This week in the kitchen

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

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

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

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

Friday/2-Sep-22: Shopping today.

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

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

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

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/22-Aug-22: Nice dinner of Nigel Slater's Za'atar Lamb (web), very tasty grill lamb chops with a fun salad of pomegranate seeds, bulgur, parsley, mint, and other good things. Then we finished the upside-down cake. Oink oink.

Tuesday/23-Aug-22: Dinner was Quick Whole Wheat Pizza with Artichokes, Capers, and Fresh Tomatoes (VegHarv, p259). Pretty tasty as food, but not very successful as pizza. This might be the first time I tried to transfer a pizza from my peel to the hot stone in the oven. Made a right mess. I cooked the second one on a cookie sheet on a baking sheet; that worked better. The topping combination was very good (artichokes, capers, mozzarella, chopped tomatoes). Might try the "quick" whole wheat dough another time, in a rectangular pan like I usually use. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after (maybe Ed had two).

Wednesday/24-Aug-22: Dinner was Dahl de Lentilles Jaunes et Chou-Fleur Rôti au Curry (web; SG#3). Not bad, although the half recipe was a bit skimpy. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Thursday/25-Aug-22: Shopping today. 

Dinner was Creamy Garlic Salmon (web). This was okay; cream sauce is always nice. Served with whole wheat linguine and steamed broccoli. Some store-bought dark chocolate mousse for after.

Friday/26-Aug-22: Dinner was Smokey and Spicy Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs (web; GD). Served with trio rice and some Pineapple-Apple Slaw (TooMany, p48), an ancient recipe I've made quite a few times. A bit of cheese from a cheese platter I bought yesterday for after.

Saturday/27-Aug-22: Dinner was Flank Steak Salad with Plums and Blue Cheese (web; GD), a yummy one-dish meal. I made more or less a whole recipe (serving four) and the two of us ate it all. A Ben&Jerry mini ice cream cup for after.

Sunday/28-Aug-22: Dinner was Kathy's Crab Cakes, a recipe I collected from the Mercury News in July 2008; can't find it online these days. It was nice because the crab cakes were baked rather than pan-fried. Served with Mama's Garlic Coleslaw, an old favorite, and Cilantro Lime Sweet Corn (web). I used a small can of corn for this, with a half recipe of the tasty stuff; it's kind tarted up canned corn, very tasty. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/15-Aug-22: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Warm White Bean Salad with Arugula Pesto and Preserved Lemons (Dinner, p240). Tasty stuff.

Tuesday/16-Aug-22: Dinner was a halfish version of Toulouse Sausage Cassoulet (web), using up my freezer stash of Toulouse sausage. Not really a cassoulet, but on that road. Not bad for being so easy. Then a chocolate-covered madeleine each.

Wednesday/17-Aug-22: In the afternoon, I made up some Rustic Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce (VegHarv, p306); used half and froze the rest. Our main was Cumin-Scented Chickpeas with Roasted Eggplant and Rustic Tomato Sauce (VegHarv, p152). This was easy and tasty. I made more or less a whole recipe; it was a good veggie main. We also thought it would be a good side from a bbq or a pot luck dinner perhaps. Then a chocolate-covered madeleine each.

Thursday/18-Aug-22: This was shopping day, so pooped tonight.

Dinner was Tuna with Wine, Vinegar, Tomato, Chile, and Capers (MedHot2, p109). This was okay. Ed thought the sauce was too strong for the tuna, but it was good with the orzo I served as a side. Served with Grilled Pepper Salad with Feta and Cilantro (MedHot2, p92), a nice little salad. It was easy to make and can be put together in steps as other things are happening. I had a yellow bell pepper needing to be used so that stood in place of one of the three red bell peppers asked, making the dish even more colorful. I made a whole recipe, which was really enough for four as a side. Served on sucrine (baby romaine) leaves. Very tasty and pretty. Then, surprise, a chocolate-covered madeleine each.

Friday/19-Aug-22: Dinner was Anchovy Chicken with Lemon and Capers (Dinner, p46). This was a hit. Easy and extra delicious. Served with trio rice and steamed broccoli. Some store-bought riz au laits for after. 

Saturday/20-Aug-22: Ah well, when it got to be the time, I didn't feel like cooking tonight's dinner. Se we had a snacky dinner instead, sliced hams, some cheese, carrots, cucumber, avocado, cherry tomatoes, etc. That's all, and we were full.

