This week in the kitchen

Monday/8-Aug-22: Leftover Turkey Phyllo Pot Pie for dinner. Good it was. And a simple salad. Some Far aux Pruneaux (GD; GD) for after. Good stuff that. 

Put beef on to marinate for tomorrow's dinner. 

Tuesday/9-Aug-22: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Vietnamese-Style Skirt Steak with Herb and Noodle Salad (Dinner, p65). This was yummy. (I forgot what kind of beef I bought; maybe I'll find this on the receipt upstairs. Later: the receipt says biftek, which helps not a bit.) Then, oink-oinks that we are, we finished the far.

Wednesday/10-Aug-22: We went to a local marché des producterus tonight. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Thursday/11-Aug-22: Shopping today.

Dinner was Cajun Salmon with Rosemary Sweet Potato Wedges (web). This was good, but now way sweet potato wedges ever get crispy when baked. Just doesn't happen. A pair of store-bought egg custards with caramel for after.

Friday/12-Aug-22: During the day I made a tomato sauce for pizza that was supposed to be tonight's dinner. This is tasty but very thin. Then I thought, given the heat wave, who wants to turn the oven up to 500F to cook a pizza? Some adjustments in the meal plan were called for.

Instead, dinner was a halfish version of Citrus Caesar Salad with Spicy Shrimp (web). This was pretty good. I grilled the shrimp without skewering them. The hard-boiled egg was a bit of an anomaly. Some almond financiers for after (the same maker as our favorite chocolate-covered madeleines).

Saturday/13-Aug-22: I blended the tomato sauce I made yesterday with some jarred roasted bell peppers, giving a thicker sauce. Into the freezer with that, pizza to be cooked when it gets a bit cooler.

Dinner was Stir-Fried Chicken Breast with Black Pepper and Green Chilies (MJ@Home, p80). This was easy, fairly fast, and yummy. As suggested, served with Tomato Pullao (MJ@Home, p211). Did this with brown basmati on the stovetop rather than in the oven. It needs a bit more water than directed, and I didn't add quite enough extra, but it was tasty. Some almond financiers for after.

Sunday/14-Aug-22: Dinner was Roast Pork Tenderloin with Spicy Apricot Jam (web; CL/apr15). This was easy and delicious. The apricot jam was nice. Finished the packet of almond financiers for after. 

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 2; #2 PHOTO: no;
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: no; #6 BACKLOG3: no; #7 RECYCLE: 8; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Jul-22: Dinner was Stir-Fried Chettinad Chicken (MJ@Home, p79). This was easy and yummy. As suggested, served with Basmati Rice with Lentils (MJ@Home, p212); used 1/4cup lentils and 1/2cup brown basmati. Definitely didn't soak the lentils 3-5 hours are suggested. Did soak the lentils and rice together for what might have been half an hour. And there was Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173). Having larger zukes than asked, I make thick diagonal slices and cooked them on the grill pan that came with the stove. All was good. A pistachio madeleine, on sale last week, each for after.

Tuesday/5-Jul-22: Dinner was a halfish version of One-Pan Shrimp Scampi with Orzo (web). This was interesting. Followed by a simple salad, and then a pistachio madeleine each for after.

Wednesday/6-Jul-22: We had lunch out today. Nothing much happened in the kitchen.

Thursday/7-Jul-22: Shopping today. Dinner was a half dose of Roasted Pistachio-Crusted Salmon with Broccoli (web). The pistachio topping was interesting, but not wonderful. The broccoli didn't really get done. Served with some little whole wheat macaroni. For after there were store-bought riz au lait topped with a slog of crème de cacao. 

Friday/8-Jul-22: Ed asked for a big salad, so that's what we had. And a bit of Morbier after.

Saturday/9-Jul-22: A hurried dinner tonight, before going out to a concert. We had a half recipe of Turkish Lamb Chops with Sumac, Tahini, and Dill (Dinner, p72; cookbooker). It's amazing how well lamb goes with all kinds of spice rubs. Planned to serve with Green Beans with Caper-Vinaigrette (Dinner, p377), but couldn't find any haricots verts, so broccoli it was. This was good, but green beans would be better. With some Moroccan couscous. Ravel and Tchaikovsky for dessert.

Sunday/10-Jul-22: Dinner was Chicken Thighs with Creamy Bacon Mushroom Thyme Sauce (web). I used lardons instead of bacon, cooking those first before adding the sliced mushrooms. Instead of cream, I used crème fraîche. Good stuff. (I see now, that I was supposed to add the baked thighs to the finished shroom sauce for a bit. We both thought the thighs had a nice crispy skin that would have been wasted in the sauce.) For a side there was Rosemary Courgette from the Oven (MC), actually from the toaster oven, which was good; it's a Dutch recipe from either Tip or Allerhande. Another side of whole wheat spaghetti, which was good with the shroom sauce. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Yet another week without a photo. :-(

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/31-Jan-22: Made a loaf of Carole Walberg's White Wheat Bread (MC) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-). This is a nice WW bread with good taste and texture. 

Dinner was a half dose of Chicken a la Nueces de la India (Chicken with Creamy Cashew Sauce) (web; EW/oct21). This wasn't bad. I cut the honey way back, but still found the sauce too sweet. And I wonder why not use cashew butter, rather than buzzing the cashews. Served with brown basmati rice and Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148), which is my standard Indian-ish broccoli dish.

Tuesday/1-Feb-22: In honor of Chinese new year, we had Sliced Pork with Tiger Sauce (Kuo, p33). Garlicky yum. Served with Stir-Fried Shredded Cabbage with Carrots (Kuo, p391) and plain basmati rice. I noticed tonight that what Kuo calls "Chinese cabbage" is bok choy; what I call Chineeskool is her "celery cabbage". Tonight's dish was supposed to be with green cabbage, but was great with Chineeskool. I do need to think about planning more Chinese meals from this excellent book.

Wednesday/2-Feb-22: Picked up an Intermarché Drive order today. I asked for 300-350g salmon, but got 205g, so the salmon for dinner was a bit short.

And dinner was 20-Minute Creamy Tomato Salmon Skillet (web; GD). This was really good and really quick. I served over a small bit of whole wheat spaghetti, not a full main dish serving, but I felt like it needed something to sop up the sauce. Some store-bought peach-mango yogurts for after.

Thursday/3-Feb-22: Picked up an order at the Leclerc Drive today.

Went to make dinner and discovered I'd neglected to buy an important ingredient and it was too late to improvise. So what's needing to be used? There were two squares of pastry, some roquefort needing to be used, an oldish leek, a questionable broccoli, some walnuts in the freezer. We had a sort if broccoli quiche-y thing. Pretty good, if filling.

