delectableedifice

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Sunday Tea Time!

Every Sunday morning L and I wake up early (either 6 or 7 AM) to listen to the pipe organ program on the classical radio station; we make tea and have a small morsel to eat and boot up the Switch to play a game together (on mute) as we listen to the radio.

This morning we had a tea called Second Breakfast from Chapters Tea (black tea w marigold) and sampled some of the French cookies I received for my bday. Also had a bit of lemon Wensleydale on sourdough toast.

Today we hit 100% on our play-through of Lego Harry Potter years 5-7. Next week we will be restarting our play-through of years 1-4 as our previous save became corrupted.

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Lunches this week: taco salad

Featuring raw cabbage, spinach, cherry tomato, corn, crispy roasted chick peas, shredded cheese and pulled pork.

I've never made a taco salad before and I wasn't sure how I would make it in a way that didn't just feel like a salad with taco meat. I decided on some ingredients that would keep well without getting mushy, as that is a texture no-no for me, and then went from there. I used taco and Cajun seasoning on the meat and chick peas which added a lot of spice and flavor. I should have bought taco sauce to mix into the pork but didn't think of it till after I finished shopping, so we used a mix of sauces we had on hand including barbecue and buffalo.

I am not sure what I was expecting or why I was apprehensive about this meal but it ended up exceeding my expectations and I really liked it. I will definitely be making this again this summer, though perhaps I'll do ground beef or fajita chicken with it next time.

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Sharing this for anyone but especially the tired. And also sharing for myself as I may need it someday.

People with low spoons, someone just recommended this cookbook to me, so I thought I’d pass it on.

I always look at cookbooks for people who have no energy/time to do elaborate meal preparations, and roll my eyes. Like, you want me to stay on my feet for long enough to prepare 15 different ingredients from scratch, and use 5 different pots and pans, when I have chronic fatigue and no dishwasher?

These people seem to get it, though. It’s very simple in places. It’s basically the cookbook for people who think, ‘I’m really bored of those same five low-spoons meals I eat, but I can’t think of anything else to cook that won’t exhaust me’. And it’s free!

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It's been a bit- I did not take a picture of lunches this past week. The week before that was some pasta, broccoli and red sauce with rotisserie chicken. It was a slow week for my partner so we decided to use up some stuff we had on hand to cover lunches, for budget purposes and also because I was the main person to need food for the week. We did make a household favorite mid-week which was hummus veggie wraps, though we added some pork schnitzel we had on hand.

Last week we had fried rice with eggs, frozen mixed veggies and some mild Italian sausage leftover from another meal. It was another slow week so we tried using some more of what we already had, so I only had to buy the frozen veggies and some garlic.

Overall these are two classics and also rice of any kind is one of my safe foods so I did not get bored of the fried rice lunches and could probably keep eating them.

Spring is nearly here so I may need to get one more soup week in at some point. I have lots of bones and veggie scraps to use up for a broth- and this time I will not be freezing them to avoid the fiasco that resulted from that last time.

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Lunches this week:

Chicken Caesar salad with bow tie pasta. My mom used to make this and it was one of the few dishes I really liked. It's just so good.

I don't usually make salads in winter but it's been warm out and it's been ages since I've made this dish, it was time.

Oh and I added spinach too.

So my only problem with salads in general when making for future meals is they can get soggy, which makes a mushy texture I can't stand. The line between acceptable mushy and unacceptable mushy has always been unclear yet very thin. Slimy leaf is something that if I eat it I cannot force myself to continue. So I'm hoping that by assembling and leaving out the dressing to add when I eat it, that I will avoid this problem. 🤞🏼

I also left out croutons for a similar reason. No one wants soggy croutons.

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Date night- steamed wild rice, salmon (air fried) topped with butter, parmesan shavings and green onion.

Our date is a one-on-one D&D session and I like making something that feels appropriate for the setting of the campaign.

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Lunches this week were Tater Tot Hotdish, a midwestern classic and one of our faves.

I've probably made this dish more than any other in the past year. It's easy, affordable, tasty, and customizable.

I accidentally bought cream of chicken soup instead of cream of mushroom, tho L was kinda happy about that. It turned out just fine, but I think I still prefer it with CoM. 🍄‍🟫

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I have to talk about this cake, please forgive me. It's the best cake I've ever made.

See below for details!

