tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19974836831178446152024-09-15T21:11:44.988-04:00M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-71382379056143813532019-01-04T16:45:00.003-05:002019-01-04T16:45:23.178-05:00

8:30 AM -- Breakfast -- An orange that I brought from home with the last packet of hummus at work, plus four stale crackers.  No bad, for a completely unplanned meal. Lunch never happened.  I had no food plan and didn't want to order another Jimmy John's sandwich.  7:00 PM -- Dinner -- Personal naan pizza with the last of the jarred alfredo sauce from a few nights ago,

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-58233288967996014522019-01-03T16:33:00.003-05:002019-01-03T16:34:10.386-05:00

Breakfast -- 8:30 AM at my desk at work -- Fruitcake.  No bread or English muffins at the house.  No time for an egg.  Bad planning.  I ended up grabbing the small tin of fruitcake and bringing it to work to eat with my coffee.  I like fruitcake, but not for breakfast, I guess.  Too sweet.  Intensely spiced--ginger and clove and cinnamon.  Lots of nuts.&

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-32312480713417879482019-01-03T16:11:00.002-05:002019-01-03T16:33:41.015-05:00

New Year's Day 2019 9:00 AM Breakfast -- Blueberry Pound Cake with whipped cream.  I put too many blueberries in the batter, so of course it falls apart when you try to take it out of the pan.  Sad baking failure, but it tastes fine.  There's just too much of it.  It made about 12 servings, and this is only my second serving. 1:30 PM Lunch -- Toasted brie sandwich

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-5166696644233383882019-01-03T15:53:00.001-05:002019-01-03T15:53:31.449-05:00

Part of an Edible Arrangement sent to the office in December 2018. Since Thanksgiving 2018, I've been taking daily photos of the food I eat. Every day. I've been doing this for two reasons: 1) Documenting what I eat seems to keep me from grabbing fast food every chance I get, and 2) taking pictures makes me think about documenting my struggles as a single person trying to eat an

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-21103669875632478602017-05-30T12:01:00.002-04:002017-05-30T12:04:49.953-04:00

American society seems to admire originality, variety, and all things unique and individual.  But we surround ourselves with unrelenting sameness, especially when it comes to food.  Here in the Mahoning Valley, in the northeastern corner of Ohio, grocery stores are in a rut.  While the decorations change with every Hallmark holiday, the produce, poultry, seafood, and meats

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-44723863344578136012017-04-17T19:00:00.000-04:002017-04-17T19:00:06.322-04:00

In an effort to get back into the habit of cooking for myself, I joined the Lake-to-River Food Coop in Youngstown, Ohio in March.  My thought was that maybe if I could add some adventure to the shopping portion of cooking, maybe I could lure my inner chef back out into the kitchen. For my first online order, I let whimsy be the guide.  I bought a half peck of apples, some smoked

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-53302670099186658442017-03-29T14:50:00.000-04:002017-04-10T10:12:23.387-04:00

Hot sauce covers a multitude of frozen-meal and fast-food sins.  I keep a stash of these bad boys in my desk at work at all times! My food situation has worsened since I last posted on this site five years ago.  More local grocery stores have closed.  Specialty groceries have gone out of business.  The lack of variety in fresh produce and the dearth of Asian

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-51402510527941964582011-09-11T08:54:00.000-04:002011-09-11T09:03:30.674-04:00

A few weekends ago, when the weather was hot and sticky, I kept thinking of ice cream trucks with their Popsicles, Dreamsicles and Eskimo Pies. This recipe is a twist on nostalgia. Instead of the classic combination of orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream, I made a raspberry sherbet to pair with a very simple Philly-style (eggless) vanilla ice cream. Raspberry Sherbet 4 cups of fresh

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-84296612229090991632011-08-27T15:28:00.043-04:002011-08-27T15:58:21.851-04:00

I've been cooking up summer veggies for the last two weeks, but it will take me a while to get all the recipes and images on the blog. I'll start today with zucchini, since we're all swimming in it. This particular recipe is for all my baco-vegetarian friends out there. What do you do with an over-abundance of zucchini, too few eggs in the fridge, and a lonely leftover piece of frozen puff

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-41464760676042153082011-08-13T18:53:00.042-04:002011-08-15T10:06:46.440-04:00

Finding out that my new ice cream maker came with a second freezer bowl was a surprise. I decided to make a second frozen concoction (the first was Basil Ice Cream) but to try to make it from ingredients already in my kitchen. Note that whole milk yogurt does not alway say 'whole milk' on the container. Check the label. If it says "milk" without a percentage of fat (0%, 1% and 2% are most

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-59460423286236991152011-08-13T17:46:00.002-04:002011-08-13T21:50:08.659-04:00

Although I bought David Lebovitz's book, The Perfect Scoop, three years ago, it wasn't until this summer that I noticed his recipe for Basil Ice Cream. All I needed was a source of fresh basil, and I knew my friend Valentine's homegrown supply would be ready in August. The most time-consuming part this recipe was the harvesting and trimming of the basil. My friend was very generous, so I ended

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-38943497967824252252011-08-13T12:06:00.009-04:002011-08-13T12:12:03.957-04:00

basil ice cream Big Pink When I completed graduate school in the spring of 2008 at the tender age of 50, I decided to go back to basics and get myself an ice cream maker. However, as soon as I started shopping, I went into sticker shock. I wanted something automated, not the hand-cranked kind, but all the electric ice cream makers were well out of my price range at that time. Then I hit on

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-87971663471571117422011-08-06T22:59:00.005-04:002011-08-08T10:36:55.563-04:00

When I think of mead, I think of the Dark Ages, Beowulf and Grendal, and that gruesome tale from Norse mythology, in which two evil dwarves lure a hero into their home, murder him, drain him of all his blood, and add honey. These were sick dudes! The resultant liquor, however, was The Mead of Poetry, a magical drink that allows anyone who partakes of it to became a true poet and to know things

