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