Sunday/21-Aug-22: I've been having a bit of a yen for this, so this afternoon, I made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake (web; GD, notes). This turned out yummy. Our main was Broccoli Soup (Monastery, p116) which was good, if mis-named. The tomato paste pretty much overwhelmed the broccoli flavor. Still, quite edible. Then, a double dose of cake each. 

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/11-Jul-22: Tonight we had Tagliatelle with Artichokes and Olive Oil (web). Unfortunately I didn't manage to print all the steps, and by the time this handicapped computer managed to get to the recipe online, it was too late. I didn't go to all the trouble to make the toasted bread crumbs, but used chapelure doré (toasted bread crumbs) instead. And I really don't see the point of cutting the leaves off the mini artichokes; leaving them whole or maybe halving them would have been fine. Still, it was pretty tasty stuff. Served with a plain salad. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

I finished reading Ingredienti last week, and really enjoyed it. It's Hazan's last book, where she talks about, yes, ingredients, how to choose and how to use them. No real recipes, but some

Tuesday/12-Jul-22: Dinner was Mojito Shrimp, a recipe I collected from EAT-L in 2007. This was okay, but nothing fantastic. Served with polenta and a salad loosely based on Grilled Corn Salad (web). A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after. 

Wednesday/13-Jul-22: A yummy dinner of Spicy Beef Salad (RezaSpice, p27). This kind of meal is really good on a hot summer day.  The pieces of rump steak that I got were thick and thin, making the cooking a bit difficult, but I managed to still have some red in thinner one. The success of this makes a bit of a dilemma. I've been thinking I'd recycle my two Reza books when I get to that again. Now I see I've been pretty happy with what I've made from this one, although the instructions often leave a bit to desire, so I may have to reconsider. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after. 

Thursday/14-Jul-22: Dinner was a half recipe of Onion and Chorizo Clafoutis (Master, p340). This was an interesting idea, but didn't quite work. Unlike every other clafoutis I've made, there was no flour or such in the batter to help the custard set up; I added a rounded quarter cup of flour, which was probably a bit too much. I baked in the toaster over, and it seems the temperature was a bit high. And the sweet, soft onions on the bottom seemed to clash with the rest of the dish. Edible, but nothing special. Then a simple salad. A bit of Morbier and a chocolate-covered madeleine each for after. 

Friday/15-Jul-22: Shopping at Leclerc and both Drives today. 

Dinner was Pan-Fried Trout with Rosemary, Lemon, and Capers (web), made with lieu noir instead of trout. This was pretty good. As suggested by one of the comments, I added bruised rosemary with the shallots and removed at the end. Served with trio rice and and old favorite, Baked Eggplant Slices (TooMany, p114). Some store-bought vanilla riz au laits for after.

Saturday/16-Jul-22: A nice dinner tonight. We started with an old favorite Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio Oil (VegHarv,  p214). (I have some zuke left, maybe for a lunch treat tomorrow.) Pretty much used up my pistachio oil on this. For our main, there was Gingery Hot Duck Salad (web; GD; notes). Cooked the duck following instructions in VegHarv, p111, which is the best way to do it. Following the lead of the pistachio oil, we had a pistachio madeleine each for after. (These aren't as good as the chocolate-covered ones, but now we know.)

Sunday/17-Jul-22: Tonight I scratched my itch for some stir-fried rice by making stir-fried rice. No real recipe; I just read a few and smerged them. Itch scratched. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after. 

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/2-May-22: It was a clean-out-the-fridge dinner tonight. The ends of two soups (turkey-wild rice and pea&carrot); three lamb chops; a little salad from the leftover couscous; a salad-salad using more of the dressing from the beets; bits of grillons and terrine; all the small bits of cheese. We're full. 

Tuesday/3-May-22: Dinner was Vegetable Soup with Spicy Merguez Sausages (web; GD; notes). This is a versatile recipe, a tasty way to use up odds and ends of vegetables. I used carrots, leek, zucchini, and potatoes. My celery was dead, so I added some dried celery leaves. Made a whole recipe and have lots to freeze. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Wednesday/4-May-22: Dinner was a half dose of Oven-Baked Salmon with Charred Onions & Old Bay Radishes (web). Except for the charred onions, this was pretty good. I followed the recipe's timing for the onions and they were too black, giving a bitter taste to the "sauce" made from them. Served with orzo, followed by a salad with freshly made Croutons (Art, p173). A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Thursday/5-May-22: Dinner was a half dose of Lemon and Thyme Chicken Caprese (web). This was pretty and good. For a starter there was Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme, and Pistachio Oil (VegHarv, p214), which I've made several times now. Think my lemon thyme didn't make it through the winter, at least neither plant that's alive has a lemony smell. Too full for an after.

