Haven’t tried it all yet. Still working on tacos from lunch neaby.
Fogón Cocina Mexicana. ( I know…who leaves California, and looks for tacos in Seattle? Am I wrong? I’m listening. I LOVE fish tacos!) The fish tacos and the al pastor were okay, but the carne asado they brought (by mistake) were even better! The tostada that apparently comes on the house was a nice touch, as was the lunchtime crowd.
The “Meaty” place was out of Mac and cheese ( just as well!). Potato salad was “meh”, St. Louis cut ribs very good. Brisket looking good, and how bad can a hot link be?
I totally get it, and did the same last century, and hopefully you will look forward to the little hands helping you in the kitchen…it happened to me (but only on weekends) and now I watch my 9 month old grandson while his mommy toils in the kitchen after a long day! Enjoy these times!
Ha! I thought the same but try to not get offended when words across a screen tend to be misinterpreted.
I also work from home a bit but can’t spend my work time cooking. Up until now, I grill everything. Sadly, it is getting too cold and dark so I have to transition back inside
Some of my big fast dinner hacks:
I plan to spend a few hours on a weekend cooking big batches of pasta sauce, curry, short ribs etc that can be froze.
Every time I made rice, I make a big batch and freeze the rest in portions.
I always keep veggie burgers on hand. My kid LOVES these (Dr. Prager brand) and when I’m in a pinch we all eat them.
Fresh pasta! Pre-baby I would make big batches myself but lately I just buy it. It cooks way faster.
Roasting or baking a protein (pork chops, chicken breast, salmon) while roasting potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli or another veggie. Lately I’ve been doing bbq sauce or a quick mustard/brown sugar/rosemary marinade before roasting the protein.
When I have time, I make quick muffins for breakfasts. These are good for the baby and she usually eats them.
I also make no-knead bread every other week or so. Slice it and throw it in the freezer. Then I can quickly make a sandwich or toast.
love those sticky glutinous rice dessert
But prefer them without fillings.
A Filipino dessert called Palitaw is excellent .There is no filling
It is very easy to make since now one can buy the sweet rice flour ( glutinous rice powder ) add water, until it forms a little paste… Make it into balls, then flatten it . The t typical palitaw back home are not round shape but the shape of a tongue. ( oval) Then, dropped it in boiling water till it floats up. Roll it in brown sugar, roasted sesame seeds and freshly grated coconut , served with banana leaves.
If u are interested, here is a picture of a filipino style grater which grates coconut so thin, cannot be done with cuisinart
It is basically a wooden bench ( horse per filipino language) that one sits on it with leg astride, place a bowl under and grate the coconut in half shell in a up and down movement. If yu become an expert, a coconut can be grated in a few minutes. The texture of the shredded coconut is unlike what. you get with any grater. Very fine, and taste great. You can save the juice and keep the grated coconut in there , refrigerate it for a couple days. One can buy this from amazon but you can just buy the metal piece itself from a filipino store and make. your own horse if handy. I lost mine when my house was being remodeled. I think my carpenter threw it away but it makes the best shredded coconut. https://www.tagaloglang.com/product/coconut-grater/
I’m planning to make a pizza. I grabbed a dough ball from the market, defrosted some homemade sauce and will use up the fresh mozz. I need to get the place back in some kind of order before the wife returns. My buddies were never tiddy on or off the tour bus. Nothing ch’d there. Lol…
Friends came over for lunch, so left over will be dinner too
Lunch was just over a pound of U15 Patagonia pink shrimp with tomato and feta
( I took a. chance on Feta although that is considered product of 4 legged animal with hoofs)
Shelled shrimp, roasted the shell, then made broth with it.
Tomatoes were roasted in the oven with EVOO, Italian seasoning until juice was render ( 35 mint) and topped with Feta/
Shrimp was sautéed with EVOO, lots of garlic, a tin of anchovy in olive oil until anchovy melted, then in went the shrimp for a few minutes. One of my guest does not eat spicy food, So I was very careful with adding chipotle and adobo sauce, a bit of the shrimp broth ( 1/2 cup) was added to the wok , heated just enough not to waste the precious caramelized part of the shrimp feta after it was dished and added to the dish.
Shrimp was added to the tomatoes, squeeze lemon juice and served with rice.
Drinks were tart cherry juice ( cheribundi ) with sparkling water, cappuccino with baklava ( from my freezer ) for dessert.
Dinner today: Buffalo wings with homemade hot sauce, blue-cheese dressing, celery, and fries.
Yesterday was a birthday. I made white chocolate and macadamia cookie cake, using the cookie recipe here. Also, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Both fared very well, much to my surprise.
I had pie crust sitting in the fridge for a few days and it had been nagging me, so got up early this morning to bake an apple pie. I prefer one-note apple pies, but this time I used a mix of Northern Spy and Granny Smith.
I made brats, sauerkraut with a roux, broccoli cheese, and pumpkin-sage ravioli with brown garlic butter. All this while the little one was fussing LOL
Ever since I saw @ChristinaM 's Mapo tofu, I wanted one too. A bit of improvisation as I tried to use whatever available in the pantry.
garlic
ginger
scallions
chicken broth
doubanjiang substituted by Lee Kum Kee spicy bean sauce
shaoxing wine added some Chinese black vinegar
potato starch
dash of sugar/honey LKK sauce too sweet already
facing heaven chilies used dried Thai chili pepper
fermented black beans
soy sauce
sichuan peppercorn yes, a lot!
I also add some sesame oil and black pepper
As for tofu, I have used Tofu Mix, it was too soft for this dish, I had to admit.
Actually I could have just used the ready made Mapo LKK sauce, but it was very “floury” and sweet, I hated that, I like this version much better.
Yours looked good.
I ate quite some sauerkraut these days for home lunch, they were stored bought, shredded too finely and overly acid, I am only halfway through.
Ah, fermented kraut. If you aren’t opposed to cooking it, you can try this method - start with a roux of flour and butter, with bacon/lardons if you like. Add broth (beef/chicken are good), caraway seed, juniper berries, bay leaves, lots of black pepper, onion/garlic powder, and a little sugar. Simmer until thick.
FYI…I was a single father @ 40… My response was very sensitive…in light of my daughters having only there dad @40 after there mom passed…
I hope Miss egg has a partner…
Snacked on a few of these seaweed peanuts i bought yesterday, but they were SO hard!! Like little pebbles. I went to relook at the ingredients and there’s shrimp paste in these! ??? Oh well, you win some you lose some.
Took a lot of label reading in the ramen aisle to find a vegetarian ramen- this one was “sesame” and labeled as mild although the packet inside of powder was a toxic scary red color (!), i only used half, and instead of the red chili sesame oil packet i added regular sesame oil i had on hand. It was still pretty darn spicy!!
Added the tofu after the photo, it’s super soft and very delicate meant for soondubu soups.
Glass of makkolli a la carte, and sugar snap peas i ate while letting the noodles sit
