This week in the kitchen

Monday/16-May-22: Dinner was about a third recipe of Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin (web). (The recipe is now titled Pork Piccata, but it's the same thing.) This was easy with a tasty balsamic sauce. Serve with trio rice and steamed asparagus. For a starter, there was Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill (BEFCC, p35). With smoked salmon, fennel, and cucumber, this is an easy and tasty starter. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Tuesday/17-May-22: Ed picked up orders from both Drives today.

Dinner was Creamy Lemon Salmon  (web).This was easy to put together, with a yummy cream sauce. (I used chicken stock, from my second to last jar of AH gevogelte fond.) Served with Broccoli and Brussels Sprout Delight (web) and some whole wheat spaghetti. I used bsprouts from the freezer, so jiggled the recipe a bit to account for that. This was pretty good. No dessert.

Wednesday/18-May-22: Busy day with ophthalmologist appointments and a lecture in the afternoon. Dinner was easy and nice, Spinach & Artichoke Chicken (web; GD). I lost track of halving the recipe after the spinach, so had too much artichoke hearts (is that possible?), but this wasn't really a problem. Served with a side of wholewheat spaghetti. Strawberries for dessert.

Thursday/19-May-22: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Buttery Scallops with Lemon and Herbs (web). This was good, but the stove ran out of gas in the middle of cooking so the scallops didn't get seared a they ought to have been. Served with polenta and steam broccoli. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Friday/20-May-22: Tonight we had tamales, from a can, with guacamole and refried beans made from the rest of last weekends black beans. 

Saturday/21-May-22: For dinner I made a Leek Tart (Seaver2, p110). (The dough for this is almost the same as My Basic Pie Crust (Secret, p38), made with cream cheese.) After I got this in the overn, I thought it was a bit unsubstantial for a main dish, so I grabbed some veal scallops from the freezer and made Veal Scallopini Piccata (web). This was good and easy. No proper dessert.

Sunday/22-May-22: We had a lovely lunch out today before a concert in the early evening. Later we had a big bowl of popcorn for TV watching.

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/25-Apr-22: We ate from the freezer tonight, Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup, along with some cheese and onion sandwiches. A dark chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Tuesday/26-Apr-22: Chris, Jacky, and Hitomi arrived today. 

Dinner was Za'atar Lamb Chops (web; GD); these were yummy as usual. Served with Moroccan couscous (store-bought mix) and two little salads that I've made before, Grilled Red Pepper Strips with Pomegranate and Cumin (EastMed, p154) and Grated Cucumber Salad with Oregano (Morocco, p75). For after there was Cheesecake Ice Cream (Scoop, p62), served with some frozen raspberries. This is a really rich and delicious ice cream, a bit lemony, which was tempered by the raspberries. Delicious.

Wednesday/27-Apr-22: Lunch out today. Cheese and charcuterie for our evening repas.

Thursday/28-Apr-22: Lunch out today. Cheese and charcuterie for our evening repas. Pretty boring, eh?

Friday/29-Apr-22: We had lunch in today between a visit to the Victor Hugo market and the Maison Soulat, the reincarnation of our local coop winery that was wiped out in the big hailstorm in 2018.

For a starter we had a sort of insalata caprese with the beautiful yellow tomato Jacky bought at the market, kind of a surinamse salad. 

 

Our second starter was Salade de Mache au Betteraves (BEFCC, p32), an old favorite. For our main, there was Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca (web; GD) with whole wheat spaghetti. No time for dessert before going off to taste wine.

In the evening there was cheese and charcuterie yet again, with a charentais melon and pineau, and some canelés. 

Saturday/30-Apr-22: Lunch out today. Left the girls at the train station to return to Paris and thence to Texas. 

Sunday/2-May-22: Dinner was Salade met Falafel en Blauwe Kaas (Tip/aug01; web); Tip Culinair is a now defunct Dutch cooking magazine. Fast to make and tasty, but the recipe for two could easily have served three and maybe four. For a starter we had an little insalata caprese with a Coeur de Boeuf tomato. The tomato was relatively tasteless compared to yesterday's yellow beauty. We finished with melon and pineau.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Sep-20: The leftover zucchini ravioli got re-warmed to serve as a side dish for some grilled boneless pork chops, along with the last bits of an odd pasta shape. (Trying to reduce my collection of pastas.) Pretty good, and Buddy enjoyed much plate licking. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Tuesday/22-Sep-20: Use-up-veggies night. The potatoes we got yesterday are pretty eye-y, so I trimmed those back to make a sort of scalloped potatoes based on French Scalloped Potatoes (BEFCC, p51), with blue cheese stirred into the sauce before baking. Topped with some steamed broccoli. Pretty tasty stuff. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Wednesday/23-Sep-20: Made another loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17); such good stuff.

Made Cinnamon Fluff Cake (MC). Tore into two pieces coming out of the bundt pan. Still tastes good.

Dinner was Chipotle Turkey and Corn Soup (MC). Good stuff.

Thursday/24-Sep-20: Dinner was based on Coconut Curry Shrimp (web). I made about a third recipe, and added frozen peas with the shrimp at the end for some vegetable matter. Used just a dab of honey but that was too much. Totally unnecessary I think. Some Cinnamon Fluff Cake for after.

Friday/25-Sep-20: Picked up an order at Intermarché. It appears I forgot to remove sardines from my basket, so we'll have fish two nights in a row here.

Tonight's dinner was Grilled Lemon-Soy Salmon (MC; CL/oct03; web). This is easy and good. Annoying that the poissonière gave me a tail bit and a regular body bit, and the thinner tail cooked much faster. Served with some steam-sautéed potatoes, but I started with too much water, so they were only steamed. And some steamed carrots and broccoli. We finished the Cinnamon Fluff Cake for after.

