Monday/6-May-19: Dinner was some of the leftover pork roast (froze up the rest of it), plus Clothilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roast Potatoes (HandyBook, web), followed by a big salad with some sorrel leaves from the potager. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines.
Tuesday/7-May-19: I had lunch out following BookChatters. Ed had leftovers for dinner, and I munched a bit.
Yogurt on overnight.
Wednesday/8-May-19: Dinner was a half recipe of Garlic Steak and Potato Foil Packs (web). I parboiled the potatoes and Ed barbecued the packets. The meat was way overdone, dry and tasteless, but the potatoes were good. Served with some steamed broccoli. Then some mini ice cream bars.
Thursday/9-May-19: Shopping today.
Dinner was Marinated Salmon Steaks (MC). For a starter we had insalatas caprese, to use up some out-of-date mozzarella. Not bad. Then the salmon with trio rice and peas/corn/red bell pepper bits. Not bad. Then some strawberries with cream.
Friday/10-May-19: Before I started cooking I went down to the potager to cut some rhubarb. Then I made Clafoutis de Rhubarbe à l'Amaretto (web), which was easy to assemble, and tasted quite nice in the end. Made a little starter of salad and beet and a creamy, garlicky dressing. The main was Sausage & Broccoli Phyllo Pie (web); this was good and a really good idea. Lots of veggies and tasty meat and seasonings could be used, all making a one-dish meal. Then the clafoutis.
Put beans on to soak in my new, used, big Romertopf.
Saturday/12-May-19: For a starter that was Grilled Artichokes and Lemons with Spicy Garlic Mayonnaise—Artichauts à l'Aïoli (VegHarv, p158; cookbooker). Found this a really nice way to serve and cook artichokes. We have another pair of halves for a meal in the next days.
The main was Tuscan Beans Bakes with Tuna and Lemon (Fagioli Stufai) (ClayCook1, p17; cookbooker). Thought about making half a recipe, but made it all and have frozen half the beans. First of all, a very good way to cook beans, in my new, used, larger Romertopf. Soaked the beans in the pot overnight, then two hours and a bit in the oven, with a one-time stir. Perfectly done. To serve, mix with a can of tuna, lemon juice, olive oil, and lots of black pepper. Some sliced red onion prettied it up a bit; some parsley would be nice too. Contrary to what you usually hear, the beans are cooked with salt, and came out perfectly.
I've had VegHarv for quite a while, but generally seem to ignore it. I noticed quite a few interesting recipes while looking for something to do with my artichokes, and we were very happy with that recipe.
Yogurt on overnight.
Sunday/12-May-19: Dinner was André Claude's Omelette Verte, Ouverte (Fancy, p79), along with a big salad. The omelet recipe called for five large eggs to serve three people. I used five to serve two people. Ed said I should use six eggs for two people. Nicely spicy with some seeded chiles, topped with mixed herbs, tarragon, parsley, and chives tonight, the eggs are scrambled in the pan, rather than beaten on the side. Yummy.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Romertopf books
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes #6 GUESTS: no
This year: #7 PROJECT: no
Showing posts with label ~Fancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ~Fancy. Show all posts
Monday, May 6, 2019
Monday, November 26, 2018
This week in the kitchen
Monday/26-Nov-18: Because I neglected to buy broccoli this week, I switched today and tomorrow's planned recipes. Tonight we had Pan Fried Pork Chops with Honey Lime Glaze (web). Not bad, this was, with bone-in pork chops. Used up the rest of my potatoes for smashed potatoes. Used some of my surplus of mushrooms with a zucchini, for a side dish of sautéd shrooms and zuke, with lots of garlic. A pair of chocolate covered madeleines each for dessert.
Tuesday/27-Nov-18: I'm feeling sickly today with headache and unhappy innards. Not much food for me. For dinner there was plain pasta with plain tomato sauce. Seems to have gone down okay.
Wednesday/28-Nov-18: Headache much better today, but innards still unhappy.
Shopping today. I didn't have energy to stop by the optician for new lenses or to talk with the cheese lady about what I wanted. Discovered packages of ground pork and veal when I was looking for pork and veal to grind at home. Surprise. Have never noticed these before.
For dinner Ed got a chicken scallop topped with basil strips, mozzarella, and a bit of tomato sauce. Was good, he said. I had some whole wheat pasta with pyramid cheese (kind of like goat cream cheese) with a lot of pepper. Pretty tasty. How am I going to eat out tomorrow night?
Thursday/29-Nov-18: My innards had a bad night and a bad day. Bill arrived; Ed had to get him by himself. We had reservations for dinner, but I couldn't do it. We decided on pizza, but one i closed on Monday and Thursday evenings, and the other one was supposed to be open, but wasn't. No sign on the door, just dark and locked. Instead Bill made us omelettes, which were tasty and seemed to go down ok.
Mouse in a trap this morning.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/30-Nov-18: The most-used oven seems not to be getting up to speed again, so our meal of Alice B. Toklas's Veal and Pork Loaf (Fancy, p120; cookbooker) was a bit late. This is a super meatloaf. Served with some frozen mixed veggies. For dessert, there were some toetjes from the boulanger.
Saturday/1-Dec-18: Lovely dinner out tonight.
Sunday/2-Dec-18: My innards seem to be getting better at last. Phew.
Ed was off early to choir practice, so I started a crockpot with Meat and Mushroom Ragu (SlowItal, p60; cookbooker). Made it all and we froze two meals for two. Then a salad. Then some cheese. Then some of Bill's Greek sweets.
The oven that was flaky yesterday is working today.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 2; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy for November, no clue for December
This month: #4 PASTA: no for November, no for December; #5 BREAD: yes for November, no for December; #6 GUESTS: yes for November, yes for December
Tuesday/27-Nov-18: I'm feeling sickly today with headache and unhappy innards. Not much food for me. For dinner there was plain pasta with plain tomato sauce. Seems to have gone down okay.
Wednesday/28-Nov-18: Headache much better today, but innards still unhappy.
Shopping today. I didn't have energy to stop by the optician for new lenses or to talk with the cheese lady about what I wanted. Discovered packages of ground pork and veal when I was looking for pork and veal to grind at home. Surprise. Have never noticed these before.
For dinner Ed got a chicken scallop topped with basil strips, mozzarella, and a bit of tomato sauce. Was good, he said. I had some whole wheat pasta with pyramid cheese (kind of like goat cream cheese) with a lot of pepper. Pretty tasty. How am I going to eat out tomorrow night?
Thursday/29-Nov-18: My innards had a bad night and a bad day. Bill arrived; Ed had to get him by himself. We had reservations for dinner, but I couldn't do it. We decided on pizza, but one i closed on Monday and Thursday evenings, and the other one was supposed to be open, but wasn't. No sign on the door, just dark and locked. Instead Bill made us omelettes, which were tasty and seemed to go down ok.
Mouse in a trap this morning.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/30-Nov-18: The most-used oven seems not to be getting up to speed again, so our meal of Alice B. Toklas's Veal and Pork Loaf (Fancy, p120; cookbooker) was a bit late. This is a super meatloaf. Served with some frozen mixed veggies. For dessert, there were some toetjes from the boulanger.
Saturday/1-Dec-18: Lovely dinner out tonight.
Sunday/2-Dec-18: My innards seem to be getting better at last. Phew.
