This week in thekitchen

Monday/26-Apr-21: Dinner was Asparagus Egg Salad Wrap (MWClass, p158). The two of us ate two wraps each for dinner, so a whole recipe. The egg salad was good, although the tarragon verged on being too strong. These might be nice to wrap up and take for a picnic. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Tuesday/27-Apr-21: Made ABM bread in the morning, Classic White (Electric, p26) (Basic/Rapid/Large/dark/-). Haven't made this one in a long time. I used 2 cups bread flour (T65) and 1 cup light whole wheat flour (T110). It was good.

Dinner was Shrimp Scampi Fra Diavolo* (web; GD); this is served over bucatini. It was good. Then a big salad. Then the rest of the strawberry ice cream I made last week.

Wednesday/28-Apr-21: Yogurt on overday. 

The not-quite-white Classic White, is pretty good. Crumbles a bit when cut for a sandwich.

Froze up 14cups of chicken stock today from the pot I started on the weekend or whenever.

Tonight we had a halfish version of Black Pepper and Beef and Cabbage Stir-Fry (web). I used the sirloin left from our bbq on Saturday. Used a chineeskool; could have used more of this. But altogether easy and pretty darn good. Over rice. We finished the St Felicien for after.

Thursday/29-Apr-21: Ed picked up our groceries from two Drives today.

Earlier in the week I saw a new recipe for salmon over asparagus and peas; quickly changed the meal plan for that. Then managed to not put asparagus in my basket. So, back to what I originally planned. That was Swiss Salmon Spinach Pie (PotPies, p136), which is pretty far from a pot pie, but was good anyhow. Some store-bought vanilla yogurt thingies for after.

Friday/30-Apr-21: Dinner was Peanut Noodles (web), easy and pretty good. Served with what is now a standard salad with SE Asian food, Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (GD; web). Some mini HD ice cream cups for after. 

Started an Overnight Boule to bake off tomorrow morning. 

Saturday/1-May-21: Yogurt on overday. Baked off the Overnight Boule.

A while ago I finished reading Ready When You Are and have been dithering about what to do with it. I enjoyed the read, especially that she gives tips for early preparation and for things to do with leftovers. And it's Martha Rose Shulman. I use or have great sentimental attachment to many of her books. But this one just doesn't do it for me somehow. To solve the dithering, and keeping in mind my goal of reducing my cookbook collection, I'm going to recycle this one. I think I'll copy a few recipes to put on my list, but the book can find a new home.

Dinner was, loosely, Marvellous Chilli-Cheese Meatballs (Ainsley3, p151). Ainsley meals (from my books, anyhow) are always fast ones. But meatballs really need to sit in the fridge for a while to hold together. So, in the afternoon, I made the meatballs (using my home-made Italian sausage, since there was no ground pork to be had at the Drives) and put them in the cool. And I started the tomato sauce as a separate thing, rather than cooking at the last minute. Unfortunately I absent-mindedly forgot to turn the heat to low, so almost burnt the sauce. But I didn't; I did add another can of tomato pulp and cook it down to a thick sauce. Pretty good for pretty easy. 

Store-bought vanilla yogurts for after.

Sunday/2-May-21: We have  surplus of overripe bananas, so I made a loaf of Best Banana Bread (GD). This isn't really the very best banana bread, but it's not bad, and it's made in the cuisinart, so that's good.

Dinner was Mushroom and Spinach Crepes with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Drizzle (web). I haven't made crèpes in ages, and forgot how long they take to cook. They don't zip along like tortillas. The recipe for Whole Wheat Crèpes (web; GD) is pretty good; I mixed it up in the morning, as one does with these things, even though not instructed to here. This recipe says it serves eight, but uses 1/4 of the batter to make each crèpe. I made six crèpes from the one recipe. (I'll add it to my old standard recipe in Art.) The two of us ate all the mushroom-spinach crèpes; a trifle more spinach  might be nice. 

We had banana bread for after, of course.

Put the lamb leg on to marinate for tomorrow. Beans are soaking overnight. I saw, belatedly, that they should have soaked for 24 hours before cooking; to compensate, I brought them just to a boil then turned them off.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #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: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/19-Apr-21: Dinner was Harissa Chicken with Leeks, Potatoes, and Yogurt* (web; Dinner, p51). I made the whole recipe with my four kip thighs. Added some broccoli with the leeks, since I had some needing to be used. It was good. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after. 

