Lunch - The Mid-Day, Polyphonic Food Blog

[Pat]

My husband got a meatloaf sandwich on pumpernickel toast (with sriracha mayo, iceberg lettuce, bacon, tomato, thinly sliced white onion, banana pepper rings, and roasted red pepper strips), while I had an open-faced blt + a slice of Swiss cheese on the same toast, also with sriracha mayo.

[Katya4me]

We made Peruvian-Style Grilled-Chicken Sandwiches but my husband can't do cilantro, so we made Aji Amarillo Sauce to go with it instead.  We bought Aji Amarillo paste because finding the fresh peppers locally wasn't happening, and it turned out really well.  Both recipes are keepers.

[Pat]

1 hour ago, Katya4me said:

We made Peruvian-Style Grilled-Chicken Sandwiches but my husband can't do cilantro, so we made Aji Amarillo Sauce to go with it instead.  We bought Aji Amarillo paste because finding the fresh peppers locally wasn't happening, and it turned out really well.  Both recipes are keepers.

Where did you get the Aji Amarillo paste? In the past, I've bought it at Shopper's Food, but now that they've closed (or are closing), I don't know where else to get it next time I need some.

[Katya4me]

47 minutes ago, Pat said:

Where did you get the Aji Amarillo paste? In the past, I've bought it at Shopper's Food, but now that they've closed (or are closing), I don't know where else to get it next time I need some.

At our local international market, in the Latin American aisle.

[deangold]

15 hours ago, Pat said:

Where did you get the Aji Amarillo paste? 

Grand Mart on little River Turnpike. HMart. 

[deangold]

Three eggs from Sunnyside fried in a bit of Cabot butter w/salt, spice rub, black pepper & toasted black cumin, more salt and pepper from the grinder once done.

I know that there is supposed to be little difference between farm eggs and stoer bought, and this was anything but double blind, but the eggs where puffed up and the whites spread nicely for lots of crispy brown bits. They were dense and drier than supermarket eggs too. Plus this is a week old dozen. 

Beanetics Bali Green Moon coffee. Really smooth, rich flavors, not their darkest coffee roast, but close. Hint of sweetness bring it all together. Our favorite of their beans and one of the best coffees we have had in a long long time. At $13.95 a pound, a great buy too. Just wish they could get their service up to competent and not surly. They gave me green beans at first despite my twice questioning the proce. Then they had to give me a cash refund and charge me for roasted beans. I told them they didn't have any in the roasted section so they assumed I wanted geen? Th one person who finally packed my beans was pleasant but the rest of the counter help wished I was a Starbucks I think. 

[Pat]

Big lunch today before my husband went on a bike ride:

Leftover tofu and broccoli stalk salad
Lentil and vegetable soup (this Crescent Dragonwagon recipe recently in the Washington Post)
Chicken Waldorf salad sandwiches plus pickles on whole wheat sesame hamburger buns
 

[ktmoomau]

Today was a whole wheat chicken burrito with pinto beans, cheese, salsa and some roasted veggies. Diet Coke- although I probably should ration these.  

[deangold]

Our go to Japanese inspired soup: hon dashi, soy, ume shiso vinegar, sesame oil, mirin. Stuff: soft tofu cut into sticks and boiled in salted water 1 minute, daikon leaves, king oyster mushrooms, spring onion

[ktmoomau]

I had the last of the pasta salad, a few turkey meatballs, some quinoa chips and a baby bell for lunch.  Oh, and also, one of the banana, chocolate cookies.

[Pat]

Today was leftover lentil soup and curried egg salad on Trader Joe's Norwegian crispbread.

[deangold]

Olive oil fried eggs for me, scrambled for Kay. Cold beet greens w/olive oil, better than when warm. Trail mix. Coffee. 

Technical question: When does lunch end? Snacking begin? Dinner start?

[ktmoomau]

26 minutes ago, deangold said:

Technical question: When does lunch end? Snacking begin? Dinner start?