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-58368866613938204182011-07-31T09:23:00.025-04:002011-07-31T21:40:55.940-04:00

Weekend brunch -- mushrooms on toasted English muffin with fresh fruit on the side. This is a quick and easy entree any time of day. For breakfast, pair it with fresh fruit. Add a green salad for lunch or dinner. 1 tablespoon butter (or olive oil) 1 clove of garlic, finely minced or crushed 4 to 6 oz. mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (for this demonstration, I used a prepackaged mix of shiitake,

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-77233222601427421712011-07-30T14:03:00.102-04:002011-07-31T21:37:37.072-04:00

I do most of my grocery shopping--in a 2-hour round of several stores and occasional vegetable stands--on Saturdays. For the last three weeks or so, I've included the Boardman Giant Eagle on my route. The store has rewarded me with 2 or 3 packets of fresh lemongrass each week from their  (over-packaged, over-priced) fresh herbs section for $ 3.99/pkg. Lemongrass is a key ingredient in

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-90205679319068603172011-07-24T21:36:00.417-04:002011-07-30T23:17:46.286-04:00

Nothing-Raw-Except-The-Veggies Sushie (top of the plate and moving clockwise): Sweet Bacon Roll, Octopus Roll, dab of wasabi, Youngstown Roll (prototype), Teriyaki Chicken Roll, Spicy Tuna Salad Roll I did a lot of prep yesterday, so I when walked into my kitchen this morning, I felt confident that my plan for the day's portable cooool meal was under control, "a walk in the park," so to speak.

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-24774919676630280172011-07-23T23:21:00.005-04:002011-07-30T19:45:57.859-04:00

I didn't think through just how much prep there is for nothing-raw sushi. Spent three hours prepping and I haven't even made the rice yet! Frying hot Italian peppers with garlic in olive oil steaming asparagus cooking teriyaki chicken tenders braising cabbage chopping octopus.

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-50576534764064125342011-07-17T17:47:00.003-04:002011-07-30T19:50:18.770-04:00

Oven roasted Greek lemon chicken thighs. This dish first came into my life when we lived in Aldine, near Houston, Texas. Our next door neighbors were Greek. Or, rather, the mom was Greek, born and raised on a small island in the Mediterranean sea. She did not speak English, and she was one of the best cooks I have ever met, before or since. The dad was of 100% Greek descent, and--without any

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-69614490456611451682011-07-14T23:59:00.002-04:002011-07-15T06:45:42.016-04:00

Many online herb cooking sites either ignore ice cream as a venue or offer recipes that do not take full advantage of heavy cream's ability to capture the essential oils, flavor points, and other key characteristic of fresh and dried herbs. As I was doing research for this recipe, I ended up turning back to a book that I purchased three summers ago: The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz. The book

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-86063188688168633422011-07-12T20:08:00.070-04:002011-07-14T20:55:28.657-04:00

When I was a kid in southeast Asia, I loved tofu. In America, however, I am not a fan. The tofu here is 'silky' and soft, with no texture. Though even silky tofu can take on a wide range of tasty flavors, the texture always puts me off. A few months ago I was researching grilled tofu recipes for a friend who likes tofu when I ran across a number of websites that recommended freezing your tofu,

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-18238586066588804992011-07-10T09:31:00.173-04:002011-07-14T20:50:13.049-04:00

[Note: Links will appear as I post each entry, but they may not all be available for several weeks.] For 4th of July this year, I decided to sample a variety of different meat-on-a-stick recipes from Asia. The offerings included: Chinese BBQ'd Tofu Indonesian Beef Satay Japanese Chicken Yakitori Indian Chicken Tikka Filipino Barbecue Pork The end result was, obviously, too much food. I had a

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-63235354426594972692011-07-08T21:05:00.007-04:002011-07-08T22:06:32.151-04:00

A ball of sticky rice, spicy peanut sauce, and raw veggies. As part of my 4th of July celebration this year, I decided to grill a bunch of "meat on a stick" using recipes from different Asian cuisines. (See the upcoming blog on July 10th entitled "Meat on A Stick Extravaganza" for those recipes). To go with Indonesian Beef Satay, I decided to make spicy peanut dipping sauce, something I haven't

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-46454220145489079432011-06-29T02:31:00.002-04:002011-06-29T19:03:53.049-04:00

A few summers ago, my dogs and I were on a play date with some other canine friends when their human introduced us to some yogurt-based pupsicles—popsicles for dogs. She had bought them at the grocery store. My dogs loved them, so I decided to start making them at home.This recipe uses one of my dogs' favorite vegetables--the sweet potato (sometimes known as "yam"). Let's not argue about the

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-72119980744410086112011-06-26T20:05:00.000-04:002011-06-26T20:05:00.795-04:00

Rabbit hind quarter in mustard sauce. For a short time during the mid-'70s, when I was attending Northern Illinois University, I was unattached and loving it. I would take myself on extended day trips into Chicago for museum crawls, ethnic festivals, often followed by a light dinner at The Berghoff (cheap eats in the late 1970's: escargot, a basket of bread, a glass of white wine, and a

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997483683117844615.post-3294245873592332312011-06-19T01:56:00.215-04:002011-06-19T08:17:15.002-04:00

I made my favorite food on the planet--beef rendang--a few weeks ago. It's been four or more years since I last made it. It's very rich, so I usually reserve it for special occasions, like someone else's birthday or a New Year's Eve party with friends. Lately, however, I've come to the realization that waiting for rendang is probably not a wise use of the time I have remaining on Earth. Life is

M. A. Provencherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348453517037455879noreply@blogger.com0