Sunday, 6/28/20

I wanted to make a Spring Onion and Cheese Potato Cake from the NYT, but Carter and Jason whined that they wanted regular potato pancakes instead. I won't lie, I was resentful, but since we were on our way home from a VERY RAINY hike and I had just gotten a cherry dip (Northfield Creamee, why are you so good and so far away?) I decided to be magnanimous. It didn't start well: I cut my finger on the grater plate of the food processor, and then I accidentally over-processed quite a few of the potatoes, but in the end they were (duh) delicious. The mushy potato made them a bit more like croquettes, actually, which I liked. I also served sauteed zucchini but it was undercooked and I only ate it to be polite (to myself?).

I hope to make that potato cake someday, though.

Saturday, 6/27/20

Pulled pork sandwiches on mini brioche buns (thank you, Aldi), plus leftover mashed potatoes from KFC. I also made a salad, but the dressing was so blech that even I didn't eat it. Most of it ended back in the fridge for me to stealthily throw away later. Jason has been asking me to make "that pork you did with orange juice" and it has been frustrating. I think it was roast pork sandwiches that I made a few years ago, but he was vague. I found that recipe and discovered that it should really marinade overnight....oops. 4 hours will have to do. I also made a batch of BBQ sauce from SE. Anyway, I  like the fact that the Instant Pot can give you pulled pork in 90 minutes or so, and not heat up the house all day, but I think it is better in the oven. But with some sauteed onions and BBQ sauce, it was fine. Another strawberry cake for dessert.

Friday, 6/26/20

Sort of re-created the pork and asparagus dish from a couple of weeks ago, using crumbled tofu instead of pork. It was good for tofu, but let's face it, tofu is NOT as tasty as pork. I also didn't have have much asparagus and served it over noodles instead of rice. Anyway, still pretty good.

Thursday, 6/25/20

Jason gave away his birthday to Carter, so they celebrated by getting KFC while Corrina and I had (outdoor, socially distant) dinner at Blue Heron. We had:

TOMATO BURRATA SALAD:
Arugula, Heirloom Tomatoes, Burrata, Aged Balsamic, EVOO

TUNA PICADO:
Olive Oil Poached Ahi Tuna, Olive, Tomato, Pepper, Garlic & Caper Relish

PAN FRIED OYSTERS:
Champagne Butter Sauce, Cabbage Compote

CRISPY SKIN STRIPED BASS:
Corn, Fava Bean & Potato Hash, Local Tomato Confit, Roasted Asparagus, Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas

Plus a lemon mousse cake thing with strawberries for dessert. It was a little silly of me to pick tomato salad this early in the season, but the tuna was really amazing. We should have gotten two. Corrina's oysters were tasty, but the bass (and particularly the potato hash) was excellent. I don't always love the entrees as much as the appetizers at the Blue Heron, but this was really an exception. The cake was nice and light and lemony. A beautiful night with my best girl.

Meanwhile, at home...

Wednesday, 6/24/20

Egg noodles with cabbage and onions, plus kielbasa. Not exactly summery (and the addition of chili crisp is a little unorthodox) but not bad.

Tuesday, 6/23/20

Another round of Jason's newly famous Neapolitan style pizza. No new flavors this time. We are still liking it a lot, but my goal is to get him to try making the King Arthur Flour deep dish recipe. He is resistant. but I am wearing him down.

Monday, 6/22/20

Looking in the fridge, I realized that I still had Farm Share chard and beet greens, with no plans for their future. So I sauteed them up with spring onions and garlic scapes and made us a little frittata. That was really all we had for dinner, except for some potato chips. I was gratified that Carter really enjoyed it. What a good boy to eat his greens like that.

Sunday, 6/21/20

We had so much pita leftover that I made a big batch of hummus, and that, along with a tomato-feta salad and some pickled cauliflower, was dinner. Too hot to cook anyway.

Saturday, 6/20/20

Dinner at Jen and John's....a Blue Apron with steak tips and roasted potatoes, plus asparagus, pita and hummus. I brought a blueberrry pie, but Carter and I agreed that it wasn't great. I think maybe more sugar? Lovely summer night.

Friday, 6/19/20

Quick dinner, orchestrated by Jason, since we had to go to the RMV. What kind of time is 7:20 for an appointment? Anyway, burgers, chips, watermelon. But the good news is that Carter is one step closer to getting his learner's permit.

Thursday, 6/18/20

I knew we were going to have chicken (because I pulled it out of the freezer) but there was some contention about what to do with it. The boys ended up getting their way, and fried chicken fingers it was, with the added bonus (for Carter's sake) of me trying to follow the KFC recipe. I didn't have celery salt or mustard powder, but Carter loved it nonetheless. He proclaimed it my best batch (I think he was just hungry).  Anyway, the pasta was certainly a "Lace" mix: asparagus, lemon, cream and parm. What a nice light dinner.

Dessert was a strawberry cake from SK (I made the sheet pan variation) which is easy to put together and a great use for slightly past heir prime strawberries.

Wednesday, 6/17/20

Somehow the day ticked on with no plan for dinner. So I made biscuits, plus scrambled eggs with spring onions and cheese. A side of strawberries and there you have it. Who doesn't like biscuits?

Tuesday, 6/16/20

A kind of Salad Nicoise, with hard boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, olives, feta, and tuna, with a kind of Caesar dressing. Carter was surprised that he liked it so much (frankly, so was I) We also had some leftover bread that Jason made yesterday AND another strawberry pie. I skimped a little too much on the graham cracker crust this time around, but delicious nonetheless.

Monday, 6/15/20

Another round of Jason's pizza sliders. I out some leftover spinach on them, so we could pretend that we had a vegetable. I wasn't fooled. 

How bad can all that garlic butter be?

Sunday, 6/14/20

Tofu in a way I knew Carter would like: sliced and baked with maple, soy sauce and sambal oelek. We have been eating a lot of previously frozen tofu (we have been buying it in bulk), which has a fun chewiness; this had not been frozen and retained a softer, silkier texture. A nice change. Served with noodles with peanut sauce (my own concoction) and green beans with garlic.

Saturday, 6/13/20

I took advantage of my two bundles of Farm Share asparagus to make a dish from Bon Appetit: sauteed asparagus, ginger, garlic, scallions and ground pork, plus chili crisp. This was so, so good and I had to stop myself from eating more of it. It felt like a weird use of asparagus, but it was worth it. Thumbs up all around.

Friday, 6/13/20

Jason's parents invited us over for pizza, which was nice (sadly, Athena's is only OK). I made abatch of butter tarts (from the NYT) which turned out well, despite my using a pie crust I found in the freezer and doing an awful job rolling it out. I put pecans in some since Jason's mother loves nuts. They had also picked up a Costco chocolate cake that was surprisingly tasty.

Thursday, 6/11/20

Jason suggested popovers and a salad, so that's what we had. I felt a little bad putting lame supermarket cherry tomatoes on my otherwise fully fresh and local salad (with beets, pickled chard stems, tiny turnips and carrots). But nobody cared. Popovers were good....we tried an extra step up throwing them back in the oven on a sheet pan after prying them from their tins. It did produce the hoped for crispier texture.

Wednesday, 6/10/20

One of Carter's "top ten dinners": cheese ravioli and garlic bread (made from leftovers of last night's loaf). He particularly praised my tomato sauce; he admitted that he doesn't really care what it tastes like, as long as it is smooth (I used crushed tomatoes since they were on sale). I do remember hating chunks of tomato as a kid, so I can sympathize. Jason and I also had sauteed spinach with ours.
Dessert was a baklava babka from Smitten Kitchen. Jason and Carter liked it, but I was only meh. Maybe it will improve upon sitting. It made the house smell wonderful, though.

Tuesday, 6/9/20

Jason made us a beautiful loaf of bread, so we had that with goat cheese, a salad, marinated mushrooms and deviled eggs. Carter calls it a Hobbit Dinner.

Monday, 6/8/20

Tofu and noodles with swiss chard. I was bored of my usual soy sauce based tofu, so used miso, chili crisp, and butter instead. Carter was not amused (but he didn't hate it), but Jason liked it. I am glad he didn't see how much butter went in there. I am happy to eat anything with noodles.

Sunday, 6/7/20

We had a lovely, large lunch in Whately with my dad, Peter and Maggie, and Corrina and Zac. Maggie brought salad, I made brownies, and we picked up pizza. It was a little cool and breezy, but nice enough to sit outside. So nice to see everyone.

Anyway, Jason and I were too full for dinner, so I just snacked and gave Carter some macaroni and cheese.

Saturday, 6/6/20

Aldi was out of our regular tortillas, so I pitched the giant ones to Carter as "Bueno y Sano" style. I made a quicker version of Mexican rice, Instant pot black beans, plus hamburger (with a down and dirty packet of "taco seasoning". Naturally, it is delicious). Garnished with guacamole, cotija cheese and sour cream. Success! It was a fair amount of work for such a simple meal, but then, I certainly have the time.

Friday, 6/5/20

Another round of pizza from Jason. I don't think we tried anything new (pepperoni, spinach/feta, onion/goat cheese), but the fresh mozzarella one is getting better and better. It is Carter's favorite (and mine). Much to Jason's chagrin: he has always poo-pooed fresh mozz on pizza.I made a batch of molasses cookies that I thought were perfect (chewy crisp, with a nice little finish of cayenne), but Jason claimed they were too spicy. He is wrong. Having two oldest children in one kitchen can be trying.

Thursday, 6/4/20

Seared tuna steaks, with a little salad made from cucumbers and avocado; plus Jason made noodles that he claimed were "hibachi style". Well, they were pretty good, but didn't taste anything like Goten. I (mostly) succeeded in keeping that thought to myself. It's so hard letting someone else cook. I also sauteed a lot of zucchini and onions.  Pretty good, although I always think each of us could eat twice as much tuna as I serve.

Wednesday, 6/3/20

I saved a recipe at the NYT for a pasta with asparagus, lemon and goat cheese, and since I got local asparagus in my farm share this week (yay for the first week of the farm share!) it seemed like a good time to try it. Well, I couldn't be bothered to actually look at the recipe, so I just made it up. Sauteed onions in butter, along with a little bit of leftover prosciutto, blanched the asparagus, added the last little bit of heavy cream I had in the fridge, and threw in a small log of goat cheese (and 12 ounces of penne) at the end. Carter was suspicious, but ended up liking it. I also pan-fried a couple of kielbasa to go with it, and it ended up being a nice little early summer dinner.

Tuesday, 6/2/20

Butter chicken (from Ministry of Curry) in the Instant Pot. I added lot of spinach at the end, and some fresh jalapenos, but otherwise kept to the recipe. Served with some sauteed cabbage, basmati rice and fresh pita. Wait, I also added a little butter and cream, since the recipe just uses coconut milk.

Monday, 6/1/20

More sandwiches, ho-hum. I don't understand why Jason likes English muffin egg sandwiches so much, but... Anyway, they are fine. I was really only on board with the cauliflower soup i made frome a Smitten Kitchen recipe that I have had my eye on for years. Couldn't be easier: onion, cauliflower, stock, puree. Stir in a little parmesan. As delicious as promised (even Carter said so). Weird combination, but not bad.

Sunday, 5/31/20

Repeat of the Italian grinders. The only differences were that Carter and Jason got romaine this time, and I added pepperoncinis. Plus I made a small batch of onion dip.

Saturday, 5/30/20

Dinner with Jen and John: bread, burgers, asparagus, feta-watermelon salad. Perfect summer meal. I made a triple chocolate mousse cake from a Cook's Illustrated recipe that I am only so-so about (which is a shame considering how much fancy chocolate went into it). The problem was the flourless cake layer. Too dense. Jason and I agreed that it would be better as just mousse.

Friday, 5/29/20

Italian grinders, with salami, provolone, sauteed broccoli rabe, peppers and onions, cherry tomatoes and who knows what else. Plus chips, so extra healthy. At least there were vegetables? I like the customizable nature of sandwiches for dinner.