This week in the kitchen

Monday/20-Jun-22: The chicken that didn't get cooked when it was too hot showed up tonight as Sesame-Crusted Roast Chicken (O&C, p416). Again, I did this in the Römertopf clay cooker. The huge chickie (1.7+kg) barely fit. This is a really nice, moist chicken. For a starter we had Greens Salad with Hard-Cooked Eggs and Fried Garlic (O&C, p268), with spinach at the green. Very nice salad. There were some whole wheat mini macaronis as a side for the chicken, to help sop up the nice sauce.

Tuesday/21-Jun-22: Whew, after two stormy, lightning nights, finally getting caught up here.

Dinner was Gnocchi de Printemps, a recipe I apparently collected online, but haven't been able to find back. This was easy and quite tasty. To make it easy, I used store-bought gnocchi, which weren't bad. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Wednesday/22-Jun-22: Dinner was, sort of, Tequila Fajitas (MC), with shrimp, a recipe I collected from EAT-L. Couldn't find the tortillas in the freezer, so used pita breads instead. We opened those and plopped the shrimp and veggies on top, plus some guacamole. I didn't grill the shrimp and veggies as asked, but wokked them instead. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Thursday/23-Jun-22: Two Drives and a Leclerc visit today. 

Dinner was Haddock Baked in a Yoghurt Sauce (MJ1, p94), with lieu noir. Good stuff. Served with Gujerati-Style Green Beans (MJ1, p102), very good, and Mushroom Pullao (MJ1, p152), also good. For after there were some store-bought riz au laits tarted up with ground cardamon to give an Indian taste.

Friday/24-Jun-22: Dinner was a halfish dose of Southwestern Steak Salad (web; GD). Easy and very tasty. Used two sucrines (baby romaine) for the lettuce. Used some English cheddar and comté for the cheese. 

Saturday/25-Jun-22: Picked the chicken from Monday. Used a good chunk of that to make Chipotle Chicken & Chickpea Skillet with Sweet Potatoes (web). Some good tastes, but not enough to make again.  A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Sunday/26-Jun-22: Dinner was White Wine Cream Sauce for Ravioli (web), with artichoke girsoles. This is kind for like tarted up ravioli alla panna. Good, but the sauce was maybe a trifle too thick. Then a salad. Then some chocolate tapioca pudding.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/1-Nov-21: If we hadn't been able to find a lunch venue last Friday when Chris and Amy arrived, I'd planned to make a crockpot dinner for them. Instead we had that tonight. I made a full recipe of Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef* (web; GD; notes) and froze half for another time. Served with rice and (somewhat over-)steamed broccoli.

 

No dessert for me since I'll have a blood test in the morning.

Tuesday/2-Nov-21: Dinner was Chinese Broccoli (MC). This was easy and tasty, if a trifle salty. Served over long-grain brown rice. We finished the vanilla-almond ice cream for after.

Wednesday/3-Nov-21: Dinner was a half dose of Mediterranean Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Capers (web; GD; notes). This was easy and yummy. Served with trio rice. Some store-bought crème caramel for after. 
. 
Thursday/4-Nov-21: Shopping today. Needed a cabbage, but there were no more of the nice flat ones. Too bad. 

Dinner was Tarragon Salmon (web), thank you, Nigella. Easy and very nice. Served with short-grain brown rice and Frosted Cauliflower, a recipe I got from EAT-L. We liked this well enough, that I'll type it up to save. For after we had an apricot and an anise cookie; the apricot ones are good, the anise ones are especially good, and I don't really like anise. 

Friday/5-Nov-21: Dinner was A Night in Tunisia Pasta (with Harissa, Broccoli, Cauliflower)* (web; GD). This was good and spicy. Then some Häagen-Dasz mini ice cream cups for after.

For a coming meal, I made a half recipe of Atjar Tjampoer (web). Made a pretty full liter jar's worth. Looks good. We'll see.

I really need to get busy recycling cookbooks. Have a lot of candidates, but need to do the job.

Saturday/6-Nov-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Nasi Fantasie (web; Allerhande; GD; notes). This isn't very highly rated on the AH site, but we thought it was very good, tasty and satisfying. I forgot to get some kroepoeky things which would have been nice as a go-with. Used brown basmati for the rice. Used this recipe for the Pisang Goreng. No bakbanaan this week, so I used a green banana instead. It was smallish, cut longwise, then in halves. Not sure the lengthwise cut was necessary. A bit more might have been nice, so a bigger banana, or two small ones perhaps.The atjar hadn't really set long enough, but wasn't bad at all.

  

A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Sunday/7-Nov-21: An early meal today so we could go to a concert. We had store-bought falafels with store-bought kebab breads, served with Tzatziki (O&C, p465), Tahini Dipping Sauce, Variation: Falafel Sauce (WofE, p360), and Green Pea Hummus (web; GD)

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/4-Oct-21: Dinner was Cabbage Stir Fry with Shrimp and Dried Chiles (web), served over basmati rice. Good stuff. I seem to be completely out of oyster sauce; I used hoisin instead, then omitted the sugar since hoisin is a bit sweet. Some Haagden-Dasz mini ice cream cups for after.

Tuesday/5-Oct-21: Dinner was a halfish dose of Chicken with Eggplant Gorgonzola Crust (PotPies, p37). It's maybe stretching a bit to call this a pot pie, but it was easy and very tasty. I had two big kip filets, an eggplant weighing about 350g, and a 200g chunk of gorgonzola. Deglazed with port, which instantly evaporated, leaving not much behind in the skillet. Surprisingly a nice sauce developed in the oven. Forgot to make rice or another starch thing, but it really wasn't necessary. Followed by a grated carrot salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each. 