Ed was off early to choir practice, so I started a crockpot with Meat and Mushroom Ragu (SlowItal, p60; cookbooker). Made it all and we froze two meals for two. Then a salad. Then some cheese. Then some of Bill's Greek sweets.
The oven that was flaky yesterday is working today.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 2; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy for November, no clue for December
This month: #4 PASTA: no for November, no for December; #5 BREAD: yes for November, no for December; #6 GUESTS: yes for November, yes for December
Monday, November 19, 2018
This week in the kitchen
Monday/19-Nov-18: Dinner was Black and Blue Cajun Chicken Sandwich (Ainsley2, p12; cookbooker) with a toefje salad on the side. Chocolate covered madeleines for dessert.
Tuesday/20-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse overnight. Wondering if we've got a small opening to the outside world in the kitchen somewhere.
Had one thing planned, then decided to use us some stuff in the fridge. Made a pasta (casareccia) with goat cheese, broccoli, shooms, kalamatas, onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, etc. Comfort food. Then a salad. Then a pair of chocolated covered madeleines, finishing off that package.
Wednesday/21-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse today.
Made Pumpkin Flan (MC) to take to Rosemary's tomorrow.
Shopping today.
Dinner was Fish Stew—Mr A.R. Sunil's Fish Moilly (MJFlavs, p25), made with lieu noir, on special today. Quite good it was. Easy and relatively fast to make. Served with plain basmati rice and Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38) made with snijbonen, haricots coco plats, whatever those might be in English. And some Cachumber (MJ1, p172). We were full, but still has some semoule au lait from the shop after.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/22-Nov-18: Up early. Made Double-Corn Muffins (MC) to take to Rosemary's.
Off to Rosemary and Philippe's for Thanksgiving, picking up Cath on the way. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.
Friday/23-Nov-18: Made Pear Bundt Cake (MC) to use up pears in the fridge.
Dinner was Pesto Turkey Kebabs (200Budget, p183). Pretty tasty, if not quite as pretty as the picture. For sides there was trio rice and a mix of veggies—broccoli, mushrooms, corn, left-over turkey filling. Bundt cake for dessert was very more-ish.
Saturday/24-Nov-18: Tonight I made real use of the spiralizer. There was a half-dose of Malaysian-Style Zucchini Noodles with Greens and Shrimp (Spiral, p122). Ed didn't realize there was no pasta, only spiralized zukes. Pretty good as a whole. Then some Mothais Charentais, an especially nice goat cheese that comes on a chestnut leaf. Then more of the Pear Bundt Cake.
Sunday/25-Nov-18: Caught another small mouse this morning. Think I've neglected to record a few. This was the third or fourth for the week.
Dinner was Lemon Chicken (Fancy, p111). I've made this before, in 2012; it's still good. Served with Dusoulier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and a little salad of grated broccoli stems and carrot with a lemon vinaigrette. Then we finished the Mothais Charentais. Then I had my last slice of Pear Bundt Cake, while Ed saved his for breakfast.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: yes
Tuesday/20-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse overnight. Wondering if we've got a small opening to the outside world in the kitchen somewhere.
Had one thing planned, then decided to use us some stuff in the fridge. Made a pasta (casareccia) with goat cheese, broccoli, shooms, kalamatas, onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, etc. Comfort food. Then a salad. Then a pair of chocolated covered madeleines, finishing off that package.
Wednesday/21-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse today.
Made Pumpkin Flan (MC) to take to Rosemary's tomorrow.
Shopping today.
Dinner was Fish Stew—Mr A.R. Sunil's Fish Moilly (MJFlavs, p25), made with lieu noir, on special today. Quite good it was. Easy and relatively fast to make. Served with plain basmati rice and Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38) made with snijbonen, haricots coco plats, whatever those might be in English. And some Cachumber (MJ1, p172). We were full, but still has some semoule au lait from the shop after.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/22-Nov-18: Up early. Made Double-Corn Muffins (MC) to take to Rosemary's.
Off to Rosemary and Philippe's for Thanksgiving, picking up Cath on the way. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.
Friday/23-Nov-18: Made Pear Bundt Cake (MC) to use up pears in the fridge.
Dinner was Pesto Turkey Kebabs (200Budget, p183). Pretty tasty, if not quite as pretty as the picture. For sides there was trio rice and a mix of veggies—broccoli, mushrooms, corn, left-over turkey filling. Bundt cake for dessert was very more-ish.
Saturday/24-Nov-18: Tonight I made real use of the spiralizer. There was a half-dose of Malaysian-Style Zucchini Noodles with Greens and Shrimp (Spiral, p122). Ed didn't realize there was no pasta, only spiralized zukes. Pretty good as a whole. Then some Mothais Charentais, an especially nice goat cheese that comes on a chestnut leaf. Then more of the Pear Bundt Cake.
Sunday/25-Nov-18: Caught another small mouse this morning. Think I've neglected to record a few. This was the third or fourth for the week.
Dinner was Lemon Chicken (Fancy, p111). I've made this before, in 2012; it's still good. Served with Dusoulier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and a little salad of grated broccoli stems and carrot with a lemon vinaigrette. Then we finished the Mothais Charentais. Then I had my last slice of Pear Bundt Cake, while Ed saved his for breakfast.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: yes
Monday, November 12, 2018
This week in the kitchen
Monday/12-Nov-18: No mice caught today. Have we gotten them all? Please.
Finished off the scones for breakfast. Good.
Dilly-dallied getting started with dinner, so made a last-minute change. Instead I made Bangkok Shrimp (web). Served the shrimp mixture over plain rice rather than stirring the rice into the sauce. It was good. Followed by Häagen-Däsz mini ice cream cups.
Tuesday/13-Nov-18: No mice today. Fingers crossed.
Dinner was Moroccan Lamb, Butternut Squash in the Slow Cooker (web) which was quite tasty. Recipe was meant for two, but we had lots of potatoes, squash, and sauce left, which Ed will get for his lunch at choir practice on Sunday. Used one of the acorn squash from the garden. Made a little shredded carrot salad as a go-with. For afters we finished the bit of Petit Basque we had, and then indulged in chocolate-covered madeleines.
Wednesday/14-Nov-18: Still not mice.
Shopping today.
Dinner was an instant favorite, a half recipe of Bittman's Salmon Burgers (web; cookbooker). I served these as patties, rather than burgers. They were super, an instant favorite. Served with trio rice and Cucumber Tzatziki (Spiral, p22; cookbooker). More chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/15-Nov-18: We ate out for Ed's birthday today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Friday/16-Nov-18: Went to make a "fast" loaf of sourdough bread today, to have with our dinner soup, but discovered my starter was covered with mold. Yuck. Quick scramble to turn what I'd done so far into bread. Then cooked like last week's bread from Dusoulier by putting covered pan into a cold oven. Don't think the oven got hot enough. Not sure if it's because we're low on gas (it's been 3-1/2 months) or because that oven isn't heating properly. Have to check tomorrow.
For dinner I made a half dose of My Mushroom Soup (Fancy, p42; cookbooker), which was quite good. Served with my made up bread, followed by a big salad. The bread is good, but I suspect my yeast, near the bottom of the jar, is past its usefulness. Will test it tomorrow and possibly toss what remains.
Saturday/17-Nov-18: Yup, no oomph in the yeast. Out with the rest of that jar.