Friday/6-May-22: Dinner was Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Butter (web). This was easy and yummy, but not for every day because of the fat content. Then a salad. A chocolate-covered madeleine each for after.

Saturday/7-M May on-22: Really didn't feel like cooking tonight. Pizza it was.

Sunday/8-May-22: The ABM made a loaf of Whole Wheat Bread (Fleischmann's) (MC). Steam-boiled some eggs, thinking to have tuna salad with our soup dinner, but decided against that. 

Dinner was Shaker-Style Soup (Monastery, p72). This was really easy and tasty, kind of a dill-flavored cream of tomato soup. For after we had some store-bought chocolate mousse things.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 2; #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/16-Aug-21: Dinner was Creamy Blueberry Chicken Salad (web; CL/aug14). I used chicken from the last roast that I did (via the freezer). Blueberries from our own plants. (Which Ed told me about after I'd defrosted some. Have to make some kind of dish tomorrow to use them up.) That didn't look quite enough, so I made a salad of some roasted beets, a small can of corn, cilantro, and a lime vinaigrette. No dessert.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some Jam Tea Cake for after.

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

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

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

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/1-Feb-21: I dilly-dallied too long this afternoon, so didn't have time to make what was on the plan. Instead there was Spaghetti with Pecorino and Black Pepper* (MW@Home, p194). Parmesan instead of Pecorino; 1tbl black pepper grains, ground; whole wheat spaghetti. Good stuff. Followed by a salad. Then some of the Sara Lee cake. We're full.

Tuesday/2-Feb-21: Yogurt on overday.

Shortly after BookChatters this a.m., we lost internet and phone. It will be Friday before it’s repaired. 

Dinner was a halfish dose of Braised Rabbit with Black Olives, Red Wine, and Pine Nuts (VegHarv, p115). Used rables de lapin, rabbit saddles. This was okay, but nothing special. I think the taste of the tomatoes and black olives overwhelmed the subtler taste of the rabbit. I like rabbit, but don't much like all the fiddly little bones. As suggested, served with a half recipe of Creamy Polenta Wedges (VegHarv, p148). These were fairly boring. Plain polenta would have been better. Followed by a salad with the rest of last night's lettuce, plus grated broccoli stems (clearing out the veg drawer in the fridge) with a lemon vinaigrette. 

Wednesday/3-Feb-21: Pizza for lunch, then a movie and ironing. (Because of the curfew, we can't get a pizza for dinner.)

Thursday/4-Feb-21: For breakfast there was Blueberry Dutch-Baby (web). Pretty good and simple to make.

Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread 2 (MC) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Absent-mindedly used buttermilk powder instead of powdered milk. It was OK.

Aside: Some bread machine manufacturers recommend putting the yeast on the bottom; some say to put it on the top. A long time ago, I read about this, that the order is not what's important. What's important is to keep the yeast and the liquid separate. This is especially important if you bake overnight, but also for the normal cycle which rests for 30min or so at the beginning. For the Rapid cycle, which starts kneading more or less right away (there is a pause of a few minutes), it has no meaning. 

For lunch I used some teeny bio rookworsts that I'd ordered and the last two squares of pâte feuillettée to make a kind of sausage roll. This was inspired by a recipe I found while clearing out a stack of recipes, Rookworst in Croissantdeeg met Mosterdsaus (web), a clipping from a magazine you get at a butcher's shop in NL. The rookworsts were good (I'll get more because they're on sale this week), but they're so small it's hard to know what to do with them.

For dinner there was a half recipe of Chicken with Black Bean Sauce (web). Pretty good. Served with plain basmati rice and Fresh Ginger and Garlic Roasted Broccoli (web), which was also good. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after. 

Friday/5-Feb-21: I got so involved in getting caught up with (internet) business today that I forgot to defrost something for dinner. So I got some tortellini things out of the freezer, thinking about making them alla panna, only to discover that Ed had used all the cream and neglected to tell me to re-order. Oops. So I sautéed some onion and garlic and mushrooms and added parsley and crème fraîche, then added the cooked tortellini to that. Not bad. Then a really plain salad with croûtons. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Saturday/6-Feb-21: Yogurt on overday.

Picked up an order from Intermarché today. 