Lunch is at 11:30-1:30, Supper starts at 3:00-5:00, dinner 5:00-9:00.  Snacks are anytime you are eating in between meals? And breakfast is just the meal you eat to break your evening fast.  I guess maybe that's why you can have Breakfast all day long! 🤪

[DonRocks]

Leftovers from Georgetown Butcher primaries and Trader Joe's secondaries:

"Georgetown Wagyu" steak sandwich on lightly toasted Trader Joe's Brioche Buns
"Potato and Egg Salad" with Georgetown Butcher Russets and Trader Joe's Eggs and Organic Mayonnaise
"Quinoa and Black Bean Chips" from Trader Joe's
"Mandarin Oranges" (partially on-stem) from Georgetown Butcher (amazing) 

[Pat]

Lunch was more curried egg salad, some of it on the last buttermilk biscuit, the rest wrapped in pieces of the last flour tortilla. Leftover soup was chicken.

[deangold]

The last of the clam and seaweed noodle salad, even better today

Beet greens

Fried eggs for me, scrambles for Kay, both done in olive oil.

[dcandohio]

Tuna salad on a whole-grain toasted English muffin. 
Crudités and Trader Joe’s hummus. 

[deangold]

Bread w/TJs peanut butter & raspberry jelly
"Japanese" tofu & mushroom soup.

[Pat]

Breakfast for lunch today:

Pink grapefruit
Bacon
French toast casserole from the freezer
Maple syrup

The leftover French toast went into the freezer 11/11/18. It didn't look too freezer burned when I unwrapped it, though it had visible ice crystals on it. I reheated it at 70% strength in the microwave for 5 minutes. It smelled and tasted fantastic, unbelievably good. I was surprised at how well it heldd up. I think it's because of the strong flavors that originally went into it. It was wrapped in plastic wrap and then in a zipper sandwich bag.

I know I made this casserole to use stuff up that I had at the time, especially cinnamon-raisin bread, but that's all I remembered. I decided to look through my digital files, and I found the recipe! The dates match. I wrote it down after I put the casserole together. Clearly I also had an excess of dairy. Detective work tells me I must have made an Ina Garten recipe at some time before this because that's the only reason I would have had jumbo eggs. So, in the spirit of sharing (and MacGyvering recipes):

Autumn Baked French Toast Casserole
(Best recollection after making; amounts for spices very approximate)

Butter, for pan and for topping
1 1/2 (16 oz.) loaves Pepperidge Farm cinnamon-raisin swirl bread
12-15 pitted prunes, quartered
1 medium banana, sliced, with the larger pieces cut smaller
3 jumbo eggs
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup half and half, plus about the same amount extra for the top
1 tsp. fine sea salt, separated
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (Penzey’s double strength)
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. (1/4 cup) unpacked light brown sugar, plus 1 Tbsp.
Scant 1 cup pecans, broken into bits

Grease the bottom and sides of a 13” X 9” inch glass or ceramic casserole with butter. Place a layer of bread, slightly overlapping, over the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the prunes and half of the banana.

Combine the spices with the sugar and mix well to combine.  Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over the bread and fruit in the pan.

Whisk the eggs with the 2 cups of milk and half and half, the vanilla, and a pinch of the salt. Pour half of the milk-egg mixture over the ingredients in the pan.

Add another layer of bread, topped with the remainder of the fruit and the remainder of the sugar mixture. Pour the rest of the milk-egg mixture over the casserole. Dot the top with butter. Pour over about 1/2 cup of additional half and half. Cover with foil and refrigerate for about 3 hours.

Turn oven on to 375. Remove casserole from refrigerator. Combine the brown sugar, pecans, and remaining salt. Top the casserole with the sugar mixture and return foil to pan. Once oven preheats, bake dish covered for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes.

Serve with bacon and roasted or broiled tomatoes.

[deangold]

19 minutes ago, Pat said:

Breakfast for lunch today:

Pink grapefruit
Bacon
French toast casserole from the freezer
Maple syrup

The leftover French toast went into the freezer 11/11/18. It didn't look too freezer burned when I unwrapped it, though it had visible ice crystals on it. I reheated it at 70% strength in the microwave for 5 minutes. It smelled and tasted fantastic, unbelievably good. I was surprised at how well it heldd up. I think it's because of the strong flavors that originally went into it. It was wrapped in plastic wrap and then in a zipper sandwich bag.

