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-Sep-20: Easy dinner tonight. Ravioli à la Panna using raviolis filled with ham, peas, and mozzarella. Made a big salad with the rest of yesterday's arugula, and a big home-grown tomato. Used some of the tomato slices to make mini insalatas caprese with a bit of leftover mozzarella from the fridge. That's all, we were full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/8-Sep-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Cardamom Chicken Stew in the Indian Style (BigFlav, p304). The original recipe wants 12 thighs for four people. That seems excessive; we usually do four for two. Very tasty. Might be better to remove the skin for cooking, since we don't usually eat skin cooked in this way. There was lots of liquid left, and I'll freeze a bit to use for something else. Served with plain basmati rice and some Zucchini in a Yogurt Dressing (SpiceKitch, p58), an old favorite. We're full, no dessert needed.

Wednesday/9-Sep-20: Late lunch made for a late dinner. :-( We had Crispy Scallops (web; online). (I got the recipe for the scallops, without the salad, from EAT-L. The salad isn't very appealing to me.) These were good. Served with grits and Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio Oil (VegHarv, p214), which is a favorite nowadays. My lemon thyme died, so it was plain thyme, and I didn't have time to chop some pistachios (a nice crunch), but it was still good. Used my Dutch kaaschijfje to slice the zukes. That's all.

Thursday/10-Sep-20: Made a loaf of Oat Bread (BigGerman, p29) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-). Very tasty. Hope it holds up over the next days better than the Oatmeal Sesame Bread did.

Dinner was pork ribs (a rare find at the grocery) à la Leo Koning (e.g.,a ton of salt,a half ton of cayenne; with a nod to Chef John I supplemented this with some garlic powder and black pepper. Cooked on low low low until they're done, several hours). A nice messy dinner once in a while, but the first time since we've moved, since finding unadulterated ribs is an unusual happening. Usually they're already marinatee, and perhaps cooked, Mexican or whatnot. Served with Clothilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes (web). And Madhur Jaffrey's Zucchini and Feta Cheese Salad (WorldVeg, p640). We're stuffed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/11-Sep-20: Dinner was a half recipe of Chickpea Dumplings in Curried Tomato Sauce (EW/oct19; web. I used a single can of tomato pulp (supposedly seedless), rather than the two tomato-y cans indicated. Pretty good stuff.

Saturday/12-Sep-20: Ed picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today.

Dinner was Baked Salmon with Herb Tahini (web). This was good, even though I see that I forgot the pine nuts in the herb topping. Served with Moroccan couscous and leftover zucchini-feta salad. Then a plate of sliced tomato from the potager, with S&P and olive oil and basil. Yum. Some cookies for after.

Sunday/13-Sep-20: Put the meat for Beef Tikka (RezaSpice, p100) on for its first marinade fairly early (for me). Went away for a while. Made the second marinade and added to the meat. Ed bbq'd this perfectly. Not the best written recipe, but really delicious. Served with (MJ's Simple Buttery Rice with Onions (out of my head) and Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJ@Home, p173), an old favorite. Rather than using a frying pan, I sprayed the zucchini slices with oil and grilled them on the grill pan that came with the stove. All was good.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/31-Aug-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc Drive today. Mostly staples, not much food-to-eat.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Spicy Garlic Chicken Penne with Peas (web; cookbooker). This was a hit. Then a simple salad with tomato and onion. (Last week I accidentally bought two sacks of lettuce and an extra packet of sucrines, when I already had one to use. We are over-endowed with lettuce-y things.)

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/1-Sep-20: We ate from the freezer tonight. There was Roasted Eggplant & Meat Sauce for pasta. Since we've had pasta two nights in a row, I decided to serve this over polenta, which was a good idea, except that I seem to have put in too much water and it took forever to get done. Quite tasty. Then a salad, again with tomato, onion, and carrot. It's late and we're full. Nothing further.

Start overnight bread.

Wednesday/2-Sep-20: Dinner was a halfish dose of Puy Lentil, Red Onion and Feta Salad (Flavours, p198. This was ok, but nothing special. Some mini HD ice cream cups for dessert.

Thursday/3-Sep-20: Dinner was, more or less, Mauritian Prawn Curry (web). Not bad stuff. Over basmati rice. With Zucchini in a Yogurt Dressing (SpiceKitch, p58), an old favorite, using zucchini from the garden. We were full.

Friday/4-Sep-20: Decided that reading a cookbook at bedtime isn't really a good idea. Some of the books are too large to hold easily and getting to stickies can be difficult, especially with a cat sitting on your chest. Down to the living room, I think.

Picked up an order from Intermarché today.

Made a loaf of Cornmeal English Muffin Bread (BigGerman, p151) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-), a lovely, big loaf.

Dinner was Papillote de Cabillaud à la Mangue (VPG). I love things in papillote, but this was pretty boring. The rosemary didn't work. Can't imagine that the suggested vanilla would have added anything. Mango is tropical. A squirt of lime juice would have been good. Red pepper flakes maybe? Anyhow it was edible. Served with basmati rice, as suggested, and steamed broccoli. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/5-Sep-20: Dinner was Grilled Pork Tenderloin 'Saltimbocca' (web). This was good; the sauce was so-so and unneeded. Served with some Po' Cousin Paella from the freezer (more of that for another day) and carrot sticks cooked with mint. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Sunday/6-Sep-20: Made a loaf of Oatmeal Sesame Bread (BigGerman, p29) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-). I've made this before and noted that the sesame taste is too strong, so for the large loaf, I cut the sesame seeds back from 1/3cup to 2-1/2tbl. The large loaf came out beautiful and high.

Dinner was Za'atar Roasted Carrots and Chickpea Yogurt Bowls (web). This is supposed to serve four; the two of us ate it all. I used only a quarter of the yogurt and we thought that was fine. Used arugula instead of kale, which isn't available and I don't especially like. Good stuff.

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/29-Jul-19: Started with almost an insalata caprese, but with chopped basil from the freezer. Then leftover sauté de veau over courgette tagliatelle (real pasta with courgette incorporated). Then a small salad. We were full, so no dessert.

Tuesday/30-Jul-19: Made up the broth for Almond-Buttermilk Sorbet (VegHarv, p283). We'll see how that is tomorrow.

Dinner was a half recipe of Spicy Cauliflower & Pancetta Spaghetti (EW jan/feb16, web; cookbooker). This was quite good. The cauliflower wanted about twice the time to get done. I used dried pepper flakes rather than a fresh pepper, and all olives; lardons instead of pancetta. Then some Zucchini with Cilantro Sauce (MWLowFat, p335). Then some chocolate-covered corn flakes. We ate well.

