Replacements

After almost 10 years, I still adore my flatware and dishes. There aren't many things YJDKIY bought in 2001 that are still in-style or in-favor!

Plaza Lane by Mikasa

 

American Harmony by Oneida

Sadly, it was recently discovered that over the years, a few pieces have gone missing. Now, I don't want to name names, but there are only three suspects. One does not have opposable thumbs. One is me and I never lose anything. AHEM!

Enter Replacements, Ltd.

Not only is this cool place HQ'd in the Old North State and featured in local movie, Junebug, they just happened to have both my patterns.

That's the way I like it

Despite an inside temp of 59 degrees, YJDKIY still has the windows open! That's the way I we like it. There are only about 6 weeks of the year that can be deemed window-openable.

I digress. Through no fault of my own, I ended up eating meat about 10x more times that normal/desired last week. Sausage, ham, turkey, beef, and chicken. Who am I!? Enter the recovery menu:

MONDAY: Brown rice + Beans with avocado salsa

TUESDAY: Pesto-Parm Spaghetti squash, asparagus

WEDNESDAY: Bob's Vegi Soup, side salad

THURSDAY: Other cooker

FRIDAY: oven "fried" tofu, sauted broccoli

SATURDAY: Root Vegetable Casserole

And in related news, this weekend was the last of Farmers Market season 2010. The pickings were a little slim and we did stock up on WTF tenderloin and sausage, but we're eagerly awaiting the first Winter Harvest CSA delivery in a few weeks (more on that later).

Saturday Summary

A new feature for YJDKIY appearing on Saturdays will be a summary of the things (not posted) I found interesting this week that I think you probably just don't know yet. 

• Libby Story, like Anthropologie, but cheaper!
• A new vegetarian restaurant in Winston-Salem, The Grilled Asparagus
• Project Food Blog on foodbuzz
• Speaking of Anthropologie, OH how I adore their rug collection. Please can I have just one?
• Gap's logo no go-go is bizarrely similar to the new (southern classic) Belk logo redesign. Gap ditched theirs, but Belk is moving foward.
• This sad story is like a trainwreck I couldn't stop reading all week
• TV/internet addiction at it's finest: Slate's MadMen TV Club 
• Why can't this come in size adult? 
• Michelle's dress is totally awesome in this post about the White House garden tours (that are FREE! YJDKIY should live closer!)

Pyrite

Back in December, everything was gray. Then it was gunmetal. Now the color of the moment is pyrite. Just in case you're curious. There IS a difference!

Pinchy

With the Monday holiday and evening events three nights this week, YJDKIY is all cattywompus. I forgot to get green beans. And, I 20 minutes to make and eat dinner. And, I needed some veggies stat. YJDKIY was in a pinch!

 

Enter Mrs. T's pierogies, sauted with sweet onion over a bed of wilted baby spinach and topped with a dash of balsamic dressing.

(Two things about that site: 1. I love that Mrs. T owns the market and her address is just simply, pierogies.com 2.Who knew National Pierogy Day was October 8?!).

Are you wondering what I'm wondering? Who is this illustrious Mrs. T? Well, for you lazy clickers, her name is Mary Twardzik, and it was her original pierogy recipe that launched this successful business back in 1952.

A sit on the bench kind of day

As if we didn't know...

Davies McDonalds Happy Meal Project on Flickr

Vladimir Lenin, King Tut and the McDonald's Happy Meal: What do they all have in common? A shocking resistance to Mother Nature's cycle of decomposition and biodegradability, apparently.

That's the disturbing point brought home by the latest project of New York City-based artist and photographer Sally Davies, who bought a McDonald's Happy Meal back in April and left it out in her kitchen to see how well it would hold up over time.

The results? "The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as a rock," Davies told the U.K. Daily Mail.

READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS

Zesty Italian!

The other cooker was responsible for dinner, so YJDKIY can't tell you what ingredients this oh so tasty dinner included other than the Zesty Italian Sausage from (local) Wild Turkey Farms.

