Jan has spent this weekend visiting her graduate school friends in Santa Barbara. One of her friends is dropping her off, on her way to the North Bay. She requesting something for a quick snack, before she continues her journey.
Karl’s Red Lentil Soup
Filed under California Fusion, Side Dishes, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian, Weeknight
I wanted something quick and easy for a weekday dinner. I have been experimenting with dry frying skin-on salmon fillets. A simple salad and a quick couscous dish completed the meal.
Karl’s Dry Fried Salmon
Filed under California Fusion, Fish, Main Dishes, Seafood, Weeknight
This is not so much a recipe as a presentation—one does not actually cook sashimi. I make a Japanese dinner once or twice a month—sashimi, inarizushi, fresh tofu, miso soup, wakame salad, and fresh pickles. This week I had bought two different pieces of Maguro (tuna), some akimi and chutoro.
Note: Some might bring up tataki at this point, but while mostly raw, I would argue that it is cooked and therefore not sashimi.
It did not seem right just to slice the pieces of tuna up and throw them on a plate. That would be very much against the aesthetics of Japanese cuisine—eating should feed both the body and the soul. Looking at the contrasting colors, I decided on my arrangement.
Karl’s Sashimi
Filed under Fish, Main Dishes, Weeknight
I had bought some Ciliegine Fresh Mozzarella—one inch balls of cheese—for my Italian Salad Bar. In the rush to get out the door to deliver it, I forgot to take them out of the refrigerator. Trying to think what to use them for, I remembered that caprese salad is one of Jan’s favorites.
Karl’s Caprese Salad 3
Filed under Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetarian, Weeknight
I work. A lot. I also cook a lot. Mostly what results are various states of compromise between attention, quality, availability of ingredients, and sheer tiredness. Occasionally though, 
Chris or I produce great results, sometimes quite by accident. I’m adding this as an occasional series on this blog, capturing particularly good gems from the weeknight cooking world. We tend to cook soft, vegetable-heavy, and paleo/paleo adjacent meals in our house.
See our first installment, which includes Miriam’s Stuffed Chicken and Miriam’s Balsamic Veggies.
Filed under Weeknight
Our garlic went bad, but this was alright without.
1/4 lbs harricot verts (fancy french green beans)
1 red pepper (sweet italian)
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup white wine
4 tbs balsamic vinegar
4 tbs olive oil
Filed under Side Dishes, Weeknight
Baked chicken? Boring. I ate a lot of baked chicken as a kid, and it was boring. (Sorry dad). But stuffing baked chicken can be awesome. It transforms a boring, bland and surprisingly tricky dish into a delicious and spiffy one. This is the spirit behind the butcher counter pre-stuffed chicken: easy peasy elegance. Except for the fact that every pre-stuffed chicken I’ve ever bought has suffered from vague cooking directions, watery chicken, and too much stuffing. I’ve also screwed up a plethora of stuffed chicken recipes all on my own: over stuffing, over cooking, under cooking, simply falling apart.
So tonight when I made an awesome stuffed chicken, it was a Eureka Moment. All of my past mistakes were made clear, resolved by serendipity and hindsight. I had everything I needed, I treated the ingredients right, I listened to my gut when cooking, and I served right away.
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 