Hi, everyone, feeding two adults and a tween in Boston. The big food excitement this morning is that we picked up a dozen assorted bagels from PopupBagels, a NY shop that does regional pop ups. This one was at the seafood market right near us! My sesame seed bagel with scallion-chive cream cheese was a nice start to the day. The remaining 9 bagels went into the freezer.
Sun: Super Bowl / excuse to eat junk. Greek nachos (http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012591-greek-style-nachos with pork instead of lamb), pretzel bites ( = nod to Philly), maybe a small batch of wings. DS is making cake: the plan is layers of chocolate (Midwest Made) and vanilla (Snacking Cakes) with a peanut butter filling and green-tinted buttercream on the outside, maybe some yard markings. Go Eagles!
Mon: I planned to make bbq chicken burritos (an old Cooking Light recipe) but just heard an “ugh” from one of the guys when he walked past the fridge, so… maybe sloppy joes instead as we still have burger buns from last week.
Tues: spaghetti and meatballs in the IP, roasted broccoli. Nothing says love like cruciferous vegetables.
Weds: Baja bowls, shifted from last week
Thurs: fish and chips with peas (another vegetable for me)
Exciting indeed! I haven’t eaten these yet as they’re mostly outside NYC but do occasional pop-ups here (that I haven’t made it to). How did you like the bagels relative to good local options?
They were excellent bagels! We have two good bagel shops near us, but these were better texture and not as heavy, if that makes sense (still plenty heavy, but not as heavy). We also liked the barely-visible holes as there was no cream cheese leakage. That being said, this was a lot more expensive than the local places (almost twice as much) and we didn’t get to pick the bagels in the assortment… so maybe not a regular treat.
I’ve considered making them at home, but just never have. They don’t seem that much more complicated than other “yeast plus more steps” doughs like soft pretzels - maybe some weekend…
Gonna be another busy week. Simple, simple, simple meals.
For two adults in San Diego:
This week’s breakfasts: TBD. Won’t have time to bake until Weds, probably. Might pick a few items up at a bakery tomorrow.
S:(tonight) Dinner at a wedding reception. Pretty decent for a sit-down meal at a wedding. Here’s to hoping that it did not come with a side of Covid. I know a bunch of people who are sick again, but this was a family wedding that was important.
Su: Eggs scrambled with spinach, cheese, and sausage. Served with sourdough toast.
M: Potstickers (purchased) with veggies, served in broth.
T: Macaroni and cheese with peas, topped with crab and garlicky breadcrumbs - seafood
W: Lentil soup - vegetarian
Th: Anniversary of our first date. We’ll be going out to lunch and picking up something for dinner.
F: Tostadas with beans and leftover chile colorado from the freezer, topped with cheese and guacamole
Actuals for Feb 6 week, cooking for 2 in MN where we both enjoyed separate lunches out, reconnecting with friends, so had something new to chat about over dinner. A couple more weeks to go in the great freezer clear-out of 2023. Lasagna, salmon , steak and chicken will be featured from now to March.
Mon: freezer/deli meal Crispy Fish strips , Potato Salad, Seafood salad w crackers, Coleslaw
Tues: Mushroom Swiss burgers (on home made buns), onion rings (from freezer), Romaine lettuce salad with tomatoes and cucumbers
Wed: Reheat leftover (from my lunch out) nachos (chipotle BBQ Beef & black beans), dabs of seafood salad over romaine lettuce with tomatoes and cucumbers.
Thurs: Salmon, sweet potato, coleslaw, fresh orange sliced
Fri: tortellini in tomato-basil soup, tuna spread (with some leftover salmon) on homemade buns
Sat: Pulled pork (from freezer) black beans & corn, stuffed in green peppers on a bed of rice
Sun (today): Tacos made with remaining pulled pork mixture, slice avocado, toppings. Brownies w/ vanilla ice cream. Still deciding on what we’ll have while watching Super Bowl commercials (game, what game?)
Back from my pie and pastry baking adventures at the KAF baking school, and as is typical of their classes, plenty of baked goods made their way home with me. Those will be dedicated to breakfasts and lunches for the next few days. Dinners will be more fridge, freezer and pantry cleanout.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
79
G’day mates and matesses.
Friday - plaice fillets, ne wpotatoes, spinach, lemon & herb butter sauce
Saturday - A French-ish theme to dinner. Coquilles St Jacques (freezer). Lamb chops (a rack if we can find one), hasselback spuds, petit pois a la Francaise. French cheese. Frecnh dessert (maybe creme brulee - but depends on what the supermarket has)
Sunday - pasties
Monday - sausage & lentils.
Tuesday - braised beef, croquette spuds, veg (all from freezer)
Wednesday - out (local Italian)
Thursday - chicken breast. Aubergine cassoulet (freezer - originally a veggie main course but should work as an accompaniment)
I really enjoy the KAF classes – I find it one of the more fun activities which I do.
I started out several years ago (pre-covid) with four multi-day courses in sourdough and artisan breads - both beginning and advanced. I learned a lot, and became a much better bread baker as a result. Having that exposure left me pretty confident with handling most bread recipes I encounter, and an ability to troubleshoot as needed.
