This week in the kitchen

Monday/28-Dec-20: Used up some of my frozen turkey leg bits to make Chipotle Turkey and Corn Soup (MC). Good stuff. I do have some good recipes tucked away there in Mastercook. It's a shame I no longer have working version and don't want to bother with one of the new alternatives.

The schedule says I'm supposed to make dolmades tomorrow, for my "short" project for the year, but I really don't feel like another day of cooking.

Tuesday/29-Dec-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc today. 

Narrowed down my main course recipes for Friday to six. A start, sort of. Trying to avoid going to Intermarché until Saturday or Sunday mornning, or may even not at all this week.

Dinner was a halfish version of Riz Frit aux Chipolatas et aux Oeufs Brouillés (Régal; web). This wasn't bad, just a bit weird to have a fried rice with no oriental flavorings. Might have been better to stir the arugula into the fried rice and egg mixture for a brief bit of cooking. 

Yogurt on overnight. Overnight Bread on overnight too.

Wednesday/30-Dec-20: Baked the Overnight Bread this morning.

Dinner was a half dose of Penne with Leeks and Ricotta (Pickford, p52), using casareccia as the past. The ricotta sauce was quite good, but the roasted leeks seemed too sweet. It might have been better if the leeks had been sautéed rather than roasted. Then a small salad. Then the rest of the vanilla ice cream topped with a bit of crème de cacao.

Thursday/31-Dec-20: We exerted ourselves and finished off the meatloaf from tweede kerstdag today. We could had meatloaf sandwiches tomorrow, but we did the job tonight instead. Served with some pasta and peas&carrots. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/1-Jan-21: Our new year's day meal is here.

Yogurt on overnight. Overnight Bread brewing overnight.

Saturday/2-Jan-21: Baked off the Overnight Bread in the morning.

I used up a SE Asian-ish lentil stewy thing from the freezer, added water, shrimp and rice, and called it soup. Not great, but edible. More three king's cake for after.

Sunday/3-Jan-21: Dinner was Quiche Saumon et Brocoli (VPG), using the extra bit of salmon we got last week. Meant to make a salad but didn't have the oomph. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

Tweede kerstdag 2020

Mille-feuilles de al Mer Meatloaf Filled with Eggs Wrapped in Bacon Mashed Potatoes Braised Peas with Spring Onions and Lettuce Bûche de Noël au Choco-Marron

We like to invite someone to dinner on this day, and I suppose we could have legally, but we're still acting like we're in full quarantine, minimizing our contact with the outside world.

Our starter was a recipe that attracted me on the web recently, Mille-Feuille de la Mer (web), disks of smoked salmon layered with crab meat and herbs. This was very yummy.

For a main, we had Meatloaf Filled with Eggs Wrapped in Bacon; I think this was from Jamie Magazine, but I can't find on web. À la Alice B. Toklas, I used veal and pork, rather than beef and pork. The sliced green olives were a nice touch, but I think Toklas's meatloaf is still the best. The meatloaf cooked in a bundt pan in a bain marie setup, so the bacon was pretty soggy when I turned it out. I put it back in the oven on high to get the raw look out of it.

Served this with smashed potatoes and, more or less, Braised Peas with Spring Onions and Lettuce (web). The pea dish was especially good.

For dessert I finished the Bûche de Noël Maison au Choco-Marron (web). The chestnut filling and chocolate-chestnut icing were delicious. The cake itself was fiddly (as cakes with separated eggs always are), and broke into bits when I unrolled. it. Mostly hidden by the icing.

Lots of meatloaf and bûche for leftovers.

Christmas dinner 2020

Verrines de Foie Gras & Chutney de Mango Brochettes de Poulet au Magret Fumé et Polenta aux Trois Parfums Bill Hatcher's Amaretto Poached Pears with HomemadeVanilla Ice Cream

Neither of us felt especially hoiday-ish this year, so we were minimally decorative and not very festive. But we ate pretty well. 

Today's meal started with Verrines de Foie Gras & Chutney de Mango (web). I found a tin of foie gras i the the back of a cabinet needing to be used up. This recipe, which is titled as a papaya chutney, appealed because I knew Intermarché had had papayas recently. But not in the last two weeks. I decided mango would have to do instead. Upon reading the recipe closer, I saw that while the title and ingredient list included papaya, the instructions had you chopping mango. So that was that. Served this with baguette slices. We still have some of the tasty chutney to use up. 

For our main, we had Brochettes de Poulet au Magret Fumé et Polenta aux Trois Parfums (web). Of course I used regular polenta rather than the instant that was asked.  Ed wasn't especially fond of the flavored polentas (parmesan, basil, and sun-dried tomatoes), but I thought they were fun. Have lots of odd bits of these left, in the freezer now, for use in other dishes.

This morning I started to make a bûche for tonight's dinner, but when I got to making the filling, I discovered that only frozen butter was available, a long way to room-temperature butter. Oops. Maybe this worked out okay in the end, because I was getting pretty tired by this point. Plan B was an old favorite Bill Hatcher's Amaretto Poached Pears (MC) with homemade vanilla ice cream. This is easy and alway good, although not too much to look at.

We ate well, but not so much we were over-full.

This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Dec-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc today.

Made three labels for the Chipotle-Fig Jam yesterday, but only two arrived downstairs. A mystery. The jam is more than set now, so the extra sugar with pectin wasn't needed. Oh well.

Dinner was a half recipe of Roasted Cauliflower Gigli with Pine Nuts and Currants (web), using cockscombs (galetti, I think) instead of gigli. This was interesting, with the currants. I wasn't sure, but it left a pleasant taste in the mouth. Then a salad. Then we finished the bread pudding.

Tuesday/22-Dec-20: Before dinner, I started a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17). This loaf sank a lot again even though I reduced the amount of water. I've read before that sunken loave often have too much liquid, but I'll need to investigate that again. 

Leftover cornbread stuffing for dinner, with more gravy. HD mini ice cream cups for after. That's all.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/23-Dec-20: Using up my last skinless, boneless chicken thighs (not easily found here), dinner was a half recipes of Ginger Chicken (30MinInd, p42; cookbooker). Served with plain basmati rice and Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148). Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Overnight Bread on overnight.

Thursday/24-Dec-20: Baked off the Overnight Bread. So easy, so good.

Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today. Ordered 200g of salmon; asked for 300-350g in the comment. (Next lump to order was 400g, too much for two.) We got 440g. Needed only 125g for dinner, so I froze the larger piece.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Tagliatelles au Saumon et Poireau; (VPG); can find it on the web although the clipping says the recipe can be found on their site. Not. Still, it was easy and good. I used way more curry powder than asked for the full recipe. Then a salad. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Didn't have the oomph to make the bûche for tomorrow. Hope I manage to get everything done on the day.

