German sausages, celeriac & potato mash, sauerkraut; braised fennel
20 March 2021
19 March 2021
Book 15: A House without Walls, Elizabeth Laird
A children's book about Syrian refugees - not set in a refugee camp, but rather fleeing to relatives in Jordan. I enjoy Elizabeth Laird - she's good at presenting tough issues in a way that's not too sad but still gives kids room to think about others with very different lives.
Dinner, 19/3/21: Pasta with fennel, rocket & lemon
The fennel here was sliced very thin and cooked with butter and garlic - very nice.
18 March 2021
Dinner, 18/3/21: Tacos
The first two, I had as a taco; this one was beginning to fall apart, so I deconstructed it intentionally...
17 March 2021
Dinner, 17/3/21: Braised Lentils with Roasted Beetroot and Feta
Braised lentils, with roasted beetroot and carrots and a feta sprinkle (easily vegan by using vegan cheese or no cheese).
16 March 2021
14 March 2021
Dinner, 14/3/21: Spiced pork balls in hot fragrant broth
This was delicious - the pork balls had a Thai flavour, as did the broth, and it was just incredibly yummy. Definitely one to have again!
13 March 2021
12 March 2021
Dinner, 12/3/21: Baked Gnocchi with Broccoli and Blue Cheese
Very nice. Forgot to sprinkle with walnuts, but will eat this again, so definitely will try with added walnuts next time...
11 March 2021
Dinner, 11/3/21: Balsamic Glazed Chicken, Potatoes, Beans
An exercise in using up: The balsamic glaze for the chicken was one that Sarah brought home from her uni kitchen. It was very nice. There's still some left, we might try it on salmon next time.
10 March 2021
Book 14: Through a Glass Darkly, Donna Leon
Where I'm up to in reading/re-reading this series (some I've read, some not, so this time, I'm going through in order). This was one I hadn't read previously.
(book purchased from Abe Books, July2020)
09 March 2021
Dinner, 9/3/21: Courgette Tarts
Courgette tarts with peppers and (in one case) mushrooms. Topped with mozzarella.
08 March 2021
Book 13: The Girl Who Stole an Elephant
This is the book my class is currently reading for whole-class guided reading; it's a fun story, with what is probably for many of them, quite an exotic setting. I enjoyed it.
07 March 2021
06 March 2021
Dinner, 6/3/21: Chili con carne (Geoff cooking)
Geoff makes a pretty mean chili con carne - in this instance, using turkey mince. He plays around with the heat quite a lot, trying to get the balance between spiciness and flavour. We all agreed that this time, there was a little too much heat - it was perfectly edible, but the heat overwhelmed the flavour, which was very good, but would have been better if it was a little more prominent.
05 March 2021
Book 12: The Lost Gate, Orson Scott Card
Borrowed this on audiobook from the library and enjoyed it; not sure I'll continue the series, but I might.
Dinner, 5/3/21: Spaghetti with olives, broccoli & feta
Sometimes the camera on my phone is a bit of a pain and doesn't actually take a photo - that was the case with this meal, so I've used the photo from the recipe. It actually looked pretty much the same, so it doesn't matter that much - it was incredibly tasty as well. Broccoli, olives, feta: very simple but a real winner.
04 March 2021
Book 11: Petra's Ghost, C S O'Cinneide
This was an intriguing sort of thrillery story - hard to classify. Although I did have a fairly good idea what was going on with most of the characters from pretty early in the story, it didn't really matter - I still found it compelling to read, and the idea clever and characters interesting.
(Christmas present, 2020)
Dinner, 4/3/21: Chickpea & Chorizo Soup
This was really nice - I used pointed spring cabbage instead of the Savoy in the recipe, because that's what I had, but we really liked the result, anyway. I also think it would be good with kale. Non-meat-eaters could make a similar soup with mushrooms in place of the chorizo (adding a bit of paprika) and it would be very good that way.
03 March 2021
Dinner, 3/3/21: Frittata, Oven Potatoes
A frittata is always a nice weeknight meal - quick and easy and can use up whatever might be lying around wanting using. Here I used a small packet of bacon lardons from the freezer, a handful of feta, half a jar of sliced black olives and a few of the lovely smoked tomatoes from the farmers market (which wasn't something which needed using up, but still made a nice addition).
02 March 2021
Dinner, 2/3/21: Butter Bean Makhani
This was a delicious butter bean curry - very tasty. The courgettes were our own addition partly for something green and partly for texture contrast. We'll definitely have this again.
01 March 2021
28 February 2021
February Book Update
Once again, I've set a reading goal of 100 books for the year - I didn't quite make it last year (95), but it's close enough to set that as a goal again (and I like a nice round number). I'll track which books I read in a month and which I liked best. Mostly for myself more than anything, but of course I'm always glad to have others follow along.
