Meatless Monday - I didn't succumb to the lure of beef

Even though various friends and family on Facebook kept discussing cuts of beef today, sorely tempting me to the dark side, an afternoon spent with my hands in real clay for the first time didn't really leave me much time to plan anything complicated for dinner anyway. So I went simple. Jarred marinara with peas over penne rigate and a spinach salad with the leftover grilled vegetables from yesterday.

I'm thinking there shall be beef tomorrow.

Grilled cod and vegetables

I managed to avoid cooking most of the weekend, but Sunday night is Sunday dinner so I had to think of something that wouldn't kill me with heat in the midst of all this horribly hot weather. So, cooking on the grill was the only option, of course.

Cod, seasoned with lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper, was cooked on thick foil over direct flames. It was okay but there was a slightly bitter taste that I couldn't identify. I sprinkled them with some fresh dill just before serving but it didn't really have any flavor. Alongside, in the grill basket, I seared eggplant slices, zucchini, onion and asparagus. They were all seasoned with oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and this peppery mustard blend (another of the superb Durkee grill seasonings). And finally, corn on the cob, husked and set directly on the grill to cook.

Sometimes junk is the only answer

I usually have a very clear idea of what I want to make for dinner, but sometimes I am completely adrift and all sorts of things cross my mind. Add to it an offer from the Boy to do a grocery store run on his way home and then I'm somewhat forced to make any requests before he leaves work.

Today's first idea was sausages (little breakfast ones from G&W) and some kind of potatoes and salad. Then suddenly tater tots got into my head (and honestly, I don't know why; I didn't grow up with them and I'm not a huge fan) and I was thinking of sausages and a tater tots casserole thing, complete with a can of some Campbell's cream soup. Then I was reminded on Facebook by my niece, Kate, of chili cheese tater tots and then I knew: Totchos! Yes, nachos made with tots instead of chips. Not a healthy meal, but a mighty tasty one.

I baked the tots first, according to directions. Meanwhile I heated a can of chili, and also melted a hunk of Velveeta with some salsa. I poured the chili over the tots, then the melted cheese, and topped it off when some shredded lettuce and chopped tomato (see, not completely unhealthy!).

Tomorrow, perhaps a salad...

Your face just won't leave me alone/Pictures of matchstick men and you/Images of matchstick men and you/Alls I ever see is them and you - Dinner from Target

Last fall we bought a new mattress set (embarrassingly enough, the first one I'd ever purchased; I'd slept on a rather ancient hand-me-down for years and years). Since mattresses are now so big, none of our old sheets fit and I had to get a couple new sets. Because the weather was getting cooler (and I was feeling budget-conscious) I bought cotton jersey sheet sets. And they were a revelation; soft and stretchy and so comfy, like getting a warm hug from the bed. Then the nighttime temperature topped out in the 80s last night and suddenly those sheets felt like a cloying, suffocating straitjacket.

Unable to bear the idea of sleeping on those hideous sheets again (I will love you again in the fall, sheets, I promise!), I headed to Target to get some nice, regular cotton replacement sheets. Sheets successfully found, I headed over to the grocery department, just because. I suddenly got a huge craving for tuna melts and got a big can of tuna for dinner. A loaf of bread, some microwave brown rice, and a can of baked beans later and dinner at Target was done. Except then I passed a display of some microwave molten caramel cakes. Then dinner at Target was done.

So the verdict: tuna melts were good, brown rice was a little weird, I always love canned baked beans, and the microwave cakes were sweet but really rather bland (what did I expect for two bucks?).

Thrifting

I got the Boy to dash out to the new Goodwill Outlet with me this afternoon and it was...interesting. I suppose it's worth checking out regularly to find the occasional item. It is certainly close by (in the old Famous-Barr warehouse just off Vandeventer).

I'm a sucker for a little vintage suitcase. This cream-colored Starline was irresistible.

The Boy found this book for me.

I wish I knew the original intention of this bunny, but I'm thinking toothbrushes. And how could I resist a teeny Show-Me cream pitcher?

