It’s one of those simplest things that brings great pleasure. Just a few ingredients and some time. I cooked it like risotto but without the constant stirring. Checked from time to time to see if the liquid had been absorbed and if the barley was done. We ate the whole thing!
When you have a chunk of aged Comté you would be as happy as the mouse.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone!
Continue my test in fish soup, style bouillabaisse. This time I tried with cuttlefish and mackerel. I sliced it thinly as inspired by Thierry Marx and poured hot soup on the raw fish. Didn’t work very nicely, first the fish were still too raw and the lack of saltiness contrast with the soup. Lesson learned: need to slice the fish extremely thin and some seasoning on the raw fish.
The next day, I briefly cooked the mackerel in the oven and added to the soup the last minute. It was much better!
For anyone who like French cooking, and understands spoken French, I recommend this program Les Carnet avec Julie avec Thierry Marx that is available on Youtube (I don’t think this will be there for free forever). Each programme focuses on 1 famous dish, the same dish will be cooked in a “normal family” style, in the classic way, in the chef way and sometimes a dish that is similar with the same spirit.
Another series is Les Carnets de Julie en region, which focuses on 1 region and shows the specialises of that region, e.g. Corisca cooking:
Tonight we had Kakiage Shojin ramen at Ippudo, cooking inspired by the 12th century Shojin style cuisine with Buddhist influences. The meal was cooked by the founder of the group with his team coming from Japan.
More here:
I don’t mind you send me some ! 
Be quick!
is that all barley, or are there pomegranate arils in there too?
Tonight seared steelhead trout with sides of roasted multicolored potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots and salad
Spent the day packing up most of the rest of the “smalls” in Mom’s apartment. She lost power very early Thursday morning, along with so many other New Englanders. My stepbrother and his wife local to her, who also lost power, took her down to another stepbrother who recently moved to the South Shore. She’ll stay there until she moves into assisted living.
I was so pleased to see much of what I had cooked for her and brought up several weeks ago (just prior to her decision to move into assisted living) were gone from her freezer, except for two small containers of this old favorite - Mom’s Lemon Pot Roast, a recipe she pulled from a 1968 Panhellenic Cookbook, compiled from recipe donations from members of all sororities in existence back then. The pot roast quickly became a family favorite, and is one of those meals that brings back good memories.
So it was fitting that my dinner tonight was a meal I had made as a Mom Meal. I boiled some potatoes and carrots, and buttered them liberally, and served them with a thick slice of the defrosted pot roast in the lemon gravy. There was wine alongside, and a toast to My Mom. The Best Mom Ever.
I 
the story of your mom’s pot roast recipe. What a perfect meal for this evening. Good to know mom is elsewhere with electricity in the meantime.
Epic day of travel after sleeping just a few hours last night- lovely seatmates made plane napping impossible. But i did appreciate the random stroopwafle snack on my first flight!
A car, flight, layover, hour on the tarmac, flight, shuttle bus and car ride later I finally made it home 
mom had picked up takeaway pho for us for dinner, dad’s oit of town til monday. Absolutely not actual pho (broccoli??) but tasty enough and generous with the tofu. Basil is hiding in the bottom of the bowl somewhere. Had to pass on the wine since i’m trying to stay awake until 9pm cali time!
Such a nice story. Your mom is lucky to have all of you as you are to have her. 
Made it up to the mountains late dogs went right to bed without dinner the drive is too much for them… stupids 
. Bolohnese and wine it is! Still getting the hang of the ad hoc kitchen, it is a luxury to have the hotplate and a real kitchen sink now that the grill is totally snowed in.
Found out my position at work has been eliminated. 
Our company was acquired last year, so it was just a matter of time but I was expecting it to happen later in the year, not now. I’m not horribly upset… I have not been enjoying my job after the acquisition due to all the changes, so I’m looking at it as a blessing in disguise.
So… dinner tonight was Fend For Yourself night. DH is out of town. I made open face Indian style toasted veggie sandwiches for myself with boiled potato, spicy mint chutney, red bell pepper, red onion, cheese, and tomato chilli sauce. Also a little chaat powder. Popped in the toaster oven until the cheese melted. 3 glasses of wine.
My daughter made scrambled eggs and toast for herself and her brother - breakfast for dinner.
Very sorry to hear that, hope you cope with that, move on and find a job you like soon, acquisition sucks. (Last 2 years, H’s company was acquired, many departures and sometimes quite violent.)
Meanwhile treat yourself with great food.
Looks good your dinner!
The Universe wants to say it’s time we moved on to the next chapter of our lives, and new experiences and lessons are waiting for us. Best wishes for you new adventures!
Just seasoned broth with beetroots.
I suppose next time I could make it Middle Eastern-esque with middle Eastern spices? 
*bolognese
At least it wasn’t a total surprise but it always sucks. Enjoy the extra time during the transition. Hope something better is just around the corner!
I wish you good luck!
Take good care of yourself. Best wishes for your next chapter!
The “I like it simple” theme continued. Got 2 bunches of chard from my regular market stall yesterday and 2 more from the Turk shop at another market today. I can’t walk away from chard, even when it’s not on sale. SV duck breast then seared. It’s big enough for 2. Boiled spelt and Malbec alongside.
Also, I made 2 jars of kumquat compote. One has Riesling and the other has scotch. I think the one with scotch is better. Ate some with the duck breast today. Chard was stir-fried in the same pan in rendered duck fat.
Oh well crap!! But gosh i thinking knowing the end was soon yet no knowing when would be somehow more difficult to tolerate.
I hope your previous employer was at least generous with the severance package. Hopefully you can take this opportunity to focus on what is important to you personally to regroup and recharge before tackling what happens next.
Dinner sandwich looks good! And the wine does help 
