Ann_T

Took eight baguettes out of the oven this morning before 7:00 AM. Moe wanted toast and fruit for breakfast. Sliced orange, banana, pear and a few blueberries.

Made Moe one of our favourite dinners tonight. Chicken Breasts Perigord. I've been making this dish for over 30 years. Boneless chicken breasts with a mushroom duxelles stuffed under the skin. With a peppercorn port sauce.

Beautiful looking sandwich, and great colour on your batter, but can't do ketchup either.

Braised Lamb Shanks in a red wine sauce served with Duchess Potatoes, rutabaga, zucchini and carrot. Got the dish started before leaving for work. Lamb was browned and in the sauce. Moe just had to put the pan in the oven late this afternoon. All I had to do after work was make the mashed potatoes for the Duchess and steam the vegetables.

Started a batch of dough last night and left it out all night to rise. It was ready to go at 3:00 AM. Eight baguettes out of the oven before 7:00 AM. Sliced one horizontally and made a toasted back bacon and hard fried egg sandwich big enough for two to share.

Made a biga before work yesterday morning and made the dough last night. 2 grams of yeast in the biga and one gram of yeast added to the dough. Left on the counter overnight for a slow rise and the dough was ready to go at 3:00 AM. Eight baguettes started in the CSO on the bread/steam setting and transferred to a stone in the big oven to finish baking. Last baguette was out of the oven before 7:00 AM.

Made Moe steak and butter basted eggs for breakfast.

Roasted a pork tenderloin for dinner last night. Served with a mustard cream sauce. Mashed potatoes, squash and steamed green beans. We were eating in 55 minutes after I walked in the door after work.

Thanks @Tropicalsenior, no one should ever have to eat what they don't like. You can always tell when a plate is Moe's if it has carrots. I never eat carrots.

Dinner for breakfast this morning. Didn't make it last night so made the chicken stew and dumplings for breakfast.

@Shelby you can find it here......https://thibeaultstable.com/2014/02/06/mexican-pork-chile-verde/

Hadn't baked bread in a few weeks. And the freezer was down to one little baguette. Started a same day batch early yesterday morning and baked mid afternoon. Sliced while still slightly warm.

Yesterday I put a pot of Pork Chili Verde on the stove to simmer along with a pot of small chili beans in the Breville PC. Had planned to make flour tortillas to serve with, but since I had baguettes just out of the oven, made toast instead.

No lunch, so early dinner. Made burgers with potato chips. Too lazy to make fries.

@robirdstx, I love your stew. Just the way I like it with a rich broth rather than a gravy.

Last night's dinner. Smaller portions because although Moe's appetite has returned he isn't eating as much. Made parmesan crusted halibut again for dinner last night. With just a few fries on the side.

@Kim Shook, AAAH, please tell Mr. Kim that made my day.

Continuing to tempt Moe with things I know that he likes. Comfort food. Last night I made Mince and Tatties, and extra meat and potatoes for shepherd's pie. I use the same recipe for both. I like mince and tatties, because it is quicker. Especially on a work night. I had enough meat and mashed potatoes left to make two shepherd's pie for the freezer. Baked last night and then vacuumed packaged this morning.

I love your plate.

@Dejah, Thank you. Yes the devastation, especially over in the Fraser Valley is heartbreaking. No, low and slow doesn't work on a work day. I always roast using the high heat method at 500°F . For beef, chicken, turkey, pork, etc... Unless of course it is for a pot roast or something that needs to be braised. Been using the high heat method for about 25 years.

Moe had surgery a week ago Nov. 10th and was being discharged on Monday. Getting him home was a bit of an adventure. BC got hit Monday with a major rain storm that dropped record breaking rain over much of the Province. Described as an “atmospheric river”. Much of the province has now been declared "a state of emergency". I left just before 8:30 Monday morning for Victoria. It was raining heavily and driving was slow due to the amount of water pooling on the road. As I got into the Malahat mountain, traffic slowed down more because of the amount of water pouring off the side of the mountain in various areas. As I got closer to Victoria and in an area called Tunnel Hill, I came to a bend with a Flooded road sign. Immediately around the bend was a river of water flowing across the south bound lane and across the north bound lane. The water was fast running and came almost half way up the tires of the pick up truck that was in front of me. But there wasn't anything to do but keep on moving and hope for the best. There wasn't even time to panic. I'm not sure how long this flooded stretch was, but it felt like forever. Shortly after this the highway was closed due to structural damage. So no way to get home, we booked into a hotel for the night. They opened the highway Tuesday morning, one lane only, alternating 30 minutes each way. Line ups were long and would take hours to get home so we booked into another hotel for the night. There was no way that Moe would be able to sit in a car for hours. The only other options for getting home were the Brentwood Bay Ferry or the Pacific Circle drive. Neither of which would work. Moe isn't suppose to stay in the sitting position for longer than 20 minutes at a time. On Tuesday there was an 8 hour wait for the ferry, as it only takes about 20 cars at a time . And the Pacific Circle drive is over three hours long on less than a perfect road and it apparently had some issues to with a sink hole or something closing the that road. So that left us the only alternative of getting on the highway early Wednesday morning and hoping that we would get through on the first batch going North. The highway is closed at night between 6PM and 6AM while they work on it. We sat on the highway from 5:50 AM until about 7:40 when cars started to move. Once we got by the damaged area, it was clear sailing and we were home at 8:10. Moe was able to get comfortable by stretching out in the back seat. The fact that it only took us that long to get home was a bonus. It could have been a lot worse. Moe's appetite had been off, but that could be explained by the hospital food. The Jubilee Hospital is amazing and I can't say enough good things about the nursing staff and Moe's surgeon, but the food leaves much to be desired. Moe requested roast beef for dinner so that is what he got. Roasted a small NY strip roast and served it with just mashed potatoes and buttered peas. The first real meal he has had in a week. Last night I made him petrale sole. Just a simple dish with lemon brown butter sauce and a side of spinach. I'm thinking maybe Shepherds Pie for dinner tonight.

Moe is still in the hospital in Victoria. He had surgery Wednesday morning and he is doing well. I stayed in Victoria with him until Friday afternoon and then came home so I could work yesterday and today. I'm heading back down Monday morning and we expect him to be able to come home then. In the meantime he is surviving without me and keeping in touch on Facebook messenger. I usually don't cook just for myself, but I felt the need for comfort food. So last night I roasted one chicken breast and there was enough drippings to make a gravy. Matt cut the potatoes for french fries and soaked them in cold salted water for a few hours. I double fried them. Not sure if it was the soak with the salt, or the potatoes, but these were the best fries. They had a really nice crisp on the outside and were dry and fluffy on the inside. And they stayed crispy. Didn't get soggy even with the gravy.

Made Moe a good breakfast. He has to have more surgery so he will be eating hospital food for a few days. Hopefully not as long as last time.

Decided I wanted Greek tonight. Lamb with traditional sides of rice, Greek potatoes, and Greek Salad.

Had a craving for comfort food. Roast chicken dinner. Presalted Saturday. Air dried in the fridge Sunday and roasted at 500°F. Traditional sage dressing, with mashed potatoes and gravy, rutabaga and Brussels sprouts.