A Lake Tahoe commemorative cup and saucer? Why yes, I think I will.

A set of little gold-painted saucers.

More gold saucers.

A silly little porcelain ring holder.

And finally, an old nightstand to put in the foyer for the Boy to collect all the junk CDs he brings home. A bargain at $4.

Sausage!

I'm not sure why I've never been to G&W Sausage, but since there was a Groupon and I finally went today. I was hot and thirsty from a ridiculously humid and too-warm day at work, but I really wanted some sausages. When I got there, the parking lot was surprisingly full. The place was hopping, with a substantial line and it did seem that it took a good deal of time to deal with each customer. I wasn't terribly troubled by that, since I needed to look around and decide what I wanted to get anyway. Finally it was my turn and I scored whom I had already deemed to be the best employee choice (a tall guy my age-ish). I chose my first item (2 lbs. of the above pictured Hungarian bratwurst) and while the gentleman was packaging those luscious orange sausages up, he asked me a question that I didn't quite understand. He gestured behind me and I turned to see another customer drinking a can of Busch beer (I thought I had glimpsed another person holding a beer but it didn't seem likely so I dismissed the thought!) So he asked me again, "Would you like a beer?" Well, hell yes, sir, I would love a beer! The guy next in line took one too and we toasted our good fortune. I almost left the store with my can, but luckily I realized that's kind of illegal.

So, grilled sausages, cottage fries and salad for dinner.

More pizza...

I wasn't completely satisfied with Sunday's attempt at a Pi-style deep dish pizza, so I tried again on Monday. I used half cornmeal/half flour for the crust and I think this time it was too much cornmeal so I will need to do more adjusting in the future. Or perhaps I should use olive oil to grease the pan...

At any rate, this edition was filled with Italian sausage, sauteed with onion and yellow peppers. I used a combination of mozzarella, a pizza cheese mix and some Monterey jack. I only had crushed tomatoes at hand so I did miss the chunkier texture I had in the first pizza, though the flavor was essentially the same.

An inside view:

Further experimentation is needed and will be done, but considering that hot weather is arriving, it may be saved for the fall as this non-central ac house doesn't do so well with baking in the summer.

I fell in love/With the pizza girl/Now I eat pizza everyday, oh - Attemping my own Pi

Last night the Boy and I planned a rare night out - a movie and dinner out. The original plan was to go to an early movie and a late dinner, but the crowds ahead of us to see Bridesmaids changed things around. It wasn't even 7p and we had tickets to a 10p showing. Since we were in the CWE, it was one nice walk down Euclid to Pi for some pizza. And what delicious pizza it was. The hallmark of Pi, as far as I'm concerned, is their use of corn meal in their crust. It makes for a lighter, crunchier texture than standard pizza crust. So I felt a challenge at hand; I would try to replicate a Pi-style deep dish pizza. I didn't plan this out terribly well as I didn't acquire any specialty toppings, but I knew I had a variety of vegetables to use, if not any meat.

I made the crust using the special pizza yeast, basically following the directions on the packet except replacing about 1/2 cup of the flour with corn meal. I used a springform pan to shape and bake and it seemed to go together (with mushrooms, onions and spinach) and at least look the way I wanted. For the sauce, which tops the pizza (for those unfamiliar with Pi or Chicago-style deep dish), I just used a can of diced tomatoes in juice and added three cloves of garlic, a bit of sugar and some salt and cooked for about 15 minutes at a high heat in order to concentrate some of the liquid. The verdict is that, while the pizza tasted good, I still didn't have enough corn meal in my crust. Part two tomorrow night? I must buy a new springform, however, as I broke my vintage model tonight.

For a starter I dug up an old favorite I used to call the Fruit Bits Salad - lettuce, slivered onion, walnuts, cheese (supposed to be gorgonzola but I forgot to buy that so I cut some tiny cubes of parmesan), and dried fruit bits. For the dressing I like to cut bottled poppyseed dressing with red wine vinegar (let's say an 8 to 1 ratio), which cuts some of the sweetness of the dressing and the fruit.