Happy Halloween!!!!
As you get older, Halloween is celebrated so differently from when you were a kid. Back then, it was all about the coolest costume and how much candy you could acquire in a single night. You'd look forward to Trick-or-Treating with the same, overwhelming amount of anticipation that you'd feel on Christmas morning. I remember my favorite costumes were the ones my mom made - Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Pocahontas (but way before Disney came out with their movie). I definitely wore those a few years each!
This year, my Halloween encompassed going out on Saturday night in a costume cobbled together at the last second with my regular wardrobe. Yup, I was a "cowgirl", in my plaid button-down shirt, jeans, a leather boots. Sorry, I didn't even have a cowboy hat to make the ensemble work. We visited two bars, neither of which was very busy or having a Halloween party. It was a complete reversal of last year's Halloween festivities in downtown -- every place was packed with costumed people, it took forever to get a drink, and we had to park blocks away.
And my plans for tonight, Halloween Eve, are to hit up the grocery, then hang out at my apartment with my roomie, watching a Halloween movie on tv. Not a scary movie, though, since I'm such a chicken. We were planning to enjoy the first case of Ohio-issued Yuengling, since it was scheduled to be released today in southern Ohio. Sadly, though, the release date in stores has been pushed back to mid-November...so we'll be prematurely (by one day) celebrating Dia de Los Muertos with Rogue Dead Guy Ale. [side note: I love the colors and traditional imagery of Dia de Los Muertos - and I've always loved the idea of a day to celebrate the lives of your ancestors.] Sounds perfect to me! Plus I get to eat all the candy I bought, instead of giving it away to kids. Ha, okay, I will eat some of it, but I'll try to incorporate most of it into some baked goods, like cookies or something. Sigh. Behaving is such a challenge...
Unlike my Halloween festivities, my celebration of fall-inspired cooking are in full swing.
Two weeks ago, I made a pumpkin pie from scratch, meaning I chopped and roasted a small pie pumpkin instead of scraping it out of a can. I learned that I prefer the ease and bright orange color of the canned pumpkin puree to my sad, pale brown pie. Both taste quite good, though.
Last week, I took the leftover roasted pumpkin and pureed it for a Pumpkin-Ginger Bread Pudding, with raisins and a hefty dose of cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Very tasty, especially when warmed and drizzled with heavy cream. Okay, what doesn't heavy cream make better? And there was plenty of heavy cream and gruyere cheese in the fennel-potato gratin I made, which was such a comfort dish, I know I'll made it again this winter.
This past weekend, I was a baking fiend. I'd postponed some of the baking I'd meant to do during the week and had to get it done on the weekend, so that my ingredients didn't go bad. I made: baked mac and cheese with ricotta and squash puree, brownie cookies, brownies (with the leftover batter from the cookies), and Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie. Yup, that's right, I made my second attempt at the apple pie that had so disappointed and frustrated me a few weeks ago. This time, I came in armed with a brand new pie bird (an adorable white and blue rooster with red rooster trimmings!) and a springform pan (in lieu of the 2 inch deep tart pan AB recommends). I made the dough for the pie crusts over 24 hours before I made the pie, so they had plenty of time to firm up in the fridge. This pie takes a bit more time than I usually commit to pies, thanks to peeling and slicing all the apples, then coating them in sugar and letting them drain out some of their juice for 30 minutes. The task was made even more difficult by the ancient peeler my mom owns, which took some serious pressure to get peeling. Naturally, that brings about a serious fear of injuring myself with said peeler. I actually longed for the lovely, sharp oxo peeler in my apartment (nerd!).
I was worried I'd have a repeat of my previous frustrations, or an entirely new set of difficulties to deal with; it'd be my personal Halloween horror story, made worse by the need to re-try baking the pie. I cannot let a silly pie recipe defeat me!
The chilled crust rolled out nicely. The filling had more liquid than I thought was a good idea, so I added a bit more flour. It didn't seem to do much...but it was worth a shot. I even took the time to arrange the apples around the pie bird in a manner similar to AB's demo video, though I didn't arrange them nearly as neatly as he did (this young grasshopper has no patience!). The head of this wee pie bird poking out of the top of the pie was a strange sight, and he looked as if he might be screaming "Nooooooo!" I almost felt bad. There were only two minor problems with assembly: 1) the edges of the crust were difficult to seal together in the springform pan. I did my best, but it wasn't a pretty job, and 2) the reduced apple juice was a bit too reduced, almost like candy syrup, so it didn't brush across the crush. My lack of artistry is apparent in the smudges of candy-apple-juice around the emerging head of the pie bird.
