Lunch - Tunafish and Rice

My mom talks about this time in her life when she was so poor she ate tunafish and rice everyday. Over the years, when we kids were starving and she had no food in the house, she'd give us tunafish and rice, and both my sister and I have fond memories of it. This version has string beans, chopped tomato, salt/pepper, and a bit of mayo added to the mix.

Lunch - Eggplant Stew

While at college, I once attended some kind of an African Dinner where they served Ethiopian Eggplant Stew. I have never found anything like it since. Until now. My husband just accidentally invented something very much like it. I will be eating this alot from now on:


Eggplant Stew

1 large red onion, sliced and browned
1 medium eggplant, chopped
1/2 medium cauliflower head, chopped
1 cooked chicken breast, diced small
1 cup of chicken stock
2 TB of "sofrito" (1 green pepper, 2 garlic cloves, 1 medium onion blended)
couple grates of ginger
pinch of allspice
2 tsp of cumin powder
3 tsp garam masala
squeeze of lime

salt the eggplant until it sweats (about 1/2 hour). brown the onion and sofrtio in 2 TB of olive oil in cast iron pot, add additional ingredients, and simmer covered on medium for a half hour or until tender.

Breakfast - Juicer Juice, Green Tea, and Rye Toast

I like the juicer juice I made this morning. I will call it cucumber juice, even though that was only one ingredient.

Cucumber Juice


1/2 cucumber
2 apples
2 romaine lettuce leaves
1 inch ginger


This juice is yummy. I will try a bit of kale in it when I buy some more kale.

My Juicer Has Arrived!

I made two batches of juice. One was for me - there was some kale and cucumber and parsley in it. One was for my kids with peaches and watermelon. The juice tasted good, and I am game to experimenting.

Lunch - Sonboro Don Inspired Turkey, Asparagus, Shitake

My husband and I used to eat lunch around the LMU area in Los Angeles. A place we'd like to go because it was quick and easy was Kanpai and I used to order the Sonboro Don. I am going to try this recipe with ground turkey and see what happens...

WOW! It's too good! Very close to the real thing.


Sonboro Don Inspired Turkey, Asparagus, and Shitake

1 lb lean Jenny O Ground Turkey
1/2 bunch of asparagus, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 container of fresh, sliced shitake mushrooms
1 tsp sugar
1 TB mirin
3 tsp soy sauce
1 TB rice wine vinegar
2 tsps of sesame oil
2 tsp olive oil

Heat 1 tsp sesame oil, and 2 tsp olive oil. Stir Fry asparagus and garlic until tender and a browning on edges. Add mushrooms, onion, a tsp of rice wine vinegar, and a tsp of soy sauce. Stir Fry until mushrooms are limp. Remove from pan.

Brown turkey in the pan in 1 tsp sesame oil (there should still be liquid from veggies) . When no longer pink, add sugar, 1 TB mirin, 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp rice wine vinegar, cook until sauce browns meat a bit more. Add back in veggies. Stir fry together. If the sauce needs thickening, add a bit of potato starch mixed with a bit of water. Serve over steamed rice.

Breakfast - Oatmeal, Blueberries, Cream

Dinner -Zucchini Mushroom Tomato Pasta

I usually make meat sauce. But I substituted zucchini and mushrooms for meat, and my kids like it better this way.

Zucchini Mushroom Tomato Pasta

2 medium zucchini, sliced
1 can mushrooms
5 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
2 TB olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp onion powder and garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 large can of Contadina tomato sauce


Saute garlic in oil for a minute, add zukes and stir until browning and tender. Add remaining ingredients, and heat until thick and bubbly. Serve with Barilla Rotini and Parmesan cheese.

Lunch - Artichoke Noodle Salad

My husband ate all the tuna, but I thought it was time to make it a vegetable dish anyway. This time I added capers, and much more marinated artichokes. It was still great, and it is probably my daughter's new favorite quick meal.

Lunch - Tuna Noodle Pasta Salad

The other day, I forgot what I had had for lunch. But I did make lunch. It was Barilla spaghetti noodles, mixed with Chicken of the Sea Tuna, broccoli that had been frozen and added to the last minutes of the pasta while it was boiling, some marinated artichoke hearts, salt, pepper, grated Parmesan, and two tsps of mayo. Don't ask me why I put all those things together, but it tasted good. My daughter wants it for her school lunch tomorrow. And we ate all the leftovers today, which means I have to make more. Next time, I think I'll add olives or capers, too.

Juicer Idea

A friend on Facebook suggested I try a juicer for my veggie diet, and it's something I've heard often, but I have this way of needing to hear advice exactly at the right moment for it to click in my head as something I should actually do. So, I looked at Amazon, read reviews, and I think I am just going to go ahead and buy the bestseller off the list. You see, the juicer makes much more sense to me now that I have a fridge full of vegetables just sitting there staring at me, laughing at me, threatening to rot if I don't use them.

Breakfast - Orange Pancakes 2nd try.

I tried the recipe for the Orange Pancakes again, but this time I left the wet ingredients in the blender for much longer until foamy. That did it.  The thing with me and new recipes is I never get them right on the 1st try.

Dinner - Vietnamese Inspired Rolls and Corn on the Cob.

