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The Foodie Report
Ruminations on food, cooking in and eating out in our area.


It's entirely possible to be a vegetarian in Porkopolis. Pop culture reporter Lauren Bishop blogs about products, recipes and restaurants she's tried for others who eat meat-free. E-mail her at lbishop@enquirer.com.


Nicci King is an unabashed foodie and the Lifestyle/Food editor in The Enquirer's features department. She loves to discover new food faves, and she's on a daily quest to answer one burning question: What's for dinner? E-mail her at nking@enquirer.com.


Enquirer Weekend editor Julie Gaw tends to order the same dish every time she eats at a restaurant, but periodically ventures out to discover something new and fabulous. After living in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand for more than 8 years, she craves tasty Asian food. E-mail her at jgaw@enquirer.com.


Food/dining writer Polly Campbell loves every quirk and secret of Cincinnati's food personality, and is on a constant lookout for something good to eat. Keep an eye out for her restaurant picks, or see how she's progressing toward becoming famous for her apple pie. E-mail her at pcampbell@enquirer.com.


Communities reporter Rachel Richardson is on a mission to prove vegetarians eat more than lettuce. She shares both her graduate work on American food culture and food-related news.. E-mail her at rrichardson@enquirer.com.

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

What did you have for dinner?

I didn't get to post about my dinner yesterday, but I, of course, made time to eat it.

I made my
Not-Your-Mama's Meatloaf; roasted fingerling potatoes seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley and splashes of olive oil and lemon juice; and a green salad with a great ginger rice wine vinegar that I found over the weekend (more about that and another find later).

What did you have last night?

Labels:


18 Comments:

at 8:50 AM Blogger Julie said...

I made pasta with parmigiano reggiano, butter, salt and pepper. Simple but quick and easy and quite yummy.

 
at 9:20 AM Blogger Amber said...

I had to do quick and easy after my yoga class last night.

We had a curry dish with turkey sausage, peas, red peppers, green peppers, and whole wheat pasta. I planned ahead and cooked the pasta on Sunday night, and used the Trader Joe's yellow curry sauce.

I then stir fried the Thai Style Green beans also from Trader Joe's.

My hubby and I made up our plates and brought it up to the roof of our building and enjoyed the beautiful evening.

I think every meal I make this week will have some component in it from Trader Joe's. Does anyone else plan their meals out for the week like I do? I just go to the grocery store one day a week so I have to have a meal plan!

The meatloaf recipe looks great. Can't wait to try it!

 
at 10:26 AM Blogger liberal foodie said...

a hearty tuna noodle casserole. oh yeah, I cooked in style, retro style.

 
at 10:30 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

mmmm. Red beans and rice with roasted red peppers and onions.

Having it again for lunch

 
at 10:35 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't like reading these. They make me feel like the biggest slacker when I eat popcorn or Wheat Thins with cottage cheese. Everyone else makes these amazing meals! Wish I could find the time/motivation to eat well.

 
at 10:44 AM Blogger Nicci King said...

Hey Anon:

First, my apologies for making you feel bad... :)

But part of why I do these entries is to show just how easy it can be to eat a nice dinner. Every single night of the week, if you feel so inclined. Dinner is important to me because between a foggy brain in the morning and a hectic day at work, my breakfast and lunch tend to be, well, crappy. Really crappy. And that's on the days when I actually eat either/both of them.

But dinner... Oh, dinner... It's my return to civility. My time to reconnect with myself (and, most days, my sanity). So don't feel bad if you eat cottage cheese and Wheat Thing for dinner. I love both of those, by the way. But how about this: Don't eat from the tub/box. Plate your food, use a real (not plastic) fork and make it a ritual. That is what "What's for dinner" is all about. Truly enjoying at least one meal a day, whether it's restaurant-quality or just what happens to be in your refrigerator (and not rancid).

 
at 11:09 AM Blogger Julie said...

Anonymous, don't feel bad. Sometime last week I ate the dregs of a container of Madisono's gelato and some microwaved popcorn. We all have those days. Nicci's right, though, it can be surprisingly easy to whip up a dinner if you have a decently stocked pantry. I just did a pantry post on my blog-- thanks for the inspiration, Nicci!

 
at 11:17 AM Blogger Amber said...

I will be honest, when I lived by myself, I would eat a can of pringles and call that dinner.

Many dinners were also pretzel rods dipped in the peanut butter jar. It wasn't even all natural peanut butter!

Since I am married now, I see one of my roles in our relationship is to cook healthy yummy meals. He can pay bills, clean, and do our taxes. I think I have the better end of the bargain. As an engineer where I don't use much creativity, I find I can through cooking.

My best advice is plan ahead and buy the ingredients and force yourself to cook! One of my pet peeves is throwing away produce, dated meat or eggs.

 
at 11:26 AM Blogger Nicci King said...

For me, it's not even about forcing myself. Cooking dinner (On the nights when you want to - if you don't, don't!) can be incredibly relaxing. It really is one of the best parts of my day... I love to come in from work, put on my "play clothes" and stroll into the kitchen. No rush. No rules. Just me and my creativity...

 
at 12:13 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Okay - being a braggart here - but trust me - if you knew the whole story you'd be laughing.

I had a first date with a boy and he made dinner...

 
at 12:16 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

last night my roommate had one of those moments where he expressed appreciation for living with someone who cooks to unwind from the day.

i made a mushroom quiche with a homemade crust (pastry, biscuits, etc are really new for me but also a fixation), a risotto with bits of bacon, sage, shallot, and parmigiano reggiano. Copolla's chardonnay.

A kind of invented white chocolate graham cracker for dessert.

-matt.

 
at 12:26 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 10:35 back again. Quick question. Where can I find a good, basic cooking class that teaches me some simple and easy cooking techniques?

 
at 12:34 PM Blogger Nicci King said...

Hey, Anon,

I just want to give you a hug... And then show you how to make homemade pasta and a bolognese! :)

If you plug "cooking" into the search on Cincinnati.com, you'll see a slew of classes. Or just copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://rodeo.cincinnati.com/ent/events/catresults.aspx?c=39

And you can always check in with us for other questions!

 
at 12:55 PM Blogger Nicci King said...

FYI, Anon,

Prepare a timely Spring Has Sprung Brunch with Catrina Leatherwood, featuring easy-to-fix dishes for not-so-experienced cooks. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State, 3250 Central Parkway, Clifton. $59. Registration required. 513-569-1643.

 
at 1:06 PM Blogger Veggie Option said...

Over the weekend I made a vat of pasta sauce - using the last of the tomatoes I'd canned over the summer - so yesterday evening we had it with whole wheat spaghetti and a salad of baby greens.

Tonight, ricotta-stuffed shells!

 
at 2:45 PM Blogger liberal foodie said...

veggie option, homemade sauce last night and stuffed shells tonight? dinner at your house sounds wonderful, when should I be there? ;)

 
at 3:26 PM Blogger vudutu said...

LOL, the last of the preserved lemon chicken I got from chezrenees, fab stuff but don't listen to renee, get the preserved lemon.

http://chezrenees.blogspot.com/2006/12/chicken-fricasee-for-21st-century.html

It was leftovers from Sunday night. We worked in the yard and were bushed so we watched the game and chilled.

 
at 3:57 PM Blogger Kelly said...

I made a chicken stir-fry last night. I took a few shortcuts (minute rice, frozen stir-fry veggies), but the sauce was homemade, and it still turned out pretty great.

Today I've got vegetable stock cooking in the Crock-Pot. It's not a meal, but it's my first time making stock this way, and I'm excited to get home and see how it turned out!

 
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