This week in the kitchen

Monday/16-Aug-21: Dinner was Creamy Blueberry Chicken Salad (web; CL/aug14). I used chicken from the last roast that I did (via the freezer). Blueberries from our own plants. (Which Ed told me about after I'd defrosted some. Have to make some kind of dish tomorrow to use them up.) That didn't look quite enough, so I made a salad of some roasted beets, a small can of corn, cilantro, and a lime vinaigrette. No dessert.

Tuesday/17-Aug-21: Used some of my roasted beets plus some leftover brick hanging around in the fridge to make, more or less, Beet and Feta Samosas (MadeIndia, p48). We had them as a starter while I was finishing the rest of dinner. Not as good as expected; the filling was better than the baked result. Dinner was West Indian Salmon Patties (web; GD). As before, I made four patties instead of six and two are now in the freezer for another night. Served with All-Purpose Rice and Beans (BigFlav, p262), a regular. Made a quarter recipe and still have some left to tart up for another meal. For after, I used yesterday's defrosted blueberries, plus the remains of some raspberries and strawberries I impulse-bought last week, to make Easy Berry Cobbler (MC; HandyBook). We're full.

Wednesday/18-Aug-21: Pizza out tonight before a concert. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Thursday/19-Aug-21: Shopping today. Our favorite boulangerie is on holiday till September. 

Dinner was Spicy Grilled Fish (Q&E, p74) with salmon. Good stuff. It surprises me to find a new, good recipe in this book, since I've used it so much. There was a quarter recipe of Rice with Mushrooms and Mustard Seeds (Q&E, p102) for a side and Fresh Tomato Salad (Q&E, p107). Some store-bought riz au laits with caramel for after.

Friday/21-Aug-21: Dinner was a half dose of Pasta Pentimento* (EatingTog, p170) over whole-wheat spaghetti. Good stuff for so easy. For a salad, there was a halfish dose of Favorite Broccoli Salad* (web; GD; GD). This was good, if not something that went especially well with the pasta. Knowing that Ed doesn't like raw broccoli, I cooked it very briefly in the pasta water. (Was just surprised to find this salad on my DoMeAgain list! I wrote then what we said tonight at table, that this would be very good for a bbq.) For dessert there was some Jam Tea Cake (GD) with apricot jam. 

Saturday/21-Aug-21: In the morning I made the sauce for tonight's dinner, and salted the chicken for tomorrow. 

Dinner was a half dose of Pasta in Chilli Tomato Sauce (HomTrav, p222); this would have served three pretty eaisly. Served over linguine; have a bit left for a lunch. Tingly stuff. An Italian tomato sauce with ginger, chilies, and chili oil. Tasty. 

Some Jam Tea Cake for after.

Sunday/22-Aug-21: Dinner was Romertopf Clay-Baked Chicken, Stuffed with Serrano Ham and Olives (MedClay, p76). I cooked the stuffing separately. This was finished in a, to me, unusual way.  The chicken was taken out of the oven and out of the pot. The bottom was then emptied (to make a sauce with the juices), topped with a wire rack, the chicken put on that, and all back in the oven for another 10min. I've never seen this technique before, but it made for a nicely crisp skin, not usual for Romertopf.

Served with Lemon-Roasted Potatoes with Bay Leaves* (VegHarv, p231). This was good, of course, although I could have cut the potatoes into smaller chunks. I used the rest of my roasted beets to make a small version of Cold Beetroot with Cream (Pomiane, p180), an old favorite.

More Jam Tea Cake for after; it'sgetting a bit dry now.

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/30-Sep-19: Dinner was a half dose of Cauliflower, Cashew, Pea, and Coconut Curry (MadeIndia, p65; cookbooker). Good stuff. Served with basmati rice. Some ice cream for dessert.

Tuesday/1-Oct-19: So, I roasted up my impulse-bought spaghetti squash today, to make "spaghetti" to go with the leftover tomato sauce from Sunday. Spaghetti, no. Short little pieces somewhat. Was okay with the tomato sauce. Then a big salad with blue cheese and walnuts and tomatoes. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/2-Oct-19: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Hunan Beef with Cumin (web). Did not seed the red chiles. Used the lower end of the dried chili flakes. It was hot but yummy. As a side there was a halfish recipe of Spicy Hunan Cauliflower (web). Again, hot but good; the little sweet from the maple syrup was a nice touch to go with the red bell peppers. And some plain basmati rice. Mini ice cream cups for after. We're full.

Thursday/3-Oct-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Fish Fillets Romertopf (MC/brochure), with lieu noir. Used smoked paprika in the topping, which was probably a bit of a "loud" taste for the fish. The fish was a bit dry, maybe because it was too long in the oven. Served with Clotilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roast Potatoes (web), using up the amandines I had, and broccoli and carrots. Some chocolate-covered cornflakes for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/4-Oct-19: In the morning, I made up a half recipe of Anglo-Indian Sausage Patties (MJ@Home, p132; cookbooker) in preparation for tomorrow night's dinner.

Both of us are feeling a bit tummy-bad today, but dinner went down well. We had Tagliolini with Walnuts and Lemon (web), an Ottolenghi recipe that was really tasty. Then a big salad. No dessert needed.

