everybody's got choices

Choose Your Own Adventure Bowl

The Dilemma: Kids won’t eat tofu. Husband won’t eat beef. I have steak and tofu in the fridge. I don’t want to make chicken.

My Bright Idea: Rice bowls with your choice of protein and veggie add-ons. Choose your own adventure!

The Plan: Cook the tofu how I like it—baked and crispy. See this recipe for a best basic tofu. Make rice in the Instant Pot (see this recipe for the best basic rice.) Pickle some thinly sliced peppers, roast some broccoli and sweet potatoes, sautee some mushrooms, cut up some cucumbers and tomatoes. Make some simple peanut sauce: chunky peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, hot sauce, water. Put it all out in a big dish in the middle of the table.

Variations: Mix and match any proteins or roasted/sauteed/grilled veggies (use leftovers!)—swap rice for quinoa or noodles. Choose a different sauce—like soy sauce/sesame oil or a garlic aioli.

The Verdict: Mostly success! Everyone was able to find something they liked. Mack wound up trying and liking the tofu while Nate stuck with steak/rice. With some hot sauce and a nice dose of the peanut sauce, the bowl of different healthy bites was surprisingly hearty and satisfying.

whole30 inspired

So I can’t exactly say that I am doing the whole30 diet but Michael is, which has inspired this week’s pretty awesome menu of dinners. For the most part, we are eating salads and protein (though I’ve had some dairy, bread and a little sugar) but the constrictions of the diet have forced me to try a few recipes that may have otherwise been off my radar. For example…

This Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho), made with lemongrass, star anise, ginger. It was a lot of work and cooked for three hours but the results were worth it. Rich, buttery beef with bright distinct and unfamiliar flavors of anise and cinnamon. It would be good with rice but we just had it plain—although I have been making cauliflower rice which is really pretty decent. And this week I had some leftover cauliflower rice which I cooked like fried rice (see above), with bacon and a scrambled egg, plus some frozen mini-veggies. Mack loved it.

I also made another Milk Street Magazine recipe, Moqueca, a Brazilian seafood and coconut stew, which was much easier and excellent—creamy and briny, with shrimp and cod. On a side note: Nate has started eating shrimp if I saute it with Old Bay. Mind-blowing. Trying not to get too excited as to scare him off of it but it’s now two in a row and I think it’s here to stay.

Because we are getting sick of Michael’s very good but very much the same every time vinaigrette, I fudged my way through a new recipe with the rest of the coconut milk from the stew and some vinegar, lime, fish sauce and olive oil. It was good, maybe not something I would make again, but a new twist that fit the diet guidelines.

And finally, and most simply, I sous vide some pork chops then finished them on the grill. Next time I would add some kind of sauce but they were good, especially with the fried cauliflower rice and the leftover veggies from this excellent butterflied chicken recipe (which I randomly found online but will definitely make again.)

Tonight we are going with an Eric Ripert recipe: Cod with potatoes in chorizo mussel broth from the New York Times. It looks complicated but delicious and we bought a beautiful piece of cod at today’s very cold outdoor farmer’s market. It’s not a recipe I would normally turn to so I’m grateful for whole30 for the inspiration and parameters, at least for this week. Next week I’d like to get back to bagels and beer.

my version of friday take-out

For some reason, I cannot order takeout when the rest of the intelligent world would, so tonight's dinner is a result of what was in the freezer/fridge after a week with TWO school holidays, six loads of laundry and a movie about cartoon turtles who fall in love. Eaten silently with a spoon in two identical bowls. And yes I realize they don't really go together and yes, I was too hungry to take pictures so this is a somewhat lame post but actually both were pretty awesome...Michael and Mack ate every last bite. I will make both recipes again. Unless someone orders takeout.


Easy Chicken-Broccoli "Fried Rice"

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove chopped
•  chicken thighs cut into small pieces
• 1 bag frozen broccoli defrosted
• 1 tsps each fish sauce, soy sauce
• 1 small bag Uncle Ben's parboiled brown rice
• 1 egg

Heat olive oil and garlic clove in saucepan. Add chicken and cook for 3 minutes then add fish and soy sauces. Cook for 5 minutes and add broccoli then rice. When hot, add raw egg and mix to cook. Season with soy or hot sauce to taste.


Easy Greek Shrimp

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 garlic clove chopped
• 1 pound raw shrimp cleaned and shelled including tail (I used bag o' frozen)
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 1/4 cup feta

In saute pan, olive oil and one garlic clove then add tomatoes, tomato sauce and salsa and cook until tomatoes are soft. Add raw shrimp, stir until covered then scatter feta on top. Cover and cook over medium high until shrimp is cooked and feta melted (about 3-5 minutes).

cauliflower rice for people who don't have private chefs

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We went to the Fagen/Rose East Hampton estate this weekend (omfg) and they still employ that lovely chef Glenn who made the shakshuka. He is incredibly talented and inspiring, and he cooked five healthy gourmet meals for 20 people in 2 days alone without blinking. Meals that you wouldn't believe and I wish I could produce a picture of the luxurious beautiful spreads but I was too busy oohing and eating and trying to suck up to Glenn so he would tell me secrets. I did get a photo of the table though...I know, I know.

A few culinary highlights from the weekend before I forget: Fresh fava beans (Glenn removed beans from pods then boiled to remove skin from beans) and feta salad. Deconstructed Nicoise and paella with cauliflower rice...I've heard of cauliflower rice before. I know it's the next new best thing. Watching Glenn hand grate 15 cauliflowers however made me think it was not for me. However, after a little research I found a recipe from thekitchn.com for using a food processor to pulse the florets into a couscous. And it really is like a couscous in taste and appearance. I sauteed some onion and then added the cauli-couscous and a little butter and spices. Then I got fancy and added some cooked broccoli, raw yellow peppers finely diced, diced and sauteed turkey deli meat seasoned with smoky paprika (optional) and some herbs. I put a fried egg and some avocado on top and was pretty proud if it. Glenn would do it better but I'll keep this cauliflower couscous/fried rice recipe in my repertoire.