Monday/13-Jul-15: Dinner was a half recipe of Shrimp Fried Rice (web). I used two eggs for the two of us and made a sort of flat omelet, rather than scrambling, and sliced into strips. Added some red pepper flakes with the ginger. Used skinny haricots verts rather than show peas. I used trio rice that I froze a while ago; this worked fine. Used frozen cooked shrimp and added them near the end with the egg bits. It was good. Then some juice popsicles.
Tuesday/14-Jul-15: Used up lots of odd bits from the freezer tonight for a halfish recipe of Poor-Cousin Paella (p249, Seaver), cooked chicken, the last bit of some defrosted chicken stock, cooked chicken, chorizo, one squid body. Added a (small) jar of artichoke bottoms and a tomato, for the first time ever. About a teaspoon of chipotle powder makes it all really yummy. A great recipe for using up odd bits.
Wednesday/15-Jul-15: For lunch I made Zucchini-Tuna Salad, a recipe I copied from a book I didn't keep. A pretty good variation on tuna salad. You start with equal piles (1 cup) of shredded zucchini and carrots. Stir in a can of tuna, drained and flaked. Then enough mayo to make make it a good consistency. Then add some chopped sweet pickle (I used cornichons), celery seed, and pickle juice. I added some lemon juice for the tartness and a bit of piment d'Esplette. Good stuff.
Dinner was Spaghetti Pangrattato with Cripsy Eggs (web), a very satisfying kind of meal. Then a salad. Then two squares of dark chocolate with almonds each. Then off to hear Gregorian chant.
Thursday/16-Jul-15: Shopping today. Relatively cheap, although there was lots of meat. (We are way ahead of past years in the amount we're spending on groceries. I'm not sure why, really. A bit worrying.)
Dinner was a half recipe of Fish in Red Chili Chutney (web). Pretty good, although not especially hot. Served with basmati rice and a half recipe of Pachadi—Indian Cucumber Salad (p147, GreeneGreens; cookbooker). Can't say this was especially Indian, but it was good. No radishes. Mini magnums for dessert.
Friday/17-Jul-15: Nothing happened in the kitchen today. Went for a balade gourmand this evening. Almost seven kilometers up and down in the heat. Whew!
Saturday/18-Jul-15: Tosca and Mike for dinner this evening, so I was in the kitchen most of the day. Made up the broth for Buttermilk Ice Cream (MC) in the morning.
Made Sweet and Hot Peach Relish (p179, BigFlav), which was good, but hotter than I intended. This went with Spice-Rubbed Grilled Chicken Breasts with Sweet and Hot Peach Relish (p178, BigFlav). The spicy rub goes on the chicken after it's mostly cooked. I put it on the tray with chicken and Ed tripped leaving the kitchen, spilling most of it. So only once side got brushed with the sauce. Made the recommended to-withs, Parsley Salad with Bulgur, Mint, and Tomatoes (p216, BigFlav) and Roast Beet and Carrot Salad with Lemon-Mint Dressing (p204, BigFlav). The parsley salad is like a taboulleh with more veg in it. The beet and carrot salad is yummy; need to make that more often. For dessert there was ice cream and fresh raspberries. A nice evening all in all.
Sunday/19-Jul-15: Lovely lunch out with Tosca and Mike. No action in the kitchen.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 UNUSED: no; #3 GRAINS: yes; #4 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #5 PASTA: yes/no; #6 BREAD: yes/no; #7 FotW: yes for June; no for July
Showing posts with label ~GreeneGreens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ~GreeneGreens. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2015
Monday, July 16, 2012
This week in the kitchen
Monday/16-Jul-12: Alone at last! (I.e., much as we love company, we also like when they leave.) As the first step in using up the broccoli in the fridge, tonight's dinner was Broccoli Frittata, Parma Style (GreeneGreens, p63). I made this several years ago, with similar results, that is, it was more omelet-like that frittata-like. For next time, I think it either needs to cook longer at a very low temperature, so that's it's well set and can be turned out of the pan, or cooked at a slightly higher temperature, or go under the broiler for a few minutes at the end. At any rate, it's very tasty. Then we had some of the Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake.
Tuesday/17-Jul-12: Yogurt on overday. Sally and I had lunched in Rochechouart after our haircuts, so I didn't feel like dinner at all. Ed ate the rest of the frittata and I made him a bit of a rice salad with leftover carrot pilaf and zucchini vinaigrette and some onion and carrot, Then we finished off the yummy Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake.
Wednesday/18-Jul-12: Shopping this afternoon. No impulse purchases.
Dinner was Grilled Salmon with Broccoli Chickpea Pesto (web), using up the last head of broccoli. The pesto was a bit bland (helped by grinding on some red pepper flakes), but the effect was pretty good. Have lots of the pesto frozen now. Served with trio rice, then a nice big salad. Some double-chocolate mini-Magnums for after.
Thursday/19-Jul-12: Dinner started out to be Mushrooms on Toast or Funghi Alla Veronica (web), but when I started slicing the shrooms I realized that most of them were moldy. So a added a packet of lardons fumés to the pan to beef (or pork) it up, so to speak. The intended vegetarian meal turned meaty. Served over pasta rather than toast. Might try this again sometime, with only mushrooms and actually served over toast. Followed by a big salad.
