Kitchen project: Galette des trois rois

Every year here, we enjoy one or two galettes, three kings' cakes, during the holiday season. I thought it would be nice to make one myself. I didn't find a nice fêve at a vide grenier this summer, so I bought a small set at Amazon. I sorted through my small collection of recipes and settled on a Galette des Rois à la Frangipanne (recette de Cyril Lignac) (web and web).

The recipe uses store-bought pâtes feuilletées, two round ones, filled with a mixture of crème patissière and crème d'amandes, with a dash of rum. This mixture should be piped on, but I just dumped it on the bottom and used the back of a spoon to spread it around.

The laid out pâtes feuilletées are quite large and hung over the edge of the quarter sheet. Because our oven, in spite of being part of a big stove, is a bit shallow, the back edge was a bit burnt. Usually I use one of these to line a pie plate, which then doesn't have such a large surface area.

The result was quite edible, but it took the two of us quite some days to finish it off. What I forgot is that I usually buy a small galette for the two of us, which lasts two or maybe three days. This was fun to make, but don't think I need to do it again. Buying a small galette from a good boulangerie is fine.

This week in the kitchen

Monday/30-Dec-19: Used the rest of last week's chicken (a day later, if we're dead tomorrow, this is why) and some of the butternut squash to make Chicken & Butternut Squash Pasta (web). This was okay, but nothing special. Used up some crème fraîche rather than use yogurt. Then a simple salad.

Meanwhile, I made a galette des rois. This is one of my kitchen projects for the year. It's in the oven as I type, so the results are still uncertain.

Tuesday/31-Dec-19: I had a bad stomach last night. Not much sleep and feeling bad all day. I didn't eat. Ed had something from the freezer. New Year's Eve was a bust as I fell asleep watching tv.

Wednesday/1-Jan-19: Feeling a bit better, but not much appetite. I made a nice meal, but couldn't eat much.

Thursday/2-Jan-19: Tummy still not happy, and not much appetite.

Shopping today. Very small actually. We have lots and lots of veggies left to use, so I scrapped much of the meal plan and I'll mostly wing it, trying to use these things up.

Dinner was Nigel Slater's Cod with Anchovy, Capers and Thyme (web), with lieu noir. This was ok, but nothing special. Served with steamed green beans and trio rice. Just a bit of chocolate for dessert.

Friday/3-Jan-19: We went off to Angoulême to see the Rembrandt engravings today, and stopped to get some of Letuffe's chocolate-covered griottes for a treat.

Dinner was Pasta with Spicy Cauliflower (MW@Home, p189), which wasn't bad. I'd actually intended to make a similar dish that included anchovies in the sauce, but I used all my stash yesterday. And it seems that I neglected to buy more the last time I opened a can. Oops, inventory fail. A pair of chocolate-covered griottes each for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/4-Jan-19: Continuing with the use-up-the-veggies theme, tonight's meal was Smoked Fish & Celeriac Remoulade on Sourdough (web) with smoked trout. This was quite tasty. Next time I might use the grater on the cuisinart or the mandoline to make long shreds. Served with a salad. For after, we had small slices of three kings' cake plus a pair of chocolate-covered griottes. I'm full.

Sunday/5-Jan-19: Used up more veggies by roasting the last of the romanesco, plus some Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and a red bell pepper. Melted some St Agur on top for the last minutes. Served all over brown rice. Then we finished, finally, the three kings' cake. Then we finished off the chocolate-covered griottes. We're stuffed.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no for December, no for January; #5 BREAD: no for December, no for January; #6 GUESTS: no for December, no for January
This year: #7 PROJECT: yes for 2019, no for 2020

Tweede kerstdag 2019

Verrine Thon, Céleri, Noix et Gorgonzola Cuscinetti di Vitello — Braised Veal Scallops with Prosciutto-and-Cheese Stuffing Carolino Gratinati — Brussels Sprouts au Gratin Riso al Limone — Boiled Rice with Lemon Häagen-Dasz mini ice cream cups

This meal was not especially well-planned since all the dishes were cheesed, not lots, but still it was cheesy.

There were nice little verrines (web) to start, although the layers were not as apparent as on the website. I thought it might be better to mix all the ingredients except the nuts (a kind of waldorf salad then), although you can, of course, do that at table.

The veal (TLItal, p58) was nice, although how you manage to get 4"x4" packets is beyond me. I think you must be prepared to trim off lots of meat. I ended up with two packets roughly that size for the two of us. It was tasty if not picture perfect.

The Brussels sprouts (VegCarlu, p93) were edible but nothing to do again. First the sprouts were boiled, which doesn't bring out the best in them, and then they were drowned in too much bechamel.

I've made the lemon rice (TLItal, p20) before. This time I did it with long-grain rice rather than arborio. This worked fine. It's a nice when you'd like sometime a bit more than plain rice. Now I'm wondering it if wouldn't be nice with some brown rice, long- or short-grained.

For dessert we had some Häagden-Dasz mini ice cream cups. We were full and happy.

Christmas dinner 2019

Verrines de Radis au Chèvre Frais Parmentier de Canard Wild Mushrooms braised in Late Harvest Wine Carottes Glacées Vanilla Ice Cream with Blueberries and Ginger Snap Crumbs

This was the first really sunny day in quite a while, so I should be happy. I'm still tuckered out from being sick though. Today's cooking wore me out.

We started with verrines of radish slices in chèvre frais thinned with cream. To go with them I made some sesame tuiles from another recipe. The bit of crunch was nice, but can't say the tuiles were really successful. They needed much more time to cook that the recipe asked. The verrines were nice and I'll make the extra cheese mixture into a sandwich filling tomorrow.

We had parmentier de canard at a restaurant last year and loved it. I smerged a bunch of recipes and the result was okay, but not in the same league. I used confit de canard from a can, rather than making in from scratch.

For the braised shrooms, I bought girolles, pieds de mouton, and oesterzwammen (pleurotes) for the mushrooms. Most of the girolles were too slimy to use unfortunately. This dish was good, but a bit richer than I would have liked, with the sage-scented cream in the sauce. Used sauterne for the wine. The recipe came from A Thousand Days in Venice and was recommended by Anne.

For the carrots I found some bio carrots of mixed color. The recipe (TLProvFr, p92) asked for the carrots to be cut in chunks (or even shaped like olives!), but I preferred the sticks. They were okay.

I had meant to make crème caramel for dessert, but didn't have the oomph. Instead we had a simple thing, using another verrine, with ice cream and frozen (defrosted) blueberries sprinkled with crumbled ginger snaps.

We're stuffed!

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Dec-19: Off to a little marché de noël today. And little it was. Then Ed, after saying he didn't want a tree, went off to get a tree. When will it get put up and decorated, I wonder?

Dinner was Butternut and Pasta Soup, (How2Eat, p160), which wasn't bad, especially with a goodly dose of jalapeño tabasco. I mostly puréed the soup (thank you staff mixer, rather than just mashing a bit, before adding the pasta.

