Monday/8-Aug-16: In the morning, put chicken to marinate, using Basic White Wine Marinade for Chicken and Fish (Twenty, p294). Made Dilled Potato-Cucumber Salad (MC; web). Had planned to grill zucchini slices, but noticed box of shrooms in the fridge, so put Grilled Marinated Mushrooms (web) on to marinate.
Patrice and Wim for dinner. Ed grilled Butterflied Chicken with Lemon-Tarragon Butter Baste (Twenty, p295). And the mushrooms. All was good.
Froze up Chocolate Sorbet (Scoop, p120; C&Z's version here). That was good. So rich, you wouldn't believe it was a sorbet (no milk or cream). Yum.
Tuesday/9-Aug-16: Worked on the menu plan a bit today. Figured out that I can put off shopping till Friday, which is a bit relief since the next days (and weekend) are so busy.
Dinner was two A Two-Egg Masala Omelette (MJ@Home, p75), accompanied by Cucumber Salad, North Indian Salad (MJ@Home, p236), which is similar to the Spicy Cucumber Sticks that I make frequently, but with mint and without cumin. Yes, working on that cucumber backlog. No dessert.
Wednesday/10-Aug-16: Out in the evening, so we had an early meal, the leftover Schinkenfleckern and a salad. That's all folks.
Thursday/11-Aug-16: Both of us off for the doctor's open hours this evening. Pizza afterwards.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/12-Aug-16: Ate out tonight for Wim's birthday. Nothing further in the kitchen.
Saturday/13-Aug-16: Planned to go for a wine tasting today and pick up a wine packet I bought at a charity auction. But no, the car's muffler had come disconnected (broken pipe on the engine side). Ed took it to a local shop and got a patch. Still have to have it fixed.
So, I defrosted some duck breast bits. Cooked those and made Balsamic Vinegar Pan Sauce (HowTo, p165), which is good and really easy. Served with Dusolier's Roasted Potatoes and a vegetable melange of fava beans from the garden, half a red bell pepper, some haricots verts, and a tomato. All good. Mini magnums after.
Zucchinis from the potager are starting to accumulate. Need to start working on those.
Sunday/14-Aug-16: Late start today. Didn't make any of the markets, but went to a recital given by one of Ed's choirmates.
For munchies before dinner, I tossed the rest of the Lemon and Sour-Cream Dressing with some leftover haricot vert from yesterday. That was good, especially topped with some black pepper.
Dinner was Classic Sesame Noodles with Chicken (web; cookbooker). I used leftover chicken from Monday's meal. Mini magnums for dessert, since I forgot to set the Chocolate Sorbet out.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: yes/no; #4 BREAD: yes/no; #5 FotW: yes for Jul/Aug
Showing posts with label ~HowTo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ~HowTo. Show all posts
Monday, August 8, 2016
Monday, July 4, 2016
This week in the kitchen
Monday/4-Jul-16: Geesh, between the official end of TLNorthW and 30MinInd, last week I published five extra posts for Cookbook Countdown. Didn't I say earlier that I didn't want to get involved with one of these posting things again? Oh well.
Dinner was Lemon Grass Chicken with Chilli (HotWok, p144), served with Thai-Style Cauliflower (HotWok, p181) and plain basmati rice. Haven't used this book in a long time, so this was fun. The chicken was a bit salty (even though I remembered not to add extra salt because Hom's recipes usually have plenty of salt from soy sauce). But all was tasty. Small serving of Hot Chocolate Ice Cream with a bit of cream, for dessert.
Tuesday/5-Jul-16: A bit of a smish-smash for dinner using up lots of odd bits. The main course was Seared Peppered Pork Loin with Cucumber Mint Salsa (web), using something like pork chops. The cucumber salsa was especially good. And there was corn on the cob. And some Chile-Roasted Broccoli (web), not quite enough, done in the toaster oven so I didn't have to heat a bit oven; easy and pretty good. And some grilled violet artichokes, loosely following a web recipe I can't find now. (Basically, clean them, boil them most of the way, grill the rest of the way, then toss with a strong lemon vinaigrette with some chopped kalamatas for the salt.) All good, if an odd assembly. Then some ice creams for dessert.
Wednesday/6-Jul-16: How nice to get back to our old Wednesday shopping schedule. The store is really much emptier. I impulse-bought a bundle of rhubarb, so need to do something with that soon.
No tuna today, so it wasn't seared tuna steaks, but Seared Swordfish Steaks (HowTo, p187) for dinner. Served topped with Roasted Pepper Relish with Olives, Capers, and Rosemary (HowTo, p173), with a side of trio rice. Then a big salad, using some of the croutons I made last weekend. Then more of the Hot Chocolate Ice Cream with a bit of milk. All good.
After dinner, we went to friends' house to water plants while they're away and came away with more than three cups of blueberries. Something else for tomorrow.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/7-Jul-16: A bit of cooking today, if not as much as I'd planned.
Used the blueberries to make a Blueberry Cobbler. Started with a recipe from a little brochure I copied from Tiffany long ago, but it had an oddness in the ingredients (it asked for "1 cube of butter"). I found a very similar recipe online, that called for 1/2 cup of butter, and merged the two. (I used less than 1/2 cup butter, since there was something less than that in the butter dish.) [I actually put a brief version of the recipe here, but Blogger has garbled it. Maybe I'll do it again, or maybe not.]
Made a quarter recipe of Tandoori Masala (web), so I could make the sauce to put a half recipe of Tandoori Chicken (30MinInd, p40) on to marinate for the night.
Dinner was boudin noir served with the Rhubarb Chutney I made a couple of weeks ago and some of Clothilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes (web). The chutney was super; I may need to make some more from the batch I just bought, or from our garden rhubarb, which is starting to think about being harvestable.
Friday/8-Jul-16: This morning I made Cauliflower Relish from 30MinInd, thinking it was for tonight, but it's really for tomorrow and Monday. Date challenged, I am.
Tonight's dinner we had Tandoori Chicken, Spiced Beets, and Coconut Rice. Followed by more blueberry cobbler.
Saturday/9-Jul-16: Tonight's dinner was Chile-Lime Pork (web), marinated several hours, then cooked on the bbq. Very good stuff. Served with polenta, leftover Spiced Beets (still good), and the Cauliflower Relish (not so good). (Will write that up with Monday's dinner, since I forgot to take a picture today.)
Sunday/10-Jul-16: Ed had a choir concert today and we had pizza afterwards.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: no for Jul/Aug
Dinner was Lemon Grass Chicken with Chilli (HotWok, p144), served with Thai-Style Cauliflower (HotWok, p181) and plain basmati rice. Haven't used this book in a long time, so this was fun. The chicken was a bit salty (even though I remembered not to add extra salt because Hom's recipes usually have plenty of salt from soy sauce). But all was tasty. Small serving of Hot Chocolate Ice Cream with a bit of cream, for dessert.
Tuesday/5-Jul-16: A bit of a smish-smash for dinner using up lots of odd bits. The main course was Seared Peppered Pork Loin with Cucumber Mint Salsa (web), using something like pork chops. The cucumber salsa was especially good. And there was corn on the cob. And some Chile-Roasted Broccoli (web), not quite enough, done in the toaster oven so I didn't have to heat a bit oven; easy and pretty good. And some grilled violet artichokes, loosely following a web recipe I can't find now. (Basically, clean them, boil them most of the way, grill the rest of the way, then toss with a strong lemon vinaigrette with some chopped kalamatas for the salt.) All good, if an odd assembly. Then some ice creams for dessert.
Wednesday/6-Jul-16: How nice to get back to our old Wednesday shopping schedule. The store is really much emptier. I impulse-bought a bundle of rhubarb, so need to do something with that soon.
No tuna today, so it wasn't seared tuna steaks, but Seared Swordfish Steaks (HowTo, p187) for dinner. Served topped with Roasted Pepper Relish with Olives, Capers, and Rosemary (HowTo, p173), with a side of trio rice. Then a big salad, using some of the croutons I made last weekend. Then more of the Hot Chocolate Ice Cream with a bit of milk. All good.
After dinner, we went to friends' house to water plants while they're away and came away with more than three cups of blueberries. Something else for tomorrow.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/7-Jul-16: A bit of cooking today, if not as much as I'd planned.
Used the blueberries to make a Blueberry Cobbler. Started with a recipe from a little brochure I copied from Tiffany long ago, but it had an oddness in the ingredients (it asked for "1 cube of butter"). I found a very similar recipe online, that called for 1/2 cup of butter, and merged the two. (I used less than 1/2 cup butter, since there was something less than that in the butter dish.) [I actually put a brief version of the recipe here, but Blogger has garbled it. Maybe I'll do it again, or maybe not.]
Made a quarter recipe of Tandoori Masala (web), so I could make the sauce to put a half recipe of Tandoori Chicken (30MinInd, p40) on to marinate for the night.
Dinner was boudin noir served with the Rhubarb Chutney I made a couple of weeks ago and some of Clothilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes (web). The chutney was super; I may need to make some more from the batch I just bought, or from our garden rhubarb, which is starting to think about being harvestable.
Friday/8-Jul-16: This morning I made Cauliflower Relish from 30MinInd, thinking it was for tonight, but it's really for tomorrow and Monday. Date challenged, I am.
Tonight's dinner we had Tandoori Chicken, Spiced Beets, and Coconut Rice. Followed by more blueberry cobbler.
Saturday/9-Jul-16: Tonight's dinner was Chile-Lime Pork (web), marinated several hours, then cooked on the bbq. Very good stuff. Served with polenta, leftover Spiced Beets (still good), and the Cauliflower Relish (not so good). (Will write that up with Monday's dinner, since I forgot to take a picture today.)
Sunday/10-Jul-16: Ed had a choir concert today and we had pizza afterwards.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: no for Jul/Aug
Monday, March 21, 2016
This week in the kitchen
Monday/21-Mar-16: Jiggled the plan. Dinner turned out to be Cornmeal and Spice-Crusted Scallops (CLmag; MC) which I seem to have last made in 2009. Substituted cumin for the coriander. Served with garlic mashed potatoes made with a bit of soft goat cheese instead of butter, and some steamed broccoli. Made a yummy sauce of crème fraîche with a chipotle in adobo, garlic clove, lime juice, and salt, which went well over everything.
Tuesday/22-Mar-16: Dinner was Slow Roasted Rosemary Leg of Goat (web) with a 1.4kg leg. The rub was yummy. The advice to put in potatoes for the last hour didn't work at all; potatoes take longer than an hour at such a low temperature. In fact, even the carrots weren't done-done after about four hours. (In the next days, I'll boil up and purée the sauce, carrots, and potatoes that we didn't eat, along with the remains of a jar of beef stock. All making a sort of potage like they serve here frequently as a first course. Into the freezer with it all.) The two of us ate all the meat, and we're quite full of that. Tasty though. Goat is a a nice meat.
Wednesday/23-Mar-16: Shopping today.
Dinner was, more or less, Restigouche Salmon (TLNewEng, p35). I didn't use salmon steaks, but one dos de saumon for the two of us. Didn't use the extra butter at the end for basting. The fish already seemed fat enough from the vegetable oil (grapeseed) in the marinade. And the cooking times were way off. I broiled 3-ish minutes on the first side and 2-ish on the second side, about half of what was asked. Served with steam-sautéed potatoes. Then a salad. Then some little puddings from the store.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/24-Mar-16: Working on Ed's hemoglobin again, we had Boudin Noir and Sautéed Apples (web). This was thick slices of a large diameter boudin, cut at the shop. It seems not as strong tasting as others maybe (or maybe we're getting used to the taste) and maybe had a bit of spiciness, since we both felt a tingle and I didn't even pepper this. Quite good. Served with trio rice and broccoli with onions and oven-dried tomatoes. Ed thought the boudin tower needed a photo. (Yes, same plates as last night.)
Friday/25-Mar-16: Replan for tonight's dinner since I didn't have the time or oomph to do what I'd planned. Defrosted some duck scallops, floured and seasoned, then sautéed. Made some Port Wine Pan Sauce with Dried Cranberries (HowTo, p161) as a topper. Didn't have any seedless raspberry jam or red currant jelly to make this, so used a bit of confit de airelles, a kind of cranberry jam sort of thing. This turned out good. Served with trio rice and asparagus.
Saturday/26-Mar-16-Sunday/27-Mar-16: We were off at the Bach à Paques festival in St Maixent l'Ecole. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: yes for February/March
Tuesday/22-Mar-16: Dinner was Slow Roasted Rosemary Leg of Goat (web) with a 1.4kg leg. The rub was yummy. The advice to put in potatoes for the last hour didn't work at all; potatoes take longer than an hour at such a low temperature. In fact, even the carrots weren't done-done after about four hours. (In the next days, I'll boil up and purée the sauce, carrots, and potatoes that we didn't eat, along with the remains of a jar of beef stock. All making a sort of potage like they serve here frequently as a first course. Into the freezer with it all.) The two of us ate all the meat, and we're quite full of that. Tasty though. Goat is a a nice meat.
Wednesday/23-Mar-16: Shopping today.
Dinner was, more or less, Restigouche Salmon (TLNewEng, p35). I didn't use salmon steaks, but one dos de saumon for the two of us. Didn't use the extra butter at the end for basting. The fish already seemed fat enough from the vegetable oil (grapeseed) in the marinade. And the cooking times were way off. I broiled 3-ish minutes on the first side and 2-ish on the second side, about half of what was asked. Served with steam-sautéed potatoes. Then a salad. Then some little puddings from the store.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/24-Mar-16: Working on Ed's hemoglobin again, we had Boudin Noir and Sautéed Apples (web). This was thick slices of a large diameter boudin, cut at the shop. It seems not as strong tasting as others maybe (or maybe we're getting used to the taste) and maybe had a bit of spiciness, since we both felt a tingle and I didn't even pepper this. Quite good. Served with trio rice and broccoli with onions and oven-dried tomatoes. Ed thought the boudin tower needed a photo. (Yes, same plates as last night.)
Friday/25-Mar-16: Replan for tonight's dinner since I didn't have the time or oomph to do what I'd planned. Defrosted some duck scallops, floured and seasoned, then sautéed. Made some Port Wine Pan Sauce with Dried Cranberries (HowTo, p161) as a topper. Didn't have any seedless raspberry jam or red currant jelly to make this, so used a bit of confit de airelles, a kind of cranberry jam sort of thing. This turned out good. Served with trio rice and asparagus.
Saturday/26-Mar-16-Sunday/27-Mar-16: We were off at the Bach à Paques festival in St Maixent l'Ecole. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: yes for February/March
Monday, January 18, 2016
This week in the kitchen
Monday/18-Jan-16: Pizza tonight. Bottom up: pyramid goat cheese, pizza sauce from jarred roasted bell pepper, grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, grilled mushrooms, grilled broccoli, chopped black olives, capers, mozzarella. It was good.
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/19-Jan-16: Dinner out tonight. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Wednesday/20-Jan-16: Shopping today. At one end of the cooler with desserts, I noticed some lumps of ready-made bread dough, for loafs, pizza, etc. Full of chemicals. Does anybody actually buy these things?
Dinner was some cod, dipped in seasoned flour and sautéed, with Lemon-Caper Pan Sauce (HowTo, p167), some orzo, and some steamed snijbonen. For dessert there were some store-bought chocolate puddings. Easy, nice.
Thursday/21-Jan-16: Used my last bit of frozen chicken stock to make some improvised broccoli soup for lunch. I really need to get making some more stock now.
Dinner was Pork Chops in Mustard Sauce (MC). Served with smashed potatoes and Cold Beetroot with Cream (Pomiane, p180). All good stuff. No dessert.
