Thursday, 3/28/25

 I was not feeling well at all, so it was a good day to stay inside, watch a movie, and have leftovers for dinner.

Wednesday, 3/27/25

 Another round of Korean pancakes, to use up the surimi. These were good, but took forever to get cooked through (and I made Jason rush on number two so it was a bit soggy in the middle). I also had rice cakes with gochujang (spicy!). We are still working through a big batch of hamantaschen (prune and dulce de leche), but we are making good progress.

Tuesday, 3/26/25

 Saag paneer with feta (from Indian-ish), with basmati rice and pita. The feta adds so much more flavor than paneer, although it lacks the appealing sort of bouncy texture. I had made the sauce over the weekend so this came together pretty quickly. Bonus: no leftovers.

Monday, 3/25/25

 Why I make such large batches of baked ziti, I don't know. We are only two people. Moreover, I wasn't even that happy with it (didn't care for the red peppers) and think maybe I don't love my own version. Too bad, cause there is plenty of it.

Sunday, 3/24/24

 Finally got around to making our pizza. Jason was once again skeptical of my idea, but it was good! Ricotta mixed with artichoke hearts, spinach and a little Italian cheese blend, caramelized onions, cherry tomatoes and a bit of mozzarella. I was loosely inspired by spinach-artichoke dip. Another keeper.

Saturday, 3/23/24

 Planned dinner with Jay and Jodi. We made corn tortillas and had black bean tacos. I also made a batch of cinnamon toast popcorn for Jodi. I double that recipe and it still isn't enough.

Friday, 3/22/24

Last minute dinner at Jay and Jodi's----Bev and Joel brought Miss Saigon. Carter unexpectedly won the best dish competition; let's all remember that #60 with egg noodles is the way to go.

Thursday, 3/21/24

 I was going to make rice and lentils, but we still had a lot of black beans left. So we had that with some tortilla chips and pineapple salsa.

Wednesday, 3/20/24

 Korean vegetable pancakes, more or less from Maangchi. The batter could not be easier: equal parts flour and water. I used spinach, scallions and a half package of surimi and Jason went to town on the electric skillet. These were beyond tasty, especially considering how easy they were. We also split a couple of packs of ramen to bulk things up a bit. Will definitely make these again!

Tuesday, 3/19/24

 Tofu, broccoli, noodles and peanut sauce. Nothing revolutionary happening here, but very good nonetheless. I used more broccoli than usual which I actually thought was an improvement.

Monday, 3/18/24

 Corned beef and cabbage, with potatoes and carrots, plus a really excellent rye from Jason. After last time I was afraid this would be overly salty, but in fact it was a little bland. The good news is that this was the perfect use for the Dutch oven. I made too many potatoes and carrots, but since that  is my favorite part it's OK. Yes, I know this wasn't St. Patrick's Day, but corned beef was on such a good sale!

Sunday, 3/17/24

 Black beans with coconut, from the NYT. This was not the most visually appealing dish ever, and it might have benefitted from the optional plantain chips. Instead we had rice and a quick pineapple salsa, plus a little feta. This was pretty good, but there are better black bean options out there.

Saturday, 3/16/24

 Pizza at Jay and Jodi's with all boys in attendance. My favorite had (oddly) cream cheese and jalapenos, an idea Sam borrowed from his college dining hall. I made extra hot fudge this time, since it goes fast.

Friday, 3/15/24

 Carter kindly took us to the dining hall (OK, we forced him) for dinner. Since it was the Friday before spring break, it was not too crowded, but that meant that I didn't have to wait in long lines and consequently probably had twice as much food as was strictly necessary. Should have skipped those tacos but what can you do. The kicker was coming home and eating cake. I had read two separate articles that claimed that Walmart made the best yellow cake boxed mix, so naturally we had to try for ourselves. The verdict? It really is superior (at least to the Aldi brand which has, to me, a chemical smell). I made a batch of ermine frosting (from King Arthur) to doll it up a bit. I used a light hand with the frosting and regret that a bit.

Thursday, 3/14/24

 Ham and pineapple pizza;  I agreed to this for Jason's sake, but was pleasantly surprised. Fresh pineapple and some jalapenos (plus light ham on my side) really made this tastier than I was expecting. I am running out of pizza ideas, though.

Wednesday, 3/13/24

 More freezer: bagels and cream cheese. We had many, many toppings for the bagels: smoked salmon, chopped spinach, olive salad, thinly sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions and jalapenos. This meant you could customize nearly every bite, which I of course enjoy. Honestly, the freezer is still pretty full.

Tuesday, 3/12/24

 We are trying to use up some stuff from the freezer, so I made french toast from some challah that was up there. Served with bananas and sausage, it was not too bad. 

Monday, 3/11/24

 Big Y was having a sale on their fish and chips dinner, so Jason picked me up and then we rushed it home. Their fish and chips are really quite excellent (even if I do have to make my own cocktail sauce). We also got some Tillamook malted vanilla ice cream that is my new favorite. Go to hell, Ben and Jerry!

Sunday, 3/10/24

 Impromptu dinner with Jen and John. I cooked up a Blue Apron (pork chops with farro, roasted mushrooms and poblano. Surprisingly good, but that's mascarpone for you. Of course I also added some butter to the sauce). Jason made garlic flatbread and we ate some of Jen's leftover desserts. Fun way to finish the weekend.

Saturday, 3/9/24

 Dinner with Jay and Jodi; Jason made bread and I made hot fudge sauce (from SK; her original, "unimproved" recipe, which I prefer); Beverly made a cauliflower soup and there was also pasta and salad. We played a new board game called Quicksand but I don't think it is really for me.

Friday, 3/8/24

 Jason was dubious of my pizza topping idea, but we did it anyway: cherry tomatoes, mozz, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, pepperoni and caramelized onions (no red sauce). But he was wrong and it was delicious! Doesn't he know I am a trained professional? We dug some chocolates from Aldi out for dessert (I had completely forgotten about them).

We also had Ramona in the morning!!

That girl loves a banana

Thursday, 3/7/24

 More leftovers. Added a little feta cheese to the cauliflower curry this time around and I don't regret it.

Wednesday, 3/6/24

 I cooked way too much, as always, so leftover soup.

Tuesday, 3/5/24

 Another dish that I cooked over  the weekend, cauliflower-green pea curry with coconut. I saw this in the NYT<,then realized it came from the Indian cookbook that I already own. Surprised that I hadn't tried it before. Anyway, this was lovely, especially with tamarind chutney (also from Made in India), cashews,  and basmati rice. Jason made some really nice pita to go with it. He is trying a new recipe and I am a big fan.

Monday, 3/4/24

 I was on a cooking jag Friday and one of my projects was a meatball soup from Alex Guarnaschelli that I have made a couple of times before. I used some homemade chicken stock, skipped the celery and added mushrooms, but overall  stayed pretty true to the recipe. It is such a tasty soup! Sure, I could have made the meatballs a bit smaller, but the flavors are great. Since Jason had made us a lovely loaf of bread, I skipped the called for orzo. I also made a spinach salad, rather than just lazily dumping spinach into the soup.

Sunday, 3/3/24

 I have been on a gochujang kick, and have been meaning to make this NYT recipe for potato stew with gochujang for a while. We found some nice little potatoes at the farm, and I dutifully set up shop on the porch. I did tinker with the recipe a bit: used tofu (which I had on hand) instead of white beans, and spinach instead of kale. As usual, I ought to have doubled the spinach, and I also think I should have used more stock. I liked this, but wasn't blown away. The potatoes were my favorite part, but the tofu did at least round it out a bit. I think it could be improved but I am not I will feel compelled to make it again.

Saturday, 3/2/24

 Long and drizzly day of watching Ultimate in Granby----luckily the guys won every game! Home to leftover macaroni and cheese and maybe a cocktail and snacks, too.

Two generations of Zoodisc!

Friday, 3/1/24

 We went back t old school toppings this week: Mushrooms, peppers, sausage and onions. Jason kindly sautéed the vegetables for my benefit, since I don't like raw peppers or onions.  Good if exceedingly hearty.

For dessert Jason made a quick sweet pizza to use up some forgotten pears from the fridge, and I made Mexican hot chocolate cookies (NYT) that were a bit fiddly but worth it. I took the advice of many commenters and stuffed the mini marshmallows into the cookies and then chilled them (rather that trying to work with very cold dough); it was reminiscent of forming pupusas. Two notes: I was cautious with the spices and wouldn't be next time, and the recipe calls for freezing your mini marshmallows but since they thaw while you are working I don't see the point. Anyway, after all the stuffing and chilling and rolling in cinnamon sugar, I will say that they are so good: chewy and spicy with nice gooey bits of marshmallow. Definitely a keeper.

Thursday, 2/29/24

 Finally! A new meal! Green chile macaroni and cheese, from Serious Eats. No significant changes from their recipe: I don't use the American cheese and add more pepperjack instead, and I added some spinach and peas to make it a complete meal. Also, the recipe calls for 8 ounces of dry pasta which would be way too soupy so I always use 12. So quick and tasty....but now we have more leftovers to contend with.

Wednesday, 2/28/24

 How is it possible that we are STILL eating leftovers? And yet, here we are. Eating leftover pizza.

Tuesday, 2/27/24

 Tonight we had the cauliflower toasts again; this time with a spinach salad for excitement.

Monday, 2/26/24

 A lot of leftovers this week. Tonight was the chickpea curry. We still have barely made a dent.