Wednesday/6-Oct-21: Dine was a halfish dose of Whole Wheat Penne with Broccoli, Green Olives, and Pine Nuts (web; CL/aug04). This should have served six, but two of us managed half. Instead of whole wheat penne, I used something labelled ressorts, like little radiators, whole wheat. I had less than needed, but they were plenty. It seemed at bit dry, so we each added a good spoonful of pyramid cheese (kind of like cream cheese of goat's milk) at table, and a good grinding of red pepper flakes. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/7-Oct-21: Shopping today.

I waited too late to make what I'd planned for tonight's dinner, so instead I made a half recipe of Garlic Butter Salmon* (web; GD). This was quite good (but that's why it's a DoMeAgain recipe, isn't it?). Served with trio rice. Some apricot tarts from the boulangerie for after.

Friday/8-Oct-21: Dinner was Crispy Chicken Thighs with Peppers, Capers and Olives (web). The chicken was so-so; its skin was not crispy. The stewed bell peppers were good. Served with Patatas Bravas (web). I meant to make this yesterday, but didn't when I change plan. But I'd defrosted the tomatoes so I made it tonight. Pretty good stuff. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Saturday/9-Oct-21: I used most of the leftover tagliatelle from last Sunday to make Pasta Frittata (web). I used 75g of lardons for a bit of taste. Quite nice, a nice way to use up pasta. Served with a (half?) recipe of Cabbage Slaw with Tangy Mustard Seed Dressing (CL/jun12; web; cookbooker), using part of the flat cabbage I'm trying to use up. This was really nice. I used pickled jalapeños, rather than fresh. 

Some store-bought vanilla riz au laits for after.

Sunday/10-Oct-21: Dinner was a halfish dose of Spicy Cumin Lamb Skewers* (web; GD). This is easy and really tasty. Served with Moroccan couscous (from the bio store) and The Single Vegetable Salad (O&C, p189), with about a quarter of my flat cabbage, made with Oil and Lemon Dressing (O&C, p190). Apparently Greeks tend to make salad from a single veggie. It worked well in this case. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Jun-21: For dinner, there was Pea and Ham Risotto (web), made with the jarret I cooked up last Friday. This was a bit salty, since the jarret was demi-sel, but very tasty. Then a salad. Then some Easy Summer Limoncello Tiramisu (web). This was good, and we have three more verrines for Wednesday's dessert.

Tuesday/22-Jun-21: Lovely lunch out today. Nothing much happened in the kitchen. 

Wednesday/23-Jun-21: Dinner was Hunan Beef with Cumin* (web), with rumpsteak, which good again. As before, served with Steamed Eggplant (Kuo, p402). These two go well together but are visually blah. Looking for a salady dish, and having carrots on hand, I made Sesame Ginger Carrot Salad (web), which was very good and went well with the rest of the meal. For after we finished off the Easy Summer Limoncello Tiramisu. 

Thursday/24-Jun-21: We waved good-bye to Bill this afternoon after a nice visit.

Simple dinner of Spaghetti with Pecorino and Black Pepper (MW@Home, p194). The cheese clumped up, with the pepper included, instead of coating the spaghetti. Not sure if this is because I used pecorino rather than parmesan, or because I added the option olive oil (can't remember if I've done that before). Still, it all tasted good. Then a simple salad. For after we had the rest of the Lemon-Buttermilk Sherbet with some strawberries. We're content.

Friday/25-Jun-21: An easy dinner. Some store-bought, bio, vegetarian kefte with Tzatziki (O&C, p465), with some nice kebab breads from the freezer. Store-bought riz au laits for after.

Saturday/26-Jun-21: Dinner was store-bought pork&veggie gyoza; the dipping sauce (web) I made is good for dipping, but a bit too salty over rice. I made a salad of chineeskool, broccoli stems, carrots, red onion, and peanuts with Sesame-Ginger Dressing (web). With some plain rice. Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/27-Jun-21: Dinner was Smoked Salmon & Peas with Creamy Gnocchi* (web; GD). This is easy and tasty. And a big salad that we couldn't finish. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #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: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/3-May-21: Made a loaf of ABM bread, Light Rye (Electric, p64) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Ed really liked this last time I made it. We'll see how he feels tomorrow.

It was a Greekish meal tonight. Our main was Greek-Style Roast Leg of Lamb (web). This was extra yummy. I wonder why we don't roast a leg of lamb more often. It's a bit expensive, this 2.2kg leg probably cost 20-ish euros. But we'll have 4 meals for 2 from it. That ends up about €3 per serving. That's not much. 

For one side, I used the rest of my gignate beans (where did I get them? I need more) to make a third recipe  Greek Butter Beans (Gigantes Plaki) (web). (My third recipe will serve four, maybe three would do. They must mean it as a main dish.) The other side was a halfish recipe of Carrot Salad with Fresh Fennel, Dried Figs, and Preserved Lemons (O&C, p199; GD; cookbooker). I liked odd combination, Ed not so much. No dessert needed (we had banana bread for lunch).

Tuesday/4-May-21: Dinner was Oven-Dried Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese and Black Olives* (web; GD). I used tomatoes from the freezer that I'd already oven-dried. The tart was good again. Should have made a salad, but didn't. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after. 

Wednesday/5-May-21: Leftovers for dinner. We had the lamb and beans, reheated. Plus the carrot, fennel, and dried fig salad, which lasted quite well. I steamed some green beans and made up a little sauce for them, adapted from fancy Greek salad, of mayo, lots of lemon juice, a teeny minced garlic, capers, and dill. Worked pretty well. More fridge clearing for dessert. I had a packet of croissant dough, the kind you spiral open and out pops the dough. I made two squares of the dough, pinching seams together as best I could. The filling was a tub of ricotta, sweetened with a spoonful of honey and tartened up with some lemon juice. Then baked in the oven with the leftovers. Wasn't bad, if a bit too much. Actually the filling was quite good. I won't buy the croissants again.

