Curried Pork Salad

"Curried Pork Salad"??? What kind of name is that for a hearty, low-fat, Moroccan-inspired salad? Good lord, you'd think someone with a degree in creative writing could come up with something better than "Curried Pork Salad". But I can't.

This is low-fat and a hit with 10-year old and 36-year old boys.

Curried Pork Salad

Marinade/Dressing
2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon honey
red pepper flakes to taste
salt and black pepper
optional: fresh mint or cilantro, chopped

Whisk marinade, taste and adjust accordingly. Reserve one cup for dressing.

Salad
Four boneless pork loin chops, marinated in yogurt marinade for one to four hours.
Your favorite leaf lettuce (I like Costco's Organic Spring Mix)
One cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
One bell pepper, cored and chopped
Half a red or white onion, thinly sliced
One box of your favorite couscous, prepared
About two cups cooked lentils, warmed

Broil or grill the pork chops until cooked through. Assemble lettuce and vegetables in a large bowl, toss with salt & pepper. Place salad on individual plates, top with one cup warm couscous. Top that with 1/2 cup lentils. Drizzle with 1/3 cup dressing (DO NOT USE the marinade--that should be thrown away!). Slice one chop into thin slices and place on top of lentils. For garnish: diced red bell pepper. Makes four servings.

The Truth about Starbucks

I love my Starbucks. It's a guilty, guilty pleasure. I know I have to give it up, once and for all. I know this because it's disgustingly expensive. But more so because the drinks that I like are LOADED with sugar. I might as well pour my coffee over ice cream and call it a coffee sundae!

My daily coffee--a Venti Non-Fat, No-Whip Caramel Mocha. Yes, it has calcium. But it also has 375 calories and 3.5 grams of fat. And it costs $4.20 a day now that the price has gone up again.

Sigh. This morning's was my last.

(Have I mentioned that I'm down 15 pounds from pre-baby weight?)

Birthday Wishes

My birthday is coming up and I can't decide on what to do. It needs to be:

1. something all three or four of us can enjoy (if I can't palm the baby off on family)
2. not more than $100
3. not crowded--Juiceboy hates a crowd
4. no more than 50 minutes driving, so SF is in but Tahoe is out
5. something where food or eating is involved...I think.

Some things I've been thinking about include a cheap lunch of sandwiches in a park and sending Fleagirl to a cooking class; a nice lunch in SF or Napa; finding someplace neat like Cowgirl Creamery to take a tour; a dinner in a dive after a movie.

I don't really want any presents this year--I need to buy new shoes and get my hair done before I go back to work in September, so I basically will buy myself my b-day present.

Anyone have good ideas for a good family b-day activity?

True Confessions: Bagged Salad

I have a confession to make. I've been buying pre-made bagged salads for the past month. It goes against everything I strive to achieve. It's cheap produce that's expensive simply because it's washed and put in a bagged "kit" for me. On sale, a bag costs about $3.50. For that much, couldn't I shred some fresh carrots, chop some romaine and red cabbage, throw in a handful of sugar snap peas, won ton strips, and ten dried cherries? Well, yes, probably. Dressing would be a problem (we all like the dressing in the Asian Supreme bag very much) but I'm sure I could work it out.

So why don't I go to the local farmstand and buy fresh and local? Why do I spend so much for salad that only has flavor because of the dressing?

Because of the convenience. Now, Deborah of Play with Food might argue with me about how convenient this food is. But I can honestly say that in the past three weeks, there's no way salad was going to be made by anyone unless it was super easy. Today I used the last of my bags--and with it made a promise to the local farmers that I'll be by this week.

Notice on my shopping list I *don't* have "Salad Bags"!

(If you do succumb to the lure of the bagged salad, forego the Salsa variety of the Fresh Express brand. We all thought it tasted quite odd--there was too much dressing, the tortilla strips seem almost meaty, and the dressing is too much like a thick thousand island sour cream.)