Saturday/5-Oct-19: Still not feeling good innard-wise. Really didn't feel like eating or making what was on the plan. Instead we had Smooth Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Tart (VegSups, p12), which was good, although I couldn't eat it all. Then a simple salad. No dessert.

Sunday/6-Oct-19: Feeling a bit better today, but not very hungry. Dinner was Anglo-Indian Sausage Curry (MJ@Home, p133; cookbooker), which was yummy. As suggested, served with Corn with Aromatic Seasonings (MJ@Home, p151; cookbooker). And some plain basmati rice. A mini ice cream cup for me and a mini bar for Ed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 5; #3 COOKBOOK: n/a
Cookbooks of the month: none
This month: #4 PASTA: no for September, no for October; #5 BREAD: no for September, no for October; #6 GUESTS: yes for September, no for October
This year: #7 PROJECT: no for September, no for October

This week in the kitchen

Monday/27-Aug-18: Late start for a Monday.

Dinner was Fragrant Sea Scallop Cakes (web). These, and the sauce, were very tasty. (And I've ordered the book whence the recipe came, David Tanis' One Good Dish.) For a veggie salad, I made (more or less) Spicy Thai-Style Zucchini Carrot Salad (web); this was very nice. And there was trio rice. All was tasty. We each had a mini ice cream bar for dessert.

Tuesday/28-Aug-18: Changed dinner plans to have an easier meal. I made Chickpea & Chorizo Fideos (web; cookbooker). Oops, no whole wheat spaghetti, I used gramigne instead. (This has become a favorite pasta for dishes like this, or as a side.) Used extra fort chorizo, making the sauce a big spicy; a bit of red pepper flakes might have been even nicer. The whole recipe might have served three; four would be skimpy servings. Then a salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Wednesday/29-Aug-18: Yogurt on overday, because I didn't want to start it during the electrical storm when we might lose power. Doesn't seem like we did, but there was no internet or phone when I got up. Shopping today.

Dinner was Four-Spice Salmon (web). This was easy and really good. The spices (coriander, cloves, cumin, and nutmeg) are mixed and spread over the fish, which is cooked simply, spice-side-down and then spice-side-up. Lots of combinations of tastes could be used, I think. Served with eggplant slices sprayed with oil, rubbed with store-bought garam masala, and grilled on the stove's pan, topped with a yogurt-garlic sauce. And some trio rice. More madeleines for dessert.

Thursday/30-Aug-18: Busy in the kitchen prepping for tomorrow's meal.

• Made up some ground roasted cumin. I was out and need it for tomorrow. (Don't really use a recipe: toast it and grind it, that's all there is to it.)
• Made up a one quarter recipe of Chaat Masala (MJFlavs, p263).
• Made up a one third recipe of Punjabi Garam Masala (MJFlavs, p270).
• Made up the stuffing for Beet and Feta Samosas (MadeIndia, p48). These will be made up with filo for easiness. Thought these sounded healthy and odd, but recipes from this book have generally been successful. We'll see.
• Put lamb cubes on to marinate for Lamb Kebabs (MJFlavs, p226).

Didn't get everything done I'd like, so will have to cut back for tomorrow. Oh well, enough is enough.

Dinner was a smash-up from the freezer. I defrosted some Coconut and Pumpkin Soup, added a bit of chicken stock from the fridge, some chopped acorn squash (from the potager), and some cooked shrimp (from the freezer). Pretty good it was. Made up a salad with the couscous left from Sunday. Some ice cream bits (a cup for me, a bar for Ed) for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

While I'm sitting here typing, Ive seen a little mouse come out from behind the wood burner. Ed moved the live trap there, and she took the bait without tripping it. He rebaited it. Cats are here, but worthless.

Friday/31-Aug-18: Hit the floor cooking today. Well, sort of ...

• Shelled and peeled pistachios for the dessert.
• Made Onion Relish (MJ1, p174)), an old favorite.
• Made Carrot and Onion Salad (MJ1, p171), an old favorite.
• Last minute decision to make two chutneys for starter.
• And other stuff.

Mike and Sally came to share a yummy Indian dinner.

• For apéro, with the pineau we bought at the Massignac marché des producteurs:
• Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172)
• For starters:
• Beet and Feta Samosas (MadeIndia, p48; cookbooker)
• Fresh Green Chutney (Q&E, p113) and Fresh Red Chutney with Almonds (Q&E, p114)
• Carrot and Onion Salad (MJ1, p171)
• For main:
• Lamb Kebab (MJFlavs, p226)
• Cachumber—Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish (MJ1, p172)
• Khili Hui Khichri—Rice with Yellow Split Peas (MJ1, p150)
• Relish tray with home-made Lime Pickle, home-made Tamarind-Date Chutney, store-bought mango chutney
• For dessert:
• Kaye's Lazy Kheer, store-bought rice puddings, spiffed up with ground cardamom and chopped pistachios.

Everything was extra yummy, even if it's the cook saying so. The beet samosas were surprising good. I had forgotten about the red chutney and happened to have half a red bell pepper needing something to do; it's really good, so I need not to forget it again. The rice with yellow peas was a first, but not a last. The lamb kebabs were delicious, the meat very tender from marinating in yogurt.

Saturday/1-Sep-18: For lunch we ate last night's leftovers. For dinner, there were Grilled Eggplant and Pepper Sandwiches with Basil and Black Olive Spread (BigFlav, p267). Shh, don't tell, the Black Olive Spread is tapenade. This was good, a bit similar to one I did last week. Liked that sauce better than the tapenade effect I think. Still, the whole idea is good.

