This week in the kitchen

Monday/2-May-22: It was a clean-out-the-fridge dinner tonight. The ends of two soups (turkey-wild rice and pea&carrot); three lamb chops; a little salad from the leftover couscous; a salad-salad using more of the dressing from the beets; bits of grillons and terrine; all the small bits of cheese. We're full. 

Tuesday/3-May-22: Dinner was Vegetable Soup with Spicy Merguez Sausages (web; GD; notes). This is a versatile recipe, a tasty way to use up odds and ends of vegetables. I used carrots, leek, zucchini, and potatoes. My celery was dead, so I added some dried celery leaves. Made a whole recipe and have lots to freeze. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Wednesday/4-May-22: Dinner was a half dose of Oven-Baked Salmon with Charred Onions & Old Bay Radishes (web). Except for the charred onions, this was pretty good. I followed the recipe's timing for the onions and they were too black, giving a bitter taste to the "sauce" made from them. Served with orzo, followed by a salad with freshly made Croutons (Art, p173). A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Thursday/5-May-22: Dinner was a half dose of Lemon and Thyme Chicken Caprese (web). This was pretty and good. For a starter there was Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio Oil (VegHarv, p214), which I've made several times now. Think my lemon thyme didn't make it through the winter, at least neither plant that's alive has a lemony smell. Too full for an after.

Friday/6-May-22: Dinner was Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Butter (web). This was easy and yummy, but not for every day because of the fat content. Then a salad. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Saturday/7-M May on-22: Really didn't feel like cooking tonight. Pizza it was.

Sunday/8-May-22: The ABM made a loaf of Whole Wheat Bread (Fleischmann's) (MC). Steam-boiled some eggs, thinking to have tuna salad with our soup dinner, but decided against that. 

Dinner was Shaker-Style Soup (Monastery, p72). This was really easy and tasty, kind of a dill-flavored cream of tomato soup. For after we had some store-bought chocolate mousse things.

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: 0; #8 NEW: 2

This week in the kitchen

Monday/6-Jul-20: Today I went to pick up our order at Leclerc Drive, then went into the shop—yes, inside the grocery! Lamb is on sale this week and I wanted a shoulder. So did a lot of people apparently; there was an empty place where the packages should have been. Did get some lamb chops, but that was my bonus. Also restocked my spice cabinet, picking up the next jar for eight spices.

Dinner was Shrimp and Broccoli Alfredo (web). This was tasty. It's hard to tell from the recipe how many it's supposed to serve. I used about half the shrimp, two-thirds of the pasta, and all of the sauce. Then some store-bought (!) riz au lait.

Tuesday/7-Jul-20: BookChatters this morning. For dinner we had a take-out pizza—the first time I haven't cooked our meal since 5-March, four months and a day ago. It was wonderful. :-) 

Wednesday/8-Jul-20: Meant to take a package to be returned to Amazon today. When I went to double-check the address, I discovered it had to be there before noon. Oops. Tomorrow.

Dinner was Veal Niçoise Style (web). I had about half again as much veal as she asks, so increased that much. I had a regular portion and Ed ate the rest. (He needs to maintain his weight.) Served over Spätlze (MW@Home, p203), nice, chewy stuff it is. Needing veggies, I also made a little salad of grated carrots with a really lemony vinaigrette, served over some leaves of sucrine (kind of mini-romaines). Some St Maure for after.

Thursday/9-Jul-20: Made some Buckwheat Bread (BigGerman, p38), WW/Rapid/L/-/-. Oops, forgot to put in yeast! Have a lump. We'll see how it is at breakfast.

Made up a double dose of Herb Salt (Art, p172) to replenish my supply.

Hot today and I didn't feel like cooking what I'd planned. We had a big salad, then some cheese for after.

Friday/10-Jul-20: The yeast-less bread is, um, interesting. Looks a bit like roggebrood,but without the big grains of rye. Tastes okay, but not the best for a sandwich. I'll make this one again soon, with yeast.

Off to Orange today to get another Airbox as a tide-me-over for the bad internet we're having. Wouldn't have G4 as the only internet solution, but when wired doesn't work, it's an alternative. Stopped by Leclerc on the way home. There were lamb shoulders and I got two for the freezer. Will make one of them soon, when I can decide among the recipes I've got flagged.

For dinner we had spinach-ricotta dumplings from the freezer with tomato sauce, also from the freezer. And a big salad. And some store-bought mousses, chocolate noir. Store-bought desserts twice in one week, rather than twice in one month. That's what happens when you haven't been inside a store for months on end.

Saturday/11-Jul-20: We're getting short on fruit, so Ed picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today. And that meant fish for dinner.

Which was Cabillaud en Papillote à la Salsa Verde (web; VPG; strangely this magazine clipping came from VPG, but the same recipe is on the Régal site). This was pretty good. The sauce was flat parsley, cornichons, capers, vinegar from the cornichon jar, and some olive oil all blended up. Some small potatoes, roasted, for a side. We finished off some St Maure for after.

Sunday/12-Jul-20: Buckwheat Bread (BigGerman, p38) on again today, WW/Rapid/L/-/-, this time with the yeast.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Chili Rubbed Pork with Mango Salsa (web). Needless to say I didn't use McCormick's own chili seasoning, gluten-free or otherwise. I used some spicy pork rub I made up in a huge quantity a while ago. Somehow I neglected to notice that the pork was supposed to be barbecued. Instead I cooked it in the oven: empty skillet into oven preheating to 450F/220C; added the varkenshaas and cooked about 20min. Good it was. Also the mango salsa. Made up a sort of pilaf with rice and vermicelli for a side. For dessert, we had Sautéed Bananas (MW@Home, p320) over vanilla ice cream. This is kind of Bananas Foster without being flambéed. Easy and tasty.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/22-Apr-19: Off to the Pranzac Foire aux Vins today with Cath, then home for a bbq. There was Best Grilled Chicken Thighs with Mustard and Tarragon (CI/jul18, web). Very good these were. And some Dilled Potato-Cucumber Salad (VT; MC; web), an old favorite. And some of Corinne's broccoli, steamed and topped with a bit of garlic-flavored oil and lemon juice. Some of the Postre de Mango for after.

Tuesday/23-Apr-19: Worked on the meal plan today. Somehow all next week was meat, meat, meat, and needed to be jiggled more than I would have liked.

Tonight's meal was Aubergine and Sweet Potato Thai Red Curry (web). Easy to do, edible but nothing special. Served over rice. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for dessert.

Wednesday/24-Apr-19: We meant to go to Bordeaux today, but the weather forecast was bad enough to keep us home. Bordeaux had incredible storms yesterday, while we had almost nothing.

Started a pot of chicken stock.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Smoked Paprika Stroganoff (web). This is a pressure cooker recipe, easy, relatively fast, and tasty. For a starter, I made some Carrot and Apple Salad (Art, p26), although twice as much as stated for two people. It suggest serving with ricotta or cottage cheese. I had some fromage blanc needing to be used, so I did. I used a ring to assemble the dish, salad on the bottom with a creamy, wite topping. Picture worthy, but no camera was handy. Mini ice cream bars for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/25-Apr-19: Yogurt on overnight, ha! Power went off at 9pm, returning about 3am. Dragged myself out of bed to go downstairs and restart the yogurt. Power off again about 9am for another six hours. I restarted the yogurt yet again, but can't imagine what it will be like and no one will be around to put it in the fridge.

