Sort of Thai-Influenced Meatloaf

Howdy! Aren't three day weekends the best? I especially love Labor Day weekend because it's relatively mellow. Barrett and I spent both Saturday and Sunday cleaning out the garage, which involved dragging almost everything in it onto the lawn into piles of: to the city dump, into the garbage can, to Goodwill, to keep in the garage, and to take into the house. It was very tiring and totally worth it. It's that much closer into being made into the band's practice space, which is the eventual goal.

Yesterday was my day to cook. I first made a pot of French Spring Soup as a filling and low fat meal to take to work for the rest of the week. As usual, I blended about half of it to make it creamier.


I also made a Vietnamese Bun Ga salad as part of a bbq potluck at my friend Gregg's later that afternoon. People seemed to like it. It is really tasty!


For tonight's dinner, I made a meatloaf. And I created the recipe myself! This is a huge deal for me--I tend to follow recipes to the letter and then tweak them after time. I don't usually make up recipes on the fly like I did tonight. Necessity was the mother of invention--I had a huge bunch of Thai basil that was starting to turn brown and decided to use as much of it as I could, along with powdered ginger and the rest of a bottle of Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce. It's delish! Thank goodness for Trader Joe's condiments.

Sort of Thai-Influenced Meatloaf

1.5 lbs very lean lean ground beef
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large egg
2 tbsp ground ginger, or as much as you want, OR I'm sure ground jarred ginger would work
1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped Thai basil (I didn't measure it, so I'm guessing here)
1/2 bottle Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fish out your meatloaf pan and coat it with oil a bit.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Be sure and take off any rings you have, or else the mixture gets all caught in them and it's grody.

3. Smoosh mixture into loaf pan, making sure it's even on top so it cooks evenly.

4. Bake for 60 minutes. Take out, let sit for a few minutes, then dig in! Have seconds! Eat a salad with it!

Thai Curry with Basil, NO Eggplant, & Green Beans

Saw the above recipe on Albion Cooks and thought it would make an excellent easy meal. I was right! I made one huge exception--I didn't use the eggplant. I finally found the Thai eggplants at the Very Expensive, Hoity Toity Grocery Store (by the way, did you know there is also Japanese eggplant and Chinese eggplant?), bought the two that the recipe called for even though they were small and I seemed skeptical about their ability to contribute much towards the meal, got them home, put them on the counter, and promptly forgot about them. Fast forward to four days later to partially blackened, soft eggplants that now reside in the compost pile. So there was no eggplant in my dinner tonight. But that's okay, it was deemed worthy enough to chow down anyway!

Here's the tofu merrily simmering with the garlic and serrano chile pepper in the wok, with the red pepper slices and Thai basil standing by.


Barrett wanted to show you all his amazing flipping-the-food-into-the-air skillz. I didn't quite capture it but I love the way the burner coils turned purple and white in the flash!


Tearing hunks of chard off at the end. There's something so satisfying about tearing leafy greens up with one's bare hands.


And the final result, showcased on the homemade skeleton plate that I bought at a crafts fair back in 1992. It's my favorite plate.

Yellow Split Pea Soup for a Rainy, Cool August Sunday

After two weeks and some change of being sick, I finally took stock of house and refrigerator. Cat hair tumbleweeds grace the hardwood floors, the rugs are sprinkled with crumbs and more cat hair, the soap scum ring in the bathtub is NOT pretty, and worst of all, our fridge was empty and forlorn. I simply had to go grocery shopping today, there was no way around it.

It has been pouring rain all day and the temperature has dropped as a result. August feels like October, which is why it put me in the mood for a hearty soup. I wanted split pea soup. I have a favorite pea soup recipe, this Bourbon Split Pea Soup from the Almost Turkish Recipes site, but I craved something with greens, perhaps, and a hint of sweetness instead of liquor. And I finally found it: Yellow Split Pea Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Kale, from the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen's website. It was the kale and the curry that won me over!

Most of the ingredients are a shade of yellow. It amused me. I amuse easily, however.


The obligatory shot of the food cooking next to the recipe on the laptop. It never turns out very well, but that doesn't stop me!


Here's Colin with a canvas shopping bag on his head, looking like a cute, furry Abu Ghraib prisoner.


It's done! I added waaaaaaay more curry powder than the recipe called for, as I felt it needed it, as well as adding some coriander just for the heck of it. I also blended the soup a little bit with my trusty stick blender. Here's the final touch, adding the chopped kale.


We slurped it up for dinner. It was all I'd hoped it would be. Put it on your recipe list for autumn!