Saturday/26-Sep-20: Tonight we had the sardines that I bought inadvertently, Sarde Frites (TuscKitch, p148); I used polenta rather than bread crumbs for the crunchy bit. I sliced up a lemon as suggested and entrusted them to Ed to bring to table, but he forgot. Instead we used sriracha (Ed) and jalapeño Tabasco (me) to bring up the taste. Served with corn, crozets, and a sliced tomato.

Sunday/27-Sep-20: Dinner was Braised Veal, Carrot, Olives and Capers (web). This was pretty good. I had more than enough meat, so we'll have an extra meal of it. Served over smashed potatoes. Followed by a big salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Yogurt on overnight. Overnight bread on overnight too.

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/10-Jun-19: Dinner was Turkey Pitas (web; CL/jul14). I had what was probably half the meat, but used all the spices and accompanying tahini-yogurt sauce. We used four pitas to make the sandwiches, instead of one each. I bought some mini-romaines, I think for the accompanying salad, but forgot to make it.

Tuesday/11-Jun-19: Peg&Jim arrived late this afternoon, so we had a late dinner after apéros and munchies. There was Exotic-Flavored Chicken Thighs with Tomato-Mint Salad (License, p205; cookbooker). Barbecuing the chicken had to be delayed a bit since they weren't quite defrosted after two days in the fridge. The chicken is spiced only with ground cardamon, salt, and black pepper. Delicious. Accompanied this by Carrot and Pistachio Salad (web), which we all liked. I forgot to make rice to accompany this, so we sliced some bread for the soppy.

Dessert was A Peach Shortcake for Lizzie (BigFlav, p430), which was excellent. I used cream & mascarpone for the cream.

Wednesday/12-Jun-19: Another late meal. For a starter we had Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill (BEFCC, p35), which is an old favorite. Then there was Chicken Saltimbocca (ClayCook2, p63), which was pretty good, along with a side of whole wheat spaghetti. For dessert there was the rest of the peach shortcake with mascarpone whipped cream. All good.

Thursday/13-Jun-19: Shopping today. Peg&Jim are leaving Saturday :-( and I have no meal plan beyond that. Just bought a bunch of veggies and we'll see what turns up.

We started tonight with Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172), a pretty standard dish now. Our main was Salmon Poached with Spinach and Bengali Five-Spice Mixture (SpiceKitch, p76), served basmati rice. Yummy stuff. For dessert there was lazy-cook's kheer, riz au lait doctored with chopped pistachios and cardamom.

Friday/14-Jun-19: Lunch out today, and a visit to Aubeterre. Cheese and other nibbles in the evening.

Saturday/15-Jun-19: Peg&Jim left today. We had pasta and broccoli with a roquefort-cream cheese sauce. And ice cream for dessert

Sunday/16-Jun-19: A bit salad for dinner and chocolate covered madeleines for dessert.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/20-May-19: Dinner was Crispy-Fried Prawns with Curry Spices (HomTrav, p84; cookbooker). These were quite good, if a bit salty. Served with plain basmati rice and Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). Mini ice cream bars for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/21-May-19: Dinner was a half recipe of Gigli with Chickpeas and Za'atar (web). Very ample servings they were. Good. And a plain salad with only croutons to dress it up. And some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Wednesday/22-May-19: Dinner was, more or less, Stuffed-Squid in Scrambled Egg Sambal Sauce (web). I didn't have medium squid, but used 200g, 13, small squid. And didn't make the "dried chili paste" from the previous recipe, but used sambal from a jar, finishing off the huge one that Bill brought us. This was a bit salty, but quite good. Served over rice. Meant to do something with snijbonen, but forgot. HD ice cream cups for dessert.

Thursday/23-May-19: Shopping today. Forgot something important for Sunday's meal, so will have to make a return trip in the next days.

Bought some of the first decent asparagus of the year; we had those for a starter, with lemon-butter. Dinner was Curried Salmon Steaks with New Potatoes (ClayCook2, p84; cookbooker). Really delicious this was. First thing I've made from this book. For dessert, I used up the filo to make a little tart with a blueberry and mascarpone filling. Yum.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/24-May-19: Bill arrived today. For dinner we started with Lamb's Lettuce and Beetroot (BEFCC, p32) which is an old favorite. For a main there was Creamy Paprika Chicken (ClayCook2, p56), another good one from this book, along with a double dose of Spätzle (MW@Home, p203). Froze some spätzle afterwards. Dessert from the boulangerie.

Saturday/25-May-19: Lunch out followed by a lecture/tour at the Resistance Museum in Chasseneuil. Munchies for our evening repas.

Sunday/26-May-19: A bit of Mediterranean food tonight. Our main was Tunisian Chicken Tagine with Brik Pastry (MedClay, p100; cookbooker). This was pretty good. Served with Moroccan salads, a half recipe of Grated Cucumber Salad with Oregano (Morocco, p73), which we've enjoyed several times now, and Carrot and Golden Raisin Salad (Morocco, p77), which was new and good—even Ed liked it. Mini ice cream bars for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/1-Apr-19: A very old favorite tonight, Spring Day Skillet Supper, from my old GreenBooks. Yellow split peas, green peas, noodles, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, what could be better. And a salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines. I'm stuffed.

Tuesday/2-Apr-19: Using up freezer stuff tonight. I stuffed globe zucchinis with chopped cooked beef, duxelles, brown rice, pizza sauce, onions, garlic, and whatever else I thought of. Baked all in the oven till it was more or less done. And some spinach gnocchi that were on sale. Finished off with a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Wednesday/3-Apr-19: Dinner was Hoisin Chicken Breasts with Grilled Peppers and Onions (License, p199). This was pretty good, if a bit burnt when Ed got distracted from the bbq to set the table. Served with trio rice and a big salad. Some mini ice cream bars from dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/4-Apr-19: Shopping today. Whew, it was a big one. Have to get back on a cheap track next week.

Heard my first cuckoo for this year in the afternoon.