So... in February: new (to me) books read: 4; books re-read:
Favourite book in February: A Single Thread, Tracy Chevalier
in January: new (to me) books read: 6; books re-read:
Favourite book in January: An American Marriage, Tayari Jones
In February I didn't do a lot of reading, only managing four books:
- I read the latest in a crime series I'm reading (A Fearsome Doubt by Charles Todd)
- I picked up a kids' book to read at lunchtime at work which I remember Alex enjoying (The Last Wild by Piers Torday)
- I listened to a very good children's book on audio (When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead)
- I read a book from my TBR shelf (A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier)
Dinner, 28/2/21: Blackened Salmon, Squash, Oven Potatoes
"Blackened" salmon (ie done with chili and pepper, etc), some Sweet Mama squash and oven potatoes. Orange, but tasty.
26 February 2021
Dinner, 26/2/21: Refried Bean and Chorizo Tacos
As usual, everyone gets to assemble their own - this time the ingredients were refried beans, chorizo, feta, jalapenos, lettuce and various hot sauces.
25 February 2021
Book 10: A Single Thread, Tracy Chevalier
I always enjoy a Tracy Chevalier. This was no exception. I liked that the main character was a bit older, but still very naïve about some aspects of the world (the book is set between the wars and the character is one of the "surplus" women whose fiancés were killed in WWI - so although she's older, she also has very little life experience).
(birthday present, November 2020)
24 February 2021
Dinner, 24/2/21: Beetroot Soup with Cumin-spiced chickpeas
23 February 2021
Dinner, 23/2/21: Filled Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Salad
Made a simple sauce from a tin of tomatoes, a few fresh tomatoes and some herbs & chili, added it to this ready-made pasta and boom! easy weeknight meal.
21 February 2021
20 February 2021
19 February 2021
18 February 2021
Dinner, 18/2/21: Tofu & Black Bean Fajitas
Fajitas - a self assembly job. Tonight's ingredients featured tofu, black beans, avocado, tomato, lettuce, pickled red cabbage, fried onions & peppers, jalapaneos, cheese and a variety of hot sauces.
17 February 2021
16 February 2021
Dinner, 16/2/21: Carrot Soup
Uninspiring carrot soup today - just very little flavour, despite the paprika and cumin and other spices in it. Oh well, can't win them all!
14 February 2021
Dinner, 14/2/21: Roast Veggies, Pasta, Tomato Sauce
Various roast veggies - peppers, cauliflower, the outside leaves to the cauli, celeriac, a bit of sweet potato, part of a leftover cabbage. Also served with some pasta and a light tomato sauce.
13 February 2021
Dinner, 13/2/21: Pork Chops, Squash, Celeriac & Potato Mash
A nice organic pork chop, with crown prince squash from the farmers market and celeriac and potato mash.
12 February 2021
11 February 2021
Dinner, 11/2/21: Carrot Tart, Spring Greens
A carrot and onion tart (with a potato crust) which we all really enjoy, with some lovely fresh spring greens from our veggie box. Mmm.
Book 9: When you Reach Me, Rebecca Stead
This came up on my "available books" shelf from the library audiobook app, and it sounded fun - I thought it was great, and it reminded me I should read A Wrinkle in Time again.
10 February 2021
Dinner, 10/2/21: Chicken & Garlic Potatoes, Asian Broccoli Salad
Simple traybake, chicken and potatoes. Threw some garlic in as well. Served with an Asian Broccoli Salad which we like.
Book 8: The Last Wild, Piers Torday
Picked this one up at school to read during my lunch break, as I knew Alex had enjoyed it when he was younger, and it didn't let me down. Interesting concept and a good read.
09 February 2021
Dinner, 9/2/21: Mushroom & Chili Omelette, Hash Browns, Salad
Was going to have a chicken dish tonight, but forget to get the chicken out of the freezer in the morning, so rather than microwave defrost (which I don't like for thighs) we had some lovely omelettes with mushrooms, chilis, cheese. And hash brown bites, and salad, which isn't in the photo.
07 February 2021
Dinner, 7/2/21: Bangers, Mash, Cabbage
Bangers, mash, cabbage. Gravy too, but not pictured. OK, it's a bit of a basic bitch of a meal, but that's ok sometimes!
06 February 2021
04 February 2021
Book 7: A Fearsome Doubt, Charles Todd
Reading my way through this series - luckily, there are a lot of them - nice when you find a series you enjoy.
03 February 2021
Dinner, 3/2/21: Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry
Had some leftover tofu, which I marinated, and then threw in some other veg and udon noodles. Yum.
02 February 2021
01 February 2021
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