Four for Dinner

It seems that I’ve been baking a lot lately. And, I’m not just baking. Really, I’m cooking too. Taking some pictures, not enough. I made Bahn Mi on Monday night using this recipe, but I replaced the pork with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and we use avocado instead of pate (I’m not a liver lover). [...]

We have a great Afghan restaurant near us that has delicious kebabs, stews, and bread. It is a family run, family style restaurant – warm and friendly. One of the last times that we were there, J was ooo’ing and ahh’ing so much over their bread that they gave her a stack to take home. [...]

Yesterday the girls and I worked with our friends GJR and SAS to can (jar) ninety (yes, 9-0) pounds of tomatoes. We lost one jar because it broke while it was in the pot processing, and there were a few tomatoes that were past their prime, so we couldn’t use them. Thirty-three jars (20 quarts [...]

And, to go with the apple tart on this cold, blustery summer evening: Paprika Roast Chicken with Sweet Onion. I was re-organizing my very full recipe folder and found this recipe from the February 2009 issue of Gourmet (sniff, sniff). I looked it up on epicurious.com and found that it was highly rated. Excellent. Quick. [...]

The girls are still at camp. S & I are finally home after a lot of traveling. I don’t know how people who travel constantly for business do it. I’m exhausted and I’ve done no work. The travel just takes it out of you. That, and not exercising enough. And, eating too much. We are [...]

J is away for the week, which is a good opportunity to eat the foods that she won’t eat. Last night, we went out for Indian food. The night before, we had chicken breasts stuffed with spinach and ricotta, a dish that L has been asking me to make for a while. Tonight, we had [...]

Last night I made something that I have never made before, strangely enough: Teriyaki Chicken. I love it. I order it when I am not in the mood for sushi at a Japanese style restaurant. I even bought a Trader Joe’s frozen chicken teriyaki for the girls’ lunches (very good, I might add). I was [...]

L and 3 of her adorable friends made a plan at school during lunch one day last fall. They decided that they wanted to cook a gourmet meal for their parents and siblings. L was very excited about the prospect of this meal because she likes to cook and she likes to hang out with [...]

Luckily, I was in pretty good shape by the end of December so that S & I could host our annual New Year’s Eve dinner. While this year’s menu was not as elaborate as last year’s feast based on luck (hmmm, can’t decide if that one worked or didn’t), longevity and prosperity, we did have [...]

Last Monday’s dinner – Orange Beef Str Fry – was, in a word, blah. The picture is way better than the taste of the dish. I’d had such hope for a recipe that was dog-eared long ago. L and S were generous and actually ate theirs. J was not so compliant and ate rice, then [...]