Even the best laid plans...

By about 2pm, I generally know exactly what I'm making for dinner. And because I'm a planner, once I've decided, it's happening. If not, I'm totally thrown off...like, completely. Tears sometimes. Yes, my therapist knows about this. We're working on it.

Anyway. I may be rigid about my plans, but I'm flexible on the execution. Last night, for example, my heart was set on seared scallops and lemon risotto. Got to the store, however, and they were out of sea scallops...which I had a sinking feeling might happen. Sea scallops are like crab legs...when they're on sale, I get them. Otherwise, it may not happen. (This would be an exception to my rule—steamed crab legs will always trump a planned meal.) They had bay scallops, though, so I settled on those instead.

Then, I got home and realized we were out of arborio rice. Damnit! Risotto is doable with regular white rice, but the texture is not nearly as good. But, again, I made do with what I had. Which means the lovely picture I had in my head didn't turn out quite as attractively as I would have hoped. But we still devoured it.

Note: When cooking scallops, open the windows. Our tiny loft apartment allows the smell to spread out nice and evenly enough to surprise you during 3am bathroom trips. Not the nicest thing to wake up to. I should have febreezed the house before I went to bed.



Sauteed Scallops with Lemon Risotto
About a pound of bay scallops
minced garlic (about 3 cloves, divided in half)
sea salt and fresh pepper
olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup rice (arborio, if you have it)
1 cup white wine
Low sodium chicken broth (about 2 and a half cups)
chives, chopped (about two handfuls)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I like more rather than less)
Juice of half a lemon (or about two tbsp)

Risotto:
Saute the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil (half a tablespoon or so) for a couple minutes at medium high, then add rice. Mix well, and stir frequently for a couple more minutes. Add the wine. Stir frequently until wine is almost absorbed, then add about a half cup of broth. Stir occasionally til it's mostly absorbed, then repeat with the rest of the broth or until the rice is tender with a tiny bit of bite to it. Use as much broth as you need. (This is why arborio is good...regular rice tends to get a bit mushier.) Once the rice is a good texture, stir til all liquid is absorbed, then turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, thyme, and chives. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves four.
About 240 cals, 4g fat, 40g carbs, 1g fiber, 6g protein

Scallops:
Rinse, drain, then pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute half the garlic in about a half tbsp of olive oil, then add the scallops. Over medium high heat, saute until no longer pink, about 4 or 5 minutes. Don't overcook or they get kind of rubbery. Sprinkle a little bit of the chives over them.
Per four oz of scallops, about 115 cals, 5g fat, 3g carbs, 17g protein