Haven't found a trace of our kitchen mouse. Wondering where she's gotten off to.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/22-Jan-16: An easy day today. Leftover enchiladas and rice for dinner, with a new batch of guacamole. C'est tout.
Still not sign of our kitchen mouse. A puzzle.
Saturday/23-Jan-16: We have an overabundance of red onions, since I seem to have bought them two weeks in a row when that wasn't needed. So I made a jar of Kaye's Pickled Red Onions (MC), using some very strong white vinegar diluted with cider vinegar. We'll see how they turn out.
Dinner was Chèvre-Tomato Pasta (BeardPasta, p150; cookbooker), which is based on Light Tomato Sauce (BeardPasta, p73; cookbooker) with some chèvre and Tabasco added. Although there was way too much sauce, it was still tasty. Served with a salad, using some of the dressing from Thursday's beets.
Sunday/24-Jan-16: Leftover pizza for dinner. Nothing else happened in the kitchen.
Had the intention to work on the recipe backlog today, but didn't get to it. The dining table was such a mess that clearing and sorting that took a lot of time.
Ed's got the wall behind the sink tiled. What remains are the bits left of the stove and at the end of the peninsula. However E's worried if we got enough of the trim tiles. He thinks they will be hard to cut and we may not have enough extras. Fingers crossed.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #3 PASTA: yes; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: no for Jan/Feb
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/19-Jan-16: Dinner out tonight. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Wednesday/20-Jan-16: Shopping today. At one end of the cooler with desserts, I noticed some lumps of ready-made bread dough, for loafs, pizza, etc. Full of chemicals. Does anybody actually buy these things?
Dinner was some cod, dipped in seasoned flour and sautéed, with Lemon-Caper Pan Sauce (HowTo, p167), some orzo, and some steamed snijbonen. For dessert there were some store-bought chocolate puddings. Easy, nice.
Thursday/21-Jan-16: Used my last bit of frozen chicken stock to make some improvised broccoli soup for lunch. I really need to get making some more stock now.
Dinner was Pork Chops in Mustard Sauce (MC). Served with smashed potatoes and Cold Beetroot with Cream (Pomiane, p180). All good stuff. No dessert.
Haven't found a trace of our kitchen mouse. Wondering where she's gotten off to.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/22-Jan-16: An easy day today. Leftover enchiladas and rice for dinner, with a new batch of guacamole. C'est tout.
Still not sign of our kitchen mouse. A puzzle.
Saturday/23-Jan-16: We have an overabundance of red onions, since I seem to have bought them two weeks in a row when that wasn't needed. So I made a jar of Kaye's Pickled Red Onions (MC), using some very strong white vinegar diluted with cider vinegar. We'll see how they turn out.
Dinner was Chèvre-Tomato Pasta (BeardPasta, p150; cookbooker), which is based on Light Tomato Sauce (BeardPasta, p73; cookbooker) with some chèvre and Tabasco added. Although there was way too much sauce, it was still tasty. Served with a salad, using some of the dressing from Thursday's beets.
Sunday/24-Jan-16: Leftover pizza for dinner. Nothing else happened in the kitchen.
Had the intention to work on the recipe backlog today, but didn't get to it. The dining table was such a mess that clearing and sorting that took a lot of time.
Ed's got the wall behind the sink tiled. What remains are the bits left of the stove and at the end of the peninsula. However E's worried if we got enough of the trim tiles. He thinks they will be hard to cut and we may not have enough extras. Fingers crossed.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #3 PASTA: yes; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: no for Jan/Feb
Monday, November 18, 2013
This week in the kitchen
Monday/18-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday.
Dinner was Grilled Chicken Legs with Pomegranate Molasses (web). Easy-peasy and not at all bad. For the two of us, I used four thighs. The recipe called for six legs, and I was too late reading that it meant whole leg joints rather than just the leg part. So I've got a lot of the marinade in the freezer for another time. Served with Orzo with Tomatoes, Feta, and Olives (HowTo, p238) and some steamed broccoli finished off with garlic and red pepper flakes. Then we finished off the clafoutis for dessert. That was supposed to serve six, but ended up serving four. Oink.
Tuesday/19-Nov-13: I had lunch out with my drawing friends. Ed had leftovers for dinner while I munched carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes. Then we had a bit of cheese and Ed had an ice cream bar. That's all folks.
Wednesday/20-Nov-13: Shopping today. Shitakes, they had! And another odd little mushroom I've never seen before, but resisted buying.
DInner was Fried Fish Steaks (Q&E, p67) using lieu noir (in English, saithe or coley, does that help?) that was today's special. Very easy and quite good. I did a better-than-usual job of frying without getting the food too greasy. To munch while the rest of dinner was getting ready, there were some Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). With the fish there was Rice with Peas (MJ1, p149); this is a really good recipe but make a *lot*. I made a quarter recipe of what should serve six and we had substantial piles of rice on our plates. And then there were Fried Aubergine Slices (MJ1, p99) that I broiled, using no oil, instead of frying. These were not bad, if a bit dry. For dessert we had two of the vanilla puddings I bought off the sale counter with a close expiry day. These still have four days to go, so I'm not sure why they were there.
Thursday/21-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday.
Worked on the freezer backlog tonight. Cooked a pound of (blue) hominy in the liquid left from cooking carnitas. Saved out 3 cups of the hominy to freeze, then added some cooked pork and three cubes of chiptole-soaking liquid from the freezer. Voila! Pozole!
Some recipes have you soak the hominy before cooking. Others just have you cook it. I soaked this time, the first time I've tried that. Can't say I noticed any difference. This isn't the kind of thing you're cooking with attention; it just simmers away on the back burner till you're ready to deal with it. Think I won't bother with the soak again.
Friday/22-Nov-13: Dinner was Chicken with Herbed Dumplings (CastIron, p68; cookbooker). It's a recipe that serves six, so I made a third of the main recipe and a half of the dumpling recipe. Very tasty, but short on liquid. I made a salad as a go-with, but we thought this was a one-dish meal. Had some mini-magnums for dessert; these seem to have better chocolate than the classic ones these days.
Saturday/23-Nov-13: Picked the chicken carcass and made up some stock with that and other bits from the freezer. And deseeded and cut up the coeur de boeuf tomatoes I got on Wednesday and cooked them down. Tomorrow I'll finish them both up, freezing stock and tomato sauce.
Off plan for dinner. Made Fettuccine with Gorgonzola (30MinPasta, p50; cookbooker), using up the bit of Fourme d'Ambert in the fridge. Good stuff it was, if not low-fat. Then last night's salad.
Looks like we have a mouse in the kitchen again. Seems to have gotten into a packet of semolina. They wouldn't be so bad if they didn't walk around pooping. Poop, poop, poop. Have set the trap, raisin-baited, tonight.
Sunday/23-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday.
Froze up the tomato sauce today. Put of the chicken stock till tomorrow.
No mouse in the trap and no new mouse poop found this morning. But this afternoon Oscar seemed to be very interested in something behind the stove ... a mouse? A couple of hours later, Sophie actually caught a mouse in the kitchen when Ed pulled out some logs to light the fire. She played with it for a while before Ed managed to get it from her to take outside. It probably didn't survive.
For dinner there was a very loose interpretation of Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas in Creamy Avocado Sauce (web). This included salsa verde, not. No tomatillos to be found here and the canned ones taste tinny, so I don't buy them. I read a suggestion that you could substitute with green tomatoes and some lime juice. The greenest tomato I could find was kind of yellow-orange, so I used that instead. Actually it wasn't too bad. Ended up making eight enchiladas, so we'll have two dinners of it. Made some Spanish rice, too, using part of the tomato sauce I just made. Then the last of the ice cream and frozen raspberries for dessert.
