This week in the kitchen

Monday/13-Dec-21: Dinner was a half dose of Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives (Seaver2, p122). This was quite nice. I cooked everything in the tagine/tajine, rather than using a separate pot for getting started with the onions and browning the thighs. There was lots of sauce left. I blended it up and have frozen it, maybe for a sauce with chicken or pork. Served with Moroccan Carrots (1Good, p59); I'm making this so often, I really need to put it in my kitchen Handy Book. And some Moroccan couscous, from a store-bought mix. 

Tuesday/14-Dec-21: Before dinner, I started a loaf of Easy French Bread (Electric, p62).

Dinner was Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce (web). (I got this recipe from foodnetwork.com, but these days Europeans are automatically redirected to foodnetwork.co.uk. Where the recipe is not available. :-( ) It was okay, nothing special. Then a salad. A single madeleine each for after. 

Wednesday/15-Dec-21: Using up lots of veggies, tonight's dinner was what I think of as a hippie dinner, lot of veggie sautéed and served over short-grain brown rice. 

Thursday/16-Dec-21: Shopping today.

Dinner was half of Salmon with Garlic Cream Sauce (web). This was good. Served with trio rice, and that was all. A single madeleine each for after.

Friday/17-Dec-21: Dinner was Tunisian Meatballs* (1Good, p141; web; web; GD). When I first made this, I didn't yet have the cookbook. This would be a good company dish because you could make the sauce and meatballs up ahead and warm them together at serving time. Served with the Israeli couscous recipe included. Followed by a very simple salad. A single madeleine each for after.

Saturday/18-Dec-21: Dinner was Wok-Fried Lamb with Cumin (1Good, p204; cookbooker), which was very good. Served with plain basmati rice and Broccoli and Mixed Mushrooms in Garlic Black Bean Sauce (web). I made a whole recipe, resulting in two adequate servings, not four as advertised. 

Sunday/19-Dec-21: Dinner was Chicken in a Cilantro, Spinach, and Mustard Sauce (Q&E, p50). This is probably my most used cookbook, so I'm always surprised to find something new to make here. This was new, and good. As suggested, served with Indian Mashed Potatoes (Q&E, p90),which is an old favorite, and Simply Grilled Tomatoes (Q&E, p93). A single madeleine each for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: no; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: 100%; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 16; #8 NEW: 5

This week in the kitchen

Monday/6-Dec-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Risotto with Baby Artichokes (Verdura, p234). This was nice, in spite of the tedious preparation needed for the artichokes. Then a plain salad.

Tuesday/7-Dec-21: Tonight's dinner was pork chops that were marinated in charmoula from the freezer. Served Orzo Salad with Peppers and Feta (web). I made this a side for two by quartering the recipe (halved for two, halved again to make an ample side). Might be nice to roast the bell peppers rather than sautéing them. Good stuff.

Wednesday/8-Dec-21: Dinner was a recipe recommended by Jacky, Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup (web; GD; notes). I made the stock in my usual way from leg bones of our Thanksgiving turkey legs. The soup is delicious, and used up my stash of wild rice. Guess I'll have to get more before long. Recipe onto DMA list.

Thursday/9-Dec-21: Shopping today.

Dinner was Fresh Tuna Burgers with Ginger & Cilantro (EAT-L; web; GD; notes). The Fine Cooking version (on the web) suggests serving with a Thai-Style Dipping Sauce (web), which would have been nice. I made four patties and have frozen two. Using "sushi-grade tuna" for the burgers strikes me as silly. Any tuna you would grill is fine. The recipe calls for 3/4tsp of salt for the four burgers; I used on 1/2tsp and we both found them a bit salty. Otherwise very good. (For the second night in row, recipe goes onto DMA list.) Served with Thai whole-grain trio rice, and some corn tarted up very loosely following this recipe. All was good.

Friday/10-Dec-21: Dinner was Aubergine au Four aux Pois Chiches Fumés (web). Turned out pretty good. The recipe asks for a big eggplant to serve two; I had a 500g package of two (bio), so we had one each. I used ground roasted cumin instead of plain ground cumin.The recipe asks for over a cup of water for the tahini sauce; I used maybe half of that, adding just enough to make a nicely runny, but not too runny, sauce.

Saturday/11-Dec-21: Dinner was Red Wine Braised Mushroom Sauce (EW/sep14; web). As suggested, I added some crème fraîche and served over noodles (flavored with cèpes). This was quite good, and easy to assemble. I used up all the shrooms in house, brown mushrooms (champignons de Paris) and shiitakes. Then a big salad.

Sunday/12-Dec-21: We haven't been to the boulanger lately, and I'm getting tired of frozen ciabattas, so I made a loaf of an old favorite, English Muffin Bread (BigGerman, p15), using 2cups T65 (bread) flour and 1cups T110 (light whole wheat) flour. We'll see how it turns out in the morning.

Dinner was an old recipe, Pecan Over-Fried Chicken (MC; FamilyCircle/sep97; web). The web version is more or less the same. Very tasty. Might cook on the rack under the broiler, or even a rack in the onion would keep the bottom from being gummy. Probably better to chop the pecans finely; I'm afraid they've gummed up my spice grinder. Very tasty, tender, and ujuicy kip filets. Served with some lightly buttered new potatoes and steamed chunks of snijbonen (haricots coco plat).

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: no
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 5

This week in the kitchen

Monday/29-Nov-21: Dinner was Shrimp and Corn Chowder (web). This was pretty good. I did cut the shrimp in half, since whole, they seemed too big for easy eating. I made a whole recipe, which will serve two easily. Not sure if the added flour serves any purpose beyond making the chowder a big on the thick side.

Tuesday/30-Nov-21: Started some turkey stock with the legs bones from out Thanksgiving meal. 

Dinner was Leftover Lamb Tagine (web). This wasn't bad. I was glad I didn't add any honey, since the apricots made it quite sweet enough. Served with whole wheat couscous and Moroccan Carrots (1Good, p59), which has become a favorite.

Wednesday/1-Dec-21: Dinner was Curried Fried Rice (MW@Home, p226). This is easy and pretty good. Long-grain brown rice. 

Thursday/2-Dec-21: Shopping today. 

Dinner was Apricot Dijon Glazed Salmon* (web; GD). This was good again, also easy and fast. Served with orzo haricots verts. 

