Monday/26-Aug-19: Dinner was Steak au Poivre (How2Eat, p153). My steaks were too thin, but it was still quite good. Some long-grain brown rice for a side. And some steamed broccoli with a sauce of sautéed garlic and shiitakes. Some St Felicien for after. Then some chocolate squares.
Tuesday/27-Aug-19: Dinner out with Patrice&Wim tonight. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Wednesday/28-Aug-19: Off for a haircut today. Simple dinner of little Drôme raviolis with cilantro pesto from the freezer, followed by a salad with lots of home-grown tomatoes, followed by the last of the St Felicien, followed by some chocolate-covered madeleines.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/29-Aug-19: Shopping today.
Dinner was Fish in a Boat, Asian Style (Desperation, p304), which was okay but nothing special. And some basmati rice sprinkled with a Japanese flavor topping that James sent us; we both thought this was unpleasantly sweet. And some Garlicky Green Beans (Desperation, p18), which were pretty good. Some store-bought cheesecake for dessert. (Too bad, we're going to have to finish this tomorrow.)
Friday/30-Aug-19: Dinner was Boudin Noir aux Pommes (web). This was pretty good stuff. Served with Spaetlze (from MW@Home). Then a big salad with lots of tomatoes from the potager. Then the rest of the store-bought cheesecake.
Yogurt on overnight.
Saturday/31-Aug-19: Dinner out this evening. Nothing happened in the kitchen.
Sunday/1-Sep-19: Deseeded, cooked, and buzzed a bunch of tomatoes this afternoon. Froze up 3 1-cup jars.
Dinner was Revoltillo—Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes and Peas (TLCarib, p71). This was okay, but maybe not the best of these scrambled egg dishes. Then a salad. Then some chaource. Then some chocolate-covered corn flakes. We're full.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 3; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: How to Eat for August, none for September
This month: #4 PASTA: no for August, no for September; #5 BREAD: no for August, no for September; #6 GUESTS: yes for August, no for September
This year: #7 PROJECT: no
Showing posts with label ~TLCarib. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ~TLCarib. Show all posts
Monday, August 26, 2019
Monday, May 2, 2016
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
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
Monday, February 1, 2016
This week in the kitchen
Monday/1-Feb-16: Nice dinner. Last night I put Hot, Salty, and Sweet Pork Chops (MJ@Home, p134) on to marinate, using all the spices for half the pork chops. Cooked them tonight, again making all the sauce, which then took a bit longer to boil down to syrupy. Very good. Served with plain basmati rice and a half dose of Carrots with Cilantro (MJ@Home, p149). Also very good, although her cooking time for the carrots was way off. Altogether a yummy dinner. With mini mags for dessert.
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/2-Feb-16: Went to the ENT today, and stopped at Grand Frais for a spot of shopping. Chinese New Year is coming right up so all the grocery stores, including Grand Frais, are having Chinese-ish specials. I bought some shrimp-filled dumplings on impulse. We had half of those as a starter, with a made-up dipping sauce that turned out pretty good (some soy sauce, a bit more of rice vinegar, a splash of sesame oil, some finely chopped garlic, and some dried ginger—me being too lazy and too rushed to grate up some fresh ginger).
For a main we had P.F. Chang's Garlic Noodles (web). I made this a while ago and still had some of the stir-fry sauce in the freezer, so made it again, this time with fresh tagliatelle. Turned out pretty good. I'm full.
Wednesday/3-Feb-16: The internet guy came this morning. No problem in the house (surprise); he said he would trace the line out looking for problems. So far so good. But it's not really raining, so don't expect problems. Fingers crossed.
Shopping today.
Dinner started with the rest of the dumplings I bought yesterday, with their two sauces and the one I made, which remains the favorite. The main was Winter Squash-Bulgur Pilaf; this is a magazine clipping that looks like it came from Cooking Light, but I can't find it on their site, so it might be quite old. Anyhow, it was a side for four that we ate as a main for two, topped with the remains of the dumpling sauces (me) and with sriracha (Ed). Pretty good by itself, but after the really tasty stuff, a bit bland.