Hmm... I've used cookbooks this week, but can't really say that any of them are seldom-used. Guess I didn't manage that goal. I almost made pasta this week, but that doesn't count.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: no, #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: no, #4 BREAD: no
Dinner was Grilled Chicken Legs with Pomegranate Molasses (web). Easy-peasy and not at all bad. For the two of us, I used four thighs. The recipe called for six legs, and I was too late reading that it meant whole leg joints rather than just the leg part. So I've got a lot of the marinade in the freezer for another time. Served with Orzo with Tomatoes, Feta, and Olives (HowTo, p238) and some steamed broccoli finished off with garlic and red pepper flakes. Then we finished off the clafoutis for dessert. That was supposed to serve six, but ended up serving four. Oink.
Tuesday/19-Nov-13: I had lunch out with my drawing friends. Ed had leftovers for dinner while I munched carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes. Then we had a bit of cheese and Ed had an ice cream bar. That's all folks.
Wednesday/20-Nov-13: Shopping today. Shitakes, they had! And another odd little mushroom I've never seen before, but resisted buying.
DInner was Fried Fish Steaks (Q&E, p67) using lieu noir (in English, saithe or coley, does that help?) that was today's special. Very easy and quite good. I did a better-than-usual job of frying without getting the food too greasy. To munch while the rest of dinner was getting ready, there were some Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). With the fish there was Rice with Peas (MJ1, p149); this is a really good recipe but make a *lot*. I made a quarter recipe of what should serve six and we had substantial piles of rice on our plates. And then there were Fried Aubergine Slices (MJ1, p99) that I broiled, using no oil, instead of frying. These were not bad, if a bit dry. For dessert we had two of the vanilla puddings I bought off the sale counter with a close expiry day. These still have four days to go, so I'm not sure why they were there.
Thursday/21-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday.
Worked on the freezer backlog tonight. Cooked a pound of (blue) hominy in the liquid left from cooking carnitas. Saved out 3 cups of the hominy to freeze, then added some cooked pork and three cubes of chiptole-soaking liquid from the freezer. Voila! Pozole!
Some recipes have you soak the hominy before cooking. Others just have you cook it. I soaked this time, the first time I've tried that. Can't say I noticed any difference. This isn't the kind of thing you're cooking with attention; it just simmers away on the back burner till you're ready to deal with it. Think I won't bother with the soak again.
Friday/22-Nov-13: Dinner was Chicken with Herbed Dumplings (CastIron, p68; cookbooker). It's a recipe that serves six, so I made a third of the main recipe and a half of the dumpling recipe. Very tasty, but short on liquid. I made a salad as a go-with, but we thought this was a one-dish meal. Had some mini-magnums for dessert; these seem to have better chocolate than the classic ones these days.
Saturday/23-Nov-13: Picked the chicken carcass and made up some stock with that and other bits from the freezer. And deseeded and cut up the coeur de boeuf tomatoes I got on Wednesday and cooked them down. Tomorrow I'll finish them both up, freezing stock and tomato sauce.
Off plan for dinner. Made Fettuccine with Gorgonzola (30MinPasta, p50; cookbooker), using up the bit of Fourme d'Ambert in the fridge. Good stuff it was, if not low-fat. Then last night's salad.
Looks like we have a mouse in the kitchen again. Seems to have gotten into a packet of semolina. They wouldn't be so bad if they didn't walk around pooping. Poop, poop, poop. Have set the trap, raisin-baited, tonight.
Sunday/23-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday.
Froze up the tomato sauce today. Put of the chicken stock till tomorrow.
No mouse in the trap and no new mouse poop found this morning. But this afternoon Oscar seemed to be very interested in something behind the stove ... a mouse? A couple of hours later, Sophie actually caught a mouse in the kitchen when Ed pulled out some logs to light the fire. She played with it for a while before Ed managed to get it from her to take outside. It probably didn't survive.
For dinner there was a very loose interpretation of Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas in Creamy Avocado Sauce (web). This included salsa verde, not. No tomatillos to be found here and the canned ones taste tinny, so I don't buy them. I read a suggestion that you could substitute with green tomatoes and some lime juice. The greenest tomato I could find was kind of yellow-orange, so I used that instead. Actually it wasn't too bad. Ended up making eight enchiladas, so we'll have two dinners of it. Made some Spanish rice, too, using part of the tomato sauce I just made. Then the last of the ice cream and frozen raspberries for dessert.
Hmm... I've used cookbooks this week, but can't really say that any of them are seldom-used. Guess I didn't manage that goal. I almost made pasta this week, but that doesn't count.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: no, #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: no, #4 BREAD: no
Sunday, November 10, 2013
This week in the kitchen
Monday/11-Nov-13: We went to the remembrance day ceremony this morning and were supposed to go to the lunch after, but didn't feel like it.
Dinner was sautéed duck breasts with Marsala WIne Pan Sauce (HowTo, p160), which is about as simple as you can get. Deglaze with some marsala, stir in a lump of butter, and Bob's your uncle, so to speak. Served with orzo with parsley and lemon and (roasted) Asparagus with Mustard Sauce (web). The sauce was good, although plenteous. I'll use the leftovers for a salad dressing. For dessert a dab of ice cream topped with some defrosted raspberries and a small slog of crême de framboise.
Tuesday/12-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday.
Leftovers tonight, the broccoli tart. followed by a salad. And then some cheese for afters.
Wednesday/13-Nov-13: Shopping today.
Working on cleaning out the freezer inventory (oh, it does want defrosting), I made Baked Pasta With Sausage, Mushrooms and Mascarpone (web; cookbooker). My (homemade) Italian sausage from the freezer was only 2/3 what was required, so I reduced the recipe that much. Good, it was, and we have one serving left. Then a big salad. For dessert, some squares of nice chocolate.
Thursday/14-Nov-13: Dinner was a half dose of Pasta con la Zucca alla Napoletana (web), using up that end of the butternut squash and a dab left from the canned pumpkin. Interesting recipe in the the pasta is cooked right in the sauce, rather than separately. Pretty good it was, especially with a dose of parmesan. Then a salad. Then we split a Magnum Classic.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/15-Nov-13: Lunch out for Ed's birthday. Absolutely no need for further food today.
Saturday/16-Nov-13: Dinner was a halfish version of Pizza aux Poires, Épinards, et Gorgonzola (VPQ), pizza with pears, spinach, and gorgonzola. It was surprisingly good. I used a store-bought pizza crust, turned out to be a cracker crust, while I prefer a more substantial crust. Rather than sautéing fresh spinach, I defrosted some leaf spinach and picked the big stems out; this was fine. A short 300g of gorgonzola and two pears. Layered: gorgonzola, spinach, gorgonzola, thin pear slices (that had been tossed with a bit of lemon juice), and pine nuts. Ed asked to have this again on a proper pizza crust. Also would be good as a pannekoek perhaps.
Sunday/17-Nov-13: Defrosted the chest freezer today. Don't know why I don't like defrosting. Such a chore. At least my spreadsheet is up-to-date now.
Tonight we ate, more or less, Fast Roast Chicken (Cookwise, p402). I set the chicken, stuffed with rosemary and lemon pieces, on some chunks of potato, carrot, and parsnip. The oven didn't seem to get to the required temperature (500F). Not sure if the problem is the oven or the thermometer I'm using. The chickie was nicely done in about an hour. Not especially fast. Neverthesless, it was good. Then we ate a bit of cheese. And then some Apple Berry Clafouti (MC 2BTried) to help use up the sack of local apples I bought. Since Cookwise is a seldom used cookbook, I could have taken a pic and posted about it, but didn't feel like it. Enjoyed the eating, though.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no, #4 BREAD: no
Dinner was sautéed duck breasts with Marsala WIne Pan Sauce (HowTo, p160), which is about as simple as you can get. Deglaze with some marsala, stir in a lump of butter, and Bob's your uncle, so to speak. Served with orzo with parsley and lemon and (roasted) Asparagus with Mustard Sauce (web). The sauce was good, although plenteous. I'll use the leftovers for a salad dressing. For dessert a dab of ice cream topped with some defrosted raspberries and a small slog of crême de framboise.
