Monthly Archives: September 2010

Tomorrow’s going to involve a lot of typing.

Today I knocked out three recipes from “_How to Cook Everything_”:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764578650?ie=UTF8&tag=metaco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0764578650, so I’ll be typing quite a bit tomorrow. I’m going to put two of the three in one post, I think, because I didn’t taste one separate from the others.

What do you all think? Should everything be it’s own post, or should everything go together or some of each?… Continue reading →

[41] Stewed Chicken Thighs with Dried Fruits

Cover of Eating Well Serves Two by Jim Romanoff

The joys of menu planning are fairly new to me. Menu planning isn’t new to me, but having it work out nicely really is.

I have tried planning menus in the past, repeatedly. Until this week, something has always happened to derail the plans. Sometimes it’s as simple as, “Guh, I don’t want to cook” and sometimes it’s been as complicated as the person or people I’m cooking for changing the plans, realizing they had other plans, etc. Given that, it’s amazing that this week has worked out perfectly, especially with slight changes in plans every day.

We were, originally, planning to make this meal Thursday night. Then our friend Jessie was coming over Thursday night, so we made the “Beef Daube”:http://metacookbook.com/archives/78-40-Beef-Daube.html instead, since she doesn’t like chicken thighs (and it’s only supposed to make enough for two people, not three).… Continue reading →

Good news, everyone!

We officially have less than 2500 recipes to make!

Except our friend Maria-Sea is considering giving us a cookbook, it sounds like. And our friend Corrine also considered giving us a cookbook or 17 awhile back, but instead gave us jam and canned peaches and rhubarb.… Continue reading →

[40] Beef Daube

How to Cook Everything, Revised Edition by Mark Bittman

HOLY COW! Another big, round number! Fabulous.

So, Thursday night I made this stew. We were having our friend Jessie over for dinner, and it was a gross, wet day outside. I’d planned to make this one Monday night, but we switched the menu around in honor of those two things. (Jessie doesn’t like chicken thighs, which are now on the menu for Monday night.) Luckily, we HAD gone grocery shopping by the time we decided to switch things up, so it was easy to go to a different choice on the menu.

I love it when things just work out.

I had put it on the menu because my friend Nancy had recently made it, and highly recommended it. Frankly, that’s all it took.… Continue reading →

[39] Honey-Mustard Glazed Chicken

Cover of No Red Meat by Brenda Shriver

I totally chose this recipe Tuesday during my meal planning for the week because it involved the grill, looked crazy simple, and we had all the ingredients on hand. I am not ashamed of making such a choice. I am, in fact, very pleased with that choice since we didn’t manage to go grocery shopping Tuesday night, as planned.

Our menu schedule is a bit off of most people’s two major days due to the CSA delivery we get Monday nights/Tuesday mornings. It’s my sense that most people who plan their menus for a week do the planning and shopping on one of two major days: the weekend day most convenient for them or the day the store circular sales start. In Chicago, the circulars arrive on Wednesday and sales start Thursday.… Continue reading →