Dinner was Grilled or Bhuna Fish Steaks (Foolproof, p44) using tuna. Cooked under the grill, but it would have been better to do on a grill pan where you can watch the doneness. Served with Indian Mashed Potatoes (Q&E, p90) and steamed haricots verts tossed with some lemon juice and garam masala. Fished with store-bought riz au lait.

Friday/5-Apr-19: Made up a half dose of Banana-Ginger Chutney (VegPlanet, p44) to go with the foie gras we'll have as a starter on Sunday.

It was supposed to be this week's Dreaded day today, but after a day of house-cleaning (company comes tomorrow), I just didn't feel like it. I'll try to double up in the next couple of weeks. Ed went for pizza instead.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/6-Apr-19: We picked up Hitomi and Rebecca from the train today. Came home via the crafts show in La Rochefoucauld. For dinner there was Spinach Salad with Pears, Pecans and Feta (MDSalad, p28), an old travelers' favorite. Then some cheese. Then some cornuelles, first of the year.

Sunday/7-Apr-19: Started yogurt this morning, but didn't manage to do it early, so it will be after 23.00 when I can put it up.

For a starter tonight, we split a small jar of foie gras that Cath brought us, with some toasts, a toefje of salad, and Banana-Ginger Chutney. Then. Rôti de Porc au Jambron Cru (VPG, recipe), with French Scalloped Potatoes—Pommes de Terre Dauphinoise (BEFCC, p51) and steamed broccoli (with lemon juice and a Penzey salad sprinkle). Then more cheese. Then some store-bought chocolate mousse.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/18-Mar-19: Dinner was a half recipe of Caramelized Onion Frittata with Artichoke Hearts, Zucchini and Goat Cheese (web). This fit in my bigger cast iron skillet and was quite good. The frittata is first cooked on the top of the stove and then finished under the broiler. It worked really well. Then a salad. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Tuesday/19-Mar-19: Tamale dinner tonight courtesy of Chris and Amy. With Mama's Spanish rice and guacamole. And some ice cream after, a mini-cup for me and a mini-bar for Ed. We enjoyed it.

Wednesday/20-Mar-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was a half dose of Foil-Baked Fish Filets (Mustard, p175; cookbooker). Not very good. Served with tiny boiled potatoes. Those were good. Got a cheesecakey thing for dessert (new, on sale). It was so good we ate it all. Oink, oink.

Thursday/21-Mar-19: Started a batch of Pickled Broccoli Stems (VeryBest, p36). To be finished tomorrow.

For an afternoon snack I cleared out some leftovers, topping small tortillas with goat cheese, artichoke hearts from a jar, and roasted red bell peppers strips from a jar. Pretty tasty.

Loosely based on Parsley Chicken en Croûte (MC), I used some frozen squares of pâte feuilettée and stuffed with kip filets, topped with some jarred chestnut-mushroom mixture that's been hanging around in the pantry cabinet for way too long, some parsley, and a dab of crème fraîche that needed to be used. It was pretty good. With trio rice and steamed rice. Chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.

Friday/22-Mar-19: Finished the Pickled Broccoli Stems today. We'll see how they are tomorrow.

Our afternoon snack turned out bigger than I expected. I boiled up a bit of whole wheat pasta. While that was happening, I sautéed some red onion, then added minced garlic, a bit of zucchini, and some leftover chickpeas and canned corn. It was pretty good, but more than we needed really.

For dinner, there were Easy Salmon Patties (Mustard, p171). These were good, bland salmon patties. Got better with Fiery Habañero Hot Sauce, but that's what this sauce is good for. As a side, some snijbonen chunks. Then we finished the chaource. I'm full.

Saturday/23-Mar-19: Cath came for a meal this afternoon before we went to a movie. We ate outside and started with Cold Beetroot with Cream (Pomiane, p180), an old favorite, plus Mushroom Salad—Salade de Champignons à la Crème (BEFCC, p31), a new dish from a favorite book which was pretty good. Our main was Garlic, Mushroom and Olive Chicken Thighs (web). This was easy and tasty. Have lots of juice and veg left, which I'll buzz up for a potage in the next days. Served with teeny potatoes boiled, buttered, and parsleyed. We had ice cream bars at the cinema for dessert.

Sunday/24-Mar-19: I'm enjoying munching on the pickled broccoli stems. Haven't offered them to Ed yet.

Good dinner tonight. Halfish verions of all. Lots of leftovers. We had Grilled Lamb Chops with Pomegranate-Eggplant Relish (License, p144). The barbecued lamb chops, with a rub of ground coriander, ground cumin, S&P, were delicious. The relish (why isn't this just a veggie side dish?) was delicious. Served with Potato Salad with Arugula & Dijon Vinaigrette (web), which was good. And Mesquite Grilled Broccoli with Preserved Lemons and Greek Yogurt. This is, I think, from a cookbook that I've recently recycled. Our broccoli wasn't mesquite-grilled, but grilled on a grill pan; it could have been parboiled a bit longer. But it was tasty anyhow. We ate well and enjoyed a lovely bottle of Haut Medoc.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: The Incredible Secrets of Mustard
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/9-Apr-18: This was a day for using up leftovers. I defrosted some chipolatas, and we had them with leftover cauliflower salad, hominy, roast potatoes, and sweet potatoes. A nice mix. Finished the St Felicien for afters.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/10-Apr-18: Another day of using up leftovers. Stir-fried rice. Had MW@Home on the counter, but didn't really use it. Sloshed together stuff for a sauce. Cooked some eggs. Onion, garlic, green bell pepper strips, peas. Leftover rice from last Friday. Good it was.

Wednesday/11-Apr-18: Shopping today.

Our meal was a half recipe of Stir-Fried Beef with Five Peppercorns (HomTrav, p126), using the last faux filet I defrosted for Sunday. This was good stuff, easy to make and tasty. I didn't much like the suggested noodles as accompaniment; rice would have been better. As a side, there was Broccoli in Fragrant Wine Sauce (HotWok, p156). This was nice, as usual. For dessert, I finished my chocolate Easter bunny. Ed finished his in one big session many days ago.

