tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507376191627179242024-02-20T17:47:17.519-08:00I thought this was supposed to be fun.My almost daily adventures in cooking, love, and life. Because apparently I have too much time on my hands.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-73630686653315929722012-05-03T20:05:00.000-07:002012-05-03T20:05:55.308-07:00It's my party and I'll cry if I want toI know I haven't written in a while. There hasn't been much happening. Or much to say. Not much cooking either - not enough money to do anything fun. In fact I didn't make a birthday cake this year. It hurt a little bit. But I guess it's time to realize that my birthday doesn't really matter. I mean it does. But not in the way that it used to. Or that I wished it did. I mean 364 days of the year I do everything for everyone else. This one day of the year I just want to be the center of attention. I want to be treated like a queen. I want presents and fabulous food and bottles of wine and cake. I want to be pampered. I want to be spoiled. I want to feel like I matter more than anyone else. I want to feel loved.<br />
And I guess I did feel like that. Just not in the way that I had idealized it. <br />
<br />
Anyway, moving on from that.<br />
I had a little talk with Boyfriend the other day. Things have been really really good between us lately. Like blissful good. Like we get each other on another level good. We have been out on a couple dates lately, which is important to me and I think helps us stay connected with each other. And the other weekend we went to a wedding of a good friend of mine (groom - also complete aside Boyfriend consumed raw baby spinach at said wedding! Shock! Although he did put butter on it - ew, I know). And I'm not sure if it was that or it's just that time. But there was lots of talk about "our" wedding (all Boyfriend's doing). And then there was joking about things on "our" wedding etc. And that just brought back a wave of a bunch of old feelings. And I mulled it over and decided I needed to express my feelings on this seemingly meaningless chatter. Initially I was afraid I was making too big a deal about this, but it was bothering me. And as invalid as certain other nameless persons tried to make my feelings, I know that I have a right to them, so I spoke up. Initially the way I put it to him was that I don't want to talk about weddings or marriage. But I knew I needed to flesh that thought out because it made it seem like I don't want to get married at all. And I do. To Boyfriend anyway. I'm older and more mature and I don't want to get married just to say I'm married. I want to marry HIM. Big difference. But really I don't want to talk about it until HE is really ready to discuss it with some amount of seriousness. This is a touchy subject for me. Mostly because I've been down this road before, and I don't want to get my hopes up. If something were to happen between us, the thought that we were considering marriage would make it that much harder to get over. I'm a tough little lady, but I'm pretty sure it would be that much harder to recover from that sort of thing a second time. I tried to explain all of this as best I could. I hope he understood. I mean I don't bring it up to him because I don't want him to feel pressured. So I hope that he can understand that I don't want him to bring it up because it will just give me expectations. I don't want him to bring it up unless he can meet any expectations he gives me. He knows that my big thing is people not following through when they say they will.<br />
<br />
Well this was all kind of heavy, and there are other heavy things on my mind that I would like to consider, but I'm pretty sure I've exhausted everyone's attention span for the time being. So I'll leave you with your moment of levity: A bottle of wine makes me worse at mah jong, not better. For some reason this surprised me.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-35370926911941561172012-04-05T11:15:00.000-07:002012-04-05T11:15:33.650-07:00Your body is a wonderland? Well my body is a bitch.I feel like I should be writing more about cooking things. But I haven't been. Cooking things that is.<br />
At least I don't think so. I mean I made dinner last night (whole wheat fettuccine, sausage, tomato sauce) and it wasn't anything exciting. But I haven't been cooking because I haven't been eating. Something decided to wreak havoc on my body on Monday afternoon and I haven't a clue as to what happened. I went to grocery shop for the week and pulled into the lot then I got all shaky and light headed. My heart was racing and then I thought I was going to toss my cookies. I grocery shopped anyway because, what the hell, I was already there. Then went home and cried in bed because I thought I was dying. Boyfriend came home later and gave me a strict bed rest order that lasted through Tuesday. So I've been out of commission for a couple days and my stomach is still pretty much being a bitch, but it feels the same whether I eat anything or not.<br />
<br />
Oh. But, I did make something! Carrot cake mix cookies with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Except the cookies were really fluffy and spongy and light so instead of frosting the tops of them I flipped them over and made them into whoopie pies! Genius! I know, I know. And I think I have finally solved my white chocolate tempering problem. I have attempted several times to make white chocolate cream cheese frosting and every time with out fail, the white chocolate burns or turns back into white chocolate flakes upon hitting the cream cheese and butter in the mixing bowl. I seriously feel like I cannot win with this. But! BUT! The geniuses (genii?) at Philadelphia have fought my battle for me. They now make dessert cream cheese! Holy hell, yes! White chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate cream cheese. Amaaaaaazing. I cannot wait to experiment with the dark chocolate variety. And normally I am anti chocolate. But. I do love dark chocolate above all others. And I am thinking birthday cake thoughts here. Normally I go the fruity, sometimes frosting-less route, but I am envisioning amazing things with the dark chocolate cream cheese. Although I think there will have to be some sort of raspberry filling. Originally I was dreaming of a fluffy white cake with citrus curd in the middle and fluffy whip cream frosting and apricot preserve glazed fruit arranged all pretty on top. Now I am having second thoughts. Hmm...I am also still on the look out for a faboosh recipe to one up either of these birthday cake ideas. Thoughts? Anyone? Bueller?a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-24198998441373899072012-03-21T09:11:00.000-07:002012-03-21T09:11:21.136-07:00So. I have taken it upon myself to start DVR-ing Jeopardy! (That was not supposed to sound excited that is simply the correct title for that show). However, because I actually have no idea how to properly DVR things (I get rreeeaaalll excited when it works out properly) I seem to not have DVRed any of the latest or "new" episodes of Jeopardy! You know, the ones that air at 7:30 each night on one of the main channels? Instead I seem to have DVRed old Jeopardy! episodes that re-air on the Game Show Network at like 2am or 9am. Now that is fine, because A)I usually haven't seen these episodes so B)I am still honing my Jeopardy! skills and learning. (NB: I have always held a very fond place for Jeopardy! and it is a life goal to be on it. Mostly because I know so many pointless non-money making things. And I want these things to finally make me some money. Although I want to bring back Trebek's mustache.) But the issue with this is because these have aired at such odd hours they are interspersed with some seriously awesome infomercials. <br />
<br />
Now maybe I have failed to mention this here, but I have a serious love affair with infomercials. I LOVE them. Especially infomercials that involve kitchen appliances or cookware of any stripe. I'm pretty sure I NEED all of these things. Rotisserie oven? Want. New knives that can cut shoes? Desire. Slicer thing? Must have. Cake pop pan? Cannot live without. I suppose the upside of being unbelievably broke is that I cannot call and order these things. Well that and my crippling anxiety about talking on the phone and asking people for things. True story: I have been known to leave stores where employees offer to help me too much or when I can't find things instead of asking for help.<br />
So that makes this post food relevant. That and I decided I was not making dinner last night because I had defrosted turkey cutlets and I REALLY did not want that. I wanted a big fancy salad. Instead I had a bowl of romaine lettuce with dressing. The downside: I really have to make that turkey tonight. Wah-wah. Otherwise I will have to throw it away. And that will mean wasting my money. And nothing makes me angrier than wasting my money. Except people that don't do what they say they will. Or people that feel the need to update you every 27 seconds on their wedding and/or pregnancy. Or factory farms. Or the fact that celebrity Jeopardy! is way easier than regular Jeopardy! Or when my ice cream gets drippy down the cone onto my hand. That just makes me throw my ice cream out the car window (also true). So maybe many other things make me angrier than wasting money. But wasting money ranks way up there.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-41527115915105701852012-03-19T06:14:00.000-07:002012-03-19T06:14:40.984-07:00It was better than you having a dream about me in a threesome...I need some food inspiration. I feel empty of cooking ideas. Or at the very least stymied. It is getting unseasonably warm around here and so I am craving fresh and refreshing foods. I want more veggies and fruits. I want barbecue. I want salad. And I really want fish. I guess I'm just trying to wrap my head around how to package and present these things to Boyfriend (who I decided should get a capital letter at least, though even though we haven't discussed it, I kind of figured he would appreciate the anonymity). <br />