I know I made this casserole to use stuff up that I had at the time, especially cinnamon-raisin bread, but that's all I remembered. I decided to look through my digital files, and I found the recipe! The dates match. I wrote it down after I put the casserole together. Clearly I also had an excess of dairy. Detective work tells me I must have made an Ina Garten recipe at some time before this because that's the only reason I would have had jumbo eggs. So, in the spirit of sharing (and MacGyvering recipes):

Autumn Baked French Toast Casserole
(Best recollection after making; amounts for spices very approximate)

Butter, for pan and for topping
1 1/2 (16 oz.) loaves Pepperidge Farm cinnamon-raisin swirl bread
12-15 pitted prunes, quartered
1 medium banana, sliced, with the larger pieces cut smaller
3 jumbo eggs
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup half and half, plus about the same amount extra for the top
1 tsp. fine sea salt, separated
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (Penzey’s double strength)
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. (1/4 cup) unpacked light brown sugar, plus 1 Tbsp.
Scant 1 cup pecans, broken into bits

Grease the bottom and sides of a 13” X 9” inch glass or ceramic casserole with butter. Place a layer of bread, slightly overlapping, over the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the prunes and half of the banana.

Combine the spices with the sugar and mix well to combine.  Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over the bread and fruit in the pan.

Whisk the eggs with the 2 cups of milk and half and half, the vanilla, and a pinch of the salt. Pour half of the milk-egg mixture over the ingredients in the pan.

Add another layer of bread, topped with the remainder of the fruit and the remainder of the sugar mixture. Pour the rest of the milk-egg mixture over the casserole. Dot the top with butter. Pour over about 1/2 cup of additional half and half. Cover with foil and refrigerate for about 3 hours.

Turn oven on to 375. Remove casserole from refrigerator. Combine the brown sugar, pecans, and remaining salt. Top the casserole with the sugar mixture and return foil to pan. Once oven preheats, bake dish covered for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes.

Serve with bacon and roasted or broiled tomatoes.

No bacon in the casserole too?

[Pat]

55 minutes ago, deangold said:

No bacon in the casserole too?

Nope. Apparently I saw fit to serve it on the side only 😊

[ktmoomau]

Lunch today was a hash of the leftover smashed potatoes, leftover smoked London broil, asparagus.  Cut into smaller bits and put in a skillet with a decent serving of butter, some cayenne, cumin, Worcestershire.  Topped with two runny fried eggs.

[deangold]

28 minutes ago, Pat said:

Nope. Apparently I saw fit to serve it on the side only 😊

Well... you are forgiven.

[dcandohio]

Inspired by many of you who are so creative with leftovers, I made black bean soup out of the black beans I had smashed and seasoned to use in tacos. I reseasoned the beans and thinned them out with chicken stock. I topped it with chopped tomatoes and sour cream. 
I found hatch chili corn muffins in the freezer. So I had one of those. 

[ktmoomau]

Today was leftover turkey meatloaf sandwich on an English Muffin with lettuce, and a mandarin orange.  The turkey meatloaf mixture had a lot of veggies in it, as I didn't have a ton of meat, so not feeling guilty about the lack of other vegetables on my sandwich.

[Pat]

Grilled cheese sandwiches (pepper jack)
Leftover lentil soup
Navel orange
Cape Cod potato chips

[deangold]

Yesterday we finished the Japanese tofu and mushroom soup.

Today: Fried rice. We had leftover brown rice, aa choi }which I had roasted w/sesame & say which we did not get to that night. It was salty but I thought in fried rice, it would be ok} green onion, egg and I fried it in some duck fat w/some crackling thrown in. The salt theory was half right. The aa choi gave a nice saltiness to the rice but it remained salty. I will try the aa choi again wwith less soy.

Crackers w/cream cheese & smoked salmon.

Bananas. They have a sticker on them saying baby bananas, but they were weird. Very hard to peel. A thick centerline of seeds that were a little crunchy, the didn't taste ripe until they were black and starting to shrivel. But despite their weird attributes, they were custardy and sweet and delicious. 

[Pat]

Little kid lunch:
PB&J (well, raspberry preserves)
Mac and cheese (leftover)
Navel orange

 

[Pool Boy]

We made lentil soup. My wife wanted to make it a little like minestrone but we had no greens except for rapini, so we used that and it worked. We tried it with (incorrectly sized) pasta on Monday and it was too much. I had it straight today and then did the thing my German mother did with lentil soup and added a very small amount of vinegar to it. Delicious.

