This week in the kitchen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes    
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 1; #8 NEW: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/26-Oct-20: Baked off the Overnight Bread. Cooked the rest of the hominy that didn't go into last night's Posole. Started another batch of Oven-Dried Tomatoes (HandyBook).  

Dinner was a half recipe of Linguine à ls Crème de Roquette (VPG). I have an idea this was supposed to be a side dish, but it was a fine main. I used spaghettoni from the freezer, rather than linguine. It was kind of a creamy pesto thing. Then a salad of sliced tomatoes (no more from the potager :-( ). And some chocolate-covered madeleines for afters. All while watching Beth en Flo. 

Tuesday/27-Oct-20: Dinner was Aubergine, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Pizza (Flavours, p123). This was tasty, but ... I made their Pizza Dough (Flavours, p122), of which I supposedly needed only half, so I planned to freeze the rest. No. This was enough to make pizzas for two. The onions took lots more than 30 minutes to caramelize properly. The pizzas were quite good, with the onions, grilled eggplant slices and pesto, topped with feta. Same stuff might be good over brown rice or some such. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/28-Oct-20: Picked up our new glasses today.

 

Dinner was Lamb Pilaf (GreenBook) using lamb bits from the freezer. This is a recipe I collected in Houston, no idea where. I maybe made it one time in NL. And now once in France. Good stuff though. It serves 4-6. Two of us ate it all, that is, I ate one third, Ed ate two thirds. Then a big salad, a package of mâche-roquette with a beet. We were full.

Thursday/29-Oct-20: Went off for a haircut today. On the way home I remembered I'd forgotten to defrost for tonight's dinner. Oops. When I got back I took a package of duck aiguillettes out of the freezer and put them in some lukewarm water to defrost until they could be separated. From these, I made Aiguillettes de Canard Caramélisées au Balsamique (web). This was simple, fast, and yummy. I used only one tablespoon of sugar (sucre de canne), rather than four, and this felt almost too much. But very tasty. Served with trio rice, and some sautéed mushrooms, and some steamed broccoli with a dash of lemon.

 

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/31-Oct-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Harissa Shrimp and Chickpeas (web). This wasn't bad. I used the harissa we get from a tube here, about 1tbl for the half recipe; this was mildly hot, nothing challenging. Served over trio rice. For dessert, I made Sara Lee's Crumb Cake (MC), which isn't really Sara Lee, but is pretty good nevertheless. Easy to make because I do it all in the cuisinart.

Saturday/31-Oct-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Thai-Style Scallops-in-a-Packet (MWClass, p366; MC), made with cod rather than scallops. (The recipe suggests scrod or tilapia; any firm white fish would do.) This is pretty tasty, an easy one-dish meal. More of the Sara Lee Crumb Cake for after.

Sunday/1-Nov-20: What are meal plans for anyhow? I was busy with something today, so didn't have time or energy for dish A. (I need to remember to start that in the morning, so I have the oomph to finish it.) Then there was dish B. In the end I didn't have the oomph for that. Instead there were cèpe raviolis alla panna. With a salad. And we finished the Sara Lee Crumb Cake for after. We're full.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #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/12-Oct-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc today after French. Mostly staples.

Dinner was a half recipe of Chicken Breasts Cooked in Mustard and Yoghurt (Flavours, p168). This was easy, just a few minutes to assemble the marinade, and very tasty. Might do it again with pork chops before long. Served with Cauliflower Cachumbar (MJ@Home, p242), which I've made before with grated broccoli stems. This was good, but a might tingly because the chili I used was unexpectedly hot. And some trio rice. Some store-bought riz au lait for after.

Tuesday/13-Oct-20: Not a good day altogether. Gloomy.

Dinner was a half dose of Moroccan Chickpea Tagine with Harissa (MC), an oldy-but-goody recipe I've made several times. Made a little garlic-yogurt sauce to take the heat off the cachumber, but we didn't need any more food. The other two store-bought riz au lait for after.

Mixed up some Overnight Bread.

Wednesday/14-Oct-20: Decided during the day what we would eat, meal planning being a bit behind schedule.

We has a halfish recipe of Sauted (sic) Shrimp with Lemon Grass—Pad Pak Goong (Delightful, p71). This was pretty good considering how easy it was. Next time I might mince the lemongrass, rather than leaving in it 2" lengths. Served over basmati rice with Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web). I've put this in my HandyBook, since it's my go-to recipe for a SE Asian salad. Used my last bit of red onion for the shrimp, so used several shallots for the salad. A pair of chocolate-coated madeleines each for after.

