This week in the kitchen

Monday/17-Jan-22: Last night I started an Overnight Boule; this morning I baked it off. Good bread. I also started a batch of Oven-Dried Tomatoes (HandyBook). 

Dinner was an oldie, but goodie, Bulgur, Broccoli, and Feta Cheese Pilaf (MC; modified from VT/jun00). Still good stuff.

Tuesday/18-Jan-22: Dinner was turkey pot pie, really Ryan's Pie (PotPies, p46), or almost. I used turkey instead of chicken, and, since it was pretty bare of veggies, I added some peas with the turkey. Tasty stuff. That was dinner.

Wednesday/19-Jan-22: Made a loaf of English Toasting Bread (Electric, p21) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). This is supposed to be baked in the oven, so it can be coated with cornmeal, but I skipped that and just baked in the ABM.

Dinner was delicious, all tried and true stuff. The main was Spicy Shrimp Stir-Fry (MJ@Home, p63). This is easy and really good. Served with the suggested sides Sri Lankan Rice with Cilantro and Lemon Grass (MJ@Home, p210) and Mushroom and Pea Curry (MJ@Home, p161). The mushroom-pea thing was way too liquid; we'll have the rest as soup for lunch one day soon. 

Thursday/20-Jan-22: We managed trips to both Drives today; the second one had been planned for tomorrow, but there were slots in the late afternoon available, so we took advantage of that (and Ed made a trip to the brico).

When it came time cook, I didn't feel like it, so I heated up the two choucroute dinners that I'd bought from a Drive for a quick dinner on another night. These were pretty so-so; the choucroute was tasteless. Too bad. I like me some choucroute every now and again, but not this. 

Friday/21-Jan-22: Made a loaf of Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-).

Dinner was Walnut-Rosemary Crusted Salmon (web). This was fairly easy (a bit of chop-chop) and very tasty. Served with a small salad and some cèpe-flavored pasta twists. Nice dinner.

Saturday/22-Jan-22: Crockpot dinner tonight was Beef Shanks with Red Wine and Tomatoes (SlowItal, p149). Surprisingly this was not very good. The meat never got falling apart tender. The sauce is okay; I might try to make soup of it. And roast beef sandwiches perhaps from the leftover meat. Served with polenta and snijbonen in 1" chunks. 

Sunday/23-Jan-22: Made a loaf of Easy French Bread (Electric, p62) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-).

Dinner was Falafel-Stuffed Peppers with a Coconut-Dill Sauce (web; notes). After that was in the oven, I made the roasted bell pepper sauce for tomorrow's starter. Then I made the tahini sauce to go with the bell peps. 

Dry rubbed the lamb shoulder for tomorrow's meal. It's outside pretending to be in the fridge (but actually colder than that).

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

This week in the kitchen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/5-Apr-21: Made a 1-1/2# loaf of Basic Whole Wheat Bread (Magic, p33) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-).

Used up lots of odds and ends to make a halfish recipe of Cabbage Wedges with Meat Sauce (TooMany, p54). This is kind of an old-timey dish, something my grandmother might have served, but was pretty good. Cabbage, not overcooked, topped with a tomato sauce with ground pork. There was supposed to be some green bell pepper involved, but I didn't have one, so I used up the rest of last week's asparagus. Wasn't bad at all, but some red pepper flakes in the sauce might have been good. Strawberries and cream for after. 

Tuesday/6-Apr-21: Ed picked up groceries from two Drives today.

Dinner was Moroccan Fish Tajine (web), served over whole wheat couscous. This was okay, nothing that needs to be done again. Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after.

Wednesday/7-Apr-21: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was a half recipe of Pasta with Asparagus-Lemon Sauce* (web). This was pretty good. As suggested by a comment, I added lots of lemon zest and a bit of juice to the sauce and roasted the asparagus tips. This was delicious but a bit skimpy as a dinner; I was too lazy to make a salad. Strawberries and cream for after. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines as a snack while ironing/watching a video.

Thursday/8-Apr-21: Dinner was Lemon Chicken (web), a recipe from an old Bon Appetit that I got from EAT-L. This was easy and very tasty, although there was too much sauce. Served with sautéed zoodles; these sat in a drainer for three hours or more before cooking and hardly needed squeezing. Then a salad. Then more store-bought vanilla yogurts with the rest of the strawberries. 

Friday/9-Apr-21: There was a mouse caught in the Ivar shelving this morning. Ed let him (juvenile male, I think) when he took Buddy for a walk.

We got our first vaccinations today—yay!

Made some Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). I used half bread flour and half T110 ("light" whole wheat flour). The dough seemed a bit dry so I added another bit (1tbl maybe) of water. A bit more even might have been nice. Pretty good though.

Dinner was Garlicky Tortellini, Spinach & Tomato Soup (web). Easy to make and delicious. Some HD ice cream cups for after. 

Saturday/10-Apr-21: Oops, didn't think to start our crockpot dinner till too late, so we had tomorrow's dinner instead. That was a half recipe of Curried Fried Rice (MW@Home, p226), using cooked basmati rice that's been leftover in the last week or so. This is always good and feels like a healthy dinner. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Sunday/11-Apr-21: Yogurt on overday. 

Late in the morning, but earlier than yesterday, I started Simple Beef Curry* (Hériteau, p36) in the crockpot. It was done too late for dinner, so I've jarred it up and put it in the fridge. We liked this a lot last time, but it seems relatively tasteless to me, even though I doubled the amount of curry powder. Off the DoMeAgain list, with this one. We'll have it one day next week.

Before I started dinner, having a surplus of pears, I made a Pear Bundt Cake (MC). This is an old favorite recipe. It's still good.

Dinner was another DMA recipe, Orecchiette Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Broccoli* (web; GD). This is easy and fast and very tasty. A pinch of red pepper flakes with the garlic wouldn't hurt at all, but it's fine without. Pear Bundt Cake for after, of course. I forgot to take a picture of dinner, so there's no photo this week.

