This week in the kitchen

Monday/25-Jan-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Roasted Broccoli Pasta with Lemon and Feta (web). I don't have any whole wheat pasta with shape, so used mafalda instead. Whole wheat would be nice. Instead of making up a steak seasoning (lots of recipes on the web), I used some of Montreal Steak Seasoning I made for something a while ago. We finished the blueberry mascarpone tart for after. 

Overnight Boule brewing overnight.

Tuesday/26-Jan-21: Baked the Overnight Boule this morning.

For lunch I made another improvised sort of reuben sandwich, with the same nice little Russian dressing-ish sauce that I made last week. 

Dinner was Lentil Spinach Soup with Lemon (web), which was pretty yummy. I made it with brown (blond) lentils and two blocks of frozen spinach leaves. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/27-Jan-21: Off for a haircut today, with rumors we may go to lockdown #3 soon.

Left my first batch of yogurt going with 9 hours on the clock. It wasn't quite done after that, so I added another hour. Perfect. Yay! No more overnight yogurt!

Dinner was canned tongue with a grainy mustard sauce. Made a whole dose of Spätzle (MW@Home, p203), which was too much, so have some leftovers of this

. Also some steamed broccoli and cauliflower bits. Then some butterscotch tapioca pudding for after. We're full.

Thursday/28-Jan-21: Dinner was, sort of, a half version of Duck Breast with Cranberry Sauce (web).  I used aiguillettes instead of a whole breast, since that's what was in the freezer and they defrost quickly. Didn't use as much honey as asked. Served with leftover spätzle, followed by a salad. We finished off the tapioca for after.

Friday/29-Jan-21: Made a loaf of French Bread Extraordinaire! (MagicHints, p158) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-), which is somewhat similar to Authentic French Bread in Magic. I baked it in the bread machine rather than in the oven. Used 1-1/2cups T110 and 2cups T65. 

My bread machine will turn 20 this year. Still going strong? Not really, but still going. The gear in the base of the pan is not working as it ought. Ed will try to repair.

Picked up an order from Intermarché today.

Dinner was Spiced Tilapia with Coconut Rice (CL/sep18; web). With cod since tilapia isn't sold around here. Served with Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts* (web). We'll call this a DMA even though it's gone beyond that now. For after, we had some store-bought vanilla. Very good.

Apparently no lockdown right away, but big shopping centers are closed and travel in and out of the country is restricted. Nothing that affects us really. The 6pm-6am curfew remains.

Saturday/30-Jan-21: Last night, figuring out what to eat today, I narrowed it down to two recipes, then choose one. Unfortunately, I left the tag on both recipes. Tonight, I turned to the first and started that one before I realized what I'd done. 

Made yogurt during the day today. 

So dinner was not as planned, but it was good. I made Turkish Pilaf from my old Green Book, recipe probably from either Family Circle or Woman's Day (do these still exist?), collected well before we moved to NL. It's supposed to serve two, but that's very generous; it would probably serve three easily. Had a bit of a salad after. No dessert since we were stuffed.

Sunday/31-Jan-21: Made a loaf of Bill Hatcher's Italian Bread (MC) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Hmm, see that I've done this as a Large loaf before; it's really between Medium and Large. Don't expect it will make much difference. The load looks lovely. We'll see how it is tomorrow. The gear in the bread pan turned as it ought to, without complaint. Yeah, Ed!

Dinner was a half recipe of Sea Scallops with Sweet Red Peppers and Zucchini* (Essential, p409). Good stuff.

For after there was Sara Lee's Crumb Cake (MC), a recipe I collected a long time ago from EAT-L. Made in the food processor, it's easy and fast to assemble. And delicious. Sara Lee-like? Sort of I guess.

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: 9; #8 NEW: 1

This week in the kitchen

Monday/18-Jan-21: Steam-hard-boiled some eggs this afternoon.

Dinner was Curried Parsnip Soup (Ainsley2, p31). Easy and pretty good stuff. Served with a hard-boiled egg. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Started Overnight Boule.

Tuesday/19-Jan-21: Baked off the Overnight Boule this morning.

