Bite. Sip. Repeat…

B: toast

L: sandwiches

D: we ate separate from the boys, pizza for them, take out for me and Lisa from El Cotixan

Well, the 12 contestants were finally whittled down to 3 finalists: Aarti Sequeira, Herb Mesa, and Tom Pizzica.  I was pretty glad to see some people get axed (Alexis, Brianna, and Dzintra), but was also very happy with the three finalists.  They each had their own charm and interesting culinary point of views (points of view?).

I would watch any of them and was particularly interested in learn some Indian cuisine from Aarti and Cuban cuisine from Herb.  Ultimately, the winner was Continue Reading »

B: Toast, fruit

L: Tuna sandwiches

D: Chicken “Fried” Rice

Had an emergency computer service call come up and we didn’t have time to shop yesterday.  We had a bunch of miscellaneous veggies, so I thawed a couple of chicken breasts and made a cooker of rice.  Marinated the chicken in oyster sauce, sesame oil, pepper, cayenne and ginger.  Diced the veggies small (sugar snap peas, green pepper, mushrooms, onion, garlic, scallions, carrots).  Sautéed the chicken and set it aside.  Sautéed the vegetables in a teaspoon each of canola and sesame oil.  When they were still a bit crisp, I threw in a handful of frozen peas and added in the cooked rice, about 2 cups.  Mixed in the chicken, seasoned everything with some salt and pepper and it was done.  I took a tip from Ming Tsai who doesn’t use soy sauce to season his fried rice.  I like this version.  Pretty tasty

Tags: Chicken, Rice, Vegetables

B: Pancakes, scrambled eggs

L: Hot dog, salad

D: Dinner at the In-Laws, thanks Hilda and Wally!

B: toast w/cream cheese

L: turkey sandwich on pita

D: Pork Lo Mein

For the Lo Mein, it’s not really an authentic dish, but it’s tasty and the kids like it. I cook one pound of pasta (spaghetti, capellini, or soba noodles), drain it, put it back in the pot with the following mix: 5 Tbs soy sauce, 2 Tbs each of rice wine vinegar, honey, and sesame oil. The hot pasta really soaks up the sauce.

Then I cook up whatever vegetables are going in, tonight we had broccoli, mushrooms, scallions, sugar snap peas and carrots. I stir-fried them quickly with a tablespoon or two of oyster sauce. Served the pasta topped with the vegetables and some warm pulled pork from last night.

Tasty and a “30 minute meal”.

Tags: Pork

B: Clif bar (white chocolate/macadamia nut)

L: leftover chicken and veggies

D: Pork tacos and “Mexican” coleslaw

I cooked off a pork shoulder this afternoon and shredded it for the tacos, with tomatoes, avocado, and onion.  My version of “Mexican” coleslaw is similar to Fidel’s in Solana Beach.  Shredded cabbage, scallions and cilantro dressed with a red wine vinaigrette seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin and a dash of cayenne pepper.

Tags: Mexican, Pork

B: Shredded Spoonfuls

L: steak salad

D: homemade pizza (margarita, chicken sausage and veggies, cheese)

I’ve been meaning to do a whole post on homemade pizza. I’ve been using this dough recipe.  It’s super easy and requires no kneading; mix it up, let it rise for 2 hours and start rolling it out for pizza.

B: 1/4 apple, Shredded Spoonfuls (like Life cereal, but healthier)

L: steak sandwich (leftovers from Sunday, thanks Mom!), w/horseradish, arugula and heirloom tomatoes

D: baked chicken, roasted potatoes, roasted cauliflower and carrots

Just some random photos from the last month or so.  Send me any cool/interesting/funny food or beverage-related photos and I’ll include them in the next Random Pictures post.

This one was actually unplanned.  I was making an omelette and and had just halved the avocado and grated the Manchego cheese.  When I diced the bacon, I noticed it looked like a face.  It was much friendlier after I twisted the bacon up into a smile…

We were out of hamburger buns and hotdogs, but had hamburger and hotdog buns.  So I made this.  Not sure if it’s called a hamdog or a hotburger.

Had a quick business meeting at the local coffee place, It’s A Grind.  As I was leaving, I noticed these four guys.  See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, surf the ‘net?

Tags: Picture

When our kids were watching the Peanuts holiday shows, my 4 year old got Charlie Brown’s name a little wrong and said he wanted to watch that “Charlie Barley Show”.  It sort of stuck and that’s now one of my son’s sometimes-nicknames.  I saw the 7 bean and barley mix in the bulk foods aisle at Henry’s market and, of course, had to get it.  The boys were cracking up about me making Charlie Barley Soup.

I started with about a pound of 7 bean and barley mix.  Continue Reading »

Tags: One-Pot, Quick, Soup, Vegetarian