Chef by Request-Healthy Meals. On your doorstep. Daily.

Chef by Request, with offices in Kirkland is an interesting option for healthy, tasty (yes) meals and snacks. I spoke with David Welts, their Director of Business Development last week Thursday. He offered to send some sample items and today, when I left the house at 6am: there was a black insolated bag outside the front door with my name on it. Inside, there were items intended for B-fast, Lunch and Dinner, plus 2 snacks.

Today's Menu: (Zone type food about 1,200 calories total)

Cherry Almond Scone w/Yogurt & Fresh Fruit (left top)

Blackened Chicken & Bleu Cheese Salad (right top)

Turkey Chili w/chedder Cheese and Brown Rice (right bottom)

Snacks:

Pita Pizza Wedges (left bottom)

Seattle Snack Bar (bottom middle)

8:30 am So, after coming back from Shawn Casey Results Fitness this morning: I was ready for food and ripped into the scone, jam and fruit (I warmed the scone in the micro for 30 seconds). I ate it and have to say, for a scone with little butter, it was good and I would go out of my way to eat it again.

11:30 am I am not really very hungry, but the directions say: eat every 2-4 hours at regular intervals. The salad is tasty as well.

It is now 2:16pm, and I have dinner and the two snacks to go. I will update you all tomorrow. I am impressed and would order this food, (just a few ideas) if:

I was on a deadline and didn't want to worry about eating well
(all your daily food prepared and delivered during the night to your home or office)

I was at a tradeshow and didn't want to eat "show food" which is never good

If I were trying to eat well and lose weight and didn't want to have to
make different food for myself and my family

I was going on a long flight and didn't want to deal with airline food

Menus are totally customized for all kinds of restrictions and likes and dislikes

If I had a friend or a family member who was sick or laid up and couldn't
cook for themselves

I am going to go and tour the kitchen and meet the team later this week. Pricing, is listed for single person and two person delivery, but not by week or month. Let's just say that the food delivery I recieved is around $14 dollars x 3 (based on a one day order). I think about times I have been somewhere without access to food that I felt good eating or no food at all and $14 a meal period sounds pretty good to me. PS. The way I feel now, I may not even finish all the food I was sent today.

Julie Mancuso slumming it @ The Longhorn!

Julie & her sister at The Longhorn, being interviewed by KISS FM. You can't see the tiara under the aqua hat in these photos, but it gave her away when she walked by.

Olympics: Bode Miller wins gold in super combined, continues the U.S. medal surge

Olympics: Bode Miller wins gold in super combined, continues the U.S. medal surge

Amazing day today at Creekside, men's downhill combined. I was there was Tim, Jeff and Scott....lucky me!

Braveria Restaurant, Whistler: Go for the beer & friendly people

Angela-restaurant owner with a million dollar smile!

We sat at the bar and met Helge-crazy guy, who was volenteering. His title? Assistant chief of beer, for the volunteer tent. They call it the "weasel tent". We figured we were in for a good party at an event that treats thier volenteers so well.

Tim and Wondie sitting at the bar @Braveria, drinking "big beers".

Friday drive to Whistler-Olympic Weekend

Truck crossing to BC......no wait on 1-18-10

Little Valentine's Week Dinner @ Tosoni's in Bellevue

Menu on a black Board...

Surprise on a week night...

Not a big kitchen-but what comes out time after time and year after year is great!

I had berkshire pork chops...

Wondie had "zee duck" !

Spaetzle with roasted garlic...

Tosoni's Restaurant
14320 Northeast 20th Street
Bellevue, WA 98007-3748

(425) 644-1668
No website-just go, you won't be sorry, but make a reservation.

Yam and Tofu Noodles-How are they? Good, easy and not scary like some people say!

Started a discussion last week by posting an article about yam/tofu “noodles”: No wheat and 20 calories per 8 oz. package. Over the weekend I went to Uwajimaya in Bellevue and asked for them, once I was directed to the cooler that holds them, I realized I had been passing by them for years and never took notice.
I bought 3 packages; two were the Shirataki (tofu) brand and one a different brand clear pack, green lettering (yam flour). Both brands are produced in California. The Shirataki brand come as angel hair or “fettuccini”, the third pack was angel hair-like.
I had read that they have an off taste, almost fishy and smell fishy upon opening and should be blanched before using. First off, when I cut open the packages, I didn’t smell any strong aroma. I did smell a slightly vegetal sent, sure not fishy. I had put a large pot of water to boil and strained the packages, and then dipped the strainer into the boiling water, just to be safe. After a minute when the water boiled again, the noodles become a little rigid and are ready to be taken out. Lift the strainer out and drain over the sink.
This is the time of year I really crave clean Asian flavors, so I have lots of ingredients at hand.
I prepared a stir fry, brothy, shrimp vegetable sauce as a vehicle for these noodles. Once I blanched them, a step I might skip next time, they only needed warming up and no real cooking time.
I bought a pound of head on wild Mexican shell on shrimp at Uwajimaya as well. I made some shrimp stock, rinsing, pealing and heading the shrimp. Into to a medium sized pan add water ¾ of the way up.

Into the water I put:

shrimp shells & heads
2 tablespoons Knorr Powered Shrimp stock, you could use their shrimp cubes as well
¼ white onion
celery stalk
3 inches of lemon grass stalk, cut into small rings
I star anise clove
2 pieces of orange peal

Cook this until the vegetables become soft and you have a lovely shrimp stock

Meanwhile I cut up and got together the following:

2 carrots
5 shitake mushrooms
hand full of pea pods, trimed and cut lengthwise
3 fennel stalks (I happened to have these around, you can replace with celery)
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon, stir fry sauce (next time I might leave this out, I actually thought my broth and aromatics tasted complex and fresher without it)
1/2 teaspoon Asian hot sauce
1 minced green onion
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 lime leaves (I keep them in the freezer, at the ready)

Heat up a wok, add oil:
Then carrots, fennel, stir and let get medium soft. Add ginger, peapods and mushrooms stir, add a couple of cups of the broth, add the noodles and stir gently. Add shrimp and stir briefly until they turn from transparent to light pink. Add more stock to give you as much as you like, it can be soupy or less so. Add green onion, stir one last time.
Serve in big soup bowls, with extra hot sauce for those who need it.
Wondie, who was very skeptical, to say the least, loved the whole mess. He had originally wondered why we just didn’t eat regular noodles/pasta or rice noodles, which these really resemble. But, the 20 calories per 8 oz., and pleasant almost chewy month feel, were compelling reasons to explore this option. Those who know him, know he’d eat pasta every day (if left totally unsupervised) and twice on Sunday!
I would not serve these noodles under a sauce of wild boar red sauce or meat balls in red sauce. The delicate, pasty nature of the noodles makes them perfect partners for an Asian flavor profile and soupy, brothy dishes.
I should mention that 8oz. packets are anywhere from $1.09-$1.69 at Uwajimaya. I say green light, for those who are curious.