Meanwhile we did our shopping. Bought another starter for yogurt. Before we left the store, the wind came up, making an enormous noise inside. As we were loading the car, it started hailing. Yipes! Apparently the same thing happened here. I went to ask a neighbor about the electricity and she had closed her shutters agains the wind and hail.

For dinner there was Asian Catfish Wraps (MC, web). Problem was that I thoughtlessly bought whole sole rather than filets, so we picked bones out of our wraps. Very tasty though. Some organic Gariguette strawberries and the rest of the fromage blanc for after.

Friday/26-Apr-19: Dinner was Spicy Pork Rolls with Satay Sauce (200Budget, p130). I've made the version of this with minted yogurt sauce with turkey scallops. This time I used veal scallops. One day I'll find pork scallops and remember to do this. It was yummy, including the satay sauce, which remained too thick in spite of extra coconut cream, but was really delicious. As a side there was Tumis Buncis (SriOwen, p195). Well, I more or less followed this recipe, but added carrots as described in Tumis Bunchis (MJFarEast, p175). Jaffrey uses more "real" spices, chilies, ginger, galangal, curry leaves, rather than powdered ginger and cayenne. Still, what I made was good. With plain basmati rice. HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Saturday/27-Apr-19: Really nice meal at a nearby restaurant this evening. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Sunday/28-Apr-19: Chicken stock is still going. Need to freeze it up tomorrow.

Dinner was Gingery Squash Quiche (BoldVeg, p200; cookbooker). This was the best butternut squash quiche-y sort of thing I've had. Then a salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: n/a
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/3-Dec-18: I recently made something from Didi Emmon's Vegetarian Planet that we liked a lot, and I just noticed I've put several dishes from that book on the meal plan, so I think that will be my cookbook for December.

Early dinner today so we could go see the Nutcracker from The Royal Opera House. For a starter, there was Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill (BEFCC, p35), a favorite. For the main, we had Rôti de Porc au Jambon Cru, which I made on vacation, but haven't been able to find on-line. Good stuff, though. Strange problem that the meat wasn't done after the appropriate amount of time in the oven. We roasted it a bit more, but still there was a large chunk undone. Along with French Scalloped Potatoes—Pommes de Terre Dauphinoise (BEFCC, p51). Ice cream for dessert, mini cups for me and Bill, and a mini bar for Ed.

Tuesday/4-Dec-18: Ate out for lunch. Tonight we taste-tested cheese: Abondance, Beaufort, 9-month-old Comté, Emmenthal, Gruyère. Emmenthal lost.

Wednesday/5-Dec-18: Lunch out at a new restaurant today. Then shopping.

For munching later, we worked on our five cheeses along with a terrine and some sweet-spicy cornichons that Bill liked and we didn't. And a brownie after, as if we needed that.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/6-Dec-18: Another lunch out. Oscar to the vet in the afternoon. Cheese and cold pork for our evening munchies. Back to regular eating tomorrow.

Friday/7-Dec-18: Bill went home today. Back to normal food programming.

Dinner was Orzo with Olives, Broccoli, and Basil (VegPlanet, p294; cookbooker). Delicious.

Saturday/8-Dec-18: I went off for a candle-making afternoon today and got home quite late. We had an easy meal, the rest of the roast pork, some trio rice, and some steamed broccoli. Two bites of the Auvergne cheese platter to be finished, and two of the chocolates that Pascal delivered this morning, from the old folks dinner that we missed in October.

Sunday/9-Dec-18: Busy morning in the kitchen using up leftover bread. Made some Double-Boiler Bread Pudding (MC, Handybook) and Croutons (Art, p173).

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles and Lemon-Garlic Butter (web), which wasn't bad. Followed by a big salad. Then some bread pudding. We're stuffed.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 2; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Vegetarian Planet
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Oct-18: Lunch out for our anniversary today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Yesterday we took a load of books up to the Hope charity shop. I came home with not one, but two new cookbooks. One is Soups from the Good Food series; I have several of these now, picked up here and there, and they look quite good. The other is called Flavours of the Sun, which looks promising.

Tuesday/16-Oct-18: Another winner dinner from Ainsley Herriott. I made Crusted Roast Rump Steak with Crispy Speckled Onions Rings (Ainsley2, p80; cookbooker). One what I thought was a biggish onion served the two of us for onion rings. The first time I've made onion rings actually. Didn't expect the rings would be soaked in milk. Messy cooking, but delicious. I made all the topping for my two steaks, that was fine. As go-withs I boiled, then sautéed some potatoes (need to use them up) and a little salad of broccoli stems. Some St Félicien for after. We ate well.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/17-Oct-18: Shopping today.

Dinner was Spicy Fried Fillets of Fish (Floyd, p118). Tuna was the best looking fish of the day, so that's what we had. This was pretty good, although the recipe was screwy, calling for a huge amount of green chiles. I used two and a bit for my half recipe; it was nicely hot. I used leftover potatoes from yesterday to make Yellow Rice with Potato and Cumin (SpiceKitch, p64), one third of the rice with half the spices. The other side was Green Peas in a Creamy Sauce (Q&E, p87). These are both tried-and-true recipes. There was faux-kheer for dessert, riz au lait with a sprinkle of cardamom.

Have to say this was probably my favorite thing I've made from Floyd. There recipe is iffy, but it made up quite nicely. I'm pretty well committed to recycling this book (the first one I've found to recycle on my cookbook-a-month quest), but think I'll save this recipe, with modifications.

Thursday/18-Oct-18: Packing related activities all day today.

Made some cilantro pesto to use up supply in fridge. Froze it.

Washed and dried most of lemons (instructions) and froze them. We'll see how that works.

Dinner was Artichoke Spaghetti (Art, p59), made with canned tuna, a really old favorite. Then a big salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Friday/19-Oct-18 - Sunday/21-Oct-18: Off to The Netherlands for a visit. We did nothing in the kitchen.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 2; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Floyd's India
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/28-Aug-17: Early meal today, a half recipe of Za'atar Chicken Cutlets and Lemon-Parsley Salad (web; cookbooker). (Hmm, this recipe is now "locked" at Milk Street. I wonder how I managed to print it from their site in July?) Very easy and tasty chicken, looks nice on the plate. Might be a trifle too much pomegranate molasses. (Did I really say that?) Served with the leftover Moroccan couscous from yesterday, with the leftover chicken and shrimp chopped up a bit and supplemented by a bit more couscous. Also Zucchini Chunks with Citrus and Mint (web) which I made a couple of weeks ago; roast some chunks, toss with a dressing of orange and lemon juices, 2:1) with some chopped mint added in. Easy enough. I had some more of the salsa too, but Ed passed on this.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/29-Aug-17: This was supposed to be fresh pasta day, but it's just too hot. So we had Cilantro Pesto (PastaMach, p155) over casreccia, then a big salad. Then we finished of the Melon Sorbet.