Friday/20-Jul-12: Another drippy day. Dinner was a keeper, Puy Lentils with Spices and Tamarind (web), easy, all stuff that's in the house, and yum-yummy. Served over rice. Before hand, we munched on Spicy Cucumber Wedges (Kheere kKe Tukray) (MJ1, p172), which I've made several times before. Ed especially liked this, sticks of cuke with lemon juice, salt, cayenne, black pepper, and ground roasted cumin. For dessert, there were No Bake Oatmeal Bites (web), made with hazelnut butter, easy to make, but nothing special. Not a keeper.
Saturday/21-Jul-12: The zucchini harvest is in serious swing. Tonight's dinner was Zucchini, Squash, and Ricotta Galette (somewhere on web), a forgettable recipe that took longer than I expected to assemble, so we ate quite late. The filling wasn't set at the appropriate time, so we ate our salad, adorned with a roasted beet from the garden, first.
Sunday/22-Jul-12: A lovely lunch out today. Nothing happened in the kitchen. Tomorrow the zucchini surplus must be addressed.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: no, #2 BREAD: no, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #6 PASTA: no
Tuesday/17-Jul-12: Yogurt on overday. Sally and I had lunched in Rochechouart after our haircuts, so I didn't feel like dinner at all. Ed ate the rest of the frittata and I made him a bit of a rice salad with leftover carrot pilaf and zucchini vinaigrette and some onion and carrot, Then we finished off the yummy Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake.
Wednesday/18-Jul-12: Shopping this afternoon. No impulse purchases.
Dinner was Grilled Salmon with Broccoli Chickpea Pesto (web), using up the last head of broccoli. The pesto was a bit bland (helped by grinding on some red pepper flakes), but the effect was pretty good. Have lots of the pesto frozen now. Served with trio rice, then a nice big salad. Some double-chocolate mini-Magnums for after.
Thursday/19-Jul-12: Dinner started out to be Mushrooms on Toast or Funghi Alla Veronica (web), but when I started slicing the shrooms I realized that most of them were moldy. So a added a packet of lardons fumés to the pan to beef (or pork) it up, so to speak. The intended vegetarian meal turned meaty. Served over pasta rather than toast. Might try this again sometime, with only mushrooms and actually served over toast. Followed by a big salad.
Friday/20-Jul-12: Another drippy day. Dinner was a keeper, Puy Lentils with Spices and Tamarind (web), easy, all stuff that's in the house, and yum-yummy. Served over rice. Before hand, we munched on Spicy Cucumber Wedges (Kheere kKe Tukray) (MJ1, p172), which I've made several times before. Ed especially liked this, sticks of cuke with lemon juice, salt, cayenne, black pepper, and ground roasted cumin. For dessert, there were No Bake Oatmeal Bites (web), made with hazelnut butter, easy to make, but nothing special. Not a keeper.
Saturday/21-Jul-12: The zucchini harvest is in serious swing. Tonight's dinner was Zucchini, Squash, and Ricotta Galette (somewhere on web), a forgettable recipe that took longer than I expected to assemble, so we ate quite late. The filling wasn't set at the appropriate time, so we ate our salad, adorned with a roasted beet from the garden, first.
Sunday/22-Jul-12: A lovely lunch out today. Nothing happened in the kitchen. Tomorrow the zucchini surplus must be addressed.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: no, #2 BREAD: no, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #6 PASTA: no
Monday, July 2, 2012
This week in the kitchen
Monday/2-Jul-12: Popped some Authentic French Bread, with one cup of whole wheat flour replacing bread flour, into the bread machine just before the the bread truck came, so we're plentifully supplied with bread for a day or so.
Off to a quiz/dinner in the evening. Nothing further happening in the kitchen.
Tuesday/3-Jul-12: For dinner, a half dose of Tonnarelli ai Gamberi e Funghi (ClassPasta, p104), Tonnarelli with Prawns and Mushrooms. Pretty, but it seems a bit "cluttered" with cream and shrimp and tomatoes and shrooms; and there was a lot of sauce. Then a simple salad. And some mini-Magnum double chocolate bars for dessert as we dogwalked.
Wednesday/4-Jul-12: Shopping today. For our Fourth of July dinner Ed bbq'd a pair of kip filets marinated in Chicken Marinade 4 (MC 2BTried). I reduced the sugar in the marinade; the effect was good. As a go-with there were Grilled Potato Slices with Salt and Vinegar, from several places on the web. Probably my slices weren't 1/4" (I used the thickest setting on my mandoline), and they were well impregnated with vinegar. This is good in potato chips, but not sure about a side dish. Guacamole as a salad/side dish. A red, white, and blue parfait for after with vanilla custard (my mother's recipe—stir, stir, stir), blueberries, and strawberries.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/5-Jul-12: Dinner was a half dose of Filet de Flétan aux Cranberries (VPQ), no halibut (flétan) in the store, so I used panga instead. Sauce of cranberries caramelized in sugar, mushrooms, celery, shallot, cream, vermouth, and bird or veg boullion. Weird but tasty after you got into it. With some rice and some peas with shallots. Made some salad, but neither of us felt like eating it. Off for a dog walk, then two squares of 70% Lindt chocolate each.