Breastfeeding: What Not to Eat

There's lots of tips on what you should eat and drink when you're breastfeeding. But not a lot out there on what *not* to eat so that your baby isn't gassy and cranky all night long.

Here's the start of what I hope is a SHORT list:

What Not to Eat When Breastfeeding
Sauerkraut (made him incredibly gassy)

11/10/07: I've discovered that the Baby is generally gassy and cranky. In the first two months I all but cut from my diet:

Onions
Garlic
Beans
Broccoli
Cauliflower
and of course, sauerkraut.

Eventually, his dad found that he was better on formula--but only slightly better, and it has to be soy-based.

Now, this Baby is thriving. At 3.5 months, he's about 27 inches and 19.5 pounds. HUGE. He's in 9 month clothing. I've started thinking about feeding him rice cereal, as he's drinking us out of house and home!

What's on Your Grocery List?

Our grocery list is growing. Even though my mother-in-law was really kind and brought us a ton of ham, frozen chicken, and pasta sauce, I still have a rapidly growing grocery list.

Grocery list as of 8/10:

tortilla bread (Oroweat Outlet)
milk (Costco)
Special K w/berries (Costco)
Mini-Wheats (Costco)
boullion cubes
olive oil
tortilla chips
dried cranberries
chicken broth
tinned tomatoes
peanut butter (Costco)
tomato sauce
tom. paste
shredded carrot
cucumbers
salsa
scallions
clothes pins (Target)
garlic
red onion
frozen fruit (Trader Joes or Costco)
cocoa powder
honey (Costco)
AA batteries (Costco)
eggs (Costco)
OJ
nectarines or peaches
butter
strawberries
blueberries
bananas
toothbrushes (Target)
draino (Target)
jemima paper
decent vinegar
green chiles
cilantro
school lunch stuff

It's such a huge list that I'm going to wait till payday--I haven't even gone through and *made* a list yet. This is just stuff we've run out of in the past two and a half weeks. I meant to go shopping before the baby came. Hahahahaaaa.

About the Baby

Thanks for all your kind emails. Here's the scoop on this little burrito.

Dylan was born two weeks ago and weighed 8lbs 9oz and was 21.5 inches. He weighed in last week at just over 9lbs (good boy!) and has been enjoying a milk diet. I have lost a total of 30 pounds in just two weeks and am pretty much exhausted.

Food these days is a bowl of frosted mini-wheats with 1% milk for breakfast, a peanut butter & honey sandwich for lunch, and whatever is put in front of me for dinner. Tonight I think I actually have to cook, since I said today would be good for kielbasa & pierogies (it's about 57 degrees here in sunny Northern California). Though what I really want is a big guacamole burger from Carl's Jr. Or a bowl of soup.

I'm off to take a nap before the little blighter wakes up.

How to Lose 26 Pounds in One Week

How to Lose 26 Pounds in One Week:




BREASTFEED

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies

The Bug flipped over his handlebars last month and broke his two front teeth. Now he has to eat soft food and nothing he has to bite into. It's been a challenge, but we've found a few things that he really enjoys.

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies

One banana
Two to three tablespoons smooth peanut butter (depending on your taste)
Two tablespoons chocolate syrup
Approximately 1 cup ice
One cup milk

Add all ingrediants to a blender and blend on high until smooth and frothy. This is a thin smoothie--add more milk if it's thick. Drink with a straw and enjoy!

Our Pho Field Trip

The Bug and I are doing field trips every Saturday. One weekend we went to Oakland's famous Chicken 'N Waffles (like Roscoe's, but not) as part of our "EXPLORE Oakland" field trip. We saw Jack London's little Alaskan shack, we looked at a lighthouse boat, we drove through West Oakland and looked at the folks working on their yards and corner gardens, and we spent some time in the giant, beautiful cemetary.

Last weekend we went to the Benicia Camel Barns. No eating involved with that one.