Before that we had little goat cheese and cranberry sauce "tarts". I read about this combination somewhere, and having a bit of leftover cranberry sauce and pyramid cheese, I thought I'd try it with some squares of pâte feuilletté. Pretty good and certainly easy. Squares of chocolate for after.

Yogurt on overnight

Tuesday/24-Dec-19: Miserable day today. Didn't get the list finished. Wanted a pizza for dinner, but everything was closed. So we had the salad I forgot yesterday and a sort of grilled cheese sandwich. With chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/25-Dec-19: It's not been the best of holiday seasons. I've been down with the Mother of All Sinus Infections, including a major earache, the weather has largely been gray, rainy, and windy, and I'm depressed. We didn't have the whole dinner as originally planned, but most of it, with an improvisation for dessert. Here.

Thursday/26-Dec-19: Second xmas day today. Here's what we had.

Friday/27-Dec-19: Shopping today. I've already seen that this is going to be another record year for grocery expenses even though I tried to keep it down. So I blew it and we stocked up on lots of stuff.

Dinner was Baked Spiced Halibut (30MinInd, p72), but with swordfish. This had trouble getting done in the toaster oven, but finally made it. Ed didn't like the sauce at first, but warmed to it with the other food. There was Cauliflower with Ginger, Garlic, and Green Chiles (Q&E, p83). I used romanesco, thinking it would add a bit of color, but it didn't. I managed to burn the spices, so it wasn't as tasty as it should have been. And there was New Potatoes with Cumin (Q&E, p91), with regular potatoes. (My little potatoes had all sprounted.) This was yummy. For dessert there was some store-bought cheesecake.

Saturday/28-Dec-19: I felt like something Asian-ish today, so I smerged together some pad thai recipes and that was dinner. Not great, but edible. My sauce was a bit salty unfortunately. We finished the little cheesecake for afters. (It's small, only four servings.)

Sunday/29-Dec-19: Last night Ed saw the Moulin's menu for today and said, Let's go. So we did. Nothing happened in the kitchen today.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: none
Cookbooks of the month: n/a
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/16-Dec-19: Early morning ENT appointment today.

Later I realized that this week's shopping will include what we need for first and second xmas days. Will have to plan fairly carefully. Don't think we'll be having anyone around. Seems too much to organize while I'm not feeling well.

Dinner was Aubergine Lasagna (MC), which was pretty good. Followed by a small salad. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Tuesday/17-Dec-19: Dinner was a half recipe of Red Currant-Glazed Pork Chops (MC; web; CL/mar95). I last made this in feb98. Good stuff and easy. Served with spaghettis courts (short, indeed, but not spaghetti) and Leeks in Vinaigrette (Olney2, p44). This recipe was very similar to one in BEFCC, with chopped parsley added. I used the chopped parsley and egg white as a garnish. Cooked leeks are a bit hard to cut through. We both thought this was good, but would be better with bite-sized chunks of leek instead of long bits.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/18-Dec-19: Off for a haircut today.

Dinner was West Indian Salmon Patties from the freezer, with some hominy, also from the freezer, and some Green Beans with Mushrooms (Q&E, p86). Then part of a little brioche Galette de Trois Rois that I got at the boulangerie. Ed got the fêve.

Thursday/19-Dec-19: Finished off the shopping list for the first round of holiday dinners today. We had Lentils with Tamarind and Dates (web), served over brown rice. Pretty good, it was. Some Häagen-Dasz mini ice cream cups for afters.

Friday/20-Dec-19: Shopping today, a big one. Hope we can keep the price down next week and not end the year with another record for grocery spending. Lots of things missing, requiring bits of replanning. No chicken livers. No fresh basil. Pooh.

Dinner was Cod with Ginger-Basil Butter on Fragrant Rice (web). Got lieu noir instead of cod. Pretty good stuff. Served with steamed broccoli. In the anti-gaspi cooler, I found some La Fermière desserts expiring tomorrow and Sunday, for 30% off, so bought two pairs. Tonight we had the chocolate one. All good. We ate well.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/21-Dec-19: Dinner was Creamy White Beans with Goat's Cheese (web). This was easy and tasty. No goat's cream. I used pyramid cheese instead. Probably would have been better to buy some goat's milk. Some store-bought vanilla yogurt in cute little red jars for dessert.

Put chicken on to marinate for tomorrow.

Sunday/22-Mon-19: Put out a few xmas decorations today. Not really in the mood. Starting to get over sinus infection finally, but feeling tired and blue.

Dinner was Roast Spatchcock Chicken with Lemongrass, Honey & Fish Sauce (web), roasted brick-style, which worked even with the liquid marinade. Served with plain rice and Thai Stir-Fried Long Beans (MaiPham, p169) using snijbonen instead of long beans. Pretty good stuff. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/9-Dec-19: Still feeling poorly, so changed the planned meal for a "no-brainer" with everything in-house. We had Curried Penne with Shrimp (365OneDish, p49), with peas added to make it truly one-dish. When we moved from Oegstgeest to Amstelveen, I used this book a lot, but largely ignored it after that for some reason. Except for this recipe, which I seem to make semi-regularly. Ah well, it's easy and it's good. Chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Tuesday/10-Dec-19: Dinner was Za'atar Lamb Chops (web), which was easy, fast, and delicious. Served with some snijbonen and some Moroccan couscous, which seemed to be out of date. We tossed the rest of the jar. Some chocolate squares for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/11-Dec-19: A clean-out-the-fridge replan today. Dinner was loosely based on Fettuccine with Gorgonzola and Broccoli (web). It was mafalda rather than fettuccine for the pasta and St Azur rather than Gorgonzola for the cheese. But good it was. Some ice cream with crème de cacao for after.

Thursday/12-Dec-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was, sort of, Swordfish Almost Puttanesca (web). I only vaguely followed this recipe. I'm not an anchovy fan, but one or two deepen the flavor of a sauce, so I minced one to add with the five cloves of sliced garlic and red pepper flakes. Used some tomato passata from the potager and then some pulp from a can, as well as some chicken stock to keep things liquid. I cubed my swordfish and cooked those in the sauce at the end. Served over exta-wide tagliatelle. Good stuff but we were stuffed. Finished off the P'tit Basque for after.

Friday/13-Dec-19: Bad earache developed last night. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Off to the doctor this evening. Dinner was Hot and Sour Chicken and Mushroom Soup (Ainsley1, p46). Super yummy, it was. I added the ginger as suggested since we're both feeling under the weather. Some vanilla ice cream with crème de cacao for after.

Saturday/14-v-19: Still feeling puny. Easy dinner. Some store-bought felafels, possibly from Intermarché. Very yummy. The pitas that we bought at Leclerc were awful; won't buy those again. Served with Tahini Cream Salad (Roden, p42) and a tomato-cucumber salad loosely based on this recipe. All good, except for the pitas. Too full for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/15-Dec-19: Dinner was a half recipe of Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp (web) served with long-grain brown rice. Easy and really good. Some mini ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 5; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/2-Dec-19: Hard-boiled (steamed) some eggs today.

