Month: November 2018

Lunch

The Foodies were off to a conference in Norther California by car, so we stopped at the In and Out Burger at Kettleman City and enjoyed our various burgers. Foodie Philip had his usual Double Double animal style for $4.34 with tax.

Dinner

Arriving the night before the conference started allowed us to revisit Cafe Torre where we enjoyed a meal last year.

This year Foodie Philip opted for one of their daily specials: saffron and shrimp risotto while Foodie Greg had lasagna. We both enjoyed the meal. The risotto was slightly undercooked, but full of shrimp and flavor.

A good meal with great company for $34.34 per serve with tax and tip.

Lunch

Lunch time had us near The Country Deli, so we stopped in for a meal. Foodie Philip – as always – had the marinated skirt steak with over easy eggs and home fries. Foodie Greg had a pastrami on rye with steak fries. Lunch cost $22.83 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

We had a small pork roast from our Keller Crafted meat box so we roasted it and served with ‘refrigerator salad,’ i.e. all the green and salad ingredients we have in order to clear out the fridge ahead of a few days away. We combined some spinach, the remaining super food salad, and the other half of the pomegranate seeds for a tasty salad.

• The roast was about $16.00 or $8.00 each for a very generous serve
• The super food salad was $4.15 and we used half, or $1.04 per serve
• Spinach adds 30c per serve
• Pomegranate seeds were $3.99 but we only used half, or $1.00 per serve.

A decent meal. The pork was perfect medium rare and very tasty, and the salad made a good accompaniment for $10.34 per serve.

Lunch

With another two wraps left we laid down pastrami over garlic spread, and topped with a super food salad from Ralph’s (Kroger).

• The pastrami was $13.99 for 19 oz or 70c per ounce, and we put about three ounces on each serve, or $2.10
• The wraps are $3.99 for six, or 67c per serve
• The super food salad was $4.15 and we used half, or $1.04
• Add 30c for garlic spread and butter.

A decent wrap for $4.11 per serve.

Dinner

Foodie Philip requested Cauliflower Cheddar Soup having remembered it fondly from earlier in the year, so that’s what we had. The soup makes six serves. We dropped the potatoes, which would have added body, so we compensated by using less stock.

• The organic cauliflower was $3.23 or 54c per serve
• The Old Crock cheddar was $5.45 or 91c per serve
• Chicken broth is $1.99 per carton and we used 1.25 cartons, or 42c per serve
• Add 20c per serve for onion, garlic, celery and carrots
• Add 20c per serve for seasonings
• The panini roll was 63c.

A really good soup for $2.27 per serve plus the roll, or $2.90 per serve.

Lunch

Today we returned to some favorite toasted sandwiches: Pastrami, Swiss & Sauerkraut, and Sweet & Spicy Tuna with capers and Swiss.

• The tuna was $1.00 per serve
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 34c per serve
• The pastrami was $11.99 for 16 oz and we used 2 oz or 75c per serve
• The Bubbies (natural) Sauerkraut is expensive at $6.99 or 22c per serve, but it is a very superior sauerkraut without the bad odor of most sauerkraut
• Add 50c for butter, garlic spread and capers.

A pretty standard lunch for us for $3.13 per serve.

Dinner

On our last trip to Jons Foodie Greg was lured in by the promise of lamb shanks on special. While they were on special they were huge, probably stretching the definition of ‘lamb’. Regardless we purchased one without really knowing what to do with it.

Nigella Lawson to the rescue with Warm Shredded Lamb Salad with Mint and Pomegranate. It needs to be warm because cold lamb fat isn’t great.

We served with the remaining Sweet Potato and Halloumi bake from a couple of days ago.

• The lamb was $8.70 or $4.35 per serve
• Shallots add 20c per serve
• Garlic adds 10c per serve
• Pomegranate seeds were $3.99 but we only used half, or $1.00 per serve
• Mint came from the garden
• Add 10c for seasoning
• The Sweet Potato Halloumi Bake is $1.34 per serve.

The lamb salad was spectacular. Meltingly smooth meat that was full of flavor. We opted for pomegranate seeds rather than a the fruit, which was a mistake. The juice from the pomegranate would have added a nice acid finish to the dish that it did need. Still, a spectacularly good meal for $7.09 per serve.

Lunch

After our power went out mid morning, we decided to make the best of it and head for Burbank and revisit one of our (former) favorites: Mama Hong’s, before going costume and clothes shopping at It’s a Wrap.

Foodie Philip had the grilled pork chop combo while Foodie Greg had Grilled pork on vermicelli and we shared an order of spring rolls. Combined it averaged to $17.64 per serve.

Dinner

Power was not back on when we arrived home, and ominously we’d been warned that it probably wouldn’t be back for another 32 hours! Fortunately, less than 20 minutes later, it came back on and stayed on, so we were able to cook.

The extreme winds, and smoke from fires, had us both coughing, so what better than Côte d’Azur: the cure all soup with eggs and garlic.

Garlic and chicken stock thickened with egg yolks it tastes a lot more interesting than the picture above.

• Six pastured brown eggs are $3.30 or $1.65 per serve
• A whole head of garlic went into the soup: 50c  or 25c per serve
• Organic chicken bone broth was $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
• Parmesan cost $5.49 and we used 3/5, or $1.65 per serve.
• Add 40c for herbs, oil  and seasonings.

This is an amazingly delicious soup and cheaper than a trip to the doctor for $5.95 per serve.

Lunch

With some of the apple bacon slaw still available we smeared a wrap with garlic spread, distributed the salad and topped with crumbled cheddar.

• The wraps are $3.99 for six, or 67c per serve
• The cheddar is $5.49 and we shared about ⅓ or 92c per serve
• Garlic spread adds 25c per serve
• A half serve of the salad is 82c each.

It turned out to be a pretty good wrap for $2.66 per serve.

Dinner

Being Friday we seared the skin of some wild caught salmon and finished in the oven. We served with a strawberry cucumber salad, where the strawberry has been macerated in balsamic vinegar, which transforms the flavor to be very savory.

• The salmon was $8.51 or $4.26 per serve
• The strawberries were $4.99 or $2.50 per serve
• The cucumber was 36c or 18c per serve
• Add 30c for balsamic vinegar.

The salmon was very good and the salad worked well. A good meal for $7.27 per serve.

Lunch

Flat bread wraps are back in stock and our first was wrap spread with labné and covered with black forest ham and apple bacon slaw.

• The wraps are $3.99 for six, or 67c per serve
• The ham was $6.49 for five slices, or $1.30 per serve
• Labné adds 20c per serve
• A half serve of the salad is 82c each.

A pretty good wrap for $2.99 per serve.

Dinner

Thursday night is traditionally our “steak” night, although it has evolved into “grilled meat night.” Tonight we chose lamb loin chops, as they’re still a bargain from Trader Joe’s thanks to a drought in New Zealand. We grew up with a lot more lamb than is typical for an American diet.

We served it with our variation on Nigella Lawson’s Double Potato Halloumi Bake by sticking with sweet potato as the starch. The bake makes six serves.

• Lamb loin chops were $12.18 or $6.09 per serve
• Halloumi was $4.32 or 72c per serve
• The sweet potato/yam was $1.52 or 25c per serve
• The jumbo red onion was $1.18 or 20c per serve
• A bell pepper was 99c or 17c per serve.

The lamb loin chops were cooked to a perfect medium on our griddle as it was too windy to grill outside, and the sweet potato bake is a perfect windy night accompaniment. A good meal for $7.43 per serve.