Some rumpsteaks for tomorrow on to marinate with half a packet of an ancient fajita marinade.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/31-Jul-19: Ed grilled our marinated "fajitas". Pretty good they were. Serve with some edible, but slightly strange rice made from a mix thing Jody brought us. And some a mix of avocado, cilantro, shallot, and lime juice. And some sautéed green bell pepper and onion. With corn tortillas. For dessert, there was Almond-Buttermilk Sorbet (VegHarv, p283; cookbooker). This was pretty good, but maybe a bit too much lemon juice. We ate well.

Thursday/1-Aug-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Escalopes of Salmon with Warm Balsamic Vinaigrette (How2Eat p203). Not sure what a salmon scallop should like like. I had two smallish dos de saumon; the cooking time of 1 minute per side twice (on the grill that came with the stove), was perfect. As a side there was Zucchini in a Yogurt Dressing (SpiceKitch, p58). This is an old favorite; Ed thought it might be good with little potatoes included. Also some orzo. For after, we had some tomme de montagne that was on special today.

Friday/2-Aug-19: Cath and I went to an arty ceramics exhibit today. Interesting, but nothing special. She stayed for dinner. I made some seared magrets following the method in Seared Duck Beast with Espelette Pepper Jelly (VegHarv, p111). No espelette jelly, but the perfect method for cooking duck breasts. Served with spaghetti courts with pesto, and Sautéed Carrots with Sage (web; CL). For dessert we finished off the sorbet, topped with blueberries from the garden.

Saturday/3-Aug-19: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was Grilled Scallops with Avocado Sauce (web). This is one that sounded good, but was only so-so in practice. I used a lot of chicken stock for the polenta and it wasn't very pretty. Then a salad. Then some chocolate-covered cornflakes.

Sunday/4-Aug-19: Dinner was Roasted Cauliflower & Almond Salad (web). This was quite good, but I didn't really make enough. Mini ice cream bars for dessert.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/10-Jun-19: Dinner was Turkey Pitas (web; CL/jul14). I had what was probably half the meat, but used all the spices and accompanying tahini-yogurt sauce. We used four pitas to make the sandwiches, instead of one each. I bought some mini-romaines, I think for the accompanying salad, but forgot to make it.

Tuesday/11-Jun-19: Peg&Jim arrived late this afternoon, so we had a late dinner after apéros and munchies. There was Exotic-Flavored Chicken Thighs with Tomato-Mint Salad (License, p205; cookbooker). Barbecuing the chicken had to be delayed a bit since they weren't quite defrosted after two days in the fridge. The chicken is spiced only with ground cardamon, salt, and black pepper. Delicious. Accompanied this by Carrot and Pistachio Salad (web), which we all liked. I forgot to make rice to accompany this, so we sliced some bread for the soppy.

Dessert was A Peach Shortcake for Lizzie (BigFlav, p430), which was excellent. I used cream & mascarpone for the cream.

Wednesday/12-Jun-19: Another late meal. For a starter we had Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill (BEFCC, p35), which is an old favorite. Then there was Chicken Saltimbocca (ClayCook2, p63), which was pretty good, along with a side of whole wheat spaghetti. For dessert there was the rest of the peach shortcake with mascarpone whipped cream. All good.

Thursday/13-Jun-19: Shopping today. Peg&Jim are leaving Saturday :-( and I have no meal plan beyond that. Just bought a bunch of veggies and we'll see what turns up.

We started tonight with Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172), a pretty standard dish now. Our main was Salmon Poached with Spinach and Bengali Five-Spice Mixture (SpiceKitch, p76), served basmati rice. Yummy stuff. For dessert there was lazy-cook's kheer, riz au lait doctored with chopped pistachios and cardamom.

Friday/14-Jun-19: Lunch out today, and a visit to Aubeterre. Cheese and other nibbles in the evening.

Saturday/15-Jun-19: Peg&Jim left today. We had pasta and broccoli with a roquefort-cream cheese sauce. And ice cream for dessert

Sunday/16-Jun-19: A bit salad for dinner and chocolate covered madeleines for dessert.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/27-May-19: Left the cats and the dog in their respective kennels and drove to Souillac with Bill for a mini-vacation along with too much good eating.

Tuesday/28-May-19: Sightseeing, the automata museum, and a drive through the countryside.

Wednesday/29-May-19: Homewards, with a stop at Sarlat la Canéda. Pick up cats. Munchies for evening meal.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/30-May-19: Start cooking for tomorrow's meal. Put the lamb leg for Whole Leg of Lamb in a Spicy Yoghurt Sauce—Raan masaledar (MJ1, p57) on to marinate. Made Onion Relish—Pyaz ka laccha (MJ1, p174). Made Fresh Green Chutney—Hari chutney (Q&E, p113). Made up the broth for Plain Vanilla Ice Cream from the Waring Ice Cream Parlor booklet. Chopped up the peaches Bill brought and put those to macerate with much of the sugar.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/31-May-19: Big Indian meal for Andy and Sue and Bill, using up a leg of lamb from the freezer. Spent the morning and afternoon preparing bits, so it wasn't too much work at the end. For starters there was:

• Baked Onion Bhajis (web), a new recipe from the web, highly rated. Think I let the onions get a bit too soft; I found them too sweet. And maybe they suffered from sharing the oven with the lamb roaster. Worth trying again.
• Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172), an old favorite.
• Fresh Green Chutney (Q&E, p113), also an old favorite.
• Fresh Red Chutney with Almonds (Q&E, p114), a newer favorite.

For the main course there was 

• Whole Leg of Lamb in Spicy Yogurt Sauce (MJ1, p57). Have done this before. Good stuff. Maybe a trifle overdone but still moist and tasty.
• Shrimp Biryani (MJ@Home, p214), an old favorite. I doubled the rice to serve as our general side dish, then made half the shrimp for Sue, a pesca-vegetarian. This was way too much rice, so we have lots leftover.
• Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38), old favorite.
• Cachumber (MJ1, p172), old favorite.
• Onion Relish (MJ1, p174), old favorite.
• Mixed pickle from the ginormous jar I bought recently.

For dessert there was vanilla ice cream with the peaches Bill brought from the Netherlands.

Not much new here, but all good.

Yay, no yogurt needed tonight!

Didn't get a Römertopf recipe made tonight. Think I'll continue with these books for another month, since I've still got lots of interesting things to make.

Saturday/1-Jun-19: Lunch out today, prior to the Cantique/Voci concert this evening. Afterwards, we munched on the lamb.