<br />
My usual process is to think of all the things I want to try or things we haven't had in a while and kind of plan out what I need because Monday is usually grocery day. <br />
<br />
Ok. So far, things that have piqued my interest.<br />
-some sort of fish<br />
-lemon curd (though I am not real sure what I will do with it - maybe with fresh berries? but I really want to make it)<br />
-home made bread<br />
-beer. last week Boyfriend asked me to get some in honor of St. P's Day (all I wanted was corned beef, but apparently his family thinks that is the epitome of disgusting. My family is authentically Irish and drunk and knows that nothing tastes better with a sweet buzz than salty, fatty meat). BUT corned beef aside, it made me think we should drink more beer. Well, no. Maybe not like that. We should <i>try</i> more beer, or beer styles, or beer brands. Something like that. The sweet buzz we acquire will be a happy accident from our quest for knowledge. And therefore completely excusable. I mean people have done way worse things in the name of "knowledge" (coughTuskegeecough).<br />
<br />
I don't know. My brain is too cloudy to think clearly and plan appropriately for the week. It is probably because I've been having WAY more excessively strange dreams than most people have in their entire lifetimes. <br />
I was shaving Boyfriend's head last night (because the back of your head is WAY easier to let someone else do, as long as you trust them with a razor near your most prized possession.) But, I only agreed to do this if he would listen to my latest dream I had (Friday night). He acquiesced. So we're in the bathroom together and he is seated while I shave his head (because as you may or may not know, I am almost legally a "little person") and I set the stage for him.<br />
Me: "So this dream I had the other night it was SO weird, but I told my mother about it and she said, no, you REALLY need to tell Boyfriend that dream because it is weird AND funny. So..."<br />
Boyfriend: "Just get this over with".<br />
Me: "Ok, so I dreamed that I was bitten by a weasel. But it was a rabid weasel. And I got bit on the hand as I was trying to pick it up and move it. Its teeth only just barely pricked my skin. So then I knew I had rabies and I needed to go to the doctor"<br />
Boyfriend: "Seriously? Why?"<br />
Me: "Because when you have rabies you need to seek medical attention"<br />
Boyfriend: "No, I mean weasels and rabies? What is happening in your subconscious?"<br />
Me: "Neither of us probably really wants to know. Anyway, it gets better."<br />
Boyfriend: "Better than weasels and rabies?"<br />
Me: "Oh yes. This is the funny part. I was African-American. But you were still you, and still very pasty. And you kept telling me that I didn't need to go to the doctor's because I had only <i>dreamed</i> that I had been bitten by a rabid weasel. And also, I had a baby. And the baby was African-American. A little boy. And I had given him corn rows."<br />
Boyfriend: "People could not make these things up if they tried. Even Dr. Seuss couldn't. Also, are you trying to tell me something with this African-American baby business?"<br />
Me: "What?! No! Anyway, do you think this is better or worse than the dream where we had a dog that always ate the top four buttons off my shirt causing my boobs to fall out?"<br />
Boyfriend: "More creative. Although only the top four buttons is kind of highly specific. But overall I like the dog dream better."<br />
Me: "Why because my boobs were always on display?"<br />
Boyfriend: "Yeah, that and the fact that you DIDN'T HAVE A BABY"<br />
<br />
He's just not ready to deal with a miniature version of me; although the thought of someone else with the same kind of irrational logic is kind of exciting.<br />
Also, I think that he is incorrect about one thing- Dr. Seuss could totally make this shit up. Except then it would rhyme. And be packaged in a neat way for six year olds. And be slightly moralistic. <br />
And if you haven't noticed I want this blog to be not just about food and cooking. But also about my life. Because sometimes it is really weird and funny. And, like my rabid weasel dream, is not to be missed.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-6263040362682324152012-03-17T18:32:00.000-07:002012-03-17T18:32:15.529-07:00At least there is dessertIn which I eat soup because I am far too tired to care and impatient to wait for a real dinner to be cooked and boyfriend ate the left over pizza and I just smiled and poured beer for people for nine hours. On St. P's Day.<br />
<br />
Oh well, at least there is cookie pie for dessert.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-60302305408355000712012-03-14T13:16:00.000-07:002012-03-14T13:16:27.741-07:00Does not always share well with others.So the brownies happened. I feel ambivalent about them. Probably because they are low-fat. Also possibly because I put a little too much salt on them. But I am thinking they might be salvageable if I drop a dollop of peanut butter on top of them. I will test this theory out and let you know and then decide if the brownies are worth telling you about. The best thing about them, thus far anyway, is that boyfriend totally ate one yesterday while I was at work. I told him they were low-fat, but what I apparently neglected to tell him was that they were salty. Teehee. Boyfriend does NOT appreciate snacks that incorporate the salty-sweet dichotomy, like chocolate covered pretzels. To me those are perfect and encompass everything I want in a snack food; satisfying all cravings in one shot. So when I got home this is the exchange that happened:<br />
<br />
Me: "Oh, so did you go and have dinner without me already tonight, or do you want me to cook?"<br />
Boyfriend: "No, I just had one of those brownies you made the other day..." (frowns slightly)<br />
Me: "Well, I told you they were low-fat, right?"<br />
Boyfriend: "Yeeeeah..." (continues frowning)<br />
Me: "Oh! Did I tell you I made them salty?"<br />
Boyfriend: "Nooooo....no wonder I thought they were gross"<br />
Me: "And you ate it? Bwhahahahahaha!"<br />
<br />
Needless to say I have to make up for 'tricking' him into eating salted low-fat brownies with some cookie pie. This is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Now I, like most people, detest making pie crust, so I cheat and use store bought. Why not? It's perfectly good. Unlike most people though, I can, if called up, make pie crust. Because I conquered that beast years ago, I have given myself permission to cheat. Plus store bought pie crust is fine and not totally disgusting, like buying frosting in a can at the store vs. making your own.<br />
<br />
Also, I made a little mini apple crisp I wanted to share with you. It was so mini that I pretty much ate the whole thing after my weekly long walk last week (I take several short hour long walks, and one almost three hour walk - at least that is the weekly goal these days). It all started because I was asking boyfriend about fruit desserts (which are usually my fav) and he told me he had never had apple pie or crisp or anything. I told him that was un-American. More so, it is un-New England. At least to the girl that grew up living within 15 minutes of 5 different apple orchards in the heart of Johnny Appleseed Country. So seeing as how I avoid pie crust like the devil I was convinced I was going to get him to eat an apple crisp. Except he won't eat anything with oats. So then I was convinced I could make apple crisp sans oats. It took a while and some serious thought. But I settled on graham crackers. And judging by the fact that I opted not to entice him to try any of it, and instead gorge myself and not share you could say it was pretty successful.<br />
<br />
Mini Apple Crisp For Two (or one if you are me)<br />
2 Apples (I used Granny Smith) peeled and thinly sliced<br />
3 Tablespoons of water<br />
4 grahams (from the Fresh Stacks packs) crushed<br />
3 TBS sugar<br />
1/4 tsp cinnamon<br />
2 TBS cold butter<br />
<br />
Place apples in greased 1/2 quart baking dish. Place water over apples. In a separate bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon and cut in butter. Sprinkle over apples. Bake roughly 30 minutes @ 350. I think I let mine go another 5 minutes.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-62904256846510395882012-03-07T21:39:00.000-08:002012-03-07T21:39:04.435-08:00Back to BasicsShhhhh....be vewy vewy quiet, I am being sneaky in the kitchen. So I know I promised you something fun and exciting and sweet. But, boyfriend, ever the traditionalist decided he had a cookie craving that only I could satisfy. (That is probably not true, but we were out of E.L Fudge cookies and Oreos, so what could I do?)<br />
So no cookie pie, no apple crisp (at least for the time being) because I can only deal with dirtying and then washing so many dishes per day. The downside of not owning a dishwasher. So I contended with good old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies. I, like most experienced home cooks, have a go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies. In fact, it's my go to cookie base in general. I have tried others every so often, but I ALWAYS go back to the one I'm going to give you. Now, when baking I don't normally mess around with the recipe because baking is like science you have to have things in the correct ratios otherwise things don't turn out; savory recipes I can't leave alone, but to me, they're like art - I always have to put my own touches on things and ultimately I can usually correct something like too much acid or salt, etc. But I messed around with my go to cookie recipe today because it seems like boyfriend is having some inner turmoil. Eating healthy vs. eating tasty. So I wanted to help that out a little bit. And I did that by subbing in whole wheat flour for half the flour - next time I'm betting I can get away with all whole wheat.<br />