Thursday/6-May-21: Having finished the Light Rye bread (Ed still likes it, and it held up well), I made a loaf of Easy French bread (Electric, p62) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Very good for lunch sandwiches.

Pickups from two Drives today. Dinner was a halfish recipe of Roasted Salmon with Asparagus, Lemon and Brown Butter (web). This was good. Served with spaghettis courts. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/7-May-21: Yogurt on overday. Off for our second vaccinations today. 

Dinner was Lazy Lucious Lamb Biryani (Ainsley3, p133). This wasn't really as fast as you'd expect from this book. It was okay, but nothing special. He calls for no salt at all, which is strange. I started adding when I realized, but didn't get it there. We've lots of leftovers, so an easy meal if the cook isn't feeling well in the next days. Served with Cachumber—Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish (MJ1, p172), an old favorite. Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after. 

Saturday/8-May-21: So I'm having the sleepy exhaustion response to the vaccination. 

Made a loaf of Easy French bread (Electric, p62) today.

Didn't feel at all like cooking like cooking, so we had the rest of the Oven-Dried Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese and Black Olives for dinner. Along with a small salad. Nothing else needed.

Sunday/9-May-21: And leftover lamb biryani today. With a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines 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: no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/22-Jun-20: Dinner was a half dose of Curry-Scented Grilled Beef Lettuce Wraps (web). We had plates with the mini hamburgers, piles of rice noodles, lettuce leaves, and mint&cilantro leaves, as well as a small bowl of the sauce. It was pretty darn good.

Tuesday/23-Jun-20: We were supposed to barbecue a chicken today, but I forgot to put it on to marinate overnight, so that has to be postponed. For a starter (munchies while dinner finished up), we had Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). For the main, there was a half dose of Squid in Spinach-Tomato Curry Sauce (Q&E, p72). As usual with Jaffrey, I used all the spices for a half recipe. Served over basmati rice. Yummy. Some mango sorbet for after.

Wednesday/24-Jun-20: The chicken that was supposed to be barbecued turned into Sesame-Crusted Roast Chicken (O&C, p416). Needing a close-fitting casserole with a lid, I soaked a Römertopf and used that. The chicken was delicious. Served with Oven-Fried Potatoes with Oregano and Lemon (O&C, p280). These were good as always; I really like the zing of the lemon juice added near the end of the cooking. And there was Beet Tzatziki (O&C, p467). Also good again. It was late and we were full, so no afters.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/25-Jun-20: Dinner was Smoked Salmon & Peas with Creamy Gnocchi (web). This was easy-peasy and delicious. Followed by a big salad. Some chocolate squares for after.

Friday/26-Jun-20: Ed picked up shopping today. We'll have fish tomorrow.

Tonight we had a halfish dose of Grilled Polenta & Vegetables with Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette (web; EW/may-jun16). I used polenta squares from the freezer. This is a really nice way to get a bunch of veggies. For after, we finished the mango sorbet with some strawberries.

Saturday/27-Jun-20: I’ve been failing in my bread duties. A bit belatedly, this afternoon I stated a loaf of Abm Whole Wheat Bread (MC), which is one we like a lot.

Dinner was Filet de Cabillaud en Croûte d’Amande (VPG; web, sort of, strangely this is the same photo but the ingredients are not quite the same). Don’t tell anybody, I forget to halve the parmesan so there was twice too much cheese. Never mind, it was good. The pink peppercorns on top at the end were nice. Served with some carrot and red lentil pasta. I didn’t like this much when it was done, so added a bit of butter. That and some freshly ground pepper made it pretty tasty. And some steamed broccoli. We were full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/28-Jun-20: Before dinner I started a pan of Vanilla Shortbread (file). This was really simple to assemble and get into the oven.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Sauté de Veau Piquant à la Mangue (web; VPG; again, the same picture, but a slightly different recipe; weird). I didn't deseed the chili, no surprise. This was easy and not ba. Served with Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web), which is my favorite Thai-ish cuke salad these days. For dessert we had the rest of the strawberries over shortbread with some cream. Yum. The shortbread is really "sandy" and very tasty.

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-Sep-19: A busy day today, and another trip to the gendarmerie.

Dinner was a half recipe, more or less, of Frittata with Tomato, Onion, and Basil (ClassItal, p281). Took a bit of time, but was tasty. Then a salad. Then some ice cream, a bar for Ed, a cup for me.

Tuesday/10-Sep-19: Using up the freezer inventory, we had half recipe of Chicken Baked in Yogurt with Red Onion and Grape Leaves (O&C, p412), using a spatchcocked pintade. Served with Bulgur Pilaf (O&C, p231), using chicken stock for the liquid, and Roasted Sweet Pepper Salad (O&C, p39), which was pretty good. Would be nice as part of an assortment of salads. Chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/11-Sep-19: Dinner was, more or less, Sausage & Broccoli Orecchiette (web). Homemade sausage from the freezer. Can't say I really followed this badly written recipe. Used about half an onion. Used mafalda instead of orecchiette, which I don't much like. Partly cooked the broccoli in the pasta water before adding it to the sausage-onion-garlic mixture. No demi glacé; used my chicken stock which is pretty condensed. Very tasty. Squares of chocolate for after.

Thursday/12-Sep-19: Shopping today, and, oops, tuna was on sale, so I tossed the plan and bought some of that.

