Friday...

Here it is again - Friday without meat. Last Friday night we had some store-bought frozen cheese enchiladas that ended up mushy. Lesson - you can probably make it better fresh. However the Trader Joe's individual frozen spinach lasagna wasn't bad for lunch. Yes, I could have made it better fresh, however, I only have a microwave at The Big Chandelier and I didn't plan ahead. Today for lunch I will have edamame & a salad. I like the Trader Joe's fully cooked frozen edamame. And I need more soy as a middle-aged woman who gets very cranky! Tonight I think we are eating out - Mexican. Rice, beans and fish tacos are calling my name!

But here's a thought. My ancestors and Jacks were country folks who ate a lot of veggies. There's some evidence that our bodies are genetically inclined to process these foods better. The theory is that those folks with farming ancestors can process carbohydrates better than those who are descended (we're talking a couple of hundred years) from hunters and fishers. The hunter/fishers can process the animal fat and don't have as many issues with cholesterol. Interesting...

Thai Market

Here's the 411 on the Thai Market where I bought the ingredients for Tom Yum Soup. It looks just like a little country store with Asian food instead of pickeled pigs feet!

Oriental Food Mart
located in Northwood Plaza
5091-F buford Hwy.
Doraville, GA 30340

Tel:770.457.5666

Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri

Spring is here and the weather is NICE in Atlanta. Here's a great recipe when you're ready to grill out. This is an Argentinean style dish. The grilled meat is flavored with a little smoked paprika and is wonderful on it's on. The chimichurri sauce is a dressing of parsley, cilantro & garlic. It's traditionally paired with skirt steak but I had a flat iron steak. I served it with a salad with vinaigrette dressing. If you want even more flavors, gorgonzola in the salad works nicely with the flavors. If this isn't versatile enough yet, turn it into a wrap! Very delicious!

Chimichuri Sauce

1 1/2 Tbs minced parsley

1 tsp minced cilantro

3 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all the ingredients and taste for seasoning. Let sit for an hour or more so the flavors come together. (This will keep in the fridge for a week or so.)


Chilli Water Marinade
1 C warm water
2 Tbs salt
1 Tbs smoked paprika

I got this marinade from a Food Network recipe. Mix the ingredients and pour it on the meat and let it sit at room temperature while the grill heats up. I love this because it adds tons of flavor to beef but no fat. This is the recipe that sold me on smoked paprika and I haven't looked back!

The grill needs to be 450 - 500⁰ - nice and hot! Grill on the first side about 8 - 10 minutes until you have a nice crust. Flip over and cook for another 5 minutes for medium-rare. It should be nice and dark brown on both sides with a good crust.  Remove from the grill, loosely cover with foil and do not touch it for at least 10 minutes!!!  After the meat has rested, cut it into ¼” slices.

Serve with a small amount of chimichurri and enjoy the explosion of flavors!

Straight from the Freezer

I am truly thankful some nights for frozen pizza! Tonight I worked late and didn't have anything lined up for dinner. I opened the freezer and there it was... pizza! My favorite frozen pizza is Newman's Own. It's the best I've tasted anyway. Tonight we had California Pizza Kitchen peperoni. It's not too bad but a little smaller - not enough for 3. Also in the freezer were some Trader Joe's Arugula and Parm ravioli. I sauteed some mushrooms in olive oil and tossed it with the ravioli. Caterina devoured it so I assume it tasted good! What do you cook in a pinch?

Roasted Chicken

I love roasted chicken! It's great comfort food for me. This afternoon I bought a whole chicken and was going to put it on the grill, beer can style. But my friend, Cary, called and invited us over for a drink (OK, I kind of invited myself.). The weather was great and we needed one last Hooray before spring break was over. So I decided to stick the chicken in the oven for an hour and go enjoy myself. This got me thinking, this is perfect when you have to go run the carpool after whatever practice/game your kids are involved in. Tonight we came back home to an amazing smelling house and a perfectly roasted chicken!

Whole Roasted Chicken
1 whole chicken
1 lemon - quartered
1 head of garlic - sliced in half crosswise
2 large sprigs of rosemary
4 sprigs of thyme - minced
Kosher salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove any neck or innards from the chicken cavity. Wash the chicken and place it in a roasting pan. Cut the lemon into quarters and cut the entire head of garlic in half crosswise with the skin on. Season the inside of the chicken with lots of salt and pepper. Stuff the chicken with the lemon, garlic and rosemary. Season the outside of the chicken with the salt pepper and minced thyme. If you have any kitchen twine, tie the legs of the chicken together. If not, don't worry about it. If you have a convection oven, use that setting. Cook the chicken for 1 hour and 10 minutes. It should be golden brown with a crispy skin. Check the chicken for doneness by puncturing the skin between the thigh and the body. The juices should run clear. The thigh should easily pop out of joint when it's thoroughly cooked also.