<br />
Basic Cookie Recipe<br />
3 Cups flour<br />
1 1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
2 sticks butter melted and cooled<br />
1 cup white sugar<br />
1 1/2 cups brown sugar<br />
3 large eggs<br />
1 1/2 tsp vanilla<br />
2 1/2 cups chocolate chips<br />
<br />
Pre-heat oven to 375. Sift (I know, I know, honestly I pretty much NEVER do this) flour, baking soda and set aside. Beat together both sugars and butter until smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla. Beat. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips. I don't measure my chips - I use a bag and a half. This time it was 1 bag of semi-sweet and half a bag of white chocolate chips. Also, I didn't have large eggs; I had teeny little medium eggs, so I used four of them instead of three. I won't say it was a mistake, everything turned out ok in the end, but I ended up adding a little extra flour and setting the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes because it was looser and stickier than I usually work with. This particular recipe makes ALOT of cookies. Here is my downfall, I get tired of putting out sheet after sheet of cookies so the cookies gradually get larger so I have to make fewer of them. Ultimately I ended up with roughly 40 large-ish cookies. Had I made them "normal" size I would probably have around 60. That rarely happens. I know boyfriend likes it better because he has "lots" of cookies, but in my opinion, 40 is still lots of cookies, they're just freakishly huge now.<br />
<br />
I promise. To both you and myself that there will be something more exciting happening tomorrow.<br />
Oh, and the steak - it was totally bad assly awesome.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-76533263322842576972012-03-06T14:21:00.000-08:002012-03-06T14:21:42.470-08:00oral fixationOh. No. Kate Spade sample sale. Trouble beckons. Well, it would if I had more money. If I had another couple hundred bucks I could totally almost justify it to myself. Especially because there is a bag named after my alma mater. And in our school color! Sigh. I am coveting hardcore. And I only just got over the Coach Factory sale. (Which, in Coach's defense, is a way better deal - sorry KS!) <br />
<br />
So two quick things. Something dessert-y to come tomorrow.<br />
First - I don't know about you guys, but I go through food fixation phases (score for alliteration!). I went through a serious pickle phase while in college, and a (shut up, yes I know the next one will make some of you - boyfriend included - go ew) A1 steak sauce phase when I was around 11 or 12. I've had bread and dip fixations, caper fixations (after many many years of caper hatred), buffalo sauce fixations, jam fixations (I'm pretty sure having five or six jars of different jams qualifies as having a problem), cilantro fixations, lemon (both sweet and savory uses) fixations, and Biscoff spread fixations (and before you think I'm jumping on the Biscoff bandwagon, I was eating that stuff well before it blew up across the food blogging world). I still like (love even) all of these flavors, I just don't need everything I eat to be slathered in A1 or topped with pickles (including pickle flavored chips and cashews). For the most part I'm more about variety and the spice of life and whatnot, although occasionally I need something spicy or tangy to accompany everything I eat in a week and will plow my way through a bottle of Frank's buffalo wing sauce. It's true. Some weeks I DO "put that shit on everything". And sometimes all I can think about are capers, and build entire meals around them. <br />
I love foods that are tasty by themselves but are also blank canvases in a way. Like mac and cheese. I have been having a love affair with mac and cheese since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I eat significantly less of it these days because A) it is not so forgiving to my thighs and B) boyfriend thinks it is gross. Don't ask. I don't get it either. Now some days all I want is plain mac and cheese (the ULTIMATE in comfort food, it's like eating a hug, if I'm eating mac and cheese I probably just want a snuggle buddy, and hugs and kisses) - either homemade or Velveeta reduced fat if I'm feeling lazy and guilty about my calorie intake. But other days (like today) I want to gussy it up a bit. Sometimes I stir in some canned tomatoes, some days turkey dogs, some days capers (by far the most winning combo in the list), some days buffalo sauce and a sprinkling of blue cheese. But I was a little limited in ingredients today - that is on the whole I'm trying to buy fewer processed foods (and yes I know, Velveeta is a ridiculously processed food, I'm not dumb, but I AM willing to give in to a craving) so all I really had on hand was some fresh herbs. Cilantro. CilAAANNNtro. I would rub it all over the house if I thought boyfriend wouldn't put the kaibosh on that. It smells completely fantastical. The smell alone reminds me of hundreds of tasty meals I've had. Thai. Mexican. Things boyfriend turns up his nose at. Yum. And the taste...oooh baby. I know cilantro is kind of a controversial herb. Let's just say I have NEVER met anyone with blinding hatred and disgust for basil or rosemary or dill; cilantro on the other hand...I have met individuals (plural) that won't touch anything they even think has touched cilantro. It boggles my mind how someone could refuse that earthy, pungent goodness. Oh well. More cilantro for me. So that's what went into the mac and cheese today, and ooohhh it was sooo complimentary. I get shivers just thinking about it again. <br />
So there's that. I think I was going to tell you about something else too. Maybe the steak teriyaki? Hmmm... well I could, but I haven't actually eaten it yet. It's still marinading away in my fridge with some more cilantro. And Soy Vey Teriyaki sauce (only the best there is!), a little soy sauce, worcestershire, fresh lime juice and zest, brown sugar, and a splash of rice wine vinegar. I have high hopes for this. Although I haven't decided if it's going on the GF (George Foreman) or just in a pan. Probably GF, although let me tell you, that thing is a bigger pain in the behind to clean than I ever anticipated.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-37600574201318956662012-02-28T20:42:00.000-08:002012-02-28T20:42:47.801-08:00Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?I will let you in on a secret. I am not all sunshine and roses and unicorns and cupcakes all the time. I have my faults. Sometimes I am annoying. Sometimes I am unnecessarily petulant when my annoying behavior is rebuffed. After I am done feeling sorry for myself and being petulant I do apologize. For what it is worth I can usually recognize unsavory behavior in myself. And 99.5% of the time I will apologize. (I'm not 100% perfect, so I probably don't <i>always </i>apologize). But I do have my positives. Like waffles. Yeasty, crusty, fluffy, waffles with just a hint of sweetness.<br />
<br />
Every week I ask boyfriend if there is anything special he wants for the week (aside from cookies, either store bought or scratch made those are a given to the point that they are not considered "special" any more), or if there is anything I haven't made in a while that he wants. Some weeks it is chicken soup. Others it is something involving bacon. Pizza is always welcome, though not necessarily requested. Because he gets up for work super early he doesn't usually have breakfast, but he loves breakfast foods. Needless to say brinner (breakfast for dinner) is a given almost once a week around here. Brinner offers me the variation I crave in my diet and offers boyfriend all the breakfast foods he is missing out on. Usually it is pancakes. He can eat pancakes like he's getting paid. Last time it was some killer french toast (my secrets - use ridiculous bread, most people usually recommend challah or brioche. I used a loaf of Portuguese sweet bread. Other secret: I use french vanilla coffee creamer instead of milk in my custard mixture). This time boyfriend asked for waffles. It just so happens that I own a waffle iron, so I was game. I was poking around for a waffle recipe that was different enough to keep me interested and familiar enough to convince boyfriend to eat them. I definitely succeeded. If you're looking for a dessert waffle recipe, this is definitely not for you. The only thing to lend any sweetness to it is maple syrup. It is a yeasted waffle so it requires a little patience and pre-planning, though nothing crazy.<br />
<br />
2 cups AP flour<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 1/12 cups warm milk<br />
1 1/2 ts active yeast<br />
1 ts vanilla<br />
3/4 ts salt<br />
6 tb melted butter<br />
2 tb maple syrup<br />
<br />
Mix all ingredients together and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Leave at room temp at least one hour so the yeast can do its thing. NB: the longer you leave the batter hanging out, the more of a nutty, yeasty almost umami flavor will develop. And after sitting out for an hour, if not using straight away, stick it in the fridge. After the hour the batter will be kind of bubbly and slightly thicker. It reminded me of looser, runnier pizza dough. My particular waffle iron took slightly less than 3/4 of a cup per waffle and produced 7 waffles from this recipe. I enjoyed mine with butter and raspberry jam and boyfriend drown his in maple syrup. And when you're topping your waffles like that do you really need more sweetness in the waffle itself?a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-71633277704327494222012-02-27T06:26:00.000-08:002012-02-27T06:26:20.305-08:00a muffin is just a bald cupcake. that's okay, I like bald things.I am having reasonably good karma at the moment. This is concerning. Also I'm pretty sure boyfriend has made sure there is a spirit of sorts haunting me while he is at work.<div><br />