Wednesday/30-Aug-17: Shopping today.

Dinner was Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa (web). I mixed a bit of the salmon rub with the salsa. Served with polenta. Then a salad. Then some store-bought riz au lait.

Yogurt on overnight, since there's a recipe coming using lots of yogurt.

Thursday/31-Aug-17: Early meal of Spicy Cajun Shrimp (MW@Home, p255) over rice followed by a big salad. While that was happening, the oven dried some bread for Croutons (Art, p173).

Friday/1-Sep-17: Lunch out with Cath today before visiting Doug. Made up some Watermelon, Feta, and Black Olive Salad (MC) for Ed to take to singing day tomorrow.

Saturday/2-Sep-17: Saved a bowl of watermelon salad for me to eat today. Ed was off singing all day. I made a third recipe of a clafoutis with Corinne's little plums. Yummy. Grated up a bunch of zucchini/courgette for the freezer.

Sunday/3-Sep-17: Cath served us lunch today. Nothing further happened in the kitchen

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no for August, no for September; #4 BREAD: no for August, no for September

This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-Aug-17: A bit day today. Went to the préfecture to exchange my Dutch driver's license for  a French one. Then went to visit Vanille, a bichon-cross doggie needing a new home. And brought her home with us. We've both felt how odd it is getting using to a new being in the house. Pogo must have caused the same feeling, but we don't remember. She hasn't worked things out with Sophie and Oscar yet. To avoid disputes in the night, we'll probably close the cats out of the bedroom tonight, which is a bit sad.

Dinner was, more or less, Gratin de Saucisse, Pomme de Terre et Petits Pois (web). I made a whole recipe (serving 4), so we can have it again later in the week. The proportions in the recipe are a bit strange: one chipolata per person, two potatoes for four, etc. It would be better to half-cook, boil, the potatoes, since some of them were a bit crunchy. Used crème fraîche and cheddar for the topping. Needed lots of pepper. But good. Then cantaloup sorbet.

Tuesday/8-Aug-17: Lunch out today. Nothing furthered happened in the kitchen today.

Wednesday/9-Aug-17: Shopping today.

Dinner was Baked Cheddar Polenta and Salmon with Crushed Pea and Garlic (web). Not bad at all, but way too much polenta. I made two packets, one for each or us. I put the extra polenta in another little dish to do something with soon. Blueberries and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/10-Aug-17: Leftover chipolata gratin for our early meal, with some leftover zucchini salad. Then a regular salad. That's all.

Made up some croutons with a bit of leftover bread, loosely following the recipe in Art.

Friday/11-Aug-17: It was Tuna Cutlets (web) for dinner tonight. Really tasty (Indian), but the mixture was ready to make patties. I added some of the egg and some besan, which helped a bit. So, not so pretty, but still yummy. Served with trio rice and Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173), which has become a favorite. Blueberries and vanilla ice cream again for dessert.

Saturday/12-Aug-17: Very nice dinner out with Patrice and Wim (for Wim's birthday). Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Sunday/13-Aug-17: Earlyish meal today, Zucchini Noodles with Creamy Avocado Pesto (web). No spiralizer, so I used the fat julienne blade on my mandoline. Made about a half recipe, which should serve 8, but seemed like a skimpy 2. Tasty, though. Started with an insalata caprese, sort of, with the first tomato of the season, not as ripe as it should have been, and basil from the sandbox garden. Then a salad.

Yogurt on overnight, and chicken to marinate for tomorrow's dinner.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/31-Oct-16: Homemade yogurt for breakfast today. Happy face!

Used leftovers from the other night to make Warm Broccoli and Potato Salad (MDSalads, p15) for lunch. There was enough of it we didn't feel like eating dinner. I planned to make a meal from the current Time-Life book, but didn't feel like doing anything further. Replan necessary.

Made some Herb Salt (Art, p172).

Tuesday/1-Nov-16: Lunch out today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Wednesday/2-Nov-16: Because we were out most of yesterday, I didn't get the meal plan and list made for shopping today. Instead, I made the Time-Life meal that I originally planned for Monday. Then we went off to a movie.

Thursday/3-Nov-16: Since Ed's choir practice would run long today and he had errands to run afterwards, we decided to postpone shopping till tomorrow. We had Time-Life crab cakes for dinner along with canned corn and trio rice. Squares of chocolate for dessert.

Friday/4-Nov-16: We finally got to shopping today, and even that was late. Friday afternoon is not the best of times.

Dinner was Panko-Crusted Baked Salmon (web), made in the oven this time as it should be. Quite good it was. Served with steamed broccoli topped with lemon juice, and a kind of pilaf with shallots and some sliced (impulse-bought) shiitakes. All was good. Chocolate squares and a Pogo walk for dessert.

Saturday/5-Nov-16: Today my bike, which has been sitting on flat tires in the far shed since we moved here, went off to one of the refugées who were moved from Calais to Montbron. A bit sad to see it go, but glad it will be used.

For dinner, I used a recipe from a recipe for Chicken Satay Marinade from an EAT-L friend to make, yes, Chicken Satay with two kip filets. I cut these into four strips each and marinated them a good long while, then skewered them and grilled under the broiler. Should have made some peanut sauce to go with it, but it was still good. Served with Coconut Rice (30MinInd, p100) and a Thai-ish cucumber salad vaguely following a recipe from the web. All was good.

Sunday/6-Nov-16: Yippee! Ed had fried chicken for dinner tonight! Served with some garlic mashed potatoes for the gravy and some peas and carrots. We were full, no dessert needed.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: yes for October/November

This week in the kitchen

Monday/24-Oct-16 through Thursday/27-Oct-16: We were away all of this time and hope nothing happened in the kitchen.

Friday/28-Oct-16: Arrived home today. Had planned to stop for pizza, but that didn't work. Instead I made the Artichoke Spaghetti (Art, p59) variation with tuna. Good and fairly easy, except for being pestered by one annoying cat.

Saturday/29-Oct-16: I did a quick shopping today, to get us back on schedule for Wednesday shopping.

Dinner was a one-dish meal of pork chops. Not remembering that this was a one-dish meal, I also made some steam-sautéed potatoes (which were yummy) and some broccoli. We tasted the potatoes to verify how good they were, and I'll make a broccoli-potato salad for lunch tomorrow. We were stuffed, so no dessert was needed.

Back in business—yogurt on overnight!

Sunday/30-Oct-16: Desperation chicken for dinner tonight, along with a salad. This week they had small (100g) packages of mixed lettuces, which made for a better size, not such a giant salad. For dessert, I warmed some of the free poffertjes from Albert Heijn, five each, and we had them with powdered sugar.

The gas ran out as the pasta finished. Before Thanksgiving, hooray!

