What a treat!

After spending the day in Vancouver at a workshop, the last thing I'd have wanted to do was figure out something for supper. Happily, I didn't have to.

The D.M. greeted me with news that he'd just filled the bath and that by the time I was cleaned up and relaxed, supper would be served.

He took a page from my book and started with one of our reliably-good packages of au gratin style potatoes. He then added another variety of the mushrooms we'd found the other day (this time, a bolete) to the mix and topped the dish with a few of those delicious sausages (bockwurst) that he'd made with our friend John back in September. Along with a salad filled with chunks of pepper and onion, it made for a beautiful meal.

Must admit, I do love being pampered.

Sanity in the midst of chaos

Life has been pretty crazy here, because we're doing renos again. Thankfully, even though he isn't well, the DM had the sense to suggest that we order in.

Tempura and sushi, complete with trimmings, made for an easy in-front-of-the-tv Friday night supper.

A quiet pan of comforting food

The DM came home from work feeling terrible. I'm hoping the rolled tortillas stuffed with last night's chicken will bring him some comfort. I'm glad I added the last of those chipotle peppers, as I always think hot, spicy food helps bring a cold or flu under control.

Here's hoping.

In honour of...

...one of the many people I learned to cook from, Kathleen, a person who should have been celebrating her birthday today.

Instead, I honour her memory by making a poor imitation of her chicken stew, which she always served served over rice.

"For supper, cut-up chicken,
the comfort of stew, thick
and flecked with golden carrots."

In keeping with her traditions, the salad should be made from iceberg lettuce. Since I don't have any, the leafy green stuff has to substitute. I did at least slice the greens into almost-shreds as she would have. I also topped it with the dressing she would have made -- plain oil with a dash of white vinegar, then salt and a whole lot of black pepper.

This supper has a couple of additions -- horseradished beets, the way she would have made them, but something else that's our own distinctive addition. When we went for a walk this afternoon, we found quite a few parasol mushrooms. Fried up as a side dish, they're a treat worthy of a birthday commemoration.

Long distance birthday celebrations

Today is the birthday of our friend Kim, or as she's called these days, Chim. She's just back from Greece and seems so heartsick over missing her friends there, we've decided to salute her birthday with our take on Greek food -- even though she's about a province and a half away.

Moussaka (Canadian-style, with buffalo, not lamb), homous, feta, bread and salad. The green olives don't look quite right, but it's all in the spirit of things.

Long life, Chimmy -- Opa!

Sometimes being lazy pays off

At least it helped make up for something foolish.

Last night I hadn't much felt like cleaning up after our supper. The plates got scraped into the garbage and that was about it.

Then today, it struck me -- I'd tossed the bones from those lamb shanks, the ones that would have made such a beautiful Scotch broth.

But even though the garbage was gone, I still had the pot with the last night's gravy (the payoff for laziness). I added a litre of pre-cooked chicken broth (those Tetra-Pak things that live forever in the pantry) and cooked it up for a little while to get the flavours blended. I added the tortellini that were lingering about and tossed in some parsley from the batch of it still braving the weather out in the garden.

We rounded it out with open-faced cheese melts with tomatoes sliced and broiled and accompanied it all with a couple of cherry tomatoes that have hanging in the laundry room and ripening for just such a night.

One pot wonder

Slow cooking for most of the day, tonight's supper is built around a pot of lamb shanks. Late additions to the pot included onions and parsnip and carrots. With a salad, pita, homous, and a hunk of beautifully runny goat cheese, although the lamb's from New Zealand, I'm calling this supper Greek food.