Wednesday, 12/30/20

 I was casting about for something new to do with tofu, and I came upon a recipe for "Pan-Fried Sesame Garlic Tofu" from some random blog, and since the picture was so pretty and I had all the ingredients, I gave it a try. Nothing really new: dust tofu with cornstarch, pan fry, make a sauce with soy sauce, ginger-garlic sauce, honey,  sesame oil, and little more cornstarch. I doubled the sauce, added Chinese broccoli, and served all over rice. I added the tofu to the sauce and let it simmer. to get that crispy-chewy texture I am always hoping for. It turned out really well! Even though upon reading through the recipe after dinner, I realized that when she called for ginger-garlic sauce, she meant sambal oelek (not really the same thing, lady!). I had used some Chinese sauce I had, confusingly also called ginger-garlic sauce. Oh well, still delicious. Even Carter, who has been quite the fussy young man lately, liked it.

Tuesday, 12/29/20

 Grilled cheese, plus a little beet salad for Jason and me and a tangerine for Carter (you would think we asked him to eat poison. So fussy sometimes). Anyway, Jason is still working on a new technique for a crustier loaf (I can't actually tell a difference, sadly. But he is enjoying himself, I think). He added rosemary this time, but it was a bit too subtle. The sandwiches had swiss and provolone; it was a good mix of sharp and melty.... Carter said it was smelly, but he admitted they tasted just fine (maybe it was the bacon on his?).  Finally, out of laziness, I let Jason talk me into making them on a sheet pan in the oven. I was very dubious, but it worked! They needed a little time under the broiler at the end, but the end results were good. I hate to say he was right, dammit.

Monday, 12/28/20

 just leftover macaroni and cheese, with leftover cabbage for the adults. I let Carter slide with just the peas that I threw in the mac. I could honestly eat homemade macaroni and cheese several times a week. Only Jason is holding us back.

Sunday, 12/27/20

 Baked fish sticks (from the NYT; no changes. I used cod), rice pilaf, and sautéed cabbage, Nepali-style (garlic, ginger and lots of spices). My pilaf was only meh, but otherwise a pretty good meal.

Saturday, 12/26/20

 Cheese stocks properly restored, I made a big batch of macaroni and cheese (Martha Stewart via Smitten Kitchen. No changes except I use whatever cheese I have around, and skip the nutmeg) and a Caesar salad. Overall success, although even the small amount of smoked cheddar I used really came through. Carter was too psyched to notice, luckily. Jason groused a little because I threw some peas in there. I don't know why; you barely notice them.

Friday, 12/25/20

 Well, I don't know why I had planned tofu for dinner on Christmas. I mean, it didn't feel like Christmas at all, but that is a bridge too far. So I thought maybe macaroni and cheese would be more festive, but I didn't have enough cheese (!). After a little more brainstorming, Jason made popovers and I made chicken in a Marsala cream sauce with broccoli. So I would still not call it festive, but at least it was delicious and a little luxurious.  Looking forward to next year!

Thursday, 12/24/20

 We decided to try at least a mini Christmas eve dinner, so everyone got to pick one thing: Carter went with shrimp cocktail, I picked cheese and crackers, and Jason made little pizza/taco cup things? It was pizza dough fitted into muffin tins, than filled (in this case) with beef, beans and cheese. Surprisingly tasty. For dessert Carter and I made white chocolate/pretzel haystacks. This was semi-disastrous, as I inadvertently heated up the white chocolate too fast, causing it too seize. I was able to fix it, but in doing so (shouldn't have added that heavy cream. It's counterintuitive that water is the answer, but there you have it) I changed the texture a bit, so they didn't firm up as much as they should have. Tasted fine, though! Maybe I'll try again on New Year's Eve.

Wednesday, 12/23/20

 Another Smitten Kitchen dinner: bacon and brussels sprouts frittata, plus Jason made some pita to go with it. It is hard to imagine that bacon, eggs, onions and cheese wouldn't be a good combo, of course. Carter thinks I am torturing him with the menus this week, but he conceded that this was the best of the lot. I'll make some macaroni and cheese to make it up to him.

Tuesday, 12/22/20

 We had a lot of leftover matzoh, so that was dinner. Served with cottage cheese, tuna salad, some guacamole, peanut butter, a little weird salad I made....Anyway, it was kind of random and the matzoh was a little stale, but basically fine.

Monday, 12/21/20

 I made split pea soup, using the hambone from a couple of weeks ago. I more or less just followed the recipe from the bag of split peas, and it it pretty tasty. Jason made us a loaf of bread to go with it.

Sunday, 12/20/20

 A cauliflower and caramelized onion tart (more like  a quiche), from Smitten Kitchen. The flavors are great, (even though I undercooked it and had to put it back in the oven) but I would make a couple of minor changes: cut the onions and cauliflower smaller, and mix them into the cheese/custard mix. The recipe had you layer onions, cauliflower and shredded cheese in the pan, then pour the egg and milk mixture over, and I felt everything didn't meld together enough. I also skipped the layer of dijon mustard, even though I'm sure it would be fine. It didn't need it.

 Luckily it was pretty rich, because that's all I served.

Saturday, 12/19/20

 Got home late from delivering cookies and grocery shopping, so I threw together a pasta with a leftover zucchini, tomato sauce, spinach, peppers, onions, ricotta, and tomato sauce. I had some cute little rotini; I tossed it all together and baked with some mozzarella. While this seems to me like a fairly uncontroversial dinner, my darling son hated it. Too close to lasagna, I guess. I don't understand his aversion; he loves macaroni and cheese? And pizza? So there is no rhyme or reason to it. Anyway, Jason and I liked it.

Friday, 12/18/20

 I made carnitas (from SK; I did them old-school, on the stovetop), plus corn tortillas, various condiments, and some roasted delicata squash. On a whim, Jason and I bought a tortilla press and some masa and made our own tortillas. The project got off to a rocky start (we don't always cooperate well in the kitchen), but the results were good, and certainly very easy. The carnitas were great, though.

Thursday, 12/17/20

 A ramen taste-off. We tried four varieties. They were all pretty tasty, but some are definitely better than others. Doctored up with mushrooms and broccoli, it was a tasty albeit very salty dinner.

Carter liked the green,I liked the upper left, and Jason finished all the rest

Wednesday, 12/16/20

 Pizza night...two taco pizzas, one with fresh mozzarella, and one with pepperoni, mushrooms, and provolone  🍕. Delicious.

Tuesday, 12/15/20

 Tofu, with Chinese broccoli, garlic sauce and rice (from a cookbook called "Chinese Take-Out Cookbook"). Tasty enough, especially with a little chili crisp on top. Finally busted out my bottle of oyster sauce, which, not surprisingly, smells very fishy.

Monday, 12/14/20

 Potato pancakes, salad and a GIANT ham. Why on earth did I buy a 9 pound ham, even on sale?? We ate only the tiniest fraction. The potato pancakes were (predictably) good, and the salad was a slight improvement over the previous night's. This time I tossed romaine with parmesan, lemon juice, olive oil and some sun-dried tomatoes. Carter wasn't a fan but he isn't really a salad guy.

Gonna be freezing a lot of ham.

Sunday, 12/13/20

 Popcorn chicken, for the benefit of the boys who always request it. Clearly they aren't the ones making a giant mess breading little bits of chicken. Anyway, I double-dredged it in flour mixed with a little cornstarch, paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne and some crushed up dried onion. I will confess that it's tasty, but still...

Also had a loaf of bread that Jason was experimenting with. He is trying to get that ultra-crusty Hungry Ghost texture (spoiler: he didn't but warm bread is always nice). Plus a salad that was pretty blah despite my homemade Goten-style dressing.

Saturday, 12/12/20

 Went to Jen and John's for a cocktail and an early dinner. It was a little drizzly, but nice and toasty next to the fire pit. They had (funnily enough) chicken rice soup and bread. But their bread was an addictively crusty and delicious rosemary loaf from Hungry ghost Bakery. Even Jason was envious. 

It was so nice to see friends again!

Friday, 12/11/20

 Used the rotisserie chicken to make a stock, and then used the chicken for chicken rice soup (no recipe). Really good, even if I do say so myself. Carter noticed that I stuck some zucchini in there, but he liked it anyway. Jason made an experimental loaf of bread with pickled jalapenos and queso fresco. I really liked it! I thought it could have used even more jalapenos, but I can see why he would want to err on the side of caution. Nice easy dinner after a long work week.

Thursday, 12/10/20

 we had picked up some hummus from the store, so Jason made a batch of pita and I made a tomato/cucumber avocado salad. I also had some oven roasted tomatoes to go with it.  Quick and one could almost deem it healthy. Compared to tater tots, at least.

Wednesday, 12//9/20

 OK, so this was not healthy. Quite the reverse. We cooked up some tater tots, and topped them with cheese and leftover gravy. We also had broccoli, so at least there was a vegetable? Jason dubbed it American Poutine and I don't know about that, but I am always here for french fries with gravy.

Tuesday, 12/8/20

 Made a last minute decision to have nachos for dinner (no regrets). I used up some refried beans, and used a little of the leftover rotisserie chicken. Someday I will make something healthy again.

Monday, 12/7/20

 Leftover tots. Mondays are long days.

Sunday, 12/6/20

 Easy dinner of pork with scallions, ginger, garlic, zucchini and good old Cravings sauce. Tossed with spaghetti. Carter didn't even notice the zucchini!

Saturday, 12/5/20

 It was a terrible weather day (rain that turned into beautiful giant fluffy snow that turned back into freezy cold rain), so baking was the answer. I made a batch of challah from SK, that Jason kindly braids for me. He had a go at a circular braid this time, and it turned out very pretty. I also made a batch of cinnamon rolls (from the Times). I have made them before and they are always great. Dinner was the challah, some sweet potatoes (some people may have had marshmallow on theirs) and a rotisserie chicken from the store, plus a quick gravy. Very cozy.

Friday, 12/4/20

 A reprisal of Tater Tot casserole. Added more vegetables (corn, carrots, celery, peas and some leftover broccoli) and pre-cooked the tots for extra crunchiness.  Tater tot casserole, why are you so low-brow and yet delicious?

Thursday, 12/3/20

 Leftover calzone from the freezer, plus the leftover riced cauliflower. The calzones reheated beautifully; the cauliflower not so much. Carter didn't love either, fussy little man. I thought the calzones were great.

Wednesday, 12/2/20

 Baked fish sticks (actually filets as it was easier) from the Times. I am out of horseradish for cocktail sauce, so I made a quick chipotle sour cream instead. Jason fried some fries, and we have plain old broccoli with it. So it looked like a school lunch, albeit a tasty one. Sautéing the panko with garlic before breading really gives the fish a nice crunch.

Tuesday, 12/1/20

 Jason and I picked up some boneless wings from Big Y, and I supplemented with cauliflower (riced, then sauteed with garlic,  crushed red pepper, capers, feta and raisins). So yeah, Carter just had wings for dinner.

Monday, 11/30/20

 I knew I would be tired from work today (after a four day weekend), so I had Jason make a loaf of bread and boil some eggs. Bread and cheese, roasted tomatoes, deviled eggs. Sadly, Carter says he does not like caraway seeds in his bread (he made a lot of ridiculous faces, but I think he was being melodramatic), so there was bitching. But he cheered up once he wasn't so hungry.

Sunday, 11/29/20

 I marinated some tofu in the morning, with no clear plan of what to do with it (kind of my cooking theme this week). Decided to make fried rice, since it had been awhile. Since it had peas, carrots, peppers and zucchini, no other dishes necessary, so that was nice.

Saturday, 11/28/20

 Jason and I had a busy day with home projects (why did I wait 15 years to install a towel rack and toilet paper holder in my bathroom? Who knows), so dinner was on the late side. I just made macaroni and cheese (from Smitten Kitchen who channeled Martha Stewart). This is a pretty reliable version of the classic baked style, which is Carter's favorite. Broccoli alongside to cut the richness. My only sorrow was that the only pasta in the house was penne whereas I prefer shells.

Friday, 11/27/20

 I had planned to make samosas, but never got around to it. Instead we had Mozzarella in Carrozza; aka grilled cheese. Made with mozzarella and cheap white bread, dipped in egg and bread crumbs and grilled. A little bland on their own, but I served them with some slow roasted tomatoes and that added a lot. I was surprised that Carter really liked them, but then again it was a lot like a mozzarella stick. Served with some leftover green bean casserole (I love it the first time, but it just doesn't reheat that well).

Thursday, 11/26/20

 Happy Thanksgiving! We delivered bread to Jason's parents and sister, and then pies (pumpkin and pecan) to Corrina, Zac and my dad. We ended up not eating until about 6 or so, then we had so. much. food. Enough for twice as many people: meatballs (from the freezer), IKEA gravy, mashed potatoes, roasted honeynut squash (with butter and brown sugar), green bean casserole (I eschewed the canned soup this time and made the version from SK instead, except I used the canned fried onions. It was good! And not really much harder to make), a corn pudding (also from SK; I think I was the only real fan), stuffing (made by Jodi's family), cranberry sauce from Beverly, Jason's Should-be-Famous dinner rolls, and the two aforementioned pies. I didn't do a great job with my crusts, but the pies themselves were nice. Pumpkin from David Lebovitz, pecan from SK (subbed in maple syrup for the Golden Syrup). I admit that I kind of missed the turkey, but it was still a great meal and a fun evening. Carter trounced us at Monopoly, so he was happy.

He even let us take his picture!

                                     

Wednesday, 11/25/20

 Once while at Aldi, Jason and I were really hungry and bought too much frozen pizza. So tonight we had the three meat rising crust (not bad; the sauce was a little sweet) and a white pizza with a cheddar-broccoli crust (?). That one was definitely only meh. Note to self: be careful when shopping hungry. I don't even really like frozen pizza.

Tuesday, 11/24/20

 Taco Tuesday...well, actually burrito, although I did find one lonesome taco shell up in the cupboard and ate it.  Nothing too radical, but we all liked it (even though I slightly scorched the bottom of my Mexican rice since I was in a hurry).

Monday, 11/23/20

 Jason wanted pancakes for dinner. My thoughts on breakfast for dinner are well known. I don't even want breakfast for breakfast. Anyway, they were fine. I had banana in mine for a little excitement. The boys had bacon.

Sunday, 11/22/20

 Big batch of chicken and sausage gumbo. I mostly followed a recipe from Serious Eats, but then cooked it in the Instant Pot. Lots and lots of chopping. It turned out really well, although since I had neither okra nor sassafras it didn't get as thick as I would have liked. Also a little greasy, but I was able to skim most of that off. Anyhow, I was gratified that Carter really loved it. Served with rice and some of the leftover focaccia.

Saturday, 11/21/20

 Chopped salad, more or less from Smitten. With the provolone and the salami, I wouldn't exactly call it a nice light salad (more of a bowl of cold cut grinder), but it is delicious. I also made a focaccia to go with it. I used the recipe from a book I own called "Hot Bread Kitchen". I have apparently made that recipe before because there was a bookmark at the spot? Worked perfectly, in any event, and was a good accompaniment.I was just feeling giddy that I got away with making bread, right under Jason's nose.

Friday, 11/20/20

 Jason and I just ate leftover pizza, since there was so much.

Thursday, 11/19/20

 Jason made pizzas; we had two regulars (one cheese, one pepperoni + some leftover caramelized onions) and two debuts. One was ham & pineapple, which Jason was very excited for (I was surprised that I liked it more than I thought I would. The Aldi ham is really quite good). The other was a taco pizza, with ground beef (that I cooked up with onions, garlic and taco seasoning, which is trashy and delicious), cheddar, olives, jalapenos, and chopped tomatoes with green chilis. I don't know why we never made that one before; it was obvious going to be good, especially with a tiny bit of sour cream.

Wednesday, 11/18/20

 A big pot of lentils and rice. Made the lentils in the IP, with garlic, onions, ginger, coriander, cumin and turmeric. Also roasted cauliflower with pakora seasoning. Carter was underwhelmed, but I thought they were good. Certainly smelled up the house.

Tuesday, 11/17/20

 Grilled chicken sandwiches, with caramelized onions,  mayo (Jason and Carter), pepperoncinis  (Jason and me), and provolone. Jason insisted that he wanted to make the rolls, and he finally wore me down. They weren't quite what I wanted (a little chewy and too narrow), but they weren't bad. Especially since he refused to look at any recipes (stubborn brat). Leftover squash and some Fritos.

Monday, 11/16/20

 Sushi bowl, with all the fun stuff: tuna, avocados, surimi, some fried shallots, mango, various condiments.  The whole island was filled with bowls, but somehow managed to eat it all. I even got Carter to handle making his own. So brave.

Sunday, 11/15/20

 I wanted to use up the ham from last week, so I made biscuits for dinner. Ironically, I didn't use the ham (saving it for a future pizza) and used some cute little ham slices we picked up instead. I discovered half of a cooked butternut squash in the fridge (oops), and cubed that up, sauteed it in butter and glazed it with a little brown sugar and maple syrup. That, plus some cheese and jam, was dinner. I do make a fine biscuit, even without real buttermilk.

Saturday, 11/14/20

 I was casting about for a way to use up some ricotta, so I had Jason make a loaf of bread, and we had ricotta with honey and crushed red peppers. Plus some manchego and the last of the caponata. Dessert was leftover Snickerdoodle cake from my dad's birthday. Second time making this and I think it was even tastier than the first. I cut back the white sugar in the batter by a quarter cup (a shocking move from me!) and it wasn't missed. I was thrilled that my dad really liked it. Happy 74th!

Friday, 11/13/20

 Nothing too interesting....tofu, rice, cabbage. The sauce for the tofu varies a little each time, but this time primarily soy sauce, hoisin, sriracha and chili sauce, maybe? Plus garlic, ginger, scallions.

Thursday, 11/12/20

 Threw together a pasta for Jason and myself. Needed to use up mushrooms and spinach, so in they went, with chicken, marsala, stock, a little cream and some parm. Predictably tasty (see: cream and parmesan).

Wednesday, 11/11/20

 Corrina, Carter and I had the day off, so we did a cool, but long & challenging, hike:

Brother and sister on the Seven Sisters

So I was glad that we were having pizza with Jason's parents. I had made a batch of SK blondies the night before, and I wasn't entirely happy with them. I may not have cooked them quite long enough, and I think I don't love butterscotch chips (greasy and artificial tasting), so it was partly my fault. They were better after being refrigerated, but I still didn't love them. Oh well. The pizza was good.

Tuesday, 11/10/20

 Leftovers. That is all.

Monday, 11/9/20

 Jason's beloved Pizza Sliders. They turned out better than usual, though I can't pinpoint why. Maybe it was using less sauce? Maybe it was the base layer of provolone? Anyhow, slightly gross yet tasty, as expected. 

Sunday, 11/8/20

 Scalloped potatoes, ham and some vegetable medley from Aldi that I found in the freezer. I am always trying new scalloped potato recipes, looking for my platonic ideal. This one, from Food52, has caramelized onions, which was an excellent addition, but the sauce broke and it was a little underseasoned. Those things were both my fault, though: I added too much cheese, and I subbed in some half & half for the called-for heavy cream. I think a bechamel based (or Mornay) recipe is going to give me more of the results I want. Anyhow, creamy, oniony potatoes are never truly bad.

Saturday, 11/7/20

 Dinner was a celebratory bottle of Prosecco and a wild rice/butternut squash casserole. It was one from Food 52 that we made at Jen and John's a few weeks ago. I added gruyere cheese, but otherwise followed the recipe pretty closely. It made a LOT, so it's lucky that it's good at room temperature for work lunches.

Dessert was a maple custard pie in an oatmeal cookie crust. How irresistible does that sound?? It was from the NYT, and I took the advice from commenters and added a couple of extra tablespoons of butter to the crust. Even so, I found it a little too dry and there was too much of it. I will make it again (the maple custard was amazing), but cut back on the oats by a cup.

Friday, 11/6/20

 Grilled pizza at Jen and John's. Jason and John adapted their fire pit for pizza cooking. After one trial (half burnt), the rest turned out really well! Two with cheese, one with onions, pine nut and goat cheese. Fun and delicious. For dessert, I brought cupcakes (at Jason's insistence; from a box) with a frosting from Sally's Baking Addiction. It was OK, even though I tried my best to mess it up: accidentally used twice as much butter as called for, and then kept adding more and more powdered sugar...then it broke, of course. Anyway, I finally made it basically usable and piped it on so at least they looked cute. After all that, I was prepared for disaster, but they were actually not bad. Go figure. Why I chose that recipe is a mystery anyway, since I don't like American buttercream and I get really annoyed with things that describe themselves as "caramel" when they are really just brown sugar and melted butter....

Anyway, it was a lovely night:

Thursday, 11/5/20

 Jason made some pita bread, so I made a batch if hummus to go with it (painstakingly peeling all those chickpeas. Does it really make a difference? I hope so), plus a little cucumber salad. I also pulled out the caponata. Felt like a refreshing summer dinner (which is apt because summer weather abruptly returned today). To make up for all those vegetables, I made a flan for dessert that we really put quite an amazing dent in.

Wednesday, 11/4/20

 Butter chicken in the Instant Pot (from Ministry of Curry); a little too saucy but not bad. Skipped the tomato sauce altogether, added more spices (and butter); served with basmati rice and roasted cauliflower. Nothing groundbreaking.

Tuesday, 11/3/20

 Spaghetti and meatballs, done old style, in the slow cooker. The Instant Pot can be tricky with tomato stuff. Anyway, I always love meatballs, so that was good. Last of the season tomato-mozzarella salad to go with it.

Monday, 11/2/20

 Busy day at work, so I was glad to just have leftovers for dinner. Curry, calzones and pulled pork gone. Time to do some more cooking.

Sunday, 11/1/20

 Pulled pork sandwiches (pork shoulder in the Instant Pot, seasoned with onions, bourbon, Liquid Smoke and the small amount of Texas Pete green pepper sauce) on semi-fancy buns, with a salad (broccoli for Carter). It was fine, but nothing special. At least I cooked it long enough this time (75 minutes, 15 minutes natural release). 

Saturday, 10/31/20

 Jason seemed like he really wanted to be involved with dinner, so I suggested mini calzones. I am normally only somewhat of a fan, but these turned out unusually well! I don't know if the filling (a whatever we had in the fridge mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, peppers, onions, spinach, garlic and salami) was extra tasty, or if it was brushing them with a little butter and a splrinkle of salt before baking. Anyway, very good, and we froze half for another night. 

For desssert I made a rum cake (from Food52) that I have made a couple of times before.It involves a box of cake mix and a box of vanilla pudding mix (weird); what makes it tasty is the rum glaze and the coating of toasty nuts on the outside. My box mix called for a cup of oil; I subbed in a cup of melted butter and I think it was a little on the dry side? Plus, i can still taste that  cake mix-y taste that I don't love. Anyway, we still put away quite a bit.

Friday, 10/30/20

 A Carter work night seemed like a good time to try out a NYT recipe of pasta with brussels sprouts, toasted chick peas,capers and parmesan. That basically describes the whole dish.  I took the advice of commenters and was liberal with the parm and the lemon. Glad I sliced all those brussels sprouts in the morning as that was the most time consuming part. I liked this well enough, but it wasn't exactly groundbreaking, flavor-wise.

Thursday, 10/29/20

 Jason made us a loaf of bread, and he and I had that with caponata (goodbye, farm share eggplant, tomatoes and peppers), cheese, and butter. Also a little thinly sliced fresh garlic....so good  with bread and salted butter. Worth the lingering garlic breath.

Wednesday, 10/28/20

 I made a big batch of chick pea curry in the morning, with potatoes, spinach, cauliflower, carrots and some more of the broccolini (new farm share coming Thursday; need to empty that crisper). Carter thought it needed chicken; I thought it was great, and besides, it's nice to be accidentally vegan once in a while. For dessert, the boy requested rice pudding, so I busted out the Instant Pot again and made a batch (the same old Melissa Clark recipe). Cozy, for the cooler days.

Tuesday, 10/27/20

 Leftovers of the tater tot casserole. They actually heated up better than the original, which surprised me. I added some steamed broccolini to mine (plus Frank's Red Hot), to brighten it up a bit.

Monday, 10/26/20

 Leftover blintzes (from the freezer; they were taking up too much room) and roasted acorn squash. The blintzes heated up really well in a 375 oven on a buttered Silpat. So much easier and cleaner than sauteeing.

Sunday, 10/25/20

 I made a giant casserole from a new  cookbook: "Hot Cheese: Over 50 Gooey, Oozy, Melty Recipes". Who could resist that?  Anyway, it was a glorified hot dish; a creamy ground beef base with a tater tot lid and some sharp cheddar. You make your own bechamel, but it is otherwise pretty straighforward. Jason claimed to like it, but he had lots of ideas for improvement, like cooking the tots separately and adding them near the end of cooking, so they would stay crispy. I think that wasn't really the idea, but OK. Not sure I would bother making this again, as it is huge and not super flavorful. 

Saturday, 10/24/20

 Dinner with Jen and John. We enjoyed cocktails by their new fire pit, and a nice dinner of a squash & wild rice casserole (with dried cranberries and a kind of ginger orange vinaigrette. Jen found the recipe at Food52 and I might have to try it myself). Jason made bread and I made two kinds of cookies: jam thumbprints and chocolate thumbprints, both recipes I have made before. The chocolate ones are from Martha Stewart and are good enough to make me forget that chocolate is not my favorite cookie flavor.

Friday, 10/23/20

 Happy wedding day to Corrina and Zac!  It was a lovely evening, and the food (from Blue Heron) was delicious....pulled pork, short ribs, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and cornbread. So good. Cupcakes for dessert. Small and sweet.

Thursday, 10/22/20

 Tortilla soup, made from leftover chicken and homemade stock. No real recipe. For me, it's all about the garnishes: avocado, queso fresco, limes, salsa verde. I threw in a can of hominy since I was out of black beans. They added a nice extra corn flavor.

Wednesday, 10/21/20

 Dinner with Jason's parents: burrito bowls (or actual burritos) from Bueno y Sano. Surprisingly delicious! We bought a Snickerdoodle bundt cake that was definitely a keeper. A simple cake with a later of cinnamon sugar running through the middle. How was I to know that they also had a tiramisu? We bravely ate both.

Tuesday, 10/20/20

 Tofu sauteed with ginger, scallions, garlic and tofu, broccolini. Made a sauce with soy sauce (light & dark), a little brown sugar, some oyster sauce, rice vinegar and a hefty spoonful of chili crisp. Then, since it was overly saucy, I tossed  noodles with butter, soy sauce and a bit of sriracha in the hot wok. I could have eaten just the noodles, honestly, but the whole thing was good. A dish I make often that is always the same and always a little different.

Monday, 10/19/20

 As Arlo Guthrie would say, we had another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat. That is to say, leftovers. Still pretty good, except for green bean casserole which doesn't retain its crispy topping.

Sunday, 10/18/20

 I had been meaning to roast a chicken for a while, and since I had time, I also made mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole stuffing (Aldi's from a box, but I added my own carrots, celery and onions. Actually not bad) and bade Jason make his beloved dinner rolls (which he only somewhat begrudgingly did). So, early Thanksgiving! Carter was delighted which is good because there is a lot left over. The only sad part was dessert: I had a made a pumpkin pie the day before (tried a recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction this time), but as I was taking it out of the over it slipped off the baking sheet and went splat! all over the floor. Made a giant mess (as it turned out, it was a bit underdone still), but luckily my pie dish didn't break. I salvaged a little of the outer crust to eat by itself---I had also tried a pie crust recipe from Sally's and it turned out really well----super flaky. So then I was even sadder. The bright spot was that the recipe makes so much filling that I filled 3 custard cups and baked those (with no dropping). So at  least we had a pumpkin dessert.

I was also very pleased with my mashed potatoes and gravy, but that is bittersweet since they make me think of my mom.

Saturday, 10/17/20

 I  wanted to make a Big Lasagna, from a recipe from Sameen Nosrat at the NYT. well, we  made a big lasagna, anyway. I didn't use her sauce recipe, ditched the bechamel, added mushrooms, used a different fresh pasta recipe....Anyway, if was still pretty good, except that I should have made more tomato sauce, and I am not sure that using fresh pasta sheets is worth it. They aren't so hard to make, but under all that cheese and everything, they just got lost. It was a fun project, at least.

Friday, 10/16/20

 Jason made a loaf of his bread, I made one of my standby tomato soups (from Martha Stewart; spicy! with red onion, cilantro stems and jalapeno), plus we have some fancy cheese that Jason very sweetly bought for me (St. Angel. Very creamy. It was a nice, soft, only somewhat funky cheese). Dessert was Ben & Jerry's, also an unexpected surprise from my boy Jason. I had made a chocolate skillet cake (from Serious Eats; totally delicious and I don't really even love chocolate cake) but Jason can't handle chocolate in the evening because we are old.

Thursday, 10/15/20

 Jason and I ate the leftover empanadas, the leftover cheesy rice cakes, plus I made a salad. Empanadas re-heated nicely; I served the rice cakes (really, they are cylinders) with some tomato sauce and they were like very chewy mozzarella sticks.

Wednesday, 10/14/20

Since we didn't go grocery shopping this week, I had no real dinner plan (although plenty of food). Decided on the walk home to make some Aldi potstickers from the freezer, rice, and cabbage sauteed with leeks, garlic and peppers. Not bad for such an off the cuff meal.

Tuesday, 10/13/20

 We didn't do justice to the pizza on Sunday, so leftovers tonight. I made another batch of those Bravetart Oreos; slice and bake this time. Much easier.

Monday, 10/12/20

 I wanted to make these empanadas from Serious Eats, but I realized that my masa had a funky, rancid smell, so that wasn't going to pan out. So I made the filling anyway, and used a wrapping recipe from Smitten Kitchen instead. Bonus: these weren't fried so that was easier. Jason helped me stuff them, and they turned out really well! The only change I made to the filling recipe was to add some chopped green olives (to Carter's chagrin). Served with the leftover spaghetti squash that I sauteed with a little garlic, plus salsa verde.

Sunday, 10/11/20

 Jason made us four pizzas: fresh tomato & mozz, goat cheese, spinach, feta and sun-dried tomato; salami, pickled jalapenos and provolone; and goat cheese with caramelized onions. They were all great (esp. the fresh mozz), but I had a late-ish, enormous lunch with Corrina (Bombay Royale), plus I burned the roof of my mouth on a samosa, so I couldn't do the pizza justice. but that means we'll have plenty of leftovers for another night.

Saturday, 10/10/20

I spent the day doing all kinds of cooking: grilled vegetables, roasted cauliflower, made some salsa verde, a batch of coleslaw for Jason, cooked my beets, made a batch of Oreo cookies from Bravetart (just the wafers, though, not the filling. Jason ate almost half of them in one sitting). Plus cinnamon rolls from the NYT (I have made them before; stuck to the recipe pretty closely). I may have done more stuff, but I can't even remember.

Anyway, for dinner I made that Korean rice cake/grilled cheese again (Tteokbokki) , plus a spaghetti squah (east to cook in the Instant Pot). I think I actually browned the cheese too much, which I didn't think was a thing. Still tasted good, just a little chewy.

Friday, 10/9/20

  Zucchini grilled cheese, from SK. Just grated sharp cheddar, grated squeezed zucchini and a loaf of bread from Jason. It was nice, but not as good as I was picturing in my head. Very rich.  The leftover filling was good just grilled in a nonstick pan (the cheese got all brown and tasty). Also had some of the (probably) last-of-the-season heirloom tomatoes from the farm share.

Thursday, 10/8/20

Pasta with broccoli rabe, garlic and olive oil (from Smitten Kitchen). The only thing I changed was to add some ricotta cheese at the end. Served with sliced tomatoes (that actually added a nice sweetness/acidity to the pasta. Very quick and easy; a good choice for a night when Carter is working. Bitter greens can be a hard sell.

Wednesday, 10/7/20

 I pulled some chili from the freezer, made a double batch of Jiffy cornbread, grated some cheese and called it dinner. I had some beet greens in mine (for health). Quick and good.

Tuesday, 10/6/20

 Pierogies (from Aldi; nothing special but fine), kielbasa, and baked zucchini-cheddar fritters. I was honestly only there for the zucchini. But I need to remember (this is the third or fourth time I have made them?) that they are actually too cheesy as written (even though that doesn't seem like a thing). Anyway, they were delicious. I ate a very small piece of kielbasa and snuck the rest off my plate. Don't see the appeal.

Monday, 10/5/20

 Quick Monday night dinner of ground pork sauteed with garlic, ginger, scallions and greens. Sauce with hoisin, soy, chili flake and a little sesame oil, all over rice. Easy and delicious and no leftovers.

Sunday, 1/04/20

 Took advantage of being home most of the day to make something I knew Carter would like, popcorn chicken. Brined the chicken in milk for most of the day, and then double-dipped the pieces in flour and pulled out the old fryolator. Of course they were delicious. How bad can little pieces of fried chicken be? I tossed some of them in buffalo sauce and that was my favorite part. Mashed potatoes were only OK; I was in a rush and they could have used more everything. But those purple potatoes from the farm certainly do look pretty. Plus broccoli. Jason also made a batch of fried dough, since we were frying anyway. we all hate to give him credit, but it was delicious. He really nailed it this time.

ps Carter loved the chicken.

Saturday, 10/3/20

 When I saw a recipe in the Times for a pasta inspired by eggplant caponata, I thought it was right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn't have that sweet/sour taste, plus I always forget that I find eggplant in pasta dished overly heavy and blah. It's too bad, especially since we went to the trouble of making homemade pasta. I tried a new recipe (from 100 Cookbooks, I think) that had the advantage of using only two whole eggs, instead the the 2 eggs and 4 yolks in my usual Serious Eats one. It worked out well, except I would add a bit more flour, as the noodles were quite sticky. But the point is, homemade noodles are so nice, we should eat them with just butter or something. Will I ever learn?

I made a second round of butterscotch pie from TASTE: I doubled the filling, subbed in half brown sugar and dialed back the molasses a tiny bit. The flavors are now great, but it wasn't as creamy and smooth as I might like. Maybe less cornstarch and another egg? I also may have overcooked the filling a little. In any event, we happily ate it.

Friday, 10/2/20

 We just cobbled dinner together out of various leftovers. I wasn't planning on Carter being home, but he had a sniffle and Amherst didn't want him. 

Not exciting.

Thursday, 10/1/20

 Jason made bagels, so I upped the ante and made cream cheese (thanks, SK!). Actually super easy: exactly the same as making fresh ricotta, but you thrown is in the food processor after it is done draining. I added scallions and green olives. I can't honestly say that it is that much better than store bought (unless you are worried about stabilizers and/or preservatives) but it is simple enough, milk is cheap, and you can flavor it however you like. We also had salads and acorn squash. The vegetable drawers are literally overflowing. If I could ever design my own fridge, it would have more room for cheese and vegetables. Maybe I just need a bigger refrigerator?

Wednesday, 9/30/20

 Dinner (pizza) with Jason's parents. I made Smitten Kitchen's peanut butter cookies, because they are always good. They were.

Tuesday, 9/29/20

 Sushi bowl with surimi, tuna, mango and many condiments. I do love a meal that can be so customizable! Plus, no leftovers and pretty easy to put together (which was good because it was a tiring day at work).

Monday, 9/29/20

 Potato-leek soup (in the Instant Pot, no recipe) that turned out very well! I no longer puree it, because I realized I do not care for a thick, creamy soup. So this was more like a chowder (come to think of it, corn would have been a good addition). Jason made a loaf of bread, we had some Irish cheddar (not sharp enough, in my opinion), and a tiny pea shoot salad. Nice easy dinner for a Monday, since I made the sup Sunday afternoon.

Sunday, 9/27/20

 Carter, when asked what he would want for dinner, said he loved eggplant parmesan, but was wondering if anything else could be given that treatment. Silly boy! So I told him about chicken parm (and that's what we had). Sreved with broccoli and some tiny dinner rolls that I toasted (I should have made garlic butter but I was too lazy). Fine, even though I fear I may never truly master pounding out a nice flat chicken cutlet.

Saturday, 9/26/20

 Jason (out of the blue) requested that we make enchiladas for dinner. Since Carter is not a fan, it seemed like a good time to try. I filled them with onions and cheese (a blend of pepperjack and queso fresco), and did half with store bought red enchilada sauce, and half with homemade salsa verde. I was not super impressed with the results. The whole thing got soggy (I blame inferior corn tortillas), and I think I should have used even more cheese. The flavors were fine, though. I also made a batch of mexican rice to go with it (plus a sliced tomato that looked lovely but was disappointingly mushy).

On the bright side, I made (yet another) butterscotch cream pie that turned out well. This recipe used white sugar (weird) and added some molasses. That definitely gave it the dark flavor I have been looking for, although I think that next time I will use some brown sugar and a tiny bit less molasses. Also, I don't know if it was because the recipe was using a smaller pie pan, or if it was because it called for a meringue topping, but my filling did not come nearly up to the top of my crust. It looked so sad! But whipped cream took care of that. I am  sorry to say that Jason and I made quite a dent in it in just one night.

Friday, 9/25/20

 The fridge was filling up damn fast, so it was just leftovers for Jason and me.

Thursday, 9/24/20

 Jason and I shared a tray of nachos and guacamole for dinner, since Carer was working. Threw on some hot peppers, black beans and tomatoes, so it seemed like a full meal.

Wednesday, 9/23/20

 Spaghetti with meat sauce, for my boy Carter. I knew better than to use the Instant pot for tomato sauce, but I tried it anyway....I thought if I carefully deglazed the pan and used a little water...but no, I got the dreaded burn notice. I was able to pull it out in time and is was (luckily) fine. Served with garlic bread and creamed spinach.I love cooked spinach but I am always dismayed to see that big bag that I carefully picked through turning into this tiny bowl. It was a good meal, but the leftovers are starting to pile up.

Tuesday, 9/22/20

 Jason made a batch of fried dough, at Carter's request. He actually followed a recipe; it was semi-successful. It wasn't a yeasted dough, but more biscuit-y? Very, very rich. I made lentil soup with tomato and lemon (sort of from the Times). A nice light accompaniment to the heavy dough (you don't think of lentil soup as light, but this one is).

Monday, 9/21/20

 I made a chicken curry (just the regular old American style, with carrots, potatoes, peas and my fancy Vadouvan curry powder) in the Instant Pot. No recipe. Carter was disappointed that it didn't taste as good as it smelled while cooking. He is a tough crowd. But it is a nice, comforting meal (and easy since I made it the day before). Not authentic, but that is OK.

Sunday, 9/20/20

 Zucchini pizza from SK. I wonder if Jason will ever catch on that I am making pizza for dinner, not focaccia? If I said outright that I was making pizza, he would be offended, but this seems to fly under his radar. And why not? It is crispy and delicious! No sauce, just grated zucchini, some Gruyere cheese and breadcrumbs. We also had a tomato-mozz salad (the season is almost over!) and some chili-cheese smoked sausages (those where mostly for the benefit of Carter and Jason, but I tried one and it was actually pretty good).

Saturday, 9/19/20

Jason and I made a nice batch of blintzes; the only sad thing was that a few leaked (but they of course still taste fine). We tried baking them instead of frying (which has apparently worked before?), but I felt they could have used longer or hotter, as they did not get a lot of color. Sausage for Jason, but I was fine with just the blintzes. I experimented with a savory topping (some oven roasted Roma tomatoes) on some of mine and it was a nice change from jam. 

Friday, 9/18/20

 Dinner with Jen and John (Blue Apron, tomato tart, mozzarella salad). Jason brought bread, I made a banana cake with penuche frosting. Good but not awesome (see previous notes from other times I have made it); the frosting is very sweet. Anyway, it was a fun evening; they now have a big old TV screen on their deck, so you can sit outside and watch TV (albeit bundled up on this chilly evening)!

Thursday, 9/17/20

 I took advantage of the fact of Carter being at work to make a tofu dish I knew he wouldn't be crazy about. I  roasted the tofu with gochujang and honey, and then made a stir-fry with baby bok choy and noodles, with a sauce with garlic, brown sugar, ginger and more gochujang. Jason and I both like the slightly funky, spicy flavors. I hope Carter found something more to his liking at work.

Wednesday, 9/16/20

 Dinner with Jason's parents (Pita Pockets). Jason made some chocolate chip cookies, but they surprised us with a Costco chocolate cake (delicious).

Tuesday, 9/15/20

 I just cannot get excited about pancakes for dinner, even if I made a batch of cinnamon honey butter to go with them. But hey were fine, the boys were happy, and it used up the box of pancake mix so maybe Ill be off the hook for a while. Carter and Jason also had sausage, which I skipped. The problem with a sweet dinner is that it makes me want to snack a lot afterward.

Monday, 9/14/20

 Since we switched the day we grocery shop from Friday to Tuesday, I had to stretch out the groceries a bit, so I made scrambled eggs and toast (from a cheese loaf Jason made last week) for dinner, plus a tomato and fresh mozzarella salad. Not exactly a hardship. It wasn't so much that we were low on food (hah), more that I was out of ideas.

Sunday, 9/13/20

 I was listening to Sameen Nosrat's podcast, and she and the cohost were raving about an Indian dish called "sabudana kichdi" and I had to make it (luckily, she wrote a column about it for the NYT. Man, people have a LOT of opinions on how it should be made, but I stayed pretty close to her version). It has large tapioca pearls, potatoes, peanuts, cilantro, ginger, chilis and lemon, and it was really hard to stop eating. I didn't have raw peanuts, but roasted worked fine. I love things with a lot of flavors and textures, and this didn't disappoint. It took me a while to put together, but I would be able to streamline things next time (as long as I remembered to start soaking the tapioca well in advance). I didn't know what else to serve, but rummaged around in the freezer and found some tilapia filets. I just put them on a pan, covered them with some salsa verde I made last week, and baked for about 15 minutes. I was nervous: I always seem to under or overcook fish, but it was good!

It's nice to have a dinner that is so out of the ordinary for us. It looked so pretty, with my nice pink potatoes, but the picture I took was too awful to use.

Saturday, 9/12/20

 Since Carter was working, Jason and I ate the rest of the pizza and watched tv. For dessert I made a batch of maple-pecan squares. They are gooey and delicious (Carter said they were good enough to eat two!), but I wished I had taken the advice of the commenters and baked both the base and the bars a little longer. I substituted bourbon for the maple extract because who has maple extract? Not New Englanders.

Friday, 9/11/20

 Many years ago, a blogger I love (I miss you, Tipsy Baker) mentioned a dish called Vadouvan Macaroni and Cheese, which is a pretty straightforward mac & cheese recipe (basically Martha Stewart's) with the additional of a spice blend called Vadouvan curry. I have been wanting to try it forever, but never could find Vadouvan locally. I finally splashed out and bought some from Amazon, so, all these years later, I made it! 

The recipe made too much cheese sauce, but otherwise it was delicious! I made a half batch, but secretly wish I had made the full thing. It's a good basic recipe anyway, but the curry blend makes it more interesting, The pan I used made crispy edges that were pretty irresistible. So I would say success. Served with a simple tomato-parsley salad that was a nice bright accompaniment.

Thursday, 9/10/20

 Jason made us 4 pizzas. We enjoyed: caramelized onions with goat cheese and walnuts (possibly my favorite), fresh mozzarella and tomato, provolone with salami and pepponcinis, and one with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion and roasted red peppers (not as gloppy as I feared it might be). I ate way too many slices, but in my defense, these are fairly small pizzas. It's weird not having Carter home for dinner, although it isn't like he sits around to chat, anyway. I had made another coffee cake (from Classic American Desserts), tweaking the recipe ever so slightly: adding a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg to the crumble, and tried baking it in a tube pan. Worked fine!

Wednesday, 9/9/20

 I remembered that I had a bag of sweet potato noodles, and decided to make a variation of japchae (from the Maangchi blog). Had to take some liberties: substituted tofu for beef, skipped the mushrooms and the spinach, added zucchini. For all that, it was really quite nice. The recipe calls for a little sugar, which is something I rarely use when I am cooking, so it was a welcome change of flavors for us. And it comes together in about 20 minutes if you spend a lot of time in the morning julienning everything.

Tuesday, 9/8/20

 Burgers and tots. Whatever. Jason had a small plain salad, I had some watermelon and Carter had...ketchup. No actual complaints; I mean, tots are delicious. I just long to take over burger production.

Monday, 9/7/20

A reprise of black beans and rice, plus a batch of tortillas (from Serious Eats). The only mistake I made was not making the whole pound of beans: we ended up with a lot more rice (which is actually fine). Served with some homemade salsa verde and sliced tomatoes. I have only two packs of that Goya seasoning left and I will face a moral dilemma when I run out.... 

Sunday, 9/6/20

 Meatballs (what a surprise! I am such a sucker for meatballs) from the NYT. The draw for these was that they were pan fried with a peach sauce. The meatballs themselves were fine if nothing amazing (our pork was not especially fatty); the sauce was nice but it felt a little silly not to just  eat those beautiful fresh peaches. Grown how many other delicious meatball recipes I have, I don't think I would bother with these again. Served with rice and a sauteed chard/spinach combo.

Saturday, 9/5/20

 Smitten Kitchen raved about her corn soup, so I decided to give it a try while corn is still good. You make a corn stock with the cobs (I used the Instant Pot for that) and make the soup with the corn, onions, garlic, coconut milk and lime. Several sub-recipes: pickled shallots, fried shallots (we already had some from the Chinese market), chili oil. Jason made a beautiful load of raisin-walnut bread, and I busted out the fancy cheese that sweet Corrina gave me for my birthday (It was excellent).  Jason really liked the soup, but I found it really, really sweet. Maybe SK doesn't have  our superlative Valley corn? I kept adding more cilantro, shallots and chili oil to try to balance the flavor. It didn't help that I forgot to serve the pickled shallots. Maybe the leftovers will be better (not that it was bad, per se!). The next corn project will have to be fritters.

I made a regular old coffee cake from Classic American Desserts as well. For something with no nuts, or cinnamon or anything fancy, this is such a delicious cake.

Friday, 9/4/20

 I have been putting off making rice and beans for a while. tonight's digression was homefries with a whole bag of spinach (for health, duh) and pepperjack, plus fried eggs. The potatoes we get from our farm share have such a pretty pink hue that doing anything to them at all seems like a waste. Nonetheless, Jason and I polished off the whole skillet.

Thursday, 9/3/20

 Carter's first night of work! (Spoiler: he didn't love it)

Anyway, I made a pasta with with chicken, mushrooms, lemon, cream and broccoli rabe for Jason and me. Not lemony enough but otherwise fine.

Wednesday, 9/2/20

 Went to Jason's parents for dinner and ate too much pizza. I made a batch of pecan sandies from Food & Wine that were pretty underwhelming. They could have been a bit sweeter, maybe. But mostly, I should have thought to toast the nuts first. Oh well, B & J seemed to like them.

Tuesday, 9/1/20

 Since pancakes were Jason's idea for dinner, I thought he would make them, but no dice. AND he made me use bacon fat which is fine in theory but I just don't love it. Anyway, they were fine. What can you say about a boxed mix? A good vehicle for maple syrup? The boys had sausage, but I stuck to watermelon. I will never understand the appeal of breakfast for dinner. Unless it involves homefries with a lot of melted cheese.

Monday, 8/31/20

 I made a batch of chili in the Instant Pot on Sunday, so it was a quick dinner. No recipe; just 18 minutes at high pressure. I was worried that I had overdone the cocoa powder, but it was fine in the finished product. Did you know that you can slide quite a lot of diced chard stems into your chili and no one will notice? Just saute them up with the onions and peppers.

Served with watermelon and Frito's (but I should have made cornbread).

Sunday, 8/30/20

 Ricotta gnocchi (with leftover tomato sauce from pizza sliders) plus sauteed Swiss chard. No recipe; just added flour until the dough was workable (plus a couple of eggs and some parmesan). I would have liked to saute some of them with brown butter and sage, but in the end I was too lazy. Still pretty nice just boiled.

Saturday, 8/29/20

 A reprise of Smitten Kitchen provolone sandwiches. Perfect vehicle for beautiful, juicy tomatoes. Also had some good corn, and a brown sugar cake (from The Craft of Baking; an oldie but goodie). No fried mozzarella for my birthday! I'll have to make it another night.

Friday, 8/28/20

 Corrina and had poke last week and I wanted to recreate the experience. So I made sushi rice and (once again using about 800 little bowls) lots of toppings: tuna, mango, avocado, cucumbers, furikake...

I was surprised at how good it was! Carter liked it, although he wondered it it could be made into regular sushi bowls. Sure kid, if you want to be the one rolling them up....

Thursday, 8/27/20

 A Jason favorite: Pizza Sliders. He sauteed salami and spinach to go in them; they are tasty enough, what with all the garlic butter, but I wish they weren't so soggy.

I pretended that the puny amount of spinach was a vegetable.

Wednesday, 8/26/20

 There were a LOT of leftovers accumulating, so we just each had various things.Made quite a dent.

Tuesday, 8/25/20

 Made a variation of Ottolenghi's tofu with black pepper sauce: I added eggplant (great idea), and of course didn't use quite as much butter. The dark soy sauce makes this a really ugly dish, but it is delicious. Served over rice.

Monday, 8/24/20

 For some reason, Jason forwarded me a recipe for Instant Pot beef stroganoff last week. This seemed like an odd choice from him, but what the heck. I bit the bullet on two pounds of chuck and got to work. My main take-away is that if I was hoping that this would be quick: ha! The mushrooms were cooked separately, as were the noodles, and the suggestion to sear the beef in batches in the IP was folly, as they just steamed down there. So I had to pull out another pan to sear the meat. By this time, the kitchen was getting pretty hot and messy. Plus the actual cooking took over a half hour. The good news? Carter really liked it. It was pretty good, but honestly not much better than the cheapo version my Mom used to make with ground beef. I was too lazy to make anything interesting, vegetable-wise, so I just threw in some frozen peas. Jason wondered if it could have been made with tofu, since (as I knew) he doesn't actually like steak. Doofus.

Sunday, 8/23/20

 I have been sad about not being able to go out for Indian food, especially missing the weekend buffets. So I decided (inspired by an article in the Times) to make my own chaat station. Most of the stuff I had already on hand: cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, chaat masala, cilantro, chick peas, hot peppers and peanuts. Went to the Indian market to source a couple of things (the crunchy crackers for the base), and made the two most common chutneys, tamarind-date and cilantro. I think every bowl in the house got used. I also made some grilled chicken in case the boys needed more food.

If I can't go to Priya, Priya can come to me!

Anyway, it was surprisingly close to what you get at a restaurant! I was pretty pleased. Jason usually ignores that part of a buffet, but admitted that it was tasty. Carter was not a fan, reacting mostly, I think, to the tartness of the tamarind chutney. Luckily, he liked the chicken, so he didn't starve. Plus, with a little advance prep (making the chutneys, which you could easily buy instead, cooking the potatoes, and some chopping), this is a dinner that comes together very quickly and doesn't heat up the kitchen.

For dessert I made a batch of rice pudding in the Instant Pot (A Melissa Clark recipe) which was supposed to cool for 4 hours, but we gave it maybe....5 minutes? Delicious and creamy.

Saturday, 8/22/20

 Turkey-zucchini meatballs, from the NYT (made exactly as written, except they called for ground chicken), a kind of pesto potato salad of my own invention that was only fine, and corn. Jason made us buy corn at Big Y since it was so cheap. It was only OK, as I suspected. Why buy your corn at the supermarket in August in rural Massachusetts?? Anyway, the meatballs were very good (neither boy noticed the zucchini. Hah!), especially with the herby feta mixture that your serve them with. As a matter of fact, feta with fresh herbs, lemon and olive oil should be served with every meal.

Friday, 8/21/20

 Stovetop macaroni and cheese, from Serious Eats. This had the advantage of being very quick to put together, and Carter likes it (I toast some breadcrumbs for him to go with it), but sometimes I miss the more complex flavor of traditional baked. Plus a salad and Giant Sugar Cookies from Martha Stewart. I used to really love that recipe, but it hasn't turned out that well for me the last couple of times. Not sure if I am doing something different, or if I am pickier? Anyway, they were certainly sweet, especially with some frosting and sprinkles.

Thursday, 8/20/21

 Jason got wind of a recipe for "Jerusalem bagels" that he wanted to try. I'm not sure what their defining characteristics are, other than their larger size and the fact that you don't boil them. Anyhow, they were pleasant enough, and nicely coated with sesame seeds (I think it's funny that the recipe came from David Lebovitz). I made a batch of hummus to go with it, plus we had tomatoes and cucumbers.

Wednesday, 8/19/20

 I vaguely wanted to make a tomato tart like one we had at Jen and John's last week, and we had plenty of tomatoes and some frozen puff pastry, so why not? I think I am the only one who really liked it. It's true, the middle does come out a bit soggy; maybe there is some way to drain the tomatoes a bit. Carter helpfully suggested that I use less fancy tomatoes. Thanks, kid.  Anyway, I mostly used a Bon Appetit recipe, but added some pesto and a tiny bit of fresh mozzarella. The tomatoes were drippy, so but flavorful. 

I made a salad with  tuna, chick peas and hard boiled eggs to go with it, just dressed with lemon and olive oil. No complaints, but no one was going crazy for it, either.

Tuesday, 8/18/20

 Lentils in the Instant Pot (no recipe; just the usual flavors plus a whole bag of spinach), rice, roasted cauliflower.  I was concerned that I overcooked the lentils, but I just added a bit more water and it was like a nice puree. The only problem is perhaps that I made a giant batch. 

In the morning I also made a quiche for Carter, using up the farm share chard, a lonely container of mushrooms, and some sharp cheddar. I was delighted that he loved it. So unpredictable, that child (the basic recipe came from Sally's Baking Addiction, though I won't use her crust recipe again. Too lean and not flaky enough).

Monday, 8/17/20

 Dinner with Jason's parents: they bought pizza (from Athena's and actually not bad); we brought the rest of the brownies.

Sunday, 8/16/20

  Jen and John's for dinner: Jen made a tomato tart (from Bon Appetit; I may make it myself with the actual puff pastry crust), plus we had a Blue Apron with chicken, kale, mashed potatoes and a nectarine chutney (pretty good!). I made brownies from Sally's Baking Addiction that were pretty close to my platonic ideal: chewy and fudgy, but not too gooey. Would maybe omit the optional addition of chocolate chips next time. Jason brought a bread which was of course excellent.

Saturday, 8/15/20

OK, it was a weird dinner, but it worked!  I didn't know what to do with tofu (I was tired of the usual preparations), so I tossed pieces in cornstarch and oven roasted them until they were on the crunchy side, then tossed them in buffalo sauce. That was one thing. Then, inspired by a recipe on Food 52, I made a version of a Korean snack called Tteokbokki, which had Korean rice cakes and mozzarella cheese, cooked in a nonstick skillet until golden and toasty. Plus some corn off the cob. The tofu was pretty good, although I think I would leave the pieces a little bigger next time (Carter liked it but pointed out that it would be better with chicken. Hah). The rice cakes are pleasantly chewy and fun to eat (as is anything with melted cheese, in my opinion). The recipe called for topping the whole concoction with sweetened condensed milk, but I wasn't about to open a can just for that. We drizzled a little honey on instead, and that worked well. I would definitely make it again!

Friday, 8/14/20

 So I got home from work, sat and ate some chips and had a glass of wine, and then realized (to my shock) that I didn't feel like making dinner! This almost never happens. So I heated up some Aldi mini samosas, sliced up the last of the Jason bread and sliced some cheese and tomatoes. Good enough.

Thursday, 8/13/20

 Grilled cheese, bread compliments of Jason. Mine had tomatoes, Jason's had bacon (Carter had neither). We had a salad along with our sandwiches, but it was only meh.

Wednesday, 8/12/20

 Potstickers, in non-dumpling form. So that just means ground pork sauteed with cabbage, peppers, scallions, mushrooms etc served over rice. Jason is still panicking about a hot kitchen, so I did the whole shebang on the grill. It works OK, but the wok doesn't seem to get quite as hot. Oh well, it is kind of fun to stand out of the porch, making dinner. Tasty, but could have doubled the cabbage.

The red cabbage and yellow peppers were very striking

Tuesday, 8/11/20

 A Carter request: Swedish pancakes (plus bacon and watermelon). I don't remember where I got the recipe from last time, but I just sort of looked at a bunch and went with the most common proportions. I don't know what the goddamn problem was, but they would NOT stop sticking to the pan! I was very, very testy.  Anyway, enough turned out presentably to make the child happy.

Monday, 8/10/20

 At Jason's request, I made a batch of falafel. Started last week with soaking the chick peas, then on Saturday making the mix (mostly from the NYT, but with a lot more herbs). Even though I felt a little silly standing out on the porch deep-frying (too hot to cook inside!) I was pleased to see that they held their shape well. 

Jason had made pita earlier in the day (on the grill, which he now likes enough to continue doing even when it isn't one million degrees out), and I made some tahini sauce; I also served them with feta, tomatoes, cucumber pickles and sambal oelek. Then I convinced Jason to take me to the store to buy ice cream, since he won't let me bake anything until it cools off.

Sunday, 8/9/20

 I made us some eggplant grinders, to use up some leftover eggplant parm from the freezer. Of course Jason liked them, but Carter and I remembered quickly enough that it had been a particularly bitter batch of eggplant. At least it was an easy dinner, with no leftovers. Plus watermelon.

Saturday, 8/8/20

 Puttered around in the kitchen for much of the day. I made a version of Smitten's "Smashed Potatoes with Sweet Corn Relish" : https://smittenkitchen.com/2020/06/smashed-potatoes-with-sweet-corn-relish/

I had some beautiful little fingerling potatoes from the farm, so I just boiled them (no smashing needed), I didn't bother to blanche the corn (fresh sweet corn is so good it doesn't need it) and I served everything with grilled chicken. I was going to skip the green pea puree, but I am glad I didn't. For such a simple sauce (peas, lemon juice, salt) it really adds a lovely flavor. Dessert was a butterscotch cream pie from Food & Wine, in a graham cracker crust (no baking!). Carter found it too sweet, but the cookie butter whipped cream (can you believe that's a thing?) may have put it over the top. Sometimes, in my quest for the best butterscotch pudding, I wonder if what I am really craving is the mix?

A really nice, flavorful summertime dinner. 

Friday, 8/7/20

 Dinner with the family at Wildwood BBQ. Considering that it is right on a busy section of route 9, the outdoor seating was surprisingly pleasant. The food was fine (although the portions were not exactly huge); in a Jack Spratt and his wife moment, it turned out that what I considered disgusting slabs of fat on the brisket Jason considered a tasty treat. So that worked out. Carter was in a cranky mood and complained on the way home that his pulled pork sandwich was dry. When asked if he had put any of the BBQ sauce on, he had not and felt that he should not have had to? Anyway.

Thursday, 8/6/20

 I had a lot of leftover rice noodles, so I made a little stirfry with some neglected chard, a small zucchini, half an onion...basically whatever was languishing in the crisper. If you cut the zucchini fairly small and add it to a dish, Carter either doesn't notice or doesn't care. Still, it was only meh. Rice noodles are pretty delicate and they broke up in an unappealing way. I also try grilling marinated tofu. Jason and I liked it well enough, but they were a little too brown for the boy. An acceptable dinner. 

Dessert was better: Brown Sugar Cookie Butter Streusel Bars. Very sweet and rich. 10/10.  I,  of course, took the suggestion to brown the butter.

  https://www.averiecooks.com/cookie-butter-brown-sugar-streusel-bars/

Wednesday, 8/5/20

 "Vietnamese" meatballs, from Serious Eats. My changes: didn't have lemongrass, so I used lime zest, doubled the recipe, and used a mixture of ground beef and pork. This was the second time I have made these, and they were as good as I remembered. You give them a second quick fry after tossing them in big sugar; Carter appreciated the slightly sweet crunchiness. The recipe had you eating them rolled in lettuce, but I opted to make a cold rice noodle salad instead, with daikon, carrots, cucumbers and peanuts. I made a nice dressing with fish sauce, brown sugar and chilis, but I can't remember where I found the recipe so I won't be able to do that precise one again.

Tuesday, 8/4/20

Jason made us a few pizzas; new toppings included arugula on top of the goat cheese/onion (good; could have used even more as it wilted quite a bit),  pesto, and one with grilled eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes and black olives. Much to Jason's chagrin, Carter and I really like the tomato-fresh mozzarella variety the best. I wish I could convince him to make two of those, but I don't like to curtail his explorations of new toppings.

Monday, 8/3/20

A lot of grilling. Chicken breasts (marinated in spicy fish sauce sauce), potatoes in foil with onions, rosemary and olive oil, plus zucchini, onions, cherry tomatoes and eggplant.  Maybe it didn't heat up the house, but I was a sweaty mess. Tasty enough, and produced useful leftovers for the week.

Sunday, 8/2/20

I don't usually go in for sheet pan dinner, but one from the NYT caught my eye. Broccolini (I used broccoli), cherry tomatoes, red onions and feta, roasted with olive oil for about 25 minutes. This is a recipe that can with stand a lot of fiddling: I used za'atar, didn't go with whole lemon slices (I added zest and then lemon juice at the end) and served it with plain rice (although I would like to try thier suggestion of Israeli couscous or orzo. Farro would also be delicious). We also had corn off the cob. The race is on to eat enough corn before summer ends.

Anyway, it smelled wonderful, but when Carter looked at it, his response was "yuck". Brat. He was wrong, it was so delicious and easy, The feta is soft and salty right out of the oven, and gets enjoyably chewy as it cools, and the cherry tomatoes add a fun sweetness. He asked to go for a bike ride, and while he was gone I took pity on him and made a couple of hot dogs and plain broccoli. An all around win: boy was grateful and I got to eat his share as lunch the next day.

Saturday, 8/1/20

Since tomato season is finally really upon us, we had a very simple dinner from Smitten Kitchen: fried provolone sandwiches. Jason made us a nice loaf of bread, and the rest couldn't be easier: melt slices of provolone in a nonstick pan until they are nice and toasty and oozy, slide them onto bread, top with thick slices of tomato. Salt and pepper. We opted to go with open face. Messy and delicious. 

We didn't have anything else, though I made a batch of no-bake peanut butter bars from NYT. Super easy and Carter approved. As soon as we replenish our peanut butter stock I'll make some more, since they don't heat up the kitchen and they are a nice source of protein and calories for my skinny teenager.

Friday, 7/31/20

Another dinner with Carter appeal: spaghetti with meat sauce, plus a tomato-mozzarella  salad (Jason and I also had some arugula). Made the sauce in the Instant Pot (16 minutes high pressure, 5 minutes natural release), so as not to heat up the house too much. I also used ground Italian sausage in place of beef, with gave the sauce a nice flavor.

Thursday, 7/30/20

Jason sent me a recipe from Bon Appetit last week for "Singapore noodles".  No idea how he stumbled across it. Anyway, they are rice noodles with eggs, vegetables (they used broccoli but I didn't have any. So I used ....zucchini again) and curry powder. I also didn't have rice noodles, but sweet potato noodles (very bouncy). Anyhow, they are pretty good if a little bland. Extra fried shallots, Maggi sauce and sriracha at the table took care of that.

Wednesday, 7/29/20

The problem with burritos for dinner is that everyone likes them but there isn't much to say about it. I did also make a cake in the morning (Jason grumbled about it because it has been so hot. But he bakes bread!). It was a zucchini cake with lemon glaze, from David Lebovitz.  Yellow summer squash worked fine, as did canola instead of olive oil. My glaze was too runny and  slid right off the cake, so I just serve it on the side. Very nice, but I need to be careful not to overbake it next time. It is the tiniest bit dry.

Tuesday, 7/28/20

Butter chicken in the Instant Pot, with spinach added to round it out. The recipe I use (https://ministryofcurry.com/instant-pot-butter-chicken/) works well, with a couple of minor tweaks: I add a bit of cream at the end; I forgot to add tomato paste this time and didn't miss it; and I add a little more spice (cumin, coriander, and a bit of pakora chat). I also felt like it needed a little something at the end, and that turned out to be lemon juice.
I am always irritated with myself when I don't write down enough about what I did with a recipe, so here you go, future Lace.
Also: rice.

Monday, 7/27/20

Bread and cheese and condiments for dinner. Jason made us a nice loaf, and we had ricotta w/ tomatoes, plus brie, cheddar and swiss. The leftover pickled lychees were a surprisingly delicious addition.

Sunday, 7/26/20

Jason made us some little burgers, but I just wasn't feeling it. I think I am sick of eating buns (I normally skip them), but if I don't have a bun it throws off the ratios....Anyway, his other brilliant idea was to use up my IKEA gravy on the tater tots, along with some melted cheese. As far as I am concerned, that it all one needs for dinner. I also served some watermelon but don't think anyone else ate any.

Saturday, 7/25/20

We met my dad and Corrina in Whately for lunch, and Jason and I polished off a lot of pizza. It was cheese pizza from Frontier and it was so good that I ate too many slices. Then we stopped at the Frostie on the way home. So nobody was really hungry for dinner. We ended up having corn off-the-cod, plus a little tomato-mozzarella salad. Too hot to cook anyway.

Friday, 7/24/20

The last sandwich: grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil. Not much to say, but the grilled chicken was pretty good.

Thursday, 7/23/20

Broccoli subs, from Tyler Kord's sandwich cookbook. Pickled lychees, feta, fried shallots. I remembered that Carter wasn't a fan last time I made these, so I just made him tuna  (that he greatly appreciated).  The farm share was out of broccoli, so they subbed in broccolini. Worked fine. It's a weirdly delicious sandwich.

Wednesday, 7/22/20

Tofu with zucchini, rice and a sauce with soy sauce, sesame, and a lot of chili crisp. Jason made me cook it on the grill, which wasn't ideal, but it turned out OK.

Tuesday, 7/21/20

Grinders with tuna (not tuna salad), hard boiled eggs, tomato, and artichoke hearts. I thought they were pretty good, but the boys were only meh. They don't know anything. 

Plus watermelon.

Monday, 7/20/20

In a slight break from sandwiches, Jason made us a batch of pesto and pasta, and I made a tomato-mozzarella salad. He cooked the pasta (elbows; I thought it was an odd choice but OK) in the Instant Pot so as not to heat up the kitchen, and it actually worked well! Not overcooked at all. Nice summery meal.

Sunday, 7/19/20

For the second sandwich night, I made Italian cold cuts on grinder rolls. I thought this was a pretty easy sell, but somehow Carter HATED his. He said there was too much balsamic vinegar, and one of the meats (the salami? capicola?) tasted terrible to him. I was surprised. Jason and I ate ours without complaint. We also had our first corn of the year. I just sliced it off the cob and microwaved it, a la Catherine Sluter. Sweet, crispy and delicious.

Saturday, 7/18/20

It is the beginning of a heat wave, so planned sandwiches for most of the week. Kicked it off with turkey on rye (that Jason kindly made). Had avocado, Swiss, red onion, mustard and tomato. We also had the zucchini pickles again (how long will I keep trotting them out?) and some fritos. I made a batch of rice pudding for dessert (thank you Instant Pot) that was very nice with some of our raspberries.

Friday, 7/17/20

Aldi has had some fun appetizers in their freezer lately, so we had mini pork dumplings and mini egg rolls. Maybe not the most nutritious meal ever, but certainly delicious. The freezer is looking better, but the fridge is still ridiculous.

Thursday, 7/16/20

The refrigerator is groaning...leftover night. Didn't help that much.

Wednesday, 7/15/20

For my boy Carter I made IKEA meatballs and gravy with mashed potatoes. Easy enough since I prepped in the morning. Served with some pickled zucchini but I am not sure anyone ate any of them.

Tuesday, 7/14/20

Baked chickpeas with pita chips, from SK. A repeat. I didn't actually bake them, just cooked them on the stove; sine i used canned beans, it didn't make much of a difference. I sprinkled a little za'atar on the pita chips; I think they are Jason's favorite part. Since i made the chickpeas and the pita in the morning, and the tahini/yogurt sauce a couple of days ago, this came together very quickly. Just reheated the chickpeas, threw together a quick tomato, mint and cucumber salad, and voila.  Now that I am working again, I am getting back in the groove of planning and prepping. No more looking up from the couch at 4 and saying "What should I make for dinner?".

Monday, 7/13/20

Finished off all of the leftover pizza. Just as good as the first time, plus the advantage of having them all done at once (and less cooking panic from Jason).

Sunday, 7/12/20

I had some broccolini from the farm, along with a lot of beet greens that I couldn't, in good conscience, throw away, so I decided to make a greens/egg dish. Settled on a kuku sabzi ( I basically used the technique from Samin Nosrat in the NYT). Jason made some pita, and I put out a bunch of condiments: feta cheese, sliced tomatoes, a cucumber/tahini sauce, some spicy cucumber pickles I made, and some lime-pickled red onions. Carter declared it "not as good as Pita Pockets", but he ate everything. Jason and I enjoyed it....Persian food has pleasant, unfamiliar flavors which makes for a fun dinner. And with all those condiments, you can really mix it up.

Saturday, 7/11/20

Carter has been requesting "Swedish pancakes".  There was a fair amount of confusion about what he meant by that, but it seems like they are slightly thicker crepes that are then folded into triangles and lightly sauteed in butter? Anyhow, that is how I made them and he could not have been more delighted. Served with some blueberry jam that Jason made, plus bacon. Jason and I thought they were fine, but Carter deemed them a "top five dinner".

Also made a batch of blueberry crumb bars from SK, since we picked so may blueberries. Maybe muffins next (of we ever get through some of the food in our bulging refrigerator).

Friday, 7/10/20

Jason pizza night. Four varieties: tomato and fresh mozzarella (which remains, I think to Jason's consternation, Carter's and my favorite);  onion, goat cheese and prosciutto; pepperoni, hot peppers and mushroom; and a new entry: zucchini, garlic and ricotta. The last one needed a bit more something, but sriracha took care of that. Still enjoying the new, thinner pizzas, and the fact that Jason is letting us you fresh mozzarella now.

Thursday, 7/9/20

Did I make nachos for dinner? Yes I did. I only put cheese on them, and served bean dip, guacamole, peppers and tomatoes on the side, so people could personalize them. I counted guacamole as a vegetable.

Wednesday, 7/8/20

In an attempt not to heat up the house too much, I through the wok on the grill and cooked out there. Took a little longer, but basically worked. Just a tofu and zucchini stir-fry with good old Cravings sauce, plus rice. Carter skipped dinner since we let him practice driving by going to McDonald's and getting some burgers.

Tuesday, 7/7/20

Dinner with Jen and John...two Blue Aprons that were both so complicated that I can't remember everything. Oee had salmon with a sauce with: tamarind, Vadouvan curry, tomato pasta AND ras el hanout. Seemed like a lot happening. That was served over rice that was mixed with some kind of seasoned butter, and then there was a raw zucchini and radish situation, and then fried onions on top of all that.  THEN there was a farro dish with dates, almonds, tomatoes, feta, fried eggs and I don't even remember what else. Blue Apron is going a little over the top! But they were tasty enough. Jason attempted to cook his bread on the grill; the bottom got a little burned but it wasn't entirely unsuccessful. Finally, Jen made a kind of raspberry cobbler. We gave her a hard time (she should maybe have tossed the berries in sugar, and doubled the topping), but no one didn't eat theirs...

Monday, 7/6/20

Jason made little burgers, and fried up some curly fries (both very much Carter-approved). I made a salad (it's the season)  and was the sous chef. Turns out I don't love curly fries that much, but how bad can a french fry be?

Sunday, 7/5/20

Since it was so hot out, I tried using the pressure cooker to make macaroni and cheese. It worked just fine, but it was a very plain recipe (from the Food Network, I think). Somehow not as tasty as baked, but with some toasted panko and some Frank's Red Hot it wasn't bad. Also had a salad that I liked but Carter barely ate. Ungrateful child (although he approved of the macaroni and cheese).

Saturday, 7/4/20

I took the leftover rice, greens and beans and added some grilled chicken and called it a whole new meal. The chicken helped, honestly.

Friday, 7/3/20

I had wanted to make a rice and pinto bean recipe that I came across in yet another Indian cookbook that I brought home (Indian in 7), but Jason wanted some other variant to use up a packet of ramen seasoning?? Anyway, I ended up with a rice and pinto dish with lots of beet greens/chard, which I  thought was only OK. All those greens made it kind of damp. I have been feeling very thwarted by my family, cooking wise.

Thursday, 7/2/20

Late dinner, since I didn't start anything until I got home from work. Worth it, though (as long as you don't ask Carter. He made himself a box of macaroni and cheese).  Zucchini/cheddar fritters, which are made in the oven instead of fried and yet were perfectly crispy and delicious. I made a little sauce with sour cream and adobo to go with them. Then I made a salad out of a bunch of things that needed to go: roasted regular and sweet potatoes, yellow pepper, spinach and cotija cheese, all with a cumin/jalapeno vinaigrette. The salad was quite nice but fritters were the star.

Wednesday, 7/1/20

Jason made a loaf of bread, and I made a sort of minestrone. Channeled my mom's "poor man's soup" and used ground beef, plus a can of white beans that I bought by accident (why does Aldi put the chick peas and white beans in the same box with such similar labeling?), some leftover crushed tomatoes, the last of a box of elbows....Surprisingly, the boys loved it, and it was quick to do in the Instant Pot. I think it was the ground beef that spoke to them. SK chocolate pudding for dessert.

Tuesday, 6/30/20

Chicken biryani, from the "Indian Instant Pot Cookbook". Only a couple of minor changes: chicken breast instead of thighs, and I toasted and ground the whole spices. We just don't love biting down on a whole clove at dinner time. Threw peas in at the end to make it a complete (and tasty) meal.

Monday, 6/29/20

Reluctantly made English muffins, sausage and egg sandwiches. I don't care if we never have them again, frankly.

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?