Month: July 2018

Lunch

For lunch we had more of the Popeye’s chicken, at room temperature,  with the remaining salad from last night.

• The chicken is $2.98 per serve with tax
• The salad kit was $3.49 for four serves, or 88c per serve.

Lunch today cost $3.97 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight’s “Thursday Night Steak Night” was a rib eye with Trader Joe’s marinated and grilled eggplant and Zucchini grilled vegetables.

• The dry aged rib eye was $19.16 or $9.58 per serve
• The grilled vegetables were $3.99 for the pack or $2.00 per serve.

We were unable to finish tonight’s meal, so the left over vegetable and steak will surface in a lunch shortly. We really liked the balsamic marinated grilled vegetables.  A good meal for $11.58 per serve (with about ⅓ left over).

Lunch

Foodie Philip was heading home from Burbank so it was time for Popeye’s Fried Chicken with Red Beans and Rice.

• The chicken is $2.98 per serve with tax
• The red beans and rice is $2.12 per serve with tax.

Lunch today was $5.10 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to finish the pulled pork and served it with a Foster Farms Sweet Kale salad kit.

• The pulled pork was $3.43 per serve
• The salad kit was $3.49 for four serves, or 88c per serve.

The salad was one of the better kits we’ve sampled and the pulled pork was as good as it always is. A good meal for $4.31 per serve.

Lunch

As we enjoyed the sweet and spicy trout, we thought we’d give a pink salmon pouch a try, along with some capers for crunch and salt. It worked okay.

• The salmon was 1.49 or 75c per serve
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 33c per serve
• The moon touched tomato adds 15c per serve
• Add 45c for butter and garlic dip.

Today’s sandwiches were enjoyable, if messy, for $2.00 per serve.

Dinner

With a hot night looming we didn’t want to have the oven on, so we used the immersion circulator to sous vide shrimp and to reheat a pack of Tikka Vegetables from Trader Joe’s. Served with brown rice from the pressure cooker.

• The Tikka vegetables were $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• The shrimp was $7.99 for the pack, and we used half, or $2.00 per serve
• Add 33c for brown rice
• Add 40c for butter and garlic.

It’s rare we make bad flavor combination choices, but this was one. The shrimp had perfect texture and were cooked exactly as we wanted. The Tikka Vegetables were also pretty good with the rice. The Tikka Vegetables and the Shrimp simply did not work well together. We think we’ll use the Tikka Vegetables with another Indian vegetarian dish on rice next time.

Still, as long as you ate in serial it was all good for $3.73 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we finished some par baked panini rolls and stuffed them with the Soutzoukakia and some of the tomato sauce, along with a slice of Swiss cheese. Messy but so good.

• The Soutzoukakia and sauce come to $2.12
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 33c per serve
• Par-baked roll is 55c.

Lunch today was great for $3.00 per serve.

Dinner

We have been planning pulled pork since the Pork Shoulder arrived in our Keller Crafted meat box this month. We keep it simple, braising on a bed of onion and garlic cloves with chicken stock.

After three hours it was perfect and pulled apart beautifully. We served with a fresh corn – cut right off the cob into the salad – and “spicy” black bean salad. No-one noticed the spice, but with the bell pepper and shallot it was a perfect, sharp foil to the pulled pork.

• The pork shoulder is $18.94 and we’ll get six serves, or $3.16 per serve
• Onion and garlic adds 10c per serve
• Chicken stock is $3.99 a quart, and with one cup used 17c per serve
• The corn was 50c and we’ll get four serves of the salad, or 13c per serve
• The beans were 99c for a can, or 25c per serve
• The bell pepper was $1.32 or 33c per serve
• Add 15c for shallot and seasoning.

A really well balanced meal withe the pickled onion on top providing a sour crunch against the pulled pork, balanced with the freshness of the salad, for $4.29 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we had supermarket sushi, except the main ‘salad roll’ was more like a summer spring roll as it had no rice. The Avocado sushi was more conventional.

The average for the two was $7.49 per serve.

Dinner

For dinner Foodie Greg pan fried two Keller Crafted pork chops in butter and served with an Endive and Apple salad with a mustard, oil and apple cider vinegar dressing.

• The pork chops were $11.84 or $5.92 per serve
• The endive were $2.31 or $1.16 per serve
• The Envy apple was 86c or 43c per serve
• Add 35c for dressing ingredients.

Dinner tonight was excellent. The sharpness of the salad balanced the perfectly cooked, but slightly fatty pork. An excellent meal for $7.86 per serve.

Lunch

Trying for a “tuna melt” variation we combined canned Sardines with spicy labné (yoghurt cheese) and, for a little crunch, sun-dried tomatoes.

• Skinless, boneless sardines in water are $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
• Add 35c for labné and butter
• The sun dried tomatoes were $5.99 and we shared about 1/6 or 25c per serve.

Lunch today worked really well as a sandwich for $1.92 per serve.