Friday/6-Jul-12: The latest Vie Pratique Gourmand has an article on carpaccios, the oddest (to me) being fine slices of foie gras (duck) interleaved with bits of strong dark chocolate and beet leaves, topped with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Suppose I'd eat this if it were served, but don't think it's anything I'd every consider making.
Dinner was a half dose of Mini Farfalle with Roasted Peppers, Onions, Feta, and Mint (CL/mar11, web). Pretty good stuff. Then the salad we didn't eat last night, with some walnut oil and a squeeze of lemon.
Saturday/7-Jul-12: Bought a box of organic courgette, so trying to use that up now. Made Zucchini Pound Cake (GreeneGreens, p407). One of those egg-splitting cakes, so not on my everyday list, but pretty darn good. (cookbook sunday).
Dinner was Chicken with Blueberry-Ginger Chutney (CL/jan05, web). The chicken was regular grilled kip filets that had been marinated a bit with some herbs, nothing too fancy. The chutney is what made this special. And I'm sure the leftovers will go well with another meat before too long. Accompanied by trio rice and Steamed Summer Squash Vinaigrette (TooMany, p202).
Sunday/8-Jul-12: Yogurt on overday.
Didn't feel like cooking what was on the plan, so there was Pasta Salad with Fish (PastaCarluccio, p55) instead. Then we had some Zucchini Pound Cake with the last of the vanilla custard and topped with a handful of fraises de bois picked this afternoon.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: no, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA:no
Off to a quiz/dinner in the evening. Nothing further happening in the kitchen.
Tuesday/3-Jul-12: For dinner, a half dose of Tonnarelli ai Gamberi e Funghi (ClassPasta, p104), Tonnarelli with Prawns and Mushrooms. Pretty, but it seems a bit "cluttered" with cream and shrimp and tomatoes and shrooms; and there was a lot of sauce. Then a simple salad. And some mini-Magnum double chocolate bars for dessert as we dogwalked.
Wednesday/4-Jul-12: Shopping today. For our Fourth of July dinner Ed bbq'd a pair of kip filets marinated in Chicken Marinade 4 (MC 2BTried). I reduced the sugar in the marinade; the effect was good. As a go-with there were Grilled Potato Slices with Salt and Vinegar, from several places on the web. Probably my slices weren't 1/4" (I used the thickest setting on my mandoline), and they were well impregnated with vinegar. This is good in potato chips, but not sure about a side dish. Guacamole as a salad/side dish. A red, white, and blue parfait for after with vanilla custard (my mother's recipe—stir, stir, stir), blueberries, and strawberries.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/5-Jul-12: Dinner was a half dose of Filet de Flétan aux Cranberries (VPQ), no halibut (flétan) in the store, so I used panga instead. Sauce of cranberries caramelized in sugar, mushrooms, celery, shallot, cream, vermouth, and bird or veg boullion. Weird but tasty after you got into it. With some rice and some peas with shallots. Made some salad, but neither of us felt like eating it. Off for a dog walk, then two squares of 70% Lindt chocolate each.
Friday/6-Jul-12: The latest Vie Pratique Gourmand has an article on carpaccios, the oddest (to me) being fine slices of foie gras (duck) interleaved with bits of strong dark chocolate and beet leaves, topped with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Suppose I'd eat this if it were served, but don't think it's anything I'd every consider making.
Dinner was a half dose of Mini Farfalle with Roasted Peppers, Onions, Feta, and Mint (CL/mar11, web). Pretty good stuff. Then the salad we didn't eat last night, with some walnut oil and a squeeze of lemon.
Saturday/7-Jul-12: Bought a box of organic courgette, so trying to use that up now. Made Zucchini Pound Cake (GreeneGreens, p407). One of those egg-splitting cakes, so not on my everyday list, but pretty darn good. (cookbook sunday).
Dinner was Chicken with Blueberry-Ginger Chutney (CL/jan05, web). The chicken was regular grilled kip filets that had been marinated a bit with some herbs, nothing too fancy. The chutney is what made this special. And I'm sure the leftovers will go well with another meat before too long. Accompanied by trio rice and Steamed Summer Squash Vinaigrette (TooMany, p202).
Sunday/8-Jul-12: Yogurt on overday.
Didn't feel like cooking what was on the plan, so there was Pasta Salad with Fish (PastaCarluccio, p55) instead. Then we had some Zucchini Pound Cake with the last of the vanilla custard and topped with a handful of fraises de bois picked this afternoon.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: no, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA:no
Monday, August 15, 2011
This week in the kitchen
Monday/15-Aug-11: Nothing happening in the kitchen today since we attended a méchoui and ate our fill of spit-roasted lamb.
Tuesday/16-Aug-11: A cute little female mouse was in the live-trap this morning. Ed released it at the bottom of the South Forty. We'll see if she makes it back.
In the morning, I went up to help with the clean-up of the Mazerolles fête and stayed for lunch of leftovers and omelettes. Can't even think of further food. Ed ate the leftover Zucchini and Eggplant with Pork over rice.
