Week One Meal Updates

I plan to post updates on the meals we cook after making (and eating) them. The first week of January included many introductory posts to this blog, so I did not update on the foods we cooked in individual posts. This post is to update you on our meals: how they went and any recommendations for preparation, process, or serving.

Photo Credit: Google Images

 

Eggs Benedict

I love my husband SO much! That's why I attempted making one of his favorite ways to prepare eggs. Eggs Benedict. I followed the instructions in the recipe, but I learned two main things.

First, when you drop the egg in water to poach it, the water turns a murky white. I thought I had completely messed up. I couldn't see the egg I was supposed to be scooping up, but I remembered where I had placed the egg. The egg came out perfectly. The second egg I had placed in the pot didn't come out as pretty. Because the water was so murky, I ended up piercing the egg and its contents spilled into the pot. From now on, I think I'm going to focus on one egg at a time when poaching.

Secondly, I blended up the hollandaise sauce, and it looked pretty good. The directions said to leave it near the hot stove, but not on the hot stove, as I waited for the eggs to finish up. Our induction stove, however, uses magnets to heat pots-- not actual heat. So the stove top does not get warm. I knew this, but I hoped maybe it would work anyway, so I set the sauce near a pot that was heating. After a few minutes, I changed my mind (because it wasn't getting any heat). I put the sauce on the stove top at a simmer. I changed my mind again because the recipe said NOT to do that. I took the sauce off. A few minutes later, I noticed my beautiful, smooth sauce had fallen apart. It had separated. I whisked it frantically, hoping it would come back together again.

My wonderful husband had watched a video clip about making hollandaise sauce. He told me to add about a tablespoon of warm water and mix it with the sauce. I trusted him, and the sauce came back together! Hallelujah!

I also learned that the sauce can be kept at a low, steady temperature for about 30 minutes. I had changed the temperature twice, which had not helped.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Banana-Oat Bars

Banana-Oat bars are such a healthy, filling, easy to make snack. BUT-- they do come with a little bit of getting used to as far as texture is concerned. I think the texture is caused by the banana being the base & the oats not being crunchy. In the future, I would like to make my own granola using oats, nuts, and seeds. I would like to mix this granola with the banana for a hopefully more crunchy and normal-texture granola bar.

Photo Credit: Google Images

 

Black Bean Burgers

Winner! Winner! Winner! My husband is eating one of the last bean burger leftovers now. These were so simple to make. They were delicious, and they were filling. I added just a couple of tablespoons of hot sauce, as well as a few personal favorite seasonings in moderation. I will definitely be revisiting this recipe to delight in its deliciousness!

Photo Credit: Google Images

 

Sweet Potato Fries

The sweet potato fries tasted fine, but they were a little disappointing. They were not as crunchy or as fry-like as I would have hoped. My grandmother-in-law and my husband actually sliced them like chips, so I am sure that is why they were not like fries. When I reheated the sweet potatoes in a convection oven on a medium-low temperature (200s) for about ten minutes, they became very chip-like. I think I will make the sweet potato chips in the future as a snack, but try again on the sweet potato fries.

Photo Credit: Google Images

 

Cauliflower Curry with Chickpeas and Red Potatoes

Sooooo disappointing.... My husband and I love curry. I was holding out high hopes for this recipe, but it did not deliver. The family and I decided it was just not a good recipe. If you choose to make this recipe, it tastes fine. (Better with crackers...) But it just seemed like it was "missing" a taste. My husband and grandmother-in-law are excellent cooks who seem to be able to find the "missing ingredient" quite easily. They couldn't figure out what was missing. It just wasn't a great recipe, and I will not be using it again.

I hope you can benefit from what I learned in cooking during the first week of January! If you try any of the dishes, or if you have made any of these dishes before, please do share your experience with us in the comments below!

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel