Let’s Talk Food!

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to talk about the food again. Foodies Untie! Oops, Unite! This morning I decided to make a dish I had not made since Home-Ec. in high school (more years ago than I care to admit!). Disclaimer: I had already had a couple of cups of coffee before I started on the dangerous task of cooking. No cooks or kitchens were harmed in the making of this dish.

Start with two eggs

I actually took the time this morning to make myself a French Omelet. First I separated two eggs. Then I got out my trusty whisk and went to work on the egg whites. After the whites had increased to about 3 times the original volume, I lightly beat the yolks. Then I added the yolks to the whites and mixed lightly.

Separate them

No, not like that!

Like this!

Mix the beaten yolks with the frothy whites

Meanwhile, I browned one tablespoon of unsalted butter in a small pan and added about a tablespoon of chopped onion to the butter. I gently poured the eggs into the pan and added kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a sprinkling of dried Herbes de Provence. Gruyere cheese sounded like a wonderful addition, but alas, none was to be found in my refrigerator. So, on to the old standby: cheddar. Shredded cheddar cheese went on the top and the omelet was folded over to finish cooking. More cheese on top and a couple of slices of pre-cooked bacon went into the pan. I put a lid on the pan and turned off the heat to allow the omelet to finish cooking.

The French Omelet - not bad for someone who hasn't made one in 30 years!

In the end, I realized I put too much salt for my taste on the omelet, but it was otherwise perfect. And it was definitely worth the little bit of extra effort. I will be making French Omelets again.

We eat lunch...

I never realized just how often I eat chicken. Now that I know that I am allergic to chicken, I need to rethink my lunches. This was my first attempt at making something other than leftovers or chicken for my lunch:

I like vegetables - and I can use a knife!

I sliced a green onion on the bias and julienned a carrot. A quick slice of a rib of celery and a large dice of a quarter of a yellow bell pepper and I was ready for the teriyaki sauce and the meat. I mixed together ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons white wine and 1 tablespoon sugar. I then whisked in about 6 tablespoons canola oil. This will make more sauce than you will need for one serving.

As my daughter would say, I cheated on the meat. I bought two packages (hey, it was Buy One, Get One Free) of chopped, shaped, thinly sliced beef sandwich steaks. One “steak” cut into ½ inch wide strips completed the ingredient list.

Uh-oh, I Semi-HO'd my lunch

I heated a sauté pan over medium-high heat and added a drizzle of canola oil. First I sautéed the onion, bell pepper and carrots. Then I added the celery and cooked for a moment longer. I removed all to a plate and sautéed the beef that had been placed in the teriyaki sauce. Once the meat was cooked, I added the vegetables back in and poured in the sauce before turning off the heat and plating.

Look what I can do!

If I had more time, I would have made rice to go with this. All in all, I would count this as a success. The meat was tender and the vegetables were crispy and flavorful, just as I like them. I almost didn’t miss my favorite chicken.

My lunch just before I dug in.

All picture of lunch courtesy of Kelley.