This week in the kitchen

Monday/25-Jul-22: I took an afternoon nap, and then it was too late to cook. So we had a big salad for dinner. And a chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Tuesday/26-Jul-22: Dinner was a halfish dose of Sticky Korean Lamb Skewers (CL/dec13; web; GD, notes). Easy and good stuff. Along with some brown basmati rice and Sigeumchi Namul (Korean Spinach Side Dish) (web). This was so-so, probably because I had to improvise the required gochuang, but went well with the rice. (I've made something similar to this spinach that we liked more; can't remember exactly when or what for it was.) A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Wednesday/27-Jul-22: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Braised Eggplant with Paprika, Coriander, and Yogurt (CI; web; GD, notes) served over polenta. I'm unclear if this is meant as a side dish or as a veggie main, but it made a fine veggie main. 

Thursday/28-Jul-22: Shopping day. Followed by a nap. 

Dinner was a halfish dose of Spanish Baked Cod in a Delicious Tomato Sauce (web). This was good stuff. My cod was done after about ten minutes in the oven; 16-18 would have been way too long. Served with trio rice. For a starter that turned out to be post-main, there was a grated carrot salad on sucrine (baby romaine) leaves. For after, there were store-bought yogurts with chestnut cream. 

Friday/29-Jul-22: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Carbonara Sauce (ClassItal, p202) with whole wheat spaghetti. (I think regular spaghetti would be better.) Awfully good stuff. Then a big salad. And a chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Saturday/30-Jul-22: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Garlic Pork and Green Peppers (CPC, p78). This was easy and very tasty. Served with some linguine and a bit of steamed broccoli. Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after.

Sunday/31-Jul-22: Didn't have the oomph to make dinner tonight, even after an afternoon nap. So pizza it was.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 2; #2 PHOTO: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: no; #6 BACKLOG3: no; #7 RECYCLE: 8; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/18-Jul-22: For a starter tonight, I add smoked trout to the extra (now well-)marinated zucchini strips from yesterday, topped with a sprig of dill on each plate. Worked out very well. Dinner was Rumsteck Mariné Basilic et Citron (VPG; can't find on web). This was only so-so. The lemon-and-oil marinade for the meat was not very interesting or appropriate. The recipe has you cooking the meat 5 minutes on each side, way too much. I cut this back substantially and the meat was still too well-done. Served with the teeny ravioli from the east of France, ravioles de Dauphinés, stuffed with cheeses and parsley. And some steamed snijbonen chunks. 

Tuesday/19-Jul-22: Dinner was Alessia's Favorite Mushroom Sauce (web), wherein dried cèpes amplify the taste of plain old shrooms. I made a whole recipe (3 servings) for two people, and served over polenta rather than pasta. This was pretty good. Then a salad. 

Wednesday/20-Jul-22: For dinner I made a whole recipe of Pasta with Fast Sausage Ragu (Essential, p343). This should serve four and I intended to freeze half for another day, but ended up serving it all over whole wheat spaghetti. Good stuff. 

Thursday/21-Jul-22: Dinner was Chili Garlic Shrimp (web), which was pretty easy and quite tasty. Served over basmati rice. Accompanied by a clean-out-the-fridge salad (cuke, half a red bell pepper, shreds of carrot, radishes) with an Asian-ish dressing which turned out pretty good. Some vanilla ice cream with a slog of crème de cacao. 

Friday/22-Jul-22: Shopping day today, the full complement. Leclerc Drive, Leclerc, and Intermarché Drive.

Dinner was 15-Minute Thai Coconut Curry Salmon (web). This was easy and tasty. Served over brown basmati rice. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Saturday/23-Jul-22: Made up some ground roasted cumin since I'm almost out.

Dinner was Chicken Salad with Mint, Onion and Lemon Grass—Laab Gai (ThaiCC, p68). This was fast and easy and quite tasty. No ground chicken, so I chopped up some aiguillettes, just a bit tedious but works well. Served with leaves of sucrine (mini romaine lettuces). Some store-bought riz au laits for after.