Friday/3-Dec-21: Off to have my haircut today, so an easy dinner. We had tongue with a grainy mustard sauce from a can. Served with Spätzle (MW@Home, p203) made with T110 flour ("light" whole wheat); the batter needed a bit of extra milk. These were okay, but white flour is better. Also some steamed snijbonen in chunks. Tasty dinner for little work.

Saturday/4-Dec-21: Dinner was a half dose of Skillet-Toasted Penne with Chicken Sausage (CL/Jan-Feb14; web). This was pretty good. I used poultry sausage that were grilled in the summer. The pasta is toasted in a skillet and cooked rather like a risotto. No idea what a Calabrian chile is, so I chopped up a red (Indonesian?) chile, deseeded. Then a salad. 

Sunday/5-Dec-21: When it got time to make dinner, I didn't really feel like cooking and wasn't very hungry. So I used up some odds and ends from the fridge to make open-faced sandwiches. Sliced onion, lardons, the last half of a red bell pepper, some mushrooms, all topped with a bit of mozzarella and toasted. Not bad. Then we ate half a little Langres cheese. That's all. Somewhere in there the fire/CO detector in the kitchen started going off, we're hoping it was just the batteries being a bit low (even though they were replaced less than a year ago).

A loaf of Easy French Bread (Electric, p62) on overnight. I usually do this bread on Rapid, but Rapid can't be done on the timer. We'll see how it goes.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: no; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 5

Thanksgiving 2021

Buttermilk-Brined Turkey BreastRoasted Turkey LegsGravyChef Paul Prudhomme's Cornbread DressingSweet Potatoes With Cranberry Chutney Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pears, Toasted Almonds, and Parmesan Mercurey 1e Cru, Château de Santenay, Les Puillets 2015 Pumpkin Pie

Between Oscar's illness and Covid isolationism and my disorganization, we had a fairly small Thanksgiving meal. I didn't manage to order a turkey in time, so I bought two turkey breast "roasts" and two turkey legs. The roasts were a single filet, rolled, barded and wrapped in an elastic stocking sort of thing. I unwrapped these and brined as in Buttermilk-Brined Turkey Breast (web; GD). Before cooking, I made a little green "paste" of chopped rosemary, sage, parsley, and garlic with a bit of olive oil. I spread this on the underside of the breasts, topped with a slice of dried ham, then rolled them up and wrapped them in their stockings for roasting. For the Roasted Turkey Legs (web; GD; notes), I pretty much followed the instructions. The gravy I made from the turkey leg cooking skillet. It was tasty, but a bit on the salty side from the rub. The breasts were fantastic, with moist and tasty meat; this is worth doing any time of year. The legs were a bit dry. 

Chef Paul Prudhomme's Cornbread Stuffing (GD, notes) is an old favorite, delicious stuffing. New on the menu were the Sweet Potatoes With Cranberry Chutney (web; GD). The chutney was good with the sweet potatoes and most everything else on the plate. This may come around again. Also new was the Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pears, Toasted Almonds, and Parmesan (web; GD) This sounded a bit odd, but was definitely a hit.

No picture of the Pumpkin Pie (GD; notes). It was good. 

We both enjoyed the meal and were thoroughly stuffed at the end. A small dinner, but still there was lots of foo.

This week in the kitchen

Monday/22-Nov-21: Dinner was Smoked Trout Chowder* (web; GD; notes). I put this on the meal plan because I'd collected the recipe from the web. Then I discovered it was already on my DoMeAgain list. It's good stuff.

Made Cornbread (Joy, p578) for our Thanksgiving stuffing today.

Realized this weekend, I was confused about my two backlog goals. In fact, I'm quite far along with BACKLOG1, clearing out the upstairs stacks of recipes. I've been taking a handful of recipes every evening, tossing most and saving a few. I will have to keep pushing on this to get the bins all clear by the end of the year. I have worked a bit on the old binders downstairs, but nothing major has happened.

Tuesday/23-Nov-21: Shopping today. I asked at Leclerc for a turkey, but I should have ordered last week. Meanwhile our local butcher hasn't called to say he's gotten one for me. So I bought two thighs and two breast roasts (i.e., the breast filet barded and rolled up with twine. I'll figure out some way to cook those (after disassembling the "roasts"), to serve looking like a turkey. 

Dinner was Cabillaud en Crumble de Jambon Cru* (web; GD). The topping for this is quite nice; I used smoked paprika tonight. Served with Thai trio rice (being out of the normal stuff) and steamed snijbonen in 1" chunks. No dessert needed.

Wednesday/24-Nov-21: Some cooking for Thanksgiving cooking today. Didn't get as much done as I'd planned, so tomorrow will be busy. Seems like there was something else, but I can't think of it. 

• Made a double batch of Tart Dough (Tenth, p256), one for the freezer, one for tomorrow.
• Put my turkey breasts to marinate for Buttermilk-Brined Turkey Breast (web). My two breasts were about the weight of the one breast asked in the recipe.
• Made the chutney for Sweet Potatoes with Cranberry Chutney (web). Wasn't especially impressed with this, but maybe it will be better tomorrow.

Dinner was Roast Za'atar Chicken Thighs with Broccoli & Potatoes (web; EW/nov21). This, a one-dish meal, was good, although some of the broccoli stems and potatoes were not quite done.

Thursday/25-Nov-21: Didn't get enough done yesterday, so there was lots of cooking today. In the end a nice Thanksgiving meal, with lots of leftovers.  

Friday/26-Nov-21: A frustrating day today. We had a very late lunch of stuffing, then later we each had a slice of pie. That was it. So much for the meal plan.

Saturday/27-Nov-21: I picked the meat off the turkey legs and froze most for later use. Dinner was Thanksgiving redux. All still good.

Sunday/28-Nov-21: Dinner was Pesto Turkey Kebabs (200Budget, p183). This is fairly quick and easy to make, except that I put the mozzarella I bought last week into the freezer, rather than leaving it in the fridge, so it took a bit of time to defrost and chop it. Very tasty, if not as pretty as the picture. Served with Thai trio rice and Parmesan Carrots with Lemon-Parsley Dressing (web; CL/mar17). This was tasty, and just a bit more work than usual.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 5

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Nov-21: We had lunch out for Ed's birthday today. Not much happened in the kitchen.

Tuesday/16-Nov-21: Baked a loaf of Abm Whole Wheat Bread (MC) since we don't seem to be making a trip to the boulanger in the near future.

Dinner was Cabbage Diet Soup (web), which was fairly boring as soups go. There's lots left to freeze; thinking some sausages might sliced into it on the reprise. 

