The Food Log on Bruce loves to cook

October 2026

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Early October is mostly trip notes: a tabbouleh worth learning, a subtly sweet red cabbage, an onion jam on a double smash burger, and a German dinner of roulade and pork tenderloin with apple. Plus all of the Hawaii treats we have grown to love.

September 2026

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Two goulash tests: a first-principles pork version on the 14th that came out better than expected, then a v2 on the 29th with oven-roasted pork, soaked dried mushrooms and smoked paprika. Alongside it, chicken Milanese from freezer-marinated cutlets, a more acidic batch of sweet pickled red onions, and the start of research into a cornmeal-breaded chicken patty. The backlog is mostly curries (butternut squash, Japanese, Instant Pot chicken thigh) plus a list of recipe sites to work through.

August 2026

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A month of ideas rather than cooking: samosas and pakoras, empanadas, kofte, and a summer lasagne on the list, plus a couple of recipe sites bookmarked for later digging.

Saturday, August 22nd

Ideas

Samosas and pakoras
- Chutneys

Sunday, August 9th

Ideas

Empanadas
Saucy dishes
Garganelli (1)
Kofte (1)
Summer lasagne (1)
General
- Indian cuisine (1)
- North American (1)

July 2026

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Back from time off and easing into fresher food, starting with a tested and approved batch of gyro dogs — freezer-friendly, and good for quick meals.

Thursday, July 2nd

Post-time off, focus on fresher foods

June 2026

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Quiet month — just baked oatmeal noted as an idea to try, pulled from the recipe book but not yet tested.

Wednesday, June 17th

Summer thinking

baked oatmeal (see recipe book for an untested recipe) → [[Baked oatmeal]]

May 2026

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A fajita chicken marinade and bowl format built out and tested, a lemon chicken marinade and a crisp topping recipe finalized, plus early research into West African stews (yassa, mafe) and Turkish kebabs for later.

April 2026

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A run of quick-dinner formulas locked in: breakfast wraps on the plancha, fast sauced noodle bowls, and rice bowls v3 with three tested proteins (teriyaki, bulgogi, oyster-soy-sake); a fruit crisp tested with strawberry and rhubarb; and a complicated teriyaki sauce recipe rejected in favour of the simpler 1:1:1 ratio already in the book.

March 2026

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Spring cooking: a quick avocado dressing dialed in (a bit too much citrus at 75g, aim for 50g), a marinated pressed-tofu method worked out for freezer-to-stir-fry, and a wide scatter of recipe research — dal, kale salad, pho meatballs — mostly still just links.

February 2026

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tested granola bars (assembles in under 20 minutes, held together fine, oats toasted for next time) and built out a lunch rice bowl formula: dry-brined slow-baked pork, pressed tofu, pickled onions, and a dressed cabbage.

January 2026

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A three-course wok meal built out (mapo tofu, ginger beef, garlic broccoli, all in 30 minutes), alongside a chashu pork braise and a pork velveting technique dialed in — the wok lesson of the month being that velveting genuinely works, and scorching the oil matters. Also on the list after a good meal out: dal, paratha, and homemade yogurt.

December 2025

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Holiday week ran heavy on batch cooking: a strawberry-rhubarb compote, a burger week testing sour bread-and-butter pickles, and tuna steaks that turned into rice bowls, salads, and sandwiches all week, plus early transglutaminase experiments toward homemade lunch meat.

November 2025

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

First pass at goulash, aiming for an easy, thicker near-American stew but closer to authentic on caraway and paprika (4+ tablespoons per kg of meat, not 1), and skipping bacon since the pork brings enough fat on its own.

October 2025

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Turkey timing dialed in for round two, dark and white meat roasted separately to hit their own targets, plus a fish burger revisit that was nostalgic but went soggy fast, and a twice-baked shepherd’s-pie potato idea filed for later.

September 2025

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Late summer wind-down: cottage pie nailed (steamed potatoes, a simple 1:1:1:1 beef seasoning) alongside beef and chicken sandwich patties tested, a breakfast sausage recipe rebuilt by comparing three sources (landing closer to sage and marjoram), and a no-knead pizza bianca that needs more time in the oven next round.

