This week in the kitchen

Monday/25-Jan-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Roasted Broccoli Pasta with Lemon and Feta (web). I don't have any whole wheat pasta with shape, so used mafalda instead. Whole wheat would be nice. Instead of making up a steak seasoning (lots of recipes on the web), I used some of Montreal Steak Seasoning I made for something a while ago. We finished the blueberry mascarpone tart for after. 

Overnight Boule brewing overnight.

Tuesday/26-Jan-21: Baked the Overnight Boule this morning.

For lunch I made another improvised sort of reuben sandwich, with the same nice little Russian dressing-ish sauce that I made last week. 

Dinner was Lentil Spinach Soup with Lemon (web), which was pretty yummy. I made it with brown (blond) lentils and two blocks of frozen spinach leaves. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/27-Jan-21: Off for a haircut today, with rumors we may go to lockdown #3 soon.

Left my first batch of yogurt going with 9 hours on the clock. It wasn't quite done after that, so I added another hour. Perfect. Yay! No more overnight yogurt!

Dinner was canned tongue with a grainy mustard sauce. Made a whole dose of Spätzle (MW@Home, p203), which was too much, so have some leftovers of this

. Also some steamed broccoli and cauliflower bits. Then some butterscotch tapioca pudding for after. We're full.

Thursday/28-Jan-21: Dinner was, sort of, a half version of Duck Breast with Cranberry Sauce (web).  I used aiguillettes instead of a whole breast, since that's what was in the freezer and they defrost quickly. Didn't use as much honey as asked. Served with leftover spätzle, followed by a salad. We finished off the tapioca for after.

Friday/29-Jan-21: Made a loaf of French Bread Extraordinaire! (MagicHints, p158) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-), which is somewhat similar to Authentic French Bread in Magic. I baked it in the bread machine rather than in the oven. Used 1-1/2cups T110 and 2cups T65. 

My bread machine will turn 20 this year. Still going strong? Not really, but still going. The gear in the base of the pan is not working as it ought. Ed will try to repair.

Picked up an order from Intermarché today.

Dinner was Spiced Tilapia with Coconut Rice (CL/sep18; web). With cod since tilapia isn't sold around here. Served with Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts* (web). We'll call this a DMA even though it's gone beyond that now. For after, we had some store-bought vanilla. Very good.

Apparently no lockdown right away, but big shopping centers are closed and travel in and out of the country is restricted. Nothing that affects us really. The 6pm-6am curfew remains.

Saturday/30-Jan-21: Last night, figuring out what to eat today, I narrowed it down to two recipes, then choose one. Unfortunately, I left the tag on both recipes. Tonight, I turned to the first and started that one before I realized what I'd done. 

Made yogurt during the day today. 

So dinner was not as planned, but it was good. I made Turkish Pilaf from my old Green Book, recipe probably from either Family Circle or Woman's Day (do these still exist?), collected well before we moved to NL. It's supposed to serve two, but that's very generous; it would probably serve three easily. Had a bit of a salad after. No dessert since we were stuffed.

Sunday/31-Jan-21: Made a loaf of Bill Hatcher's Italian Bread (MC) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Hmm, see that I've done this as a Large loaf before; it's really between Medium and Large. Don't expect it will make much difference. The load looks lovely. We'll see how it is tomorrow. The gear in the bread pan turned as it ought to, without complaint. Yeah, Ed!

Dinner was a half recipe of Sea Scallops with Sweet Red Peppers and Zucchini* (Essential, p409). Good stuff.

For after there was Sara Lee's Crumb Cake (MC), a recipe I collected a long time ago from EAT-L. Made in the food processor, it's easy and fast to assemble. And delicious. Sara Lee-like? Sort of I guess.

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: 9; #8 NEW: 1

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