This week in the kitchen

Monday/7-Dec-20: Baked off my Overnight Bread this morning. I left the kitchen and missed the dinger for taking the lid off; wandered back some time later. Took the lid off to find it nicely browned and nicely done. I thought that taking off the lid was for browning and crisping the crust, but now I'm not sure.

Picked up and order from Leclerc Drive today.

Dinner was a two-thirds-ish recipe of Ragoût d'Ignames—Lamb-and-Yam Stew (TLAfrica, p37). This took some time, but it was easy to do. Tasty, and not at all spicy. Served over some whole-wheat couscous, although I don't suppose that was really necessary. Finished the Crème au Chocolate for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/8-Dec-20: Dinner was, more or less, a halfish recipe of Croquettes de Thon aux Olives (VPG). Can't find this on the web. It's not really croquettes, as I know them, but tuna patties, with ricotta, parmesan, black olives, an egg, and flour. These are breaded, in the usual way, flour, beaten egg, and crunchy bit. Instead of chapelure, I used some crunchy stuff I made up recently (but can't remember what for) and didn't use up. These were pretty good. The veg was carrot, cauliflower, and broccoli with lemon juice and home-made herb salt. Some French "short spaghetti" as a go-with. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/9-Dec-20: Dinner was Red Pork Curry—Gaeng Ped Muu (ThaiCC, p45). These was easy and good. Having no bamboo shoots on hand, I used zucchini, as suggested. Served with basmati rice and our favorite Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (HandyBook; web). And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/10-Dec-20: Forgot to start Overnight Bread last night, so I made some English Muffin Bread (BMB,  p17). Must have measure the 7/8cup water a bit long; the top is pretty caved in. But tasty.

Caught a mouse in the kitchen today.

This afternoon I added labels for all the breads I've baked this year, at least all the ones I've recorded. Since I know I'm making two or three loaves a week, it's clear I've not written all of them down. This is mostly to satisfy my curiosity about what I've been making.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Sumac Chicken with Cauliflower and Carrots (CL/jan-feb17; web). This was a sheet-pan dinner, easy to do and very tasty. For after we shared a bit of cake we bought at a charity shop this afternoon.

Friday/11-Dec-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today.

We got our "gourmet panier" today from the commune, in lieu of this year's old folks meal. There were several jars of rillettes from a local shop. We opened one of those and snacked as I was cooking.

Dinner was a half recipe of Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa (web). Since the pieces we got were of different thicknesses, I baked them in the oven. Easy to make and very tasty. Served with trio rice and Zucchini with Cilantro Sauce (MWLowFat, p335; MC); that's an old favorite that well with the rest of the meal.

Made up the batter for Overnight Bread

Saturday/12-Dec-20: Baked the Overnight Bread.

Roasted a turkey leg today, on the way to making some cornbread stuffing for a meal. 

Dinner was Curried Fried Rice (MW@Home, p226), this time with curry powder rather than a Thai curry paste. An easy and comforting dish. Some HD mini ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/13-Dec-20: Picked the turkey leg this afternoon. The drumstick was pretty done, but the thigh was still pretty red. And I thought it was overdone yesterday. Tomorrow I'll measure and freeze it up in packets for later use.

Dinner was Curried Green Pea Soup (TooMany, p155), complete with turkey bits. This is an old favorite. We had some  rillettes on bread and crackers beforehand, so didn't need dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #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/2-May-16: Sophie ended up spending the night at the vet, since there were no other emergencies in the afternoon. The hole that we saw when we took her in was only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. The actual wound is about three times as long. She is home, cone-headed, and complaining because she has to stay in. Painkiller and antibiotic every day for a bit.

Used up the last bit of some small cooked shrimp from the freezer to make up a partial recipe of Potted Shrimp (TLBrit, p45) this afternoon to try in the next days.

