This is one of those recipes that doesn’t seem like much but it takes mushrooms from a bland, boring food to the perfect topping for almost anything. I used this ragu smothered over the tops of popovers but it’d be great on polenta, over rice, and even as a pasta sauce.
Whew the year is almost at its end. I already have plenty of goals for the new year and what I’d like to do with my cooking during that time. I feel like I learned a lot this year about how to cook successfully for ourselves in another country so hopefully I can finalize that going forward. But now, a menu:
Saturday leftovers
out @ party
Sunday eggs and toast
pasta with vegetables
Monday spinach and cheese quiche, salad, carrots and hummus, fruit
salmon, couscous, roasted vegetables
Tuesday japanese chicken curry, rice, fruit
general tsos cauliflower
Wednesday minestrone, salad, breadstick, fruit
spinach and cheese quiche
Thursday stir fry noodles with vegetables, miso soup, boiled egg, fruit
japanese chicken curry
Friday general tso’s cauliflower, rice, salad, fruit
homemade pizza
spinach and cheese quiche
japanese chicken curry
minestrone
stir fry noodles
general tso’s cauliflower
egg noodles
canned tomatoes
white beans
apples
grapes
bananas
carrot
onions
cauliflower
small pasta
salad
goat cheese
zucchini
eggs
cereal
cat food
chicken breast
frozen mixed vegetables
When I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. While the recipe is technically quite close to a scotch egg what it actually resembles much more closely is falafel stuffed with a boiled egg. The scotch eggs do not really end up tasting anything like your meaty scotch eggs but it is a great twist on falafel. Make sure you spice your chickpea mixture well as the flavor seems to get a little lost after frying.
This felt like a lot less plums when I was packing them but I guess it’s fine. I was thinking about trying persimmons because they’re pretty cheap here and I don’t quite remember what they taste like? We’ll see.
Egg fried rice, scallion pancakes, plums 
Creamy orzo with roasted vegetables, tomato soup, plums 
Chicken noodle soup, Danish carrot roll, apple 
Bean and Rice Bowl, carrots and hummus, salad
Turkey and Cranberry Jam Sandwich, boiled eggs, salad, yogurt with plums
I don’t know why this shopping list seems to be 90% vegetables but I’m not complaining, that happens sometimes especially when you have a lot of the day to day staples still on hand. Mid-week I’ll do some shopping to make some festive cookies for the weekend but this is just the food based menu.
Saturday leftovers
chicken katsu, rice, tsukemono
Sunday toast and eggs
out after theater 🙂
Monday rolled omelette, rice, tsukemono, fruit
miso udon
Tuesday lasagna, salad, fruit
arepas
Wednesday miso udon, tempura vegetables, fruit
pasta with vegetables and goat cheese
Thursday black bean, avocado, and cheese arepas, corn and tomato salad, fruit
lasagna
Friday potato and carrot fry, chipati, spinach and green pea soup, fruit
homemade pizza
vegetable lasagna
chicken katsu
rolled omelettes
miso udon
arepas
potato-carrot fry
chipati
spinach and green pea soup
tsukemono
canned tomatoes (2)
udon
nori
carrots
potatoes
squash
avocado
onions
eggplant
cabbage
cucumber
apples
persimmons
oranges
cherry tomatoes
pepper
mushrooms
zucchini
salad
masa
rice
ricotta
parm
mozz
eggs
milk
cat food
cereal
chicken breasts
peas
spinach
I made a turnip gratin previously but I wasn’t in love with it but I think I’ve cracked the code this time. This potato gratin is so good it’s hard to stop eating! Layering the cheese and milk mixture is the most important part but also don’t cheap out and use poor quality cheese because the minimal nature of the ingredients means that basically there’s no where for flavors to hide.
I had a kind of sad week but actually the food ended up looking really good? Clearly this means I should just be sad all the time :p
Spinach Quiche, carrots and hummus, apple tart, apple
Smoked salmon and cream cheese on black bread, sautéed potatoes and green beans, mandarins
Mac and cheese, loaded salad, apple
Chicken Tikka Masala, rice, carrots and hummus, apple
Lentil Falafel, yogurt dip, salad, tomato soup, banana
Super busy and having people over on Saturday which means a much more exciting menu than usual but it also contains brie so there are no downsides.
Saturday leftovers
brie, cranberry chutney, crostini
calzone
eton mess
Sunday toast and eggs
creamy orzo with roasted vegetables
Monday double egg fried rice, scallion pancakes, miso soup, fruit
refried bean, vegetable, and rice bowls
Tuesday carrot rolls, chicken noodle soup, salad, fruit
salmon and couscous
Wednesday creamy orzo with roasted vegetables, pickles, chips
fried rice and scallion pancakes
Thursday tex mex roll ups, roasted corn salad, fruit
carrots rolls and soup
Friday breaded eggplant, dipping sauce, salad, boiled egg, fruit
homemade pizza
breaded eggplant
creamy orzo
roasted vegetables
fried rice
scallion pancakes
tex mex roll ups
carrot rolls
chicken noodle soup
onions
milk
lime curd
meringue
whipping cream
breadcrumbs
eggplant
corn
zucchini
pepper
onions
frozen veg
rice
scallions
yeast
mushrooms
mozz
parm
whole chicken
red sauce
tortillas
cheddar
salsa
red onion
black beans
orzo
carrots
broccoli
brie
fruit
cereal
salad
It snowed for three days in a row but now we’re back to more fall-like weather for some reason? Looks like there won’t be snow for an entire week which is just a real shame!
Saturday leftovers
bean and cheese quesadillas
Sunday toast and eggs
spinach and ricotta quiche
Monday chicken tikka masala, rice, fruit, carrots/hummus
fried falafel, couscous, salad
Tuesday tomato soup, french onion dip, breadsticks, salad, fruit
baked salmon, couscous, salad
Wednesday spinach ricotta quiche, salad, fruit
tikka masala, rice
Thursday pan fried falafel, vegetable couscous, fruit
tomato soup, onion dip, breadsticks
Friday potato gratin, salad, boiled egg, fruit
homemade pizza
quesadillas
potato gratin
chicken tikka masala
spinach ricotta quiche
french onion dip
tomato soup
breadsticks
falafel
pinto beans
sesame seeds
tomato sauce
bananas
apples
potatoes
tomatoes
onions
salad
carrots
zucchini
lentils
couscous
butter
milk x 2
cream
yogurt
cream cheese
gruyere
cheddar
ricotta
frozen spinach
salmon
The original recipe touted that this is a copycat of Wendy’s but honestly it doesn’t really taste anything like Wendy’s except for the part where it’s spicy and fried chicken. Nothing wrong with that and this was an absolutely delicious and great sandwich/burger but just don’t expect a miracle of replicating the deliciousness of a professional level deep fryer in your house.