Dinner

It was time to revisit Soutzoukakia was such a success last time we had it, that we had to do it again. Instead of just adding canned crushed tomatoes, we used one can of fire roasted crushed tomato, and a can of Trader Joe’s Grecian Style Eggplant,Tomato and Onion. This is an excellent addition and it really elevated this dish. We cannot recommend it highly enough.

Tonight we served two, but there is a third serve for left overs (that will probably go into lunch rolls).

• Ground lamb was $6.99 or $2.33 per serve
• An egg is 50c or 17c per serve
• 8 oz Panko breadcrumbs are $2.99 and we used half, or 25c per serve
• Cotija cheese, substituting for Parmesan is $3.99 for 8oz and we shared 2 oz or 50c per serve
• 1/4 cup and a tablespoon of red wine – halved – is 34c per serve
• Canned crushed tomatoes were $1.25 for the can, or 42c per serve
• The eggplant, tomato and onion is $2.49 or 83c per serve
• Onions, shallot and garlic adds 25c per serve
• Parsley was $1.49 for the bunch, but we only used 1/4 or 13c per serve
• Fresh mint came from our garden
• Tomato paste comes in a 90c can, but we used 1/8 or 5c per serve
• Tabouli costs $2.69 for 8 oz and we had two each, or 67c per serve
• The tin of dolma’s is $2.49 or 83c per serve.

The lamb version creates a software patty with more flavor than with beef, so we like this version better for  $6.77 per serve.

Lunch

Before we left San Diego we lunched with friends at The Parkhouse Eatery. It was recommended to us, and we recommend it to you. The atmosphere is causal, but the food is first class. Perhaps more importantly, the staff are obviously having fun while working.

The Foodies had different Benedict interpretations: Foodie Greg has the bacon “PK Benedict,” while Foodie Philip had the Cowboy Benedict featuring a 4 oz Flank Steak. They both were dressed with perfectly cooked eggs and an avocado hollandaise that had the perfect amount of heat from the poblano peppers in it. The steak was cooked as ordered.

Unexpectedly served with a small mountain of mashed potato, but it was good and worked.

This was a great meal. Next time we’ll pay instead of being treated by our friend!

Dinner

Back home and it’s “Thursday Steak Night” featuring a 12 oz rib eye from Keller Crafted meats, and a basic Caesar salad.

• The dry aged rib eye was $17.54 or $8.77 per serve
• The organic Romaine lettuce cost $1.99 or 99c per serve
• Oven baked cheese bites (instead of croutons and Parmesan) are $2.49 for the pack and we used half on the salad, or 67c per serve
• A pastured egg is 50c or 25c per serve
• Add 30c for other dressing ingredients.

Dinner was – as expected – a very tasty and satisfying meal, without being “out of the box exciting” like the last couple of meals! But good for $10.98 per serve.

Lunch

A direct repeat of yesterday’s sandwiches.

• The pastrami was $11.99 for 16 oz and we used 2 oz, or 63c per serve
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 33c per serve
• The tomato adds 25c per serve
• Add 45c for butter and garlic dip.

Lunch today cost $1.98 per serve.

Dinner

During the afternoon the Foodies drove to San Diego to attend the SoCal Creatives and OWC Dinner with media professions (who may also be user group leaders). Hosted by OWC it was a great evening of camaraderie and sharing. Sincere thanks to OWC.

The food from Rancho Bernado Inn was excellent, starting with an Asparagus soup with Creme Fraiche , whitefish caviar and Asparagus tips. While it tasted a little salty by itself, with the Creme Fraiche and caviar it was perfectly balanced.

There was a choice of mains, with Foodie Philip opting for the Emmer & Co Chicken, Lentils, Shallots, Nueske’s Bacon, Cabbage and Mushroom. It was a good, flavorful chicken – as much as you can get – with a well balanced and deeply rich sauce that made eating lentils appealing! I think the bacon and mushroom contributed.

Foodie Greg enjoyed the Wild Island Salmon, Kombu, Radishes, Green Garlic Fumet, Preserved Meyer Lemon, which similarly met his high standards.

 

Lunch

Once more with toasted sandwiches for lunch

• The pastrami was $11.99 for 16 oz and we used 2 oz, or 63c per serve
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 33c per serve
• The tomato adds 25c per serve
• Add 45c for butter and garlic dip.

Lunch today cost $1.98 per serve.

Dinner

Because it’s salad weather we revisited out simplified “Cobb” salad with burrata and smoked trout.

• The burrata was $4.99 or $2.50 per serve
• The Persian cucumber was $1.99 or 50 per serve
• Grape tomatoes were $2.49 for the pack, but we used half or 63c per serve
• We used one can of smoked trout per serve at $3.49
• Add 30c for watercress.

Dinner tonight was a good combination of smoked trout with the freshness of the cucumber and tomato and creaminess of the burrata. The sprinkling of “Everything but the Bagel” spice (Trader Joe’s) really melded the dish. We enjoyed it for $7.42 per serve.