Friday/25-Dec-20: Started a bûche this morning, then discovered that Ed had neglected to get the next block of butter out of the freezer when he refilled the butter dish. Oops. Replan. This was our meal. 

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/26-Dec-20: 

I was busy all day cooking and pooped by the time we sat down to eat. This was our meal.

Should start bread to bake in the morning, but really have no energy.

Sunday/27-Dec-20: Made some 100% Whole Wheat Bread (BigGerman, p81) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-). Used the end of the jar of honey, about 3tbl rather than the 1/4cup asked. This was an improvement. The best whole wheat bread. 

For lunch we had meatloaf sandwiches and a slice of bûche.

Dinner was Chipotle-Lime Cauliflower Tacos (web). Sounds a bit weird but it was good. Served with some of my refried black bean mix, a quickie sort of guacamole, jalapeño strips, feta, cilantro, and corn tortillas. And another slice of bûche.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/14-Dec-20: Made up some turkey stock today. Still on the way to a dinner of cornbread stuffing. Didn't get the cornbread made, so it might be another day yet.

Used some of the confiture de myrtilles that came with our gourmet panier (substitute for this year's old folks' dinner) to make Jam Tea Cake (MC). Pretty good stuff.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Curried Crab (Oriental, #77). This turned out ok, but the recipe is a mess. The picture shows a reddish curry; instead it was yellowish (turmeric). Whole spices are added (fenugreek seeds and peppercorns) that should have been ground. It wants you to make coconut milk from scratch. The total liquid would give you soup rather than a curry. Still, it was edible. Served very basmati rice, with some Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148). Then some Jam Tea Cake. We're full.

Tuesday/15-Dec-20: Finished off the turkey stock and picked the bone; might made some turkey salad for lunch from these bits. Froze up the turkey bits I sliced off the bone yesterday; at least two meals there.

Didn't get cornbread made and didn't feel like making my alternative, so I made Curried Lamb in Pita Bowls (Desperation, p196) with ground beef. This is easy, fast, and good. Jam Tea Cake for after. We're stuffed.

Wednesday/16-Dec-20: Last night I measured out the dry ingredients for a loaf of bread. This morning I realized that, since it was a whole wheat bread, it wouldn't be ready before I had to leave. Duh. So. Instead I made a 3# loaf Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-), with the addition of 1/8tsp of baking soda, since that seems to be the difference between this and "English Muffin Bread". I was in a hurry and didn't run my poor old machine empty for a bit at the start. Mistake. Out with the dough; let it run a bit, then start it up again. Good bread in the end.

Off to get a haircut in the afternoon.

Dinner was a halfish version of Easy Smoked Sausage Skillet (web), sort of. Garlic, minced not crushed; fresh broccoli; long-grain brown rice instead of instant. Easy and pretty good. More tomato sauce might be good. A bit of smoked paprika might be good. Some Lindt chocolate squares for after.

Thursday/16-Dec-20: Made a loaf of 100% Whole Wheat Bread (BigGerman, p81) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-). Yesterday's French bread, is just so-so, but this one is delicious. A surprisingly high loaf, given it's 100% whole wheat. 

Worked a lot on the meal plans for our holiday meals. Leclerc Drive's site has been down all afternoon and evening, so that makes things a bit difficult.

Dinner was Easy Falafel Curry (web). This was easy and pretty tasty. It should have served three, but the two of us ate it all. Over long-grain brown rice. A pair of of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/18-Dec-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché today. They had lamb legs on a really good sale, so I got one of those even though the freezer is more than full.

Made a pan of cornbread for tomorrow's stuffing dinner.

Dinner was a halfish dose New England Fish Chowder (EAT-L). Pretty good stuff. A pair of of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/19-Dec-20: For the last two Thanksgivings, we've missed out on Chef Paul Prudhomme's Cornbread Dressing (MC; web), a holiday favorite. So tonight we had that for dinner. I used the turkey stock I made for the dressing and to make some gravy. (Following Hom's definition in HomVeg, i.e., chicken stock is vegetarian, I'm going to call this a veggie dinner.) Yum. Mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/20-Dec-20: I used the ends of two breads to make some Double Boiler Bread Pudding (MC; HandyBook) today. Good stuff. But I forgot again to actually make some bread. And my stash in the freezer is getting low. Not wanting to go into the grocery till a couple of weeks after the holiday, so I need to be careful here. 

Also made a recipe of Homemade Chipotle Fig Jam (web). I made about 1.5 recipe since I had a 500g package of fig*. My few licks were pretty tasty, but it didn't seem to set up properly. In the end I added more lemon juice and some sucre pour confiture. We'll see how it turns out. Had a look at Juipter-Saturn while this was going. *I had a failure of arithmetic when I ordered the (bio) figs. After using one package, I still have four more to use.

In the end, I didn't feel like making what was on the plan for dinner and neither of us felt like going for pizza, so we had the leftover Curried Beef with Pita. And some bread pudding. We're full.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-Dec-20: Baked off my Overnight Bread this morning. I left the kitchen and missed the dinger for taking the lid off; wandered back some time later. Took the lid off to find it nicely browned and nicely done. I thought that taking off the lid was for browning and crisping the crust, but now I'm not sure.

Picked up and order from Leclerc Drive today.

Dinner was a two-thirds-ish recipe of Ragoût d'Ignames—Lamb-and-Yam Stew (TLAfrica, p37). This took some time, but it was easy to do. Tasty, and not at all spicy. Served over some whole-wheat couscous, although I don't suppose that was really necessary. Finished the Crème au Chocolate for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/8-Dec-20: Dinner was, more or less, a halfish recipe of Croquettes de Thon aux Olives (VPG). Can't find this on the web. It's not really croquettes, as I know them, but tuna patties, with ricotta, parmesan, black olives, an egg, and flour. These are breaded, in the usual way, flour, beaten egg, and crunchy bit. Instead of chapelure, I used some crunchy stuff I made up recently (but can't remember what for) and didn't use up. These were pretty good. The veg was carrot, cauliflower, and broccoli with lemon juice and home-made herb salt. Some French "short spaghetti" as a go-with. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/9-Dec-20: Dinner was Red Pork Curry—Gaeng Ped Muu (ThaiCC, p45). These was easy and good. Having no bamboo shoots on hand, I used zucchini, as suggested. Served with basmati rice and our favorite Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (HandyBook; web). And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/10-Dec-20: Forgot to start Overnight Bread last night, so I made some English Muffin Bread (BMB,  p17). Must have measure the 7/8cup water a bit long; the top is pretty caved in. But tasty.

