[Hope I got that translation correct!]
Afternoon = House Hunters + Internet. Wish I could claim more fun post-exam hobbies!
For dinner tonight we had the following ingredients:
~1/3 a head of red cabbage, a bowl of leftover potatoes, frozen bacon, tempeh. What to make!?
Such a pretty package!
I had a few good ideas, but we decided to go with a Polish-inspired dinner. A reader, Magda, emailed me a few days ago when she saw my kefir with the suggestion that her family in Poland slathers it on potatoes!! JACKPOT!
To celebrate the end of exams and cooking with Matt, I decided to celebrate with a cocktail. I couldn’t decide between a small Manhattan or red wine so I had a bourbon taste to see if I was in the mood…
…after a nice swig, I chose wine!
I keep these Target individual wines on hand for nights when I want some on a whim. Opening a bottle is such a commitment. And I think the Cab-Shiraz is actually quite good.
I poured it into my stemless glass.
And discovered there was quite a lot of wine in that little bottle! I love these glasses because I have small hands and I can’t grip the red wine stemless glasses without dropping them.
But this guy was too small for swirling, so I poured it into one of our giant red glasses
Much better!
Good for swirling + breathing!
And drinking!
So to start dinner, we cooked 2 slices of frozen bacon in a cast iron skillet. They were a bit chewy, possibly a result of being frozen.
Some potatoes got microwaved for pre-cooking and then when the bacon was removed, they went into the pan. I am very scant when cooking with oil, but bacon grease is the one time that I don’t mind a lot of oil. I guess because the grease comes from the bacon, which I don’t feel is as high in calories as a true tablespoon of oil (~40 vs. 120). The oil has to be included in the nutritional information, right!?
On the side we heated a pot with cooking spray and plopped in half a block of chopped tempeh. When it had slightly browned, we added a chopped apple, 1/3 a head of red cabbage, about 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp Dean & Deluca Mesquite and Stout Mustard (the company sent me to try this out many moons ago!) and about a tbsp of agave for sweetness. Plus salt and pepper.
We ended up tossing the taters (What’s taters, Precious!?) with about 1/2 a cup of kefir plus some dill. AMAZING!!
The vinegared cabbage, apple + tempeh was quite good as well!
Bay 1, 2 and 3! We got this fun Xmas plates from the Flower Patch in Hillsborough a while back.
I am off to finish sipping my wine by the tele-vis-ion
Nite nite!
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{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m polish and have never heard of that. Clearly I’m not attached to my roots enough because that sounds amazing. I wonder if it will work with the coconut milk kefir I have
Yet another reason I wish Target was in Canada!
Those potatoes sound excellent!
Dinner looks delish! Manhattens are a staple drink in my family.
I LOVE those plates!!!! Get them on Open Sky
Awesome dinner dishes and love the kefir slathering.
This is so beautiful! I love the colors, and it looks like such a warm hearty meal. I wonder what would be a good replacement for the kefier… Almond milk may be to mild. Any suggestions?
Anyway, this looks fantastic once again well done!
Milk would probably be too liquidy and the tang would be missed for sure. I’d recommend thinning out some yogurt if you don’t drink kefir.
Hearty looking meal! We had tempeh as well, we sauteed it with mushrooms and made sandwiches with pepperjack cheese and barbeque sauce. I love how filling it is!
Wow, this is one of the most impressive/delicious looking dinners I have ever seen! My mouth is watering! It’s So pretty, too.
Way to get creative with what you’ve got in your kitchen.
I have never seen individual wines – too cute!
What a creative dinner – it looks so yummy!!!!
I think the math is off on the bacon grease because the implication is you’re eating the bacon drained…but maybe it’s just me. I was intrigued to see an almost RD saying bacon grease might be better than regular oil!
I would agree – the nutrition info usually says “skillet cooked” – I always assumed that there is some amount of “fat left in the pan” not included in the calories listed on the package.
Good 2 know that the oil isn’t included!!!
Beth, I didn’t mean to imply it was better nutritionally!!
I think you could thin out some yogurt with skim milk or soy milk. Almond milk by itself might not coat well. (I love it in my smoothies though.
) I love the combo of red cabbage and apples, but the vinegar and mustard, sounds yum. Must try this.
I just love all your fun dishes Kath!
I love everytime you make a Lord of the Rings reference!
You are so creative when throwing a dinner together!
Lovely looking dinner!
Good choice with the wine!
