Jensen

Last night, it was dal with rice. I wasn't quite alone but I managed to get the Spawn to eat it by telling her it was just like Habitant soup...

I haven't tried quinoa for the humans in the house but I did cook some up for Dayton when he was a pup. He had some sort of puppy virus and was very, very ill. Generally when that happens, the patient goes on a homecooked diet for several days until they're feeling well enough to eat dog food again. This particular time, I decided I would try cooking him some quinoa instead of the standard white rice. I'll try to put this delicately...the quinoa came out looking the same way it looked on its way in. It was completely undigested. I've never had the urge to try it since (for either the dogs or me!). I like Therese's suggestion of using it for a tabouleh-like salad thingie. That might be good (as long as Dayton doesn't eat any). Wayde's been buying some veggie burgers from Trader Joe's recently...Dr. Praeger's Tex-Mex Veggie Burgers. They're really quite tasty! I had one for my lunch today: two of these patties between two mini-pita breads, a slice of Monterey Jack, lettuce, tomato, onion, and yogurt cheese instead of mayo. I like 'em! Oh, weigh-in was today and, yes, I stepped on the scale. I'm not plateauing; I lost half a pound.

Dal with rice, garnished with tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapenos. No picture tonight because I was hungry!!!

Ahhh, the old Grilling War of the Sexes thing... I don't grill much either but I volunteered to do all the cooking on a road trip in a few weeks where ALL of my cooking will be on the grill. Michael's instructions help me enough to add the stuffed cousa squash to the menu. Please thank him for me!

I hope you save that photo for future boyfriends to see. How long were the stuffed cousa squash on the grill? What a fab idea...I might have to steal it!

The husband of a friend of mine makes a fabulous clam soup (recipe to follow). It calls for clam nectar but you could easily substitute your broth for that. I've also made it with a variety of shellfish (clams, mussels, and prawns) and it's turned out beautifully. Ken's Clam Soup (the name doesn't do it justice) 2 T. olive oil 2 tsp. minced garlic (or more!) 2-5 lbs. clams, in shell 1 48-oz can of clam nectar or clamato juice (this is a Canadian thing, I think, as I've only ever seen clam nectar in the States in puny little bottles) 3 cups water 1 14-oz can whole ground tomatoes 1 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup butter 2 tsp salt 2 tsp crushed red chili peppers 2 tsp oregano 2 tsp basil 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley In large stock pot, heat oil until haze forms. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Remover from heat and add remaining ingredients. cover and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When clams open, remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Serve with cresty bread and a leafy salad for a complete meal.

They're about the same thickness as when I make real pasta but they have a different feel to them. They're sturdier. It's a great cheat for when you want homemade ravioli but don't feel like making the pasta. The WW book says that they are 1 point for 5 skins but the packet I bought calculated to 3 points for 8. I wonder if homemade buckwheat pasta would be core. Hmmmm, I might have to switch over after all! Therese, I love the idea of kebabs for entertaining. I think I owe a few neighbours a dinner party here so I will definitely keep that in mind. I bet it would help with portion control too. Now, I'm off to google "vitello tonnato"...

Ravioli and Greek salad: Filling for the ravioli was pork, arugula, and a wee bit of quark, seasoned with herbes de Provence and finished with browned butter and toasted pine nuts. (I used wonton wrappers instead of homemade pasta though.)

I can't believe I missed this before! My bet would be that the polar bear has more subcutaneous fat (which can be easily trimmed...it did say 3-3/4 oz with visible fat trimmed, didn't it?) than the brown, grizzly, or black bear.

I'm really looking forward to hearing how your dinner turns out. I had this strange little idea last night that we ("we" being the WW threadgoers) could post our ideal WW-compatible dinner party menu. Then I realised that you all probably have lives... So, I will be happy with hearing how cg's dinner party turns out.

Perhaps they are the same as cousa squash? They look very similar to ones I've been buying at my farmers' market (picture here). You can get around the "worst/wurst" conundrum by speaking with a German accent... (Edited because I forgot what I was going to say. Doh!)

The only really memorable food-related thing the Spawn has said came when she was around 4 years old. We were out in the valley and were running late getting home to start dinner. As we were very hungry, we decided to stop at a diner for something to tide us over; the Spawn ordered fries and gravy. The service was abysmally slow and the Spawn was getting restless. The Spouse said to her, "Well, it's your fault they're so slow. They have to catch all the flies for your flies and gravy." Being four, she got quite perturbed, insisting that she had ordered FRIES, not FLIES. The Spouse, being who he is, kept insisting that she had ordered FLIES. The Spawn finally put both hands on the table, leaned forward a wee bit, and looked her dad straight in the eye. "I ordered FRIES, not FLIES. That's CHIPS, not LIPS!" Needless to say, she had the last word.

I'm looking forward to the coming week! Love that Schweinhaxen. Like Brent, I had some in Germany last year (at the Hof Brau in Regensburg though). There, it was served with ein Knödel. Yum!!!

I'm still doing Flex Points so I have to count the points for corn, usually 2 points for one serving of the salad. I really think I could do Core with no trouble but the Spouse and the Spawn would probably have some issues with it.

I tend to go through "phases" of eating the same thing frequently. Then I get tired of it and move on to the next "phase" recipe. Right now, I'm eating a fair number of corn salads. The corn right now is so good that I make an extra ear or two with dinner and just let it cool off. The next day, I slice the kernels off and scrape the cob. Add to that some other "stuff", depending on what I have in the fridge at the moment, it might include finely chopped onions, green onions, peppers, roasted peppers, and/or whatever your heart desires. I usually have some parsley and/or cilantro to chop up and add to it and then I dress it with lime juice. I did try this the other night with vinegar instead of the lime juice. Mistake. Next time, I'll try it with lemon juice (although the rice vinegar might be nice too). Plain old white vinegar was just not the right flavour for the veggies. Therese: I've had similar problems with high-potency B-complex vitamins. For years, I used to take them in the morning and then one morning, they made me throw up. I switched to taking them at night and that seemed to take care of the problem.

Dinner here was grilled sriracha-marinated halibut, steamed bok choy, zaru-soba, and stir-fried root vegetables (daikon, gobo, and carrot).

Inspired by Laksa's blog and by an article by Russ Parsons in last Wednesday's LA Times, I thought I'd be a little adventurous when I went to the market this morning. I ended up buying several vegetables I've never had before and tonight one of them made the menu...sriracha-marinaded halibut (grilled), zaru-soba (but made with udon noodles), steamed bok choy, and stir-fried vegetables (including gobo, daikon, and carrot). The soba (for 3 points/serving): The plated meal: I went into more detail on my blog but the gobo didn't really cut it. It didn't really have much flavour at all. The zaru-soba was wonderful though and made up for the gobo gaffe.

If you want to earn some real brownie points and repay your lovely and beautiful wife for giving in to your porcine wants, hire a cleaning service to come in and give the house a once-over. (You will be taking pictures of the bathing beauty, won't you?)

Inspired by Laksa's blog and also one of Russ Parson's articles in the LA Times this week: Clockwise starting with the herbs: parsley, cilantro, Thai eggplants, daikon, burdock root (labelled as “gobo” at the market), loofah squash, bitter melon 1, bitter melon 2, jalapenos, and–on the plate in the middle–raw peanuts. I have no idea what I'm going to do with these but I plan on having fun!!!

According to Kawasaki, a slow cooker uses approximately 130 W.