Dinner was Curried Cauliflower Bisque (VegPlanet, p110). Made a whole recipe so we have lots in the freezer for another time. Served with tuna salad sandwiches. A square of chocolate for dessert.

Tuesday/3-Dec-19: Yogurt on overday.

For dinner we had some of the tiny Drôme raviolis (from the freezer) with pesto, along with the salad we didn't eat a couple of nights ago, topped with cooked chicken breasts.

Wednesday/4-Dec-19: Using-up-veggies fried rice tonight, very loosely based on Fried Rice (MW@Home, p230). Used cooked brown rice from the freezer. This worked fine, but would have been easier if I'd given it a chance to defrost. For half the rice, made up all the tofu marinating sauce with lots of garlic-chili sauce. Made a flat omelet of one egg. Then a red bell pepper and some snijbonen. Then some oesterzwammen and the end of a zucchini. Pretty good it was.

Thursday/5-Dec-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was a half dose of Garlic Butter Salmon in Foil (web). This was yummy, but took about 30min to cook, maybe because I put the packets in a casserole dish rather than on a baking sheet. Served with trio rice and steamed broccoli, all topped with the delicious herby garlic butter. Vanilla ice cream and (defrosted) blueberries for dessert. But later we had some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/6-Dec-19: Diner was a half recipe of Boudin Noir aux Pommes (web), which was good, if cholesterol-enhancing. Then mashed potatoes, with cream since that was out for the boudin. And some peas and shallots. For after we had some P'tit Basque cheese. Whew.

Saturday/7-Dec-19: Choucroute dinner at a local restaurant. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Sunday/8-Dec-19: Really didn't have the oompth to make what was on the plan for today, so I made tomorrow's meal, "Barbecued" pork sandwiches, cooked pork from the freezer with Vinegary Barbecue Sauce (Everlasting, p193), topped with some of Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (MC, Handybook). Some mini ice cream cups for dessert — very nice for our tingly tongues.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4 #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/25-Nov-19: Stir-fried veggies tonight, using up the teriyaki sauce I made on Friday. Added some strips of cooked pork from the freezer. Over plain rice. Pretty good stuff. Chocolate-covered corn flakes.

Tuesday/26-Nov-19: Dinner was, sort of, Nigel Slater's Chorizo, New Potatoes and Cucumber (web). The recipe is a good idea, but a little weird. It calls for 600g of chorizo for two people. I used a 200g link, and that was plenty. And only 250g of potatoes. I probably used about 350g; I stopped when they started rolling off the scale. But the effect was quite nice. Ed thought it was pretty enought for a picture.

For dessert there was Crème au Chocolate Express (web, VPG). I might write this one up to save since it was easy and tasty. I made a half recipe of what was reported as 6 servings; we will have 4 servings out of the half.

Wednesday/27-Nov-19: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Lillian's Tasty Noodles (HomTrav, p214). This was pretty good and helped by a dose of my homemade habernero sauce. Without thinking, I made rice as a go-with; will freeze this up for another time. Then we had the last two portions of the chocolate pudding.

Thursday/28-Nov-19: Not the Thanksgiving we'd planned, with a trip to Bordeaux. But nice enough, a bit tiring for the over-ambitious cook. Ed thought we'd do our shopping today, rather than tomorrow as planned. So rather than a quickie dinner (with maybe a quick trip to the local butcher for some turkey scallops), it turned out to be a bit more elaborate. At Leclerc, I spotted a goat cheese topped with cranberries. On toast, that turned into our starter with a bit of arugula, walnuts, and lemon vinaigrette.  For the main, there were individual versions of Shane's Arrosto di Tachino con pancetta ed Erbe Aromatiche. I've done this before. Still good. And there was, of course, some Cranberry-Port Relish (MC). And smashed sweet potatoes and steamed snijbonen. Made a nice gravy to go with all using chicken stock and the herbed wine that the turkey cooked in and some pleurotes. For dessert, I made a Pumpkin Cake (MC) which will take us a week to get through. We're full. I'm tired.

Friday/29-Nov-19: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Madras Fish Curry (Foolproof, p46), with swordfish. Yum. Not too hard to do; takes a bit of time. Served with Stir-Fried Cauliflower with Green Chilies (Foolproof, p90). Also good. With plain basmati rice. Some mini ice creams for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight, with a new starter.

Saturday/40-Nov-19: Both of us feeling icky today, Ed with his fungus bum, me with sinus or a cold. Yesterday I thought it was just because I was cleaning dusty stuff; today it's still there. Haven't gotten better or worse, but sinuses are burning.

Dinner was One-Pot Bacon Chipotle Mac & Cheese (web). I made essentially a whole recipe for two, with maybe just over 3 cups of milk. Used lardons for the bacon. Lots of cheese and chipotle. Pretty good stuff. Interesting thing about this recipe is that the pasta is cooked in the milk for the sauce. Then a mixed salad, with leftover cabbage, arugula, lettuce, and all the goodies. Some chocolate covered cornflakes for after. We're full.

Sunday/1-Dec-19: Dinner was pasta with some veg sauce from the freezer. It was good. I made a salad, but we didn't eat it. Two chocolate squares for after. (We're mostly eating the pumpkin cake for breakfast.)

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: none
Cookbooks of the month: n/a
This month: #4 PASTA: no for November, no for December; #5 BREAD: yes for November, no for December; #6 GUESTS: no for November, no for December
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/18-Nov-19: Used up odd bits of stuff from the freezer to make Poor-Cousin Paella (Secrets, p249). Make a whole dose and we've got half in the freezer for another time. Some squares of chocolate for after.

Tuesday/19-Nov-19: Off plan today. Found a recipe to use up odd bits in the fridge and we had a halfish recipe of Broccoli, Mushroom, Spinach and Cheese Pasta (web). Pretty good. We have a bit left, so the half recipe would probably have served three, rather than the four suggested by the recipe. I forgot to notice the breadcrumbs on top, but remember thinking as I put it in the oven that breadcrumbs might be nice. Oh well.

Wednesday/20-Nov-19: Tonight the two of us ate a half dose of Shrimp, Saffron and Preserved Lemon Mac and Cheese (web). (The half dose should have served 3.) I choose this because it sounded rather improbable. And it was. Okay to eat but don't need to do it again. Followed by a simple salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/21-Nov-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was a half recipe of Fish Steamed over Vegetables and Fresh Herbs (Essential, p434). This was okay, but nothing special. Served with Potato "Tostones" (Flattened Potatoes) (Essential, p301), as suggested. These were good (especially good because I used duck fat rendered from the magret we had recently), but tedious to make. For dessert, I bought some gateau de fromage. Delicious but filling.