Dinner was, then, Charmoula-Marinated Grilled Tuna (MedHot, p48), accompanied by Lemon-Roasted Potatoes with Bay Leaves (VegHarv, p231; cookbooker). Also had a zucchini salad, vaguely crossing the Wells' recipe for Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio (VegHarv, p214) and a recipe for Zucchini Ribbons with Lemon and Pecorino (CL/may14, web), that turned out well. Then a bit of Petit Basque cheese. And some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/13-Sep-19: Clearing out the freezer again today. I finished cooking the Spice-Crusted Pork Tenderloin left from Patrice&Wim's visit. Served with some smashed sweet potatoes and a sauté of broccoli, mushroom, and oven-dried tomatoes. Then some Double Boiler Bread Pudding (MC, HandyBook)

Saturday/14-Sep-19: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Greek Tortellini Salad with Avocados and Cucumbers (web). This was okay, but pretty boring. I see the same site has a similar recipe that includes tomatoes, red bell pepper, black olives, and red onion. That's probably much better. Then we finished the bread pudding. We're full.

Sunday/15-Sep-19: Lunch out today. No more food needed.

In anticipation of tomorrow's dinner, I made some Carrot-and-Ginger Quickie Pickle (Scraps, p82).

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Jul-19: Dinner was a half dose of Spaghetti with Green Olives, Garlic, and Fresh Mint (VegHarv, p139). Good stuff it was. Then a big salad. Then some mini ice cream bars.

Tuesday/16-Jul-19: Dinner was a halfish dose of Cheeky Chicken Tikka Masala (Ainsley1, p74). This was pretty good. As suggested, served with Tabletop Naan with Spicy Fried Onions (Ainsley1, p116). This was not so good. Too sweet, nothing approaching naan. We'll try the leftovers toasted with jam in the morning. As a side there was Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173), which was good as always. For dessert, I had a mini HD cup and Ed had a mini Magnum.

Wednesday/17-Jul-19: Shopping today, meaning we missed getting bread at our favorite boulangerie.

Tuna was on sale, so dinner tonight was Tuna Strips with Espelette Pepper (VegHarv, p99). This was easy and yummy. Served with some sautéed potatoes. Then a big salad. Then the last of the Langres cheese. Then two little desserts from the shop. We're full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/18-Jul-19: Had lunch out today. Our main was really nice: thin slices of (sautéed) eggplant used to line a small casserole dish, filled with a lamb stew of tender, shredded meat, the eggplant ends folded over; this was turned out onto a bed of couscous and surrounded by a coulis of tomatoes. Delicious! Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Friday/19-Jul-19: For dinner we had Chipotle Burgers (web), about a third recipe for the two of us. I was liberal with the chipotles. Yum. Served with some potato salad. Had planned to make some cole slaw but ran out of steam. Didn't really need it. Then some strawberries and cream. We're full.

Saturday/20-Jul-19: Tonight we had Moroccan Spice Grilled Chicken Kebabs (web). I had about a third of the meat asked, but used half the spices. Yum. Served with Moroccan couscous from the health food store; and Beet Tzatziki (O&C, p467), which was yummy; and Spicy Grilled Eggplant (web), which was also yummy. Used Moroccan instead of Cajun spice since that was a better fit for the theme of the meal. Strawberries and cream again.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/21-Jul-19: For munchies before dinner, I filled some mini bell peppers with a faux Bousin thing made of pyramid cheese, feta, chives, garlic, and parsley. Pretty good. Then some Hot Bloody Mary Soup from the freezer. This was hotter than I remember it being, pretty challenging. We didn't eat it all, so think I might calm it down with some cream. Then, sort of, Hot Crispy Cajun Chicken Sandwich (Ainsley1, p10). Ok, no sandwich, no skin on my chickie bits. No Cajun seasoning left, so I used up a bit of Moroccan spice mix and added a bit of cayenne. I made it into a kind of salad. Pretty good. Then I used the bio apricots I bought impulsively to make Clafoutis aux Abricots (HandyBook). We ate well.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Jan-19: Oops, started making tonight's dinner, only to discover that I was supposed to make the sauce yesterday so that it could sit overnight. Instead, I improved a pasta sauce with the dried porcini which were already soaking, oesterzwammen which I'd bought for this meal, some broccoli, oven-dried tomatoes, and pyramid goat cheese, all over mushroom-flavored pasta. Cinnamon cake for dessert.

Tuesday/22-Jan-19: Dinner was a two-thirds-ish version of Harissa Chicken (web). As a side, I used some zucchini to make a halfish recipe of North African Zucchini or Squash Salad (MedHot, p87). The chicken, and accompanying potatoes, were yummy. The chicken skin was wonderfully crispy-crunchy—neither of us are usually skin eaters, but this was delicious. I've made the salad a couple of times before. The first time we really liked it, but not so much the last two times. Then some almond-marzizpan croissant things that Ed bought at a boulanger.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/23-Jan-19: After French I made up the broth of No-Cook Kulfi (MC), using up another can of condensed milk. Shopping today.

Dinner was lieu noir (promo of the day) with Chickpea (Garbanzo) Breading for Fish (web), a nice non-flour-based breading. (I really do have to remember than besan can be used for breading for most anything.) Accompaniments were Broccoli with Garlic and Mustard Seeds (SpiceKitch, p40) and Plain Basmati Rice (SpiceKitch, p84), which has cardamon pods cooked along with the rice for a very subtle flavor. Followed by kulfi.

Thursday/24-Jan-19: Lunch out today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Friday/25-Jan-19: Started a huge pot of bird stock. Made up some roasted red bell pepper pizza sauce. I've lots of this in the freezer now. We need to have lots of pizza in the coming time, or use some as a sauce of for kip filets or some such.

