This week in the kitchen

Monday/5-Sep-22: Dinner was Provençal Rainbow Soup (Monastery, p136), kind of minestrone soup perhaps with lots of veggies. Very tasty. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Tuesday/6-Sep-22: Easy dinner tonight. We each had six canned tamales. And I made a batch of guacamole. Lots of avocados in-house, but only one was good, so there wasn't very much of it. Added a chopped up tomato for volume. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Wednesday/7-Sep-22: Dinner was Za'atar Chicken with Lemon Yogurt (Dinner, p57). Lazy me used garlic powder instead of microplaning eight cloves. Seemed to work, though. Very tasty chickie bits (sb thighs). Served with Moroccan Carrots (1Good, p59), which has become my standard Moroccan side dish.  And some Moroccan couscous, a mix from the bio store. 

Thursday/8-Sep-22: We finished the Rainbow Soup for dinner, followed by, yes, a chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Friday/9-Sep-22: Shopping today. No dinner tonight.

Saturday/10-Sep-22: Dinner was Easy Salmon with Avocado & Basil (web). This was a nice, fast dinner. Served with whole wheat orzo. Some store-bought dark chocolate mousse for after.

Sunday/11-Sep-22: When it came time to make dinner, I didn't have the oomph to make what was on the plan, so I rummaged around and found Kadhai Chicken (Stir-fried Chicken with Peppers) (web), using the chicken aiguillettes that were scheduled for later this week. Served with Rice with Peas and Dill (Q&E, p103), made with brown basmati rice. Some store-bought riz aux laits for after.

A praying mantis joined is in the kitchen for clean-up.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 1; #2 PHOTO: no;
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: no; #6 BACKLOG3: no; #7 RECYCLE: 10; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/29-Aug-22: Dinner was a half recipe of Spaghetti with Green Olives, Garlic, and Fresh Mint (VegHarv, p139). This is easy and tasty, over whole wheat spaghetti. Followed by a simple salad, just mixed lettuces and vinaigrette. A Ben&Jerry mini ice cream cup for after.

Tuesday/30-Aug-22: Dinner was Grilled Pork Skewers with Green Mango (Thrill, p158). Meant to serve with the suggested eggplant dish, but the eggplants I bought last Thursday were both bad. Instead I made, more or less, Cabbage-Radish Slaw With Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette (web), using up my chineeskool. And some white basmati rice, as suggested. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Wednesday/31-Aug-22: Indian tonight, all repeats. The main was "Hamburger" Kebabs (Q&E, p27), quick and easy to make (toss all the ingredients in the cuisinart and buzz) and delicious. As suggested served with Fresh Red Chutney with Almonds (Q&E, p114), also easy and delicious and with pitas for the (non-)Indian bread. For veggie matter, some Green Peas in a Creamy Sauce (Q&E, p87). I slipped a gear and got yogurt rather than cream from the fridge, but it was still tasty. And a chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Thursday/1-Sep-22: Didn't manage to get ready for shopping today, so had to make do with what was in-house for tonight's meal. We had Curried Rice and Peas (Q&EVeg, p202), which is an old favorite, simple, and tasty.  And a chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Friday/2-Sep-22: Shopping today.

Dinner was Spanish Vinegar & Garlic Cod (web), which I rather liked, but Ed wasn't fond of the bit of vinegar taste. Served with Sautéd Zucchini with Paprika & Garlic (web); this was easy and very good. (Both of these are from the site Spain on a Fork, where I'm collected a lot of good recipes.) And there was trio rice. Afterwards some Ben&Jerry mini ice cream cups.

Saturday/3-Sep-22: Dinner was a DMA recipe, Chicken with Fennel, Preserved Lemons, and Olives (Morocco, p302). It's easy, but takes a bit of time, and is delicious. Served with store-bought Moroccan couscous. Store-bought riz au laits for after.

Sunday/4-Sep-22: Dinner was Penne con Zucchine—Penne with Courgettes, Mozzarella and Eggs (Top100Pasta, p44; cookbooker). This was quite nice, and easy. Followed by a simple salad. Some coffee cake we got at Kirsty's charity shop for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: no;
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: no; #6 BACKLOG3: no; #7 RECYCLE: 10; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/27-Jun-22: Dinner was a half recipe of Indian-Spiced Chicken with Coriander Chutney (BirdHand, p166). The kip filets were marinated in tomatoes and spices, then grilled. Yum! The Coriander Chutney was also good. Leftovers will appear in sandwiches later this week.  Served with two old favorites, Rice with Peas and Dill (Q&E, p103) and Tomato, Onion, and Green Coriander Relish—Cachumber (MJ1, p172). Used mint instead of coriander, as I learned from watching Jaffrey's TV version of this. All very tasty. A bit of leftover chocolate tapioca pudding for after. (Did I write yesterday that I made that?) 

Tuesday/28-Jun-22: Dinner was Spanish Pork Skewers (1Good, p191). I made the whole recipe with a varkenshaas just over 500g. Used ground oregano. Mixed the cumin, coriander, S&P, smoked paprika, and oregano together to rub on the pork slices, then rubbed them with the garlic/salt/oil mixture. These sat around at room temp for a couple of hours. I had some arparagus and haricot verts need to be used. A web search turned up a recipe for Sautéed Beans and Asparagus with Garlic and Chive Butter (web; GD). This is a horrible site that won't let you print a recipe without signing up. No thanks. I copied out the details for the Google Drive file linked above. And then there was polenta. For after, we finished the chocolate tapioca pudding.

