Meal Planning 7/26-8/6

Sunday 7/26
Trout with watermelon and salad

Monday 7/27
Orzo pasta salad

Tuesday 7/28
Portland for Clutch Concert

Wednesday 7/29
Grilled Ahi Tuna

Thursday 7/30
Burgers and hot dogs (veggie for me, family in town)

Friday 7/31
Grilled Pizza (family in town still)

Saturday 8/1
Greek Salad

Sunday 8/2
Spaghetti

Monday 8/3
Tuna Melts

Tuesday 8/4
Falafels

Wednesday 8/5
Grilled veggies and salad

Thursday 8/6
Grilled Salmon

Garden Update 7/26/2009

Holy hell it's hot here in Eugene. The only positive that I can think of is that this heat wave should turn a bunch of my tomatoes by the end of the week. It's still not comforting. Anyway, here are the pictures.

Pesto Salmon

This is easy, way too easy and yet it tastes SO very good.

Ingredients
Salmon fillet (We love Trader Joe's frozen salmon)
Pesto
Tomatoes

Place a salmon fillet skin side down (if there is skin) on an oiled cookie sheet. Spread a layer of pesto over the salmon and top with fresh sliced tomatoes. Cook in an oven preheated to 375* until the salmon flakes, about 25-30 minutes.

Cold Orzo Pasta Salad

What a great and healthy pasta salad! This is such a yummy alternative to a mayonnaise laden potato or macaroni salad. You can really adjust whatever mix ins you like. I wanted a Mediterranean feel, so I based the ingredients I added on that.Ingredients
Orzo pasta
Feta cheese
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Fresh herbs such as dill and oregano
Mix in veggies (I used cucumbers, tomatoes and canned artichokes in water)

Cook the orzo pasta until tender and drain. While the pasta is still warm mix in the feta cheese to let it slightly cream. Add the remaining ingredients mixing as you go. I try for a 1:1 vinegar to oil ratio and start with around two tablespoons each. The first time I made this salad, the pasta definitely dominated, the second time I really added a bunch more veggies! I think I liked it better with the additional vegetables.

I'll have a recipe for salmon tomorrow. Promise!

Baba Ganoush

Prior to this, I had never really tried eggplant. I always considered it mushy and bland. Turns out those qualities are perfect for this blended dip.

Ingredients
2 large eggplants
1/2 cup tahini
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 large lemon, juiced
4-6 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
half bunch of parsley or cilantro
couple fresh basil leaves

Begin by roasting the eggplants in the oven. Turn the oven onto broil and let preheat. Prick the eggplant with a fork and then place on a cookie sheet. Put in the oven with the eggplants 2 inches from the top of the oven (where the heat from the broiler comes). Let broil for 15 minutes and turn and cook for about 10 more minutes. Allow the eggplants to cool.

After roasting the eggplants in the oven and cooling, they are relatively easy to skin. Cut them in half and scoop out the flesh with a large spoon, placing directly in a bender (or food processor). From there add all of the other ingredients. Blend until semi-smooth. Serve with cucumbers, peppers and pita slices.

Meal Planning 7/12-7/23

Sunday 7/12
Grilled Vegetables and Orzo Salad

Monday 7/13
Ahi Tuna

Tuesday 7/14
Feta and Chickpea Salad

Wednesday 7/15
Grilled Veggies and Salad

Thursday 7/16
Bean and Rice Burritos

Friday 7/17
Homemade Grill Pizza

Saturday 7/18
Wedding in Portland

Sunday 7/19
Grilled Shrimp and Salad

Monday 7/20
Spaghetti

Tuesday 7/21
Tuna Melts

Wednesday 7/22
Orzo Pasta Salad

Thursday 7/23
Greek Salad

Palak Paneer Kofta Curry (Indian Spinach Balls with Curry)

Another great Indian recipe under my belt. This one turned out really good. It was different, something I've never tried before, but it was fantastic.

Ingredients
Paneer
2 handfuls chopped spinach
1/2 bunch of parsley
3/4 cups bread crumbs
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
Tomato curry sauce


Wilt the spinach in a sauce pan with a little bit of olive oil over medium high heat. Once it is nice and soft, combine half of it with the paneer, bread crumbs, cumin, salt, egg, and parsley in either a blender or food processor. Blend until all off the ingredients are roughly combined and holding their shape.
Form the mixture into balls. It will be very sticky.
In a saute pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Fry the balls on each side until they are nice and brown. Drain on either paper towels or paper bags.

