Ha ha - yes! That was me. Last year my husband built himself a new shed, and moved his tools from the garage. I inherited his old space, and have since moved my oversized cooking gear out to nicely arranged shelves in the garage (in closed totes). I could probably squeeze in the pizza pans if I decide I must have them. If all else fails, there is a free spot under the bed!
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Actuals for Sep 5 week, cooking for 2 in MN. Where the early Fall menu is highly dependent on the weather forecasts. On some days cold nights/ mornings have us turning on the furnace for a couple of hours (and baking/roasting before lunchtime), and on others hot afternoons require AC (skillet meals, salads). The 7 AM- 7 PM noise & dust from construction on the corner still have us keeping windows closed during the daylight hours.
“My” apple orchard announced they had our family-favorite Ginger Golds harvested, so we took a drive there Saturday to stock up. A stroll through the trees, then relaxed “just be” time in their Adirondack chairs, snacking on an apple turnover while watching the free-range chickens.
Mon: (made Sunday) Pork loin roast w/ Greek seasoning, lemon olive oil & red wine vinegar. “Greek” potatoes – cubed baked in chicken broth/lemon juice/garlic/oregano.
BAKED – Jam Swirl cake from Snacking cakes – Plum jam, cardamom, lemon zest
Tues: Reheat - Pork loin roast “Greek” potatoes, coleslaw, garden cherry tomatoes, fresh peach
Wed: noon - Shrimp & lemon noodles w bacon & pine nuts, peas.
Wed: dinner (Schwans) breaded cod fish strips, deli potato salad, cherry tomatoes. Fresh orange slices, red grapes
Thurs: Pizza (new-to-us and great Drafthaus “9-Ball Special”) and fancy bag salad
Fri: Reheat pizza, salad
Sat: 4 Bean & hamburger hotdish (from freezer - a July gift to future me), whole wheat bread (from orchard), fresh orange slices, bakery marble cake
Sun: Shredded rotisserie chicken (from freezer) over leftover lemony noodles. Salad. Coleslaw. Tomatoes.
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I actually just use a sheet pan - 10x17, I think? - with an edge.
Hi everyone!
Hope there was some rest and some pleasure over the weekend. We have transitioned to cool evenings, which has changed up the food choices in addition to wardrobe!
I’m in a weird mood at the moment where I don’t have much cooking mojo when it comes time to cook, but I’m still shopping for ingredients with excitement.
Had a HO group dinner in Chinatown last week, so I took advantage of the location and bought a few things I can’t get closer to home. Also picked up some bbq meats and prepared foods that I ate my way through, and so now I’m off Chinese food with ingredients left to cook, lol.
Anyway, will try and mix it up a bit and see if I can get my mojo back.
Sat - Too much Chinese food since Thursday, so I went to the store to pick up artichoke hearts and cheese to pivot to italian for dinner — COTM Crisp and Creamy Artichokes + COTM Capellini with Anchovies and Chard (except Gai Lan for the Chard) + Snow pea leaf salad with lemon and parmesan.
Sun - What was intended to be a big warm salad of roasted butternut squash, onions, arugula, and more that I decided to turn into pasta – made a riff of the COTM anchovy pasta and tossed with all the roasted vegetables and arugula, topped with lots of grated pecorino and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds for crunch.
Mon - Out with a friend I had not seen in way too long for Basque food. I was very excited about the restaurant, but the meal was disappointing. And I had a slight allergic reaction, so boo.
Tues - Plan was for COTM Fish Stick [Breaded Fillet] Bhorta but I’m going to skip seafood given the the allergic reaction. Maybe a grilled cheese, since I bought a loaf of bread after what seems like a few years.
Wed - Last minute trip to Boston for an event. Dinner will be whatever nondescript food is served there.
Thurs - Will get back late, so probably something dialed in again, like a sandwich.
Fri - Conference all day, doubt I’ll be in the mood to cook after. Maybe out with friends who are just back from their long summer trip.
Sat - I’m sure I’ll be ready for Chinese or similar again, lol. Chow fun (or maybe Pad See Eew) with some of the vegetables I bought in Chinatown. I found fresh rice noodles and I’m curious to see how they do (because these are packaged - the ones I wanted are sold fresh by the lb, but the store had closed).