Still haven't decided on a cookbook for September. Will postpone Mexican books until later the the year, giving me a chance to stock up on necessaries. September and October are difficult, though. Waiting for inspiration.

Sunday/2-Sep-18: For dinner there was Grilled Poussin with Grilled Leeks, Garlic, and Rosemary (Thrill, p196). I used coquelets instead of poussins, which I think means they were young males rather than young females. Still good. The leeks were a nice idea, but should have been bigger ones I think, and I should have left the root end attached so they held together better. Served with Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Molasses Glaze (Thrill, p304) as suggested. These were good, if a bit of trouble.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Big Flavors of the Hot Sun, License to Grill, Thrill of the Grill
This month: #4 PASTA: no for August, no for September; #5 BREAD: no for August, no for September; #6 GUESTS: yes for August, no for September

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Jun-18: Day wasted dealing with a Mac problem when Calendar data was destroyed when I tried to sync the Mini with MacBair. The Apple guy couldn't figure out how to get the Calendar to accept the restored file of data, so I had to go back to a manual backup I made last Friday. Lost several days of writing, plus all my old Travel calendars. Very unhappy, totally wasted day.

Our meal was Broccoli Rice Casserole from Scratch (web), made with brown rice. This is kind of mac-and-cheese with broccoli and rice instead of macaroni. Pretty good. Strawberries and the rest of our buttermilk ice cream for dessert.

Tuesday/5-Jun-18: Indian for dinner. I made Oven-Roasted Chicken Tikka (MadeIndia, p36; cookbooker), using turkey oysters (that nice little muscle at the back of the pelvis on both sides) instead of skinless, boneless chicken thighs, of which there were none at the shop last week. I made the suggested side, Chaat Salad (MadeIndia, p192; cookbooker), which we both loved. And some plain basmati rice and some Yoghurt with Cucumber and Mint (MJ1, p162), the best raita recipe. For dessert, store-bought rice puddings topped with a sprinkle of cardamon, almost, but not quite, kheer.

Bit of a gully-washer this evening. It flooded the entry and under the stereo. Water dripping from the ceiling on the other end of the room.

Wednesday/6-Jun-18: Late meal today. I made Lighter Chicken Enchiladas, a recipe I collected from EAT-L in 2013. Made it up as a casserole, which is much easier than rolling enchiladas. Used up my tortillas. Used more turkey oysters instead of chicken. Used mimolette for the cheese, and much more than asked. So-so. Served with Mama's Spanish Rice and guacamole. We're stuffed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/7-Jun-18: Shopping today. Another set of people on Thursdays. Funny.

Our meal was Sicilian Swordfish Stew (Braises, p85; cookbooker). The recipe was a bit off, but the result was delicious. For dessert, a nectarine and some strawberries, topped with a bit of cream.

Our raspberries are going crazy. Need to pick some tomorrow morning.

Friday/8-Jun-18: Ed finished Cath's tiling today, while I did a mountain of ironing.

Leftover broccoli-rice casserole for dinner, and a salad, followed by two store-bought rice puddings.

Saturday/9-Jun-18: Made up some Strawberry Rhubarb Quick Jam (GrainAM, p71; HandyBook) with rhubarb from the potager and strawberries from shopping that look like they won't get eaten.

Leftover strange enchiladas, Spanish rice, and guacamole for dinner. Ice cream bars for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight. Power blip shut it off, but it seems to have cooked long enough nevertheless.

Sunday/10-Jun-18: Ed had a concert today, and I no had way to get there so stayed home and did Stuff.

Dinner was Pork Chop with Rhubarb (Pomiane, p129; cookbooker). This is just pork chops with rhubarabsauce instead of applesauce. Good, though. (Rhubarb from the potager.) Served with orzo (with lemon juice and parsley) and Asparagus with Chive Blossom and Sesame (web). The asparagus with okay, but wasn't the best veggie choice with the rhubarb&pork.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: bye for June
Cookbooks of the month: bye for June
This month: #4 PASTA: bye for June; #5 BREAD: bye for June; #6 GUESTS: bye for June

This week in the kitchen

Monday/30-Apr-18: Our meal today was Barbecued Poussins with Za'atar and Roast Pumpkin Houmous (BirdHand, p160). Well, sort of. I used one coquelet for a half recipe, rather than two poussins, and grilled under the broiler. There was no pumpkin or other winter squash in the shop last week, so I smerged a couple of on-line recipes for plain chickpea hummus, which turned out pretty good. And roast asparagus. We ate well.

Made the meal plan (and list!) for next week this afternoon. Planned on using BoldVeg for May's cookbook, but noticed I also had a number of recipes for 200Budget planned. Decided I'll try to use both throughout the month. We'll see.

Tuesday/1-May-18: Looks like BookChatters is moving to the first Tuesday. This month and next month moved just because, but it turns out to be easier for our meeting locale if we stay on the first Tuesday. Meeting today caught me a bit off-stride, since it was the first day of the month.

Our meal was Slow-Cooked Lamb and Spinach Curry (MadeIndia, p107), which was quite yummy. Easy to make, but does take quite some time, most of it unattended. Served with Caramelized Onions and Jeera Rice (MadeIndia, p155). Ice cream bars for after.