Sick sick sick

That's me. I've been sick for two weeks now and haven't been doing much exciting cooking. Lots of stuff on the grill and other easy items.

I did make this Spaghetti with Creamy Egg, Prosciutto, and Arugula the other evening, as I felt like having a light tasting but filling pasta. It's really good. I substituted red pepper flakes for the fresh red pepper. I think I also used way more arugula than it called for because I love me some arugula!

I'll return soon, I promise. Just as soon as I get better.

Zesty Shrimp and Scallops on Greens

Hi! Sorry for the posting delay--it's been a busy summer, which is how I like it! I've been meaning to snap some photos of some of the recipes I've recently made, such as this divine Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake from the fantabulous 101 Cookbooks blog. Alas, I was in such a hurry to prepare it due to the lengthy baking time, I didn't have a moment to do anything but prep and zest. It was really really good, though!

I am very excited to introduce everyone. . . okay, whoever the three people are that actually read this. . . to a cookbook that I have been making much use of since it arrived in my mailbox in late spring: Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's! Not only is it a cookbook that uses nothing but staples and foodstuffs that can be purchased from Trader Joe's (awesome), but has some kick-ass recipes that are generally super quick to make and incredibly tasty to boot! The best part for me about this cookbook is that my dear friend from high school, Deana, co-authored it! My Deana Bo Beana wrote a book! I'm so proud of her and happy to own this.

My first read through, I immediately bookmarked a dozen recipes and made a trip out to the nearest Trader Joe's to stock up on necessities. Some recipes I've made multiple times and are on their way to becoming household staples, such as the Italian Wedding Soup and the Corny-Copia Bean and Veggie Casserole. But one in particular has captured my seafood-lovin' heart: the Zesty Shrimp and Scallops on Greens.

Get frozen shrimp, scallops, and frozen/fresh asparagus. Thaw out.


Throw scallops into pan with some olive oil. Saute until opaque, then throw in shrimp and finally asparagus (my deviation from the recipe; I like to saute the asparagus instead of adding it at the end).


Open up bottle of Trader Joe's Pineapple Salsa. Dump into seafood mixture, heat until bubbling. Have cookbook propped up artfully behind pan for crappy photo taken in bad light (click on photo in order to see actual recipe up close).


Throw spring lettuce mix onto plates, add utterly divine Trader Joe's Cilantro Dressing (found in the refrigerated section of TJ's, which, if you didn't realize as I didn't realize for about 2 months that some salad dressings live in the refrigerated section and all this time you wondered why your local TJ's didn't carry this Cilantro Dressing but then duh, one day you walk right past it as you happen to be looking up--hello!), then scoop a bunch of the piping hot seafood/asparagus mixture on top, realize you forgot the chopped fresh cilantro AGAIN, but oh well, you're so hungry that you just inhale this salad, THE END. It's really that good.


Deana and Wona, I declare thee geniuses. This won't be the last time I blog about one of your recipes.

Zesty Shrimp and Scallops on Greens (Cooking With All Things Trader Joe's, 2007 ed.) Prep & cooking time: 15-20 minutes. Serves 2 as an entree, or 4 as an appetizer.

Salad:
- 1/2 (5 oz.) bag Organic Baby Spring mix
- 2 Tbsp refrigerated Cilantro Dressing
- 12 spears of fresh asparagus or refrigerated Fire Roasted Asparagus, cut in thirds
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper

Seafood:
- 1 cup (1/2 lb or 1/2 bag) frozen Medium or Large Cooked Tail-Off Shrimp, thawed
- 1 cup (1/2 lb or 1/2 bag) frozen small or medium scallops (such as Chinese scallops) thawed and pat dry
- 1/2 cup Pineapple Salsa
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, if using fresh asparagus.

2. If using fresh asparagus, toss and coat asparagus in 1 Tbsp olive oil, season with salt & pepper, and spread on a baking sheet. Roast asparagus in the oven for 10-15 minutes depending on size of stalks.

3. While asparagus is roasting, saute scallops in 1 Tbsp olive oil for 3-5 minutes or until opaque, adding shrimp at the very end. If using raw shrimp, cook them with the scallops. Add salsa and saute for additional minute.

4. Toss spring greens with dressing and divide it among serving plates. Add several pieces of asparagus on top of the greens. Top asparagus with seafood mixture and garnish generously with cilantro.