Thursday/15-Oct-20: Lunch out today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Friday/16-Oct-20: Did a little touristing, then picked up an order at Carrefour Drive. They had lieu noir for fresh fish, although not the dos (back) that I usually get at Leclerc. I trimmed the bony bit off, leaving the dos. I cut two servings from it and put the rest in the freezer. 

We had Nigel Slater's Hake with Pea Salsa (web). This was ok. The pea salsa was too sweet, I'm not sure if it was the peas themselves or if the vinegar (white wine) was too sweet. Edible, but nothing to do again. Served with taglitelle. And a pair of chocolate-coated madeleines each for after.

Saturday/17-Oct-20: We had lunch late, and the kitchen was still a wreck this evening while Ed was fixing a leak. I made a quickie dinner, Spaghetti with Pecorino and Black Pepper (MW@Home, p194). Used whole wheat spaghetti. This is really yummy for minimal work. For dessert we had yogurt with blueberries.

Sunday/18-Oct-20: A use-me-up dinner tonight. Along with whole wheat couscous, we had Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p17), leftover Cauliflower Cachumber with the garlicy yogurt sauce I madeup, South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147), and Carrots with Cilantro (MJ@Home, p149). All things we've had before, and very tasty. Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #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/31-Aug-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc Drive today. Mostly staples, not much food-to-eat.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Spicy Garlic Chicken Penne with Peas (web; cookbooker). This was a hit. Then a simple salad with tomato and onion. (Last week I accidentally bought two sacks of lettuce and an extra packet of sucrines, when I already had one to use. We are over-endowed with lettuce-y things.)

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/1-Sep-20: We ate from the freezer tonight. There was Roasted Eggplant & Meat Sauce for pasta. Since we've had pasta two nights in a row, I decided to serve this over polenta, which was a good idea, except that I seem to have put in too much water and it took forever to get done. Quite tasty. Then a salad, again with tomato, onion, and carrot. It's late and we're full. Nothing further.

Start overnight bread.

Wednesday/2-Sep-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Puy Lentil, Red Onion and Feta Salad (Flavours, p198. This was ok, but nothing special. Some mini HD ice cream cups for dessert.

Thursday/3-Sep-20: Dinner was, more or less, Mauritian Prawn Curry (web). Not bad stuff. Over basmati rice. With Zucchini in a Yogurt Dressing (SpiceKitch, p58), an old favorite, using zucchini from the garden. We were full.

Friday/4-Sep-20: Decided that reading a cookbook at bedtime isn't really a good idea. Some of the books are too large to hold easily and getting to stickies can be difficult, especially with a cat sitting on your chest. Down to the living room, I think.

Picked up an order from Intermarché today.

Made a loaf of Cornmeal English Muffin Bread (BigGerman, p151) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-), a lovely, big loaf.

Dinner was Papillote de Cabillaud à la Mangue (VPG). I love things in papillote, but this was pretty boring. The rosemary didn't work. Can't imagine that the suggested vanilla would have added anything. Mango is tropical. A squirt of lime juice would have been good. Red pepper flakes maybe? Anyhow it was edible. Served with basmati rice, as suggested, and steamed broccoli. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/5-Sep-20: Dinner was Grilled Pork Tenderloin 'Saltimbocca' (web). This was good; the sauce was so-so and unneeded. Served with some Po' Cousin Paella from the freezer (more of that for another day) and carrot sticks cooked with mint. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Sunday/6-Sep-20: Made a loaf of Oatmeal Sesame Bread (BigGerman, p29) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-). I've made this before and noted that the sesame taste is too strong, so for the large loaf, I cut the sesame seeds back from 1/3cup to 2-1/2tbl. The large loaf came out beautiful and high.

Dinner was Za'atar Roasted Carrots and Chickpea Yogurt Bowls (web). This is supposed to serve four; the two of us ate it all. I used only a quarter of the yogurt and we thought that was fine. Used arugula instead of kale, which isn't available and I don't especially like. Good stuff.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: yes
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/18-May-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Coriander-&-Lemon-Crusted Salmon with Asparagus Salad & Poached Egg (web). Instead of salmon, though, I used scallops of duck breast. Worked quite well. Served over some roquette/arugula, since it seemed a bit skimpy with just the asparagus salad. The raw asparagus in this salad work fine. For after there was some Butterscotch Tapioca (HandyBook; web). Good stuff.

Tuesday/19-May-20: Made up some Old Fashioned Buttermilk White Bread (MC) this afternoon. No buttermilk, so I soured the milk with some white wine vinegar. Big beautiful loaf when it came out; wrinkled on top as it cooled.

Dinner was Thai Chicken & Mango Stir-Fry (web; cookbooker). This was good. Served over plain basmati rice. Finished the tapioca for afters.