For dinner, I marinated some lamb steaks in my usual marindade (olive oil, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, with lots of black pepper and garlic powder or smashed cloves), then grilled them. Served with Christophe au Gratin (TLCarib, p85), using a zucchini instead since there were no chayotes at the shop last week. This was a pretty bland version of stuffed squash, but not a bad side dish. And some trio rice.

Tuesday/3-May-16: We went to a concert in Angoulême this evening, so had our meal a bit earlier than usual. I made a half dose of Shrimp and Corn Chowder (CL/sep14; web) followed by a salad. Then the end of Mama's vanilla pudding with some fresh strawberries. The soup was quite good and easy to make. Used dried thyme, rather than fresh. Used one small can of corn (no frozen and canned is better imho). Served the soup with Irish Soda Bread (TLBrit, p18); posted about this here. (Well, yes, somewhere I did say that I wouldn't join another cookalong again for a while, but here I am again. Since this one actually matches an idea I'd already thought about for next year, I'm joining in early with my Time-Life books.)

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/4-May-16: Shopping today at Intermarché. Tuna was on sale, but they didn't have any. Very annoying store.

Potted Shrimp munchies before dinner.

Started a crockpot this morning with Simple Beef Curry (Hériteau, p56; cookbooker). Too much liquid, but otherwise pretty tasty considering that it was indeed simple. Served with plain basmati rice, and Green Peas in a Creamy Sauce (Q&E, p87), an old favorite that went very well with the beef. Some store-bought crème brulées for dessert.

Thursday/5-May-16: Working on Ed's hemoglobin level again (although it's pointless right now since he went for his follow-up blood test on Tuesday). Dinner was Boudin Noir Poêlé aux Pommes (web). This was with boudin noir à l'oignon (with onions) and was quite good. Served with a side of
taglitelle and a dish of steamed haricots verts (done to Ed's taste!) with a bit of shallot sautéed in olive oil. For dessert some crêpes with Grand Marnier, an impulse buy from yesterday.

While we were eating outside this evening, we enjoyed watching a pair of blue tits carrying bits of food to the next box in the lime tree.

Friday/6-May-16: A busy day today. On the way back from my haircut, I stopped for a bit more shopping (including four chairs for outside dining). Then home to put it up in time to take Sophie to the vet to have her bandage changed. Actually it was removed. So now we see the bare, green stitches closing a gash about as long as my index finger. Another week till they're removed.

Dinner was Cabillaud au Citron Vert et Baies Roses (web); that's cod with lime and red peppercorns for those whose menu French isn't up to snuff. This was supposed to be cooked in close dishes in the microwave. I did it in foil-covered dishes in the oven. Pretty good. Served with trio rice and Baked Eggplant Slices (TooMany, p114), an old favorite. For dessert we had more Grand Marnier crêpes with the rest of the strawberries.

Yogurt on overnight. Chickpeas soaking overnight

Saturday/7-May-16: Went to a pottery fair today, the one we visited two years ago. Before we left, I put the chickpeas on to cook in the slow cooker.

Dinner was a half dose of Chickpeas Cooked in a Moghlai-Stye (WorldVeg, p32). This is actually pretty easy to make if you have all the ingredients, ground roast cumin seeds (I used up my stash and topped it up with regular cumin), garam masala, puréed tomatoes ( made some and froze the leftover bit). Quite tasty. Served with Cabbage Salad with Mustard Seeds (WorldVeg, p617), Carrot and Cilantro Salad (WorldVeg, p618), and Potato Chaat (MJ@Home, p165). All quite tasty. MiniMags for dessert. We ate well.

Sunday/8-May-16: Early dinner tonight before we went to a movie. We had Swartzuur—Lamb Stew with Tamarind and Dumplings (TLAfrica, p33). Pretty good. Takes some clock time, but not especially hard to make. The meat is not browned, just plopped in the pot with onions and chicken stock, then simmered. After a while tamarind water gets added in. Then some dumplings, the oddest I've ever made. Flour is dumped into boiling stock (rescued from lamb pot before the tamarind was added) and stirred into submission; after that cools a bit, you stir in an egg. Or stir,stir,stir as my mother used to instruct. Tasty sweet-sour result.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/28-Sep-15: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Red Curry Shrimp (web). Good and easy except for peeling the shrimp, not a favorite job. Served with plain basmati rice and Karhai Broccoli (p148, MJ@Home). All tasty. For afters, I had a mini magnum and Ed had a classic one.