Sunday/1-Jun-19: Bill left this morning. For breakfast we had Scrambled Eggs with Goat Cheese and Chives (Twenty, p109). This were good. In the process, I managed to kill my glass double boiler.

For dinner I reheated some of the lamb in the yogurt sauce. Served this over some of the rice, along with the cachumber.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 0; #3 COOKBOOK: no
Cookbooks of the month: Römertopf cookbooks for May and June
This month: #4 PASTA: no for May, no for June; #5 BREAD: yes for May, no for June; #6 GUESTS: yes for May, no for June
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/17-Dec-18: Leftovers tonight. First guacamole and chips, then enchiladas and rice. Forgot to buzz up the instant refried beans for another side. Chocolate roses for dessert.

Chickpeas to soak overnight.

Tuesday/18-Dec-18: Cooked up the chickpeas. Froze three 2-cup ziplocs, and had one cup for tomorrow's meal.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Stir-Fried Zucchini Noodles with Chicken and Peppers (Spiral, p125). Pretty good stuff—noodles without noodles. But so much wastage. I didn't spiralize the bell peppers, but cut them by hand. Chocolate roses for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/19-Dec-18: Got our two xmas meals planned and a gi-normous shopping list done today.

Our dinner was a halfish version of Couscous with Red Pepper, Chickpea, and Almond Sauce (VegPlanet, p254; cookbooker). Pretty good this was, if needing a goodly dose of tabasco. Finished the chocolate roses for dessert.

Made up the spice mix and the sauce for the pork that will go in the crockpot tomorrow morning.

Thursday/20-Dec-18: Oscar has his teeth cleaned today, and lost a good chunk of his remaining ear to be sent off for a biopsy. He looks a mess—he's been shaved all around his ear and painted with silver stuff. Not sure what the purpose of that is. He's a conehead, of course. Antibiotic and pain pills for the next week.

Started the crockpot before I went off the the vet this morning, with Carolina Pork Barbecue from the Crockpot (MC). Pretty good stuff. Made Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (MC, Handybook) as a go-with. Mini ice cream bars for after. Noticed tonight that the mini Magnum Classics have shrunk again. They're now the same size as the mini Häagen-Dasz bars.

Friday/21-Dec-18: Shopping today, and with luck we've gotten everything we need for the two holiday meals.

Dinner was Fish on a Bed of Potatoes, Onions and Tomatoes (MJFlavs, p111; cookbooker), a last-minute change when I discovered they had swordfish again. Made this with fewer potatoes that asked and served over too much rice. The sauce was nice, so somthing for soppy was needed; maybe store-bought naan would be ok. Also used up some snijbonen that had been hanging around in the fridge to make Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38), which made a nice accompaniament. For dessert, some Turkish Delight that Bill left us and then amaro with cantuccini things.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/22-Dec-18: Made some Pickled Green Beans (MC).

Guess we're not going to get fresh pasta till the mouse problem is resolves, since the counter is full of stuff from the cabinets. Sigh.

Dinner was a half dose of Trenette with Pesto and Vegetables (PastaBible, p126). Remarkably good for something with such simple ingredients. Then a salad. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines, only 1-1/2 each since it seems Bill had one while we weren't looking.

Sunday/23-Dec-18: Useless day today.

Dinner was leftover non-barbecued pork. With polenta instead of bread. Added a bit to the coleslaw so there would be enough. Chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/19-Nov-18: Dinner was Black and Blue Cajun Chicken Sandwich (Ainsley2, p12; cookbooker) with a toefje salad on the side. Chocolate covered madeleines for dessert.

Tuesday/20-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse overnight. Wondering if we've got a small opening to the outside world in the kitchen somewhere.

Had one thing planned, then decided to use us some stuff in the fridge. Made a pasta (casareccia) with goat cheese, broccoli, shooms, kalamatas, onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, etc. Comfort food. Then a salad. Then a pair of chocolated covered madeleines, finishing off that package.

Wednesday/21-Nov-18: Caught another teeny mouse today.

Made Pumpkin Flan (MC) to take to Rosemary's tomorrow.

Shopping today.

Dinner was Fish Stew—Mr A.R. Sunil's Fish Moilly (MJFlavs, p25), made with lieu noir, on special today. Quite good it was. Easy and relatively fast to make. Served with plain basmati rice and Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38) made with snijbonen, haricots coco plats, whatever those might be in English. And some Cachumber (MJ1, p172). We were full, but still has some semoule au lait from the shop after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/22-Nov-18: Up early. Made Double-Corn Muffins (MC) to take to Rosemary's.

Off to Rosemary and Philippe's for Thanksgiving, picking up Cath on the way. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Friday/23-Nov-18: Made Pear Bundt Cake (MC) to use up pears in the fridge.

Dinner was Pesto Turkey Kebabs (200Budget, p183). Pretty tasty, if not quite as pretty as the picture. For sides there was trio rice and a mix of veggies—broccoli, mushrooms, corn, left-over turkey filling. Bundt cake for dessert was very more-ish.

Saturday/24-Nov-18: Tonight I made real use of the spiralizer. There was a half-dose of Malaysian-Style Zucchini Noodles with Greens and Shrimp (Spiral, p122). Ed didn't realize there was no pasta, only spiralized zukes. Pretty good as a whole. Then some Mothais Charentais, an especially nice goat cheese that comes on a chestnut leaf. Then more of the Pear Bundt Cake.

Sunday/25-Nov-18: Caught another small mouse this morning. Think I've neglected to record a few. This was the third or fourth for the week.

Dinner was Lemon Chicken (Fancy, p111). I've made this before, in 2012; it's still good. Served with Dusoulier's Perfect Roast Potatoes and a little salad of grated broccoli stems and carrot with a lemon vinaigrette. Then we finished the Mothais Charentais. Then I had my last slice of Pear Bundt Cake, while Ed saved his for breakfast.

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/5-Nov-18: No more mice caught today.

It occurred to me today that I've taken to choosing my monthly book wrong. Instead of choosing one that I've not used much and might be a candidate for recycling, I've frequently chosen ones that either I've used or I've been wanting to use. Will try to do better with this.  It is interesting making a of use of a single book in a month.

Thought I had the meal plan for the next week fairly complete when I sat down today. After a few finishing touches, I discovered that I had three cow-centered meals planned over four days. Odd since we don't eat that much cow. Have that all jiggled now, so should be quick list-making tomorrow.