For this cake I simply used a regular box white cake mix, cool whip (frozen aisle) and strawberries from Aldi. I decided to spruce it up by substituting the water with heavy cream I had on hand from the soup I made this week and melted butter instead of oil.

I've never made a box cake and not followed the directions so I did a bit of research. I wasn't planning on doing anything different but decided I was in the mood to risk it.

I threw in all the ingredients except the eggs and mixed with a hand mixer for a minute or two, similar to reverse creaming. Then before I added the egg whites, I beater them in a bowl along with two egg yolks to add some air, then mixed it into the rest for a couple minutes.

I was considering making a layer cake but I only have one round pan and decided it would be too annoying to make multiple cakes that way. Into the 9x13!

After it cooled I added thawed cool whip as a frosting and some stewed strawberries I whipped up real quick and let cool. Also threw a few of the nicer strawberries on top and swirled the toppings a bit.

There was several things that I hesitated on since I am not very experienced with baking, like using melted butter instead of softened butter (since I didn't have time to wait for that) and I'm glad I took the risk. I also added about 2 tablespoons extra melted butter after reading a reddit post on subbing melted butter for oil.

Anyway it turned out really well, super evenly baked through, really nice texture and crumb, really soft and moist, and the flavors are sooo yummy with the mild whipped topping and tart fresh strawberries & sweet strawberry sauce.

Cost: $5 ish for two boxes of strawberries, $1 cake mix, $1 cool whip, and then if you count the eggs, butter and heavy cream I already had on hand it was $3, $4 and $5 respectively but I didn't use up the whole carton of any of those so more like $11 total.

I never buy cakes so I don't know how that compares but it was really good and I will definitely make it again.

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Lunches this week: creamy chicken wild rice soup, topped with sriracha, feta and crackers.

I'm bringing back this household favorite that I haven't made in a while. Last few times I made it I had to omit the roux for a gluten free family member we were living with, so this is the first time I think I've had it with the roux.

It's hardy, cozy and yummy. We've had a bout of early March weather, t-shirts and shorts weather in the 40s-50s F, but despite the warmth it's been a tad gloomy and I was still in a soup mood.

Bowl: East Fork soup bowl in Taro

I remembered to thaw the last of my homemade broth a few days ago, setting the cracked jar inside a cheesecloth inside a pitcher. It was so much easier to deal with than the gallon jug.

I wish I had added some more seasonings, as the original recipe only used salt, pepper and some herbs. It kinda needs like some paprika and chili powder or something next time, hence me throwing in some sriracha. But I understand that the soup is probably meant to not be too complex in flavor, especially with wild rice having a unique flavor. I happen to be more sensory seeking with my flavors, but someone who likes simple, salt and butter flavors will like this.

My secret for cooking wild rice nice and fluffy and flavorful is to mix some chicken bullion into the water once it boils. (Don't use chicken broth/stock, it doesn't work very well for some reason) and cook it extra long. This time around I only had to cook it for 35-40 minutes and I washed it thoroughly beforehand and because it's a broken grain variety.

Our favorite wild rice is one we've only found up north, so every time we visit my family's tiny cabin we make a point to restock. The smell and taste of wild rice just feels like the cabin, and cozy nostalgia.

Upon finishing making the rice for the soup I decided that I need to make some wild rice with salmon sometime soon.

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Lunches this week:

Chipotle chicken quinoa bowls with corn salad! I also topped with some avocado, green onion and Taco Bell chipotle sauce.

Okay so for this meal, I had to figure out how to get a nice spicy flavor while completely omitting all chipotle/peppers from the recipe. L's tummy has a hard time with peppers sadly, even though he otherwise enjoys the flavor and heat.

For the marinade I just used some sriracha sauce and some Taco Bell chipotle sauce in place of the peppers. It seems to have done the trick and was quite tasty, though probably slightly less spicy.

The corn salsa called for bell peppers, which I could have left out and added separately to my own but instead decided to go with radish. Raw radish is something both L and I enjoy and it has a bit of a bite to it- not quite the same kind of spice as a pepper, but it's a decent substitute we've used before. It's also nice and refreshing, so a perfect fit for the corn salad.

I may add spinach and/or arugula to my lunches to build it out a bit more as I had to stretch this food a bit further this week.

Anyway this was extremely tasty and I will definitely make again, perhaps soon. Next time I'll for sure make more of it. 😉 L kept coming through the kitchen while I was cooking and thanking me profusely for making the food cause it smelled so good and he was really excited for it.

