Journal

2020 - Week 15 Cooking Results

Carrot and White Bean Burgers

So, not near as good as the really awesome black bean burgers, but they are pretty ok. Not bad to make. I made them around lunch time, made the Pattys and then stuck them in the fridge.

I then went to pick up the makings for tacos for tomorrow from the cheese bar. (Eeeeeeeeeeeeee)

I cooked off 3 of the patties I made, and then we had dinner.

Egg Salad (this is almost as Easter for me as Easter)

So I made something like what I made for a chicken salad sandwich. I used my sous vide to make the eggs with the big container. So I did a whole dozen of eggs at the same time in the middle of the day (started at lunchtime, took the eggs out around 2 to put in the fridge). It made most of it pretty easy. I thought it was pretty good. there were four eggs left, Shannon made them into her own egg salad Saturday.

Tagliatelle With Prosciutto and Peas

Couldn’t find tagliatelle, so I used a widish long pasta (linguine?). This was easy to do and came together quickly. I got some freshly cut La Quercia and went from there. Easy, I let Shannon have both of the leftover servings.

Quick Tomato Chicken Curry

It was sort of quick. I forgot to add the yogurt at the end which, while it tasted fine, when I added it the next day it was pretty good. I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out. It did make the house smell like curry. Shannon also mentioned that it made her mask smell like curry as well, and as she wears that all day in the office… Anyways, it was pretty good.

2020 - Week 14 Cooking Results

Tuna (sous vide)

So these tuna steaks were smaller then the ones I normally pick up (they came in a package as they no longer have fish in a case). I don’t think it was as good of a quality but it was still good. I set them, compressed them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Worked out well.

Taco Salad

More beans then meat in the mix. Used some of the leftover chips, and it went from there.

Chicken Salad

So a packaged Costco pulled chicken, bought it to give it a shot. It wasn’t as pullable as some chicken you’d get freshish off the rotisserie. It still worked out with knife chopping things up. I used celery, pickle relish, feta, chipotle pepper (part of one), mayo and mustard. Made for an easy Saturday night meal.

Carrot and White Bean Burgers

Delayed! I felt like a grilled cheese sandwich, so I made grilled cheese.

Easy Stovetop 'Nduja Mac and Cheese

So, the combination of the milk and the cheese and the noodles makes for the a very easy simple Mac and cheese, if I keep noodles and evaporated milk around I could make it a easy meal when I don’t feel like cooking. The ‘Nduja made for a nice addition and flavor touch.

2020 - Week 13 Cooking Results

In one of the few outings this week, I headed over to my mental health nurse practitioner, to make are that my quarterly check in on drug levels. As I ran out the door a little behind, I noticed my rear driver side tire was a little low, so I pulled out the powered inflater, and got it to come up. Luckily, I knew the roads would be less busy.

Unfortunately, I hit all the lights red…not just most of them, all of them.

I got on the interstate, and even though I thought they had discouraged funerals…apparently not. There was a funeral procession on the road. So there was a bunching of cars around it, due to the flashing lights. I may have slowed down to.

I was only a little late. Quarantine practices were in full effect In the building and office.

On the way back I was in quite a bit less of a rush, so things went smoother.

However, driving down 56th heading back home, I may have thought that I was perhaps seeing something, but apparently someone was walking down 56th in a full easter bunny costume. The person kept waving at me, cause he clearly saw I noticed, but I think I was a bit too stunned to wave back.

Odd trip.

Baked Mac & Cheese (and peas and tuna)

So I took this classic Alton Brown recipe and added a touch of my youth to it (making a meal out of something cheaper, though this wasn’t exactly cheap). I doubled the recipe because I was pretty sure that leftovers of this are a must for my dear wife. Doubling it makes a whole lot of Mac and Cheese. Apparently at Shannon’s house they did the same thing but also added a can of cream of mushroom soup concentrate. Which to me seems a bit odd, but I suppose thinking through it it could be the kind of thing that you might add into the combination. Shannon had planned to make that while I was supposed to be away in Madison, but she made it for herself and took the leftovers into work.

30 Minute Black Bean Soup

I actually had to go to another store for black beans. I was out already, picking up medication refills, so I stopped by the grocery store closest to me and they had a few on the shelf. It came together using a combination of leftover ingredients and new ones, it worked as a meal. I used a nice combination of things as add ins (red onions, cheese, corn chips, sour cream). It made for a simple, quick filling meal.

Rigatoni with Easy Vodka Sauce

This was easy to pull together. As the vodka sauce cooked, I thought a bit about the pasta. I chose a ridged paste, because that seems like it was appropriate. I used a bit of vodka, and forgot to use a bit for myself, but you know, it happens. It was pretty good, came out a pretty color. And tasted pretty good with the pasta.

Nduja Scrambled Eggs Recipe

The La Quercia Nduja didn’t melt as they suggested it might. So there were little Nduja clumps in the eggs. It was still delicious.

Grilled Cheese

Always good.

2020 - Week 12 Cooking Results

I have started to grow used to the lack of a commute. We’ve adjusted to medicate Freyja before my exercise, and while I wait for Shannon, I do a bit of my dilly or dally. Things continue as normal. I still put on pants and shoes (I recently got new ones, and it makes sense just to wear them and break them in), but I do wear any of a number of t-shirts. It’s kind of nice, as I generally only wear them on weekends, and have quite a few. I think it is working out. It is still a bit hard not having my main computer and the monitors, but for the most part, it is working for me.

Better Stovetop Butter Chicken

Yeah… I called a few audibles here. I skipped a couple of steps, had to trade out some spices, but even so, it turned out pretty well. It eventually came tighter as a nice flavorful curry sort of thing. The cream and butter added at the end was a nice addition. I also added some Brinery Sriracha for myself.

Cheesy Baked Pasta with Cauliflower

This was easy to make, but those directions. I missed a part, so after waiting for things to come together, I had to cook it a bit longer, and then after taking it out and thinking it was dinner time, put things back in, and heat it without the tin foil covering. After that, it looked right, tasted right. It was a nice combination of earthy and fatty. Certainly the biggest use of fat, I’ve had in a while. Maybe I’m distracted or whatever, but I was shocked I missed the last of the directions. Eventually this turned out like it should, I think. I think I still owe my wife a true baked mac and cheese.

Taco Salad

Always a good thing.

Chickpea Pot Pie

Saturday late afternoon cooking. I had plans to use veggie stock (since I happened to have it on hand), instead of the bullion. I thought I had miso paste…and I might, now that I think. It might be in the big freezer. Anyways, I endued up using the Momofuku savory seasoning, instead. This came together pretty easily. The puff pastry was an easy crust, and I let it come to temp in the microwave (as in sitting there in without the waves, protected from cats). Chickpeas were a nice replacement of sorts for chicken. Good dinner for a Saturday at home.

2020 - Week 12 Cooking

So…things are depressing. I set my alarm this morning to go shopping, hoping for the best selection. A few others had the same idea. A few older customers were coming out during their designated time, but apparently not all had gotten that news yet. There are a number of things where it seemed a bit odd at why they stock something so much (Pumpernickel bagels aren’t particularly popular). For the most part I got everything I needed, a couple of things I wanted and got done with the trip.

2020 - Week 11 Cooking Results

I started working from home on Tuesday. We have made sure we try to support the places we love. We will continue to do so as long as we can.

Grilled Cheese and mortadella

So as a trial, I used olive oil on one side and mayonnaise on the other. The mayo side turned out a bit crisper, though both sides had a nice flavor. Clearly Need to do a side by side with butter as well. I would be curious how it would be in a side by side comparison.

Better Stovetop Butter Chicken

Delayed!

Lucien’s Shrimp Spaghetti

So uh… I once again didn’t read the whole recipe, because of this I was was let looking at hours of cooking. That was not going to fly, so I skimmed through it and made some decisions to quicken the process a bit. Did it taste the same? who knows. I turned out ok, and sometimes that’s good enough.

Cheesy Baked Pasta with Cauliflower

Delayed!

Bison Burgers

Good things. I used the Momofuku Seasoned Salt: Tingly, this time. Cooked low and slow and it was a nice stress-less meal.