Wednesday/29-v-22: Ed barbecued Grilled Chicken with Za'atar (web) for tonight's dinner. This was good and really easy, especially since I used za'atar from a jar in the cupboard rather than mixing it up myself. Served with Moroccan couscous (packet from a health food store) and Moroccan Carrots (1Good, p59), both old favorites. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Thursday/30-Jun-22: Shopped today, in Leclerc and at both Drives.

Dinner was Seared Tuna, Zucchini and Lemon Salad with Green Olive Smash (web). This was interesting, but not entirely successful. Although it's fun to slice zucchini ribbons with your mandolin it would have been nicer to slice them in round, maybe slightly diagonally. Ed didn't like the lemon sections at all; I thought they were best cut into smaller bits. A treat for after: we split of piece of cheesecake, gateau de fromage. Yum.

Friday/1-Jul-22: Crockpot on overnight with Slow Cooker Carnitas with Pickled Red Onions (MC). I've made this several times before; it was originally from a site that's no longer with us. The Pickled Red Onions here are way too sweet; I've split this part off and dinkered with it to make some really tasty pickled onions. The carnitas were good. Served with a throw-together salad of the canned bean that didn't get used last night, canned corn, avocado, tomato, radishes, cilantro, lime juice, a slog of olive oil, and a glop of crème fraîche. Turned out pretty good. Some store-bought chestnut mousse for after. Tastily full, we are.

Saturday/2-Jul-22: Dinner was Mushroom and Pea Lamb Broth Risotto with Gremolata (web). (Yes, that title needs some punctuation or re-writing or something to lose the pea lambs.) A few weeks ago, I made some stock of lamb and goat bone from the freezer. I used that to make the risotto. This was pretty good. Then a salad. Then some camembert. 

Sunday/3-Jul-22: Dinner was Neapolitan Zucchini Soup (Monastery, p111). This was simple and surprisingly taste in spite of that. Smaller zucchini, as asked, would be better, but I didn't really have any of those. (Sh! This cookbook is organized by month and, since April, I've been doing one of each month's soups.) We finished the camembert for after, then had a mini HD ice cream cup.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/4-Apr-22: Dinner was a DMA, Red Lentil and Cauliflower Tomato Pulao (web; GD). Still good even though I forgot to salt it. (You can do that at the table, can't you?) Afterwards, I made an Oatmeal Cake (GB) to take to BookChatters tomorrow.  

Tuesday/5-Apr-22: My that's a good cake.

For dinner we had a jar of gourmet blanquette de poulet. We were surprised to find bones in it, since I don't recall them in blanquette de veau. Anyhow, it was very tasty. Served over some whole wheat linguine and roasted zucchini. And some oatmeal cake for after. 

Wednesday/6-Apr-22: Orders from both Drives today.

Dinner was Simple Cod Piccata (web). Cod "breaded" with almond flour, served with a lemony sauce with capers. As a side, I steamed the last bits of cauliflower along with a bit of this week's broccoli, then topped with some minced red bell pepper and garlic that had been sautéed to soften. And a bit of curly pasta to finish the plate. For after, we finished the oatmeal cake. 

Thursday/7-Apr-22: Dinner was Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms (MC), which is an old favorite. I've finally gotten that liter bottle of balsamic I bought absent-mindedly under the halfway mark. Served with trio rice and steamed broccoli. Some store-bought chocolate mousses for after.

Friday/8-Apr-22: Dinner was One-Pan Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta (web). This was good, although there was too much pasta. (I used whole wheat.) The recipe asks 8oz (for two), I used 7oz; 6oz would have been better. Then a salad. We were full. 

Saturday/9-Apr-22: Soup and sandwich for dinner. The soup was Pea and Carrot Minted Soup (Monastery*, p110). This was very good. I made a whole recipe (4-6 servings), so we have lots left. Because peas and carrots are naturally sweet, I didn't add the extra sugar to the soup. It was fine, or even better than fine. I addressed my bell pepper superfluidity with the sandwich. I roasted one red pepper and cut it into strips. I defrosted a ball of mozzarella and a little tupperware of pesto. Cut some "sandwiches" from a bread. Spread a bit of olive oil on the inside surfaces and toasted the bread on a griddle. Then spread with a bit of pesto and topped with mozzarella bit and roasted red bell pepper strips. Good stuff. One chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

* This book offers soups by month. I have the idea to make a soup per month from it. We'll see how that goes.

Sunday/10-Apr-22: Our main tonight was Lamb with Spinach—Saag Gosht (Q&E, p36). I've made this several times, good stuff. Served with Rice and Peas with Garam Masala (SpiceKitch, p65) and Yoghurt with Cucumber and Mint (MJ1, p162), which is my standard recipe for raita. We ate well.    

Ah well, another week, no pictures. Sigh.  

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-Mar-22: For dinner, working on the freezer backlog, I defrosted some chipolatas (nature or herbed, I think nature...unfortunately they don't label them when you order from the Drive) and grilled those. Served with smashed sweet potato and Stir-Fried Green Cabbage with Fennel Seeds (Q&E, p88) as a coleslaw stand-in. All was good.

Tuesday/8-Mar-22: Two Drive orders today, the second one quite late, so dinner was correspondingly late. We had Grilled Fish Steaks (Q&E, p66) with cod. Served with Simply Grilled Tomatoes (Q&E, p93) and Rice with Peas and Dill (Q&E, p103). We've had all of these before. They're good. I ordered some skyr for dessert, a kind of very think yogurt from Iceland, vanilla flavored. Nice stuff, not too sweet.