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: no for October/November

This week in the kitchen

Monday/16-Nov-15: For dinner I made a three-course menu from a VPG. I served the entrée/starter, Croustillants de Courgette à la Feta (Crispy Things with Courgette and Feta), with the main course, Agneau Mariné et Houmous au Cumin (Marinated Lamb with Cumin Hummus). There are lots of versions of the lamb recipe to be found on the web. Some of them even include the instruction to cube the lamb, which is clearly shown in the picture, but not instructed in the version I cooked from. I just grilled the lamb steaks quickly. We're still out of tahini, which I didn't remember, so I made the hummus with peanut butter with some sesame seeds thrown in. Ok, if a bit crunchy. The starter was a mixture of grated zucchini, mixed with feta and gruyère, wrapped in brick, which is like phyllo, but round, then fried a bit. Pretty good mixture. Dessert was Gratin de Pommes Vertes (Gratin of Green Apples), well, only one Granny, since I was making a half recipe. Apple peeled and chunked, then sautéed in a bitter butter with some sugar. Into gratin dishes*, topped with egg yolk mixed with honey and sugar, then under the broiler. Not bad.

*Sounds impressive to have gratin dishes around? Actually they're the dishes from the frozen crème brulées I buy occasionally. Mostly they get used for feeding cats, but sometimes they're useful in the oven.

Tuesday/17-Nov-15: Back to Germany tonight for Hoppelpoppel—Eggs with Bacon, Onions, and Potatoes (TLGer, p67). Kind of comfort food, potatoes, eggs, and bacon.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/18-Nov-15: Orange (France Telecom) sent a technician this  morning to work on our internet connection. The phone support guy I've been dealing with insisted that the problem was in the house. The guy came and checked everything and said all is well. Before he got here, he did something outside ,somewhere in the village, that increased our download speed from about .9Mbps to over 2Mbps. Nice for us. Hope it stays up.

Somewhat belatedly thinking about our Thanksgiving meal today while doing the meal plan for the next week. Better late than never. Couldn't find a copy of our favorite dressing recipes so really have to turn on the Cube in the next days to get to Mastercook.

Dinner was a half recipe of Pici alla Salsccia e Funghi—Pici with Sausages and Wild Mushrooms (Lorenza, p140). The pici wasn't homemade, but storebought in Italy. The shrooms weren't wild ones, but shiitake. The plum tomatoes were really ones from our potager. Ah well, it was good anyhow. Then a salad. Then we split a magnum classic, a third for me, the rest for Ed.

Thursday/19-Nov-15: Busy with Stuff during the afternoon and it got late. Dinner was a favorite old stand-by, Artichoke Spaghetti (Art, p59), made with linguine and with a can of tuna stirred in at the end. Yummy stuff. Served with a salad of tomato and fennel, which was also pretty good. Finished off the egg custards for dessert.

Some of the Stuff I did included making pickled green beans and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving.

The big news today was that Café Clemence, where my BookChatters group meets monthly, is closing. Today. So we are looking for a new place. And, it turns out, a new day. Such a mess.

And the Cube won't turn on. Seems like the power supply no longer does it's job. One on order from Amazon for not too much.

Friday/20-Nov-15: Shopping today. Our shopping bag was searched on the way into the grocery store. Not my shoulder bag, but the shopping bag. Not at one of the outside doors, but at the inside gate to the grocery. Very weird and fairly useless if this is an anti-terrorist move.

We'd planned to go out this evening, but Terry wasn't feeling well, and the weather is miserable, so we stayed home. Popped the leftover zucchini croustillants in the toaster oven to crisp them up, then some frozen multi-grain pancakes.

Saturday/21-Nov-15: Dinner was a half recipe of Ligurian Fish and Potatoes (web), appropriate since we've recently dabbled our toes in the Ligurian Sea. Wow, the fish was way too salty, even though I rinsed after salting. Served with a made-up sautéed zuke and tomato thing I've done (sort of) before. Which was lightly salted, so mixing all together worked well.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/22-Nov-15: Started Ruhlman Easy Turkey Stock (web) today. It will sit in the oven overnight.

No lunch and had our dinner earlyish (is that linner?). A half recipe of Eggs on Curried Rice (Rodale2, p113), which I've made before. This time with wildfond instead of beef stock. Then a small salad. Then we each had the meat off one of the roasted turkey wings. And a mini mag for dessert.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 UNUSED: no; #3 GRAINS: yes; #4 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #5 PASTA: no; #6 BREAD: no; #7 FotW: no for November

This week in the kitchen

Monday/26-May-14: Still cleaning out the freezer. For a starter we had radishes with butter and salt. For a main, I grilled two kinds of merguez, one poultry, the other beef and lamb. Served with smashed sweet potatoes. Then a salad. Then some ice cream, using up the cream with marscapone and two other bits of cream in the fridge, served with a splash of crême de cacao.

Tuesday/27-May-14: Shopping today. And we visited a cave in La Roche. We asked for a wine that would go with spicy pork and he recommended one that was quite cheap, which we took. And, lo and behold it was very good with spicy meat.

Dinner was a double dose of Pork Vindaloo (Q&E, p33), served with rice and Carrot and Onion Salad (MJ1, p171). For afters we had some Haagen-Dasz vanilla ice cream, with a splash of crême de cacao again.

Wednesday/28-May-14: Yogurt on overday.

Out for lunch today. For dinner there was cheese, fruit, and cherry tomatoes with quiche, rillettes, and such from a charcuterie in Rochechouart. We're stuffed.

Thursday/29-May-14: We had intended to eat lunch out but couldn't find a place to do it that was handy, so we snacked again for lunch. While Ed had choir practice, Bill and I visited a pottery fair. Then we borrowed an electric knife and tackled the dried ham. With that and a hacksaw, Bill and Ed managed to get enough meat for our starter and dinner. One end of the joint with some meat in the freezer for beans or such, along with four 100g packets of slices. And more to come next time we have some time and energy for it.

For starters with had melon and, yes, sliced ham. For the main, there was Pour-Cousin Paella (Secrets, p249), which is an old favorite. For dessert, Ed and I split a Magnum Classic, while Bill had one to himself.

Friday/30-May-14: Saw Bill off at the train station today, then popped into the Victor Hugo market for a few things (tomatoes, cilantro, bread, and a head of lettuce). Then home to start getting things back to normal.

Dinner was Indian Scrambled Eggs (MJ@Home, p76), followed by a salad, then some strawberries with a dab of the marscapone-cream stuff.

Saturday/31-May-14: Yogurt on overday. Off to see the pottery with Ed this time.

Early dinner so we can go to a concert. It was an old favorite, Artichoke Spaghetti (Art, p59), followed by a salad. For dessert we chunked up our usual lunch fruit (currently apple, pear, and banana) and tossed with a bit of lemon juice and a tiny dab of honey; crumbled a ginger snap over each bowl to serve.

Sunday/1-Jun-14: Since we had pasta and salad for dinner last night, tonight we had the leftover paella mixed with a can of cannellini beans for dinner. (It will be pasta and salad again tomorrow.) For a go-with, I took the leftover polenta from a while ago, sliced it, sprayed it with olive oil, and toasted it under the broiler. Nice stuff. Then a big salad. We were full.

May's gone by, and I haven't finished reading the month's Time-Life book (Indian Cooking), let alone cooked anything from it. Have to get on that now.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: no for May, no for Jun; #4 FotW: no; #5 BREAD: 1

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Mar-13: Looks like I Heart Cooking Clubs will close down after Madhur Jaffrey finishes in March unless someone comes forward to host it. Not me. Will be back to cooking from old cookbooks for me.