August 2025

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Mostly summer produce: a mango green salad, a scalable family meatball recipe, and a wide search for fresh pickles and salads — Japanese and Chinese cucumber pickles, sesame spinach, agedashi tofu — none yet tested.

July 2025

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A poultry seasoning batch made and dry-rubbed chicken tested, a refined chai recipe (technique intentionally breaks standard tea-brewing rules, works anyway), and a running want-list — a deli meat press, crispier roast chicken, Nanaimo bars — alongside a “win the freezer” push to clear out beef balls, patties, and ham.

June 2025

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Heavy batch-prep month: chicken and pork patties, back bacon, and pickled carrots and cucumber all made ahead; a new pan-in-pan method confirmed as the fastest way to cool stock; plus a teriyaki chicken recipe and a Korean meatballs idea saved for later.

May 2025

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A deep dive into Mediterranean cooking (dips, vegetable brining, a shift toward plant-forward meals) alongside a beetroot-chickpea hummus and a roast poultry method that splits dark and light meat onto separate pans by temperature. Also nailed down: Bruce’s burger sauce and a personal taxonomy of go-to burger styles (the deluxe, the swiss, the mcdub, and more).

April 2025

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

All research, no cooking: a lime crema and two Greek chop marinades worked out on paper (the marinade needs more lemon), and a big scatter of Mediterranean and vacation-inspired ideas — tabbouleh, homemade hummus, Jamaican beef patties, Dutch split pea soup — none yet tested.

February 2025

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Late-winter research mode: a Jamaican jerk chicken recipe card saved for spring testing (missing browning sauce), a tuna rice bowl sauce worked out, and a hot pot shopping list — proteins, veg, hardware — built for spring/summer, alongside a simple stroganoff and turkey noodle soup that actually got made.

January 2025

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Post-holiday month: pulled chicken stretched across three meals, a mushroom-quinoa side that needed more mushroom, breakfast sausage adjustments (softer grind, less fennel, sweeter), and a backlog of missed December ideas — goulash, stroganoff, French onion soup — to catch up on.

December 2024

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A full winter-break meal plan (two turkey dinners, snacky days, soup days) sketched out day by day, alongside a breakfast sausage recipe locked in (half a pork loin at $1.20/100g works out to half the price of premade) and a steamed, three-day hoagie roll process built from four different sources.

Fall 2024

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A big stock-and-broth push (chicken, turkey, a reworked pho ga base) ahead of the holidays, a McDouble clone dialed in to the gram, and a sandwich-shop sour pickle reverse-engineered against BK, McDonald’s, and A&W’s own ingredient lists. Turkey day mostly went to plan, and a crispy roast chicken rub and homemade naan both landed well.

Summer 2024

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A wide-ranging summer: a quick pizza sauce that turned out great, a vindaloo paste built from whole spices, a broiled burger method dialed in (6 minutes a side at 288°C), and a teriyaki sauce ratio locked in for the rice-bowl rotation, alongside travel-inspired ideas from Atlanta and a growing retro-dishes wishlist.

Spring 2024

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A big stretch, January through June: Hawaii-trip-inspired kalua pulled pork and poke research, a bulgogi marinade and an Asian slaw dressing that both worked well on the first try, and a char siu marinade. Also dialed in: a broiled “home whopper” method, a family-weekend rotation of pulled pork, chili, and mac and cheese, and two wing sauces (gochujang, chili-lime) for puzzle nights — while a Serious Eats peanut sauce got flatly rejected in favour of trying Weissman’s version next time.

Fall 2023

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A holiday-heavy stretch — Friendsmas and Christmas feast prep, turkey, stocks, and a French onion soup that “was great!” — alongside a chicken burger weekend comparing brined breast patties, ground chicken patties, and pork schnitzel. A meatball-and-marinara combo both turned out “very good,” a mayo-based chicken skewer marinade worked well as a pure marinade, and the go-to wing sauce turned out to just be the standard Korean-fried-chicken red sauce all along.

Spring 2023

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A methodical pizza dough test (five iterations, landing on 1.5% yeast with a long ferment for a perfect crust), plus a ramen stock and chashu pork build-out, a big pre-vacation prep push that checked off beef stew, cottage pie, and meat sauce, and a running dessert bucket list (crepe cake, crème brûlée) still untouched.

Fall and winter 2022–23

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A long stretch of systematic testing: baking soda ratios dialed in across ground beef, chicken velveting, and patties, plus a running ratio-research doc (roux, fake ramen noodles, iced coffee). A mushroom-lentil freezer base and a beef ragu built from leftover gravy both turned out well enough to keep, mushroom aglio e olio and forester gravy joined the regular rotation, and Friendsgiving’s detailed hour-by-hour timeline worked as planned.

Late summer 2022

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Late-summer batch of weekly staples: a quick pho tested three times (skip the celery, add more sugar than you’d think), a pizza dough that doubled well as focaccia, a bean-and-beef taco salad that became an instant favourite, and a sirloin tip roast method aimed at medium-rare.

Summer 2022

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A summer built around Indian flavours: butter paneer masala worked well with cashews instead of cream, and a vindaloo wing sauce got drafted from memory. Veggie burger research turned up a black bean smash burger that needed more binding, and this year’s cold-brew iced tea recipe (evolving in the house for two decades) got locked in.

Winter and spring 2022

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A long curry stretch (chana masala, butter paneer masala, a Thai red curry that “worked especially well”) alongside a big-batch beef stew and a ravioli filling that held together on the first try. A burger-and-chicken-sandwich cookery week produced real lessons — frozen pre-smashed patties work fine, the buttermilk chicken marinade needed more seasoning — and a char siu marinade and lentil tacos both got written up for the book.

Fall and winter 2021

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A season built around “Soupmas” — French onion nearly perfect, butternut squash and potato-leek-mushroom both landing well — and a pizza dough overhaul (a Flour Water Salt Yeast-based recipe called “a big win”). Coconut lentils became a genuine monthly rotation dish, an Indian takeaway-style base-gravy system got researched in depth, and a big Thanksgiving retrospective concluded: more prep ahead of time, skip the formal carving, think buffet.

Late summer 2021

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The gyro loaf earned a permanent spot in the rotation after testing it in ramen, salad, and on its own; a big cooking weekend also produced the best gochujang wings yet, a 99%-match copycat salsa, and breakfast sausage patties, while a farmers-market lentil stew got reverse-engineered from its ingredient list.

Summer 2021

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A whole summer of stated cooking goals, most of them checked off: salsas, pickled peppers (salinity dialed in against four different reference recipes), roasted peppers, pastas and pizzas. A bread post-mortem diagnosed a too-hot oven behind some gummy loaves, a mushroom soup potage method with cashew cream “worked well,” and a pizza dough reset (Detroit style, a few failed attempts along the way) kept the pizza streak alive.

May 2021

Sat, 01 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Rice bowl theory got serious — sauces, proteins, and a basic method all written down — alongside a quick crispy wings recipe (Frank’s-and-butter sauce) and a freezer staple tomato meat sauce that turns a 10-minute pasta night reliable. A big prep weekend stocked pulled pork, stew meat, and taco beef for weeks of dinners, and a Mexican lava rock bowl eaten out ranked among the best meals of the year.

April 2021

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A dense month: a reverse-engineered White Spot burger, an upgraded turkey burger recipe, and a go-to salmon salad sandwich all written down, alongside a steak dinner routine (a nonstick pan works fine, contrary to convention) and a two-way wing/rib rub (smoky herb and Caribbean). Also locked in: a 5-day turkey prep timeline and a quick egg-and-sausage method for lunch ramen.

March 2021

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The ongoing burger quest turned up a hand-pressed frozen-patty method as a fallback for smash burgers, alongside a first attempt at a plant-based veggie patty and an updated jerk chicken marinade. This month also has an early write-up of the “win the fridge” philosophy that would later become its own essay.

February 2021

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A grab bag of undated notes: blog post ideas (recipe organization, winning the fridge) alongside weekend meal planning — a lasagna craving redirected toward something more traditional, a new butcher shop, homegrown sprouts and French bread, and some flexitarian musing.