[deangold]

Tuna with olives, fermented red onion, veganaise, on wasa crackers

Crudite w/caesar dressing

 

[dcandohio]

I used some of the leftover taco meat from Tuesday’s tacos to make taco salad. For dressing I mixed spicy salsa into sour cream, and then thinned it with a little olive oil. I dressed the greens, added cheddar cheese, and then put the meat on top. I should have crushed some tortilla chips on the top, but I totally spaced on that. 

[Pat]

Today we had tuna salad sandwiches on toasted honey whole wheat. For my husband, I also made some brown-rice millet ramen in chicken broth to which I had added some dehydrated onions and cilantro stems. Topped the bowl with fresh cilantro and strips of omelet-style egg I made in a cereal bowl in the microwave. I like eggs this way some times. I had a couple strips of it as well with my sandwich.

[ktmoomau]

Yesterday was leftover vegetable briyani.

Today was leftovers that I re-hashed.  We ate the leftover forbidden rice I made and basmati rice from our last takeout order, bangian bharta- to which I added the leftover chicken thighs, cut up in chunks, and the last little pud of roasted peppers and onions, warmed up a pack of TJ's yellow dal, and heated two frozen roti's in the skillet.  

I have been trying to use up all the leftovers in a timely manner.  

[Smita Nordwall]

14 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

Yesterday was leftover vegetable briyani.

Today was leftovers that I re-hashed.  We ate the leftover forbidden rice I made and basmati rice from our last takeout order, bangian bharta- to which I added the leftover chicken thighs, cut up in chunks, and the last little pud of roasted peppers and onions, warmed up a pack of TJ's yellow dal, and heated two frozen roti's in the skillet.  

I have been trying to use up all the leftovers in a timely manner.  

In this week when Chef Floyd Cardoz, a pioneer in bringing regional Indian cuisine to America and a fellow Bombayite, died of COVID 19 it does my old Indian heart good to see that Americans are turning to the comfort foods of my land in these stressful times. Dal, roti and baigan bharta will soothe any soul. 

[ktmoomau]

9 hours ago, Smita Nordwall said:

In this week when Chef Floyd Cardoz, a pioneer in bringing regional Indian cuisine to America and a fellow Bombayite, died of COVID 19 it does my old Indian heart good to see that Americans are turning to the comfort foods of my land in these stressful times. Dal, roti and baigan bharta will soothe any soul. 

I was so very lucky when I was in 5th Grade a new girl moved to my county.  I often met the new kids coming into my grade, due to my Aunt being in the administration.  This lovely young girl was Indian, and the meals I got the privilege of having and smelling and experiencing at her house were just amazing.  I think she, like many other immigrant kids into new neighborhoods, was maybe embarrassed by the foods, but I was just enamored.  Her Mom used to make these chips that puffed that I called styrofoam chips due to the texture, which I thought were so cool.  When I was in high school she made an Indian meal for my Dad.  I am not sure if he had ever had Indian food before.  In a county of little to no diversity, two of my favorite friends were/are Indian, for this I am really thankful.  I love Indian foods, it is one of my favorites to eat and cook. 

And you are very right- it is so soothing.  And perfect right now in so many ways for cooking and eating.  

[DonRocks]

8 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

And you are very right- it is so soothing.  And perfect right now in so many ways for cooking and eating.  

And since much of it is traditional and long-cooked, it freezes and reheats extremely well. I had a Palaak Paneer the other day that was nothing more than a packaged, frozen meal, and it was very nice.

[deangold]

Kimchi fried rice w/soy pickled daikon, green onion, garlic chive, eggs, & soy. Do wish I had thought about how acidic the kimchi was before I tossed it in the carbon steel pan. Homemade pistachio gelato

[Pat]

My husband had the last of the chicken mushroom noodle casserole, Rancho Gordo Yellow Indian Woman beans in their broth topped with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream, and a navel orange. I had an open-faced tuna salad sandwich on honey whole wheat toast.

The beans are a story.

After years of making lots of RG beans, I hadn't been using them for quite some time. Quite some time. And I still have a pretty big stash of them. I decided I should prepare them because it was ridiculous to have them just sitting packed away. I had stopped ordering any more, even types I didn't have, because I needed to work through the stock I had, but then I didn't do it.