</div><div>So first - the karma thing. I worked on Saturday and in a flurry to get out the door and on the road I didn't grab anything to eat except an apple. I knew that would not be enough for a 9 hour shift while I am in full on musteatmorefoodnowbottomlesspit mode (aka, taking care of lady business). So I made my way to work, and after I got off the highway stopped at a little convenience store that I frequent and hooked myself up with an AP (Arnold Palmer) and Nutrigrain bar. I completed my transaction, went back outside into the howling wind and into my car. I was preparing to pull out of the parking lot when I was sneak-attack-accosted by a gentleman knocking on my window. He claimed he needed to get back to NH from MA and was out of gas and needed money. I had only put my window down a hair, but the whole situation felt warning.warning.wrong.wrong.WRONG. So I apologized and said I had no cash and continued on my way to work. I immediately felt guilty. Now don't get me wrong, I've been hit up for money before - it happens pretty much whenever I go to Boston or NYC or Philly. And I employ my tried and true method of "Do Not Engage. Do Not Make Eye Contact." And it has served me and countless millions well. This however, was decidedly NOT Boston. More like the middle of nowhere, plus apple trees, and a few people. </div><div>Maybe you think my methods are cruel, and maybe they are. But maybe I'm lucky to work 12 hours a week and still have to be responsible for phone bill, electric bill, gas bill, and grocery bill for two people as well as putting gas in my car to get to the 12hr/wk job that is 35 minutes away. Let's just say yes, I did have $10 in my wallet, but I am not necessarily in a position to just give it up considering there is a looming unpaid credit card bill, that has and will continue to loom until I get a real job (which is looking optimistic these days). So despite my refusal, I did pretty much immediately feel guilty and certain that bad things would befall me. They haven't. (knock on wood) </div><div><br />
</div><div>Second - and this is just kind of a funny aside - boyfriend loves to harass me and interrupt my internet surfing. I normally enjoy this activity on the sofa next to him with my laptop perched on my lap. He takes this as an invitation to reach over and press as many buttons on my keyboard as possible. Especially the calculator button. Yes, there is a button on my keyboard whose sole function is to open up the calculator. I know, it seems superfluous. But I didn't choose this computer because of its keyboard attributes. I chose it because it was cheap. And I had spilled a glass of iced tea on my last one. So this morning I am checking email, perusing recipes and meal planning for the week, and I get up to procure some breakfast (more about that in a minute) and return with breakfast to the sofa and laptop only to find about five calculator windows open, something boyfriend is immensely fond of doing, but clearly incapable of because he has a real job and is working hard at the moment. Curious.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Anyway, breakfast. Breakfast! Chocolate! You too can have it all in one neat package. Yay! Three cheers for me!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Chocolate Chip Muffins</div><div><br />
</div><div>Born from boyfriend's infinite capacity to consume chocolate chip cookies, and my indifference to making chocolate chip cookies. Again. (I tend to to lose interest after the first sheet of them go in the oven, so the cookies get progressively larger because of my laziness.)</div><div><br />
</div><div>3 cups AP flour (I'm interested to use cake flour next time, we shall see)</div><div>1/2 white sugar</div><div>1/2 brown sugar</div><div>1 1/2 sticks butter softened</div><div>1/4 ts baking soda</div><div>2 3/4 ts baking powder</div><div>2 1/2 ts vanilla</div><div>3 eggs</div><div>1 cup milk</div><div>2 cups choc. chips (I had chunks on hand and they worked fine)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Oven @ 375</div><div><br />
</div><div>For future reference I would add more sugar next time. Or change the sugar ratio to 3/4 cup white and 1/4 brown. I understand the brown is there to give it that cookie like taste, but had the muffin base had anything other than chocolate (like fruit) it would not have been sweet enough.</div><div>Get the dry together - flour, baking soda, baking powder. The original recipe also called for salt, but I never add salt, because I never use unsalted butter. I figure the salted butter compensates for the salt in the recipe. Unsalted butter is for buttercream only.</div><div>Cream together sugars and butter. Then add eggs and vanilla. Cream. Alternate adding dry ingredient mix and milk. Stir in chips. Et Voila!</div><div>Bake 20 minutes. No way does this need 30 minutes. Also, the muffins will rise. Alot. That's what you get with almost 3 teaspoons of baking soda.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Things to look forward to this week, yeasted waffles, brined pork chops, chicken soup, homemade naan, probably some sort of mexican food, and hopefully a margarita the size of my face. YES!</div>a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-27489663463423894842012-02-20T08:29:00.000-08:002012-02-20T08:29:01.533-08:00i'm back in the saddle againGosh, I haven't written in months and months and months and months. Ooops. Badbad. And SO much has happened. SO. MUCH.<br />
<br />
Here is a last season recap - main things only: I moved in with the man, work was crazy busy and good, and then crazy and bad, things were rocky with the man, things are better, might be getting a new job, and there is so much food happening.<br />
<br />
So basically, I am relocated and master of my own kitchen, because the boy can rarely be bothered to be in there unless eating, and my current job has decided to treat me like crap and I have basically decided to smile and take it. Because that is how I roll. Doormat style. Not really. I just don't really have millions of employment opportunities and can't afford to leave.<br />
<br />
So I should probably start talking about the food. There were definitely hits and misses and you will get to know about ALLLL of them.<br />
<br />
Let's start on an easy and positive note. I like those kinds of notes.<br />
<br />
<br />
Crock-pot Buffalo Chicken Dip<br />
<br />
2 oz blocks cream cheese<br />
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese<br />
3/4 cup buffalo wing/hot sauce<br />
1 cup ranch dressing<br />
2 10oz cans of chicken***<br />
<br />
***NB: I totally think this might be kind of grody. I obtained a whole cold rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and stripped about half of it for the dip. Basically one breast, thigh, drum stick. Meat from a can just seems so wrong to me.<br />
<br />
Dump everything in crock pot. Turn crock pot on to your desired heat level depending on how quickly you need the dip to be ready. It will get sufficiently melty asap if you crank that baby up. I kept mine on warm for about two hours and then upped it to low about a half hour before I had to leave the house with it for a party. It was a HUGE hit. Along with the strawberry cupcakes with champagne buttercream I brought.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-89855673105364814722011-06-23T21:01:00.000-07:002011-06-23T21:01:54.768-07:00bridal-stravaganza dessert trioOne of my very good friends recently married. This was not her first marriage so she decided to keep the ceremony short and sweet and very very small. I was one of two non-family members invited. But even though this was the second time around and she and he were already living together in a well established, well furnished household, some of my work friends and I decided to hold a bridal shower type event for her. Initially, I was planning to bring a pasta salad (which in retrospect would have been SO much less work than what I did), but I found out there was going to be a green salad and a potato salad and probably wouldn't have been much need for a pasta salad. So I fell back on dessert, which is where I always seem to end up with these types of things.<br />
It did not help that the week of the shower eastern Massachusetts weather decided to be around 80-90 degrees with 70% and up humidity. And my kitchen has almost no ventilation of any kind. It was like baking in a sauna. I would hurriedly sweat my tookis off and shove something in the oven and quickly retreat to the dark cool of my bedroom. It took me the better part of two days to make three desserts this way.<br />
<br />
First were key lime cupcakes with blackberry buttercream. I ended up making both of these on day one and decided to assemble right before leaving for fear of melting (which I was ultimately right to fear). Day two I made red velvet cake truffles and strawberry brown butter <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/05/strawberry-brown-butter-bettys/">bettys</a>. The truffles sounded SO easy, but were a pain. The bettys sounded painful, but ended up being so so simple. Go figure. Initially I wasn't going to make the bettys, I had the ingredients for a no-bake chocolate mint bar, but realized at the last minute that I might want to make something that wouldn't melt. <br />
<br />