Dinner was Spaghetti with Zucchini and Caper Sauce (O&C, p251). Served it over mushroom-stuffed ravioli, rather than spaghetti or tagliatelle. Used Petit Basque for the cheese. Good stuff. Then a big salad. Then some mini ice cream bars.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/26-Jan-19: Easy dinner since we were supposed to be going to a concert. We didn't, but still had the easy meal. We had salmon pie from the freezer over brown rice. Then a big salad. Then some HD ice cream cups.

While Ed was sitting in the kitchen this morning, one of the mouse traps sprung. Caught a mouse. So we still haven't found where they're getting in.

Sunday/27-Jan-19: Dinner was a half recipe of Spice-Rubbed Moroccan Chicken with Vegetable Couscous. (This was from the apr03 issue of Natural Health, which I think is a freebie magazine from a health food store. Maybe.) Meant to make a Moroccan carrot salad as a go-with, forgetting that I needed to cook the carrots a bit. There was no time when I discovered this, so, instead, I grated some carrots, tossed with some lemon juice, oil, and Moroccan spice, then added a handful of golden raisins. It wasn't bad. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/12-Nov-18: No mice caught today. Have we gotten them all? Please.

Finished off the scones for breakfast. Good.

Dilly-dallied getting started with dinner, so made a last-minute change. Instead I made Bangkok Shrimp (web). Served the shrimp mixture over plain rice rather than stirring the rice into the sauce. It was good. Followed by Häagen-Däsz mini ice cream cups.

Tuesday/13-Nov-18: No mice today. Fingers crossed.

Dinner was Moroccan Lamb, Butternut Squash in the Slow Cooker (web) which was quite tasty. Recipe was meant for two, but we had lots of potatoes, squash, and sauce left, which Ed will get for his lunch at choir practice on Sunday. Used one of the acorn squash from the garden. Made a little shredded carrot salad as a go-with. For afters we finished the bit of Petit Basque we had, and then indulged in chocolate-covered madeleines.

Wednesday/14-Nov-18: Still not mice.

Shopping today.

Dinner was an instant favorite, a half recipe of Bittman's Salmon Burgers (web; cookbooker). I served these as patties, rather than burgers. They were super, an instant favorite. Served with trio rice and Cucumber Tzatziki (Spiral, p22; cookbooker). More chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/15-Nov-18: We ate out for Ed's birthday today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Friday/16-Nov-18: Went to make a "fast" loaf of sourdough bread today, to have with our dinner soup, but discovered my starter was covered with mold. Yuck. Quick scramble to turn what I'd done so far into bread. Then cooked like last week's bread from Dusoulier by putting covered pan into a cold oven. Don't think the oven got hot enough. Not sure if it's because we're low on gas (it's been 3-1/2 months) or because that oven isn't heating properly. Have to check tomorrow.

For dinner I made a half dose of My Mushroom Soup (Fancy, p42; cookbooker), which was quite good. Served with my made up bread, followed by a big salad. The bread is good, but I suspect my yeast, near the bottom of the jar, is past its usefulness. Will test it tomorrow and possibly toss what remains.

Saturday/17-Nov-18: Yup, no oomph in the yeast. Out with the rest of that jar.

Not quite the weather, but it was zuurkool stamppot tonight, with saucisses de Morteau. Cozy and filling.

Sunday/18-Nov-18: Cath came for dinner, which turned out rather later than expected. We had canned dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, for a nibble. For a starter, I used one of the cans of foie gras from Jody's returned package; served with toasted bread and the rest of the Banana-Ginger Chutney. This worked really well. (That recipe is really a keeper.) Our main was Stuffed Veal Roll-Ups with Fennel and Bread Crumbs (O&C, p380; cookbooker); I served this with fettucelle, which is similar to tagliatelle, but shorter. The veal was really tasty with an interesting tomato-y sauce. (I used some of the canned "seedless" tomato parts and froze the rest of that.) Cath brought some Basque cheese and membrillo that had been made by a recent visitor. We had that for a cheese course—what a nice combination. No sweet needed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: Nothing Fancy
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: yes; #6 GUESTS: yes

This week in the kitchen

Monday/24-Sep-18: For dinner there was Pasta Sauce with Peas, Ham, and Cream (p164 , MarCuc). The sauce is simple, but good. Hazan says the original pasta for this sauce is garganelli, a hand-made pasta. I found the instructions for this in (p110, Geometry). A weaver's comb, which is probably where we get Afro picks, is traditionally used to make the grooves on the rolled squares of pasta. Can't say I have any skill at this, but I do have an Afro pick now.

The sauce was good, but the pasta was a bit heavy, maybe because I only rolled to 5 rather than 6.

Then we had the rest of yesterday's salad mixed with the rest of yesterday's beans, all of which make a nice salad. No dessert since we were full.

Tuesday/25-Sep-18: We're still having problems with a mouse in the pantry. Chocolate chips and pasta are its current favorites. Three live traps are set with no results so far.

Recombobbled the meal plan today after we learned yesterday that Cath's friend is coming a week later than expected. Made the list too.

Used some very ripe bananas and some from the freezer to make up a loaf of Best Banana Bread (HandyBook).

Didn't have the oomph to make what was on the plan; really too tired to deal with peeling a winter squash. Instead made Vegan Eggplant and Tomato Gratin (VegSups, p24), which I made non-vegan by dolloping on the rest of some fresh goat cheese that needed to be used up. Pretty good. Followed by a salad. And some quite-tasty banana bread.

Wednesday/26-Sep-18: Shopping today.

Dinner was Grilled Salmon with Chile-Honey Glaze and Ginger-Red Onion Relish (BigFlav, p87). Ed bbq'd the fish. The glaze is good, but the relish is super-yummy. As suggested, served with New Potato Hash Browns with Caramelized Onions (BigFlav, p236). These were good, but I thought the onions were too sweet. We also had Fried Eggplant with Feta and Basil (O&C, p276), which Ed didn't like as well as the last time I made this. We were full, but managed a pair of chocolate-topped madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/27-Sep-18: Lunch out with Sue and Andy.