Tinned Tomatoes' Chickpea & Tomato Salad

Upon getting back from a weekend in Portland, I opened up one of the crisper drawers in the fridge to reveal two avocados languishing in the bottom. I got those for a specific recipe, now what was it? . . . oh yeah, one of my favorite lunchtime staples: the Chickpea & Tomato Salad from Holler's Tinned Tomatoes blog! I love this simple, crunchy salad. So will you.

[Oh, I should forewarn that I'm not going to be printing actual recipes much on this site. I encourage folks to use the recipes from the original sites that I link to instead. There are so many good food blogs out there and I think exploration is fun!]

I cut up the cucumber, cilantro, and red onion, and added it to the two cans of chickpeas and the can of diced tomatoes I'd already plopped in the bowl. Yep, I used canned tomatoes for this--in short, I didn't have any fresh tomatoes on hand and refused to be set back by it. I also added a red pepper that was getting all wrinkly and lonely. Into this bowlful of goodness go the avocados!


Here t'is, all mixed up next to the recipe on my laptop.


Colin usually watches me cook while sitting on the counter behind me. It's pretty dang cute even though HE'S A VERY BAD CAT THAT IS NOT ALLOWED ON THE COUNTER, NOT EVER.


Here's my deviation from this recipe. I'm not proud of it because it is a deviation born of laziness. I use store-bought dressing for this salad. The first time I ever made it, I didn't have any honey and saw this dressing sitting unopened in the cupboard. I pulled it out, mulled it over, and decided to go for it. It was a stroke of sheer genius on my part; this dressing was made for this salad. I'm sure any brand of sweet-ish poppyseed dressing will do.


Add a few squirts in and voila! A fantastic summertime salad, perfect for my take-to-work lunches in my Mr. Bento lunchbox. What, you are not familiar with Mr. Bento or bento lunch boxes? There's a whole new world out there for you, my friend. I highly recommend them, especially if you are interested in portion control. Here's what the Mr. Bento looks like:


So this salad will fill one container. What about the rest? I ended up putting homemade mushroom soup in the largest one, a cut up apricot in the third, and cut up mozzarella and radishes in the fourth. I know, that's weird, but you have to get creative sometimes to fill them all up. One of the ideas with the bento is to fix a variety of foods, so your palate doesn't get bored and you get different nutrients, etc.


Until next time!

Sher's Scallion Ginger Chicken Linguini

I first started blogging in December 2005 when I was unemployed and bored. I pretty immediately turned to looking up recipes online, to feed my new-found craving for cooking from scratch. The first food blog I fell in love with was Chocolate & Zucchini. The next was What Did You Eat? I don't remember how I stumbled upon Sher's blog in February 2006, but I fell in love instantly. My recipe bookmark folder filled up with her recipes. She didn't have much at that time, as she had only been blogging a few months herself, but enough to make me realize I'd found a kindred spirit in tastes. Later, I followed her into Weekend Cat Blogging and Colin, my new upstart kitten, became the star of my old blog.

It's 2 1/2 years and many posts/comments/emails later, and Sher has passed on. She died less than a week ago. I found out today after I clicked on her blog to see if she'd posted anything new. When five days had passed and nothing, I was concerned. I knew she was in ill health and the last time she let so much time pass without blogging, she was in the hospital. No, it was the unthinkable. There's a big hole in my heart. My kitchen is feeling that big without her.

I emailed my husband Barrett the news and his reply was, "Is there a tribute meal you wanna do together tonight?" He knows me so well.

A small part of me thinks that I should make this, since she created this recipe with me (and Anne) specifically in mind. And I will make this soon. But I truly feel there's only one tribute meal I can do to honor Sher tonight and that's the first recipe of hers I made: her Scallion Ginger Chicken Linguini. Whenever I make it, and the smell of the scallions and ginger fills the air, my kitchen doesn't feel so big after all. She's right there with me.

"What's for dinner, guys?!"


The meat inspector checks for bacteria and deliciousness.


The chopping of the greens. I adore chopping scallions.


Sher suggested one cup of scallions, but I can't resist--I have to throw in more. And yeah, jarred ginger. So sue me! I loathe peeling and chopping up roots. Besides, the pureed ginger works really well in the "sauce."


The chicken is all ready to go.


In go the green onions and ginger . . .


And then the linguini, soy sauce, sesame oil, etc.


And the final touch, one of Sher's most favorite flavorings, THE CILANTRO!


The inspector sniffs the final result and approves, despite the distinct lack of tuna in this dish.


Here's to you, Sher, you fantastic lady. You will never be forgotten. And just in case there was any doubt, check out all the tributes to you over at your dear friend Glenna's.