Breakfast: Sweet potato cornbread from an ATK cookbook, When Southern Women Cook
Saturday, November 8: Moussaka, bumped from today since we’re invited to a party.
Sunday: Hoisin-glazed chicken, rice, broccolini, chocolate biscotti
Monday: Scrounge
Tuesday: A big gratin since I’ll have a bit more flexibility in my day (my French colleagues will all be off), avocado-cucumber salad. I need to bake cookies for various purposes as well.
Wednesday-Thursday: TBD
Friday: Bacon-wrapped fish with shrimp sauce from an old issue of Bon Appétit, some kind of potatoes
Hope all of you getting that cold snap can bundle up and hunker down! Have a good week, and happy cooking!
Heya, HOs! Still cooking for two w̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶&̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ mildly interesting middle-aged folks in Happy Valley.
Last week’s plans were mostly forgotten / ignored, or simply changed. Life n 'at
Monday was pretty simple, just mushroom toasts with Taleggio, and a fancy-ish salad with smoked duck breast.
We did not catch a movie OR Korean fried chicken on Tuesday, but instead I made another stir-fry with those fab lemongrass snossidges & the Viet kumquat hot sauce I am turtally obsessed with
Wednesday I was feeling uninspired, and fishie plans fell to the wayside in lieu of finally trying that KFC. It was good.
Thursday I had a gathering with my lovely group of chile heads at a local Sichuan place. Good food & even better company, with several friends we hadn’t seen in a while.
Friday we finished the leftover KFC and I made a big-ass salad I destroyed. Afterwards we had a couple of friends over to watch the new Frankenstein. It was alright.
Tonight I was either going to make a shrimp & corn chowdah for us with shrimp broth I still have in the freezer (and summer corn), OR invite our recluse friend over to share the massive halibut filet that’s also in the freezer, but then she invited us over to dinner at her place She’s baked a loaf of her faboski sourdough, and is making some type of SA chickpea, chicken & chorizo stew. I shared my disdain for those chalkballz with her , but it will no doubt be delish. I’ll contribute a salad, the nature of which is TBD. Our NYC friends will be there as well, so it’ll be nice to see them before they head back to the city mañana.
Tomorrow I have an afternoon band practice for two upcoming shows next week, one of which will be with The Best Flipping Bassist in town (who happens to not be on tour with Kat Edmondson for a change ) cuz our own has prior engagements. Pretty stoked about it, NGL. Since it Ssssssssspicy Ssssssssssunday, I may try to use up the mung bean sprouts and yu choy we have in the fridge, but not sure yet how
Monday is looking to be rather cold, so I could use up the Rana cheese torts and toss 'em in TJ’s creamy tomato soup for a super-simple meal, or make that shrimp & corn chowdah I’m not making today.
Tuesday is also looking , so maybe this recipe for pappardelle that landed in my inbox recently, which sounds warming and comforting and delicious:
Wednesday dunno yet. Maybe dumplings from the freezer with my boo’s bok choy?
Thursday is our jazz gig with the Amazing Bassist. 7pm show usually means snacky-poos beforehand. If we haven’t killed that smoked duck breast by then, it’ll get et that night, fo shore.
Friday TBD. Maybe someone will host a game
Saturday we have a gig at a popular pub downtown. Acoustics are pretty abysmal, but it’s a fun place to play. I omitted our wrist-slitting ballads & focused on upbeat shit. Maybe I can split one of their excellent cheeborgerz with my boo before we go on.
Sunday the usual. Something hot & spicy TBD.
Happy cooking, HOs. Be grateful to have food on the table for your loved ones these days
Hey, all. Thanks for your kind thoughts this past week. My husband’s surgery went well, according to the surgeon, and his comfort level is already improving. No meal planning this week, because I’ll be responding to what he wants to eat. He’s already eating normal meals, but his appetite is a bit finicky from the pain meds.
It got COLD here in NYC! Still struggling a bit with plan and mojo, but the temperature change opens up a new set of possibilities
So far:
– Japchae (Maangchi) — finally using the pile of mushrooms I needed to cook
– Salmon cakes (NYT) — using leftover salmon instead of cod
– Lamb shoulder in parts — rosemary and garlic, cumin Sichuan-style
– A bag of romaine hearts various ways — easy Caesar, sriracha Caesar, harissa Caesar, jalapeño ranch
Ideas for the rest of the week:
– Fish pie or fish tagine (yeah, I know that’s a weird “or” )
– Lamb Rendang (maybe Teigen)
– Curry chicken noodle soup using leftover red curry
– Turkish pasta with lamb, brown butter, garlic yogurt, and sumac
– A bag of shishito peppers — Caesar dressing (Teigen), stir-fried bokkeum (Maangchi), corn salad (NYT)
Continuing to chip away at freezer surplus while cooking for two adults in the PNW.