Tuesday/12-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday.
Leftovers tonight, the broccoli tart. followed by a salad. And then some cheese for afters.
Wednesday/13-Nov-13: Shopping today.
Working on cleaning out the freezer inventory (oh, it does want defrosting), I made Baked Pasta With Sausage, Mushrooms and Mascarpone (web; cookbooker). My (homemade) Italian sausage from the freezer was only 2/3 what was required, so I reduced the recipe that much. Good, it was, and we have one serving left. Then a big salad. For dessert, some squares of nice chocolate.
Thursday/14-Nov-13: Dinner was a half dose of Pasta con la Zucca alla Napoletana (web), using up that end of the butternut squash and a dab left from the canned pumpkin. Interesting recipe in the the pasta is cooked right in the sauce, rather than separately. Pretty good it was, especially with a dose of parmesan. Then a salad. Then we split a Magnum Classic.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/15-Nov-13: Lunch out for Ed's birthday. Absolutely no need for further food today.
Saturday/16-Nov-13: Dinner was a halfish version of Pizza aux Poires, Épinards, et Gorgonzola (VPQ), pizza with pears, spinach, and gorgonzola. It was surprisingly good. I used a store-bought pizza crust, turned out to be a cracker crust, while I prefer a more substantial crust. Rather than sautéing fresh spinach, I defrosted some leaf spinach and picked the big stems out; this was fine. A short 300g of gorgonzola and two pears. Layered: gorgonzola, spinach, gorgonzola, thin pear slices (that had been tossed with a bit of lemon juice), and pine nuts. Ed asked to have this again on a proper pizza crust. Also would be good as a pannekoek perhaps.
Sunday/17-Nov-13: Defrosted the chest freezer today. Don't know why I don't like defrosting. Such a chore. At least my spreadsheet is up-to-date now.
Tonight we ate, more or less, Fast Roast Chicken (Cookwise, p402). I set the chicken, stuffed with rosemary and lemon pieces, on some chunks of potato, carrot, and parsnip. The oven didn't seem to get to the required temperature (500F). Not sure if the problem is the oven or the thermometer I'm using. The chickie was nicely done in about an hour. Not especially fast. Neverthesless, it was good. Then we ate a bit of cheese. And then some Apple Berry Clafouti (MC 2BTried) to help use up the sack of local apples I bought. Since Cookwise is a seldom used cookbook, I could have taken a pic and posted about it, but didn't feel like it. Enjoyed the eating, though.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no, #4 BREAD: no
Monday, October 28, 2013
This week in the kitchen
Monday/28-Oct-13: Dinner was Bengal Red Lentils with Spices (Sahni2, p329) over rice. This recipe has been well reviewed at cookbooker, so I thought I'd give it a try. Very good, yes! Served with the end of the Spicy Eggplant Stew with Potatoes, Mushroom, and Chickpeas, which was still good, if slightly past its use-by date. Oh well, guess we'll survive.
Authentic French Bread in the machine overnight.
Tuesday/29-Oct-13: Yogurt on overday.
Dinner was Pork Tenderloin with Plum and Juniper Sauce (collected EAT-L). Lots of the red plums I bought for these were bad, so I used the last of the yellow plums we've been eating. There was lots of sauce left so I buzzed it and Ed will have it on his morning bread (instead of the apple butter that I've been deficient in making of late). With it there were some pan-fried potatoes and some steamed broccoli. Jus a square of almond-chocolate for after.
Wednesday/30-Oct-13: Shopping today, but before that, the new kitchen counters were installed!
Dinner was some haddock filets à la meuniére, with the flour spiced up with some seafood spice, not Old Bay, but something similar. Served with White Wine Vinegar Pan Sauce (HowTo, p164). And some roasted broccoli bits. And some basic-ricotta tortellni. Followed by a salad. Then a a bit of hazelnut chocolate for afters (Lindt, too sweet it was).
Thursday/31-Oct-13: Dinner was Spaghetti Carbonara with a Poached Egg (MC) with a big salad. Good it was.
Friday/1-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday.
Our 40th anniversary together today. We ate out. Fruit for dinner.
Saturday/2-Nov-13: Had dinner at a restaurant with friends before going to a karaoke "do" there. No, we didn't sing. Now we can say we've seen that, don't need to do it again.
Sunday/3-Nov-13: Made Apple-Plum Butter (MC) during the day today. Also cooked up some tomato sauce from the 2.2kg of coeur de boeuf tomatoes that I got on Wednesday. Those make four cups of sauce, now in the freezer.
Meant to make an Indian lamb and spinach dish tonight, but couldn't find the lamb in the freezer. I must have used it at some point and forgotten to take it off the list. Went to the local butcher yesterday afternoon to get some, only to discover that he's on vacation this week. But, there's lots of pork in the freezer wanting to be used up. Strangely there seem to be no pork and spinach dishes. Major replan required. Made Pork Vindaloo (Q&E, p33), an old and easy favorite. (One of these days I need to make a proper vindaloo again, even better, but more work.) I think this may be the first time I've made this using the pressure cooker, which does make it quick, but you miss the lovely smells from the simmering pot. Served with plain basmati rice and a half recipe of Diced Potatoes with Spinach (WofE, p53), using only half the spinach I bought. Also made a half dose of our favorite raita (MJ1, p162), but forgot to serve it. Tasty eating.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for October/no for November, #4 BREAD: no for October/no for November
Authentic French Bread in the machine overnight.
Tuesday/29-Oct-13: Yogurt on overday.
Dinner was Pork Tenderloin with Plum and Juniper Sauce (collected EAT-L). Lots of the red plums I bought for these were bad, so I used the last of the yellow plums we've been eating. There was lots of sauce left so I buzzed it and Ed will have it on his morning bread (instead of the apple butter that I've been deficient in making of late). With it there were some pan-fried potatoes and some steamed broccoli. Jus a square of almond-chocolate for after.
Wednesday/30-Oct-13: Shopping today, but before that, the new kitchen counters were installed!
Dinner was some haddock filets à la meuniére, with the flour spiced up with some seafood spice, not Old Bay, but something similar. Served with White Wine Vinegar Pan Sauce (HowTo, p164). And some roasted broccoli bits. And some basic-ricotta tortellni. Followed by a salad. Then a a bit of hazelnut chocolate for afters (Lindt, too sweet it was).
Thursday/31-Oct-13: Dinner was Spaghetti Carbonara with a Poached Egg (MC) with a big salad. Good it was.
Friday/1-Nov-13: Yogurt on overday.
Our 40th anniversary together today. We ate out. Fruit for dinner.
Saturday/2-Nov-13: Had dinner at a restaurant with friends before going to a karaoke "do" there. No, we didn't sing. Now we can say we've seen that, don't need to do it again.
Sunday/3-Nov-13: Made Apple-Plum Butter (MC) during the day today. Also cooked up some tomato sauce from the 2.2kg of coeur de boeuf tomatoes that I got on Wednesday. Those make four cups of sauce, now in the freezer.
Meant to make an Indian lamb and spinach dish tonight, but couldn't find the lamb in the freezer. I must have used it at some point and forgotten to take it off the list. Went to the local butcher yesterday afternoon to get some, only to discover that he's on vacation this week. But, there's lots of pork in the freezer wanting to be used up. Strangely there seem to be no pork and spinach dishes. Major replan required. Made Pork Vindaloo (Q&E, p33), an old and easy favorite. (One of these days I need to make a proper vindaloo again, even better, but more work.) I think this may be the first time I've made this using the pressure cooker, which does make it quick, but you miss the lovely smells from the simmering pot. Served with plain basmati rice and a half recipe of Diced Potatoes with Spinach (WofE, p53), using only half the spinach I bought. Also made a half dose of our favorite raita (MJ1, p162), but forgot to serve it. Tasty eating.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for October/no for November, #4 BREAD: no for October/no for November
Monday, July 23, 2012
This week in the kitchen
Monday/23-Jul-12: Yogurt on overday.