But I can show you what it looked like just before devouring commenced.

This was our second farmer's market purchase of their naturally raised pork (the first was a tenderloin, possibly the best tenderloin I've ever had) and I have to say, it was by far deliciouser than any sausage ever. But maybe that was just the cooker's fantastic sauce job. ;)

10/10/10 @ 10:10

TUESDAY: White bean, kale + sweet potato soup
WEDNESDAY: Eating out!
THURSDAY: Balsamic pierogies + green beans before 6:30!
FRIDAY: Cauliflower curry + pita triangles with yogurt
SATURDAY: Twice baked potatoes + broccoli
SUNDAY: Pineapple chicken, squash, spinach

Local Lunch Fare

YJDKIY and Co. had a rare weekday lunch opportunity for local dining. Sweet Meadow Cafe is only open for lunch during the weekdays, and dinner on Friday & Saturday.

It's right off Main St. and Inness and is one of the quaintest places I've been in a while. From the colorful walls, local art, and old fashioned ceiling it looked like something out of Fried Green Tomatoes. In fact, excuse my inconspicuous photography, but the rest of the patrons looked like old Southern lawyers frequenting their local lunch spot.

YJDKIY actually prefers to eat lunch out than dinner, so this Pesto Turkey on ciabatta roll hit the spot. The server was so friendly and tried really hard to sell us on dessert. Alas. One note, you might choose a less local establishment if you're in a hurry. Things just move slower here.

Dogs

Forget Bush's secret ingredient! I start with a can and wash off all the sauce, and start over! YJDKIY will even share with you! First, rinse them, then add ketchup, diced sweet onions, worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, garlic powder, agave, and finally...some expired George Killian's Irish Red.

Served with tofu dogs and coleslaw

Perfect evening for outdoor dining!

New Keeper

Based on Hungry Girl's Cheesy Butternut Bake, I started with the following:

 YJDKIY doesn't eat grapefruit, but I love my grapefruit spoons for things such as this!

(and promptly forgot just how long it takes to prepare a *Farmer's Market* butternut!).

After dicing it all up and adding some *Farmer's Market* (hello, where were these all season?) green onions, I mixed in the 2 wedges (3 or 4 would have been better), some egg white, bread crumbs, (last minute added) soy milk, ground pepper, and a lot of parmesan. I still wanted it a little more cheesey, but I guess that defeats the healthy part (so do the breadcrumbs and parm!).

Baked for 30 minutes at 375 and broiled for 3 minutes on 500!

Afterthought: I purposefully didn't add any salt thinking the parm would cover it...wrong! This butternut was superduper sweet and it need the tiniest shake of garlic salt for serving. Who knew?

Hmmm

When YJDKIY was little, there was Cheerwine bubble gum, and my friends played on a Cheerwine softball team. Then, I moved to the town where it was founded. Then, recently, Cheerwine was back in the news conspiring with my other town's founding food, Krispy Kreme. Just last week, there was a hall of fame involved. And now, I give you:

The Cheerwine Milkshake, courtesy of Our Place Cafe, in Spencer, NC.

Autumn eats

SUNDAY: Long-awaited guests!

MONDAY: Tofu/veggie stir-stir fry over soba noodles

TUESDAY: Hungry Girl's recipe for Cheesy butternut bake and green peas

WEDNESDAY: Black bean quesadills

THURSDAY: Tequilla shrimp and Southwestern salad

FRIDAY: Notdogos and coleslaw

SATURDAY: Long-awaited OctoberTour and dinner out!

SUNDAY: Wild Turkey Farms (local!) zesty italian sausage with tomato sauce and pasta (other cooker!!)

MONDAY: Quinoa stuffed acorn squash (vacation! yay columbus??)

OctoberTour 2009

Tofu Two Ways

YJDKIY used to make turkey or PBH (honey not jelly!) sandwiches, but I've moved on to less standard lunch fare.