The cook was having another off day. Quite late, we had Chicken with Morels (How2Eat, p151), two thighs for four people. Yummy. Take a bit of time to be ready, but nothing difficult. Served with some pasta to soak up the delicious sauce and some steamed broccoli. 

I see I need to find a DMA dish for this week.

Wednesday/20-Jan-21: Off the plan today. I really didn't feel like separating eggs and all that rigamarole for a soufflé-ish thing. Instead I steam-hard-boiled more eggs and made Hard-Boiled Eggs Masala (Q&E, p41). Served over plain basmati rice. And, yes, a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/21-Jan-21: After 13 hours the yogurt was not "done" this moring. Most of the jars were still liquid. Cooked them for another eight hours and they seem somewhat better. What's going on?

Made a loaf of German-Style Whole Wheat Bread (Rustic, p150) (WW/Rapid/M=1.5*/-/-). This is one of the first recipes I've seen that asks for "light whole wheat bread", exactly what T110 seems to be. Adding 3tbl of bread flour to 3-3/4cup of T110 seemed a bit silly. Smells really good cooking. A huge loaf appeared at the end.

Dinner was about a 2/3 recipe of Mijoté de Veau au Chorizo (VPG; couldn't find on web), a slow-cooked stew of veal, chorizo, and tomato sauce. I added some smoked paprika along the way. Served over brown rice, although polenta might have been nicer. Pretty good stuff. Mini cups of Häagen-Dazs ice cream for after.

Friday/22-Jan-21: Picked up an order from Intermarché today. Seems like I accidentally deleted the fish from the basket. Replan. Instead we had choucroûte garni, that I bought for the next days. We're full.

Saturday/23-Jan-21: For a late lunch, we had, sort of, reuben sandwiches with some of the leftover sauerkraut, lunchmeat ham, gruyère, and this quickie Russian dressing (which was very good). Open-faced, heated in the toaster oven to warm everything and melt the cheese.

Sunday/23-Jan-21: Made a loaf of DeDe's Buttermilk Bread (MagicHints, p142) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Lovely high white bread loaf. Dark wasn't really needed; strange because my machine tends to make very light-colored loaves.

Dinner was a DMA, Cajun Salmon Burgers* (web), really good and easy. Made up a sort of guacamole, as suggested, for a side, and some canned corn, and some couscous. For after, there was a sort of blueberry tart, using up the mascarpone in the fridge, very loosely based on this recipe. I didn't make the pastry, but used two formerly frozen squares of pâte feuillettée. Blueberries with a tad of sugar for the topping. Yummy, if not especially pretty.

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: 9; #8 NEW: 1

This week in the kitchen

Monday/11-Jan-21: Baked the Overnight Boule this morning. (Changed the name to reflect the shape.)

Dinner was Green Eggs & Ham Soup (web), a halfish recipe. There's a bit of soup left that might turn up as pasta sauce or another soup before long. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/12-Jan-21: Made some Easy Blueberry Cobbler* (myweb) from my Do-me-again list. Remarkably good for as easy as it is.

 

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Chicken Potpie (CL/apr07; web), really a turkey potpie, using brick/briq for the topping instead of phyllo. Livened up the gravy with a bit of cayenne (just a bit, not enough to make it hot). And, of course, some blueberry cobbler, with fresh cream, for after.

 

Unfortunately, to use up odd bits from the freezer, I've just planned a meal for later this week, a kind of a seafood potpie, with brick for the topping. Think I might need to move that out a bit.

Wednesday/13-Jan-21: Defrosted some rumsteack; it was supposed to be a thick chunk but was a thin sheet instead. Cut it into bits and marinated in my meat marinade. Dusted (most of) these with flour and browned in a cast iron skillet. Deglazed with water and a bit of a beef boullion cube to make a little sauce. Served with Clothilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes (web) and some roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. Finished the blueberry cobbler, with fresh cream, for after.

Thursday/14-Jan-21: Made a loaf of German Rye Bread (BigGerman, p254) (Basic/Rapid/M=1.5#/d/-). Used the Basic cycle, rather than Whole Wheat, thinking there was only 1/2cup of rye flour vs 3cups of bread flour. If I remember, next time I'll try the WholeWheat setting.