Made up broth for Mango Ice Cream (ThaiCC, p91) using canned mango, since the fresh ones were hard at the store this week and there were no frozen ones.

Friday/28-Sep-18: For dinner, Ed bbq'd a half dose of Grilled Sirloin and Apricot Skewers with Pomegranate Vinaigrette (License, p126). Since apricots are way out of season, I used peaches instead as suggested. Good this was. As suggested, served with Grilled Potatoes with Yogurt-Parsley Sauce (License, p283), which Ed liked a lot. Also a half recipe of Zucchini and Feta Cheese Salad (WorldVeg, p640). And then there was Mango Ice Cream, which was pretty good.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/29-Sep-18: We ate half of an Onion and Rosemary Tart with Fromage Blanc (VegSups, p9; cookbooker). Then a big salad. Then some mini ice cream bars.

Sunday/30-Sep-18: Ed was wanting pork chops. So tonight he barbecued a pair, rubbed with a Cajun spice run. Served with Moroccan Green Pepper Salad—Felfla Mechouia (WorldVeg, p634; cookbooker), a delicious salad, roasted green bell peppers with a bit of preserved lemon. And Oven Fried Potatoes with Oregano and Lemon (O&C, p280). We finished off a nice bottle of Fronton Flingueurs negrette, along with some slightly aged Morbiers. Then a spoonful of Mango Ice Cream each. And later a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/17-Sep-18: Still away. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Tuesday/18-Sep-18: Home from Île de Ré today. Oscar not well.

Made the shopping list for tomorrow.

More evidence of a mouse in the pantry shelves, but three emtpy traps.

We had barbecued chipolatas for dinner, accompanied by assorted veggies: smash sweet pots, steamed broccoli, and Baked Eggplant Slices (TooMany, p114), which is an old favorite.

Wednesday/19-Sep-18: Shopping today.

Our starter was Figues Fraîches Facies au Chèvre et au Jambon Serrano (VPG); unfortunately VPG doesn't put its recipes online and I haven't been able to find a similar one. This very easy and very nice. The recipes has three figs per person, but I think one or two would be fine. To make: quarter each fig, not quite all the way. Add a bit of serrano ham (one slice divided into three parts), tucked into the splits to make a sort of basket. Fill that with a tablespoonful of soft goat cheese. Then add a little drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of piment d'Espelette, and put under the grill for five minutes or so. There should have been a sprinkle of basil leaves, but I forgot. Nevertheless, it was good.

Our main was Quick-Braised Cod with Herbed Yogurt (web), made with lieu noir, which is cheaper than cod, and, Ed thinks, tastier. With a side of tagliatlle. This was nice and easy, and fairly quick. Then a salad. I bought some chocolate puddings for dessert, but we were too full.

Thursday/20-Sep-18: Our meal today was a half-recipe of Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce, Chicken and Cucumbers (web). Easy and pretty good. Then some store-bought dark chocolate pudding.

Friday/21-Sep-18: Dinner was a half recipe of Whole Wheat Penne with Masses of Broccoli, Green Olives, and Pine Nuts (VegSups, p56). Good. Chocolate-dipped madeleines for dessert.

Saturday/22-Sep-18: Busy day in the kitchen. Started off making a half dose of Big Beans with Fresh Herbs and Fruit Olive Oil (O&C, p208), the suggested go-with for tonight's planned stew.

Then used most of the sauté de porc that I bought on sale to make Homemade Sausage (30MinPasta, p161) for the freezer. Froze up two small ziplocs of porc for stew or whatnot.

Took a break, then started a half dose of Pork Stew with Olives, Anchovies, Cilantro, and White Beans (O&C, 398). Didn't absorb the fact that this wants to cook for 2 hours before it's ready. Quick change of plans for tonight. Instead we had Zucchini Skillet Cakes with Capers and Pine Nuts (VegSups, p82). Topped with some cherry tomatoes and yogurt-garlic sauce. Not the best-ever zucchini pancakes, but not bad. Some mini ice creams for dessert.

Sunday/23-Sep-18: Finished off yesterday's stew for dinner. Delicious stew (cookbooker) and yummy beans (cookbooker).

Yogurt on overnight.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-May-18: Our meal today was Prawn & Crab Cakes with Chilli Jam (200Budget, p182; cookbooker). For a veggie side I made some Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables (ThaiCC, p80). And some plain rice. Pretty good meal. For dessert we had more of the Chocolate-Glazed Banana Cake. Yum.

Tuesday/8-May-18: Our meal was Rosemary-Flavored Chickpea and Spinach Soup (WorldVeg, p598; cookbooker). Finished off the Chocolate-Glazed Banana Cake.

Wednesday/9-May-18: Shopping today.

Our meal was Fish Kebabs & Spring Onion Mash (200Budget, p174). The kebabs were good, and the smashed potatoes with crème fraîche, chopped cilantro and red chili, and spring onions were a treat. Some roasted asparagus on the side. For dessert, some store-bought rice puddings.

Cookcooks: I've done two recipes from 200Budget, but there will be none from BoldVeg. We're outing three times in the next days, with company on the remaining days.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/10-May-18: We ate at a local Sanglier à Broche repas today. We're stuffed. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Friday/11-May-18: Chopped up lots of vegetables for Marinated Vegetables à la Greque (VegFeasst, p76; cookbooker) and put them on to marinate.

