What's for Dinner?

[blessedw2]

the sorbet sounds fantastic!!! I like the combination. d harriet

dd younger is making lavender vanilla ice cream .... new flavor me.

[blessedw2]

I have gained 15 pounds since my d mom has been back as we eat out all the time. thursday I stuffed myself with 14 de Juillet (Bastille day) had a ball though ....

tonight: , salad with dijon dressing, panini for family... me stuffed lettuce sandwich -

[blessedw2]

vegetarian enchilada's w green sauce (I have to cook at my d mom's house bc our oven needs a part)
nice cool day here

today is meal planning day - my cousin and I are going to cook together once a week -

[Harriet]

That sounds nice, blessed. Is this a cousin we've heard of before? My kitchen is small and even HRH and I can have a hard time gracefully cooking together - not enough counter space. Better now than when first built, when the hot water heater was indoors, but still not so great. It's funny - when we built, my dmother commented that we had good counter space! And it was true compared to hers. Kitchens were not given a lot of space in homes back in the decades before we built. Now people want even bigger ones than ours, though. People tend to cook together more often.

I'm sorry about the weight. When family members have different ideas, and the things you would normally be eating change, it can mean weight gain for sure.

I am still determinedly keeping us vegetarian around here. Except a little milk and egg a few times a week, so lacto-ovo vegetarian. Stir-fry ability is coming along. I'm remembering to cut up the cruciferous veggies ahead and put them in baggies.

Easy sauce last night from Dr. Greger, for oriental taste with the fewest ingredients
one part sesame butter (called tahini), one part cornstarch, one part black bean garlic sauce (Kikkoman makes one that my regular grocery carries). I used one teaspoon each, mixed with 1/2 cup water, and it was fine for a 3-serving stir-fry. He says sweeten to your taste if you want, with something healthy, so to stick with the "easy" theme, I just used the same drops of stevia I'd use for one beverage. We had no leftovers!

[blessedw2]

mmmm that does sound good! great job preparing ahead of time... I think that's my problem when I run out of time.

pasta salad made last night with the kitchen sink full of veggies

right now I am trying to choose between prepping for dinner or house work (I think I get carried away with the house work... not really - Iol I am just slow) I know the right thing is prepping for dinner and Preparing dinner early (we are eating at d families this pm I think but I will make what I was going to make just incase we don't go)

so baked beans first

[blessedw2]

I realized cooking with d cousin would not work financially for me. dh said that would be a big mistake.
Uncle needs some meals... very picky though
d mil will need a meal once a week which is nice

goal staying in grocery budget for month.

butcher: 34$, starbucks $10

tonight: chicken deboned in white wine/mushrooms/onions/touch of garlic/
baked potatoes/zucchini

it's weird cooking again

Monday: ate out with d mom - she is leaving in the beginning of November - she leaves for florida for 6 months ... I must have gained a thousand pounds while she has been home bc of eating out so much.

[Harriet]

I'm getting more knowledgeable about tofu. Cutting the block of "extra firm" in two, I refrigerate half for another day. Then cut the rest into squares and fry in coconut oil. Then drain on paper towels and wipe pan, then cook veggies in water with lid on. The sauce recipe above is still my great favorite, but HRH continues to search for something he likes better. I don't seem to be much help - I'm not sure the taste he's looking for. He's going to have to talk to some Thai friends.

He found a video recipe for Pad Thai, the classic Thai dish, and it looks wonderful but I must say very complicated. So for that he may need to be the cook. I would love it if we could have that dish when dd's family comes, because she and dsonil are huge fans of Thai food.

One of my concerns is that our children's families will not enjoy eating here if we are not serving the foods they like. That's fine for the occasional bday dessert, but we can't just pretend some of the foods they might want are okay for HRH. and a lot of the ingredients shouldn't be in our kitchen because of temptation. It's good for all of them to see that our household can enjoy our meals and feel healthy/happy, but we do need to have appetizing foods so everyone is content. Simple plates of individual veggies and starches are great, but sometimes you'd like a recipe or pretty casserole, too.

Trying to satisfy my love for chocolate pudding in a healthier way - there are several recipes on the net that are similar to each other. About 3/4 of a container of silken tofu with a cup of semi-sweet (or more bitter) melted chocolate morsels is very nice to blend for a pudding with a tsp or two of vanilla and maybe a tsp of cinnamon. The texture is between a pudding and a mousse, about 3 or 4 servings, and so pretty because it thickens nicely. One recipe included some nut milk, but I found that too thin. The simpler one is more attractive.

[blessedw2]

was there a reason you chose to go to tofu d harriet? I know the other day I ate at a chinese restaurant where the soup was a vegetable broth with veggies and tofu slices - fantastic. I also eat once in awhile at the blind faith cafe in Evanston .. really good food and all vegetarian.

Jaimie oliver has some nice tofu recipes and I love donal skehan

My kids make avocado pudding. they like .. me not so much

great job on your cooking d harriet!!!

[blessedw2]

its so hard - getting back into cooking - but I did it last night. (it's a mindset - I am thinking already of what I will do tonight)
stuffed head of cabbage - jacques pepin recipe - it's a lot of work but it is vegetable, carb and protein all in one meal
dd's were ecstatic - lol - literally that I am cooking again. (it doesn't at all taste like restaurant quality but it's food- I got spoiled going out to dinner with d mom 4 to 5 times a week)

thinking soufflé - sounds hard but I find it okay - small amounts per person, salad with dijon french dressing (easy to make) , roasted acorn squash (donal skehan) - to make cooking easier and clean easier tonight I will do my prep and measuring this morning

[blessedw2]

cooking again has been fun....however I have to remember to start before 5