jojo's dinner

the sacrifice of honey

Give them flowers and they will make honey.........

   

 

.......but not without sacrifice

                                                                                                           

3 honeys from my honey

planning a menu

 

8:00 AM

"I'm gonna make a fruit drink want some?"

of course i do... yogurt (vanilla), orange juice, a banana or two, maybe a mango, some strawberries and a ton of frozen fruit--what ever ya got blueberries, blackberries...throw it in the blender. drink it.  you are now set for the day (after your ice cream headache passes)...or at least until lunch time! 

12:00 noon

have a sandwich. Cheese: swiss, cheddar. a little mustard and a little mayo. greens are very dark...gotta eat very dark or very bright colored food whenever possible--so that means spinach, baby arugula (say it---arrrrruugula). the bread should be fresh, crunchy but not too crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside...yeah.

3:00 pm

... go to california and find my nieces. they will take you to menchies (you will have to drive however--they are only 6 and 4). OR-- as i just discovered by going to the link i just added above...there may be a menchies right around the corner from where you live!!!  fill-er-up

Happy B-Day to me

This was a big one. I will NOT discuss the number. But I will divulge the fact that I was born on the 29th of February and so every birthday is big in its own way. Either because it really doesn't exist (that moment of time between midnight February 28th and March 1st) or because we actually have a 29th on that year...or just because it is some sort of milestone...some sort of award ceremony for making this far...

On an occasion like this I recommend starting your day by cutting up a bunch of fruit. Lots of citrus, and an apple or two. Mix the fruit with brandy, triple sec, simple syrup and gently mash. Let the fruit marinate, seep, soak...get liquored-up (what ever you want to call it) in the fridge for the remainder of the day.

Then....go to lunch with your best girl friends at a very fancy hotel and drink champagne.

                          

 
I recommend NOT letting the bartender take your photo unless you are super sure he knows how to use a crackberry.

Now--go home (maybe have a taxi drive you ...just a thought) and add some chilled CAVA to the fruit mixture and start pouring it into pretty glasses, add a little piece of fruit to each glass. It will go fast so make sure everyone gets at least one glass. You will then need to make a very sappy toast. Something along the lines of remembering all the good times and how much you love everyone...don't forget to cry....oh and be loud--loud and slur your words!

 

Mom made my favorite cake with grammie's icing. This photo is the cake before the icing. Isn't it pretty? Can't go wrong with Marble cake. Grammie's icing is very simple**: sugar, bakers chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, butter...stir  on the stove top...pour it over the cake while it's warm! lick the pan. The icing forms a hard chocolate glaze over the cake....nuthin' better (**I'm guessing on these ingredients...)

Don't for get to rehydrate...after the partying   

don't look twice

I have opened this image several times only to close it immediately.

We had this delicious spaghetti squash and pasta meal about 3 weeks ago. Like I said it was delish and we had leftovers. I brought it to work and ate it at my desk the next day. (...why did you eat at your desk? why not go down to the freezing cold cafeteria?...)

Spaghetti squash sounds so fancy but it is really just another fall crop. Chop it in half and put it face down in the oven for awhile (45 minutes I think...ask Steve when you see him next). When its done the insides are like noodles-long and skinny , tasty and juicy spaghetti. Only they are yellow.

Toss the real noodles with the faux noodles in some olive oil, herbs, spices and add your favorite veggies or what ever you have around. We happened to have grape tomatoes and we also toasted some walnuts... toss and serve with grated parmesan cheese.

simple-easy-meal. only leave out the cat hair..........

Apparently the blackberry has one mighty lens. And the computer has a nice big screen.

I can even tell you the hair belongs to Louie--he's a gray striped tabby.

Remember I took the photo THEN ate the meal.

I cleaned my plate...I cleaned my plate.

 

wok it

olive oil, soysauce, rice wine vinegar

singapore seasoning from penzeys

garlic paste (oooh spicy), orange juice

one garlic clove, ginger, onion, red pepper

broccoli, bok choy, mini zucchini, snap peas

pile it on top of brown rice (that was cooked in garlic, ginger and H20)

top it off with toasted almonds

>>when it is this cold out ...stand by the flame as long as possible

it'll help

in-a-pot

It wasn't the worst day of my life but I forgot my crackberry at work. gasp....wiping a tear, etc.