Caught a mouse in the kitchen today.

This afternoon I added labels for all the breads I've baked this year, at least all the ones I've recorded. Since I know I'm making two or three loaves a week, it's clear I've not written all of them down. This is mostly to satisfy my curiosity about what I've been making.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Sumac Chicken with Cauliflower and Carrots (CL/jan-feb17; web). This was a sheet-pan dinner, easy to do and very tasty. For after we shared a bit of cake we bought at a charity shop this afternoon.

Friday/11-Dec-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today.

We got our "gourmet panier" today from the commune, in lieu of this year's old folks meal. There were several jars of rillettes from a local shop. We opened one of those and snacked as I was cooking.

Dinner was a half recipe of Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa (web). Since the pieces we got were of different thicknesses, I baked them in the oven. Easy to make and very tasty. Served with trio rice and Zucchini with Cilantro Sauce (MWLowFat, p335; MC); that's an old favorite that well with the rest of the meal.

Made up the batter for Overnight Bread

Saturday/12-Dec-20: Baked the Overnight Bread.

Roasted a turkey leg today, on the way to making some cornbread stuffing for a meal. 

Dinner was Curried Fried Rice (MW@Home, p226), this time with curry powder rather than a Thai curry paste. An easy and comforting dish. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/13-Dec-20: Picked the turkey leg this afternoon. The drumstick was pretty done, but the thigh was still pretty red. And I thought it was overdone yesterday. Tomorrow I'll measure and freeze it up in packets for later use.

Dinner was Curried Green Pea Soup (TooMany, p155), complete with turkey bits. This is an old favorite. We had some  rillettes on bread and crackers beforehand, so didn't need dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/30-Nov-20: Picked up an order at Leclerc today. Dinner was a halfish version of A Night in Tunisia (web), which sounded good, but was only so-so. Followed by a big salad. And more pumpkin cake.

Tuesday/1-Dec-20: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Gulai Udang Dengan Labu Kuning—Shrimp and Zucchini Curry (TLPacSEA, p81). I wonder what the veg should have been,since I don't think of zucchini as a Malayan veggie. And I bet the lemon juice should have been lime. Nevertheless, it was good stuff. Served over basmati rice. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/2-Dec-20: We're out of bread, so this evening I made another loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17).

Dinner was a big half of Rigatoni with White Bolognese (Essential, p344; cookbooker). I used 5% ground beef and 8oz of Hazan's Italian sausage from the freezer, which made about a pound and a quarter altogether, when 2# was asked for the whole recipe. No celery in house; I added some dried celery leaves to the carrots and onions. Happened to have some rigatoni, so used that. Very good. Then a small salad. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/3-Dec-20: Dinner was about a third recipe of Braised Balsamic Chicken (web). This was pretty easy and pretty good. Took the skin off the thighs, since we don't like that braised. Nice sauce. Served with polenta and a little made-up salad of cuke and radish. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after (the last sack expiring tomorrow).

Friday/4-Dec-20: Made some Apple Chipotle Jelly (Raichlen1, p215) this morning. The recipe calls for an enormous amount of sugar. On the web, I found that jellies made with apple juice generally asked for +/- twice the amount of sugar as juice. (I used sucre pour confiture that has the pectin already added.) Given that cider vinegar was part of liquid (three cups in total), I used three cups of sugar. Tastes good, but it hasn't jelled up. 

 

Dinner was a halfish dose of Lasagne coi Gamberi e Canestrelli—Lasagne with Prawns and Scallops (ClassPasta, p142). This was barely seasoned, just tasty with the shellfish and the bechamel. Pretty good, but nothing special. Then a salad. Then some mini HD ice cream cups.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/5-Dec-20: Made a loaf of Maple Oatmeal Bread (BMB, p41) (Basic/Rapid/S/m/-), using only 1/4cup maple syrup as my previous notes said. The loaf turned out very high; maybe cook as Medium, even though flour-wise it's Small. It's a tasty bread but too soft inside, which makes it hard to cut.

Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today. Annoyingly several items were not included, even though they are still in the assortment on the site. Think someone was rushed and didn't feel like collecting the items. Ordered a bit of rumsteack for a beefy meal sometime; it's thin and the size of a small placemat! Ordered a turkey leg to roast for making gravy to go with a cornbread stuffing dinner we're going to have before long. Weighty thing, it's 1.638kg; I've had turkeys not much bigger than that!

 

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Boulettes de Poisson Blanc, Sauce Piquante (VPG; web; mine). I'm puzzled by what was piquante in the sauce, but it was good nevertheless. For the tomato sauce, I used a bit of Marcella Hazan's famous tomato sauce from the freezer; I added a bit of Cajun spice mix along the way. A marinara-ish sauce might work too. I used a moulinette to grind the (fresh, not frozen) fish, but I expect the cuisinart would work just fine. I added some cilantro to the fish. I did not add the oil to the pan before cooking the fish balls in the sauce. Served over long-grain brown rice (fiber!) with some lemon-sprinkled steamed broccoli. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Sunday/6-Dec-20: Didn't feel like making what was one the plan, and the cooking of that will work better tomorrow, so I made a halfish dose of Shrimp and Leek Spaghetti (CL; web). This was easy, quick, and good. While I was making that, I also made some Crème au Chocolate Express (mine). We should have had three nights of these, but I managed to drop one of the  bakjes as I put it away, leaving a half-ful dish and a mess on the floor. Ed ate the remaining half and we'll make two servings from the remaining three dishes. 

 

Made the batter for Overnight Bread.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: yes 

This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Nov-20: Made some Cranberry-Port Relish (MC; web) for Thanksgiving. Prepped the pork for tomorrow's meal.

Dinner was from a food truck—yay, no cooking!

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/24-Nov-20: Dinner was Pork Vindaloo (Q&E, p33). Cooked this off in the crockpot, since we were away a good part of the day. Served with plain basmati rice, Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJFamily, p173) (cooked in a cast iron skillet with no extra oil), and Yoghurt with Cucumber and Mint—Kheere ka Raita (MJ1, p162). All are old favorites.

Wednesday/25-Nov-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17) in the morning. Delicious bread, but tiny 2# loaf.

Made up the roulades for tomorrow's meal. Baked a pumpkin cake.

Dinner from the freezer, chicken adobo stew, served over brown rice, with a salad. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/26-Nov-20: Yes, it's Thanksgiving, with a doctor's appointment in the middle of the day, which limited what could be done.

For the table, I trimmed the little tulips we got from Intermarché last week. They have held up remarkably well. Dutch tulips in a Delftware vase.

We started with Smoked Salmon with Dill-Mustard Sauce, (VegHarv, p4). I've made this nice little starter before. The rolls of salmon look pretty lonely on the plate some I added some sliced cucumbers, which go nicely with the sauce.