So the cake truffles. I had SUCH high hopes for these, but they seriously left me wanting. Maybe it was because I cheated and used canned frosting? Who knows? I felt ok in using box cake mix (I actually have no issues with box cake mix, though I will go from scratch 60% of the time, I have HUGE issues with canned frosting as I have mentioned before. BLECCCHHH!!!!) Basically all I did was bake the cake, cool the cake, crumble the cake up into a very fine crumb, mix the cake with a can of frosting so that it was moist-ish and would hold a shape, roll cake balls, chill and set cake balls for several hours in the fridge and then dip cake balls into melted chocolate. I think my first issue was that I needed more chocolate than I had; I think it would have been easier and neater looking if I was able to completely submerge the cake ball. My second issue was trying to cut corners and melt the chocolate in the microwave (which I find never works as well as a double boiler). My third issue was kind of a generalized problem I have when it comes to baking (especially when making cookies) - when I have to form things by hand I get really lazy and start making things too big. My final issue was something I should have recognized before even attempting this - my chocolate melting issue. Any time I am in a hurry to do something my chocolate NEVER EVER EVER tempers/melts properly. If I can take my time with it, it comes out beautifully.<br />
<br />
So clearly bridal stravaganza is complete. I have sufficiently celebrated them (for the time being - they are having a much larger reception/party in August). And I'm happy for them. I am the one, after all, who forced them to suck it up and get together in the first place because I knew they were both interested in the other and I was tired of chasing sketchy guys away from her when we would go out to the bar. I told him to man up and get off his ass and if he wanted her to do something about it already. And here it is almost a year later and they're married. <br />
<br />
The man in my life of course accompanied me to the wedding and pointed out that while I am happy, I will probably not be sincerely happy for anyone getting married until I do the same. This is probably truer than he realizes as I've lost out on the whole wedding/marriage thing once before when my ex-fiance had a mental bipolar breakdown. And as much as I love my guy and believe that good things are headed for us down the road (we're moving in together by August 1st), I have kind of lost or given up or buried that idea of a wedding, etc. I honestly don't care if I ever get married as long as I feel like he'll always be there and be reliable and love me and father my children someday. I've given up the dream of the white dress and the party and everything that goes with that because last time I was that excited and happy and secure in something I lost it. Not only did I lose that, I lost almost everything else in my life structurally speaking. It has definitely taken me sometime to come to terms with that and accept the fact that my path will be bumpier than I anticipated. I'm actually really scared of getting engaged this time around, even though I can picture the two of us having a strong marriage. Almost like, once that happens I'll lose everything again. Put it this way: I want the marriage, the strong permanent relationship and everything good and bad that goes with it. The idea of a wedding scares me and just seems too surreal. I mean even after I was engaged the first time, my ex basically flat out refused to discuss any tangible wedding plans with me, no date, no location, no number of guests, etc. To the point where I had given up trying to get him to talk about it and anytime I told anyone that I was engaged I was almost more embarrassed than had I been single. We were engaged for over a year before he ultimately broke it off. I had actually reached the point of thinking "What's the point of being engaged if we're never actually going to get married?" I was actually the first among all my friends to get engaged. Now they're almost all married, and I'm not. Very, very rarely this fact bothers me. The vast majority of days I'm thankful I'm not married to the other guy (and bound to a lifetime of stress and trouble and his mental illness that he refused to properly address) and that I have found my current guy - someone who has told me that I am his soul mate and better half.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-90588021276041933622011-05-23T19:41:00.000-07:002011-05-23T19:41:04.427-07:00.i am tired.I am tired of alot of things. Tired of not having enough money. Tired of feeling like crap. Tired of hiding things from people (and no it is nothing like an affair - suffice to say my boyfriend is one of a handful of people who knows the whole story and has supported me through it). Tired of trying to make things in my life better and getting stonewalled at every turn. One step forward and two steps back. Something like that. <br />
Now I know it is not an attractive quality to constantly engage in your own personal pity party. And I know that there are oodles of people that have it worse than I do. I openly acknowledge that I am not facing starvation, natural disasters, or third world death squads. Further, I don't even have to live at home with my parents and listen to them harp on my "wonderful" life choices. But I do know that everyone is allowed to really feel and perhaps wallow in the various burdens and stresses in their lives. And I recently dealt with circumstances that has given me pause to really feel bad for myself and examine the various misfortunes I've either invited into my life or that have otherwise befallen me.<br />
Don't get me wrong, I love my life and despite floundering and struggling as I have in the past three or so years, I would probably not choose another way. My family is always there, my friends (some of whom I've met through this nontraditional path) are tremendous, and the man in my life loves me and accepts me no matter what and pretty much always will; he is a pillar of strength, love, and support. He is my light in even my darkest hours, and trust me the hours have been pretty dark these past couple of weeks.<br />
But here is to hoping that I am slowly pushing through to the light, and there is a new apartment, a new job, and a more serious romantic relationship waiting for me on the other side. Because let me tell you. I deserve something good right about now.<br />
<br />
And I never did tell you about my cake, did I?<br />
Check <a href="http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2008/03/30/350/">this</a> place out for the general gist of the recipe. Seriously so good if you like a light and sweet cake. And non chocolate. Also majorly labor intensive, but very impressive looking. Definitely a celebration cake.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-60648501418216791672011-04-21T08:35:00.000-07:002011-04-21T08:35:25.635-07:00Letting them finally have some cake.So, my brother's wedding has come and gone, and yesterday was my birthday, so the cake fast is officially broken. Though there was some slight bending of the rules last weekend when I had Sunday dinner with the boy's parents. <br />
<br />
The boy is a choc-o-holic, and firmly believes that there is pretty much no point to cake unless it is chocolate (he told me my birthday cake, which I'll get to, was a waste of cake), so I decided to rally up and make some cupcakes for Sunday dinner.<br />
<br />
Triple Chocolate Cupcakes<br />
<br />
-1 Box chocolate cake mix (devil's food, milk chocolate, your choice)<br />
-3 Eggs<br />
-1/3 cup veg oil<br />
-1 1/4 cup chocolate milk<br />
-1 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips<br />
-1/2 cup heavy cream<br />
<br />
Mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, and chocolate milk (I made mine with dark chocolate syrup) and set aside.<br />
Melt half a cup of the chips in the microwave and then stir in 1 cup of the cake batter, transfer this batter to a ziploc bag (quart size or larger)<br />
Place a spoonful of the regular cake batter in your paper lined cups. Snip a corner off your ziploc bag and squeeze a layer of the extra chocolate-y batter over each of the cup cakes, top each off with more of the regular cake batter. Bake 20-25 min (although the original recipe claims it will only take 12 minutes, no freaking way). Let cool 10 minutes before moving onto the ganache portion of our show.<br />
<br />
For the ganache put the heavy cream into a sauce pan and heat on very low and add in the chips until they melt, stirring continuously. Be careful not to turn things up too high or you will burn this mixture very easily and it will not be tasty. After it is melted, take each of the cupcakes and dip them into the chocolate & cream mixture. And let cool (preferably in the fridge). Definitely store these in the fridge if you're making them when it's warm out because I can see the ganache getting very melty.<br />
<br />
The birthday cake story will follow shortly.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-62138676739037232732011-03-31T20:35:00.000-07:002011-03-31T20:35:59.253-07:00everyone i know is getting married and having babies. i'm just making ridiculous cookiesOh boy. I am totally going to have to go on a healthy [cooking] kick after this recipe. Because this is some serious uber indulgence going on right now. And I have to give credit where credit is due: I am totally cribbing from <a href="http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/">Peabody</a>. She is definitely my go to girl for seriously indulgent sweets. And I felt like I needed/deserved a little indulgence in my life (especially after making the fat free muffins this morning - which are actually seriously good. I have to give a plug here for Krusteaz fat free muffin mixes. So tasty, you'd never know there was no fat in it.) So I made cookies and cream cookies. Now I know it seems like a waste of perfectly good cookies (double stuff oreos to be exact), but it just sounded so good and perfect. And I like cookies and cream flavored things (like ice cream) but actually kind of hate cream filled cookies - oreos, specifically. I think it originated from a fear regarding my appearance after eating them (hello, being thirteen with black junk stuck in your braces. Totally embarrassing.). But, never the less, there will be some heading over to my parents' house tomorrow night to be judged by the connoisseur of cookies, my father. <br />