 

Dinner was Salmon Scallopini with Almond Orzo (web). Yummy stuff. Interesting to cut the salmon fillet into 1/4" slices to be sautéed. Nice sauce too. Served with steamed broccoli bit with garlic and red pepper flakes steeped in olive oil with lemon juice. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

The bread is delicious, a tall loaf, but not fluffy/soft. Might try it with T110 flour next time.

Friday/15-Jan-21: Dinner was Cajun Shrimp Linguine (web), using whole-wheat spaghetti. Pretty good stuff. A salad would have been nice, but the salad maker was out of oomph. Unoriginally, there wasa pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Saturday/16-Jan-21: Started another loaf of German Rye Bread (BigGerman, p254) (WW/Rapid/M=1.5#/-/-). Used T110 flour.

 

We brought dinner from a local restaurant. Had to pick it up before the 18.00 curfew. Nice to have a delicious meal with not more work than setting the table.

Yogurt on overnight

Sunday/17-Jan-21: The rye bread with all T110 (light whole wheat) flour is not as high and not quite as tasty as the one with T65 (bread) flour; might try a mixture of these next time.

 

Off-plan tonight, got started late and didn't feel like cooking what I'd planned. Instead we had Spaghetti with Zucchini and Lemon (MW@Home, p195). Easy and tasty stuff. Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

 

Have been throwing away lots of recipes. The upstairs bins are well over half empty. Small progress. There really are too many recipes that need to be cooked.

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: 9; #8 NEW: 1

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Jan-21: Dinner was Lamb, Spinach, & Feta Phyllo Pie (web), using the oldest lamb in the freezer, rather that the bits from new year's day. I used brick/briq instead of phyllo, which was actually better since my dish was round. This would be nice make in individual casserole dishes, but I guess you'd really need rectangular phyllo instead of round brick. Served with a simple salad. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/5-Jan-21: Didn't feel like starting Overnight Bread last night, so this morning I made some 100% Whole Wheat Bread (BigGerman, 81).

Dinner was a half recipe of Salmon Cakes with Old Bay Aioli (web). These weren't bad except for the saltiness of the Old Bay seasoning. Served with trio rice and Shredded Zucchini (MW@Home, p87). A pretty good plate. Unimaginatively, we each had a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/6-Jan-21: Eating from the freezer tonight, a soup made up of a cardamon stew sauce, some chicken stock, some turkey bits, and rice. Pretty good, and spicy. Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Thursday/7-Jan-21: Finished reading Something Old, Something New last night. Not bad, but not in the same category as Adler's An Everlasting Meal, which is one of my favorite food literature books.

Picked up an order from Intermarché today. Thus, fish for dinner.

We had a halfish dose of Vinegar Fish (Oriental, #102). This was ok, nothing special. The cod flaked, as cod does, so it looked not much like the whole piece of fish in the picture. Served with Rice with Tomatoes and Spinach (TasteIndia, p120). 

A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight. Overnight Bread brewing overnight.

Friday/8-Jan-21: Using up stuff from the freezer, we had veal scallops topped with the last of the  delicious ancho sauce. Served with smashed sweet potatotes (with OJ and chipotle powder) and a Cucumber and Radish Salad. That recipe came from a booklet that came with my Cuisinart, lo these many years ago. I didn't use the Cuisinart, but cut all by hand.

For after, Ed made a fruit salad of the fruit we didn't eat at lunchtime, apple, pear, and kiwi.

Saturday/9-Jan-21: Dinner was a reprise of Thai-Style Chicken Legs (web) using thighs and sauce from the freezer. Not sure if this quite counts as a do-me-again. But Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint* (web) definitely does. With basmati rice. Tapioca pudding for after.

Sunday/10-Jan-21: Dinner was a halfish dose of Mark Bittman's Shrimp in Green Sauce (web). This was almost wonderful, but didn't really make it. Served over polenta, then a salad. Then we finished the tapioca pudding.

Overnight Bread brewing overnight.