For our main, we again had mini versions Shane's Turkey Roll using turkey scallops. I really do have to write up his recipe to save it properly. These were accompanied by: 

• Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries & Pecans (web). Picked the sprouts up at a Drive this morning, so didn't have time for marinating as I often do. (We like marinated roasted sprouts as a starter.) This was a new recipe and definitely a keeper. I thought I'd ordered 500g of sprouts, but it was only 250g (and ended up being on sale, although the quality was fine, just a mix of sizes, big and small), which is barely enough for two.
• Started out to make Tornado Potatoes (web), but failed at the cutting, so I turned them into hasselback potatoes with the same coating. (I've got lots of the coating left. It might end up on something else in the next days.) And, of course, there was ...
• Cranberry-Port Relish (MC, web), which is my standard recipe, much liked here and very easy. Unfortunately took the picture before I added cranberry sauce to the plate, so it looks a bit colorless.

For dessert, there was Pumpkin Cake (MC), another favorite, although not so old. We'll be eating it for days, but it keeps well. 

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/27-Nov-20: Dinner was, sort of, Salmon Leek Pie with Lemon Dill Crust (PotPies, p132). I had bits of salmon and of lieu noir in the freezer, so I used those together rather than all salmon. Instead of the lemon-dill crust, I used smashed potatoes with dill and lemon zest added. Pretty good it was. Followed by a salad. Then some pumpkin pie. 

Forgot to make bread during the day, so

Saturday/28-Nov-20: I used a new recipe to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Oops, recipe didn't work very well. I poured all the batter in the pan and made a kind of pancake cake. Edible, but not pretty.

Scallops were supposed to be on the menu tonight. But the two packages that were supposed to be freezer weren't to be found. I'm puzzled where they've gone since we haven't had scallops in a while. While rummaging through the freezer, I found a package of gyozas, pork-and-kimchi, that I found at Leclerc Drive. I steamed those, made some rice, a bit of dipping sauce (web), and a salad of shredded chineeskool, broccoli stems, carrot, and red onion, with a ginger-sesame dressing. All was pretty good. Have another package of plain pork gyozas for another night. Pumpkin cake for after.

Made up some batter for Overnight Bread.

Sunday/29-Nov-20: Baked the Overnight Bread this morning. Ed insists this is his all-time favorite. He also said I could do the pancake cake again. 

An easy dinner, Curried Fried Rice (MW@Home, p226), which is an old favorite. I didn't cook the rice ahead and chill it as one should; I just cooled it on a big plate. Used red Thai curry paste for the curry bit. It was good. Some mini ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 2; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/16-Nov-20: My sack of chicken bones in the freezer overfloweth, so I started a pot of stock today.

Dinner was Fennel-Leek Frittata with Goat Cheese and Black Olives (Bishop, p84; cookbooker). This was quite tasty, plus it was easy and quick. Then a salad. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/17-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) (Basic/Rapid/M/m/-), with 2c T65 and 1c T110. This is the recipe I used to make by heart. It's supposed to be baked in the oven, but I don't believe I've ever done that. It comes out quite nice from the bread machine.

Dinner was Chile-Garlic Shrimp (MC; CL/apr08; web), a recipe I've made a number of times. Broccoli in the sauce, and served over brown rice. Spice chocolate ice cream for after.

Wednesday/18-Nov-20: I boned the leftover chicken from Sunday and we had soft tacos with guacamole and pico de gallo. Satisfying. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/19-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Whole-Wheat Soda Bread (Magic, p66) this morning. Haven't tried it yet.

Dinner was soup from the freezer, and good it was. Followed by a big salad. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/20-Nov-20: Put a rouelle of ham on to brine today, following Adler's instructions (Everlasting, p169).

Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today, so it was fish for dinner. I ordered three packets of four chicken thighs (three because thighs frequently don't show up, eve though ordered, and we're out), and was puzzled when there were four packets. Two of them, it turns out were short-life products, expiring today, and about a third the price. Quick into the freezer with them.

Dinner was a half recipe of Gratin de Poisson et Pomme de Terre (VPG). This was okay, if nothing special. Followed by a salad.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/21-Nov-20: Brined the chunk of pork like Adler suggested, and cooked it the same way, Pork Roast (Everlasting, p169). Very yummy. Planned on smashed sweet potatoes as a go-with, but happened to read about using chopped broccoli sautéed in olive oil with garlic, served over linguine and sprinkled with chopped fermented black beans (Colwin2, p195), and did that instead, with tagliatelle. All was good. Buddy and Sophie enjoyed some fatty treats after. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Started a batch of Overnight Bread.

Sunday/22-Nov-20: Baked off the Overnight Bread. Yum.

We're not sure why, but our Intermarché order also included a bos of tiny white tulips. These have prettily opened a pale pink.

Froze up almost four liters of chicken stock. I've boiled it up every day, and even added to it, but it's time to be finished. Smells good.

Dinner was Thai Black Pepper Chicken (MC), with skinless, boneless chicken thighs. (These are mightily have to come by here; only one more packet in the freezer and no way to get more, since they're not carried at any Drive that I attend.) Good stuff. I got this recipe ages ago from the Guild of Food Writers' site; it seems they no longer have recipes. Too bad. Anyhow, it's good. Served with Broccoli in Oyster Sauce (Delightful, p58), an old favorite, and plain basmati rice. Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/9-Nov-20: Dinner was a half dose of an old Allerhande recipe, Farfalle with Smoked Salmon Sauce and Broccoli (MC). Didn't really have enough salmon, but that was okay. Used mafalda, which is much nicer, instead of farfalle. Mini cups of HD ice cream for after.

Tuesday/10-Nov-20: Yogurt on overday. 

Made a loaf of Italian Bread (BigGerman, p17) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-). All T65 flour.

Dinner was Sheet-Pan Harissa Chicken with Carrots and Cauliflower (web). This was good, It's easy to make, but takes a bit of time. It's a one-dish meal. I had four thighs, so made a half recipe. The half dose of the marinade was just enough for the thighs; I had to make up a bit more for the veggies. We pigged out for afters and had 1) a cube of Pavé s'Affinois (cheese), 2) a slice of the new bread (yes!), and 3) two squares of chocolate.

Wednesday/11-Nov-20: Dinner was an halfish dose of Butternut Squash with Pecans and Blue Cheese (web), made with the remains of last week's potimarron. Unfortunately some of the squash got a bit past the done state. Served over short-grain brown rice. Good as a whole; would have been better without burnt squash. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/12-Nov-20: Picked up a grocery order from Intermarché today, so it was fish for dinner. 