Really didn't feel like cooking tonight. Went out looking for a nearby open restaurant, unsuccessfully. Came home and made a couple of omelets and warmed the leftover risotto. That was all. Will need to get serious about cooking tomorrow.

Tuesday/5-Mar-13: Finally got the Fennel, Pernod, and Broccoli Pie (web) made for dinner tonight. Used a single crust from the freezer rather than making the one here. Mostly Parmesan, some hollandse geitenkaas for the cheese. Pretty good, not wonderful. Did like the way the flavors of the fennel, broccoli, and peas combined. Maybe in some kind of a salad this would be good.

Wednesday/6-Mar-13: Meal for IHCC tonight, then off to the movies.

Thursday/7-Mar-13: Ed feeling poorly today and asked for chicken soup for dinner. So I made chicken noodle with mushrooms and carrots. It was good. He drank the broth and left the good stuff. Oh well. (Does chicken soup with no chicken meat in it count as vegetarian? It does if you're Ken Hom, but I suppose not.)

Friday/8-Mar-13: Yogurt on overday. The two cabinets left and right of the sink are now on the wall to the left of the stove. Makes it a bit tight getting into the room but will do while their wall is being refurbished. The kitchen guy came to measure for the sink and peninsula counters. Now we await the devis.

Used one of the turkey breasts that I didn't cook at Thanksgiving to make a turkey roll. Filled with a paste of onion, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, cumin, oregano, and chili powder. Poured cider over it for cooking. Pretty good. Made a pretty good salad of the noodles/shroom/carrots left from yesterday's soup, plus some leftover rice, plus some defrosted peas, plus some chopped parsley, all with a lime juicy vinaigrette.

Saturday/9-Mar-13: Made Herb Salt, same old recipe from Art, also in my Handy Book. For lunch we ate the rest of the broccoli pie, which didn't sit well with either of our touchy tummies. We were supposed to go out this evening, but Ed was tired after more kitchen demolition work and I just didn't feel like it. So we sat outside to read for a while, then had our usual lunch fruit for dinner.

Sunday/10-Mar-13: For lunch, I halved two avocados, mushed up the innards a bit to enlarge the hole, broke an egg into each, S&Ped, then baked for about 20min. Pretty good actually, especially with a dollop of soft goat cheese on top. For dinner we had a big salad.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 5
This month: #3 PASTA: no, #4 BREAD: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/18-Feb-13: Yogurt on overday.

This week's IHCC dinner was Persian Egg and Potato Cake (WorldVeg, p538). Followed by a big salad. That's all.

Tuesday/19-Feb-13: Spent a long time today working on the next week's menu plan and grocery list for tomorrow, all of which will be thrown to the wind if normal practice is followed.

For dinner I defrosted a chunk of the Thanksgiving turkey roulade and sliced it. Sautéed some shallots and mushrooms, deglazed with a slug of white wine, added some AH paddestoelen fond and some cream, set the turkey slices and steamed broccoli florets on top till all was good and hot. Served over trio rice. For afters we pigged out on some cheese. I'll probably be sorry.

Wednesday/20-Feb-13: Shopping today. Saw some ready-made polenta disks and bought on impulse. Now what will I do with them?

Dinner was a half of Shrimp in Spicy Lime Sauce (web). A bit sweeter than we like, but good enough; easy and fast, certainly. Served over rice. Then a bit salad.

Thursday/21-Feb-13: Made some Garlic Broth (MDSoups, p55) for the freezer.

Dinner was (sort of) Grilled Chicken with Harissa and Mint (Diaries, p203; cookbooker). Ran out of gas in the middle of grilling. I guess it's not possible to run out at a convenient time, is it? Served with an new favorite, Zucchini and Feta Cheese Salad (WorldVeg, p640) and trio rice. Yum.

Friday/22-Feb-13: Yogurt on overday. Another yogurt jar broke in a kitchen demolition accident. Getting low now.

Dinner was Baked Broccoli Egg Supper Bake (Art, p80), broccoli in a cream sauce (with shrooms) and an egg plopped in the middle. Used two individual casserole dishes rather than scooping it out to serve. Then a salad. That was enough.

Saturday/23-Feb-13: Off to visit tiles today. Found some expensive ones (€110/m2) we really liked. Tomorrow we'll see if we have enough of the Amstelveen kitchen tiles left to use here. We're afraid they might be just not enough. Fingers crossed.

Put a pork belly on to marinate for tomorrow.

Dinner was Goat's Cheese and Fennel Risotto with Pea and Pernod (web). Pretty good. Not sure how many it was supposed to serve, but I've got a good serving left. Maybe it will show up as part of dinner soon.

Sunday/24-Feb-13: Oops, got started cooking the pork belly too late, so it will get another chance to marinate in the sub-0C temps outside.

Didn't check out the old tiles today. Tomorrow perhaps.

Dinner was Cavatelli with Slow Roasted Broccoli and Harissa (web). I added some water, rather than oil, during the "roasting" process for the broccoli. Have almost used up the exotic jar of harissa I bought last year. Exotic, rather than the normal toothpaste tube of harissa that's in most groceries. Easy and a pretty good variation on the broccoli-pasta theme. They some double-chocolate mini-Magnums for dessert.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 5
This month: #3 PASTA: no, #4 BREAD: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/11-Feb-13: Had the rest of the cauliflower tart for dinner. Then a salad. Then some double-chocolate mini-magnums.

Tuesday/12-Feb-13: Yogurt on overday. Made Coconut Pistachio Sweetmeat (MJFlavs, p88) for for this week's IHCC.

We intended to go to a concert this evening, but didn't feel like it in the end. Had our pizza leftovers for lunch and fruit for dinner. (My tummy feeling unhappy, drinking fizzy water.)

Wednesday/13-Feb-13: Shopping today.

Dinner was Yucatan Red Snapper FIllets (Art, p102), using panga and chipotle flakes instead of regular chili flakes. Hadn't made this in a while. Good stuff. Served with trio rice and Haricots Verts in Walnut Oil (Lunch, p216). Used up the last of last year's walnut oil for this, which is a good thing because this year's bottle should be arriving soon. Ed thought this plate needed a picture:

Thursday/14-Feb-13: Had a nice Valentine's Day lunch at a restaurant, only some apples this evening.

Yesterday we bought a sack of (too many) munchies for tomorrow night's choir party. Tonight I made Sharon Frye's Herb-Marinated Feta and Olives (MC) and Peppered Pecans (Tabasco, p14 ; MC). Will probably make some guacamole tomorrow.

Yogurt on overday.

Friday/15-Feb-13: Nothing happenin' in the kitchen today. Went to make guacamole and discovered there was no cilantro in the fridge. Now have two nice avocados for something or other. Choir dinner tonight after the "performance." Both the pecans and the olives were hits.

Saturday/16-Feb-13: Used the rest of the can of condensed milk to make a scaled down version of Chocolate Oat Bars (web), using up the condensed milk left from the coconut-pistachio roll. Forgot the chopped walnuts, which was a shame because then they really would have been super-duper; instead they were just super. Didn't use any of the same branded stuff, of course, and had to make self-rising flour.

