Monday/26-Nov-18: Because I neglected to buy broccoli this week, I switched today and tomorrow's planned recipes. Tonight we had Pan Fried Pork Chops with Honey Lime Glaze (web). Not bad, this was, with bone-in pork chops. Used up the rest of my potatoes for smashed potatoes. Used some of my surplus of mushrooms with a zucchini, for a side dish of sautéd shrooms and zuke, with lots of garlic. A pair of chocolate covered madeleines each for dessert.
Tuesday/27-Nov-18: I'm feeling sickly today with headache and unhappy innards. Not much food for me. For dinner there was plain pasta with plain tomato sauce. Seems to have gone down okay.
Wednesday/28-Nov-18: Headache much better today, but innards still unhappy.
Shopping today. I didn't have energy to stop by the optician for new lenses or to talk with the cheese lady about what I wanted. Discovered packages of ground pork and veal when I was looking for pork and veal to grind at home. Surprise. Have never noticed these before.
For dinner Ed got a chicken scallop topped with basil strips, mozzarella, and a bit of tomato sauce. Was good, he said. I had some whole wheat pasta with pyramid cheese (kind of like goat cream cheese) with a lot of pepper. Pretty tasty. How am I going to eat out tomorrow night?
Thursday/29-Nov-18: My innards had a bad night and a bad day. Bill arrived; Ed had to get him by himself. We had reservations for dinner, but I couldn't do it. We decided on pizza, but one i closed on Monday and Thursday evenings, and the other one was supposed to be open, but wasn't. No sign on the door, just dark and locked. Instead Bill made us omelettes, which were tasty and seemed to go down ok.
Mouse in a trap this morning.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/30-Nov-18: The most-used oven seems not to be getting up to speed again, so our meal of Alice B. Toklas's Veal and Pork Loaf (Fancy, p120; cookbooker) was a bit late. This is a super meatloaf. Served with some frozen mixed veggies. For dessert, there were some toetjes from the boulanger.
Saturday/1-Dec-18: Lovely dinner out tonight.
Sunday/2-Dec-18: My innards seem to be getting better at last. Phew.
Ed was off early to choir practice, so I started a crockpot with Meat and Mushroom Ragu (SlowItal, p60; cookbooker). Made it all and we froze two meals for two. Then a salad. Then some cheese. Then some of Bill's Greek sweets.
The oven that was flaky yesterday is working today.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 2; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy for November, no clue for December
This month: #4 PASTA: no for November, no for December; #5 BREAD: yes for November, no for December; #6 GUESTS: yes for November, yes for December
Monday, November 26, 2018
Monday, November 19, 2018
This week in the kitchen
Monday/19-Nov-18: Dinner was Black and Blue Cajun Chicken Sandwich (Ainsley2, p12; cookbooker) with a toefje salad on the side. Chocolate covered madeleines for dessert.
Tuesday/20-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse overnight. Wondering if we've got a small opening to the outside world in the kitchen somewhere.
Had one thing planned, then decided to use us some stuff in the fridge. Made a pasta (casareccia) with goat cheese, broccoli, shooms, kalamatas, onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, etc. Comfort food. Then a salad. Then a pair of chocolated covered madeleines, finishing off that package.
Wednesday/21-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse today.
Made Pumpkin Flan (MC) to take to Rosemary's tomorrow.
Shopping today.
Dinner was Fish Stew—Mr A.R. Sunil's Fish Moilly (MJFlavs, p25), made with lieu noir, on special today. Quite good it was. Easy and relatively fast to make. Served with plain basmati rice and Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38) made with snijbonen, haricots coco plats, whatever those might be in English. And some Cachumber (MJ1, p172). We were full, but still has some semoule au lait from the shop after.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/22-Nov-18: Up early. Made Double-Corn Muffins (MC) to take to Rosemary's.
Off to Rosemary and Philippe's for Thanksgiving, picking up Cath on the way. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.
Friday/23-Nov-18: Made Pear Bundt Cake (MC) to use up pears in the fridge.
Dinner was Pesto Turkey Kebabs (200Budget, p183). Pretty tasty, if not quite as pretty as the picture. For sides there was trio rice and a mix of veggies—broccoli, mushrooms, corn, left-over turkey filling. Bundt cake for dessert was very more-ish.