FRI: Tostados with refries and cheese. Pico de gallo. Tex-Mex brined chicken breasts. I like using the linked prep for chicken breasts. Brining keeps the chicken moist, and you can change the spice rub to whatever flavor profile floats your boat.
Hello friends November seems to be sailing right by. I continue to be busy with my watercolour class on Tuesday nights, my drawing class on Sunday mornings and my twice-a-month screenings with the Ottawa Film Society. I might have to miss my watercolour class this Tuesday since I have an eye appointment that day. It’s a morning appointment so it won’t interfere with my class but it’s in the west end so it’s a one hour bus ride each way. Also, there are a few shops in the area that I like to visit that we don’t have downtown and there is a Costco at the end of the shopping strip so I will go in to pick up some non-perishables to last me until Christmas. This is my plan for this week:
Today: I bought a take out lunch from a nearby gourmet food shop. I had a quinoa salad with grilled eggplant, cauliflower and halloumi. I had this salad a couple of weeks ago and have been dreaming about it ever since so I bought it again. Dinner tonight will be a tomato green bean salad.
Saturday: I’m going to see a matinée movie this afternoon. Today I am going to see a road movie called “Alberta Number One” about a documentary crew that is crossing the province of Alberta documenting museums and monuments. I am expecting to see a lot of flat lands There is a Q&A with the director after then I am off to run errands. I have a scallop curry dinner penciled in for dinner but I will be coming home late so we’ll see how that works out
Sunday: Grey Cup Sunday! I have my drawing class in the morning then off to pick up dinner. I am planning on having something low maintenance for dinner so I can focus on watching the football game. Maybe cheese and crackers, we’ll see. Kickoff time is 6:00 however I hope to be home to watch part of the pre-game show.
Monday: Dinner out with my book club. We will be meeting up at a pub to discuss the book “The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon.
Tuesday: Off to my eye appointment then shopping. I will stop somewhere for lunch then have a salad for dinner.
Wednesday: After all this eating out, I will have a home made rice pilaf for dinner.
Thursday: Off to a film society screening today so I will probably have dinner after the movie.
Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in sunny Chattanooga, where we had at least 2 seasons in one week last week.
Breakfast: Chocolate walnut “butter bread” (I guess that’s a form of simplified brioche) from The Breakfast Book
Saturday: Sauerkraut and fontina galette; Brussels sprouts
Sunday: Tortellini and broccoli salad from Cook’s Country; ginger-lemon meringue pie
Monday: Pork and green bean stir-fry over rice
Tuesday-Thursday: TBD
Friday: Turmeric chickpea soup with charred Brussels sprouts from Family, probably eaten alone because DH has a faculty dinner (and he dislikes both sprouts and soup, win-win!)
Have the best week possible! Happy cooking!
Life seems to get busy all of a sudden. I’m looking forward to meeting up with my book club on Monday. I met up with them for the first time last September and I’ve never been in a book club before and it’s really nice talking about books with other people. I also met up with a silent book club last September as well and that was just as fun. We met up in a park and spread our blankets out on the grass and read together and it was lovely. They are meeting indoors now but I won’t be able to join them on their first indoor meet up on Sunday since I already have a busy day so I’ll try again next time.
Still cooking for two w̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶&̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ mildly interesting middle-aged folks in the Pennsyltucky boonz. The days and nights are mostly getting colder, save for yesterday’s freaky temps (high 60s!), and we finally put up the holiday lights on our dogwood. I’ll share a pic here somewhere once it gets dark. Very very purtty
I mostly stuck to last week’s meal plan. So proud of myself
This coming week is going to be rather busy and therefore lighter on cooking, heavier on grab & go / ‘dining out.’
Theoretically it’s Ssssspicy Sssssunday, but after I pimped that lame-ass Jamie Oliver disaster of a ragù yesterday with ample amounts of melted anchovies, toasted tomato paste & RPF, turning it into something I ack-shully look forward to eating, tonight’s gonna be papppppppardelle al ragù redux. A simple green salad on the side.