Friday/4-Feb-22: Dinner was Filled Zucchini Roll (web; GD). This was not bad at all. The instructions in the video are not very good. Mine was too thick, so it didn't roll properly. It should have been cooked in a bigger dish. Still, tasty.

Started an Overnight Boule (GD).

Saturday/5-Feb-22: Baked off the Overnight Boule. Yum.

Discovered in the afternoon that I'd forgotten to get some necessary ingredients for the planned evening meal. Oops. Instead, Ed had the leftover pork and cabbage with some basmati rice. I had some whole-wheat fusilli with pesto from the freezer. Simple, but good. 

Sunday/6-Feb-22: Forgot to take kip filets out of the freezer for tonight's dinner. So tonight we had Monday's dinner. We had Shrimp with Zucchini—Jhinga aur Ghia (MJ1, p90). It's always odd to me to find another winner recipe from such a well-used cookbook. Not sure why I've never made this. It's definitely good. I used frozen, cooked shrimped (thawed, of course), adding them with the spices and stuff after cooking the zuke. This is actually fairly quick to prepare. Cutting up the zucchini is a bit tedious, but doesn't really take all that long. The recipe neglects to mention what to do with the cayenne, tomatoes, and ginger; I just added those with the other ingredients. As suggested, served with Spiced Basmati Rice (MJ1), p148), a quarter recipe, which is good. 

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: no;
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: yes; #6 BACKLOG3: no; #7 RECYCLE: 0; #8 NEW: 2

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Nov-21: We had lunch out for Ed's birthday today. Not much happened in the kitchen.

Tuesday/16-Nov-21: Baked a loaf of Abm Whole Wheat Bread (MC) since we don't seem to be making a trip to the boulanger in the near future.

Dinner was Cabbage Diet Soup (web), which was fairly boring as soups go. There's lots left to freeze; thinking some sausages might sliced into it on the reprise. 

Wednesday/17-Nov-21: Dinner was Roasted Chicken Thighs with Pear-Mustard Sauce (web). The chicken was good, but the sauce only so-so. Interesting though. Served with trio rice and steamed broccoli. 

Thursday/18-Nov-21: Shopping today. It's much better on Thursday, than on Friday after a holiday. 

Dinner was Salmon with Green Mango (Mahi Aam) (RezaRice, p63). This was pretty good. Served with Lemon Rice (web), which was good. And Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@   Home, p173), an old favorite. A nice meal altogether. 

Friday/19-Nov-21: Dinner was Turkey Dumplings with Spicy Broth  (Ainsley3, p98). This was good, if a trifle salty (less soy sauce next time). It's more like lunch rather than dinner, so I served some grilled cheese sandwiches with beaufort (a swiss-y cheese) and finely 

Saturday/20-Nov-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Spicy Pork Rolls with Minted Yogurt (200Budget, p130), with turkey scallops instead of pork, and with satay sauce. The scallop rolls are delicious; no sauce is needed. Discovered I hadn't bought trio rice last time, but Thai trio rice, not quite the same. Actually that was appropriate for this meal, quite good. Also made a half dose of Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web). Tasty meal. 

Sunday/21-Nov-21: Dinner was the Smoky and Hot Bulgur Chili variation of Bulgur Chili (H2CEV, p557). The bulgur isn't a bad substitute for ground beef. This wasn't bad, but I'm not overly fond of chili with tomatoes. Made a whole recipe, so there's lots leftover for the freezer.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: no
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: yes; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/12-Jul-21: Early doctor appointment this morning. On the way home, we stopped at a boulangerie for bread and little quiches for lunch. Had an early lunch, then a nap.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Vodka Marinated Steak (web). The halfish dose was a bit too much; doing a third would have been better. The meat was marinated for three days, and then seared. The piece was thin enough it didn't need the extra cooking. As suggested, I served this with boiled potatoes, with a bitter butter and some dill, and a tomato salad. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Tuesday/13-Jul-21: Another early doctor appointment today. Again, stopped at a boulangerie for bread and croissant sandwiches for lunch and toetjes for dinner. An early lunch, a bit of cleaning, and a nap.

Dinner was Curried Chicken with Mango Salad* (web; GD). This was good again; pretty easy to make too. Served with long-grain brown rice and the mango salad. Toetjes for after.

Wednesday/14-Jul-21: Ed made an appt with DHL to pick up a package tomorrow, so shopping day is pushed till Friday. Which is kind of OK because I'm having trouble getting into meal planning.

Internet down all afternoon except for brief (i.e., 2-minute) periods; have had three of those.

Dinner was Shrimp Biryani (MJ@Home, p214). Served with Date-Banana Chutney from the freezer and Cachumber—Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish (MJ1, p172). For after there was plain tapioca pudding.

Thursday/15-Jul-21: Dinner was Easy Egg Curry with Urad Dal and Tamarind* (web; GD), served over plain basmati rice. With Date-Banana Chutney again. And the rest of the tapioca for after.

Friday/16-Jul-21: Belated shopping today. Leclerc's veggie department was out of a lot of stuff, so I bought another chunk of fish to replace a meal and juggled the meal plan when we got home.

Dinner was Sautéed Fish Fillets (OtherHalf, p126). I made a half dose of the egg white coating using an egg white from the freezer. This was very good. One egg white, 2tbl oil, 2tbl water, salt, and freshly ground white pepper. The fish was dipped in flour, the egg white coating, then bread crumbs; I used panko. I used butter and olive oil for cooking, rather than straight butter. Served this with some boiled potatoes and Parmesan Carrots with Lemon-Parsley Dressing (CL/mar17; web). The carrots were very good. Some apple tarts sections from the boulangerie for after.

Put swordfish on to marinate for tomorrow's dinner.

Saturday/17-Jul-21: Dinner was a halfish dose of Spicy Mustard Swordfish and Artichoke* (web; GD). Yum. Served this over tagliatelle, with a side of shredded carrot salad.

Sunday/1-8Jul-21: Dinner was Grilled Lamb Skewers with Apricots (License, p116). Delicious both times I've made this. Served with my store-bought Moroccan couscous mix; plain couscous would have been better, since the flavors were wasted here. Served with a half dose of Moroccan Carrots (1Good, p59). Used homemade ground roasted cumin seeds and ground coriander.  Too lazy for the preserved lemon tonight, but that would have been good. Good stuff anyhow. 

Some store-bought riz-au-laits for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/31-May-21: I had an itch for duck not too long ago, so tonight we had Peppery Duck Steaks with Parsley Salad (1Good, p185). This was quite good. The "fluffy" parsley salad was surprisingly good. Served with steamed new potatoes from the potager (offspring of some sprouted red potatoes that got thrust into the ground) and Herbed Fava Beans (web, but the favas are overcooked then drowned in vinaigrette; MC; GD). The vinaigrette really blends nicely with the favas. 

