Ring of Fire -- and Meals You Can Serve to Your Non-CR'd Significant Other

Good morning bloggiefriends.

Hello Phoebe! The only Johnny Cash song with which I am really familiar is "Ring of Fire." The reason I know that song is that my high school best friend was in an a capella singing group in college, and one of her friends sang and a capella version of "Ring of Fire." It was truly bizarre. As my friend Emma, who is known for her ability to capture the essence of the moment, once said: "You haven't lived until you've heard the a capella group sing a Johnny Cash song.

Speaking of Emma, she suggested to me that I put together a week's worth of dinner menus from the blog. There's also been a demand lately for my CR meals that you can easily modify and serve to non-CR'd people, without messing up your own blissful CR'd ness at meals. I recognize that not everyone is lucky enough to have a partner who also does CR, and that for most of my readers, this is an issue that comes up quite frequently. What to feed self, while also feeding the husband/boyfriend/fiance and kids/pets?

I can't help you with the pets. My own cats won't eat my cooking... I was so upset the time I lovingly baked free range organic chicken livers in free range organic chicken broth and they turned up their little kitty noses at it. First time a living creature has refused to eat my food. But I can help you with the humans. So how's this? Quick and easy meals you can throw together when you walk in the door from work. Feel free to have one of Mary's lime juice, mineral water and vodka drinks while you cook.

Monday:
Shrimp and tomatoes in chardonnay sauce, served over rice for the significant other/kids, just plain for you. Asparagus on the side, with lemon juice, olive oil and pepper drizzled on top.

Buy shrimp that have already been peeled and de-veined. For every 200 grams of shrimp (200 calories) pour in three ounces/89 grams of chardonnay. Put this all in a pot and turn up the heat. Start stirring. Add chopped tomatoes, however many you want (tomatoes are generally 18 calories per 100 grams) and a little bit of either fresh garlic, minced, or some garlic powder. Stir until the shrimp are nice and pink and cooked. At the last minute or so, add a bit of cilantro... decide how much based on how much you like cilantro. Then drizzle in one teaspoon per person of olive oil. You can also add lime or lemon juice if you want... feel free to just throw it in from a bottle. Serve to yourself in a cup or bowl, serve to your significant other over rice or pasta.

While the shrimp are cooking, throw the asparagus either in a steamer pot, in a saucepan with just a covering of water, or in the microwave to steam. When they're pretty bright green but not overcooked, take them out, and add a teaspoon of olive oil per person and squeeze some lemon juice on top, add a dash of pepper and you can add a dash of half-salt if you wish.

That should take you no more than half an hour, start to finish. Depending on how carefully you want to measure it. 100 g of shrimp = approximately 100 calories (it varies just slightly based on kind of shrimp) and 18 g ish of protein. I tend to eat 100 g shrimp, MR eats 200 g shrimp at dinner. You may want to eat more than we do, that's fine. Or you may want to eat about what I do but feed your significant other more.

Tuesday:

Pasta free lasagna

You will need:

A baking dish
2 large cans of tomato sauce
Some red wine you don't mind cooking with
Garlic powder
1 can Artichoke hearts per two people
Zucchini
Red or green peppers
Cottage cheese, lowfat or fat free
Fresh or dried basil
Half-salt
Part-skim mozarella cheese
Greens of some kind: arugula if you can spend the money, spinach is fine, any dark leafy thing
I think kale would rock in this recipe, thanks to the CR brother who suggested it

Chop up the veggies, zucchini into little disks.
Mix the cottage cheese (1 cup per person) with garlic powder, half-salt, and basil.
Mix 3 oz per person cooking wine with the tomato sauce.
Line the pan with a layer of greens. Put on top of that a layer of zucchini disks. Cover with a thin layer of cottage cheese. Cover with a layer of other veggies (artichokes, peppers -- you can use whatever veggies you want). Cover with a layer of tomato sauce. Repeat.
When you run out of ingredients, cover with a final layer of tomato sauce, and then top with a thin layer of mozarella cheese.
Bake for about half an hour on maybe 350, or until the cheese looks all melty. Cook longer if you like your veggies mushier. Serve it like it's lasagna. It's a meal for you, for your significant other, serve with Italian bread or garlic bread.

More soon...