GrownUp SpaghettiOs after The Anniversary at SeaCompression

Hey All,

I've been slightly MIA, but well.  More than anything, I've been traveling.  I often forget how busy a jam packed week before a trip really screws with household planning.  There have also been some recent tragedies, but, out of respect for many of my readers, I won't rehash that.  Those of you who are in the know, THANK YOU for being there!  Without your love and support, this would have been A LOT more difficult!

Last week ended up being lots of dining out.....and my budge reflects it.  But, I keep reminding myself, its that time of year and its OK to let my hair down.

There is little to report from last week that isn't holy depressing.  The happy stuff started on Friday when we departed Salt Lake City for Seattle, first class to celebrate our Anniversary at SeaCompression.  Being our first anniversary and all, we decided to do it in style.  Up first was my first-ever first-class flight on Alaska Airlines.  I have loved Alaska for years, their regional carrier used to be my preferred path out of Montana.  In the past year, they have opened up tons of markets in Salt Lake City;  every chance I got I thanked them and congratulated them on their success in Salt Lake City.  I am thrilled to say I am now a card carrying member of their mileage program and will likely continue to fly them when a first-class ticket is in order.

The flight up was pleasant, no alcohol service until 10K feet, but that was soon rectified.  The meal outbound was OK.  It was a toasted turkey and cheese on ciabatta and a broccoli slaw.  The broccoli slaw was a reminder that I really should do that more often when I have broccoli stems instead of feeding them to the dogs.  It was perfectly dressed with a more Mediterranean twist than I am used to with slaw, but it was quite tasty.

Seattle greeted us with the usual fun and frivolity and a very charming accommodation.  If you ever need a place to stay in Seattle and last minute prices have you gagging, try A Bed & Breakfast Inn Seattle.  The rate was well within budget, and despite a smallish sleeping area, everything else was perfect.  The meals were tasty and the staff friendly;  I couldn't have asked for more!

Also in Seattle, I got better acquainted (oh who am I kidding, I feel like they are best friends for life), with Ranger Torchwood, and company, shout to Ranger Flourless Cake too.  We met at the Berlin social at Burning Man and instantly rubbed off on one another.  Here's a picture of us before we created a spectacle of ourselves on one of the dance stages.

I'd love to share more pictures from SeaCompression, but let's be honest, you just have to be there.  Just ask my Mom who was heartbroken that SeaCompression was early this year and she couldn't get away from her job to come.

Seattle brought its usual culinary delights.  One of me favorites, not to be missed, is Odd Fellow's.  The mussels there are not to be missed.  Not quite as good as the canal mussels I had in Vancouver, WA, but a very close 3rd, with Bambara's being #2.  Another amazing find was the hole in the wall, Pike St. Fish Fry.  Traditional cod fish 'n chips with malt vinegar and curry ketchup made this bear very happy!  Oh and I have to say, I actually had good seafood on this trip to Seattle.  Its ironic that I've never had that spectacular of seafood in Seattle in all the times I've visited.

Then, in a flash, it was time to come home.  We were able to enjoy the hospitality of Alaska's Board Room....lunch was a salad and curry red lentil soup.  This is a soup I must make in the upcoming winter months.  It was a nice bite, soon to be followed by Alaska's award winning in-flight service.  Granted, I sent a rather poor review of my check-in experience as I couldn't find the first class check in until well after I'd done the check-in of the unwashed masses, but their in-flight service made up for that minor inconvienence.

The meal was a "snack" of chicken salad.....  I must say, I'd never thought to make a curried chicken salad.  This meal has inspired me to give it my own attempt, I even bought turmeric at the market today:

I must add, they are doing something right.  The solitary cherry tomato was a highlight of the dish.  I often find tomatoes that don't come from my garden to be tasteless, this one was sweet and popped in my mouth.....the glass of chardonnay (and the two before and the three after) was icing on the cake.

Now that I'm home and we've had the obligatory crap pizza meal, I got my poop in a group and made a meal.  Granted, this one is not quite as nice on the pocketbook, or as visually pleasing, but it turned out great.  I call it Grownup SpaghettiOs....and it only dirtied 3 dishes plus plates for 3.

Some time ago, I scored a heck of a deal on premade pesto and tampanade.  I think I paid $0.50 for the containers and threw them in the freezer.  A bit ago, whole wheat cheese tortellini was on sale, I can't remember, but I think it was $2.99 a container.  It takes 2 containers to feed us, so we're into it $6.50 now.  I also scored on frozen green beans at $0.38/lb today....I think I prepared a pound.

At any rate, here's the result:

The little packet of cheese and herbs was saved from the pizza the other night.  Yeah, I'm cheap like that, but damn those things come in handy sometimes!  Yes, that's also a glass of wine.  I've found that when I'm feeling like I do after a day like today, a couple glasses of wine help me lose the day, sleep well, and not have stomach upset in the morning.....not to mention I'll likely drink 32oz of water before bed.