Saturday/24-Nov-18: Tonight I made real use of the spiralizer. There was a half-dose of Malaysian-Style Zucchini Noodles with Greens and Shrimp (Spiral, p122). Ed didn't realize there was no pasta, only spiralized zukes. Pretty good as a whole. Then some Mothais Charentais, an especially nice goat cheese that comes on a chestnut leaf. Then more of the Pear Bundt Cake.
Sunday/25-Nov-18: Caught another small mouse this morning. Think I've neglected to record a few. This was the third or fourth for the week.
Dinner was Lemon Chicken (Fancy, p111). I've made this before, in 2012; it's still good. Served with Dusoulier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and a little salad of grated broccoli stems and carrot with a lemon vinaigrette. Then we finished the Mothais Charentais. Then I had my last slice of Pear Bundt Cake, while Ed saved his for breakfast.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: yes
Tuesday/20-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse overnight. Wondering if we've got a small opening to the outside world in the kitchen somewhere.
Had one thing planned, then decided to use us some stuff in the fridge. Made a pasta (casareccia) with goat cheese, broccoli, shooms, kalamatas, onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, etc. Comfort food. Then a salad. Then a pair of chocolated covered madeleines, finishing off that package.
Wednesday/21-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse today.
Made Pumpkin Flan (MC) to take to Rosemary's tomorrow.
Shopping today.
Dinner was Fish Stew—Mr A.R. Sunil's Fish Moilly (MJFlavs, p25), made with lieu noir, on special today. Quite good it was. Easy and relatively fast to make. Served with plain basmati rice and Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38) made with snijbonen, haricots coco plats, whatever those might be in English. And some Cachumber (MJ1, p172). We were full, but still has some semoule au lait from the shop after.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/22-Nov-18: Up early. Made Double-Corn Muffins (MC) to take to Rosemary's.
Off to Rosemary and Philippe's for Thanksgiving, picking up Cath on the way. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.
Friday/23-Nov-18: Made Pear Bundt Cake (MC) to use up pears in the fridge.
Dinner was Pesto Turkey Kebabs (200Budget, p183). Pretty tasty, if not quite as pretty as the picture. For sides there was trio rice and a mix of veggies—broccoli, mushrooms, corn, left-over turkey filling. Bundt cake for dessert was very more-ish.
Saturday/24-Nov-18: Tonight I made real use of the spiralizer. There was a half-dose of Malaysian-Style Zucchini Noodles with Greens and Shrimp (Spiral, p122). Ed didn't realize there was no pasta, only spiralized zukes. Pretty good as a whole. Then some Mothais Charentais, an especially nice goat cheese that comes on a chestnut leaf. Then more of the Pear Bundt Cake.
Sunday/25-Nov-18: Caught another small mouse this morning. Think I've neglected to record a few. This was the third or fourth for the week.
Dinner was Lemon Chicken (Fancy, p111). I've made this before, in 2012; it's still good. Served with Dusoulier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and a little salad of grated broccoli stems and carrot with a lemon vinaigrette. Then we finished the Mothais Charentais. Then I had my last slice of Pear Bundt Cake, while Ed saved his for breakfast.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: yes
Monday, November 12, 2018
This week in the kitchen
Monday/12-Nov-18: No mice caught today. Have we gotten them all? Please.
Finished off the scones for breakfast. Good.
Dilly-dallied getting started with dinner, so made a last-minute change. Instead I made Bangkok Shrimp (web). Served the shrimp mixture over plain rice rather than stirring the rice into the sauce. It was good. Followed by Häagen-Däsz mini ice cream cups.
Tuesday/13-Nov-18: No mice today. Fingers crossed.
Dinner was Moroccan Lamb, Butternut Squash in the Slow Cooker (web) which was quite tasty. Recipe was meant for two, but we had lots of potatoes, squash, and sauce left, which Ed will get for his lunch at choir practice on Sunday. Used one of the acorn squash from the garden. Made a little shredded carrot salad as a go-with. For afters we finished the bit of Petit Basque we had, and then indulged in chocolate-covered madeleines.
Wednesday/14-Nov-18: Still not mice.
Shopping today.