Wednesday/2-May-18: Out meal was Chickpea Dumplings in Sweet Potato Gravy (web), served over brown rice. Fairly so-so. Didn't use vegetable suet (sounds horrible) for the dumplings, but yogurt, water, and a small slog of oil.

Thursday/3-May-18: Shopping today.

Soup and sandwiches for dinner. The soup was Salmon Soup with Tomato, Dill, and Garlic (CL/may16; web). Ed liked this, I didn't especially. There was no reason to "brown" the salmon in a skillet before cooking in the soup. Interesting that the recipe used water and fish sauce for the broth rather than fish stock. It was edible, but no a do-me-agai. The sandwiches were, sort of, Creamy Avocado/Guacamole Egg Salad Sandwiches (web), These were okay. Some millefeuilles from the boulangerie for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/4-May-18: Our meal today was Rice Noodles with Lemon Chicken (200Budget, p144; cookbooker). This was easy and quite tasty. Some store-bought, packaged brownies for dessert.

Saturday/5-May-18: Today I made Italian Herb Baked Meatballs (web). I used 500g of ground beef (a big pound), made 20 meatballs, and froze half for a later meal. I used tomato paste instead of marinara and frozen chopped basil. For a sauce, there was Tomato and Red Wine Sauce from the freezer, topped up with the last of my accidental tomato paste (which probably wasn't needed). As a side there was Thyme-Garlic Roasted Asparagus (CL/jun07; web). Mini ice cream bars for after.

Sunday/6-May-18: Our meal was Thai Tortellini (BoldVeg, p189). Thai/Italian, an odd combination, but it worked. The recipe asked 1/2-3/4 Thai yellow curry paste. This is way to little; that amount was almost tasteless. When I added the coconut milk, I added another long tablespoon of curry paste to bring up the flavor. Kirchner suggests serving with steamed carrots, so I did, but I think a salad sort of thing would have been better. For dessert, there was Chocolate-Glazed Banana Cake (BoldVeg, p242; cookbooker), as suggested. Definitely edible, this.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes for April, yes for May
Cookbooks of the month: BirdHand for April, BoldVeg and 200Budget for May
This month: #4 PASTA: no for April, no for May; #5 BREAD: no for April, no for May; #6 GUESTS: yes for April, no for May

This week in the kitchen

Monday/2-Apr-18: Back from Bach à Pâques today, following an enormous Easter lunch and a concert. No interest in food this evening.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/3-Apr-18: First dish from BirdHand tonight. We had a half-dose of Hot Italian Chicken with Peppers and Chilli (BirdHand, p28), and good it was. The skin was crispy. The technique is similar to one I saw in a Cooks' Illustrated article about ensuring crispy skin. As I remember it involved first browning the chicken, then baking skin-side-up in a shallow dish, which allows moisture to escape. Worked well here. The bell peppers went really well with the red wine vinegar/balsamic vinegar sauce. I made all the sauce because I was afraid too much would evaporate in the oven leaving the pan dry. Probably 3/4-ing it would be okay for a half recipe. (I puzzled why she listed 1 fluid ounce of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, which are the same to my American eyes. Then I realized my book is British, and an imperial fluid ounce is only 1.9 tablespoons. Not that I'm going to worry about a tenth tablespoon in a recipe like like this.

Served with another variation on Nigel Slater's Spiced Roast Potatoes (RealCook, p246). This is a really good technique that makes some nice roast potatoes fairly quickly. Finished off with some of Mom's Cabbage Slaw which followed the chicken surprising well.

Wednesday/4-Apr-18: Shopping today.

Dinner was Salmon Skewers with Tamarind Sauce (web), a recipe I collected ages ago. Good it was. Served with brown rice and the rest of Mom's Cabbage Slaw. Then some St Felicien for afters. Then I had the ears of my easter bunny; Ed had his ears earlier in the day.

Thursday/5-Apr-18: Our meal was a halfish recipe of Asiago Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach (web). Parmesan instead of Asiago. Oops, forgot to get spinach; used arugula/roquette instead. Malfada instead of penne. Good. Might be nice to add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes instead of penne. Whole wheat would be nice for the color. Used lots more roquette than required for a half recipe. More again would have been better. Tasty.

Put lamb on to marinate for tomorrow.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/6-Apr-18: Mmm, wij hebben lekker gegeten vanavond, maar geen photos. Nancy&Neil filled in for our planned guests, who were unable to come. For our apéros we had Spicy Cucumber Wedges—Kheere Ke Tukray (MJ1, p172), which is easy to make and always a nice munchie.

For our starter, there as Asparagus with Ginger (web), which would have been really nice if I'd managed to turn the fire off when it was done. Instead I just put the lid on and forgot to turn it off. The asparagus were overdone when I noticed. Too bad, because they would have been quite good. I toasted some almond slivers for garnish, rather than adding them to the cooking asparagus.

The main was Maharani's Favorite Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder (MadeIndia, p113; cookbooker). Despite some weak instructions, this was extra yummy. Served with Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin, Turmeric, and Lemon (MadeIndia, p191) as suggested, which we've enjoyed before. There was also Simple Buttery Rice with Onion (MJ1, p149) and Cachumber—Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish (MJ1, p172). I bought some naan to serve, but we didn't really need it.