The rest of the tapioca pudding for after.

Tuesday/1-Jun-21: Yogurt on overday. Baked a loaf of Easy French bread again. (It's good, have I said?)

Dinner was Stir-Fried Prawns with Fresh Asparagus (HotWok, p92). The asparagus I got this week were purple. As far as I can tell they taste the same. Good. Over plain basmati rice. For after, some chopped fruit (apple, peach, kiwi) with cream. 

Wednesday/2-Jun-21: Lots of veggies to use up, so I deviated from the plan (that's what it's for, isn't it?) to make something else. First I found this recipe for Blistered Runner Beans with Bagna Cauda (web). I had more veggies total than the 400g of snijbonen this recipe asks, but made half the sauce and that was sufficient. I "blistered" the snijbonen as instructed; I roasted (under the grill) a red bell pepper; I roasted (in the oven) some broccoli. Arranged these on a platter and poured the sauce over them.  Served over brown rice. Very satisfying dinner. Some chopped fruit with cream for after.

Thursday/3-Jun-21: Shopping in the store again. 

No asparagus this week; season over, I guess. Dinner was, sort of, Salmon with Fennel, Bell Pepper, Olives (web). Except I forgot to put a navel orange on the list, so used a lemon instead. This was pretty good, in spite of me. The fennel and bell pepper was an odd combination, but worked really well. Served with a shaped whole wheat pasta. For after, some store-bought riz au laits wtih chopped fruit, which was a good idea, but the crunchy fruit and the cream riz au lait didn't work well.

Friday/4-Jun-21: Tonight we had the leftovers from the chicken with onion-almond sauce. Served with Yellow Basmati Rice with Sesame Seeds (MJ@Home, p208) again; no soaking the rice this time. And South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147) made with snijbonen. All was delicious. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

Saturday/5-Jun-21: Dinner was a half dose of Broccoli and Feta Frittata (web). This was pretty good even if some of the broccoli was a tad crunchy. Then a big salad. And some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Sunday/6-Jun-21: Dinner was Chicken in a Creamy Parmesan and Sundried Tomato Sauce* (web; GD). This was good again. Served with some tagliatelle and a half recipe of Easy Roasted Asparagus and Carrots (web). This was okay, nothing special. Before starting dinner, I made Chenango Valley Chocolate Cake (EAT-L; GD). This was simple, easy to get into the oven before serious cooking started. Also delicious, light and fluffy. I didn't bother to frost it. Ed had it with some cream.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/24-May-21: Dinner was Boeuf à la Deutsch (Franey, p252), served with the recommended Nouilles au Beurre de Poivre Vert (Franey, p253). These made for a tasty meal. Served with some steamed asparagus, topped with a squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped fermented black beans. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after. (We had the Ricotta Limoncello Cake for lunch.)

Tuesday/25-May-21: I snuck up on the chest freezer today and defrosted it. It's looking like today may be the last of our coolish weather, so it was time to do it. 

Dinner was Quick Garlic Lime Marinated Pork Chops (web), which was ok but nothing special. Served with the last of the marinated carrots, trio rice, and Nigel Slater's Green Beans, Mushrooms, and Dill (web). I see I forgot to add the dill to the mushrooms; this might have given the flavor boost that was needed. And ordinary meal altogether. Some ricotta-limoncello cake for after.

Wednesday/26-May-21: A really blah day. Neither of us felt like doing anything. Neither of us had much appetite. Instead of cooking, I defrosted a bit of spinach pesto and we had that over some whole wheat spaghetti. Strawberries and cream for after.

Thursday/27-May-21: Shopping today. Our first time in a boulangerie since last year when the lockdowns started (March or so); I've only been in the grocery store twice, maybe three times, and tht was last fall. Kind of scary for people who are quite hermit-like by nature. 

And tuna was on sale. So we had Charmoula-Marinated Grilled Tuna (MedHot, p48, MedHot2, p105). Grilled under the broiler. I made all the marinade, so there some in the freezer now. Bought way too much tuna, and neither of us had a big appetite, so one chunk is in the freezer too. As suggested, served with mixed steamed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, carrots, zucchini) with a lemon vinaigrette. And some Moroccan couscous. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/28-May-21: Dinner was Red Prawn and Mango Curry (web; GD). This wasn't really quick, but was easy. Slice the spring onion, peel and chop the mango, measure the stock, open the bo of coconut milk, and away you go, with a pause while the sweet potatoes cook. Served over brown rice. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Saturday/29-May-21: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was Crab Cakes with Cucumber Relish (web; GD); very yummy and has gone onto the DoMeAgain list. I made about a half recipe of the relish, with have a cuke, but it wanted all the rice vinegar. Served with a side of mafalda topped with Fresh Red Chutney with Almonds (Q&E, p114) from the freezer. (The only pesto type thing in the freezer was more of the spinach pesto we've just had.) This was remarkably good and we have a bit more of the chutney for something in the next days. 

For after there were the rest of the mango chunks from yesterday and cream.

Sunday/30-May-21: Dinner was Whole Chicken Baked with an Almond and Onion Sauce* (MJ@Home, p99). This is super delicious. The yogurt marinating sauce makes for tender, moist chicken bits. As suggested, served with Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant (MJ@Home, p153) and Yellow Basmati Rice with Sesame Seeds (MJ@Home, p208). Everything was delicious. Some plain vanilla tapioca pudding for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/10-May-21: Feeling recovered from my vaccination today. Whew, that was two days lost.

Made yet another loaf of Easy French bread (Electric, p62) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-) today. Yes, we really like this one.

Dinner was Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms (MC), we've liked before. Served with trio rice which contributed to the overall brownness of the plate; orzo would have been better. And some steamed broccoli and cauliflower, tossed with a bit of lemon juice. Strawberries and cream for after.

Tuesday/11-May-21: I spent all afternoon trying to get our two orders for the Drives done, slow internet driving me nuts. I sent Ed out on a pizza mission for dinner. It was after the curfew time, but the truck was crowded and Ed said a maskless gendarme joined the group. As Ed left the house, I said we'd have a race if I'd get the second order placed before he got back. We tied. This was a new pizza truck for us. They were OK. 

Wednesday/12-May-21: Yogurt on overday.

Yes, made Easy French bread (Electric, p62) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-) again, this time with my last bit of rye flour (1/4-1/3cup) to use that up.