This weekend I had lots of shopping to do and didn't have time for a historic field trip. Instead, we went to Saigon #1 on North Texas Street in Fairfield and tried out some Vietnamese food. I'm no stranger to Bun and Pho, but I knew the Bug was and figured he'd enjoy it. I was right.

We arrived at 2pm to an empty, clean strip-mall hole-in-the-wall. It seemed to be staffed by 14-year old boys. We ordered a small Pho with brisket ($4.95) for the Bug (no tendon, thank you very much) and Bun with grilled pork and fried roll ($6.50) for me.

Oh. Guess I should mention that my kid had a bike accident a few days ago and bashed apart his two front teeth, doing himself some pretty nasty damage. No biting into foods and no hard food for at least 6 weeks. So I figured nice soft rice noodles and soothing broth would be a comfort.

I wasn't impressed with the veggies that came with the Pho. A lot of crunchy bean sprouts, one sad sprig of mint, three slices of jalepeno, and a tiny wedge of lime. No cilantro at all. But then again, I thought my kid would really only touch the lime, so I didn't say anything.

We also got one summer shrimp roll and one fried pork roll. Both were a hit with the kid...I objected to the substitution of lettuce for mint in the summer roll.

The grilled pork in the Bun was GREAT. Really flavorful, a little crispy, and perfectly cooked. The broth in the Pho was pretty good too. The only thing we didn't like was the watermellon smoothie, no pearls ($2.47) which was so fake and powdery tasting neither of us drank it. Imagine...a kid not liking a cold shake that tastes like Watermellon Bubbalicious!

The Bug ended up falling in love with bean sprouts. He wrapped up a package of them in a large lettuce leaf and munched on them in the car on the way to Costco. Very happy kid. We'll go back.

Saigon #1
1972 N. Texas Street
Fairfield, CA

Grilled Chicken Marinade

I'm getting closer and closer to having this kid. The due date is July 19th, so I'm almost "within the zone." Of course, the Bug was two weeks late. Though I don't think this one will do that to us, considering I've been having some serious Braxton Hicks (painless contractions) the past two days.

Anyway, with the mother of all barbeque holidays coming up, I thought I'd post my marinade for grilled chicken. This is good all year round and is quick and easy. It's MUCH better to make your own marinade than to open a bottle. Why? You control what goes into it. No monosodium diglutamate or polyunsacharide disorbatine.

With this one you won't get deep color on the grill (no sugar) and if you use more lemon juice your chicken will be whiter than normal. But it will taste sooooo good and juicy!

Grilled Chicken Marinade

1/3 C olive oil
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1/4 C good white wine
1/3 C warm water
2 to 4 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Put in a blender or food processor and blend until well mixed. If you don't have one, just mince your garlic well and gently julienne your basil.

Pour over four to six chicken breasts. I use skinless chicken breasts, and seal it all up tightly in a freezer bag. Marinate for at least 30 minutes--but an hour in the fridge is better.

Save some of the marinade for using on the chicken after it's cooked--don't use raw chicken marinade.

Koryo Wooden Charcoal Barbecue

Yesterday I lunched at Oakland's Koryo Wooden Charcoal Barbecue, hoping to find those buns that Bon Vivant has on her blog. Alas, no buns. (The cheapest appetiser was about nine bucks--and I think it was fried shrimp).

I arrived around 2:30, after running work errands. It was a Friday and I trolled Telegraph Avenue trying to figure out what the best Korean place would be for a late lunch. Koryo is hidden in the corner of a little Korean strip mall, and has some parking, for the very lucky. I was lucky.

They take plastic, so in I went. The waitress seemed surprised when I asked if they were still open. How was I to know? It was pretty late for lunch and the place was empty except for staff. She seated me at a table for six, facing a large, dirty aquarium. I noticed later that the aquarium had water, rocks, etc., but no fish. But there was a large can of fish food next to it. Hmmmmm.

I had lots to read with me, so didn't fret when the waitress ignored me to do her prep work at other tables. I ordered Bulgogi for $5.95 and a diet soda. The soda came quickly, as did some water.

