Spaghetti Squash

Okay, it's a great substitute for angel hair pasta. And it's tasty - nutty, faintly sweet, with pleasing mouth-feel. So far I've halved the squash crosswise and then microwaved each half for 15 minutes. Then I lift out the seeds and scrape the pasta-like flesh into a container. I wok up some items to mix into the squash: steamed broccoli, steamed green beans, crispy tofu, poached chicken, stir-fry beef cubes, steamed eggplant, portabella mushrooms, steamed wheat berries, etc. Broccoli seems to the overall winner with the squash. Plus stir-fry beef and mushrooms, and it's pretty hearty. Wheat berries also taste very pleasing with the squash.

One $4.00 package of stir-fry beef can last the entire week if you dice it, cook it with mushrooms and garlic, and add it to a vat of squash and broccoli. Toothsome, but not pretty. Thus, no camera pics.

I am obsessed with spaghetti squash. My roommate watched incredulously as I scraped "spaghetti" from a halved squash still steaming from the microwave. She just can't get over it. I'm just happy to share the joys of eating obscure and very tasty vegetables for cheap.

Savory French Toast

When breakfast needs to be more like dinner, or vice versa. In this case, I wanted some cheap supper. French toast with garlic instead of cinnamon and sugar. Plus layers of roasted red pepper and creamy goat cheese. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar to finish. Extremely tasty. In fact, that's what I'll have for lunch! An extra egg in the mixture meant a more rib-sticking meal. Made 5 small pieces of French toast using two eggs and a little bit of milk. Pretty damn good. Good mouth-feel, too.

Griddle!

An August Breakfast

A little self-care in the form of breakfast: pureed sweet potatoes with a little pool of balsamic vinegar, yum! Cold steamed broccoli. Two pieces of toasted wheat-sourdough, one slice holding a foached egg, one slice spread with organic blackberry jam. And some milky iced tea on the side, sweetened a little with lemon syrup.

I'm awesome. I wonder if I would date myself.

Maybe I would just have a fling with myself, involving dinner out, then half a movie with the accompanying Best Foot Rub in the World, and then hot sex (after some germphobic hand-washing OF COURSE), and then maybe some reading or passing out...with a super breakfast in the morning! Then more sex? Dog walk?

Bizarre thought of the day. At any rate, breakfast would be good.

Dinner at Aquitaine, South End

Finally got my act together for Boston's Summer Restaurant Week: the price of a prix fixe lunch at most fancy restaurants is $20, and the prix fixe dinner is $30. Great deal! Stellar way to try a new fancy restaurant one could not normally afford, or would not want to risk due to price. After some reservation shuffling, I finally chose Aquitaine due to its sky-high Zagat ratings. They required a credit card number just to reserve a table (and would have charged me $25 if I hadn't shown up), so they mean serious business.

Well, I forgot to take any pictures. I was dazzled by my food as it appeared, and by the good music in the restaurant, and by the courteous attention of the waiter. And by the phalanx of graceful people keeping my water glass full of icy drink, bringing hot rolls and butter to the table, and delighting me with two warm, tender cheese gougeres on a tiny doily.

My choices on the menu were chilled corn soup with "leek and corn mignonette"; the Frenchified "Herbes Marinated Hanger Steakwith Pommes Lyonnaise and Garlic-Dijon Jus Lie", and "Lemon Ice Box Cake with Muscat Poached Peaches and Vanilla Crème Chantilly".

And I realize that, at a less fancy restaurant, that same menu would be Corn Chowder, Steak with potatoes, and Pound Cake with canned peaches and Whipped Delight.

The corn soup was sweet, chilled, silky smooth going down. I wanted to keep sipping it up forever. The toppings had a piquant, spicy, salty element which contrasted with the sweetness of the soup.

The Hangar steak was lean (thank goodness), cooked perfectly (Medium), and beautifully seared on the outside. The jus was a rose pink surrounding the meat, and the tender, buttery potatoes created a little nest for the steak. I could have licked my plate. Instead, I used my most dextrous two-handed knife and fork technique to create a succession of perfect bites. A little potato, a little bite of steak, a little dab of jus...chew slowly and savor. Sip cabernet suggested with the Hangar steak. Repeat!

Dessert was delightful. There was also a chocolate tart on the menu, but I wanted something light. Especially after steak, c'mon. I didn't realize the cake in question would be a slice of pound cake lightly brushed with some kind of herbed honey...there was the vanilla whipped cream on top, and the muscat-poached peaches were juicy and sweet and tender. Again, I used my cutlery to create perfect bites; speared a piece of cake and peach with the fork in my left hand, then used the knife in my right hand to finish my bite with some whipped cream and muscat-peach juice from my plate. It was like art, dammit. Like art.

