What's Cooking This Week--Back on My Own

05/21/2012

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Hakone Garden, Saratoga
After two weeks of dine-out lunches and meandering about the San Francisco Bay area, Mom returned home to Hawaii. We sent her home with a suitcase full of Trader Joe's omiyage and a list of Korean tofu houses in Honolulu. 

Now, it's back on my own. Mom's not one for spicy food, so we're adding a little more pep. Here's what I am cooking this week. 

Monday
Orange Salsa Pork Chops, Okinawan Sweet Potatoes, rice, and curry-roasted cauliflower.
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Tuesday
Shoyu Fish sandwiches and Spicy Asian Coleslaw. I bought purple cabbage because it was on sale. Pretty and lots of kick!

Wednesday
Lemon Arugula Pasta. With a nod to my stylish friend SZ, this is vegetarian but definitely not vegan.

Thursday
Spinach salad and Simply Ono Roasted Potatoes. Some recipes can be easily converted to vegetarian. Spinach salad is not one of them. Bacon is a requirement.
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Straw, blue, rasp and blackberries!
Friday
Tacos--No Mix, and my own Guacamole

Afternoon snacks for the ravenous teenagers
Berries are in peak season. Drizzled with yogurt and granola. I've also bought fresh tamales from Whole Foods, tortillas with shredded cheese and salsa, Kee Wah Bakery croissants and pork curry puffs, and yes, two bags of potato chips.

 After all, they are teenagers. 

Eat Well. Be Well.
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What are We Having for Dinner?? I Have a Plan!

07/27/2010

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Once a week, I ask my family this, and usually the answer is, "uh, I dunno?" So every week, I aim to have 4-5 meals with a few basic rules. They are:

1) No Spam, bacon or sausage in the same week. As much as we love cured meats, moderation wins out.
2) Try to have one multi-dish meal.
3) Try for fish or vegetarian once a week.
4) Try to use all veggies over the course of the week.
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A menu comes together like this:

1) Fish Tacos (done first because I buy fresh fish) with fresh guacamole, cabbage, tomatoes, spiced yogurt and salsa

2) Multi-dish meal = Orange-Salsa Pork Chops, green beans, Okinawan sweet potatoes and jasmine rice. Uses salsa from Fish Tacos. The colors and flavors all play off each other. Spicy Orange-Salsa Pork Chops, simple fresh green beans and sweet and creamy Okinawan purple potatoes and the light, fragrant white jasmine rice all play nicely together.
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3) Nakayoshi Gakko Somen Salad--Uses leftover lettuce and tomatoes, adds a cuke, kamaboko and scrambled eggs. Meatless, and for home lunches.

4) Quinoa Salad--Use the rest of the cuke, and finish up the leftover fish or pork chops. Use whole cans of corn and black beans. Also good for lunch boxes.

5) Okonomiyaki (right)--This is a kind of Japanese dinner pancake/pizza. Uses eggs, the rest of the cabbage, kamaboko and any green beans

The actual shopping list is pretty efficient:
Pork chops
Fresh Fish
Orange juice
Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Avocados (4)
Limes (2)
Cilantro
Small red onion (1)
Jalapeno peppers (1)
Green beans
Cabbage (1)
Lettuce (1 bag or 1 head)
Tomato (3-4)
Cucumber (2)
Kamaboko (Japanese fish cake, the pretty pink kind)
Eggs
Canned Black Beans
Canned Corn
Corn Tortillas
Okonomiyaki Mix (from Safeway or Japanese grocery store, such as Nijiya, Marukai or Don Quijote)

Pantry Items You Probably Already Have In-House (add what you don't have to your shopping list)
Garlic
Sesame Oil
Canola Oil
Shoyu
Vinegar
White Sugar
Brown Sugar
Mayonnaise
Salsa
White Sesame Seeds
Cumin
Ginger (Powdered)
Somen
Jasmine rice
Quinoa
Dried Cranberries
Pine Nuts
Newman's Own Balasmic Vinegar Salad Dressing
Bulldog Tonkatsu Sauce (Safeway or Japanese grocery store, such as Nijiya, Marukai or Don Quijote)

At the end of the week, you end up with about 3/4 of a red onion, some cilantro, and perhaps some leftover corn tortillas. So next week, you can think about gyros to use the red onion, and chicken tortilla soup for the rest. It doesn't always work out this neatly, but this is what I aim for. Let me know what works for you!
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