Wednesday/9-Mar-22: This afternoon, I looked at what I'd planned for tonight's meal and thought, eh. Instead I made Nasi Goreng Speciaal (MC), using up stuff in the freezer, more of my huge cabbage, and the rest of the varkenshaas from last weekend. It was good. We split an HD mini ice cream cup for after.

Thursday/10-Mar-22: Just didn't feel like cooking what was on the plan tonight, so we brought in  pizza.

Friday/11-Mar-22: Tonight's dinner was very loosely based on a recipe I collected from EAT-L, Cheese and Sausage Stuffed Zucchini (GD). I stuffed red bell peppers rather than zucchini. Unfortunately one of them was moldy on the bottom (it had been home only three days!), so I cut that off and wrapped the base in aluminum foil. The filling was Italian sausage, mozzarella, ricotta, chopped onions, Italian herbs, and some canned tomato pulp. These were supposed to be layered, but zucchini or bell pepper, I couldn't see the point of that. I put the stuffed peppers in a dish, added a bit of water to steam the bell peppers, covered with foil and baked. At the end, I removed the foil and added some slices of cheese before popping back in the oven to melt that. Pretty good stuff. Served nestled in a bit of arugula salad. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Saturday/12-Mar-22: Tonight's dinner was again collected from EAT-L, from the same person! Our main was Pan-Seared Shrimp with Chipotle-Lime Glaze. Those were right tasty shrimpers, easy and fast to put together. Served with Spanish Garlic Zucchini (web; GD) and some plain grits.

Sunday/13-Mar-22: Dinner was Easy Lentil Supper Soup (Ainsley1, p45). The whole recipe will make three dinner servings, not four as advertised. Easy and very tasty. I didn't seed my chili, so it was nicely tingly.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Feb-22: Dinner was White Veal Stew with Mushrooms, Corn, and Sherry (Essential, p553). Unfortunately I forgot to notice how long it wanted to cook, so I ended up plopping it in the pressure cooker and finish it off there. Served over a bit of tagliatelle. Good stuff.

Tuesday/22-Feb-22: Dinner was Mediterranean Vegetable & Fish Stew (web). This was yummy, but made twice the servings that the recipe indicates (only two). There's the amount of fish I'd serve for two, plus the amount of shrimp I'd serve for two. I'll freeze the leftovers for another time.

Wednesday/23-Feb-22: Dinner tonight was Gingery Cauliflower Soup (Q&E, p11). This is a yummy soup I've made a couple of times before. Served with Sandwiches with Mint and Chili Butter (Q&E, p19). These should be proper English sandwiches with white bread missing their crusts. I found some square bread, whole wheat and thinly sliced, and used that with the crusts. Interesting and went will with the soup. Not sure why you need to slice up some lettuce to decorate the plate. 

Thursday/24-Feb-22: We had lunch out with friends from The Netherlands today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Friday/25-Feb-22: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Crabby Crab Cakes (web). (Ed asked why we couldn't have Cheerful Crab Cakes.) Using two 145g cans of crab bits, I made four crab cakes. These were good. Served with leftover beans and rice, and (more or less) Cilantro Lime Sweet Corn (web) with a small can of corn. This was a nice way to tart up a can of corn. Good dinner altogether.

Saturday/26-Feb-22: It was Lex's Roast Chicken* (MC; GD), made with the two coquelets that were meant for our xmas dinner. This is really a favorite. Plus some steamed broccoli. 

Sunday/27-Feb-22: Dinner was Baked Stuffed Tomatoes (SimpSups, p49; cookbooker). I used some freezer-burned mimolette for the cheese, along with a spring onion and a bit of the flesh of the tomatoes. As suggested, served with Broccoli Slaw (SimpSups, p208). No packaged broccoli slaw mix here. I shredded the end of a broccoli, the last of the cauliflower, and a couple of carrots; simple dressing of lemon juice and olive oil. Some onion might have been nice. 

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/13-Dec-21: Dinner was a half dose of Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives (Seaver2, p122). This was quite nice. I cooked everything in the tagine/tajine, rather than using a separate pot for getting started with the onions and browning the thighs. There was lots of sauce left. I blended it up and have frozen it, maybe for a sauce with chicken or pork. Served with Moroccan Carrots (1Good, p59); I'm making this so often, I really need to put it in my kitchen Handy Book. And some Moroccan couscous, from a store-bought mix. 

Tuesday/14-Dec-21: Before dinner, I started a loaf of Easy French Bread (Electric, p62).

Dinner was Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce (web). (I got this recipe from foodnetwork.com, but these days Europeans are automatically redirected to foodnetwork.co.uk. Where the recipe is not available. :-( ) It was okay, nothing special. Then a salad. A single madeleine each for after. 

Wednesday/15-Dec-21: Using up lots of veggies, tonight's dinner was what I think of as a hippie dinner, lot of veggie sautéed and served over short-grain brown rice. 

Thursday/16-Dec-21: Shopping today.

Dinner was half of Salmon with Garlic Cream Sauce (web). This was good. Served with trio rice, and that was all. A single madeleine each for after.

Friday/17-Dec-21: Dinner was Tunisian Meatballs* (1Good, p141; web; web; GD). When I first made this, I didn't yet have the cookbook. This would be a good company dish because you could make the sauce and meatballs up ahead and warm them together at serving time. Served with the Israeli couscous recipe included. Followed by a very simple salad. A single madeleine each for after.