Our main for dinner was a halfish version Salmon Piccata (web). I cut my salmon chunk in thin slices, about 1/4". Pretty quick to make, delicious to eat. Served with trio rice and Chilled Stuffed Beets, a recipe I got from a grocery store recipe card. I don't really follow the recipe, but it's easy and good. You hollow out a beet or two (I had one largish one, and served the halves stuffed). The filling tonight was peas, a minced shallot, a bit of chopped parsley, and some of the beet innards minced and dried on a paper towel, all mixed with some pyramid goat cheese. Everything was good. Some store-bought vanilla yogurts for after. 

Overnight Boule brewing overnight.

Sunday/7-Feb-21: Baked off the bread this morning.

Dinner was Petit Ragoût de Pois Chiches au Chorizo (VPG?). Tasty, especially with a good dob of the pyramid goat cheese left from yesterday. It's a strange recipe. It should have served four; no, it simpily fed two. There's no sauce, which is why the goat cheese was so nice. For after, we had mini HD ice cream cups.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 9; #8 NEW: 1

This week in the kitchen

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

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

Yogurt on overnight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yogurt on overnight.

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

Forgot to make bread during the day, so

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

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

Made up some batter for Overnight Bread.

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

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

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/27-Apr-20: Ed picked up an order from Leclerc today. Meant to make a rijstvlaai today in honor of Koningsdag, but didn't have the oomph. So we have lots of milk now.

Made up a crumble with a sack of frozen blueberries and the melon gravel left from the ice cream broth. For the crumble itself, I used a recipe I'd put together for a generic crumble topping, with some almond slivers added. 

For dinner we had Thai pulled pork from the freezer served over leftover pitas. With some Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web). Good stuff, both. Followed by the crumble, which was yummy.

Tuesday/28-Apr-20: Pizza for dinner. With grilled zucchini and broccoli (the eggplant I bought wasn't good), artichoke hearts from a jar, capers, black olives, mozzarella, goat cheese, and my pizza sauce. All good. And yummy crumble for after. We're stuffed.

Wednesday/29-Apr-20: What a day. Discovered this afternoon that the mother of our crazy neighbor, crazy herself, had actually been "incarcerated" after her last visit to Condadeuil. Apparently released today and was supposed to go to Paris to stay with a friend, but came here instead. Too much excitement.

Dinner was a halfish verion of Risotto with Green Asparagus (MC). Pretty good it was. Then we finished the delicious crumble.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/30-Apr-20: We both had a hankering for tiger's cries, so tonight we had a very tasty dinner of Sliced Pork with Tiger Sauce (Kuo, p330). Served with Stir-Fried Shredded Cabbage with Carrots (Kuo, p390). And some plain basmati. I made a bit of chili oil for the tiger sauce, and it was pretty assertive. Some cups of HD ice cream for dessert.

Friday/1-May-20: Didn't feel much like cooking today, so we had the rest of the Thai pulled pork, with basmati recipe rice and some Thai-Style Broccoli with Garlic (web). Don't expect the broccoli is very authentic, but it was easy and good. More HD ice cream cups for dessert.

Saturday/2-May-20: Dinner was, more or less, a third-half version of Asparagus Lasagne (web), enough for two biggish servings. This was tasty, but a cheesy, gloopy mess. For a starter, there was Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme,and Pistachio Oil (VegHarv, p214), a favorite I discovered last summer.

Before dinner I finally froze up the melon ice cream. Interesting, it was, if not a favorite.

Yogurt on overnight.

Sunday/3-May-20: Leftover pizza for dinner. Some chocolate cookies after.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/6-Jan-20: Last shopping day, I finished The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet, by Pierre Franey. This was a good read and came away with many, probably too many, tagged recipes. The head notes to each recipe/menu could be gathered in a book by themselves.

Dinner was Chickpea, Spinach and Sweet Potato Soup (Ainsley2, p26; cookbooker). This was amazingly tasty. We each had a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/7-Jan-20: Dinner was a made-up stuffed bell peppers, with a stuffing made of short-grain brown rice, cooked pork from the freezer, onion, garlic, parsley, and some grated Parmesan. The sauce was as mixture of bits from the freezer, chipotle-tomato sauce, ancho sauce, and tomato paste. Turned out pretty good. Served with some chunks of snijbonen, a bit undercooked.

Wednesday/8-Jan-20: Dinner was a half dose of Linguine with Lemon, Garlic and Thyme Mushrooms (web). I have the feeling I've made this before, but I'm too lazy to search and see for sure. Anyhow, it was good. Easy in the day, I roasted the rest of the Brussels sprouts on hand, then marinated them per my usual recipe. The pasta was followed by a salad topped with sprouts. Then we finished off some on-sale holiday chocolates.