Not quite the weather, but it was zuurkool stamppot tonight, with saucisses de Morteau. Cozy and filling.
Sunday/18-Nov-18: Cath came for dinner, which turned out rather later than expected. We had canned dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, for a nibble. For a starter, I used one of the cans of foie gras from Jody's returned package; served with toasted bread and the rest of the Banana-Ginger Chutney. This worked really well. (That recipe is really a keeper.) Our main was Stuffed Veal Roll-Ups with Fennel and Bread Crumbs (O&C, p380; cookbooker); I served this with fettucelle, which is similar to tagliatelle, but shorter. The veal was really tasty with an interesting tomato-y sauce. (I used some of the canned "seedless" tomato parts and froze the rest of that.) Cath brought some Basque cheese and membrillo that had been made by a recent visitor. We had that for a cheese course—what a nice combination. No sweet needed.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: yes
Finished off the scones for breakfast. Good.
Dilly-dallied getting started with dinner, so made a last-minute change. Instead I made Bangkok Shrimp (web). Served the shrimp mixture over plain rice rather than stirring the rice into the sauce. It was good. Followed by Häagen-Däsz mini ice cream cups.
Tuesday/13-Nov-18: No mice today. Fingers crossed.
Dinner was Moroccan Lamb, Butternut Squash in the Slow Cooker (web) which was quite tasty. Recipe was meant for two, but we had lots of potatoes, squash, and sauce left, which Ed will get for his lunch at choir practice on Sunday. Used one of the acorn squash from the garden. Made a little shredded carrot salad as a go-with. For afters we finished the bit of Petit Basque we had, and then indulged in chocolate-covered madeleines.
Wednesday/14-Nov-18: Still not mice.
Shopping today.
Dinner was an instant favorite, a half recipe of Bittman's Salmon Burgers (web; cookbooker). I served these as patties, rather than burgers. They were super, an instant favorite. Served with trio rice and Cucumber Tzatziki (Spiral, p22; cookbooker). More chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/15-Nov-18: We ate out for Ed's birthday today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Friday/16-Nov-18: Went to make a "fast" loaf of sourdough bread today, to have with our dinner soup, but discovered my starter was covered with mold. Yuck. Quick scramble to turn what I'd done so far into bread. Then cooked like last week's bread from Dusoulier by putting covered pan into a cold oven. Don't think the oven got hot enough. Not sure if it's because we're low on gas (it's been 3-1/2 months) or because that oven isn't heating properly. Have to check tomorrow.
For dinner I made a half dose of My Mushroom Soup (Fancy, p42; cookbooker), which was quite good. Served with my made up bread, followed by a big salad. The bread is good, but I suspect my yeast, near the bottom of the jar, is past its usefulness. Will test it tomorrow and possibly toss what remains.
Saturday/17-Nov-18: Yup, no oomph in the yeast. Out with the rest of that jar.
Not quite the weather, but it was zuurkool stamppot tonight, with saucisses de Morteau. Cozy and filling.
Sunday/18-Nov-18: Cath came for dinner, which turned out rather later than expected. We had canned dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, for a nibble. For a starter, I used one of the cans of foie gras from Jody's returned package; served with toasted bread and the rest of the Banana-Ginger Chutney. This worked really well. (That recipe is really a keeper.) Our main was Stuffed Veal Roll-Ups with Fennel and Bread Crumbs (O&C, p380; cookbooker); I served this with fettucelle, which is similar to tagliatelle, but shorter. The veal was really tasty with an interesting tomato-y sauce. (I used some of the canned "seedless" tomato parts and froze the rest of that.) Cath brought some Basque cheese and membrillo that had been made by a recent visitor. We had that for a cheese course—what a nice combination. No sweet needed.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: yes
Monday, November 5, 2018
This week in the kitchen
Monday/5-Nov-18: No more mice caught today.
It occurred to me today that I've taken to choosing my monthly book wrong. Instead of choosing one that I've not used much and might be a candidate for recycling, I've frequently chosen ones that either I've used or I've been wanting to use. Will try to do better with this. It is interesting making a of use of a single book in a month.
Thought I had the meal plan for the next week fairly complete when I sat down today. After a few finishing touches, I discovered that I had three cow-centered meals planned over four days. Odd since we don't eat that much cow. Have that all jiggled now, so should be quick list-making tomorrow.
Tonight we had the other two Jamaican Burgers, along with the Banana-Ginger Chutney (good stuff, that). Served with Jamaican Jerk Grilled Eggplant (web), without the optional sauce. Used the rest of the brown rice to make a sort of stir-fried rice with peas and tossed in the rest of the jerk sauce. Turned out pretty good. Some mini ice cream bars for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/6-Nov-18: No mice caught today.
Our meal was Tandoori Chicken Thighs (web; CL/may12), a half recipe. Easy and good, cooked under the broiler. Then there was Yellow Rice with Potato and Cumin (SpiceKitch, p64), good stuff. I used one third of the rice with all of the spices. I used up the rest of the snijbonen to make South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147), also good. Have enjoyed both of these before. At a boulanger in the afternoon, I bought one piece of flan; we split that for dessert.
Wednesday/7-Nov-18: No mice caught today. We know you're there!
Shopping late. Dinner was Tilapia Poached in a Chipotle Mushroom Broth (MC; web), but with lieu noir, rather than tilapia (which isn't much sold here). Lots of yummy broth left. Served with bucatini, which was the wrong pasta, and some clean-out-the-fridge steamed veggies, a bit of broccoli, a carrot, and one snijbonen. Some store-bought riz au lait avec vanile for dessert.
My sourdough starter is alive! Two days ago it grew to the top of the jar, then apparently "burped" and went down in volume. This has happened a couple of times now, though not so dramatic at the first time. Hope to start a bread within the next days.
Thursday/8-Nov-18: Dinner was Beef with Spinach—Saag Gosht (Q&E, p36). I made a whole recipe and the two of us ate it all; we were stuffed but we ate it all. (New pressure cooker is pretty fiddly. Had trouble getting it sealed right so that it would work properly.) Over plain basmati rice. Served with a half recipe of Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish—Cachumber (MJ1, p172). For dessert, there was Caramelized Cardamom Apples with Pistachio Cream‐Sev Ka Murabba (Q&E, p122), which was good. Have made all of these before.
Yogurt on overnight.
Started on a loaf of sourdough bread by making the sponge this evening. Using my starter from Fancy, but the bread from Chocolate&Zucchini. I love that she says to "place the bowl [with the sponge] next to the chef starter so they can tell knock-knock jokes to one another all night." We'll see how this goes. Tomorrow the bread.
Friday/9-Nov-18: Caught another mouse today. Hoping this is the last one. Please.
Finished my bread today, but it's still cooling so it might be tomorrow before we can try it. Had to add more flour, and I see that the current version on the web has some gluten added, so I added that too. Looks beautiful. We'll see.
Dinner was boudin noir, with the Banana-Ginger Chutney, which was a good combination. Served with tagliatelle, followed by a big salad.
Saturday/10-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.
It was supposed to fresh pasta today, but I was too tired. Also couldn't face clearing off the counter, where mouse-threatened packages are sitting till we're sure we've removed all the mice.
Dinner was a half recipe of Simple Veal Pasta Sauce—Piccolo Ragù de Vitello (MarCuc, p172), served over malfalda. No ground veal, so I chopped up a scallop and it worked fine. Then a big salad. Then a bit of Petit Basque cheese. We've eaten well.