Saturday/18-Dec-21: Dinner was Wok-Fried Lamb with Cumin (1Good, p204; cookbooker), which was very good. Served with plain basmati rice and Broccoli and Mixed Mushrooms in Garlic Black Bean Sauce (web). I made a whole recipe, resulting in two adequate servings, not four as advertised. 

Sunday/19-Dec-21: Dinner was Chicken in a Cilantro, Spinach, and Mustard Sauce (Q&E, p50). This is probably my most used cookbook, so I'm always surprised to find something new to make here. This was new, and good. As suggested, served with Indian Mashed Potatoes (Q&E, p90),which is an old favorite, and Simply Grilled Tomatoes (Q&E, p93). A single madeleine each 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: 100%; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 16; #8 NEW: 5

This week in the kitchen

Monday/11-Oct-21: Dinner was Whole Green Lentils with Cilantro and Mint (Q&E, p82). This is good, but I think I prefer the similar recipe in MJ1. I didn't cook in the pressure cooker; the amount of extra water for cooking normally is too high. Served with plain basmati rice and a half recipe of Green Beans with Mushrooms (Q&E, p86) made with snijbonen. We were full.

Tuesday/12-Oct-21: Beans and Eggs (SFAH, p280). This is so simple as almost not to be a recipe. Put some canned beans in a dish, top with an egg, pop in the oven till the egg is done-ish, serve with feta and harissa. I used a can of black beans that was slightly bigger than your usual 15oz can; that might have been a bit too much. Hearty food for almost no effort. Served with Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (MC; HandyBook). Some store-bought vanilla riz au laits for after.

Wednesday/13-Oct-21: Dinner, a bit late, was Spinach and Artichoke Macaroni and Cheese (web). No low-fat sour cream or cheese, or course. The fresh spinach I bought didn't last, so I used frozen leaf spinach, defrosted, and chopped just a bit. This was quite good, and easy. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Thursday/14-Oct-21: Shopping today. 

Dinner was Tzatziki Fish Tacos (web; GD). Cod on sale today, so I used that. I cooked the fish in the oven, of course. I added a dish of feta along with the tomato, red onion, and cabbage. Good stuff. Bought dessert, two slices of gateau Lorrain, a white cake sort of thing, split and filled with some kind of cream. There was an odor and taste of lemon, and another taste of something like aniseed. Nice.

Friday/15-Oct-21: Out of our anniversary lunch today. Nothing happened in the kitchen

Saturday/16-Oct-21: Dinner was Barbecued Raspberry-Hoisin Chicken* (web; GD). I liked this, but Ed not so much, so it's be removed from the DoMeAgain list. Served with brown rice topped with a dribble of rice vinegar and minced green onions. Went to make a broccoli in oyster sauce side dish, but didn't have as much broccoli as I thought, so sautéed some shiitakes with it. That was pretty good. Some coffee-flavored crème caramels. Bought them by accident, but they were pretty good.

Sunday/17-Oct-21: Simple dinner tonight. Cheese ravioli from a special at Leclerc. These were ok, not as good as I expected. Topped with some of Marcella Hazan's famous tomato sauce. Then a salad of tomatoes, avocado, onions, cashews, green and black olives, cilantro, with a lime vinaigrette. Some chocolate HD mini cups for after. 

Yup, another week gone by without a photo. I really must bring the camera downstairs more often.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/6-Sep-21: In the afternoon I made an Oatmeal Cake (an old recipe) to take to BookChatters tomorrow, since our latest venue attempt doesn't do viennoiseries, i.e., croissants and such.

Dinner was, sort of, Smoky and Spicy Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs* (web; GD). I made a half recipe and didn't cut the chicken up for kebabs; just grilled the skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Good stuff. Didn't make kababs, but grilled the chicken bits whole. Made some polenta. (The new stuff I bought is pretty fine; unfortunately I have a lot of it.) Last week, I impulse-bought some golden yellow cauliflower. I roasted some of that while the cake was cooking, mixed some canned corn and canned black beans, sliced an avocado and some red onions,  and made a bit of a sort of Ranch Dressing. A salad composée. Some of the cake for after.

Tuesday/7-Sep-21: Leftovers for dinner. We had a Thai pork-and-crab stuffed zucchini from the freezer. There was only one large serving of this, so I supplemented with Scrambled Eggs with Shrimp (web). (I had lunch out, so didn't need very much. The zucchini was surprisingly good reheated. The scrambled eggs were yummy. More Oatmeal Cake for after.

Wednesday/8-Sep-21: Leftovers for dinner again, this time the rest of the Stacked Enchiladas. They warmed up well. And a salad of sliced tomato, avocado, red onion, and mozzarella. We finished the Oatmeal Cake for after. 

Thursday/9-Sep-21: Leftovers for dinner yet again. Korean Beef from the freezer with some broccoli added for veggie matter. Over rice. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/10-Sep-21: Shopping today, with a stop at our favorite boulangerie.

Dinner was Grilled Fish Steaks (Q&E, p66), with lieu noir. I've recently discovered that the hinged gadget for cooking on the bbq grill works pretty well under the broiler, so I used that. This was really good. Used up the rest of my yellow cauliflower for Cauliflower with Ginger, Garlic, and Green Chiles (Q&E, p83). I had only half a cauliflower and didn't weigh it, but the amount was rather like a full recipe. And then there was New Potatoes with Cumin (web, p91). All recipes I've made before. All good. For after there were store-bought riz au laits with a sprinkle of ground cardamon. Not quite kheer, but tasty.