Dinner was Judy Heuman's Indian Fried Fish (Eat-L; GD), with cod. I'm not good at these breaded things, but it was delicious. Served with Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148), an old favorite, and Potato and Pea Chaat (MJ@Home, p166), which is a variation on her plain Potato Chaat, which is always good. Ed said is was a 5* meal. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after; boring, but good.

Thursday/13-May-21: Dinner was Sweet Potato and Lentil This Curry (web) served over brown rice. This was tasty but without texture except for the cashews sprinkled on top. It does indeed serve three; we'll split the last serving for lunch one day soon. Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after.

Friday/14-May-21: Dinner was Eggs with Fresh Green Herbs—Hare masale ka omlate (Q&E, p44).  As a side, there was Carrot and Onion Salad—Gajar aur pyaz ka salad (MJ1, p171), a favorite. 

For after we had strawaberries and cream.

Saturday/15-May-21: Dinner was Apricot-Curry Glazed Chicken with Potatoes & Asparagus (web). This was pretty good, and there's nothing wrong with a one-dish meal. Not enough potatoes in the recipes as given, but that's easy to fix. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/16-May-21: Dinner was Tuna Cutlets (Tuna Patties)* (web; GD), which were good. Served with plain basmati and Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173). We ate while watching Anneleen hosting a (non-)marching band. 

A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Mar-21: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Sri Lankan Beef Smore (MJ@Home, p140). We really like this the last time I make it, with meat from the butcher, rather than from the Drive. This time the sauce was delicious, but the meat was a bit tough. It was supposed to be "beef to roast", but it was completely unmarbled. Even though it was wrapped in a layer of fat, it was not very tender or tasty. As suggested, I made with Thin Rice Noodles with Brussels Sprouts (MJ@Home, p225), allegedly a South Indian recipe, but bsprouts and India don't seem to me to go together. Since bsprouts aren't to be had at a Drive right now, I got some frozen. Defrosted them, then proceeded, omitting the first bit of water-based cooking of the bsprouts. This wasn't bad, although I'm not sure they they especially went with the beef. 

The last of our store-bought yogurt desserts for after. (They were on sale last week.)

Just updating my goals page and realize that I've got only two goals for my backlog of recipes, but there are at least three areas. "Backlog1" as I've defined it, is only recipes in the office. Actually, those are probably about halfway dealt with. "Backlog2" is the recipes in my old binders. Don't really plan to start on those till the office is clear. But, there's another group of loosely sorted recipes (lots of desserty things, but other stuff too) on the shelves. (I was working on the dessert recipes a couple of years ago, but got stuck on how to sort desserts (e.g., Chocolate, Fruit, Other with subcategories for Cake, Custard, etc. Or the other way around.) And, there's a stack of stuff to be weeded out, then filed into my MenuPlan spreadsheet. Hmm... Well, the general idea is to clear stuff out and organize what's left. I'm definitely making progress, even though not as measurable as it ought to be. We'll see.

Tuesday/16-Mar-21: Hard time today making the grocery list and order because the internet was so slow. Suspect that the Livebox may have been damaged with all the power problems on the weekend.

Dinner was a 2/3-ish version of Creamy Tuscan Garlic Scallops (web), served over tagliatelle. Pretty good, but it could have used more spinach. (I think I used more than was asked.) No dessert, but I had an Angel's Kiss (cream and crème de cacao) while Ed had a bit of amaro.

Wednesday/17-Mar-21: Made a loaf of German-Style Whole Wheat Bread (Rustic, p150) (WW/Rapid/L/-/-). Huge loaf, and very tasty.

Ed picked up two Drive orders today.

Dinner was Cilantro and Lime Salmon* (web). Easy, quick, and very good. Served with Asparagus with Lime and Mint (web) and some spaghetti court. Turned out to be an unplanned green and white dinner for St Pat's Day. 

A store-bought vanilla yogurt for after.

Thursday/18-Mar-21: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Chicken Yassa (Wilder, p75; GD). This was simple and pretty good, maybe not as good as a more complicated recipe I've used before. Served over polenta with some steamed broccoli on the side. Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Put chickpeas to soak for tomorrow's meal.

Friday/19-Mar-21: Cooked the chickpeas and the chana dal in the morning.

Dinner was Sour Fennel-Flavored Eggplant (WorldVeg, p195; cookbooker). I made a full recipe and we easily ate it all. I didn't soak the eggplant as asked, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Served with the recommended go-with, Chickpeas and Chana Dal Cooked Together in a Mint Sauce (WorldVeg, p34; cookbooker). Both were good, but don't see that they went together especially well. Ed wasn't crazy about the tamarind-mint sauce; I liked it. Some strawberries and cream for after.

Started an Overnight Boule with 2c T65 and 2c T110. 

Saturday/20-Mar-21: Baked off the bread in the morning. It's good.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Sausage and Peppers Pasta with Broccoli (web). The sausage was my homemade stuff from Guiliano Hazan's recipe; the pasta was mafalda. Pretty good stuff. Then a simple salad with feta and beets. 

Sunday/21-Mar-21: Dinner was Smoked Salmon, Fennel and Herbed Mascarpone Tart (web). My printout didn't have a picture, and I'd forgotten how it looked, so I put my pâte feuillettée in a pie plate. I guess I could have made a round tart by scoring the edge. The edges were quite burnt, but I just scraped them off into the sink. I'm not a fennel fan, but this was very good. Odd that the salmon and capers were added after it was cooked. Tasty. Then a big salad. Then some strawberries and ice cream.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes/no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 2

This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Dec-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc today.

Made three labels for the Chipotle-Fig Jam yesterday, but only two arrived downstairs. A mystery. The jam is more than set now, so the extra sugar with pectin wasn't needed. Oh well.

Dinner was a half recipe of Roasted Cauliflower Gigli with Pine Nuts and Currants (web), using cockscombs (galetti, I think) instead of gigli. This was interesting, with the currants. I wasn't sure, but it left a pleasant taste in the mouth. Then a salad. Then we finished the bread pudding.

Tuesday/22-Dec-20: Before dinner, I started a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17). This loaf sank a lot again even though I reduced the amount of water. I've read before that sunken loave often have too much liquid, but I'll need to investigate that again. 

Leftover cornbread stuffing for dinner, with more gravy. HD mini ice cream cups for after. That's all.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/23-Dec-20: Using up my last skinless, boneless chicken thighs (not easily found here), dinner was a half recipes of Ginger Chicken (30MinInd, p42; cookbooker). Served with plain basmati rice and Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148). Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Overnight Bread on overnight.

Thursday/24-Dec-20: Baked off the Overnight Bread. So easy, so good.

Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today. Ordered 200g of salmon; asked for 300-350g in the comment. (Next lump to order was 400g, too much for two.) We got 440g. Needed only 125g for dinner, so I froze the larger piece.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Tagliatelles au Saumon et Poireau; (VPG); can find it on the web although the clipping says the recipe can be found on their site. Not. Still, it was easy and good. I used way more curry powder than asked for the full recipe. Then a salad. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Didn't have the oomph to make the bûche for tomorrow. Hope I manage to get everything done on the day.

Friday/25-Dec-20: Started a bûche this morning, then discovered that Ed had neglected to get the next block of butter out of the freezer when he refilled the butter dish. Oops. Replan. This was our meal. 

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/26-Dec-20: 

I was busy all day cooking and pooped by the time we sat down to eat. This was our meal.

Should start bread to bake in the morning, but really have no energy.

Sunday/27-Dec-20: Made some 100% Whole Wheat Bread (BigGerman, p81) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-). Used the end of the jar of honey, about 3tbl rather than the 1/4cup asked. This was an improvement. The best whole wheat bread. 

For lunch we had meatloaf sandwiches and a slice of bûche.

Dinner was Chipotle-Lime Cauliflower Tacos (web). Sounds a bit weird but it was good. Served with some of my refried black bean mix, a quickie sort of guacamole, jalapeño strips, feta, cilantro, and corn tortillas. And another slice of bûche.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/14-Dec-20: Made up some turkey stock today. Still on the way to a dinner of cornbread stuffing. Didn't get the cornbread made, so it might be another day yet.

Used some of the confiture de myrtilles that came with our gourmet panier (substitute for this year's old folks' dinner) to make Jam Tea Cake (MC). Pretty good stuff.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Curried Crab (Oriental, #77). This turned out ok, but the recipe is a mess. The picture shows a reddish curry; instead it was yellowish (turmeric). Whole spices are added (fenugreek seeds and peppercorns) that should have been ground. It wants you to make coconut milk from scratch. The total liquid would give you soup rather than a curry. Still, it was edible. Served very basmati rice, with some Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148). Then some Jam Tea Cake. We're full.

Tuesday/15-Dec-20: Finished off the turkey stock and picked the bone; might made some turkey salad for lunch from these bits. Froze up the turkey bits I sliced off the bone yesterday; at least two meals there.

Didn't get cornbread made and didn't feel like making my alternative, so I made Curried Lamb in Pita Bowls (Desperation, p196) with ground beef. This is easy, fast, and good. Jam Tea Cake for after. We're stuffed.

Wednesday/16-Dec-20: Last night I measured out the dry ingredients for a loaf of bread. This morning I realized that, since it was a whole wheat bread, it wouldn't be ready before I had to leave. Duh. So. Instead I made a 3# loaf Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-), with the addition of 1/8tsp of baking soda, since that seems to be the difference between this and "English Muffin Bread". I was in a hurry and didn't run my poor old machine empty for a bit at the start. Mistake. Out with the dough; let it run a bit, then start it up again. Good bread in the end.

Off to get a haircut in the afternoon.

Dinner was a halfish version of Easy Smoked Sausage Skillet (web), sort of. Garlic, minced not crushed; fresh broccoli; long-grain brown rice instead of instant. Easy and pretty good. More tomato sauce might be good. A bit of smoked paprika might be good. Some Lindt chocolate squares for after.

Thursday/16-Dec-20: Made a loaf of 100% Whole Wheat Bread (BigGerman, p81) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-). Yesterday's French bread, is just so-so, but this one is delicious. A surprisingly high loaf, given it's 100% whole wheat. 

Worked a lot on the meal plans for our holiday meals. Leclerc Drive's site has been down all afternoon and evening, so that makes things a bit difficult.

Dinner was Easy Falafel Curry (web). This was easy and pretty tasty. It should have served three, but the two of us ate it all. Over long-grain brown rice. A pair of of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/18-Dec-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché today. They had lamb legs on a really good sale, so I got one of those even though the freezer is more than full.

Made a pan of cornbread for tomorrow's stuffing dinner.

Dinner was a halfish dose New England Fish Chowder (EAT-L). Pretty good stuff. A pair of of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/19-Dec-20: For the last two Thanksgivings, we've missed out on Chef Paul Prudhomme's Cornbread Dressing (MC; web), a holiday favorite. So tonight we had that for dinner. I used the turkey stock I made for the dressing and to make some gravy. (Following Hom's definition in HomVeg, i.e., chicken stock is vegetarian, I'm going to call this a veggie dinner.) Yum. Mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/20-Dec-20: I used the ends of two breads to make some Double Boiler Bread Pudding (MC; HandyBook) today. Good stuff. But I forgot again to actually make some bread. And my stash in the freezer is getting low. Not wanting to go into the grocery till a couple of weeks after the holiday, so I need to be careful here. 

Also made a recipe of Homemade Chipotle Fig Jam (web). I made about 1.5 recipe since I had a 500g package of fig*. My few licks were pretty tasty, but it didn't seem to set up properly. In the end I added more lemon juice and some sucre pour confiture. We'll see how it turns out. Had a look at Juipter-Saturn while this was going. *I had a failure of arithmetic when I ordered the (bio) figs. After using one package, I still have four more to use.

In the end, I didn't feel like making what was on the plan for dinner and neither of us felt like going for pizza, so we had the leftover Curried Beef with Pita. And some bread pudding. We're full.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/12-Oct-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc today after French. Mostly staples.

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

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

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

Mixed up some Overnight Bread.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/28-Sep-20: Dinner was Pasta with Arugula Pesto (VegPlanet, p85). Served half of this tonight over whole wheat spaghetti. Froze the rest for another night (to be finished with Parmesan, salt and a pinch of cayenne). Then a sliced tomato each, with mozzarella and basil. Then some tapioca pudding.

Tuesday/29-Sep-20: Dinner was Vegetarian Korma (pdf). It's adapted from a recipe here, using coconut milk instead of cream and a whole red bell pepper instead of halves of green and red. I used ground almonds, easily available, instead of ground cashews. Not bad stuff. Finished the tapioca pudding for after.

Wednesday/30-Sep-20: Really didn't feel like cooking what was on the plan. Instead I made Linguine with Shrimp and Zucchini (30MinPasta, p108. This isn't a favorite from this book, but suited the time and ingredients at hand. Then a little salad of sucrines and avocado. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/1-Oct-20: Dinner was the chicken version of Tandoori Chicken (or Salmon) (web), a Mark Bittmann recipe. Quite good. I didn't wipe off enough of the marinade, so that was a bit burnt, but the chicken was yummy. Served with Carrots with Cilantro (MJ@Home, p149) and Tomato Pullao (MJ@Home, p211). I didn't do that last one pilaf-style, but used the blended tomatoes as the liquid to cook like regular rice on the stovetop. Pretty good.