Option 1: Homemade rosemary wheat bread with EVOO mayo, extra sharp cheddar, romaine hearts and tofurky!

(isn't that a great lunch view?)

Option 2: Teriyaki sauted tofu/onions/greenpeppers with romaine hearts, EVOO mayo, provo on a whole wheat hotdog bun.

There is something about the flavor of cold teriyaki sauted things (tofu, chicken, whatver) that I love with mayo. YJDKIY can't figure that one out!

Go Meat-free

World Vegetarian Day, October 1, is the annual kick-off of Vegetarian Awareness Month. Make a difference this October by informing others about the benefits of vegetarianism.

http://worldvegetarianday.org/pledge-vegwin/index.html

 

A baker I am not!

Precision and perfection (at least of food) are not my strong suits.

PS: It's incredibly hard to get candles to stand in a hard snickerdoodle cookie. :P

Thursday Thoughts

My job gets in the way of my exercise. Because I don't have time to work out? Nope. Because I can't afford a gym membership? Nada.

It's gets in the way because I always set the elliptical to manual course. Which means I can adjust the height of those little bars. Which means, I'm too busy making a pretty picture/design to be exercising at the level I probably should.

And there you have it, surely one of YJDKIY's oddest quirks? :P

Rainy Dayz

The Canine Component normally gets a morning walk and an evening walk. She is exceptionally skilled at letting YJDKIY know when she is ready for said walk.

However, this morning, she stuck her nose out the door and promptly determined the weather not fit for ducks or little doggies: dark, wet AND, finally, chilly.

But, she still really wanted to go for a walk. So, being the compassionate, dutiful owner that I am, I fashioned her a rain repelling device.  Why yes, that is a trash bag. (and is that the best OMG stop taking pictures of me and get this thing off dog face ever?)

It didn't last long. In fact, it didn't last out the door. She'll have to wait til someone buys her this, or it stops raining.

A Classic

YJDKIY loves making stuffed shells for some reason. Possibly because its something I love eating, but can never order in restaurants because I know they are loaded with fatty cheese, salt and other unhealthy fillings.

But when I make them...quite the opposite! Still not diet food by any means, but by using a 75% veggie 25% non-fat ricotta mix, really the only not so hot thing is the white shells.

For this version, I sauted grated zucchini (to get the water out) with a googolplex of garlic powder, oregano, fresh dried basil, thyme and pepper. Mix that with the previously stated ratio of cheese, add a tiny bit of egg/egg white, and a super stealthy but flavormaker addition of chopped pine nuts.

Stuff into cooked shells and top with marinara sauce. I love this part! And bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.

Speaking of sauce, I normally hate jar sauce, but never have time to make my own. Last shopping trip, I spent a solid 10 minutes reading the labels to find the one with the fewest ingredients and lowest amount of sodium. Note, this is not my photo...at my one grocery store, pasta sauce ranges from $3-$9. I kid you not. I ruled out anything over $6 so who knows what those contained.

The snazzy label design on this GoodHousekeeping Good Food one caught my eye first, but based on the brand I was expecting some serious false advertising and "healthy" sauce filled with junk.

Low and behold, pronounceable, perfectly reasonable ingredients ANNNNND only 390 mg of sodium compared to up 910 mg in some. NINE HUNDRED AND TEN...that's nearly 1/2 your RDA in a serving of sauce. (sorry, that's not really legible is it?)

Moving on, the side for this dinner involved lots of snapping. One third of the YJDKIY household does not believe in snapping green beans before cooking. I do. Plus, I like the snappy noise. The Canine Component doesn't give a flip and just hopes they hit the floor, with cheese on them. Which way do you cook them?

YJDKIY has done nature burgers, black bean burgers, black bean cakes and here, salmon cakes, zucchini cakes (oops I didn't blog that!), sweet potato latkes (or that!), BEP patties, crab cakes and now I give you...Butter Bean Burgers (I think they call these Lima Beans in the not-South!)