Sun - Running out of ideas… Maybe Hoppin John – I have cooked black-eyed peas in the freezer. Or something else — roast chicken has been on mind, and I have a stockpile of pieces in the freezer. Side of arugula salad, if the arugula lasts until then, otherwise I’ll pick up some vegetables.
Have a great week!
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Your Sunday plan for the salad with roasted butternut squash and arugula sounds like my tweak to SK’s squash and farro salad, https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/10/butternut-squash-salad-with-farro-and-pepitas/ - I add arugula (and some extra sherry vinegar) to each serving. This is an easy weekday lunch.
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The last time I made a similar combination I apparently didn’t have greens, so I sautéed shredded Brussels sprouts and used those as the base — I liked the mustardy bite and flavor contrast with the sweetness of the squash a lot. I think I used some pom molasses to pull everything together. Will have to redo soon.
ETA: Found it!
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That makes me think of this salad, which combines roasted winter squash and Brussels sprouts with a sumac-and-lemon-heavy dressing and fresh herbs. I upped the ratio of sprouts and added roasted chickpeas. The flavors really work well, and the dressing and herbs really make it.
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Greetings, People.
Another dishwasher bites the dust. We have the worst luck with them. Unsure if that’s a because it’s the hardest working appliance in our house, or just luck of the draw, but we’re on our fourth or fifth version in three decades. In any case, the Dishwasher In Chief (DH) is hand-washing until the 27th, and I’m trying to do my bit, minimizing the quantity of measuring cups, teaspoons and whisks utilized (exceptions made for gazpacho). It doesn’t help that we’ve had a burn-ban put into effect which also applies to barbeques (i.e. our kamado), and outdoor grilling is not an option.
On another note, still trying to work down freezer inventory, and this week’s menu is meat-centric.
Cooking for two in the PNW:
FRI: Grace Young’s stir-fried eggs with shrimp and peas. Steamed rice.
SAT: Tsukune chicken and pork meatballs (rolled from last week). Marinated cucumbers. Steamed rice.
SUN: Hamburger soup with garden veg.
MON: Pan-roasted pork chops. Potatoes, homemade applesauce and fresh peas.
TUE: Scallion roast chicken, cooked on top of potato wedges. Chopped veggie salad.
WED: Lamb-zucchini meatballs. Greek salad. Last of the pita from the freezer. Tzatziki.
THUR: Leftover chicken (details TBD).
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Was this good? The recipe sounds delicious.
Silver lining! Also - ours is still going strong after an infection in early May (only know this because of multiple accidental, prolonged exposures with family member suffering “allergies” 
). We are all vaxxed and two of us are boosted.
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Oh, yes - very tasty. I’ve made it several times before. I got the recipe from a fellow poster in the WMP group on CH/HO, just not quite sure from whom.
I love the cinnamon-orange quality to it. Leftovers (if any!) make great tacos.
Serious Eats also did a take on it.
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It’s good. It’s very, very good.
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Our dishwasher died at the beginning of this year, we’re on our 3rd since 1991 and the first one was a cheapo. The first one was replaced in 2008. We had to wait about 5 months for a new one. We really like it - a Kitchen Aid. If you haven’t thought about this, we used our dead dishwasher as a dish rack for our washed dishes/utensils and pans so we kept our counter free of clutter from hand washing them. We have a very tight but efficient galley kitchen.
In the same time frame, our washing machine in a Maytag stacked unit started showing signs of disability. It was several months to get a new stacked replacement. I had nightmares of having to go to a laundromat. I can live without a dishwasher, but not a washing machine. The LP appliance we got is a dream. We didn’t shop around, it’s what our local appliance store could provide - we live so remotely we value service over price and they have a great reputation. Hope you get another dishwasher soon!
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I so feel you on the loss of your dishwasher! In our 17+ years of marriage we are on dishwasher #5 with #6 on order while we are in a temporary apartment during our reno. #5 is hanging out in the garage in case it’s replacement/ upgrade isn’t available on time. And I grew up without a dishwasher so I know the pain but I get very efficient about cooking when my clean up help is broken
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We also have a kitchen aid d/w and really like it. We’ve had it for over 18 years. We’ve had to have the guy come out and replace parts twice (and LLD did so once himself during the pandemic) but it’s still going strong.