I was out of sorts but feeling better when chicken-in-a-pot was served and it was lookin' good!! I went to take a photo but, alas, the crackberry (my tool of choice for jojo's dinner) was sitting on my desk alone in the cold, dark office miles away.

My prince charming saved the day again with his LG camera-phone.

...yes those are my feet...don't make fun

This particular chicken-in-a-pot starts with a bottle of ale (ya know -like beer) a can of chicken stock, some water, throw in some garlic, onion and ginger. Now start adding lots and lots of veggies including an entire butternut squash (2-3 pounder!!!), a pound each of carrots and brussel sprouts. There's broccoli and potatoes too. Salt and pepper of course. Bangcock blend from penzeys . Oh yeah and chicken.  2 pounds of breasts and thighs.....no tomatoes!

** chicken-in-a-pot is never made the same way twice and is really the reason this blog got started. I was keeping a notebook of the yummy meals Steve creates so that we could duplicate them. The notebook became jojo's dinner  -maybe one day we will have this particular chicken-in-a-pot again

please can I have another? or just a factoy down the street

Tastykakes are hard to find west of Philly. Its a shame really because mid-westerners would appreciation these little treats. We like to snack out here in OHIO. We snack all the time. And we eat dessert...all the time too.

You can, of course, buy them on line. But that is too planned, too predictable...as in "oh good on Wednesday I can have a butterscotch krimpet 'cause I ordered them on Saturday". See how that doesn't work? When you order tastykakes on line you order a BOX and that means you have a BOX in your kitchen screaming your name all day long (and you WILL eat them all day long if they are available) No. this is not how I want my kandy Kakes (with dark chocolate cake and chocolate icing). I want my (peanut butter) kandy kakes spontaneously. I want to wander in to a corner store looking for a carton of milk or a loaf of bread and see them...lined up in a big display case by the register...every variety, freshly stocked,  shiny cellophane wrappers, perfectly packaged, ready to eat right now. Or maybe in a half an hour after you eat your sandwich that you packed for lunch. Do you understand Mr. Tastykake? Could you open a factory here in Columbus? The wonder bread factory just closed...maybe you could move in there.

the new steak dinner

Why is it  considered wrong, unhealthy, lazy or just plain silly to have cereal for dinner?

Look at this meal. It has everything you need...it doesn't have veggies but I am assuming you had them for lunch.

I am a "mixer" from way back -- a cereal mixer. Think about it. A bowl of Cap'n Crunch will work on it's own but that isn't a meal (we will call that a snack). Cheerios on the other hand are extremely boring on there own. But mix them with the other boring stuff in the cupboard and you have yourself a meal!

Choose your mixers wisely. You can't just mix willy-nilly. For instance you would never mix Cap'n Crunch  with....anything. My best advice on mixing: stick to a brand. Mix your General Mills with your General Mills and your Posts with your Posts.  they seem to complement each other. All the other ingredients are completely up to you. I highly recommend nuts that get sweeter when you toast them (almonds, walnuts, pecans--ALWAYS toast your nuts) Dried fruit...golden raisins are my fave (but try apricots, cranberries even dried bananas).

Create the right mix and you'll be nourished and happy. Choose wisely now and you won't be hungry later.

Cheerios are bursting with nutrition (just read the box).  The multi-bran Chex aren't just for party mix anymore. Now the raisins they do have lots of sugar... but they also have lots of antioxidants!

yeah for antioxidants!

And of course you have the almond slivers which are high in mono-unsaturated fat which can lower your LDL and raise your HDL---all things that you want to happen! Almonds are also high in vitamin E and calcium. All of this AND they are LOW in carbohydrates!

now just add your milk or your soy milk or ...well it has to be milk of some sort dontcha think?

 

Cereal could be the new steak dinner!

slice

Which do you like better pizza or pasta? This is the never ending debate 'round here.

But lets just say that pizza is really the best meal ever... unless your in the mood for something else.

We used to make our own pizza about once or twice a month. Lately -- more like once a week!

I would make the dough in the food processor, let it rise for an hour and Steve would toss flour all over the kitchen while he rolled it out on the wooden pallet thing...

Then he would load it up with everything fresh and good that you think you might like on your pizza.