Wednesday/17-Nov-21: Dinner was Roasted Chicken Thighs with Pear-Mustard Sauce (web). The chicken was good, but the sauce only so-so. Interesting though. Served with trio rice and steamed broccoli. 

Thursday/18-Nov-21: Shopping today. It's much better on Thursday, than on Friday after a holiday. 

Dinner was Salmon with Green Mango (Mahi Aam) (RezaRice, p63). This was pretty good. Served with Lemon Rice (web), which was good. And Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@   Home, p173), an old favorite. A nice meal altogether. 

Friday/19-Nov-21: Dinner was Turkey Dumplings with Spicy Broth  (Ainsley3, p98). This was good, if a trifle salty (less soy sauce next time). It's more like lunch rather than dinner, so I served some grilled cheese sandwiches with beaufort (a swiss-y cheese) and finely 

Saturday/20-Nov-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Spicy Pork Rolls with Minted Yogurt (200Budget, p130), with turkey scallops instead of pork, and with satay sauce. The scallop rolls are delicious; no sauce is needed. Discovered I hadn't bought trio rice last time, but Thai trio rice, not quite the same. Actually that was appropriate for this meal, quite good. Also made a half dose of Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web). Tasty meal. 

Sunday/21-Nov-21: Dinner was the Smoky and Hot Bulgur Chili variation of Bulgur Chili (H2CEV, p557). The bulgur isn't a bad substitute for ground beef. This wasn't bad, but I'm not overly fond of chili with tomatoes. Made a whole recipe, so there's lots leftover for the freezer.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: no
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: yes; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/8-Nov-21: I was busy ironing and binge-watching season 2 of Broadchurch till too late to cook, so we got pizza from a nearby food truck.

Tuesday/9-Nov-21: Third covid vaccine today. The doctor said I'd probably have the same reaction as last time. Replanned meals for the next two days with that in mind.

Dinner was a half dose of Salade de Riz au Magret de Canard Séché (web), using up some peppered, dried duck breast from the freezer. This was pretty good. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/10-Nov-21: Both of us suffering a bit from the third covid vaccine, so very simple cooking. Dinner from the freezer, Mijoté de Veau et Chorizo. Served over polenta with some lemon-sprinkled steamed broccoli. That's all folks. 

Thursday/11-Nov-21: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Sri Lankan Runner Bean Curry (web). I use more than half of the snijbonen, and it was a shortish meal for two. Expect that three servings is more reasonable for a whole recipe. Still, it was good. 

Friday/12-Nov-21: Shopping today. It was a hard one, with about a thousand people shopping on the day after a holiday, and we had lots more to shop for since I couldn't order at the Drive (cell phone died), and Leclerc has rearranged everything, so I walked aisles over 10min till I found where they've put the toilet paper. Exhausting.

Dinner was late because everything took me a long time to do. I made a whole recipe of Fish Kebabs (web), made with salmon and cod. The patties wouldn't hold together at all, so I added an egg to the mixture; that helped a lot. Ed liked these a lot; I thought they were so-so. Served with Spiced Snake Beans (RezaRice, p117), made with haricots verts; these were not a hit. And brown basmati rice. And Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish—Cachumber (MJ1, p172), which is always good. Some store-bought crème caramels for after.

Saturday/13-Nov-21: Dinner was Spicy Jerk Pork with Pepper Fried Rice* (web; GD). (The bell pepper bits look huge compared to the bits of meat, but it really wasn't that way.) Still tasty.

  

Followed by a simple salad. 

Sunday/14-Nov-21: I used the rest of yesterday's varkenhaas to make Pork Tenderloin Diane (MC), which is an old favorite. Served with grits, and steamed snijbonen tossed with lemon juice, and Raw Beet Salad (web; GD), a new favorite. A nice dinner. 

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 2; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/1-Nov-21: If we hadn't been able to find a lunch venue last Friday when Chris and Amy arrived, I'd planned to make a crockpot dinner for them. Instead we had that tonight. I made a full recipe of Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef* (web; GD; notes) and froze half for another time. Served with rice and (somewhat over-)steamed broccoli.

 

No dessert for me since I'll have a blood test in the morning.

Tuesday/2-Nov-21: Dinner was Chinese Broccoli (MC). This was easy and tasty, if a trifle salty. Served over long-grain brown rice. We finished the vanilla-almond ice cream for after.

Wednesday/3-Nov-21: Dinner was a half dose of Mediterranean Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Capers (web; GD; notes). This was easy and yummy. Served with trio rice. Some store-bought crème caramel for after. 
. 
Thursday/4-Nov-21: Shopping today. Needed a cabbage, but there were no more of the nice flat ones. Too bad. 

Dinner was Tarragon Salmon (web), thank you, Nigella. Easy and very nice. Served with short-grain brown rice and Frosted Cauliflower, a recipe I got from EAT-L. We liked this well enough, that I'll type it up to save. For after we had an apricot and an anise cookie; the apricot ones are good, the anise ones are especially good, and I don't really like anise. 

Friday/5-Nov-21: Dinner was A Night in Tunisia Pasta (with Harissa, Broccoli, Cauliflower)* (web; GD). This was good and spicy. Then some Häagen-Dasz mini ice cream cups for after.

For a coming meal, I made a half recipe of Atjar Tjampoer (web). Made a pretty full liter jar's worth. Looks good. We'll see.

I really need to get busy recycling cookbooks. Have a lot of candidates, but need to do the job.

Saturday/6-Nov-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Nasi Fantasie (web; Allerhande; GD; notes). This isn't very highly rated on the AH site, but we thought it was very good, tasty and satisfying. I forgot to get some kroepoeky things which would have been nice as a go-with. Used brown basmati for the rice. Used this recipe for the Pisang Goreng. No bakbanaan this week, so I used a green banana instead. It was smallish, cut longwise, then in halves. Not sure the lengthwise cut was necessary. A bit more might have been nice, so a bigger banana, or two small ones perhaps.The atjar hadn't really set long enough, but wasn't bad at all.

  

A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Sunday/7-Nov-21: An early meal today so we could go to a concert. We had store-bought falafels with store-bought kebab breads, served with Tzatziki (O&C, p465), Tahini Dipping Sauce, Variation: Falafel Sauce (WofE, p360), and Green Pea Hummus (web; GD)

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/25-Oct-21: Ed had his second carpal tunnel surgery today. They must have used a different kind of anesthetic because he was finger-wiggling directly after the surgery. 