Tuesday/29-Sep-15: Lunch out today. Dinner unnecessary. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Wednesday/30-Sep-15: Discovered today that my new dragonfly gadget to mark the bookshelf where I need to start cleaning has disappeared. :-( The last of the dinosaurs that I was using before crashed to the floor and died. This summer I bought a cute plastic dragonfly at a vide-grenier and now it's disappeared. Sigh.

Dinner was (sort of) Butternut Squash Polenta with Sausage and Onion (web). Grated squash was add to the polenta while it was cooking and pretty much disappeared therein. The half recipe should have had 1/2 cup of polenta, but that seemed to me a small amount for a main course, so I used 2/3 cup. And had leftovers. Instead of Italian pork sausage, I used duck sausage we got at one of the marchés des producteurs this summer. Altogether quite good. Followed by a salad. And some squares of chocolate after.

Thursday/1-Oct-15: After lunch today, we discovered that an old butternut squash, from last year that had got stuck into the bottom cabinet over the old refrigerator and moved to the counter when that was removed, had gone bad. Oozed all over the counter. And soaked into the paneling on the side of the cabinet next to the counter. Yuck. Maybe we have an extra piece of paneling. Hope so because Ikea doesn't carry this stuff any more.

I shopped today while Ed choired.

Dinner was Shrimp Florentine Pasta (web; CL/jun12). Easy and fast. We liked it pretty well, although I wonder why the shrimp was cooked in butter and not in olive oil. Served with a some slices of a Beefsteak tomato, sprinkled with little basil leaves. Then some little store-bought tarts with the end of the cheesecake ice cream.

Friday/2-Oct-15: Haircut this morning. Had a hearing aid appointment later in the day, but had the wrong time. Changed to Monday. Meant to go to Leclerc after that appointment, but will have to go in the morning.

Dinner was Omelet with Fresh Goat Cheese and Mint (web) followed by salad. The omelets were made by mixing the cheese and mint into the eggs. I'm not sure they wouldn't have been better but mixing the cheese and mint putting that mixture on the omelet just before folding it, like you usually do.  Followed by a salad. And some mini magnums.

Saturday/3-Oct-15: Ed's choir is bringing bits for a post-practice and post-AGM meal. I made Leek, Potato, and Olive Pie (p92, O&C), which I've made before. Was good before, guess it will be okay.

Dinner was Fish Fillets Römertopf (MC; Römertopf brochure) with lieu noir. Pretty good, and easy. Served with roasted cauliflower and broccoli, using up the last bits of those, and some leftover polenta that I toasted under the broiler. Some mini mags for dessert.

Sunday/4-Oct-15: Dinner was, more or less, Risotto met Flespompoen (web). An interesting idea, but not a well-written recipe. Most sources recommend about 115g of arborio rice per person as a main. This recipes asks 350g for four. I used 230g. I cooked everything in olive oil, not butter. Celery? No, didn't work. Should have been onion. The first round of liquid added to risotto is usually some white wine, so I did that, then followed with the vegetable stock. The flespompoen (winter squash) was sautéed; it might have been better (and faster) roasted. I didn't add the rucola, although this might have been nice. Cream added at the end to make it creamy. Uh, no. Risotto is creamy because of the way it's cooked, not because cream is added at the end. Turned out ok. Might be a good recipe to play with a bit. Intended to make a salad, but didn't have time. Not really needed. I used up some sweet potatoes to make Sweet Potato Pudding (p123, TLAfrica). Good stuff. Had tonight's batch warm with a layer of cream on it. Tomorrow will be cold, as it ought to be.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/17-Aug-15: Despite good intentions, nothing interesting happened in the kitchen today. We had our main meal in the afternoon, the rest of the salty beans and ham with potatoes added. Can't say the potatoes helped with the saltiness.