Saturday/11-Sep-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Arugula Salad with Sausage and White Beans. This is from Cook's Illustrated's The Best 30-Minute Recipe, p35. I've recycled this book, and it appears I never added it to Cookbooks. Shopping yesterday, I bought some chicken sausage from the anti-gaspi cooler. I cooked the last night, intending to use them next week. But I really didn't feel like cooking tonight and let time slide by, so made this which was planned for early next week. It's easy and tasty. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

Sunday/12-Sep-21: Ed was off this afternoon for his first choir practice in a good long while. 

Dinner was Ginger-Lime Chicken (web), easy to assemble, and very tasty. Ed cooked on the bbq. The chicken was accompanied by green beans (steamed, then tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, and grated parmesan) and Salt and Vinegar Potatoes (web), a tasty addition to my potato repetoire thanks to Nigella. 

Some HD ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 2; #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: 4

This week in the kitchen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some Jam Tea Cake for after.

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

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

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

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/10-May-21: Feeling recovered from my vaccination today. Whew, that was two days lost.

Made yet another loaf of Easy French bread (Electric, p62) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-) today. Yes, we really like this one.

Dinner was Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms (MC), we've liked before. Served with trio rice which contributed to the overall brownness of the plate; orzo would have been better. And some steamed broccoli and cauliflower, tossed with a bit of lemon juice. Strawberries and cream for after.

Tuesday/11-May-21: I spent all afternoon trying to get our two orders for the Drives done, slow internet driving me nuts. I sent Ed out on a pizza mission for dinner. It was after the curfew time, but the truck was crowded and Ed said a maskless gendarme joined the group. As Ed left the house, I said we'd have a race if I'd get the second order placed before he got back. We tied. This was a new pizza truck for us. They were OK. 

Wednesday/12-May-21: Yogurt on overday.

Yes, made Easy French bread (Electric, p62) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-) again, this time with my last bit of rye flour (1/4-1/3cup) to use that up.

Dinner was Judy Heuman's Indian Fried Fish (Eat-L; GD), with cod. I'm not good at these breaded things, but it was delicious. Served with Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148), an old favorite, and Potato and Pea Chaat (MJ@Home, p166), which is a variation on her plain Potato Chaat, which is always good. Ed said is was a 5* meal. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after; boring, but good.

Thursday/13-May-21: Dinner was Sweet Potato and Lentil This Curry (web) served over brown rice. This was tasty but without texture except for the cashews sprinkled on top. It does indeed serve three; we'll split the last serving for lunch one day soon. Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after.

Friday/14-May-21: Dinner was Eggs with Fresh Green Herbs—Hare masale ka omlate (Q&E, p44).  As a side, there was Carrot and Onion Salad—Gajar aur pyaz ka salad (MJ1, p171), a favorite. 

For after we had strawaberries and cream.

Saturday/15-May-21: Dinner was Apricot-Curry Glazed Chicken with Potatoes & Asparagus (web). This was pretty good, and there's nothing wrong with a one-dish meal. Not enough potatoes in the recipes as given, but that's easy to fix. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/16-May-21: Dinner was Tuna Cutlets (Tuna Patties)* (web; GD), which were good. Served with plain basmati and Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173). We ate while watching Anneleen hosting a (non-)marching band. 

A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines 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: 3

This week in the kitchen

Monday/18-Jan-21: Steam-hard-boiled some eggs this afternoon.

Dinner was Curried Parsnip Soup (Ainsley2, p31). Easy and pretty good stuff. Served with a hard-boiled egg. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Started Overnight Boule.

Tuesday/19-Jan-21: Baked off the Overnight Boule this morning.

The cook was having another off day. Quite late, we had Chicken with Morels (How2Eat, p151), two thighs for four people. Yummy. Take a bit of time to be ready, but nothing difficult. Served with some pasta to soak up the delicious sauce and some steamed broccoli. 

I see I need to find a DMA dish for this week.

Wednesday/20-Jan-21: Off the plan today. I really didn't feel like separating eggs and all that rigamarole for a soufflé-ish thing. Instead I steam-hard-boiled more eggs and made Hard-Boiled Eggs Masala (Q&E, p41). Served over plain basmati rice. And, yes, a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/21-Jan-21: After 13 hours the yogurt was not "done" this moring. Most of the jars were still liquid. Cooked them for another eight hours and they seem somewhat better. What's going on?

Made a loaf of German-Style Whole Wheat Bread (Rustic, p150) (WW/Rapid/M=1.5*/-/-). This is one of the first recipes I've seen that asks for "light whole wheat bread", exactly what T110 seems to be. Adding 3tbl of bread flour to 3-3/4cup of T110 seemed a bit silly. Smells really good cooking. A huge loaf appeared at the end.

Dinner was about a 2/3 recipe of Mijoté de Veau au Chorizo (VPG; couldn't find on web), a slow-cooked stew of veal, chorizo, and tomato sauce. I added some smoked paprika along the way. Served over brown rice, although polenta might have been nicer. Pretty good stuff. Mini cups of Häagen-Dazs ice cream for after.

Friday/22-Jan-21: Picked up an order from Intermarché today. Seems like I accidentally deleted the fish from the basket. Replan. Instead we had choucroûte garni, that I bought for the next days. We're full.