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It’s hard to believe it’s the middle of September already. The leaves are just starting to change where I live and the temperature dipped a bit earlier this week so I now have to wear a jacket when I go out. It’s now in the mid to high teens celsius (low to mid 60s farenheit). I went to my first film society screening last night which was very exciting! Both the pre-movie dinner (Reuben sandwich) and movie (Lost Illusions) were very good.
This weekend is shaping up to be a quiet one since I will be doing a fridge and freezer cleanout tomorrow and I plan on spending some quality time with a book on Sunday afternoon. I’ve got a dinner out with a friend pencilled in for tomorrow night and I’m hoping she can make it since we haven’t seen each other in a couple of months. Onto my menu plan for the upcoming week for a solo diner in Ottawa, Canada:
Tonight: take out lunch today is Korean fried chicken so I will have a Greek salad for dinner.
Saturday: potential dinner out with a friend, otherwise a stir fry.
Sunday: Thai green curry with a bassa fillet as the fish component. https://kaynutrition.com/thai-cod-green-curry/
Monday: Peanut butter noodles with cucumbers. https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/peanut-butter-noodles-with-cucumbers
Tuesday: chicken gyro salad. https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/05/chicken-gyro-salad/
Wednesday: Hot sesame noodles with scallions and pork. https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/hot-sesame-noodles-with-scallions-and-pork
Thursday: the second of two screenings with the film society this month so I will have dinner out before.
Have a nice week everyone!
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Hi, all! Cooking for 2-3 in Chattanooga, where we just got back from a fun afternoon food tour: tacos and fried food and charcuterie and cocktails at 3 pm (alcohol free for me, the driver). Getting the silver lining from catching Covid for sure! Plans for the rest of the week, which involve lots of grilling because the weather is gorgeous:
Breakfast: Dark chocolate chunk muffins (using dried cherries because no sour cherries available)
Saturday, September 17: Green chili chorizo burgers from Cook’s Country; salad
Sunday: Chicken tikka masala; rice; green bean salad; brownies/brownie sundaes
Monday: Lamb burgers in pita from a very old issue of Bon Appétit. Maybe make pita from scratch on Sunday?
Tuesday: Scrounge
Wednesday: Sister arrives to do an IronMan relay with two old family friends. I’m thinking sweet potato and chickpea falafel with more of the pita I might make on Sunday. I’m going to have to think of a veggie, too, I guess…
Thursday: Zucchini pizza; maybe a salad. I’ll have to consult with my sister about what these triathletes want to eat.
Friday: Another food tour with the whole gang; three athletes and three supporters 
Hope you’re all enjoying these first traces of fall! Have a great week, and happy cooking!
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The sweet potato and chickpea falafel sounds brilliant! Please do report back if you make them, as to how they turned out. Did they firm up and cook properly or did they tend to fall apart?
All the best to your sister for her triathlon! As a very nonathletic person, I admire people who can.
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I use Kenji’s recipe on Serious Eats. I find that I have to finish it on the stove to get the bottom of the crust brown enough for my liking but that is probably because this apartment has builder’s grade appliances.
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Hi Everyone,
I ended up getting LLD’s covid. Basically a cold with heavy fatigue. Lulu managed to stay healthy. We’re all well now. We did 2 weeks of carryout, and boy, was I happy to eat my own cooking again at the end of it! Here’s what I’ve made since recovering:
9/9: my take on tiktok pasta, i use boursin, add a little cream. Delicious.
9/10: Lulu had debate, I made a big salad for myself, LLD made himself a steak
9/11: Nigella’s chicken in a pot with lemon and orzo. So homey and perfect for us after all that carryout.
9/12: Nigella’s fish finger bhorta, pickled onions, naan, yogurt. Weird sounding recipe but absolutely fantastic. Going into rotation.
9/13: caprese sandwiches, corn on the cob
9/14: another Nigella, smoky shrimp (recipe calls for squid) and beans over toast, salad
9:15: Lulu forgot to tell me about back to school night for parents. I declared it forage night and everyone survived.
9/16: SK wonton soup with bok choy. I bought locally made dumplings. Dessert was apple crumble bars.
9/17: carryout
Tonight LLD and I are continuing our Old School concert series, going to see Elton John and spending the night in Charlotte. I leave on Tuesday for the west coast where I will see family and friends. Really happy and excited about it. Hope everyone is enjoying this fall weekend!
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