When we lived in San Pedro, CA, we loved to go to Nam's Red Door for their Imperial Rolls (drool...).  They serve these fried rice paper rolls with fresh cilantro, mint, cucumber, and romaine lettuce, and you are meant to roll them up all together inside the lettuce to eat them. Alas, I do not have access to Imperial Rolls any longer, so I have to substitute some little sage chicken sausage.

Dinner - Japanese Veggies with BBQ Chicken on the side.

Whenever I used to go to Benihana, I used to love to watch the guy make the veggies - my memory says it's zucchini, onions, celery, mushrooms with a little bit of rice wine vinegar and soy sauce -- it's good, but I am definitely missing something.  Funny I like the flavor of celery, but I don't actually like to eat celery.

Breakfast- Whole Wheat Apple, Orange Fritters

Followed this recipe I found online; mine came out more like fritters than pancakes because I used shredded apple instead of applesauce. Pretty good. I wish I hadn't greased the skillet quite so much.

Lunch - Tuna, Asparagus, and Kraut

Asparagus 


6 stalks, sliced lengthwise
1 slice of lemon, juice only
1 pat of butter
3 tsps water

Saute in pan until tender.

 Tuna Salad

1 can Chicken of the Sea Tuna in Olive Oil
4 2-inch sticks of cucumber, diced
2 small slices onion, diced
salt and pepper
1 tsp Hellman's mayo

Stir and mash.





When I had to go without bread, I learned to like to eat "sandwiches" inside of a romaine lettuce wrap.

Dinner - Asian Broccoli with Salad

Asian Garlic Broccoli

1 head of broccoli, seperate crowns, and spilt crowns into 4

3 cloves garlic

½ tsp sesame oil

1 TB olive oil

1 tsp soy sauce

3 tsp water

Heat cast iron skillet until good a hot. Add oil, and toss garlic very quickly into the oil for a few seconds before adding broccoli. Stir fry. Add sesame oil, soy sauce. When broccoli is bright green and getting brown edges, turn off heat. Then add the water, stir a few times until broccoli is tender (should not take long), and serve.  

Lunch - Leftover Veggie Soup with Side Salad

Quick Side Salad

5 leaves romaine lettuce

1/3 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1 tomato, juice squeezed out, and cut into bite size chunks.

2 TBS olive oil

½ tsp salt

1 TB white vinegar

Clean romaine, spin in salad spinner. Add remaining ingredients, toss, and serve.  

Dinner - Black Beans, Guac, and Cabbage Salad

Ate leftover black beans on tortillas, with guacamole and chips, and a side of cabbage salad.

Quick Guacamole

2 avocados

1 handful cilantro, diced

¼ lime slice

½ tsp salt

mash avocados in glass bowl. Mash in remaining ingredients, serve with corn chips.

Cabbage Salad

1 cup sliced cabbage

1 TB sugar

1 tsp sweetened rice wine vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

Stir together ingredients. Let sit at least 20 minutes, serve.

Lunch - Veggie Soup

Veggie Soup with Chicken

At breakfast time, I took the leftover Vegetable Saute from yesterday (about a sandwich ziploc full), put it into a crockpot with 1 container of Swanson Natural Chicken Stock, 2 handfuls of chopped kale, 5 1/2 inch slices of a large zucchini, 3 slices of a small cabbage, a tsp of salt, and enough water to cover the soup. Cooked on high until I was ready for lunch. It needed a bit more salt, but a few drops of soy sauce, and it was a perfect soup.

Dinner - Vegetable Saute w/ side of chicken

Vegetable Skillet w/ chicken

2 handfuls white mushrooms, caps only

1 medium onion, 1 inch pieces

2 handfuls bite size zucchini

1 red bell pepper, 1 inch pieces

2 TBS olive oil

Heat oil until hot. Add mushrooms and onions until mushrooms change color. Add remaining vegetables, sprinkle salt, and cook until tender. Remove vegetables from pan, and cook sliced chicken breast in same pan until brown, return vegetables and stir everything together until onions brown.

Asian variation: Add 2 cloves garlic to veggie mix, and sprinkle about 2 TBS soy sauce, and 2 tsps sweet rice wine vinegar while stir frying. When onions brown, add 1 tsp potato starch mixed into paste with water – this will make sweet gravy. Serve over rice.  

Breakfast - Black Beans and Eggs

Breakfast


Black Beans, Egg Whites, Chopped Cilantro, and Avocado on 2 Flour Tortillas

My husband makes a pot of black beans every week or so, and we eat some here and there throughout the week. I don't know his recipe, but it's something close to this:

Black Beans

1 can Wegmans Black Beans

2 TBS olive oil

2 TBS of (1 diced green pepper, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 med onion)

1 TB cumin powder

1 tsp salt

Boil ingredients together, then lower heat and cook until beans are tender, add water as needed.  

Doc Says No More Meat

My doctor has given me an ultimatum - I have got to cut the meat out of my diet, or else. This is the second time in my life I have had to change the way I eat - I was gluten intolerant for six years, and I have only just started eating wheat again a year ago. I thought I was free and clear to eat pizza, pasta, and bread again to my heart's content, but alas, I am gaining weight, and it's aggravating my health.

So...doc says I have to flip the ratio of  75% meat and 25 % vegetable (which is only sometimes true, since I sometimes forget the veggies all together) to 75% vegetable and 25 % meat. Hard for me to do since I plan meals around meat, but as long as I can have a PBJ now and again, I am totally game to try.