There are pictures of "loaf kitties" all over the Internet. One of our cats is an over achiever and decided to start a new trend - "proving dough" kitty. I feel it is a perfectly justifiable response to the cold weather, but am not quite limber enough to achieve that pose.
Last week, as mentioned, I cleaned out my spice cabinet and divested heavily trashwards. This week, I am using a whole mess of the remainders in various dishes, hence the trip around the world as far as our meals are concerned. Would that we could actually travel this much in real life.
Since I now know that I have 7 powdery baggies of different kinds of aromatic curries available to me (thank you kind friends and family who think of me anytime they visit an international market or travel abroad), curry is making several appearances at dinner this week. Each of the curry blends in my pantry actually taste quite different, despite similar base spices so I will use fish curry powder from Singapore to make a variation on fish and chips with mushy peas, and a fragrant and spicy Indian curry to concoct Japanese homemade curry stock cubes (like the ones you can buy in a pack in Japanese markets for instant curry). These I will add to Curried Duck Udon. Yum?
My Enchiladas with Salsa Verde (of which I am bored) have been requested yet again by my sister’s boyfriend so will make an appearance at Tuesday’s dinner party. We have compromised and I will be making a crab version, instead of the usual chicken. It will be a slightly heavy dinner IMHO, but the Chile Con Queso will probably be needed to sop up his quite lethal Jalapeno Margaritas. Otherwise who knows what mischief the 6 of us will get up to!
I have been thinking about Mapo Tofu recently, more specifically Szechuan peppercorns and the yummy, tingly, lip numbing camphor flavor that they impart to any dish. I plan on making a vegetarian hot pot this week, full of vim and vigor - the kind of dish that makes your nose run from the steam and the spices. It has been a cold few days, the weather report states more of the same, so this will be my antidote of sorts. Not sure that L. will approve but sometimes needs must, and a girl has to cook with herself in mind.
Last but not least, when L. and I were in Tokyo recently, a lovely family friend gave me a pot of her homemade miso to take home with me. I have been hoarding it and taking great pleasure at looking at it rather than eating it. I am finally breaking it out and will use it to further fan the fuel of L.’s love of Miso Chicken Wings.
So, all in all, a flavorful week.
This Week's CSA box contained:
Herbs: a bunch each of thyme and rosemary
Greens: a huge bag of Gai Lan broccoli – both leaves and stalks, a bunch of green kale, one of flat leaf spinach, and a bag of mixed kale and spinach shoots (crop thinnings?)
Alliums: a bunch of scallions
Vegetables: three hothouse tomatoes on the vine, two small purple daikon roots, a baker’s dozen of Yukon gold potatoes, eight Hakurei turnips
Fruit: Four crisp Ruby Frost red apples
The contents of this week's box, along with a few items that I am unseasonably sneaking in for my dinner party (like an avocado) will be transformed into:
Sunday [“Raid” Meal; fridge, freezer and pantry item dinner]
Monday [Wildcard; a more complex or fiddly dish than usual to test my culinary skills]
Tomato Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing
Stir Fried Gai Lan Leaves
Steamed Rice
Tuesday [Pasta but this week a dinner party]
Chile Con Queso with Tortilla Chips
Green Salad with Herbs and Avocado Vinaigrette 🔁
Wednesday [L.'s choice of an item I have made in the past]
Mixed Salad
Grilled Rosemary Pork Chops with Date - Root Beer Sauce
Turnip Mash
Thursday [Fish]
Green Salad
Curry Battered Cod, Bombay Hasselback Potatoes, Pea and Mint Dipping Sauce
Friday [Vegetarian]
Doubanjiang Hot Pot with Tofu, Greens, Veggies, and Noodles (AKA An Ode to Mapo Tofu)
Saturday ["Picnic" Dinner; something that is easy to assemble and easy to eat in front of a movie]
L.’s Favorite Miso Chicken Wings with Homemade Miso 🔁
A proper Salade Composée with Roasted Root Vegetables 🔁
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