I forgot to mention that the carnitas recipe makes one serving. While I was in Connecticut, my friend made a dessert that I think might be very suitable as a WW dessert. It's called Schaum Torte...kind of like pavlova but the meringue was chewier. Now, could this be made with Splenda with no ill effects? or a combination of Splenda and sugar? I think I calculated it to be 3 or 4 points per serving. Since I'm stingy with my points (must have points available for beer!), I think it's worthwhile to try to get them lower. Well, as long as it doesn't impair the taste, of course. Here's the recipe as she made it: 11 egg whites 1.5 cups sugar 2 tsp vanilla 2 tsp vinegar 1/4 tsp cream of tartar Preheat oven to 500 Beat the hell out of the egg whites until stiff and shiny. (Note to self: buy a KitchenAid stand mixer before attempting this recipe at home!) Beat sugar in slowly, alternating solids with liquids. Add cream of tartar. Scoop into a greased springform pan. Put in oven and shut oven off. Leave until cool. (We actually made it the night before.) We had it served with fresh berries and it really was quite lovely.

I make mine by first simmering the pork for several hours (with various seasonings) and then roasting it in the oven. For me, these are the "benchmark" carnitas. Needless to say, I can't make it during the summer months Here's the recipe I use (although there are usually variations made): 4-5 lb. boneless pork shoulder or butt 2 onions, peeled and quartered 4 stalks celery, cut into chunks 4 cloves garlic 2 bay leaves 2 tsp dried thyme About 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milk 1. Rinse pork and put in a stock pot. Add onions, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and enough water to cover meat. 2. Bring to a boil over high heat; cover, reduce heat, and simmer until meat is very tender, about 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Transfer pork to a 9- by 13-inch baking pan; reserve cooking juices. Use 2 forks to pull meat into large chunks. Pour milk over meat. 3. Bake pork in a 325° oven until drippings are browned, about 1 hour, stirring and scraping pan occasionally. 4. Meanwhile, pour reserved juices through a strainer into a bowl; discard residue. Skim and discard fat. Return juices to pan. Boil over high heat until reduced to 2 cups (45 minutes). 5. When pork drippings are browned, add 1 cup of the reduced juices; scrape drippings free and stir meat, breaking into smaller pieces. Bake until juices have evaporated and drippings are browned, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Repeat step, using remaining juices, and cook until meat edges are crisp and browned, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt.

There is a certain charm to that. I also noticed that carnitas has made the points list in the "Getting Started" booklet. I'm sure the points value is wrong though...how could there be 9 points in 1 cup of carnitas? (Okay, maybe the fried carnitas have 9 points but I'm sure the way I make them has fewer points.)

That sounds like my lunch from yesterday...tuna salad sandwiches (my intro to Core happens in a couple of hours). I add a little finely diced sweet onion (Vidalia or Walla Walla) instead of the pickle and pepper. It was pretty much what I would have expected from tuna salad, even if it were made with mayo. Here's a question...do I have to count the cranberry juice I'm guzzling for a UTI as part of my points? It really seems unfair...

I'd like to pick your brains about points-friendly road food. Early next month, I am heading out on a road trip with my racing buddy, Lynne. We're going to Oregon for the big national race meet and, because the host club is charging a fair whack of money for the meal package, we decided that we would cook our own food. (Most people take advantage of the meals provided on-site but $10 for a Subway sandwich lunch? Yikes!) Friends from BC are getting in on the "home-cooking" too and, since I love to cook, I volunteered to take care of our dining for the four days we will be there. As far as I'm concerned, they will all be doing Weight Watchers with me for the four days. So far, I've got these meals planned: * lamb kebobs with tzatziki and Greek salad (perhaps pita breads too) * grilled salmon, baked potato, green salad I've thought about doing a quick and easy Trader Joe's sauce with some chicken one night too. So, any ideas for points-friendly meals that can be prepared and cooked in a motorhome? We will have a small gas barbecue to work with as well. Or prepared in advance, frozen, and then reheated? Or prepared the day before we leave and will keep in the motorhome fridge for a day or two? (I plan on marinating the lamb in advance and then vacuum sealing it for the trip up.) Oh, and I *really* need lunch ideas. I did think about doing a ploughman's lunch one day but that's kind of heavy on the points (cheese, etc.,). Two of the three lunches cannot be "sit down" lunches as we'll be eating while the racing is going on. Edited for dumb typo.