The semiSerious Foodies

Lunch

For lunch we had Afghani take-out where Foodie Philip tried the Chapli ‘sandwich’ and Foodie Greg had the Falafel version from Skewers Halal, who’s servings are huge for $9.80 per serve, including tax.

Dinner

Tonight we took the remaining Caramelized Pork and served it cold on Bean Threads (bean protein based noodles) topped with Bell Pepper and Nappa Cabbage.

• The Pork is $2.59 per serve
• The Bean Threads were $2.49 and we used ⅓ or 42c per serve
• The Bell Pepper was $1.63 and we used half, or 41c per serve
• Add 30c for Nappa Cabbage
• Add 30c for seasoning.

The Caramelized Pork was great cold and mixed well with the salad ingredients. A good meal for $3.92 per serve.

Lunch

Given that an avocado makes two sandwiches, as does a can of Smoke Trout, we each had an Avocado & Smoked Trout Sandwich. What made it particularly good was the addition of some Garlic Spread on the non-avocado bread.

• Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
• Avocados were $1.38 for two and we shared one, or 35c per serve
  
• The smoked trout is $3.49 per can and we shared one, or $1.75 per serve
  
• Add 10c for Garlic Spread.

With the Garlic Spread this was an excellent sandwich for $2.86 per serve.

Dinner

Another new recipe – Mango Avocado Shrimp Salad – for ‘Fishy Friday.’ We souse vidé the Shrimp, cooled and chopped them for the salad.

• The Argentinian Shrimp averages $2.50 per serve
• The Mango was $1.29 or 65c per serve
• The avocado was $1.69 or 85c per serve
• The Salad Greens mix was $3.29 but we shared half, or 83c per serve
• Add 20c for seasonings.

This is an excellent salad and we really enjoyed it. We had some great Mango that perfectly complemented the avocado. A great meal for $5.03 per serve.

Lunch

As we had an avocado on hand, we spread it on two sandwiches, added sliced Turkey Breast and Garlic Spread to make a really good sandwich.

• Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
• Avocados were $1.38 for two and we shared one, or 35c per serve
• The turkey is $3.49 and we shared ½ or 88c per serve
• Add 10c for Garlic Spread.

A pretty decent sandwich much improved by the Garlic Spread, for $1.99 per serve.

Dinner

As the weather is warming up we’re back looking for interesting salads. Tonight we tried Nigella Lawson’s Hot and Sour Beef Salad. We grilled the Rib Eye on the outside grill before marinating and serving on a very simple salad base.

• The 10 oz Dry Aged Rib Eye is $8.10 per serve
• The Salad Greens mix was $3.29 but we shared half, or 83c per serve
• Limes were 66c for two but we shared one, or 16c per serve
• Instead of a Chili we used some Sambal Ulec, which adds 20c per serve.

We really enjoyed this salad. The slight heat in the dressing lifted both steak and salad to another level. An excellent meal for $9.29 per serve.

Lunch

Today we made two Kumato and Cheddar sandwiches, which is a favorite.

• Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
• The Old Crock cheddar was $5.45 or 90c per serve
• Five Kumato were $3.49 and we each had one, or 70c per serve
  
• Add 20c for garlic spread.

As always they turned out well for $2.46 per serve.

Dinner

A return to a favorite: Caramelized Pork Bowls.

• The ground pork was $8.35 and we’ll get four serves from that, or $2.09 per serve
• Add 40c for ginger, shallot, garlic and chili, etc
  
• Add 10c for grated carrot
• Mung Bean Sprouts were $1.49 or 75c per serve.

The wet and spicy sprouts are a perfect balance for the spicy meat mix to create a great meal for $3.29 per serve.

Lunch

The Foodies skipped lunch as they had attended a hosted breakfast in the community.

Dinner

Tonight we did a simple stir-fry with “meat for fajitas” and snow peas served with black rice.

• 1 lb of Keller Crafted ground beef is $8.25 or $4.13 per serve
• The Snow Peas $3.49 or $1.75 per serve
• Black rice is 44c per serve
• Add 30c for seasoning.

A decent stir-fry for $6.62 per serve.

Lunch

We reverted to toasted sandwiches for a change. One Lemon Pepper Tuna and Swiss, the other Smoked Turkey breast with Olive Tapenade.