Started a batch of Overnight Boule.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: no; #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/22-Mar-21: Ed had a doctor's appointment at 17.30 this afternoon. We saw the doctor at 19.00; the curfew is 19.00. We didn't get stopped going home, thank goodness. 

Dinner was a repeat of yesterday, the rest of the smoked salmon tart, a big salad, this time with chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Tuesday/23-Mar-21: Dinner was Flat Roasted Chicken with Sweet Carrots, Prosciutto and Olives (Screamingly, p31). This was pretty darn good. The spatchcocked chickie is roasted first skin-down, and then skin up on at mixture of prosciutto (I used lardons), shallots, cubed carrots, garlic, and green olives. Not sure what was gained by not pitting the olives; this made them annoying to eat. I also made Gratin Dauphinois (Pomiane, p201). Usually I make the version in BEFCC, but thought I'd give Pomiane a try tonight. It was very good and easy as far as these things go. 

Wednesday/24-Mar-21: I made a loaf of Authentic French Bread (Magic, 22) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-) in the bread machine. Used all T65 (white bread flour). It's good. 

Ed picked up orders from both Drives today.

Dinner was Baked Tilapia with Spinach-Pecan Pesto (web). I totally didn't notice that this was for two, and carefully cut the pesto ingredients back. Then I added more spinach (frozen bits) and processed those till they were "done"; didn't add anything else extra. The pesto was delicious. Served it on cod. The fish adds nothing, it's the pesto that carries the dish. (What will I do with the extra now?) Served with trio rice and a shredded carrot and radish salad.

Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after.

Thursday/25-Mar-21: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was Chile-Lime Pork* (web). Last time we bbq'd this; tonight I cooked in it oven at 450F (10min on one side, 15min on the second side, then another 5min on the first side). Delicious and succulent. Served with roasted asparagus (olive oil, lemon juice, and taco seasoning), polenta, and (home-made) guacamole, plus some corn tortillas to wipe things up. We were full, just two little chocolate easter eggs for after.

Mixed up an Overnight Boule in the evening.

Friday/26-Mar-21: Baked the Overnight Boule. 

Didn't get the chicken picked yesterday or this morning, and didn't feel like doing it this evening, so we had a bit of a shuffle on the menu plan. Dinner was Shrimp with Lemon & Capers (web); this was so-so. Good tastes, but the gnocchi didn't really go with the shrimp. Then a bit salad. Two chocolate easter eggs each for after.

Saturday/27-Mar-21: Got that chicken picked today. Dinner was Spicy Cabbage and Chicken Stir-Fry (web). I used sambal oelek, still working on the huge jar that Bill brought us once. For next to no work, this is really good. It might be nice to sauté a sliced onion before adding the cabbage. Some strawberries and cream for after.

Sunday/28-Mar-21: The ABM made some English Toasting Bread (Magic, p21) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Pretty loaf. Last made in December 2002. We'll see tomorrow.

Dinner was Middle Eastern Burgers (web). (Ed bbq'd and we ate outside for the first time this year.) This was supposed to serve seven with tiny burgers. I made eight, intending to have four tonight and four for the freezer. But they were so good, we had one more each and I've saved the last two for lunch one of these days. (I bet these would be even better with ground lamb, all or half of the meat.) Served with a half recipe of Carrot Salad with Cumin, Cinnamon, and Sweet Paprika (Morocco, p78) and store-bought Moroccan couscous. Three chocolate easter eggs each for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #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: 2

This week in the kitchen

Monday/8-Mar-21: I'm doing quite well clearing out old recipes. Ran across the folder of recipes I've entered into Mastercook, bundled by year, and have tossed most of that. Ed might one day fix the computer where my old Mastercook would run, but I doubt I'd enter any more recipes there. Might be nice to correct typos, though.

Yogurt on overday. Should have made bread, but that didn't happen.

Got two Drive orders made for tomorrow. I'm out and about on Wednesday, so we'll pick them up tomorrow instead of our usual Wednesday.

Used up a surplus of bananas to make The Best Banana Cake I've Ever Had (web). It's good enough, but can't say it's the best ever. Anyhow a change from the yogurt things we've been having.

Dinner was Skillet Spanakoptia (web). It was quite pretty, but my camera was upstairs, and I was too lazy to go up and get it. My filo had been in the freezer for a while, so was a bit crumbly, but filo really doesn't mind. The whole thing was yummy. I like the way it's cooked in a skillet. My 9" skillet was perfect. We'll only have four servings, when there should have been eight; that must be with side dishes, of which there were none here. Banana Cake for dessert.

Tuesday/9-Mar-21: Made a loaf of Buckwheat Bread (Magic, p73) (Basic/Rapid/M/m/-). It looks lovely, but won't get eating till tomorrow.

Made a half dose of Simple Beijing-Style Marinated Cucumber Salad (HotWok, p153) to go with tomorrow's dinner.

Dinner was a half recipe of Chicken Fesenjan (EW sep/oct17; web). I forgot the pomegranate seeds in the end, which make it a bit of a dull dish to see. Served with (store-bought) Moroccan couscous. Some Banana Cake for after.

Wednesday/10-Mar-21: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Quick-Braised Fish Fillets in Black Bean Sauce (web). I don't really see what's braised here. The fish are breaded (or, really, flour-glue pasted), shallow fried, then rewarmed in sauce. My breading was a failure, not a skill I've mastered. Altogether, the bits of fish (cod falls apart at the least provocation) warmed in the tomato-y sauce was quite tasty, but nothing I'd want to again. Served with the cucumber salad I make yesterday and Zesty Onion and Peas (HotWok, p178), both trusty recipes, and some plain basmati rice. A pair of store-bought yogurt desserts for after.

Thursday/11-Mar-21: Yogurt on overday.

Leftover Spanikopita for dinner; still good. Then a big salad. And some Banana Cake for after.

Friday/12-Mar-21: Busy day today. Ed took the car to a muffler place to have the mounts replaced. And about 15.30 the electricity for the house went out. Ed couldn't find the problem at first (and no dead mouse in the fuse box). I went to a neighbor and she called one and left a message asking him to come soon; later she brought the number of another one and I left a message on his answering machines, land line and cell phone. Ed finally discovered that the problem lay in one wall socket, the one that runs the freezer. He took that off, expecting to find a dead mouse there, but no luck. Tomorrow he'll replace the socket and hope that fixes the problem.