Tonight we had the other two Jamaican Burgers, along with the Banana-Ginger Chutney (good stuff, that). Served with Jamaican Jerk Grilled Eggplant (web), without the optional sauce. Used the rest of the brown rice to make a sort of stir-fried rice with peas and tossed in the rest of the jerk sauce. Turned out pretty good. Some mini ice cream bars for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/6-Nov-18: No mice caught today.

Our meal was Tandoori Chicken Thighs (web; CL/may12), a half recipe. Easy and good, cooked under the broiler. Then there was Yellow Rice with Potato and Cumin (SpiceKitch, p64), good stuff. I used one third of the rice with all of the spices. I used up the rest of the snijbonen to make South Indian-Style Green Beans (MJ@Home, p147), also good. Have enjoyed both of these before. At a boulanger in the afternoon, I bought one piece of flan; we split that for dessert.

Wednesday/7-Nov-18: No mice caught today. We know you're there!

Shopping late. Dinner was Tilapia Poached in a Chipotle Mushroom Broth (MC; web), but with lieu noir, rather than tilapia (which isn't much sold here). Lots of yummy broth left. Served with bucatini, which was the wrong pasta, and some clean-out-the-fridge steamed veggies, a bit of broccoli, a carrot, and one snijbonen. Some store-bought riz au lait avec vanile for dessert.

My sourdough starter is alive! Two days ago it grew to the top of the jar, then apparently "burped" and went down in volume. This has happened a couple of times now, though not so dramatic at the first time. Hope to start a bread within the next days.

Thursday/8-Nov-18: Dinner was Beef with Spinach—Saag Gosht (Q&E, p36). I made a whole recipe and the two of us ate it all; we were stuffed but we ate it all. (New pressure cooker is pretty fiddly. Had trouble getting it sealed right so that it would work properly.) Over plain basmati rice. Served with a half recipe of Tomato, Onion and Green Coriander Relish—Cachumber (MJ1, p172). For dessert, there was Caramelized Cardamom Apples with Pistachio Cream‐Sev Ka Murabba (Q&E, p122), which was good. Have made all of these before.

Yogurt on overnight.

Started on a loaf of sourdough bread by making the sponge this evening. Using my starter from Fancy, but the bread from Chocolate&Zucchini. I love that she says to "place the bowl [with the sponge] next to the chef starter so they can tell knock-knock jokes to one another all night." We'll see how this goes. Tomorrow the bread.

Friday/9-Nov-18: Caught another mouse today. Hoping this is the last one. Please.

Finished my bread today, but it's still cooling so it might be tomorrow before we can try it. Had to add more flour, and I see that the current version on the web has some gluten added, so I added that too. Looks beautiful. We'll see.

Dinner was boudin noir, with the Banana-Ginger Chutney, which was a good combination. Served with tagliatelle, followed by a big salad.

Saturday/10-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.

It was supposed to fresh pasta today, but I was too tired. Also couldn't face clearing off the counter, where mouse-threatened packages are sitting till we're sure we've removed all the mice.

Dinner was a half recipe of Simple Veal Pasta Sauce—Piccolo Ragù de Vitello (MarCuc, p172), served over malfalda. No ground veal, so I chopped up a scallop and it worked fine. Then a big salad. Then a  bit of Petit Basque cheese. We've eaten well.

Sunday/11-Nov-18: No trapped mouse today.

Made some Everyday Scones (Fancy, p173; cookbooker) this morning. These were easy and pretty good. The recipe advertises that it makes nine scones; I ended up with eleven. My cutter was slightly bigger than 2"; we thought they were a bit small. But good, especially with a dab of jam.

Fed my Fancy sourdough starter, with sugar as instructed. Not sure I've seen this before. If it doesn't bubble up and burp over this time.

Yogurt on overnight.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Oct-18: Lunch out for our anniversary today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Yesterday we took a load of books up to the Hope charity shop. I came home with not one, but two new cookbooks. One is Soups from the Good Food series; I have several of these now, picked up here and there, and they look quite good. The other is called Flavours of the Sun, which looks promising.

Tuesday/16-Oct-18: Another winner dinner from Ainsley Herriott. I made Crusted Roast Rump Steak with Crispy Speckled Onions Rings (Ainsley2, p80; cookbooker). One what I thought was a biggish onion served the two of us for onion rings. The first time I've made onion rings actually. Didn't expect the rings would be soaked in milk. Messy cooking, but delicious. I made all the topping for my two steaks, that was fine. As go-withs I boiled, then sautéed some potatoes (need to use them up) and a little salad of broccoli stems. Some St Félicien for after. We ate well.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/17-Oct-18: Shopping today.

Dinner was Spicy Fried Fillets of Fish (Floyd, p118). Tuna was the best looking fish of the day, so that's what we had. This was pretty good, although the recipe was screwy, calling for a huge amount of green chiles. I used two and a bit for my half recipe; it was nicely hot. I used leftover potatoes from yesterday to make Yellow Rice with Potato and Cumin (SpiceKitch, p64), one third of the rice with half the spices. The other side was Green Peas in a Creamy Sauce (Q&E, p87). These are both tried-and-true recipes. There was faux-kheer for dessert, riz au lait with a sprinkle of cardamom.

Have to say this was probably my favorite thing I've made from Floyd. There recipe is iffy, but it made up quite nicely. I'm pretty well committed to recycling this book (the first one I've found to recycle on my cookbook-a-month quest), but think I'll save this recipe, with modifications.

Thursday/18-Oct-18: Packing related activities all day today.

Made some cilantro pesto to use up supply in fridge. Froze it.

Washed and dried most of lemons (instructions) and froze them. We'll see how that works.

Dinner was Artichoke Spaghetti (Art, p59), made with canned tuna, a really old favorite. Then a big salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Friday/19-Oct-18 - Sunday/21-Oct-18: Off to The Netherlands for a visit. We did nothing in the kitchen.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Apr-18: Well, it was supposed to be a pasta-making day, but I just didn't feel like it. So we had tagliatelle from the freezer, to make a 3/4-ish version of Pici ai Fegatini di Pollo e Radicchio—Pici with Chicken Livers and Radicchio (Lorenza, p130; cookbooker). Served with a big salad.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/24-Apr-18: Our meal was about a third recipe of Lapin à la Moutarde (SaveurFR, p197), accompanied by steamed broccoli and buckwheat crozets. Nice tastes.

Wednesday/25-Apr-18: Oops, forgot my camera today. For our meal, we had a halfish recipe of Chicken Messina (BirdHand, p113), kind of a poor-man's (or lazy cook's) version of vitello tonnato. Very good it was, nicely poached chicken with a tasty sauce. Served with North African Zucchini or Squash Salad (MedHot2, p87), wherein I forgot to add the chopped mint, and Moroccan couscous. Tasty eating all around.