Starting to address the zucchini garden surplus, I made up and froze some curried zucchini soup.
Since we went to a concert this evening at a time that made eating dinner awkward, we had our main meal at midday (well, it was more like 3pm, but that's not dinnertime). Made some Red Pepper Pasta (PastaMach, p71), which is just regular pasta with some red pepper flakes added. To top it, there was Cajun Shrimp (PastaMach, p138), more or less. Quite tasty. Then a big salad. Since I haven't been using this cookbook much lately (I forget that it's full of tasty sauces), this could have been a meal for Cookbook Sundays, but I didn't take a picture, so I guess I'l skip that. (Unfortunately, it looks like Cookbook Sundays may be closing up shop since the current host wants to stop. I thought about taking it on, but decided I didn't need one more thing to do at the computer.)
Tuesday/24-Jul-12: Without thinking, I'd planned shrimp two nights in a row, so tonight's dinner was a last-minute change. I defrosted a pair of duck breast scallops. Pan-fried those and served topped with Marsala Wine Pan Sauce (HowTo, p160), which is about as simple a pan sauce as you can get. All you do is deglaze with a slog of marsala, reduce to almost nothing, and top up with a dab of butter. Pretty good for minimal effort. Served with some garlicky, steam-fried potatoes. Then some Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts (web), which turns out to be a pretty nifty way to use up zucchini. Make a lemony vinaigrette with some red pepper flakes. Use the mandolin to shave long slices from a zuke. Toss with the vinaigrette, pine nuts, and Parmesan shavings. Should have been some chopped basil in there too, but I forgot—that would make it even better. Definitely a keeper, this one. For dessert we had some mini-Magnums.
Wednesday/25-Jul-12: Hot. Shopping today. This evening our Dutch friends Wim and Patrice, who are camping nearby, came for dinner and a visit. I bought some nice lamb steaks and we had Grilled Lamb Steaks with Rosemary, Garlic, and Red Wine (Thrill, p150), very easy and extremely really tasty. (Although I had about two weeks' worth of red meat protein in one sitting.) Made some Summer Rice Salad (Rodale, p129), a very old favorite, and Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts, a very new favorite, the a second night in a row. Had planned to grill some eggplant also, but it seemed like too much. After walking the dogs, we had Strawberry Sorbet with some fresh raspberries.
Thursday/26-Jul-12: Hotter. ugh. Yogurt on overday.
Still full from yesterday evening's meal. No cooking today. Leftover dinner. Finished off the galette along with the zucchini salad (which held up remarkably well, unexpectedly to me) and the rice salad.
Friday/27-Jul-12: Another attack on the zucchini harvest: Chocolate Zucchini Cake (TooMany, p215. This used an amazingly big pile of grated zucchini. (Thank you, food processor.)
A recent Vie Pratique Gourmand explained how to cook ears of corns: peel them and boil for 25 minutes! Then, because they're too hot to hold, you stick a toothpick in each end. Right.
Yesterday after choir, Ed went to Intermarché, and came home with two two-packs of fresh corn. They have this for a few weeks each summer, and it's our only chance to have one of our favorite veggies. (Although, it's looking like we may get three ears from the garden this year.) So tonight we had, yes corn on the cob, along with Lemony Leeks with Chickpeas and Feta (web). This turned out to be a dish of nice tastes that went surprisingly well together. We both thought that the leeks should have been cut thinner. And I tossed everything in a bowl before serving, rather that arranging it all tidily on the plates. But tasty it was, a nice, easy hot-weather main dish.
Saturday/28-Jul-12: Started with Beet, Stilton, Apple, and Nut Salad (MoreFast, p4), a recipe I found watching a video someone posted to EAT-L. Then I realized I had the book. No Stilton to be found, used bleu d'Auvergne instead. Not bad, interesting collection of tastes. Ed suggested that the apple, instead of being chunked, should have had the the quarters sliced crosswise fairly thinly.
The main was Pasta with Yogurt and Carmelized Onions, from Kassos (Essential, p341). This was one of those glad-I-tried-it-don't-need-to-do-it-again recipes. Why do you drain sheep's-milk yogurt, then mix it with pasta water?
Both of these could have been an entry for Cookbook Sunday; still no word on a new host.
Ed had a piece of Chocolate Zucchini Cake for dessert; I had some Strawberry Sorbet..
Sunday/29-Jul-12: Yogurt on overday. Wim and Patrice took us out to dinner this evening, so the planned zucchini dinner didn't happen.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, sort of, #2 BREAD: no, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA: yes
Starting to address the zucchini garden surplus, I made up and froze some curried zucchini soup.
Since we went to a concert this evening at a time that made eating dinner awkward, we had our main meal at midday (well, it was more like 3pm, but that's not dinnertime). Made some Red Pepper Pasta (PastaMach, p71), which is just regular pasta with some red pepper flakes added. To top it, there was Cajun Shrimp (PastaMach, p138), more or less. Quite tasty. Then a big salad. Since I haven't been using this cookbook much lately (I forget that it's full of tasty sauces), this could have been a meal for Cookbook Sundays, but I didn't take a picture, so I guess I'l skip that. (Unfortunately, it looks like Cookbook Sundays may be closing up shop since the current host wants to stop. I thought about taking it on, but decided I didn't need one more thing to do at the computer.)
Tuesday/24-Jul-12: Without thinking, I'd planned shrimp two nights in a row, so tonight's dinner was a last-minute change. I defrosted a pair of duck breast scallops. Pan-fried those and served topped with Marsala Wine Pan Sauce (HowTo, p160), which is about as simple a pan sauce as you can get. All you do is deglaze with a slog of marsala, reduce to almost nothing, and top up with a dab of butter. Pretty good for minimal effort. Served with some garlicky, steam-fried potatoes. Then some Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts (web), which turns out to be a pretty nifty way to use up zucchini. Make a lemony vinaigrette with some red pepper flakes. Use the mandolin to shave long slices from a zuke. Toss with the vinaigrette, pine nuts, and Parmesan shavings. Should have been some chopped basil in there too, but I forgot—that would make it even better. Definitely a keeper, this one. For dessert we had some mini-Magnums.
Wednesday/25-Jul-12: Hot. Shopping today. This evening our Dutch friends Wim and Patrice, who are camping nearby, came for dinner and a visit. I bought some nice lamb steaks and we had Grilled Lamb Steaks with Rosemary, Garlic, and Red Wine (Thrill, p150), very easy and extremely really tasty. (Although I had about two weeks' worth of red meat protein in one sitting.) Made some Summer Rice Salad (Rodale, p129), a very old favorite, and Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts, a very new favorite, the a second night in a row. Had planned to grill some eggplant also, but it seemed like too much. After walking the dogs, we had Strawberry Sorbet with some fresh raspberries.
Thursday/26-Jul-12: Hotter. ugh. Yogurt on overday.
Still full from yesterday evening's meal. No cooking today. Leftover dinner. Finished off the galette along with the zucchini salad (which held up remarkably well, unexpectedly to me) and the rice salad.
Friday/27-Jul-12: Another attack on the zucchini harvest: Chocolate Zucchini Cake (TooMany, p215. This used an amazingly big pile of grated zucchini. (Thank you, food processor.)
A recent Vie Pratique Gourmand explained how to cook ears of corns: peel them and boil for 25 minutes! Then, because they're too hot to hold, you stick a toothpick in each end. Right.
Yesterday after choir, Ed went to Intermarché, and came home with two two-packs of fresh corn. They have this for a few weeks each summer, and it's our only chance to have one of our favorite veggies. (Although, it's looking like we may get three ears from the garden this year.) So tonight we had, yes corn on the cob, along with Lemony Leeks with Chickpeas and Feta (web). This turned out to be a dish of nice tastes that went surprisingly well together. We both thought that the leeks should have been cut thinner. And I tossed everything in a bowl before serving, rather that arranging it all tidily on the plates. But tasty it was, a nice, easy hot-weather main dish.