We had Trota Salmonata all'Aceto Balsamico (TuscKitch, p139), with regular salmon instead of salmon trout. I thought about doing it in a skillet like last week's one-sided salmon, but instead baked in it in the oven. It was good. Served with polenta and steamed broccoli.

Friday/13-Nov-20: Made another loaf of Italian Bread (BigGerman, p19) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-), this time using 2cups bread flour (T65) and 1cup white whole wheat flour (T110). I didn't remember that I'd made the large loaf last time, so there are two variables in this loaf.

Dinner was a half recipe of Farfalle with Cauliflower and Turkey Sausage (web; CL/dec08). Pretty good stuff, and easy. I used more sausage than asked (four of six in the package, the other two will make sandwiches for lunch), but it didn't feel like too much. Should have made a salad, but was too lazy.

Saturday/14-Nov-20: Made up the chocolate broth for tomorrow's ice cream, and put the chickie on to marinate. No more oomph for cooking, so it was pizza for dinner.

Sunday/15-Nov-20: Made a 1-1/2# loaf of DeDe's Buttermik Bread (MagicHints, p142, which is slightly different from the same recipe in Magic, p16) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). I used 2cups of bread flour (T65) and 1cup of white whole wheat flour (T110). Good stuff.

It was a special meal today because it was Ed's birthday and we couldn't go out. We started with artichoke bottoms, spread with green tapenade, topped with a bit of chabichou (a localish goat cheese), run under the broiler till it's all melty and the cheese is turning browning. 

Our main was Butterflied Grilled Chicken with a Chile-Lime Rub (web), with the chicken cooked like this. Very yummy it was. We had grits, and broccoli-and-corn for sides. 

Dessert was Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream (Scoop, p29), which is still yummy.

We ate well, but no pictures.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/2-Nov-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc today.

Another week, another day when I didn't feel like making what was on the meal plan. Sigh. Instead we had Warm Broccoli and Potato Salad (MDSalads, p15), an old standby. Satisfying and good, as always. Store-bought riz au laits for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/3-Nov-20: Dinner a halfish dose of Pappardelle with Butternut and Blue Cheese (web). Used a potimarron instead of a butternut; half of the cubes went into the freezer. Roquefort for the cheese, because that's what there was. Pretty good stuff. The other pair of store-bought riz aus laits for after.

Wednesday/4-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Buckwheat Bread (BigGerman, p38) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-). Very tasty, nice texture

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Grenadins de Porc à la Crème (VPG; web), thick slices of varkenshaas with a sauce of crème fraîche and shrooms. Served with the last of some kind of pasta, I think it was kind of whole wheat fusilli, not very tasty. And some corn, peas, and red bell pepper (from the freezer, that). Some squares of chocolate after.

Thursday/5-Nov-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today.

Dinner was a half recipe of Saumon à l'Unilateral Chardenoux (BistroWells, p145), skin-on salmon fillets cooked in butter without turning. Served with Smoked Potatoes (BistroWells, p146) as suggested. Then a salad of sucrines, beets, and onion with some of the dressing left from Monday's broccoli-potato salad. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/6-Nov-20: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Chicken Fajitas with Spiralized Zucchini and Peppers (Spiral, p126). Pretty good, if not fantastic. The recipe isn't very well written, e.g., ingredients whose use is divided between steps are not indicated as divided. I used my new Oxo spiralizer (single blade). I gave the electric one to a charity shop, a big clunky thing (four blades) that I didn't use very much. The Oxo one is small and make better spirals for just a bit of effort. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/7-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Buttermilk Bread (BigGerman, p18) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Pretty good stuff. Made with 2cups T65 (bread flour) and 1cup T110 (white whole wheat flour). 

Dinner was Egg Noodles with Goat Cheese Sauce (web). This was simple and good, but I forgot to notice that it was meant as a starter, not as a main. Followed by a big salad. Then Ed had some bread with more goat cheese. And some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/8-Nov-20: Yesterday's Buttermilk Bread being almost gone, I made a loaf of Oatmeal Bread (BigGerman, p26) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-).

After last night's dinner, I developed an itch for something Thai or otherwise SE Asian. We had a halfish recipe of Spicy Ground Chicen—Laab Gai (Delightful, p91). This was pretty darn good, in spite of the face that I was out of limes. (Used lemon juice instead.) Served with Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web), my go-to Thai salad recipe. For "dessert" we each had a slice of Oatmeal Bread.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/26-Oct-20: Baked off the Overnight Bread. Cooked the rest of the hominy that didn't go into last night's Posole. Started another batch of Oven-Dried Tomatoes (HandyBook).  

Dinner was a half recipe of Linguine à ls Crème de Roquette (VPG). I have an idea this was supposed to be a side dish, but it was a fine main. I used spaghettoni from the freezer, rather than linguine. It was kind of a creamy pesto thing. Then a salad of sliced tomatoes (no more from the potager :-( ). And some chocolate-covered madeleines for afters. All while watching Beth en Flo. 

Tuesday/27-Oct-20: Dinner was Aubergine, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Pizza (Flavours, p123). This was tasty, but ... I made their Pizza Dough (Flavours, p122), of which I supposedly needed only half, so I planned to freeze the rest. No. This was enough to make pizzas for two. The onions took lots more than 30 minutes to caramelize properly. The pizzas were quite good, with the onions, grilled eggplant slices and pesto, topped with feta. Same stuff might be good over brown rice or some such. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/28-Oct-20: Picked up our new glasses today.

 

Dinner was Lamb Pilaf (GreenBook) using lamb bits from the freezer. This is a recipe I collected in Houston, no idea where. I maybe made it one time in NL. And now once in France. Good stuff though. It serves 4-6. Two of us ate it all, that is, I ate one third, Ed ate two thirds. Then a big salad, a package of mâche-roquette with a beet. We were full.

Thursday/29-Oct-20: Went off for a haircut today. On the way home I remembered I'd forgotten to defrost for tonight's dinner. Oops. When I got back I took a package of duck aiguillettes out of the freezer and put them in some lukewarm water to defrost until they could be separated. From these, I made Aiguillettes de Canard Caramélisées au Balsamique (web). This was simple, fast, and yummy. I used only one tablespoon of sugar (sucre de canne), rather than four, and this felt almost too much. But very tasty. Served with trio rice, and some sautéed mushrooms, and some steamed broccoli with a dash of lemon.

 

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/31-Oct-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Harissa Shrimp and Chickpeas (web). This wasn't bad. I used the harissa we get from a tube here, about 1tbl for the half recipe; this was mildly hot, nothing challenging. Served over trio rice. For dessert, I made Sara Lee's Crumb Cake (MC), which isn't really Sara Lee, but is pretty good nevertheless. Easy to make because I do it all in the cuisinart.

