I am sorry for my lazy blogging habits, of late! I have been stockpiling some photos and food stories, and I promise I will be more consistent in the future!
I have been trying to cook at home a bit more, of late, and have been enjoying it. In the past, I did most of my cooking for the week on Sunday. Lately, I have been cooking 2 main dishes on Sunday, and have been adding a new salad or side dish every day. This method has allowed me to cook in smaller batches. This in turn adds more variety to the 2 main dishes, and allows me to take real advantage of the fresh produce at the Sunday Farmers market. Last week's 'switch- up' looked like this:
Clam Chowder: I had some really great clams in Italy...mostly in a Linguine Vongole. I was craving them. I picked up a package of 'Tilly's Galley- Fresh Catch Chowder Mix', added the clams, and presto...great fresh clam chowder. I really like this local brand. The instructions give you 3 variations on the basic mix, and the flavour is incredibly fresh tasting. This time I used the basic recipe, and toasted up some focaccia bread I had in the freezer in a 350 oven, drizzled with a little olive oil. I put a few pieces of the toasted bread in the bottom of the bowl, and ladled the chowder in. The P-Man thought the toasty bread added a real rich, herby flavour. We had enough left for another dinner, and this time, I steamed up some fresh green beans, and added some brown rice, ladled on the chowder, and had a completely different meal.
If I use a packaged ' convenience' food, I always read the label. This item has dehydrated potatoes as the first ingredient, and seasoning salt as the last ingredient. I also always try to balance the meal with some vegetables, or a healthy starch, such as brown rice. Convenience, nutrition, and great taste always works for me.