Dinner was an instant favorite, a half recipe of Bittman's Salmon Burgers (web; cookbooker). I served these as patties, rather than burgers. They were super, an instant favorite. Served with trio rice and Cucumber Tzatziki (Spiral, p22; cookbooker). More chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/15-Nov-18: We ate out for Ed's birthday today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Friday/16-Nov-18: Went to make a "fast" loaf of sourdough bread today, to have with our dinner soup, but discovered my starter was covered with mold. Yuck. Quick scramble to turn what I'd done so far into bread. Then cooked like last week's bread from Dusoulier by putting covered pan into a cold oven. Don't think the oven got hot enough. Not sure if it's because we're low on gas (it's been 3-1/2 months) or because that oven isn't heating properly. Have to check tomorrow.
For dinner I made a half dose of My Mushroom Soup (Fancy, p42; cookbooker), which was quite good. Served with my made up bread, followed by a big salad. The bread is good, but I suspect my yeast, near the bottom of the jar, is past its usefulness. Will test it tomorrow and possibly toss what remains.
Saturday/17-Nov-18: Yup, no oomph in the yeast. Out with the rest of that jar.
Not quite the weather, but it was zuurkool stamppot tonight, with saucisses de Morteau. Cozy and filling.
Sunday/18-Nov-18: Cath came for dinner, which turned out rather later than expected. We had canned dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, for a nibble. For a starter, I used one of the cans of foie gras from Jody's returned package; served with toasted bread and the rest of the Banana-Ginger Chutney. This worked really well. (That recipe is really a keeper.) Our main was Stuffed Veal Roll-Ups with Fennel and Bread Crumbs (O&C, p380; cookbooker); I served this with fettucelle, which is similar to tagliatelle, but shorter. The veal was really tasty with an interesting tomato-y sauce. (I used some of the canned "seedless" tomato parts and froze the rest of that.) Cath brought some Basque cheese and membrillo that had been made by a recent visitor. We had that for a cheese course—what a nice combination. No sweet needed.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: yes
Finished off the scones for breakfast. Good.
Dilly-dallied getting started with dinner, so made a last-minute change. Instead I made Bangkok Shrimp (web). Served the shrimp mixture over plain rice rather than stirring the rice into the sauce. It was good. Followed by Häagen-Däsz mini ice cream cups.
Tuesday/13-Nov-18: No mice today. Fingers crossed.
Dinner was Moroccan Lamb, Butternut Squash in the Slow Cooker (web) which was quite tasty. Recipe was meant for two, but we had lots of potatoes, squash, and sauce left, which Ed will get for his lunch at choir practice on Sunday. Used one of the acorn squash from the garden. Made a little shredded carrot salad as a go-with. For afters we finished the bit of Petit Basque we had, and then indulged in chocolate-covered madeleines.
Wednesday/14-Nov-18: Still not mice.
Shopping today.
Dinner was an instant favorite, a half recipe of Bittman's Salmon Burgers (web; cookbooker). I served these as patties, rather than burgers. They were super, an instant favorite. Served with trio rice and Cucumber Tzatziki (Spiral, p22; cookbooker). More chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/15-Nov-18: We ate out for Ed's birthday today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Friday/16-Nov-18: Went to make a "fast" loaf of sourdough bread today, to have with our dinner soup, but discovered my starter was covered with mold. Yuck. Quick scramble to turn what I'd done so far into bread. Then cooked like last week's bread from Dusoulier by putting covered pan into a cold oven. Don't think the oven got hot enough. Not sure if it's because we're low on gas (it's been 3-1/2 months) or because that oven isn't heating properly. Have to check tomorrow.
For dinner I made a half dose of My Mushroom Soup (Fancy, p42; cookbooker), which was quite good. Served with my made up bread, followed by a big salad. The bread is good, but I suspect my yeast, near the bottom of the jar, is past its usefulness. Will test it tomorrow and possibly toss what remains.
Saturday/17-Nov-18: Yup, no oomph in the yeast. Out with the rest of that jar.
Not quite the weather, but it was zuurkool stamppot tonight, with saucisses de Morteau. Cozy and filling.
Sunday/18-Nov-18: Cath came for dinner, which turned out rather later than expected. We had canned dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, for a nibble. For a starter, I used one of the cans of foie gras from Jody's returned package; served with toasted bread and the rest of the Banana-Ginger Chutney. This worked really well. (That recipe is really a keeper.) Our main was Stuffed Veal Roll-Ups with Fennel and Bread Crumbs (O&C, p380; cookbooker); I served this with fettucelle, which is similar to tagliatelle, but shorter. The veal was really tasty with an interesting tomato-y sauce. (I used some of the canned "seedless" tomato parts and froze the rest of that.) Cath brought some Basque cheese and membrillo that had been made by a recent visitor. We had that for a cheese course—what a nice combination. No sweet needed.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: yes
Monday, November 5, 2018
This week in the kitchen
Monday/5-Nov-18: No more mice caught today.