I started dinner while there was light outside and none inside. We had about a 2/3 recipe of Stir-Fried Prawns with Fresh Asparagus (HotWok, p92), which it looks like I haven't made since 1996. It was good again, served over plain basmati rice. We finished the Banana Cake for after.

Started an Overnnight Boule.

Saturday/13-Mar-21: Baked the Overnight Boule.

Clearing off the peninsula today, I found bags of dried apricots, prunes, figs, and a sack with four dates. I used these to make Stewed Dried Fruits (WofE, p388), which I made during IHCC's Madhur Jaffrey season.

Dinner was Shawarma-Spiced Grilled Chicken with Garlic Yogurt Sauce* (web). This was yummy. The photo showed it being serving with sliced cucumber, but the fridge is bare of cukes, so I sliced some radishes and red bell pepper for our veggie bits. Served with some pita/kebab breads and some Shredded Zucchini (MW@Home, p87). All was yummy. Dessert was a bit of vanilla ice cream with Stewed  Dried Fruits. Have to remember to make that more often; it's really nice and must be healthy.

Sunday/14-Mar-21: Today Ed discovered the electric problem was in the lamp that stood in the cookbook area. Twisted wires shorted out. Now looking for a new lamp.

Yogurt on overday. Powercut in the middle, so I had to restart. I'll save the ones from the last batch to make the next batch.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Greek Artichoke and Potato Stew (Ready, p140). This was good, but nothing special. Probably it was the little purple artichokes rather than the big green ones, which are not completely edible. Better still would be to use frozen artichoke bottoms. The sauce was a bit thin; I think a whole can of tomatoes for a half recipe would have been been better, thus, two cans for a whole recipe. I thickened with a bit of potato starch.

For after, there was ice cream with Stewed Dried Fruits again.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #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: 2

This week in the kitchen

Monday/22-Feb-21: Leftover fish pie for dinner, with steamed broccoli and carrots. Some store-bought lait au semoule for after.

Tuesday/23-Feb-21: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was Soupe de Poulet au Citron à la Grecque (VPG). (I couldn't find this recipe online, but I did find a similar one with the same picture. Odd. We liked this a lot, so I've translated it for later use.) As a go-with, I looked at a couple of Greek salad recipes and made one up. I marinated a small can of chickpeas in a Greek vinaigrette (Greek, because of the oregano, I suppose); I marinated some thinly sliced red onion in red wine vinegar and a bit of sugar (it would have been better without the sugar); thawed and sliced some oven-dried tomatoes; tossed all with some lettuce (arugula or spinach would have been nice, but you use what you have); then topped with crumbled feta. It was all a bit too much like the soup, but who cares? A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Wednesday/24-Feb-21: Ed picked up groceries from both Drives today. We may try to stick to this schedule, semi-normal, which means a meal plan that sort of get follows instead of made up every day or so. Already had first change to meal plan. It's lovely bbq weather today and forecast for tomorrow, so we'll bbq tomorrow. 

Dinner was a half-recipe of Fish Molee* (web) with cod. This is yummy and easy to make. Served over long-grain brown rice, which wasn't strictly necessary but gives us some nice whole grain. No dessert.

Thursday/25-Feb-21: Made a loaf of Light Rye (Electric, p64) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). We both really like this for a bread machine bread, it's taste and it's texture.

Well, yesterday it was supposed to be nice weather today, warm and sunny, but it turned out gray and windy. Not terribly cold. Still Ed bbq'd chipolatas. For one go-with I made Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw (web). I made a half recipe, but accidentally got a half tablespoon measure out for the vinaigrette, so made a quarter of the dressing; the half amount would have been better. And some potato salad (with hard-boiled egg, capers, cornichons, cuke, etc., and a French-ish lemon-based vinaigrette) from my old Joy of Cooking. No dessert needed.

Friday/26-Feb-21: Dinner was Escalopes de Veau à la Crème—Veal with Mushrooms in Cream (Franey, p216). That's a veal scallop topped a piece of prosciutto, then a layer of mushroom cream sauce, topped with slices of Beaufort (one of our favorite swiss-y cheeses), and run under the broiler to melt the cheese. Franey suggests serving with buttered noodles with caraway; I make spaetzle, with butter and caraway seeds. And some roasted asparagus. I didn't need dessert; Ed had a mini HD ice cream cup.

Saturday/27-Feb-21: Went, a bit late, to make tonight's dinner and discovered that the cabbage is supposed to cook for an hour! Oops. Postpone that one. Dinner was a made-up pasta dish, not my best, but not bad. Ravioli with cèpes, onion, prosciutto, shrooms, held together with pyramid goat cheese. A mini HD ice cup for after.

Sunday/28-Feb-21: Made a loaf of Dennis's Blarney-Stone Bread (Magic, p70) (Basic/Rapid/M/d-). Don't seem to have made this one before. It's a very good oatmeal bread.

Beautiful weather, but a blah day. Started dinner a bit late again, and it turned out to take longer than I thought. I made a third recipe of Shrimp-Stuffed Artichokes (EatingTog, p124), this recipe by Peter Feibleman. It was rather poorly written/edited. You chopped parsley but never used it. You saved two cups of the artichoke-cooking water, but never used it. Etc. I followed the cooking time for large artichokes, but they weren't quite done, so when we pulled a leaf, there was nothing attached. A good idea, poorly executed. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #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: 2

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/16-Nov-20: My sack of chicken bones in the freezer overfloweth, so I started a pot of stock today.

Dinner was Fennel-Leek Frittata with Goat Cheese and Black Olives (Bishop, p84; cookbooker). This was quite tasty, plus it was easy and quick. Then a salad. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/17-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) (Basic/Rapid/M/m/-), with 2c T65 and 1c T110. This is the recipe I used to make by heart. It's supposed to be baked in the oven, but I don't believe I've ever done that. It comes out quite nice from the bread machine.