Thursday/12-Apr-18: Cath came to eat today before we went off to see a little art exhibit. We started with a mâche and beet salad, as in BEFCC, but with the dressing from Pomiane's beet salad. For a main with had Whitefish en Papillote (BestPC, p60), with lieu noir; brown rice on the side. When we got back we had coffee, tea, and Cath's apple&blackberry crumble.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/13-Apr-18: Our meal was Spanish Supper: Chicken Morcilla and Sherry (BirdHand, p10). I used only three thighs, since that was in a packet, and but boudin noir made it extra. I tossed in two artichoke hearts left from yesterday. Served this with polenta to soak up the juices. For a starter we had beets and mâche with the rest of Pomiane's dressing. Tastily stuffed we were.

Saturday/14-Apr-18: Our meal was Spinazie Omelet met Zalm en Cottage Cheese (web). More or less. The picture here looks more like a pancake than an omelet, while mine looked more like scrambled eggs. Nevermind, it all tastes very good together. Next time, think I would make two single omelets, fold the thinly sliced spinach (or arugula) into the omelet, then top with cheese (I used pyramid goat cheese), pine nuts, salmon, and chives. Followed by Tomato and Cucumber Salad (BEFCC, p24), which was a nice dish.

Sunday/15-Apr-18: Our meal today was a halfish recipe of Nigel Slater's Aubergine Ragu with Cream and Parmesan Lentils (web). I used a whole eggplant, which was fine for the two us; everthing else was close to half. More shrooms wouldn't hurt. Thought Slater's lentil-cooking time was a bit short, but maybe mine were old? Good and filling, your basic brown meal.

Yogurt on overnight.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Jan-18: Our meal was Chilli Crab Linguine with Vodka (Ainsley2, p44), the first thing I've made from this book, and off to a good start. Easy, fast, and very tasty. Then a salad. Then more of the chaource. Then some of our yummy 85% chocolate truffles.

Tuesday/16-Jan-18: A halfish version of Coconut and Tamarind Chicken Curry (MadeIndia, p96), accompanied by plain rice and Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148). All was good.

Wednesday/17-Jan-18: Ed had a dentist appointment this morning and we shopped right after that.

Made up some Great-Grandma's Mango Chutney (MadeIndia, p215). We'll see how that is in a few days. First taste was a bit salty, and I under-measured the salt.

Dinner was Spicy South Asian Roasted Fish (web; cookbooker), half the fish but all the sauce. Very yummy this was. And easy. Used some chopped lemongrass I discovered in the freezer when I defrosted. Served with rice and Thai-Style Broccoli with Garlic (web). For dessert, we had some slices of a small 3 Kings' Cake.

Thursday/18-Jan-18: Froze up eight 2-cup tupperwares of chicken stock this morning.

Fresh pasta for our meal, topped with the sauce from Trenette al Pesto di Noci (ClassPasta, p96; cookbooker). The sauce was good, but nothing special. Then a salad. Then some store-bought chocolate and hazelnut mousse-y thingies; yummy they were.

Friday/19-Jan-18: The part for the washing machine came as I left for Pilates. On my return, Ed said it didn't fix the problem—it's time to order a new one. (The Samsung machine is less than three years old. :-( ). Started looking for ratings. Then off to French. Then cooked our meal of Brochettes de Canard au Sésame (MC; originally from a flyer). (Haven't been able to find this on the web; chunks of marinated magret on skewers with slices of apples.) I did forget to sprinkle with the sesame seeds when it were done, but it was still yummy. Served with trio rice and carrot slices.

Spent the rest of the day until quite late looking for washing machines. Ed did a load of towels at the laundromat.

Saturday/20-Jan-18: Another depressing gray and drippy day. Ordered a washing machine. Still not sure when it arrives. In spite of Ed's visits to the laundromat, we will be buried in laundry soon.

Our meal was a half recipe of Risotto-Stye Pasta with Caramelized Onions (web), with a salad. Before the cheese (bleu d'Auvergne) was added, I thought the onions were too sweet. Ed didn't like cheese; I did. Oh well.

Sunday/21-Jan-18: Company tonight. Spent most of the day in the kitchen.

Made batch of ice cream "juice" using the basic recipe from the manual for our old machine, just in case the tarte tatin didn't work. Made the pastry for the tarte tatin.

Cath (returning from her UK trip) and Nancy (with Neil in the UK) arrived for:

• A starter of Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill (BEFCC, p35). A very nice little starter, we just had on tweede kerstdag, tasty and easy.
• For a main, there was Chicken Marbella (SilverPal, p142; MC; cookbooker), served with polenta. I made this dish a long time ago. Recently found the recipe in Mastercook; since then I've gotten the cookbook. Used twelve chicken thighs, making a more or less complete recipe. Didn't notice that I was supposed to marinate the chicken overnight. It was fine with only a couple of hours in the sauce. Very yummy.
• For dessert there was Tarte Tatin au Camembert (VPG), a recipe I collected recently because it sounded so odd. Tried (and failed) to find the recipe online, but discovered there are lots of similar recipes out there. Quite good this was.

A nice menu for company since the only last-minute thing was polenta, and assembling the starter.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbook of the month: MadeIndia
This month: #4 PASTA: yes; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
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Tweede kerstdag 2017

Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill Pork Loin Braised in Milk Charlotte de Chou et de Pommes de Terre—Cabbage Charlotte Italian Pear Almond Cake

A smaller meal for second xmas day than we had yesterday. We started with Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill (BEFCC, p35), which we've had before. It's still good and so easy to do.

For our main, there was Pork Loin Braised Milk (web). (Entirely coincidentally, the Italian Pear Almond Cake is from the same site, collected two years apart.) This was nice and made a delicious sauce.

As a go-with, I finally made Charlotte de Chou et de Pommes de Terre—Cabbage Charlotte (BEFCC, p41). I've had my eye on this recipe for a long time, but it wants a special occasion and a small charlotte mold to bring it off. I broke down and bought myself the mold recently. Isn't it cute?

