This week in the kitchen

Monday/19-Oct-20: Picked up an order at Leclerc Drive today. 

Dinner was a half dose of Pasta Cream Bean Dream (Ainsley3, p148). The beans were some of the snijbonen we got at Carrefour last week. This was easy, fast, and yummy. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

Mixed beans to soak for tomorrow.

Tuesday/20-Oct-20: Off for new glasses this morning and to the doctor this afternoon. 

Made a beany soup with ancho-soaking liquid from the freezer. Good stuff. I also defrosted some pork-cooking liquid, but it was too much for the beans I have. Later. Some store-bought chocolate mousses for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/21-Oct-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17). Even though I  measured the water short as I usually do, the loaf was still caved in. But tasty. I'll cut it back further still next time. Would like to make this as a larger loaf; the only thing I don't like about this book is that all the loaves are small.

I couldn't find the cookbook I was meant to cook dinner from, so quickly assembled another menu. We had Cajun Salmon Burgers (web), as patties, without a bun. And Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (HandyBook). And some grits. Some store-bought riz au laits for after. Still haven't found the cookbook.

Thursday/22-Oct-20: Dinner was Cauliflower, Garlic and Turmeric Soup (web). On her site, lots of people liked it, but I didn't find it a Nigella hit. The potato made it gooey. It was in desperate need of salt and pepper (my bouillon cube was salt-free). A good shot of jalapeño tabasco didn't hurt (Ed used regular tabasco). Served with tuna salad sandwiches.

Friday/23-Oct-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BigGerman, p15) (Basic/Rapid/M/d). This is very similar, but bigger, than the loaf from BMB. It’s one I used to make a lot in NL. 

Dinner was Creamy Coq au Vin with Mustard and Mushrooms (Mustard, p161). I used only two kip filets, but made all the very yummy sauce. This was very good. Served with long-grain brown rice and some carrots and snijbonen chunks with lemon juice and home-made seasoned salt. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

Saturday/24-Oct-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché doay, so there was fish for dinner tonight. We had Seared Salmon with Pesto Fettuccine (web). This was easy-easy and a passable meal. Lacking  whole wheat fettuccine, we had whole wheat spaghetti. Then there was one of those Frenchish grated carrot salad. And mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/25-Oct-20: Dinner was, sort of, Papa's Posole (MC). Shortly before the computer that ran Mastercook died, I had moved Soups&Stews from my main cookbook to a separate cookbook. And forgot about it, causing a small panic when I was looking for this recipe. I made a halfish recipe using the last of the sauté de porc that I bought recently. (The rest got made into some of Hazan's Italian Sausage.) Used some pork-cooking juice from the freezer for the stock. Started in the morning and finished the cooking in the crockpot while we were out. Some guacamole and tortillas as go-withs.

Yogurt on overnight. Overnight Bread on, yes, 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/25-Mar-19: We went to help Cath clear out the barn today and she fed us a meal. Later we had some corn chips and that was about all.

Tuesday/26-Mar-19: Our meal was Grilled Soy Sauce-Mustard Chicken Thighs (HomTrav, p143). This was easy and yummy. Ed bbq'd the chicken. As a side there was Stir-Fried Cucumbers and Courgettes (HomTrav, p181). We've had this before and like it a lot. And some plain basmati rice. We ate outside even though it was a mite on the cold side.

Wednesday/27-Mar-19: Busy day out. I had an ENT appointment and we did shopping nearby at Grand Frais and Biocoop. Buddy came along, but didn't do well. He threw up at some point and was massively unhappy for the rest of the trip. Looks like we've got a carsick dog. :-(

Dinner was Spicy Pork and Potatoes from India (Mustard, p158; cookbooker). I belatedly realized this was a vindaloo with potatoes. And way too many of those. I halved the amount asked and could have halved that again. Edible, but nothing special. Served over rice. For some vegetable, there was Green Beans with Mushrooms (Q&E, p86), using up the oyster mushrooms in the fridge. As a condiment, we each had a Egg Pickle of India (Mustard, p152; cookbooker) from the batch that I made a couple of weeks ago. I liked this; Ed, not being a pickle person, didn't care so much for it. But, in spite of the name, it's not an Indian pickle like lime pickle, for instance. It's more a nice snack, or for a ham sandwich, or chopped in a salad. We ate late and were full but we finished off a package of rice crackers with dark chocolate afterwards.

Thursday/28-Mar-19: Shopping today. Thursday is now our usual day, since my French lesson moved to today. That's ok since it means we can get our bread from the good boulanger in Taponnat.

Dinner was Pan-Seared Tuna with Olive-Wine Sauce (web; CL/jan97). My tuna bits were not 2" thick, so I cooked them for a much shorter time. Still it was good, and the sauce delicious. There was also our standard, store-bought Moroccan couscous and Tomato-Cucumber-Feta Salad (web), which was very tasty. I made a half recipe of this salad, but only a quarter of the dressing; this was a good choice. A nice meal altogether. For dessert, we had a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Friday/29-Mar-19: I buzzed up the leftover juice and veg from last Saturday's Garlic, Mushroom and Olive Chicken Thighs, added some broccoli and pasta and called it soup. Some Morbier for after.