For dessert, I cheated. I bought some plain rice puddings (no vanilla flavoring), stirred in a bit (~1/16tsp) of ground cardamom into each, then topped with some chopped pistachios. It was good—Lazy Lady's Kheer.

Saturday/7-Apr-18: Dinner at Cath's tonight. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Sunday/8-Apr-18: Ralph Gillard come to dinner tonight (Laura is in the UK); Cath came too. No real starter, only olives with prosecco.

For a main there was Ancho- and Chipotle-Rubbed Pork Loin (MC), a really yummy pork dish. There wasn't enough for three (Cath can't eat spicy stuff), so the two of us has some faux filets, marinated for a bit in my usual beef marinade. Then there was mashed sweet potatoes with chipotle and some plain ones for Cath. And some of Nigel Slater's Spiced Roast Potatoes (RealCook, p246); this needs to go in the HandyBook. And some hominy. Followed by a salad. Then Apple Frangipane Tart (MC), topped with crème fraîche. A nice evening.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 1; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: BirdHand
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
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This week in the kitchen

Monday/29-Jan-18: Our meal was leftover cheese enchilada stack and Spanish rice, with a new dose of guacamole.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/30-Jan-18: Both of us feeling pretty bad with cold, or flu perhaps?

Our meal was a half recipe of Roasted Butternut Squash Curry with Garlic and Tomatoes (MadeIndia, p61) with Golden Garlic Raita (MadeIndia, p178) served over brown rice. The curry was yummy. Used canned tomatoes, that supposedly had been deseeded, but seeds were visible when I opened the can; we'll see how that goes. The raita was a nice sauce that isn't necessarily Indian.
 

Cookbook: Having dashed through HomTravels, I'm not sure I want to use that for February. Didn't find it as interesting as some of his other books. Also he wants a lot of lemongrass and I'm almost out, and not likely to be near a store that sells it in the next bit of time. Considering another book to grab here.

Wednesday/31-Jan-18: Shopping today, hard work since neither of us a feeling tip-top.

Dinner was Thai Green Fish Curry (30MinCook, p117). Ed like this more than I did. The recipe calls for a block of creamed coconut, which I've never seen or even heard of. Instead I used 200ml of coconut cream and 200ml of coconut milk, which was too much liquid. I thought it was okay, but nothing special. As a side, there was a halfish recipe of Cauli Thai Salad (web), to use up some of the cauliflower hanging around. This was pretty good, although it was quite hot since I used a whole red chile rather than a half of one.

I bought a mango intending to make a little mango tart with a bit of pie crust still in the fridge. It didn't look very appetizing when I got it out, so it got recycled. I chopped up the mango, added some coconut, macadamia nuts (that had been in the freezer for ages), lime juice, and a dab of honey; then served this over the last of the ice cream I made last week. Pretty good stuff.

Cookbook: Think I've settled on SlowItal for next month's book. Decided on a recipe of Sunday's meal, and found similar recipe in PCGourmet and SlowItal, but decided that the slow cooker one would be more interesting to try out.

Thursday/1-Feb-18: Both of us still feeling sicky.

Our meal was Kaye's Veg and Feta Gratin (MC). I almost always use broccoli for this. Is there a better vegetable? And then a big salad.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/2-Feb-18: Still sicky.

Our meal was Chicken Thighs Marsala for Two (web). I didn't put it in the oven, but cooked it covered on the stovetop. Served with pasta and carrots/peas/corn. Good stuff.

Saturday/3-Feb-18: We're both still coughy. Yesterday Ed asked for soup. Today we had soup: chicken stock with broccoli and some cooked chicken bits. Pretty good, especially with a squirt of chipotle tabasco. Some butter cookies for dessert.

Sunday/4-Feb-18: My original plan for the day was to start a crockpot when Ed got up to leave for choir practice, leaving me time to work on a project; when he got back, dinner would be ready so we could eat and go to a movie. Forgot to replan when Ed decided not to go to practice. And neither of us felt like coughing through a movie.

Dinner was Sweet Potato Macaroni & Cheese (EW/jan-feb14; web). I didn't use the bread crumbs. This was so-so. The peas were a nice touch. A slog of cayenne, or maybe chipotle powder, would have helped. Then a salad, a bit bare with only walnuts. Then a dessert loosely based on a half recipe of Coffee Ricotta Mousse (MW@Home, p307). Using a 250g carton of ricotta that didn't get used for whatever it was intended, I stirred in 1/4cup powdered sugar, 1/2tsp vanilla extract, and 1tbl Kahlua. Needed to whiz it with the staff mixer, but that was in the dishwasher and I was too lazy to correct that.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 5; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbook of the month: MadeIndia
This month: #4 PASTA: yes for January, no for February; #5 BREAD: no for January and February; #6 GUESTS: yes for January, no for February

This week in the kitchen

Monday/22-Jan-18: Our meal was Tikka-Tomato-Veggie-Lentil Soup from the freezer, a container that was lost, but recently re-found. Not very soup-like. Served over brown rice, with the Lime Pickle that I made a while ago and the Mango Chutney that I made a week ago. This wasn't bad.

Tuesday/23-Jan-18: Used up some a mix of apples to make some Apple Butter. Haven't done that in a while.

