cook 10 nice meals for Jenny

I’ve completed this goal, I guess. I don’t really feel that I’ve accomplished very much, maybe because the meals were [mostly] rudimentary and were prepared far apart.

The idea behind the goal was that I would become a better contributor to kitchen activities, and I’m not sure that it was a realized idea by the end of the five meals.

Number 10 was slivers of pan-baked potatoes (crispy but thick chips with the potato still soft in the center) with boiled whole spinach leaves and a mix of onions, mushrooms and tofu fried with chili powder. Basic, healthy (again, mostly) and tasty.

Just a basic stir-fry. Vertically sliced red and yellow peppers with zucchini, mushroom, onion, corn and tofu. I used safflower oil mixed with a three-mushroom sauce, a diced hot pepper and some minced garlic as a base to fry everything in. Served on a bed of brown rice.

Pork prepared with a marinade of maple syrop, soy sauce, fresh ginger root and garlic. Boiled spinach, corn and mashed sweet potato for vegetable sides.

I feel like this is actually Meal #9 and I missed one. Ah well. I guess it can’t hurt to cook an extra meal for the woman I love.

Pasta salad with a homemade dressing, veggies (cherry tomatoes, cucumber and brocolli) cut small, and a homemade garlic bread. For the bread I made two Italian loaves, garlic butter, and grated cheese onto the slices before I toasted them.

Mashed sweet potatoes, seasoned salmon and a very large side salad made with baby romaine lettuce.

I cooked the meal for Jenny, but also for my brother. I’m going to count it as one more toward my goal, though.

It was a nice, simple meal. Strips of pork cooked stir-fry style with red and yellow peppers and zucchini, with a bed of quinoa to accompany it.

Very healthy!

I made fish cakes (haddock and bread crumbs largely) with sides of spicy potato wedges and mixed greens. I made a ranch-monterey jack dipping sauce for the fish cakes and also a garlic-y vinaigrette for the mixed greens.

It was all very appreciated! This was a messy meal to prepare, but the first time I’ve ever enjoyed cooking, I think.

We went Greek!

I made an amaranth tabouli with fresh mint and parsley and chicken with a yogurt-based sauce that doubled as a dip after it was cooked. Everything was very zesty, a lot of lemon and garlic was used. And we had still-warm, homemade bread to dip in oil and vinegar while we waited for the chicken to cook.

I tore a few recipes from a magazine I found in the staff room at work. One is for some kind of chicken dish, and one is for fish cakes with a ranch dip. They’re perhaps more intricate than my crude description suggests. I’ll update with recipes soon(ish). I plan to make both in September.

Pasta with a homemade tomato sauce including red onion, garlic, bay leaves and parsley I grew myself. I also made two loaves of Italian bread with oregano dusted on the outside of them, and we had glasses of white wine.