Sunday/11-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.
Made some Everyday Scones (Fancy, p173; cookbooker) this morning. These were easy and pretty good. The recipe advertises that it makes nine scones; I ended up with eleven. My cutter was slightly bigger than 2"; we thought they were a bit small. But good, especially with a dab of jam.
Fed my Fancy sourdough starter, with sugar as instructed. Not sure I've seen this before. If it doesn't bubble up and burp over this time.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 2; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: no
It occurred to me today that I've taken to choosing my monthly book wrong. Instead of choosing one that I've not used much and might be a candidate for recycling, I've frequently chosen ones that either I've used or I've been wanting to use. Will try to do better with this. It is interesting making a of use of a single book in a month.
Thought I had the meal plan for the next week fairly complete when I sat down today. After a few finishing touches, I discovered that I had three cow-centered meals planned over four days. Odd since we don't eat that much cow. Have that all jiggled now, so should be quick list-making tomorrow.
Tonight we had the other two Jamaican Burgers, along with the Banana-Ginger Chutney (good stuff, that). Served with Jamaican Jerk Grilled Eggplant (web), without the optional sauce. Used the rest of the brown rice to make a sort of stir-fried rice with peas and tossed in the rest of the jerk sauce. Turned out pretty good. Some mini ice cream bars for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/6-Nov-18: No mice caught today.
Our meal was Tandoori Chicken Thighs (web; CL/may12), a half recipe. Easy and good, cooked under the broiler. Then there was Yellow Rice with Potato and Cumin (SpiceKitch, p64), good stuff. I used one third of the rice with all of the spices. I used up the rest of the snijbonen to make South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147), also good. Have enjoyed both of these before. At a boulanger in the afternoon, I bought one piece of flan; we split that for dessert.
Wednesday/7-Nov-18: No mice caught today. We know you're there!
Shopping late. Dinner was Tilapia Poached in a Chipotle Mushroom Broth (MC; web), but with lieu noir, rather than tilapia (which isn't much sold here). Lots of yummy broth left. Served with bucatini, which was the wrong pasta, and some clean-out-the-fridge steamed veggies, a bit of broccoli, a carrot, and one snijbonen. Some store-bought riz au lait avec vanile for dessert.
My sourdough starter is alive! Two days ago it grew to the top of the jar, then apparently "burped" and went down in volume. This has happened a couple of times now, though not so dramatic at the first time. Hope to start a bread within the next days.
Thursday/8-Nov-18: Dinner was Beef with Spinach—Saag Gosht (Q&E, p36). I made a whole recipe and the two of us ate it all; we were stuffed but we ate it all. (New pressure cooker is pretty fiddly. Had trouble getting it sealed right so that it would work properly.) Over plain basmati rice. Served with a half recipe of Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish—Cachumber (MJ1, p172). For dessert, there was Caramelized Cardamom Apples with Pistachio Cream‐Sev Ka Murabba (Q&E, p122), which was good. Have made all of these before.
Yogurt on overnight.
Started on a loaf of sourdough bread by making the sponge this evening. Using my starter from Fancy, but the bread from Chocolate&Zucchini. I love that she says to "place the bowl [with the sponge] next to the chef starter so they can tell knock-knock jokes to one another all night." We'll see how this goes. Tomorrow the bread.
Friday/9-Nov-18: Caught another mouse today. Hoping this is the last one. Please.
Finished my bread today, but it's still cooling so it might be tomorrow before we can try it. Had to add more flour, and I see that the current version on the web has some gluten added, so I added that too. Looks beautiful. We'll see.
Dinner was boudin noir, with the Banana-Ginger Chutney, which was a good combination. Served with tagliatelle, followed by a big salad.
Saturday/10-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.
It was supposed to fresh pasta today, but I was too tired. Also couldn't face clearing off the counter, where mouse-threatened packages are sitting till we're sure we've removed all the mice.
Dinner was a half recipe of Simple Veal Pasta Sauce—Piccolo Ragù de Vitello (MarCuc, p172), served over malfalda. No ground veal, so I chopped up a scallop and it worked fine. Then a big salad. Then a bit of Petit Basque cheese. We've eaten well.
Sunday/11-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.
Made some Everyday Scones (Fancy, p173; cookbooker) this morning. These were easy and pretty good. The recipe advertises that it makes nine scones; I ended up with eleven. My cutter was slightly bigger than 2"; we thought they were a bit small. But good, especially with a dab of jam.
Fed my Fancy sourdough starter, with sugar as instructed. Not sure I've seen this before. If it doesn't bubble up and burp over this time.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 2; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: no
Monday, October 29, 2018
This week in the kitchen
Monday/29-Oct-18: Caught a kitchen mouse last night. Let her out into a field on the way to pick up the cats.
Suppose I should cook from Floyd in the next days, but I can't face him again. That's a book that's going to get recycled. For November, I've chosen Nothing Fancy, by Diana Kennedy. This was a really good read and there are lots of tagged pages, but I've not used it much. That took a bit of rearrangement of the meal plan, but it's done.
Dinner was Broccoli Cornmeal Cakes from the freezer, warmed not quite enough in the toaster oven, topped with pyramid goat cheese and lardons. Then a big salad.
Put pork on to marinate for tomorrow.
Tuesday/30-Oct-18: This morning there was a second and third mouse in traps. Ed let them go out the high road.
Ed's cold hit me today. Yuck.
Dinner was Ancho- and Chipotle-Rubbed Pork Loin (MC). I forgot that it was done in the Romertopf and took over an hour to cook, so dinner was quite late. Served with polenta and steamed broccoli. Mini ice cream bars for dessert.
Wednesday/31-Oct-18: Shopping today. Exhausting.
Yummy dinner. We had Tamarind Fish (MJFlavs, p154; cookbooker) with salmon, which was really delicious. Served with Whole Potatoes with Tomatoes (MJFlavs, p162; cookbooker), first time I've made this. Quite good they were, and not too hard. The other side was Gujerati-Style Green Beans (MJ1, p102), made with snijbonen, aka haricots coco plat, whatever those may be in English. That's an old favorite.
Thursday/1-Nov-18: Trapped two more mice today, and found another one dead, half-eaten, under the ironing board. That's six live and one dead.
We had an anniversary meal at the new Cambodian take-away restaurant in La Rochefoucauld. Very good.
Cooked some long-grain brown rice for coming meals.
Friday/2-Nov-18: Yet another mouse today. That's seven. They seem to be getting smaller. If mom's still around, she's really wily.
Dinner was a half recipe of Spicy Jerk Pork with Pepper Fried Rice (web). Used leftover varkenshaas from Tuesday's meal. Think I've made this before with shrimpers. Pretty good tonight. Some ice cream for dessert.
Saturday/3-Nov-18: We didn't catch a mouse last night, but I did see one peeping around as I was sitting at the kitchen table.
Had the idea to make Kennedy's whole wheat pasta today for my cookbook project, but 1) the counter is full of stuff that should be in the mouse-eaten shelves and 2) I really didn't feel like it. Instead I made a have dish of Tonnarelli ai Gameri e Funghi (ClassPasta, p104), served over mushroom pasta, kind of a fusilli shape. Not the right one, but tasty. Then a big salad. Then some chocolate-covered corn flakes.