Friday/22-Nov-19: In the morning, I made a half batch of Bold Teriyaki Sauce (web). Part will go into the crockpot that I'll start tonight for tomorrow' meal; the rest will go into some stir-fried Chinese-ish veggies soon.

Dinner was Tuscan beans from the freezer, topped up with canned tuna, lemon juice, and a bit of olive oil. Served that with some lettuce topped with the rest of yesterday's veggies dolled up with a bit of vinaigrette.

After dinner, I froze up gaboons of chicken stock, mostly in 1-liter jars since there weren't many smaller ones available.

And started a crockpotful (a half recipe since I have only a 3-quart crockpot) of Slow Cooker Thai Pulled Pork (web). My pork had no bones. This has to cook 10 hours, so should be ready. After that the meat has to be shredded and the sauce fiished with peanut butter (not "natural" it says — why? that's all we have in the house, so that's what it will be) and lime zest and juice. Smells good already.

Saturday/23-Nov-19: Served the Thai pulled pork with white rice and steamed broccoli as they showed on the site. Yummy stuff. Another meal in the freezer.

Sunday/24-Nov-19: Dinner was kip filets with a yummy basting sauce from the freezer. Cooked four kip filets; the other two will be used in the next couple of weeks. Served with a half dose of Parsley Salad with Bulgur, Mint, and Tomatoes (BigFlav, p216). This was good, made with lime juice instead of lemon, because there was some in the fridge leftover.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4 #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/11-Nov-19: We had an early meal today so we could go see a film. There was Rice with Black Pepper Sauce (Savory, p253). I didn't use the mortar and pestle for the herbs, just chop-chop-chop. Gave the pepper corns (all 2tsps) a spin in the spice grinder. Used about half mozzarella and half Abondance for the cheese. I think this would be good with short-grain brown rice, although no longer quick. Started with a simple salad.

Tuesday/12-Nov-19: Dinner was Harissa Lamb with Chickpeas (web). This was good, but I thought it a bit too sweet. Maybe a handful of raisins would have been better apricots. Served with Moroccan couscous (store-bought mix) and snijbonen in chunks with a squirt of lemon. Some chocolate-covered cornflakes for after.

Wednesday/13-Nov-19: Buddy to the vet again today, and me to get haircut. Dinner was leftover enchilada casserole with a new dose of guacamole. Mini ice creams for dessert. We're full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/14-Nov-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Salmon Chowder (web), sort of. Lots of changes. I used fresh cauliflower, boiled for a bit with some potatoes that needed using. No leftover mashed potatoes, used some potato flour. It was good, nice on a cold-blustery evening.

Friday/15-Nov-19: Lovely lunch out for Ed's birthday. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Saturday/16-Nov-19: Our meal was Golden Cauliflower and Rice Pilaf (VegHarv, p144). This was good, but not really a meal. Like most French recipes, curry powder is just waved at the dish, without adding a strong flavor. Followed by a salad. Then various chocolatey things for after.

Sunday/17-Nov-19: Made some Römertopf bread today, based on One Perfect Loaf (ClayCook2, p126). This is a popular recipe. First I put the water in the bowl to the mixer, then turned around to get the yeast and couldn't find it. I looked in the freezer but didn't see yeast. I searched all the Ivar shelves thinking the jar might have been displaced. Finally I looked again in the freezer and there it was. Duh. So I continued. I used T110 flour (semi-whole wheat, whatever that means), using all that was specified plus about 1/2cup T65 (bread flour) to make the dough a proper dough. (I used the mixer and dough hook for all the mixing.) I forgot to soak the pot before the end of the first rising period so had to extend that. Finally got it in the oven. We had come slices with our dinner. It was good. The Römertopf makes a funny shaped loaf with its flared sides.

Yogurt on overday. I seem to have unplugged the yogurt maker when I unplugged the mixer, not sure how or why. Plugged it back in and guess at a time to finish.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Bacon, Spinach and Fromage Blanc Frittata (web). In the end I didn't really follow the recipe. Baking the eggs for 35min didn't see like a good idea. I cooked all on the stovetop (cast-iron skillet, covered) for 10-ish minutes till it was set, then added the cheeses and popped under broiler. Instead of the cloth-bound Cabot cheddar cheese from Jasper Hill, I used store-bought old mimelotte. The frittata was edible, nothing special. Both of us were fairly full so we didn't have any kind of a dessert.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: none
Cookbooks of the month: n/a
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Nov-19: Dinner was a halfish dose of Easy Italian Sausage and Potato Skillet (web, collected from EAT-L). I used my home-made Italian sausage. Pretty good stuff. Ed used some hot stuff on it, but I didn't think it was needed. Then we had some more of yesterday's chocolate cake. Yum.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/5-Nov-19: Dinner was Feta-Brined Roast Chicken (web), which was pretty good, if not great. Served with Clotilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and some steamed broccoli. Finished off the chocolate cake for after. We're full.

Wednesday/6-Nov-19: Shopping today.

For dinner we had Tilapia Curry with Broccoli (MC, originally from a Dutch mailing list), a one-dish meal over rice. Used cod tonight. Very easy, very good. Some store-bought trio riz au lait for after.

Thursday/7-Nov-19: Dinner was Late Summer Vegetable Enchilada Pie (web). This was was okay, nothing special We'll have at least one meal out of it. I thought the sauce had a bit too much of the tomatoes, but it was good enough. With some guacamole. Mini ice creams for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/8-Nov-19: Ed got his hearing aids today.

Using up the once-lost-now-found magret, tonight's dinner was, more or less, Canard à la Moutarde, Tabasco et Miel (web). This recipe wanted one magret per person. That's way too much for most people; usually two people share one, and that's what we did. I cooked the magret as Patrice Wells instructs in VegHarv: score the fat side, heat dry skillet over high heat, turn to medium, 8min on the fat side, 3min on the meat side, 3min on fast side, let it rest 10min, then slice. The recipe wanted to go in the oven for the second three minutes. I poured the fat into a bowl to cool; maybe I can use it for something in the next days. Then I deglazed the pan with the marinade. Also I didn't add the extra bit of honey. It was all delicious. Unfortunately, I let the zucchini slices cook too long, so they were a bit soft. Served over polenta. We were nicely full.

Saturday/9-Nov-19: Before starting dinner I made Jam Tea Cake (MC, collected long ago from EAT-L), I made this to use up some apricot jam. A nice little cake that can be assembled while the oven heats up.

Dinner was a half recipe of One-Pot Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Orzo (web). An instant favorite, comfort food for cold and wet weather. After that we had a piece of cake, also quite good.

Put chicken to marinate and yogurt to drain for tomorrow's meal.