Saturday/30-Mar-19: It was supposed to be pasta today, but it seems there's just too much to do to take the time.

On Thursday I bought more than 2 kilos of pork sauté on sale. Today I made a bunch of Homemade Sausage (30MinPasta, p161). Froze that and and the rest of the sauté in meal-sized portions.

I meant to make fresh pasta tonight, but I was too busy with other things to get that done. Another month without pasta. Dinner was Spaghettini ai Gamberi, Pomodoro e Capperi—Spaghettini with Prawns, Tomatoes and Capers (ClassPasta, p73), about a 2/3 recipe for the two of us. This was pretty good, but not great. It should have had smaller shrimp or bigger/thicker pasta. Then a salad. And then some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/31-Mar-19: Lots of leftovers for dinner. Two lamb chops, eggplant relish, potato salad, and broccoli from last Sunday. The broccoli didn't didn't hold up well, but the rest were yummy. Green beans and mushrooms from Wednesday's sort-of Indian. Thought it might not be enough, so I grilled five chipolatas. We're stuffed.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: The Incredible Secrets of Mustard
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/18-Mar-19: Dinner was a half recipe of Caramelized Onion Frittata with Artichoke Hearts, Zucchini and Goat Cheese (web). This fit in my bigger cast iron skillet and was quite good. The frittata is first cooked on the top of the stove and then finished under the broiler. It worked really well. Then a salad. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Tuesday/19-Mar-19: Tamale dinner tonight courtesy of Chris and Amy. With Mama's Spanish rice and guacamole. And some ice cream after, a mini-cup for me and a mini-bar for Ed. We enjoyed it.

Wednesday/20-Mar-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was a half dose of Foil-Baked Fish Filets (Mustard, p175; cookbooker). Not very good. Served with tiny boiled potatoes. Those were good. Got a cheesecakey thing for dessert (new, on sale). It was so good we ate it all. Oink, oink.

Thursday/21-Mar-19: Started a batch of Pickled Broccoli Stems (VeryBest, p36). To be finished tomorrow.

For an afternoon snack I cleared out some leftovers, topping small tortillas with goat cheese, artichoke hearts from a jar, and roasted red bell peppers strips from a jar. Pretty tasty.

Loosely based on Parsley Chicken en Croûte (MC), I used some frozen squares of pâte feuilettée and stuffed with kip filets, topped with some jarred chestnut-mushroom mixture that's been hanging around in the pantry cabinet for way too long, some parsley, and a dab of crème fraîche that needed to be used. It was pretty good. With trio rice and steamed rice. Chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.

Friday/22-Mar-19: Finished the Pickled Broccoli Stems today. We'll see how they are tomorrow.

Our afternoon snack turned out bigger than I expected. I boiled up a bit of whole wheat pasta. While that was happening, I sautéed some red onion, then added minced garlic, a bit of zucchini, and some leftover chickpeas and canned corn. It was pretty good, but more than we needed really.

For dinner, there were Easy Salmon Patties (Mustard, p171). These were good, bland salmon patties. Got better with Fiery Habañero Hot Sauce, but that's what this sauce is good for. As a side, some snijbonen chunks. Then we finished the chaource. I'm full.

Saturday/23-Mar-19: Cath came for a meal this afternoon before we went to a movie. We ate outside and started with Cold Beetroot with Cream (Pomiane, p180), an old favorite, plus Mushroom Salad—Salade de Champignons à la Crème (BEFCC, p31), a new dish from a favorite book which was pretty good. Our main was Garlic, Mushroom and Olive Chicken Thighs (web). This was easy and tasty. Have lots of juice and veg left, which I'll buzz up for a potage in the next days. Served with teeny potatoes boiled, buttered, and parsleyed. We had ice cream bars at the cinema for dessert.

Sunday/24-Mar-19: I'm enjoying munching on the pickled broccoli stems. Haven't offered them to Ed yet.

Good dinner tonight. Halfish verions of all. Lots of leftovers. We had Grilled Lamb Chops with Pomegranate-Eggplant Relish (License, p144). The barbecued lamb chops, with a rub of ground coriander, ground cumin, S&P, were delicious. The relish (why isn't this just a veggie side dish?) was delicious. Served with Potato Salad with Arugula & Dijon Vinaigrette (web), which was good. And Mesquite Grilled Broccoli with Preserved Lemons and Greek Yogurt. This is, I think, from a cookbook that I've recently recycled. Our broccoli wasn't mesquite-grilled, but grilled on a grill pan; it could have been parboiled a bit longer. But it was tasty anyhow. We ate well and enjoyed a lovely bottle of Haut Medoc.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: The Incredible Secrets of Mustard
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/11-Mar-19: Soup and sandwich for dinner tonight. The soup was Hot Bloody Mary Soup (Ainsley2, p27; cookbooker). Pretty good this was. I roasted the tomatoes and chili in the morning so it was fairly quick to make. I used chicken stock instead of vegetable stock. Made a whole recipe and will freeze about half. The sandwich was Tuna with Capers, Olive and Lemon (web). pretty good. Made a half recipe with the large can of tuna we get here, and we ate almost all of it. On toast with a bit of mâche. (I see a slice of tomato in the pic on the site. That would have been a nice addition.)