Friday/2-Oct-20: The wok burner, which was leaking gas, got fixed this a.m.

Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive.

Cleaned a shelf of food literature today and put a bunch of books in the recycle box. Hard to let some of them go, but I won't read them again, so no point in keeping them. Put several that had lots of stickies back on shelf. Need to go through those and save any recipes that need saving.

Dinner was One-Pan Fabulous Fish (web), with cod. Fabulous, maybe not. Easy and fast and a one-pot meal, yes. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Saturday/3-Oct-20: After getting a bowl and platter down for serving dinner, I tripped over a stepstool and fell, breaking both dishes. Ed said Uh-oh and continued doing what he was doing, without asking or looking how I was. I know how I rate now.

Dinner was Sheet Pan Sausage and Potatoes (web). The string beans (haricots verts) I ordered for Friday didn't show up, so I used broccoli instead. Toulouse sausages instead of Italian links. This is easy to put together and pretty good stuff. Any kind of sausage would work; the Toulouse sausages, bought recently on sale, were quite tasty. We couldn't eat it all, so will have leftovers next week. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Sunday/4-Oct-20: Meant to make some semolina gnocchi today, but didn't have the oomph. Instead, having goat cheese to use up, I made Goat Cheese, Chive, and Chili Pepper Sauce for Pasta (MarCuc, p167). This is an old favorite, tasty and easy to assemble. Before dinner, I put a Far aux Pruneaux (web) in the oven.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-Sep-20: Easy dinner tonight. Ravioli à la Panna using raviolis filled with ham, peas, and mozzarella. Made a big salad with the rest of yesterday's arugula, and a big home-grown tomato. Used some of the tomato slices to make mini insalatas caprese with a bit of leftover mozzarella from the fridge. That's all, we were full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/8-Sep-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Cardamom Chicken Stew in the Indian Style (BigFlav, p304). The original recipe wants 12 thighs for four people. That seems excessive; we usually do four for two. Very tasty. Might be better to remove the skin for cooking, since we don't usually eat skin cooked in this way. There was lots of liquid left, and I'll freeze a bit to use for something else. Served with plain basmati rice and some Zucchini in a Yogurt Dressing (SpiceKitch, p58), an old favorite. We're full, no dessert needed.

Wednesday/9-Sep-20: Late lunch made for a late dinner. :-( We had Crispy Scallops (web; online). (I got the recipe for the scallops, without the salad, from EAT-L. The salad isn't very appealing to me.) These were good. Served with grits and Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio Oil (VegHarv, p214), which is a favorite nowadays. My lemon thyme died, so it was plain thyme, and I didn't have time to chop some pistachios (a nice crunch), but it was still good. Used my Dutch kaaschijfje to slice the zukes. That's all.

Thursday/10-Sep-20: Made a loaf of Oat Bread (BigGerman, p29) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-). Very tasty. Hope it holds up over the next days better than the Oatmeal Sesame Bread did.

Dinner was pork ribs (a rare find at the grocery) à la Leo Koning (e.g.,a ton of salt,a half ton of cayenne; with a nod to Chef John I supplemented this with some garlic powder and black pepper. Cooked on low low low until they're done, several hours). A nice messy dinner once in a while, but the first time since we've moved, since finding unadulterated ribs is an unusual happening. Usually they're already marinatee, and perhaps cooked, Mexican or whatnot. Served with Clothilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes (web). And Madhur Jaffrey's Zucchini and Feta Cheese Salad (WorldVeg, p640). We're stuffed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/11-Sep-20: Dinner was a half recipe of Chickpea Dumplings in Curried Tomato Sauce (EW/oct19; web. I used a single can of tomato pulp (supposedly seedless), rather than the two tomato-y cans indicated. Pretty good stuff.

Saturday/12-Sep-20: Ed picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today.

Dinner was Baked Salmon with Herb Tahini (web). This was good, even though I see that I forgot the pine nuts in the herb topping. Served with Moroccan couscous and leftover zucchini-feta salad. Then a plate of sliced tomato from the potager, with S&P and olive oil and basil. Yum. Some cookies for after.

Sunday/13-Sep-20: Put the meat for Beef Tikka (RezaSpice, p100) on for its first marinade fairly early (for me). Went away for a while. Made the second marinade and added to the meat. Ed bbq'd this perfectly. Not the best written recipe, but really delicious. Served with (MJ's Simple Buttery Rice with Onions (out of my head) and Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173), an old favorite. Rather than using a frying pan, I sprayed the zucchini slices with oil and grilled them on the grill pan that came with the stove. All was good.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Jun-20: Leftover tart for dinner. Should have been a salad, but I didn’t feel like it. Mini Häagen-Dazs ice cream cups for after. Later some bread with terrine de canard.

Started the dough for Susan Dunaway's No-Knead bread, using 3 cups T65 and 1 cups T110 flours.


Tuesday/16-Jun-20: Baked the bread in the morning. And it came right out of the pot. Yay.

First time we've been in the car together is several months. Today we both went to pick up an order from Leclerc Drive and then on to Brico Leclerc to do some shopping. Inside. Lots of people unmasked. The check-out people are protected, but hand-cleaning stuff is not to be found.

Finished Bishop on the way there. I was surprised how much I'd already used the book. Seems I used it a number of times before we moved here. I'll try some more of them before too long. The book is aimed at vegetarian family cooking, nothing too fancy, and realizing that time is short.

Hard-boiled/steamed four eggs.

Dinner was Curried Cauliflower Bisque (from the freezer) with tuna sandwiches. Too bad I didn't freeze the soup in smaller containers. We were full.

Think I should have started some bread this evening, but was too lazy.

Wednesday/17-Jun-20: Dinner was Beef or Lamb Jhal Faraizi (MJ@Home, p137), the whole recipe, for dinner. It tastes like an Inidan hash, but apparently it's often a breakfast dish with eggs. I thought briefly about adding some eggs for the last minutes of cooking, but thought we had enough protein. I used cooked lamb from the freezer. Served with Salaad (MJ@Home, p235), a nice salad I've made before. Some mini ice cream cups soothed the tongue after.

Yogurt on overnight. Realized later I should have started a bowlful of Dunaway's bread.

Thursday/18-Jun-20: During the day, I made some Old-Fashioned Buttermilk White Bread (MC). (I found some dried buttermilk, not Saco, at Amazon, so I'm trying buttermilk recipes.)

Ed picked an order from Intermarché Drive today. The bit of fish was quite large, so we'll have it twice with smallish portions. Dinner tonight was Salmon with Curried Yogurt & Cucumber Salad (web; EW/jul-aug19; cookbooker). I made all of the salad and sauce with half the salmon. For afters we had some nonettes that I bought on spec; they're little honey-drenched spice cakes filled with cassis jam. They weren't bad. Some buttermilk bread for after-afters.