This dish is kind of a fancy version of bubble and squeak; it's tasty, but you'd only go to this work for a special meal. I do like my little charlotte mold, though, and will have to find other things to do with it.

For dessert we finished off yesterday's Italian Pear Almond Cake, which lasted quite well. (Recipe says it doesn't keep.) This is supposed to serve eight. Those would be very delicate servings. Six would be better. We ate is as four servings. It's good.

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Dec-17: For our meal we had chicken with a satay marinade from the freezer. Used skinless, boneless kip thighs rather than kip filets, marinated then broiled. Then there was Coconut Rice (30MinInd, p100). Made a major goof on this when I added the shallots and garlic from the green bean recipe instead of the spicy stuff for this one. Stirred the spicy stuff into the cooking rice when I realized and sliced more shallots and garlic. And a little salad, a half recipe of Spicy Thai Cucumber Salad (MaiPham, p46), which was good as before; no peanuts or fried shallots for garnish.  And there was a halfish recipe of Thai Stir-Fried Long Beans (MaiPham, p169) made with haricots verts and no kaffir lime leaves. Chocolate cookies for dessert.

Tuesday/5-Dec-17: Lunch with BookChatters today. Ed ate from the freezer.

Lexi, our possibly new dog, a hand-me-down from a neighbor going back to UK to work, came for a visit.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/6-Dec-17: Shopping today.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Masala Fish Steak (MJ@Home, p48), with lieu noir, filets not steaks. Disappointing really. Other things from this book have been excellent. This was uninteresting. As suggested, served with Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash with Cumin (MJ@Home, p179). A half recipe with only zucchini, of course. This wasn't bad (Ed liked it a lot), but didn't really go with the fish dish. And some basmati rice with onions.

Thursday/7-Dec-17: For dinner, we had Craig Claiborne's Ultimate Hamburger (Tabasco, p88). These were really good, as before. Made up a little salad go-with, chunks of snijbonen (whatever is the English name of these?) with toasted walnuts, sesame seeds, slices of oven-dried tomatoes from the freezer, some gorgonzola, and lemon juice. Pretty good it was. Some store-bought custard (salted caramel) for dessert.

Friday/8-Dec-17: Oscar to the vet today for his shots. He got another cancer thing on his belly. Will have surgery next week.

Dinner was Prawns with Curry Saucy—Crevettes en Brochette à l'Indienne (BEFCC, p111). This was kind of so-so. Not sure how you serve sauce with shrimp on sticks. We managed, but it's not  that nice. Like most curried French dishes, the curry is pretty light, even though I used more than what was required for the half recipe I made. Served with a pilaf sort of thing and steamed broccoli. Store-bought custard for dessert. (Actually these weren't real custards, but yogurt-based. Maybe a new product line for La Fermière since they were on sale.

Saturday/9-Dec-17: Yogurt on overday.

Doug died this morning. We are heart-broken.

Quick dinner with sautéed slices of duck breast and a pan sauce of port and cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving. Served with orzo and steamed broccoli. Mini ice cream bars for after.

Sunday/10-Dec-17: Off the week's meal plan with One-Pan Chicken Thighs with Cilantro-Lime Black Bean Rice (web) for our meal, with a bit of pretty bare salad. Lots of rice left over for something.

Meanwhile for Cath's vegetarian daughter, arriving today, I made Kaye's Veg and Feta Gratin (MC) with broccoli. I'd forgotten about this recipe, which I adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. It's easy and good. And then some Mushroom-Barley Soup (MC), made vegetarian with paddestoelen fond and no Worcestershire sauce.

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

Thanksgiving 2017

Salade de Mâche et Roquette avec Betteraves Capesante di Tacchino con Pancetta ed Erbe Aromatiche (turkey scallops done in the fashion of Shane's Roasted Rolled Turkey Breast with Pancetta and Herbs) with its sauce Wild Rice Braised with Mushroom Duxelles Cranberry-Port Relish fruit salad camembert with sliced baguettes Moulin à Vent Libby's Pumpkin Pie

Started off a bit of a disaster. Ed was in charge of the flower arrangement. He overfilled the ring and set it on the table. Where I discovered it sitting in a damp place on the table cloth. Went to move it and sloshed water all over the place. Unset the table, wiped up with the tablecloth, found another table cloth, and reset. To discover that a salad fork was lost in the process. Sigh.

For a starter, we did it the easy way with an old favorite, Lamb's Lettuce with Beetroot (BEFCC, p32). I had thought to do something else, but Ed suggested this salad, and I still had a bit of dressing left from the last time we served it.

For the main, I had thought to make some French-ish turkey scallops with a nice gravy, but then thought I could pretty easily make Shane's Arroso di Tacchino con Pancetta ed Erbe Aromatiche, rolling the good stuff (a paste of sage, rosemary, garlic, anchovy, lemon peel, and olive oil topped with pancetta) into turkey scallops rather than a turkey breast.

Served this with Wild Rice Braised with Mushroom Duxelles (Way, p331), a yummy fruit salad made by Ed (apple, pear, banana, red currants, raspberries, blackberries, and walnuts from our tree). And my old Cranberry-Port Relish (MC), still good.

The turkey rolls were really yummy. The big roll is more impressive, but the mini rolls are pretty darn good.

Then a bit of camembert.

Then some classic pumpkin pie following the Libby's can recipe. With a bit of cream, not whipped, just cream. I made the mistake of cutting the pie into eights rather than sixths. In the end we were piggies and ate another piece each. Half the pie gone.

All was yummy, but we still haven't found the missing fork.

