Home Cooked

Maryland crab cakes made with fish and prawns (instead of crab). Home made tartar sauce. Sautéed potatoes and spinach in mustard seed. Crab cakes tasted like the sort we are in Baltimore. Potatoes and spinach was stellar.

Tried a new recipe for Katsutera from: http://justhungry.com/2006/08/oyatsu_and_kasutera_castella_a.html according to the author this is a challenging recipe and I agree. My attempt was made all the more difficult by the fact that I've never had Katsutera (at least not that I can recall) and therefore don't know what the texture is supposed to be like. The most difficult and make-it-or-break-it step is the beating of the eggs and sugar. I didn't really know what to expect so I didn't dare use a high speed for my electric whisk for fear of overbearing the eggs - which turned out to be an unfounded fear because I whisked for 1+ hour at low speed and it is pretty evident when the mixture thickens (the mixture actually quadrupled in volume). The second mistake was attempting to eat and cut the cake before letting it sit in the fridge overnight or at least several hours. This step allows the cake to get denser and more compact. (All this based on messages from friends who have tried the cake before.)

Beef kofte (fried and grilled), bulgur pilaf, and Mediterranean salad. My first attempt making kofte and bulgar pilaf. Inspired after a Turkish airline in-flight meal.

Lemon garlic chicken with long beans and potatoes

Poached salmon in a parchment paper parcel on a bed of carrots, zucchini and spinach with a citrus marinade

Chicken, olives and onions in a tomato based sauce with shredded zucchini "pasta"

Tasty, but a lot of the clams were closed... Definitely a repeat recipe but with a different source of clams.

Simple slow cooker chicken - meat was so tender it fell off the bone and the juices collected at the bottom of the pot. Throw chicken and chopped veggies in slow cooker before leaving for work and come home to a delicious meal. Paired with herbed rice.

Home made Shepard's pie

Mayo or mustard, whole wheat bread, spinach leaves, ham, cherry tomatoes and a fried egg with runny yolk (coin purse egg)