Kraft Dinner Sukks

Woke up at 4am to get on the bike so I could meet my family at the train station in Westport, CT at 10am. Ate some high energy stuff when I woke, a big breakfast half way there in Mamaroneck, and had a big lunch at the inlaw's place, grilled burgers n' stuff. A nice summer day away, with Edie freaking out with joy in a pool.

Ended up doing about 70 miles all in, including a ride with some of the younger bits of the family.

TODAY'S COOKING
Kraft Dinner w/ Sauteed Vegetables: On the train ride home, had a hankering for this dish I haven't made since the years immediately following my college time. I used to make a ton of kraft "mac n' cheese", and sautee keilbasa and vegetables in the sausage fat then mix it all in together, a really heady brew. This time, I eliminated the meat because I ate a ton today already, and sauteed the onion and mushrooms properly -- I used to cram them into a pan and defacto steam them, now I know ya gotta use a big pan. Roasted green peppers on the flame and let them finish cooking in a sealed bowl before rubbing and chopping. Added a lot of fresh pepper to the mix and... it still tasted kinda pheh. I used to like this stuff, now it just tastes tame and anemic. I think Alton Brown has a recipe to make kraft dinner from scratch, I think I may have to try that.

AM SNACK: 4:30am, banana, handful of chocolate covered espresso beans, water


BREAKFAST: 7:30am, bagel and cream cheese, whole wheat pretzels, 32 oz gatorade, 3 chocolate chip cookies, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


AM SNACK: 11:30am, clif bar


LUNCH: 1pm, 1 hamburger, 2 hot dogs, lemonade, potato chips, watermelon, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, kraft dinner w/ sauteed vegetables, ginger ale, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Puppet Show & Left Overs

Woke up at 5, got a ride in to Coney Island with peaceful traffic, lifted weights while my body was warm again. Took Edie to Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo in the morning for a puppet show, took a big nap in the afternoon, and got to bed around 9 so I could wake up for a longer bike ride tomorrow.

No cooking, but eating well with intended left overs. Pork loin on point.

BREAKFAST 1: 5:30am, banana, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

BREAKFAST 2: 9:15am, toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese, pint of lime rickey, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:15pm, sliced pork loin, salty brown rice & stir fried veg, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5 

PM SNACK: 2:30pm, chocolate chips & cashews, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 5:15pm, small potato knish, health salad, pickle, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:30pm, pasta in sauce, watermelon, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Knish 2: Electric Boogaloo

After getting up at 4 in the morning, had no problem conking out by 11, but woke up late, close to 9 when B was leaving. Certain upper body muscles are sore, a good thing, I was warmed up for the weights after riding 40 miles yesterday. Took the morning easy, put Edie in the backpack and brought in my road bike to the local shop for a few tweaks. After an hour or so in the playground, Edie had no problem getting to nap while I enjoyed myself in the kitchen.

Kitchen enjoyment rolled on into the evening. As Edie was eating pasta and I was cooking rice and a simple vegetable stir fry, just kinda fell into knish-making, like I didn't have enough going on already. It's nice sometimes to do 5 things at once, and all of them -- dinner, knishes, baby -- all seem to come out well.

TODAY'S COOKING
Pork Loin: Heated up the grill pan, opened the window and gave it 2 minutes on each side, twice, and stuck it with an instant read to be assured of the doneness. Let it go to 135 before putting it in a foil pouch with some held marinade for 10 minutes. Came out pretty perfect, very slightly pink in the middle, juicy as all git-out. One of the rare meals I've made for myself that I'd be happy to pay $25 (plus another $5 for dessert) in a restaurant. Food cost about $12 for this serving, so at 50% food cost that is kinda bad (you should have a 25% food cost or less to really be OK) but I was also paying retail for my inventory...

I wonder if Edie will dig it. Gonna slice it thin for her.

Brown rice & stir fry veg: Added salt to the brown rice in the cooker straight from the box, something I would yell at my students for doing. Came out WAY too salty. Picked up a zucchini, onion and scallion from the local farmers market to add to my CSA Swiss Chard. Despite the salt, ate it and have enough for one more meal. Kinda want to toss it, we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Cheese knish: While stir frying and cooking rice, saw the lump of knish dough that had to be used or thrown out. B has farmer's cheese, so I looked up a recipe for a basic cheese filling in the Encyclopedia of Jewish Cooking. Very simple, just farmers cheese, cream cheese, egg yolks, vanilla and salt. Lined a loaf pan with the dough and slapped the filling in, covered it up and baked under golden. Innards are a little too moist for my comfort but still pretty good, a good starting point for improvement.

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, 4 tiny pancakes
 I think I need to make some iced tea soon.

PM SNACK: 12pm, health salad, pickle, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 1pm, pork loin, 2 small knishes, sauteed spinach, chocolate ice cream, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:15pm, brown rice with stir fried veg, slice of cheese knish, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Filling up the Larder

Woke up at 4 and was out and on the bike by 5, but technical difficulties that lead to a rough-handling bike made me cut my ride short to 40 miles. It was nice to by home by 9 and be able to lift weights and do some knish research before getting into the chores of the day. Went to the 2nd part of the knish lecture in the evening, and swung by Whole Foods after before heading home to a sleepy household.


TODAY'S COOKING:
Red Sauce: Wanted to use the nice basil and garlic bulb from the CSA -- sauteed onion well, then added 2 grated carrots, a bunch of fresh thyme. 3 big cans of freshly milled tomatoes, then the diced basil, the roasted mashed head of garlic, and two Parmesan cheese rinds I was saving for the occasion which was fished out when the hour simmer was over. Salt, a dash of molasses, and done, pretty good.

Potato Salad: To use the CSA dill, boiled and shocked left over cubed potato from the knishes yesterday. Made a quick dressing of a cup of mayo, the minced dill, some mustard powder, a little onion powder and a little Old Bay Seasoning. Pretty good, if standard.

Pancakes: Oddly, I went to Essex Market to pick up the good buttermilk and was told they will not have any until Fall, due to the fact the farmer will not be making butter again until then. Snooches! Made straight ahead pancakes with whole milk, came out fine, good freezer food to feed to Edie over the next few weeks.

Pork Loin: Made this recipe in the evening when I got home from the market, just the marinade, trimming silverskin and getting it into the fridge to sit over night. Will cook it up tomorrow for lunch. Suspect it will be too limey, but adjusting is for 2nd and 3rd tries, not 1sts (usually, unless the recipe is clearly stoopid.)

BREAKFAST: 4:30am, organic chex with organic dead milk, handful of chocolate covered espresso beans, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 7am, banana

BRUNCH: 11am, pumpernickel bagel with hummus, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 3pm, a few pancakes, watermelon, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Had to eat the burnies & the funny shapes while cooking the pancakes, otherwise there would be too much waste!

PM SNACK: 6pm, a little pasta and sauce, half a ginger ale, a few bites of potato salad, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

KNISH TASTING: 8pm, assorted kinds, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10:15pm, half a pint of Ben & Jerries, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
I'll be surprised if this is still there if Betsy wakes up before me...

Knish me, dahlinks!

Took Edie out in the morning to Pier 17 for a runaround, then back home before it got too hot. Spent the afternoon making knishes and grenadine, and had a few parents and kids over in the afternoon for a combination playdate/tasting.


TODAY'S COOKING
Knishes: Followed this recipe on the recommendation of last week's knish lecture. It was OK, I guess the compromises it makes (modern chemical leavener vs traditional yeast, volume measures instead of weight, lack of certain descriptives, etc), is to appeal to the general public, not someone hungry for the authentic, true knish with a culinarily precise, repeatable product. But it came out ok -- the dough was a little more brittle than I like on a knish, but over all it was solid. I departed with the recipe on a few small things, like:

1. a 2 hour slow caramelization on the onions in much more oil than what they recommend, which all ended in the potato mixture, 
2. and I let the dough rest for a solid hour to make rolling and cutting easier. 
3. Also, the recipe describes an assembly that would result in a bagel-shaped knish, which I dispensed with and did a simple square dough, lump in the middle, then folded up the sides to make a kind of giant open-faced dumpling, aka Shao Mai.
4. I also used white pepper for black, which gave a distinctive sharp note which I like, and I think it looks nicer in the finished product.

Grenadine Syrup: The lecturer presented lime rickeys as a drink that was served at Ms. Stahls, which I don't have a memory of, but sounds great. She did it with some store bought grenadine, a splash of lime and seltzer. After googling a few recipes, it was an easy do: 1 part 100% pomegranite juice, 1 part 100% tart cherry juice, 2 parts powdered sugar, brought to a simmer then cooled. In a 12 oz glass, 4 oz of syrup, one wedge of lime, squeezed, and fill to the top with extra bubbly seltzer. Stir and serve with a little ice.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, good yogurt with peanuts, honey and vanilla, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: noon, small glass of lime rickey


LUNCH: 1:15pm, hamburger, knish, health salad, pickle, lime rickey, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 6pm, knish, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACKS: 7:30-9pm, multigrain pretzels with nutella, chocolate squares, popcorn, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Hamburglin'

After lifting weights, I aimed to ride the bike to Coney, but caught a flat on the Manhattan Bridge and walked back, showered, then brought the wheel to my main bike shop on the East Side. It was an easy fix, but if I knew I was only gonna ride 8 or so miles and not 30 I wouldn't have indulged in the donuts. Oh well.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Hamburgers: Spontaneously made burgers this evening for dinner, as momma-in-law was over. Haven't tried it since c-school, and I've always said the best way to eat chop meat is to grind it yourself, but rarely actually do it. Got a piece of chuck at the market and some whole wheat buns. Ground the meat with some butter, added some salt, pepper and grated raw onion. Fried in a pan with a little peanut oil, got a nice browning going. Topped with tomato, onion and some Worcestershire, as I actually don't have ketchup in the house (Perhaps I should make some from scratch, as the industrial stuff is blech.) I'd do two things different next time: get fattier meat and go with a bigger grind. It was juicy, but a little bit dry and crumbly at the same time.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea


AM SNACK: 9:30am, 2 donuts, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 2pm, sauteed chopped spinach, spicy brown rice, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6:45pm, 2 burgers, 1 corn on the cob, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, multigrain pretzels with nutella, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Hello Mudder, Hello Fadder

Rented a car and visited my parent's grave site. Edie had a great time running around in the sunshine. met up with my brother, sister-in-law and their 6 offspring, ranging from 12 years to 4 months. Oy. We picked up some quick food from a local deli before having an informal picnic in the woods and a hike to a reservoir.

On the bike ride home from the car rental place, stopped by a supermarket to pick up some frozen spinach and a few baking potatoes to mix it up for dinner a bit. My first thought was to order in, but after eating out of a deli in the afternoon, some home cooking seemed like the way to go.

AM SNACK: 8:15am, iced green tea


LUNCH: 12:30pm, turkey & Swiss on roll, potato chips, Gatorade, chocolate chip cookies, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 6pm, health salad, pickle, water, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:30pm, breaded tilapia, baked potato, cooked spinach, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, 4oz homemade ice cream, small ramekin of cashews and chocolate chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5