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: 7; #8 NEW: 1

New Year's Day 2021

Made it to 2021, whew!

There was no starter. I discovered my eggplant was bad, and I didn't have the energy to improvise something else at the last minute. There was plenty of food even though we missed a course.

Our main was Moroccan Mechoui (MedClay, p127). This is Wolfert's attempt to recreate a mechoui where the lamb is cooked buried in a brick-lined pit. She uses a large Römertopf to recreate the effect. The result is delicious meat, falling off the bone tender. Since my shoulder was quite a bit smaller than she asked, I probably should have cooked it a bit less. Ed thought it was a bit dry; I didn't especially.  

I served this with Carrot Salad with Cumin, Cinnamon, and Sweet Paprika (Morocco, p79) and Moroccan couscous, an organic mix from the health food store, both old favorites.

For after there was Galette des Rois Ecossaise (web), Scottish because of the whisky in the chestnut and almond filling. I forgot to set the timer while this was cooking, so it's a bit browner than it ought to be.

We were full and well-fed. 

All the best for a healthy and happy 20201!

Kitchen goals old and new

Kitchen goals for 2020 

 

Well, what a year 2020 turned into, what with both the Covid-19 epidemic and Ed's illness. It's a shame that I didn't still have a bread-making goal, since I'm making bread several times a week now to avoid going in a boulangerie or grocery. This is how I did on the goals I had.

1. Veg/fish — Averaged more than 3.8 vegetarian or fish meals a week. This is not a hard goal to meet, but it does keep me focused on non-meat meals. 
2. Backlog — Made some progress on this, but not nearly enough. There are so many interesting recipes on the web, there's a backlog of these getting put into my meal planning spreadsheet, and of recipes from cookbooks I've read.
3. Guests — This goal got sidetracked with the quarantines, and in between we still haven't been receiving. 
4. Short — No short project  done this year. Tried to get one in at the end of the year, but couldn't manage.
5. Long — No long project done this year. 
6. Read — With trips to the grocery store largely non-existent, I've taken to reading cookbooks at bedtime. Not ideal, but kept this going. I've not read as many as I'd have liked. Have kept up with the maintenance, which was all this goal was really, so I guess it was successful even though the number is low.
7. Recycle — I'm way over my goal on this one, so much that I stopped listing them because of the time take takes. I was surprised how many of my books were not listed at Cookbooker; the total there must be at least 10% too low. There is now empty space on my cookbook shelves! Of course if we'll be moving to a smaller place, I'll have to reduced more on the next pass through, but I made good progress this year.
8. New — Have bought only four cookbooks this year, with one on order to be delivered soon.

Kind of a so-so year goal-wise. I really need to make more progress on clearing out the backlog of recipes to try. There's just not time to cook everything that looks (or looked at the time) interesting. 

Kitchen goals for 2021

This will likely be another difficult year. Although my interest and energy for cooking has diminished, these goals do help me focus on things I'd like to do, so I think I'll continue with them. Although I have lists for both, I'll drop the goals of doing long and short projects. Altogether this seems like a lot of goals, but three of them are related to clearing out my backlog of recipes, and that's something I'd like to do in an organized fashion, rather that just tossing what's there.

1. Veg/fish meals — I'll continue cooking at least three vegetarian or fish meals each week.
2. Photo — Ed is always saying I should take pictures of our dinners. I'll aim for at least one a week. (Yes it's boring looking at other people's food photos.)
3. Do-me-again — Every week I'll cook one thing off my Do-me-again page. No reason to record them if I don't use them. Not sure if this will make meal planning easier or not. We'll see.
4. Guests — Whenever we feel safe having people in the house again, we'll resume aiming to have one or more people for a meal once a month.
5. Backlog1 — By the end of the year, I'll clear out the stacks in the office. 
6. Backlog2 — Even more ambitious, clear out the notebooks in the cookbooks cabinets.
7. Recycle — During the year, I'll recycle at least another 30 cookbooks. This may be more difficult thatn last year.
8. New — I'll add no more than five cookbooks to my collection this year. Each book exceeding this adds two to the Recycle goal.