Our meal was Cheese Enchilada Stack, a recipe I got from EAT-L. It's very much like Mama's cheese enchiladas, but stacked in a casserole rather than rolled. This is actually easier to assemble and serve and eat; we both thought this is a better way to make this dish. And Mama's Spanish rice, with lots of veggies, onion, carrot, bell pepper, peas, corn. And guacamole.

Froze up the vanilla ice cream and we ate some of that for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/24-Jan-18: Our meal was Escalopes de Veau aux Coulis et Éclats de Chorizo (VPG); unfortunately VPG doesn't post their recipes online. This was easy and tasty, made in an unusual (to me) way. You brown a bunch of slices of chorizo, then purée most of them with some crème fraîche to make the sauce. Brown the veal scallops, then serve with the sauce over tagliatelle topped with the bits of chorizo that didn't get puréed. I made a bit of grated carrot salad from a veg. Should serve this as an entrée, but we always serve pasta as the first and salad or whatever as the second.

I also made a Tarte au Mascarpone (web), using up mascarpone, a some of my surplus of powdered almond, and a home-made pastry from the freezer. We were full, though, so will wait till tomorrow to try this. One of the eggs I broke for this was double-yolked.

Cookbook: Still have several more recipes to do from MadeIndia; this will slide into February too. For February, I think we'll go a bit Oriental with HomTravels and maybe other Hom books if that works. That gives me time to get a bit organized for a month of tajine recipes from whatever books I can find recipes in.

Thursday/25-Jan-18: Shopping today.

In the afternoon we had small pieces of the mascarpone tarte with our afternoon tea&coffee. Pretty good it was. Slight taste of lemon; it might be nice with vanilla or almond extract.

Our meal was Asian Salmon Laksa (Ainsley2, p28; cookbooker), a nicely spicy soup over rice noodles. It was easy and very yummy. Afterwards we thought this one recipe was worth more than the €1 we paid for the book.

Friday/26-Jan-18: Still no news from the washing machine people. Or the vet. Ed went to the laundromat while I started our meal. There was:

• Roasted Tamarind Chicken with Honey and Red Chili (MadeIndia, p94). There were three chicken thighs for two, weighing slightly somewhat more than the recipe asks for two. I didn't add all the honey, and would cut it back slightly more, to two tablespoons perhaps. Otherwise this is extremely easy and very tasty. The sugar-coated skin was very crispy. 
• Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin, Turmeric and Lemon (MadeIndia, p191). This was pretty tasty. The lemon juice should be tossed with the roasted cauliflower, rather than just sprinkled on.
• Mint and Yogurt Chutney (MadeIndia, p219; cookbooker). This could definitely be improved upon.
• Rice with Peas—Tahiri (MJ1, p149). An old favorite. The rice didn't get soaked this time, but what the heck, its still good.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/27-Jan-18: Added some skinless, boneless chicken thighs to the leftover juice from the Chicken Marbella and served that over brown rice. Not bad for a quick meal.

Sunday/28-Jan-18: Lovely lunch at Cath's today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbook of the month: MadeIndia
This month: #4 PASTA: yes; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Jan-18: Our meal was Chilli Crab Linguine with Vodka (Ainsley2, p44), the first thing I've made from this book, and off to a good start. Easy, fast, and very tasty. Then a salad. Then more of the chaource. Then some of our yummy 85% chocolate truffles.

Tuesday/16-Jan-18: A halfish version of Coconut and Tamarind Chicken Curry (MadeIndia, p96), accompanied by plain rice and Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148). All was good.

Wednesday/17-Jan-18: Ed had a dentist appointment this morning and we shopped right after that.

Made up some Great-Grandma's Mango Chutney (MadeIndia, p215). We'll see how that is in a few days. First taste was a bit salty, and I under-measured the salt.

Dinner was Spicy South Asian Roasted Fish (web; cookbooker), half the fish but all the sauce. Very yummy this was. And easy. Used some chopped lemongrass I discovered in the freezer when I defrosted. Served with rice and Thai-Style Broccoli with Garlic (web). For dessert, we had some slices of a small 3 Kings' Cake.

Thursday/18-Jan-18: Froze up eight 2-cup tupperwares of chicken stock this morning.

Fresh pasta for our meal, topped with the sauce from Trenette al Pesto di Noci (ClassPasta, p96; cookbooker). The sauce was good, but nothing special. Then a salad. Then some store-bought chocolate and hazelnut mousse-y thingies; yummy they were.

Friday/19-Jan-18: The part for the washing machine came as I left for Pilates. On my return, Ed said it didn't fix the problem—it's time to order a new one. (The Samsung machine is less than three years old. :-( ). Started looking for ratings. Then off to French. Then cooked our meal of Brochettes de Canard au Sésame (MC; originally from a flyer). (Haven't been able to find this on the web; chunks of marinated magret on skewers with slices of apples.) I did forget to sprinkle with the sesame seeds when it were done, but it was still yummy. Served with trio rice and carrot slices.

Spent the rest of the day until quite late looking for washing machines. Ed did a load of towels at the laundromat.

Saturday/20-Jan-18: Another depressing gray and drippy day. Ordered a washing machine. Still not sure when it arrives. In spite of Ed's visits to the laundromat, we will be buried in laundry soon.