Sunday/10-Nov-19: Dinner was a half recipe of Chicken Broiled with Lemon and Yogurt Marinade (EastMed, p313), known as Golden Chicken in Macedonia, says Wolfert. Served with Macedonian Black Olive and Scallion Salad (EastMed, p151); this was good but more like a relish than a real salad. No scallions here; I used shallots instead. As suggested in the headnote, I made a dish with boiled potatoes and onions (more shallots) with oil, vinegar, and garlic. The recipe called for rehydrated hot peppers; I used harissa instead. I also grilled some eggplant slices that had been coated with harissa. We were full. We each had apricot cake for breakfast, sowe had two chocolate-covered madeleines each for afters.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: none
Cookbooks of the month: n/a
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/28-Oct-19: Off plan tonight. I sautéed up a bunch of veggies from the fridge, onion, broccoli, romanesco, red bell pepper, garlic, etc., and served over brown rice, with a good dose of my home made hot sauce. Some ice cream for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight

Tuesday/29-Oct-19: Dinner was Shrimp, Feta and Greek Olives on Spaghetti (web). The recipe has changed a bit since I printed it in March, but it was still good. My copy has shallots instead of leeks and plain paprika instead of smoked (I used pikant). And I used 6oz of whole wheat spaghtetti. It was good. Then a bit salad. And some chocolate-covered cornflakes for after. (Why are these so good?)

Made up some Light, Flaky Whole Wheat Pastry—Pâte Brisée Legère (VegHarv, p270) for tomorrow's dinner. Made up the stuffing for tomorrow's pork roast and froze as instructed.

Wednesday/30-Oct-19: Laura and Ralph came for dinner. We started with Smoked Salmon with Dill-Mustard Sauce (VegHarv, p4), which Ed and I have enjoyed before. Served with some half moons of unpeeled, seeded cuke for a bit of color on the plate. For a main, there was Apple and Prune Stuffed Pork Loin (web). I got this recipe from Betsy via EAT-L. The stuffing is frozen and then (supposed to be) inserted into the pork roast. That didn't work at all, so I just opened it up and wrapped the stuffing log in the pork. It wasn't completely done i the specified time, so we cut off the edible bits and put the rest back in the oven for a spell. No prunes in-house so I used apricots and dried cranberries as suggested. This was quite good, but the apples could have been cut a bit finer. The veggie side was Broccoli Purée with a Hint of Mint (VegHarv, p167). This was surprisingly good, broccoli and mint not being an expected combination to me. What was supposed to serve twelve serve four. And there was Potato Gratin from the Savoy—Gratin Savoyard (VegHarv, p222). This was easy and good. God bless my mandoline for the thin slices. Dessert was Rosemary-Apple-Cranberry Galette (VegHarv, p268). This was okay, but nothing special. The cranberries were a bit crunchy. I needed two apples to cover the tart. Served with mascarpone-cream, which makes everything better.

Thursday/31-Oct-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Baked Honey Sriracha Lime Salmon (web). This was easy and extra yummy. Started it in the toaster oven, finished under the broiler as directed. Served with rice, then a nice salad. Some of Laura and Ralph's chocolate squares for dessert.

Friday/1-Nov-19: For our anniversary, we had a super lunch at a new local restaurant. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Saturday/2-Nov-19: Our meal was Nigella's Spaghetti alla Carbonara. I got this off the web quite some time ago. It seems to be gone now, even on Nigella's site, and there are some reports of Italians complaining about it. Carbonara with cream is a no-no. And 500g of pasta for two is a bit much. I made a halfish recipe from my print-out, which served the two of us generously. Followed by a big salad. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Sunday/3-Nov-19: Leftovers tonight, the leftover pork roast and potatoes augmented with two pork loin chops. And some simple steamed broccoli. For dessert there was Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake (web). (I used 185g 70% chocolate and 100g 85% chocolate.) This was seriously good, even with a bit of mascarpone cream.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG:  no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a for Oct, n/a for Nov
Cookbooks of the month: none for Oct, none for Nov
This month: #4 PASTA: no for Oct, no for Nov; #5 BREAD: no for Oct,  no for Nov; #6 GUESTS: yes for Oct, no for Nov
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Oct-19: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was Spicy Peanut Noodles (web). This was easy and okay, but not the best of this kind of thing. Spicy it wasn't really. I used more of the chili paste with garlic than asked and it was still only mildly spicy. Serves six? As a dainty side maybe. The recipe as written is for two main servings. For a side we had the rest of Mom's Cabbage Salad, which was much tinglier than the noodles.

Tuesday/22-Oct-19: Dinner was a halfish version of Pollo a la Chilindrón—Sautéed Chicken with Peppers, Tomatoes and Olives (TLS&P, p58). Like many of the Spanish dishes, this wasn't highly spiced, but was still tasty. The tomatoes I bought this week were rotten, so I used some frozen, canned tomato pulp. And used all of the olives for my half recipe.

Served with trio rice and Green Bean Salad with Pickled Shallots (HeartArt, p131). I collected this recipe somewhere on the web and discovered that I have the book it came from last week. Having only a few green beans I cut the pickled shallots back to a third, but still have some left for a salad or a sandwich. Easy to make and very tasty. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/23-Oct-19: Dinner at quiz tonight. Nothing much happened in the kitchen.

Thursday/24-Oct-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Thai Fish and Corn Curry (Braises, p86). Seems like I made this just over a year ago, without a note in the book. It was okay if underspiced. For a starter we had store-bought nems, shrimp and crab; these were pretty good. Some store-bought riz au lait for after.

Friday/25-Oct-19: Leftovers for dinner tonight. We had the rest of the Mushroom and Leek Galette, followed by a really simple salad (lettuce and vinaigrette). Then we finished the Pet't Basque cheese. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines eat.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/26-Oct-19: Dinner was a half dose of Sara's Persian Chicken (Braises, p71; cookbooker). Pretty good stuff. As suggested, accompanied by Apricot Couscous (Braises, p116); easy and a nice variation on plain couscous. Also some String Bean Salad (Roden, p69), which was good. Notice this book is so old that it has string beans instead of green beans. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Sunday/26-Oct-19: We went to a concert this afternoon, and I just didn't feel like cooking after. So it was pizza instead. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/14-Oct-19: Dinner was a half dose of Fragrant Chicken Pilaf (web), which was quite tasty. Served with Gujerati Carrot Salad (MJ1, p170), so we'd have a bit more vegetable matter with dinner. A pair of (out-of-date!) chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Tuesday/15-Oct-19: Yogurt on overday.

We had lunch out today, so nothing happened in the kitchen. Out for a performance in the evening.

Wednesday/16-Oct-19: Dinner was pork chops, along with some steamed veggies (broccoli, romanesco, and the remains of a red bell pepper) and trio rice. Chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert. We're full.

Thursday/17-Oct-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Mediterranean Cod (web). With cod, since that was on sale today. Definitely a keeper, this was very good. Served with Green Bean, Feta, and Black Olive Salad (web; CL/nov10; cookbooker). Another keeper. Made a salad, but we didn't feel like eating it. Then some mini ice creams.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/18-Oct-19: We delivered lots of stuff to charity shop today, stopping for sweet and savory treats on the way. We weren't especially hungry after that, so we had last night's salad followed by some P'tit Basque cheese for dinner. Off the plan already. Oh well, that's what they're for.