Sunday/4-Nov-18: Again no mouse caught.
Busy day in the kitchen. I made my Apple-Plum Butter (MC; HandyBook), actually using plums this time. And a half-dose of Banana-Ginger Chutney (VegPlanet, p44), a recommended go-with for the patties. Half, but still a huge amount. And Sourdough Starter (Fancy, p129; cookbooker). Will be a week before I can make use of it.
Dinner was Jamaican Burgers (VegPlanet, p372). I've made these before and they're still good. Serve with Banana-Ginger Chutney, which was very good. And leftover hominy heated with the leftover sauce from Monday's pork. All were good.
Discovered this evening that the guy who still hosts, but no longer maintains, Cookbooker wants to give it up. :-( Don't know what's going to happen there. There is an alternative, but it's paying now, and was never as nice as Cookbooker was.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4 #3 COOKBOOK: no for October, yes for November
Cookbooks of the month: Floyd's India for October, Nothing Fancy for November
This month: #4 PASTA: no for October, no for November; #5 BREAD: no for October, no for November; #6 GUESTS: no for October, no for November
Suppose I should cook from Floyd in the next days, but I can't face him again. That's a book that's going to get recycled. For November, I've chosen Nothing Fancy, by Diana Kennedy. This was a really good read and there are lots of tagged pages, but I've not used it much. That took a bit of rearrangement of the meal plan, but it's done.
Dinner was Broccoli Cornmeal Cakes from the freezer, warmed not quite enough in the toaster oven, topped with pyramid goat cheese and lardons. Then a big salad.
Put pork on to marinate for tomorrow.
Tuesday/30-Oct-18: This morning there was a second and third mouse in traps. Ed let them go out the high road.
Ed's cold hit me today. Yuck.
Dinner was Ancho- and Chipotle-Rubbed Pork Loin (MC). I forgot that it was done in the Romertopf and took over an hour to cook, so dinner was quite late. Served with polenta and steamed broccoli. Mini ice cream bars for dessert.
Wednesday/31-Oct-18: Shopping today. Exhausting.
Yummy dinner. We had Tamarind Fish (MJFlavs, p154; cookbooker) with salmon, which was really delicious. Served with Whole Potatoes with Tomatoes (MJFlavs, p162; cookbooker), first time I've made this. Quite good they were, and not too hard. The other side was Gujerati-Style Green Beans (MJ1, p102), made with snijbonen, aka haricots coco plat, whatever those may be in English. That's an old favorite.
Thursday/1-Nov-18: Trapped two more mice today, and found another one dead, half-eaten, under the ironing board. That's six live and one dead.
We had an anniversary meal at the new Cambodian take-away restaurant in La Rochefoucauld. Very good.
Cooked some long-grain brown rice for coming meals.
Friday/2-Nov-18: Yet another mouse today. That's seven. They seem to be getting smaller. If mom's still around, she's really wily.
Dinner was a half recipe of Spicy Jerk Pork with Pepper Fried Rice (web). Used leftover varkenshaas from Tuesday's meal. Think I've made this before with shrimpers. Pretty good tonight. Some ice cream for dessert.
Saturday/3-Nov-18: We didn't catch a mouse last night, but I did see one peeping around as I was sitting at the kitchen table.
Had the idea to make Kennedy's whole wheat pasta today for my cookbook project, but 1) the counter is full of stuff that should be in the mouse-eaten shelves and 2) I really didn't feel like it. Instead I made a have dish of Tonnarelli ai Gameri e Funghi (ClassPasta, p104), served over mushroom pasta, kind of a fusilli shape. Not the right one, but tasty. Then a big salad. Then some chocolate-covered corn flakes.
Sunday/4-Nov-18: Again no mouse caught.
Busy day in the kitchen. I made my Apple-Plum Butter (MC; HandyBook), actually using plums this time. And a half-dose of Banana-Ginger Chutney (VegPlanet, p44), a recommended go-with for the patties. Half, but still a huge amount. And Sourdough Starter (Fancy, p129; cookbooker). Will be a week before I can make use of it.
Dinner was Jamaican Burgers (VegPlanet, p372). I've made these before and they're still good. Serve with Banana-Ginger Chutney, which was very good. And leftover hominy heated with the leftover sauce from Monday's pork. All were good.
Discovered this evening that the guy who still hosts, but no longer maintains, Cookbooker wants to give it up. :-( Don't know what's going to happen there. There is an alternative, but it's paying now, and was never as nice as Cookbooker was.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4 #3 COOKBOOK: no for October, yes for November
Cookbooks of the month: Floyd's India for October, Nothing Fancy for November
This month: #4 PASTA: no for October, no for November; #5 BREAD: no for October, no for November; #6 GUESTS: no for October, no for November
Sunday, November 16, 2014
This week in the kitchen
Monday/10-Nov-14: I meant to roast a chicken tonight, but didn't feel like messing with it when the time came around, so I made, more or less, Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp (web) which turned out to be pretty good. Then a big salad. Then some squares of dark chocolate with hazelnuts.
Tuesday/11-Nov-14: Yogurt on overday.
We went to an excellent Remembrance Day lunch in Montemboeuf today (shared with Le Lindois and Mazerolles for some reason). Neither of us were interested in food this evening.
Wednesday/12-Nov-14: Shopping today. Last week the holiday chocolates and sweet were in the place; this week the toy section has enlarged and been decorated. Much too early. Sigh.
Dinner was Lex's Roast Chicken (web; cookbooker) and quite good it was. As go-withs there were gesneden snijbonen (I think these are called runner beans in British English; in US English, no idea; in French, haricots coco). And some rosemary potato wedges based on Dusolier's Perfect Roast Potatoes, which were good, but unnecessary considering that the chicken came with a sort of stuffing. No dessert needed.
Thursday/13-Nov-14: Indian for dinner tonight. The main was a half dose of Bangladeshi Fish Curry (MJ@Home, p58; cookbooker). As advised, I served with plain rice, a dal, and a vegetable. The dal was Bangladeshi Red Lentils (MJ@Home, p195; cookbooker). The veg was an old favorite, Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173; cookbooker). (I must check, but I think the spices on this are the same as the Spicy Cucumber Wedges from MJ1. Ed preferred the mushy cooked zucchini, while I prefer the crunchy cuke.) That was plenty of tasty dinner.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/14-Nov-14: It was a salad of leftovers for lunch: Puy lentils, snijbonen, potatoes, red bell pepper. All tossed with a vinaigrette with a touch of piment d'Esplette. Turned out pretty good and cleared the fridge of lots of bits.
Yes, it does sometimes happen. There was fresh pasta in the first half of the month. I made some Whole Wheat Pasta (Fancy, p77) cut as taglliatelle to replace the pasta in Maccheroni alla Chitarra con Tartufo dei Poveri (Geometry, p158; cookbooker). The required pasta is not macaroni as we know it, but a long skinny pasta cut on a chitarra, a "guitar" of strings. The sauce, not truffles but mushrooms, is interesting because all the ingredients are ground in the food processor and then fried as the pasta cooks. Then a salad. Then I had a bite of a classic magnum while Ed had the rest.
Saturday/15-Nov-14: Lunch out today. Not much thought of food for the rest of the day.
Yogurt on overnight.
