Weekend meal recap

See the avocado? I'll use any excuse to include it in a meal.

Last Saturday I made an Eggplant enchilada casserole for dinner.
Again!
It was yummy.
Again!

I've blogged about this recipe before but this time I did it a little different. I like to mix things up. It keeps things fresh. And it is not because I'm too lazy to run to the store if I'm out of something so I make something out of whatever I have on hand.

Mixing it up turned out to be;
black beans
brown rice
a variety of chopped veggies
jalapeno (we like spicy food. If a meal makes my nose run than it is all good for me. Too graphic?)
a variety of Mexican spices

and of course
eggplant.

I use eggplant as the tortillas since I try to keep my carb count fairly low, not to mention the wheat factor. This last time instead of making individual servings I made this in a 12" x 12" casserole dish. Making for plenty of leftovers. Of which we have been eating topped with poached eggs.

Youza! It is good with poached eggs.
I mean it was good before but the addition of a creamy poached egg just takes this to a whole other level.

Tonight will be stuffed green peppers, Mediterranean style.
Why Mediterranean?
Because I have a bunch of kalamato olives that need to be used.
Why stuffed green peppers?
Because green peppers were on sale for 3 for a $1.00.

See how this works for me? Do you plan meals? Or are you like me and use whatever you have on hand? Or as I like to say; fly by the seat of my pants.

Have a terrific week everyone. Happy eating!

Love,
M

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe

I had a yen for enchiladas on Thursday but I have decided to give up wheat (it just doesn't seem to agree with me) so flour tortillas were out. I don't particularly like corn tortillas and I kind of figured they'd do to me about what wheat does, so not an option. The only thing, how do you make enchiladas without tortillas? 

Not do be deterred because I love enchiladas I started to ask myself some questions while standing in the produce section of my local grocery store;

What could I use to roll the filling in?

What is flexible enough to roll? 

Flat enough? 

Can I get enough of food wrapped in food topped with other food?

Why am I standing here imaging each vegetable as a tortilla and talking to myself?

Why is that mom pulling her small child away from me?

Then answer came to me:  Eggplant!

Oh don't be fooled by its tubby appearance when you cut this purple beauty into thin slices, apply a little heat to make it flexible you've got a great surrogate for a tortilla.

SEE!

Doesn't that look yummy? Oh my friends, it was. JR went crazy for it and you know that man lives on Fritos corn chips, cashews, trailmix and cosmos. You have to know how ashamed I am to write that last sentence but I have no control over his snacking. Did you notice I didn't say drinking? That man make a mean cosmo and I'm not one to stop him since I reap the benefits.

Now you can mix this up anyway you want when it comes to the filling and really to the sauce also. I'm a firm believer on using what you have on hand. So be creative.

Eggplant Enchiladas

(all the quantities are approximate. you can adjust them to your needs and tastes and dietary crazy like I do)

1 large eggplant

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups sauce

1/2 cup or so Filling

Cheddar cheese to top the enchilada

Filling - you can mix this up.

1/2 cup soy crumbles

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/4 cup pico de gallo

Sauce - another use what you have kind of thing. I think pico de gallo, a true enchilada sauce or whatever is Mexican-like that you have on hand. This is also the place to make this dish as spicy or mild as you like. We like ours spicy so I added a little chili powder and cumin. Here's what I happened to have:

1-14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with chilies

1-14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a fry pan. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4 to 3/8 inch slices. You should get 4 or 5 slices depending on the size of your eggplant.  Fry in the hot oil until limp. You don't want to put a crust on it so much as you want to get it flexible. Though a crust is not a bad thing so don't stress if your eggplant develops one. When done lay out on a wire rack to cool. 

Mix filling in a small bowl and set off to the side. In a smallish baking dish or four small ones (I've been trying to adjust my cooking for two these days) divide the tomatoes evenly. Reserve about 1/4 cup to divide and spoon over the top of each enchilada.