This most recent foray into pies and tarts let me experience a lot of techniques with which I was familiar, but hadn’t tried. I’m a hands-on type of learner, and the actual performance of things goes a long way with me. Now I’m looking forward to fruit season with confidence, and think I will enjoy putting things into practice.
Would someone with a ton of experience get much out of these courses? For the advanced sourdough/artisan bread courses, I’d say “maybe”. For the other baking classes I’ve tried (pies & tarts, cinnamon and sticky buns), I’d say “maybe not so much”. That said, if you enjoy baking, hanging out with other bakers, experiencing different techniques and perspectives while letting someone else do all the dishes, I’d say you’d most likely find these courses enjoyable.
I am eyeballing a one-day cake class coming up later this year, and next year would like to do the French Pastry Intensive (multi-day) course.
I wrote a little bit about it here on the new “Cooking and Baking Classes” thread here.
French Saturday sounds awesome. A special occasion, perhaps?
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
84
Nope. Saturday night has long been our “big meal” of the week, which often includes what other Britons might have as a “Sunday Roast”. We’ve just decided that we’ve got into a bit of a rut about Saturdays and we need a reset. This one had started out as an online supermarket’s “meal deal” which included the St Jacques, the lamb rack and a dessert. But, by the time it came to delivery, they had run out of product, which is why I’m being a bit vague.
I’m already thinking of next week’s Saturday where I reckon I may go down a Middle Eastern route. That’s something I usually prepare midweek but, with a bit of effort in the cooking, it can become a Saturday Special.
I took a KA bread baking class (basic white bread) in Vermont one summer on a family vacation to New Hampshire, and going to the facility was like Disneyland for me. Did I learn that much? Not really, but I enjoyed the experience immensely–and as you say, having someone else do the dishes (and cooking the bread in a real professional oven) is amazing. I set up a virtual pie baking class for my extended family during Covid, and I have to say that my pie crust game is so much stronger now.
Happy Friday everyone and it is snowing in Ottawa, Canada - again. Ugh. I have always prided myself in being a hardy Canadian but this winter, when it snows it snows. And there is nary a snow plow in sight so walking in the snow this morning was like walking in quick sand. I decided to take the bus today and the three short blocks from home to the bus stop felt like 30 blocks. The city of Ottawa used to be pretty good at plowing the streets but not this winter - bah humbug! This weekend I am on fridge and freezer cleanup since I had a mishap with my bag of oatmeal earlier this week (and in a paper bag none-the-less (why does Quaker do that?). I keep my oatmeal in the fridge so when I took it out the bag got stuck to the glass shelf it was on so it split right open. Thankfully the spillage was contained to the shelf the oatmeal was on but what a mess! I still have a few flakes of oatmeal to clean up so tomorrow I will be hosing down the inside of my fridge. And Sunday I hope to finish my tour of Chinatown. I planned on going last Saturday but the sidewalks were still icy so I took the bus to one store and got the necessities then headed home. Hopefully today’s snow will be plowed by Sunday so I can pick up the chili oil I like then stock up on curry pastes and sriracha and whatever else I am out of. Onto my menus for this week:
Today: Today’s take out lunch is a soup and sandwich from the food court downstairs. I didn’t feel like plowing through snow again to get take out but the Thai place in our building makes nice lunches. There was no curry today since it’s quiet at the office. I guess a lot of people decided to stay home today so I opted for the soup and sandwich combination of a Thai chicken soup and a Tandoori chicken sandwich. I guess I like chicken Dinner tonight will be a salad.
Sunday: I bought some bbq’d ribs at the Chinese grocery store last weekend and there were only enough left for two servings so I bought them all and put half in the freezer. I will pick up a side dish while I am out and about - hopefully kimchi.
Tuesday: Out for dinner with my dinner club. We are going to a new-to-me Italian restaurant which I am very excited about since it has been getting good reviews. (For those who are familiar with Ottawa, we will be going to Dreamland Café.)
Wednesday: Stirfried lo mein noodles with vegetables and pork chop. I made this last week with bagged coleslaw and it was a flop. I have never seen cabbage wilt before so I started with what looked like a cup of veggies shrank to about a 1/4 of a cup. I still have half a bag of coleslaw left so I am deciding if I still want to use it in a stirfry or if I want to buy a couple of cabbages.
Thursday: Beef stew (beef, onion, mushrooms and a bit of beef broth) served over egg noodles.
Fish tonight. Not sure what kind yet. The 9 sea scallops I bought (~$23 Cdn) at my favourite indie grocery store were off last week. The pickerel was fine, but I’m turned off buying their shellfish now. I will let them know about the scallops today.
(why does Quaker do that?). I keep my oatmeal in the fridge so when I took it out the bag got stuck to the glass shelf it was on so it split right open. Thankfully the spillage was contained to the shelf the oatmeal was on but what a mess! I still have a few flakes of oatmeal to clean up so tomorrow I will be hosing down the inside of my fridge. And Sunday I hope to finish my tour of Chinatown. I planned on going last Saturday but the sidewalks were still icy so I took the bus to one store and got the necessities then headed home. Hopefully today’s snow will be plowed by Sunday so I can pick up the chili oil I like then stock up on curry pastes and sriracha and whatever else I am out of. Onto my menus for this week:
Dinner tonight will be a salad.