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Using the Left over tomahawk meat to make a big pot of Lentil soup tonight.
 
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Made a shell fish pho for dinner last night. Took 6 hours to make but well worth the effort.
 
I have been in a weight management group since the first of the year.

In attempts to get calories to 2425 a day and keep fat , refined sugar, salt to a "normal level " has been a struggle. I can get the calories down, but if I get the sugar low the fats and salt go up and the fiber drops. And on and on and on.

So the one thing that has helped is making soups and salads a lot.

So any way I have been going to the grocery store more often to get fresh vegs.

Any way. I went Friday to the local produce/ organic foods food market, and there was a lot of fresh Asian vegetables in, and fish and soup bones.
So I got the supplies and decided to make a Pho as close to the recipe as possible and hopefully get all of the nutrition levels within reasonable levels

So here is my version of a beef Pho with some adaptations to get it to fit my diet.

Oh ya. OMG this was so good and flavorful.

1 lb. Beef marrow bones
1 1/2 lbs. roast scrap bones (saved in the freezer for just this occasion)
4 cups of water
1 had full of onion skins out of the onion drawer
7 cloves of garlic (crushed and chopped)
1 inch ginger root (crushed and chopped)
one bunch of baby carrots (about 2 cups of sliced carrots)
2 Thai eggplants Chopped
3 green onion/Scallions sliced on the bias
3 stalks of celery Chopped
1/2 of a large green chili chopped/diced (if you want heat leave in the seeds)
6 mushrooms sliced/chopped (my family will not eat sliced mushrooms, but the will if I chop them)
1/2 tsp. ol bay seasoning
1/2 tsp curry spice
1 tsp. Lemon Grass (I have dried, but if you have fresh you need to chop up one stalk of just the lower white part)
1 snack bottle of 100% apple juice (not snake like I typed the first time)
1/3 cup Pinot Nori Wine Vinegar (this is what was in the cabinet and I did not want to use up the rice vinegar that I had.)
A beef steak of choice (I had both franken ribs and sirloin )
Bean sprouts
Snow peas.
rice noodles

This is not a "quick" soup!

In the morning preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place beef marrow bones on cookie sheet and place in the oven for 1 hour.
In a large pot on the stove add 4 cups of water, onion skins, roasted bone marrow bone and "fat/liquids", and any extra beef bones that you have) and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about two hours.
Turn of pot and let cool.

Place a colander in a bowl and drain the "stuff" out of the large pot.
Remove the onion skins (the nice thing is that when pot cools the fat collects on the onion skin)
Remove any meat off of the bones and save, also squeeze the bone marrow to loosen any "juice".
Discard all of the bones, gristle, and other solids in the colander.

Place the stock from the bowl in a grease separator and collect just the liquid.

Now for the Actual Soup.

In a clean large pot add the stock, Garlic, ginger, apple juice, wine vinegar, Ol Bay, Lemon grass, and curry powder. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium low and let simmer for about 1 hour.

Mean while chop up/ slice the carrots, green onion, green chili , eggplant, celery, and the mushrooms.

Now for the point where every thing is happening at once.

Place the chopped/slice vegetables into the Pho

Cook the rice noodles to the package instructions.

Grill the steak to a nice medium. This will be sliced thin on the bias to add to the final dish.

Ready the bean sprouts and snow peas for the garnish.

Now The issue that I had is the Pho had gotten very "thick" so I needed to add 2 cups of water and bring back up to 165 degrees by turning the heat up but not to hi!!!!

Now to serve.

in a nice size soup bowl add 1 serving of rice noodles then two scoops of the vegetable, two ladles of broth, add a few pieces of sliced meat, then cover with a nice size pinch of bean sprouts and a few snow peas.

Dig IN!!!!
I got some nice Naan to go with it.

All I can say is "BURP"!!!!!
 
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DanielW said:
Egor, the Pho looks delicious. I'm a big fan of home made stock, and have a freezer full right now (I like to chill, degrease, and the reduce stock so that it takes up less pace in my freezer. and I also tend to hoard bones when I can (I've got lamb, beef, chicken, turkey, pork and fish stock stashed away) . Having ready-made stock really cuts down on the prep time...and I do like a good soup :)

I agree. However as of late The bones don't last that long because I am making stock all the time.
 
I may be sounding like a one trick pony, but it is the same technique just different base. It also fits nicely into my weight management program I am on.
To night I made a smoked turkey thigh Pho. Turned out real good , but it was hard to cut down the salt note without killing the smoke. I finally got it there, but it was definitely salty and smoky flavor in the end along with the slight sweet and sour afternote.
 
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I had a bunch of bananas that went leopard spot on me, and was given 3 lbs. of blue berries. So I pulled out the last pack of pumpkin puree and made 6 batches of Waffles. Eating to many of them, but will pack the rest and put them into the freezer for quick breakfasts.
 
While we took the kids to the Oregon coast for spring break, I did a lot of relaxing and what the mood moved me activities. The kids wanted to go to this used book store that we went to last time, so we did. Turns out there is another one at the other end of town. So while we where out and about. we found the other one and went in. I found 3 Asian cook books. The one is all Asian, the second one was Thai and surrounding countries, and the third one is "Vietnamese" but it also has a lot of Laos and Cambodia recipes also.

