The semiSerious Foodies

Lunch

For lunch we had the remaining serves of the Turmeric-Coconut Curry with a hot Panini Roll.

• The Panini Roll is 63c
• The Curry is $3.91 per serve.

An enjoyable lunch for $4.54 per serve.

Dinner

For this week’s Fishy Friday, we returned to Thai-Style Cod à la Nage with Edamame.

• The cod fillets were six for $12.99 or $2.17 per serve
• Coconut milk was $1.89 or 95c per serve
• Limes were 68c or 34c per serve
• A Red Onion works out at 21c per serve
• Add 55c per serve for fish sauce, garlic, chili, ginger and seasoning

The poached cod was tender and flakey, with a very flavorsome broth that wasn’t overly spicy for $4.12 per serve.

Today we decided on a couple of toasted sandwiches to share: Smoked Turkey Breast & Swiss, Lemon Pepper Tuna & Swiss. Both featured Garlic Spread on the bread.

• Dave’s Killer Bread is 77c a serve
• Swiss is 34c a serve
• Lemon Pepper Tuna is 99c a pouch, or 50c per serve
• The Smoked Turkey Breast is 58c per serve
• Add 30c for Garlic Spread.

The Lemon Pepper Tuna worked well with the Garlic Spread and was definitely the most successful of the two sandwiches. Satisfying at $2.59 per serve.

Dinner

Although Thursday night has evolved from Steak Night Thursday Night, to more of “protein featured” Thursday night (mostly) grilled outdoor. Since we had a left over Eggplant we decided to grill it and top with Peanut Sauce.

The challenge with grilling Eggplant is that the flesh side sticks when it comes in contact with the grill bars, but if you don’t turn it – as we did tonight – the bitter liquid pools in the Eggplant in an unpleasant way. We’ve concluded that the best option is sliced rounds in the oven.

• The Eggplant was $2.98, but we only used one, or 75c per serve
• Add 25c for dressing ingredients
• The peanut butter was $1.99 and we used about 1/2,  or 25c a serve
  
• Other seasonings in the Peanut Sauce add 35c per serve
  
• Add 50c for marinade ingredients
• The Salad was $1.25 per serve.

Most of the Salad was left uneaten as we felt it wasn’t that good. Overall, this was rather an unsuccessful meal. As well as the Salad, the Eggplant had retained the bitter liquid that should have been driven off, and was much less enjoyable than we’ve had in the past. A largely uneaten meal for $3.35 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we toasted some Dave’s Killer Bread, layered on some Trader Joe’s Giant Baked Beans and topped with a fried egg.

• Dave’s Killer Bread is 39c per slice
• A Pastured Egg is 51c
• Trader Joes Giant Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce cost $1.99 or $1.00 per serve.

A nice change from sandwiches for $1.90 per serve.

Dinner

Since we get a pound of ground pork in every month’s meat delivery, we turned to Turmeric Coconut Curry with Pork again.

We substituted a salad mix for the cabbage because we have it (and it tastes better).

• The pork came from our meat delivery – 1 lb of ground pork cost $8.31 or $$2.08 per serve
• Add 45c for onion, ginger and turmeric
• Coconut milk was $1.89 or 48c per serve
• Bok Choy was $1.29 and we used half, or 65c per serve
• Almond flakes were $2.49 but we used only 1/5 or 25c per serve
• Add 33c per serve for brown rice
• Add 30c for the salad greens.

Dinner tonight had a good balance of heat. The bok choy provided a nice textural alternative to the pork and rice. A decent meal for $4.54 per serve. We felt the Greek Yoghurt added nothing and we took it off.

Lunch

We repeated yesterday’s lunch of toasted Smoked Turkey Breast, Swiss and Kumato toasted sandwiches.

• The Dave’s Killer Bread is 77c per serve
• Swiss is 34c per slice
• The Smoked Turkey Breast is 58c per serve
  
• Five Kumato were $3.49 and we had one each, or 70c per serve
• Add 30c for Garlic Spread.

A decent sandwich for $2.69 per serve.

Dinner

We once again had some odd “ends” of Fillet so we diced it and prepared it in a Black Pepper Beef with Black Rice.

• Keller Crafted no longer put pricing not he package, so we estimate the Fillet to be about $5.40 per serve
• Bell Peppers were 95c or 48c per serve
  
• Chipotle powder adds 10c per serve
  
• Onion and garlic add 25c per serve
  
• Brown Rice adds 33c per serve
  
• Add 50c for the other ingredients.

This was definitely better with the Fillet and very enjoyable for $7.36 per serve.

Lunch

A simple toasted sandwich of Smoked Turkey Breast, Swiss and Kumato.

