Tag: ethnic food

THREE homeruns in one day – score!

I pulled out all the stops today and made not one, but TWO new and different meals today.  For a lazy Saturday, I think that’s pretty outrageous, even for me.

Lunch was a stuffed tomato with leftover quinoa.

The beefsteak tomatoes cost me an arm and a leg ($3.50 for 2!), but it was worth it to hear Andrew approve.  The filling was a mix of diced, cooked chicken, pineapple and spinach, dressed with olive oil and dijon mustard.  It was a cinch to whip up and you could easily do just about anything with this…switch out the filling components and use ranch dressing or a balsamic vinaigrette, or you could always stuff a pepper.

After lunch we headed into EA; me to visit Abigail at Fowler’s and Andrew to spend some time at work prepping for a Monday telecon.  I “splurged” (not really since I ran THIRTEEN miles, but still) and got a scoop of Birthday Bash ice cream before leaving.  YUM.  It’s cake-flavored ice cream with swirls of blue icing.  Seriously amazing.

I picked up the mail at Andrew’s parents’ house and then he arrived from work and we left to run errands.  On the agenda:  buy Holly a new bathing suit.  This proved much harder than we thought it would be, seeing as it’s early August and pretty much everything that’s left is on the clearance rack.  And it’s either all tops or all bottoms.  How that happens, I don’t know…

After striking out at Target, Kohl’s, Swim City (it had a “For Lease” sign on the door…grrr) and TJ Maxx, we made a last-ditch effort and headed across the street to the mall.  SCORE!  JC Penney was loaded!  I was able to pick two different patterns to try on, and, thankfully, the one I loved from the moment I saw it totally worked.  It was meant to be.  And major bonus points to Andrew who was incredibly patient through all of this suit-shopping.

When we finally got back to the hotel, I hurriedly whipped dinner together.  Spicy Southwestern Tabbouleh, or, in this case, barley.  If you don’t know, tabbouleh is a classic Middle Eastern dish made with bulgar, parsley and mint.  I had just used up the last of my bulgar, so I substituted barley and cooked it earlier in the day.

It’s full of southwestern spices, like chili powder, paprika, cumin and allspice, and veggies akin to taco fillings: red onion, cilantro, tomatoes, yellow pepper and jalapeno.  I added avocado to mine and leftover diced chicken to Andrew’s.  It was a hit with both of us.  This is also a very versatile dish; you could use just about any grain here.  Brown rice would be a fantastic choice, and one most people have in their pantry.

I found these at Target today and thought I’d give them a try.

The coconut flavor caught my eye.  I’m obsessed with coconut-anything lately.  Not sure why…  A co-worked of mine a few years ago used to drink these all the time and I’ve been intrigued ever since.  I’m not a big mineral/sparkling water fan, but because I don’t like drinking sugary drinks, I thought these might be good.  Well…  I’m still not a sparkling water fan, and I think it’s a taste you have to get used to.  I’m also not sure coconut was the flavor to start with; they have other ones like lime or cran-raspberry, which might have gone down easier.  I am, however, willing to keep drinking them to see if I develop a taste for it.  It’s zero calories without an artificial sweetener, which is important to me.  Who knows?  I might be a convert in no time!

Tomorrow is our beach day with some of Andrew’s friends from work and Abigail!

sushi newbie

The other night I went to a local Japanese steakhouse for a friend’s goodbye dinner.  I’ve never been a huge hibachi fan (I know, I’m majorly in the minority here); I feel like it’s a lot of show, but come on, it’s all the same.  They all do the steaming volcano of onion rings, the egg toss and fancy knife tricks.  I don’t want to pay more for my teriyaki because someone is lighting things on fire just inches from my plate.  Maybe I just don’t like strangers at my table when I’m out trying to enjoy dinner with someone…

Anyway, ahead of time I decided it would be a great opportunity to order sushi since I don’t go places that have it very often and I’m attempting to broaden my horizons.  I’ve probably had it on only five or six occasions in my life.  I also didn’t work out that day, so I wanted to make sure I had something light for dinner anyway.

Photo courtesy of Nicole

Three of the six of us ordered sushi platters!  I’m still what I’d consider a “sushi newbie,” so if I get any at all, it’s typically just a roll with my dinner.  I figured this might be a good way to just jump right in with both feet!

The wasabi was HOT!  Not that I didn’t know that already…  I usually don’t even touch the stuff, but I figured with all the “non-rolls” (is that what you call those?  sashimi?) on my plate, I’d want a little extra flavor.  Whew, no!  This chick can’t handle wasabi.

Thankfully, my friend Nicole was sitting next to me and is much more knowledgeable about sushi, so she was able to help.  I definitely prefer the rolls that have fish plus an assortment of other things, as opposed to the plain fish on rice.  I ate almost the whole platter and still wasn’t uncomfortably full.  (If I remember correctly, I think Heather and I probably munched on chips and dip when I got home that night, so to heck with the “keeping dinner light” idea.)

Bottom line:  If you haven’t tried sushi yet because you’re freaked out, or you aren’t a big fish-eater to begin with, start with something cooked.  Look for the word “tempura” in the name.  Or shrimp or crab.  You can always just stick with California Rolls (rice-coated pieces with crab and avocado near the top of the plate) for awhile–that’s what I did.  I’ve really gotten a taste for it, although I don’t love it or have to have it that often.

Here’s to my trip to Thai 9 tonight with Heather and her mom!  I’m thinking that because I had a whole platter of sushi a couple days ago, I’ll stick with my usual: Pad Thai ZERO HOT!