Journal

Week 27 Cooking Results

Leftovers!

Fish Tacos were good, though some of the indgrediants had already turned and couldn't be used (cilantro). I don't think I'll ever buy tuna like that again...it just wasn't that good...but...they were cheap, so really, what do I expect, being here in the middle of the country, you have to spend a lot of money getting fresh, or just kind of forget it.

I got the fridge mostly empty by the end of the week, then threw things that were either turning, or about to turn. I kind of made up a recipe for new potatoes that we had with left over chicken thighs. We had Berkshire pork and made sandwiches out of it... So nothing too spectacular (the roasted new potatoes, were very good and I will be making them again tonight).

Friday night we went to Proof. We had several things that were quite delicious (including probably the best strawberry ice cream I've tasted). Proctor, Chad and Mikaela (sp?) showed up to see what desert was and wished me a happy birthday.

Saturday was game night. Attendance was fairly light, but still fun. Two of my brothers came up from Cedar Rapids to join in the party. Joseph actually smoked a couple of Berkshire pork shoulders for me, and pulled them, so we served pulled pork for dinner. It was really really good. I also bought a cake from Let Them Eat Cake. It is German Chocolate cake and it was really fantastic... I have cake creation envy... Honestly I couldn't believe the price, it was so reasonable. I'm glad that people joined me and am looking to the next one in September...or maybe late August to see if maybe I can get my brothers to come again, before Isaac heads off to college.

Week 26 Cooking Results

Scrambled Eggs with Arugula, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese (p 37 Entertaining Spring 2009)

This was fairly quick and simple...though I halved the recipe...

Tuna Sandwiches Provencal

The way this was crafted, while good, didn't strike me as the way it should be (so I combined the mayo mix and tuna mix, to make it more normal). After that it was good...not as good as the other one I made, but good.

Fish Tacos

I uh...didn't so much make this, so uh...I'll be making it this next week.

I didn't end up making the french toast either...we got home later then I thought we would from Cedar Rapids, so we ate a late lunch/dinner.

Week 25 Cooking Results

As a bonus this week I started with a Gateway Market cheese pizza, added some of the meat left from the sun-dried tomato burgers, some Eden Farms Berkshire Pork bacon, some onions, sautéed in bacon fat (mmm...bacon fat...). crumbled up, dried up, and put on top and blammo...fatty Bacon Cheese Burger pizza.

Tuscan Tuna-and-Bean Sandwiches

I don't know if it was because I didn't use the tuna that it called for (gotta go with the low sodium, for me), or what, but it just wasn't my style of tuna salad...maybe I missed the Mayo. After I added that (eating it for lunch), it was fine, but nothing to write home about

Sun-Dried-Tomato Burgers with Balsamic-Glazed Onions

This was actually quite good. Leftovers went well on the pizza.

Mahi-Mahi in Tomato-Olive Sauce (p 46 Bon Appétit May 2009)

This is pretty good, though the Mahi-Mahi that I used wasn't the top of the line...probably would've been better with better tuna. The sauce on it's own could easily go over pasta.

Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon (p 44 Bon Appétit May 2009)

I thought I added to much lemon juice, Shannon didn't like the amount of olives, but even so, it was still pretty good.

Week 25 Cooking

What a struggle...I don't know if I'm just being lazy, worrying about cost, but for the May 2009 Bon Appétit looked good, but just didn't seem remotely practical for the most part. I don't know if I'm just feeling blah, or what, but getting enough recipes to make anything remotely looking like a menu was a struggle. Plus for some reason I am just have tuna on the brain (I was looking for a tuna casserole without condensed soup, but decided it wasn't season appropriate).

Week 24 Cooking Results

Best Quick Tomato Sauce (p 13 Cook's Illustrated May/June 2009)

This was really good. Simple. Easy to do. Makes you wonder why people would buy out of a jar? I do it this way, and I know exactly what goes in. Though I do like my sauce to have a bit more of a kick, but it's a good base for a future riffing on the sauce.

Chicken Adobo (Splendid Table Cheap Eats)

I grew impatient, and didn't finish this properly, but even without doing it, it has a nice taste to it. I don't know if I dissected whole chicken right, but it turned out well. Shannon and I ended up with the thighs, and the breasts and wings are still leftover. Took a while, but was good.

Pasta with Instant Fresh Pesto and Balsamic Vinegar (Splendid Table email)

This was very easy and very simple. Tasty. I'm really growing to like the Balsamic Vinegar taste.

Pork Steaks with Chile Orange Sauce (Splendid Table Cheap Eats)

After marinading overnight, I cooked these up. It does make for a longer night before hand, but the actual cooking time is pretty quick. Anyways, this was pretty good, I don't know if the sauce turned out right, but it was tasty.

Week 24 Cooking

Running a bit late this weekend due to the time we spent in Cedar Rapids this weekend to go see a Dance Recital (Taylor (not really our niece, but might as well be) and Shaeliegh).

  • Pasta with Instant Fresh Pesto and Balsamic Vinegar (Splendid Table email)
  • Best Quick Tomato Sauce (p 13 Cook's Illustrated May/June 2009)
  • Pork Steaks with Chile Orange Sauce (Splendid Table Cheap Eats)
  • Chicken Adobo (Splendid Table Cheap Eats)

Week 23 Cooking Results

White Bean Salad with Mint and Red Onion (p47 Fine Cooking April/May 2009)

Fairly good, we had it with some brats.

Toasted Israeli Couscous Salad with mint, cucumber and feta (p44 Fine Cooking April/May 2009)

Maybe I didn't cut the cucumbers small enough or make it quite right...but neither of us particularly liked this...

Rigatoni with Sun-Dried Tomato and Fennel Sauce (p21 Fine Cooking April/May 2009)

Served this for movie night with a nice greens salad (with Chive Feta) and some good La Mie Bread. It went over well

Mozzarella and Spinach BLTs (p64 Fine Cooking April/May 2009)

I uh...didn't so much follow recipe or instructions really...just made a sandwich with mozzarella, spinach and bacon on wheat. They were very good though.