Later: Turns out I have made this pasta dish before; it's on the Do-me-again page. And, in the next days, it appeared in Nigella's daily email.

Thursday/9-Jan-20: Shopping today. Bought some more, different, on-sale holiday chocolates.

Dinner was Parmentier de Saumon aux Poireaux, Sauce Curry (VPG). (Couldn't find an online version.) This turned out pretty good. I broiled the fish, then flaked the meat. The potatoes and leeks were riced to make the smashed potato topping; this is really the best way to do this. Instead of serving the curry sauce on the size, I spooned it over the salmon before adding the potato topping. The recipe didn't call for baking, but I did for a while, till the potatoes started getting some brown tips. Then a small, simple salad. Then some chaource, which was on sale this week. Then some millas, that I got at the boulangerie. This seems to be a speciality of the Charente, a kind of flan made with corn flour. We split a piece; that was more than enough.

Friday/10-Jan-20: Dinner was A Good Hash (Tenth, p228), made with cooked lamb from the freezer. This was pretty tasty, if nothing dramatic. It didn't brown as she described, but it was still tasty. Served with some roasted broccoli and cauliflower. For dessert, some we started on a package of holiday chocolates, which will end up being seven nights of three each.

Saturday/11-Jan-20: Dinner was Roasted Chickpeas, Mushrooms, Artichokes, and Tomatoes (VegHarv,  p146), using up the last of the tomato passata from the potager, rather than making Wells' Rustic Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce. Served over brown rice. This was good and is more or less straight from the pantry, except for the mushrooms. Three more chocolates for dessert.

Sunday/12-Jan-20: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Date and Preserved Lemons (web), made with four thighs rather than two game hens. (These were supposed to be 24oz each. Don't I remember that they used to be 14oz or 18oz? Somewhere around 1lb.) This was quite tasty. Served with a half recipe of Carrot Salad (Couscous, p75), made with three colors of carrots. And some Moroccan couscous. Pretty good stuff, all. Then we finished the chaource. Then we had three more chocolates.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/11-Nov-19: We had an early meal today so we could go see a film. There was Rice with Black Pepper Sauce (Savory, p253). I didn't use the mortar and pestle for the herbs, just chop-chop-chop. Gave the pepper corns (all 2tsps) a spin in the spice grinder. Used about half mozzarella and half Abondance for the cheese. I think this would be good with short-grain brown rice, although no longer quick. Started with a simple salad.

Tuesday/12-Nov-19: Dinner was Harissa Lamb with Chickpeas (web). This was good, but I thought it a bit too sweet. Maybe a handful of raisins would have been better apricots. Served with Moroccan couscous (store-bought mix) and snijbonen in chunks with a squirt of lemon. Some chocolate-covered cornflakes for after.

Wednesday/13-Nov-19: Buddy to the vet again today, and me to get haircut. Dinner was leftover enchilada casserole with a new dose of guacamole. Mini ice creams for dessert. We're full.

Yogurt on overnight.

Thursday/14-Nov-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Salmon Chowder (web), sort of. Lots of changes. I used fresh cauliflower, boiled for a bit with some potatoes that needed using. No leftover mashed potatoes, used some potato flour. It was good, nice on a cold-blustery evening.

Friday/15-Nov-19: Lovely lunch out for Ed's birthday. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Saturday/16-Nov-19: Our meal was Golden Cauliflower and Rice Pilaf (VegHarv, p144). This was good, but not really a meal. Like most French recipes, curry powder is just waved at the dish, without adding a strong flavor. Followed by a salad. Then various chocolatey things for after.

Sunday/17-Nov-19: Made some Römertopf bread today, based on One Perfect Loaf (ClayCook2, p126). This is a popular recipe. First I put the water in the bowl to the mixer, then turned around to get the yeast and couldn't find it. I looked in the freezer but didn't see yeast. I searched all the Ivar shelves thinking the jar might have been displaced. Finally I looked again in the freezer and there it was. Duh. So I continued. I used T110 flour (semi-whole wheat, whatever that means), using all that was specified plus about 1/2cup T65 (bread flour) to make the dough a proper dough. (I used the mixer and dough hook for all the mixing.) I forgot to soak the pot before the end of the first rising period so had to extend that. Finally got it in the oven. We had come slices with our dinner. It was good. The Römertopf makes a funny shaped loaf with its flared sides.

Yogurt on overday. I seem to have unplugged the yogurt maker when I unplugged the mixer, not sure how or why. Plugged it back in and guess at a time to finish.