Tuesday/20-Apr-21: Late this morning, I used up two bakjes of gariguette strawberries to make a half dose of Fresh Strawberry Cobbler (web). I didn't have a cast iron skillet the right size, so I used a glass casserole dish (from IKEA) instead.

 

Dinner was a half recipe (one varkenshaas) of Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Onions (EAT-L; web). I had in my mind that this wanted dried figs; I must have another recipe somewhere. It was good, but would have been better if I'd soaked my dried figs for a bit. Served with the last of my grits and some roasted asparagus. 

For after, we had a piece of cobbler with cream (rather than "whipped topping"). Good stuff!

Started a batch of Overnight Boule.

Wednesday/21-Apr-21: Baked off the Overnight Boule. Yogurt on overday.

Ed picked up orders from two Drives today.

Dinner was a half recipe of Pecan-Crusted Fish (MWClass, p367), with cod. Had to change the butane bottle in the middle of cooking. This was good. Served with trio rice and some diagonal cut asparagus (Ed thought that was cute) with a squeeze of lime. Then, as recommended, half of Spicy Cantaloupe Salad (MWClass, p96); made this with arugula as the bitter green. This was yummy. Finished the Strawberry Cobbler for after.

Thursday/22-Apr-21: Dinner was Gratin de Gnocchis; a magazine clipping, couldn't find it on the web. This was gnocchis, mixed with a "sauce" of spinach, tomato, and garlic, topped with parmesan and "grated cheese" (I used gruyère), all baked for 20min. This was easy and tasty. Followed by a big salad.

Friday/23-Apr-21: We had melon quarters with pineau for starters tonight. Then Smoked Trout Chowder (web; GD); I made a half recipe. It was good. Then some St Felicien. 

Started an Overnight Boule.

Saturday/24-Apr-21: Baked off the Overnight Boule.

I ordered a bit of sirloin (faux filet) to make a stir-fry sort of thing for dinner. The piece I got was bigger than I needed, and it was a lovely thickish piece, and the weather is nice. So I marinated the steak with my regular beef marinade and Ed barbecued. As sides with had Balsamic Green Bean Salad* (web; GD) and Roasted Peri Peri Potatoes* (web; GD). Then some homemade strawberries and cream ice cream. Yum.

Sunday/dd-25-21: Yogurt on overday. 

Brought a lunch-time meal home from a nearby restaurant and enjoyed it al fresco, serenaded by a cuckoo.

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: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/12-Apr-21: Baked the Overnight Boule this morning.

Dinner was a half dose of Spicy Eggplant Stew with Potatoes, Mushrooms, and Chickpeas (WorldVeg, p196) served over brown rice. A half recipe, but all the spices and a bit short on salt, as is normal for Jaffrey's recipes. Some pear cake with cream for after.

Tuesday/13-Apr-21: Dinner was a halfish dose of Veal Scaloppine with Marsala (ClassicItal, p361). This was easy and good. Served with smashed potatoes and steamed veggies, cleaning out the fridge, asparagus, haricots verts, and broccoli stems. 

We both had a chocolate itch, so we had chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

Wednesday/14-Apr-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Baked Salmon with Cucumber Relish* (web). Pretty tasty, although the cucumber relish needed salad. I tossed the red onions and dill with the relish. Served with a side of whole-wheat spaghetti. It was good. We're full, having had leftovers for lunch after Ed brought back groceries from two Drives.

Thursday/15-Apr-21: Easy dinner tonight. We ate (most of) the Simple Beef Curry I made last week. Served over plain basmati rice, with Cachumber—Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish (MJ1, p172) as a side/relish. Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after.

Friday/16-Apr-21: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Drunken Shrimp (web). Served over a bit of pasta. Not bad, not great. Followed by a bit salad. No dessert needed.

Saturday/17-Apr-21: Made up a half recipe of Red Pepper Sauce (Flavours, p11) for tomorrow's dinner.

Dinner was Thai Red Chicken Curry (web). This was pretty good. Recipe needs a bit of work: Way too much rice for two; I used 2/3cup but thought that was too much. Too much liquid; would match the 200ml packet of coconut mild with the chicken stock. We also thought it could have used 4tsp of red curry paste, rather than 2or 3, to be just the right heat. The recipe encourages you to use vegetable as available. I had green beans, so used those in place of the zucchini. Didn't have any basil, which might have been nice. Followed by Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web), which is a favorite. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Sunday/18-Apr-21: For breakfast we split Manny's Lemon "Pancake" (CtryCityEgg, p85). This was like a Dutch baby, topped with lemon juice and a bit of powdered sugar.