Saturday/19-Oct-19: Dinner was Chef John's Spicy Shrimp Cakes (web). I had 300g of cooked shrimp (instead of raw) and used them to make about a half recipe, which made eight small yummy patties. Served with plain rice and a half recipe of Mom's Cabbage Salad (MaiPham, p96). All good stuff. Ice cream after, a mini cup for me and a mini ice cream bar for Ed.

Sunday/20-Oct-19: Dinner very late. I should have made up the crust for tonight's dinner yesterday. We had Mushroom and Leek Galette with Gorgonzola (CI/jan-feb12; web; cookbooker). Delicious it was. Then a big salad. And a chocolate square. We're full.

Yogurt will wait till tomorrow; the dishwasher's full tonight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-Oct-19: My French teacher gave me some figs this afternoon and I had a bit of goat cheese left in the fridge, so our entrée was figs stuffed with goat cheese, drizzled a bit of honey, sprinkled with walnuts, and run under the broiler.

Dinner was halfish dose of One Skillet Chicken with Garlicky Mushroom Sauce (web), done with skinless, boneless thighs. Good stuff. Served over mushroom-flavored pasta, with haricots verts on the side. Some chocolate-covered corn flake things for dessert.

Tuesday/8-Oct-19: Canned tamales and home-made guacamole for dinner. That was all. It was good.

Wednesday/9-Oct-19: Busy day with vet visit and haircut. Planned an easy dinner, Smoked Trout & Pea Pasta (web) with a salad. Fusilli wasn't really the best pasta choice, but it was okay. The sauce was pretty tasty. Some crumbs of chocolate-covered cornflakes for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/10-Oct-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was was Lemon-Steamed Fillets (Desperation, p278) with eglefin/haddock. This was ok, but nothing special. Served with trio rice and steamed broccoli. Some store-bought riz au laits for dessert.

Friday/11-Oct-19: Dinner was a halfish dose of Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry (web), served over brown rice. Okay stuff, if not fantastic. Some ice cream for after.

Saturday/12-Oct-19: Our neighbors from Bordeaux were married in Mazerolles today. They had a little get-together in the afternoon.

We had Risotto with Tomato and Eggplant (WorldVeg, p408). This was surprisingly (to me) yummy. The two of us ate all of what should have served 3-4. I might serve 3 with a salad, which I skipped because it was already full of veg. We split an out-of-date chocolate bunny that I found recently. Later we had some bits of P'tit Basque, a sheep cheese we discovered on our Toulouse vacation. Yum.

Sunday/13-Oct-19: Lunch out today. Nothing much happened in the kitchen. In the evening we finished off the bottle of wine we brought home from lunch along with the P'tit Basque cheese. Nice.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/30-Sep-19: Dinner was a half dose of Cauliflower, Cashew, Pea, and Coconut Curry (MadeIndia, p65; cookbooker). Good stuff. Served with basmati rice. Some ice cream for dessert.

Tuesday/1-Oct-19: So, I roasted up my impulse-bought spaghetti squash today, to make "spaghetti" to go with the leftover tomato sauce from Sunday. Spaghetti, no. Short little pieces somewhat. Was okay with the tomato sauce. Then a big salad with blue cheese and walnuts and tomatoes. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/2-Oct-19: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Hunan Beef with Cumin (web). Did not seed the red chiles. Used the lower end of the dried chili flakes. It was hot but yummy. As a side there was a halfish recipe of Spicy Hunan Cauliflower (web). Again, hot but good; the little sweet from the maple syrup was a nice touch to go with the red bell peppers. And some plain basmati rice. Mini ice cream cups for after. We're full.

Thursday/3-Oct-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Fish Fillets Romertopf (MC/brochure), with lieu noir. Used smoked paprika in the topping, which was probably a bit of a "loud" taste for the fish. The fish was a bit dry, maybe because it was too long in the oven. Served with Clotilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roast Potatoes (web), using up the amandines I had, and broccoli and carrots. Some chocolate-covered cornflakes for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/4-Oct-19: In the morning, I made up a half recipe of Anglo-Indian Sausage Patties (MJ@Home, p132; cookbooker) in preparation for tomorrow night's dinner.

Both of us are feeling a bit tummy-bad today, but dinner went down well. We had Tagliolini with Walnuts and Lemon (web), an Ottolenghi recipe that was really tasty. Then a big salad. No dessert needed.

Saturday/5-Oct-19: Still not feeling good innard-wise. Really didn't feel like eating or making what was on the plan. Instead we had Smooth Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Tart (VegSups, p12), which was good, although I couldn't eat it all. Then a simple salad. No dessert.

Sunday/6-Oct-19: Feeling a bit better today, but not very hungry. Dinner was Anglo-Indian Sausage Curry (MJ@Home, p133; cookbooker), which was yummy. As suggested, served with Corn with Aromatic Seasonings (MJ@Home, p151; cookbooker). And some plain basmati rice. A mini ice cream cup for me and a mini bar for Ed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 5; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no for September, no for October; #5 BREAD: no for September, no for October; #6 GUESTS: yes for September, no for October
This year: #7 PROJECT: no for September, no for October

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Sep-19: Dinner was Stir-Fried Lemon Chicken (web). This was okay. Served over brown rice. A simple salad afterwards, made from the rest of the sucrines (baby romaines) that I had. Some chocolate-covered corn flakes for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/24-Sep-19: Spent a good part of the day cleaning up mouse poop in the Ivars. Haven't figured out what it's found to eating, especially since most stuff on the open shelves is in glass, plastic, or metal now. Cleaned all but the top two shelves all the way across.

This morning I fried up strips of tortillas leftover from the other night and made something sort of like migas, with scrambled eggs and a fresh tomato salsa. An Indian egg curry was on the plan for tonight's dinner, so I changed. Instead we had Chicken Broccoli Skillet (web) served over tagliatelle. Instead of skinless, boneless chicken thighs, I used turkey oysters (sot-l'y-laisse en français). We ate most of what would probably be three servings, rather than 4-6. Using the larger amount of broccoli is probably better. Chocolate-covered corn flakes for after.

Wednesday/25-Sep-19: Lunch out today with Andy and Sue. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Thursday/26-Sep-19: Dinner was Dierdre’s Egg Curry, recipe I got from an EAT-L friend. Unfortunately I didn’t follow the directions very well, but it was still good. Over basmati rice. Meant to make one of Madhur Jaffrey’s carrot saladsm as a go-with, got out the book, and lost the thread. That’s ok. We’re full.

Friday/27-Sep-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Salmon with Sweet Pea Cream (CL/apr07; web). I just see that I forgot to add the cream to the sweet pea cream. I didn't think it mattered, Ed thought it would have been better. I didn't sieve the pea cream, but buzzed till it was really smooth. I think the peas would have been better with seared scallops, which would better match the sweetness. Or not. Served with pasta. We had some store-bought chocolate mousses for after.