Our meal was a half recipe of Risotto-Stye Pasta with Caramelized Onions (web), with a salad. Before the cheese (bleu d'Auvergne) was added, I thought the onions were too sweet. Ed didn't like cheese; I did. Oh well.

Sunday/21-Jan-18: Company tonight. Spent most of the day in the kitchen.

Made batch of ice cream "juice" using the basic recipe from the manual for our old machine, just in case the tarte tatin didn't work. Made the pastry for the tarte tatin.

Cath (returning from her UK trip) and Nancy (with Neil in the UK) arrived for:

• A starter of Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill (BEFCC, p35). A very nice little starter, we just had on tweede kerstdag, tasty and easy.
• For a main, there was Chicken Marbella (SilverPal, p142; MC; cookbooker), served with polenta. I made this dish a long time ago. Recently found the recipe in Mastercook; since then I've gotten the cookbook. Used twelve chicken thighs, making a more or less complete recipe. Didn't notice that I was supposed to marinate the chicken overnight. It was fine with only a couple of hours in the sauce. Very yummy.
• For dessert there was Tarte Tatin au Camembert (VPG), a recipe I collected recently because it sounded so odd. Tried (and failed) to find the recipe online, but discovered there are lots of similar recipes out there. Quite good this was.

A nice menu for company since the only last-minute thing was polenta, and assembling the starter.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbook of the month: MadeIndia
This month: #4 PASTA: yes; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
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This week in the kitchen

Monday/8-Jan-18: Our first bit of sun today in weeks, it seems. For dinner there was Spicy Thai Shrimp Pasta (web). I had half the shrimp and made half the pasta, but more or less all of the sauce; had only a medium, rather than a large, red bell pepper, so scaled the sauce back just a bit. It was dEElicious. As a side there was Thai-Style Broccoli with Garlic (web); pretty good, this was. And, guess what, some 3 Kings' Cake for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/9-Jan-18: We had lunch out today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Wednesday/10-Jan-18: Doctor's appointment for me today, with short trips to the health food store and Grand Frais. Home to put stuff up. A quickish meal of poultry sausages, polenta, and a bit of Crispy Broccoli with Lemon and Garlic (web), followed by a salad. Then some Chaource (bought for NYE), then the last bit of chocolate from our Paris trip that Ed found in our napkin basket. I'm full

Thursday/11-Jan-18: Doctor's appointment for Ed today, with more shopping in the Angoulême area, followed by our weekly grocery shopping plus a car wash.

Dinner was all old favorites, Lentil with Garlic and Onions (MJ1, p124) over Simple Buttery Rice with Onion (MJ1, p149) with Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish—Cachumber (MJ1, p172). Yum. Then more Chaource, and followed by some chocolate truffles.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/12-Jan-18: Off to Pilates in the morning. Then thought I'd cook our meal before defrosting the refrigerator. But with one thing and another, it was too late to start defrosting after we ate.

We had Salmon and Spinach Curry (MadeIndia, p141), accompanied by Caramelized Onions and Jeera Rice (MadeIndia, p155) and an old favorite, Yogurt with Cucumber and Mint (MJ1, p162). Yes, there was fresh mint in the garden in mid-January! The rice was good, but nothing special; similar recipes in many books. The salmon was good, although I'm a bit doubtful about the recipe. First of all, the recipe serves four with 14 ounces of salmon. I had about that for two (a bit more than I usually get, but the smallest piece available). I more-or-less halved the rest of the recipe, although I went long on the spices. Because I had to deseed my tomatoes, I added a bit of tomato paste with the chopped tomatoes. I had only 200g of spinach, instead of 225 asked (for half). I didn't add all of this. I know spinach cooks down a lot, but it still seemed like a lot. I suppose I could have persisted, but I thought there was plenty of spinach.

Saturday/13-Jan-18: Picked last week's chicken and froze the meat. Started a batch of chicken stock. Made Kaye's Pickled Green Beans (MC) with some old green beans that still looked good. Ed doesn't really like these, and we have a suspicion that Ed may be allergic to green beans and snijbonen/runner beans. :-(

Our meal was latish, after the annual voeux de maire. We had a half recipe of Spicy Thai Red Curry Beef (CL; web) using some cooked beef from the freezer. This was easy and extra yummy. Served over long-grain brown rice. Some mini ice cream bars for after.

Sunday/14-Jan-18: Defrosted the fridge/freezer today. It's had a hard time lately and was in desperate need of defrosting. One of the freezer drawers has broken; Ed's trying to glue it together. I was pooped after. We went out for pizza.

One of the "latches" on my old Cuisinart lid has broken (and been reglued by Ed). I looked a bit for a replacement, but even Cuisinart doesn't admit to this model. It must be forty years old. It occurred to me that 3D printers might be a real boon for all these plastic gadgets. Need a part? It can just be printed when you need it. Wish Cuisinart would have the idea.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbook of the month: MadeIndia
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
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This week in the kitchen

Thanks so much to Blogger for losing what I had written for Monday and Tuesday. Sigh.

Monday/1-Mon-18: Cath stayed for breakfast (oatmeal/porridge), but went home before the winds got too bad. So we had our meal just for two.

We finished off the polenta crostini with salmon left from last night for our starter.