Take one of the eggplant slices and lay it in front of you with the narrow end away from you. At the fat end of the eggplant add 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling. Be careful that you don't over fill them or the eggplant will sort of split apart. Roll up and place on top of your tomato mixture. I put one enchilada in each baking dish. It turned out to be a perfect serving for one. Top each of the enchiladas with the remaining tomato mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve with sour cream, avocados or maybe a little brown rice on the side.

Brilliant! 

If I don't say so myself. This was even better warmed up the next day.

This has inspired me to rolling other food into food and baking. I've got a zucchini sitting in the fridge that is destined for this type of treatment this week.

Enjoy!

Love,

M

Epcot Food and Wine Festival

After Jen, Sprite and Casey left for home JR and I decided to go back to Epcot Center to take in a bit of the Food and Wine Festival. And, while it wasn't the best part of the day (that of course was spending the morning with the girls) it was great fun.

Instead of babbling on and on about it how about I show it to you in pictures.

We started with fried goat cheese drizzled with honey and pistachios. It was fantastic. I will be recreating this treat soon. Oh and the wine was the best of the bunch.

JR picked himself up Canadian salmon with some sort of barley salad and beer. The beer did not make it into the photograph. It was being consumed.

JR in line for a Guinness. They had food also but he just wanted a stout. Of which they didn't build it right. The girls pouring said they were told that they couldn't build them right because they management wanted to move people through the line faster. JR waited quite awhile before he could drink that beer. By that time we had moved on to France.

Where we drank these lovelies. I had the one on the right. It was some sort of pomegranate liquor with champagne and JR had the Cosmo Slushy, made with the good stuff. Not the stuff he makes at home. He has now decided to upgrade the liquor cabinet. I have approved this decision.

We made our way down to the American exhibit and just so you don't think we are total drunks we didn't buy anything at the Mediterranean booths, the Asian booths or the Central and South American booths. JR got a lobster roll. His first ever and he thought it was delicious. I had the pumpkin thing. JR had the beer. There may or may not have been any of the coffee liquor drink left.

 

I'm looking a bit glassy eye by this time. I didn't drink all of that. The glass in my right hand was some Port from Spain. Port is too sweet for me so this was JR's drink. He just thought that he was featured in too many pictures with too much booze. He didn't want you all to get the wrong idea. 

Last thing of the evening was the ginger ice cream that JR ate. He enjoyed it. I like food with ginger in it but for some reason this wasn't my favorite thing. Then again, I'm not a big ice cream fan. So it could have been that.

We split a pizza about half the way around the center and had a coffee in there somewhere just to keep us going.

If you ever have a chance to go to Epcot Center during their Food and Wine festival be sure to bring plenty of cash and an empty stomach. It was great fun.

Love,
M

Zucchini Pancakes

I wrote this post, like eightygillion years ago. Okay, maybe not eightygillion but when you travel a lot it feels like that. I did have it all set up to post last Monday with the exception of the photo but things got hectic and you all know how that goes. So, here you go, last Monday's post this Monday. That makes it almost the same.

I scored some sweet looking zucchini at the farmers market last week that needed to be used, and quickly. I'm leaving town Wednesday morning (going to Baltimore, if you are close please let me know. We'll meet up. totally ignore this line.) so would not have time to do much with this stuff.

I had made fritters the evening before that were a major hit with the family but that still left me with an over-abundence of zucchini (or as they call it here Italian squash)

Recipe

2 cups zucchini, grated

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk, maybe a little more or less

1 cup self-rising flour

1/2 cup cream cheese

Add-ins, see below

Mix all ingredients together until just combined. Let sit for a few minutes to let the flour absorb the liquid. Spoon into greased skillet (well seasoned cast iron is the best). Spread around a little to flatten them out. Fry until golden brown on one side, flip and repeat.

Serve warm with sauce appropriate for the add-in. See below or make up your own.

