Things we made this weekend & I forgot to take pictures of.

I make myself really busy sometimes. So much so that I forget how nice it is to just be at home. Which means that, when I finally am home, I end up doing one or both of two things. Most likely, I stop and do a lot of quiet hanging out with Bill and a lot of reading. Or I cook a lot.

This weekend was a long one for Bill, and a quiet one. We ran just a few errands, had a very nice meal out, learned about a bocce ball league, had a guest over, and I read a lot. And then I cooked everything. We also played a bunch of games.

It wasn’t really intentional to cook everything. It happened because it was a really nice weekend and because we had a lot of time and because we ran errands.… Continue reading →

Redo Two!

Okay, we’ve probably actually redone this particular recipe, the White Bean and Spinach Soup from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, seven or eight times.

However, I think this is only the second time I’ve posted about a replication. The first time, found here, is about the garnishes Katzen calls for (and how they were no good). This time, I want to discuss freezing the soup.

Basically, it doesn’t freeze well. Most of it does, but the greens do not. I’m not really sure why they don’t, since I expected it to freeze well. However, the freeze and reheat cycle leaves them disintegrating and not terribly palatable. I’m sure this isn’t a microwave issue, simply because reheating the following day is fine.

This makes a pretty sizable recipe, though, so I’ve been considering ways in which it could be changed to freeze better.… Continue reading →

Guest Post! #BachelorCook Round 1

Hello everyone! So, as I mentioned a week ago, our friend Krysti declared her interest in cooking from our fridge. Something about it having more content than her own fridge. I agreed to let her cook for us on the condition she wrote a post about it for you all. I thought having someone else’s thoughts & comments might be a fun change. Upon reading this (and adding my commentary in the footnotes), I am now SURE having someone else’s thoughts & comments is a fun change. Hopefully, you all will encourage Krysti to do this again, and I can convince some of our other bachelor friends to do the same. IT’S AN ADVENTURE.

Thus begins Krysti’s quest…

Natasha and I have toyed with the idea of doing a guest blog post in varying degrees of seriousness the past few months1, then all of our dreams suddenly came true last week.… Continue reading →

Made-Up Minestrone

I apologize for the lack of photos. I think my camera ate them (or I forgot to take them), but I promise to see if I can get at them.

ETA: 28 November 2010 at 8:08 pm. I found a few! So please enjoy some ingredient photos!

h2. Ingredients

Leftover beans w/Italian spicing (From “the Italian pot roast recipe.”:http://metacookbook.com/archives/119-63-Italian-Style-Pot-Roast.html)
Leftover “broth” w/Italian spicing (See above.)

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 small onions, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

~1/2 – 1 lb greens (I used a mix of spinach & kale.)

4 c chicken stock (THAT I MADE.)

Kosher salt (Table salt would be fine too.)

Ground oregano

Dried thyme

Dried basil (shoosh)

Red pepper flakes

~3 tbsp olive oil

~1/2 lb pasta, cooked (In other words, that’s how much I think was leftover from last night’s stroganoff that we’re out of.)… Continue reading →

Redo!

We just made the “White Bean and Spinach soup”:http://www.metacookbook.com/archives/15-7-White-Bean-and-Spinach-Soup.html from early June again today.

I decided to make it again because I realized we had everything on hand (even though I swore we wouldn’t use canned beans again), and it’d be fast. It wasn’t as fast as I thought it would be, but it was still pretty fast and tasty.

It wasn’t as good as last time. I blame, partially, that I forgot to add the salt right away. It didn’t really have as much time to marry the flavors together.

Finally, we did have nutmeg and cheese on hand for garnishing this time. Totally not worth it. The nutmeg added an extremely odd note to the dish, especially on the occasions I got a strong mouthful of it.… Continue reading →