Friday, June 6, 2008

Yummy, yummy ostrich

One of the things that I do as part of Weight Watchers is cook the vast majority of our meals myself. We don't go out to eat nearly as often as we used to, and when we eat at home, I almost always cook. It's kind of counterintuitive because Torsten is actually a better cook than I am, but his style of cooking is very improvisational, and usually involves a lot of butter, cream, and oil. He isn't so much into the whole following of recipes thing, and that's pretty crucial when you're carefully tracking everything you eat.

So, I do most of the cooking. Back when I started Weight Watchers I used only their recipes and I followed them to the letter. Now that I've become much more comfortable cooking and have learned a lot more about what's healthy in general, it's easier for me to improvise without doubling the calories in a dish, and I can just scan the ingredients in any recipe and get a quick understanding of approximately how many points are in a serving.

However, we still get stuck in cooking ruts, where we just sort of rotate among a few recipes. For awhile it was rosemary seared beef with mozzarella rice salad, spaghetti, pad thai, and spinach enchiladas. But slowly we'd get sick of certain dishes and start adding new recipes to the mix. Our current rotation includes Thai coconut chicken, a modified beef stroganoff, shrimp and goat cheese pasta, and beef lo mein.

Last night I made the lo mein, except that I decided to mix things up a little bit (perhaps a sign that the lo mein is on its way out?) by using ostrich meat instead of beef. I had never had ostrich before, but they sell it at our grocery store and it's supposed to be very lean and healthy, so I figured I'd try it, and Torsten, who has eaten ostrich burgers before, agreed enthusiastically.

I would say that I'm a reasonably adventurous eater, and I'll try pretty much anything unless I already know that I don't like it, but usually that happens in restaurants or at someone else's house. I cook all different types of cuisines but the varying flavors are usually in the sauce, not the actual meat. We eat lots of chicken and seafood and lean beef, but that's about it as far as meat variety goes.

I don't know what it is about ostrich--it actually looks and tastes a lot like beef. Maybe it's because beef isn't called "cow" and I'm so desensitized to the word "chicken" that I don't even think about the actual animal anymore, but somehow calling the meat "ostrich" just made me imagine those giant, mean birds with their nasty, beady eyes (and yes ostriches ARE nasty). It was very bizarre to be cutting it up and cooking it right there in my kitchen.

But, as it turns out? Ostrich is delicious. Seriously, we both liked the lo mein way better with the ostrich meat than we did with the beef. It was more flavorful and you could actually taste the flavor in the sauce, which you couldn't really with the beef. It was so good! It made me think that I need to start branching out a bit more with the types of food that I cook.

So tell me, what are your cooking habits? Do you tend to cook the same few dishes over and over? What's the most adventurous thing that you've ever cooked?

42 comments:

  1. There is a place we go to all the time that has Ostrich burgers. They are delicious! Where are you buying your ostrich?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I definitely get stuck in ruts too. Your dishes all sounds yummy! Would you care to share some of the recipes?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have never tried ostrich, and I wouldnt consider myself a very adventurous eater, but when I was little every year my Grandfather would go out West to hunt Buffalo. Its a lot like ground beef but a lot leaner and better for you and to me it has a better taste.

    A lot of grocers in my area carry it, so I would imagine it wouldnt be too hard to find in DC.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I feel like I always make the same thing over and over again. I need one of those 4 ingredient cookbooks or something :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've always wanted to try ostrich, but I don't think they sell it at my grocery store. I could be wrong, though; they do have bison. I'll have to check again.

    I've eaten alligator tail. Yes I know it's endangered (or was at the time, it's since fully recovered), but our neighbor accidentally ran over the damn thing. Seemed a shame to waste it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hub and I have been meaning to make a monthly calendar of meals; planning what we are eating and shopping well in advance. We seem to eat the same things over and over again, even when there are plenty of options out there. We eat a spaghetti or pasta dish weekly, usually have a big salad dinner—sometimes with chicken or steak, and Friday night is always pizza night. We’ve been very lazy lately, especially with no kitchen table, and are grilling or getting takeout a lot of the time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. WOW good for you! I would probably try it in a restaurant, but I dont know if I would ever be brave enough to try it at home!

    ReplyDelete
  8. cooking new meats (ok... all meats) scares me, because i'm always afraid i'm going to give someone food poisoning, but i hate overdone meat, and.. oy. annoying. so i'm HIGHLY impressed you cooked ostrich!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh wow I never would have thought of trying ostrich meat! I definitely have to now that you've recommended it (considering how amazing your recipes SOUND i def trust your judgement!!!).

    I tend to get stuck in ruts too but lately i've been veering away from the pasta and canned sauce direction i have been doing a lot recently and try to pick one recipe to try a week. (I tend to make large quantities and have leftovers. I've been kinda lazy recently but tonight since I get out early from work I'm going to try a new recipe. Any suggestions?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good for you for branching out! I will try anything once, which harks back to my upbringing of weirdo Chinese foods I learned NOT to ask about.

