31 Mar – our first attempt at making Indian food at home,
and a very successful attempt it was

Scott, Peter, and Amelia came over to both cook and eat.
Recipes came from a book I checked out from the library and
(when fresh curry leaves were hard to find) random google searches.

Cauliflower with Potatoes, Banquet Style
Country Chicken Curry
both from Flavors of India, Madhur Jaffrey

Masoor Daal – Indian Red Lentils
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Masoor-Daal-Indian-Red-Lentils-145357

Indian Style Basmati Rice
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Indian-Style-Basmati-Rice/Detail.aspx


 

30 Mar – brats and broccoli

29 Mar –  pasta and sauce, grilled veggies, salad, garlic toast

28 Mar – Vietnamese Bun salad with barbeque pork

For the salad: romaine lettuce, cooked, chilled rice noodles, grated carrots, barbeque pork, chopped peanuts, mint leaves, nuon choc sauce for the dressing.

Vietnamese Barbeque Pork

For the caramel

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

For the pork

2 large shallots, sliced, or 5 scallions (white parts only), chopped

2 tsp. fish sauce

2 tsp. soy sauce

Pinch salt

2 Tbs. vegetable oil 
1-1/2 lb. pork loin or sirloin, sliced into large pieces about 1/4-inch thick

To make the caramel -- Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir a few times and allow to simmer until the sauce turns deep brown, about 15 min. Meanwhile, have some extra hot water ready on a back burner. Once the sauce reaches the desired color, carefully add 4 to 5 Tbs. hot water to slow the cooking and thin the sauce. (Be sure to hold the pan away from you so that none of the hot caramel splatters on you when you add the water.) If necessary, add more hot water. The sauce should only be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Set aside to cool.
 

To make the pork -- Pound the shallots in a mortar and pestle or mince by hand. Transfer the shallots to a mixing bowl and combine with the fish sauce, soy sauce, salt, vegetable oil, and cooled caramel sauce. Stir well to blend. Add the pork slices and let marinate for 20 min. Meanwhile, heat a broiler or light a charcoal or gas grill. When the broiler or fire is very hot, cook the pork until just done, about 2 min. on each side. Let the pork rest for 10 to 15 min., cut into thin strips, and serve on bun salad.
from Fine Cooking
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/vietnamese_grilled_pork.aspx 

Nuom choc

Fish dipping sauce

makes about 2 cups 

5 T. sugar

3 T. water

1/3 C. fish sauce

1/3 C. fresh lime or lemon juice

1 lg. garlic clove, crushed, peeled, and sliced or minced

1 or more bird's eye or Thai chilies, seeded, sliced or minced

1 shallot, peeled, thinly sliced, rinsed and drained (optional)

1. whisk together the sugar, water, fish sauce, and lime or lemon juice in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the garlic, chili, and shallot (if using) and let stand 30 minutes before serving.

from Authentic Vietnamese Cooking by Corinne Trang

http://books.google.com/books?id=1KPlqAmRcbYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=authentic+vietnamese+cooking&source=bl&ots=RM18mr2aj7&sig=LXxe4oami6nYkWfilK1Kq5XkYWU&hl=en&ei=rAewS_DdDpWKNo-3mf4P&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CDAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=&f=false

28 Mar – after a fun day at the (flooded) confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers
burgers, brats
grilled veggies (liked the ones we got yesterday so much, we made our own)
fries

27 Mar – grocery store deli fried chicken, broccoli salad, wheat berries with fruit salad (not pictured) grilled veggies

25 Mar – 
(not pictured)
leftover pizza, salad

chips and salsa

24 Mar – pizza and salad 
(not pictured) sausage; cheese
olives, carmelized onions, red peppers, banana peppers

last time I made pizza, I made 2 extra crusts, rolled them out, layered them in between sheets of wax paper and froze them. I rolled them up before I froze them so that they would take up less room in the freezer and also so they would not crack. tonight I made one new batch of dough, so now have one crust in the freezer. the sausage was from a lb. that I browned up on 3/4. Froze what was left over and just finished it today.

