2018
A Year In Food

Ah, these scallops were so delightful, they may have inspired this page all on their own. So juicy, so tender, and yet, cooked all the way through, just as scallops should be. Served in a heaping helping along with a generous portion of pomegranate broccoli laced with cheese.

Fantastic!

The best part about lasagna is the leftovers. Cooked to a golden brown, with layers of noodles, Italian sausage, sauce, and cheeses (consisting of ricotta, mozzarella, and cheddar), all topped with a slicing of onions.

It was a very hearty lasagna.

Ten out of ten hungry boyfriends would order again.

What we have here is your basic hamburger dish with slices of fresh tomato accompanied by a broccoli slaw: the later consisting of sliced broccoli stalks, carrots, raisin, pecans, and apples in a light vinaigrette. There might, also, be other ingredients. Oh, look. Pumpkin seeds!

This is one tasty dish.

And looking at the browning on the hamburgers! They are, clearly, cooked to perfection!

Well, this one I made, myself. But it belongs in the series as far as I am concerned, as it was made for another.

It's your typical white cake with butter cream icing and strawberry jam... or not so typical, in that it tasted delicious.

Two out of two would do again. And in the end, that's all that really matters.

One really can't go wrong with lamb, spiced lightly, cooked to perfection, and served with a mushroom, bell pepper, and onion ratatouille.

Oh, and I do believe there was a full stick of butter in that ratatouille.

It's better with butter, you know.

It's the paprika that is smoked.

So in other words, spiced baked apples over pork.

It's what's for dinner!

I'd call it jambalaya. But if I did, I'd only be lying.

So at this point, I've decided to include whatever I make myself that looks good... and also the stuff that tastes good... even if only the cake and this jumble are things that I made myself.

But, whatever.

This particular dish tasted good... maybe even great.

It's a basic chicken chili (self explanatory, I assume) with a bunch of extra spice (a cabinet of same was available) with a little left over rice (otherwise, I would not have bothered to include) and shrimp (on sale, but of course).

And viola!

Jumble Liar!

The meal was ribs and coleslaw.

The meal was delightful.

And there wound up being way more dishes in the sink than the meal justified. On the other hand, a meal like this... can probably justify as many dishes in as many sinks as the chef wants.

Good work.

Tasty.

I like that slaw.

A sandwich like that I would call Pre-Packaged Love on the Run... or maybe Pre-Packaged Love on the Hoof would sound better?

Anyway, it was delightful.

And all those pickles eliminate the need for a beverage.

Very Tasty!

Much Obliged!

It's the thought that counts...

Originally, this was intended for breakfast, but it had way too much alcohol and sugar for me to eat that early in the day. So, it was enjoyed right around bed time, great for an end of day snack.

Anyhow, just it case it's not clear, the picture shows a fruit cup, blueberries on the bottom, with a sugar and alcohol infused cream cheese whip, tastefully accented by a single fresh strawberry.

It was not a good bake. In fact, it was a bit under-cooked... raw, even.

But the recipe is solid and true.

And after much deliberation, I must say that I look forward to the next instantiation of this particular formulation, hoping it will be proffered for my appreciation, perhaps in commemoration of some celebration, he said, by way of a hint.

Hint! Hint! Hint!

A nice spread... times two.

Or in other words, nothing succeeds like excess.

We were off to the races, so time to fuel up.

Yeah, I could eat like this every morning.

I needed a haircut: just a little off the top... or a lot. If fell in great big clumps. So, maybe it was more than a little off the top that needed taking.

It was almost as good as breakfast in bed... and in some ways, much better.

I needed a Hat & Scarf last year. So, magically, they appeared: handmade, luxury wool. And as it is now the middle of summer, they were recently cleaned: hand-washed, extraneous felt scraped away, as good as new, better than new, like old friends reunited.

Alas... alas... no images for either of these later two, for some things, the spirit, the heart of the matter, is difficult to capture. Call it essentially elusive in its nature.

This is a family sized platter filled to overflowing with two thick and meaty rib-eye steaks and a slew of smashed potatoes (baked potatoes, smashed, and fried in olive oil).

A wonderful meal, for which this post does not do justice. So, think of it as all you can eat meat, with a side of carbohydrates and maybe you'll have a good idea.

The food wasn't amazing. But it was a nice treat, unexpectedly presented: figs and sweet cheese, topped with fig preserves for that extra bit of flavour.

It was a meal from a restaurant, long ago, lovingly recreated: two types of sausage (one a tender veal, the other... meh) and pork chops on a plate garnished with olives, served along side a light summer salad of cucumber, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and feta cheese with a dressing of oil, salt, and vinegar. The entire meal capped by delightful berry-something-or-another crumbly cake.

Very good!

A hallmark meal from a day that will set the standard.

I mean, the salad and figs were so good the first time around...

I think, maybe, we went to the races after this. I lost my shirt. But at least, I got to start the day all proper like.

French Mex

Cheesy'rific!

With hints of awesomeness!

'What's for supper?'
'Maybe sardines?'
'Sardines sound good.'

And, viola!

The spread, complete with clam juice.

Resort eating at its finest. A hearty BLT Sandwich served with an Avocado Feta Salad and a Watermelon Lime Smoothie.

Now, that's good eating!

Chicken Thyme
Spicy Greens
Wild Grainy Things

It's not in the asking; but the offering.

It's what's for dinner!

Special Occasions call for Special Offerings. It turns out that it can be fun to go overboard.

The broccoli was cold.
The rice was far too salty.

But the scallops were simply divine, so light, so buttery, they fell off the fork.

And dessert was nothing to scoff at, either.

Those Smashed Potatoes are out of this world!

Who would have guessed that red pepper and dates would compliment coleslaw so well?

You do breakfast your way. And I'll do it mine.

Tender carne asada smothered in a rich cheese, peppers, and onion sauce.

Decadently Divine!

Steak w/ Mushroom Sauce: a 'shroom with every bite

Smashed Potatoes: always a crowd pleaser

Salad: honey mustard


Shoo Fly Pie ala Mode: lighter than I expected; I am looking forward to the next half dozen slices.

I don't typically like foods cooked with wine, but this pot roast was sublime: so, delicately flavoured.

These things are good!

One of the finest luxuries in life is having an idea... and watching by the sidelines as someone else takes that idea and makes it manifest in reality.

These lace cookies are good.

And life is good.

With special thanks to someone else for doing the heavy lifting.

The final entry of the year, the last bit of decadence of the year: leftover sweet potatoes from Boxing Day turned into something marvellously lip smacking good.