Yogurt on overnight. English Muffin Bread (BigGerman, p15) on overnight.
Wednesday/17-Aug-11: Dinner was a half dose of Ziti with Mushrooms in a Marsala Cream Sauce (KnowHow, p245). First thing I've made from this book, pretty good. I used some mushroom-flavored trumpet-shaped pasta instead of ziti. Served with sautéed zucchiniwith some lemon juice and shredded basil tossed in right at the end. And a simple salad of shredded carrot with a lemon vinaigrette. (All the lettuce in-house was well-past its use-by date and got tossed.)
Thursday/18-Aug-11: Shopping this afternoon.
Made some Zucchini Drop Cookies (TooMany, p212). My my good. We ate enough that I had to jettison dinner plans and we just ate a big salad of mâche and roquette with more zucchini and Asian Dressing (MDSalads, p61). Now I have to think about recombobbling the plan to use what I bought today.
Friday/19-Aug-11: Hot day today, hotter coming. Dinner was a very nice summery salad, collected from the web, Green Goddess Pasta Salad with Herbed Scallops (soon to be MC). For two, it asked for 6 sea scallops, 3/4-1#; I had 400g, which were 16 altogether, and they were the little ones. Sea scallops must be huge. Anyway it was good. Some reblochon for after.
Saturday/20-Aug-11: And hotter today; overnight will be 24C/75F outside if we're lucky. Inside is hotter. The reserve of cool in the stones seems to have been exhausted.
Sophie was out all night, meaning neither of us slept very well. I called from two doors about 4am to no avail. At 7am, she zoomed in the terrace door, eager for dinner/breakfast. She was out for a while today, but came in early and hasn't asked to go back out.
Only one zucchini harvested today. Plus some cherry tomatoes. There are lots of bigger tomatoes that will be ripening in a couple of days. Another bumper crop to harvest. One ear of corn doesn't feel very substantial. The haricots verts and favas that I planted between the tomatoes, following a suggestion in some magazine or another, are buried by tomato plants, which are quite lush.
Dinner was, surprise, stuffed zucchini, using some cooked shrimp from the freezer and some leftover brown rice. Ok, and helped by jalapeño tabasco or sriracha, depending on the plate. Some frozen fruit juice "popsicles" for dessert.
For a starter there was Zucchini and Lemon Salad (GreeneGreens, p400). No red bell pepper in house, so I used roasted ones from a jar. Picked some big cherry tomatoes and used those. Thinly slicing a peeled lemon was challenging. Altogether a nice salad that would make a good starter for company since it can be done ahead.
Then Weeknight Roast Chicken (CI mag, sep/oct11). This was good enough, but maybe more trouble than it was worth. And certainly not in the range of what I call weeknight (i.e., meal on the table in 30 minutes), since the chicken takes about an hour and a half to be ready. Served with garlic smashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. No dessert needed.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: no, #3 MIDDAY: no
This month: #4 PASTA: not yet
Tuesday/16-Aug-11: A cute little female mouse was in the live-trap this morning. Ed released it at the bottom of the South Forty. We'll see if she makes it back.
In the morning, I went up to help with the clean-up of the Mazerolles fête and stayed for lunch of leftovers and omelettes. Can't even think of further food. Ed ate the leftover Zucchini and Eggplant with Pork over rice.
Yogurt on overnight. English Muffin Bread (BigGerman, p15) on overnight.
Wednesday/17-Aug-11: Dinner was a half dose of Ziti with Mushrooms in a Marsala Cream Sauce (KnowHow, p245). First thing I've made from this book, pretty good. I used some mushroom-flavored trumpet-shaped pasta instead of ziti. Served with sautéed zucchiniwith some lemon juice and shredded basil tossed in right at the end. And a simple salad of shredded carrot with a lemon vinaigrette. (All the lettuce in-house was well-past its use-by date and got tossed.)
Thursday/18-Aug-11: Shopping this afternoon.
Made some Zucchini Drop Cookies (TooMany, p212). My my good. We ate enough that I had to jettison dinner plans and we just ate a big salad of mâche and roquette with more zucchini and Asian Dressing (MDSalads, p61). Now I have to think about recombobbling the plan to use what I bought today.
Friday/19-Aug-11: Hot day today, hotter coming. Dinner was a very nice summery salad, collected from the web, Green Goddess Pasta Salad with Herbed Scallops (soon to be MC). For two, it asked for 6 sea scallops, 3/4-1#; I had 400g, which were 16 altogether, and they were the little ones. Sea scallops must be huge. Anyway it was good. Some reblochon for after.
Saturday/20-Aug-11: And hotter today; overnight will be 24C/75F outside if we're lucky. Inside is hotter. The reserve of cool in the stones seems to have been exhausted.
Sophie was out all night, meaning neither of us slept very well. I called from two doors about 4am to no avail. At 7am, she zoomed in the terrace door, eager for dinner/breakfast. She was out for a while today, but came in early and hasn't asked to go back out.
Only one zucchini harvested today. Plus some cherry tomatoes. There are lots of bigger tomatoes that will be ripening in a couple of days. Another bumper crop to harvest. One ear of corn doesn't feel very substantial. The haricots verts and favas that I planted between the tomatoes, following a suggestion in some magazine or another, are buried by tomato plants, which are quite lush.