Dinner was Chile-Garlic Shrimp (MC; CL/apr08; web), a recipe I've made a number of times. Broccoli in the sauce, and served over brown rice. Spice chocolate ice cream for after.

Wednesday/18-Nov-20: I boned the leftover chicken from Sunday and we had soft tacos with guacamole and pico de gallo. Satisfying. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/19-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Whole-Wheat Soda Bread (Magic, p66) this morning. Haven't tried it yet.

Dinner was soup from the freezer, and good it was. Followed by a big salad. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/20-Nov-20: Put a rouelle of ham on to brine today, following Adler's instructions (Everlasting, p169).

Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today, so it was fish for dinner. I ordered three packets of four chicken thighs (three because thighs frequently don't show up, eve though ordered, and we're out), and was puzzled when there were four packets. Two of them, it turns out were short-life products, expiring today, and about a third the price. Quick into the freezer with them.

Dinner was a half recipe of Gratin de Poisson et Pomme de Terre (VPG). This was okay, if nothing special. Followed by a salad.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/21-Nov-20: Brined the chunk of pork like Adler suggested, and cooked it the same way, Pork Roast (Everlasting, p169). Very yummy. Planned on smashed sweet potatoes as a go-with, but happened to read about using chopped broccoli sautéed in olive oil with garlic, served over linguine and sprinkled with chopped fermented black beans (Colwin2, p195), and did that instead, with tagliatelle. All was good. Buddy and Sophie enjoyed some fatty treats after. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Started a batch of Overnight Bread.

Sunday/22-Nov-20: Baked off the Overnight Bread. Yum.

We're not sure why, but our Intermarché order also included a bos of tiny white tulips. These have prettily opened a pale pink.

Froze up almost four liters of chicken stock. I've boiled it up every day, and even added to it, but it's time to be finished. Smells good.

Dinner was Thai Black Pepper Chicken (MC), with skinless, boneless chicken thighs. (These are mightily have to come by here; only one more packet in the freezer and no way to get more, since they're not carried at any Drive that I attend.) Good stuff. I got this recipe ages ago from the Guild of Food Writers' site; it seems they no longer have recipes. Too bad. Anyhow, it's good. Served with Broccoli in Oyster Sauce (Delightful, p58), an old favorite, and plain basmati rice. Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

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/9-Nov-20: Dinner was a half dose of an old Allerhande recipe, Farfalle with Smoked Salmon Sauce and Broccoli (MC). Didn't really have enough salmon, but that was okay. Used mafalda, which is much nicer, instead of farfalle. Mini cups of HD ice cream for after.

Tuesday/10-Nov-20: Yogurt on overday. 

Made a loaf of Italian Bread (BigGerman, p17) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-). All T65 flour.

Dinner was Sheet-Pan Harissa Chicken with Carrots and Cauliflower (web). This was good, It's easy to make, but takes a bit of time. It's a one-dish meal. I had four thighs, so made a half recipe. The half dose of the marinade was just enough for the thighs; I had to make up a bit more for the veggies. We pigged out for afters and had 1) a cube of Pavé s'Affinois (cheese), 2) a slice of the new bread (yes!), and 3) two squares of chocolate.

Wednesday/11-Nov-20: Dinner was an halfish dose of Butternut Squash with Pecans and Blue Cheese (web), made with the remains of last week's potimarron. Unfortunately some of the squash got a bit past the done state. Served over short-grain brown rice. Good as a whole; would have been better without burnt squash. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/12-Nov-20: Picked up a grocery order from Intermarché today, so it was fish for dinner. 

We had Trota Salmonata all'Aceto Balsamico (TuscKitch, p139), with regular salmon instead of salmon trout. I thought about doing it in a skillet like last week's one-sided salmon, but instead baked in it in the oven. It was good. Served with polenta and steamed broccoli.

Friday/13-Nov-20: Made another loaf of Italian Bread (BigGerman, p19) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-), this time using 2cups bread flour (T65) and 1cup white whole wheat flour (T110). I didn't remember that I'd made the large loaf last time, so there are two variables in this loaf.

Dinner was a half recipe of Farfalle with Cauliflower and Turkey Sausage (web; CL/dec08). Pretty good stuff, and easy. I used more sausage than asked (four of six in the package, the other two will make sandwiches for lunch), but it didn't feel like too much. Should have made a salad, but was too lazy.

Saturday/14-Nov-20: Made up the chocolate broth for tomorrow's ice cream, and put the chickie on to marinate. No more oomph for cooking, so it was pizza for dinner.

Sunday/15-Nov-20: Made a 1-1/2# loaf of DeDe's Buttermik Bread (MagicHints, p142, which is slightly different from the same recipe in Magic, p16) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). I used 2cups of bread flour (T65) and 1cup of white whole wheat flour (T110). Good stuff.

It was a special meal today because it was Ed's birthday and we couldn't go out. We started with artichoke bottoms, spread with green tapenade, topped with a bit of chabichou (a localish goat cheese), run under the broiler till it's all melty and the cheese is turning browning. 

Our main was Butterflied Grilled Chicken with a Chile-Lime Rub (web), with the chicken cooked like this. Very yummy it was. We had grits, and broccoli-and-corn for sides. 

Dessert was Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream (Scoop, p29), which is still yummy.

We ate well, but no pictures.

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/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/1-Jun-20: Dinner was a half dose of Sweet Potato-and-Red Lentil Curry (web; CL/sep17), served over brown rice as suggested. I see now I forgot to add the coconut milk and cider vinegar. These might have helped, since I found it pretty blah; Ed liked it, though. Not sure why this was a crockpot recipe; it's something that cooks up easily on the stove in the time the rice got done. We were full.

Tuesday/2-Jun-20: My book group met today. The first time I've been out with people in two months.

Dinner was Chicken Schnitzel with Bacon and White Wine (web). I used lardons for the bacon. This was pretty good. Served with orzo and some steamed broccoli and asparagus. (The broccoli came complete with with big caterpiggle under the wrapping.) Some cookies for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight. Susan Dunaway's bread on overnight.