Thursday/4-Feb-16: Spent most of the day in the kitchen today. Made apple butter. Boiled up some potatoes for tonight's dinner. Went to package up some tortillas I just ordered for freezing and found one of the packages was moldy. Took a picture and mailed the company. They apologized and will replace, but with a small package (15 vs 20), since that's all they have now. Made a half dose of Mango Chutney (TLCarib, p91); instructions were a bit goofy—you made up some tamarind juice and do nothing with it. And what kind of chile do they want? I used a smallish Mme Jeannette (haberno) from the freezer. Fish for dinner is sitting with its spices. Made the go-with sauce, but see I missed a step in prepping it. Oh well.
Ed got back late from the doctor, after going early to the walk-in hours. His latest blood tests showed low hemoglobin, and it was slightly low several years ago. So, more tests. And eat more ... boudin noir, beef, liver, etc. We rarely eat beef, but should eat in three times a week. Yuk.
Nice dinner. (No beef.) The main was Grilled Halibut with Indian Spices (web); this is apparently from a David Tanis book I don't have, but is on my Someday list, A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes. This dish made me think I might have to indulge fairly soon. Fish was good, the yogurt sauce was good. Served with Potatoes with Black Pepper (MJ1, p113) and Tomato, Onion, and Green Coriander Relish (MJ1, p172); have made both of these before and enjoyed them.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/5-Feb-16: Lovely morning. I sat outside in the sun to shell the favas. They were very generous.
Spent some time looking for recipes using boudin noir and beef, since Ed's supposed to eat iron-rich foods three times a week. Might be hard to reconcile this with the goal of eating vegetarian or fish three times a week.
Dinner was based on Marinated Rack of Lamb with Coriander and Honey (Otto, p104). I used lamb steaks rather than a rack, since that's what was in the freezer. It was good, but the marinade/sauce was way too sweet, and I didn't use all the honey because it was the end of the jar and I didn't want to open the next one. Lots left over, but didn't save it. Served with Clotilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes (web), an old favorite, and a dish of sautéed radishes and favas, flavored with Pernod, loosely adapted from something I found on the web. Good dinner.
Saturday/6-Feb-16: Tonight's dinner was Poulet Sauté Boivin—Sautéed Chicken with Artichoke Hearts, Onions and Potatoes (TLClassic, p52). (I'd meant to do a soup, too, but found it too much.) I made a half recipe using four good-sized thighs instead of a whole, cut-up chicken. And I had to buy a bouquet of four artichauts violets, and used all of them; no idea how them compare to "young artichokes" in size. Used fond brun de veau made from a powder and skipped the glace de viande. And, no, I didn't shape my potatoes into balls. In spite of all those things, it was good and we were full.
I think I prefer the six-week periods we're doing with the Time-Life books now, without the overlap. Even though it's slower, we'll finish this year, if I manage to keep it up. Have gotten the next book out now, and there's still a week to go with this one.
Sunday/7-Feb-16: Finished off first big pass through desserts today. Next time I'll make a pass through tossing ones I think I'll never make. Good progress.
There was a Dutch stamppot for dinner tonight, smashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and smoked sausages (Montbilliers). Good, but we both thought the sauerkraut was a bit tasteless.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: yes for Jan/Feb
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/2-Feb-16: Went to the ENT today, and stopped at Grand Frais for a spot of shopping. Chinese New Year is coming right up so all the grocery stores, including Grand Frais, are having Chinese-ish specials. I bought some shrimp-filled dumplings on impulse. We had half of those as a starter, with a made-up dipping sauce that turned out pretty good (some soy sauce, a bit more of rice vinegar, a splash of sesame oil, some finely chopped garlic, and some dried ginger—me being too lazy and too rushed to grate up some fresh ginger).
For a main we had P.F. Chang's Garlic Noodles (web). I made this a while ago and still had some of the stir-fry sauce in the freezer, so made it again, this time with fresh tagliatelle. Turned out pretty good. I'm full.
Wednesday/3-Feb-16: The internet guy came this morning. No problem in the house (surprise); he said he would trace the line out looking for problems. So far so good. But it's not really raining, so don't expect problems. Fingers crossed.
Shopping today.