Makes 15 to 16 medium sized pancakes

These would make wonderful appetizers if you cut them into small squares or rounds. About the size of a shot glass. They are firm enough to hold small bites of other food yet soft enough to bite into without breaking apart and sending crumbs and food down the front of your shirt. What? That's never happened to you? Happens to me all the time. I pretty much wear my food. If I had a big enough rack it would land there but I don't so it usually lands on the tummy. It seems that that sticks out far enough. *sigh*

Suggested Add-ins

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp cumin = serve with thick chunky salsa and sour cream

3 tbs dried mint (double if fresh) = serve with taziki sauce

3 tbs Italian seasoning = serve with basil or sun-dried tomato pesto

no add-in = serve with olive tapenade, mushroom ragout, pico de gallo, etc

Love,

M

PS: Meatless Monday today. Granted everyday that I am home it is meatless and everyday that I travel it is a meat orgy.

Food

I told Becky that I was rather food driven. She said that she got that about me. I love how honest she is. We had a lovely, if expensive, meal at a Mexican place on Monday afternoon. The best thing on the plate was a creamed corn thing. It was sweet and spicy all at the same time. I need that recipe. I need to make that recipe.

On Tuesday night I walked down to this Italian place on Peachtree Street. 

Baroni's. 

It was wonderful! 

I, of course, had the wild mushroom risotto. 

It was the special. 

It was the least I could do. 

It was finished with truffle oil and a red wine reduction. 

The earthy truffle oil played very well with the sweetness of the reduction. 

I like food that plays well with others.

I was happy.  

My tummy was happy, 

burp.

 

I want it to be known that I did not lick the bowl.

I wanted to but I thought that it wouldn't look good.

There were people sitting next to me.

So, I refrained. 

It was big of me, wasn't it?

What I did do was sop up all the yummy goodness with a couple of pieces of bread.

They were small pieces.

If one has to eat alone, one should eat well.

I think I'll make that my new motto. What do you think?

Love,

The glutenous M

Thanksgiving menu - holy crap I need a menu?

Jan posted her Thanksgiving menu on Friday and I have to say that I admire the hell out of her. She kept with a few of her traditional dishes for her children, reworked a few to fit her new lifestyle and add some new things that fit her perfectly. It was inspirational. And I don't mean that in a sarcastic way. I mean that in a "Damn! I've got to get myself together" kind of way because she works full time, has a teenager at home, and is creative and everything, so I should be much more together than I am. Then I look at the almost finished painting on my easel and think; "I'll get to food tomorrow".

About Thanksgiving......

I've got nothing. 

Zip. 

Zero. 

Nada.

I have tons ingredients and I know my family's preference so you would think that this would be a no brainer. I've been in charge of cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the last 27 years. One year I hosted 57 people for gawds sakes. I should be able to do this with my eyes closed. Yay, uh, not going to happen but here's what I've got so far.

Candace likes green bean casserole.You know the kind. With cream of mushroom soup and those fried onion things. I would have said precised name  but I've never bought them in my entire life so I don't know if they come in a can, box, or jar. Anyway, I'm going to pull this one out old school. I have all the makings for mushroom soup. I have fresh green beans, and I have onions. I'm sure I'll be fine on this one.

JR just wants turkey. You would think that I never make meat. I do, just very rarely but I'm not totally adverse. So JR is getting turkey. A whole one. With legs, and wings, and all that icky stuff in the middle. I bought the turkey on Saturday; all 8.63 pounds of it. Hey, don't laugh. There are only three people eating it. I paid all of .50 cents for it. Not .50 cents a pound. .50 cents for all 8.63 pounds. I think there was a mistake. Anyway, I'll brine this baby overnight on Wednesday, stuff a mixture of olives and herbs de Provence between the meat and the skin, and roast it on a bed of onions, celery, carrots and broth. I've done this before and the guys liked it so I'll do a repeat performance.