Hope this helps you out some night. It's so much better than a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket!

Fishy Fridays!

OK, I'm back from spring break and ready to hit the blog-o-sphere! Well lent is now upon us and as I'm always attempting to live my faith, I'm trying to come up with good, cheap non-meat dishes. I take lent as a time to do without a few of life's luxuries. Some may say that not eating meat on Fridays is not necessarily giving up luxuries. In the ancient times when the tradition was started, meat was a luxury. Now it takes a little effort to make seafood not a luxury. I'm not talking about eating badly. I mean if you're going to eat, make sure it tastes good. But one shouldn't "break the bank" as this is a time for alms-giving as well. I can't exactly afford to eat expensive meals AND give to the needy. For example on Ash Wednesday I had tuna fish for dinner. I don't especially like traditional tuna salad. A roommate of mine taught me to think about it differently. So here's what I put in my tuna salad these days.

Canned Tuna
Hellmann's Mayo
Lemon Juice
Dill Pickles - fine dice
Carrots - diced
Celery - diced

Truly the carrots and the dill pickles make all the difference in the world. Red pepper and cucumber are nice also but weren't on hand.

Friday night I made Tom Yum Kung (spicy Thai shrimp soup). This is usually an appetizer so in order to make it a meal I added some rice noodles. A friend of mine took me to a Thai market on Buford Highway with her Thai housekeeper. Noi told me what brands to buy. If you have the ingredients, this is really fast and easy!

Tom Yum Kung
(3 servings)
5 cups water
5 Tbsp Maesri tom yum paste
3/4 pounds shrimp pealed & deveined
6 button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 package of rice noodles (I've thrown away the package and have no idea how big it is. Sorry!!)
juice of 1 key lime (or 1/2 a regular)
chopped fresh cilantro

Bring the water to a boil and add the paste. Reduce heat to low and let simmer. (I didn't have lemongrass or a kafir lime leaf on hand. If I did I would let it simmer in there also. It was quite tasty anyway!) Bring another pot of water to boil. Turn off the heat and sprinkle in a few drops of fish sauce and soy sauce if you have it on hand. Put the noodles in the pot and let them sit for the low end of the time indicated on the package directions. Raise the heat on the soup to bring back to a boil. Add the mushrooms to the soup and cook for 1/2 minute. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 - 2 minutes or until bright pink. Put the noodles in a bowl and top with the soup, a squeeze of lime and some chopped cilantro.

Let me give a shout out to the Ansley Kroger which I love! Imagine my delight when I sat down to peel and devein the shrimp only to discover that the shrimp was already deveined! That made peeling them so much easier! They were small previously frozen shrimp for $5.99/lb - now that's a bargain and they had a great flavor!

Omega-3 Yummy Waffles

Caterina is out sick today - and right before spring break too. Please pray for a quick recovery! She really feels awful! Since I can't go to work, I decided to make one of her favorites, waffles. What really inspired me was a New York Times article sent by my sister-in-law. Thanks, Mary Leita! I love to use coconut oil in the place of butter. Read the article if you have a minute.
DINING & WINE   | March 02, 2011
A Good Appetite:  Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World
By MELISSA CLARK
After gaining a bad reputation at theater concession stands in the '90s, coconut oil is back.

Please get extra virgin coconut oil. The refining process takes out much of the nutritional benefits of coconut oil. What I have found is that I can use less coconut oil than I would canola oil. For example with this mix I usually use more oil than recommended so they are not dry. With coconut oil I can use the recommended amount and have moist delicious waffles & pancakes. Since most fats have the same amount of fat & calories per tablespoon, I must be dishing up a lower fat waffle with the same great taste! As I mentioned before, I love this Maple Grove Farms of Vermont Pancake & Waffle Mix. It has no trans fat (not just 0 grams) or preservatives and has some whole wheat flour (not sure how much but better than none!). To make the waffles more healthy I added ground flax seed. Flax seed is super high in Omega-3 fatty acids which is good for your immune system, brain and heart!!! Don't use whole flax seed because it is not digestible unless ground. I also used Omega-3 eggs. Caterina eats a lot of eggs so I'm sure to get Omega-3 and/or organic.

Omega-3 Yummy Waffles
3 cups Maple Grove Farms Buttermilk Waffle Mix
1 1/2 Tbs ground flax seed
3 omega-3 eggs
3 Tbs coconut oil melted but not hot
1 1/2 cups of water

Mix together with a whisk. Brush your waffle iron with a small amount of coconut oil. Cook according to your waffle iron's directions. No need to butter! They are delicious with just a little maple syrup.

Oh my word! Caterina is now texting me requests for food from my bed. My house is not that big!!!