Dinner started with the rest of the dumplings I bought yesterday, with their two sauces and the one I made, which remains the favorite. The main was Winter Squash-Bulgur Pilaf; this is a magazine clipping that looks like it came from Cooking Light, but I can't find it on their site, so it might be quite old. Anyhow, it was a side for four that we ate as a main for two, topped with the remains of the dumpling sauces (me) and with sriracha (Ed). Pretty good by itself, but after the really tasty stuff, a bit bland.
Thursday/4-Feb-16: Spent most of the day in the kitchen today. Made apple butter. Boiled up some potatoes for tonight's dinner. Went to package up some tortillas I just ordered for freezing and found one of the packages was moldy. Took a picture and mailed the company. They apologized and will replace, but with a small package (15 vs 20), since that's all they have now. Made a half dose of Mango Chutney (TLCarib, p91); instructions were a bit goofy—you made up some tamarind juice and do nothing with it. And what kind of chile do they want? I used a smallish Mme Jeannette (haberno) from the freezer. Fish for dinner is sitting with its spices. Made the go-with sauce, but see I missed a step in prepping it. Oh well.
Ed got back late from the doctor, after going early to the walk-in hours. His latest blood tests showed low hemoglobin, and it was slightly low several years ago. So, more tests. And eat more ... boudin noir, beef, liver, etc. We rarely eat beef, but should eat in three times a week. Yuk.
Nice dinner. (No beef.) The main was Grilled Halibut with Indian Spices (web); this is apparently from a David Tanis book I don't have, but is on my Someday list, A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes. This dish made me think I might have to indulge fairly soon. Fish was good, the yogurt sauce was good. Served with Potatoes with Black Pepper (MJ1, p113) and Tomato, Onion, and Green Coriander Relish (MJ1, p172); have made both of these before and enjoyed them.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/5-Feb-16: Lovely morning. I sat outside in the sun to shell the favas. They were very generous.
Spent some time looking for recipes using boudin noir and beef, since Ed's supposed to eat iron-rich foods three times a week. Might be hard to reconcile this with the goal of eating vegetarian or fish three times a week.
Dinner was based on Marinated Rack of Lamb with Coriander and Honey (Otto, p104). I used lamb steaks rather than a rack, since that's what was in the freezer. It was good, but the marinade/sauce was way too sweet, and I didn't use all the honey because it was the end of the jar and I didn't want to open the next one. Lots left over, but didn't save it. Served with Clotilde Dusoulier's Perfect Roasted Potatoes (web), an old favorite, and a dish of sautéed radishes and favas, flavored with Pernod, loosely adapted from something I found on the web. Good dinner.
Saturday/6-Feb-16: Tonight's dinner was Poulet Sauté Boivin—Sautéed Chicken with Artichoke Hearts, Onions and Potatoes (TLClassic, p52). (I'd meant to do a soup, too, but found it too much.) I made a half recipe using four good-sized thighs instead of a whole, cut-up chicken. And I had to buy a bouquet of four artichauts violets, and used all of them; no idea how them compare to "young artichokes" in size. Used fond brun de veau made from a powder and skipped the glace de viande. And, no, I didn't shape my potatoes into balls. In spite of all those things, it was good and we were full.
I think I prefer the six-week periods we're doing with the Time-Life books now, without the overlap. Even though it's slower, we'll finish this year, if I manage to keep it up. Have gotten the next book out now, and there's still a week to go with this one.
Sunday/7-Feb-16: Finished off first big pass through desserts today. Next time I'll make a pass through tossing ones I think I'll never make. Good progress.
There was a Dutch stamppot for dinner tonight, smashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and smoked sausages (Montbilliers). Good, but we both thought the sauerkraut was a bit tasteless.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 BREAD: no; #5 FotW: yes for Jan/Feb
Monday, May 25, 2015
This week in the kitchen
Monday/25-May-15: Used the amarone wine we bought in NL a couple of years ago to make Pot Roast of Beef Braised in Amarone Wine (ClassItal, p395). Pretty good pot roast, although the chunk of meat I got (what was it?) didn't have much marbling, so the meat was a trifle dry, if tasty. Served with Sautéed Broccoli with Olive Oil and Garlic (ClassItal, p477), which is pretty much how I make it if I go beyond steaming. And some polenta. We started with some ostrich rillettes and duck pâté from jars, drinking a bottle of Monbazillac that Bill got last week. It's surprising to me how a sweet white wine goes with this kind of thing. For after, there was cheese. I'm full.