Today's shopping also brought great ideas for next week.  Husbear is off on Friday and has promised to help with the prep for next week.  I'm happy about this, I think we're catching on that a little bit of preparation makes for a lot less hectic week.  Without further ado, here's the menu for next week along with prep:

Meal 1:  Chorizo and peppers.  Usually I do an Italian sausage and peppers, but I was pretty sure we were out of Italian sausage and chorizo was cheap on sale ($1.58 for 18 oz).  We'll slice the onions, tomatoes, and peppers and have them in the fridge so all we have to do is fry the mess.

Meal 2:  Beefteki.  I've written about this one before and its a favorite (see April 6, 2014 entry).  I have leftover greek yogurt in the fridge and cucumbers were $0.10 ea, so why not!  I had to hunt to find a cucumber that hadn't been frozen and was wilty, but the hunt was worth it.  We'll mix the beef, herbs, and onion and have that ready to go.  The tatzeki will be made ahead as well as the flatbread (see May 30th entry).

Meal 3:  Steak and Corn on the Cob.  OK, this one doesn't have much prep, except maybe dry rubbing and sealing the steaks.  I paid a bit more than I like to for corn, $0.39, but the ears were nice and I know they are local.

Meal 4:  Walnut Shrimp.  Cabbage wasn't super cheap, but I've been craving this and at $0.59/lb I couldn't say no and mean it.  This is a personal favorite of mine and really easy to make if you cheat on the breading....I'll have to write this one up when I make it.  I always serve the shrimp on a bed of shredded cabbage....the cabbage barely wilts when you throw the hot shrimp and sauce on top and is a just perfect sweet and savory.  Granted, this is purple cabbage so the whole mess will turn out a weird green/purple color, but whatever.

Meal 5:  Flatbread Chicken Margherittha.  An easy take on the classic Margherittha pizza.  Since I've only enjoyed a few of the tomatoes, and most have gone in the freezer, we'll be doing this.  Also mozzarella, while fun to make, was on sale for $1.49 for 8oz in water.  Make the flabread ahead.  Soak the chicken in garlic, salt, and oregano and grill it.  Put together and throw it under the broiler for a bit and viola!

I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the Autumn.  And let me reiterate, no more freaking tragedies....I'm getting kind of tire of it.

Lotsa Love,

3Day

3hours is a Resonable Trade-off

Well Greetings Everyone,

I hope this update finds you well and having fun in your kitchen.  This past while has been off its rocker with fun and good times.  There is minimal BS to report, and even though I have not been posting, we have eaten well at the 825.

This is that time of year when we return from Burning Man and life gets odd.  Not odd like things are falling apart, but odd like we have little energy for the mundane part of life.  This year was especially difficult as I was in Pennsylvania 4 days before departure for a seminar.  I learned a ton and it was worth every moment, however compliments of US Airways, my 4 days became 3.  Safe to say it was a fast pack, but a wonderful burn that we did, on our own, and on our own terms.  We learned some time ago that often the best way for us to have a great time is to do it on our own terms.  This time around was no exception.

The past couple of weeks have been filled with clean-up and a bit of preparation for the winter ahead.  My peach tree did produce this year and I was able to put up 3 small jars of peach preserves.  I'm sure they'll be enjoyed in the dead of winter.

We enjoyed some great take-out, order in, and eat out over the past couple of weeks.  Among them have been  The Pie Hole, The Med, Copper Bowl, and a few other local favorites.  I love the Pie Hole for their unique and tasty pies and The Med really does the trick when I need a Mediterranean fix.  I can't say enough good things about the Copper Bowl.  There are some round about connections with them via a co-worker.  Their drink menu is inventive and tasty, dishes are exactly what I expect for Indian cuisine, and who doesn't love Gulab Jamun?

Since eating out has been a bit on the spendy end and I've been missing my kitchen, it was time to make a time investment and have easy to prepare meals for the week ahead.  It started with keeping an eye out on social media for all those recipes that sound good and I should try.  I also keep a list of meal ideas on the fridge in case I hit a mental block.  I also found a recipe for Wild Rice Soup that I love.  Having two recipes in mind, it was time to hit the markets.

Shopping is always a challenge for me.  I HATE spending money, but love to find a good deal.  The NPS Gods were not as kind as usual this week, but I did find what I needed at a price that didn't make me cry.

With the shopping done, and work to be done, I started about 3 hours ago to get it all together for the week ahead.