Wednesday/3-Jun-20: The bread wouldn't come out of the pot again. It turns out Ed hasn't been oiling the pot (cast iron) every time he washes it. I wonder how long it will take the pot to regain its seasoning? Won't be making that bread for a while.

Dinner was Fettuccine alle Zucchine e Zafferano—Fettuccine with Courgettes and Saffron Cream (ClassPasta, p91). Used tagliatelle from the freezer. Pretty good. Went to make a salad but the lettuce was not in good shape. Vanilla Pecan ice cream for after.

Thursday/4-Jun-20: Another load of grocery shopping today.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Tzatziki Fish Tacos (web; cookbooker). I had slightly over half the fish and used all the rest (flour, panko, etc.); made about 2/3 of the tzatziki, because that's how much one of my jars holds. Cooked in the oven. This was yummy.

I intended to make a rhubarb crumble for dessert but this recipe for Crumble Fraise et Rhubarbe (web; cookbooker) came across my path and having strawberries in the groceries I made this. I used all 500g of the strawberries, plus about 325g of rhubarb. Cooking time seems too long; the crumble was a bit burnt. Otherwise very good.

Friday/5-Jun-20: Make more Abm Whole Wheat Bread (MC) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-) this morning. Good stuff.

Made a halfish dose of Admired Avocado Salsa Pasta (Ainsley3, p69). This was okay, nothing special. More strawberry-rhubarb crumble for dessert.

Saturday/6-Jun-20: Dinner was a two-thirds recipe of Stuffed Aubergines with Couscous (web). This was almost really good. The filling was stuffed into eggplants cut like baked potatoes, rather than halved, which would have been better. My eggplants had really bitter skin, so we peeled that off at table. The recipe doesn't say what to do with the flesh you scooped out of the eggplant. I chopped mine up and added it to the skillet before the ground beef. Used sambal and a squirt of lemon juice for the aci biber salçasi. Finished off the strawberry-rhubarb crumble for dessert.

Sunday/7-Jun-20: Made a loaf of Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-) for tomorrow.

Needed to use up the rest of the ground beef from yesterday and had two ideas. One of them needed potatoes and I have some to use up, so we had a half dose of Shepherd's Pie with Chipotle-Cheddar Mashed Potatoes (web). This was very yummy. I used mature English cheddar from the freezer, rather than American cheddar. And I used a whole chili in adobo there should have been only a half. Good stuff. Then a salad. We're full.

Yogurt on overnight.

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/6-Apr-20: When I ordered rumsteak at Intermarché, I neglected to say that I wanted a thick cut. What arrived was quite thin, so I searched for something else for dinner. I made Savoury Beef with Asparagus (HotWok, p98). I used to use this book a lot, but not so much since we've moved here. This was an untried recipe, perfect since we have a lot of asparagus right now. Pretty good it was. Then we had last night's salad, which I forgot at lunchtime. No dessert so far.

Tuesday/7-Apr-20: Used up the last bit of cabbage and the bird sausages from the freezer to make Sausage and Cabbage Pasta (web). This was easy and pretty good. Some chocolate-covered madeleine for after. We're getting low on these, and no way to replenish the stock.

Wednesday/8-Apr-20: Placed another order with Intermarché Drive, to be picked up Saturday.

Made some English Muffin Bread (MC) for tomorrow.

Dinner was, vaguely, Asparagus and Leeks on Toast (VegSups, p183). I used a (French) ciabatta for the bread. Goat cheese for the Fontina. Frozen spinach for fresh. Forgot the lemon juice at the end. Still it wasn't bad, surprisingly good even. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after. These are getting scarce. We can't replenish till we can go into Leclerc.

Thursday/9-Apr-20: Made a loaf of Bill Hatcher's Italian Bread (MC) today.

Our first fresco meal today. Dinner was a halfish recipe of Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing (web). This was unusual but good. I served over big lettuce leaves; used frozen parsley because I forgot to order the real stuff last time. It looks like I ordered plain vanilla ice cream, but we got vanilla pecan; we had that for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/10-Apr-20: This morning, I went off to pick up a package with flour and rice at a package depot place. The first time I've had proper shoes or jeans on in weeks. Five kilos of flour fills up my Tupperware Cake Taker.

Dinner was a half recipe of Linguine with Tuna Fish Sauce (PastaCarlu, p24), which we've had several times and remains good. Then a big salad. Then Nigella's Emergency Brownies (web; GoogleDrive), which were quite good. Ed had his with cream; I didn't.

Saturday/11-Apr-20: Ed picked up the Intermarché Drive order today. No strawberries, but we've got asparagus again. And fish for two nights.

While dinner was in the making, we munched on some Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). We have a surplus of cukes for the next week or so. This is a start on using them up.

First of our fish dinners was Grilled Masala Salmon (MJ@Home, p46) cooked on the bbq. We've enjoyed this before; it's still good. Served with Potato Chaat (MJ@Home, p165) and Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash with Cumin (MJ@Home, p174) (only zucchini). We've had both of these before too, and they were still good. For dessert there was Vermicelli Kheer (MJ@Home, p274). I've made a half recipe of this before, and remarked that it never really thickened. This time it set like glue. I think the store-bought vermicelli are not thin enough. Tastes good, though.

Sunday/12-Apr-20: Made some Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) for our next bread.

Dinner was Fish Kebabs—Spicy Cod and Salmon Patties (web). This was good, but hard to believe it would serve four. I thought it might serve three; Ed said, No way, it's perfect for two. Served with plain basmati rice and Carrot and Onion Salad (MJ1, p171). For dessert we had some of the Vermicelli Kheer with cream. Good taste, bad texture.

Yogurt 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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Mar-20: The Semolina Bread I made yesterday is good, but quite crumbly. It's not dry, it just crumbles.