For dinner, we had hamburgers at the bar where No Direction was playing their last gig with Albie. Nothing further happened in the kitchen,

Saturday/12-May-18: Cath and Hannah for dinner. We started with the Marinated Greek Vegetables. These were good. Served with some sliced baguette to soppy up the marinade. For our main, there was Asparagus-Ricotta Phyllo Tart (VT/may08; web; cookbooker). Put a bit of lightly dressed mâche with some cherry tomatoes on the plate. Dessert was Pears in Chamomile Syrup (O&C, p553; cookbooker). Everything was yummy.

Took the extra baguette and the last bit of tart to Vanessa.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/13-May-18: I had some of the marinated vegetables over a bit of mâche for lunch. Pizza after Ed's concert. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/26-Mar-18: No soup tonight. I defrosted some bird sausages and grilled them. Served with the leftover orzo risotto with cabbage, which reheated very well. Then a salad. Then the rest of the butterscotch pudding.

Yogurt on overnight

Tuesday/27-Mar-18: Greek tonight, after checkups at the dentist. There was Shrimp with Fennel, Green Olives, Red Onion, and White Wine (O&C, p346; cookbooker), about a third recipe. I used AH fish stock from the freezer and topped it up with wine. Easy and quick, this was very tasty. It's a little unclear to me how to serve it. There's a tasty bit of liquid with it, so you can't just plop it down on a plate. I served over bucatelli, but a shorter pasta or rice might have been better.

Served with Greens Salad with Hard-Cooked Eggs and Fried Garlic (O&C, p268; cookbooker). This was easy to prepare and very tasty. The Fried Garlic Topping (O&C, p481) was a nice touch.

We finished with a bit of a very nice St Maure cheese (on crackers, ssh!), followed by a fruit salad with kiwis, pears, and pomegranate seeds.

Wednesday/28-Mar-18: Shopping today. Bought the first gariguettes that I've seen this year.

For our meal, we had Pan-Fried Thai Fish (RealCook, p41) with lieu noir. Quite good it was. A bit odd Slater asks for shredded lemon grass. Hand-cut "shredded" was a bit too chewy. Usually lemongrass is minced, but I wonder if he means microplaned? Shakes of soy sauce and rice wine? I used 1/4 teaspoon and suspect that 1/2 teaspoon would be better. Served with Mom's Cabbage Salad (MaiPham, p96), this time with cuke slices. For afters, we finished the St Maure, leaving the strawberries for tomorrow.

Thursday/29-Mar-18: Our meal was a half recipe of Gnocchis au Gorgonzola et Pesto de Roquette (VPG; web), that's gnocchi (store-bought) with a pesto of arugula, walnuts, and gorgonzola over gnocchi, broccoli with a good slog of cream. Pretty good, although the pesto tasted of rancid walnuts to me, while Ed thought it was fine. Then a salad. Then gariguettes and cream.

Friday/30-Mar-18 — Sunday/1-Apr-18: Off at Bach à Pâques festival. Nothing happened in the kitchen, we hope.

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

Monday/19-Mar-18: Soup for our main meal today. We had Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup (web); the two of us ate a half recipe which should serve three. Quite good and easy. For dessert there was Banana Mousse for Two (HandyBook); no idea where this recipe came from but it's good and fast.

Tuesday/20-Mar-18: Greek today. There were Beef and Rice Meatballs (O&C, p376), with Avgolomeno Sauce (O&C, p475). I made a 3/4-ish recipe with 350g of 5% beef, using brown rice. I've made avgolomeno sauce before. It's one of those custardy kinds of sauce. I found it easier this time than I remembered. It seemed not to set until I turned the heat up just a tad (left front, weakest burner). Served with The Single Vegetable Salad (O&C, p189) using asparagus and the Oil and Lemon version of Greek Salad Dressing (O&C, p190), which is just a lemon vinaigrette (with no mustard). Also some gramigne, a small pasta shape we've become fond of, toss with garlic oil and parsley.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/21-Mar-18: Shopping today. There was some nice-looking tuna (thick and same-thickness) on sale. Bought two huge steaks, tossed both my planned dishes, and found something else. I made Grilled Tuna Marinated in Chermoula (MedHot2, p105; chermoula, p70). I've made the same recipe before from Kremezi's earlier book MedHot (p48), which has 1tbl less olive oil in the chermoula. I did that again. Only used about half of the chermoula, so froze the rest for later use.

I bought a small cabbage today, thinking of a stir-fry accompaniment for Asian-ish fish. In Kremezi, I found a cabbage variation of Orzo "Risotto" with Fresh Favas, Lemon, and Feta (MedHot2, p171). I later realized this is meant as a main course, so we have lots of leftovers there. It was good, though.

Some little store-bought custards for dessert. Chocolate Liegeois. Very good.

Thursday/22-Mar-18: Our meal was Grilled Chili-Lime Chicken (web), cooked under the broiler. Accompanied by Spiced Roasted Potatoes (RealCook, p256) and followed by a salad. I made the salad with Penzey's Sonoran Spice, rather than curry powder, since it seemed a better match for the chicken. This is a really nice, easy way to cook potatoes. We pigged out on chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Friday/23-Mar-18: Leftover Broccoli Meatballs with Garlic-Tomato Sauce for our meal today. Still good, but it wanted quite a bit of salt; I'd forgotten.

Made some Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies from an ancient newspaper clipping. Would have been better in a 8" square rather than a 13"x9" pan. Taste okay, even if thin.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/24-Mar-18: Dinner out tonight. Nothing happened in the kitchen,

Sunday/25-Mar-18: Our meal was Shrimp Pasta with Spinach and Sundried Tomato Cream (web), which was good enough, but nothing special. For dessert I made Mr. Food's Butterscotch Pudding (web). We had tonight's part warm rather than cooled. Easy and tasty. (Who is Mr. Food?)