Otherwise we were feeling so full of sweets and other junk left from last night that we just had a salad for dinner.

Sunday/17-Feb-13: Second day of lovely weather and clothes drying on the line. Gave away lots of the Chocolate Oat Bars because there's just too much for us to eat.

Went to make a butternut squash recipe for dinner and found that my slice of pumpkin substitute had gone bad. Replan. Made a halfish recipe of Pasta with Broccoli and Blue Cheese (web); used mini lasagnes instead of fettucine, and only 6 oz. More broccoli. Probably more cheese, but didn't really measure. Good stuff. Some chopped walnuts might have been a nice addition.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 5
This month: #3 PASTA: no, #4 BREAD: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/17-Sep-12: No bread in the house. Popped some Authentic French Bread in the ABM this morning when I got up.

Almost out of herb salt, so made a double dose of Herb Salt (Art, p172). Used maldon salt this time; wonder if we can tell the difference?

Froze up the Buttermilk Pineapple Sherbert. Tasty. Think I like this one better than Ed, unfortunately. 

Leftover Tamale Pie for dinner. And a salad. And some Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Tuesday/18-Sep-12: Yogurt on overday. Shopping today. Found pineapple slices (big can) and chunks in juice—which seems to be a fairly new concept here.

For dinner, there was a half dose of Fish with Pineapple Chutney (MWLowFat, p292), making a dent in the leftover pineapple chunks. I blitzed the chutney with the staff mixer; it would have been better to use the food processor to keep more texture. Oh well. Side was a very loose version of Golden Basmati Rice (MWLowFat, p185), golden with turmeric and grated carrots. Ed suggested adding forgotten peas from Sunday's chicken salad, which was a good idea except that I threw them in at the beginning instead of letting them steam atop the rice at the end. They were kind of olive, rather than kelly, green in the end.

Wednesday/19-Sep-12: Dinner was a half dose of Warm Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese (VeryBest, p44). It was tasty enough, but not really successful, I think. Hard to serve it attractively, and I think it would have been better tepid, but then how do you melt the cheese?

Used up Barbara's mirabelles to make another clafoutis from the web. Good it was. Made a half recipe, thinking we'd have it for two nights, but we ended up eating it all.

Ed kept hearing drip drip drip in the kitchen. (Me not hear.) At lunch he couldn't locate it. At dinner, he found it—the little water heater that provides hot water for the kitchen and the Tardis is leaking badly. Guess it's rusted out as these things do. :-( Finished up the dinner dishes and turned off the water outside. That means no water in the toilet in our bedroom also.

Thursday/20-Sep-12: Ed went out looking for a new water heater this morning, found one, did some preparatory work, went off to choir practice, came home, and installed the new thing. It's bigger than the old one, which means we'll have more hot water, but we also lose space for (at least) four mugs. Meanwhile, I washed breakfast and lunch dishes in the bathroom sink.

To console ourselves, we went out to dinner. Also it was the 30-year anniversary of when we arrived in the Netherlands and ended up staying forever.

Friday/21-Sep-12: Pineapple Fried Rice (MC) tonight, with shrimp rather than scallops, which are prettier. Finished off the last of the pineapple chunks, Got everything ready while Ed was out, then assembled quickly. And forgot to add the fish sauce, soy sauce, and cashews at the end. Oh well, it was good, better than last time because I actually had trassi (shrimp paste) around. One day I'll get this recipe right.

Saturday/22-Sep-12: For dinner there was a more or less half recipe of Spicy South Indian Cauliflower (VeryBest, p131; cookbooker), wherein we learn that an average-sized European cauliflower is about 75% bigger than an American one. (Mine was 3.5# vs 1.5-2# specified.) Not bad. Served with rice. And an oh-so-healthy dessert, providing protein and veg, Carrot Pudding with Cardamom and Pistachios (Gajar ki Kheer) (Sahni1, p456; cookbooker).

Sunday/23-Sep-12: Dinner was a half dose of Spicy Tunisian Carrot Frittata (VeryBest, p244), This was quite nice, my most successful frittata to date, maybe because of the cast iron skillet. Served with a big salad. Then double chocolate mini Magnums for dessert.

Thunderstorms forecast (and happening) overnight, so all computers unplugged.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: no, #5 VEG/FISH: 6
This month: #6 PASTA: no (it's on the menu plan, but just doesn't get done)

This week in the kitchen

Monday/10-Sep-12: A late start to the morning, a visit with neighbors on a Pogo walk, and the day just flew. It got too late to make what was on the plan, so I made, embroidered a little, Black Bean Salad Santa Fe (365Veg, p54).

Today I finished off the bread I started last night (and forgot to note). This was Jim Lahey's now famous No-Knead Bread. I had the recipe from my friend Sam, but it's also all over the web, starting at the NY Times in November 2006.

Tuesday/11-Sep-12: Shopped this afternoon. No broccoli to be found, but lots of romaine, big and little, that wasn't there last week.

Dinner was a half recipe of Lemon Sole with Chipotle & Ancho Chilli Recado (Jamie, jul11), with panga. It's to be served with a Chunky Avocado & Cherry Tomato Salad (Jamie, jul11). And I added some trio rice to complete the plate. All was good. and easy enough. Double chocolate mini Magnums for after.

Wednesday/12-Sep-12: Dinner was Tom's Brick Chicken (CastIron, p63), a super way to cook a spatchcocked chicken! Very tender and moist. Served with Clotilde Dusolier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and some grilled eggplant from Barbara's garden. Double chocolate mini Magnums for after. (We're getting boring here.)

Thursday/13-Sep-12: Yogurt on overday. Lunch with the Ladies That Lunch; carrot sticks for dinner.

Friday/14-Sep-12: For dinner, there was Tamale Pie (OldLaurel, p299; NewLaurel, p307). Used black beans (rather than pinto or kidney) and tarted it up a bit with some ground oregano and chipotle powder. Pretty tasty stuff, really, if not all that tamale-ish. Then a salad. Then some more of those double chocolate mini Magnums. The dessert chef is really not doing her work around here!

The mobile boulanger is on vacation for a couple of weeks. A mobile epicier (a grocery store on wheels) came around late this afternoon and the neighborhood was out buying bread. Nobody was clear when he would come again. It seems like he may only come only once a week, whereas the regular boulanger comes four times.

Saturday/15-Sep-12: Off to Limoges for a forgettable (Groupon) lunch. Nothing happening in the kitchen.

Sunday/16-Sep-12: Yogurt on overday.

Lots of work in the kitchen today. A bit of stale bread became Croutons (Art, p173). I used olive oil rather than butter. Into the freezer with those.

Cleaning pantry shelves turned up some cans of fruit that ought to be used. Pineapple first, then peaches. Skillet or Upside Down Cake (Joy, p607). The sugar didn't want to melt completely in the skillet, but that didn't matter much in the end. I opened a flat can of pineapple slices; they didn't cover the bottom of the skillet, so I opened another flat can. Oops, that was crushed pineapple. I forgot we found this last time we were in the Netherlands. So I filled the skillet with pineapple chunks from another expired can. This recipe uses lots of bowls (which seems odd for an upside down cake cooked in a skillet). Trying to shortcut this, I made rather a mess of the dough part, but it worked OK in the end. 