Tuesday/26-May-15: Terry came to dinner this evening. For our apèro, we worked on the ostrich and duck pâtés along with a pâté de campagne fait à maison from the butcher. For a starter we had charentaise melon with pineau. For the main there was Grilled Pork Chops with Green Apple-Chipotle Salsa (BigFlav, p156; cookbooker). The salsa was really scrumptious. All-Purpose Rice and Beans (BigFlav, p262) as a go-with. Store-bought tarts for dessert, two gateaux basques and two pear-almond tartlettes.
Wednesday/27-May-15: We had lunch out with Bill before taking him to the train station then going on to shopping. Only some fruit and a few munchies for dinner,
Thursday/28-May-15: This morning the balloon guy called. It will be too windy tomorrow so our trip is postponed.
I didn't buy fish yesterday, since I'd had both salmon and lieu noir for lunch. Instead we had two kip filets done up as a half dose of Chicken in a Cream Parmesan and Sundried Tomato Sauce (web), seriouly yummy, with trio rice on the side. Then a big salad. For after we finished off two bits of cheese.
Friday/29-May-15: Caribbean night tonight. There was a half recipe of Camarones a la Criolla—Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Sauce (TLCarib, p24) served with rice and Concombres en Salade—Cucumber Salad (TLCarib, p24).The shrimp dish was easy and tasty, not divine but quite good enough. The cuke salad is very similar to one I make from a Thai cookbook, but with lime juice instead of white vinegar. Spicy!
For after there was Bolo di Rum—Rum Cake (TLCarib, p109) with vanilla ice cream. I've made this cake before. It seemed to me to taste more of lime this time, but maybe I misremember. I used the cuisinart for all the mixing, which make it really easy. We both like the gritty cornmeal texture with the soft cake. I used only 3/4cup of sugar (sucre de canne).
Saturday/30-May-15: Dinner was Kaye's Shrimp-Stuffed Eggplant (MC), which is a recipe from somewhere that I've modified enough to call my own. Served with brown rice and a little carrot salad with lemon vinaigrette.
Sunday/31-May-15: Leftover night. Some black bean and smoked sausage soup from the freezer mixed with leftover black beans and rice from Tuesday, with an ice cube of chile-soaking liquid tossed in for extra flavor. Very yummy. That was all.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 UNUSED: no; #3 GRAINS: yes; #4 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #5 PASTA: no; #6 BREAD: no; #7 FotW: yes for May
Tuesday/26-May-15: Terry came to dinner this evening. For our apèro, we worked on the ostrich and duck pâtés along with a pâté de campagne fait à maison from the butcher. For a starter we had charentaise melon with pineau. For the main there was Grilled Pork Chops with Green Apple-Chipotle Salsa (BigFlav, p156; cookbooker). The salsa was really scrumptious. All-Purpose Rice and Beans (BigFlav, p262) as a go-with. Store-bought tarts for dessert, two gateaux basques and two pear-almond tartlettes.
Wednesday/27-May-15: We had lunch out with Bill before taking him to the train station then going on to shopping. Only some fruit and a few munchies for dinner,
Thursday/28-May-15: This morning the balloon guy called. It will be too windy tomorrow so our trip is postponed.
I didn't buy fish yesterday, since I'd had both salmon and lieu noir for lunch. Instead we had two kip filets done up as a half dose of Chicken in a Cream Parmesan and Sundried Tomato Sauce (web), seriouly yummy, with trio rice on the side. Then a big salad. For after we finished off two bits of cheese.
Friday/29-May-15: Caribbean night tonight. There was a half recipe of Camarones a la Criolla—Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Sauce (TLCarib, p24) served with rice and Concombres en Salade—Cucumber Salad (TLCarib, p24).The shrimp dish was easy and tasty, not divine but quite good enough. The cuke salad is very similar to one I make from a Thai cookbook, but with lime juice instead of white vinegar. Spicy!