Saturday/23-Jan-21: For a late lunch, we had, sort of, reuben sandwiches with some of the leftover sauerkraut, lunchmeat ham, gruyère, and this quickie Russian dressing (which was very good). Open-faced, heated in the toaster oven to warm everything and melt the cheese.

Sunday/23-Jan-21: Made a loaf of DeDe's Buttermilk Bread (MagicHints, p142) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Lovely high white bread loaf. Dark wasn't really needed; strange because my machine tends to make very light-colored loaves.

Dinner was a DMA, Cajun Salmon Burgers* (web), really good and easy. Made up a sort of guacamole, as suggested, for a side, and some canned corn, and some couscous. For after, there was a sort of blueberry tart, using up the mascarpone in the fridge, very loosely based on this recipe. I didn't make the pastry, but used two formerly frozen squares of pâte feuillettée. Blueberries with a tad of sugar for the topping. Yummy, if not especially pretty.

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: 9; #8 NEW: 1

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Nov-20: Made some Cranberry-Port Relish (MC; web) for Thanksgiving. Prepped the pork for tomorrow's meal.

Dinner was from a food truck—yay, no cooking!

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/24-Nov-20: Dinner was Pork Vindaloo (Q&E, p33). Cooked this off in the crockpot, since we were away a good part of the day. Served with plain basmati rice, Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJFamily, p173) (cooked in a cast iron skillet with no extra oil), and Yoghurt with Cucumber and Mint—Kheere ka Raita (MJ1, p162). All are old favorites.

Wednesday/25-Nov-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17) in the morning. Delicious bread, but tiny 2# loaf.

Made up the roulades for tomorrow's meal. Baked a pumpkin cake.

Dinner from the freezer, chicken adobo stew, served over brown rice, with a salad. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/26-Nov-20: Yes, it's Thanksgiving, with a doctor's appointment in the middle of the day, which limited what could be done.

For the table, I trimmed the little tulips we got from Intermarché last week. They have held up remarkably well. Dutch tulips in a Delftware vase.

We started with Smoked Salmon with Dill-Mustard Sauce, (VegHarv, p4). I've made this nice little starter before. The rolls of salmon look pretty lonely on the plate some I added some sliced cucumbers, which go nicely with the sauce.

For our main, we again had mini versions Shane's Turkey Roll using turkey scallops. I really do have to write up his recipe to save it properly. These were accompanied by: 

• Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries & Pecans (web). Picked the sprouts up at a Drive this morning, so didn't have time for marinating as I often do. (We like marinated roasted sprouts as a starter.) This was a new recipe and definitely a keeper. I thought I'd ordered 500g of sprouts, but it was only 250g (and ended up being on sale, although the quality was fine, just a mix of sizes, big and small), which is barely enough for two.
• Started out to make Tornado Potatoes (web), but failed at the cutting, so I turned them into hasselback potatoes with the same coating. (I've got lots of the coating left. It might end up on something else in the next days.) And, of course, there was ...
• Cranberry-Port Relish (MC, web), which is my standard recipe, much liked here and very easy. Unfortunately took the picture before I added cranberry sauce to the plate, so it looks a bit colorless.

For dessert, there was Pumpkin Cake (MC), another favorite, although not so old. We'll be eating it for days, but it keeps well. 

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/27-Nov-20: Dinner was, sort of, Salmon Leek Pie with Lemon Dill Crust (PotPies, p132). I had bits of salmon and of lieu noir in the freezer, so I used those together rather than all salmon. Instead of the lemon-dill crust, I used smashed potatoes with dill and lemon zest added. Pretty good it was. Followed by a salad. Then some pumpkin pie. 

Forgot to make bread during the day, so

Saturday/28-Nov-20: I used a new recipe to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Oops, recipe didn't work very well. I poured all the batter in the pan and made a kind of pancake cake. Edible, but not pretty.

Scallops were supposed to be on the menu tonight. But the two packages that were supposed to be freezer weren't to be found. I'm puzzled where they've gone since we haven't had scallops in a while. While rummaging through the freezer, I found a package of gyozas, pork-and-kimchi, that I found at Leclerc Drive. I steamed those, made some rice, a bit of dipping sauce (web), and a salad of shredded chineeskool, broccoli stems, carrot, and red onion, with a ginger-sesame dressing. All was pretty good. Have another package of plain pork gyozas for another night. Pumpkin cake for after.

Made up some batter for Overnight Bread.

Sunday/29-Nov-20: Baked the Overnight Bread this morning. Ed insists this is his all-time favorite. He also said I could do the pancake cake again. 

An easy dinner, Curried Fried Rice (MW@Home, p226), which is an old favorite. I didn't cook the rice ahead and chill it as one should; I just cooled it on a big plate. Used red Thai curry paste for the curry bit. It was good. Some mini ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 2; #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/14-Sep-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Chicken, Red Lentils, and Green Beans in One Pot (Q&E, p58), which seems to be one of the few recipes I've tried from this book that I've found distinctly blah. I used four chicken thighs (skinned) and some tough green beans. Over basmati rice. Chocolate covered madeleines for after

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/15-Sep-20: Our first meal in a restaurant since the Covid-19 emergency started. Hoping it was an ok thing to do.

Some fruit and madeleines in the evening.

Wednesday/16-Sep-20: Tonight there was store-boughten gnocchi with Hazan's famous tomato sauce from the freezer. Here's a photo, for the Cooking Marcella Hazan group on Facebook.

Followed by a big salad. Some cookies for after. 

Thursday/17-Sep-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today, so it was fish for dinner.