Sauce--make it simple and open a jar (whoa did I say that?)

cheese--try Emmental instead of mozzarella one day...oh my so good! But mozzarella is good too!

any veggie...any veggie at all but if you use eggplant you have to PEEL it (that's right I demand that you peel it). I like onions, mushrooms (baby portobellos).

But back to the pizza at hand. We recently discovered Mama Mimi's.

This is the place where they make the pizza and you bring it home to bake it. We order a meatball pizza ...bring it home and you guessed it.. ..we load it up with all of our own stuff without coating the kitchen with flour! As seen in the photo above: peeled eggplant, onion, baby portobellos, pizza seasoning (Penzey's) and of course a sprinkling of parmesan cheese because yo can never have enough cheese on your pizza.

...just one more thing:  the crust--thin and crispy please

and another thing... a wood burning oven.......700 degrees!

you want another slice?

stew for the lonely

"Don't forget to eat".

"Those bananas won't last much longer and there are a few clementines left".

"I bought eggs and yogurt"

"Don't forget to eat".

"Eat the stew".

This is the running commentary while he is packing. He will be gone for 5 days. That is 4 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 4 dinners. Does he think about anything else besides eating? Is he always planning what to eat next? Does he think i will forget to eat? 

Well he's right...I will  forget to eat at least one meal while he is away.

So he made me beef stew......... and i will eat it!!!

breakfast for dinner

It was just a simple suggestion about a ricotta pancake. You can can read it here . But I could not stop thinking about the Cloud 9 Ricotta Pancakes....until finally today--this morning---ahhh  Pink and I had the pancakes: light, fluffy, sweet, warm, just a little tartness, a banana is always good. (thank you Northstar cafe)

We've all had pancakes. flour, eggs, milk, drizzle the maple syrup and you have breakfast on Sunday morning. Pretty simple.

But the first time I made pancakes they tasted like rubber...Mom said "you probably stirred the batter too much. It should be a little lumpy" Mom also explained how to tell when it's time to flip your pancakes: "when the little bubbles form at the edges"...

When a single drop of batter lands in the skillett let it cook. when it's done it makes a perfect pancake to use in your doll house. Believe me I know...Mom  always made me a doll house pancake. 

My Mom is a mean pancake maker.  She can whip 'em up from scratch; plain or fancy-blueberries or not. She has made pancakes forever and I think I want to take her to Northstar cafe to try the ricotta pancakes--and then i will ask her to make me a batch--maybe she'll make'm for DINNER!

containers

Remember when you were 2, sitting in your highchair and the grown up seated across from you started making that funny noise with their mouth (you know the noise--it was suppose to sound like some kind of moving vehicle--maybe an airplane)? At the same time they were holding a spoon full of something they wanted to put in your mouth. It's a very old game. I think the Romans played it 1st (but they probably stole it from the Greeks ...)

"open wide little Octavius here comes the chariot ---buonnnn"

When the romans got tired of this game they invented pasta (which they stole from the chinese.....apparently). Those inventive Romans started using pasta to carry all the good stuff to their taste buds.  But in this modern-global-everything-i-want-i-can-get-world we live in there is just no point in eating a noodle unless that noodle is also a container with multiple compartments if possible.

For instance the tubes:  macaroni, penne, rigatoni, garganelli, cellentani

the swirls: fusilli (in every length imaginable)

shapes: farfalle (bowties), orecchiette (little ears), wheels (ruote), and we can't leave out the alphabet pasta

the stuffed: ravioli, tortellini, even gnocchi.

lets get tiny: ditalini

and the real tiny: couscous (really just a thickener!!)

spaghetti is fine if your tossing it in some olive oil and herbs (this would be the meal you eat on the day you are so broke or so tired you can't go to the store to get some real ingredients)

lasagna: this is a casserole not a noodle..........

the shredder

This will be a good dinner after you do your taxes. Or maybe prepare this meal the day you clean out your home-office files when the shredder is all warmed-up but before it gets too dull!