Guess I'm going to skip another month of my cookbook of the month. Barely interested in cooking these days. Feeling really trapped in the Neighbor-from-Hell situation. No way we could sell this house now. No way we could afford anything similar. No resolution in sight, only legal action that will take a lot of time and achieve nothing really. Sigh.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/28-Sep-19: In the morning I used some old bananas to make a loaf of Buttermilk Banana Bread (web). I cut the sugar back to 1cup and used walnuts instead of pecans. Yum.

Dinner was Almond-Crusted Chicken Breasts (MC), a old favorite I haven't made in a long time. Served with multi-colored carrots and some trio rice. Then some ice cream. Then some more banana bread.

Sunday/29-Sep-19: Cantique had a concert today so we were home late for our meal.

I had ten dates left from something, so made a half recipe of Alton Brown's Blue Cheese Bacon Devils on Horseback (web). These were okay, but don't need to do them again.

For our meal we had linguine with Marcella Hazan's (famous) Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter (ClassicItal, p152). Used a can of tomatoes, supposedly deseeded. Have a bit of sauce left to use for something else soon. Then there was Cold Beetroot with Cream (Pomiane, p180), which is an old favorite.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/16-Sep-19: Dinner was West Indies Salmon Cake (web), using up two of my three cans of salmon. (Why don't they have canned salmon in France?) These were yummy. I made four patties from the whole recipe and froze two for another meal. Then some Caribbean Rice and Beans, loosely following this recipe. I used half a can of borlotti beans and froze the rest. No coconut milk, but chicken stock from a cube. Pretty good, though. Served with Carrot-and-Ginger Quickie Pickle and some of the haberno sauce that I made a while ago. Some ice cream for dessert.

Tuesday/17-Sep-19: Shopping today. Early because it's an odd week.

Dinner was Papillote de Cabillaud au Curry (VPG; web), with lieu noir instead of cod. (The web version is titled Papillote de Cabillaud au Curry et au Citron. I see that the web version calls for fennel seeds, rather than anise seeds; this would probably be better.) This was okay, but nothing special. Served with Lemon-Roasted Potatoes with Bay Leaves (VegHarv, p231), that I made last week and is going to be a favorite. And Zucchini La Ponche (VegHarv, p217), also excellent. I’ve looked at this recipe a couple of times and then switched to the Zucchini Carpaccio recipe on p214. There was just enough balsamic vinegar to make it tasty without being overwhelming. Now I've got two raw zucchini recipes. Some store-bought custards for dessert. We ate well.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/18-Sep-19: Dinner out for Cath, with Rosemary and Phillipe.

Thursday/19-Sep-19: Last dinner with Cath tonight. We had Chicken Diane (MC), an old favorite I haven't made in a while. Served with short-grain brown rice and some steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Then some St Felicien. Then some small slices of Lemon-Blueberry Cake from the tea shop in Montemboeuf. We're full.

Friday/20-Sep-19: Cath left for Carlisle today, a good friend moving away permanently.

Dinner was Shrimp and Zucchini Orzo (web). It called for sambal, which I thought I’d get at Grand Frais this week, but Grand Frais has changed their selection so they no longer carry a lot of my staples. Like sambal. Instead of that, I used my (not-so-)Fiery Haberno Sauce, which was tasty. For afters, we finished the St Felicien.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/21-Sep-19: For our starter we had Salmon-Dill Salad with Pasta (BeardPasta, p191; cookbooker), sort of. For two, I used 3oz of pasta (mini-shells), with 90g of smoked salmon bits (from the freezer), 2tbl each of mayo and yogurt, and some chopped dill. Served with some leaves of sucrine (mini romaines). For our main, there was some magret tournedos that I bought at a marché des producteurs this summer. Those served with a pan sauce of marsala and black cherry jam. Served with some little boiled potatoes and some haricots verts with shiitakes and shalllots. We were full.

Soaked hominy overnight.

Sunday/22-Sep-19: Cooked up hominy using chicken stock for the liquid.

Dinner was Pernil de Chancho a la Chilena—Braised Fresh Ham with Chili Sauce (TLLatin, p58). I had 1.25kg rouelle, so made about a two-thirds recipe of the meat, but all of the sauce. The chiles we get here are pretty wimpy, so I didn't deseed them. The sauce was simple, but quite tasty. Served with hominy.

Meant to make an avocado-tomato salad, but the avocados I bought this week were already bad, so I just chopped some tomatoes from the potager with cilantro and served over lettuce. Some mini ice creams for dessert.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/9-Sep-19: A busy day today, and another trip to the gendarmerie.

Dinner was a half recipe, more or less, of Frittata with Tomato, Onion, and Basil (ClassItal, p281). Took a bit of time, but was tasty. Then a salad. Then some ice cream, a bar for Ed, a cup for me.

Tuesday/10-Sep-19: Using up the freezer inventory, we had half recipe of Chicken Baked in Yogurt with Red Onion and Grape Leaves (O&C, p412), using a spatchcocked pintade. Served with Bulgur Pilaf (O&C, p231), using chicken stock for the liquid, and Roasted Sweet Pepper Salad (O&C, p39), which was pretty good. Would be nice as part of an assortment of salads. Chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/11-Sep-19: Dinner was, more or less, Sausage & Broccoli Orecchiette (web). Homemade sausage from the freezer. Can't say I really followed this badly written recipe. Used about half an onion. Used mafalda instead of orecchiette, which I don't much like. Partly cooked the broccoli in the pasta water before adding it to the sausage-onion-garlic mixture. No demi glacé; used my chicken stock which is pretty condensed. Very tasty. Squares of chocolate for after.

Thursday/12-Sep-19: Shopping today, and, oops, tuna was on sale, so I tossed the plan and bought some of that.

Dinner was, then, Charmoula-Marinated Grilled Tuna (MedHot, p48), accompanied by Lemon-Roasted Potatoes with Bay Leaves (VegHarv, p231; cookbooker). Also had a zucchini salad, vaguely crossing the Wells' recipe for Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio (VegHarv, p214) and a recipe for Zucchini Ribbons with Lemon and Pecorino (CL/may14, web), that turned out well. Then a bit of Petit Basque cheese. And some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/13-Sep-19: Clearing out the freezer again today. I finished cooking the Spice-Crusted Pork Tenderloin left from Patrice&Wim's visit. Served with some smashed sweet potatoes and a sauté of broccoli, mushroom, and oven-dried tomatoes. Then some Double Boiler Bread Pudding (MC, HandyBook)

Saturday/14-Sep-19: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Greek Tortellini Salad with Avocados and Cucumbers (web). This was okay, but pretty boring. I see the same site has a similar recipe that includes tomatoes, red bell pepper, black olives, and red onion. That's probably much better. Then we finished the bread pudding. We're full.

Sunday/15-Sep-19: Lunch out today. No more food needed.

In anticipation of tomorrow's dinner, I made some Carrot-and-Ginger Quickie Pickle (Scraps, p82).