A one-handed meal tonight. We had West Indian Salmon Patties from the freezer, accompanied by a more-or-less quarter recipe of All-Purpose Rice and Beans (BigFlav, p262) and some canned corn. And some of Sara Lee's Crumb Cake for after. We're full. And tired.

Tuesday/26-Oct-21: Tonight's dinner was a loser. Seemed like a good idea, and it's well-reviewed, but neither of us cared much for it. I made a half dose of Pasta with Mushrooms and Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Sauce (web). We ate it all, but not with much enthusiasm.

 

A small salad next. Then we finished the Crumb Cake. 

Wednesday/27-Oct-21: Oscar to the vet today, and me to the hearing aid shop for a new pair. 

Dinner was Pie's Curried Shrimp and Scallops (MC), an old favorite. Still yummy, and easy. Served over trio rice. And we finished the Raw Beet Salad, which was still good. 

Thursday/28-Oct-21: Shopping today.

Dinner was a half recipe of Gratin of Cod with Leek, Olives, and Truffle (optional) (Seaver2, p93). No truffle, I was too lazy to open the jar. After last week's wonderful salmon, I had high expectations for this, but was disappointed. The black olive were too strong for the fish. Result was so-so. Unimaginatively, I served this with a bit of tagliatelle. We had boulangerie-bought tarts for after. 

Friday/29-Oct-21: We picked Chris and Amy up at the Limoges train station this morning and lunched in Limoges at La Table du Couvent. 

In the evening I made a so-so soup and we munched on cheeses and terrines. 

Saturday/30-Oct-21: Dinner was Za'atar Lamb Chops* (web; GD). These are yummy and very easy. Ed grilled them. Served with Moroccan couscous (bio, store-bought) and Moroccan Carrots (1Good, p59). All good stuff. Then we finished off the cheese from yesterday. Then some home-made vanilla ice cream, with a touch of almond extract, which was nice, for after. Then some delicious chocolate from Maison Chaudun in Paris. 

Sunday/31-Oct-21: Lunch out today, then Chris and Amy to the Limoges train station in pouring rain.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/18-Oct-21: Finished the Spinach and Artichoke Macaroni and Cheese casserole for dinner tonight. On the side we had Moroccan Carrots (1Good, p59). We've had this before; it's indeed One Good Dish. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Amazon Associates informed me (and all their customers) that I should have a disclosure on the site if I include their links. So I've started a project of removing them from the Cookbooks page. I don't think I'll remove them from individual posts; that's just too much useless and error-prone work. 

I'm adding Ratio and Fast, Fresh & Spicy Vegetarian to the books I'm currently reading. It seems I never finished Ratio, and I'm not sure about FF&S. I'm pretty well done with Ratio this time, and will start on FF&S next. I'm going to mark The Book Lover's Cookbook as done too, and move it to the recycle stack. The only recipe I made from this was a bit of a failure, and the book doesn't appeal all that much.

Tuesday/19-Oct-21: Dinner was Runner Beany Herb Linguine (web; GD). Except for slicing up the snijbonen (oh for a Dutch greengrocer who does this for you!), this is easy to do. And very tasty. I thoughtlessly made this with tagliatelle rather than linguine, but it was fine. Onto the DMA list with this one. 

HD mini cups (chocolate) for after.

Wednesday/20-Oct-21: Shopping today. In the veggie section, there was a sign for a "demi-chou," a half cabbage, which would be nice, but there were none to be seen. I miss our Dutch greengrocer where we could get half a cabbage or cauliflower.

A very nice dinner tonight. Dinner was a half dose of Salmon with Onion Confit, Spanish Style (Seaver2, p95; cookbooker). I cooked in individual dishes, probably not necessary, then plated the contents. Served with long-grain brown rice and a little salad loosely based on this recipe, with nothing measured; some peas, the end of my flat cabbage, and the dilly vinaigrette. Good it was. 

Some store-bought riz au lait nature for after.

Thursday/21-Oct-21: Dinner was a half dose for Ground Meat with Peas (MJ1, p44); I made it with ground beef and all the spices. Served it over brown basmati rice with Onion Relish (MJ1, p174). The meat and the relish were especially good together. (I have to make this relish more often. It's easy and really good. Would be good on a ham sandwich, or with scrambled eggs perhaps.) Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Friday/22-Oct-21: Off for haircut today. 

Dinner was pork chops, rubbed with some of the pork rub I made a while ago. And some mashed sweet potatoes (with crème fraîche, orange juice, and ground chipotle).  And Simply Sizzled Cucumber (MC). Really simple, pretty good, made a pretty plate with the pork chop and sweet potato. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Saturday/23-Oct-21: Made a loaf of Easy French Bread, (Electric, p62).

Leftovers for dinner. We had Green Eggs and Ham Soup from the freezer, thinned with chicken stock and tarted up with some Tabasco sauce, and tuna salad sandwiches. That's all.

Sunday/24-Oct-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Aiguillettes de Canard Caramélisées* (web; GD), made with escalopes de canard, rather than aiguillettes. (Aiguillettes are needles, thus the long narrow "filet" off the back of the breast.) Served with orzo and a Raw Beet Salad (web; GD), which was very good and easy. For after there was Sarah Lee's Crumb Cake (MC; GD)

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: yes; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/11-Oct-21: Dinner was Whole Green Lentils with Cilantro and Mint (Q&E, p82). This is good, but I think I prefer the similar recipe in MJ1. I didn't cook in the pressure cooker; the amount of extra water for cooking normally is too high. Served with plain basmati rice and a half recipe of Green Beans with Mushrooms (Q&E, p86) made with snijbonen. We were full.

Tuesday/12-Oct-21: Beans and Eggs (SFAH, p280). This is so simple as almost not to be a recipe. Put some canned beans in a dish, top with an egg, pop in the oven till the egg is done-ish, serve with feta and harissa. I used a can of black beans that was slightly bigger than your usual 15oz can; that might have been a bit too much. Hearty food for almost no effort. Served with Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (MC; HandyBook). Some store-bought vanilla riz au laits for after.

Wednesday/13-Oct-21: Dinner, a bit late, was Spinach and Artichoke Macaroni and Cheese (web). No low-fat sour cream or cheese, or course. The fresh spinach I bought didn't last, so I used frozen leaf spinach, defrosted, and chopped just a bit. This was quite good, and easy. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Thursday/14-Oct-21: Shopping today. 