First up, Stuffed Green Peppers.  Everyone has their favorite way of doing these.  Lots of trial and error and I've finally got a "recipe" I can live with.  To do these for the week ahead, I clean the peppers and make the filling.  I like my filling to have a bit more of an Italian flair than the Mexican type I grew up with.  I do still add a bit of cumin to keep the flavor interesting, but its mostly ground beef, onion, oregano, thyme, and since I have been pleasantly surprised with the nice late season weather, a large tomato cut up.  I fried that all together with some salt added a bit of rice, stuffed the peppers and put them in the fridge for an easy, pull it out and bake it meal.  I also go light on the rice.  I'm not a huge fan of mushy filling and have learned that going lighter on the rice keeps for a less mushy filling.

Avacados were also on sale and shrimp was reasonably priced, so tomorrow night will be Anaheim Shrimp Scampi.  I love this recipe, but usually do it with traditional spaghetti and always add a bit of tomato.  This will likely be the hardest meal of the week to prepare.

Social media is a great place to find meal ideas and "Hawaiian Chicken" caught my eye.  This looks like a really straightforward recipe that I'll have vaccuum sealed up and ready to pour into a crock pot when it is time.

Hawaiian Chicken
   2lb chicken (I used boneless skinless thighs), cut into cubes
   1 cup pineapple juice
   1/2 cup brown sugar
   1/3 cup soy sauce
   Mix together and cook in a low crock pot for 6-8 hours.  It is recommended to be served with rice.  I'm thinking I'll do a vegetable pilaf, just to add a bit more texture and variety than sticky meat with plain rice.

I love sandwich thins and they were also on sale and grapes were reasonable, since chicken salad is always a favorite of mine, it went on this week's menu.  I'm willing to eat chicken salad ranging from chicken and mayo to more extravagant things.  The bounty of the fall garden has made this one extra enjoyable.

While I'm cooking boneless skinless chicken breasts on the grill, I gather all the other things I need.  I like breasts for this because they tend to be a bit drier and soak up all the great flavors if I'm making it ahead.  This version has almonds, tarragon (yum, anise type flavor), savory, chives, quartered cherry tomatoes, halved grapes, salt, and sour cream as the binder.  I'm not fond of mayo only salads, so I tend to use sour cream and/or yogurt.  If it needs the bit of fatty flavor from the mayo, I'll go half and half, but this is very rare.

I also learned the secret to good German style cole slaw at Burning Man this year, and cabbage was at a nice price again.  Onion, salt, and celery seed.  No other seasonings are needed.  The recipe that was shared to me calls for apple cider vinegar, but I didn't have any in the pantry so I used half white rice vinegar and half distilled vinegar and a matching amount of olive oil.  I also added a bit of sugar as I like my slaws to be sweet.  I'm hoping the person who shared the recipe with me isn't offended that I have done odd things to it, but the preliminary taste tells me it will be delicious in a couple of days.  This will be served with the chicken salad sandwiches.  It should be a tasty European meal :)

Thursday will be the Wild Rice Soup.  The story behind this one is another one of those, "Its a great deal, I think I'll try it and see what comes..." sort of things.  The first time I made this, I had scored a box of wild rice for $0.25.  Having no idea what to do with it, I made the soup recipe on the label and have never looked back.  Its supposed to rain on Thursday, so this with slices of mild sourdough should be wonderful.

Wild Rice Soup
   1/3 cup wild rice
   1 cup water
   1/2 tsp salt
   1/2 cup butter
   3/4 cup chopped onion
   1 cup finely chopped celery
   2 tsp salt
   1/4 tsp white pepper (who uses this stuff?  I always use black, the flecks aren't that important to me)
   1/4 cup flour
   5 cups milk

In a saucepan, bring water, rice, and salt to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes or until the rice is tender.  It will rupture in the middle when it is done.

To make the soup:  In a large pot melt butter and add onions and celery.  Cover and cook 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender.  The recipe says to avoid browning the vegetables, but I always do, I think it adds more flavor.  Stir in salt, pepper, and flour.  I make sure it forms a roux.  Remove from heat and slowly stir in milk until the flour is well blended.  Return to low heat and cook until the soup thickens.  Add the cooked rice and simmer until the flavors are blended.  Serve immediately or chill and reheat.  Serve with chopped chives.

So in 3 hours, I've made my week ahead super easy and my fridge very full :P

I also started the morning craving a real breakfast, preferably with  leftovers for the week ahead.  Apricots were plentiful this spring so I had plenty of dried ones.  A quick scour of the internet and I found this:  Dried Apricot and Sage Scones. I should mention, I'm not a huge fan of Martha Stewart, but I have noticed she's toned down the "you must do it this way" since her time in prison and has become, at least in my eyes, empowering with a bit more of a "you can do this" to the home cook.  I took lots of liberties with this recipe and didn't do the sugar crust thing, but they were still delicious with peach yogurt.  Better yet, I've got leftovers for the work week ahead.

I hope you are all well.  Since I am likely to pick up huge writing projects in the off season, don't be alarmed if you see more of me practicing!

3 Day