Journal

2010 - Week 37 Cooking Results

Spaghettini with Garlic, Parsley & Olive Oil (Weeknight Kitchen)

Simple, quick done, nom nom nom.  Perfect meal to keep the fridge empty.

Pork, Rice and Poblano Peppers

Basically I made a quick dirty rice, used some tomatoes and some poblanos and etc.  It worked out pretty well.  It made for some nice leftovers.

Lamb Burgers

No extra stuff, just lamb.  Simple.

Bratwurst and "Drippy" Mexican Sweet Corn (modified)

I took some corn, added the cheese, sour cream and spices and went from there.  I didn't grill it, I just kind of tossed it after the corn was cooked.  It was pretty good and made for a good side.  Though I suppose w/ the soure cream and the brats it ended up being a pretty fatty meal.

Chicken Thighs with Creole Mustard-Orange Sauce

I had forgotten with this that there would be some orange juice used for this, so I ended up having to juice some oranges to get the same effect.  After that was complete, the rest of this fell down pretty well.  I really kind of liked how this whole thing tasted.

2010 - Week 36 Cooking Results

Pepper-Crusted Pork Loin (p9 Fall 2010 Entertaining), roasted carrots and potatoes

Even though this ended up just being ok, it's really my fault.  Because the pork was not completely thawed (I took it out late), when I made it, I had to cook it for fart to long for the carrots and potatoes.  I also had boiling potatoes and not baking potatoes.  So the occasional potato was a bit, tough but some of the carrots and potatoes were over cooked.  Oh well.  It was a good idea.  I knew I should've gotten some different potatoes.

Basil Pesto on Pasta on Toast

Shannon seemed to like it...I though it was too basily.  Maybe it was the basil I used.  It still turned out pretty well, I suppose.  It was also relatively easy to make.

Zucchini Pancakes with Basil Chive Cream

This was actually good.  After having suggestions of sweet things (cake, bread, etc), I figure making a meal out of it would probably be a better thing.  So the process of making the basil chive cream was interrupted a bit by discovering I had used all my basil.  So I added more chives.  It ended up being a lightly green tinged sour cream after I was done.  but even so, it turned out pretty well.  The zucchini pancakes were actually pretty good.  Topped with or without the chive cream. they tasted pretty good.  Although, the chive sour cream does look kinda gross (not pictured).  I think they'd make a good appetizer, though they do take a bit of effort to make.

Zucchini Pancakes

Eden Farms hot dogs

num num...

Turkey Breast Sandwiches

Pound pound pound pound.  Sauté, flip, sauté, rest, slice.  Use a bit of chive sour cream and a bit more of the sandwichy stuff.  Put it all on some sliced ciabatta.  Now that's a sandwich!

2010 - Week 36 Cooking

In walking in the farmer's market this week, I stopped by the Grinnell Heritage Farms stand.  They had a nice variety of products, but they had some gorgeous (smelling and looking) carrots.  The tops stand straight up, good color and just a wonderful smell.  So I bought two bunches.  I think today I'll roast a big chunk of them and eat the rest.  It was a beautiful morning at the market.  Though a bit chilly.  I almost wished I had worn long pants.  My layers of fat, however, kept me nice and warm, but my toes (wearing sandals) were a bit cold.  It's nice to know that the summer is coming to an end.  Though I am not looking forward to winter, especially if it is going to be so snowy like it was last winter, spring and fall are my favorite times of the year.  We talked a bit about it, and we'll most likely be going to Farm Crawl 2010 this year (10/3).  We talked about going last year, but, if I remember right, Shannon wasn't feeling well that day.  I am looking forward to it.

Shannon brought home a zucchini, she suggested cake.  I will not be making cake...

2010 - Week 35 Cooking Results

This was a week of quick meals...it was kind of nice to not spend so much time in the kitchen.  That being said, there is a limited amount you can do in that time.

