Kevin's Watch

elk burger...

Tonight we are going to the Gator Town location of Cody's Roadhouse for their BOGO steak fajitas. I am still low carbing, but LZ has suggested on Facebook using toasted nori sheets (the seaweed used for a lot of sushi rolls) in place of tortillas as a wrap. So, I am going to bring a package of nori with me, and see how it works. If it does not appeal, I can always eat the steak and onions with toppings with a fork and knife.

...but I do like wrapping my fajitas.

So, using the nori in place of tortillas for fajitas was interesting. I've been pretty good at not even eating the low carb tortillas for a couple of weeks, whereas hyperception has continued to eat them and I planned to return to them after this week.

At dinner last night, hyperception went off plan a little and had onion rings, a roll with cinnamon butter, and a low carb tortilla we brought with us for his first fajita before trying a sheet of nori. I had one onion ring, but avoided the rest before trying the nori.

hyperception said the nori wasn't for him. Too papery a texture (I got the pretoasted nori). I found the nori worked as a wrap, and am thinking of trying it for breakfast and lunch wraps here at home. They are far lower in carbs per sheet than the low carb wraps. But the seaweed flavor does come through, and is an adjustment one would need to accept.

I'll finish off this package of nori before returning to the low carb wraps, and see if I will want to continue using them instead of the wraps once I've gotten used to them.

Today I am going to attempt to make the flaxseed meal pizzas LZ shared on Facebook. I am not a baker though, so here's hoping they turn out for me.

I love nori, but hadn't thought of using it with that type of food before.

Good luck with the baking. I've been forced (popular demand) to make lemon tarts a few times lately. I've been working on making them super-flakey texture. I'm afraid they are probably high carbs, though (not to mention having sugar!).

night before last i made for julie...

ground turkey - braised in pan, add diced onions and about cup of port. when meat browned all the way through, add brown gravy mix, water and another cup of port.

baked potato cooked in microwave - split and real butter added. pour meat/gravy mix over potato and grate swiss cheese onto that.

Menolly wrote:

But the seaweed flavor does come through

You'll get used to it!

Looking up 'nori' on wiki, it looks like the same as the Korean stuff we have regularly. I'll munch on it happily instead of crisps (that's 'chips' to most of you) when I'm feeling healthy.

Try the untoasted one. Gf will sometimes toast the sheets over a flame, but I prefer it straight out of the packet.

Another Korean thing - try lettuce leaves as a wrap. We use the type of lettuce described as a 'gem' here. Quite small - just big enough to wrap a piece of fried pork belly, a scrape of bean or chilli paste, and a sprinkling of shredded spring onions or fried normal onions, to make a large mouthful.

Does the untoasted nori still have the "crunch" to it, Stone? That's my favorite part of eating nori. I thought they needed to be toasted to have that.

Menolly wrote:Does the untoasted nori still have the "crunch" to it, Stone? That's my favorite part of eating nori. I thought they needed to be toasted to have that.

They have a certain crispiness - i wouldn't go as far as 'crunch'

Nori is so versatile. I just discovered it can be used as a spice. (Shame on me, I should have thought of that myself before)

I started making my own Shichimi tōgarashi, a wonderful Japenese 7-spice mixture based on chilis, but also ground nori. Works a treat with grilled beef, tuna or just sprinkled over Japanese soups.

beef pot pies

Chicken enchiladas (with extra cheese -- a dependable feature of any meal that Dam-et has any involvement in planning, executing or eating...the last option being by far the most common.)

Savor Dam wrote:Chicken enchiladas (with extra cheese -- a dependable feature of any meal that Dam-et has any involvement in planning, executing or eating...the last option being by far the most common.)

Very similar to what I am making tonight. I'm making chicken and mushrooms burritos, though without extra cheese. Very little cheese, in fact. Also I am making a sweet and spicy red sauce to go with it from chills I still have from my garden from last year (the ones I have left are starting to look a little sad- not sure how much longer time they will last). Of course, a sallad to go with it.

Flaxseed meal pizza again tonight.
I think it's going to be a weekly thing, since regular pizza is out on low carb.

I just found out a local institution which recently closed due to a fire, Satchel's Pizza (Facebook page), serves a flaxseed meal pizza for a gluten-free option. Will need to check it out when they reopen. It will be nice to have an option to eat pizza out.

greek chicken (grilled with olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh gralic, fresh basil)

vinegarette for chicken (olive oil, greek olives, red wine vinegar, feta cheese)

greek potato salad

taziki sauce with peta bread

julie is making it.

baklava for desert

Yum.

Y'all just need some dolmas, tabouli, and hummus with that and it would be a Greek feast!

What makes greek potato salad greek, sarge?

Ingredients
8 ounces haricot vert, trimmed
12 fingerling potatoes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon clover honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Canola oil, for grilling
8 ounces feta, crumbled
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons lightly chopped fresh oregano
Fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the haricot vert until al dente, about 90 seconds. Shock in ice water, drain well, chop in halves or thirds and reserve.

Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with 2 inches cold water and add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook until a small knife inserted into the center of the potato meets with some resistance, about 5 minutes. Drain well, place on a baking sheet and let cool slightly. Halve lengthwise.

Whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, honey and salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.

Heat the grill to medium heat. Toss the potatoes with canola oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown in spots, tossing occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove and toss with some of the vinaigrette.

Combine the potatoes, green beans, feta cheese, olives and oregano in a bowl. Toss with more of the vinaigrette, taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Scatter the parsley leaves over the top and drizzle with a bit more olive oil.

Last night's fish curry. I'm hoping the flavout keeps improving linearly cos I have enough left for tomorrow too

three day dry-brined defrosted "day after Thanksgiving" $0.39/lb Publix turkey, roasted Good Eats method and steamed broccoli.
home made gravy from drippings using almond meal in place of flour.

splurged -

had a cheeseburger, fries and strawberry shake.

Pizza night here again, since with the low carbing, we need to make at home instead of ordering out.

Tonight I will make the flaxseed meal crust, but instead of a tomato based pizza sauce I will spread some Sam's Club pesto on the baked crust and then cover with home made alfredo sauce (I use Gloria Pitzer's copycat recipe), provolone cheese, julienned sun-dried tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, the last of the planned over roast turkey, fresh basil leaves from my garden, and sliced fresh mushrooms.