Enjoy your study-free evening.
Looks like a great way to use up leftovers. I love the creativity!
that’s a very creative dinner! love ‘em!
I used to always get those wine juice boxes from target when I was in college! They’re really not bad for being in a little carton
That recipe looks great! Love your blog!!
i’m gonna keep my eye out for those boxed little wines – i don’t drink but that would be perfect for cooking!
Wine and beautiful eats, I don’t expect anything less from you!
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Katie
Now THAT is what I’m talking about! Beautiful dishes, and nice plating. Mmmm, salivating.
Food!
(Erm…re: the title. haha)
Gotta love Polish food. I fell in love with kefir on my trip to Poland 3 years ago and JUST found it over here! (In Canada). Defs gonna try it over potatoes : )
Also, just tried your oatmeal pancake w/ egg whites – SO AMAZING! I LOVE your blog!!
izzyy
xx
Loved the potato idea….and mmmmm..dill is good…
Dinner looked great! Ya’ll are so creative!
Sometimes it’s nice just to stay around home and relax in front of the TV! I can’t blame you after all the studying you’ve been doing.
What a lovely dinner spread. Seriously neat creations working with what you have on hand!
I love you always start your meals with ingredients and build up. No wonder they always end up so creative and delicious-looking :] It’s so cute how the food is all lined up!
Now potatoes + kefir is on my must-try-at-least-once list
what a yummy dinner!
Yum that looks delicious!
For the record, House Hunters is a great way to spend an afternoon!
That is such a nifty wine idea. It took me a bit to soak in the whole “wine in a juice box” thing though!
Haha love the bourbon swigging!
Have a great night!
Love the tri-plate! Looks like a fun, experimental dinner!
Congrats on being done!
Oh yum! German food is so good but I’ve never tried to make any myself.. good inspiration!
I agree your meals always look so yummy and very creative
FAB dinner.
And oh how I love large red wine glasses….I LOVE using our humongous ones!
I have to admit, I keep a few of those target wine boxes in my car just in case I happen to need one for a BYO situation…my friends call them “adult juice boxes.”
But…if you want a big ol bottle and can’t commit for the whole week try using this spray:
http://www.amazon.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Private-Preserve-Preservation/dp/B001AS4NCM
I get it at my local organic grocery store – works really well. I’ve kept bottles open for a few weeks using the spray.
We have one of those air suckers. It seems to buy a day or so. Perhaps we need the spray too?
It’s amazing that you can think up such awesome meals with so few ingredients. I ususally give up and get take out (but it’s really an excuse cause I love getting take out when I can justify it!)
This looks so healthy and delicious! I have started a new diet plan using a plan that I got from a great book… “The Perfect Formula Diet” by Janice Stanger. I am learning how to shop and eat more nutritious meals at home (no more eating out). I am learning that healthy eating consists of eating/rotating basically 6 kinds of foods to work with your body. Your meal looks right on with what Janice points out as a healthy diet. Would love recipes if you are giving them out.
Good to know I’m on par!! I’m curious to what the book says to do?
Wow, that’s quite a tri-fecta you have on that plate. Looks excellent, and I love the idea of using kefir on potatoes! I’ve only had raspberry kefir, but if I have plain again, potatoes it is!
Jenn
Wow, what a creative dinner! We are trying to work with what we have on hand this month and boy, does it ever get creative. I also find it interesting what meals I can come up with when I feel like I have “nothing” to cook in the house.
I’ve had potatoes that are very similar from a Polish restaurant (the Red Apple) here in Chicago – delish! So creamy.
Dinner looks fantastic!
I just tried Tempeh for the first time last week and I loved it! I was hoping the Trader Joe’s variety was good since it’s usually easier for me to get there vs. Whole Foods.
love the Lord of the Rings ref. too
I love the little quote from Lord of the Rings…yes I’m a nerd…and the dinner looks FANTASTIC! great job!
House Hunters is basically one of the best shows ever. Property Virgins is also another one of my faves!
I like small portions of wine too, but I find that the smaller packaging can be a little expensive sometimes. My mom got me a Vacuvin wine saver a couple of years ago. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the product, but it basically makes a vacuum inside your wine bottle and makes your leftovers last longer. I’ve made an open bottle of wine last for two weeks that way. It might be something worth looking into…
Cheers!
I love the target “juice box” wine. They are perfect for nights that DH isn’t home and I just want 1 glass.