Eventually, out she came with a large tray. She plopped down about nine little bowls of stuff, a small metal bowl of rice, a larger metal bowl of what looked to be hot pond water, and a sizzling metal and wood tray of beef. No individual plate. Here's your spoon, here's your chopsticks. Goodbye.

She left me to contend with the array of food in front of me. I recognized the rice, cucumber, and kim chee. There were two kinds of cold sprouts: one with large beans and one that was fatter and grey. As I'm pregnant and can't remember the warnings about sprouts, I ate them sparingly. There was some chunked vegetable in a kimchee type arrangement, and another crunchy green type of vegetable also fermented. I liked the pickled, shredded something. Daikon? The pond water tasted like pond water and I wondered if the aquarium served a purpose. There was a cold potato, fried (tempura'd?), and plunked in honey that was interesting.

The one thing I really, really hated looked like fat string beans but tasted like it had been scraped off the inside of said aquarium. After reading other reviews, I wonder if this was some sort of reconstituted fish product? Ieewwwww. (I'm not an adventurous eater. Really, I'm not.)

The beef itself was good and plentiful, though a bit bland. I would have liked more kimchee to go with it, but was reluctant to ask. There were no sauces on the table.

As I was finishing up a party of three came in. They were college students, and appeared to be Asian. The waitress was no ruder or more polite to them than she was to me. With a tip and tax, I paid $10.65 for my very filling lunch.

I'd like to go back to experience the bibimbap and the grilling. And as I passed the kitchen staff sitting together for their own lunch, an older man joyfully yelled through a mouthful of rice, "THANK YOU!"

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

For the Food Network, Memorial Day signifies the beginning of grilling/bbq season. I blissed out on barbeque shows last weekend, making myself crave barbeque with a vengence. It's rare that I rue the day we left San Francisco, but last weekend I did--because we used to be so close to Memphis Minnie's. Memphis Minnie's does 'que the way I like it: dry rubs with flavorful sauces on the table for *you* to add.

I skipped out to the store and found a lovely cheap shoulder blade pork roast for only $4.50 (which is unheard of in the Bay Area). I cooked it slowly and lovingly and it gave us great pulled pork sandwiches for days afterwards.

Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork Sandwiches
1 pork shoulder blade roast (4-5 pounds)
4T ground cumin
1/4C packed brown sugar
4 T paprika (I used sweet)
1/4 C chili powder
2T red pepper flakes
liberal amount of salt and fresh pepper
2T vegetable oil
1 C Apple juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Trim excess fat off roast. Mix all the dry ingrediants in a bowl, adjusting for taste and amount (if you have a large roast you'll need more rub). Rub meat with seasonings. At this point, you can let the roast sit up to a day--wrapped and refrigerated--but I'm impatient and last minute, so I get going with the cooking.

Heat a large, heavy, ovenproof pot at medium. Add the oil. Once heated, brown the meat on all sides. When sufficiently browned, cover pot with aluminum foil and an oven-proof lid. Cook in oven at 325 for about 3 hours (until pork is at 170-175 degrees and tender tender tender). Halfway through the cooking process baste meat with apple juice.

Remove from oven and pot, and let juices settle. Skim the fat from pan juices and set those juices aside. When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred with two forks:










Mix in with the pan juices (watch out--don't add too much liquid!).

At this point you can add in your favorite barbeque sauce. Some people will only make their own. I like Emeril's Sweet N Easy Molasses BBQ sauce.

The result:


Juiceboy and I both like our Pulled Pork Sandwiches to be topped with a vinegary, crispy coleslaw. The Bug likes just the meat, of course. And I only use those terrible, fluffy sandwich buns for this sloppy sandwich. No Kaiser Rolls to get in the way of my chomping down!

Typical American Serving Suggestions: Boston Baked Beans (we like Bush's Honey Beans); corn on the cob, garden salad.

The Amsterdam Special

A few years ago I was fortunate to be sent to Amsterdam for work. Mornings I got up and wandered the city on foot before I headed off to work. One of the nicest mornings--and breakfasts--I had was along one of the canals in a sleepy little residential neighborhood. I'd popped into a shop and purchased a little sandwich and enjoyed it as the city started to rise.

I've craved that sandwich ever since and recreated it to the best of my ability on Saturday.

The Amsterdam Special
One sourdough baguette, cut into three or four sections
Softened, salted butter
Ripe tomatoes, sliced
Havarti cheese, sliced thin
Salt and pepper

Cut the bread to make a sandwich, and butter liberally. Cover with salted & peppered tomatoes; add at least two slices of cheese to each sandwich. Enjoy with a cold beer outside!

Cocktail Bits and Pieces

The '50's Cocktail Party ended up not being a 50's cocktail party at all. Sure, that was the purported theme, but I really didn't see anything there that said 50s cocktail party. It wasn't really clear on the invites and people showed up wearing all sorts of clothes (my awful maternity top was decidedly modern, though it does show a lot of boob).

The instructions I was given was to bring two cold and two hot appetizers, finger-only food. The hots were to come out 90 minutes after the party began; since I live two doors down this wasn't a problem. I did, however, want to be sure I didn't go over my budget ($100 for all the appetizers, for 40 people) and didn't bite off more than I could chew in terms of energy. As the others were doing a lot of items straight from the Costco freezer section, I decided I didn't have to be super fancy.

My menu resulted in a mix of vegetarian, cold and hot, crunchy/chewy/spicy and smooth:

Parmesan Crisps
Crudite with three dips (green goddess; cucumber feta; hummus)
Honey Ginger Chicken Bites
Pigs in a Blanket with three mustards

Oh sooooo fancy!

For the veggies I had pre-washed baggies of snow peas, broccoli, carrots, etc. and just arranged them around a pretty trio of dips. I made the green goddess and bought the others.

Pigs in a Blanket turned out to be the party favorite--I had a dog chasing me down the street and then people jumping on me before I even got in the door.

The honey ginger chicken bites were a Cooking Light recipe made with boneless skinless chicken thighs, marinated, cooked, and then broiled in a glaze. Pretty good over all--but ugly on the plate even with bits of parsley and fancy frilly toothpicks.

The Parmesan Crisps were really my favorite. They should have been placed on the bar for all the folks hanging out getting sloshed. They were a great nibbly thing, just perfect with beer or red wine.

Parmesan Crisps

One sourdough baguette
1/2 pound butter
1/2 to 1 cup grated (not shredded) Parmesan cheese
Julienned basil

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the bread into 1/4" slices. Melt the butter and pour into flat tray or pan. Put cheese in second tray or pan. Dip bread into butter on both sides, taking care not to soak up all the butter. Then coat both sides of bread with cheese. Place all slices on a cookie tray. Bake for nine minutes, then turn over all slices and cook for another four minutes. Sprinkle with basil and allow to cool.

Time is Flying!

Thanks everyone for all the kind notes. May has been a busy month for me, and I seem to want to do nothing but sleep. My goal for today is to stay awake all day and stay up until 9:30 tonight. What a goal, huh?

Actually, I have a number of things I want to do, including baking some bread (we're completely out), get my oil changed, pick up paint chips for the Bug's room (we're switching rooms in anticipation of a squalling kid mid-July), and cooking a very inexpensive roast--pork, of course.

I also intend to write up some of the bits and pieces I've successfully thrown together this month. It hasn't been much, that's for sure.

Now that spring is here, what are you craving? What are you enjoying? Strawberries are unusually sweet and juicy this year. I'm hoping to stop by the U-Pick cherry stand today--but I only have $4 allotted. I wonder how many I can pick for that little?