• The bread was 33c per serve
• The Lemon Pepper Tuna is $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• The olive tapenade was $2.99 for the jar, but we used about one quarter, or 38c per serve
• The turkey is $3.49 and we shared ⅓ or 58c per serve
• Add 20c for garlic spread.

We shared both sandwiches for $2.49 per serve.

Dinner

We tried another meatless alternative: this time Pulled BBQ Jackfruit with Rice and Cuban Beans. The Jackfruit “pulls” like pulled pork, and is flavored by the BBQ Sauce as they don’t have much flavor themselves.

• The Jackfruit were $3.98 for the two cans or $1.00 per serve
• Brown Rice is 33c per serve
• Canned Cuban Beans are 99c or 50c per serve
• Add 40c per serve for Apple Cider Vinegar, Molasses and Carolina BBQ Sauce.

The Jackfruit has an interesting texture that is not quite melting, but not as defined as pulled pork would be. Most of the flavor comes from the BBQ sauce, although we followed a recipe that had a lot of Apple Cider Vinegar in the early cook and we felt the Jackfruit took up a little too much so the acid was a little out of balance. We’ll do better next time, but this was a pretty good meal for $2.23 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we picked up a Bahn Mi and enjoyed it on our outside terrace for $9.27 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

At the end of the weekend it’s time to use ups leftovers, so we steamed the asparagus and remaining chicken and served with a little of the Corn Salad for a very tasty meal.

• The Chicken is $6.99 and we we each had ¼ or $1.75 per serve
• The asparagus was $3.05 and we shared the ⅓ we had left, or 50c per serve
• The Corn and Chile Salad was already fully accounted.

A good meal for $2.35 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we took the other BBQ Chicken Breast, split a Kumato and stuffed them in a hot panini roll that was covered with garlic spread.

• The roll is 63c each
• The Chicken is $6.99 and we shared a breast, or 88c per serve
• Five Kumato were $3.49 and we each had one, or 70c per serve
• Add 20 for Garlic Spread.

Another good sandwich for $2.41 per serve.

Dinner

Since we had leftovers, we mixed all the remaining Taco meat and half the Soy Chorizo Enchilada mix together and heated it. We spread it on top of Trader Joe’s Organic Eloté Corn Chip dippers (seriously good) then topped with avocado and sour cream.

• The Soy Chorizo Enchilada mix was $1.48 per serve, but split it was 74c per serve
• The Taco Meat was $2.51 per serve or $1.26 per serve
• A bag of four avocados was $6.99 and we shared one, or 88c per serve
• Add 40c for Cotija cheese
• The Eloté Corn Chips were $2.29 and we used about half, or 58c per serve
• Sour cream cost $2.99 but we used 1/8 on tonight’s meal, or 19c per serve.

All up a good use of leftovers that had good flavor and a hint of spice. The Eloté Corn Chips are great and went perfectly in this meal, which all up was $4.05 per serve.

Lunch

We picked up tray of Avocado and Cucumber Rolls, and a tray of Seared Albacore Tuna from Whole Foods and shared them for $9.99 per serve.

Dinner

We have a new high tech, non-stick frying pan that matches the Wok we already have, that gives us a good sear while still being non-stick. In regular non-stick pans it’s impossible to get a good sear.

We paired the Fresh Scallops from Whole Foods with Sweet Corn and Chiles which turned out really well even though we left out the cream.

• The Scallops were $15.17 for just over half a pound, or $7.58 per serve
• The corn was $1.00 or 50c per serve as we’re in peak corn season
• A Jalappeno was 9c or 5c per serve
• Add 15c for onion and other ingredients.

This was a really, really good meal for $8.28 per serve. The Scallops were perfectly seared but not over cooked. The Chile in the Corn balanced the sweetness with a subtle heat, and provided a perfect balance to the Scallops.

Lunch

For lunch we picked up Heuvos Rancheros from Viva La Fiesta, our closest restaurant, and took them home to eat out on the balcony. They were very good for $9.00 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

A classic steakhouse dinner, including the martini, of NY Strip Steak from Keller Crafted, with Crash Hot Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus and Béarnaise Sauce.

• The NY Strip Steak was $20.18 or $10.09 per serve
• Béarnaise sauce was $3.29 and we used ¼ or 42c per serve
• The asparagus was $3.05 and although we grilled it all we only served ⅔ or $1.01 per serve
• The red potatoes were $1.30 or 65c per serve, but they were not very good.

Other than the potatoes this was a great meal for $12.17 per serve.