Dinner was, surprise, stuffed zucchini, using some cooked shrimp from the freezer and some leftover brown rice. Ok, and helped by jalapeño tabasco or sriracha, depending on the plate. Some frozen fruit juice "popsicles" for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Sunday/21-Aug-11: Hot overnight and hot, hot, hot overday. And I had a thawed chicken to cook.
Sunday/21-Aug-11: Hot overnight and hot, hot, hot overday. And I had a thawed chicken to cook.
For a starter there was Zucchini and Lemon Salad (GreeneGreens, p400). No red bell pepper in house, so I used roasted ones from a jar. Picked some big cherry tomatoes and used those. Thinly slicing a peeled lemon was challenging. Altogether a nice salad that would make a good starter for company since it can be done ahead.
Then Weeknight Roast Chicken (CI mag, sep/oct11). This was good enough, but maybe more trouble than it was worth. And certainly not in the range of what I call weeknight (i.e., meal on the table in 30 minutes), since the chicken takes about an hour and a half to be ready. Served with garlic smashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. No dessert needed.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: no, #3 MIDDAY: no
This month: #4 PASTA: not yet
Monday, July 25, 2011
This week in the kitchen
Monday/25-Jul-11: Shopped this afternoon, along with a handful of other errands. After we got home, we had a phone call from our Dutch friends Patrice and Wim, who were on their way to the Intermarché in Montbron. They came along after and I started to make dinner for them, but then we decided to go to La Bellone. Somewhere in there, I started on a sorbet for tomorrow night. Altogether, not much happened in the kitchen.
Tuesday/26-Jul-11: Made a double batch of chicken stock today, from two carcasses in the freezer.
Saturday/30-Jul-11: Homemade fettucine tonight (especially good with tipo 00 flour) with Fettucine alle Zucchine e Zafferano (ClassPasta, p91), a tasty and pretty sauce. Followed by a salad. Followed by storebought tiramisu. Followed by a bit of chaource.
Yogurt on overnight.
Sunday/31-Jul-11: Yum, a nice Indian dinner tonight, and Barbara joined us upon a last-minute invitation. For a main, there was Shrimp with Zucchini (Jhinga aur ghia) (MJ1, p90). A first, and seriously yummy. With plain basmati rice and Red Split Lentils with Cumin Seed (Masoor dal) (MJ1, p122). The dal was tasty, but runnier that it's been before. And some Onion Relish (Pyaz ka laccha) (MJ1, p174), which is always good. For dessert, more of the Lemon-Buttermilk Sherbert, served with some slice mangoes I found hiding in the freezer.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: no, #3 MIDDAY: no
This month: #4 PASTA: yes
Tuesday/26-Jul-11: Made a double batch of chicken stock today, from two carcasses in the freezer.
For dinner there was an old favorite, Pork Tenderloin Diane (MC), very tasty. Served with polenta. I'm wondering if the pork slices should just be served and sauced right on the polenta, rather than at the separately on the plate. They all go together so well. For a side there was Mingle Mangle (Warm Zucchini Salad) (GreeneGreens, p399, cookbooker), an interesting way to use zucchini, that might end up as a pasta sauce in its next appearance.
Didn't freeze up the ice cream. It will wait another day.
Wednesday/27-Jul-11: Yogurt on overday.
We had a nice walk today with Patrice and Wim near Le Lindois, then stopped at the grocery and picked up bbq supplies. We started with some frozen pastry finger foods. Then sat down with charentaise melon and pineau. From the bbq, we had merguez, merguez de volaille, and chipolatas, as well as some skewered rabbit and prunes. I made another batch of North African Zucchini Salad with Garlic, Chili Paste, and Caraway (MedHot, p32), and we had some frozen roasted potatoes that weren't too bad. And there was lots of dessert. When we shopped on Monday, I bought a 4-pack of egg custards, then P&W brought 4-packs of ile flottante and tiramisu. We've made a dent in these now, but the ice cream still didn't get made.
Thursday/28-Jul-11: Finally froze up the Lemon-Buttermilk Sherbet (Scoop, p117) this afternoon.
Dilly-dallied about starting dinner, so I didn't have time to make what I'd planned. Annoying of me. For a starter there was the last bit of Saturday's tart, plus the last bit of yesterday's North African Zucchini Salad—I think the first time we've had that chilled; it's good like that. Then a made-up pasta dish with broccoli and shrooms, using up the end of the ricotta and marscapone I used for the tart. And sherbert for dessert, of course. I liked it lots; Ed not so much.
Friday/29-Jul-11: Nothing much happening in the kitchen today. Lunched at La Bellone today prior to playing petanque with Lesley and Toby.
Wednesday/27-Jul-11: Yogurt on overday.
We had a nice walk today with Patrice and Wim near Le Lindois, then stopped at the grocery and picked up bbq supplies. We started with some frozen pastry finger foods. Then sat down with charentaise melon and pineau. From the bbq, we had merguez, merguez de volaille, and chipolatas, as well as some skewered rabbit and prunes. I made another batch of North African Zucchini Salad with Garlic, Chili Paste, and Caraway (MedHot, p32), and we had some frozen roasted potatoes that weren't too bad. And there was lots of dessert. When we shopped on Monday, I bought a 4-pack of egg custards, then P&W brought 4-packs of ile flottante and tiramisu. We've made a dent in these now, but the ice cream still didn't get made.