Dinner was Tzatziki Fish Tacos (web; GD). Cod on sale today, so I used that. I cooked the fish in the oven, of course. I added a dish of feta along with the tomato, red onion, and cabbage. Good stuff. Bought dessert, two slices of gateau Lorrain, a white cake sort of thing, split and filled with some kind of cream. There was an odor and taste of lemon, and another taste of something like aniseed. Nice.

Friday/15-Oct-21: Out of our anniversary lunch today. Nothing happened in the kitchen

Saturday/16-Oct-21: Dinner was Barbecued Raspberry-Hoisin Chicken* (web; GD). I liked this, but Ed not so much, so it's be removed from the DoMeAgain list. Served with brown rice topped with a dribble of rice vinegar and minced green onions. Went to make a broccoli in oyster sauce side dish, but didn't have as much broccoli as I thought, so sautéed some shiitakes with it. That was pretty good. Some coffee-flavored crème caramels. Bought them by accident, but they were pretty good.

Sunday/17-Oct-21: Simple dinner tonight. Cheese ravioli from a special at Leclerc. These were ok, not as good as I expected. Topped with some of Marcella Hazan's famous tomato sauce. Then a salad of tomatoes, avocado, onions, cashews, green and black olives, cilantro, with a lime vinaigrette. Some chocolate HD mini cups for after. 

Yup, another week gone by without a photo. I really must bring the camera downstairs more often.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 PHOTO: no; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: yes; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Oct-21: Dinner was Cabbage Stir Fry with Shrimp and Dried Chiles (web), served over basmati rice. Good stuff. I seem to be completely out of oyster sauce; I used hoisin instead, then omitted the sugar since hoisin is a bit sweet. Some Haagden-Dasz mini ice cream cups for after.

Tuesday/5-Oct-21: Dinner was a halfish dose of Chicken with Eggplant Gorgonzola Crust (PotPies, p37). It's maybe stretching a bit to call this a pot pie, but it was easy and very tasty. I had two big kip filets, an eggplant weighing about 350g, and a 200g chunk of gorgonzola. Deglazed with port, which instantly evaporated, leaving not much behind in the skillet. Surprisingly a nice sauce developed in the oven. Forgot to make rice or another starch thing, but it really wasn't necessary. Followed by a grated carrot salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each. 

Wednesday/6-Oct-21: Dine was a halfish dose of Whole Wheat Penne with Broccoli, Green Olives, and Pine Nuts (web; CL/aug04). This should have served six, but two of us managed half. Instead of whole wheat penne, I used something labelled ressorts, like little radiators, whole wheat. I had less than needed, but they were plenty. It seemed at bit dry, so we each added a good spoonful of pyramid cheese (kind of like cream cheese of goat's milk) at table, and a good grinding of red pepper flakes. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/7-Oct-21: Shopping today.

I waited too late to make what I'd planned for tonight's dinner, so instead I made a half recipe of Garlic Butter Salmon* (web; GD). This was quite good (but that's why it's a DoMeAgain recipe, isn't it?). Served with trio rice. Some apricot tarts from the boulangerie for after.

Friday/8-Oct-21: Dinner was Crispy Chicken Thighs with Peppers, Capers and Olives (web). The chicken was so-so; its skin was not crispy. The stewed bell peppers were good. Served with Patatas Bravas (web). I meant to make this yesterday, but didn't when I change plan. But I'd defrosted the tomatoes so I made it tonight. Pretty good stuff. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Saturday/9-Oct-21: I used most of the leftover tagliatelle from last Sunday to make Pasta Frittata (web). I used 75g of lardons for a bit of taste. Quite nice, a nice way to use up pasta. Served with a (half?) recipe of Cabbage Slaw with Tangy Mustard Seed Dressing (CL/jun12; web; cookbooker), using part of the flat cabbage I'm trying to use up. This was really nice. I used pickled jalapeños, rather than fresh. 

Some store-bought vanilla riz au laits for after.

Sunday/10-Oct-21: Dinner was a halfish dose of Spicy Cumin Lamb Skewers* (web; GD). This is easy and really tasty. Served with Moroccan couscous (from the bio store) and The Single Vegetable Salad (O&C, p189), with about a quarter of my flat cabbage, made with Oil and Lemon Dressing (O&C, p190). Apparently Greeks tend to make salad from a single veggie. It worked well in this case. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/27-Sep-21: I froze up six 1-cup and two 2-cup jars of chicken stock today.

Dinner was Smoked Salmon, Dill, and Goat Cheese Quiche (web). The filling was delicious. I used a store-bought pie crust, which was a bit like cardboard. Next time I'll make a proper one. Meant to make a salad, but didn't have the oomph. We finished the Plum Torte for after.

Tuesday/28-Sep-21: Did a little inventory of what needs to be used in the fridge, then rearranged the meal plan for the days until we shop and some after. 

Dinner started with artichoke bottoms (didn't use all of the defrosted ones for last week's fish), topped with tapenade (a new one from Maille with black and green olives) and a slice of goat cheese (leftover from last night's dinner), popped under the grill. Then there was a halfish dose of Shredded Chicken and Lemon Grass Soup (Ainsley2, p30; cookbooker). Good stuff. For after we had cornets that I bought at a boulangerie in Montbron.

Wednesday/29-Sep-21: Got the list finished today. Dinner was Casserole of Lamb, Mushrooms, and Bulgur or Barley (Tenth, p278), with barley. I thought this was quite good; Ed thought it lacked something. Followed by a little salad with sliced cucumbers and roast beets tossed with the creamy cilantro sauce from last weekends chicken. Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after. 

Thursday/30-Sep-21: Dinner was Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup (web). This was pretty darn good. I didn't use anything no-fat, of course. Cheese was comté and something unlabelled that might have been an English cheddar. Or not. Would be better to remove some solid veggies at the end, buzz the soupy part smooth, then add the veggies back. Some dark chocolate "roses" for after (that's chocolate-covered cornflakes).

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/1-Oct-21: Shopping today. The store is busy on Fridays, but sometimes it's the day.

Dinner was a half recipe of Grilled Swordfish with Pesto. I collected this recipe a long time ago, before I started recording where I collected them. Although it appears to be from a Food Network show, I haven't been able to find it online. Essentially it's swordfish steaks marinated in ginger, garlic, lime juice, ad thyme, then grilled and topped with pesto for serving. It was good. Served with trio rice and steamed snijbonen in chunks.

We had two really ripe small bananas, so I made a half recipe of Best Banana Bread (GD; GD) that I made a whole recipe of recently. This was good; we ate it all for dinner. 

