More tricks than treats

I feel as if supper isn’t important tonight. I went to an Open House gathering this afternoon where there were lots of great snacks. The D.M. has gone to a football game with some buddies and I’m in the midst of handing out treats to those who are brave enough to come up our walk.

So instead of the usual, this spooky night seems like a good time to consider some of the cooking mistakes I’ve made this year.

Stupidest had to be the time I filled chocolate-lined wafer cups without paying enough (any?) attention to what I was doing. I’d meant to pile yogourt into them, but instead grabbed the wrong yogourt container – the one I’d used to make the week’s homous. I can only figure I must have had a cold so I couldn't smell the garlic and had my eyes closed too. Because I was making a dessert for just the two of us, I rinsed out the chocolate wafer cup and started over. The resulting dessert looks okay. As I recall, it tasted fine too.

Then there was the time I answered the phone while a pot of jam was coming to the boil. I didn’t think I’d talked very long, but when I turned back to the stove, the pot had transformed into a volcano, with red lava shooting onto the floor and streaming down the cupboards. Can’t imagine why I didn’t take photos of that mess. Maybe I was too focused on the massive clean-up job.

Hard to guess what this mess is?

Clue number one: Those aren’t tadpoles suntanning in the pot.

This is the aftermath of by far the biggest glitch of the year. And no, I didn’t grab my camera while it was happening. Fortunately, I had the sense to grab a pot lid and douse the flames that were starting to rise from the pan. Worst of all, it was a batch of precious garlic scapes I’d only meant to lightly brown in olive oil. Yikes, and it wasn’t even my own house that I nearly burnt down.

Hopefully, the only things burning tonight are the candles inside our jack-o-lanterns.

Just say "Cheese!"

It's a Friday night pizza night, so that means plenty of cheese. We rented a couple of DVD's, so there's some more cheese.

Heck, there's even blue cheese on the salad.

Cheesy, eh!

A green and white meal

Maybe I've had too many colourful suppers lately. More likely, it was the ingredients on hand. Whatever the reason, tonight's supper seems limited to foods that are green or white.

A colleague had Brussels sprouts galore, so brought some to work for sharing. And then there were those two avocados in the fruit basket, soft enough that I knew they needed to be used. I'd considered using them for something Mexican, but the arrival of the sprouts made me shift gears to pasta.

Yep, once again it's the old stand-by: linguini with basically a guacamole stirred into the pasta, along with butter and oil and onions and garlic and lots of Parmesan cheese.

Because there was a nub of cauliflower that still looked good, I cooked that in with the sprouts, adding to the green-and-white theme.

Yet another observance

Tonight was another of those Ladies' Nights I often go to -- one of those meals where the potluck is exactly that. Nobody gets together to plan any menu. Each of us just brings what we feel like bringing.

Oddly enough, just as last night saw us commemorating the passing of one grandmother, tonight is the anniversary of the death of my grandma (or as we always called her, Mayme).

To honour her, I made a dish she was famous for -- sauerkraut with country-style ribs (the brownish food in the little grey-and-blue casserole dish).

Pat had set the most beautiful table, complete with fallen autumn leaves and candles. And then, look how perfectly the colours of the dishes coordinated with each other -- the orange of sweet potatoes (topping a delicious chicken/mushroom combo) and the bright red on another chicken dish. Apparently, that recipe called for crushed potato chips over top, but since she didn't have any of those, our resourceful 'lady' used red taco chips. What a nice touch!

As always, at these suppers together, we talked of many things, enjoying each other's company. I know that Mayme would have loved being there. The only thing that might have disappointed her? That we never got out the playing cards.

An observance

It may sound odd to some, but today marks the anniversary of the day the Dear Man's grandma ('Maica') died. We always mark the day by lighting a candle for her and placing her photo in a prominent place.

Tonight's supper is one we both decided she'd like: fried fish, mamaliga (polenta) with mushroom sauce, green beans and of course, a salad. The D.M. even whipped up the tiniest dish of his special Romanian garlic sauce.

Maica was one of the first persons to welcome me into the D.M.'s family, and even though I didn't speak much of her language, I believe we understood each other well.

Soup and sandwich

…a Monday night classic. It’s another of those evenings that see both of us heading off to other commitments. So, soup and a sandwich seemed the perfect solution. Easy to fix, easy to eat, and not much of a mess to leave behind.

For the soup, I used the second half of the squash we’d started on Saturday. I cooked it into some chicken broth (from chicken stock cubes), added some curry and cumin, and let it render itself down until it wasn’t watery. The dollop of cream on top was the last of the garlicked sour cream I’d made up for a vegie dip (appies) last night. It gave just the right bit of contrast to the light spice of the soup.

Thick chunks of ham on a bun made a great accompanying sandwich. What a good use for leftovers from last night (and from the night before). Tomorrow, it’ll have to be something new. Hmm, already I’m thinking: what’s fer supper?

Warm and cozy

It was a dark and stormy night... er, day.

Just about everything cooked in the oven, including a big pan of apple crisp that made the house smell even cozier when the troops arrived for Sunday family dinner.

Scalloped potatoes, another squash from Trauma Farm, green beans, corn, and great big hunk of ham. I'll confess one of the reasons I bought the ham was to get some bones I can put in the freezer for making soups over the coming rainy season.