Tuesday/12-Mar-19: Rusty to the vet again. He's improving, but needs will have his antibiotic for another week.

Dinner was Broccoli with Roasted Peppers, Olives, and Feta Cheese (Savory, p188; MC). Old favorite, good stuff. Over short-grain brown rice. Some mini ice cream bars for dessert.

Wednesday/13-Mar-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was a half recipe of Dijon Salmon with Green Bean Pilaf (web; cookbooker). This was very good. Made a salad from leftover mâche and leftover butterleaf lettuce; the dressing included the last bit of the sauce on the fish. The some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Thursday/14-Mar-19: Steam hard-boiled six eggs today to make Egg Pickle of India (Mustard, p152). Never heard of this (but have since found recipes for same on the web), so had to make it. Now have to wait seven days to try it.

Dinner was a half-recipe of Chicken Dijon (Mustard, p162). Very good it was. Served with mini ravioles, basilique from Provence, and Shredded Zucchini (MW@Home, p87) using some shredded zuke that had been in the freezer a bit too long. Chaource for afters. We're full.

Friday/15-Mar-19: Dinner was Buckwheat Spätzle (PastaBible, p123; cookbooker). The sauce (ham, spinach, cream) was good, but the spätzle were too heavy. Then a salad. Then the last of the chocolate-covered madeleines.

Saturday/16-Mar-19: Made up some Chocolate Tapioca Pudding (HandyBook) while prepping for dinner. We had a halfish recipe of Garlic and Herb Roasted Shrimp, a recipe I collected from EAT-L in 2015. Pretty yummy, this is supposedly from an Ina Garten book, Make It Ahead. With trio rice, steamed broccoli, and a demi-baguette for soppy. All good.

Sunday/17-Mar-19: Made up some Spicy Ham Spread (Mustard, p156; cookbooker) this morning. This was ok, but not great.

Disappointing dinner tonight. Made a half recipe of Braised Lamb with Maftoul and Chickpeas (web). A waste of four beautiful lamb chops. Edible, but not as flavorful as it should have been. I made some grated carrot salad as a side, to go with the carrot in the braise. Chocolate tapioca pudding for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: The Incredible Secrets of Mustard
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
This year: #7 PROJECT: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Mar-19: Lunch in Limoges with Chris and Amy today. In the evening we had carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, rillettes de canard, and one of the Les Tartinables things, then a pear tart from a boulanger. Munch munch munch.

Tuesday/5-Mar-19: Lunch in Angoulême with Chris and Amy. Then to Sally Allen's funeral. Then visited the Musée de Bande Dessiné. Then to the train station. Various munchies in the afternoon and evening.

Wednesday/6-Mar-19: New doggy, Rusty, came to us today. He's having a hard time following his castration op.

For dinner we had leftover rice and beans with the avocado and shrimp salad. Still pretty good. Then a big salad. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines. We're full.

Thursday/7-Mar-19: Dinner was Smoked Salmon Paupiettes (Mustard, p170). This was quite nice, really a brunch or lunch plate, though. Then a simple salad of mâche. Then the rest of that package of chocolate-covered madeleines.

Friday/8-Mar-19: Shopping today. Bought a box of Fronton rosé; curious how that's going to be since we like the Fronton rosé we bought in Fronton.

Put up a chicken with a dry brine for tomorrow's dinner.

Used the leftover phyllo and Cath's mirabelles to make a little tart (with ground almonds, almond extract, an egg, and a bit of powdered sugar). Baked for a while at about 350F. It was good. We'll probably eat the rest for breakfast.

Dinner was a half dose of Dijon-Style Trout (Mustard, p172). Ok, it was dos de lieu noir rather than trout. The sauce here is delicious. I thought it would be good with another fish (salmon, perhaps) or even chicken. Served with trio rice and some steamed snijbonen.

Saturday/9-Mar-19: Cath for dinner today. For a starter we had Crab Salad in Tomato Cups (Mustard, p168; cookbooker). This is listed as an entrée, but that's really hard to believe. As a not-too-big starter for three, it was quite good. I used a can of crab meat, a bit less than asked, and real mayo, not low-fat. Filled medium-small three tomatoes nicely.

For a main there was a dry-brined, spatchcocked, bricked chicken. I've used a number of recipes to make up a sort of master recipe. The Moroccan rub/brine was especially tasty. Accompanied by Moroccan couscous and steamed green beans with lemon juice and za'atar. Some store-bought riz au laits for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/10-Mar-19: Ate at the Farci Charentais repas at St Adjutory today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: The Incredible Secrets of Mustard
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes
This year: #7 PROJECT: no