Hi everyone
My palm is healing slowly, though still painful (especially when I forget and do something normal), but with a bandage padding, a glove, and prepped helper ingredients, I’ve been able to get around the kitchen. Having a few things marinated or cooked and ready to use also made the first few days easier.
This extended bitterly cold weather has had me craving warm and rich things that I don’t usually eat. I loved a COTM Diana Henry recipe for Chicken and Mushroom Pot Pie enriched with sour cream. I succumbed to pork ribs at the butcher (because I’ve been craving char siu and not letting myself buy it) — Filipino-style bbq hit the spot! And I also bought a giant slab of chuck roast because I’ve been craving short ribs 
— now trying to figure out what to do with it!
Some thoughts for the week:
— Pongal (lentils and rice) + papad + roasted squash or cauliflower.
— Eastern European-style sautéed mushrooms, onions, and potatoes + frozen Pelmeni (from this market, which I need to visit again soon).
— Big Winter Salad: some combination of arugula, fennel, roasted squash, roasted cauliflower, roasted or pickled red onions, and pita chips or homemade focaccia croutons.
— Beef Rendang + gai lan + coconut rice.
— Pork Ribs with Naga chillies + bok choy + rice.
— Lobster Pie (using Argentinian shrimp) or Smoked Fish Pie from COTM Diana Henry to use up things buried in the freezer.
— Curry Chicken Noodle Soup — double-concentrated homemade broth, red curry paste & curry powder, leftover chicken, greens.
— Chicken Quesadilla or Kathi Roll — leftover chicken, flour tortilla (possibly coated with egg), pickled onions, zhoug or salsa.
.
I also need to use up or freeze the remaining (many) wonton wrappers from my viral recipe experiments last week. Top contenders at the moment are mini lasagne and some version of spinach pie / borek / spanakopita, both likely for the freezer rather than for immediate consumption.
And I need to make a tiny dessert for tomorrow — my friend who recently lost her mom has a birthday, so something sweet but low-key (because I remember my first birthday after losing a parent wasn’t exactly festive). Maybe the water chocolate mousse, or a simple hot milk cake.
Take care and stay safe.
So soft, bland, non-fibrous food for the next few weeks, here on the Maine mid-coast.
).