This week in the kitchen

Monday/18-Apr-16: Cleaning today and didn't feel like cooking. Defrost a pasta sauce (winter squash and beans) and served it over mushroom pasta. And a big salad. We were well-fed. We ate outside, even though we needed a jacket. The sun was shining and there was no wind where we sat. We have the idea we've eaten out earlier in the year, but I didn't note it, so this will do.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/19-Apr-16: I recently finished reading Diane Henry's A Change of Appetite, which I found via the I Heart Cooking Clubs group. I wasn't much impressed as I read it, there seemed to be too many of difficult to find ingredients and a bit to righteous in tone. I was surprised, though, how many recipes I had marked to try. Guess I'll have to keep it around for a bit.

Dinner was Red Lentil and Cauliflower Tomato Pulao (web), which was remarkably good (even though the gas ran out while the rice and lentils were first cooking. I used up the frozen cauliflower I bought, hoping it would be a good substitute for the real thing (it's hard to two people to finish a whole cauliflower, especially since Ed isn't overly fond of it), but I won't buy any more. We split an espresso magnum for dessert.

Wednesday/20-Apr-16: Dinner out after picking Bill up at the station. Nothing happened in the kitchen today except cleaning.

Thursday/21-Apr-16: Ed went after choir practice to buy tuna on sale at Intermarché, but there was none. So we had Boudins Noirs aux Oignons (web). The onions tasted quite bitter even after cooking long and slow, so I grated in a couple of apples at the last minute. Wasn't bad (Ed liked it). Unfortunately Bill doesn't really care for boudins noir. For a starter, I used up our carrots to make Grated Carrots with Vinaigrette (Secrets, p67). For dessert we had store-bought toetjes, some raspberry tarts.

Yogurt on overnight

Friday/22-Apr-16: Shopping today, a bit belated. Impulse bought some smoked salmon on sale, leading to tonight's starter.

Which, more or less, was Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill (BEFCC, p35). I didn't have the fennel, but it was good without it. For the main there was Duck with Peppercorns—Magret de Canard aux Grains de Poivre (BEFCC, p142). Good stuff.Served with smashed potatoes and peas with shallots. Cheese for after. We had a little bûche of goat cheese, and today I bought a small chees collection with tomme de Savoie, brie de Meaux, and fourme d'Ambert. All good. Unfortunately.

Saturday/23-Apr-16: Out all day today at the Phoenix book sale. Dinner out. Nothing happened ing the kitchen.

Sunday/24-Apr-16: We had our main meal early so we could go to an early evening concert. We had Quiche à l'Agneau, aux Épinards et à la Feta (web, VPG), using most of the cooked lamb from the freezer.  Cook stuff. The lamb and spinach went together exceptionally well. Then a salad. Then we left for the concert. Later we had some fruit and cheese.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-Mar-16: Dinner was Beef Baked with Yoghurt and Black Pepper (MJ1, p50). This was really tasty, but some of the beef wasn't as tender as it should have been. Would probably be a good one to put into a slow cooker for the long slow cook. Served with the suggested Mushroom Pullao (MJ1, p152), which is a good rice pullao. And then there was Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148), which really ought to go into the Handy Book as often as I make it. Mini-magnums for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/8-Mar-16: Dinner with friends tonight. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Wednesday/9-Mar-16: Shopping today. Dinner was Broiled Salmon with Creamy Lemon-Dill Sauce (CL; web). I had half the fish, but made all the sauce to top some asparagus, first French ones of the season, I think. Served with trio rice. Then a salad. Then some ice cream with strawberries, the first gariguettes of the season. Yum.

Thursday/10-Mar-16: Working on Ed's hemoglobin again tonight, there was Foie de Veau Poêlé (SaveurFR, p218), liver with a sauce of shallots, cognac, and chives. Well, it wasn't repulsive as liver can sometimes be, but still not a favorite. We both think we like boudin noir better than liver, but I'll try again. Served with Straw Potato Cake—Pommes Paillason (BEFCC, p52), good, but a bit too greasy. Other recipes have you seriously dry the grated potatoes; this one has you mix them with melted butter. Good, but ... Then a salad. Then some ice cream and the rest of the strawberries.

Friday/11-Mar-16: Dinner was shakshuka, a smerge of several recipes, mostly Ottolenghi's. Pretty good stuff. Used some tomato purée from the freezer, augmented by a real tomato, chopped. For dessert we split an espresso magnum.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/12-Mar-16: We had our main meal early today, since we'll go to an earlyish movie late. Working on Ed's hemoglobin again, we had Easy Thai "Weeping Tiger" Beef (web). Not really tiger's cries, but still pretty good and definitely easy. Had two nice little rumsteacks; 3min each side under the broiler gave medium, so slightly less time might be better next time. The amount of marinade was good. The amount of sauce was about double what it should have been. I put the rest in the freezer, although I'm not sure how well it will keep. Ran out of fish sauce (new bottle, but small), so the sauce was a bit lemony. It went really well over Stir-Fried Celery Cabbage (Kuo, p389), which is a tried-n-true recipe. (Makes me want to plan a proper Chinese meal from this book, which has always led to yummy meals.) I had a mini mag for dessert.

Sunday/13-Mar-16: A bit of a cleaning-out-the-pantry dinner tonight.  I made the stuffing for Uszka (TLQuint, p18), tortellini sort of things that should have been in in the Christmas Eve Beet Soup xmas before last, using the mushrooms that I got ready, then ended up freezing. (Yes they've been in the freezer a while.) Used the stuffing to fill some empanada like things made with squares of pâte feuillittée. These were ok, much better with the bit of broccoli stem salad that I made. There was also some steamed asparagus with the rest of the creamy dill sauce, and some of Pomiane's beet salad, made from memory. An odd lot, but pretty good altogether.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/29-Sep-14: On the plan for tonight's dinner was a half recipe of Maltagliati with Aubergine Sauce (PastaCarlu, p32; cookbooker). Maltagliati means "badly cut," so it's handcut into random-ish shapes. It's actually pretty good with chunky stuff, but I think maybe I should just roll it to 5 rather than 6, since it could be hand-rolled, rather than machine-rolled. When I cut into my eggplant, I discovered it wasn't good. Broccoli was the only other veg in the fridge, so I used that instead. The veggies took a looong time to cook, so I added a bit of water and steamed them for a bit before finishing the sauce. Then a salad using the last garden tomato of the season. (There are some flowers now, but I expect it's too cool at night now to set fruit.)