Made a loaf of Dennis's Blarney-Stone Bread (Magic, p70) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-) this morning. It's a funny misshapen loaf. Curious how it will be when we cut into it.

Started to make the gnocchi for the sauce I made yesterday, but just didn't feel like it. Instead I used mafalda for the pasta and mixed a bit of the Roquefort that should have been in the gnocchi into the drained pasta. It was okay, nothing special. Then a big salad. Then a part of chocolate-covered madeleines. 

Seem to have decided on two more books to recycle, CtryCityEgg and Flavours (after copying a few recipes). The egg book is attractive, but not enough interesting recipes. Flavours should have been good, but most of the recipes I've tried have been decidedly so-so. Need to reduce.

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: 1; #8 NEW: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/5-Apr-21: Made a 1-1/2# loaf of Basic Whole Wheat Bread (Magic, p33) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-).

Used up lots of odds and ends to make a halfish recipe of Cabbage Wedges with Meat Sauce (TooMany, p54). This is kind of an old-timey dish, something my grandmother might have served, but was pretty good. Cabbage, not overcooked, topped with a tomato sauce with ground pork. There was supposed to be some green bell pepper involved, but I didn't have one, so I used up the rest of last week's asparagus. Wasn't bad at all, but some red pepper flakes in the sauce might have been good. Strawberries and cream for after. 

Tuesday/6-Apr-21: Ed picked up groceries from two Drives today.

Dinner was Moroccan Fish Tajine (web), served over whole wheat couscous. This was okay, nothing that needs to be done again. Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after.

Wednesday/7-Apr-21: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was a half recipe of Pasta with Asparagus-Lemon Sauce* (web). This was pretty good. As suggested by a comment, I added lots of lemon zest and a bit of juice to the sauce and roasted the asparagus tips. This was delicious but a bit skimpy as a dinner; I was too lazy to make a salad. Strawberries and cream for after. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines as a snack while ironing/watching a video.

Thursday/8-Apr-21: Dinner was Lemon Chicken (web), a recipe from an old Bon Appetit that I got from EAT-L. This was easy and very tasty, although there was too much sauce. Served with sautéed zoodles; these sat in a drainer for three hours or more before cooking and hardly needed squeezing. Then a salad. Then more store-bought vanilla yogurts with the rest of the strawberries. 

Friday/9-Apr-21: There was a mouse caught in the Ivar shelving this morning. Ed let him (juvenile male, I think) when he took Buddy for a walk.

We got our first vaccinations today—yay!

Made some Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). I used half bread flour and half T110 ("light" whole wheat flour). The dough seemed a bit dry so I added another bit (1tbl maybe) of water. A bit more even might have been nice. Pretty good though.

Dinner was Garlicky Tortellini, Spinach & Tomato Soup (web). Easy to make and delicious. Some HD ice cream cups for after. 

Saturday/10-Apr-21: Oops, didn't think to start our crockpot dinner till too late, so we had tomorrow's dinner instead. That was a half recipe of Curried Fried Rice (MW@Home, p226), using cooked basmati rice that's been leftover in the last week or so. This is always good and feels like a healthy dinner. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Sunday/11-Apr-21: Yogurt on overday. 

Late in the morning, but earlier than yesterday, I started Simple Beef Curry* (Hériteau, p36) in the crockpot. It was done too late for dinner, so I've jarred it up and put it in the fridge. We liked this a lot last time, but it seems relatively tasteless to me, even though I doubled the amount of curry powder. Off the DoMeAgain list, with this one. We'll have it one day next week.

Before I started dinner, having a surplus of pears, I made a Pear Bundt Cake (MC). This is an old favorite recipe. It's still good.

Dinner was another DMA recipe, Orecchiette Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Broccoli* (web; GD). This is easy and fast and very tasty. A pinch of red pepper flakes with the garlic wouldn't hurt at all, but it's fine without. Pear Bundt Cake for after, of course. I forgot to take a picture of dinner, so there's no photo this week.

Started a batch of Overnight Boule.

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: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 3