Just made a Large pot of Sticky rice and Pork Curry.
 
Was doing food shopping for a concession stand event all day tomorrow. Long story short I went to Costco and they where having a seafood fair.

I just finished "butchering" (because I still can not do a pretty and neat fillet) a 12 lb. halibut.

Loin roasts for 8 meals and a bag full of future Pho stock.
 
Why halibut? My knowledge on fish is pretty limited, and I would like to learn a bit about the differences between them.
 
lavendercoffee said:
Why halibut? My knowledge on fish is pretty limited, and I would like to learn a bit about the differences between them.
I am sorry I do not understand your question. would you please expand on the "them" in question?
 
Had a lot of fun with mothers day. I fixed a 15+ lb. turkey for my wife. I hot smoked it for 4 hours with alder wood. The skin was a crisp mahogany color, and the meat was so juicy. (emphasis on was). Also roasted rainbow baby potatoes, apple juice poached whole carrots, and fresh white corn on the cob. Finished that up with a Marion berry and boysenberry cobbler.

All fallowed with a tryptophan coma afterwards.
 
So its three days later and the turkey carcus is just screaming Pho for dinner.
 
MEMORIAL DAY dinner: hot smoked Pork back ribs, corn on the cob, balsamic vinaigrette marinated and grilled Zucchini, bake beans, and toasted salad.

Now I have to go take a nap.

Then I will pull out the ice cream maker and make wild blueberry frozen Greek yogurt .
 
If you did not know I have been on a diet/life style change since January 7th, and reduced my weight 55 lbs.

To day I tried to redo some old favorites.

I had ONE good bratwurst on a whole wheat bun. But I also made a Potato salad with celery, onion, green chili pepper, and home made pickle relish. But I used non fat Greek yogurt and Mrs. Dash seasoning. It tasted very good.

Then I finally made the frozen yogurt tonight. It was 92 Cal. fat free and very good. It was a "Mediterranean Ice", non fat Greek yogurt with fat free half/half and Good Balsamic vinegar, with diced strawberries and blue berries.

Today my daily calories came to 2009 cal.

Burp!!!!
 
My fathers day present to myself was instead of spending money on a restaurant is spent the money on halibut, sea scallops, Large shrimp, pineapple and zucchini. I grilled it all and served it over a coconut herb rice.

Burp!!!!!
 
was doing the end of the month grocery/pantry restock shopping and the local produce company had fresh Morels on sale for $19.99/lb. I bought 1/2 lb. and made a "mushroom past sauce" from my "Frugal Gourmet cooks Italian" cook book.

For got to get some things and diet adjusted some others.

1/2 lb. Morel Mushrooms Chopped
2 trays of Kroger Meat balls (just did not want to mess with making fresh, and beside they looked better then any of the sausage)
1 box Mini Penni pasta
1 oz. Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fat free Half/half
2 cups reduced salt chicken broth
1 fresh Walla Walla BBQ onion (about 3 oz.) diced
1.5 oz. clove garlic chopped
2 oz. Shallot chopped
1 oz. cooking sherry (because I for got to get a nice dry white wine)
1/4 cup flour
4 oz. shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 loaf of whole roasted garlic bread.
Dried Parsley, Italian seasoning, and Basil. (use the amount you like)
Mrs. Dash Lemon pepper seasoning.

Make the pasta according to the package, and place back into the pan when drained.

Mean while heat oven to 350 to heat bread and hold meat balls until ready to serve.

In the pan that the meat balls are seared in, after they have been removed and placed in oven to finish. with the heat still on medium high, add the wine and deglaze the pan.
Then in that "sauce" add the olive oil and stir to warm.
Then turn the heat up to high wait about 1 minute and add all of the diced vegetable.
Stir for a couple of minutes until things look sautéed.
Turn the heat back to medium high and add flour and stir until mixed.
Then add chicken stock and stir to mix and heat evenly.
The sauce should be not quite boiling but steaming, add the Mrs. Dash. Then add Half/Half and stir for a couple of minutes.
Turn off heat.
The pasta has been sitting in the pan on the back burner of the stove. It is still warm.
Add the dried herbs to the pasta and stir.
Then add the sauce and stir a few times.
Now add the meat balls, and Cheese and stir until mixed.

During all of this (with your fifth hand) the bread has been heated for about 5 minutes and set off to the side.

Serve.
I did it into a small bowl with 4 meatballs and the pasta, and added a good "hunk" of bread.

Very rich and filling.
I love the "umami" flavor of Morel mushrooms. In this dish it is very mild and the back notes of the cheese and garlic is SOOOOOOO good.
 
I just had one of those moods last night.

I am suppose to have more fish in my diet and I kept looking at the Halibut, Catfish, and Shrimp in the freezer and nothing was jumping out as dinner.

I went to make a shopping list and saw the large can of Chopped clams. IT was way to much sodium for the day, but that made a nice refreshing pot of clam chowder for dinner.
 
I hosted a Cleaning supply party today. Invited 28 family and friends. Three showed up. The issue was I made food for 12.

Grilled 1/4lb. Bratwurst, held in crock pot with apple juice. All of the trimmings, Pasta salad, chips, fruit and veggie trays.

The kids will be eating left overs for a couple of days.
 
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