It occurred to me today that I've taken to choosing my monthly book wrong. Instead of choosing one that I've not used much and might be a candidate for recycling, I've frequently chosen ones that either I've used or I've been wanting to use. Will try to do better with this. It is interesting making a of use of a single book in a month.
Thought I had the meal plan for the next week fairly complete when I sat down today. After a few finishing touches, I discovered that I had three cow-centered meals planned over four days. Odd since we don't eat that much cow. Have that all jiggled now, so should be quick list-making tomorrow.
Tonight we had the other two Jamaican Burgers, along with the Banana-Ginger Chutney (good stuff, that). Served with Jamaican Jerk Grilled Eggplant (web), without the optional sauce. Used the rest of the brown rice to make a sort of stir-fried rice with peas and tossed in the rest of the jerk sauce. Turned out pretty good. Some mini ice cream bars for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/6-Nov-18: No mice caught today.
Our meal was Tandoori Chicken Thighs (web; CL/may12), a half recipe. Easy and good, cooked under the broiler. Then there was Yellow Rice with Potato and Cumin (SpiceKitch, p64), good stuff. I used one third of the rice with all of the spices. I used up the rest of the snijbonen to make South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147), also good. Have enjoyed both of these before. At a boulanger in the afternoon, I bought one piece of flan; we split that for dessert.
Wednesday/7-Nov-18: No mice caught today. We know you're there!
Shopping late. Dinner was Tilapia Poached in a Chipotle Mushroom Broth (MC; web), but with lieu noir, rather than tilapia (which isn't much sold here). Lots of yummy broth left. Served with bucatini, which was the wrong pasta, and some clean-out-the-fridge steamed veggies, a bit of broccoli, a carrot, and one snijbonen. Some store-bought riz au lait avec vanile for dessert.
My sourdough starter is alive! Two days ago it grew to the top of the jar, then apparently "burped" and went down in volume. This has happened a couple of times now, though not so dramatic at the first time. Hope to start a bread within the next days.
Thursday/8-Nov-18: Dinner was Beef with Spinach—Saag Gosht (Q&E, p36). I made a whole recipe and the two of us ate it all; we were stuffed but we ate it all. (New pressure cooker is pretty fiddly. Had trouble getting it sealed right so that it would work properly.) Over plain basmati rice. Served with a half recipe of Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish—Cachumber (MJ1, p172). For dessert, there was Caramelized Cardamom Apples with Pistachio Cream‐Sev Ka Murabba (Q&E, p122), which was good. Have made all of these before.
Yogurt on overnight.
Started on a loaf of sourdough bread by making the sponge this evening. Using my starter from Fancy, but the bread from Chocolate&Zucchini. I love that she says to "place the bowl [with the sponge] next to the chef starter so they can tell knock-knock jokes to one another all night." We'll see how this goes. Tomorrow the bread.
Friday/9-Nov-18: Caught another mouse today. Hoping this is the last one. Please.
Finished my bread today, but it's still cooling so it might be tomorrow before we can try it. Had to add more flour, and I see that the current version on the web has some gluten added, so I added that too. Looks beautiful. We'll see.
Dinner was boudin noir, with the Banana-Ginger Chutney, which was a good combination. Served with tagliatelle, followed by a big salad.
Saturday/10-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.
It was supposed to fresh pasta today, but I was too tired. Also couldn't face clearing off the counter, where mouse-threatened packages are sitting till we're sure we've removed all the mice.
Dinner was a half recipe of Simple Veal Pasta Sauce—Piccolo Ragù de Vitello (MarCuc, p172), served over malfalda. No ground veal, so I chopped up a scallop and it worked fine. Then a big salad. Then a bit of Petit Basque cheese. We've eaten well.
Sunday/11-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.
Made some Everyday Scones (Fancy, p173; cookbooker) this morning. These were easy and pretty good. The recipe advertises that it makes nine scones; I ended up with eleven. My cutter was slightly bigger than 2"; we thought they were a bit small. But good, especially with a dab of jam.