Thursday/28-Jul-11: Finally froze up the Lemon-Buttermilk Sherbet (Scoop, p117) this afternoon.
Dilly-dallied about starting dinner, so I didn't have time to make what I'd planned. Annoying of me. For a starter there was the last bit of Saturday's tart, plus the last bit of yesterday's North African Zucchini Salad—I think the first time we've had that chilled; it's good like that. Then a made-up pasta dish with broccoli and shrooms, using up the end of the ricotta and marscapone I used for the tart. And sherbert for dessert, of course. I liked it lots; Ed not so much.
Friday/29-Jul-11: Nothing much happening in the kitchen today. Lunched at La Bellone today prior to playing petanque with Lesley and Toby.
Saturday/30-Jul-11: Homemade fettucine tonight (especially good with tipo 00 flour) with Fettucine alle Zucchine e Zafferano (ClassPasta, p91), a tasty and pretty sauce. Followed by a salad. Followed by storebought tiramisu. Followed by a bit of chaource.
Yogurt on overnight.
Sunday/31-Jul-11: Yum, a nice Indian dinner tonight, and Barbara joined us upon a last-minute invitation. For a main, there was Shrimp with Zucchini (Jhinga aur ghia) (MJ1, p90). A first, and seriously yummy. With plain basmati rice and Red Split Lentils with Cumin Seed (Masoor dal) (MJ1, p122). The dal was tasty, but runnier that it's been before. And some Onion Relish (Pyaz ka laccha) (MJ1, p174), which is always good. For dessert, more of the Lemon-Buttermilk Sherbert, served with some slice mangoes I found hiding in the freezer.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: no, #3 MIDDAY: no
This month: #4 PASTA: yes
Monday, June 27, 2011
This week in the kitchen
Monday/27-Jun-11: Midday meal today, an old favorite. Warm Broccoli and Potato Salad (MDSalads, p15). This must be one of my most repeated recipes. The two of us eat all of the recipe made for 4. Yum.
The Whole Wheat Bread with Bran from yesterday is quite yummy.
Tuesday/28-Jun-11: Whew, hot weather over for now and today has had reasonable temps. So we had a barbecue. Spicy Pork Tenderloin (MC), with the tenderloin cut in five bits (tail and two sections sliced horizontally). Accompanied by a Nigella Lawson recipe, Watermelon, Feta, and Black Olive Salad (MC); such a odd combination, but it really works. And some corn on the cob Ed got at the shops. I puréed the rest of the watermelon to make sorbet in the next days.
Wednesday/29-Jun-11: Got back from Bordeaux today feeling kind of iffy in the stomach. Nothing in the grocery appealed for dinner (I'd planned to get something fishy). Instead we had rewarmed chicken tagine. I took the leftover couscous, added the curry sauce that came with the corn on the cob (yes, curry sauce with corn on the cob), some chopped cuke, shallot, red bell pepper, and chili pepper, along with a goodly squeeze of lemon juice. Not bad at all. Followed by a salad. A bit of store-bought ice cream with chocolate cookies for dessert.
A while ago, I read that French people don't cut their salad lettuce as served. They just use their knife and fork to fold it all up into a tidy bundle for sticking in their mouths. When we lunched at the bread fair, I happened to notice that this is indeed what happens. So we Americans were sitting there cutting our lettuce leaves into bite-sized chunks while our neighbors folded theirs.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/30-Jun-11: Needed an early lunch today before our respective afternoon and evening outings and didn't plan for this, so fell back to an old, easy favorite, Broccoli with Roasted Peppers, Olives, and Feta Cheese (Savory, p188), served over trio rice. After I got back in the evening we had a plate of fruit and some goat cheese.
Friday/31-Jun-11 (aka 1-Jul-11): Today counts as last month for the pasta-this-month-goal. I've been planning this for a while, but things keep happening to stop me making it, so here it is for last month. I made fresh taglitelle and served it with Fettuccine con Carciofi e Mozzarella (Lorenza, p91, cookbooker). Fettuccine would have been better, probably, but I just felt like the wider noodle. Not my favorite sauce, but not bad. Then a big salad of roquette. Then a half dose of Watermelon Sorbetto (Scoop, p112, cookbooker).
Saturday/2-Jul-11: Dinner was Shredded Zucchini Frittata with Parmesan (Bishop, p169) made with our first zucchini, of which I neglected to take a photo. Accompanied Mildred Schulz's String Beans and Potatoes (GreeneGreens, p346), with very fresh young haricots verts from the veggie lady who shows up at local bric-à-bracs; this was good, but not quite the right taste for the Italian-ish frittata. Then we ate up the rest of the Watermelon Sorbetto.
Made some apple-rhubarb butter for Barbara and David; it's their rhubarb, after all. Got ready for some peaches and cream ice cream tomorrow night (their peaches too). Might try some peach butter with some of the remaining, and maybe freeze up the rest.
