Back after a little hiatus! There's been some action here and there but mostly I haven't had a lot of time to cook and even worse, have cooked a few things here and there that haven't turned out so well. THIS dinner, though, was fantastic! It was a dining a la deux experience and both diners were quite health conscious. So, this is all real food and all healthy!
The bean dip is my standard: Roasted Red Pepper "Hummus" and never fails to impress =) The fish is a panko and black sesame crusted cod (caught by my dad, so talk about fresh, wild caught fish!!). Click here for technique! I have to admit, I really love this and it adds a lot of texture/flavor to white fishes! | 
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The quinoa dish is my only new dish of the night, but even still, pretty simple.
Ahead of time, I rehydrated about 6-8 big shitake mushrooms in boiling water. After an hour or two, I removed the stems (woody but fun to chew on!), reserved the liquid and diced up the caps. I sauteed the mushroom caps with about half a giant zucchini (or just 1 small one would do!) and some diced onion until all veggies were tender.
Then, 1 cup of quinoa cooked in 2 cups liquid (I used the mushroom rehydrating liquid and reduced-sodium chicken stock to make 2 cups) as directed. About 4-5 minutes before it was done, I tossed in the veggies and stirred them through. In the end, once the quinoa was already done, I added a few tbsp (this was a big pot) of Fage 0% greek yogurt to give it a creamy "risotto" like texture. Served with some yummy red vino, this made for a fantastic weekend dinner for 2!! For seasoning I added a bunch of salt, garlic powder, itlian seasoning and onion powder. All to taste.
Ahead of time, I rehydrated about 6-8 big shitake mushrooms in boiling water. After an hour or two, I removed the stems (woody but fun to chew on!), reserved the liquid and diced up the caps. I sauteed the mushroom caps with about half a giant zucchini (or just 1 small one would do!) and some diced onion until all veggies were tender.
Then, 1 cup of quinoa cooked in 2 cups liquid (I used the mushroom rehydrating liquid and reduced-sodium chicken stock to make 2 cups) as directed. About 4-5 minutes before it was done, I tossed in the veggies and stirred them through. In the end, once the quinoa was already done, I added a few tbsp (this was a big pot) of Fage 0% greek yogurt to give it a creamy "risotto" like texture. Served with some yummy red vino, this made for a fantastic weekend dinner for 2!! For seasoning I added a bunch of salt, garlic powder, itlian seasoning and onion powder. All to taste.
Several things are important to note for this week. #1 is that I saw Sleep No More earlier, which is something really special. It is set in a warehouse with 100 rooms (each impreccably decorated with each of 4 floors representing a hunting lodge, a hotel, an asylum and what I assume is some sort of small shopping area all set in the 1920s). The audience is given masks and actors (not wearing masks) silently perform scenes from Macbeth in various rooms. The audience members are given free reign to go room to room as they will. You can follow around the actors, explore the scenery or find various scenes that interest you. Without really going into details, let me just say this was amaing! #2 is that I went to see 7 psychopaths, the new movie by Martin McDonough, who is my absolute favorite amazing playwright. The movie was exactly what I had hoped it would be. A dark, macabre comedy with lots of dry humor and also Christopher Walken. He is also responsible for In Bruges and his brother (a similar writing style) made THe Guard. Sleep No More is an expensive luxury, but these movies are cheap and wonderful. I would highly reccomend!
Also notable is this brussel sprout salad I've created. I'm sure none of this is terribly inventive, but man is this simple dish amazing, delicious and super healthy (I think?). It's definitely not pretty.
This is as simple as it gets once you get past the PAIN of shredding the brussel sprounds. Ack! I think maybe these were even bought pre-shredded. But still, I've shredded them myself plenty of times before!
So, this was a bunch of sprouts (you know, use however many you want for as many servings as you like!) shredded and thrown in a pan along with about 6-8 pieces of turkey bacon (chopped) and a can of diced fire roasted jalapeno tomatoes. How simple is that? In the end I added some balsamic vinegar, which is what made it particularly unfortunate looking. But still. Amazeballs in terms of health, convinience and importantly, how long it takes to eat =) Especially with chop sticks! =) I think what always suckers me into this salad is that it's 1 pan, probably at least 3 big servings and essentially no more than $10 for the whole thing. Depending on, of course, where you live and how many sprouts you buy! I live in the most expensive city in the US, so probably my brussels sprouts are pretty pricey!
Finally, on the exercise front, I have mysteriously hurt my ankle and can't run. This is insanely bad, especially since we've just done thanksgiving....ack! I'm doing a lot of elliptical, getting back into hot yoga and trying my very very best to avoid eating too much! Wish me luck!
Next post, hopefully without a hiatus, will be thanksgiving recap! I hope everyone (anyone?) who reads this had a wonderful thanksgiving filled with lots of food and family love!
So, this was a bunch of sprouts (you know, use however many you want for as many servings as you like!) shredded and thrown in a pan along with about 6-8 pieces of turkey bacon (chopped) and a can of diced fire roasted jalapeno tomatoes. How simple is that? In the end I added some balsamic vinegar, which is what made it particularly unfortunate looking. But still. Amazeballs in terms of health, convinience and importantly, how long it takes to eat =) Especially with chop sticks! =) I think what always suckers me into this salad is that it's 1 pan, probably at least 3 big servings and essentially no more than $10 for the whole thing. Depending on, of course, where you live and how many sprouts you buy! I live in the most expensive city in the US, so probably my brussels sprouts are pretty pricey!
Finally, on the exercise front, I have mysteriously hurt my ankle and can't run. This is insanely bad, especially since we've just done thanksgiving....ack! I'm doing a lot of elliptical, getting back into hot yoga and trying my very very best to avoid eating too much! Wish me luck!
Next post, hopefully without a hiatus, will be thanksgiving recap! I hope everyone (anyone?) who reads this had a wonderful thanksgiving filled with lots of food and family love!
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