One bag frozen beans cooked in the microwave (gak, I know I know...). Add some water if they get dry and mix in all of these seasonings (oregano, basil, cumin, dill, thyme, pepper, onion, garlic...not the breadcrumbs yet!).

Mash em all up, microwave an extra 2-4 minutes, and then mix in breadcrumbs, an egg (I used egg white) and some cheddar cheese. Shape into patties and pan fry with PAM until golden. These burgers were served naked and bunless but on big ol' Romaine hearts with a tangy-sweet-spicy ketchup mix.

is it fall yet?

SUNDAY: No cream creamy broccoli soup
MONDAY: Butterbean cakes, sweet potatoes
TUESDAY: Zucchini+ ricotta stuffed shells, green beans
WEDNESDAY: Mellow Mushroom style tofu hoagies
THURSDAY: Birthday boy's choice
FRIDAY: ditto
SATURDAY: pizza night!

Second Impressions

There is exactly one grocery store I care to shop at in this town. I think the whole rest of the town feels that way too, because the good kind is frequently out of stock. This week, YJDKIY was forced to try something other than the regular Silk Original Light Soy Milk for milk alternatives.

On a whim, and based on two things: price and calories, I picked Almond Breeze Vanilla Unsweetened.

The last time I tried melted ice cream Almond Milk I was less than impressed. While it was comparable in calories, the sweet flavor made me want to gag. Surely unsweetened will not be such, right?

Verdict...mostly right. I can at least tolerate it in my cereal. It only has 40 calories (30 from fat), 180 sodium, 190 pot, 2 carbs, 1 prot, vitamins E & D and some other stuff.

(to recap from previous trials: Almond: 60 cal (25 from fat), 0 choles, 150 sod, 150 pot, 8 carbs, 1 prot; good vitamins E, D, A, calcium. Soy: 70 cal (20 fat), 0 choles, 120 sod, 300 pot, 8 carbs, 6 prot; good vitamins B12, D, A, calcium, riboflavin, magnesium)

It's still a little thicker than I'd like (maybe I should just put water on my cereal), but there is basically no flavor, so that's good. 

The ingredients...meh. Not much worse than the others but it would be nice if there were less and they were more...pronouceable!

INGREDIENTS: FILTERED WATER,  ALMONDS, CALCIUM CARBONATE, TAPIOCA STARCH, NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR WITH OTHER NATURAL FLAVORS, SEA SALT, POTASSIUM CITRATE, CARRAGEENAN,  SOY LECITHIN, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D2 AND D-ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL (NATURAL VITAMIN E). 

PS: They need a package redesign STAT! I hate this circusy carton that looks like it should be on the bottom shelf. 

Creativity

YJDKIY got creative with the lunch bag today. Last night's leftovers of chard and tofu steak just weren't doing it for me at 7 am, so I promptly did what I do to all meals that need fixing....add cheese. And in this case, bread.

This actually turned out pretty tasty: sauted chard, tofu steaks, Laughing Cow light on a sandwich thin. I think it would have been better with provolone and a little mustard/mayo though.

More reasons

To love MadMen. Ohemgeee!

This kid is not only a fantastic actress, but she's also a better interview than her Don Draper co-star Jon Hamm (at least in his interview on TDS, snoooze!). AND she's already a fashion knockout.

Q&A - Kiernan Shipka (Sally Draper)

Q: In Episode 9, Sally cooks French toast for her dad. Have you ever made breakfast for your family? What's your favorite thing to cook?
A: I love cooking. I don't really have a favorite dish to prepare for my family -- breakfast, lunch or dinner -- but I do like going up to the farmers market on the weekends and getting fresh produce and making something with all that. I'm also really addicted to the Food Network channel. I'm totally hooked on cooking shows. Barefoot Contessa and a lot of Alton Brown.