What's for dinner?

[benevolance]

we try to have grilled or pan fried (no fat used) once a week...Here the selection is poor...We usually get tilapia or whiting

[MountainDon]

i have heard people say never shop for food when you are hungry...

I do believe that

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Somehow I missed a few posts before my last couple... Sassy, I hope they pay us back soon, too. 

Oh, Benevolance, you poor thing... Maine is going to feel so cotton-picking cold after SC.  Tennessee is really pretty and a great place to live, I think.  So, your wife worked a couple of summers up there in Maine?  Key word is "summers".   

On the fish thing... seems like with this pregnancy, as well as with my first daughter I crave fish.  With my second daughter, I abolutely couldn't stand it. My oldest eats anything with fins (as well as just about everything else) and my second one, who is not particularly picky, doesn't really care for it unless it is fried.  (Excepting anchovies, which she absolutely loves... go figure.)  Well, my husband grew up in Korea and ate fish several meals a week... since he moved to the US, he's had a lot of skin problems (excessively dry itchy skin) but when we eat more fish, his skin looks better.  I don't know why/how, but it does have an effect on him...maybe just one of the fringe benefits of the fatty acids in fish?  We usually have some sort of fish 2-3 times a week, even if only a side dish of myeolchi (fried dried anchovies) with Korean food.

[MountainDon]

My favorite fish would be salmon, either grilled or baked. Our preference is for a fillet with the skin still on the outside, over a steak cut. Grill or bake skin side down and when done the meat just slides off the skin.

[MountainDon]

Tonight: Crock Pot Turkey Chili.  Leftover turkey scraps off the Thanksgiving turkey, canned Bush brand chili beans, diced fresh onion, tomatoes, celery, chopped garlic, chili powder, pepper, tomato paste. 6 or 7 hours cooking on low.

We'll have some fresh baked bread from the bread machine. It's underway now. [it works well, just looks strange... square loaf] 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

 Don, what kind of bread machine do you have?  My grandma gave me her old one, which I used for a while, but bread baked the regular way always tasted better...  I like the idea of a bread maker, especially in summer when I don't want to heat the house up.  I just don't know what kind to get... they take up so much room, too.  Hmmm... maybe  I'll just build an outdoor brick oven?   I eventually freecycled our breadmaker when we moved here because of our tiny kitchen and the lack of room to store it.

[MountainDon]

We have a Hitachi that is probably now more than 10 years old... likely longer. It's the only one I've ever owned. Back then it was near top of the line.

It's very convenient, timer start for overnight or whatever.

You're right about needing space.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Hmmm... I can't remember what kind ours was, but I don't think it was an expensive one.

[benevolance]

Fish has omege # oils in it maybe it has skin benefits as well?

As for Salmon...Love it... I like it in Fillets as well... On the barbeque is my favorite...Wrap it in tinfoil and yeah the skin slides off... I love good canadian Sea Trout too.... much cheaper than Salmon and as good in my opinion..So much salmon is farm raised and that is not the same thing to me...Still good though.... Sea trout back home in Nova Scotia is still local caught when you get it at the grocery store.

[MountainDon]

Omega-3's:   Good stuff for our bodies.

Flax seeds ate the #1 food source. Next in line walnuts.
Then Chinook Salmon, followed by Sockeye Salmon. Here's a handy list of some foods and their Omega-3 content in a 4 ounce serving.

The list is not a be-all list though, as even though Albacore Tuna has a high level of Omega-3's it is also high in mercury. FDA recommends a maximum of 6 ounces a week. Even worse is King Mackerel; it shouldn't be eaten at all. Ditto swordfish and shark.

Canned light tuna is okay; low in mercury. Ditto crab, pollock, flounder,oysters, and shrimp.

Sea Trout contains about the same as Tofu; 0.4 gr. Trout tastes good, but if you're selecting a fish for Omega's go for the Chinook (also known as king salmon, spring salmon, tyee salmon, Columbia River salmon, black salmon, chub salmon, hook bill salmon, winter salmon and blackmouth), or the Sockeye.

Atlantic Salmon, the species that is commonly farmed, has about 1.7 gram of Omega-3 per 4 ounce serving

Chinook salmon   3.6 grams
Sockeye salmon   2.3 grams
Atlantic salmon  1.7 grams
Albacore tuna   2.6 grams
Mackerel   1.8-2.6 grams
Herring   1.2-2.7 grams
Rainbow trout   1.0 grams
Whiting    0.9 grams
King crab  0.6 grams
Shrimp   0.5 grams
Cod   0.3 grams
Tofu   0.4 grams (probably much less in 'lite' tofu)
Spinach   0.9 grams

[glenn kangiser]

Food Blindness strikes again.  Sassy left me a note telling me there was meatloaf in the Fridge.  I looked 3 times over a 15 minute period before I found it sitting in a plastic bag on the bottom shelf in the front.