Saturday/2-Oct-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Baked Rice with White Beans, Leeks and Lemon (web) again, this time a variation with chickpeas and harissa and preserved lemon suggested pretty well. Leeks sautéed rather than roasted. Used long-grain brown rice. This was good, although the rice wasn't quite done in 40min. A nice meal. For after we had the éclairs that I got at the boulangerie yesterday.

Sunday/3-Oct-21: Tonight's dinner was a half recipe of Andouillette de Canard au Poivre Vert (web), using the last of the andouillettes de canard that I impulse-bought a while ago. This was yummy. Served with tagliatelle as suggested (have a lot of that leftover) and some gesneden snijbonen. Then some store-bought riz au lit for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: no
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: yes; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/20-Sep-21: Yogurt on overday. Put a rouelle de porc on to brine for tomorrow's dinner. 

We both had dentist appointments this afternoon, so I planned for a dinner that didn't require lots of chewing. We had Risotto con Spinaci (TuscKitch, p122), which was better than I expected really. The spinach was added at the beginning of cooking and I was afraid it would be mushy and unpleasant tasting, but it was fine. Luongo has you make a risotto by puttig the rice and all liquid in the pan at once. I added the stock bit by bit as I usually do. (Ed threw away the extra stock, which I was going to use for a little lunchtime soup. I'm out of stock in the freezer now, so need to make some more.) For after we had boulangerie-bought chocolate-pear toetjes.

Tuesday/21-Sep-21: Dinner was a Pork Roast (Everlasting, p169), accompanied by smashed sweet potatoes and buttered sweet corn. We're full. 

Wednesday/22-Sep-21: Leftovers tonight. We had the rest of the Clafoutis Courgettes. Then a sort of insalata caprese with our (only!) tomato from the potager this year, a beefsteak. With mozzarella and the last of the basil plant. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/23-Sep-21: Shopping today. I really do have to stop buying meat from the anti-gaspi bin. The freezer is getting full of this stuff. Plus varkenshaas were on sale (who can pass those up) and merguez too. 

Dinner was Fish with Artichokes & Capers (MWClass, p365). This was okay. Served with lots of little buttered potatoes. Some store-bought dark chocolate mousses for after.

Friday/24-Sep-21: Time to catch up on some of the cookbooks I've been reading.

I finished Salt Fat Acid Heat, by Samin Nosrat, a while ago. This is a very good good book, more how to think about cooking and the use of the titled ingredients than recipes. 

Finished My New Mediterranean Cookbook, by Jeannette Seaver, not too long ago. Seaver wrote one of my favorite French cookbooks, Jeannette's Secrets of Everyday Good Cooking. Haven't cooked from this one yet, but it looks promising.

In between, I read a borrowed quickie, Pepys at Table, with recipes from the 17C adapted to the modern kitchen. A fun read, if nothing that attracted me to cook.

Recently, needing a cookbook to read on the way to grocery shopping, I grabbed The Book Lover's Cookbook, by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen. Turns out I've already read this, but forgot to take the dot off the spine. A mildly interesting book, but I doubt I'll finish it again. Need to think more carefully about my next read.

Dinner was Linguine al Cavolfiore (MC; an old mag clipping). Haven't made this in a long time, a shame since it's good stuff. Then a salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Saturday/25-Sep-21: Busy day. I've got a pot of chicken stock going. Meant to freeze it up today, but didn't get that done. Made some Oven-Roasted Tomatoes; these are now in the freezer on a plate. 

Made Original Plum Torte (web) aka Purple Plum Torte (Essential, p763). Not quite following the more recently published version from the web, I reduced the sugar even further, to 2/3cup. This was fine. This is easy to make and delicious. 

Our main was a half version of Moroccan-Spiced Roast Chicken with Creamy Cilantro Sauce* (web), using 4 thighs rather than a whole chicken. Cooked in a skillet in the oven. Very tasty, the skin was crispy and tasty. We couldn't eat a whole pound of potatoes. Served with little violet artichokes (web), a recipe from a friend. Still a bit fiddly to do (lots of trimming), but the whole thing is edible which is nice. Plum Torte for dessert, of course.

Sunday/26-Sep-21: Didn't get the chicken stock put up yet again. But Ed's gotten the kitchen hot water heater replaced, so tomorrow this might get done. (Unfortunately the water heater isn't a geyser, like we had in NL, but a small 35-liter water heater that serves the kitchen and the Tardis in our bedroom.)

Dinner was a half-dose of Evan's Lamb Curry (Tenth, p232). This is in the using-up-leftover-lamb category. It was ok, nothing special. Served over brown basmati rice. Beforehand we munched on some Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172), an old favorite. And Plum Torte for dessert.

Another week without a photo. :-(

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: no; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: yes!; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/13-Sep-21: Someone was really tired this evening and didn't feel like cooking. Pizza truck!

Tuesday/14-Sep-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Baked Rice with White Beans, Leeks and Lemon (web). The amount of white beans seemed a bit lower than I'd have like. The half recipe could have taken a whole can. This was quite good; would have been better with brown rice, I think, but I was short on time. There's a suggested variation using harissa, preserved lemons, and chickpeas; I'll try this in the near future. Then a really plain salad. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Wednesday/15-Sep-21: Lunch out for my birthday today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Thursday/16-Sep-21: Shopping today. Found a pair of coquelets in the anti-gaspi bin and couldn't pass them up. 

Dinner was a halfish dose of Italian Broccoli & Salmon Bake (web; GD). I used casareccia as the pasta and comté as the cheese; used capers and anchovy fillets, minced. There was an unusual (to me) technique for a making a bechamel: the milk, butter, and flour were stirred together in the pan and then heated till thickened. Worked pretty well. No dessert, we were full.

Friday/17-Sep-21: Dinner was Clafoutis Courgettes, Chèvre et Basilic (web). Pretty good stuff. Some store-bought vanilla riz au laits for after.

Saturday/18-Sep-21: As I started dinner, I made a Blueberry Buckle (web). This was yummy. I reduced the sugar in the cake to 1/2cup and used butter instead of shortening. I see I left out the cinnamon from the topping, but neither of us missed it.

The main course was a halfish dose of Eggplants with Spicy Shallot-Tomato Sauce (WorldVeg, p190). This was pretty good. Served with basmati rice and Tumis Buncis (SriOwen, p195), an Indonesian dish with green beans (maybe should be kousebanden, but green beans are called for).