Saturday/31-Oct-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Thai-Style Scallops-in-a-Packet (MWClass, p366; MC), made with cod rather than scallops. (The recipe suggests scrod or tilapia; any firm white fish would do.) This is pretty tasty, an easy one-dish meal. More of the Sara Lee Crumb Cake for after.

Sunday/1-Nov-20: What are meal plans for anyhow? I was busy with something today, so didn't have time or energy for dish A. (I need to remember to start that in the morning, so I have the oomph to finish it.) Then there was dish B. In the end I didn't have the oomph for that. Instead there were cèpe raviolis alla panna. With a salad. And we finished the Sara Lee Crumb Cake for after. We're full.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/19-Oct-20: Picked up an order at Leclerc Drive today. 

Dinner was a half dose of Pasta Cream Bean Dream (Ainsley3, p148). The beans were some of the snijbonen we got at Carrefour last week. This was easy, fast, and yummy. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

Mixed beans to soak for tomorrow.

Tuesday/20-Oct-20: Off for new glasses this morning and to the doctor this afternoon. 

Made a beany soup with ancho-soaking liquid from the freezer. Good stuff. I also defrosted some pork-cooking liquid, but it was too much for the beans I have. Later. Some store-bought chocolate mousses for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/21-Oct-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17). Even though I  measured the water short as I usually do, the loaf was still caved in. But tasty. I'll cut it back further still next time. Would like to make this as a larger loaf; the only thing I don't like about this book is that all the loaves are small.

I couldn't find the cookbook I was meant to cook dinner from, so quickly assembled another menu. We had Cajun Salmon Burgers (web), as patties, without a bun. And Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (HandyBook). And some grits. Some store-bought riz au laits for after. Still haven't found the cookbook.

Thursday/22-Oct-20: Dinner was Cauliflower, Garlic and Turmeric Soup (web). On her site, lots of people liked it, but I didn't find it a Nigella hit. The potato made it gooey. It was in desperate need of salt and pepper (my bouillon cube was salt-free). A good shot of jalapeño tabasco didn't hurt (Ed used regular tabasco). Served with tuna salad sandwiches.

Friday/23-Oct-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BigGerman, p15) (Basic/Rapid/M/d). This is very similar, but bigger, than the loaf from BMB. It’s one I used to make a lot in NL. 

Dinner was Creamy Coq au Vin with Mustard and Mushrooms (Mustard, p161). I used only two kip filets, but made all the very yummy sauce. This was very good. Served with long-grain brown rice and some carrots and snijbonen chunks with lemon juice and home-made seasoned salt. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

Saturday/24-Oct-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché doay, so there was fish for dinner tonight. We had Seared Salmon with Pesto Fettuccine (web). This was easy-easy and a passable meal. Lacking  whole wheat fettuccine, we had whole wheat spaghetti. Then there was one of those Frenchish grated carrot salad. And mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/25-Oct-20: Dinner was, sort of, Papa's Posole (MC). Shortly before the computer that ran Mastercook died, I had moved Soups&Stews from my main cookbook to a separate cookbook. And forgot about it, causing a small panic when I was looking for this recipe. I made a halfish recipe using the last of the sauté de porc that I bought recently. (The rest got made into some of Hazan's Italian Sausage.) Used some pork-cooking juice from the freezer for the stock. Started in the morning and finished the cooking in the crockpot while we were out. Some guacamole and tortillas as go-withs.

Yogurt on overnight. Overnight Bread on, yes, overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/12-Oct-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc today after French. Mostly staples.

Dinner was a half recipe of Chicken Breasts Cooked in Mustard and Yoghurt (Flavours, p168). This was easy, just a few minutes to assemble the marinade, and very tasty. Might do it again with pork chops before long. Served with Cauliflower Cachumbar (MJ@Home, p242), which I've made before with grated broccoli stems. This was good, but a might tingly because the chili I used was unexpectedly hot. And some trio rice. Some store-bought riz au lait for after.

Tuesday/13-Oct-20: Not a good day altogether. Gloomy.

Dinner was a half dose of Moroccan Chickpea Tagine with Harissa (MC), an oldy-but-goody recipe I've made several times. Made a little garlic-yogurt sauce to take the heat off the cachumber, but we didn't need any more food. The other two store-bought riz au lait for after.

Mixed up some Overnight Bread.

Wednesday/14-Oct-20: Decided during the day what we would eat, meal planning being a bit behind schedule.

We has a halfish recipe of Sauted (sic) Shrimp with Lemon Grass—Pad Pak Goong (Delightful, p71). This was pretty good considering how easy it was. Next time I might mince the lemongrass, rather than leaving in it 2" lengths. Served over basmati rice with Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web). I've put this in my HandyBook, since it's my go-to recipe for a SE Asian salad. Used my last bit of red onion for the shrimp, so used several shallots for the salad. A pair of chocolate-coated madeleines each for after.

Thursday/15-Oct-20: Lunch out today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Friday/16-Oct-20: Did a little touristing, then picked up an order at Carrefour Drive. They had lieu noir for fresh fish, although not the dos (back) that I usually get at Leclerc. I trimmed the bony bit off, leaving the dos. I cut two servings from it and put the rest in the freezer. 

We had Nigel Slater's Hake with Pea Salsa (web). This was ok. The pea salsa was too sweet, I'm not sure if it was the peas themselves or if the vinegar (white wine) was too sweet. Edible, but nothing to do again. Served with taglitelle. And a pair of chocolate-coated madeleines each for after.

Saturday/17-Oct-20: We had lunch late, and the kitchen was still a wreck this evening while Ed was fixing a leak. I made a quickie dinner, Spaghetti with Pecorino and Black Pepper (MW@Home, p194). Used whole wheat spaghetti. This is really yummy for minimal work. For dessert we had yogurt with blueberries.

Sunday/18-Oct-20: A use-me-up dinner tonight. Along with whole wheat couscous, we had Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p17), leftover Cauliflower Cachumber with the garlicy yogurt sauce I madeup, South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147), and Carrots with Cilantro (MJ@Home, p149). All things we've had before, and very tasty. Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/5-Oct-20: I didn't go to French today, and Ed ended up picking up our order at Leclerc.

Dinner was a third recipe of Tajine de Calamars au Tandoori (Régal hor-série #17), using this recipe for the tandoori spice. Served over basmati rice. Okay, nothing special. Some mini ice cream cups for after.

Tuesday/6-Oct-20: Replenished my stock of Ground Roasted Cumin (MJ1, p17). Can't do too much because it's rather difficult to find cumin seeds at the convenient Drives.