My only complaint was that I wished I could have eaten slower, enjoyed the meal at a more leisurely pace. Aquitaine was serving a high volume that night, and that's an understatement. They were perfectly courteous and very polite - I felt cared for - but the courses came out bam! bam! bam! no waiting time. Perhaps on a regular night, there is some rest in between courses. I would have enjoyed thinking about my food, brain-savoring it before continuing on to the next thing.

Delightful. Good place for birthday dinner. Just like all the fancy Zagat-stars of the South End, I imagine.

Calorie Math: Booze

The booze math! I did it. It was me. Courtesy of www.nutritiondata.com and my desk calculator.

So, 12 ounces of regular beer is about 150 calories (13 calories per ounce).

Likewise, 6 ounces of cabernet sauvignon is about 140 calories (23 calories per ounce).

And 2 ounces of spirits - for instance, 86 proof anything - is also about 140 calories. That's 70 calories per ounce.

A single serving of spirits is generally 2 ounces. Mixing the spirit with juice or soda will, of course, increase the calories. A cocktail with ice, bitters, and lemon juice totally beats out a rum and Coke. Unless it's a Diet Coke.

Alas, 3 of my cocktails pack a 420 calorie punch - approximately the caloric load of a good lunch. Perhaps I can substitute steamed green beans as snack food and carrot juice for a "cocktail".

Cheer for the Poor

Despite the heat, my Saturday brunch required some fancy griddling. Started with slices of whole-wheat ciabatta, one organic cage-free egg, some organic skim milk, and some cinnamon and brown sugar. Made up some egg solution with a touch of sweetness and salt to accompany the cinnamon. Dredged bread ("don't be such a bread-dredge, don't be such an egg-sponge!") and griddled the soaked slices in butter and a little non-stick spray. Golden brown and crispy on both sides, still tender in the middle. Ran out of egg solution so toasted the remaining slice in some of the butter, then spread with blackberry jam.

My beverage is milk with a little tea, ice cubes, and some lavender syrup. I am all about the lavender syrup right now. Great in everything?

I splurged a little, buying $3 ciabatta, but I love it. It makes superior toast.

I am becoming adept at surviving on $20 a week with Co-op groceries. I could probably buy double the stuff at a regular grocery store, but the Co-op is close and on my bus route. Plus, it makes me happy to buy my organic milk and cage-free eggs. And I'm not sick of eating short-grain brown rice. (Yet.)

Perfect French toast. I rock. Awesome, though somewhat lonely breakfast. Perhaps some skating later, though mostly I just want to lay on an ice pack and read.

Yesterday, I recycled some Chinese fast food: dubious chicken teriyaki kabobs with some sort of sweet glaze were sliced and sauteed with some fresh broccoli, fresh garlic, and a little soy sauce. A sprinkle of water rinsed some of the glaze from the chicken and allowed it to coat the broccoli. This whole process made the chicken sticks much more palatable, and resulted in two servings of chicken and broccoli.

What covers up the taste of bottom-shelf gin?

Why, watermelon-cucumber pureé, of course. Strained and slightly sweetened with lemon-basil syrup. (It was a shame to pureé the pickling size cuke, though. Delicious little Kirby cucumbers.) The gin actually improves the taste of watermelon sliced too close to the rind. Delightful with some ice cubes and a tall glass.

Remember, a true olde tyme cocktail involves a spirit, a sugar, a bitter, and a sour aspect. Gin + Cointreau + bitters + lemon juice works! Also, Scotch + lemon + bitters + Benedictine = super, and I might have to call it Scottish Monastery. As in, may I have another Scottish Monastery please.

Or else, Lindsey at the Monastery on the heath. I have Welsh heritage, and they love long place names in Wales. With as few vowels as possible. True fact.

I heart Benedictine, very much. I'd be interested in experimenting with limoncello as the sour-sweet aspect, though. Perhaps limoncello with extra lemon juice.

Pasta Conflict

So, I've historically felt conflicted about whole-wheat pasta. Like, I assumed it was mushy and/or unpleasant to eat. But just the other day, I took a chance on some whole-wheat penne at the store. Considering I've been eating lots of pasta, and like everyone else in the world, I could use more fiber.

I had a simple dish in mind: Diced stewed tomatoes from a can (with a nice salty punch to them), plus tofu that had been browned in sesame oil with garlic slices. Ideally, I would have had some extra eggplant cubes and some fresh basil, but I can do that next time. So, once the tofu is nicely browned and looking chewy, I mix it with the tomatoes and some of their juice. Continue cooking some of the juices off. And then spoon over al dente pasta.

And I was so wrong about the pasta being mushy or unpleasant. In fact, it was delicious. Slightly tastier than regular pasta. And the tomato and tofu simmer that Hannah cooked me a long time ago is still just as good as it was then. Tasty!