Thursday/26-Apr-18: Shopping today. I noticed some "vegetable" pasta shapes and bought a couple—some fusilli of chickpeas and corn and some fusilli of red lentils and carrots. We'll see how those are.

Our meal was Cod Steaks in Yogurt (MJInvite, p122), which was good enough, but not a favorite. Served with Rice and Peas with Garam Masala (SpiceKitch, p65) and Salaad (MJ@Home, p235). These both tasty. Some Häagen Dasz ice cream cups for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/27-Apr-18: Lunch at Cath's today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Saturday/28-Apr-18: Our meal was Chile-Crusted Scallops with Cucumber Salad (web), which was pretty good. The cuke salad was good on its own (more lemon juice, less olive oil than asked) and extra good with the scallops mixed in. Unfortunately the chiles started Ed off on a coughing jag. Served with some of the chickpea fusilli dressed with olive oil, butter, and black pepper. This was quite good.

Yesterday I found the recipe for Soupe Épicée au Chocolat (VPG; web) stuck in a book; made a half recipe for tonight's meal. I used 100g of 85% chocolate and 50g or 70% chocolate. Melted these in my double boiler. The cream is infused with cardamom pods, a star anise, cinnamon stick, a clove, and some freshly ground pepper. That's strained into the melted chocolate. Pretty tasty.

Sunday/29-Apr-18: Again, it was supposed to be fresh pasta today, but I didn't feel like it, or like I had the time. Used boxed pasta to make Linguine with Lemon, Garlic, and Thyme Mushrooms (at Food52: web; at Nigella's site: web). Good and easy. I've made this before, in June-2014, but collected it again. Worthy of a repeat. Served with roasted asparagus and a big salad. Some of the chocolate "soup," now solidified, with strawberries and cream, which didn't go at all.

Coquelet on to marinate for tomorrow's meal.

Yogurt on overnight.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/2-Oct-17: Today's meal was a half recipe of Indian-Spiced Chickpea Curry (Chana Masala) (web), served over brown basmati rice. This should have served two as a main, but I've got two more servings in the freezer. It was ok, especially with lime pickle and mango chutney. Mini Magnum bars for dessert. Froze up the rest of the chickpeas.

Tuesday/3-Oct-17: Didn't feel like making what I'd planned today, too much chopping involved. Instead I made Delhi-Style Bhuna Lamb (MJ@Home, p120; cookbooker), a very yummy dish, not at all hard to make. Served with Rice and Peas with Garam Masala (SpiceKitch, p65) and Karhai Broccoli (MJ@Home, p148). We were ate it all and were full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/4-Oct-17: Shopping today.

Dinner was Cod in Saffron Broth with Chorizo, which I got from a Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen freebie, a sampler from The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2018: Best Recipes, Equipment Reviews, a book I don't have. Pretty satisfying, but we both thought the cod was a bit overpowered by the chorizo and that shrimp might be a good substitute. Served the rest of Sunday's cauliflower salad as a salad. Then some store-bought custards.

Thursday/5-Oct-17: Early meal today. I made Asian Spaghetti and Chicken Meatballs (BH&G/jan17; web; cookbooker). Pretty yummy, especially with a bit of sriracha on squirted on. Some store-bought brownies for desserts, not bad.

Friday/6-Oct-17: Early meal today. Made Risotto with Lemon and Crème Fraîche (Essential, p345). It was good enough, but nothing as special as Hesser suggests. Crème fraîche to make risotto creamy is a bit OTT. Then a salad.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/7-Oct-17: Indian again today. We're doing a lot of that lately. For a munchie, I finished off a sack of cashews to make Spiced Roasted Cashews (MJ@Home, p7), easy and very more-ish. Our main was Pork (or Lamb) with Lentils (MJ@Home, p135; cookbooker), made with pork. Easy and very good. I made the whole recipe; we'll have three good servings from it. As suggested, I served this with Salaad (MJ@Home, p235), a very nice little salad. For dessert, there was Vermicelli Kheer (MJ@Home, 274; cookbooker); tasty but still runny after more than the prescribed cooking time. Altogether a tasty meal.

Sunday/8Oct-17: We had sandwiches at the fête du pain today and didn't feel much like eating when we got home. Not much happened in the kitchen.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/26-Jun-17: Pasta day today. I made Greek Shrimp (PastaMach, p136), served over Lemon Chive Pasta (PastaMach, p67). I added the grated rind of a lemon to the pasta and used 3tsp of frozen chives. It had a strange translucency, almost like rice noodles. Not sure why. But chewed nice. Then a salad.

Tuesday/27-Jun-17: Lunch out today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/28-Jun-17: The stove got fixed this morning, at no small cost. But now I have two working ovens and the wok burner lights itself.

Shopping day.

Dinner was Chicken Posole Salad (web; cookbooker). This was very tasty. For two people I used two small kip filets (250g total) with all the spice mix; saved a bit of the mix for cooking the hominy. Need at least 1cup of hominy. Used a whole avocado between us; no sharing one between four. Halved the vinaigrette. A very tasty, easy salad. I had a mini magnum for afters.

Put fish on to marinate for tomorrow.

Thursday/29-Jun-17: Indian meal night. We had Monkfish Kebabs (30MinInd, p70), which were pretty good. As go-withs there were Jeera Potatoes (30MinInd, p85) and Peas with Whole Cumin and Mustard Seeds (SpiceKitch, p48); both of these we've enjoyed before. Everything was good.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/30-Jun-17: I missed an eating-out on Wednesday evening, so we had lunch out today.

To use up some of the store-bought rhubarb, I made a Rhubarb Upside Down Cake, from my 2BTried cookbook in Mastercook. Good it is. Went to use the newly fixed oven and found it makes a strange noise when it's turned on. Now I have to manage telling them that on the phone.

Saturday/1-Jul-17: Starting to use the tortillas I ordered. Tonight we had Soft Tacos or Tostadas with Chicken and Tomatillo Salsa (MexLight, p206). Used cooked chicken from the freezer. Didn't make salsa verde, but finished off a nice bottle of the stuff, topped off with a can of "salsa verde" that was only puréed tomatillos. Topped with crème fraîche instead of yogurt. Pretty good stuff for as easy as it was. Rhubarb Upside Down Cake for dessert.