Then I used the end of my buttermilk, the opened crushed pineapple, and some of the chunks to make the broth for Pineapple Buttermilk Sherbert (MWLowFat, p394).

Dinner was, more or less, Curried Chicken Salad (Rosie, p34), using the remains of the brick chicken. No red cabbage shreds, which I expected, but I forgot to add the defrosted peas. Oh well. They'll turn up in something next week.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #6 PASTA: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/12-Mar-12: Today's excitement has been the new cat in the house; we've brought Oscar home. Didn't feel all that much like cooking, so made lasagna, as if that were a no-work dinner. Actually lasagna's not hard at all, just time-consuming. This was White Lasagna with Roasted Vegetables (RoastedVeg, p178; cookbooker). Served with a simple, big salad of mesclun, and that was dinner. As I serving the salad, I noticed a bit clod of dirt/mud on my plate and then noticed that the vinaigrette was a bit, um, muddy colored. Ed took a taste and found it all too gritty. So we plopped the lettuce back in the salad spinner and gave it a good wash. Made a new vinaigrette and started again.

Tuesday/13-Mar-12: For dinner, I did a very loose interpretation Dinde Mangue Paprika Allégée (Light Turkey-Mango-Paprika), a French recipe from the web. And quite good it was, if not reproducible. Followed by a nice salad of mâche with shredded beets.

Authentic French Bread (out of head) on overnight.

Wednesday/14-Mar-12: Well, now, that was a surprise. The bread is brown instead of white. I used the Type 65 (bread) flour that I bought on the open mill day. It looks white, but the bread is definitely brown. And good.

Shopped today. No basil to buy, but they did have sorrel. Not that we need it, but it came home with us anyway.

Dinner started with the big coeur de boeuf tomato I bought last week and now lovely ripe, with slices of mozzarella and a sprinkling of chopped chives. Then there was Haddock with Green Pepper Sauce (MC), with cod instead of haddock, because that's what there was. I made a half recipe, but all the sauce—tasty but too much; the rest will appear later. Plus a side of Ed's favorite, orzo. And followed by grilled grapefruit halves. My, my, those Ruby Red grapefruits I bought last week are seriously good, very juicy. Sprinkled with brown sugar and a slog of kirsch, then under the broiler for a while. I thought the sugar might caramelize, but it melted as soon as it touched the juicy flesh. Nevermind.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/15-Mar-12: Today's expected lunch out didn't come off, and what I first picked to make for dinner didn't work because the cupboard was bear of coconut milk. How did that happen? Instead, an old fallback, Artichoke Spaghetti (Art, p59), with some roasted red bell peppers from a jar needing to be used up tossed in. Then a very plain salad.

Friday/16-Mar-12: Steak-frites with Sally and Mike and Eric in Lèsignac. Only fruit in the evening.

Saturday/17-Mar-12: We had our main meal at midday today, since we went to a movie in the early evening. (After which, since neither of us were feeling peppy, we didn't join friends at a local Irish bar for a St. Pat's day celebration.) Lunch was Salad with Smoked Chicken and Peas (MC) followed by a square each of lasagna, which kept quite well.

Sunday/18-Mar-12: Dinner was Potato-Crusted Chicken with Olives and Red Wine Sauce, a recipe hanging around for quite a while in my 2BTried MasterCookbook. It was good too, although wrapping the chicken breasts in potato didn't work as it ought to have. Stacked on top and under was more like it. Served with broccoli and the sauce left from Wednesday's fish, a good combination, as expected

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP:no, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #6 PASTA:no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/13-Feb-12: Last night's bread was White Bread (BHGBread, p8). Pretty good.

Yogurt on overday.

Made a broccoli-pasta thing for dinner using a recipe from the web. Didn't know I could make a broccoli-pasta thing I didn't like. A big squirt of sriracha helped. Chocolate tapioca pudding for dessert.

Tuesday/14-Feb-12: We had a lovely Valentine's lunch at La Bellone. Some fruit for dinner, followed by a bowl of salt- and butter-free air-popped popcorn.

Wednesday/15-Feb-12: Made some Buttermilk Bread (MC) this morning. On Rapid, which probably isn't the best thing to do when you're starting with cold milk. Not bad though. This is the bread that I thought came from BHGBread but didn't. (Do I need another ABM cookbook, I wonder?) Very more-ish, this bread.

Didn't feel like cooking at all today. Defrosted the Curried Zucchini Soup from August for dinner. It wasn't bad, but not great. Lots of bright flavors, and the apple was a nice touch, but the flavor lacked some "depth" or something. Not sure if I saved the recipe, but I'm wondering if it was made with water, rather than with chicken stock. It needs a bit of salt, so I might stir in a bit of chicken bouillon powder when I reheat.

Thursday/16-Feb-12: Dinner was a half dose of Spaghetti with Olives, Capers, and Anchovies (30MinPasta, p121), which I see from cookbooker that I made last April. Didn't leave a mark in the book and didn't remember. Oops. Oh well, it's good, and it's really fast.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/17-Feb-12: Shopping at Leclerc today, where we found a new feature being introduced. At the entrance, you can get a handheld scanner that allows you to scan your grocery items as you pick them up (and pack them directly), then exit via a special lane, handing in your scanner to pay. We didn't try this today and are not sure how will this will work with our "team shopping" approach. And how can you pack things away properly until you've gotten it all? Another plot to reduce the number of employees, is this good?

Lots of meat unexpectedly on sale today. Now I have another chunk of goat in the freezer now, a pair of varkenshaasjes, and a bunch of lamb chops.

For dinner I made some bbq-sauce-like stuff, very vaguely following a recipe from the web, and added the shredded pork from last week's pork roast. Pretty good pulled pork sandwiches there. Served with Mama's Garlic Coleslaw. For dessert there was some of the raspberry sorbet lingering in the freezer topped by some defrosted raspberries.

Saturday/18-Feb-12: My supply being almost gone, I made up some Herb Salt (Art, p172).

Dinner was some Curried Zucchini Soup (indeed the chicken bouillon helped the flavor) accompanied by pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw. Good stuff.

Sunday/19-Feb-12: When I did my inventory prior to going to the Netherlands, I didn't find any green peppercorns in the pantry. This week, when I cleaned the cupboard, I found two little jars hiding way in the back. So now I have three jars. And, as a start to my use-up-some-green-peppercorns quest, tonight's dinner was Gemelli with Shrimp and Green Peppercorns (web; cookbooker). Followed by a salad. Then the last of the tiny squares of cheese.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: sort of, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP: yes, #4 MIDDAY: no, #5 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #6 PASTA: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/28-Nov-11: A quickie grocery shop this morning, then off for a bit of touristing with Bill. Froze my turkey carcass since I don't have time to deal with it in the next few days.

Dinner was Steak with Cucumber-Radish Salad (CLmag/apr2011, soon to be MC). Good stuff. I used my regular beef marinade, which is similar to CL's but using soy sauce/tamari instead of salt. Salad, with mâche, is very good. I served with rice and roasted broccoli, but this was really a bit much. For afters we had a bit camembert and then store-bought tiramisus.

