Cooking for one

I tend to eat different types of meals when Scott is out of town. While Scott is very accepting of nearly everything I make in the kitchen and he is in fact one of the most open-minded eaters I know (paleo tendencies aside), I just like to do things differently when I am cooking for one. Scott would likely call my choices "girly" meals, as they are lighter, have limited to no meat, usually involve a mixture of lots of good vegetables, and may have at least one cheese component as well. I use this as an opportunity to try dishes that he may not think are a good idea.

So, while Scott was out of town for five days recently I cooked the following:

Thursday night: Stuffed tomatoes with sauteed spinach. The tomatoes were stuffed with cooked grits, herbs, and a mixture of ricotta, asiago, and parmesan cheeses, and the spinach was sauteed with garlic and olive oil. This meal was OK, likely my least favorite from the bunch. I might consider making stuffed tomatoes again, but I was not a super fan of the grits inside the tomato (though the cheese blend inside was pretty good).

Friday night: Leek and feta bruschetta on garlic toast with a large side salad. The salad was my favorite concoction from the Central Market salad bar that I try to have at least once a week: mixed greens, carrots, tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper, bacon, feta cheese, balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The leek and feta bruschetta was surprisingly awesome, and I regret that I do not have a photo to share. I wasn't too hungry that evening given that I met my friend Zining for a large-ish Thai lunch that day, but this dinner hit the spot for a light meal. Who knew sauteed leeks were so delicious?!?

Saturday night: Grilled mahi-mahi with cilantro lime butter and the same side salad from Central Market. I did not take a photo of the meal to share, but let me just plug the lovely Cuisinart griddle/grill combo device my mom gave me for my birthday as being a super handy appliance to have in your kitchen. The plates are interchangable so the device is both a griddle and a grill. I discovered that I can use the grill plates to cook fish and various meats and I love using the griddle for grilled sandwiches, quesadillas, and pancakes.

Sunday night: Ricotta pasta with spinach and tomatoes. This pasta was very good and I would make it again. The sauce was a blend of garlic, chicken stock, olive oil, lemon juice, herbs, and ricotta cheese. I added some fresh parmesan as well, and mixed in wilted spinach, fresh basil, and cherry tomatoes. This looks similar to Thursday's meal because I was trying to use some of the remaining ingredients (ricotta cheese, spinach) that I still had on hand.

But the real stand out was the following dish that I made for lunch: "Magic" quinoa salad (the term magic was provided by the blogger whose website I got the recipe from). This was my first experience cooking quinoa and I found it easy to make. I mixed cooked quinoa with sauteed leeks (I am LOVING leeks after discovering their sweet goodness!), chopped celery, feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, craisins, and a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. This was delicious the day I made it, though a bit less delicious after sitting in the refrigerator for a day as leftovers. I would totally make this again.

Truthful disclosure: I make my meals on the light side whenever possible so that I don't feel guilty for having dessert afterwards. While that may defeat the purpose some, the other way that I justify my actions is by remembering that I run a lot and likely work some of the extra dessert off. I did not take photos to post of the yummy lemon pound cake (purchased from Amelia's class bake sale on Friday), vanilla ice cream, or chocolate cupcake that I also enjoyed during this time.