Sunday/19-Sep-21: Having not been to a boulangerie in the last days, I made a loaf of Easy French Bread (Electric, p62).

Dinner was Zucchini and Eggplant with Pork (MC), served over brown basmati rice. Easy to make and quite tasty. More Blueberry Buckle for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: no; #3 *DMA: no
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/6-Sep-21: In the afternoon I made an Oatmeal Cake (an old recipe) to take to BookChatters tomorrow, since our latest venue attempt doesn't do viennoiseries, i.e., croissants and such.

Dinner was, sort of, Smoky and Spicy Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs* (web; GD). I made a half recipe and didn't cut the chicken up for kebabs; just grilled the skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Good stuff. Didn't make kababs, but grilled the chicken bits whole. Made some polenta. (The new stuff I bought is pretty fine; unfortunately I have a lot of it.) Last week, I impulse-bought some golden yellow cauliflower. I roasted some of that while the cake was cooking, mixed some canned corn and canned black beans, sliced an avocado and some red onions,  and made a bit of a sort of Ranch Dressing. A salad composée. Some of the cake for after.

Tuesday/7-Sep-21: Leftovers for dinner. We had a Thai pork-and-crab stuffed zucchini from the freezer. There was only one large serving of this, so I supplemented with Scrambled Eggs with Shrimp (web). (I had lunch out, so didn't need very much. The zucchini was surprisingly good reheated. The scrambled eggs were yummy. More Oatmeal Cake for after.

Wednesday/8-Sep-21: Leftovers for dinner again, this time the rest of the Stacked Enchiladas. They warmed up well. And a salad of sliced tomato, avocado, red onion, and mozzarella. We finished the Oatmeal Cake for after. 

Thursday/9-Sep-21: Leftovers for dinner yet again. Korean Beef from the freezer with some broccoli added for veggie matter. Over rice. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/10-Sep-21: Shopping today, with a stop at our favorite boulangerie.

Dinner was Grilled Fish Steaks (Q&E, p66), with lieu noir. I've recently discovered that the hinged gadget for cooking on the bbq grill works pretty well under the broiler, so I used that. This was really good. Used up the rest of my yellow cauliflower for Cauliflower with Ginger, Garlic, and Green Chiles (Q&E, p83). I had only half a cauliflower and didn't weigh it, but the amount was rather like a full recipe. And then there was New Potatoes with Cumin (web, p91). All recipes I've made before. All good. For after there were store-bought riz au laits with a sprinkle of ground cardamon. Not quite kheer, but tasty.

Saturday/11-Sep-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Arugula Salad with Sausage and White Beans. This is from Cook's Illustrated's The Best 30-Minute Recipe, p35. I've recycled this book, and it appears I never added it to Cookbooks. Shopping yesterday, I bought some chicken sausage from the anti-gaspi cooler. I cooked the last night, intending to use them next week. But I really didn't feel like cooking tonight and let time slide by, so made this which was planned for early next week. It's easy and tasty. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

Sunday/12-Sep-21: Ed was off this afternoon for his first choir practice in a good long while. 

Dinner was Ginger-Lime Chicken (web), easy to assemble, and very tasty. Ed cooked on the bbq. The chicken was accompanied by green beans (steamed, then tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, and grated parmesan) and Salt and Vinegar Potatoes (web), a tasty addition to my potato repetoire thanks to Nigella. 

Some HD ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 2; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: no; #6 BACKLOG2:  no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/30-Aug-21: Leftovers tonight. We finished the Chicken-Liver Casserole with Mushrooms and Eggplant; I made another batch of Kentucky Minted Carrots (TLSouth, p67), which were just as good tonight even though I didn't cut them at an angle. For after, we finished the peach clafoutis.

Tuesday/31-Aug-21: Dinner was a half dose of Lemon and Thyme Risotto (web). I made it with chicken stock rather than vegetable stock. It was good stuff. I liked the lemon zing; Ed not so much. (How can it be that my sweetie doesn't like lemons?) A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/1-Sep-21: There was an Indian meal featuring a lamb and spinach dish on the plan for tonight, but yesterday Ed said he’d be happy to bbq. I scrambled around to find a new main course. We had Grilled Lamb Steaks with Rosemary, Garlic, and Red Wine (Thrill, p150), using “steaks” from the shoulder rather than the leg. They cooked up really well. After scrounging in the veggie drawer, we had roasted carrots and green beans tossed with some lemon juice, lemon zest, and parmesan when they were done. That looked pretty skimpy, so I made a tomato salad with red onions and basil and a lemony vinaigrette. And some potato gnocchi. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/2-Sep-21: Shopping today. We managed to leave the insulated cold bag behind, so Ed had to go back to get it, bless his heart. 

Dinner was Salmon with Lemon-Herb Marinade (web). This was pretty good. I cooked it under the broiler, using the hinged gadget that you'd use on the bbq. Served with some spaghettis courts, which isn't spaghetti, but is short, and pretty good as a side starch; and thick half-moons of zucchini sautéed in olive and sesame oils, with sliced garlic and sesame seeds and a tablespoon of soy sauce added at the end (loosely a recipe found on the web). Some store-bought riz au laits for after.

Friday/3-Sep-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Roasted Chicken Banh Mi (web). Pretty good stuff, but way too much sugar for the carrots and cuke. I cut it back, but it was still sweet. As a side, there was my old standard, Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web). Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Saturday/4-Sep-21: Dinner was Texas Stacked Enchiladas with Corn and Black Beans (web). Surprisingly good. I had some new tortillas (brand Moctezuma) that are enormous, at least 20cm diameter. The package has 10 tortillas; I used 8 for two stacks with all the sauce and filling. Neither of us could finish our plates, so we'll have this again in a few days. I added more ancho powder along with chipotle and green chile (jalapeño) powder (1tsp each) to the sauce which seemed a bit bland. It seemed like an enormous amount of sauce, but I used it all. No dessert needed.

Sunday/5-Sep-21: Dinner was Spicy Thai Shrimp Pasta* (web; GD). I made all the sauce, with half the shrimp and pasta. No angel hair tonight, so there was spaghttini. No lemongrass (I thought I had some), so I used lemon peel instead. (The peel from one lemon is equivalent to two lemongrass stem, I read somewhere.) Some store-bought riz au laits for after. 