I even went up to the surface and checked the big freezer. hmm

Maybe that's because meatloaf can take on so many different personalities.

[MountainDon]

Getting late... weirdness sets in. 

I wonder if there's a good recipe for a salmon loaf?
Have to look. I've made and like salmon or crab patties.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

 
That's funny.  I can even describe the color and shape of the container and which shelf it is on, and my husband will still miss it 4 out of 5 times.  He wanted a Coke earlier, and I told him that I'd stashed the case under my sewing machine cabinet so it was out of the way.  He turned and looked at me and said, "Where?"  I pointed.  (The TV is sitting on top of the cabinet right now, and the weather was on.)  He said, "Turn off the TV?" and turned it off.  Then he said again, "I need a Coke."  I told him again that they were right in front of him under the sewing machine.  He looked puzzled and walked off toward the room where the machine used to be.  He'd starve without me.  Sigh... I'm needed, I guess.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Don, there's a recipe out there for it somewhere, but I don't know about  a good one... I made some one time when I got canned salmon on sale.  It was edible, but certainly not great... I like salmon patties better.  I don't know... something about fish and loaf just doesn't go together.  The texture was all wrong to me.  Fish should be either crispy (fried) or flaky (grilled) IMO... I didn't care for moist and succulent in the realm of fish.     Not to mention, it really made the house smell fishy.  Consequently, my favorite fish is always whatever is cooked outdoors.

[MountainDon]

Crab cakes tonight. Maine crab. Caught, turned into crab cakes, frozen same day and shipped to the father of the crabber here in NM. Cooked and eaten here. Salad w/ sugar snap peas, carrots slivers, cucumbers, jalapeños. Balsamic vinaigrette dressing. 

[glenn kangiser]

That sounds great, Don.  I love crabs.

Homegrown, I thought for a minute there you were describing me.  It must be the constant thought process taking place inside our minds that keeps us distracted.  Sometimes I have to tell Sassy to wait a minute until I stop thinking about what I'm thinking about so I can make some kind of intelligent reply to her or comprehend what she is saying..

[MountainDon]

That sounds great, Don.  I love crabs.

We enjoy crab more than lobster.

[glenn kangiser]

I love both -- dripping with hot butter and lots of salt.

[MountainDon]

Another no cooking night! No dishes either! 

A Christmas party with a Greek and Italian mixed buffet.  It's been superb in past years.

[MountainDon]

Stuffed, I am. 

Mousaka (like eggplant parmesan w/o tomato sauce), Souvlaki (lamb roasted on a vertical rotisserie, finely sliced, w/ cucumber-yogurt-garlic sauce, tomato, onions and served on pita bread) also known as a gyro (yee-row in Greece) , Spanakopita (spinach pie), Pastitsio (sorta like lasagna)

I didn't even try the Italian lasagna, both beef and veggie, as the Greek dishes were marvelous.

[glenn kangiser]

I did it.

Coming in from covering up the plants tonight, I snagged a couple of green tomatoes.  Along with a couple more in the house, I sliced up enough for two big panfuls. 

I sliced them up, salted them and put just a little pepper, didn't drop none on the ground,
then dipped them in Marie Calendar's corn bread mix and rolled them round and round,
then I fried them in olive oil and butter to a nice golden brown. 
A bit more salt to make them taste great and now I'm munching them down. 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

They're good, aren't they?  We've had them 4-5 times in the past couple of weeks... I still have a lot of the green tomatoes Grandma sent up for me, but some of them are getting ripe and I've had them in salads and sandwiches.  I have a whole cookbook of tomato recipes, including green tomatoes.  When we have a lot of green cherry tomatoes, I make dill pickles with them.  The ones Grandma sent are all fairly big, so they're getting used in other ways.  I have a recipe for green tomato dip that I'm going to make today.  I also recommend green tomato and cheese pie, but drain off some of the liquid or you'll have a soggy bottom crust, which doesn't taste too good.