Sunday/2-Jul-17: Early meal today. I made Zucchini and Fresh Goat Cheese Tart (VT,jul/aug16; web). This was pretty good. The curious thing is that the recipe I collected from the magazine is titled "goat cheese", while the one online is titled "taleggio". Same picture and other details are the same. Curious that. Some strangenessese in the recipe. They say one pound of zucchini, sliced, makes three cups; nope, it was four cups. And 10oz mushrooms, sliced, makes 2-1/2 cups; nope, that was more than 4cups. The volume measures are better. No madeira in house, so I used dry sherry. Tasty mushroom like shiitake would be even better.

Then a salad. Then the rest of the Rhubarb Upside Down Cake.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for June, no for July; #4 BREAD: no for June, no for July

This week in the kitchen

Monday/3-Apr-17: Earlyish meal today. We had Orecchiette with Ricotta, Broad Beans and Mint (Diaries, p194; cookbooker). Didn't use orecchiette, but my mini-lasagnas, malfada, I think they're called. This was good. First favas of the year. Then a salad. That was all.

Tuesday/4-Apr-17: A bit of a replan tonight since I had defrosted kip filets that I didn't really need. Dinner was Cashew Chicken Coconut Curry (web); I collected this recipe in 2014. My printed copy says to use broccoli or red bell pepper; having a red bell pepper needing to be used, that's what I did. Either broccoli or a combination of broccoli and red bell pepper would be fine. Turns out I didn't have enough cashews, but it could only have been better. Served the curry over leftover Cilantro-Lime Black Bean Rice from the weekend. Also had some asparagus and mushrooms that needed using. A quick search turned up Asian Asparagus and Mushrooms (web). This was easy and quite good. A nice meal altogether; we were full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/5-Apr-17: Shopping today.

Dinner was Visburgertjes (web), about a 1/2 recipe with 300g lieu noir. Good, they were. Served with Broccoli in Oyster Sauce (Delightful, p58) and Cucumber Salad (Delightful, p51). Ed thought the salad made a nice abstract picture:

For dessert we had some store-bought torsades, a twisted pastry with some tiny chocolate chips.

Thursday/6-Apr-17: Early meal today. We had Goan Pork Vindaloo with Potatoes (web). This is a Madhur Jaffrey recipe; I haven't yet found it in any my books, but haven't done an exhaustive search yet. Anyhow, it was very good. Did it in the pressure cooker; it wanted a bit more water than she says. I added some extra, but it should have been a bit more still, at least one cup altogether. Ground peppercorns with the first batch of spices rather than grinding them separately. Used the full 1tsp of cayenne; it was hot but a long way from too hot. Altogether good. For a side there was Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38), an old favorite, still good.

Friday/7-Apr-17-Sunday/9-Apr-17: Spent these days in Bordeaux, a long weekend to see Yo-yo Ma perform with Kathryn Stott, with three good meals tossed in.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/19-Sep-16: We collected almost 3kg of tomatoes today. I need to get busy seeding and cooking them down. Just don't know when that's going to happen.

Worked on the meal plan today, including replanning today and tomorrow. Had another Middle Eastern dish on the plan for tonight, but didn't feel like going up to get the recipe book. Instead I picked the remains of the roast chicken and made Chopped Greek Salad with Chicken (web). This would have been nice if we were still having hot weather. Really, it's just a fancy salad like I might made ordinarily, with some cooked chicken thrown in. More mihallabiyya for dessert.

After dinner I put the lamb that should have been tonight's dinner on to marinate for tomorrow night's (non Middle Eastern) dinner.

Tuesday/20-Sep-16: What a day. While I had my bi-monthly ear appointment, Ed went to the Toyota dealer to order a part. But they were closed. When he returned, we missed each other (he came in an unusual entrance), so he sat 20 minutes in the doctor's waiting room, while I sat 20 minutes in the hospital lobby. Shopped at a health food store and at Grand Frais. Then to Toyota again to order the part. Then to the shop where the muffler was repaired, but it's had a mysterious rattle since then, which is worse when it's hot, and very annoying. Although we demonstrated it to one person, it was later unreproducable, so this is unresolved. Home at last.

Dinner was Lamb Kebabs with Mint (MJ@Home, p116). Ed grilled these on the bbq; they were yummy. Served with Green Peas in a Creamy Sauce (Q&E, p87) and Spicy, Sour Potatoes with Cumin and Amchoor (SpiceKitch, p50). Both of these are old favorites. We were stuffed, although we did manage to find space for some squares of dark chocolate, with hazelnuts for me and almonds for Ed.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/21-Sep-16: Shopping today. Shopped alone again, while Ed was off getting the contrôle technique for the car.

Dinner was, sort of, Pan-Roasted Cod with Chorizo Vinaigrette (Twenty, p254). I made the Chorizo Vinaigrette (Twenty, p213), but I didn't do the pan roasting, which involved lots of oil, but just sprayed on a bit of oil and broiled the cod bits. The dressing was quite good, though, and will probably come around as a pasta sauce in the next days, maybe for lunch. Served with polenta and a bit of Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (HandyBook). We finished off the mihallabiyya for dessert.

Thursday/22-Sep-16: Today's fun task was deseeding about 5kg of tomatoes from the potager. Whew. Have left them overnight. I'll buzz them up tomorrow and freeze them.

Dinner was Braised Chicken in Tomato and Cinnamon Sauce, served with tagliatelle. Some squares of chocolate for dessert.

Friday/23-Sep-16: Put up lots more tomato today.

Dinner was Penne with Red Pepper Pesto for Two (Pesto Calabrese) (web). Almost. No penne in house, so I used cascareccia; no big deal. But I neglected to set aside a third of the bell pepper strips, so all of them were sautéed, meaning there were no uncooked bits to purée into the sauce. The sauce was fine, but might have been even better if I'd done it right. Then a simple salad (feta and the last of the croutons in the freezer). Then some ice creams from the freezer. I'm stuffed.

Saturday/24-Sep-16: Ed brought in 14 pounds (more than 6kg) of tomatoes yesterday. Time to start working on the next batch soon.

Dinner was a half recipe of Butter-Poached Shrimp with Grits (Twenty, p141; web; cookbooker). Made the grits with chicken stock. They were tasty, but not very pretty to look at. Maybe I used a pan a bit too large for the butter-poaching business. I didn't find these any better than the regular sort of sautéing I might do. Then a big salad. Some squares of chocolate for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/25-Sep-16: Movie this afternoon. We took Pogo on a walk down by the potager this afternoon. There's another big batch of tomatoes ready to pick. And some eggplants too.

Odds and ends from the fridge for dinner: the Indian peas and potatoes from Tuesday; the chorizo vinaigrette from Wednesday served over pasta; a newly made bit of the Israeli radish salad we liked so well.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/27-Jun-16: Shelled my kilo of fava beans today.

