Innie or Outie

Another method of preparing somen, which is usually used for cold noodles, Papa’s Tuna Yakisomen:

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For this meal, hubby combined 2 julienned yellow bell peppers sautéed in sesame oil, 1 can tuna (drained), 1 teaspoon white pepper, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 4 cups cooked somen, 1/4 cup tsuyu sauce, and 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes. After plating, he added 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, 1 tablespoon pickled ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked toasted sesame seeds to each serving and gently tossed.

This convenience store dish is very popular at this time of year on island, grilled unagi (eel) with sauce on a bed of rice with pickled radish. Accompanying the dish is a bowl of nitsuke (a broth soup with items such as potatoes, carrots, string beans, pork slices, konyaku, and mushrooms.

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Sometimes we get caught up in various activities in life, limiting preparation time for meals. This is one solution hubby came up with for an impromptu outdoor barbecue, Papa’s Grilled Chicken Thigh Dinner:

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Hubby began by preparing a simple marinade of fresh rosemary leaves, dried thyme flakes, tsuyu somen sauce, seasme oil, and white wine vinegar. He placed the ingredients in a zip-lock plastic bag, added chicken thighs, and let marinade in the refrigerator for about one hour until the BBQ charcoals were ready.

Meanwhile, he placed potatoes in the microwave and half-baked for about five minutes. After removing the potatoes from the microwave, he cut in half and wrapped in a foil packet.

As the potatoes were baking in the microwave, hubby took some frozen mixed veggies out of the freezer, placed in a foil packet, adding some dried garlic slices, white pepper, sea salt, and olive oil.

Once the charcoals were at the right temperature, hubby placed Papa’s Grilled Chicken Thighs, Papa’s Simple Grilled Foil-Wrapped Veggies, and Papa’s Grilled Foil-Wrapped Half-Baked Potatoes on the grill and cooked until done (about 30 – 40 minutes).

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This was a tasty and simple meal that Hubby threw together, Papa’s Gratin Dinner:

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While at a local restaurant supply market, Hubby found this Potato and Bacon Gratin:

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The only preparation for this entr̩e was to pop it into the microwave oven. (The sauce was tasty, but I found the ingredients to be a little lacking Рmainly no onions.)

To accompany the gratin, hubby made a simple and light side dish, Papa’s Tomato-Free Salad:

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Although he forgot to pick-up tomatoes, the salad – which consisted of iceberg lettuce, arugula, julienned yellow bell pepper, chopped fresh chives, cucumber slices, herbed croutons, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and topped with a creamy cheese dressing – was still light and packed with flavor.

To complete the meal, hubby added two types of fresh bakery bread, Toasted Garlic Bread with Walnuts:

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He simply sautéed the bread slices in olive oil with minced garlic paste. (The walnut chunk bread was extremely tasty when prepared in this manner.)