For after there was Bolo di Rum—Rum Cake (TLCarib, p109) with vanilla ice cream. I've made this cake before. It seemed to me to taste more of lime this time, but maybe I misremember. I used the cuisinart for all the mixing, which make it really easy. We both like the gritty cornmeal texture with the soft cake. I used only 3/4cup of sugar (sucre de canne).
Saturday/30-May-15: Dinner was Kaye's Shrimp-Stuffed Eggplant (MC), which is a recipe from somewhere that I've modified enough to call my own. Served with brown rice and a little carrot salad with lemon vinaigrette.
Sunday/31-May-15: Leftover night. Some black bean and smoked sausage soup from the freezer mixed with leftover black beans and rice from Tuesday, with an ice cube of chile-soaking liquid tossed in for extra flavor. Very yummy. That was all.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 UNUSED: no; #3 GRAINS: yes; #4 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #5 PASTA: no; #6 BREAD: no; #7 FotW: yes for May
Sunday, March 27, 2011
An Embarrassment of Mangoes
An Embarrassment of MangoesAnn Vanderhoof
Bantam (2005)
ISBN 0553815555
Look over on the right and you'll see the Cook the Books logo has been added to my CookAlong groups. I really needed another cooking group, didn't I? But this one sounds like it's just up my alley, so I really had to join in. Every two months we read a food-related book (I do that already) and cook a meal inspired by the book (not often, but it's a nice idea). This time, I somehow mis-remembered the deadline, so I'm too late posting, but I'd already planned the meal, and was looking forward to it, so here I am anyhow. Next time I'll do better I hope.
The assignment for February and March was An Embarrassment of Mangoes, wherein the author, Ann, and her partner, Steve, planned and executed and two-year sailing trip from Toronto to the Caribbean. When they started out, Ann is not really a sailor. By the end of their trip, she has become both experienced and confident. They spent their time island-hopping and cooking some of the delicious island food on board. (I must say I sometimes wondered how she equipped her tiny shipboard kitchen. Which gadgets and appliances did she consider worth the space they took up?)
Inspired by all this? Well, I must say I was inspired to try conch, in spite of the mess of preparation, but that will have to wait until I actually find some. Meanwhile, I went for something easier to find and a bit less involved. To stimulate further inspiration, I turned to The Cooking of the Caribbean Islands, part of my old Time-Life Foods of the World series.
One of the characters Ann and Steve met on their trip was Edward Hamilton, the self-styled Minister of Rum. In his honor, we started with Rum Punch (TLCarib, p129) accompanied by Accras—Saltfish Fritters (Embarrass, p300).
One of the characters Ann and Steve met on their trip was Edward Hamilton, the self-styled Minister of Rum. In his honor, we started with Rum Punch (TLCarib, p129) accompanied by Accras—Saltfish Fritters (Embarrass, p300).
We've enjoyed the accras that our English-Jamaican friend serves at her restaurant for Jamaican Night, so it was fun to try these at home. They're quite easy to make and make very good finger food. (Some of them didn't seem to be quite done all the way through, so next time, I think I'll make smaller balls off a teaspoon, rather than bigger ones off a tablespoon.) I did like that these accras have a bit of vegetable matter in them, onion, celery, bell pepper); following Yvonne's advice, I also added a bit of finely chopped chili to liven them up.
For the main course, I considered the roti with chicken curry given in Embarrassment. When we lived in The Netherlands, Surinamese roti with chicken curry was a take-away favorite. But that seemed like more work than I wanted to do today, and there were shrimp in the freezer wanting to be used, so I made some very yummy Trinidadian Shrimp Curry (TLCarib, p23).
The rum theme continued with our dessert. There was Bolo di Rom—Rum Cake (TLCarib, p109). This is a cake that's traditionally served unfrosted (according to the book), but sometime served with a coconut-cream sauce. I served it with the last bit of ice milk that I made recently.
Our Caribbean meal adventure brought a bit of sunshine to an otherwise gray and drippy spring day. And thanks go to Deb for hosting this adventure!
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