Dinner was Marinated Chicken Breasts (Angostura, p47), a half recipe with two kip filets, on the bbq. Easy and very tasty. Served with Potato Salad with Bacon Bits and Mangetout Salad with Mustard Dressing (web). The mangetout (snow peas) salad used up the rest of the peas that I had. I liked this a lot; Ed thought it was okay. I also liked the potato salad, and was surprised that Ed liked it, since he usually doesn't go for vinegary things. A pari of chocolate squares each for dessert.

Tuesday/28-Jun-16: Parboiled and peeled the fava beans for dinner, which was Spaghetti con Fave e Pomodoro (Lorenza, p102). This wasn't a favorite from this book, which is usually pretty dependable. I used too much tomato purée, but, still, the whole thing didn't come together quite right. The fava beans were lost in the sauce. It asked for colored spaghetti (red, green, or yellow), but I used plain old linguine without color. Then a salad with leftover blue cheese dressing. Then we each had a bit of morbier, bought on sale last week.

Wednesday/29-Jun-16: Another stab at Northwest, there were Basque Potatoes for dinner. Followed by a big salad using the rest of the mustard dressing from Monday's salad. Then Ed went off to choir practice. (This concert is Friday night. Will be glad when it's over!)

Thursday/30-Jun-16: I shopped at Intermarché today while Ed was at his first choir practice of the day. Forgot to buy eggs, duh, so may have to go somewhere to get those.

Starting a day early for July's Cookbook Countdown, dinner was Spicy Pan-Fried Cod [need link to post]. I used the extra boiled potatoes from last night's dinner to make a reduced version of Spicy, Sour Potatoes with Cumin and Amchoor (SpiceKitch, p50). Used a zucchini to make a reduced version of Zucchini in a Yogurt Dressing (SpiceKitch, p58). Both of these are old favorites. Thinking the potatoes looked pretty skimpy, I also made some plain basmati rice. For dessert we had little store-bought chocolate mousse things.

Friday/1-Jul-16: Early lunch today before Ed went off the his choir performance. We had Insalata de Tonno e Patate—Tuna&Potato Salad (TuscTable, p125). Served on a plate lined with lettuce leaves. The salad was supposed to serve four, but it was a lovely meal for two.

Saturday/2-Jul-16: Busy morning in the kitchen:

• Picked last weekend's chicken and made stock from the bones.
• Made Oven-Roasted Tomatoes (HandyBook, MC)
• Make up the broth for Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream (Scoop, p29). Only 1/2cup sugar (sucre de canne), 3tsp chipotle.
• Started Lime Pickle to set aside for 10 days. (That's the most asafoetida in one dish I've ever seen.)
• Cooked up hominy in the chicken stock. Froze two lots of 2 cups; used the rest for dinner.
• Made Tamarind & Date Chutney and froze half.
• Made Croutons (Art, p177)

Dinner was a made-up kind of chile/stew with hominy, xmas lima beans (from the freezer), cooked chicken, a can of green chiles, chopped, onion, garlic, and one of the mole mixes that Jody sent. This one was verde, I think. A tasty meal. Served with some corn tortillas from the freezer (didn't have the oomph to make them myself) and some so-so guacamole. Little ice creams for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/3-Jul-16: We had our main meal early today so we could go to a concert in the early evening. We had Shrimp with Curry Leaves and Fenugreek accompanied by Jeera Rice. As a go-with there were some Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). All were yummy. For dessert, I froze the Aztec Hot Chocolate Ice Cream I made yesterday. Yummy stuff. And, yes, hot. I put in the max suggested amount of chipotle powder, which was maybe a bit too much. But very very good.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/2-Feb-15: Quick dinner tonight after return from an afternoon movie. Heated a defrosted leftover Indian-ish sauce, added bit of sauce another plus some chickpeas, and some curry powder and some garam masala. Wasn't bad. Served over rice, with Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38). We split a classic magnum for dessert.

Tuesday/3-Feb-15: During the day we (mostly Ed) planted another batch of bird shrubs on the hedgerow we're trying to establish at the bottom of the South Forty.

Dinner was a half recipe of Chicken and Mushrooms in Garlic White Wine Sauce (web). I used mushroom-flavored noodles, not the chanterelle-shaped ones that really taste of shrooms, but some others that are subtler in flavor. Served with some steamed broccoli. Then a big salad.

Finally found my Zabars cookbook, but it doesn't have the chocolade salami recipe. Still missing my little folder of stamps. Have a vague memory that I had it in the car along with some cookbooks and put it in a book to keep it from getting crumpled. Looked through all the book possibilities I could think of today, without luck. Bought some more stamps at the post office.

Wednesday/4-Feb-15: Shopping today.

Dinner was a half recipe of Spice Crusted Salmon (web), which was pretty good with a coriander-and-cardamon spicy crust and a reduce balsamic vinegar sauce. Served with a half recipe of Home-Style Brown Rice Pilaf (web), which was good, but way too much. To me a pilaf is a side dish. Half of what was reported to serve four was very close to a main for two. Used up chickepeas left from a few days ago. Made a salad, but neither of us wanted more to eat, so I put it outside to chill.

Thursday/5-Feb-15: Went down to look at the bird hedge this afternoon. Many of the shrubs have been uprooted. Looks like a deer or more likely a sanglier/boar has been busy. Tomorrow we'll get some more wire fencing stuff to wrap around them all. Sigh.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Gratin de Confit d'Agneau à la Coriandre (web), sort of. This is kind of a shepherd's pie with lamb. I used cooked lamb from the freezer rather than cooking it special for this dish. I omitted the honey, but added some carrot for veg and a bit of sweet. It was pretty good food for a cold night. Then we had last night's salad. Later we had some squares of chocolate.

Friday/6-Feb-15: Went to the dentist for checkups today, only to discover that the appointments were on the 16th, not the 6th. Oops. Now rescheduled.

Dinner was a half recipe of Black Angel's Hair with Scallops (PastaCarlu, p28). It wasn't angel's hair, but cascareccia, but it was squid ink pasta, which is difficult to find around here. And I had almost twice too much scallops, since I wanted to use the whole package. Never mind. It was good. Then a salad.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/7-Feb-15: Dinner was Herbed Zucchini and Feta Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust (web). It was good. But I see it says it serves six or more, where we will get four main servings. Served with a big salad. We split a magnum classic for a sweet.

