Things we have eaten

Some things we've cooked lately:

Basic seared scallops from Joy of Cooking. Dredge 3/4 pound of scallops in 1.5T flour + salt + marjoram, sear in a little olive oil over medium-high heat for 3 minutes on each side, remove from pan. Reduce 1/2 cup white wine (we used vermouth for the kid's sake) and 2t balsamic vinegar in the same pan to make a sauce.

The verdict: This was pretty basic, but easy and quick, and scallops are always good. For the longest time I thought I didn't like them because I had only had them in my college cafeteria, where they used the tiny ones and cooked them to the consistency of pencil erasers. Next time I'd use white wine for real (K refused to eat more than a little piece anyway) and add a squeeze of lemon and maybe some herbs to the sauce.

Crockpot pulled pork. Rubbed a 2-pound pork roast with a spice rub (S&P, chili powder, ancho chile powder, oregano, allspice, paprika, cumin, possibly other stuff). Sliced up an onion, threw it in the bottom, put the pork on top, poured over about 2/3 cup Stubb's barbecue sauce. Cooked all day.

The verdict: Very good, especially for 5 minutes of prep time. Next time I'd make about 4T spice rub and use 2 onions (and maybe a clove or two of garlic?) and 2 cups of barbecue sauce. Browning the meat would be good, but it was fine without it.

Cheese muffins. Omitted the sugar and added a little sour cream per the reviews, and used a bunch of different cheeses from the fridge.

The verdict: Pretty good. Easy, nice change from the usual dinner starches, and the leftovers were good heated in the toaster oven. I'd make these again, or some variation.

Kale and white bean soup, from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. Canned tomatoes, beans, broth; lots of kale added at the end.

The verdict: In its original incarnation, not so good. Kale took about 2 hours to cook instead of the 10 minutes the recipe said, and there was way too much of it. We were hungry so we basically ended up eating bowls of raw kale. Incarnation #2 was better: turned it into a sauce with turkey sausage and more tomato puree, red wine, etc. Incarnation #3 was the best: ground up #2 to make a faux bolognese. But still, I'd only make this again if I seriously couldn't think of anything else to do with kale, or wanted a kale-based tomato sauce.

And new restaurants we've tried:

Guru the Caterer. YUM. Probably the best Indian food we've had around here, homestyle, fresh, cheap. Perfect takeout option when we're near Powderhouse Square.

Salts. Good food, beautiful presentation (with lots of cylinders), but didn't blow me away. I'd rather go to Craigie at the same price point. Anyway, it was fun to have a rare night out with friends.

On the to-try list: Silk Road BBQ in Belmont, Pho 'n' Rice in Somerville.

Update in case anyone comes here searching for Silk Road: We've gotten takeout from there twice now. The guy who runs the stand is really nice, and makes a mean skewer. We have tried the pork, chicken, and lamb kofte, and the three sides of tzatziki, sesame carrot salad, and shepard's salad. I'm not a pork lover, but JW and I agreed the pork (a special that day) was the best. The chicken was the perfect combination of charred on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. I didn't get to eat a ton of the lamb kofte, because both times K kept demanding "Mo' meatball!" Prices are reasonable at about $10 for a platter (with rice and a side), $5 for a single skewer. Portions aren't huge -- three meals plus a hot dog worked well for the three of us (two adults, one toddler, all hungry), with K eating the hot dog and about half the lamb.