Kind of an unwieldy title, eh? I compressed the last three months into a single blog post because, as has been the ongoing pattern this year, my project output has swerved downward. My excuses this time: I decided a couple of months ago that I wanted to revise my novel (My Novel™; is there any way to say this that doesn’t feel obnoxious?) so I’ve been focusing on that; I’ve still been cooking and baking, just Other Things; I had a work trip in the middle of October; the list goes on. The charm of this project has worn off a bit, just in time for it to end! I wasn’t planning on continuing it through 2020, and I’m still not; instead I have something else I’ve been dreaming up, so keep an eye out for that in January.
I’m not quite ready to do any sort of reflecting on this project, although as ever I would like to thank it for helping me try a lot of new things. (Or a handful of new things, if you’re just talking about September-November.)
A quick overview: Apples is the one I most regret not making more from, and it’s the one that fell during the aforementioned work trip that sort of jolted my cooking. I will definitely be revisiting over the winter. I really want to try the tartines. I liked Broccoli, which is my girlfriend’s favorite vegetable, which itself means we’ll be back to this one. I liked Chickpeas too, but learned that I either don’t like chickpea flour or I don’t like the brand we bought. I’ll grab another bag from Kalustyan’s someday and we’ll see.
Onward!
Book: Broccoli, Tyler Kord (Short Stack Editions)
Recipes made: 3/20
Green Chicken Parm: I love chicken parm, though never with sauce, as I am an avowed tomato-hater (I’m working on it). Anyway, we liked this green sauce (lol), though the note in the book says don’t use grapeseed oil to fry. So………don’t!
Grocery Store Ramen in Broccoli Broth: Perfect, sensational, delicious, the adjectives go on. We skipped the cilantro because my girlfriend hates it, and this was her favorite of the set.
Pork and Broccoli Meatball Burgers: I don’t quite know what to say about this one! We made so many substitutions, so I can’t blame any of why we didn’t like it on the recipe. I think if we tried it again it would go better…but I’m scared off now because of the too-big onions, the poor attempt at toast to replace kaiser rolls, etc etc.
Book: Apples, Andrea Albin (Short Stack Editions)
Recipes made: 2/22
Chicken and Apple Meatballs with Agrodolce: These were so lovely! Soft and moist, and the apple worked so well; my only complaint is that they took too long to make, which was my own damn fault for not reading the recipe and waiting until like 7:30 on a weeknight to start cooking.
Apple Hot Toddy: I forgot to take a photo of the drinks, so I beg your pardon with a photo of my cat being a glamour model.
Book: Chickpeas, Victoria Granof (Short Stack Editions)
Recipes made: 3/24
Turkish Rice with Chickpeas and Cinnamon: We liked this so much we made it twice, and will surely make it many more times as autumn wears on into winter. Highly recommend eating this with toast, wrapped in tortillas, or in pita bread.
Chickpea Horchata: I was not a fan. I also had difficulty actually making it, which made me resentful.
Dead-Easy Chickpea Soup: would have been easier if I hadn’t misplaced my immersion blender, and it just got more difficult from there; by the time I was done I was so angry about the evening that I ate two bites and shoved it in the fridge. It might have tasted perfectly good otherwise, but I was not having a good time. (Oh - if I try making this again, I plan to reduce or eliminate the fennel.)