Dinner was leftover Toulouse sausages and roasted veggies. Pretty good stuff. Then a salad. Then the rest of the Far de Pruneaux.

Wednesday/7-Oct-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17). This bread has such a nice texture.

Dinner was Nigel Slater's recipe for Aubergine with Feta, Cashews, and Ras el Hanout (web). I printed this on 16-Jun; on 18-Jun, it was amended to included cashew in the instructions. Can't say I missed them. This was easy and very satisfying. Served over brown rice. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Blogger has "improved" their format and editing. It's all horrible and things just don't work. E.g., can''t add a tag because that bit is broken. Think it's time to consider wordpress, which is where most bloggers seem to be working these days.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/8-Oct-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché this afternoon, 

Made some of Guilano Hazan's Homemade Sausage (30MinPasta, p161). Used most of the sauté de porc we got this week, freezing a bit of it for a stew or curry. 

Didn't have the oomph to make what was on the plan. Instead I made a quick one from the Do-me-again list, Baked Salmon with Cucumber Relish (web). The fish is yummy; thought the relish was a bit too sweet even though I cut back the honey. Served with trio rice. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/9-Oct-20: Finished reading A Tuscan in the Kitchen on the way to and from Civray this afternoon. I picked this up because someone receommended it, but can't remember who.  It's definitely a good read. An interesting style of presentation for the ingredients, grouped into Pantry, Cold Storage, and Market. Have marked just a few recipes to try. This is a candidate for recycling, but I think I'll keep it for at least one more round because it's such an enjoyable book.

Dinner was a two-serving can of Langue de Boeuf Sauce Piquante, piquant being with mustard, not with anything truly piquant. Served with Whole Wheat Spaetzle (web). This was okay but not as good as my regular (white flour) recipe. The batter was very runny and had no need of being pushed through the spaetzle gadget. Might try my regular recipe with whole wheat flour and maybe add a tad extra milk if it's seems too thick. Butter cookies for after.

Saturday/10-Oct-20: Dilly-dallied in the afternoon and didn't have time or energy to make what was on the plan. Instead I defrosted some chicken sausages to grill and made some potato salad à la Joy of Cooking. Some mini ice cream cups for after.

Yogurt on overnight. Started Overnight Bread.

Sunday/11-Oct-20: Baked off the bread this morning. Really didn't feel like cooking this afternoon. We had pizza instead.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/28-Sep-20: Dinner was Pasta with Arugula Pesto (VegPlanet, p85). Served half of this tonight over whole wheat spaghetti. Froze the rest for another night (to be finished with Parmesan, salt and a pinch of cayenne). Then a sliced tomato each, with mozzarella and basil. Then some tapioca pudding.

Tuesday/29-Sep-20: Dinner was Vegetarian Korma (pdf). It's adapted from a recipe here, using coconut milk instead of cream and a whole red bell pepper instead of halves of green and red. I used ground almonds, easily available, instead of ground cashews. Not bad stuff. Finished the tapioca pudding for after.

Wednesday/30-Sep-20: Really didn't feel like cooking what was on the plan. Instead I made Linguine with Shrimp and Zucchini (30MinPasta, p108. This isn't a favorite from this book, but suited the time and ingredients at hand. Then a little salad of sucrines and avocado. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/1-Oct-20: Dinner was the chicken version of Tandoori Chicken (or Salmon) (web), a Mark Bittmann recipe. Quite good. I didn't wipe off enough of the marinade, so that was a bit burnt, but the chicken was yummy. Served with Carrots with Cilantro (MJ@Home, p149) and Tomato Pullao (MJ@Home, p211). I didn't do that last one pilaf-style, but used the blended tomatoes as the liquid to cook like regular rice on the stovetop. Pretty good.

Friday/2-Oct-20: The wok burner, which was leaking gas, got fixed this a.m.

Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive.

Cleaned a shelf of food literature today and put a bunch of books in the recycle box. Hard to let some of them go, but I won't read them again, so no point in keeping them. Put several that had lots of stickies back on shelf. Need to go through those and save any recipes that need saving.

Dinner was One-Pan Fabulous Fish (web), with cod. Fabulous, maybe not. Easy and fast and a one-pot meal, yes. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Saturday/3-Oct-20: After getting a bowl and platter down for serving dinner, I tripped over a stepstool and fell, breaking both dishes. Ed said Uh-oh and continued doing what he was doing, without asking or looking how I was. I know how I rate now.

Dinner was Sheet Pan Sausage and Potatoes (web). The string beans (haricots verts) I ordered for Friday didn't show up, so I used broccoli instead. Toulouse sausages instead of Italian links. This is easy to put together and pretty good stuff. Any kind of sausage would work; the Toulouse sausages, bought recently on sale, were quite tasty. We couldn't eat it all, so will have leftovers next week. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Sunday/4-Oct-20: Meant to make some semolina gnocchi today, but didn't have the oomph. Instead, having goat cheese to use up, I made Goat Cheese, Chive, and Chili Pepper Sauce for Pasta (MarCuc, p167). This is an old favorite, tasty and easy to assemble. Before dinner, I put a Far aux Pruneaux (web) in the oven.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Sep-20: The leftover zucchini ravioli got re-warmed to serve as a side dish for some grilled boneless pork chops, along with the last bits of an odd pasta shape. (Trying to reduce my collection of pastas.) Pretty good, and Buddy enjoyed much plate licking. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Tuesday/22-Sep-20: Use-up-veggies night. The potatoes we got yesterday are pretty eye-y, so I trimmed those back to make a sort of scalloped potatoes based on French Scalloped Potatoes (BEFCC, p51), with blue cheese stirred into the sauce before baking. Topped with some steamed broccoli. Pretty tasty stuff. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Wednesday/23-Sep-20: Made another loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17); such good stuff.

Made Cinnamon Fluff Cake (MC). Tore into two pieces coming out of the bundt pan. Still tastes good.

Dinner was Chipotle Turkey and Corn Soup (MC). Good stuff.

Thursday/24-Sep-20: Dinner was based on Coconut Curry Shrimp (web). I made about a third recipe, and added frozen peas with the shrimp at the end for some vegetable matter. Used just a dab of honey but that was too much. Totally unnecessary I think. Some Cinnamon Fluff Cake for after.

Friday/25-Sep-20: Picked up an order at Intermarché. It appears I forgot to remove sardines from my basket, so we'll have fish two nights in a row here.

Tonight's dinner was Grilled Lemon-Soy Salmon (MC; CL/oct03; web). This is easy and good. Annoying that the poissonière gave me a tail bit and a regular body bit, and the thinner tail cooked much faster. Served with some steam-sautéed potatoes, but I started with too much water, so they were only steamed. And some steamed carrots and broccoli. We finished the Cinnamon Fluff Cake for after.

