What’s Cooking?

Delicata squash with piccadillo ingredients.

As this is a food blog, I thought I would post what I’ve been cooking. I’ve been making lots of semi-easy dishes with short prep times, but with fresh vegetables. When we returned from our long trip over the holiday, I shopped at Trader Joe's, which is a good place to buy things that are ready to eat, but not too unhealthy. Note that Trader Joe doesn't pay me to mention them: for that matter, TJ doesn't pay anyone else either.

Recipes? Well, I don't use real recipes with detailed measurements very much, so I'll just describe the ingredients I used. The delicata squash shown above has the advantage of a tender, edible skin -- and they often have a pile of them at Trader Joe's. I peeled and sliced the squash into little half-moon shapes, and sautéed it in butter, Then I added a sliced onion, a jalapeño, some red bell pepper, and browned them. Finally I added cumin, cinnamon, ground coriander, raisins, balsamic vinegar, and a bit of tomato paste. I cooked the mixture until the squash was very soft, and served it on little tortillas that had been browned with a slice of cheese. Real Mexican and South American piccadillo fillings normally include ground beef or chicken, but the squash worked well.

Trader Joe’s Stir-Fry

Lazy cooking — but not too lazy. The chicken is TJ's pre-cooked sliced chicken breast, the broccolini comes in a package ready to rinse and add to the pot. I did chop some fresh garlic and ginger, slice a red onion, and wash a package of mushrooms for the dish. I stir-fried first the ginger and garlic, then the onions, then the other vegetables. Then I added some broth, Chinese five-spice blend, and soy sauce, and cooked the mixture for 5 minutes. Finally some corn starch mixed with water to thicken the sauce, and the ready-to-eat chicken, briefly warmed in the pan. An easy dinner.

Some food that I made in Fairfax last weekend; hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise and tuna-white bean salad.

These are two very simple dishes that I like to make when there's not a lot of time. You can find dozens of tuna and white bean salad recipes online if you want more details -- and I've posted about my versions of this classic several times as well. In this salad, I used canned tuna (the Wild Planet brand because it's supposed to be ecologically responsible) and cannellini beans. I added chopped celery, chopped dill pickles, cilantro, and green onion, as well as oil and vinegar. When I make it at home, I vary it with tomato or lettuce or cucumber or carrots.

Blog post and photos © 2021 mae sander.