Ya, I’m still trying to keep this diary up. I’m just a little behind. I’m sure like most bloggers, life sometimes gets in the way of writing. But I enjoy talking about my food adventures and no one has kicked me off the internet yet!
Overall, it was a pretty good food week. I made some shrimp de Jonghe this week. If you are unfamiliar, this is a very Chicago dish. It is one of the oldest known dishes believed to have been invented in Chicago somewhere around the 18th or 19th century. It’s generally offered as an appetizer in Italian restaurants, though not strictly. It’s basically a very garlicky, sherry doused shrimp dish covered in bread crumbs and baked. I’ve tried it before with less success. This was much better. I’ll give some credit to fantastic Gulf shrimp.
I decided to make lumpy on the weekend. This is a dish my ex-father-in-law used to make. It’s basically a potato, bacon, and dumpling soup. I put way more bacon and onions in mine than he did. I also add some herbs which he would probably frown on. However, a little thyme sends it right over the edge. While I say it is like a soup, when you eat it, you mash the potatoes and dumplings together and end up with a more mashed potato texture. And the real secret, other than bacon, is the massive amount of fresh black pepper.
On Sunday, we picked up some onion buns and used some leftover pork to make bbq sandwiches, served with a nice salad. I figure if we’re eating that leftover lumpy for lunch, we need some greens to round it out. That in mind, we did stir-fried rice with tons of veggies Monday with some sauteed shrimp thrown on for us carnivores. We also did a taco night this week. I made up some chicken for the meat eaters and black beans for…well…everyone.
I’m learning to temper my expectations on how much I can do in the cooking department while also working more full-time than I was early in the pandemic. And while not gone, the pandemic has eased a bit which makes it easier for me to stomach going places like the grocery store. So for now, I’ll buy the buns and things so we still have the great meal without it taking all day. But there will still be some cooking marathons in our future.
Foodie's Delimma 