Tuesday/30-Sep-14: Dinner was a half dose of Chicken in Red WIne Vinegar Sauce (web). Did this with chicken thighs. Really easy and tasty. For sides there was a carrot version of Broccoli Timbales (BEFCC, p58), there not being enough broccoli left to do it. No sauce for us. It's a recipe for four, but we usually eat two timbales. Serving a meal French-style, these would make a nice starter, the bit of sauce would dress it us a bit. And some orzo.

Wednesday/1-Oct-14: Shopping today.

Dinner was a half recipe of Spaghetti with Halibut & Lemon (web), kind of ceviche with spaghetti. And mashed potato mixed in there too. One of those recipe I'm glad I tried, but don't need to do again. Followed by a nice big salad. And three squares of chocolate with hazelnuts (finishing off the package, don't you know).

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/2-Oct-14: Went to make dinner, got started in plenty of time, only to discover that the "stew" wanted to cook 1-1/2 hours in the oven. Yes, I should have read the recipe more carefully when I chose it, but given the ingredients, it's really unexpected. So, finished assembling this while making something to be eating in real time. And tomorrow will be easy.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Savoy Cabbage and Sausage Pasta Sauce (MarCuc, p176; cookbooker). Fairly simple and quite good, the sauce being onion, garlic, sausage, and cabbage, bound with cream and topped with parsley and Parmesan. Had a bit of brie that was on special this week for afters.

Friday/3-Oct-14: What I assembled last night and popped in the fridge was Eggplant and Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses (web). It was okay, but nothing special. A lot of fussy cutting-up of the eggplant, that's just going to be buried in the not-really-stew. (It's more like a casserole.)

Saturday/4-Oct-14: Yogurt on overday.

Party tonight that included dinner.

Sunday/5-Oct-14: I cooked up 500g of chickpeas during the day, some for dinner and lots for the freezer.

Dinner was Crusted Cornmeal Chickpea Potpie (web; cookbooker). An interesting idea that didn't quite work. Might be worthwhile tinkering with. (See cookbooker for details.) Then a simple salad.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/28-Jul-14: Yogurt on overday.

Neither of us were particularly hungry this evening, so we finished off the lentil salad from Saturday and called it done.

Tuesday/29-Jul-14: Shopping today.

For as starter we had a fruit and goat's cheese salad for IHCC. Then there were Salmon Steaks with Sorrel Sauce (Saumon à l'Oseille) (BEFCC, p92), using salmon fillets (I don't like the bones around steaks and steaks are harder to find here). A classic, this was good, but nothing special. Served with orzo.

Wednesday/30-Jul-14: Yogurt on overday.

We ate with Patrice and Wim at the marché des producteurs in Massignac this evening. Nothing much happened in our kitchen.

Thursday/32-Jul-14: Today we had lunch out with neighbors before going on a walking tour followed by café gourmand (coffee served with little sweets). Nothing happened in our kitchen.

Friday/1-Aug-14: We had some ripe bananas to use up, so I made up a loaf of Banana Bread (CC1, p553) before dinner. Then with had a melon, ham, and mozzarella salad for IHCC. Then there was Shrimp-Stuffed Mirliton (TLCreole, p102).

Saturday/2-Aug-14: Dinner was Sambal Chicken Skewers (web); I made a half recipe of the sauce, without the brown sugar, and marinated four skinless chicken thighs for the afternoon. Grilled them under the broiler. Yum. As a go-with I smerged a couple of recipes for peanut noodles and topped with some broccoli that I boiled in the pasta water before the pasta. We split a classic magnum for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/3-Aug-14: Most of the afternoon in the kitchen making dinner for Patrice and Wim. For a main, there was Qodban (Marinated Lamb Kabobs) (TLQuint, p65), really yummy. I didn't do the suet between lamb chunks, thought about using bits of bacon, in the end decided I was too lazy. They were fine without this. As sides there was Salatit Batata (Potato Salad with Caraway) (TLQuint, p101) and Slata Mechouia (Roasted Tomato and Pepper Salad) (TLQuint, p102). (I'm puzzled why these are two Tunisian salads, one salatit and one slata.) I've made both salads before, but the making of them seemed completely new! For dessert, there was Sour Cream Fresh Blueberry Cake (MC). The weather was nice so Ed could barbecue the lamb. It started to sprinkle as we preparing to eat, so we moved under the hexagon.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/14-Oct-13: Leftover night. Sliced the remaining pork roast and warmed it with the rest of the broccoli parmentier. For a starter we had a simple salad of mâche and rucola topped with a bit on goat cheese on toast. That's all.

Tuesday/15-Oct-13: Anniversary lunch out today. For dinner there was popcorn, carrot sticks, plums, and cherry tomatoes in front of an old movie.

Wednesday/16-Oct-13: Yogurt on overday.

Shopping today. Found a package of "homemade" croissants, like biscuits. Will try in the next days. The brand is good, but there are a lot of questionable ingredients for something that should be essentially flour and butter.

For dinner I grilled swordfish and served with Thomas's Green Sauce for Poached or Grilled Fish (MrLatte, p178). I liked this OK, but Ed not at all. Have tons of the sauce left. Maybe will freeze it up to use by the drab in salad dressing or some such. Accompanied by some trio rice and some Perfect Pan-Roasted Green Beans (HandyBook) and a little salad made of grated broccoli stems, suggested by Dusolier in a box on the Broccoli Parmentier page—grated (peeled) stems with raisins, sunflower seeds, and a yogurt dressing. Used walnuts instead of sunflower seeds. Successful salad. Two squares of hazelnut-filled chocolate for dessert.

