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Nov. 27th, 2008 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
floatingleafIt's so eerily quiet on LJ today. I hope all my American friends had a great Thanksgiving - my family didn't really celebrate today, because my sister is celebrating with her husband's family, and our parents didn't want to have any kind of special dinner without her (we were all invited to her husband's parents' house, by the way, but we wouldn't really feel comfortable there; my parents, because they don't speak English very well, and me... I'm just kinda paranoid about attending big family parties where I hardly know anyone, especially if I might turn out to be the only unmarried, childless woman in her late thirties; or the only person who neither identifies as a Christian nor worships the ground Bush walks on :|). So we are meeting on Sunday. Anyway, for my mother Thanksgiving is just another excuse to make a lavish dinner for us, because in her mind family life revolves around food. No occasion is properly honored if the table doesn't groan under the weight.;) My dad couldn't care less (especially since his sensitive stomach can't handle much anymore without unpleasant consequences), but he goes along with it, because he's not the one in charge.:P I couldn't care less either, but since I visit them for a Sunday dinner every few weeks anyway, there is no reason for me not to go. Besides, it will make mother happy, and I don't do much else to make her happy these days... lol. If I ever did - but that's a whole another, and maybe we shouldn't talk about it.;)
But speaking of food... I have discovered another recipe to join my Top Ten list of all-time favorites (which I will compile one day, I'm sure ;). Sweet onions and pears, sliced and sauteed with a little olive oil, just until they soften a bit... then sprinkled with crumbled blue cheese and chopped walnuts. Oh. My. God. Orgasmic.:D It was actually a recipe for a home-made pizza, and I tried it on a high-fiber pita bread first - and it was great. But then I ditched the bread entirely and just mixed in some rice noodles. Even better (I don't really go crazy over pizza anyway, and I'm not a big fan of either pasta or rice in its regular shape - I just like rice noodles for some reason). Seriously, I have no words to properly describe the yumminess of this dish.:) If you like blue cheese, of course. I know some people can't stand it (and it smells pretty strong when it's warm and half-melted, too). But for me, cheese is a taste of heaven in any shape or form; in fact, watching my cheese intake has been the most challenging aspect of eating healthy.;) And here just a small handful of crumbles adds so much flavor that I don't have to worry about fat content (same goes for walnuts; and it's good, healthy fat, anyway). Besides, I totally love using fruit in regular, non-dessert dishes; the combination of fruit & seafood, or fruit and cheese (or all three, for that matter), is simply divine. *blissful sigh*
Hmmm... now that I come to think of it, my appreciation of food is probably just as great as my mother's. The main difference being that I like to savor each morsel, instead of wolf it all down as quickly as possible; and also, according to me, a satisfying meal does NOT necessarily need to include a huge chunk of meat & a mountain of mashed potatoes (not that there's anything wrong with mashed potatoes per se - just the amount of butter she puts in them... lol). Which is why I don't have high cholesterol, and my mother does. And yes, I've talked to her about it; but I might just as well have been knocking my head against a brick wall. Though recently both my parents have been diagnosed as 'high risk' and are now going to pay more for health insurance; so maybe that will help improve their eating habits. *evil smirk*
EDIT: I forgot one important ingredient for the above recipe. Balsamic vinegar. You add it after the pears & onions have softened a bit, so they can soak it up.:)
But speaking of food... I have discovered another recipe to join my Top Ten list of all-time favorites (which I will compile one day, I'm sure ;). Sweet onions and pears, sliced and sauteed with a little olive oil, just until they soften a bit... then sprinkled with crumbled blue cheese and chopped walnuts. Oh. My. God. Orgasmic.:D It was actually a recipe for a home-made pizza, and I tried it on a high-fiber pita bread first - and it was great. But then I ditched the bread entirely and just mixed in some rice noodles. Even better (I don't really go crazy over pizza anyway, and I'm not a big fan of either pasta or rice in its regular shape - I just like rice noodles for some reason). Seriously, I have no words to properly describe the yumminess of this dish.:) If you like blue cheese, of course. I know some people can't stand it (and it smells pretty strong when it's warm and half-melted, too). But for me, cheese is a taste of heaven in any shape or form; in fact, watching my cheese intake has been the most challenging aspect of eating healthy.;) And here just a small handful of crumbles adds so much flavor that I don't have to worry about fat content (same goes for walnuts; and it's good, healthy fat, anyway). Besides, I totally love using fruit in regular, non-dessert dishes; the combination of fruit & seafood, or fruit and cheese (or all three, for that matter), is simply divine. *blissful sigh*
Hmmm... now that I come to think of it, my appreciation of food is probably just as great as my mother's. The main difference being that I like to savor each morsel, instead of wolf it all down as quickly as possible; and also, according to me, a satisfying meal does NOT necessarily need to include a huge chunk of meat & a mountain of mashed potatoes (not that there's anything wrong with mashed potatoes per se - just the amount of butter she puts in them... lol). Which is why I don't have high cholesterol, and my mother does. And yes, I've talked to her about it; but I might just as well have been knocking my head against a brick wall. Though recently both my parents have been diagnosed as 'high risk' and are now going to pay more for health insurance; so maybe that will help improve their eating habits. *evil smirk*
EDIT: I forgot one important ingredient for the above recipe. Balsamic vinegar. You add it after the pears & onions have softened a bit, so they can soak it up.:)
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-28 03:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-28 05:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-29 03:04 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-29 03:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-29 12:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-29 03:11 am (UTC)But I had forgotten one crucial ingredient - balsamic vinegar. The onions & pears absorb it nicely after they've softened a bit already.:)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-29 02:21 am (UTC)Is your mother planning the big turkey dinner for Sunday? My brother and his in-laws did prime rib for their Thanksgiving meal and will do the big turkey thing Saturday when everyone is available to attend. Prime rib works for me.
Enjoy your weekend!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-29 03:21 am (UTC)And I had forgotten to mention one ingredient: balsamic vinegar. Just a little to soak into the onions & pears while they are cooking. YUM.:D
Is your mother planning the big turkey dinner for Sunday?
I suppose she is. My dad always gets a turkey as a holiday bonus from his workplace, so that pretty much eliminates the option of picking something else.;)