Take the other half of the wilted spinach and blend with the tomato curry sauce. Heat either in the microwave or over the stove top and add in the spinach paneer balls and stir gently.

Serve with or without rice and a small spoonful of Greek yogurt.

Paneer aka Indian Cottage Cheese

I made cheese. Like on my stove in my house. I never really thought that I would make my own cheese, but when I found a new Indian recipe that called for paneer and I knew it wouldn't be easy to find, I decided to give it a try.

This entire process is actually really easy. It needs to be refrigerated for 2 hours, so plan your meals accordingly.
Ingredients
4 cups whole milk
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon

In a medium sauce pan heat whole milk over medium high heat until the barely begins to simmer. Turn the heat to medium low and add in the lemon juice 1/4 tablespoon at a time while constantly stirring. When the milk fully curdles, remove from heat and cover for 3-4 minutes. Drain in a colander lined with cheese cloth. Wring out the cheese while running cold water over the ball.

Once the cheese has been all wrung out, press the cheese into a shallow dish and weight it down. I pressed it into a pie dish and weighed it down with a metal pie dish and beans. I was a little worried about the metal reacting with the cheese so I lined it with plastic wrap.

Refridgerate the cheese and then use as a recipe calls.

I will be sharing a great recipe tomorrow using the homemade paneer!!

Preservation: Cherries

I called my grandma yesterday, which is something I do pretty rarely. I was asking her a question about drying cherries and she was shocked that I was doing something so "homemakery". It always makes me laugh to myself when she says something like that, because my motivations behind preserving food are much different then hers ever were. Basically, it comes down to the fact that I like to know where my food came from and want went into making it. The fact that it's less expensive is just a perk.

Last week, I went to the home of a nurse that I work with because she had two big cherry trees (Bing and Queen Anne) that were loaded with cherries. I took a five gallon bucket and filled it half way. Afterward, Jon and I pitted them all (yes Renee I got a cherry pitter) and froze them. I knew that I wanted to dehydrate them for granola bars, but at the time I didn't have a dehydrator. I have been stalking Craigslist for a couple of days waiting for one to pop up. Finally one did. This food dehydrator was listed for $15, when I got to the women's house, she explained to me that it was her mother in laws, who had passed away. Much of it was still in plastic. Unfortunately, there were two small chips in two of the trays. I pointed them out to the lady, so she asked if I would take it for $10. I was more then willing because three of the five trays could still be used. After getting it put together, I realized that the chips really didn't make a difference in the functionality of the machine.
Last night I immediately started one of my bags of cherries that were in the freezer. We let them dehydrate for around 10 hours.
These little dried cherries were so good and they don't have any added sugar. I can't wait to dehydrate more of the fruits of the season.

Benefits of dehydration include:

• No chemicals necessary
• No addition of more sugar necessary
• It's an easy preservation method. No canning involved!
• The end product takes up very little space and has a long shelf life (although I don't think they are going to last very long around here!)
• You can buy in season, saving money and being more environmentally conscious.
  

Curried Eggs

The always inevitable question asked to non-meat eaters is where do you get the protein in your diet. It seems that when talking about what I eat, I am continuously getting asked that question. My usual reply when I'm feeling catty, is who told you how much protein you should be eating and who pays them? If I'm not feeling catty, I usually reply, eggs, beans and lentils.

The protein found in eggs is biologically empirical to that found in any other natural food. Eggs are low in calories and packed with vitamins that non-meat eaters are missing in their diets.

I am very fortunate that I am able to purchase eggs from a coworker of mine that has laying hens. The eggs that I get from her are SO amazingly wonderful. They are perfect on their own, poached with a slice of toast. They make a perfect accompaniment to this dish.
Take the basic tomato curry sauce and if you are reheating it, bring it to a simmer over medium high heat. Add in the eggs one at a time. Tip: When trying to maintain a solid yoke, crack into a small bowl and then slide into whatever you are making. Cover and let poach in the sauce for 2-4 minutes or until the yokes have reached the desired consistency. Serve the egg with a little sauce over a bed of brown Basmati rice.Another option for the recipe is to add hard boiled eggs to the curry sauce and let simmer gently until the eggs are heated through. Serve sliced eggs and sauce over brown rice.

c2vn5zxmk4