• The Dave’s Killer Bread is 77c per serve
• Swiss is 34c per slice
• The Smoked Turkey Breast is 58c per serve
  
• Five Kumato were $3.49 and we had one each, or 70c per serve
• Add 30c for Garlic Spread.

A decent sandwich for $2.69 per serve.

Dinner

A new recipe Stir-fried Eggplant with Tempeh Crumbles for our Meatless Monday.

• The three grain tempeh is $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• The Eggplant was $2.98, but we only used one, or 75c per serve
• Add 50c for the other ingredients.

A decent meal for $2.25 per serve, but we felt the Tempeh could have used more toasting in the pan.

Lunch

We picked up Heuvos Rancheros from La Fiesta for $10.00 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

A recipe we’d like before – Greek Drunken Pork Stew -definitely feels like a cultural mashup when served with Pasta!

• The pork was $8.99 or $4.50 per serve
• Red wine adds 50c or 25c per serve
• Tomato juice add 33c per serve
• Add 60c for the other ingredients
• The Orzo was $1.75 or 87c per serve.

After a four hour cook, the pork is incredibly tender and the sauce has reduced to an intensely flavorsome liquid, although somewhat less than in the past. The Orzo we served it with wasn’t as successful. Still a very flavorsome stew and a good meal for $6.55 per serve.

Lunch

The frozen Japanese Style Fried rice comes from Trader Joe’s and is $3.29 or $1.65 per very generous serve.

Dinner

Tonight we souse vidé two Bone In Pork Chops from our Keller Crafted meat delivery, and then finished on the grill for 90 seconds per side. The grill was already on to cook the Asparagus.

• The pork chop was $9.72
• 1.09 lbs of really good, thick Asparagus was $5.44 or $2.72 per serve
• Add 50c for Lemon Juice, Capers and Butter.

The Asparagus was charred, but not burnt, and perfectly cooked. We souse vidé the Pork Chops to 130F instead of 135F, which we preferred. The Chops were finished on the Grill for 90 seconds per side to give some color to the outside. The Piccata Sauce was a perfect complement to both Chop and Asparagus.

An exceptionally good meal for $12.94 per serve, but worth it for the Heritage Pork.

Lunch

Today’s toasted sandwiches were Sweet & Spicy Tuna with Swiss, Turkey Breast, Kumato & Swiss, which were satisfying.

• Dave’s Killer Bread is (now) 77c per serve
• A slice of Swiss is 34c
• The Smoked Turkey Breast is 29c per serve
• Five Kumato were $3.49 and we shared one, or 35c per serve
• Sweet and Spicy Tuna is 50c per serve.

Who doesn’t love a toasted sandwich for $2.25 per serve.

Dinner

We’ve enjoyed the Marinated Skirt Steak at The Country Deli, which is claimed to be a Romanian recipe, that we decided to try our hand at it when Skirt Steak turned up in our meat box this month.

• The meat is approximately $4.15 per serve
• Add 60c for Marinade ingredients
• The farrow was $1.79 for the pack, but we shared ⅓ or 30c per serve
• Mushrooms were $2.99 and we used half, or 75c per serve
• Frozen peas are $1.29 per pack and we used half, or 33c per serve.

While perhaps not quite as good as The Country Deli, the Skirt Steak was very good. It has great beefy flavor and smokey overtones from the Smoked Paprika we used. A very tasty and satisfying meal for $6.13 per serve.

Lunch

A UPS drop off put us at The Country Deli, so we stayed for lunch. Foodie Philip had his usual Marinated Skit Steak with Eggs and Home Fries. It turns out this is the Breakfast version of the Skirt Steak. There’s a Salad, Sandwich and Dinner version as well.

Foodie Greg had the Magnificent Sandwich version, with sautéd Onions, Peppers and Mushrooms. It’s strongly reminiscent of an Australian Style Steak Sandwich, but with better bread and Peppers & Mushrooms! It’s good enough to tempt Philip to change his order.

Lunch at the Deli was an average of $23.29 with tax and tip.

Dinner

It turned out the Pork Chops in this month’s meat box were thicker than in previous months, and just two chops instead of in cutlets. We had expected thin and planned to smoke them, instead we used a Coffee Rub and souse vidé them to a perfect medium, and served with an Apple Endive Salad.

• The Pork Chops were $13.34 or $6.67 per serve
• Pink Lady Apple was 79c or 40c per serve
• The Belgian Endive is $2.69 or $1.35 per serve
• Add 40c for Coffee Rub, Apple Cider Vinegar and Oil.

The Coffee Rub was a great addition, with the subtle coffee flavor in every bite. They were cooked to perfection and the Apple Endive Salad was a perfect balance. A very good meal for $8.82 per serve.