Dinner was Bacon Wrapped Spring Chicken (web), definitely a hit. Instead of an jalapeño, I used one of the long chiles that Leclerc sometimes has in the summer; yellow, it was, and I probably added a trifle too much cayenne to compensate for it not being the proper thing. No matter. Delicious was the result. Served with trio rice and steamed broccoli. The sauce went well with everything. Some St Felicien for dessert.

Tuesday/24-Mar-20: Made up some garlic oil, vaguely following a internet recipe: Put 80ml olive oil and three smallish garlic cloves in a small saucepan. Bring to oil to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer about 5min; the garlic cloves will brown. Turn the heat off; the garlic continues to cook. Put the oil in a small jar; an old spice jar works. (The instructions said to slice the garlic and put it in the oil. I didn't do this.)

Make up a batch of taco seasoning (HB). Might make some chicken taco meat with some of it soon.

Dinner was Pasta with Porcini Mushroom Sauce (MW@Home, p192), using up some of the shrooms I have on hand. Pretty good it was. We finished the St Felicien for after. Then we finished the chocolate-covered corn flakes. We're nicely full.

Wednesday/25-Mar-20: Ed went to get our order at Intermarché Drive this morning. We disinfected all and put most of it up.

Made a loaf of Oat Bread (BigGerman, p29). Made a medium loaf ; my oat bran was expired, but smelt ok so I used it; used the vital gluten. Very high loaf, very tasty. It was so good, we had it for dessert.

Dinner was Rocky Road Potato Cod (Ainsley3, p89). Used lardons for the streaky bacon. Good it was. Bread for dessert.

Thursday/26-Mar-20: My, my, is that Oat Bread good.

Dinner was Teriyaki Salmon & Mango Salsa (web). This was pretty good, although the salsa was pretty assertive, since I didn't deseed the chili. Served with real basmati rice, and steam broccoli. Some HD mini ice cream cups were just the thing for dessert.

Friday/27-Mar-20: Made up some Prune Bread (BMB, p96), first time. Why don't people like prunes. I had to eat some while pitting and quartering them.

For dinner, I used my last three lasagna noodles to make, more or less, a third recipe of Lasagna with Spicy Roasted Cauliflower (web). For the marinara sauce, I made a half recipe of this, also from NYT and very good. Then a salad. Yay! Thank you, Intermarché Drive*. I used the ricotta to make, sort of, Coffee Ricotta Mousse (MW@Home, p307). Used a bit of Kahlua for this. Pretty good, although the texture was a bit grainy since the ricotta had been frozen.

*I'm a bit worried because I haven't had an email from Leclerc Drive for the order I placed to be delivered Monday. Can't get to the site; they simply can't keep up with demand right now, and haven't been able to fix the situation in the last week and a half.

Saturday/28-Mar-20: In the afternoon, I made some Easy Chocolate Shortbread (MC), a recipe that worked the last time I made it, but not this time. The dough wouldn't come together, so I added some cream cheese (maybe 2tbl) to make that happen. The result is tasty, but like eating chocolate-flavored sand.

Dinner was Stir-Fried Pork and Green Beans—Muu Pad Tua Fak Yaw (ThaiCC, p42). This was pretty good. Made a small dent in the huge pile of green beans we got from Intermarché Driver, and used the tail of the varkenshaas, the rest of which will appear somehow in the next days. For after, we had chocolate sand with vanilla ice cream.

Sunday/29-Mar-20: Made up another loaf of Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22), Med/Rapid/Dark, with 100% T65 (bread) flour. Dark, it’s not. And a bit of a lumpy, one-sided loaf; maybe it wanted a bit more water.

I used up the last bits of cauliflower and broccoli to make a half dose of Penne with Cauliflower Sauce (PastaHarv p68). I used cascareccia, although I think the mini-lasagnas, mafaldas, might have been better. Still, it was a pretty good. For dessert, we covered the rest of the chocolate shortcaket things with cream and gobbled them up.

Yogurt on overnight.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/9-May-16: I hadn't fully realized exactly how long the meal I planned for tonight would take to make, so I changed the plan. Instead I cooked lots of veggies to use up bits in the fridge. There was Noodles with Cabbage (BeardPasta, p88). I used some nettle fusilli, which was fine in flavor, but wrong in shape. (Tagliatelle would be nice, or maybe crozets, or spaetzle.) This was pretty good, either as a main or a side. I roasted some asparagus. I made some Baked Parmesan Zucchini (web), very loosely based on the web recipe. I had some panko leftover from something; added Parmesan, Italian herbs, and garlic powder to that. Put the olive oil in one dish, tossed the zuke sticks in that, rolled them in the panko mix, then baked. Pretty good way to do zukes. Mini mags for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/10-May-16: Dinner was Pie's Succulent Pork Chops (MC) with corn and the cob and steamed broccoli. That was it. In the afternoon, I was supposed to work on the beef roll thing for Thursday's dinner, but didn't feel like it. Hope I'll have some energy after tomorrow's outing.

Wednesday/11-May-16: I had my main meal at a hanging basket workshop today. Sandwich for dinner. Ed had leftovers for dinner.

Started the Beef Roll from TLBrit for tomorrow's dinner.

Thursday/12-May-16: I shopped today while Ed was at choir practice. For dinner we had slices of the beef roll, along with some cole slaw (carrots and cabbage from a sack, with with the dressing from Mama's Garlic Coleslaw) and some Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) from the bread maker. Some Brillat-Savarin for after, an impulse buy at Intermarché.

Found out the house next door has been sold. Will be final in July. A French graphic artist from Bordeaux. Ed has spoken with him he thinks.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/13-May-16: Started Grapefruit Marmalade (TLBrit, p6) today, using a red grapefruit since that's what was at the store. Started a big pot of chicken stock. Will finish it off tomorrow.

For dinner tonight, I had the choice of a "sophisticated" salmon dish, or an Indian-style fish. Indian won. With Madhur Jaffrey's help we had a yummy dinner: Grilled Fish Steaks (Q&E, p60) with cod, New Potatoes with Cumin (Q&E, p91), and Spinach with Ginger and Green Chilies (Q&E, p94). The first two are old favorites, although this may have been the first time I've actually used new potatoes. The spinach is new, I think. Don't tell Madhur that I used frozen spinach and red chilies (which is all the freezer holds). Nevertheless, it was quite acceptable. More Brillat-Savarin for afters.