Sunday/24-Jul-22: Lunch out today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: no;
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: no; #6 BACKLOG3: no; #7 RECYCLE: 0; #8 NEW: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/11-Jul-22: Tonight we had Tagliatelle with Artichokes and Olive Oil (web). Unfortunately I didn't manage to print all the steps, and by the time this handicapped computer managed to get to the recipe online, it was too late. I didn't go to all the trouble to make the toasted bread crumbs, but used chapelure doré (toasted bread crumbs) instead. And I really don't see the point of cutting the leaves off the mini artichokes; leaving them whole or maybe halving them would have been fine. Still, it was pretty tasty stuff. Served with a plain salad. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

I finished reading Ingredienti last week, and really enjoyed it. It's Hazan's last book, where she talks about, yes, ingredients, how to choose and how to use them. No real recipes, but some

Tuesday/12-Jul-22: Dinner was Mojito Shrimp, a recipe I collected from EAT-L in 2007. This was okay, but nothing fantastic. Served with polenta and a salad loosely based on Grilled Corn Salad (web). A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after. 

Wednesday/13-Jul-22: A yummy dinner of Spicy Beef Salad (RezaSpice, p27). This kind of meal is really good on a hot summer day.  The pieces of rump steak that I got were thick and thin, making the cooking a bit difficult, but I managed to still have some red in thinner one. The success of this makes a bit of a dilemma. I've been thinking I'd recycle my two Reza books when I get to that again. Now I see I've been pretty happy with what I've made from this one, although the instructions often leave a bit to desire, so I may have to reconsider. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after. 

Thursday/14-Jul-22: Dinner was a half recipe of Onion and Chorizo Clafoutis (Master, p340). This was an interesting idea, but didn't quite work. Unlike every other clafoutis I've made, there was no flour or such in the batter to help the custard set up; I added a rounded quarter cup of flour, which was probably a bit too much. I baked in the toaster over, and it seems the temperature was a bit high. And the sweet, soft onions on the bottom seemed to clash with the rest of the dish. Edible, but nothing special. Then a simple salad. A bit of Morbier and a chocolate-covered madeleine each for after. 

Friday/15-Jul-22: Shopping at Leclerc and both Drives today. 

Dinner was Pan-Fried Trout with Rosemary, Lemon, and Capers (web), made with lieu noir instead of trout. This was pretty good. As suggested by one of the comments, I added bruised rosemary with the shallots and removed at the end. Served with trio rice and and old favorite, Baked Eggplant Slices (TooMany, p114). Some store-bought vanilla riz au laits for after.

Saturday/16-Jul-22: A nice dinner tonight. We started with an old favorite Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio Oil (VegHarv,  p214). (I have some zuke left, maybe for a lunch treat tomorrow.) Pretty much used up my pistachio oil on this. For our main, there was Gingery Hot Duck Salad (web; GD; notes). Cooked the duck following instructions in VegHarv, p111, which is the best way to do it. Following the lead of the pistachio oil, we had a pistachio madeleine each for after. (These aren't as good as the chocolate-covered ones, but now we know.)

Sunday/17-Jul-22: Tonight I scratched my itch for some stir-fried rice by making stir-fried rice. No real recipe; I just read a few and smerged them. Itch scratched. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after. 

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: no;
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: no; #6 BACKLOG3: no; #7 RECYCLE: 0; #8 NEW: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Jul-22: Dinner was Stir-Fried Chettinad Chicken (MJ@Home, p79). This was easy and yummy. As suggested, served with Basmati Rice with Lentils (MJ@Home, p212); used 1/4cup lentils and 1/2cup brown basmati. Definitely didn't soak the lentils 3-5 hours are suggested. Did soak the lentils and rice together for what might have been half an hour. And there was Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173). Having larger zukes than asked, I make thick diagonal slices and cooked them on the grill pan that came with the stove. All was good. A pistachio madeleine, on sale last week, each for after.

Tuesday/5-Jul-22: Dinner was a halfish version of One-Pan Shrimp Scampi with Orzo (web). This was interesting. Followed by a simple salad, and then a pistachio madeleine each for after.

Wednesday/6-Jul-22: We had lunch out today. Nothing much happened in the kitchen.

Thursday/7-Jul-22: Shopping today. Dinner was a half dose of Roasted Pistachio-Crusted Salmon with Broccoli (web). The pistachio topping was interesting, but not wonderful. The broccoli didn't really get done. Served with some little whole wheat macaroni. For after there were store-bought riz au lait topped with a slog of crème de cacao. 

Friday/8-Jul-22: Ed asked for a big salad, so that's what we had. And a bit of Morbier after.

Saturday/9-Jul-22: A hurried dinner tonight, before going out to a concert. We had a half recipe of Turkish Lamb Chops with Sumac, Tahini, and Dill (Dinner, p72; cookbooker). It's amazing how well lamb goes with all kinds of spice rubs. Planned to serve with Green Beans with Caper-Vinaigrette (Dinner, p377), but couldn't find any haricots verts, so broccoli it was. This was good, but green beans would be better. With some Moroccan couscous. Ravel and Tchaikovsky for dessert.