Ed failed Clothes Washing 101 today. I have a new dark blue denim top. I put it in a pile of jeans to be washed. Ed retrieved it from there and washed it with a bunch of ... whites! He now has a lovely blue v-necked tshirt.

Tuesday/18-Aug-15: Using up ripe bananas from the freezer and fresh. First I made a loaf of Mesquite Banana Bread (web). Then I made Banana Nut Bread 2 (MC), which is a recipe I've changed so much that I ought to retype it and call it mine.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Shrimp and Broccoli Stir-Fry (web). The broccoli bits need to be teeninsy to work properly. Mine were what I'd call small, but I let them steam in the sauce a bit before adding the shrimp back to the wok. Tasty sauce. Over brown basmati rice.

Wednesday/19-Aug-15: Finished up cleaning house for Sam and Pat today.

Dinner was Eendenborstfilet met Hoisinsaus (Tip mag, web), sort of. I had duck aiguillettes, rather than a breast with the skin attached. No bok choy in the shop, so I used spinach. It was OK, not wonderful. We shared the last classic magnum from the freezer for dessert. Then some squares of proper chocolate to leave a better taste in the mouth.

Thursday/20-Aug-15: In the morning, mixed up the broth for Fleur de Lait (p133, Scoop). Not enough milk, so used UHT milk instead; only 1/2cup (rather than 3/4cup) sugar.

Sam and Pat were delayed leaving Houston, so arrived here later than expected, so we did our shopping before they arrived. For dinner we just had a simple bbq and off to bed fairly early. Again made the Spatchcocked Chicken Under a Brick (web; cookbooker), this time using a bit of the tandoori masala that I made up a few days ago. Served with corn on the cob and a bit salad. Ended with the Fleur de Lait ice cream, which was quite passable.

Friday/21-Aug-15: We toured Villebois-Lavallette, town and chateau, with Sam and Pat, then lunched at one of our favorite restaurants. Cheese and munchies for the evening.

Saturday/22-Aug-15: Reviewing this book, I discovered this is where I found the yassa recipe I made a while ago. I've been wanting to have that again, so I made Yassa au Poulet—Marinated Chicken Braised in Lemon-and-Onion Sauce (p68, TLAfrica; cookbooker).

I served with plain rice, as suggested, and Green Beans with Sour Sauce (p84, TLAfrica). An interesting sauce here that went well with the chicken. The recipe wants a "small double boiler" for the sauce. Who has a small double-boiler? I used the smallest pyrex bowl set onto a pan of simmering water.

Lots of sauce from the chicken for serving on the rice.

Sunday/23-Aug-15: Indian night tonight. We started with Spicy Cucumber Wedges (p172, MJ1), an old favorite. Then Scallops in Spinach-Tomato Curry Sauce (p72, Q&E), which we've had before. Really yummy. And plain rice. For dessert, there was Nectarine Sorbet (p125, Scoop; cookbooker), which was really nice.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/26-Jul-10: I've ordered butterscotch chips for next week's CBEtc contest, along with a couple of other things from My American Market.

For lunch, I used up the chicken and some broccoli with Gemelli Salad with Chicken, Broccoli and Roasted Pepper, a recipe from the Barilla site. It was OK, nothing special. More of our Jura cheese for afters.

Tuesday/27-Jul-10: Shopping today. Dinner was Moroccan Salmon (Cooking Light mag, soon to be MC) served over couscous. This was good. A bit too much on the bell peppers, Ed thought, but that's because I made all of it, rather than half. Followed by a big salad.

Wednesday/28-Jul-10: Tonight was Kolokithokeftedes (Zuccchini Burgers), a 2BTried recipes from MC, using the 3 cups of shredded zucchini that I froze a while ago. This worked great, so I think I'll have to freeze up some more. I just noticed that I omitted the feta from the "burgers" and that's exactly what was missing. This is one to try again. As suggested, I serviced with tsatziki, the Cucumber and Yogurt Salad recipe from Madison, p156. This accompanied by a big salad of rucola, with the end of the beet, an avocado, and some shallot. For afters, we had cheese, finishing off the Morbier but still have a bit of the Bleu de Gex left.