Steak Salad with Green Godess Dressing

We had leftover london broil in the fridge yesterday and I had seen a snippet of The Barefoot Contessa making a salad with Green Godess dressing. I thought, why not make a steak salad with Green Godess dressing? So I did, and oh boy, was it good. No pictures though--we ate it up too fast!

Steak Salad
Thinly sliced steak--like leftover London Broil
One to two heads butter lettuce, washed and dried
Two ripe tomatoes, cut in wedges
Steamed broccoli (I had it leftover)
Yukon gold potatoes, cut in quarters and roasted (again, I had leftovers)
Green Godess Dressing

Toss all the ingredients and serve immediately with crusty sourdough. I like the simplicity of the ingredients, but again, it was what I had in the fridge. What's in yours?

Green Godess Dressing
1 Cup Lowfat Mayo
3/4 Cup light/low fat sour cream
2-3 garlic cloves
3-5 scallions
Juice of one plump lemon
1.5 cups fresh basil
1 teaspoon (or to taste) anchovy paste
Freshly ground pepper

Mix everything in a food processor until smooth and blended. Adjust consistency as needed. This is great as a sandwich spread as well!

Bad food is worse than bad sex

My co-worker and I were talking about a recently opened bad Chinese place in Oakland (Emperor Chinese Gourmet: Americanized, bland, flavorless, boring, pedantic, blah and odd). We both tried it because it's near the office and promised cheap eats.

As my pregnancy progresses I've wanted more and more spicy and flavorful food--which I didn't get at Emperor Chinese Gourmet. But I was super hungry so I filled up. Back in the office I realized I was full, but seriously unsatisfied. I rooted around in my desk for an old fireball, some Red Hots, or even a peppermint. I ended up eating peppermint Tums just to get the flavor.

My co-worker said, "Bad food is like bad sex. If you're unsatisfied you end up having to go and make do on your own."

So...don't go to Emperor Chinese Gourmet in Oakland, or you'll be breaking out your vibrator in the middle of the afternoon.

Not a 50s Cocktail Party!

I have to come up with appetizers for an early 1950s cocktail party. Something that says elegant yet retro. Swank yet edible. My old cookbooks are filled with things like rumaki and tomato aspic. Stuff I really, really don't want to make. Last time I had to cook for this type of cocktail party I included "Angels on Horseback" which is a take on rumaki: smoked oysters wrapped in bacon & broiled.

Any suggestions?

Mmmmm...butties

The New York Times published an article today about the perfect Bacon Butty. That's pronounced "boo-tee" or "bood-tee" not "butt-ee".

The first time I had a butty it was on Thanksgiving at the Mayflower in San Rafael. I was surrounded by sweaty, grown men who'd woken up early to go play soccer on a damp field. They were muddy, tired, getting drunk, and very happy. Football--the real kind with the ball that rolls on the ground--was on the telly and some old guy was about to sing pub songs. I felt like the only non-Brit in the place. Which I probably was.

Just when I thought we'd all be blitzed by noon, out came a cherub-faced lady with a platter of sandwiches. They were passed around and I sunk my choppers into it, expecting turkey (it *was* Thanksgiving, afterall).

Instead, it was a dry, dry sandwich. Drrrryyyyyyy. Half-stale white bread, a thin spread of butter, and some really thick steak fries. It needed salt, mayo, pepper, ham, tomato and lettuce to make it palatable. All I had was half a pint of Newcastle. I was starving, so I downed it as I ate.

And wouldn't you know it, by the bottom of that pint, the Chip Butty became the best thing in the world. I wanted to chase that lady down for more. And I look forward to the powder-dry Chip Butty now every year.

In my current pregnant state, a bacon butty sounds even better. Or a bacon sarnie, perfectly made with just the right bread. Focaccia? Dutch crunch? Sourdough!

Of course, there's no place around here that will grill me up a bacon butty for lunch. I wonder if anyone in the office would mind if I cooked me up some bacon in our kitchen?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/europe/11bacon.html?em&ex=1176436800&en=fd42834e54685106&ei=5087%0A