Saturday/28-Jul-12: Started with Beet, Stilton, Apple, and Nut Salad (MoreFast, p4), a recipe I found watching a video someone posted to EAT-L. Then I realized I had the book. No Stilton to be found, used bleu d'Auvergne instead. Not bad, interesting collection of tastes. Ed suggested that the apple, instead of being chunked, should have had the the quarters sliced crosswise fairly thinly.
The main was Pasta with Yogurt and Carmelized Onions, from Kassos (Essential, p341). This was one of those glad-I-tried-it-don't-need-to-do-it-again recipes. Why do you drain sheep's-milk yogurt, then mix it with pasta water?
Both of these could have been an entry for Cookbook Sunday; still no word on a new host.
Ed had a piece of Chocolate Zucchini Cake for dessert; I had some Strawberry Sorbet..
Sunday/29-Jul-12: Yogurt on overday. Wim and Patrice took us out to dinner this evening, so the planned zucchini dinner didn't happen.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, sort of, #2 BREAD: no, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA: yes
Monday, April 2, 2012
This week in the kitchen
Monday/2-Apr-12: Munched on the Zucchini Hummus before dinner; pretty good stuff, although it needed a bit more lime. Last night it tasted really limey.
Friday/6-Apr-12: Dinner was Braised Chicken Thighs with Plums (CLmag/jul10), and quite good it was, although my plums were mushier than those pictured. Served with trio rice and some roasted asparagus.
Sunday/8-Apr-12: Yogurt on overday.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: no, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP: yes, #4 MIDDAY: no, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA: yes
Dinner was Aubergine and Lemon Risotto (all over the web, from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty, a book I don't have). A bit more work than your average risotto, but pretty good. One eggplant was blackened by roasting, the other diced and browned. Marscapone and butter to finish the risotto, no wonder it was creamy. Followed by a salad of mâche and rocket. Then some chocolate eggs.
Yogurt on overnight. Applesauce Bread (BigGerman, p48) on overnight, making a dent in the huge jar of applesauce we had to buy for Healthy Cookies. Will freeze the rest, I think.
Tuesday/3-Apr-12: The Applesauce Bread was good. That was a first. (The first time for the recipe, not the first time I've made good bread.)
Tuesday/3-Apr-12: The Applesauce Bread was good. That was a first. (The first time for the recipe, not the first time I've made good bread.)
Out for some disappointing pizzas tonight.
Wednesday/4-Apr-12: Shopping today. Kind of a made-up dinner. Roasted some cod fillets. Made a bit of Pickled Pink Onions (HowTo, p173) as a relish for the fish. Made up a nice salad using odd bits of veg: some cauliflower in small bits, boiled not quite long enough; the rest of a can of black beans; some chopped red bell pepper; some chopped red onion; some chopped, pitted green olive; some chopped parsley; a vinaigrette with lots of lemon juice. Not bad at all.
Thursday/5-Apr-12: The rest of the Pickled Pink onions were quite tasty on our lunch ham sandwiches.
Wednesday/4-Apr-12: Shopping today. Kind of a made-up dinner. Roasted some cod fillets. Made a bit of Pickled Pink Onions (HowTo, p173) as a relish for the fish. Made up a nice salad using odd bits of veg: some cauliflower in small bits, boiled not quite long enough; the rest of a can of black beans; some chopped red bell pepper; some chopped red onion; some chopped, pitted green olive; some chopped parsley; a vinaigrette with lots of lemon juice. Not bad at all.
Thursday/5-Apr-12: The rest of the Pickled Pink onions were quite tasty on our lunch ham sandwiches.
Made fresh pasta tonight. If I find another chance to make pasta this month, this might be last month's batch, but that's doubtful given all the company coming in April. Topped it with Green Olive Tapenade, a recipe from JamieMag, yes, served over pasta. Followed by a salad. Then some chocolate easter eggs.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/6-Apr-12: Dinner was Braised Chicken Thighs with Plums (CLmag/jul10), and quite good it was, although my plums were mushier than those pictured. Served with trio rice and some roasted asparagus.
English Muffin Bread (BigGerman, p15) on overnight.
Saturday/7-Apr-12: It was Chorizo-Shrimp Kebabs for dinner tonight, a recipe from the web (I found several versions) that sounded worth a try. The shrimp were good; the (Spanish) chorizo I bought wasn't a good one, so that didn't contribute very positively to the dish. It was OK, nothing worth doing again. I do like marinated shrimp under the broiler, though. Served with basmati rice, follow by a big salad.
Saturday/7-Apr-12: It was Chorizo-Shrimp Kebabs for dinner tonight, a recipe from the web (I found several versions) that sounded worth a try. The shrimp were good; the (Spanish) chorizo I bought wasn't a good one, so that didn't contribute very positively to the dish. It was OK, nothing worth doing again. I do like marinated shrimp under the broiler, though. Served with basmati rice, follow by a big salad.
Sunday/8-Apr-12: Yogurt on overday.
We picked up Zena and daughter Natasha at the Limoges airport today. Since we were already that far, we drove on into the center of Limoges, walked in the botanic garden behind the cathedral, visited the cathedral, and walked through a flea market on the street.
There was Asian Lentil Soup (MC) waiting for us when we got home, and good it was. For dessert with had ice cream and mixed berries along with our chocolate bunnies.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: no, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP: yes, #4 MIDDAY: no, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA: yes
Monday, January 31, 2011
This week in the kitchen
Monday/31-Jan-11: I defrosted two coquelets for dinner overnight, but didn't have the time or oomph to cook them. Instead I defrosted two duck scallops for a quickie dinner. Sautéed the duck, then made a quick Balsamic Vinegar Pan Sauce (HowTo, p165). Accompanied by Dusolier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and Zucchini and Vermouth (Essential, p227). Finished off with some Lindt chocolate-hazelnut goodies.
Tuesday/1-Feb-11: Made Grilled Chicken in the Style of Vulcan (BigFlav, p171) with two spatchcocked coquelets; roasted in the oven rather than grilling. Sliced some potatoes and tossed these in the marinade along with a dab of olive oil and put these in the pan under the birdies. Very good. (Wonder what kind of stock these spicy bones will make?) Accompanied by Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (MC) made from the last of the Chinese cabbage; also very good. No afters needed.
Oops, nobody went to the boulanger today. Bread baking overnight.
Wednesday/2-Feb-11: Brr, cold in the kitchen today, 14C this morning. Yogurt going all day. Baked some snickerdoodles (at least 4.5 dozen!), a new recipe, to warm things up. Not what was asked, but I used a food processor to put it all together. They were ok, but I will compare to my very old recipe, when I find it, which I remember as better.
Dinner was Fusilli with Butternut Squash (30MinPasta, p145) followed by a salad of mâche. Used less than half of my squash. What with peeling the squash, I'm not sure this was really 30 minutes. Tasty enough.
Hmm...think this was candelmas. No crêpes in sight.
Thursday/3-Feb-11: Shopped today. Chipotle Baked Fish (MC) for dinner, with panga, a recipe we've liked before, but this time it seemed it seemed too hot (is there such a thing?) without any complexity of flavor. Odd. The panga fillets here are huge. In NL., I'd get two for 300-400g; here two are well over 500. I should ask for one big one, I think. Served with polenta and some steamed broccoli with garlic and red pepper flakes steeped in olive oil/butter. Followed by a salad, which we couldn't finish.
Friday/4-Feb-11: Starting to use-up double-bought frozen spinach, I made a half recipe of Lasagna Verde (MC) this evening. The recipe called for spinach and mustard greens. Last time I used kale (boerenkool) for a good part of the greens; this time it was all spinach. Good it was. For starters, I made, yet again, the artichoke hearts with green tapenade and little goat cheeses—an easy and tasty starter. These would be nicely presented with a toefje rucola and a bit of vinaigrette. Finished last night's salad. More snickerdoodles for afters.