Sunday/8-Feb-15: Thought we might go out to a loto this afternoon, so I planned a crockpot meal. Made a long half recipe of Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala (web). It was awfully soupy and the chicken breast chunks had that strange dry texture that they get in a crock pot even though it's cooked in liquid. We'll get another meal out of it; I'll add some cooked chicken. Good flavor. Thighs might be better, though. Served with basmatic rice and Carrot and Onion Salad (MJ1, p171). Neither of us felt like dessert.

Think we've finally decided on our next refrigerator. We discovered that French reviews for the brand we were looking at are actually pretty good. We'll go Tuesday to order it. We'll see.

Just realized I didn't plan any meals from the freezer for the next week. Oh well.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: yes; #2 UNUSED: no; #3 GRAINS: yes; #4 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #5 PASTA: no; #6 BREAD: no; #7 FotW: yes for January/no for February

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Sep-14: Yes, it was my birthday. We had lunch out. Only a small salad for dinner.

Tuesday/16-Sep-14: Dinner was Spaghettini with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Herbs (web). And a small salad for after. For dessert we had popcorn at the movies.

Wednesday/17-Sep-14: Shopping today.

Dinner was Pasta with Sardines (web). First time I've ever cooked with fresh sardines. Smelly things they are. The dish was not bad at all, but nothing I need to do again. Then a big salad.

It was Oscar's turn to stay out after dark tonight. Computers shut down about 10pm because of thunderstorms.

Thursday/18-Sep-14: Dinner was Tarte de Tomate (TLProvFr, p50 in the hardback, not in the recipe book). At the grocery, I had the choice of Swiss Gruyère or French Gruyère, both lait cru, for €20.xx or €12.xx per kilo. I'm cheap so chose the French one, which was quite good enough! I did not use the recipe for pâte brisée in the book, but my now standard one from Judith Jones, Tart Dough (Tenth, p256). Whenever I make this I make a double dose and put half in the freezer. I don't make the prettiest crust every, but it's yummy, flaky, tender, all those things. The last extra one turned into this very tasty tart. I do think there was too much cheese (1#). Fresh out of the oven, it was difficult to serve because the cheese was so runny. I would do this again with about 300g or maybe even 225/250 (1/2#) instead of 450g. The grated parmesan on top was a nice touch, but the extra butter was overkill I think. A very nice combination of tastes, the gruyère, tomatoes, and basil. A keeper, if modified. Served with salad.

Computers shut down again at night because of forecast thunderstorms.

Friday/19-Sep-14: Tonight's dinner was meant for IHCC, but I don't feel like writing a post, so this will have to do. We had Delectable Pork in a Mustard Spice Mix (SpiceKitch, p88) accompanied by Yellow Rice with Potato and Cumin (SpiceKitch, p64) and Peas with Whole Cumin and Mustard Seeds (SpiceKitch, p48). Have made everything before; just see that it's exactly 16 years to the day since I made the exactly the same dinner! It's still good, and easy, but takes a bit of clock time simmering, made longer because one of the burners very annoyingly doesn't like to stay like. Ed says we shouldn't wait so long next time.

Saturday/20-Sep-14: Didn't feel like cooking this evening. We had the leftover tarte de tomate, more or less at room temp. Still tasty. More convinced that it was too much cheese. For a side, I lightly cooked some a roll-cut carrot,  then some broccoli. Chopped a shallot and a bit of parsley, added that to the sieve and poured the broccoli over that. It was surprising good for minimal effort.

Sunday/21-Sep-14: No cooking again today. Soup from the freezer. Followed by chocolate mini magnums. Then ironing.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 FotW: yes; #5 BREAD: 0

This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-Jul-14: It was clean-out-the-fridge pizza for dinner tonight. First spread the pizza with pyramid goat cheese; then my no-tomato pizza sauce; then some grilled eggplant, zucchini, and broccoli; then the last round of cabécou; then some chorizo slices (defrosted for something not made); then some mozzarella slices. It was good. For afters, a scoop of kulfi.

Tuesday/8-Jul-14: Shopping today.

Before dinner, I started some Double-Boiler Bread Pudding (MC; HandyBook) to try to attack the stale bread glut. The flame blew out, so it didn't get done. Finished it off and it's cooling now to put into the fridge. Cubed the rest of the bread and dried it for making croutons.

Dinner was Baked Couscous with Chicken and Spices (RealCook, p173), a really nice dish, easy to make. Followed by a salad. For afters we ended up with some Afrikas, since the pudding didn't want to get done.

Wednesday/9-Jul-14: Just realized that last night's dinner was supposed to be my IHCC contribution for the week, but I forgot to take a picture. Oops.

Made lots of croutons from the bread I dried yesterday.

An Indian-ish dinner tonight. The main was Tilapia Curry with Roasted Spices (web, this is the recipe, but not where I got it). The recipe is from Monica Bhide's Modern Spice, which is a book I don't have, but have thought about getting. I made a half recipe with swordfish. (Tilapia isn't sold here, since it's apparently not an "ethical" fish.) Fairly bland stuff, in spite of all the spice that went in. Ed thought this was because the swordfish was pretty bland. Maybe he's right. For sides there were two old favorites: Green Peas in a Creamy Sauce (Q&E, p87) and Spicy, Sour Potatoes with Cumin and Amchoor (SpiceKitch, p50). And we finally got some of the bread pudding for dessert.

Thursday/10-Jul-14: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was Drunken Pasta (web), followed by a big salad (forgot to add any croutons), followed by the rest of the bread pudding with a dab of cream poured over. The pasta was interesting; it finished cooking in red wine that was flavored with garlic and red pepper flakes. Probably it's better as a starter than a main, since there wasn't much to it, but is did taste nice. Ed said it looked like earthworms, so it might be a good dish of Halloween.

Friday/11-Jul-14: Didn't feel much like cooking today, so for dinner we had the leftover pizza, which was quite good warmed up. Then we went to a very nice concert.

Saturday/12-Jul-14: Early dinner tonight before a concert from Ed's Montbron choir. The main was Creamy Lemon Tortellini Bake (web), which was quite good. The recipe says it serves six. Maybe as a side. We ate it all; maybe it would have served three, but six never. Then a salad. Forgot the croutons again. Sigh.

When we got back we had some kulfi with blueberries from the yard.

Sunday/13-Jul-14: Yogurt on overday. Made some Authentic French Bread in the bread maker; this is the only recipe I know out of my head.

Dinner was Squid or Scallops in Spinach-Tomato Curry Sauce (Q&E, p72). Last time with scallops, this time with squid. Half the amount of squid asked was way too much. Tasty, though. Then we ate the rest of the kulfi with more blueberries.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, but no post; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 FotW: yes for June/no for July; #5 BREAD: 0