Our main was Abbacchio alla Cacciatora—Braised Lamb with Anchovy Sauce (TLItal, p77). The "alla Cacciatora" part really means "hunter-style" and I'm not sure what hunters have to do with anchovies. Anyhow, the minced fishies are added to the sauce at the last minute to deepen the flavor; the smell is gone in the first minutes of cooking and they don't make it fishy tasting. Quite yummy it was. Not sure about the serving 4-6 part though. I let the butcher sell me a boneless roast made from the shoulder. This was a bit lighter than I asked and it involved a lot of waste bits, so I ended up with much less than I intended. Still the two ate it all, and I can't imagine the whole amount serving six. Three, or maybe four skimpy servings would do. It was very good whatever.

Served the stew over the last of the pici (very fat, supposedly hand-rolled, spaghetti-ish stuff) we brought back from Tuscany. On the side there was Broccoli alla Romana—Broccoli Braised with White Wine (TLItal, p35) that I've made several times now.

Served this with a bottle of Chianti from Leclerc's not-so-vast selection of Italian wines, which included two Chiantis and two Lambruscos. We weren't too impressed.

More three kings' cake for dessert. Just enough for breakfast left.

Tuesday/2-Mon-18: Made up some artichoke hearts with green tapenade and goat cheese for a starter. (More we missed on New Year's Eve.)

Our main was a halfish version of Quick "Corned" Beef & Cabbage (web). This was okay, but didn't scratch the corned beef itch. It did, however, use up the huge supply of cabbage we had on hand. My tummy wasn't feeling well so I didn't eat much. We have lots of beef in the fridge for another meal.

Wednesday/3-Mon-18: As I left for French this morning, the car wouldn't start, and when it did, all the warning lights were on, including some I'd never seen before. Didn't even get out of the hameau before coming directly home. Then the washing machine got a call-customer-service error. Not a good start for the day.

Monday I accidentally defrosted a jar of soup when I meant to defrost a jar of stock. Oops. So tonight we had soup for dinner, puréed spinach, zucchini, and broccoli with some noodles added. But first we had the last of the artichoke hearts with green tapenade and goat cheese. Cookies for dessert.

Ed thinks the car problem is a loose, damp battery connection. The car started after the connections were cleaned, dried, and tightened. And the washing machine problem seems to have been a problem of overloading, when Ed decided to add two towels to an already full load.

Made my meal plan and list today. Haven't really made a list of cookbooks for my cookbook bonus goal, so have nothing planned for this week. TLItal isn't unused and neither is ClassPasta coming later in the week. Maybe I can make a quick change, or maybe I just won't count this week. TBD.

Thursday/4-Mon-18: Yes, made a quick change to one of my xmas gifts. Shopping today. Oops, car not fixed. Luckily the carpark at the Leclerc is on a hill, so we pushed the car down the hill to start it. Drove over to Brico Leclerc to buy a car battery. Turns out the current one is over seven years old. About time, you might say.

The fish selection was strangely diminished at the market today. I ended up buying swordfish rather than lieu noir or another white fish. Dinner was a halfish recipe of 20-Minute Fish Curry (MadeIndia, p131) with swordfish. Let me say that it isn't 20 minutes when you have to deseed 7 ounces of cherry tomatoes. It was good though. Had lots of broccoli stems to use up. Found the recipe for Cauliflower Cachumber (MJ@Home p240) and made that with grated broccoli stems. Very yummy although the texture would have been nicer if I'd used the box grater rather than the big microplane. And plain basmati rice. No camera downstairs, so no picture.

Friday/5-Mon-18: Earlyish meal today. There was Sautéed Chicken in Lemon Cream Sauce (MC), with a yummy sauce. I've made the before but didn't note when. Served with smashed potatoes, trying to use up the stash (recipe suggested egg noodles), and steamed snijbonen (runner beans?) in chunks.

Looked for some marrons glacés in the sale of xmas goodies yesterday, but there were none. Instead I got two half-price packets of dark chocolates. We had 3-1/2 each (one layer) from one of the boxes for dessert.

Saturday/6-Mon-18: Our mail meal was a half recipe of Farfalle al Salmone Affumicato (ClassPasta, p121; cookbooker) using the smoked trout option since I had that needing to be used. Used mafalda corta pasta. I liked this, Ed not so much. Served with a big salad. For dessert, we finished another layer of dark chocolates.

Sunday/7-Mon-18: Roasted a chicken today, using the "bricking" technique. The recipe was Za'atar Rubber Butterflied Chicken; the recipe is no longer at the site where I found it and I've not turned up another copy. Oh well. Do like the bricking technique, though. Chickie is spatchcocked, then cooked skin-side down in a oven-proof skillet, weighted with another skillet. I used a cast iron skillet topped by a saucepan full of water. It takes 20-25 minutes for the skin to get nice and brown. Then you turn the chick over and finish cooking without the "brick" in a 450F oven for 10-20 minutes. In tonight's recipe, the za'atar rub was added after turning the chick over, but a tasty rub under the skin would work fine also.

Made some trio rice, then realized I had potatoes to be used up, so made Tunisian Potato Salad with Cumin (MedLight, p117), which Ed liked a lot. Also served with Spicy Carrot Salad (MedLight, p114), an old favorite, although the garlic seemed especially strong tonight. Have put the rice and bit of leftover carrots together for the next days.

Ed bought another galette des rois today—another one with a Harry Potter fêve. We haven't found it yet.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbook of the month: MadeIndia
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: no
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