Saturday/5-Feb-11: On a roll in the morning. Yogurt on overday. Chicken stock going. Ground roasted cumin done. A double dose of Herb Salt (Art, p172). Even thought of making up so pie crust, but am a bit short on butter, since I forgot to get this at the grocery.
Tartiflette dinner at Hameau Cruzeau tonight, an event sponsored by the parents of students in area school districts. The meal was lovely, but the event was spoiled by a mass of youngsters running riot. The stereotype (and what you usually see, I must say) is that French kids are exceptionally well-behaved. These were not. We all enjoyed the food, but were relieved to leave.
Sunday/6-Feb-11: Midday meal today started with Curried Green Pea Soup (TooMany, p155). This is a really good soup, Ed always asks for more, that can be on the table in less than 15 minutes. The main was Cuttle Fish and Rice, a recipe from the tin of cuttle fish in their own ink (calamares en su tinta), part of the clean-the-pantry project. It could hardly have been simpler: put water rice, contents of tin, chopped garlic, and capers in a pan, bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Top with some sliced roasted red bell pepper strips. Nice. Followed by a salad, with a vinaigrette using balsamic and red wine vinegars as Hesser suggests in Essential.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: yes, #3 MIDDAY: yes
This month: #4 PASTA: not yet
Tuesday/1-Feb-11: Made Grilled Chicken in the Style of Vulcan (BigFlav, p171) with two spatchcocked coquelets; roasted in the oven rather than grilling. Sliced some potatoes and tossed these in the marinade along with a dab of olive oil and put these in the pan under the birdies. Very good. (Wonder what kind of stock these spicy bones will make?) Accompanied by Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (MC) made from the last of the Chinese cabbage; also very good. No afters needed.
Oops, nobody went to the boulanger today. Bread baking overnight.
Wednesday/2-Feb-11: Brr, cold in the kitchen today, 14C this morning. Yogurt going all day. Baked some snickerdoodles (at least 4.5 dozen!), a new recipe, to warm things up. Not what was asked, but I used a food processor to put it all together. They were ok, but I will compare to my very old recipe, when I find it, which I remember as better.
Dinner was Fusilli with Butternut Squash (30MinPasta, p145) followed by a salad of mâche. Used less than half of my squash. What with peeling the squash, I'm not sure this was really 30 minutes. Tasty enough.
Hmm...think this was candelmas. No crêpes in sight.
Thursday/3-Feb-11: Shopped today. Chipotle Baked Fish (MC) for dinner, with panga, a recipe we've liked before, but this time it seemed it seemed too hot (is there such a thing?) without any complexity of flavor. Odd. The panga fillets here are huge. In NL., I'd get two for 300-400g; here two are well over 500. I should ask for one big one, I think. Served with polenta and some steamed broccoli with garlic and red pepper flakes steeped in olive oil/butter. Followed by a salad, which we couldn't finish.
Friday/4-Feb-11: Starting to use-up double-bought frozen spinach, I made a half recipe of Lasagna Verde (MC) this evening. The recipe called for spinach and mustard greens. Last time I used kale (boerenkool) for a good part of the greens; this time it was all spinach. Good it was. For starters, I made, yet again, the artichoke hearts with green tapenade and little goat cheeses—an easy and tasty starter. These would be nicely presented with a toefje rucola and a bit of vinaigrette. Finished last night's salad. More snickerdoodles for afters.
Saturday/5-Feb-11: On a roll in the morning. Yogurt on overday. Chicken stock going. Ground roasted cumin done. A double dose of Herb Salt (Art, p172). Even thought of making up so pie crust, but am a bit short on butter, since I forgot to get this at the grocery.
Tartiflette dinner at Hameau Cruzeau tonight, an event sponsored by the parents of students in area school districts. The meal was lovely, but the event was spoiled by a mass of youngsters running riot. The stereotype (and what you usually see, I must say) is that French kids are exceptionally well-behaved. These were not. We all enjoyed the food, but were relieved to leave.
Sunday/6-Feb-11: Midday meal today started with Curried Green Pea Soup (TooMany, p155). This is a really good soup, Ed always asks for more, that can be on the table in less than 15 minutes. The main was Cuttle Fish and Rice, a recipe from the tin of cuttle fish in their own ink (calamares en su tinta), part of the clean-the-pantry project. It could hardly have been simpler: put water rice, contents of tin, chopped garlic, and capers in a pan, bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Top with some sliced roasted red bell pepper strips. Nice. Followed by a salad, with a vinaigrette using balsamic and red wine vinegars as Hesser suggests in Essential.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: yes, #2 SOUP: yes, #3 MIDDAY: yes
This month: #4 PASTA: not yet
Monday, February 22, 2010
This week in the kitchen
Monday/22-Feb-10: Soup night tonight, Creamy Chickpea Soup with Garlic and Lemon (MC), really fast, simple, and tasty. For a starter we had toasts with tuna salad from a jar and carrot and ginger pickle. More of the Beaujolais cake for lunch.
Tuesday/23-Feb-10: Finished off the Beaujolais cake for breakfast. Disappointing dinner tonight, probably compounded with worry about my mother's craziness. :-( Started off with some more little toasts spread with tuna salad and topped with ... the end of the carrot and ginger pickle. This is a good munchy and would be a good finger food for a party. I made Chocolate & Zucchini's Galletes de Sarrasin (a half recipe), some filled with a fried egg (rather than an egg cooked right on the crêpe as she suggests) and comté, some with mored of the dried ham and comté. Maybe I used too much batter so that the crêpes were too thick? When I went to turn them, they tore in half or shredded. Tasted ok, but ugly on the plate. Salad afterwards was better. Better tomorrow, I hope.
Wednesday/24-Feb-10: Garlic and Pepper Shrimp tonight, over basmati. I liked it, Ed thought the pepper was too strong for the shrimpers. To save or not to save, that is the question.
Thursday/25-Feb-10: Made it to the market today. There was one tiny eggplant (somebody bought the other five, leaving an orphan), so of course I got it. And some rutabagas for Rutabagas Anna, only to discover that it wants 300F in the oven, and ours will sometimes hold as low as 350F, but never 300F.
Another unsatisfactory dinner, Pork Chops with Garlicky Broccoli from Real Simple. Served with rice as they suggested. Boring.
While Ed was at choir practice, I made the old Honey Crunch Coffeecake recipe. We had that for dessert as we watched another episode of Civilization after dinner.
Friday/26-Feb-10: Shopping this afternoon. The chard was limp and ugly, so those Cooking Italy meals will be postponed. Next week radicchio? Fat chance. Maybe we should shop at Géant in Angoulême.
A better dinner tonight. Made Moroccan Spiced Fish (SimpSups, p157; soon to be MC) with cod from the market, Laura's Garlicky Lemon, Feta, and Couscous Salad (MC), and some (steamed) mini-eggplant halves with a stuffing of shallots, falafel crumbs, and chopped eggplant innards, held together with an egg. (This might have been enough for a main course, even though the eggplant was tiny.)
Saturday/27-Feb-10: More Honey Crunch Coffeecake for lunch; none for dinner. Dinner was Cauliflower-Leek Patties (MC 2BTried), another failure at patty-ness, even though I added an egg to try to glue it together. Made two of Anderson's fresh sauces as go-withs, Parsley Relish with Capers and Cornichons (HowTo, p172) and Pickled Pink Onions (HowTo, p173). Served with some buttered tagliatelle.
Seasonal tarts is the theme for new Vie Pratique Gourmand (20feb-10mar). A couple of interesting ones. The children's section is on making pasta, showing kids rolling pasta and chopping leeks for the soup.
Sunday/28-Feb-10: Attended the farci charentais meal in St. Adjutory today. It was good, but no further food needed today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)