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4 #2 PHOTO: no; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Aug-21: Monday again. Dinner was a halfish recipe of Pan-Fried Chili and Garlic Chicken Livers (web). This was pretty good as chicken livers go (not my favorite thing). They went well with the grits. Also served with Kentucky Minted Carrots (TLSouth, p67). I made a half recipe of what should serve four and thought it servings were a bit skimpy, especially because it was good. A pair of chocolate chocolate-covered madelines for after.

Tuesday/24-Aug-21: Started to make dinner, then discovered I'd neglected to ensure there were fresh bread crumbs available. So I make a loaf of Easy French Bread (Electric, p62). 

Tonight's dinner, Mushroom Tortellini Soup (SimpSups, p116), was on the plan for tomorrow. I used the end of one jar of dried cèpes (porcini) and opened a new jar. Yuck, the "dried" cèpes were moldy, and seriously yucky at the bottom of the jar. So we were a bit short on the dried mushrooms. Pretty good stuff, though. The whole recipe should serve four, but the two of us ate it all. (Used my last jar of AH Paddestoelen Fond. When will we be able to get more, I wonder?) Some mini Häagen-Däsz ice cream cups for after.

Wednesday/25-Aug-21: Dinner was Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad (web). (I collected this from my EAT-L list.) This was a salad to serve eight, but it was a fine dinner for two. A pair of chocolate chocolate-covered madelines for after.

Thursday/26-Aug-21: Shopping today. Our favorite boulangerie is still closed for vacation and I forgot to buy bread at Leclerc, so I guess I'll be making more bread this week. Ed really likes the one I just make, but it's almost gone now.

Used up the last of my chicken livers to make Chicken-Liver Casserole with Mushrooms and Eggplant (TLSouth, p45). This wasn't bad at all. I did expect the eggs and cream to make a kind of custard around the livers, shrooms, and eggplant, but it was pretty watery. Still, tasted okay. Make a little salad as a go-with. Store-bought custard with caramel for after. It's late, but we're well-fed.

Friday/27-Aug-21: Made a loaf of German-Style Whole Wheat Bread (Rustic, p150). This is about the best tasting and textured whole wheat bread I've made.

Dinner was Crispy Fried Catfish (Delightful, p73). The fish was cod rather than catfish. The cod, as cod does, flaked after being steamed. So I fried the flakes. Only a bit of crispiness appeared. The green mango I bought for the go-with salad in the recipe was rotten at the core; I used a can of mango slices instead. Served with plain basmati rice and a half dose of Cabbage Salad (Delightful, p50), which was good again. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Saturday/28-Aug-21: Dinner was a half dose of Turkey Tenderloins and Apricot Sauce (EAT-L; web). I used turkey scallops, from the freezer, rather than tenderloins; the cooking time was a bit less, I think. Served with orzo and broccoli. For after we had Peach Clafoutis (web). This was very easy and very yummy. Used my oval Wedgwood casserole, oval being the traditional shape for clafoutis.

Sunday/29-Aug-21: Dinner was, more or less, a half recipe of Tonnarelli al Granachio e Rucola—Tonarelli with Crab and Rocket* (ClassPasta, p107), made with linguine. 

More Peach Clafoutis for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/16-Aug-21: Dinner was Creamy Blueberry Chicken Salad (web; CL/aug14). I used chicken from the last roast that I did (via the freezer). Blueberries from our own plants. (Which Ed told me about after I'd defrosted some. Have to make some kind of dish tomorrow to use them up.) That didn't look quite enough, so I made a salad of some roasted beets, a small can of corn, cilantro, and a lime vinaigrette. No dessert.

Tuesday/17-Aug-21: Used some of my roasted beets plus some leftover brick hanging around in the fridge to make, more or less, Beet and Feta Samosas (MadeIndia, p48). We had them as a starter while I was finishing the rest of dinner. Not as good as expected; the filling was better than the baked result. Dinner was West Indian Salmon Patties (web; GD). As before, I made four patties instead of six and two are now in the freezer for another night. Served with All-Purpose Rice and Beans (BigFlav, p262), a regular. Made a quarter recipe and still have some left to tart up for another meal. For after, I used yesterday's defrosted blueberries, plus the remains of some raspberries and strawberries I impulse-bought last week, to make Easy Berry Cobbler (MC; HandyBook). We're full.

Wednesday/18-Aug-21: Pizza out tonight before a concert. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Thursday/19-Aug-21: Shopping today. Our favorite boulangerie is on holiday till September. 

Dinner was Spicy Grilled Fish (Q&E, p74) with salmon. Good stuff. It surprises me to find a new, good recipe in this book, since I've used it so much. There was a quarter recipe of Rice with Mushrooms and Mustard Seeds (Q&E, p102) for a side and Fresh Tomato Salad (Q&E, p107). Some store-bought riz au laits with caramel for after.

Friday/21-Aug-21: Dinner was a half dose of Pasta Pentimento* (EatingTog, p170) over whole-wheat spaghetti. Good stuff for so easy. For a salad, there was a halfish dose of Favorite Broccoli Salad* (web; GD; GD). This was good, if not something that went especially well with the pasta. Knowing that Ed doesn't like raw broccoli, I cooked it very briefly in the pasta water. (Was just surprised to find this salad on my DoMeAgain list! I wrote then what we said tonight at table, that this would be very good for a bbq.) For dessert there was some Jam Tea Cake (GD) with apricot jam. 

Saturday/21-Aug-21: In the morning I made the sauce for tonight's dinner, and salted the chicken for tomorrow. 

Dinner was a half dose of Pasta in Chilli Tomato Sauce (HomTrav, p222); this would have served three pretty eaisly. Served over linguine; have a bit left for a lunch. Tingly stuff. An Italian tomato sauce with ginger, chilies, and chili oil. Tasty. 

Some Jam Tea Cake for after.

Sunday/22-Aug-21: Dinner was Romertopf Clay-Baked Chicken, Stuffed with Serrano Ham and Olives (MedClay, p76). I cooked the stuffing separately. This was finished in a, to me, unusual way.  The chicken was taken out of the oven and out of the pot. The bottom was then emptied (to make a sauce with the juices), topped with a wire rack, the chicken put on that, and all back in the oven for another 10min. I've never seen this technique before, but it made for a nicely crisp skin, not usual for Romertopf.

Served with Lemon-Roasted Potatoes with Bay Leaves* (VegHarv, p231). This was good, of course, although I could have cut the potatoes into smaller chunks. I used the rest of my roasted beets to make a small version of Cold Beetroot with Cream (Pomiane, p180), an old favorite.

More Jam Tea Cake for after; it'sgetting a bit dry now.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4