What We're Eating: 1/25-1/31

 The week started with a birthday and we'll probably celebrate that birthday at least one other time over the course of the week. 

Monday: It's Watts' birthday! At some point in the past year, Watts managed to get out of town on a little solo explore to the mid-west. There he discovered Cornish pasties. Which I find hilarious. Not hilarious because he loved them. This is a man who, while traveling in Scotland, once ate steak pies for every meal. But hilarious because why is the midwest a Cornish pasty haven. Long story short. He loved them and I said I would make them for his birthday. I used this recipe and this recipe and the next time I'll probably use another recipe until I find the one I am smitten with. Still. You can't go wrong with a savory pie for dinner. 

We started the day with Cinnamon Buns from King Arthur. Perfectly pillowy ones that are definitely better than the last best recipe I found for cinnamon buns. We ended the day with Paul Hollywood's Molten Puddings with a Peanut Butter Center.  Decadent and easy enough to whip up for any of your peanut butter lovers. 

Tuesday: I have so much extra filling in the fridge from these pasties, but I've been craving some shrimp scampi so that's what we're having. 

Wednesday: Nuala asked if we would make this Thai-Inspired Coconut Curry Soup with Vegetables. Also, tonight will be a proper birthday cake inspired from the pages of Aran. 

Thursday: It's dinner on the back deck with family night so we'll make a warm batch of Winter  Minestrone from Giada. 

Friday: I feel like tonight we will have to eat noshies aka refashioned leftovers. There's a doctor appointment at 4pm. We'll have a lot of food I think still in the fridge. And, to be honest, we quite like making leftovers fancy.  I decided it was a FUN PIZZA night. When I said this tonight, he was like "what's 'fun pizza'? Pizza with broccoli?" To be honest I'm just trying to make things fun when it feels like we're dragging weights around on us living in a decidedly unbeautiful place in winter. So, we'll have dueling crusts for our pizza and a variety of fun toppings. One is from King Arthur and the other from The National Trust Book of Bread. I know...it's funny to make pizza crust from a British cookbook. However, it was delicious. Both were. I only object to King Arthur's decision to bake their crust a bit first. Not a fan of that method. 

We haven't decided about the weekend yet. Maybe a grand cooking experiment one day, maybe a quick meal after a long hike on another day. We'll see. 

Saturday: It's going to be chickpea pasta and bacon pasta. Specifically it's going to be this chickpea pasta that we have eyed many many times, but finally decided to make. The bacon was fried on the side and thrown on the top of those plates that seek meat.  Four out of four eaters agree that this was one of the best and creamiest pasta recipes I've ever made. 

Sunday: Chili. Because it will be cold and rainy. The old standby of Black Bean Chili and a white bean chicken chili for those with other tastes. One on the stovetop. One in the slow cooker. The whole house smelled like chili all day.