Bowl: East Fork soup bowl in Secret Beach

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I don't really hold Valentine's Day to any standards nor do I place weight on it, but it had been a while since L and I had a proper dinner date and it was a good opportunity. We were also celebrating the fact that the Saturday after valentine's was the first Saturday we'd shared off in nearly a year, now that I have a normal 9-5 job. So we were able to take advantage of being able to stay up late and have a little alcohol with a fancy meal.

L suggested steak and bacon-wrapped asparagus, which he helped me prepare. I also picked up a sweet red wine and some biscuits, and we also both had a bit of L's fancy scotch.

It was pretty good! It was my first time making steak and I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out.

We also finally got our record player fixed so we listened to some new records for the first time.

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Meals for this week: sausage cabbage soup where I went off recipe and added celery, kale, carrots and rice. Garnished with feta and green onions.

I made the broth last week using frozen veggie scraps and chicken bones. I then stored them outside as it was fridge temps out at the time, which ended up being a bad decision because the next few days were super cold and the broth froze and cracked my jars. And then I had to figure out how to thaw the broth that was still inside broken glass, eventually breaking the jar further to release the chunk of remaining frozen broth and straining everything through a cheesecloth to prevent any shards making their way into the soup.

I think I added too much powdered ginger but other than that it's good. Was it worth the hassle? I'd say yeah cause having something healthy to eat every day is a big deal.

I just wanted to mention that L hates kale and celery but if I chop it really small he doesn't mind them, especially in soup. I also only add green onions to my own food because L hates onions (although leek is bearable in soups).

Tonight's bowl: East Fork everyday bowl in Night Swim

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We made this the week after Christmas using the new tortilla press and panini press we received as gifts.

Breakfast burrito paninis! With egg, cheese, soy chorizo, leek and some TJ's green dragon sauce and Freddy's fry sauce mixed with sriracha.

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Dinner tonight/lunches for the first week of February: chicken alla vodka penne with carrots, broccoli, parmesan and green onions.

Halfway thru making the vodka sauce I realized I was supposed to cook the pasta separate, but I was already using my big pot and I didn't want to wait for the sauce to be done so I threw the uncooked pasta in the sauce with an extra ladle of broth (which I was cooking for next weeks meal) and some of it ended up sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning a little. However there was still enough unburnt pasta to cover our meals this week, and the pasta itself did indeed cook properly aside from that and ended up being quite tasty despite my anxiety that I'd ruined it.

I knew it was a risk. Sometimes you have to take risks to learn something. Next time I make this I will be cooking the pasta separate and also not doing a bunch of other food prep at the same time.

Tonight's bowl: East Fork everyday bowl in Lapis

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Lunches for the last week of January was butter chicken with jasmine rice and roasted broccoli.

I saw Tori Phantom (not a food influencer, though they influenced me) make this on a YouTube short and I felt the sudden urge to make way too much of it. Perfect timing as I needed to make lunches for the week.

We ate some for dinner the day I made it cause it smelled too good and I'd been dreaming about it for several days atp.

Would I make this again? Yes, although next time I won't mix up the sauce with the rice as much when prepping lunches cause it left the chicken a bit bare. It also took probably an hour longer than the advertised 20 minutes to cook, which you should always account for when making a recipe for the first time but I did not and as such I got a bit frustrated in the process.

Bowl: East Fork everyday bowl in Wine Dark Sea

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This was from a few days ago but I made it for lunch again today cause it was so good.

Frozen dumpling soup!

- Pork dumplings (Aldi)

- Yellow bell pepper, green onion, bean sprouts

-Miso broth (TJ's)

This felt so warm and nourishing. I haven't been making soup every week like I used to in previous years so I've been more in the mood for it lately.

Bowl: East Fork soup bowl in Secret Beach

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Another super easy (though slightly more expensive) microwave dinner made slightly fancier.

- TJ's orange chicken

- Frozen sesame noodles (Walmart)

- Frozen stir-fry veggies and cream cheese wontons (Aldi)

- Green onions and bean sprouts

I had been accumulating these things over a few weeks, which I mention because normally I would never shop at the amount of stores I had to go to for these items in one week. It would be very inefficient.

It was, however, very satisfying to put together as I realized how well everything I had on hand would pair together.

I would definitely make this again.

Bowl plate: East Fork coupe in Big Sky