Saturday, January 31, 2026

January Kitchen Thoughts

What’s New?

New recipe box which I’m starting to populate with other people’s recipes.
Len made me this recipe box. Yes, I mostly keep recipes in a database, but this is a fun retro choice.

New rubber ducky and new tiny cookware. The Ducky is for Eileen’s Critters!

New table caddy: Len also made this.

In My Kitchen In January

It’s been a very quiet month in my kitchen. Few new gadgets, not very adventurous cooking, but lots of good food to enjoy quietly as the snow has been falling. We did try a few ready-made food products. I’ve posted several of these photos during the month, but I wanted to show them again in this wrap-up.

Impulsively at Trader Joe’s we bought two “stirring spoons” with which to make afternoon cocoa.

Zingerman’s Bakehouse features UP style pasties, a flaky pastry with either a diced-potato filling or a
potato-and-beef filling. (UP means Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where the miners once brought these for their lunch) 

Another Trader Joe’s ready made foods: a meatloaf with red sauce. Not bad. 

Impromptu cuisine leads to sort-of-new combinations.
Maybe never to be done again in the exact same way.

Shrimp stew with TJ’s olive bread. 

ABC Stew: Apricots, Beef, Carrots and quite a few other ingredients.



Also Len’s incredible cinnamon rolls.



Pork chops for a simple, classic dinner.

Our neighbor Anne brought us croissants of various shapes.

Mona Lisa is back on the refrigerator this month

Bringing an old cookbook to life again




Meatballs served with mushroom and onion gravy and fresh vegetables.

Alice Cooks

Alice cooked creamy pasta and brought us bread sticks and salad to accompany it.

Alice brought heart-shaped pasta and other anticipations of Valentine Day.



Home made crumpets, fruit, mushrooms, and smoked salmon for brunch at Alice’s apartment


What do I want to cook?

These are the New York Times recipes that I’ve saved in hopes that we will some day cook them.

A toast from Alice


We are so happy that Alice is now living in Ann Arbor as a graduate student
at the University of Michigan.

Outside the Kitchen: Sad Thoughts



Blog post and all photos © 2026 mae sander
Shared with In My Kitchen and Readerbuzz

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6 comments:

  1. eileeninmd1/31/2026 8:37 AM

    Hello, Mae
    Cute Rubber Ducky! The cocoa spoons look fun. All your food, the bread and the cinnamon rolls all look delicious. I am sure you are very happy to have Alice close by. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend. PS, thanks so much for leaving me a comment.

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  2. DVArtist1/31/2026 10:32 AM

    It's early morning here and after seeing all of this amazing food, I want to cook. LOL Some truly wonderful recipes. I should get a recipe box. I would like to try the Lentils and rice with fried onions that sounds like a good one to me. Have a great day today.

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  3. Lori1/31/2026 2:19 PM

    So much delicious looking food this month in and out of your kitchen.

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  4. My name is Erika.2/01/2026 7:57 AM

    I think your food looks fantastic. The food at my house hasn't even been close to that. But I noticed we did buy some of the same items at Trader Joe's. Love the new rubber duckie and all the Monas. Happy February. hugs-Erika

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  5. Jenn Jilks2/01/2026 9:46 AM

    You are my kind of cook! "Impromptu cuisine leads to sort-of-new combinations. Maybe never to be done again in the exact same way."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Debra Eliotseats2/01/2026 11:42 AM

    That's a lot going on and I would say that there has been some adventurous cooking going on. Still keep Minneapolis and all in my daily thoughts.

    ReplyDelete

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