Wednesday/20-May-20: Dinner was Puy Lentil, Red Onion and Feta Salad (Flavours, p198). Whole recipe serves three probably, not four. Served over some arugula. Then some Häagen-Dazs ice cream cups. We're full.

Thursday/21-May-20: Not a good day today. Hot and steamy.

Ed insisted on cutting the bread so there were no pieces to make lunch sandwiches. I took the rest and made Double-Boiler Bread Pudding (MC, Handybook). I toasted the last bit with some cinnamon-sugar butter for lunch.

Dinner was, sort of, Shrimp and Broccoli in Chili Sauce (MC 2BTried). I used half the shrimp, but otherwise made a whole recipe (broccoli and sauce). Served over udon noodles. Pretty good for easy. Bread pudding for dessert, of course.

Friday/22-May-20: Having lots of red peppers to use up (I wonder what they were supposed to be used for?), I found this recipe of Sausage and Pepper Sheet-Pan Sandwiches (web). No sausage of any kind in-house, so I defrosted some turkey strips and made my own, smerging several recipes from the web. Instead of sandwiches, served over polenta. (Should have been grits I realized too late.) Making the polenta, I absent-mindedly put in twice the water. Added more polenta and will freeze that up in squares. Topped with some cheese, I think it was Beaufort, definitely not provolone. For dessert we had some bread pudding. Ed served it all up, although he should have served only half of what was left. I ate half of what I had. Ed ate move, but even he couldn't finish.

Saturday/23-May-20: Made up some Abm Whole Wheat Bread (MC) today. It smelled delicious cooking and looks quite handsome.

Dinner was Tarte Tatin au Magret de Canard (VPG; web). (Can't find this recipe online. Did find a similar one that wanted the fat removed from the magret. I didn't do this; we'll see. It also had some sautéed sliced onion; that might be nice.) It's a  recipe for two. The photo shows what looks like a single serving, but the recipe calls for a single dish. Rather than a round dish, I used my red 8-in square casserole. The amount of pâte feuilletée asked is half of your usual boughten dose, which is a circle. I cut this in half and then one piece into quarters. Overlapped these so that the points of the quarters were corners of a square; the radii were the edges. Rolled this a bit to make it bigger. Looked much bigger than the photo on the recipe, but it was indeed two servings. Might do the first layer of magret slices in a rose, rather than lines, so so it's prettier. Red apples would be prettier. This might make a nice entrée for four, actually. Served with a big salad. We finished the bread pudding for afters.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/24-May-20: We really like yesterday's bread. Good taste and texture.

In my Green Book, I have two curried chicken and avocado recipes that I've had forever. Having some avocado and mushroom needing to be used, I chose one of those, and a similar sounding recipe from my newish Pierre Franey book. Turns out they're exactly the same recipe. So tonight we had Chicken and Avocado in Cream with Curried Rice (GreenBook) aka Poulet et Poire d'Avocat à la Crème avec Riz à l'Indienne (Franey, p30). Good stuff.

For dessert, I used the rest of the pâte feuilletée to make some raspberry tarts. Sprinkled ground almonds on the pastry, mixed some mascarpone with a bit of powdered sugar and a dash of almond extract, then laid out the raspberries (fresh from the yard). Baked for a while. Yum.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #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/11-May-20: Dinner was a half dose of Cauliflower Gratin with Tomatoes and Feta (VC4E, p281; cookbooker), served over short-grain brown rice. This was good, quite satisfying.

Put a rouelle on to marinate, as in (Everlasting, 169). (That's a slice out of a ham, this one about 1.3kg.)

Tuesday/12-May-20: Ed picked up an order from Leclerc Drive today. Luckily it’s cool out, so much of the order can sit outside to decontaminate.

Dinner was a half dose of Zucchini Potato Bake (web). We got two main dish servings of this and will have it again as a side dish. Good it was. Made up a little salad of the asparagus stems that didn’t make it in yesterday’s tart, plus a small handful of fêves from the potager, and some radishes. That didn’t seem like enough, so I added some couscous. With a dressing of lemon juice and olive oil. Turned out pretty good.

Started some of Susan Dunaway's No-Knead Bread.

Wednesday/13-May-20: Baked the bread this morning. Had a mix-up with timers and took the lid off too soon. Put it back on when I realized what I'd done. It was still okay.

For dinner I roasted my pig bit (Everlasting, p169). It was good. Roast the potato bits left from the mandoline yesterday as a side. Then a salad. Munched on more pork during a quiz. Saved the bone and meat bits to make some bean soup before long.