    Our meal habits revolve around generating leftovers for lunches, being cost-effective, and overall tasty. I'm so lucky that JG likes to cook because we would not eat nearly as well if it were up to me. My cooking comfort zone is definitely the casserole, but I'm slowly, slowly easing out of it by trying new recipes each month. I am not a very adventurous cook, but that comes from my fear of hot oil in hot pans.

    ReplyDelete
  11. We don't get too adventurous. I don't eat meat and Homer just sticks to chicken and beef. During the week, we're definitely in a rut. I'll try new things on the weekends, but it usually just means a different kind of salad or pizza topping or something.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've had ostrich at one of those Brazilian steakhouse before. It tastes and looks a lot like steak. It wasn't what I was expecting at all!

    I try not to cook the same thing over and over because I'm one of those people that doesn't like to eat the something if I made it the week before. But there are a few things that seem to pop up more often than others.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yeah, if you liked the ostrich, I would definitely try bison (buffalo)(TATONKA)(WHATEVER). It's delicious and also very lean.

    ReplyDelete
  14. i love ostrich too!!! i get it fairly regularly at this restaurant in my hometown. it's surprisingly GOOD!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oooh, most adventurous! 'Moroccan-Style Stuffed Tomatoes' Which is actually DELICIOUS. It involves couscous and a bunch of spices and you have to gut the tomates, and I made it for friends and it was a smashing success. I've only made it one time since, and the second time the results were somewhat less satisfactory.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Where did you find ostrich meat?!

    I cook pretty often- I actually have over 150 cookbooks, some of which I use more often then others, of course. I love trying new things. For some reason, I was on a British kick this winter, and made chicken pot pie a few times, sheppards pie and toad in the hole! It was good.

    I cook mostly chicken though, for no real reason at all. I love making Thai-inspired dishes, and LOVE cooking with coconut milk...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Please come over and cook for me? You're "in a rut" recipes would make me happy any day of the year.
    Being my age, and in college.. the extent of what I can cook? Fettucine alfredo and pork chops. Literally, that's all I've got.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I actually created a word document with all the recipes I make coz I cook 7 nights a week and the hardest part is thinking up something to COOK. Now I can glance at ideas sorted by meat type or vegetarian. I am contemplating adding them to a list of 'appropriate for the season'. One of my favourite meals is a beef salad with an olive oil/lime juice/peanut/toasted sesame seed/soy sauce dressing but it is mid winter in Australia so we're more into winter casseroles etc...

    I've eaten crocodile kebabs, emu, osterich and buffalo but there SO is a limit to what I will eat coz when I went to the night markets in Beijing, the smell totally surpassed my adventurous nature!

    ReplyDelete
  19. An ostrich! Wow! I guess I'd try it if a friend was eating it, but I'm not adventurous enough to buy a whole thing of it. Ostrich!

    I cook lots of the same meals in rotation... but my meals are rarely actual meals. More like collections of snacks. Never casseroles or something that can be described in one title (other that spaghetti). Most meals are __ with __ with___ with ___ and ___ with ___ with ___ and ___. You know? Alright I don't eat meals, I only snack. Carrots at 4:30 then couscous and chicken fingers at 5:15 then nachos at 6 and peanut butter with celery at 7:30 and brocolli with grated cheese at 9 then almonds at 10 and a popscile at 11. That is dinner.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I wanna try ostrich now!

    We're not very adventurous because of Jason's hatred of veggies. Seriously. We eat very child-like and/or cowboy-like (meat and potatoes, pizza, chicken nuggets).

    BUT, Jason (and I) love my chicken saltimbocca. I get to feel fancy cooking it and it tastes great.

    At the State Fair every year, I always get the alligator. I was going to buy some online, but it's expensive!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm impressed! I rarely eat anything unusual because I can't get past the thought of what I'm eating. Our cooking/meal habits sound a lot like yours though...we rotate around a few favorites but mix things up when it gets boring.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wow, ostrich? I've never even thought of that. My meals are mainly limited to pseudo-Asian food and soup... I make a mean corn chowder that's totally bad for you, and I really like stir-fry and other stuff like that. I totally do get in a rut...but my mom and I have been experimenting with ethnic foods like Pad Thai (delicious); Hot & Sour soup; Hummus, tabouleh & tzatziki (all Greek stuff) and the like. My mom's better at experimenting than I am.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love to cook and *try* to keep the focus on the healthy. I tend to try a new recipe, if we like it make it once more, then I'm on to something else. I guess I'm a fickle cook that way.

    The most adventurous thing I've made (in the last six months) was butternut squash sage pesto. It's from Skinny Bitch and was delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  24. In our house it is chicken, pork, beef and pasta and trying to find recipes that don't bore us after a week or two.