note the sun streaming in from the West. we are just days after the Equinox and the sun is pouring in at 7p.


















and my son at college sent in his dinner 
pasta sauce from scratch

23 Mar – (not pictured) quick hot dog before high school class registration meeting

22 Mar – carb load

pasta w/ sauce, mashed potatoes

21 Mar – roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans w/ cream of mushroom soup

20 Mar – pizza
cheese

green olives and red peppers

19 Mar – (not pictured) late-night burrito after seeing the high school musical

18 Mar – (not pictured) 
one had left over corned beef & cabbage
one had Udon noodles
one was at the school play
I had crackers & hummus and carrots

17 Mar – St. Patrick's Day dinner 
to honor the trace elements of Irish that are left in my husband and kids
Grandma, Grandpa, my sister & brother-in-law joined us
corned beef brisket
w/ mustard and horseradish
cabbage
boiled potatoes
Irish soda bread
(not pictured)
gingerbread with lemon sauce and whipped cream

16 Mar – Pho Ga
this time I made the broth with pork neck bones and simmered it all day in the crock pot. fabulous.

15 Mar – chicken in enchilada sauce, black beans, rice, cheese enchiladas in green sauce

14 Mar – Carolina-style pulled pork w/ cole slaw, baked potatoes

13 Mar – (not pictured) roasted veggie salad, pasta salad and broccoli salad from the volunteer spread at Operation Glass Slipper.

12 Mar – what I do best – make something out of seemingly nothing, or as we call it, "what's in the fridge"

I will call it Nona Gigi's Polenta (but I never had an Italian grandma)
shallots, garlic, chicken breast sautéed in olive oil, jarred roasted red bell peppers,
sun dried tomatoes, broccoli, red wine, black pepper, oregano, basil over creamy polenta with cream cheese. drizzled with the teeniest bit of bleu cheese dressing.

Creamy Polenta Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups water
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup medium-grain yellow polenta
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup cream cheese

METHOD

1 Heat water lightly seasoned with salt to a boil over high heat, about 5 minutes. Quickly whisk in the polenta until fully incorporated.

2 Lower the heat to a low simmer, add the butter and allow the polenta to cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

3 Finish by stirring in the cream cheese and salt to taste.

If preparing in advance, cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat in the microwave, about 5 minutes on high, just before serving. Stir vigorously after reheating to fluff.

11 Mar – Pho Ga at Pho 79

10 Mar – hot dogs
fries
sweet potatoes
cucumbers & dip

9 Mar – Lou made steak
wild rice
mushrooms & onions
baked sweet potatoes
broccoli

9 Mar – I started a pot of Pho broth in the crock pot this morning.
here are the beautiful spices.

8 Mar – (not pictured) more Jambalaya and salad

7 Mar – Jambalaya
salad

 6 Mar – my sisters (well me, my sister and my brother-in-law) made dinner for our parents for their birthdays.


wow, what a bad cooking day. I made both rice flour and wheat flour tarts. The first brown rice flour tart crust I made, I ruined. Then I made brown rice flour custard filling. It worked great. Next I started the corn starch custard, but instead of adding it to the egg yolks, I added it to the rice flour custard. two fillings ruined. so I started over. In the end, then all worked out, much to my amazement.


Dinner was fabulous, but I forgot to take any photos!
island pork tenderloin
mashed potatoes
tomato cucumber salad
custard with raspberries tart
chocolate cake

5 Mar - tacos/burritos & a lovely Manhattan

4 Mar – pizza
cheese
Italian sausage and caramelized onions

veggie–homemade sauce from the other night, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, spinach


lots leftover!

3 Mar – paprika chicken (from the freezer)
rice
fries (don't tell the south beach folks we had 2 carbs)
salad

2 Mar – meatloaf, mashed potatoes, baked pumpkin


made 2 meatloaves last time, baked both and froze one. 
the pumpkin was from last fall, it was fairly bitter

1 March – if your 14-year-old calls to say he'll cook dinner, if you pick up the steaks, so be it!
Lou steak & frites

salad