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Bacon, Spinach and Fromage Blanc Frittata (web). In the end I didn't really follow the recipe. Baking the eggs for 35min didn't see like a good idea. I cooked all on the stovetop (cast-iron skillet, covered) for 10-ish minutes till it was set, then added the cheeses and popped under broiler. Instead of the cloth-bound Cabot cheddar cheese from Jasper Hill, I used store-bought old mimelotte. The frittata was edible, nothing special. Both of us were fairly full so we didn't have any kind of a dessert.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/28-Oct-19: Off plan tonight. I sautéed up a bunch of veggies from the fridge, onion, broccoli, romanesco, red bell pepper, garlic, etc., and served over brown rice, with a good dose of my home made hot sauce. Some ice cream for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight

Tuesday/29-Oct-19: Dinner was Shrimp, Feta and Greek Olives on Spaghetti (web). The recipe has changed a bit since I printed it in March, but it was still good. My copy has shallots instead of leeks and plain paprika instead of smoked (I used pikant). And I used 6oz of whole wheat spaghtetti. It was good. Then a bit salad. And some chocolate-covered cornflakes for after. (Why are these so good?)

Made up some Light, Flaky Whole Wheat Pastry—Pâte Brisée Legère (VegHarv, p270) for tomorrow's dinner. Made up the stuffing for tomorrow's pork roast and froze as instructed.

Wednesday/30-Oct-19: Laura and Ralph came for dinner. We started with Smoked Salmon with Dill-Mustard Sauce (VegHarv, p4), which Ed and I have enjoyed before. Served with some half moons of unpeeled, seeded cuke for a bit of color on the plate. For a main, there was Apple and Prune Stuffed Pork Loin (web). I got this recipe from Betsy via EAT-L. The stuffing is frozen and then (supposed to be) inserted into the pork roast. That didn't work at all, so I just opened it up and wrapped the stuffing log in the pork. It wasn't completely done i the specified time, so we cut off the edible bits and put the rest back in the oven for a spell. No prunes in-house so I used apricots and dried cranberries as suggested. This was quite good, but the apples could have been cut a bit finer. The veggie side was Broccoli Purée with a Hint of Mint (VegHarv, p167). This was surprisingly good, broccoli and mint not being an expected combination to me. What was supposed to serve twelve serve four. And there was Potato Gratin from the Savoy—Gratin Savoyard (VegHarv, p222). This was easy and good. God bless my mandoline for the thin slices. Dessert was Rosemary-Apple-Cranberry Galette (VegHarv, p268). This was okay, but nothing special. The cranberries were a bit crunchy. I needed two apples to cover the tart. Served with mascarpone-cream, which makes everything better.

Thursday/31-Oct-19: Shopping today.

Dinner was Baked Honey Sriracha Lime Salmon (web). This was easy and extra yummy. Started it in the toaster oven, finished under the broiler as directed. Served with rice, then a nice salad. Some of Laura and Ralph's chocolate squares for dessert.

Friday/1-Nov-19: For our anniversary, we had a super lunch at a new local restaurant. Nothing further happened in the kitchen.

Saturday/2-Nov-19: Our meal was Nigella's Spaghetti alla Carbonara. I got this off the web quite some time ago. It seems to be gone now, even on Nigella's site, and there are some reports of Italians complaining about it. Carbonara with cream is a no-no. And 500g of pasta for two is a bit much. I made a halfish recipe from my print-out, which served the two of us generously. Followed by a big salad. Then some chocolate-covered madeleines.

Sunday/3-Nov-19: Leftovers tonight, the leftover pork roast and potatoes augmented with two pork loin chops. And some simple steamed broccoli. For dessert there was Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake (web). (I used 185g 70% chocolate and 100g 85% chocolate.) This was seriously good, even with a bit of mascarpone cream.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/16-Sep-19: Dinner was West Indies Salmon Cake (web), using up two of my three cans of salmon. (Why don't they have canned salmon in France?) These were yummy. I made four patties from the whole recipe and froze two for another meal. Then some Caribbean Rice and Beans, loosely following this recipe. I used half a can of borlotti beans and froze the rest. No coconut milk, but chicken stock from a cube. Pretty good, though. Served with Carrot-and-Ginger Quickie Pickle and some of the haberno sauce that I made a while ago. Some ice cream for dessert.

Tuesday/17-Sep-19: Shopping today. Early because it's an odd week.

