The roll-me-outta-hurr-I-done-ate-too-much post 25th bday dinner face :)
Ok, I think this is officially a food blog.. with other random thoughts and photos thrown in for good measure.
I am a lover of quotes, song lyrics, pictures… any artistic expression that helps me with feelings I can’t find the words for. Yesterday I stumbled across a quote that just felt good when I read it:
“Learn to read the signposts of life, they come in many forms and point you to your destiny.”
The past few months have been difficult ones, with seemingly everything in my life that I’ve known, loved, and been comfortable with being called into question. Maybe it’s a delayed quarter-life crisis, maybe it’s an awakening, maybe it’s depression… but I’m trying to learn to let go and let be. So, this week I’ve declared “ME” week. I’m one of those people who gives a lot, and I like it - it’s just my personality, but all too often I give too much to the point where I’m neglecting myself, my needs, my wants, and my happiness. I start to resent the people that made me want to give so much in the first place, but it’s not their fault that I have not had any boundaries. This week, I practice saying “no” and get reacquainted with myself and making my health and happiness a priority. Only then will I have good things to offer others.
I kicked off this semana de mi week with a warm, soul-satisfying dinner after a rather dismal Monday. Fellow Next Food Network Star fans, how amazing did Jeff’s Eggplant Parmigiana Sandwich look last night?! Ridiculously good, I know. Even last night I started day dreaming (night-but-awake dreaming?) about my own little eggplant feast for tonight.. and boy did I have a beautiful eggplant from our CSA basket last week. It was absolutely picture perfect.. and yet I forgot to take a picture. As you can see in photo #3, I successfully devoured this dinner without even touching my delicious TJs Tea & Lemonade (only made more delicious by the addition of fresh mint). That’s a little embarrassing, but obviously not too much so to share. It was just that good.
Baked Eggplant Deliciousness:
Preheat the oven to 350.
Peel the skin off of the eggplant, slice into rounds, and soak in salted water for at least 20-30 minutes. (*Note: I misunderstood this eggplant tip. Apparently, you are supposed to just salt the eggplant in order to remove excess moisture… somehow I confused that with submerging the eggplant in salted water. Whatever, it tasted divine. Maybe I’m the one that’s on to something…)
Prep eggplant breading station - 1 bowl with a few beaten eggs (I used 2 for a small eggplant), 1 bowl with some flour, 1 bowl with panko bread crumbs. Add a generous amount of italian seasoning to the panko, add salt and pepper to either the beaten eggs or the flour. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Drain the eggplant off on a towel and coat by covering with the flour first, then dipping in the eggs, and then coating with the bread crumbs. Stick in the oven. Check after 15 minutes or so (this really depends on the thickness of your slices and your oven, ours is poor, poor excuse for an appliance..). When the bottom of the slices are golden brown, flip.
Add a half jar of prepared marinara sauce (or your own if you’re cooler than me) to a small pot and add a few handfuls of mixed greens (or spinach or whatever dark, leafy-green you have on hand). Cover with a lid to wilt the greens and set to medium-low.
Check on the eggplant.
Get out some grated parmesan cheese.
Flip channels. Play with the dogs. Check facebook.
Check the eggplant. Both sides should be golden brown.
Stir the marinara/greens.
When everythings finished, cover a few eggplant slices with sauce and a sprinkling (or 5 or 10) of parmesan. Enjoy the soul-satisfying meal and remember “when I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.”
…and try to keep the pups at bay.
Saturday night movie date with Sarah, dinner date with Zac. Sweet Potato and Crab Gnocci (sans crab) from The Green Room, one of the Foodie Fest specials. AMAZING!
We’re big sushi lovers in this house (but cooked sushi only for me). A sushi meal every day.. ok, maybe every other day, would be perfectly ok with me. We’re also big homebodies, too. Few things better than a relaxed evening with some porch sittin’ and a good home cooked meal. So, one particular night a couple weeks ago I was both a. craving sushi and b. wanting to lounge at home. Thus, the deconstructed sushi roll bowl was created. It’s one of my best last-minute, a bit of this-and-that creations.
Deconstructed Sushi Bowl:
Marinate Tuna steaks (we used tuna pieces from Trader Joe’s) in some teriyaki sauce and a few chopped garlic cloves in the fridge for at least a couple hours.
Prepare preferred type of rice, we used brown jasmine rice.
Heat grill pan or frying pan (we used grill pan)
Prepare veggies - we used grated carrots, chopped CSA cucumbers, and boiled CSA snow peas. Would’ve added some avocado slices had we not been out.
Combine 2 tablespoons of brown rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of salt. Melt in small saucepan or microwave (30 seconds at a time). Stir mixture into cooked rice.
Pull tuna out, grill or sear for a couple minutes on each side.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and top with sesame seeds. Then, do your best not to overindulge. :)
Why hello dere left over mini cake
lockaby + dinosaurs + water + sunshine + camera = captured tender moment
the ewok shirt is pretty awesome too.
Not my best photography last night, apologies.
I find that the best mexican food in the South, or at least in Upstate, SC, is made at home. Some nights I’m a vegetarian, some nights I’m a pescatarian.. I’m working on this. Last night was a pescatarian night, and a good one at that… tequila lime shrimp + homemade pico de gallo with CSA corn + avocado yogurt sauce + baby greens = serious shrimp taco action. Plus, some cheesy smashed pinto beans… way better than refried beans out of a can.
That just about does it for last week’s CSA and in perfect timing, tonight we get a new basket!
Shrimp Tacos:
- Start by making the Pico de Gallo. Combine chopped tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and lemon juice. Adjust ratios to taste. Let sit in the fridge for at least a couple hours.
- Next, make the avocado yogurt sauce. Add one avocado (diced), a half cup fat-free greek yogurt, a generous handful of chopped cilantro, and the juice of one lime to a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper. (customize avocado/yogurt ratio to taste) Let sit in fridge at least 30 minutes.
- Cut the corn kernels off two cobs. Boil until tender (8-10 minutes or so?)
- Make the marinade for the shrimp… I combined the zest of one lime, the juice of said lime, cayenne pepper (a few pinches), cumin powder (a few pinches), red pepper flakes (a few pinches), salt, pepper, garlic (1 big spoonful), canola oil (2 big spoonfuls), and tequila (2 capfuls). Marinate the shrimp for no more than 10 minutes or so, or the acid from the lime will start to cook them.
- Grill the shrimp, add the drained corn to the pico de gallo. Assemble tacos on your tortilla of choice with baby greens and the avocado yogurt sauce.
Cheesy Smashed Pinto Beans:
- Drain most of the liquid out of a can of low-sodium pinto beans. The beans should be somewhat wet, don’t press all the liquid out. Pour beans into small pot and warm.
- Once heated through and the little liquid in the pan starts to bubble, add a few spoonfuls of premade salsa and attack them with a potato masher until they start to resemble refried beans.
- Once thoroughly smashed, add grated cheddar cheese and smash a few more times.
This dinner should almost always be consumed alongside a tasty tequila beverage. ¡Ole!
I take pictures of most the dishes I’m proud of, upload to computer, upload to tumblr, save as draft, and walk away with the intent of publishing soon. Before I forget what I did, what I used, and how much of it.
It rarely happens this way.
Instead, I have 10+ drafts that I get the urge to post all at once, try to pace myself, forget about them, and then the cycle repeats. This one is from a couple weeks ago..
Halibut and hurry-up-and-use-me-before-I-go-bad CSA veggie masala over brown basmati rice with baked eggplant fries and tzatziki.
and wine, of course.
