Barbecue

Barbecue sounds good to me. I found this recipe for Memphis-Style Barbecue Tofu that sounds terrific!

When reading the "Let's Eat" section of the St. Louis Post Dispatch this week I found a recipe for Hotel Condon Corn Bread. I'm making that too.

I'm not exactly sure about other sides. Here are some ideas I'm kicking around:
Kidney Bean Salad
Mexican Bean Salad that my friend Amanda McKay told me about
Sauteed Greens with White Beans and Garlic
Tomato Bread Salad (I make this with cherry or grape tomatoes, fat-free croutons, cucumber, red onion, sliced black olives, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and goat cheese)
Mixed Vegetables
Fresh Green Salad
or something else

What do you think? Any other suggestions?

Whatever I end up making, I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts - Quiche

Sunday's menu was:
Mushrooms & Spinach Quiche
Lemon-garlic Shrimp
Samosa
Chocolate Diet Soda Cake

Michael made the cake the other day. It follows the diet soda recipe where you use a box cake mix, a can of diet soda and one egg white lightly beaten. Mix it all up and follow the box directions to bake. It turned out to be a bit crumbly, but mighty tasty.

We had some frozen shrimp on hand and at first I thought I would put them in the quiche. Then I decided to cook them separately in olive oil with garlic and lemon. They were quite good.

The Samosa was also frozen. I had picked it up a while ago at the international market in Edwardsville. Mom, Dad, and I really liked these. Michael - not so much. They definitely had a middle eastern flavoring.

For the quiche, I followed a crustless recipe using the fresh mushrooms; a 10 oz box of frozen spinach thawed, drained, and squeezed dry; some gouda cheese; black olives; and some chopped onions. Mmmm mmm good! Unfortunately I smashed the quiche before taking the photo - to let some heat out, so you don't get to see how nicely it turned out. Oh well, live and learn!

IDK

I don't know what will be for Sunday dinner today. I have a couple of containers of fresh mushrooms, so they will be in whatever I end up cooking. I'll have to look throughout the pantry to see what I have on hand. And, if I need something from the grocery I'll have to decide that pretty soon so that Michael can pick anything up for me.

Today is the first Sunday that Mom and Dad will be coming to my house. Cindy will drop them off around 2:30 and I'll take them back to her house later. Mom's knee replacement has been great. Sure, she still has some pain and swelling, but nothing like before the surgery. Her doctor says she's doing terrific and that it will start to feel much better in a couple more months. Monday is the five week mark since her surgery. She really is much better than before and has started getting out more. YAY!

Yesterday Michael and I went to Penzey's Spices in Maplewood. WOW! Is that a fantastic place?! Nothing but spices, spices, and more spices - fresh, fresh, fresh. My friend Carol Stookey told me about this place. I picked up some cream of tartar, vanilla beans, Vietnamese cinnamon, rosemary, toasted minced onion, and medium hot chili powder. Mmmm...

I don't think any of those spices will end up in today's dinner, but you never know. Anyway - I better go figure it out. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Tri-Cities Area Association for Handicapped Bowling Fundraiser

Instead of cooking, we participated in the Tri-Cities Association for Handicapped Bowling Fundraiser. For a good cause and so much Fun! Enjoy the photos.

After Dinner Thoughts

Mmmm - that really hit the spot! I didn't get around to picking up any mushrooms, so there were none. Instead I added some fairly finely chopped red onion and it really enhanced the flavor. Also, I added a little bit of Italian seasonings. Mmm mmm, it sure was good.

Last night I attended a Relay for Life fundraiser. I've gone to this for the past three years and always have a good time. I also always bid in the oral auction on these pies some lady makes entirely from scratch. The first year I was the high bidder for a chocolate meringue pie at $45.00. Last year I didn't get a pie, but the person I was bidding against had to pay $120.00. This year I was the high bidder on a lemon meringue pie - at $60.00. It goes for a really good cause, so I'm happy to play. Anyway, we had the pie for dessert this evening. Heaven!

Simple Chickpea Vegetable Bake

I have a real hankering for some garbanzo beans (A.K.A. chickpeas). So, in searching the Web, I came across a recipe for Simple Chickpea Vegetable Bake. Sounds yummy. Here is how I plan to make it:

I have a 24 oz bag of baby red creamers (potatoes); I'm going to chop them into small chunks, toss them with olive oil and bake them for about 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

I'll have already defrosted a 16 oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables (corn, green beans, carrots, and peas). I'll mince 3-4 cloves of garlic (yeah, we like garlic at our house). And, I'll chunk a small container of fresh baby portabello mushrooms. I might slice some onion too (or I might not, we'll have to wait and see).

I'll add the vegetables to the potatoes along with 1 can of drained chickpeas. I'll put them all into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. I think I might add seasoned salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste after that. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Check out the inspiration recipe for more specific detail. I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

Here's what dinner looked like. It was pretty good. I absolutely loved the spinach salad. And, while the pasta was good, it wasn't great. I think I should have just stuck with one recipe rather than trying to mash the two up. I think the Portobello Mushrooms with Asparagus using the tortellini would have been just fine. Don't get me wrong; the pasta really was good; I just think it could have been better.

The carrot cake tasted terrific! However, it deflated in the middle. I can't figure out what went wrong. When I used my cake tester in the middle it came out clean, and when someone ate that part of the cake it was done, just squished down a bit.

I was in a real cooking mood this weekend. I also made Egg Salad. As you might imagine, I don't eat bacon. But I will eat Bacon Bits (they're made from soy) since the recipe is really for Egg Salad BLTs, using the bacon bits works for me. The egg salad turned out quite yummy.

As I already wrote, we're having grilled salmon and roasted vegetables for dinner tonight. While there won't be any leftovers from today's meal, there are plenty of leftovers from yesterday. Looks like I know what I'll be having for lunch this week!

My sister and her family are celebrating Easter with her in-laws Saturday afternoon/evening, so I'll make Sunday dinner on Saturday this week. I'll prepare everything at my house and take it to my sister's house to share with our Mom and Dad. You might remember that Mom is rehabilitating at their house. Her new knee is getting stronger and better all the time. Here's the menu:

Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Portobello Mushrooms and Asparagus
Spinach salad with hard boiled eggs, bean sprouts, and sunflower kernels
Carrot Cake with Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

The Mediterranean Pasta Salad is a mash up of the Mediterranean Orzo Salad we like so much and a Portobello and Asparagus Pasta Recipe I came across. I'm using three cheese tortellini in place of the orzo pasta. I'm using the portobello mushrooms and asparagus place of the spinach. I'll also add pine nuts and a spritz of fresh lemon juice.

Then, on Sunday, Michael and I will have:
grilled salmon or Weber's Simple Salmon,
roasted new red potatoes,
and glazed julienne carrots.

Sounds yummy! I'll let you know how it all turns out.