Thursday/17-Oct-13: Finally got some pasta made for dinner. Tagliatelle, to go with Porcini-Style Shiitake Mushroom Pasta Sauce (MarCuc, p152). Tonight's mushrooms were oesterzwamen (or pleurotes or oyster mushrooms) with cremini. Nicer with porcini and shiitakes, but those aren't to be found. Strange that it's the season for cêpes, but they are not to be found in our grocery. As a starter  we had Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill (BEFCC, p35), a nice little salad, quick to make. Neither of us are fennel fans, but fennel and cucumbers are a good combination.

Friday/18-Oct-13: For dinner tonight, there was Tom's Brick Chicken (CastIron, p63). I've done this before; a nice way to cook a bird. I actually started out to make a half recipe of Twin Roasted Chickens with Garlicky Bulgur Dressing (GreeneGrains, p90), but decided I didn't want to stuff a bird. Instead I just made the stuffing on the side. Good it was. And, using up the kumquats I bought last week, there was Broccoli and Kumquat Salad with Olives (Uncommon, p271). We finished off by sharing a classic Magnum. The chocolate on these just isn't as good as it used to me. Too bad.

Saturday/19-Oct-13: Yogurt on overday.

An unexpected dinner tonight, since we originally planned on going to the Fête du Vin at St Sornin tonight, but decided against it. So, we had a more or less half recipe of Shocking Pink Pasta (Dusoulier2, p115). Shocking pink, it was, too, beets and cream. I took the lazy way and used the staff mixer, but probably should have used the blender, since it was the sauce was a bit grainy. This is one of those things I'm glad I tried, but maybe don't need to make again. Although, it might make a nice starter or side dish if you needed a bit of color or a talking point at dinner.

Followed by a salad, topped with some blue goat cheese. For afters, a bit of Morbier. Both bought today at the Marché du Goût at La Rochefoucauld.

I have used quite a few seldom used cookbooks this week, but I haven't done separate posts for them. Sorry, just seems like too much trouble.

Sunday/20-Oct-13: Lunch at 4pm meant we didn't get to dinner till really late. I didn't really plan anything for today, since I thought we'd be eating out. Wrong. So it was a last minute, what-can-I-do-to-use-up-stuff-in-the-fridge sort of meal. I more or less made Spicy Eggplant Stew with Potatoes, Mushroom, and Chickpeas (WorldVeg, p196). A really tasty recipe. We split a Magnum classic for dessert.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/30-Sep-13: Yogurt on overday.

For dinner there was a half recipe of Indian-Spiced Eggplant & Cauliflower Stew (web) which #1 took ages to get done, much more than advertised time, and #2 was fairly boring taste-wise. Served with rice. For dessert, I used plums to make Dusoulier's Peach, Almond, and Cardamom Clafoutis (Dusoulier2, p93). I used only half the fruit asked, which was much nicer than before, everything fit in the pan, and cooked it much longer. Very tasty.

IHCC is moving on to Donna Hay for the next period. I don't really know her, but have heard good things. Nevertheless, I'm not going to participate. Instead I'll concentrate on posting for Cook Your Books, using some of my seldom-used cookbooks.

Have done really poorly on goals in the last couple of months. Hope I can get back on track in October.

Tuesday/1-Oct-13: We had our main meal at midday today in anticipation of going to a movie in the evening. It was a half recipe of Filet Mignon, Purée de Chou-fleur et Épinards (VPQ), that's a pork tenderloin (I think it is in English, varkenshaas in Dutch) with a purée of cauliflower and potato, with a dab on spinach on the side. Pretty good. The smashed cauliflower was pretty good, and served as a bed for the meat. The meat was glazed with a honey-soy sauce mixture that could have been a bit zingier. Then a salad with the first of our San Marzano tomatoes. And a bit of plum clafoutis.

After the movie (Blue Jasmine) we finished off the clafoutis.

Wednesday/2-Oct-13: Shopping today. Dinner was a half recipe of Grilled Swordfish with Artichokes, Tomatoes, and Olives (License, p170; cookbooker). There was no swordfish today, so it was shark instead. The fish is simply cooked, rubbed with olive oil, S&P'd, and grilled. The salady bit on the side is what makes this special. The artichoke is boiled, then grilled, and finally tossed with tomato (San Marzano from the garden), black olives, parsley, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and lemon juice. Served with orzo cooked in the artichoke boiling water. (Hmm...guess I should have taken a photo of this and done a post for my seldom used books. It was quite pretty on the plate, too.) For dessert we had half a classic Magnum. Since they don't want to carry the mini Magnum classics, we'll just cut it in half ourselves. (Mini classics were on sale recently at one grocery, but they had none in stock.)

Thursday/3-Oct-13: Yogurt on overday.

Roasted the beets that I bought yesterday. They don't usually have fresh beets, so I took advantage.

Dinner was Zucchini and Feta Gratin (MC). Yes, still working on zucchini backlog; thank goodness production seems to have shut down. I keep forgetting how good this is. Since I expect it would be good with any veg, I'm going to try this again before too long with broccoli. For a starter there was Cold Beetroot with Cream (Pomiane, p180).

Friday/4-Oct-13: Busy day today, my drawing group in the morning, and a haircut in the afternoon. The haircut doesn't sound like that much, but they've now moved 1.5hr from here; drive back was miserable in driving rain with Tomtom insisting that I needed to go cross-country rather than travelling on the highway. Grr... Between my two outings we had lunch out. For dinner there was popcorn, a plate of fruit, and the first episode of New Tricks season 9.

Saturday/5-Oct-13: Picked the chicken carcass today and made Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (web) in the crockpot. Pretty good it was, too. Also made chicken stock, which I'll finish off tomorrow. Also made apple butter. Also made up ground roasted cumin for my Indian dishes.

Sunday/6-Oct-13: We had the rest of the Zucchini and Feta Gratin for dinner, preceded by one of our favorites, Lamb's Lettuce and Beetroot salad (BEFCC, p32). And some Afrikas for dessert.

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