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/2-Sep-19: Simple dinner. Tongue in Madeira Sauce from a can. Over tagliatelle. With some steamed broccoli. And a little grated carrot salad. We were interrupted by visits from Vanessa. Sigh. Buddy escaped in the course of this. He went to visit his friend Filou at the Boulesteix's. I met Mme on the road bringing him back. Madeleines for after.

Tuesday/3-Sep-19: I had lunch out today. Ed had dinner from the freezer. For afters we finished the chaource, then had a couple of chocolate-covered cornflake things.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/4-Sep-19: Dinner from the freezer. Used some pork sauté and some ancho sauce to make a little stewy thing. Served over brown rice, with a salad of avocado, tomato, and cilantro. Chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.

Thursday/5-Sep-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Salmon with Spicy Cucumber Salad and Peanuts (CL/aug08, web; cookbooker). This was good. Then a big salad. Some chocolate-covered cornflakes for after.

Friday/6-Sep-19: Off to see Shakespeare this evening. Stopped for some charcuterie for dinner.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/7-Sep-19: For as starter, I sliced up some tomatoes from the potager, with some out-of-date, but still tasty, mozzarella and some basil leaves. Then there was Chick Pea and Artichoke Heart Stew (MW@Home, p204; cookbooker). This was pretty good. Some squares of chocolate for after, mine with hazelnuts, Ed's with almonds.

Sunday/8-Sep-19: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Sun Dried Tomato and Mushroom Pasta in a Garlic and Basil Sauce (web; cookbooker). This recipe does not serve four, but it is delicious. Then a salad. Then 2-1/2 cookies each from a package of five.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/26-Aug-19: Dinner was Steak au Poivre (How2Eat, p153). My steaks were too thin, but it was still quite good. Some long-grain brown rice for a side. And some steamed broccoli with a sauce of sautéed garlic and shiitakes. Some St Felicien for after. Then some chocolate squares.

Tuesday/27-Aug-19: Dinner out with Patrice&Wim tonight. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Wednesday/28-Aug-19: Off for a haircut today. Simple dinner of little Drôme raviolis with cilantro pesto from the freezer, followed by a salad with lots of home-grown tomatoes, followed by the last of the St Felicien, followed by some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/29-Aug-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Fish in a Boat, Asian Style (Desperation, p304), which was okay but nothing special. And some basmati rice sprinkled with a Japanese flavor topping that James sent us; we both thought this was unpleasantly sweet. And some Garlicky Green Beans (Desperation, p18), which were pretty good. Some store-bought cheesecake for dessert. (Too bad, we're going to have to finish this tomorrow.)

Friday/30-Aug-19: Dinner was Boudin Noir aux Pommes (web). This was pretty good stuff. Served with Spaetlze (from MW@Home). Then a big salad with lots of tomatoes from the potager. Then the rest of the store-bought cheesecake.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/31-Aug-19: Dinner out this evening. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Sunday/1-Sep-19: Deseeded, cooked, and buzzed a bunch of tomatoes this afternoon. Froze up 3 1-cup jars.

Dinner was Revoltillo—Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes and Peas (TLCarib, p71). This was okay, but maybe not the best of these scrambled egg dishes. Then a salad. Then some chaource. Then some chocolate-covered corn flakes. We're full.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: How to Eat for August, none for September
This month: #4 PASTA: no for August, no for September; #5 BREAD: no for August, no for September; #6 GUESTS: yes for August, no for September
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/19-Aug-19: Busy day today, a trip to the vet, a visit from the mayor and vice-mayor, and a trip to the gendarmerie. Didn't feel like cooking what was on the plan, so exchanged with tomorrow's meal.

We had a halfish version of Spicy Thai Basil Chicken (web). Chopped up some aiguillettes to use instead of ground chicken. This was fast and easy. Served with a bit of basmati rice. Some mini ice cream bars for dessert. Then the last bit of our Toulouse chocolate.

Tuesday/20-Aug-19: Dinner was a half dose of Tortino di Pomodori—Hot Tomato Pie (TuscTable, p108). Except for the part about peeling the tomatoes, this was really easy and very tasty. Then a salad. Then we finished the buttermilk ice cream

Wednesday/21-Aug-19: Dinner was a half dose of Poblanos Stuffed with Cheddar and Chicken (web). Simmered the chicken to cook and used the stock for long-grain brown rice. Had lots of that; froze up enough for some fried rice. English cheddar maybe wasn't the best cheese choice, but still it was quite edible. For second course, I made up a salad of home-grown tomatoes, feta, onions, cuke, and mint. Tasty. Chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/22-Aug-19: Shopping today.

Vanessa was on our porch today in spite of the Privé sign. Too much excitement with the maire and gendarmes. We think V actually called the gendarmes. I tried, but they sent me to the mairie. The answer machine message there gave me the maire's cell phone.

Dinner was Roast Cod with Upmarket Mushy Green Peas (How2Eat, p194). Used lieu noir instead of cod. The fish was slightly overdone, cooked much shorter time than asked. The mushy peas were good, certainly better than those from a can. Served with some small boiled potatoes. Chocolate custard things for dessert.

Friday/23-Aug-19: Made some Pineapple Upside-Down Cake (MC) using my old recipe, originally from Betty Crocker, but modified. The recipe in Joy of Cooking for this is a fancy cake with separated eggs. Not what this rustic cake is supposed to be.

I bought another packet of poblanos yesterday and we had a half recipe of Chiles Rellenos Casserole (CL90, p147). Pretty good stuff. Meant to make guacamole, but all four avocados in house were bad. Served with a tomato salad, almost a salsa sort of thing, that was pretty good. Ed's t-shirt showed his dinner, a splash of red wine, some tomato juice, and some caramel from the cake. Oh well.

Saturday/24-Aug-19: Nice afternoon with Cath, we went to the Marché des Potiers in Montbron, then to the art exhibit at the chateau there. It was nice in spite of being so hot, although the chateau was cool inside. We came home, had some tea, and then dinner.

We started with Salade de Mâche aux Magrets de Canard. Not sure where I found this recipe (I just wrote down the ingredients), but it's really simple and delicious. Per person: 4 tranches magret de canard seche, fat removed, 3 sun-dried tomatoes (I made lengthwise slices), 20g of pine nuts, and some parmesan shavings, all topped with a little vinaigrette.

Our main was Escalopines de Veau de Noix et de Roquefort (web). This was easy and super yummy. Used all the topping for slightly less meat. Served with pasta and pesto. Then some Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Nice dinner.

Sunday/25-Aug-19: Dinner from the freezer more or less. Ed barbecued that had marinated for a bit in charmoula. And the rest of the little potatoes I bought on Thursday with some cilantro pesto. And some Courgettes with Lemon, Caper Dressing (web). (Turns out I made these before, in nov14.) All were good. We finished the Pineapple Upside Down Cake for afters.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: How to Eat
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
This year: #7 PROJECT: no