Tuesday/29-Nov-11: Made it to the boulanger too late for bread this morning. Made White Buttermilk Bread (MC). Did it on Rapid, which maybe wasn't a good idea since the buttermilk was quite cold.

Lunch was an old favorite, Mushroom Barley Soup (MC). Good stuff.

Dinner was Feta Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Breasts (web, soon to be MC). Very nice, would be nice for company. I did use only half the oil that was asked. Served with Dusolier's roasted potatoes. And a big salad of mâche. Followed by one tiramisu and two panna cottas with caramel. (That's one per person, not three each!) I'm full.

Wednesday/30-Nov-11: Lunch out with Bill today, then took him to the train station. No further food necessary.

Thursday/1-Dec-11: Busy cleaning up, putting away after Thanksgiving and company. No real plans for dinner, so I made Artichoke Spaghetti (Art, p59), an old favorite. Then a salad. Then some Camembert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/2-Dec-11: Shopping today. Had an Indian itch and scratched it with tonight's dinner. There was Shrimp Steamed with Mustard Oil (Q&E, p64), half the shrimp with all the sauce, served over plain rice. And Green Beans with Mushrooms (Q&E, p86), which I haven't made it a while, but is still good. Ending with a half dose of Caramelized Cardamom Apples with Pistachio Cream (Q&E, p122), hardly Indian, but quite good anyhow. Note to self: Don't cook apples in your cast iron skillet, even if they fit that best.

Saturday/3-Dec-11: Used up some pumpkin from the freezer and the last of a sack of cranberries to make a loaf of Pumpkin Cranberry Bread (MC). Yum.

Dinner was a Courgette and Chick Pea Filo Pie (web, cookbooker). Another hit from Nigella. Followed by a salad. And a little dessert with leftover bits of filo/phyllo and some cinnamon sugar.

Have turkey stock cooling in the fridge to de-fat and freeze tomorrow.

Sunday/4-Dec-11: The turkey stock didn't get de-fatted; that will be first up tomorrow.

Still on the using-up-the-preserved lemons quest, dinner was Chicken Roulade with Olives and Simple Preserved Lemons (CLmag, soon to be MC). Quite good. Made all the stuffing for an otherwise half recipe; probably this wasn't necessary. Served with plain couscous (good with the sauce) and North African Spiced Carrots, which we've had before and were good yet again.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: yes, #3 MIDDAY: no
This month: #4 PASTA: yes for Nov/no for Dec

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Jul-11: Finished off the peach butter this afternoon. Pretty tasty, but not much of it. Dinner at the quiz tonight. (We came in third, but aced the 4th of July section.)

Tuesday/5-Jul-11: Shopped this morning. Made Herb Salt (Art, p172), since we're almost out of this.

I checked the website for the magazine where I think I got the lost recipe and turned up one similar, but not the same. This one, though, uses up the surimi that's in the freezer. So, dinner was Tarte aux Poireaux, Surimi, et Curry. Lazy me, I used a store-bought pâte brisée, rather that a home-made one, which really is better. The tart was good. Then a salad. Then some store-bought tiramísu, from a new brand, Gű. Somebody has to give these new things a try. Edible, but only so-so.

Wednesday/6-Jul-11: Almost didn't bbq this evening because of the wind all day (and danger of fire), but that finally died down, so we had Spicy Grilled Peppered Lamb Skewers (BigFlav, p142), which is nice and tingly especially when you use half the rub with a third of the meat. Accompanied by lots of Dusolier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and some sautéed zucchini, maybe the last store-bought one for a while since those plants seem to be doing OK. Finished off the peaches and cream ice cream.

Thursday/7-Jul-11: Yogurt on overday.

I've finally subscribed to Vie Pratique Gourmand, a biweekly French cooking magazine, whose latest issue arrived today (although I saw it at the grocery two days ago). This issue's C'est la saison section is on melons. Wherein I learned there are two major sorts of melons, cantaloups (the orange-fleshed ones) and galia (the green-fleshed ones). Galia melons are favored by North Europeans, which explains why they were largely the only ones available in the Netherlands. Of the cantaloup group, the charentais melon (from the Charente, of course) accounts for 90% of the melons grown in France. I was very happy when these would occasionally show up at our Dutch greengrocers. They look like mini versions of the cantaloups as I knew them in the US, with more or less the same flavor.

Dinner was Eggplant with Hot Garlic Sauce (MC) using lardons fumées for the meat bit. Over rice. Tasty, especially with a squirt of sriracha. Finished with half a petit camembert.

Friday/8-Jul-11: This morning I was rummaging through books looking for recipes for long pepper and for preserved lemons. I found a similar, better written recipe for preserved lemons (NAfrica, p125) to the one I used. This one said to top up the jar with boiling water. I haven't been able to add enough lemon juice to keep the lemons immersed, so I implemented this immediately. It also said to remove the seeds after almost quartering them. I'd wondered about the seeds, but suppose you can remove them at cooking time. Might add a few more days to my lemons, since the top ones, no matter how the jar is sitting, aren't really immersed in spite of the addition of extra lemon juice.

We found more zucchini ready to use in our little potager. These are some big regular zucchinis and some globe zukes.

Tonight, with one of the big zucchinis, I made (very loosely) Kaye's Shrimp-Stuffed Eggplant (MC), which started life has a recipe from a Cooking Light book, but I've adapted for our use. This time I replaced the eggplant with zucchini. Pretty good, although I think I made a typo when I entered the recipe into MC because it tasted a bit too strongly of celery seed. For dessert we had some blueberry cheesecake from Gű. This was tasty enough, but also had a soggy bottom, so we probably won't get any more of these in spite of the coupons we have now.

Saturday/9-Jul-11: An evening randonnée (9km) with meal tonight, so nothing much happening in the kitchen.

Sunday/10-Jul-11: Yogurt on overnday. Spent most of the day moving from the old Cube to the new Mini; frustrating to have so many annoying problems to resolve, ones that have been reported for years, but still not resolved for Apple. Grr... More tomorrow.

For dinner I adapted a recipe from an email for a courgette/zucchini pasta sauce. This turned out quite good, and I'll enter it into MasterCook one day. For two people, chop about 250g of courgette and sauté in olive oil. Chop one big or two small garlic cloves, 2 anchovies (the recipe said 5 anchovies for 500g courgette; I used two, but one was big), and some basil. Add these to the courgette after about 5 minutes. Continue cooking and stirring until the courgette is done (it looks a bit transparent). At this point I puréed the mixture, right in the skillet with my staff mixer, leaving a coarse texture. Stirred in a glob of crème fraîche (sour cream would do), S&P to taste, and a pinch of cayenne. Warm through. Toss with about 6oz short pasta. Why short, I don't know. Maybe if you left the zucchini chopped this would be better, but puréed as I did, I think linguine would be nice too. I used some mushroom flavored things that were quite good. In fact, mushroom might be a good addition to this. Then a salad. Finished off the Camembert for afters.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP:no, #3 MIDDAY:no
This month: #4 PASTA: not yet