This Weekend

 

Radish Harvest

This weekend went by quickly.

On Saturday, daughter harvested her radishes; they weren't very big, but, she didn't want them to bolt, so picked them all.  She also picked quite a few leaves from her arugala, kale, and mizuna plants. Then, she did some meal prep and cooking:

Radish, Apple, and Cucumber Pickles
with Japanese Pickling Spices (Salty)

Lemon & Pepper Cucumber Salad (Salt-Free) 

Salad Add-Ins:
(Cucumber and Radish for her;
Plain Cucumber for me since I don't much
care for radishes) 

Sauteed Radish Leaves

Stir-fried Mixed Greens

Sauteed Curried Green Beans
(Bonchi Thel Dala)

Steamed Broccoli

On Saturday afternoon, daughter's friend A came over for another cooking lesson; this time, to learn how to make chicken curry.  Daughter didn't take a picture of that, because she gave her friend part of the chicken curry to take home to share with her father and sister.  

I spent the afternoon knitting and relaxing while the girls chatted and cooked.  My friend R had planned to come over on Saturday afternoon to pick up her package, but, she texted me in the morning to say she couldn't make it.  I also chatted with cousin V, who is recovering from her shoulder surgery.

Earlier in the week, daughter and I had talked about maybe making some no-knead bread over the weekend, provided the yeat I had was still working (according to the packets, they expired in 2022!).  So, on Saturday evening, we proofed the yeast (the first packet seemed a bit reluctant to activate, but, the second packet was fine; we put both packets of yeast to the bread dough) and made ourselves a lovely loaf of no-knead bread, flavored with fresh rosemary leaves from the garden:

Rosemary No-knead Bread

No-knead Bread

I didn'tt have a Dutch oven so I baked the bread in an oven-proof glass bowl, with a pan of water on the lower shelf of the oven to create steam for a crusty loaf.  But, before the day was over, my daughter had ordered us a Dutch oven!  I think we will be making more bread in the near future!

Cooling on a Wire Rack

The aroma of the freshly baked bread was too tempting and we barely gave it any time to cool before we cut into it! 

Warm Crusty Bread

We had warm bread with butter fpr our dinner, with some chicken curry.  It was delicious.  

That was a busy Saturday, as, in addition to all the cooking and baking, daughter did a load of laundry, as well, and decided to start on a knitting project of her own!

On Sunday, I ordered and picked up some groceries.  This post is long enough, so I'll do a separate grocery shopping post.

In the evening, I called cousin N and spoke with Aunt C.  

Brunch had been some of the no-knead bread with the last of the lentil curry.  Bread and dhal is comfort food for me.  For dinner, I reheated the chicken and vegetables soup and added more spices and herbs to add more flavor to it and that worked!  We had soup with the last of the no-knead bread and that was another delicious meal.  

Bread Pudding

For dessert, I made a bread pudding, to use up a bag of bread ends/heels that I had accumulated.  Sometimes, I make croutons with the bread heels, sometimes, I make bread crumbs with them.  But, every so often, I make a bread pudding and it seemed like the ideal dessert for Sunday, after a weekend of cooking and baking.

This weekend, I am grateful for:

- Fresh produce from the garden
- Daughter doing this week's meal prep and cooking
- Daughter teaching her friend how to cook chicken curry

- Homemade bread
- Working appliances

The weekemd's joyful activities included baking with my daughter, chatting with family and friends, and knitting.

Plans for Monday include doing some household laundry (bed sheets, etc.), some housework (dusting/cleaning, etc.), watering the garden, and taking the trash bins to the curb for pick up on Tuesday.  

How was your weekend?  What are your plans for Monday?