suzilightning

yesterday...rain...cold wind...Alternate Minimum Tax form... the perfect day to make onion soup. Just adding the chicken and beef broths about an hour later with crackers and boursin i tried the Cook's Illustrated version made in the oven. probably one of the best versions i have ever made.

such gorgeous food - especially all the meat. dinner for john last night was an oven baked cod, sauteed yellow beans from this summer's farmers market and a baked sweet potato with lime butter. since he was a bit later than he expected and i was hungry so abut 6 i had this: homemade french onion soup from Cook's Illustrated with some crackers and boursin.

CKat - here kick it up a notch with toast dope. for me today it was all about fries and a medium burger with bacon and cheddar. WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE CHEDDAR?!!! they had american, blue, jack, swiss, provolone but NO FREAKIN' CHEDDAR. and the fries were incredible - soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside.

oh, god, tracey. that looks so absolutely freakin wonderful. i can almost smell that gravy.

pam- funny you ordered the two i like the least. every trip to the wharton shoprite my bag comes home with 4 of the pink grapefruit and 2 of the lemon peel. love them. they are just lightly carbonated and not really sweet at all. now that i can't find GUS anywhere they are my daily treat at work.

sunday's lunch. salad with marinated poached tuna and crackers.

saturday after work was venison stew served with whole wheat noodles topped with roasted brussel sprouts.

a day off yesterday so i could cook. pork chop stuffed with some pumpernickel bread, shallots and sage. the moistruizing agent was a splash of stout. served with brussel sprouts and oven roasted sweet and eastern potatoes.

growing up in a summer resort area you chambermaided (Ram's Head Inn, Dering Harbor Inn, Chequit Inn) or worked in a kitchen/restaurant. i have washed dishes, prepped and did bakery at The Cook, washed dishes, prepped, garde manger at The Chequit Inn, took a place from dark to open 6 nights a week working prep, line and late night bar food if needed(Earl of Stirling Pub) and worked for a dear friend when she went out doing private catering doing everything from cocktail parties to intimate sit down dinners to large receptions. came in quite useful since she and i catered my wedding. now i do one or two pieces of work per month any time BUT september - november.

a second for that!!

thank you for those kind words. just some extra virgin olive oil and capers... this is one of those 15 minutes after he gets home and is hungry dishes. i keep the shrimp frozen in individual baggies so i pull one, pop the shrimp in the pasta water just till they are defrosted then it is done.

after my back-crackers appointment, johnnybird asked me to check out a supermarket near the office for some specific soy milk. found that but also found these three cheeses. i see a cheese platter tomorrow...

john's dinner from a few nights ago(he was late getting home and i was HUNGRY so ate earlier). pasta with shrimp, artichokes, tomatoes and red onion.

unfortunately no pictures of the food as they would not let me take them but after running some errands i ended up in this place; it si in a strip mall in ledgewood new jersey. here's the menu i had a meat pattie fresh and hot out of the oven, the goat curry and a ginger beer. total was 18.18 and it was wonderful. just enough spice to make you warm but not so much that you blew your mouth out.

sausage... i want sausage!! seems today i flipped everything. breakfast was leftover lasagna and lunch was leftover eggs, corned beef hash and hash browned potatoes. dinner was a slice of bread with ham and cheese since john wasn't off the phone and i was hungry.

you are right. it is a bit more intense. think of it as your greatest teaching job in the world .... then relax and have fun with it. i'm looking forward to how you came to japan and how you deal with any cravings for western food while there( i did read your blog about the jamaican food. great writing and with a sense of humor). blog on...... and i can relate to your eating in stages.

oh, yes. we have so many trees on our property and on surrounding neighbors that i can't have a garden. the three places we do get a decent amount of sun are the back patio, the kitchen porch and now, after removing two trees last year, the whiskey barrel planter in the corner of the front yard. last year i had a rosemary plant that has become a bush - and i brought in to overwinter -, basil that gave all season and flat leaf parsley in the front. tomatoes in containers coplanted with marigolds on the porch. if you go the container route make sure your containers for the tomatoes are deep enough. you need a good 8-12" for the roots. this year john has expressed interest in the contraptions that let you grow tomatoes upside down so he may get two of those for a wedding anniversary present - along with the plants. we are redesigning the back patio this year and i am going to buy some of the moveable raised beds so i can move my herbs around for the best sun. good luck and take pictures.

kim- marlene's crispy smashed potatoes made an appearance here, too! it was sunny - off and on between the snow showers- but cold so some more comfort food following friday's lasagna. the aforementioned crispy mashed potatoes(made with purple potatoes), honey glazed carrots(a johnnybird favorite), fried zucchini and braised tarragon chicken. this one is another keeper. i love the mix of tarragon, dijon mustard, shallots and white wine braised in the oven. after looking at the photo i think this might just belong in the bad dinner section. what was i thinking with those purple potatoes?

wow... great cold weather food all. john was home a little late so i went ahead and ate without him. when he did make it home he had this: salmon burger with green goddess sauce, fried zucchini and a salad of artichokes, grape tomatoes and olive with a lime vinaigrette. we're off to my mother-in-laws for the weekend so i made some things to take up to her dat enut bread using the last of the fresh dates.

how wonderful this week has been but can you tell me what kind of bird that is? it looks similar to our crows. many thanks

Ce'nedra - i agree. none of that cheese porn around here unless you share. Kim - how was that Rosa Regale? i've seen it but never tried it. try blue cheese with those dates though we paired them with with Cahill's Original Irish Porter Cheese last night. leftover chicken became a chicken tetrazzini ready for the oven there is no pretty way to photograph the final product. while waiting for the tetrazzini to finish cooking a snack of Cahill's Original Irish Porter Cheese with johnnybird's beloved Ritz crackers and fresh figs blueberry streusel coffeecake for dessert

no, no.... please send them my way. what beautiful food you have access to. i could dive into that cheese selection. as it is i'm salivating on the keyboard here at work. thank you for this tour

day off so some time to shop and cook. when john got home we had fluke in a white wine sauce with mushrooms, olive rice and sauteed bok choy with shallot. he loved it - i thought it was ok. course i prefer vension or bison anyday...

yesterday's list: didn't exactly follow that order and added a few things to the cart when i saw them - like fresh medjool dates.

not the prettiest picture but this is one of the best dishes i have eaten in a long time. the leftovers from the italian pot roast converted into shepherd's pie with the addition of some shallots, mashed potato and gruyere cheese. john had some last night and agreed - i should make the main dish solely so there will be leftovers to make this one.