I love those Kuner seasoned black beans!!
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Honestly, not really - in fact, i wish I had MORE days to cook. but my situation is different. at the beginning of the shut-down, i was doing about 6-8/mo. mini reviews of local places that were doing take-out/delivery, so those were nights neither of us cooked. And I go to my sister’s Wed. nights and Saturdays all day, and while we may make something once in a while, usually we do local take-out too, so that’s two more nights I don’t cook. (I’ve scaled back on the reviews, will only do 4 a month going forward. ) AND, the BF has been wanting to cook, because he’s bored. So I only get 2-3 days a week to cook. My bfasts are maybe an egg on toast, or avocado toast, etc., and I rarely cook for lunch - usually popcorn or fruit. (BF eats neither bfast or lunch.) Leftovers are left for the BF to eat as late night snacks or the nights I’m gone. So I’m really only cooking one meal a day the days that I do cook.
I have so many things I want to make, things I haven’t made before. I’m grateful I’m in lockdown with a job, but even that hampers my cooking forays a bit as I have to be at my computer all day (though of course I can break away to do prep.)
anyway, hope your mojo comes back! maybe an entirely new dish/cuisine may take you out of the doldroms? although i know it’s difficult to source ingredients…
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That’s probably going to have to be the case. There is one the BF wanted to order but I can’t remember. Other than that, we’ve been watching a ton of YouTube recipes.
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I haven’t been out of our house for about 5 weeks. My husband has been buying groceries. We both cook, but he’s not experienced at it and comes home with things I would never buy. So it’s been a challenge. I’m more tired of keeping our kitchen clean than with the cooking itself…
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that looks delish. i have cheeseburger cheesesteaks in my menu plan for Monday. i can’t get shaved steak right now, but ground beef is available. it’ll do and i look forward to it.
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God yes. That said, we’re having pan-roasted salmon with ramp pesto and green beans sauteed in browned butter with lemon and almonds for dinner tonight. ETA photo (and the fact that I decided last minute to add a side of duck fat potatoes, which were BY FAR the best part of the meal):
The handful of restaurants around us that have stayed open for takeout and delivery are just so mediocre, I know anything we ordered would just be disappointing. I did see that an Asian bistro we like recently reopened, so we might do that tomorrow night.
It’s funny, because like you, I cooked most nights pre-pandemic. However, my office orders lunch every day, so I was getting five restaurant meals a week (on the company dime, no less!), many of which stretched to leftovers for dinner. Now lunch is my problem too, which means that by the time dinner rolls around I am not only cooked out, but suffering from decision fatigue!
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It’s On like Donkey Kong!
I made myself lasagna - in a loaf pan, since “others” want to “keep it simple” and have pasta bolognese (well, then add some meat to tomato sauce for yourself 'cause Ms. Hazan’s bolognese ain’t simple).
Sorry. Bit crabby from a few days of annoyances building up.
But. The Lasagne.
My first lasagne actually following a recipe. Made the ragu bolognese. Made the bechamel. Got very excited that WF had fresh lasagna sheets available and so skipped making the pasta… well, they didn’t deliver them. So I dug around and found some dried ones in a cupboard. They were the no-book kind, but this ain’t no tomato sauce lasagne so I cooked them a bit. Layers. Careful portioning of sauces which I didn’t think would suffice even though I used twice the bolognese because dried pasta sheets are twice as thick as homemade. But… it sufficed!
Swipe for the saga in stages 
Roasted cauliflower on the side, with a sprinkle of parmigiano reggiano that just arrived along with a pile of other fancy goodies.
So happy Friday to you all, from me and my lasagne!
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Mrs. P made her famous deconstructed duck leg confit taco and guacamole. It went great with a nice Malbec. It’s beginning to look a lot like Spring on the deck.
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Yum. I have no cook lasagna in the pantry so I think this will happen tomorrow or Sunday.
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Lovely 
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I made crispy Parmesan chicken cutlets (brined first) with pasta with marinara and green salad with Good Seasons dressing. Delicious - quite crispy!
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Yum! How did you do the cutlets - pan or oven?
that pork chop looks fabulous! i should break my sous vide thingy out…
Plan A-- Pacific Cod baked in an Old Bay Butter Wash, didn’t happen. So we went with Plan B: Stuffed Russet Potatoes. Fun food.
I chose an ample share of the Chocolate Fudge Dump Cake I made earlier today as dessert…
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New loaf of sourdough, with labneh, d’affinois, and chevre w/thyme & rosemary, assorted and anchovy stuffed olives, pan con tomate, and salami finocchiona.
Also, a small whole head of cauli slathered with aioli, olive oil, parm regg, smoked paprika, turmeric, dried parsley/basil, minced garlic, s&p, and granulated garlic & onion, then roasted. I thought the muck would be too overpowering, but since it was just on the surface, it was really nice and light tasting, creamy inside. more parm regg before broiling too.
But honestly, the best thing was lunch: slice of that warm bread with Kerrygold.
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Gorgeous bread!
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I did them in a non-stick skillet with plenty of oil. Did a brine, flour dredge, egg white dip, and breading in panko and Parmesan.
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thank you!
omg Good Seasons! I haven’t had that in like 30 years, at least! with the cruet and all?
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Chinese takeout tonight. Chicken and broccoli in garlic sauce for me. BF had the mouth-numbing Sichuan three pepper chicken. We also shared wontons in hot oil.
We also snacked on some mozzarepas that a coworker brought me from a shop in Roselle NJ. Corn meal patty stuffed with mozzarella. Can’t go wrong. What a multicultural evening.
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