The Boy likes himself some deviled eggs. Since, I can do eggs a thousand different ways this will be the easiest of the dishes. The hardest part will be making the mustard. I may even make the mayonnaise.

I'm a mashed potato kind of gal so these will be done with roasted garlic and herbed chevre cheese. I may as well spread them on my thighs now and get it over with.

We'll have mixed bread dressing. What I mean by this is that I've been saving bits of bread from various types of bread for the last couple of months in the freezer for just this occasion. I'll get them out a couple of days before to toast. I'll mix this up with some veggie chorizo, onion, celery, carrots, peppers, seasonings, butter, and an embarrassing amount of white wine. 

You can't have mashed potatoes, no matter how good, without gravy. I could go with simple sage gravy but really how fancy is that? No, I think I'll pull out all the stops. I plan (right, like I plan, HA!) to make a mushroom bourbon gravy.  I've made this before and it is a meal in itself.

I've got some rolls in the freezer that I'll bake with rosemary butter because JR is a meat, potato, and bread kind of guy. I blame his Irish heritage. Vince, feel free to call me on this one but his granddaddy came over from Ireland in the late 1800s and wouldn't sit down to dinner without bread.

I have some mixed nuts that I spiced the other day and froze that will make a wonderful pie. Think sort of pecan style. I'm not a big pie crust maker but will pull out my favorite pin just for the occasion.

There will be some other types of veggies and I may smoke some tofu for myself.

I think that is enough carnage for one day. I'll tell you all what worked and what didn't. I'd try all this ahead of time but I'm starting a new painting tomorrow that I'm really excited about and can't be bothered with food. 

Did I just type that I can't be bothered with food? 

What was I thinking? 

I must be pretty excited about this new painting. I even bought 2 new small round sable brushes. I'd show you the progress but it is a Christmas gift so progress pictures will be sent to the person who consigned it only. That sounds so professional. After Christmas, I'll post pictures, if it is okay with the owner. After Thanksgiving I'll post recipes.

Love,

M

Lucky in Dallas

After a couple of fails (yes, waiter at the Irish pub on the N. Central Expressway, I would be talking about you. 45 minutes to get a menu is unacceptable. Having to get up and get them myself is ridiculous. $7.95 for a glass of house red after all that waiting is robbery. Our second waiter was much better but did we have to have two? ) at finding a decent place to eat in Dallas we did what any smart person would do. We asked a local where a good place to have breakfast was. In the parking lot of the frou frou Starbucks. She looked at us a little strange at first but she got over it. We don't normally look like serial killers but we hadn't had our coffee yet.

She had 2 suggestions. The first, was if we wanted to eat hardy food. The second, was if we wanted to eat chi chi food. (her words).

Now, I like chi chi food as well as the next person but we wanted hardy for the drive back to Houston.

So hardy it was.

That took us to Lucky's.



I was totally charmed from the first moment we walked in the door. As MaryAnne texted me....Lucky's is Fab!



We were meet by the sweetest and smartest gentleman ever.

Gentleman: Welcome to Lucky's. Sir, I see you brought your daughter for breakfast.
JR: Hahaha (after a quelling look from me) yes I did.
Gentleman: How about you take that nice place by the window.


As you can see by my half eaten (sorry I was really hungry and forgot to take the picture before I started to chow down.) huevos rancheros. The food was hardy. JR had the migas. He loved it though he wasn't as thrilled with their refried beans. They were a little spicy for him. We didn't trade because the refried beans were not vegetarian but I had extra black beans that I was willing to share so he got filled up.

What can I say about the wait staff? Wonderful! Menu = check, water = check, coffee = YES and plenty of it!!!!, hot food = check.

All and all a great experience in a place that I felt at home in. How could I not? Look at all the paintings of dogs in the first picture.

If you are ever in Dallas stop into Lucky's. It is well worth it.


Love,
M