Meal Plan June 4-10

Well, I planned out meals for Thursday through next Wednesday, but the Nerd and I went out on Friday and Saturday night.

On Friday we met up with a friend for coffee downtown, and since it was past dinner time by the time we all said goodbye I decided to treat the Nerd to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

The restaurant is Saigon Cafe. It's known around here as "The Restaurant Without a Sign." Saigon Cafe is located Wailuku, and there are stars on the roof. Nope, I'm not kidding, there are electric light stars on the roof. It's a little tricky to get to, but if you take the first right in Wailuku, past the overpass, and then take a right onto Nani St. You'll see the restaurant to the right. Look for the stars on the roof. The parking is somewhat limited, and there is an apartment complex with reserved parking. But, it's never been a real problem to find someplace to park. Besides, if it was really difficult it'd still be worth the trouble.

The waitstaff are friendly and quite funny. I'm careful about what I order. I avoid the "special" dipping sauce that comes with the summer rolls and instead I use hot sauce.

Our favorite items are the Hot and Sour Fish Soup with Mahi-Mahi, and the Shrimp Claypot. I've never had stomach problems after dining there, and I've never felt glutened. If you're very concerned about cross contamination, you might try elsewhere, but you can always talk with your server about the menu items. Presenting a dining card might help make things clear in case of a language barrier.

When I went to the mainland last year, the first place I went after leaving the airport was Saigon Cafe. Hot, flavorful, and comfortable were a great combination for returning home. Not having to cook was also great.

Last night the Nerd and I went to Sansei sushi, in Kihei, with some friends. This wa a planned outing. Sansei's waitstaff was amazing when it came to Celiac Disease. The waitress informed me that they often have people with food allergies dining there. She was able to list every item on the menu which would be safe for me to eat. The restaurant also has San-J Wheat Free Tamari, just ask for it. Most of what us non-gluten eaters can have are the very simple vegetarian rolls and the Nigiri sushi and Sashimi. Beware. Just because it is an expensive sushi place does not mean they use only crab in their California rolls. The waitress informed that it is actually a mix of crab and imitation crab in them, so please do not eat these if they are unsafe for you. I left totally full, and completely satisfied.

After sushi, we all went for a stroll on the beach before the concert. The concert was held at Mulligans on the Blue. This is an Irish restaurant, and no it's not on the water. It's actually on a golf course. From what I was told, it's the old clubhouse/restaurant for the Wailea Blue Course, from which Mulligans took part of its name.

Don't even dream of eating dinner here. Just about everything looks to be covered in gluten, and I wouldn't risk cross contamination for the world there. However, I did have some delicious vanilla ice cream and alcoholic beverages(Mojito and Sandtrap). There is no gluten free beer, and the hard cider is a gluten containing beverage.

Oh, and did I get sick? Nope. I'm doing really well. It's just hot as the dickens today.

Here's what the meal plan for the week looked like:

Thursday Dinner: Black Bean and Pumpkin Enchiladas & Salad

Friday-Wednesday:

General Tao's Tofu & Salad (from vegweb.com)
Venison Teriyaki & Salad
Caribean Chicken Stew (from Savingdinner.com)
Indian-Style Apricot Chicken (from Incredibly Easy Gluten Free Recipes)
Chili con Carne & Cornbread (from the Gluten Free Vegan)

I am also planning on baking a Lemon Chess Pie.

Oh, well, here's where you get to see my life happen LIVE. We're now going out to a friend's house to watch True Blood. This means I have no time to whip up any of the meals on the meal plan. Time to bust out pre-made freezer meals.


Seriously, make your own frozen dinners. They're healthier, cheaper, and taste a heck of a lot better than anything you could get at the grocery store.

What is somewhat okay about this, is that I can simply push the recipes further back. I will need to freeze the meats now, but they'll be fine. Don't thaw and refreeze meat. That can lead to food poisoning. The venison is already frozen, and the tofu is fine already. So, the chicken and beef will go into the freezer.

I have an inspiration for a meal to come. I got it from my dad. Sausage and Potato Soup. Not extremely original, but sounds good.

Speaking of my dad, I'm so proud of how he's cooking these days. Since he has such a fruitful garden he has been eating a lot more vegetables and is losing weight and getting healthier. He's also getting to be inventive in the kitchen. He had some patty pan squash that he filled cored, scraped, and filled with a meat and tortilla chip stuffing. He saw a similar recipe online that used cooked rice, but he was inspired to use the tortilla chips. Serving that with some chili powder spices or salsa would be pretty darn healthy, and tasty. Way to go dad!

Aloha! Dinner calls!