Sunday/16-Nov-14: Dinner was Roasted Carrot Turmeric Soup (web; cookbooker), not bad. I used half vegetable stock and half chicken stock, but I'll still call it a vegetarian meal. As an accompaniment, there were Chickpea Flour Pancakes (MJFlavs, p81; cookbooker). I got the recipe in email, but seeing it was from Jaffrey, I checked my books and found it.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #3 PASTA: yes; #4 FotW: yes; #5 BREAD: no
Tuesday/11-Nov-14: Yogurt on overday.
We went to an excellent Remembrance Day lunch in Montemboeuf today (shared with Le Lindois and Mazerolles for some reason). Neither of us were interested in food this evening.
Wednesday/12-Nov-14: Shopping today. Last week the holiday chocolates and sweet were in the place; this week the toy section has enlarged and been decorated. Much too early. Sigh.
Dinner was Lex's Roast Chicken (web; cookbooker) and quite good it was. As go-withs there were gesneden snijbonen (I think these are called runner beans in British English; in US English, no idea; in French, haricots coco). And some rosemary potato wedges based on Dusolier's Perfect Roast Potatoes, which were good, but unnecessary considering that the chicken came with a sort of stuffing. No dessert needed.
Thursday/13-Nov-14: Indian for dinner tonight. The main was a half dose of Bangladeshi Fish Curry (MJ@Home, p58; cookbooker). As advised, I served with plain rice, a dal, and a vegetable. The dal was Bangladeshi Red Lentils (MJ@Home, p195; cookbooker). The veg was an old favorite, Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173; cookbooker). (I must check, but I think the spices on this are the same as the Spicy Cucumber Wedges from MJ1. Ed preferred the mushy cooked zucchini, while I prefer the crunchy cuke.) That was plenty of tasty dinner.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/14-Nov-14: It was a salad of leftovers for lunch: Puy lentils, snijbonen, potatoes, red bell pepper. All tossed with a vinaigrette with a touch of piment d'Esplette. Turned out pretty good and cleared the fridge of lots of bits.
Yes, it does sometimes happen. There was fresh pasta in the first half of the month. I made some Whole Wheat Pasta (Fancy, p77) cut as taglliatelle to replace the pasta in Maccheroni alla Chitarra con Tartufo dei Poveri (Geometry, p158; cookbooker). The required pasta is not macaroni as we know it, but a long skinny pasta cut on a chitarra, a "guitar" of strings. The sauce, not truffles but mushrooms, is interesting because all the ingredients are ground in the food processor and then fried as the pasta cooks. Then a salad. Then I had a bite of a classic magnum while Ed had the rest.
Saturday/15-Nov-14: Lunch out today. Not much thought of food for the rest of the day.
Yogurt on overnight.
Sunday/16-Nov-14: Dinner was Roasted Carrot Turmeric Soup (web; cookbooker), not bad. I used half vegetable stock and half chicken stock, but I'll still call it a vegetarian meal. As an accompaniment, there were Chickpea Flour Pancakes (MJFlavs, p81; cookbooker). I got the recipe in email, but seeing it was from Jaffrey, I checked my books and found it.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #3 PASTA: yes; #4 FotW: yes; #5 BREAD: no
Monday, November 25, 2013
This week in the kitchen
Monday/25-Nov-13: Dinner was Penne with Wild Mushrooms, Asparagus, and Pancetta (EAT-L), sort of. Used mushroom-flavored, chanterelle-shaped pasta. Used a sliced dried ham from the freezer instead of pancetta (not as fat). In the end it seemed dry, so I stirred in some pyramid goat cheese rather than add more oil. Good enough it was. Then a salad.
Tuesday/26-Nov-13: We were sitting around this afternoon quietly doing our things. Snap! Caught a little mouse behind the stove. Think it might be a juvenile, it was so small. Ed let it go down the broken brick road, quite a way from the house.
Dinner was Grilled Chicken Pasta with Chipotle Cream (web), sort of. Served over mashed potatoes instead of pasta, although, in retrospect, polenta would be better. Made more or less a whole recipe, which should serve 4-6, and we ate it all. Although Ed had trouble finishing his double portion. Used all the chipotles, unseeded, and it was nice and hot. Making a half recipe for two, over polenta would probably be fine. Roasted the last of the asparagus and some broccoli for a side. Split a Magnum classic for dessert.
Life without the internet is pretty weird, You don't realize how often you go to look up something up. And read mail. And check the weather and the news and ...
Wednesday/27-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday. Shopping today.
Ed asked for salmon, so that's what he got. I made a winter menu, "A Fresh Way with Salmon," from RushHour, p207, and posted it for Cook Your Books. If I don't feel like baking a pumpkin pie tomorrow, we'll have more of the clafoutis for our Thanksgiving dessert.
Thursday/28-Nov-13: Made two batches of Tart Dough (Tenth, p256). The first batch went for pumpkin pie, right from the Libby's label. The second went into the freezer.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was Indian-themed, since that the only turkey what was in the freezer. Pretty good it was.
Friday/29-Nov-13: For breakfast, we had some clafoutis, egg, milk, and fruit, can't be bad, right?
Pasta for dinner, yay! The sauce was a half dose of Pasta con Verdura (Top100Pasta, p64) made with tagliatelle cut from Whole Wheat Pasta (Fancy, p77). I made half of a dish that should serve four, but we will get three servings from it. Or, more likely, a side dish for two. Didn't follow Kennedy's instructions for making the pasta, but did it the way I usually do now, mixing by hand. Cut it at 5, which made a tasty, chewy pasta. Thought I'd make a salad, too, but there was more than enough food without it. And we finished off the very yummy pumpkin pie from yesterday.
Saturday/30-Nov-13: Went to a movie tonight. In the afternoon, we had leftover enchiladas and rice, followed by a salad.
Sunday/1-Dec-13: Yogurt on overday.
Meat night tonight, working on clearing out the freezer. Did, more or less, a menu from MJFamily: The Best Roast Pork, Ecuardor-Style (p127), Garlicky Cranberry Chutney (p127), Asparagus and Green Beans with Sesame Seeds (p128), and Rice and Potato Casserole (p128). The pork was yummy and really easy to do; definitely a keeper. For the chutney, I embroidered on the remains of last year's Thanksgiving cranberry sauce, yes, it's been hanging around the fridge all that long. Not bad, either. For the veg, I used frozen asparagus, which are pretty blah and needing to be used up, along with frozen yellow haricots verts (that makes no sense, does it?) from our neighbor's bounty. This dish was OK, but not wonderful. The rice and potato dish was OK. For afters we each had a mini Magnum.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes (once posted, plus others), #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for November; no for December, #4 BREAD: no for November and December
Tuesday/26-Nov-13: We were sitting around this afternoon quietly doing our things. Snap! Caught a little mouse behind the stove. Think it might be a juvenile, it was so small. Ed let it go down the broken brick road, quite a way from the house.
Dinner was Grilled Chicken Pasta with Chipotle Cream (web), sort of. Served over mashed potatoes instead of pasta, although, in retrospect, polenta would be better. Made more or less a whole recipe, which should serve 4-6, and we ate it all. Although Ed had trouble finishing his double portion. Used all the chipotles, unseeded, and it was nice and hot. Making a half recipe for two, over polenta would probably be fine. Roasted the last of the asparagus and some broccoli for a side. Split a Magnum classic for dessert.