First shred this stuff: red cabbage, carrots, pear (no skin), and cheese (we used a yogurt cheese--tasted like a mild cheddar)

toasted walnuts (remember: always toast your nuts)

oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt, country french herb mix from penzeys whisked together--drizzle and toss with baby arugula ( by the way, arugula is one of my favorite words. go ahead say it...it just rolls around in your mouth. it's funny)

romaine (not nearly as fun to say but it has a nice crunch)

grape tomatoes

we will eat for you

Sometimes it's not what's on the menu that counts. Tonight we ate institutional spaghetti and lots of baked goods that were NOT institutional but home made. All because a friend of a friend has had enough bad news already. Sometimes if we all get together and eat-- it helps.

...Bought some extra baked goods for tomorrow!!!

open your heart often. it will satisfy your appetite.

bananas will do

So it usually starts sometime in November, right around the time that all that shopping starts. At first he will just talk about it--mostly on the weekends all thru December. He discusses. He plans. He buys the main ingredient. Early January arrives and a random Sunday morning will inspire the actual event: Panettone french toast!!!

Panettone aka traditional Italian oven-baked cake-imported from Italy-of course. It comes in several sizes but we always get the big one(1 lb 10 oz). We never finish this monster of a cake and there have been some years when we never even open the box...not this year!

Don't forget to warm the syrup and serve with fresh fruit--fresh--what ever you have around--a banana will always do.

never heard of the cake? look here 

before the movie

I don't have anything special to say about this plate of food from cap city diner other than I thoroughly enjoyed it and I tried not to eat all of the fries. impossible.

doggie bag

Admit it...the real reason you make meatloaf is to eat it as a sandwich the next day!

So here we have Tuesday's turkey meatloaf on a crusty baguette from omega bakery (at the north market). Accompanied by last night's red salad. The grape tomatoes were almost gone...as in done..as in about to be gross so Steve tossed them in some olive oil, added salt and pepper and sprinkled just a tiny bit of grated parmesan on top. That's dinner. The clementines are for dessert.

seeing red

I'm rating this salad a 10-yes T-E-N! It's sweet, tangy, crunchy and almost too healthy. Eating this salad will  increase your vocabulary and maybe your IQ. I'm sure it will lower your blood pressure.  Just a plateful and you will start oxidizing all kinds of free radicals. whoa that's a powerful salad

All the good stuff is included here:

• Beets (boiled but don't worry the flavor is still there...especially combined with the other ingredients)
• Carrots-shredded
• red cabbage-shredded
• golden raisins
• grape tomatoes
• pear!
• Almonds-toasted (Toasting nuts is just as important as Roasting veggies-always-always toast your nuts)
• tossed in a combo of honey, lemon and orange juice 

And there is enough left over for my lunch tomorrow...

I'll probably get a raise!

eat your vegetables

There isn't anything better than a plate of roasted veggies (well maybe a piece of chocolate cake is better but that would be dessert and you can't have dessert until you eat your vegetables). Roasting is the only way to taste everything a veggie has to offer. Roasting is essential.

Add meatloaf to your plate of roasted veggies and you have a great meal. Make that meat loaf with ground turkey, onion, carrot, dijon mustard, ketchup, lemon juice, garlic sauce, salt, pepper, egg, bread crumbs (wheat-of course) and Bouquet Garni (go to Penzeys) and you have-possibly-a perfect meal.

The veggies we had tonight (beets, potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots) were tossed in lemon and orange juice, salt, pepper, bouquet garni and a little rice wine vinegar.

 

Turkey meatloaf is probably the most UN-photogenic food there is. Especially when you are using overhead fluorescent lighting and a blackberry to do the photoshoot (so sorry no turkey meatloaf photo)....... now go eat your vegetables.

 

heat up the sushi

Why do I load my sushi with hot wasabi and soy sauce causing my skull to explode and then...eat some more with just as much wasabi and soy sauce? How many times can I do this before I have to stop?

Apparently I do it until the sushi is gone!

There's a whole bunch of tuna on the plate there...and some other stuff.

A take-out meal usually includes something from our kitchen as well. This salad is wonderful: shredded carrots, grape tomatoes, toasted pecans, toasted sesame seeds, a little lemon juice and rice wine vinegar with just a touch of garlic sauce (oooh careful...not too much), oh yes and a touch of honey.

 I rate this salad a 9, but I give the entire meal a rating of 8. Steve is rating this meal a 7..he just isn't into the sushi the way I'm into the sushi.

*oh--btw vanilla ice cream for dessert...needed to cool the skull