Munched the chorizo for tomorrow's meal while preparing tonight's dinner. Replan needed.

No looking good for having guests this month. Can't arrange the oomph to organize.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/12-Mar-18: Our meal today was Yellow Split Pea Soup (O&C, p159; cookbooker). Now, yellow split peas are only marginally more interesting than green split peas. I'm not sure why I thought adding some olive oil, an onion, and some chopped garlic was going to do something special. No, just some (quite well-cooked) yellow split peas. I made two of the suggest toppings, Pickled Red Onions (O&C, p159; cookbooker) and not-too-Wilted Cilantro Topping (O&C, p148; cookbooker).

These were good enough, but the best topping was some healthy slogs of Chipotle Tabasco. Mini ice cream bars for dessert.

Tuesday/13-Mar-18: I had lunch out today. Ed fended for himself.

Wednesday/14-Mar-18: Shopping today.

Our meal was a half recipe of Stir-Fried Prawns and Scallops in Black Bean and Tomato Butter Sauce (HomTrav, p88). This was pretty good, although the scallops shrunk a lot; I'll try to avoid that brand in the future. Served over basmati rice, with Mom's Cabbage Salad (MaiPham, 96) made with the end of a chineeskool. Ed thought this was a five-star cabbage slaw, even though I forgot to add the cucumber and mint leaves. Oops. Mini ice cream bars for dessert.

Put a pair of skate wings on to marinate overnight.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/15-Mar-18: Our meal was Pan-Fried Skate with Vinegar, Dill, Shallots, and Tomato (O&C, p341). This is only the second time I've cooked skate, more successful than the last time, but not sure I need to do it again. This is fairly easy, and the sauce was quite tasty with the fish.

For a side, I heated up some of the Yellow Split Pea Soup and topped with Pickled Red Onions, when went with the skate sauce quite well. And there was Fried Eggplant with Feta and Basil (O&C, p276), which was good, a nice addition to one's eggplant repertoire.

Friday/16-Mar-18: I ate lunch out with a friend, while Ed fended for himself. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Saturday/17-Mar-18: I made a full recipe of Broccoli Meatballs with Garlic-Tomato Sauce (web). I used half the amount of canned tomatoes and still had plenty of sauce. Formed as patties instead of balls. They were good. Served with brown rice. Ice cream bars at the film later.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/18-Mar-18: Discovered this morning that I'd defrosted the wrong bits of chicken for what I'd planned to cook. Oops. Quick replan.

Because there was an eggplant in the fridge wanting to be used, I made Clay Pot Chicken (O&C, p417), made with four thighs in a cast iron Dutch oven. This was quite tasty, although the veggies kind of disappeared. (I forgot to take a picture.) Served with orzo. Followed by a big salad.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/5-Mar-18: Our meal was Nigel Slater's Carrot and Cardamom Soup with Herb Ricotta Dumplings (web). The soup was tasty but disappointing as a whole. I made a half recipe, which turned out to be skimpy for two, and the liquid wasn't deep enough to cook the dumplings properly. We each had a hard-boiled egg to supplement the meal.

Tuesday/6-Mar-18: Dinner was Garlicky Chicken with Lemon-Anchovy Sauce (web), an instant hit. This was exceedingly yummy. Ed thought it was a trifle salty; I didn't especially, but will be careful salting the chicken next time. Served with orzo, dressed up with lemon juice and parsley, and steamed asparagus. (Lately asparagus has been appearing in 400g packets rather than 500g. With 500g, you can get a side for two dinner; with 400g you either have one meal with abundance or two skimpy ones.)

Wednesday/7-Mar-18: Shopping today.

Dinner was chili from the freezer, filled out with hominy also from the freezer, and some guacamole, accompanied by Cayenne Cornbread (BigGerman, p182). We were stuffed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/8-Mar-18: Off to Audilab today and finally got my hearing aids straightened out. Then a quick trip to Leclerc to pick up frozen spinach which I seemed to be out of unexpectedly.

Our meal was a half recipe of Gratin de Pomme de Terre, Saumon et Épinards à l'Aneth (VPG; web). This was quite good, and easy, but takes some wall clock time. Cut my potatoes on the mandoline to get them really thin; another 5 minutes cooking might be nice to be sure they're done. Served with a salad, then some store-bought rum-raisin riz au laits.

Friday/9-Mar-18: Roasted a chunk of potimarron (a winter squash, we'll pretend it's pumpkin) for tomorrow's meal.

Leftover pizza for our meal.

Meanwhile, I made Yogurt Cake with Ouzo-Lemon Syrup (O&C, p520).

Saturday/10-Mar-18: Pasta today, yay! I made a half recipe of Creamy Pumpkin Sage Fettuccine (web). This was pretty good. For the pasta, you essentially replace one of the eggs with 2tbl of pumpkin purée and a pinch of turmeric. Pretty color; easy to handle. The sauce is pumpkin and cream, stirred into sautéed minced sage leaves. Simple and good. Then a salad.

Sunday/11-Mar-18: It was supposed to be a quickish meal today, but I failed in that. We had Chicken Neo-Avgolemono (O&C, p409; cookbooker). This was edible but disappointing.

Served with a pilaf, Baklar Enginar—Artichoke Hearts with Broad Beans (Meze, p77), and Jazar Atariyah—Spiced Carrots (Meze, p76). The artichoke/fêve dish was disappointing. The carrots were good. Both of the meze dishes were supposed to serve 6; I made a third of each recipe. A single serving of the artichoke dish was once bottom and a dab of favas. A single serving of the carrot dish was two carrots.

Made up some Pickled Red Onions (O&C, p79) for tomorrow.

Yogurt on overnight.

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