Hello from Ottawa where it is mostly hot. It rained the last three days and just as the temperature was dropping to a bearable level then this morning the clouds parted and it is getting hot again. Oh well, I waited all winter to complain about the heat so I will grin and bear it! My menus for this week are as follows:
Today: beef riblets and mac 'n cheese from the hot buffet at Farm Boy. It’s a popular grocery store chain here in Ontario and I have always been happy with their groceries but their one big draw is their prepared foods. I really like their sushi but it’s made by a catering company that specializes in sushi, sashimi and poké bowls. So far I’ve had three of their store made dishes: chicken teriyaki (just awful), a sandwich (mediocre) then this dish. The ribs are cooked well enough but the sauce is a little too sweet for my liking and the mac 'n cheese has a weird peppery taste to it. From now on I will stick to groceries from Farm Boy and get take out from somewhere else. Dinner tonight will be a panzanella
Saturday: Clean out the kitchen cupboards day. Chicken casserole, egg noodles and spring mix for dinner.
Sunday: Daytime activity tbd - either a museum visit or shopping although I am leaning towards shopping right now. I need new blouses and sundries for around the house so I guess it won’t hurt to spend the afternoon at the mall. Shrimp and asparagus risotto for dinner.
— Potato chops (baby lamb chops coated in mashed potato and pan-fried), mixed dal, fresh bread
— Joint birthday celebrations with my friend’s wife (belated for me, early for her) — an evening in three stages, ending with a nostalgic Chinese dinner
— “Scrambled” Paneer (aka Bhurji), Laccha parathas
— Seafood feast with my visiting friend
— Baby Lima Bean Pulao with boondi raita, onion salad, and 3 kinds of papad
— Squid in bone marrow sauce with leftover naan to soak up the sauce
— The meal I was cooking ahead for last week to host my visiting friend at home — described here.
Tomorrow I’m hoping we get a break in the recent monsoon downpour so we can take mom out of the house for a meal for the first time since I got here .
Wish you all a lovely weekend and smooth week ahead.
Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga, where I’m adjusting to jet lag and This Heat, but otherwise delighted to be back in my kitchen. Went to a new Saturday farmers market this morning–it’s tiny but still managed to overbuy, haha. I see a jam making session in my near future…
Breakfast: Coffee cake (this is a very good recipe, though a little sweet)
Saturday, July 13 (today!): Cauliflower and mushroom tacos from Cook’s Illustrated: we always crave tacos when returning from Europe
Sunday: Korean chicken sandwiches from Simple; tomato, corn, avocado salad; peach and blackberry crisp from Family
Monday: Add some black beans to the tomato salad and call it supper; potentially baked tortilla chips on the side
Tuesday-Friday: TBD, whether leftovers, necessary freezer dive, and/or out
Hope everyone does what’s needed to stay cool. Have a good week and happy cooking!
We’re socked in with rain, fog and a gridlock of tourists on outer Cape Cod. I don’t drive in July & August. I haven’t for years. It’s terrifying and dangerous.
DH went to our small Mom & Pop grocery store and got a pound of ground beef. I make burritos with the beef, chili powder and cumin spiced black beans. I use a potato masher to integrate the beans into the beef. Then we have shredded cheddar, salsa, sour cream and scallions. That will get us through a couple of nights. Then we’ll do a freezer dive and dig into our pantry. Midweek on a sunny beach day we’ll brave the grocery store for some produce and dairy.
There was a thread someone started on Chowhound about what NYC natives crave when they get home from a trip – they were going to be visiting, and instead of asking for recs, they wanted to know foods and places that were crave-worthy. Loved the idea then, and think of it whenever I’m about to come home!
We rented in Truro when DH could still walk and our first shop for food was the Truro Farmers Market at 8 AM on Mondays. Easy traffic free driving, friendly locals and fresh produce and usually bread.
We’re in Eastham, 2 towns away from Truro. Rte. 6 is so dangerous in the summer. There was a fatal accident this morning. We live on the bayside and have backroads to drive to get to Orleans to shop. Our towns out here are very rural - no sidewalks or streetlights. My summer neighbor is a fan of the Truro farmer’s market. She lives in Boston and has a sister in NYC so is more practiced at competitive driving than me.
For some reason I thought you were closer to Ptown.
Agree about the danger on the highway. We only went to Orleans to meet relatives from Hyannis for an annual lunch.
We don’t go to Ptown in the summer anymore. It’s a zoo, and I’m unsteady on my feet. Plus, it has become so blatantly flagrant, I just don’t need to see that stuff. Leave some things to the imagination.
I always crave something tex-mex too. It’s led to some pretty ugly nacho experiences in places outside the US (especially side-eyeing New Zealand here).
We used to have a blast in Ptown when we were younger. My DH is from New Bedford on the other side of the canal. We would get an oversand permit to drive through the National Seashore and spend the day on the remote beach, take a cold shower in the bath house and then go out to dinner on Commercial Street. I don’t have any of that in me at 72. We go in the fall and treat ourselves to lunch at the venerable Lobster Pot.
Hi everyone, feeding two adults and a teen in the Boston burbs.
This morning DH and I got together with a visiting friend and his husband - it’s actually my old hair stylist from when we lived in NJ and then PA (because I drove an hour to see him…). We’ve kept in touch sporadically on Facebook but hadn’t seen each other in 11 years, and it was really nice to catch up. I find these kinds of catch-ups to be so restorative, if that makes sense.
DS is taking a baking class this coming week, which he’s excited about. I’m a little less than thrilled about being at the mall (class is at Sur la Table) from 4-6pm every day. Have laptop, can work anywhere? Note to self, take earplugs/Airpods too. Dinners have been planned to be quick or make-ahead.
Tues: black bean soup (SK Keepers, made ahead) and cheese quesadillas
Weds: “hoisin chicken with noodles” aka Chinese chicken salad with hoisin dressing, minus lettuces and plus noodles. Recipe from The Dinner Plan, first time trying it. Also an assemble your own bowl kind of meal.
Thurs: stuffed peppers (I’ll prep during the day and have DH bake)
Fri: probably out at/near the mall
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ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
78
What does this mean? I don’t know anything about Ptown.
My menus for this week are as follows:
