Mom's Birthday Celebration Dinner

Saturday was mom's birthday celebration dinner. I used very few of my stockpiled ingredients, but the meal was great.

Strawberry and Feta Salad (from allrecips.com, modified)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil

1 head romaine lettuce, torn
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a bowl, prepare the dressing by whisking together the garlic, honey, Dijon mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil.

In a large bowl, toss together the toasted almonds, romaine lettuce, strawberries, and feta cheese. Cover with the dressing mixture, and toss to serve.


The main course was beef tenderloin, which my brother expertly prepared. He got the grilling genes. I did not get them. (Sad Face). We also had fresh sugar snap peas, which I heated in a Ziplock steamer bag and then tossed with butter, salt and pepper.


Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Couscous Salad (from Cooking Light cook book, modified)
2 cups diced tomato
3/4 cup diced fresh mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed

1 1/4 cups water
1 cup uncooked couscous

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; cover and marinate in refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fuff with a fork. Cool. Add Couscous to tomato mixture; toss gently.

and for dessert... (duhn dut duh duuuuhhh)

Southern Peach Cobbler (from allrecipes.com, modified)
8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water

3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.

Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.


I used up some couscous in the birthday meal. Everything else was fresh. The first week of the challenge is complete. I haven't used many of my supplies, yet, but I have been eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, which was one of the goals of "the challenge."