Friday/19-Jun-20: Tonight's dinner was Salmon with Fennel & Sun-Dried Tomato Couscous (web; EW/jan-feb18). I didn't read this recipe closely enough when I chose it, thinking only that it would use up some oven-dried tomatoes from the freezer. Oops, it wants sun-dried tomato pesto. Off to the web. I found sun-dried tomato pesto with and without basil. Not having a superfluity of basil, I chose the one without and made a very loose, cut-back version. Neither of us are big fennel fans, but this was pretty good. We finished the nonettes (two each) for after.

I've chosen Mittal's Pure&Simple for my next cookbook to read. I'm not sure what prompted me to buy this and I haven't used it at all. Since my space allocated to Indian-ish cookbooks is over full, I'm trying to look at any relatively unused books here to see if I really need them. This one has lots of pictures and no index, so it's off to a bad start. We'll see.

Saturday/20-Jun-20: Dinner was a half recipe of Zucchini Ripieni—Stuffed Zucchini Baked in Tomato Sauce (TLItal, p41).

For the tomato sauce I made a hybrid of Marcella Hazzan's famous Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter (ClassicItal, p152) and Salsa Pizaiola—Tomato and Garlic Sauce (TLItal, p43); I started with Hazan, then, noticing the recipe in TLItal, added a garlic clove (stuck on a toothpick for easy retrieval), oregano, basil, and bayleaf. For dessert we had some Häagen-Dazs mango sorbet that I impulse-bought. (Yes, you can do that shopping online too.)

Started a batch of Susan Dunaway's No-Knead Bread to bake tomorrow morning.

Sunday/21-Jun-20: Recycled a couple of rarely used cookbooks today. I'm really going to have to hustle now to meet my goal for the year.

Dinner was a half dose of Salade de Lentilles à la Fourme d'Ambert (web; Règal), served over some mixed lettuces. This should have served three, so the two of us were quite full. It was good.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/8-Jun-20: First day for French lesson.

Last night, I put 100g of a mixed bean mix (that I bought on impulse) on to soak. This evening, sans electricité, I sautéed some chopped onion and potato with some sliced garlic, then added 4 cups of water, a chicken bouillon cube (organic), and a ham bone from the freezer. Cooked for a good long while. Turned into a pretty good soup. One hundred grams makes two substantial servings.

Tuesday/9-Jun-20: Made a loaf of Buckwheat Bread (Magic, p73). Used potato flour, 1:1, for the instant potato flakes; used treacle for the dark corn syrup. Tasty stuff.

Using up zucchini and red bell peppers, dinner was Zucchini and Red Pepper Tart (MDTarts, p38). The store-bought crust was not wonderful, but the tart itself was pretty good. It came out late, so we didn't have more to eat.

Wednesday/10-Jun-20:  Ed picked up an order from Intermarché today. That included fish, but I’d already defrosted some lamb chops, so dinner was Lamb Cutlets with Mint, Chilli & Potatoes (web). There were only three lamb chops in the package, each with a long fat and meat “tail”. Very tasty this were especially the potatoes, which were steamed, then finished off in the fat and herbs left from the lamb. Served with some green beans that had been boiled, then topped with olive oil, lime juice, grated lime peel, and red pepper flakes. All good stuff. Some goat cheese for after. Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/11-Jun-20: Using the cod we got yesterday, dinner was Fried Fish Steaks (Q&E, p67). Served with Karhai Broccoli (MJHome, p148) and Potato Chaat (MJHome, p165). All was good. More goat cheese for after.

Friday/12-Jun-20: Last night I used the last of my asafoetida. I remember my Indian cooking teacher said the little bakje would last a lifetime. It lasted about 40 years, not quite a lifetime. Knowing I was almost out, I ordered more. Twice. (Memory fail.) Today I discovered that neither contains pure asfaoetida. So I ordered yet another jar of the pure stuff. And that order has been cancelled.

Using my newly bought-via-Amazon buttermilk powder (no Saco here), I made Buttermilk Bread (MC), using chestnut honey, which might be a bit strong.

While Lockdown Lit was on, I put together Amazon Cake (Cocoa Cake) (Essential, p779). This is a really easy cake. It went in the oven at the same time as the leftover shepherd’s pie. We had the leftover pie with a nice salad, and followed by cake. We’re stuffed.

Saturday/13-Jun-20: When I defrosted the freezer on Thursday, I found a packet of skinless, boneless chicken thighs that had been declared lost. Today I defrosted that and we had a halfish recipe of Holy Yum Chicken (web), except that I only cooked my thighs for 30 minutes. Served with plain rice and Chinese-Style Asparagus Salad (QuickWok, p108). Pretty good stuff. Chocolate cake for lunch and for dinner.

Sunday/14-Jun-20: Made a loaf of Bill Hatcher's Italian Bread (MC), Basic/Rapid/L/d/-. It's good.

My second order of asafoetida has been cancelled. There's plenty of options with a mix (I have a couple of those) but the pure stuff seems to come only from India, where the post office seems not to be functioning.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Christmas Eve Cajun Shrimp, a recipe I collected in 2017 from EAT-L. Good stuff it was. Served with polenta and some haricots verts and asparagus. The buttery soppy from the shrimp was good with both. For dessert, with finished off the chocolate cake with some cream and raspberries fresh from the garden (including a little spider).

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/25-May-20: A moldy-oldy tonight. We had Zucchini and Feta Gratin (MC). I used frozen, cooked rice for the base. I spiralized the zucchini and skipped the steaming step, putting it directly into the rice-feta "crust". A good, easy veggie meal. Served with, sort of, a small version of Green Bean Salad with Basil, Balsamic, and Parmesan (web.). Pretty good. That's all.

 Mixed up a batch of Susan Dunaway's No-Knead Bread.

Tuesday/26-May-20: Baked the bread.

Spent most of the day chatting with Amazon trying to get my poor Kindle straightened out.

Ed picked up a grocery order from Intermarché, thus we had fish.

Dinner was Za'atar Salmon Baked in Tahini (web). The fish is baked over spinach, which I forgot to order, so I defrosted enough to use. Pretty good, although Ed wasn't too happy with the tahini sauce. Used my last bell peppers (red and yellow) to make a bit of Sweet Pepper Salad (Roden, 61); this should have had green bell peppers, but, hey-ho, you use what you have. And some Moroccan couscous, a store-bought mix. For after we had some strawberries with mascarpone and kirsch.

