What's Cooking July 2022 Wrap Up

The last part of this month was pretty stressful, still haven't felt much like cooking and thought I hadn't cooked much but know we ate, so I cooked.

I made a cake that looked great, came out of the pan nicely, but did not have enough chocolate flavor. So not linking to the recipe, but showing off how pretty. We tasted it and unfortunately it had to go to the trash.

I also made a cheesecake that tasted great, wasn't very photogenic. It did not go into the trash. I am not a garnish person so I added the zest to the filling instead of sprinkling on top.

I made meals other than dessert. Some things made up, some not photogenic. Balance! One meal we loved was roasted poblano tacos. So good! Not pretty.

I needed a side dish and had a few things to use up so - one can of black beans, one ear of corn taken off the cob, some salsa to use up from a jar. Again, not pretty but tasty.

I've started toasting my tortillas right on the stove and they taste so much better.

Do not make the mistake in thinking you can do anything else while toasting. You cannot. Trust me.

Still loving the tarragon dressing, made another batch. Had it with a salmon salad. So easy, so versatile.

Once we had the focaccia for dinner and then breakfast, I wanted to make sure it did not go to waste so it became croutons. Cube your bread, toss with olive oil, seasoning, I used Italian and garlic, 400 degrees convection about 20 minutes. Cool, store.

I had leeks, Canadian bacon, cheese and puff pastry so delicious brunch with a leek tart. I kept it in a rectangle and subbed the Canadian bacon for the prosciutto. Did I take a picture? No, of course not.

I tried a new recipe - caramelised pork and it was delicious. I had a few green beans to use, not enough for a side dish but too many to waste, so added them and it was a good addition.

I used serrano chiles, served over rice with chooped tomatoes on the side. I was afraid it would be too sweet for me, knew husband would like it, I added some sambal olek to mine.

We were both happy with the meal.

Another new recipe that was also good for dinner and for leftovers. For dinner I served it with roasted potatoes and lightly sauteed the spinach.

A recipe I wanted to try but was pretty sure husband would not be thrilled to have was a potato cake with smoked trout. I figured he could have leftover chicken if need be.

But he thought he'd try it and said he liked it. I loved it. The potato cake came out perfectly. I used a bit more potato and an 11 inch skillet and the cake was pretty thin. But good. I found smoked trout at Buford Highway but smoked salmon would be good too.

Keep your potholder on the pan handle so you do not grab a hot handle and get a bad burn!

I also needed spaghetti and meatballs, chicken soup and no knead sourdough bread. Comfort foods.

My biggest cause of stress was my annual visit to my retina doctor. I really like my doctor, I didn't think I was having any problems, but since I didn't know my retina detached many years ago, I get tense.

All was well. The next week I had my regular eye doctor appointment, I see him every 6 months and since I had just seen Dr. Stoltz I should have been fine, but we're not dealing with logic here. Again I was fine. And then I had the dentist. The dentist is not stressful, I like him a lot.

I got badly burned. I was making iced tea in a glass container that I had used several times already. I poured in the water, heard a slight noise, saw water leaking onto the counter, got a tea towel, did not move the container, put the towel around it and it imploded.

Water flooded the counter, my leg, stomach, floor, toes, glass pieces too. Luckily I mostly wear cotton and got my shorts off quickly and got an ice pack from the freezer onto my leg.

I wasn't immediately aware of my waist injury so did not get ice on it quickly. Got all cleaned up, of course only the cats were home with me. Realized it was pretty bad, the waist had a huge blister, got more ice for the waist. Used lotion with lavender oil.

All healing well and the lavender worked for me. And I think helped me relax to sleep. My leg is now peeling and the waist blister held until healing was in good shape. I have decided to pour into the new container with the container in the sink.

The cats are always weird but Cody who is the sweetest cat, was a little bored and torturing his sisters so I loaded a game on the ipad for him. He used to play it and was happy to see it again.

He's pretty good, it gives him something to do and the other cats are not interested.

Grocery shopping planned for Monday or Tuesday. Moved it a few days since husband was busy on Friday and there is just no need to go to the store on a weekend.

I'm planning pork chops, pizza (if I remember to make dough, bolognese if not), and I have salad stuff.

And no doctor appointments for a while!