We’ll make up for it by having something sssspicy mañana, which is TBD at this point.
Toosdee I might make Greek BISO chicken breast, to which my PIC will hopefully contribute his luscious pilaf, and I could thaw some of those bee-yootiful local haricots verts I froze in early September & turn them into fasoulakia.
Wenzdee I have an interesting gig with another jazz singer, who moved back to the area from NYC recently, where she’d been performing off-Broadway since the mid-80s. There’s an interview/conversation part to the show I’d been shitting bricks about ever since they booked me, but I’ve calmed down in the meantime. The guys running this monthly event are super-nice dudes, and there will be no recording. So I can swear to my heart’s content This is at the same venue my band plays regularly & where I never eat, but I might pick one of the more affordable options on the menu.
Thirsty is yet another gig with my quartet at the brewery. A later start than the Wednesday show, so I might just have a sammich at home before heading out — unless they have an appealing food truck that night.
Frydee I have an endocrinologist appointment in an even MOAR podunk town late morning, and I’ve already made plans to grab a smashburger at a place famous for them for lunch, so dinner will likely be a lighter affair. TBD.
Saturn Day is the last home day of the season (hallelujah!), and we may finally make a poker game happen. It’s been far too long. This means takeout/delivery.
Sssssundee… well, y’all know by now
Have a pleasant week, eat all the tings, and stay warm, ya HOs!
Hi, everyone. Posting last week and this week together - I had family visiting last weekend(ish) and so our routine was all off…
Fri: I decided to make chicken souvlaki but as rice bowls rather than in pita. Mom was in charge of setting up the rice in the InstantPot and accidentally poured the broth directly into the base. Some of you may remember that DS did exactly the same thing earlier this year, and I was all ready to re-buy the same IP model, but it dried out overnight and works fine (albeit with a little extra noise). So, marinated baked chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, hummus, and rice that eventually cooked on the stovetop.
Sat: lazy day with a trip to the grocery store, and turkey prep (see below). I kicked my dad out of the kitchen as he was watching in horror/judgment as I wrestled the backbone out of the turkey… there’s nothing like being an adult and waving a sharp chef’s knife at your elderly father. We went out for dinner (Italian).
Sun: Thanksgiving! (Faux-giving?) Turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, can-berries for my brother, and air fryer green beans. Pumpkin pie with a graham cracker crust, and toll house pie (DS made). We also celebrated my mom’s upcoming 80th birthday, with too many cards and some ridiculous paper crowns my brother found at Dollar Tree.
Tues: out for pizza for lunch; thanksgiving leftovers for dinner before they all left
Weds: tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
Thurs: leftover pizza, carrot sticks
Fri: pasta with meat sauce. No vegetables.
Sat: we usually go out, but there was a must-see football game at 7:30pm so I made Southwestern egg rolls (ground chicken, beans, corn, peppers, onion, cheese, taco seasoning: rolled into almond flour tortillas and air fried until crispy). The guys ate them somewhat grudgingly but I liked them.
Mon: baked fish with cherry tomatoes and shallots (NYT) - this is the one fish recipe I can consistently get right! - and twice baked potatoes and asparagus
Weds: chicken teriyaki with broccoli, rice. On a recent Costco trip, I impulse-bought a 6pack of teriyaki and coconut curry sauces from Kevin’s - I like some of the entrees so I’m hoping the sauces work as a nice shortcut.
Thurs: beef with peppers and tomatoes, though I’m just realizing that I forgot to put beef in the grocery list for this morning, so this might be a different protein depending on what I find in the freezer.
She’s baked a loaf of her faboski sourdough, and is making some type of SA chickpea, chicken & chorizo stew. I shared my disdain for those chalkballz with her 
, but it will no doubt be delish. I’ll contribute a salad, the nature of which is TBD. Our NYC friends will be there as well, so it’ll be nice to see them before they head back to the city mañana.
) cuz our own has prior engagements. Pretty stoked about it, NGL. Since it Ssssssssspicy Ssssssssssunday, I may try to use up the mung bean sprouts and yu choy we have in the fridge, but not sure yet how 
There is a Q&A with the director after then I am off to run errands. I have a scallop curry dinner penciled in for dinner but I will be coming home late so we’ll see how that works out 