Sunday/3-Jul-11: Yogurt on overday. Started some peach butter this afternoon to use up the rest of Barbara's peaches. It's in the crockpot overnight, so we'll see how that goes.
More of Barbara's bounty ended up in a half-dose of Mile High Blueberry Muffins (MC). Isn't it nice to have friends with a surplus?
I couldn't find the clipping with the recipe that I intended to make tonight, so I ended up doing something inspired by Merguez and Sweet Potato Hash at food52. I started the onions cooking while my sweet potatoes boiled till partly cooked. After they cooled a bit, I cut the sweet pots lengthwise into planks. I used the two-burner grill pan to grill the planks and 6 links (300g) of turkey merguez while the onion caramelized. When the pots were done, I cut the planks in half at the "waist". Then I cut the merguez links into three chunks each, 1.5-2" long, about the same as the half-planks of sweet potatoes (which were on the small side to start with). Tossed all these together with the onion and rosemary. It wasn't hash, I guess, since the bits were too big, but it was quite tasty anyhow. Followed this by a salad of mâche and beets and other stuff. Then peaches and cream ice cream (made with half cream and half milk and it was fine).
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: no, #3 MIDDAY: yes
This month: #4 PASTA: yes for June, no for July
The Whole Wheat Bread with Bran from yesterday is quite yummy.
Tuesday/28-Jun-11: Whew, hot weather over for now and today has had reasonable temps. So we had a barbecue. Spicy Pork Tenderloin (MC), with the tenderloin cut in five bits (tail and two sections sliced horizontally). Accompanied by a Nigella Lawson recipe, Watermelon, Feta, and Black Olive Salad (MC); such a odd combination, but it really works. And some corn on the cob Ed got at the shops. I puréed the rest of the watermelon to make sorbet in the next days.
Wednesday/29-Jun-11: Got back from Bordeaux today feeling kind of iffy in the stomach. Nothing in the grocery appealed for dinner (I'd planned to get something fishy). Instead we had rewarmed chicken tagine. I took the leftover couscous, added the curry sauce that came with the corn on the cob (yes, curry sauce with corn on the cob), some chopped cuke, shallot, red bell pepper, and chili pepper, along with a goodly squeeze of lemon juice. Not bad at all. Followed by a salad. A bit of store-bought ice cream with chocolate cookies for dessert.
A while ago, I read that French people don't cut their salad lettuce as served. They just use their knife and fork to fold it all up into a tidy bundle for sticking in their mouths. When we lunched at the bread fair, I happened to notice that this is indeed what happens. So we Americans were sitting there cutting our lettuce leaves into bite-sized chunks while our neighbors folded theirs.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/30-Jun-11: Needed an early lunch today before our respective afternoon and evening outings and didn't plan for this, so fell back to an old, easy favorite, Broccoli with Roasted Peppers, Olives, and Feta Cheese (Savory, p188), served over trio rice. After I got back in the evening we had a plate of fruit and some goat cheese.
Friday/31-Jun-11 (aka 1-Jul-11): Today counts as last month for the pasta-this-month-goal. I've been planning this for a while, but things keep happening to stop me making it, so here it is for last month. I made fresh taglitelle and served it with Fettuccine con Carciofi e Mozzarella (Lorenza, p91, cookbooker). Fettuccine would have been better, probably, but I just felt like the wider noodle. Not my favorite sauce, but not bad. Then a big salad of roquette. Then a half dose of Watermelon Sorbetto (Scoop, p112, cookbooker).
Saturday/2-Jul-11: Dinner was Shredded Zucchini Frittata with Parmesan (Bishop, p169) made with our first zucchini, of which I neglected to take a photo. Accompanied Mildred Schulz's String Beans and Potatoes (GreeneGreens, p346), with very fresh young haricots verts from the veggie lady who shows up at local bric-à-bracs; this was good, but not quite the right taste for the Italian-ish frittata. Then we ate up the rest of the Watermelon Sorbetto.
Made some apple-rhubarb butter for Barbara and David; it's their rhubarb, after all. Got ready for some peaches and cream ice cream tomorrow night (their peaches too). Might try some peach butter with some of the remaining, and maybe freeze up the rest.
Sunday/3-Jul-11: Yogurt on overday. Started some peach butter this afternoon to use up the rest of Barbara's peaches. It's in the crockpot overnight, so we'll see how that goes.
More of Barbara's bounty ended up in a half-dose of Mile High Blueberry Muffins (MC). Isn't it nice to have friends with a surplus?
I couldn't find the clipping with the recipe that I intended to make tonight, so I ended up doing something inspired by Merguez and Sweet Potato Hash at food52. I started the onions cooking while my sweet potatoes boiled till partly cooked. After they cooled a bit, I cut the sweet pots lengthwise into planks. I used the two-burner grill pan to grill the planks and 6 links (300g) of turkey merguez while the onion caramelized. When the pots were done, I cut the planks in half at the "waist". Then I cut the merguez links into three chunks each, 1.5-2" long, about the same as the half-planks of sweet potatoes (which were on the small side to start with). Tossed all these together with the onion and rosemary. It wasn't hash, I guess, since the bits were too big, but it was quite tasty anyhow. Followed this by a salad of mâche and beets and other stuff. Then peaches and cream ice cream (made with half cream and half milk and it was fine).
