5 posts tagged “meal a day”

Back to homemade goods on Wednesday, where we're improving on the flavor front, as our dishes are getting less bland and blah (tip: layer flavors). But the time consuming prep and cleanup needs work, as does coordinating the timing of everything so all dishes are served at the same time. Next time you think of complaining at the restaurant, try the coordination yourself; it's rather challenging.

Ying found a recipe from Kraft Foods that we tried out with chicken which came out well (Zesty Italian dressing + soy sauce + garlic + 5-10 minute marination + stir fry). The shrimp purchased from the day before was supposed to be mixed with tomatoes (from yard) and eggs, but we substituted peas and used the tomatoes and eggs for soup. The the leftover fish paste was mixed with a bag of steamed green beans that was also picked up at the market from the day before. The pairing of leftovers with new ingredients helps break up the monotony and make the next day's meal a bit more palatable. As a last minute addition for the Meat Eaters of the family, we steamed sweet sausage with the brown rice.

Thursday was supposed to be simple spaghetti night. But our attempts to make a low fat version of spaghetti and meatballs turned into more of a soupy goulash hodgepodge:

The replacement of ground turkey for beef, added with the mix of egg (binding agent), spices (sans cilantro!) and milk made the meatballs difficult to form - I kept mentioning they felt too wet. After immersion in the tomato sauce, they wouldn't hold form and started breaking apart...and it just became another instance for us to play with our food! While that mix was coming apart, a raid of the pantry revealed that we only had this scant box of spaghetti. The solution: mixing with egg noodles! The color combination of the noodles with spaghetti (white and cream) was rather playful and when topped with the tomato/turkey mixture, wasn't too bad. We've got proof:

All day grazing began on Friday. Leftovers made for brunch mixed with rice noodles and bean sprouts. Leftover pizza from BJ's lunch made for dinner. Saturday morning brunch of pancakes, followed by mixed fruits (apples, peaches, watermelon) as snack, and poor dinner choice that included an order of large fries with a roast beef AND steak sandwich from The Hat. In retrospect, our decision choice wasn't the best, but we were tired after a day full of shopping. Hunger does impair your judgment; that Snickers commercial is right! But the fries were soooo good (can't remember when the last time we had any were), and I figured if you're gonna be bad, you might as well go full out.

Vegetarian meals = timesavers

The buttermilk chicken was nearly devoured by breakfast on Friday. Leftovers included 2 pieces of chicken, a small plate of green beans and the remaining bowl of potato salad. Starches, harumpf.

Friday dinner was back to Asian dishes. Ying made the following: Fish paste with nappa cabbage, chicken and vegetable (red bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower) stir fry, corn soup, pumpkin and gourds. My contribution:

Woke up on Saturday overhearing dad calling to mom. After taking a long walk (highlight is the dog park where I narrate what I think the dogs are saying about their owners), returned and tried to figure out just how to finish all the remaining food. What a vicious cycle...The easiest solution was: (1) fried rice or (2) mix with noodles and soup. So what do I do but make both so there's even more food?! All day grazing commenced in attempts to finish last night's dinner before making new food. Saturday dinner:
Dad had five! But the upside (if you can call it that?) is that lean turkey meat was used instead of beef. Still...Oh, and Ying and I finally finished the pot of red beans and tapioca pearls...at 10pm!

Pretty much the only thing that went according to plan from yesterday was dinner. Ying made another stop at the grocery store (Western) to pick up the makings of our indoor picnic. The butchering of chicken began around 3pm and by the time I got back around 5:30, she was up to her elbows in chicken (bleach spray alert!). After all the prep-work was done, the oven was booted up to 400 degrees. The temperature was around the upper 90s today, and we still ran the oven, all for baked buttermilk chicken. Better than the fried KFC stuff, but whew, hot!

Mama Lin is back in Taiwan and Ying and I are holding down the food fort. The running joke is to bet whether we'll all either lose or gain weight upon her return. All jokes aside, there's a delicate balance in managing the food consumption of an entire family, factoring in health and diet, budget, time, etc.  We've decided we're going to alternate between Eastern and Western dishes so as to break up the monotony. But traditional Western dishes may be a tad too heavy for Papa Lin's palate (he's not fond of cheeses), so alterations will be made accordingly. And we're going to try and keep a log of everything, to report back to Mama Lin upon her return.

03-Jul-2007 (Day One)
Snack: leftover bagels taken to 4th of July potluck
Dinner:
Ham & egg burritos (a la Uncle)
Sauteed pork and onion burritos (Asian variation of above)
Corn on the cobb

04-Jul-2007
***Grocery stop - TS Emporium $26; Shun-Fat $68 (approximates)***
Breakfast: leftover burritos, bagels
Lunch: Mama Lin premade wontons, cabbage and soup
Snack: Mama Lin premade zhongzi (rice, ground meat, shrimp, mushrooms wrapped in banana leaf)
Dinner:
Melon soup
Shrimp with eggs and tomato
Mushroom with tofu
Eggplant slices
Leftover corn

Watermelon granita, apricots and green tea mochi ice cream for desert (iron constitution with this mix!)

Plan for tomorrow:
Breakfast: rice, leftover melon soup and dried pork (poorman's version of traditional congee)
Lunch: Noodles, leftover melon soup with fish balls, greens with leftover mushroom/tofu dish
Snack: Grated carrots, raisin and walnut salad (Papa Lin doesn't like cold dishes like salad)
Dinner: Buttermilk chicken, potato salad or green beans

Notes:

• SEASONING IS MY FRIEND: Mediterranean Sea Salt and roasted garlic combined in grinder; HonDashi (with MSG!) mix in soup; garlic powder, taro flour & paprika as marinade for shrimp. Other pick me up herbs: chives, green oninons, basil, celery leaves.
  
• In need of a workable recipe to incorporate Chinese eggplants. Prior dishes I've made left this weird mushy taste in mouth (too much soy sauce I was told). I just layed out the eggplant slices on the grill and seasoned with salt, garlic, green onions, covered with melon soup and let simmer with cover on until almost transluscent.
• Bought about 5 pounds in pork and had to slice and dice, which isn't a particularly pleasant thing to do, especially when you come across a ventricle with lots of blood while chopping. This'll put me off meats for some time.
  
• Watch the weather: temperature got up to around 105F, which means all uneaten foods must be in fridge if not eaten within the next 1-2 hours. Otherwise, food will go spoil, which is just a waste.