Thursday/14-May-20: Used up the rest of the cauliflower today, making Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Olives (MC; CL/mar10; web). Served over pasta, as I have before. Good stuff. Have a bit left that will appear in a salad perhaps. Cookies for dessert. I guess I should make some kind of dessert at some point.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/15-May-20: Went to make bread today and can't find my folder of ABM breads, with notes, that I've been cooking from. Printed it out again. Sigh.

Ed went off to Intermarché for groceries today. Lots of veggies, fish, some meat, some fresh cheese.

Dinner was Whole Grain Linguine with Salmon and Asparagus (web). Used spaghetti rather than linguine, since that's all I have that's whole wheat. Not bad stuff, although it's hard to believe that would serve 6-8 people. I made more or less a whole recipe (more salmon even, less pasta) and it served two generously. Then a big salad. Some cheese for after.

Late in the day, I made some Taste of Italy Bread (MC) in the bread machine. Used bread flour to make up about a quarter cup shortage of semolina flour. The loaf is huge.

Saturday/16-May-20: Don't like the Italian herbs I used in the bread, but the bread itself is nice. Since I can't get good Italian herbs here (French-style Italian herbs taste more of Provence, with lavender, I think), I need find a recipe to make up some of my own regularly.

Before starting dinner, I made some Apricot Pecan Scones (web), with the Apricot Honey Butter. Cut the sugar back to 1/4cup.

Dinner was Prawn and Fish Couscous (Flavours, p87; cookbooker). This was ok, but nothing special. The scones were very good, though.

Sunday/17-May-20: Finally the the fridge and its freezer defrosted today. That's been wanting for a while.

A smish-smash of a dinner tonight. Leftover asparagus tart. Leftover roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, and olives. Leftover zucchini-potato bake. A small salad of beet and sucrine lettuce. And apricot-pecan scones for after. We're full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 6; #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/4-May-20: Ed went off to Intermarché to pick up an order today. The fish didn't show up, so I had to jiggle the meal plan.

I'd ordered some rumsteack, which turned out to be very strangely cut. I used the rest of an old fajita marinade for the steak, cutting the meat into various pieces, some almost thin as a window pane. Served with sautéed bell peppers and onions. And a stack of home-made tortillas. Yum.

Made a batch of Suzanne Dunaway's No-Knead Bread (web). I really need to rename this since I've made significant changes.

Tuesday/5-May-20: Baked up the non-knead bread.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Thai Zucchini Noodles (web). Used linguine for the noodles. Only about 1tsp of honey. This was good for very little work.

For dessert, I made again Far aux Pruneaux (web). Part way through the cooking, I absent-mindedly changed the timer, so I'm not sure how long it cooked. Still good.

Wednesday/6-May-20: Nice chat with friends today, followed by a bbq dinner that I had mostly ready. There was Mango-Marinated Chicken Kebabs with Pineapple Pilaf (GreenBook). Paying not much attention, I opened both my cans of pineapple, expecting slices, but both were morceaux. Oops. Didn't bbq slices, but browned some pieces in a skillet. And Carrot and Parsley Salad (MW@Home, p65). For dessert, we finished yesterday's far. 

Thursday/7-May-20: More pineapple today. Dinner was Meatballs Pacifica with Almond-Herb Rice (GreenBook; web). I have an old clipping, from one of the Houston papers probably. Pretty good stuff, although I think my can of pineapple parts might have had more pineapple than a bigger can of slices. Made a salad with lettuce and the leftover carrot salad from yesterday. We're full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/8-May-20: Made some Honey Whole Wheat Bread (MC) during the day. (I cut the honey back.) We shared a heel for dessert. It was good.

Dinner was Scrambled Eggs with Gruyère and White Wine (Flavours, p73). This was good. Wine and eggs, a bit odd, but it worked. Used comté instead of gruyère since that was in-house. big salad for after. Bread for dessert.

Saturday/9-May-20: Dinner was Dimer Dalna—Egg and Cauliflower in Savory Cumin Sauce (HealthyInd, p115; cookbooker). This was good. I made a whole recipe except for the hard-boiled eggs, which served us two nicely, rather than four as advertised. Served with a cumin rice with peas, extremely loosely based on two Madhur Jaffrey recipes. Some melon ice cream for after.

Sunday/10-May-20: Made some Mustard-Dill Bread (MC), while we finished off the honey Whole Wheat Bread.

Using up some ricotta and crème fraîche to make a tarte d'asperges with a pâte feuillettée from the freezer. This turned out pretty good, although the edges of the crust were a bit burnt since I didn't turn the oven down sufficiently. A slice of bread for after. Then the rest of the melon ice cream with some pineapple chunks.

Yogurt on overnight.

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