The Middle Third

Quick blurbs on the middle part of the challenge, many of which feel so long ago. Besides challenges already posted (at least there were a few this time!), skipping weeks 19, 24, 25, 28, 30 for the shared AtWCC posts that will come at some point, and week 21 because I wrote most of it already.

Week 18: garlic

The Tasty recipe was called 40 clove garlic chicken, but the three heads of garlic I used ended up being around 45. We love garlic in our household, so even more garlic was not a problem! This was delicious, and not as garlicky as one would think for 45 cloves. It was much more manageable than the vegetable pizza covered in whole roasted garlic cloves that I ate at Planet Hollywood when I was around 10 (still remember that one; it made an impact). We would definitely make this again.

Week 20: zero waste

We had a few very ripe bananas on the counter that I forgot about, so turned them (and a bunch of other ingredients already in the pantry) into banana pancakes based on a Nora Cooks recipe, so they wouldn't go to waste. Not really much else to say about this challenge. The banana pancakes were fine, but we've made pancakes like this, possibly even these exact ones, before.

Week 27: made the wrong way

In what will probably be my best-performing post ever on Reddit, I made falafel waffles. This one really stumped me because I personally don't really think that many things can be made the "wrong" way. Unconventional, maybe, but not necessarily wrong. I went with falafel waffles, because they sounded fun, and using the "wrong" appliance/cooking method seemed like the closest I was going to get to finding something to complete this challenge. Apparently it was a winning idea, but I don't even remember where I first heard about it years ago. We made the falafel in the waffle maker and topped the waffles with salad. I also attempted to fold one around the salad, sort of like the Taco Bell naked chicken chalupa, but it all fell apart. This was fun to try.

Week 29: shredded

I think this July dinner is where the series of chicken salads began. I made the poached chicken and cabbage salad with cashews and miso dressing from Kenji’s cookbook, The Wok, and it had lots of shredded ingredients - chicken, carrots, scallions, and cabbage. I also added corn so B would have something he liked. This was a very refreshing summer salad.

4 more done, 18 more to go!