    Our favorite, by far, is this potato and pork chop bake thing. I'm pretty sure it isn't all that healthy because of the amount of Country Crock that goes into it, but oh my god is it tasty. :)

    I thought I was a picky eater, and then I met Will. Will is so picky he makes me look adventurous!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh we are SO boring when it comes to food! We're much more adventurous in during the summer when there are more fruits/veggies in season, but we tend to stick with what's cheap and what we know we like.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oddly enough, I had a buffalo burger last night. (At a restaurant, though.)

    I like the lean, alternative meats. I think also that some of the less popular meats are probably farmed on smaller scales, which makes them more flavorful than your typical, megaranch beef.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I adore ostrich! I'd also like to echo the requests for your recipes, pretty please!

    Rob and I switch off with the cooking. He definitely cooks the same things over and over again, whereas I like to try new things. It works for us.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wow... That's very brave. I've never had ostrich. I'm trying to think of something brave that i've cooked but nothing's coming to mind. LAME. I cook with only wheat flour and never use butter? Ehh. Lame.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I kind of want to come over to your place for dinner!
    I am trying to branch out in my cooking a little more. I find that whenever I want to try something new, it means going to the grocery store for every item on the list. I would rather just use what I have in the fridge, but I need to up my creativity!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yum- I've never had ostrich, though I loved kangaroo. I'd really like to try ostrich..

    I love the look of your recipes- mozzarella rice salad. MMM!

    ReplyDelete
  31. where do you _buy_ ostrich?!?

    Also I am very jealous of your 'regular' menu items. I would feel awfully gourmet if I could make any one of those.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I would like to eat at your house please. All of the things you mention sound yummy!

    I'm the chef in our house too. I definitely get into food ruts sometimes - it's usually with pastas. But for the most part I really like cooking and creating new recipes or trying old favorites. My husband likes beef above all other meat, so I cook a lot of meat (which I wouldn't do if it was just me), but for the most part I try to thing of something new to make at least once a week.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I absolutely get in recipe ruts, though I try not to make something too often if I can feel it getting too familiar. Sometimes a recipe will go into time out for a while, until it feels new again. I like to add new things, once in a while, but I'm not really a very adventurous cook.

    I've never tried ostrich, but now I want to!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I am actually a pretty boring cook, but I do love ostrich as well, we often eat it for Christmas at my parents' house.

    ReplyDelete
  35. WOW, you are way more adventurous in your food choices than I am and I thought I would try just about anything once. Ostrich - the nasty bird thing already has me a little quesy...

    I understand your 'dinner rut' all too well. A couple of years ago Hubby and I went on the low carb diet and ate ONLY fresh vegetables and grilled chicken or fish. EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, OVER AND OVER and I got into the rut and couldn't get out. So last October I bought one of those little cook books by the check out stand in the grocery store and decided to cook a different recipe every night of the week. The good ones would get repeated until I felt like I was in that rut again. So this year my New Year's resolution was to not cook any recipe twice all year. I have done fairly well at this and we always mark the recipe with a "yes" or a "no" on whether I will ever make it again next year. It's been challenging to say the least, but it has also been fun trying to find new recipes every week.

    ReplyDelete
  36. ww has soooo many recipes i'd love to try...but i rarely do. it's so hard, when i'm living at home with my parents, b/c they don't have half the ingredients and my mom does most of the cooking anyway!!

    jess...i need to you to help keep me on track! i'm slowly gaining back weight...not counting points...its baaad ;(! its only been a year i've been lifetime too! you seem to have it so together, so on track. what do you suggest?!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Jess!! Holy, I am a WW fanatic, not to sound crazy but my sisters and I have done it for years, and it is so healthy, and works so well. Have you gone to Dotti's? Probably. My little sister, Jackie, makes a lot of WW conscious meals, I am more of a strange and random eater (saltines + olives + cheese). Try summer spaghetti squash and spray I can't believe it's not butter (sounds gross, so good).

    ReplyDelete
  38. Good for you, branching out is fun! I'm a big cook, amateur of course, but I took over most of the cooking for my big family by the time I was in middle school (because I learned if I did it, a-we would eat things that I liked, and b-we would eat sooner than my parents of 5 kids could get around to!), so I've got an arsenal of recipes under my belt. Z and I mostly stay in and cook. We definitely have a few favorite recipes, usually turkey tacos; stir fry that we do out of chicken, peppers, mushrooms and sugar snap peas; turkey noodle soup, turkey burgers; etc.

    As you might be able to note from that list, we use mostly white meat. I find that ground turkey/turkey strips can substitute for beef and chicken in most recipes and is a bit healthier. I second Tessie's suggestion to try bison when you really want some red meat - it's so lean! And bison are raised in a more humane manner, in general. So it pacifies the guilt in my bleeding heart liberal personality.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I'm doing WW. I love finding out others are doing it too!

    Also, beautiful photos!

    ReplyDelete
  40. i am a horrible cook. i have to follow recipes to the tee or i eff them up.

    i have a ww watchers cookbook for latin food. LOVE it.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Wow, I've never seen ostrich at the store. I might have to try it, but I admit it's making me feel a little weird. lol

    ReplyDelete