Sunday/10-Jul-22: Dinner was Chicken Thighs with Creamy Bacon Mushroom Thyme Sauce (web). I used lardons instead of bacon, cooking those first before adding the sliced mushrooms. Instead of cream, I used crème fraîche. Good stuff. (I see now, that I was supposed to add the baked thighs to the finished shroom sauce for a bit. We both thought the thighs had a nice crispy skin that would have been wasted in the sauce.) For a side there was Rosemary Courgette from the Oven (MC), actually from the toaster oven, which was good; it's a Dutch recipe from either Tip or Allerhande. Another side of whole wheat spaghetti, which was good with the shroom sauce. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Yet another week without a photo. :-(

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: yes/no;
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: yes; #6 BACKLOG3: no; #7 RECYCLE: 0; #8 NEW: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/27-Jun-22: Dinner was a half recipe of Indian-Spiced Chicken with Coriander Chutney (BirdHand, p166). The kip filets were marinated in tomatoes and spices, then grilled. Yum! The Coriander Chutney was also good. Leftovers will appear in sandwiches later this week.  Served with two old favorites, Rice with Peas and Dill (Q&E, p103) and Tomato, Onion, and Green Coriander Relish—Cachumber (MJ1, p172). Used mint instead of coriander, as I learned from watching Jaffrey's TV version of this. All very tasty. A bit of leftover chocolate tapioca pudding for after. (Did I write yesterday that I made that?) 

Tuesday/28-Jun-22: Dinner was Spanish Pork Skewers (1Good, p191). I made the whole recipe with a varkenshaas just over 500g. Used ground oregano. Mixed the cumin, coriander, S&P, smoked paprika, and oregano together to rub on the pork slices, then rubbed them with the garlic/salt/oil mixture. These sat around at room temp for a couple of hours. I had some arparagus and haricot verts need to be used. A web search turned up a recipe for Sautéed Beans and Asparagus with Garlic and Chive Butter (web; GD). This is a horrible site that won't let you print a recipe without signing up. No thanks. I copied out the details for the Google Drive file linked above. And then there was polenta. For after, we finished the chocolate tapioca pudding.

Wednesday/29-v-22: Ed barbecued Grilled Chicken with Za'atar (web) for tonight's dinner. This was good and really easy, especially since I used za'atar from a jar in the cupboard rather than mixing it up myself. Served with Moroccan couscous (packet from a health food store) and Moroccan Carrots (1Good, p59), both old favorites. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Thursday/30-Jun-22: Shopped today, in Leclerc and at both Drives.

Dinner was Seared Tuna, Zucchini and Lemon Salad with Green Olive Smash (web). This was interesting, but not entirely successful. Although it's fun to slice zucchini ribbons with your mandolin it would have been nicer to slice them in round, maybe slightly diagonally. Ed didn't like the lemon sections at all; I thought they were best cut into smaller bits. A treat for after: we split of piece of cheesecake, gateau de fromage. Yum.

Friday/1-Jul-22: Crockpot on overnight with Slow Cooker Carnitas with Pickled Red Onions (MC). I've made this several times before; it was originally from a site that's no longer with us. The Pickled Red Onions here are way too sweet; I've split this part off and dinkered with it to make some really tasty pickled onions. The carnitas were good. Served with a throw-together salad of the canned bean that didn't get used last night, canned corn, avocado, tomato, radishes, cilantro, lime juice, a slog of olive oil, and a glop of crème fraîche. Turned out pretty good. Some store-bought chestnut mousse for after. Tastily full, we are.

Saturday/2-Jul-22: Dinner was Mushroom and Pea Lamb Broth Risotto with Gremolata (web). (Yes, that title needs some punctuation or re-writing or something to lose the pea lambs.) A few weeks ago, I made some stock of lamb and goat bone from the freezer. I used that to make the risotto. This was pretty good. Then a salad. Then some camembert. 

Sunday/3-Jul-22: Dinner was Neapolitan Zucchini Soup (Monastery, p111). This was simple and surprisingly taste in spite of that. Smaller zucchini, as asked, would be better, but I didn't really have any of those. (Sh! This cookbook is organized by month and, since April, I've been doing one of each month's soups.) We finished the camembert for after, then had a mini HD ice cream cup.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: no;
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: no; #6 BACKLOG3: no; #7 RECYCLE: 0; #8 NEW: 3