Fed my Fancy sourdough starter, with sugar as instructed. Not sure I've seen this before. If it doesn't bubble up and burp over this time.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 2; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: no
It occurred to me today that I've taken to choosing my monthly book wrong. Instead of choosing one that I've not used much and might be a candidate for recycling, I've frequently chosen ones that either I've used or I've been wanting to use. Will try to do better with this. It is interesting making a of use of a single book in a month.
Thought I had the meal plan for the next week fairly complete when I sat down today. After a few finishing touches, I discovered that I had three cow-centered meals planned over four days. Odd since we don't eat that much cow. Have that all jiggled now, so should be quick list-making tomorrow.
Tonight we had the other two Jamaican Burgers, along with the Banana-Ginger Chutney (good stuff, that). Served with Jamaican Jerk Grilled Eggplant (web), without the optional sauce. Used the rest of the brown rice to make a sort of stir-fried rice with peas and tossed in the rest of the jerk sauce. Turned out pretty good. Some mini ice cream bars for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/6-Nov-18: No mice caught today.
Our meal was Tandoori Chicken Thighs (web; CL/may12), a half recipe. Easy and good, cooked under the broiler. Then there was Yellow Rice with Potato and Cumin (SpiceKitch, p64), good stuff. I used one third of the rice with all of the spices. I used up the rest of the snijbonen to make South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147), also good. Have enjoyed both of these before. At a boulanger in the afternoon, I bought one piece of flan; we split that for dessert.
Wednesday/7-Nov-18: No mice caught today. We know you're there!
Shopping late. Dinner was Tilapia Poached in a Chipotle Mushroom Broth (MC; web), but with lieu noir, rather than tilapia (which isn't much sold here). Lots of yummy broth left. Served with bucatini, which was the wrong pasta, and some clean-out-the-fridge steamed veggies, a bit of broccoli, a carrot, and one snijbonen. Some store-bought riz au lait avec vanile for dessert.
My sourdough starter is alive! Two days ago it grew to the top of the jar, then apparently "burped" and went down in volume. This has happened a couple of times now, though not so dramatic at the first time. Hope to start a bread within the next days.
Thursday/8-Nov-18: Dinner was Beef with Spinach—Saag Gosht (Q&E, p36). I made a whole recipe and the two of us ate it all; we were stuffed but we ate it all. (New pressure cooker is pretty fiddly. Had trouble getting it sealed right so that it would work properly.) Over plain basmati rice. Served with a half recipe of Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish—Cachumber (MJ1, p172). For dessert, there was Caramelized Cardamom Apples with Pistachio Cream‐Sev Ka Murabba (Q&E, p122), which was good. Have made all of these before.
Yogurt on overnight.
Started on a loaf of sourdough bread by making the sponge this evening. Using my starter from Fancy, but the bread from Chocolate&Zucchini. I love that she says to "place the bowl [with the sponge] next to the chef starter so they can tell knock-knock jokes to one another all night." We'll see how this goes. Tomorrow the bread.
Friday/9-Nov-18: Caught another mouse today. Hoping this is the last one. Please.
Finished my bread today, but it's still cooling so it might be tomorrow before we can try it. Had to add more flour, and I see that the current version on the web has some gluten added, so I added that too. Looks beautiful. We'll see.
Dinner was boudin noir, with the Banana-Ginger Chutney, which was a good combination. Served with tagliatelle, followed by a big salad.
Saturday/10-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.
It was supposed to fresh pasta today, but I was too tired. Also couldn't face clearing off the counter, where mouse-threatened packages are sitting till we're sure we've removed all the mice.
Dinner was a half recipe of Simple Veal Pasta Sauce—Piccolo Ragù de Vitello (MarCuc, p172), served over malfalda. No ground veal, so I chopped up a scallop and it worked fine. Then a big salad. Then a bit of Petit Basque cheese. We've eaten well.
Sunday/11-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.
Made some Everyday Scones (Fancy, p173; cookbooker) this morning. These were easy and pretty good. The recipe advertises that it makes nine scones; I ended up with eleven. My cutter was slightly bigger than 2"; we thought they were a bit small. But good, especially with a dab of jam.
Fed my Fancy sourdough starter, with sugar as instructed. Not sure I've seen this before. If it doesn't bubble up and burp over this time.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 2; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: no
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