Life without the internet is pretty weird, You don't realize how often you go to look up something up. And read mail. And check the weather and the news and ...
Wednesday/27-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday. Shopping today.
Ed asked for salmon, so that's what he got. I made a winter menu, "A Fresh Way with Salmon," from RushHour, p207, and posted it for Cook Your Books. If I don't feel like baking a pumpkin pie tomorrow, we'll have more of the clafoutis for our Thanksgiving dessert.
Thursday/28-Nov-13: Made two batches of Tart Dough (Tenth, p256). The first batch went for pumpkin pie, right from the Libby's label. The second went into the freezer.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was Indian-themed, since that the only turkey what was in the freezer. Pretty good it was.
Friday/29-Nov-13: For breakfast, we had some clafoutis, egg, milk, and fruit, can't be bad, right?
Pasta for dinner, yay! The sauce was a half dose of Pasta con Verdura (Top100Pasta, p64) made with tagliatelle cut from Whole Wheat Pasta (Fancy, p77). I made half of a dish that should serve four, but we will get three servings from it. Or, more likely, a side dish for two. Didn't follow Kennedy's instructions for making the pasta, but did it the way I usually do now, mixing by hand. Cut it at 5, which made a tasty, chewy pasta. Thought I'd make a salad, too, but there was more than enough food without it. And we finished off the very yummy pumpkin pie from yesterday.
Saturday/30-Nov-13: Went to a movie tonight. In the afternoon, we had leftover enchiladas and rice, followed by a salad.
Sunday/1-Dec-13: Yogurt on overday.
Meat night tonight, working on clearing out the freezer. Did, more or less, a menu from MJFamily: The Best Roast Pork, Ecuardor-Style (p127), Garlicky Cranberry Chutney (p127), Asparagus and Green Beans with Sesame Seeds (p128), and Rice and Potato Casserole (p128). The pork was yummy and really easy to do; definitely a keeper. For the chutney, I embroidered on the remains of last year's Thanksgiving cranberry sauce, yes, it's been hanging around the fridge all that long. Not bad, either. For the veg, I used frozen asparagus, which are pretty blah and needing to be used up, along with frozen yellow haricots verts (that makes no sense, does it?) from our neighbor's bounty. This dish was OK, but not wonderful. The rice and potato dish was OK. For afters we each had a mini Magnum.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes (once posted, plus others), #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for November; no for December, #4 BREAD: no for November and December
Monday, April 9, 2012
This week in the kitchen
Monday/9-Apr-12: Heavy tourist day today. Had dinner out. Nothing happening in the kitchen.
Tuesday/10-Apr-12: Yogurt on overday.
Tuesday/10-Apr-12: Yogurt on overday.
Dinner was Lemon Chicken (Fancy, p111), a very good roast chicken recipe. Plus roasted asparagus. Plus Dusolier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes. No dessert, since we each had a cornuelle at lunchtime.
Wednesday/11-Apr-12: Shopping today.
Wednesday/11-Apr-12: Shopping today.
For dinner there was Garlic Shrimp in Yogurt Sauce (MC) with Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38), along with basmati rice and naan. For dessert, we had tourteau fromagée.
Thursday/12-Apr-12: We had a nice lunch in Angoulême today. Dinner was Mushroom-Barley Soup (MC).
Friday/13-Apr-12: Lunch in La Rochefoucauld today, at a place that's gotten a bit fancier and now longer has sandwiches or other light meals. So dinner was a salad, Bulgur Salad with Grilled Zucchini and Onion, Middle Eastern Style (Bishop, p132). Quite nice it was, although the 9yo wasn't especially happy with the bulgur. I used one of the two overripe bananas for Chocolate Banana Snacking Cake (MC), which we had with a dab of vanilla ice cream.
Saturday/14-Apr-12: Dinner was a quarter Lamb Stew with Chickpeas and Pomegranate Molasses (CLmag/jan06). Didn't have enough couscous for a go-with, so I had my part over some bread scraps. Not sure this recipe really serve 8; 6 seems more like it. Then a big salad. And we finished off the last of the Chocolate Banana Snacking Cake with some ice cream.
Sunday/15-Apr-12: Yogurt on overday. Shopping on Wednesday turned up the season's first Roma tomatoes; those got oven-roasted today.
Thursday/12-Apr-12: We had a nice lunch in Angoulême today. Dinner was Mushroom-Barley Soup (MC).
Friday/13-Apr-12: Lunch in La Rochefoucauld today, at a place that's gotten a bit fancier and now longer has sandwiches or other light meals. So dinner was a salad, Bulgur Salad with Grilled Zucchini and Onion, Middle Eastern Style (Bishop, p132). Quite nice it was, although the 9yo wasn't especially happy with the bulgur. I used one of the two overripe bananas for Chocolate Banana Snacking Cake (MC), which we had with a dab of vanilla ice cream.
Saturday/14-Apr-12: Dinner was a quarter Lamb Stew with Chickpeas and Pomegranate Molasses (CLmag/jan06). Didn't have enough couscous for a go-with, so I had my part over some bread scraps. Not sure this recipe really serve 8; 6 seems more like it. Then a big salad. And we finished off the last of the Chocolate Banana Snacking Cake with some ice cream.
Sunday/15-Apr-12: Yogurt on overday. Shopping on Wednesday turned up the season's first Roma tomatoes; those got oven-roasted today.
Dinner was, more or less, a half dose of Seafood & Egg Curry (Jamie), over basmati rice. Oops, inventory control failed and there were no scallops in the freezer, so I used a couple of extra shrimp. Good enough, but not a do-again.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, but not posted, #2 BREAD: no, #3 SOUP: yes, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA: yes
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, but not posted, #2 BREAD: no, #3 SOUP: yes, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA: yes
Monday, February 28, 2011
This week in the kitchen
Monday/28-Feb-11: Yogurt on overday.
For dinner there was Creamy Roasted Carrot Sauce (found on the web) over Whole Wheat Pasta (Fancy, p77) cut as tagliatelle. The sauce was OK but not one to save (beyond the half that's in the freezer now). This is the best whole wheat pasta recipe I've found. You can't roll it to 6 or 7 as you can white flour, so it has a nice chew to it. For the repeat of the sauce, I think I'll use some of the spinach penne in the pantry.
Sophie didn't come home this afternoon; last we saw of her was shortly after lunch. While I prepared dinner, Ed walked around the hameau calling for her and checked all the close-by garages and barns where she might have gotten closed in. (Catlike, she's very curious and has gotten herself locked into places she shouldn't be.) No luck. Throughout the evening, we took turns stepping outside to call her. No luck. While Ed washed the dishes, I made a major loop through the hamlet and out little farm roads, calling, calling, calling. No luck. One last try—look again in our shed, where Ed had put up some tools earlier in the day. Grope for the light switch. Up pops a sleepy-faced kitty. Too lazy to meow when we called just outside the door. After being cooped up for six or seven hours, she was in major play mode when she got inside.
Tuesday/1-Mar-11: Finished off Teddie's Apple Cake for breakfast. That was a goodie.
Wednesday/2-Mar-11: Forgot to mention about the apple-kiwi butter. It's not bad at all. Not really a strong taste of kiwi. Don't think you'd guess it if you didn't know, except for the multitude of little black seeds which don't get blended up.