We had a halfish recipe of Vissalade me Komijn-Mosterddressing (Del). Can't find it on the web anywhere. It was okay, but not worth copying. Fish (cod tonight), watercress (arugla, since I've rarely seen watercress here), orzo/risoni, currants, and pine nuts, in a dressing with coarse mustard and cumin (I used ground roasted, rather than whole seeds). A nice, light meal on a hot night. Some cookies for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/18-Sep-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17).

For dinner I defrosted some sauce from chicken paprikash. Flattened a pair of kip filets, S&P, a bit of smoked paprika, dredged in flour, then sautéed in butter and olive oil. Served with tagliatelle and steamed broccoli. Good stuff.

Saturday/19-Sep-20: Spent the afternoon waiting for Orange to come to fix the phone. They called Corinne (my French teacher who has been helping contact Orange in the last days) to tell her it was working. She said, No, go to the house. So a guy came, after the end of the appointed period. Everything's ok, but not the tonalité; what that means in this situation, I don't know. Anyhow, it's something that Orange can fix at the office. Which won't be open till Monday. He said he'd call to be sure it was fixed. How nice.

Dinner was Zucchini Ravioli (web), about a half recipe. I very loosely followed this recipe for the marinara sauce. Forgot to take the dried chili out when I removed the basil spring. I got it in my serving — ouch! The "ravioli" were okay, nothing special. Then a small salad. Then some mini ice cream cups.

Start some Overnight Bread.

Sunday/20-Sep-20: Bake Overnight Bread. Good stuff.

Dinner was Enchiladas Verdes (Green Enchiladas) (web), with some modifications of course. For a start, two kip filets weigh a lot less than one pound. I ended up with eight enchiladas. I mixed some crème fraîche with the salsa verde left after rolling the tortillas. No queso fresco; I used some tomme des Pyrenees, a mild cow cheese. Made up some Spanish rice, with carrots, peas, corn, and red bell pepper from the freezer; used the chicken poaching juice for the water. Forgot to salt, so that had to be done at table. Pretty good stuff.

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/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/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/17-Feb-20: Dinner was Pork Loin Roast with Sauerkraut (ClayCook1, p45). The sauerkraut lost all its juice on the way home, so there was no gravy. I forgot to slice up the apple for the cooking, I sautéed the apple slices (peeled) and stirred them into the sauerkraut at the end. To go with, I mashed some potatoes and steamed some green beans. For dessert, we finished off the peach cobbler. We're happily full.

Tuesday/18-Feb-20: The wok burner on the stove was successfully replaced today. Hooray.

Dinner was Lasagnes Saumon Fumé et Poireau (VPG/may19, web). This was fairly easy to assemble and quite tasty. Followed by a salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Wednesday/19-Feb-20: Leftovers night. We had the rest of the pork loin and sauerkraut, with some orecchiette, because I didn't feel like dealing with potatoes, and some steamed broccoli. Meanwhile I used up my (ancient) white chocolate from the US to make White Chocolate Pudding (web), and served with some defrosted blueberries. I used 3 tablespoons rather than 1/4 cup of sugar (sucre de canne) and it was still too sweet. We're stuffed.

Thursday/20-Feb-20: Shopping today.

Dinner was Broiled Fish Steaks with Fresh Ginger Sauce (Tabasco, p72) with tuna. This was yummy. The sauce would be good with white meat chicken and maybe even a pork chop. Served with French Beans with Sesame Seeds (RezaSpice, p118), which was good. And New Potatoes with Cumin (Q&E, p91), an old favorite. Finished off the White Chocolate Pudding for after. We're full.

Friday/21-Feb-20: Dinner was a half dose of Sheet-Pan Harissa Chicken with Carrots and Cauliflower (web), served with fettucelle (looks like wide, thick linguine). This was ok. The veggies are first steamed on the sheet pan, then the chicken added. I didn't much like the sweet of the onions, but the harissa made everything tasty. Nice crispy chicken skin. Some store-bought cheesecake for after.

Saturday/22-Feb-20: Dinner was a half dose of Creamy Polenta with Mushroom Ragù (web). This was good. A bit more polenta, maybe 1/2 more for the whole recipe, might have been nice, since the polenta disappeared under the ragù. Then a salad. Then the rest of the cheesecake. We were full.

Sunday/23-Feb-20: Dinner was a half dose of Rabbit and Lemon, a recipe I got somewhere, but neglected to record and can't find searching. The lemony bit was regular lemon and a preserved lemon. There was more juice left than I expected at the end, I thickened this with a bit of cornstarch (just too much really) and called it gravy. Served with trio rice and some steamed broccoli. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Dec-19: Off to a little marché de noël today. And little it was. Then Ed, after saying he didn't want a tree, went off to get a tree. When will it get put up and decorated, I wonder?

Dinner was Butternut and Pasta Soup, (How2Eat, p160), which wasn't bad, especially with a goodly dose of jalapeño tabasco. I mostly puréed the soup (thank you staff mixer, rather than just mashing a bit, before adding the pasta.

Before that we had little goat cheese and cranberry sauce "tarts". I read about this combination somewhere, and having a bit of leftover cranberry sauce and pyramid cheese, I thought I'd try it with some squares of pâte feuilletté. Pretty good and certainly easy. Squares of chocolate for after.