Dinner was Papillote de Cabillaud au Curry (VPG; web), with lieu noir instead of cod. (The web version is titled Papillote de Cabillaud au Curry et au Citron. I see that the web version calls for fennel seeds, rather than anise seeds; this would probably be better.) This was okay, but nothing special. Served with Lemon-Roasted Potatoes with Bay Leaves (VegHarv, p231), that I made last week and is going to be a favorite. And Zucchini La Ponche (VegHarv, p217), also excellent. I’ve looked at this recipe a couple of times and then switched to the Zucchini Carpaccio recipe on p214. There was just enough balsamic vinegar to make it tasty without being overwhelming. Now I've got two raw zucchini recipes. Some store-bought custards for dessert. We ate well.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/18-Sep-19: Dinner out for Cath, with Rosemary and Phillipe.

Thursday/19-Sep-19: Last dinner with Cath tonight. We had Chicken Diane (MC), an old favorite I haven't made in a while. Served with short-grain brown rice and some steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Then some St Felicien. Then some small slices of Lemon-Blueberry Cake from the tea shop in Montemboeuf. We're full.

Friday/20-Sep-19: Cath left for Carlisle today, a good friend moving away permanently.

Dinner was Shrimp and Zucchini Orzo (web). It called for sambal, which I thought I’d get at Grand Frais this week, but Grand Frais has changed their selection so they no longer carry a lot of my staples. Like sambal. Instead of that, I used my (not-so-)Fiery Haberno Sauce, which was tasty. For afters, we finished the St Felicien.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/21-Sep-19: For our starter we had Salmon-Dill Salad with Pasta (BeardPasta, p191; cookbooker), sort of. For two, I used 3oz of pasta (mini-shells), with 90g of smoked salmon bits (from the freezer), 2tbl each of mayo and yogurt, and some chopped dill. Served with some leaves of sucrine (mini romaines). For our main, there was some magret tournedos that I bought at a marché des producteurs this summer. Those served with a pan sauce of marsala and black cherry jam. Served with some little boiled potatoes and some haricots verts with shiitakes and shalllots. We were full.

Soaked hominy overnight.

Sunday/22-Sep-19: Cooked up hominy using chicken stock for the liquid.

Dinner was Pernil de Chancho a la Chilena—Braised Fresh Ham with Chili Sauce (TLLatin, p58). I had 1.25kg rouelle, so made about a two-thirds recipe of the meat, but all of the sauce. The chiles we get here are pretty wimpy, so I didn't deseed them. The sauce was simple, but quite tasty. Served with hominy.

Meant to make an avocado-tomato salad, but the avocados I bought this week were already bad, so I just chopped some tomatoes from the potager with cilantro and served over lettuce. Some mini ice creams for dessert.

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/9-Sep-19: A busy day today, and another trip to the gendarmerie.

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

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

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

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

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

Yogurt on overnight.

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

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

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

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

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/12-Aug-19: Dinner was Shrimp Dopiaza (30MinInd, p73), shrimp in a tasty onion sauce. Served with Jeera Rice (30MinInd, p99), which as good as it has been before, and Spinach with Besan (30MinInd, p79), which was barely edible. Not sure why, all the ingredients seemed ok, but the result was bitter. And the besan-water mix turned to a pancake almost immediately. I added more water and tried to thin it down, but that only worked a bit. We had kind of mini-dumplings of besan. Good thing besan is tasty. More Toulouse chocolate for dessert.

Tuesday/13-Aug-19: Lunch out with Cath today. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Wednesday/14-Aug-19: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner out with Patrice and Wim. Nothing much happened in the kitchen.

Thursday/15-Aug-19: Our charming neighbor threw the three hanging baskets of begonias over the fence into the back yard last night. This upset our day, and we didn't feel like going to the fête this evening. I didn't feel like eating at all. Ed had just a bite.

Friday/16-Aug-19: Shopping today.

Our dinner was Barbecued Salmon (web). Oops, I forgot I'm out of hoisin sauce (already on the list for Grand Frais), so had to improvise that with some spicy plum chutney and a bit of prune juice. Wasn't too bad as substitutes go. Served with a pilaf with dried, reconstituted cèpes. Followed by a simple salad with Buttermilk-Thyme Dressing (VegHarv, p298).