Anchovies. Yesterday when I made the stuffing for the artichokes, I discovered there were no anchovies in the freezer. So I opened the tin I have and used some of those, then rolled up the rest and froze them. (Transferred these to a ziploc this evening.) I'm not a big anchovy fan, but they add a nice taste to some things, so they're good to have on hand. It was nice to discover you can freeze them, since I never use a whole tin in one cooking. What's puzzling to me, though, is that the little flat tins I buy here are bought from the cooler section and say they should be stored in the fridge. The tins look exactly like what I bought in the US and in NL and I never noticed that they should be kept in the fridge. I never did, and we didn't die from it, so I'm puzzled about why they should be refrigerated in France. For the longest time I thought they didn't have anchovies here, since I couldn't find them with other canned fish as I was used to. Finally I found them in the fish-stuff cooler. They also have anchovies in salt which are supposed to be the best, but I've never noticed them before. The jar is much bigger than the little tin, and that lasts months and months, so I'll wait till I find a recipe that asks for them specially.
Dinner was Indian-ish. I made Haddock Baked in a Yogurt Sauce (MJ1, p94), which I've made several times before, this time with julienne, which is ling—does that help? It looks like cod and tastes good but is awfully bony for a fillet. Jaffrey suggests Mushroom Pullao (MJ1, 152), so I made that. For some vegetable matter, I made Broccoli with Garlic and Mustard Seeds (SpiceKitch, p40). Lots of nice tastes, although Ed would have liked more fish.
Thursday/3-Mar-11: More Indian, a moldy-oldy, kind of comfort food that's good on a cold evening. Lentils with Garlic and Onion (MJ1, p124) over Simple Butter Rice with Onion (MJ1, p149). We missed lunch today, so for a starter/munchy we sharedthe last quarter of a jar of pâté and had three cheese-stuffed peppadews each. For afters, we finished on the St. Felicien. Not the most well-balanced meal ever, but tasty.
For dinner there was Creamy Roasted Carrot Sauce (found on the web) over Whole Wheat Pasta (Fancy, p77) cut as tagliatelle. The sauce was OK but not one to save (beyond the half that's in the freezer now). This is the best whole wheat pasta recipe I've found. You can't roll it to 6 or 7 as you can white flour, so it has a nice chew to it. For the repeat of the sauce, I think I'll use some of the spinach penne in the pantry.
Sophie didn't come home this afternoon; last we saw of her was shortly after lunch. While I prepared dinner, Ed walked around the hameau calling for her and checked all the close-by garages and barns where she might have gotten closed in. (Catlike, she's very curious and has gotten herself locked into places she shouldn't be.) No luck. Throughout the evening, we took turns stepping outside to call her. No luck. While Ed washed the dishes, I made a major loop through the hamlet and out little farm roads, calling, calling, calling. No luck. One last try—look again in our shed, where Ed had put up some tools earlier in the day. Grope for the light switch. Up pops a sleepy-faced kitty. Too lazy to meow when we called just outside the door. After being cooped up for six or seven hours, she was in major play mode when she got inside.
Tuesday/1-Mar-11: Finished off Teddie's Apple Cake for breakfast. That was a goodie.
Dinner started with some stuffed artichokes. I'd bought two small ones at the market on Saturday, thinking they would be good for two, but they could have served four. No matter, they were tasty.
The main course was Veal Scallopine with Marsala (ClassicItal, p361) served with polenta. I'd also roasted some asparagus, but we were so full after the artichokes, we set those aside. For afters, we worked on a bit of St. Felicien, one of our favorite cheese.
Wednesday/2-Mar-11: Forgot to mention about the apple-kiwi butter. It's not bad at all. Not really a strong taste of kiwi. Don't think you'd guess it if you didn't know, except for the multitude of little black seeds which don't get blended up.
Anchovies. Yesterday when I made the stuffing for the artichokes, I discovered there were no anchovies in the freezer. So I opened the tin I have and used some of those, then rolled up the rest and froze them. (Transferred these to a ziploc this evening.) I'm not a big anchovy fan, but they add a nice taste to some things, so they're good to have on hand. It was nice to discover you can freeze them, since I never use a whole tin in one cooking. What's puzzling to me, though, is that the little flat tins I buy here are bought from the cooler section and say they should be stored in the fridge. The tins look exactly like what I bought in the US and in NL and I never noticed that they should be kept in the fridge. I never did, and we didn't die from it, so I'm puzzled about why they should be refrigerated in France. For the longest time I thought they didn't have anchovies here, since I couldn't find them with other canned fish as I was used to. Finally I found them in the fish-stuff cooler. They also have anchovies in salt which are supposed to be the best, but I've never noticed them before. The jar is much bigger than the little tin, and that lasts months and months, so I'll wait till I find a recipe that asks for them specially.
Dinner was Indian-ish. I made Haddock Baked in a Yogurt Sauce (MJ1, p94), which I've made several times before, this time with julienne, which is ling—does that help? It looks like cod and tastes good but is awfully bony for a fillet. Jaffrey suggests Mushroom Pullao (MJ1, 152), so I made that. For some vegetable matter, I made Broccoli with Garlic and Mustard Seeds (SpiceKitch, p40). Lots of nice tastes, although Ed would have liked more fish.
Thursday/3-Mar-11: More Indian, a moldy-oldy, kind of comfort food that's good on a cold evening. Lentils with Garlic and Onion (MJ1, p124) over Simple Butter Rice with Onion (MJ1, p149). We missed lunch today, so for a starter/munchy we sharedthe last quarter of a jar of pâté and had three cheese-stuffed peppadews each. For afters, we finished on the St. Felicien. Not the most well-balanced meal ever, but tasty.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/4-Mar-11: For lunch, I used last night's lentils to make a burrito filling, sort of faux black bean. Made up some guacamole and sliced some jalapeños to fill them up. Dinner was the roast asparagus we didn't eat with the veal marsala and a big salad of rucola with lots of odd bits of veggies.
Saturday/5-Mar-11: Oh well, what are meal plans for, except to be ignored? Our neighbor (who is home again after six weeks in hospital and nursing home) gave us some leeks today. So dinner was a half recipe of Leek and Goat Cheese Galette (VC4E, p498). This should have served three, but we're making it do for four servings and will have another meal of it. Cold? Maybe. Followed by a salad of mâche and beet strips. A nice dinner.
Yogurt on overnight.
Sunday/6-Mar-11: A fruits de mer meal this afternoon; no need for cooking.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: no, #3 MIDDAY: yes
This month: #4 PASTA: yes for February, not yet for March
Friday/4-Mar-11: For lunch, I used last night's lentils to make a burrito filling, sort of faux black bean. Made up some guacamole and sliced some jalapeños to fill them up. Dinner was the roast asparagus we didn't eat with the veal marsala and a big salad of rucola with lots of odd bits of veggies.
Saturday/5-Mar-11: Oh well, what are meal plans for, except to be ignored? Our neighbor (who is home again after six weeks in hospital and nursing home) gave us some leeks today. So dinner was a half recipe of Leek and Goat Cheese Galette (VC4E, p498). This should have served three, but we're making it do for four servings and will have another meal of it. Cold? Maybe. Followed by a salad of mâche and beet strips. A nice dinner.
Yogurt on overnight.
Sunday/6-Mar-11: A fruits de mer meal this afternoon; no need for cooking.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: no, #3 MIDDAY: yes
This month: #4 PASTA: yes for February, not yet for March
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