Saturday/26-Sep-20: Tonight we had the sardines that I bought inadvertently, Sarde Frites (TuscKitch, p148); I used polenta rather than bread crumbs for the crunchy bit. I sliced up a lemon as suggested and entrusted them to Ed to bring to table, but he forgot. Instead we used sriracha (Ed) and jalapeño Tabasco (me) to bring up the taste. Served with corn, crozets, and a sliced tomato.

Sunday/27-Sep-20: Dinner was Braised Veal, Carrot, Olives and Capers (web). This was pretty good. I had more than enough meat, so we'll have an extra meal of it. Served over smashed potatoes. Followed by a big salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Yogurt on overnight. Overnight bread on overnight too.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4 #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/14-Sep-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Chicken, Red Lentils, and Green Beans in One Pot (Q&E, p58), which seems to be one of the few recipes I've tried from this book that I've found distinctly blah. I used four chicken thighs (skinned) and some tough green beans. Over basmati rice. Chocolate covered madeleines for after

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/15-Sep-20: Our first meal in a restaurant since the Covid-19 emergency started. Hoping it was an ok thing to do.

Some fruit and madeleines in the evening.

Wednesday/16-Sep-20: Tonight there was store-boughten gnocchi with Hazan's famous tomato sauce from the freezer. Here's a photo, for the Cooking Marcella Hazan group on Facebook.

Followed by a big salad. Some cookies for after. 

Thursday/17-Sep-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today, so it was fish for dinner.

We had a halfish recipe of Vissalade me Komijn-Mosterddressing (Del). Can't find it on the web anywhere. It was okay, but not worth copying. Fish (cod tonight), watercress (arugla, since I've rarely seen watercress here), orzo/risoni, currants, and pine nuts, in a dressing with coarse mustard and cumin (I used ground roasted, rather than whole seeds). A nice, light meal on a hot night. Some cookies for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/18-Sep-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17).

For dinner I defrosted some sauce from chicken paprikash. Flattened a pair of kip filets, S&P, a bit of smoked paprika, dredged in flour, then sautéed in butter and olive oil. Served with tagliatelle and steamed broccoli. Good stuff.

Saturday/19-Sep-20: Spent the afternoon waiting for Orange to come to fix the phone. They called Corinne (my French teacher who has been helping contact Orange in the last days) to tell her it was working. She said, No, go to the house. So a guy came, after the end of the appointed period. Everything's ok, but not the tonalité; what that means in this situation, I don't know. Anyhow, it's something that Orange can fix at the office. Which won't be open till Monday. He said he'd call to be sure it was fixed. How nice.

Dinner was Zucchini Ravioli (web), about a half recipe. I very loosely followed this recipe for the marinara sauce. Forgot to take the dried chili out when I removed the basil spring. I got it in my serving — ouch! The "ravioli" were okay, nothing special. Then a small salad. Then some mini ice cream cups.

Start some Overnight Bread.

Sunday/20-Sep-20: Bake Overnight Bread. Good stuff.

Dinner was Enchiladas Verdes (Green Enchiladas) (web), with some modifications of course. For a start, two kip filets weigh a lot less than one pound. I ended up with eight enchiladas. I mixed some crème fraîche with the salsa verde left after rolling the tortillas. No queso fresco; I used some tomme des Pyrenees, a mild cow cheese. Made up some Spanish rice, with carrots, peas, corn, and red bell pepper from the freezer; used the chicken poaching juice for the water. Forgot to salt, so that had to be done at table. Pretty good stuff.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-Sep-20: Easy dinner tonight. Ravioli à la Panna using raviolis filled with ham, peas, and mozzarella. Made a big salad with the rest of yesterday's arugula, and a big home-grown tomato. Used some of the tomato slices to make mini insalatas caprese with a bit of leftover mozzarella from the fridge. That's all, we were full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/8-Sep-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Cardamom Chicken Stew in the Indian Style (BigFlav, p304). The original recipe wants 12 thighs for four people. That seems excessive; we usually do four for two. Very tasty. Might be better to remove the skin for cooking, since we don't usually eat skin cooked in this way. There was lots of liquid left, and I'll freeze a bit to use for something else. Served with plain basmati rice and some Zucchini in a Yogurt Dressing (SpiceKitch, p58), an old favorite. We're full, no dessert needed.

Wednesday/9-Sep-20: Late lunch made for a late dinner. :-( We had Crispy Scallops (web; online). (I got the recipe for the scallops, without the salad, from EAT-L. The salad isn't very appealing to me.) These were good. Served with grits and Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio Oil (VegHarv, p214), which is a favorite nowadays. My lemon thyme died, so it was plain thyme, and I didn't have time to chop some pistachios (a nice crunch), but it was still good. Used my Dutch kaaschijfje to slice the zukes. That's all.

Thursday/10-Sep-20: Made a loaf of Oat Bread (BigGerman, p29) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-). Very tasty. Hope it holds up over the next days better than the Oatmeal Sesame Bread did.

Dinner was pork ribs (a rare find at the grocery) à la Leo Koning (e.g.,a ton of salt,a half ton of cayenne; with a nod to Chef John I supplemented this with some garlic powder and black pepper. Cooked on low low low until they're done, several hours). A nice messy dinner once in a while, but the first time since we've moved, since finding unadulterated ribs is an unusual happening. Usually they're already marinatee, and perhaps cooked, Mexican or whatnot. Served with Clothilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes (web). And Madhur Jaffrey's Zucchini and Feta Cheese Salad (WorldVeg, p640). We're stuffed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/11-Sep-20: Dinner was a half recipe of Chickpea Dumplings in Curried Tomato Sauce (EW/oct19; web. I used a single can of tomato pulp (supposedly seedless), rather than the two tomato-y cans indicated. Pretty good stuff.

Saturday/12-Sep-20: Ed picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today.

Dinner was Baked Salmon with Herb Tahini (web). This was good, even though I see that I forgot the pine nuts in the herb topping. Served with Moroccan couscous and leftover zucchini-feta salad. Then a plate of sliced tomato from the potager, with S&P and olive oil and basil. Yum. Some cookies for after.

Sunday/13-Sep-20: Put the meat for Beef Tikka (RezaSpice, p100) on for its first marinade fairly early (for me). Went away for a while. Made the second marinade and added to the meat. Ed bbq'd this perfectly. Not the best written recipe, but really delicious. Served with (MJ's Simple Buttery Rice with Onions (out of my head) and Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173), an old favorite. Rather than using a frying pan, I sprayed the zucchini slices with oil and grilled them on the grill pan that came with the stove. All was good.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW