Tuesday, 11/29/22

 In another freezer mishap, what I thought was stuffed shells turned out to be macaroni and cheese. Oops. Oh well, it didn't really make that big a difference, dinner-wise. We also had the roasted carrot-sweet potato blend (so that bag won't trick anyone else again!).

Monday, 11/28/22

 Just leftover pizza, although I did make a batch of SK butterscotch pudding, so there was something to be excited about. The more batches of butterscotch pudding I make, the more I realize that what I really crave is the smooth taste of the kind in little cans of my youth. But it did use up the milk that Jason was fretting about.

Sunday, 11/27/22

 Dinner was suppsed to be a bag of this Aldi potato-green bean-mushroom blend, sauteed with halloumi cheese. But sadly what I thought was the potatoes was actually a bag of roasted carrots and sweet potatoes....very disappointing. So I improvised dinner with a bag of tiny pork and chive dumplings that I stir-fried with garlic, ginger and half a bag of spinach. Served over rice, it was not bad. Still sad about those potatoes, though. They are surprisingly good.

Saturday, 11/26/22

 Belated pizza night. It was a very good example of the genre, but I am getting ready for some changes. Maybe new toppings next week.

Friday, 11/25/22

 The return of Thanksgiving, which is to say, leftovers at Jay and Jodi's. Diminishing returns in both taste and fun but not bad.

Thursday, 11/24/22

 Thanksgiving at Jay and Jodi's. Pretty fun! The food was the usual mixed bag: the turkey that Jay grilled was excellent, and Jason cleverly re-heated the latkes on the stovetop which was a vast improvement. I eschewed the corn and the kale salad and the stuffing. The good news for me is that my gravy was a big hit! I have a feeling I will be required to make it henceforth. Unfortunately Carter was still feeling pretty crappy, but he rallied a bit.

Wednesday, 11/23/22

 I had frozen some grilled eggplant at the end of the season, so I pulled those out and made a repeat of involtini. Well, I am not sure was happened (the freezing process? Late season eggplant?)  but I found it inedibly bitter. I was so mad and disappointed! Jason agreed that it was bitter, but ate it anyway. I was not so forgiving and just filled up on bread and butter. I think Carter just had macaroni and cheese. I almost never make something really gross so it was a sad day for me and a waste of ricotta.

Tuesday, 11/22/22

 Combined picking up Carter with dinner at the dining hall. Turned out to be a good time to go, as most of the students had left (no lines!). Being able to eat free there is certainly a nice perk of having the boy at UMass.

Monday, 11/21/22

 Just leftovers. They do have a way of building up.

Sunday, 11/20/22

Smitten Kitchen won't stop bragging about her garlic-spinach pasta, so I finally made it. You roast whole garlic in butter, and then blend the whole mess (well, minus the skins of course) with a bag of spinach and some pasta water. Very garlicky, and a pretty green color to boot. I used angel hair pasta at her suggestion, and while it was not a bad choice, I think I would prefer a small shell or something. But Jason loves angel hair and rarely gets it, so it was a bonus for him.  I can definitely seeing this going into rotation; I like her suggestion of using broccoli, too. I am just hoping Jason never finds out about the whole stick of butter.

Saturday, 11/19/22

 It is unclear to me why I thought that tofu nuggets with sweet and sour dipping sauce was something that I needed to make. It is meant to replicate chicken nuggets and if that is what we wanted I would just make them. AND it created quite a mess and that sent Jason into a tizzy. I think he would like it if I somehow just cooked everything outside. The dipping sauce was nice enough, after I added more soy sauce and some sambal oekek, and the tofu was: fried tofu. I made fried rice to go with it (more mess!!). Overall, more trouble than it was worth (I am looking at you, Jason!)

Oh! And I made the buffalo dip as an appetizer. Very, very rich. It also takes nearly a half bottle of Frank's Red-Hot to get the desired zing. I think you could easily dial back the cream cheese by at least a third ( I mostly follwed a recipe from Bon Appetit because the less "fancy" recipes called for ranch or bleu cheese dressing, neither of which I was willing to buy).

Friday, 11/18/22

 In a clear instance of the tail wagging the dog, we had a rotisserie chicken in order to have buffalo chicken dip at some later point. I also (for Jason) made cheesy tater tots. Jason accompanied his stuff with kimchi; I went with the more quotidien BBQ sauce. Sadly, my last batch of salsa verde sat too long and got fizzy (and not in a good way) so that was not a viable condiment. But at least I made a salad to offset tots for dinner!

Thursday, 11/17/22

 Pizza night. I thought this round was a little doughy in the cener (and Jason agreed). Maybe we should alternate the pan pizza with a thinner crust? Although from Jason's point of view, the pan pizza is so much easier.  Clearly I am getting a bit disenchanted.

Wedesday, 11/16/22

 Sushi bowls with tuna and mango. This was tasty, as usual, although I thought that the tuna was a little unpleasantly chewy.

Tuesday, 11/15/22

 This SK kale salad with cheese crisps, almonds and apples sounded so good! But there is just no getting around the fact that I do not care for raw kale. Maybe had I dressed it when I was home for lunch it would have wilted more? Or maybe just subbing in spinach would work? Anyway, it was a fair amount of components for something that was just OK. We also had some crab cakes from Aldi. They were about as could as you would expect for the $3 that we spent on them. Pro tip: if you want good crab cakes, make your own.

Monday, 11/14/22

 Happy Birthday to my dad! To celebrate we brought pizza over to Whately and Liz got 2 (!) Atkins cakes. It was really nice having a longer visit with everyone. Sadly, Jason bored the baby to sleep:

Sunday, 11/13/22

 I was really looking forward to the potato-cheddar soup from the NYT, only to be a bit underwhelmed. The accompanying pickled jalapenos were too citrusy and the soup has an odd flavor (I blame the chili powder and would suggest using smoked paprika instead). We also had some roasted acorn squash and I am feeling pretty good about not letting it rot in the fridge!

Saturday, 11/12/22

Dinner with Jay and Jodi: Jason made bread and Jodi made a baked ziti that was really good. We played games and had a super-fun time. 

Friday, 11/11/22

 Regretfully left the Porches (after eating a ridiculously large breakfast). We did stop in Adams to take a walk, so that was a fun way to end our little trip. Home for pizza (and a return to real life). Jason added the last of the pulled pork which was a surprisingly tasty addition.

Weird grotto thing spotted in Adams. Also, did not know that Susan B. Anthony was from there

Thursday, 11/10/22

 Another room picnic, after a day of walking in North Adams (me) and visiting the Clark AND Mass MoCA. The weather has been perfect and Jason has been cooperative. It's a little eerie, honestly.

Wednesday, 11/9/22

 Mini vacation at the Porches! Trader Joe's supplied us with delicious snacks for an indoor picnic: fancy cheeses, crackers, cookie butter cookies (these are the BEST storebought cookies ever), Marcona almonds...I made a white bean salad and brought an apple so we could feel virtuous. It was nice to be back there after so many years.

They still have that janky old Scrabble set

Tuesday, 11/8/22

 A fettucine Alfredo variation from the NYT. The only real differences are a bunch of spinach and a healthy dollop of chili crisp. Very rich but the chili crisp really gives it a different character. Would repeat (but no recipe really necessary).

Monday, 11/7/22

 Fried rice with broccoli and leftover pulled pork. Pulled pork made for two people is ridiculous and you never run out. But the rice was good.

Sunday, 11/6/22

 Leftover polpetti and squash. Eating this again made me realize I don't think I will repeat it. Ricotta gnocchi are lighter and tastier.

Also, I don't know what went wrong but my baclava is too soggy. Oh well, no one should make three consecutive pans of baclava anyway.

Saturday, 11/5/22

 We had a late-ish lunch (thanks, Corrina!) and therefore weren't all that hungry, but I insisted on making dinner anyway. We had a reprise of a Blue Apron potato-kale hash (let's be clear: it is cheesy homefries with kale to make you feel better about it). We bravely managed to eat some, and some of the latest round of baclava (I know!). The eggs you bake on top were superfluous but I never say no to cheese + potatoes.

The baclava wasn't at it's best, as I think it really needs an overnight rest. Also I may have slightly underbaked it.

Friday, 11/4/22

 Ricotta polpetti, from the NYT...it sounded so intriguing! Meatballs....but with cheese! Not difficult to make: ricotta, parm, egg and breadcrumbs, rolled and poached in tomato sauce. I let the mixture sit in the fridge for a while to make it easier to handle and presumably for the bread crumbs t soak up moisture. These were pretty good, but they are basically stuffed shells with no shell and honestly I would rather have stuffed shells! I am also glad that for once I cut a recipe in half so that the leftovers are manageable.

Also had some butternut squash with maple syrup.

Thursday, 11/3/22

 At my request, Jason made a couple of regular pizzas: one with spinach & feta, one with pepperoni and red peppers. I wouldn't say I am sick of pan pizza, just needed a little change. Nice start to my weekend.

Wednesday, 11/2/22

 Pulled pork tacos, at Jason's excellent suggestion. He made a batch of corn tortillas, and I made some lightly pickled red cabbage. salsa verde and queso fresco to round it our. Really good!

Tuesday, 11/1/22

 Roasted tofu with ersatz Goten-style noodles with cabbage. Honestly I would be happy eating noodles every day.

Monday, 10/31/22

 Just leftovers, as things are piling up again.

Sunday, 10/30/22

 Pulled pork sandwiches (did the pork in the slow cooker; nothing exciting there), along with some brussels sprouts that Jason cooked for us in the air fryer. Turns out it is the ideal medium for brussels sprouts. Faster than roasting, not as messy as sautéing. I feel like we aren't making the most of the air fryer....maybe that can be an upcoming project.

Saturday, 10/29/22

 Unexpected lunch in Carter's dining hall meant that we were not super hungry for dinner. So Jason had ramen and I had some leftovers; then a game night at Jay and Jodi's and then home for some baklava I had made. Yes, we are on our second batch of baclava. I can't help it if it is delicious.