Saturday/14-May-16: Simmered the chicken stock again today and didn't get around to freezing it. Finished the (Red) Grapefruit Marmalade today.

Dinner out for a Cath's birthday. Gave her the larger part of the Red Grapefruit Marmalade. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Sunday/15-May-16: Cath reported that she liked the marmalade, yay! (I didn't.)

Simmered the chicken stock again today and didn't get around to freezing it. Tomorrow!

Dinner was an easy, quick one: a half dose of Spicy Thai Noodles (web). Quite good, maybe a tad too sweet. And too much sauce too. Used all the add-ins. Tasty stuff. Then, as a complete contrast, more of the Brillat-Savarin for afters.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: yes for April/May

This week in the kitchen

Monday/20-May-13: Made some Whole-Wheat Soda Bread (Magic, p66) in the ABM this morning to see us through lunch and tomorrow's breakfast. Used milk and yogurt instead of buttermilk. Nice texture this has.

Went to start dinner and discovered I was an hour late, having misread the timing this morning. Oops! So, dinner from the freezer, some pork with green pepper sauce. Served over mashed potatoes with some haricots verts (that I'd cooked on top of the boiling potatoes) on the side. There's enough sauce left to serve with pasta for another quick meal in the next days.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/21-May-13: I've had my eye on High-Temperature Roast Leg of Lamb (CC1, p209) for a long time, just never got around to doing it. Turns out the same recipe is in Essential (p526; cookbooker) as High-Temperature Roast Lamb. With the cookbooker challenge for Essential going on, I decided to give this a try. Yum. Served with asparagus roasted under the grill and Clothilde Dussolier's Perfect Roast Potatoes, which were especially good tonight, I think because I tossed the half-cooked and shaken potatoes with the bit of oil after they were in the baking pan, rather than in the shaking pan. For dessert, there was Chocolate Rum Mousse (Essential, p814; cookbooker).

Wednesday/22-May-13: Grocery shopping today. Bought some panga to use for a half recipe Moroccan Spiced Fish (SimpSups, p157). Made half of the Moroccan Spice Mix (SimpSups, p239) to make the rub. Really easy, really tasty. Accompanied by a pilaf sort of thing and a half recipe of Carrot Salad (Couscous, p75); looks like the first time I've tried this recipe, it's easy and tasty. Finished off the Chocolate Rum Mousses for after.

Thursday/23-May-13: Today's big accomplishment was filing our French tax return. Online. Then I rushed to get the chicken for tomorrow night's dinner on to marinate before we went quizzing. Only to find that it wanted to sit 15 minutes rubbed with salt and lemon, before it was topped with the marinade. So it spent the quiz time, salted and lemoned, in the fridge, and I added the marinade on our return.

Friday/24-May-13: An IHCC dinner tonight, potluck with Whole Chicken Baked with an Almond and Onion Sauce (MJ@Home, p99; cookbooker), Yellow Basmati Rice with Sesame Seeds (MJ@Home, p208; cookbooker) and Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant (MJ@Home, p153; cookbooker). For afters there was a new cheese, Timanoix, a cat-sitting gift from a Trappist monastery in Brittany. A softish cow cheese that has been washed or soaked in walnut liqueur for a brown rind and nutty taste. Oops, there went our resolve to limit ourselves to a quarter of the cheese at a time!

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/25-May-13: Off to a quiz tonight. Baked another Rhubarb Crumb Cake to take to Barbara's for dinner. Otherwise nothing much happened in the kitchen.

Sunday/26-May-13: Put some Authentic French Bread in the ABM in time for breakfast this a.m. I guess I should really learn another ABM bread by heart so I have more of a repetoire.

Dinner was leftover lamb leg, plus more of Clothilde Dusolier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes and some roasted asparagus and broccoli. For afters, more of the Timanoix and then a slice of cake.

Started a half-batch of a King Arthur Flour no-knead bread so we have bread for tomorrow's lunch.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: yes, #4 BREAD: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/8-Apr-13: Yesterday at the bric-à-brac, someone was selling their old tupperware, including a colander complete with the lid (I use mine frequently to keep our cat friends out of defrosting shrimp and such) and the lettuce keeper (mine no longer has the inner spike). It was tempting to buy the colander since it was in better shape than mine, and a pretty yellow color instead of green.

Used up the frozen shredded zucchini to make Chocolate Zucchini Cake from a 1995 email printout. The recipe missed two important ingredients, so I searched the web and found more or less the same recipe to get those. Mixed it all in the cuisinart, which is a nice way to do this kind of thing. Pretty good it was.

Dinner was a half recipe of Seared Scallops with Bacon, Cabbage, and Apple (CL/jan-feb13, web). Seemed like a strange combination at first, but not when you think about it. Pork, apples, cabbage, all classic go-togethers. Adding the scallops on top? Why not? They have a sweetish taste that goes well. Very good. Served with roast potatoes as suggested. And cake for dessert, of course.

Last night's ABM bread having been eaten up in the course of the day and no one having gone out to find a boulanger, tonight we have Whole-Wheat Soda Bread (Magic, p66) in the machine overnight. Just made this two months ago, I see now, but no note in the book. Good thing I liked it!

Tuesday/9-Apr-13: Well, this day didn't turn out the way it was expected, what with a trip to the doctor for Ed to get three stitches in his thumb.

Dinner was Chili-Rubbed Chicken Thighs (MC). This is a nice old recipe that should be done on the bbq grill, but I don't think I've ever done it that way. You make a nice spicy rub. A bit of this, plus some sliced onions and a dab of butter, goes inside a potato per person, each wrapped in foil and baked. The rest of the rub gets rubbed into some skinless chicken thighs. Tonight they were not quite thawed, but they cooked fine about ten minutes per side under the broiler. As a go-with there was Chargrilled Broccoli with Chili and Garlic (Otto, p41), for this week's IHCC theme, wherein we pretend broccoli is a leaf vegetable. Then more Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

Wednesday/10-Apr-13: Shopping today.