Saturday/17-Aug-19: Patrice and Wim for dinner today. For our apéro, there were some mini bell peppers filled with a mixture of cream cheese, feta, garlic, chives, and parsley. For our main, we had Spice-Crusted Pork Tenderloins with Banana-Date Chutney (License, p150). I had three pork tenderloins; Ed couldn't keep the fire going long enough to finish cooking the biggest one, so that's in the freezer now. And because there was no fire, I had to grills the eggplant slices under the broiler. Spread these with a bit of chili-garlic sauce for the last minutes of broiling. And there was All-Purpose Rice-and-Beans (BigFlav, p262), which is really yummy. P&W brought toetjes for dessert. I'd made the broth for Buttermilk Ice Cream; we'll have that tomorrow.

Sunday/18-Aug-19: Yogurt on overday.

Major rethink of the meal plan today, to account for leftovers and poblanos.

Tonight we had the leftover beans and rice. With two of the poblanos, I made kind of a Roasted Poblano Lime Crema, loosely based on web and web. Think it was a bit strong on the lime, but still it was good with the rice&beans. Also some Banana-Date Chutney. Later I froze up the Buttermilk Ice Cream (MC), which was good.

Didn't get anything from my cookbook-of-the-month made this week. Today's plan will go to next week. Thinking I'll skip this for next month. I have a book chosen, but don't feel like bothering with it.

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

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/22-Jul-19: Made up some ground roasted cumin for the larder.

Dinner was Spaghetti with Shrimp, Spinach (web), which was easy, fast, and reasonably good. More of the apricot clafoutis for dessert.

Tuesday/23-Jul-19: Whatever was I thinking planning pizza and fresh pasta on the next day. Setting the oven to 500F when the outside temp is 40C? No thanks. Replan.

Tonight we had a salad and the rest of the apricot clafoutis for dessert. Tomorrow I have to use the defrosted pizza sauce.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/24-Jul-19: I've clearly been doing a very bad job showing the food books I'm reading or just read. That area is long out of date. Guess I should either remove it or commit to keeping it fairly current.

Defrosted some cooked pork roast, sliced it up, warmed it in the pizza sauce, and served over pasta. Beforehand we had the rest of the mini bell peppers filled with a mixture of pyramid (goat) cheese, feta, garlic, and herbs. Good munching. Made a small salad. Then mini ice cream bars. We're full.

Thursday/25-Jul-19: Another broiling hot day. At least the car and Leclerc are air conditioned. Whew.

Dinner was Six-Minute Fresh Cod Steamed on a Bed of Rosemary (VegHarv, p76). This was easy and good. Lieu noir was on sale today, so I used that instead of cod. Served on a bed of spaghetti court, which isn't spaghetti (it's hollow), but is short; there's a proper Italian name for this, but I've forgotten. Anyhow it works nicely as a side like this. And Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds & Feta (web). I thought this was good; Ed thought the beans were too crunchy. Some store-bought riz au laits for dessert.

Friday/26-Jul-19: Dinner was Sauté of Veal with Fresh Tarragon (VegHarv, p132; cookbooker). Served over tagliatelle. For veggies, there was Favorite Broccoli Salad (web; cookbooker); this was good but would have been better with a bbq dinner. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/27-Jul-19: Earlyish dinner tonight so we could go to a movie. We had Scallops and Chorizo (web; cookbooker). Served with polenta and Spicy Grilled Eggplant (web; cookbooker). Made a big salad, but we didn't have time and didn't feel like we needed it. We split a nectarine with a McVittie's GingerNut crumbled on top and a bit of cream. Off to the movie.

Sunday/28-Jul-19: I've simplified the layout of the cookbooks I'm reading and just read sections. Now to remember to keep it up to date.

Another early dinner so we could go to a concert. We had Lamb Ribs with Nigella and Cumin Seeds (web). The bits of lamb that I bought weren't quite what was needed, but similar. Was easy and quite tasty. I had about 900g, which we ate, but could have served three. Then yesterday's salad. And off to the concert.

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

This week in the kitchen

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

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

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

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

Yogurt on overnight.

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

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

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

Yogurt on overnight.

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

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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/8-Jul-19: For starters there were insalatas caprese. For a main I used much of the orange cauliflower I bought last week to make a half recipe of Grilled Cauliflower "Steaks" with Tonnato Sauce and Walnut Salsa (web). This was good, if a bit light for a main course. Ottolenghi does say it's a starter and it would be good like that. Ed liked the tonnato sauce and the walnut salsa (especially), but didn't like them together. I thought they were fine together. For afters I had a HD ice cream cup and Ed had a mini Magnum bar.

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

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

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

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

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

Yogurt on overnight.

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

Thursday/11-Jul-19: Shopping today.

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

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

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

Yogurt on overnight.

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

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

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