<br />
Cookies and Cream Cookies<br />
<br />
1 cup butter (2 sticks)<br />
1 1/4 cup sugar<br />
1/2 teaspoon vanilla<br />
10 Double Stuff Oreos<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 teaspoon baking soda<br />
2 cups flour<br />
<br />
Peabody calls for a bag of Hershey's Cookies 'n' Cream drops, but my local grocery store didn't have them. I substituted that for 3/4 of a bag of cookies 'n' cream miniatures which had both white chocolate with cookie pieces and milk chocolate with cookie pieces. Basically the only part I didn't use was the plain milk chocolate miniatures. And I chopped each one into thirds.<br />
<br />
I am fortunate enough to have access to a stand mixer, which makes life infinitely easier. Basically the way I listed the ingredients is the way they go in. Start with your butter at room temp, if it's not nuke it for 30 sec or so to soften it just a little. Cream butter and sugar and vanilla until it is fluffy. Add in Oreos and mix until they are broken down into small pieces. I didn't necessarily believe that they would break down in the mixer, but low and behold they totally did. Then add your eggs one at a time and allow them to mix in between. Then toss in your dry ingredients. Finally remove your bowl from the mixing stand and fold in your chocolate, be it drops or miniatures. Honestly, the batter on this one is almost better than the actual cookie - it reminded me of super concentrated cookies 'n' cream ice cream flavor. So good.<br />
<br />
This recipe is kind of beautiful because it is a one bowl wonder. I LOVE stuff like that. Especially when I am the primary kitchen cleaner in my apartment. That is pretty much my domain where cleaning comes into it. The dining room is the female roommate's domain, their bedroom is up to them, the bathroom is shared between she and I, and for the most part the living room is all them. So yeah, the less stuff I dirty in the kitchen, the better. And trust me, I dirtied plenty of stuff when I made dinner.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-89492082460362924212011-03-25T06:50:00.000-07:002011-03-25T06:50:13.477-07:00Cake DoctoringSo I know I called a moratorium on cake eating a little while ago, at least until my birthday/my brother's wedding, but I forgot something - one of my very good friend's birthdays. I found out last week that nobody was planning on making a cake for the party that she was having this past Wednesday. So I felt that this was a tragedy and offered. She requested red velvet cake and as I am pro from scratch cake I figured piece of cake (hahahaha, see what I did there?). Until I checked my bank account. (Yikes, that is a scary place). And so I was going to compromise, I was going to do box mix cake and homemade frosting, because honestly I don't have too many bones with box mix cake as much as I find frosting from a can to be utterly revolting (which considering how much I've been accused of being a sugar addict is kind of strange). I went to the store only to discover that my particular store of choice does not carry a red velvet box mix, and I really couldn't muster the motivation (or the gas in my car) to go on a multi-store search. So I re-evaluated. I found a chocolate mousse cake mix. Now there was something I could work with because there would be no canned frosting involved (!!!). And because I felt guilty that I wasn't delivering exactly what was asked of me I compensated by also making two dozen funfetti cupcakes which did unfortunately get the canned frosting because I know some people like that junk. <br />
<br />
So the chocolate mousse cake was pretty much your standard chocolate cake mix although I couldn't for the life of me get it to release from the pans. I found a handy tip/trick from Bon Appetite online and totally warrants sharing. Now this only works for metal or non stick pans (do NOT do this with glass pans unless you would like them to shatter or otherwise get ruined). But if your cake was stuck (like mine were), you can turn a burner on your stove on (gas or electric works, but if it is electric give it a chance to heat up). And pass the bottom of the cake pan through the flame or on the hot burner for several seconds. Then when you flip it and shake it should finally release (though still slightly unwillingly). So the cake gets made, the mousse mix gets made and as I'm inspecting my mousse mix and the cake mix box I realize that there is only enough mousse to go on top of and in between the cake layers. I consider that this will probably be fine and then I consider that my cake had some stickage problems and is a little unsightly. I want to put mousse mix on the outside edges too I decide, which means one of two things - I can run out and by another box of just chocolate mousse mix and hope that it matches in flavor and consistency to the one I already have or two I can find something else to put in between the layers, thus giving me enough mousse mix to put around the sides and hiding my cake's flaws. I opt for door number two. So I open the fridge and stare blankly into its portents and unearth some "fancy" jam (I call it fancy because it is a) not Smuckers and b) costs around 7 or 8 dollars a jar) which is my favorite type of jam to bake with (hello jam cookies!) because it is usually thicker and stands up to heat better than say Smuckers. So I now have the better half of a jar of fancy red raspberry jam (I used Stonewall Kitchen jam, I love love love this stuff). I dump the entire contents of the jam jar onto the bottom layer of the cake and spread it around with an offset spatula. Now bear in mind this jar was not full, although I think an entire jar of jam would work well on a 9" cake, because I ultimately found myself wanting more jam when I had a piece. Then I slapped on layer number two and slathered the whole thing with chocolate mousse et voila a chocolate raspberry chocolate mousse cake! I grabbed a bottle of raspberry wine that was sitting around my room (which paired PERFECTLY, don't knock fruit wines until you try them) and served that up for a semi homemade cake doctored birthday dessert. It was definitely a huge hit.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-82582520195421814792011-03-20T02:38:00.000-07:002011-03-20T02:38:11.042-07:00marinadingSo it is currently very early. Or late. Either way really. But I should have guessed that I would be awakened by my bladder at such an hour...it's what I get for consuming three cans of fresca right before bed. The worst part is I technically need to be up in two hours to shower and get ready for work. And I'm pretty sure I won't get back to sleep until maaaaybe a half hour before I have to get up. Silly really.<br />
<br />
But that is not why I'm writing. You ever have a culinary moment where you are just like "Arrrgghh! Why didn't I write that down?" Last night in my post boyfriend, post work tiredness I made some chicken that was delicious. And I have no idea how to re-create that deliciousness. I stuck the chicken in a ziploc with some marinade that I concocted on Friday and it was so good. All I can remember are ingredients, but the ratios, forget about it. Oh, and the boy was indeed victim of the waffle maker and my need to feed (others). And it was something he actually ate and seemed to enjoy.<br />
<br />
Tasty Chicken Marinade<br />
(amounts....who freaking knows)<br />
-soy sauce<br />
-white vinegar<br />
-peanut sauce<br />
-basil pesto mustard<br />
-frank's buffalo wing sauce<br />
-a very small amount of bbq sauce<br />
-a small amount of agave nectar<br />
-canola oil<br />
<br />
-I do specifically remember that there was nothing dry in the marinade...no salt, pepper, garlic powder, nothing of that nature. I do remember thinking....ok, I have my acid, my oil, some heat, some salt, and some sweet to balance it....all the major components of a marinade. I know that this made tasty tasty chicken, so I'll probably use these things again, but in completely different amounts. And it will still probably be tasty. And I will still probably not write it down. Because I almost never NEVER write down marinades, I never seek out other people's recipes for them, I just follow that basic equation (acid + oil + flavor ...and in this case I made sure my flavor was balanced between salt, heat, and sweet). And usually as long as you keep them in relatively similar amounts (like do not have waay more acid than flavor) you should end up with something pretty tastya.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-46057137101388307122011-03-17T08:54:00.000-07:002011-03-17T08:54:32.052-07:00.waffles and family.Just so you don't think I've been slacking, there have been things happening in my kitchen. Most of those things involve cleaning and running the dishwasher, but there have also been some culinary achievements. The greatest thing I think that has happened is my on going affair with my waffle iron. I received said waffle iron from my brother and SIL to be this past Christmas and had left it at my parents' house for a little while. Then it made it's way over here, but I could never convince myself to break into it. Until last week that is. Last week we had cinnamon waffles (which needed more sugar and maybe some vanilla from my point of view, although my roommates contend that I am just sugar crazy), and yesterday I whipped up a batch of banana waffles which were delightful. Now I have some more bananas sitting on my counter getting browner by the hour, which leaves me trying to figure out the next baked good I can shove them into. As I recently discovered that the man in my life hates bananas (it's a textural thing for him) but loves banana baked goods. <br />
<br />
Speaking of the man in my life I was introduced to the parentals last night. From my perspective everything went well and they were really nice. Reminded me alot of my own family in many ways, which though slightly unnerving was ultimately endearing. But one thing his mom revealed/confirmed my suspicion of is that he is an INCREDIBLY picky eater. And I thought I was bad with my aversion to raw tomatoes, goat cheese, and meatloaf. The boy is anti veg, mostly anti fruit, anti food mixtures (like no meat in sauce, and I would guess no casseroles), anti mexican food, and anti pasta (!!! probably the most concerning of all to me). And he is pro fast/junk food. This does not bode well for my waistline. Either that or I will slowly convert him to the beauty of the home cooked meal and the wonderful flavor combinations that you get from casseroles or putting sauce on things. I suspected he was picky when I had offered numerous times to cook for him and he refused all offers. That is an unusual occurrence in my experience. And admittedly I was a little miffed by the rebuffs. I love cooking for people. The more elaborate the request the better. For me it's like "Look at all this hard work and effort I put in just to satisfy you. See, I can take care of you." When he rejected my offers it was a little like rejecting my offer of love, and while I didn't really take it to heart (and there are many men/women that would be thrilled to not cook for their significant other) I now understand it so much better.<br />
<br />
So now I really have a challenge. How do I, the queen of sauces and casseroles and composed bites where you get a little bit of every flavor on your fork at once, either adapt my cooking style for him or try to slowly convince him to come around to my style of eating?a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-71324058335253886472011-03-07T10:36:00.000-08:002011-03-07T10:36:14.481-08:00Let them eat cake!Ok, so it HAS been almost a month since my last post but in my defense I have yet to get a tart pan. And I really really want to get one because I have a chocolate gingersnap tart recipe that I'm pretty sure the boy will go crazy for. There has definitely been some cooking happening in my kitchen as of late...roasted spiced sweet potatoes (have I mentioned how addicted I am to sweet potatoes? They are just so freaking perfect) and a strawberry blueberry cake are noteworthy. I'm also planning on another batch of buffalo chicken soup today.<br />
<br />
Oh, and speaking of which...(there is some back story here, but I promise it is TOTALLY related to buffalo chicken soup).<br />
So my baby brother is getting married (again). And I am very happy for him, truly. A couple weeks ago his lady to be had her bridal shower for which I brought what has to have been the most complemented (and expensive) fruit salad in the history of fruit salad. Seriously. $50 for a bowl of chopped fruit. But because I got stuck with fruit salad and was not able to flex my culinary muscles for everyone to admire (which is admittedly the only reason I agree to bring things to events) I had to make it the most amazing fruit salad ever. So there were strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, pomegranate, plum, pear, pineapple, blood orange, kiwi, and star fruit. It doesn't hurt that I am very close to <a href="http://www.idylwildefarm.com/">this gem</a> and am unbelievably spoiled by the most amazing produce year round. But fruit salad aside, I also brought a gift for the bride to be. Now I'm not exactly raking in the dough these days and I already spent $50 for fruit salad, not to mention the bridesmaid dress and shoes I had to get. So I was trying to come up with something that was a little frugal. What I ended up with was a bakeware set and some cookie sheets and measuring cups. But this gift was NOT impressing me in the way I wanted it to. I wanted my gift to be special and set apart. So I did something that as the sister of the groom, only I could do. I started a recipe book for her. Now I know she's just getting her culinary legs so I started a notebook full of recipes that are popular in my family as a way to welcome her into it. It included my mom's banana muffins and peppermint brownies, my nana's meat stuffing, my gigi's chocolate cream pie, and my raspberry white chocolate cheesecake which the bride has been after for a while, and my recipe for buffalo chicken soup. <br />
<br />
So the thing with the soup is this - it is definitely an instant classic, but is relatively new to me so no one else in my family has experienced it. I wasn't sure how it would be received and if the bride to be would ever bother making it. My brother is a notoriously picky eater and has been known to do things like cook up an entire pound of bacon and sit around and eat that. How he maintains a physique thin enough for skinny jeans is beyond me. Regardless, I guess it was something that sounded good to them so they cooked it up and they LOVED it. So bully for the buffalo chicken soup. It is definitely a winner. And now you should totally go try it out.<br />
<br />
Tart pan aside, my next monumental undertaking will be my birthday cake. Now while this is not usually something elaborate it can be fairly tricky for two reasons. A) I am not really a big chocolate cake person and B) I usually don't want frosting. Now how do I find a cake that is celebratory enough for a birthday but doesn't have either of those two things? Last year's cake was a Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Cake. A loaf cake that was super tasty (to me and my mom, though it caused my dad to insist that it wasn't a "real" birthday cake). The other thing is that I usually like to make my own cake. My mom always offers, but usually means either a box mix or a store bought, and I have turned her down since I was 18 or 19. This year is the big 2-7 for me. Now the other person that has offered is the boy. Currently I have no proof of any of his cooking or baking skills so I am unbelievably hesitant. Also I'm pretty sure I will get something chocolate and covered in frosting which is closer to what he would want. I have a few contenders currently in mind but the current front runner is a white cake flavored with a little lemon and layered with raspberry jam and lemony butter cream meringue with a little shredded coconut around the sides. I am very excited because in my mind this is the perfect cake and combines all of my favorite flavors: vanilla, lemon, berry, and coconut. How can this not be a winner? I will even allow it to have frosting (of sorts). Now my birthday is not for a little over a month (right after my brother's wedding) so I'm thinking a cake fast will be in order. Although I'm pretty sure I'll have to bend those rules for the wedding cake. Also, if anyone has any other ideas for a cake that might pass my standards, post in the comments!a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-5367273130318488232011-02-11T21:36:00.000-08:002011-02-11T21:36:36.299-08:00.until further notice.I want a tart pan. So so badly. A pretty pretty silver tart pan with fluted edges. I wants it. And then....oh ho, in the words of Dr. Seuss - "Oh the places you'll go".<br />
<br />
I haven't actually made or conquered anything new since the success of sweet potato burritos - too many other household-y chores to do. Also I have cleaned up a couple peanut butter fudge attempts, and every time I get the stove/general kitchen clean I don't want to then go dirty it myself. I mean I did make jam cookies today (with strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry orange centers) but I always feel like those don't count. I mean, who would count those? Eh. But yes, a tart pan. And, an ice cream maker. Although this time of year, a tart pan would come in far more handy. And also a madeleine mold. And a Japanese mandolin. And a new tattoo. And now I feel like I'm starting to sound like Steve Martin in "The Jerk" (which is a classically hilarious movie that everyone should see if only to appreciate it when I make statements like "And that's all I need".<br />
So nothing new at the moment, and probably not until the weekend is over, because I have a long weekend full of gooey eyed customers making kissy faces at each other to deal with. And I will fully own the term hypocrite, but watching that stuff is like watching a car crash. You can't look away, but you wish you never looked. And I am in a relationship with a man that sends me sweet little text messages telling me that I am his angel and the light of his life and wishing me a "Good morning beautiful" every day. But seriously peeps, be mindful - not everyone can have nor wants to have a significant other.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-28984215448666994782011-02-09T16:45:00.000-08:002011-02-09T16:45:02.580-08:00.i'm just so fresh and clean. and healthy.I would feel redundant in saying delinquent...but, yeah, I kind of am.<div><br />
</div><div>So there has been some goodness happening in my kitchen as of late. There were peppers stuffed with israeli couscous, tomato sauce, feta and roasted red peppers (so yummy) which allowed the vegetarian roommate to have her first stuffed pepper experience. The other night in my hormonal upset there were chicken cutlets with picatta sauce. I am pretty impressed what I can do on the fly while crying for no good reason. It was buttery and lemony and everything a picatta sauce should be. But tonight I kind of outdid myself on the vegetarian front. The vegetarian roommate was home with me this evening, and as we're not often home together at the same time I thought I'd make her dinner. I had also kind of been wanting to make this for a while, but it was one of those recipes that it would be really silly for me to make for just my self. Also, it is pretty healthy (exciting bonus!).</div><div><br />
</div><div>Sweet Potato - Black Bean Burritos </div><div><br />
</div><div>3 med. sweet potatoes (roughly 1.5 lbs)</div><div>1 15 oz can black beans</div><div>3/4 tsp cumin</div><div>1/2 tsp ground coriander</div><div>1/2 tsp garlic powder</div><div>1/4 tsp black pepper</div><div>1/4 tsp chili powder</div><div>salt to taste</div><div>2 tbs lime juice (2 limes)</div><div>toppings of your choice</div><div><br />
</div><div>oven to 400 F. Prick sweet potatoes with fork and place on baking sheet into oven for 1 hour. Remove sweet potatoes, cut down the middle and scoop out the insides to a secondary bowl. Mash sweet potatoes and then mix with cumin, coriander, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, lime, and salt. Fold in black beans. Lower oven temp to 350. Place tortillas in a shallow baking dish and fill each with the sweet potato/black bean mixture. Then add toppings of your choice (in my case it was reduced fat cheddar and cilantro green olive salsa). Fold up the tortillas with the filling and toppings and bake for 10 min at 350.</div><div><br />
</div><div>This recipe is definitely going into my regular rotation, maybe with a little more citrus or something to make it a little brighter. Maybe I'll even convince the boyfriend that he likes sweet potatoes (oh, there is definitely one of those around these days - insert dopey grin here). Having been a vegetarian for several years I recall how difficult it can be to find meals that are tasty and nutritious and don't rely mainly on pasta or cheese. And not only is this roommate vegetarian but they also have and ulcer which mean the food can't be too crazy spicy. This makes the outlook for their diet kind of boring. But I was promised that tonight I totally came through with a tasty, and healthy (only like 550 cal and 5g fat for two burritos) meal. </div><div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div></div>a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-428202127736918822011-01-31T07:41:00.000-08:002011-01-31T07:41:23.497-08:00go. make. this. now.Aaahhh...I am so behind! There has been so much cooking happening and I have said NOTHING about it. <br />
First things first - I am very proud to say I have conquered buffalo chicken soup. OMG. SO. GOOD. GO. GO NOW AND MAKE THIS!!! Seriously it was <i>that</i> good. I pretty much love buffalo anything, and in the winter, I am totally a soup fiend so this was a match made in heaven for me.<br />
<br />
Buffalo Chicken Soup<br />
-4 cups chicken stock<br />
-1/2 to 1 cup buffalo sauce (I used 3/4 of a cup of Franks - what else is there, really?)<br />
-two bunches of scallions<br />
-1 really big potato peeled and cut<br />
-4 to 6 stalks of celery chopped<br />
-3/4 of a bag of chunky carrot shreds (because I am lazy), or probably 3 to 5 carrots chopped<br />
-1 heaping tablespoon of basil pesto mustard (regular mustard would probably work too, and it's not necessary but definitely adds a great flavor dimension)<br />
-2 tablespoons of cream cheese (optional)<br />
-1 1/2 cups of chopped chicken<br />
-3/4 stick of butter<br />
<br />
Ok, for starters, I totally cheated. I didn't use chicken. I used my leftover turkey. What? Something needed to be done with it. I am so not a food waster.<br />
First throw all the veggies in the pot with the butter and cook it for about 10-15 minutes so the veggies can soften.<br />
Then add chicken stock, buffalo sauce, chicken. Cook another 10-15 minutes. <br />
Add mustard and cream cheese. Whisk soup so that cream cheese dissolves properly and cook another 15-20 minutes.<br />
Soup is done! I topped mine with blue cheese crumbles. Also while thinking other things that could be good in this soup - orzo, peas, bacon....it is a versatile soup to say nothing else of it.<br />
But seriously, go make this now! It is so yummy, can be made as spicy or unspicy as you want it to be and would be great on Superbowl Sunday.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-87946445570553167282011-01-26T14:52:00.000-08:002011-01-31T07:43:32.503-08:00thanksgiving reduxSo. <br />
So, so, so....so-so. The aforementioned cranapana bread has come and gone. I actually made it about a week ago. Not Monday night like the post suggested. But now I have MORE over ripe bananas. So something else will have to come of that. But that is TBD at the mo'. But the night that I posted about the cranapana bread I actually did make something else. It was partially awesome and partially ho-hum. Slow cooked turkey breast roast, home made cranberry sauce, and roasted asparagus. The asparagus was the simplest thing of all and the most awesome. The cranberry sauce was fairly pleasing, but maybe a little too sweet. The turkey was....turkey. Soon to be turned into buffalo chicken (turkey) soup. It was bad turkey, but I've certainly had better.<br />
<br />
Roasted Asparagus<br />
-1 bunch asparagus<br />
-EVOO<br />
-salt<br />
-pepper<br />
<br />
Oven at 450 (yes, really that high). Remove woody ends from asparagus. Lay out on baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO sprinkle with salt and pepper. In this case I used some of the roommate's fancy myer lemon EVOO and worcestershire pepper. Stick in the oven for no more than 10 minutes. This will be awesome.<br />
<br />
Cranberry Sauce<br />
-1 pound fresh cranberries<br />
-1 3/4 cup sugar<br />
-2/3 cup water<br />
-1/4 tsp cinnamon<br />
-1/4 tsp nutmeg<br />
-1/4 tsp allspice<br />
-zest and juice of 1 orange<br />
<br />
Bring water, sugar, and cranberries to a boil. After reaching boil reduce heat and add cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and zest/juice of the orange. Reduce for about 15 minutes. Actually is better after allowing to cool.<br />
<br />
Turkey<br />
-Turkey breast roast<br />
-1 cup dry white wine<br />
-1 stick butter<br />
-1/2 yellow onion<br />
-salt, pepper, garlic powder<br />
<br />
-Place turkey in slow cooker with wine, butter, onion, and seasonings. Place on low for six hours.<br />
<br />
<br />
-More cooking adventures to take place tonight and updates on other things in my life to follow.a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-32980683064956262892011-01-24T17:08:00.000-08:002011-01-31T07:44:07.404-08:00Cranapana BreadSo, a multitude of things are happening simultaneously in my life. One of my roommates was hospitalized for gallstones and had surgery. So there's been that to take care of, or at least check in on and do what can be done for. Also, my car. My father has very recently promised to help me obtain a car. Of course roughly three days after this my muffler falls off. AWESOME! And the car he is procuring is, of course, a station wagon. The car of all of my nightmares. Sigh. Not only that, but this car needs something to be replaced before I can have it. And that something is expensive according to my mechanic. So the guy selling the car happens to work at a vocational school and brought the car there to be fixed for the cost of parts. Cheaper = yay! However, it will take up to two weeks to obtain this thing. Oy.<br />
Anyway, to the food!<br />
The cranapana bread did indeed get made and my feelings on it are mixed. I feel like it doesn't have enough of anything. It's apple-y but not apple-y enough. It only has one banana so it's not banana-y enough. The cranberries are a nice addition, but I would want more. And I felt like it wasn't quite sweet enough. Maybe more sugar? I'm not sure. It was kind of hilarious because I started mixing it all together and felt like it still looked really dry. Oh that's right, I forgot the milk.<br />
<br />
Cranapana Bread<br />
2 1/2 cups self rising flour*<br />
1 cup white sugar<br />
2 tablespoons veg oil<br />
3/4 cup milk<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 cup chopped cranberries<br />
1 apple peeled, cored, chopped<br />
1 banana, mashed<br />
<br />
Start with your dry (flour and sugar) and slowly add in the the wet. I mixed this by hand because I know quick breads can get tough if over mixed. Bake in a 9x5 loaf pan at 350 for 70 minutes. Voila. You too can have mixed feelings about this bread. Maybe you'll like it, but for me, it just needed more of something else.<br />
<br />
*Note: using self rising flour is important for quick breads, otherwise they won't get fluffy and consequently won't cook all the way through and will get over cooked on the outside. Basically, a big mess. If you don't have or keep self rising flour around (I don't), you can substitute all purpose flour with the addition of 1 1/4 tablespoon of baking powder for every cup of flour (this will make it fluffy and cook - yay!).<br />
<br />
I happen to use metal baking pans for breads simply because I've had VERY poor results with glass ones. But, it works for some people (case in point, right after I made this bread, my roommate made regular banana bread in a glass pan and it came out fine).a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550737619162717924.post-45971178549110369782011-01-14T10:11:00.000-08:002011-01-31T07:44:39.977-08:00.flip to page 96.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Work has been incredibly slow lately, which isn't surprising, but it leaves me with ample time on my hands. Now I can either work myself up into all of my neuroses related to my romantical life and my uncertain future, or I can take adventures and get creative. Seeing as how I finally unearthed my car this morning from the foot of snow encasing it in a hope that I would have to work today I choose adventures (much like the classic series of my youth Choose Your Own Adventure ®). These adventures include the craft store, as I've decided to start making my own jewelry and the grocery store to procure cranberries to make some Cranapana Muffins. And yes, every time I see the word Cranapana my mind wants to see "Crap-ana" which sounds intriguing enough to make. Today might also potentially be a double recipe day, but I'm not sure what that second one will be yet.</span>a.rohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781351276422332073noreply@blogger.com0