Dinner was Swordfish with Smoked Paprika (web), a definite keeper. Luckily Ed is not being bothered by all the tomatoes I've been seeding lately. Served this over rice, although I think spaghetti might have been nice. Then a salad. Then more Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/11-Apr-13: Oops, there was no winter squash at the shop (as there was the previous week), but I did impulse buy some asparagus. (Can't figure out why start-of-season asparagus here are cheaper than height-of-season asparagus in the Netherlands.) Dinner was Asparagus and Ricotta Tart (web). Quite good it was. Used my regular pâte brisée recipe, and added some almond powder (rather than hazelnut as suggested), which gave it a nice nutty taste. Then a big salad. (Big, because the smallest packages here are 100g or 125g, whereas in NL, I used to ask at the greengrocers for 75g of mixed lettuces for the two of us.) Then we finally finished off the Chocolate Zucchini Cake. I'm full.

Friday/12-Apr-13: Dinner was Meyer Lemon Chicken (web), a recipe with weird proportions, asking two chicken breast halves halved and two thighs to serve 6 people. Pretty skimpy servings those. I used two whole legs. Was edible but not a favorite. Served with with haricots verts tossed with olive oil, garlic slices, and sea salt, then roasted. Those were good. Started in on one of our extra pairs of chocolate easter bunnies for after.

Saturday/13-Apr-13: At last, the weather is threatening to turn warm. Looks like tomorrow will be summer!

Dinner was a half recipe of Braised Leeks with Yellow Bell Peppers and Fresh Tomatoes (PeV, p191). First thing I've made from this book. Looks like it will be worth a thorough-lookthrough. Served over home-made linguine. Crèmes brulées from the freezer for dessert.

Sunday/14-Apr-13: Two days ago it was winter; today was summer. Where did spring go? Went bric-a-brac-ing today. Ed got a crowbar and I found two nice shot glasses (to top up our mismatched assortment) for a euro and a pretty little pitcher (I'm a sucker for pretty little pitchers) for 50 centimes.

We intended to bbq this evening, but that didn't happen. So I grilled a half recipe Glorious Kebab-Burgers (MJFamily, p105). Accompanied by Peas with Mushrooms and Onions (MJFamily, p105) and some potato salad loosely based on Joy of Cooking's recipe with a lemon vinaigrette and cuke, radishes, black olives, red onion, hard-boiled egg, etc. For dessert, we had toasted waffles topped with the last of the pineapple sherbert and blueberries from the freezer. All tasty and we're full.

Yogurt on overnight. We have just enough bread for breakfast, so will have to address that in the morning.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 5
This month: #3 PASTA: yes, #4 BREAD: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Feb-13: My Galloping Gourmet spurtle went missing last week. I miss it! I've crawled around on the floor looking under things but haven't spied it. Where has it gone?

Off to a movie in the evening, so we had our main meal in the afternoon. Intended to make a dish of baked eggs with my leftover filo, but opened the package to find it was moldy. Harumph. So scrambled the eggs instead. It was good.

Tuesday/5-Feb-13: Leftover night. Took the meat from the chicken Indian chicken and warm it with the leftover sauce. (I wonder if the stock from these bones will have an Indian flavor?)  Sort of made some Indian Mashed Potatoes (Q&E, p90), and then a halfish dose of Gujerati Carrot Salad (MJ1, p170). For dessert there was Chocolate Mousse (MC).

Some Whole Wheat Soda Bread (Magic, p66) in the ABM overnight, so we'll have bread for breakfast.

Wednesday/6-Feb-13: Well, I really liked the Whole Wheat Soda Bread, but Ed didn't ... at breakfast time. Later when I served a snack with a bit of tapenade on a slice of bread before dinner, he though it was great. Go figure.

Shopping today. Went for gas afterwords, just when all the pumps went on strike. Wasted lots of time and ended up getting gas elsewhere.

Dinner was Cauliflower Cheese Tart (web) which wasn't bad at all. Followed by a salad. Then some cookies. Boring, eh?

Thursday/7-Feb-13: Dinner for IHCC tonight. There was Pakistani-Style Grilled Lamb Chops (MJ@Home, p119) with Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173) and a quarter dose of Mushroom Pullao (MJ1, p152). For the zucchini, I halved them lengthwise and made 2-3" sections to grill—this worked quite well. I bought three lamb chops yesterday and what I thought was three chops in the freezer was actually five, so we had lots of meat, which turned out to be OK because Yvonne came by at dinnertime and helped us finish them.

Friday/8-Feb-13: Pizza, I thought (thinking of going out to get one). Pizza! said Ed (thinking of me making one). So pizza it was tonight, homemade, with grilled veggies and too much cheese on top. Oh well. For dessert there were some slices of tart I bought when I stopped at the boulangerie on the way home from my afternoon outing. Yummy, but way too rich. We could easily have split a single piece between us. Kind of a pecan pie, but with walnuts, topped with a layer of dark chocolate.

Saturday/9-Feb-13: Made some chicken stock that may turn out to be a bit Indian-flavored from last week's roast chicken. Set it in the outdoor refrigerator where it will likely freezer overnight. I'll have to thaw it to give it a taste before I freeze it up proper.

Also cooked 500g of black beans. Dinner was then a halfish version of Black Bean Enchiladas (Bishop, p337). Oops, used the full amount of beans instead of a halfish amount. Served with Mama's Spanish rice and some guacamole. I'm stuffed. Have a whole lot of beans to do something with now.

Sunday/10-Feb-13: Froze up chicken stock; tasted good and not all that much Indian. Froze up two times 2 cups of black beans. Used the rest (another 2 cups?) to make a soup using up lots of odd bits from the freezer, including a half cup of canned black beans, some thick slices of poitrine nature, a cooked smoked sausage, and some broth from cooking a little ham. That turned into a yummy soup; a trifle salty, perhaps, from the ham that was cooked in it, but still good.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #3 PASTA: no, #4 BREAD: no