beef broth and added extra butternut squash. Cooked on pressure for 22 min. and then opened and added butter and parmesan. While it was decompressing I quickly seared 2 thin pork chops that I'd seasoned with mustard BBQ sauce and sliced those to have over the "risotto". Worked out very well as dinner for I and my friend.

Mmm, that does look good. I poached 2 leftover chicken thighs last night and stuck them in the fridge until I figured out dinner tonight. I had 3 sad carrots in the fridge so I sliced them up, boiled some water and tossed a bag of farrow in it and added the carrots for 10 min. Once those were drained, added this sauce: http://www.goingcavewoman.com/paleo-tonnato-sauce-with-chicken and the cubed chicken. Very good dinner and happy I have leftovers.

My husband is out of town this week and the house is far too quiet. I went for a run this morning but none of the group stuck around for the normal breakfast at Panera so I headed home while I figured out what I wanted for breakfast myself. I decided to make these ridiculously unhealthy pancakes: https://www.thekitchn.com/bacon-egg-and-cheese-stuffed-savory-pancakes-recipe-23334301. I'd done some caramelized bacon earlier this week so I used that. Bit of maple syrup mixed with Sriracha and basted over the bacon before baking for 20 minutes. I invited a friend over for brunch and made sangria, just to be a little bit extra. Jug of cheap white sangria, a clementine Izzi, frozen pineapple and blueberries and fresh diced apples made up the sangria and it chilled in the fridge while I made the pancakes. Absolutely delightful.

That does sound good and maybe I'll do that next time.

The other night I was feeling hungry but not wanting to really exert myself to make a real meal and this came to the rescue: https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/04/10/sesame-chile-oil-noodles-recipe/ I'd originally thought about adding a protein to it, but ended up leaving it as just noodles and sauce, and it was delicious.

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while and used last weekend as my opportunity to do so: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/folded-kimbap-or-gimbap/ Made it twice, the first time with slices of homemade corned beef and the 2nd time w/ tuna. I liked the tuna better in the sense that the corned beef slices didn't tear as easily as the seaweed did. However, both tasted good. With the corned beef, I did a slice of muenster cheese, but no egg, and with the tuna, we did egg, no cheese and I thought it tasted god w/ both variants. Next plan is deli ham slices w/ quick pickled veggies.

I've been curious to give soy curls a try so picked some up on Amazon and made this on Thursday night: https://thefoodietakesflight.com/vegan-beef-chow-fun/ I had leftovers of it for lunch today and pretty happy w/ it as a tasty meal. Last night I wanted ramen, so hard boiled some eggs then I got some thin pork belly slices out of the freezer and sauteed in the Instant Pot before adding some cut up carrots, garlic and ginger. Sauteed a bit longer, then added chicken broth, a can of coconut milk, cut up garlic chives, red miso and some fish balls. Pressure cooked it for 20 min, then added 2 packs of ramen noodles and called it dinner. Cut up and egg, added some bean sprouts and that was dinner. I think the pork belly could have used some more searing, but it satisfied my craving.

Hubby was off work today so he baked baguettes and did quick pickled carrots and daikon radishes. Broiled some leftover pork belly and had banh mi for dinner.

Those pork buns do sound good. Tonight was simple but enjoyable. Earlier in the week, I thought we had a rack of ribs in the freezer and asked my husband to get it out to defrost. I was getting ready to marinate the defrosted ribs when I realized that it was actually a massive slab of pork belly. So, marinated in lime juice, garlic and salt and left it to hang out uncovered in the fridge until I roasted it last night. I was reminded of just how good the pork belly is from this vendor. I sliced a bit of that up for dinner tonight. I had some Chinese broccoli that I bought pre-surgery and haven't been able to eat until this week. I roasted that in the oven and got out a packet of spicy seafood udon to boil up. Tossed the pork belly and Chinese broccoli in with the noodles and pronounced it done.

Made this today: https://entomofarms.com/featured_item/chocolate-coffee-cricket-muffins/ I skipped sprinkling extra sugar on top, but I found about 1/8 of a cup of dark chocolate baking bits, so I tossed those in. So far, I've eaten 2 of the 20 muffins the recipe made and very happy with the result.

Dinner tonight was pretty simple. I still have frozen a large batch of onion masala, in 1/4 cup balls. I had a bag of mixed seafood, 4 balls and a can of coconut milk, which I simmered on the stove. I added a can of fire roasted tomatoes and had it over basmati rice.

I am not a gin connesisuer but I do like Bloom Gin. https://bloomgin.com/our-gin-range/london-dry-gin/

This morning's breakfast: https://entomofarms.com/featured_item/traditional-pancakes-cricket-twist/. Little heavy but very tasty with butter and maple syrup. I bought a bag of the flour last year, forgot about it and we were going through the pantry the other week for outdated items. It's coming up on its expiration date so I decided I needed to use it up. I think I'm going to make this recipe later today: https://entomofarms.com/featured_item/chocolate-coffee-cricket-muffins/

No worries and agreed. We were running errands this afternoon, so dinner was out tonight. Crab and shrimp po boys w/ fries for both of us from Skrimp Shack and then frozen custard from Campbells Custard for dessert. I had mint chocolate chip and he had butter pecan.

I think I did, but it was a while ago and as noted, it's very good and doesn't hurt to bring back to the forefront.

Today's lunch was stir fry over daikon noodles, featuring bok choy, rehydrated mushrooms and tofu skin. I added oyster sauce and a bit of chicken broth to the cornstarch at the end and liked how it worked. I used this recipe as my starting point: https://thewoksoflife.com/bok-choy-tofu-skin/#recipe

I got my stitches out yesterday and my mouth is starting to get back to normal. Tonight was pork and cucumber stir fry over daikon noodles: https://www.seriouseats.com/stir-fried-cucumber-spicy-ground-pork-easy-dinner-recipe I added a bit of ginger to the sauce and thought it was pretty good. I have to admit that we do use boneless skinless chicken in a few recipes, I do prefer thighs if I have a choice. One recipe that they do work well in is this ramen recipe: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/20-minute-thai-peanut-chicken-ramen/

Sunday night, we had some leftover rotisserie chicken from the enchilada recipe, so we made dinner salads. Romaine, cucumbers, radish, carrots and Manchego cheese. I sprinkled pepitas on mine for a bit of crunch and as a side, we had some of the leftover queso w/ tortilla chips. And then the next day, I had dental surgery, so applesauce has been my friend.

Continuing with our experimental vegan kick this weekend, we did udon and mushrooms in cream sauce for lunch today: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/creamy-cashew-udon-with-crispy-mushrooms So much umami in this dish and definitely a winner for me.