Wednesday/27-May-20: Had some potatoes, cooked and in the fridge, to use up. Used these to make Potato Salad II (Joy, p87), which includes French Dressing (Joy, p311). Since my potatoes were rather cold, I actually warmed the dressing as instructed. Ed barbecued some chipolatas as a go with, and I boiled some carrot bits, then added frozen peas and a small can of corn. All good. Mini ice cream cups for after.

Yogurt on overight.

Susan Dunaway's Bread on overnight, with 3cups T65 and 1cup T110. Except I may have put in only 2cups of T65. We'll see.

Chicken on to marinate for tomorrow.

Thursday/28-May-20: Baked the bread. It's good. Seems like I must have measured correctly.

For dinner there was Thai-Style Chicken Legs (web, web), with four thighs, which should have been about a quarter recipe. I made all the marinade and used half for my thighs. Froze the other bit for later use. Delicious this was. As suggested, served with Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint (web). I didn't julienne the mango, but chunked it—no problem. This was scrumptious. And some basmati rice. We were full.

Friday/29-May-20: Dinner was Grilled Scallops with Avocado Sauce (web). Pretty good, if a trifle too much lime in the sauce; that might have been my fault. Served with some "short spaghetti" and Radish Asparagus Salad (web). This was ok; Ed thought it was too sour, not me. Raspberries from the garden for after, Ed's with cream, mine with leftover mascarpone and kirsch.

Saturday/30-May-20: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Egg Curry (MJ@Home, p77). As usual with Jaffrey recipes, I used all the spices for a half recipe. I had only three hard-cooked (steamed) eggs; since there are potatoes to be used, I added some boiled potatoes. (The eggs were all cooked at the same time. The first egg was beautiful. Of the remaining three, one was beautiful, the others had serious gray around the yolk. Very odd since they were all cooked and cooled together.) Served with basmati rice and South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147.

Yogurt on overnight. Susan Dunaway's No-Knead Bread on overnight. Prepped the dry ingredients for breakfast flapjacks.

Sunday/31-May-20: Baked the bread. Forgot to set the timer when I put it in the oven, so we guessed how much time was left when I realized. This is the first of these breads that stuck to the pan; usually the loaf falls right out.

I finished off the batter for Buckwheat Flour Pancakes (web) and Ed cooked them up. Ate with some raspberries from the garden and maple syrup.

Dinner was Turkish Pilaf (GreenBook). This is a recipe I collected ages ago in Houston; looks like a magazine clipping. It was good, in spite of the fact that I misread the recipe and put in too much cinnamon. Served with, more or less, Creamy Turkish Cucumber Salad (web)

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/20-Apr-20: Yesterday's bread was delicious, one of the best whole wheat ones.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Garlic Noodles with Beef and Broccoli (web). I steamed real broccoli and used soba noodles instead of spaghetti and, of course, I used the red pepper flakes. Really easy, and fast, and good. Chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.

Tuesday/21-Apr-20: Made another loaf of Carole Walberg's White Wheat Bread (MC) today. It's good stuff.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Asparagus and Olive Tortellini (MC; VT/may96), which I've made before. There were blue cheese ravioli in stead of tortellini. Pretty good. Then a salad. And the last of our chocolate-covered madeleines for after. I wonder when we'll ever be able to get these again?

Made an order at Intermarché and we could pick it up tomorrow!

Wednesday/22-Apr-20: Our Intermarché order included everything I ordered. Yay! Had to jiggle the meal plan a bit, because I didn't expect to be getting fish so quickly.

While dinner was cooking I roasted a pair of red bell peppers so I can make up some pizza sauce tomorrow.

We got 500g of salmon in two pieces. I used one of the pieces for a halfish recipe of Cilantro-Lime Honey Garlic Salmon (Baked in Foil) (web). This was pretty good. Served with steamed haricots verts tossed with some olive oil, lime juice, salt, and red pepper flakes. And some polenta. For dessert there was strawberries and cream.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/23-Apr-20: Made up some pizza sauce this morning and put two batches in the freezers.

Dinner was loosely based on Saumon au Curry et Salade de Riz (VPG; web). Having lots of haricots verts to use, I added some of these. I cut the salmon into cubes and marinated it with Thai green curry paste from a jar, then sautéed the cubes to top the salad. It was pretty good.

Friday/24-Apr-20: Having a Charentais melon that needed using, I made up the broth for Easy Melon Ice Cream (web). It didn't buzz up smooth, so I strained out the gravely bits. Planned to serve them over crumbled cookies perhaps tonight, but we were full, so that will wait for another night. I was thinking they might be good over Vanilla Pecan ice cream.

Made some of Chef John's pita breads (web). Although most of them puffed up nicely, they weren't in two layers for the eating. Much tastier than store-bought, though, so we coped.

For dinner, we pigged out on some yummy store-bought felafels. Served these with, yes, pita breads, and Yogurt-Tahini Sauce (H2CEV, p792). I'd intended to make two sauces, as usual, but this combined the tahini and the yogurt in one and was delicious. Need to get more tahini now, but how? No dessert, since we were both quite full.

An interesting beetle joined us at the end of the meal. Unfortunately no camera was handy. Can't find it in our insect book, so it remains unknown.

Saturday/25-Apr-20: Used up our carrots to make Peanut Butter Soup (GreenBook) for lunch.

Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (MC). It's a bit sunken on top, but I'm sure it will taste okay. I see now I meant to make English Muffin Bread 2 (also MC), but lost the thread when I went to do it. Next time. The bread came out with a bit of a sunken top, too much liquid, as I remember.

Made up some Roasted Cumin. Burnt the first batch though lack of attention, so made a second. I'm now very low on cumin seed.

We had a thunderstorm this afternoon, resulting in flooded entry and water under the stereo system. In addition, the passage between the house and kitchen was flooded. Sigh.

Dinner was a half recipe of Best Grilled Chicken Thighs with Garam Masala (CL/jul-aug18; web). This was easy and very good. Served with plain basmati rice and Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MW@Home, p173), also good. For dessert, there was some vanilla pecan ice cream with melon crumbles. I thought this was good; Ed thought the melon and pecans didn't go together.

Sunday/26-Apr-20: Sunken top or not, Ed really likes this English Muffin Bread.

Dinner was a half dose of Hard-Boiled Eggs in a Tomato-Cream Sauce (WorldVeg, p517). Served with plain basmati rice and South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147). All was good. Right at the end of the prep, Ed knocked over the bread machine pan (yes, left from yesterday) full of soapy water, filling some of my little prepared dishes. A mess to clean up. Really shook my pacing. Had to back up and re-prep some things and organize all. Oddly disconcerting. For dessert we split the one chocolate easter bunny we scored this year.

Yogurt on overnight.

Suzanne Dunaway's No-Knead Bread on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW