Journal

2023 - Week 4 Cooking Results

Irish Stew and Soda Bread

I should’ve started a bit earlier, but I was having trouble getting motivated to get up from my nap. Once I got going, I bounced back and forth between the soda bread and the stew, making adjustments to the stew, so I could use the oven for the bread.

Saturday morning I started by taking the meat off the leg of lamb, and prepping it, and then tossing the fat, bones, and etc into the stock pot to make a stock.

Little did I know the recipe accounted for this (putting bones from the lamb steaks in and braising it), but as it stand I’m happy with the way I made the stock.

The bread went in the oven, and the first braise went in on the stove, the bread came out, I added the potatoes and the pot went in the oven for another hour. Basted the bread with melted butter, let it rest.

The soup came out, I may have left some potatoes a bit larger then they should have been, so some of them were a bit under done, but for the most part, things came out really good. Dipping the bread in? Heaven, just heaven.

Pasta

Using some leftover pasta from the previous week, I was able to make a decent pasta mixture.

Hot Dogs

Good things, Pork.

Ham, Peas and Fontina Risotto (adjustments)

I used frozen peas, some not so finely diced ham (from my free ham), and added more of both. I’m almost out of my stash of stock, and so we’re getting to the point where I need to make a bulk run again. Overall, adjusted well, lots of leftovers, and good to eat.

White Chicken Chili

Normally I would remember to buy sour cream, and I thought I had a bit more left, but did not. I swapped out the cayenne with jalapeño powder, but other than that kept pretty close to the recipe. It was pretty good. I had it on the table when Shannon got home because she went in at her normal time but also had to close, cause one of her co-workers went home sick.

2023 - Week 2 Cooking Results

On Friday morning, I went for coffee with a friend and former manager. While the conversation ranged far and wide, one thing he did convince me of, use the nice things. If you have them, use them. The sense of joy you can get out of it. It came from three examples, one of moving his mom from her house to an apartment. One was she didn’t like her every day plates, so just use the really nice ones she likes, same with the flatware vs the actual silverware. How much time does one have left to not enjoy the things you like. The other was with a suit coat that he bought, but only wore maybe once a year, even though it was expensive to him at the time. He keeps it in his closet as a reminder that you use the things you have. On a mildly drunk whim, I bought a fairly expensive neodymium low ball glass. I have a number of glasses that I drink whiskey from, some more or less expensive, most bought on a whim, but I had trouble bringing myself to use this one. I used it Friday night and had some nice whiskey out of it.

Brats

Om nom nom.

Pizza

Making of my pizza after a we bit of a break. All the bread flour I had was well past their time, so I dumped it thinking I could get more and, I could not. None, not just of my preferred brand, but none, at all. So I ended up using AP, which, is not the same. I also may have forgotten to mix the salt in, so I added it on the outside., after getting a bit of advice from my brother. The crust didn’t rise as much, or was as chewy, but far more dense. Not unpleasant, but not right. Everything else worked out ok, just disappointed in the dough.

Cheese and Meat day

Of the two Rush Creek Reserve rounds I bought, I still had one left, so I cut up some cured sausage, and some other cheese and we had an unhealthy dinner. This is the first time I’ve actually baked it, which gives a different experience.

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Of the options of pork butt, I took the smallest one which was still way more than I needed. I should have prepped the butt earlier but I didn’t so I delayed dinner a bit longer then I planned, while I extracted the bone. I ended up cubing off the entire butt, so I can use some more in the next week or so (tossing in the freezer). I ordered the Kashmiri chili powder from Amazon, though I suspect I need to get more familiar with some of the local shops. I used apple cider vinegar, instead of the coconut, as it was an acceptable alternative. I ended up using smoked hot paprika, and Jalapeño powder instead of cayenne. The general method to combine everything was pretty easy and led to a bit of snuggle time with Mani. I did end up using more dried spices so I added more water to counter balance that.

After the cooking, I served them with naan that I had gotten from the food coop (then froze) a bit ago. Good Saturday meal.

Triple Garlic Chicken Ramen

I made adjustments…ok I only used it as a suggestion, vaguely. I ended up cooking the chicken with the garlic and ginger and spicy season salt. Then made the ramen and combined the 2 with a fried egg on top. So not the same, but inspired by.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

Ahh one of my favorite soups. Comes together well, takes a bit more time then a weeknight dinner, but not to bad. I always ad a bit of spicy hot sauce when I have leftovers, and it still does not disappoint.

2023 - Week 1 Cooking Results

Honey-Sriracha Shrimp over rice

Easy to do, good tasting, nice over rice.

Orecchiette with Shrimp, Pepperoncini, and Basil

I was going to make a general pasta a couple weeks ago, so this was the pasta that Shannon picked up. I didn’t end up making that pasta, so I figured, hey what can I do for this pasta type? And here we are. I made some adjustments, using dried basil, and less, since I don’t like basil. I added some Spicy Seasoned Salt, and used smaller shrimp then asked for.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I doubled the curry powder, tossed the chicken in the powder, rather than saving some for the pan. Turned out quite good.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

I perhaps added more chicken (I usually go by Costco pack) and then just made it mostly as it asked for. Good soup (insert meme here).

Lamb Burgers

Added Spicy Seasoned Salt, mixed in with the lamb meat and pan fried them. Good things.

Brats

The La Quercia sausage I got when I ordered the mustard, was up to bat again! Still excellent.

2022 - Week 52 Cooking Results

Pimento Mac And Cheese

It has been a bit since I last made this the last time. I purposefully chose hooks cheddar for the color. and went from there. I kind of wish there was an option at my local grocery store for a better quality, and more flavorful pimentos. Anyways, it came together well, and was eaten with joy.

Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon and Chives

I thought I had more sweet potatoes, but when I went to make this I found a sweet potato, and then had to substitute the rest of that with potatoes. I added sour cream, and with the adjustment it came out pretty good. Certainly thick, perhaps even thicker then intended, but I had to get it done.

Chicken Cheesesteaks

I missed some directions here and there, and made corrections, and eventually made it work. I really think they should have better cheese options. I mean in this sliced “cheese” works, but do I really have to? Shredded cheese could have also worked here. A blend of Parmesan, cheddar and something more melty. I reduced the peppers in the mayo, and increased the mayo, for the purpose of making it less spicy for Shannon then added some of the extra peppers to my own sandwich. Good stuff.

Honey-Sriracha Shrimp over rice

Delayed! Shannon wanted to get Lucky Lotus, so we got Lucky Lotus.

Risotto Milanese

This is the most saffron I’ve used at one time, on the family thread where I had people guess the ingredient, and one of my brother’s stated, “I was thinking saffron, but it seemed like a lot”. I had some I had gotten from CostCo a bit ago and used the whole gram of it. A very simple recipe, but needed more attention then average, but over all quite good.