Yesterday, we ate Korean food out for lunch, and it was so big that we didn't really eat dinner.... we just had a few snacks.  Do any of y'all have Super H Marts near where you live?  You probably have to be in or near a large city to know what I'm talking about...the one we went to was in Chicago.  It was started by a guy from Korea, and my husband says that he was suspected of having Korean mafia ties when he left (was booted out?) Korea.  Anyway, when we go to the Korean store, we usually go to this little mom and pop place where the folks always know us and are glad we came there.  Their prices aren't as good, but they have everything we're looking for, and I don't really worry that my money is going to organized crime in any way, shape, or fashion.  Well, yesterday, we were going with an elderly friend of ours, and she wanted to go to  the big Super H because they have such a variety, and their prices on produce are really good, and because her bank is located inside the market.  So, we went down after church, and they even have about 6 or 7 restaurants inside the store, and we had lunch at the Korean restaurant there.  I think it took us 2 hours just to get through the store... it was so overwhelming and so big.  Considering I use and know a lot of foreign vegetables in every day cooking, I was amazed at just how many things they had that I didn't have a clue about.  There were some of the things which I knew of but have never tasted, but then there were so many things I'd never seen before, especially in the realm of vegetables... strange little baby-dill looking things that were NOT cucumbers, spiny little squash/melons, weird looking greens. It was thoroughly exhausting!  All we needed was some spinach, ginger, green onions, sesame oil, and soy sauce.  On the outer edge of the store, where you would usually find produce, meat, and dairy, there are little shops selling everything from Korean-made pottery to clothes to shoes and cosmetics.  The store caters to all Asians, but I saw a lot of Americans buying produce there... there were also a lot of Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Indian customers, but seemed like the majority were Korean.  As soon as we dropped off our dear friend, I looked at my husband and he said, "It's too much.  Next time, we're going to our usual place."  I was so glad that he wasn't dazed by the big displays and bright lights... I was going to say the same thing.  Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience.... oh, but I'd fogotten to put on my body armor before going.  If any of you venture into places like this, be prepared to be run down by old ladies and young men with shopping carts who are oblivious to the fact that you are between them and the garlic.  My littlest daughter was rammed by a young woman with a shopping cart, and while she was still there, dazed, the gal rammed her again because she didn't move fast enough. (Of course, she didn't even apologize or realize she'd hit a little kid.)  Going out the door, my husband stopped to let a couple of old ladies through and the middle-aged man behind me rammed me full force with his cart... I'm obviously pregnant, and I turned around and gave him the "look" whereupon he ran into me again.  Anytime I am tempted to think Americans are rude, I simply make a visit to a big Asian grocer and my mind immediately processes the fact that we're not as rude as I thought.

[glenn kangiser]

Had the rest of the  green tomatoes tonight.

If that guy did that intentionally, Homegrown, I would have turned around, picked up the front of his cart and dumped it on him very likely, seriously.  That is why I try to stay out of the cities.  I don't tolerate some people well and will act irrationally sometimes --- of course I would have tried to get the heck out of there before the fuzz showed up.  I'm not totally stupid. 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Dinner tonight:
Chicken/turkey stew with leftover garbanzo beans, wheat berries, and misc. veggies.  Three different kinds of kimchee (cucumber, daikon, and shredded radish).  Korean style spinach.  Leftover wheat berry and bean salad.  Homemade guacamole and blue corn chips.  Oh, and one mango divided up between the four of us.  It was a random dinner, but very good.  I spent the day (or at least most of the afternoon making kimchee (total of 5 different kinds).  After dinner and getting kids to bed, I made green tomato dip because believe it or not, I am finally getting tired of fried green tomatoes.  I didn't want to do green tomato jam again because we just ate our way out of last year's supply.  It's pretty tasty... think it'll be good with pretzels or with celery or carrot sticks. 

Glenn, I don't think that the people run over you so much on purpose as it is they're so used to the crowd pressing in on every side that they often don't seem to realize it is a person they're hitting instead of an inanimate object.   But I hate cities, too.  I'm sure when my husband was growing up in Seoul, he never realized it was rude to push and shove, but when we were there when I was pregnant with our second daughter, I about died laughing at him in the subway when two or three little boys about 10-11 years old ran into me  when they were playing on the platform.  He starts yelling, in English no less, "EXCUSE YOU, YOU LITTLE CREEPS!!!"  and he went on with his tirade about how mannerless they were, and it took him a while to realize everyone in the whole subway station was staring at him like he'd just stepped off a spaceship.  Even in the big Asian grocery stores I've been in here in the US, if you say "excuse me" when you bump into someone or need to squeeze past them to get to something, you get these weird looks like, "Why are you talking to me?  Why are you making eye contact with me?  What are you going to do next, ask me for money?"  If you can keep from getting too irritated by it, it can be pretty funny.

[MountainDon]

We had one of my home made on refrigerated Kroger dough, Pizzas tonight. The usual, zucchini, onion, tomato,  finely grated Parmesan mixed into the sauce, mozzarella on top, Italian seasoning. Salad.