Put the lamb shanks for tomorrows dinner on to marinate.

Thursday/29-Jul-10: It was Souris d'agneau aux épices cajun (web, soon to be MC) for tonight's dinner. It was, I realized later, a crockpot recipe, but it suggests cooking in the oven at 120C as an alternative. And that worked great. How nice to have an oven that keeps a temperature this low. The lamb shanks were really tasty and tender, the sauce quite spicy Served with rice and Date and Onion Salad (TLAfrica, p92). This salad was more like a relish or uncooked chutney; it went really well with the spicy sauce. Finished off the Dulce de Leche ice cream. Nice dinner.

Friday/30-Jul-10: Forgot to defrost chicken for tonight's dinner. Rummaged around looking for a pasta dinner, but found Risotto con Gamberi e Acetosa—Wild Sorrel and Prawn Risotto (WildCarluccio, p20; soon to be MC) instead. A half recipe used up my sorrel impulse-buy. It was good too. Followed by a salad and some weird cookies.

Looked for a recipe for butterscotch morsels to no avail. Didn't even find any interesting recipes on the web. Sigh. Waste of money, I fear.

Started some yogurt and some bread for overnight. The kitchen is full of glowing red lights when the lights are out.

Saturday/31-Jul-10: In the afternoon I made a double dose of Chocolate Banana Snacking Cake (EAT-L, soon to be MC); pretty good. Took some over to our neighbor who likes chocolate; perhaps it will encourage him to eat a bit.

For dinner, there was Tarte aux légumes et fromage de brebis (VPQ) using a boughten pie crust. Will be glad when these are used up, since they're not nearly as good as home made. This tarte was a bunch of veggies (broccoli, peas, zucchini, and some haricots verts since I was short on broccoli (and forgot to buy more at the store this morning). Ordinary so far. The "custard" was 250g ricotta, cream, and 2 eggs. This was quite tasty. Served we a salad of arugula and mâche. The last bit of bleu de Gex after, plus some chocolate-caramel desserts from the freezer.

Sunday/1-Aug-10:Nice dinner, this eve, if late again. Next week I have to get back on the mid-day meal train again. I made Chicken Canzanese from a recent Cook's Illustrated (soon to be MC). This was supposed to be popular in the 70s, but I've never heard of hear. It was very good. Chicken thighs are browned, then baked slow in a skillet. The liquid should not be simmering. Result was very good, crispy skin and tasty. Served with polenta and Guatelli in Umido (TuscanYear, p138), but with oyster mushrooms instead of chanterelles. Altogether a nice meal.

CookbooksEtc Ingredient Contest 2010

1. 23-May/28-May: strawberries — Balsamic Strawberries with Arugula and Goat Cheese
2. 29-May/4-Jun: cheese — Spinach-Stuffed Anchos
3. 5-Jun/11-Jun: whole wheat flour — Ned and Crescent's Favorite Multigrain Pancakes
4. 12-Jun/18-Jun: ground pork or pork sausage — Curried Rice Noodles with Ground Meat
5. 19-Jun/25-Jun: blueberries — Tarte Amandine à la Myrtille
6. 26-Jun/2-Jul: salmon — Almond-Crusted Grilled Salmon with Garlic Sauce
7. 3-Jul/9-Jul: potatoes — Potatoes and Peas in a Yoghurt Sauce
8. 10-Jul/16-Jul: elbow macaroni — Macaroni Salad
9. 17-Jul/23-Jul: tomatoes — Eggs Baked in Tomatoes
10. 24-Jul/30-Jul: dates — Date and Onion Salad
11. 31-Jul/6-Aug: butterscotch chips
12. 7-Aug/13-Aug: pecans