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: no, #3 MIDDAY: yes
This month: #4 PASTA: yes for June, no for July
Monday, October 25, 2010
This week in the kitchen
Monday/25-Oct-10: Tonight I used the rest of the tomato sauce that I defrosted for the Chicken Fricassee to make another Cooking Italy assignment, a bit early this time, Eggplant Sauce with Tomato and Red Chili Pepper. Served with a big salad of mâche. For afters we had another Letuffe chocolate-covered cherry.
Tuesday/26-Oct-10: Mushroom Barley Soup (MC) for lunch. Hmm-mmm-good. Followed by two more chocolate-covered cherries. Took ourselves to see a movie in Limoges this afternoon and had a sandwich at the kebab place down the street.
Tuesday/26-Oct-10: Mushroom Barley Soup (MC) for lunch. Hmm-mmm-good. Followed by two more chocolate-covered cherries. Took ourselves to see a movie in Limoges this afternoon and had a sandwich at the kebab place down the street.
Yogurt on overnight.
Wednesday/27-Oct-10: Tonight's dinner was Mildred Schulz's String Beans and Potatoes (GreeneGreens, p346), using up the haricots verts I bought at the Victor Hugo marché on Friday and starting in on the sack of potatoes I bought at the grocery last week. Topping and tailing green beans is pretty boring work. I made close to a double recipe and we ate it all for dinner, although I suppose it's meant at a side dish. A pair of chocolate chocolate chip cookies for after.
After lunch we finished off the Letuffe chocolate-covered cherries. These are so good. I have never liked chocolate covered cherries and didn't try these when we visited the factory until Ed insisted. They are really special. There's a real cherry inside, complete with pit. The liquid is based on cognac. And some good dark chocolate to cover these up. Seriously yum.
Thursday/28-Oct-10: Using up broccoli and potatoes. Made the cleverly named recipe Broccoli and Potatoes (WorldVeg, p147). I was a bit short on broccoli, so made a 2/3 recipe, which was our main course. I made an eighth recipe of Trinidian Mixed Spices (WorldVeg, p706) to cook with. Now I've got a good bit of that to use up. Dessert was some store-bought crême caramel; not too bad.
Friday/29-Oct-10: Made the old favorite Oatmeal Cake (MC) as a snack for us and for Adrian and Andy, who are finishing off the roof today.
Wednesday/27-Oct-10: Tonight's dinner was Mildred Schulz's String Beans and Potatoes (GreeneGreens, p346), using up the haricots verts I bought at the Victor Hugo marché on Friday and starting in on the sack of potatoes I bought at the grocery last week. Topping and tailing green beans is pretty boring work. I made close to a double recipe and we ate it all for dinner, although I suppose it's meant at a side dish. A pair of chocolate chocolate chip cookies for after.
After lunch we finished off the Letuffe chocolate-covered cherries. These are so good. I have never liked chocolate covered cherries and didn't try these when we visited the factory until Ed insisted. They are really special. There's a real cherry inside, complete with pit. The liquid is based on cognac. And some good dark chocolate to cover these up. Seriously yum.
Thursday/28-Oct-10: Using up broccoli and potatoes. Made the cleverly named recipe Broccoli and Potatoes (WorldVeg, p147). I was a bit short on broccoli, so made a 2/3 recipe, which was our main course. I made an eighth recipe of Trinidian Mixed Spices (WorldVeg, p706) to cook with. Now I've got a good bit of that to use up. Dessert was some store-bought crême caramel; not too bad.
Friday/29-Oct-10: Made the old favorite Oatmeal Cake (MC) as a snack for us and for Adrian and Andy, who are finishing off the roof today.
For lunch, there was the leftover eggplant sauce, over fusilli this time, which I though worked better than the spaghettini. Really good sauce, that is.
Tonight's dinner was another quiz dinner.
Saturday/30-Oct-10: For our midday meal I made Bucatini with Pepper Flakes,Zucchini,Shrimp,&Red Onion (MC) along with a salad. Good stuff. Went to a movie in Poitiers, so had only popcorn for dinner.
Sunday/31-Oct-10: Dinner was Turkey Escalopes with Capers (BEFCC, p134), accompanied by Clothilde Dusolier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and some coarsely chopped carrot and zucchini done in steam-sauté fashion. A bit of Picolin cheese after, and then the last of the chocolate chocolate chip cookies. (There are only eight in a box!)
Saturday/30-Oct-10: For our midday meal I made Bucatini with Pepper Flakes,Zucchini,Shrimp,&Red Onion (MC) along with a salad. Good stuff. Went to a movie in Poitiers, so had only popcorn for dinner.
Sunday/31-Oct-10: Dinner was Turkey Escalopes with Capers (BEFCC, p134), accompanied by Clothilde Dusolier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and some coarsely chopped carrot and zucchini done in steam-sauté fashion. A bit of Picolin cheese after, and then the last of the chocolate chocolate chip cookies. (There are only eight in a box!)
Yogurt on overnight.
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