Summer Pasta With Tomatoes and Chickpeas

This was simple, and quick.  Though I suppose a little more heat on the chickpeas would've been nice, but even so, heating up the ingredients with the hot pasta led for a simple dishes night.  It tasted good.  I added a bit more spice (read Sriracha or Frank's Red Hot) when I had it for leftovers, but over all it was good as leftovers too.

Fresh Tomato Sauce with pasta

Made quickly.   The Sauce perhaps needed more herbs to it, but perhaps that's just me.  But even with that it made a good meal.  While I was making this, I took some time to make a full meal.  I baked some leftover biscuits (Mattas' left them behind) and we had a nice meal.  I suppose this took the longest over all to make.

Scrambled Eggs à la Provençale (requires fresh tomato sauce)

Real quick to make, and quite good.  The tomatoes sauce addition made for a great quick meal.  I served this with some La Mie multi-grain bread with some Robiola.  A wonderful meal for being so simple.

Dijon-Cilantro Tuna Salad on Whole Grain Bread

This was pretty good.  I think it needed more mustard, but I think lots of things need more mustard...

Eden Farms Pork Burgers

nom nom nom, gone.

2010 - Week 35 Cooking

Done a bit early this week, though, it growing closer to midnight and myself having to get up at 5:30 AM, I should've probably stopped a bit ago and just done this later tomorrow, but, it's done now.

This past week we participated in Resturant Week 2010 and went to Le Jardin and Proof.  Both meals were excellent.  It's been a while since we've gone out two nights in a row.  But I did try to keep it a surprise.  We had talked about going to Le Jardin before they moved (if that's what is going to happen).  It's nice to know that you are going to spend ~50$ (plus tip) for a night out, rather then sometimes we go out, where it can get to be quite a bit more then that.  After our recent lousy service experience at another restaurant, I was very happy with the service at both, attentive, but not intrusive.

2010 - Week 34 Cooking Results

Spinach-Chickpea Burger

While it turned out pretty well, at the end of it, The taste was a bit bland. I was able to get some nice color, though I didn't really make patties. I ended up filling up my pan, giving the bottom a nice crust and then putting it in the oven. The problems with this recipe are numerous.  First they don't tell you how hot the pan should be to cook the spinach, then they don't tell you how how the oven should be, but most importantly, it needs more spice.  Now I covered mine with some Sriracha, which added a bit of heat to it, but beyond that it tasted really like chickpeas with some cumin in it with maybe some spinach.  Would I make this again?  Perhaps, but I'd add more spices right up front. I also served this with some Yellow Crimson Watermelon which was quite good, at least I thought so.  I also thought that it had a great color and design to the flesh, which I hope comes out:

Yellow Crimson Watermelon

Perciatelli with Roasted Tomato and Almond Pesto

So this was the movie night meal.  It was time consuming to make, but it had a good taste and I learned something.  I don't like rice noodles.  Maybe it's just my first experience with them.  They don't have the right texture or taste, and how the hell do I know they're done.  Also, once cooked, they don't really keep their noodley texture, they dry up, so leftovers...I believe Shannon ate all of them.  Anyways roasted the tomatoes?  Easy, but time consuming.  Roasting my own almonds?  Easy (not as time consuming).  Combining it all together?  Easy (thank you food processor).  I served this with some bread a simple salad (spinach and feta) with a greekish type dressing.  I also served some cantaloupe as well.  Anyways, the meal was good for all parties, one vegetarian and one with a sizable issue with gluten.  Overall I'm pretty pleased, the rice noodle thing is probably just my personal preference.  I also made some cucumber water (ice, water, cucumbers), it is very refreshing.

Just before it was time to eat.

Turkey Cutlet Sandwiches with Smoked Paprika Mayo and Roasted Bell Peppers

*cough* neither of us had this with the roasted bell peppers.  But the smoked paprkia mayo was pretty good.  I had it on sandwiches at work and today (the last of it).  Quite good.  I think I made it with more paprika then the recipe called for.  Anyways, the dish (minus the roasted bell peppers) was pretty good and we both enjoyed it.

Eden Farms Applewood Smoked Hot Dogs

Good, as always.

Bacon, roasted hatch chilies, and feta Quiche (I'll wing it)

Sean roasted peppers last week (this week too).  So this kind of popped in my head at the last minute.  So I diced up 2 or 3 chilies, some bacon, and I ended up using cheddar cheese (I wanted the feta for the salad for movie night).  Combined some eggs and milk, and put it in some frozen pie dough, a bit later (took longer then I thought it would), we had ourselves a nice meal.  I believe we both had it the next day for leftovers.

2010 - Week 34 Cooking

Talk about a struggle.  At the market I was struggling with inspiration from the food, it looked good, but when it came down to it, I didn't feel really inspired by anything.  Many things look good, but that thought process just didn't happen.  Just like right now, I'm struggling to figure out what to cook.

2010 - Week 33 Cooking Results

It was a busy week this week with lots of guests.  We had the Matta's stay the night on Thursday and then my Sister, her husband and child stopped by on their way to Ohio, for, if I remember right, graduate school.  To keep my niece entertained, Ryan took her over into the store part of Gateway, and she came back bubbling about kiwi (kiiiiwiiiii).  So after hearing this for a while I headed over there to get her one.  Beyond that I fed them and sent them on their way to my parents.  Now I'm not certain what was going on, but I think they had their entire lives in those two cars (including several plants).  The Mattas were here and between all 3 girls when they visited the house Freyja and Loki did well.  They were worn out by all the playing with the Mattas' kids, and they seemed to like the attention, for the most part, from Amelia.

Grilled Mustard Chicken with Fresh Corn Polenta (p71 August 2010 Bon Appétit)

I modified this, since I don't have a working grill.  I cut the recipe in half, combined some Dijon mustard, lemon juice and cut out the garlic and scallions.  I covered the chicken with the Dijon sauce and then cooked them in a pan, while making the fresh corn polenta.  It turned out pretty good.

Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro

I used the leftover quinoa and made a bit more to make this dish.  It made for a good lunch as leftovers too.  I did add a bit of Frank's Red Hot sauce in the left overs.  I think I would've added more spices then the recipe calls for.  It was good, but a little bland.

Summer Corn Sauté with Tons of Herbs

 So I got a, lets not call it a complaint, but a suggestion, that I wasn't using enough meat.  So I used the leftover lamb (there was about 1.1 pounds and I had probably 0.4 pounds left) and added that to the sauté.  It worked out well.  I cut the recipe in half so we didn't have too many leftovers.  I think with the addition of the lamb, it made it feel like more of a meal, rather then perhaps a side dish.

Dean & Deluca's Tuna Sandwich with Carrots, Red Onion, and Parsley

I am really starting to think that to make a tuna sandwich, I require mustard...of some kind or another.  It's just not the same with out it.  Oh you can add acid, you can replace flavors, but I know and it just seems lacking.  That being said, this was a pretty good tuna salad.

Lamb Burgers

I added some red onions to the lamb, and it worked pretty nicely.  I love lamb.

Pancakes, fruits, berries

This actually turned into a modified version of a recipe I found.  The modification was that I added around half an onion (caramelized a bit).  I used Gateway's breakfast sausage (I like the taste of it), but other then that it was pretty normal.  The night before I had Nathan help me by slicing strawberries, while I put the rest of the pears they brought (for pear tarts) and some cantaloupe into the fruit salad.  Covered with a bit of lemon juice and bam, breakfast was all prepped for the next morning.  Due to the suspected timing, I thought I would have been able to take my morning walk, shower and then start cooking breakfast.  But the Matta's girls got up earlier then normal so I moved things around a bit.  We ate around 7:45 or so.  it was a good breakfast with toast, egg casserole, and fruit salad.  Good meal to send them back to Adventureland.