I tried first last month with what was left of a bag of Christmas limas and they just wouldn't soften. Then they finally went to broken and overcooked from there, but they were edible and made for several meals. Then I moved from beans to dried hominy last week. We're still making our way through what I cooked of that, which didn't come out perfect but, again, edible. I pulled out some yellow Indian woman beans from the supply at the same time as the hominy. They were both in the upstairs pantry, where I had moved the oldest of the collection into the kitchen to use them first.

Well, Joe Yonan mentioned in the Post's free range chat this week that adding a tsp. baking soda per pound of dried beans helps when you have hard water. It's only been in the past few years we realized just how hard our water is. We were a little slow on figuring that out. So I tried soaking the yellow Indian woman beans with 1 tsp. baking soda in 8 cups water in the crockpot (not on) overnight. Then I turned it on to high this morning after soaking for somewhere between 8 and 9 hours. They smelled good cooking. I checked them at 3 1/2 hours, the first I touched them since putting them in the night before, and they were done to perfection. Now I have a lot of cooked beans in liquid to do something with that doesn't involve cooking them much more .

Oh, and it occurred to me to search my old emails. The last RG order I made was in February of 2011.

[smithhemb]

James Beard’s Pleasant Pasta (but made with small shells and with the prosciutto as an optional add-on).  Excellent meal for college students, I think (we have 2 in-house right now, both eager to expand their recipe repertoires).

[ktmoomau]

Yesterday was TJ's frozen falafel, warmed up (meh), on lavash rolls ups with hummus, green goddess dressing lettuce, roasted sweet potatoes and some pickles.  It needed more tang, and we have more to use so, I pickled some shallots, radish and carrot in the fridge for next time.   

[Katya4me]

We went for a midday bicycle ride with a picnic lunch.  Made tuna salad with some finely chopped basil included and had that on wheat bread with mandarins and dried mangoes.

[deangold]

Left over soup. 

[deangold]

Bulgoggi Gim Bap from H mart. $4.99 for enough for 2 people. Bread and Amish blue.

[Pat]

For lunch we split a mushroom, kale, and feta omelet. I had the last of the brown rice and beans, and my husband had bean soup with tasso and kale and a Brazilian cheese roll.

The omelet is also from a blog I used to follow that I came across in a search. Bonus was that the recipe not only used the kale and mushrooms I had but also two egg whites left from making the rolls. The goat cheese I had left in the refrigerator had gone off, so I subbed feta.

Should have taken a photo. It came out looking great.

[Katya4me]

Today was leftover chili.  I've not tried the omelet recipe, but it does look good.  Not necessarily recommended for a weekday lunch, but from the same blogger, I've very much enjoyed her rum punch. 

[deangold]

Quesadillas w/Gruyere cheese. Hamburger steak from Smith Meadow Farms. Nice beef. Just formed loose patties, seasoned with salt, pepper & spice rub. Pan fried in carbon steel pan for a total of abut 12 minutes for 1-1/2" patties. Cooked mine to 130 and Kay's closer to 140. Juicy but not as good a burger as the dry aged stuff I got from Huntsman they source from Shenandoah Beef Coop. We are going to get a 10# bag, form it into burgers and into 1# cooking pouches. and freeze. Will seal them in our vacuum bags before freezing. 

[Pat]

Hmm. I have two different types of rum gathering dust. I think one of them is dark. Not sure if I have pineapple juice left but I have a lot of grapefruit juice. I don't know if I want to use all my limes on this, but I could make a half batch🤔. Thanks for the idea.

6 minutes ago, Katya4me said:

Not necessarily recommended for a weekday lunch, but from the same blogger, I've very much enjoyed her rum punch. 

 

[ktmoomau]

We got Lost Dog for lunch the other day, today was leftover beef vegetable soup with some cheese and crackers.  Monday was a farmer's lunch of ham, baby belle, apple, biscuit.  

[deangold]

The last of our most recent tofu/Japanese inspired soup. A can of Portofino brand albacore tuna, veganaise, red onions pickled in balsamico, crudite

[Pat]

Today was the last of the tasso and potato casserole; more (Yellow Indian Woman) bean soup, this time with kale and without tasso; Brazilian cheese rolls; Granny Smith apple.

That 1 lb. 1 1/2 oz. of tasso from the freezer (I weighed it after I thawed it) has brought us through quite a few meals. All gone now. I imagine it cost a fair amount when I bought it eons ago, but I'm quite sure I wasn't considering the purchase an investment. Heirloom dried beans, also an investment!