Yogurt on overnight

Tuesday/24-Dec-19: Miserable day today. Didn't get the list finished. Wanted a pizza for dinner, but everything was closed. So we had the salad I forgot yesterday and a sort of grilled cheese sandwich. With chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/25-Dec-19: It's not been the best of holiday seasons. I've been down with the Mother of All Sinus Infections, including a major earache, the weather has largely been gray, rainy, and windy, and I'm depressed. We didn't have the whole dinner as originally planned, but most of it, with an improvisation for dessert. Here.

Thursday/26-Dec-19: Second xmas day today. Here's what we had.

Friday/27-Dec-19: Shopping today. I've already seen that this is going to be another record year for grocery expenses even though I tried to keep it down. So I blew it and we stocked up on lots of stuff.

Dinner was Baked Spiced Halibut (30MinInd, p72), but with swordfish. This had trouble getting done in the toaster oven, but finally made it. Ed didn't like the sauce at first, but warmed to it with the other food. There was Cauliflower with Ginger, Garlic, and Green Chiles (Q&E, p83). I used romanesco, thinking it would add a bit of color, but it didn't. I managed to burn the spices, so it wasn't as tasty as it should have been. And there was New Potatoes with Cumin (Q&E, p91), with regular potatoes. (My little potatoes had all sprounted.) This was yummy. For dessert there was some store-bought cheesecake.

Saturday/28-Dec-19: I felt like something Asian-ish today, so I smerged together some pad thai recipes and that was dinner. Not great, but edible. My sauce was a bit salty unfortunately. We finished the little cheesecake for afters. (It's small, only four servings.)

Sunday/29-Dec-19: Last night Ed saw the Moulin's menu for today and said, Let's go. So we did. Nothing happened in the kitchen today.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: none
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/8-Jul-19: For starters there were insalatas caprese. For a main I used much of the orange cauliflower I bought last week to make a half recipe of Grilled Cauliflower "Steaks" with Tonnato Sauce and Walnut Salsa (web). This was good, if a bit light for a main course. Ottolenghi does say it's a starter and it would be good like that. Ed liked the tonnato sauce and the walnut salsa (especially), but didn't like them together. I thought they were fine together. For afters I had a HD ice cream cup and Ed had a mini Magnum bar.

This is the first "steak" cut from the cauliflower following Ottolenghi's instructions, i.e., only two steaks per head, cut from the center. This means each steaks has a substantial part of the stem to hold it together.

The completed dish, with the steak sitting on tonnato sauce and topped with walnut salsa, looked like this.

Tuesday/9-Jul-19: Dinner was kind of late because in the afternoon I made myself a simple tuna salad sandwich with tuna leftover from yesterday.

The orange cauliflower appeared again today as Cauliflower with Tomatoes, Green Olives, and Capers (PeV, p96). Served this over whole wheat pasta, which maybe wasn't the best choice. But the sauce was good.

Then a big salad. Then some chocolate-covered corn flakes. It's late and we're stuffed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/10-Jul-19: Dinner was, sort of, Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad (web). I used the last of my orange cauliflower, a red bell pepper, a zucchini, a carrot, garlic cloves, and some ~1" pieces of snijbonen. About 10min before these were done, I added a handful of fresh peas (those that didn't make it into the risotto), some kalamata-ish olives, and some oven-dried tomatoes (seedless) from the freezer. Served over malfada corta. Made the dressing in the recipe, more or less; I think it would have been better with all lemon juice and no red wine vinegar. Didn't wait for anything to cool, just served it all up after the veggies came out of the oven. Good stuff. Some mini ice cream bars for dessert. We're full.

Thursday/11-Jul-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Salmon Wrapped in Spinach Leaves with Caper, Lemon, and Olive Sauce (VegHarv, p86; cookbooker). There was no large-leaved spinach today, so I used sorrel instead. Tried to parboil this as directed for the spinach, but it turned ugly quite quickly, so I just used the raw leaves. The shorter time, 3 minutes, was good for my thinner end of the salmon back; Ed's thicker end could have used another 30 seconds or so. A bit surprised that the sauce ingredients were not blended before or after simmering. Served with gnocchi and spaetzle from the freezer. And there was a simple grated carrot salad; I used the spiralizer thing to "grate" the carrots. Some store-bought semoule au lait for dessert. We're full.

Decided on next month's cookbook, took it to read on the way to and from shopping, and discovered that I've already used it a bit and didn't remember. Duh. Wondering if I should continue, or do Nigella Lawson's How To Eat, which I've recently finished reading. Hmm...

Friday/12-Jul-19: Early dinner tonight so we could go to the Folk Galerie. We started with that old favorite, Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). For our main, there was Squid or Scallops in Spinach-Tomato Curry Sauce (Q&E, p72), with scallops, over plain rice. (I really have to make this with squid sometime.) Some mini ice creams for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/13-Jul-19: For dinner there was Chicken Breasts with Mint, Capers, and White Wine (VegHarv p110). This was simple and good. For a side, I augmented the leftover gnocchi and spaetzle with the caper-lemon-olive sauce with some onion and red bell pepper and olive oil and lemon juice to make a pretty good salad. We were meant to have Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio Oil (VegHarv, p214) as a starter, but it ended up following the main. Really like this salad. Then some silver medal Langres. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines. We're stuffed.

Sunday/14-Jul-19: Dinner was Sesame Peanut Noodles (web) which was greatly improvee by a liberal dose of my "fiery" hot sauce. I forgot to add the sesame seeds and the chopped coriander. Used spiralized zucchini for the bean sprouts; spiralized carrot for the red bell pepper, which I used up yesterday; and chunk of lightly steamed snijbonen for the mangetout. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 6; #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