In the looks department, this pie isn't going to win any awards. In the arena of taste, though....mmmm! This pie has it. A tender, flaky crust with just a hint of apple from the applejack brandy. Apples kept juicy with apple jelly and apple cider, complete with a subtle hint of spice from the addition of grains of paradise. And a fresh acidity underlying it all, thanks to the lime juice. Marvelous! Definitely a Super Apple Pie.
My revenge on this recipe was complete and so very delicious!
Happy Halloween!
And Feliz Dia de los Muertos tomorrow!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Kryptonite...and Lunchboxes?
Earlier this week, I decided to treat myself to a new lunchbox. My current "lunchbox" is a small grocery bag from Whole Foods, about the size of an average gift bag. It holds nearly every size of plastic container I have, and it allows me to bring a variety of things in one bag without mushing things together. And, unlike a plastic bag (my previous lunchbox of choice), it keeps things in an upright orientation during travel, it doesn't make annoying crinkly noises with every step, and it doesn't need to be replaced every week.
That said, I want a new lunchbox. My current one is probably a year or so old, the colored coating is crackling off the handles, exposing white felt-like material. The inside has some questionable stains in it; who knew plastic containers leaked their liquid remnants after lunch?
I knew my criteria. I want a lunchbox that can hold multiple containers (I hate pre-mixing things like salad and dressing, or spreading PBJ onto bread hours before consumption). I want a lunchbox that keeps containers in an upright orientation, so it needs some stability or structure. I need something durable, because I use it every single workday. That's a lot to ask of a mere lunchbox. But I had some ideas...
First, I wanted to check out these BuiltNY lunchboxes. They are a neoprene (wetsuit) material with some incredibly fun patterns. My laptop travels around in one and the pattern just makes me feel a wee bit happier. But when I searched Sur La Table, I couldn't find them. A friendly clerk confirmed my suspicion - they no longer carried them. Drats.
Okay, on to Plan B. Get a new Whole Foods mini-grocery bag. So I enter Whole Foods...but only after I've made some rules for myself to prevent over-indulgence:
1) No frozen foods. Our freezer just doesn't have any room. Seriously, no room. I'm working on that...
2) Try really hard not to get refrigerated foods. With some Tetris-like arranging, I could find room in there...but I already have plenty to eat that is hidden in there.
3) Try really hard not to get too much food overall. And keep in mind you promised yourself to eat healthier (overall, of course. I'm not giving up stuff, just attempting to keep balance in mind). I have way too much food in the cabinet and on the table. I must reduce, not increase the amount of food I have!
Gulp. Can I do this? Previous experiences suggest I'm not likely to succeed, though there is rare occurrence when I don't buy too much.
Armed with my 3 self-imposed rules and an over-the-arm shopping basket, I entered the store and wandered into the produce section. Heaps of apples sang their siren song to me; NO!, I will not get more of you, I have a nice bag of McIntoshes and Honeycrisps at home, waiting to be used in my second attempt at Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie (coming soon!) and blogger Sassy Radish's Apple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cakes. I wandered out with only a bag of carrots, needed for soup. Phew, okay, good so far.
Then I stroll up to the bulk bins and eyeball the beans and grains. I can't resist the price of arborio rice since I've been craving risottos with the arrival of fall. Nor can I resist the opportunity to get a small amount of amaranth. With only one recipe using the grain that I have found, I'm not sure what I'll do with it. But I enjoy the challenge an unfamiliar ingredient offers. Plus it's good for you! I oogle the dried fruits, chocolates and nuts on the opposite side of the aisle. My hand picks up a container of kale chips. My mind turns over the idea. Hmm, they don't seem so bad. Maybe I'll like kale this way. Kale is awfully good for you...but $8 is really rather expensive... Hmmmmm... No, I'll put it back and try some other time. Whoa. I return to my senses. I almost bought kale chips. Kale. My mother's veggie obsession. I admit my self-control is slipping. So I leave the aisle and enter the next.
Oatmeal. Ohhhhh man. I want it all! Steel cut, old fashioned, quinoa flakes.... This is where I officially lose it. I fully admit that high-end grocery stores are my kryptonite. One of my many kryptonites, but certainly a highly potent one. It's a painful admission, but with this clarity comes a little bit of self-control. I'm able to resist more than I thought I would. I promised some items that I'd come back and try them later. Don't worry, though. I still found several items that made their way into my basket, including:
That said, I want a new lunchbox. My current one is probably a year or so old, the colored coating is crackling off the handles, exposing white felt-like material. The inside has some questionable stains in it; who knew plastic containers leaked their liquid remnants after lunch?
I knew my criteria. I want a lunchbox that can hold multiple containers (I hate pre-mixing things like salad and dressing, or spreading PBJ onto bread hours before consumption). I want a lunchbox that keeps containers in an upright orientation, so it needs some stability or structure. I need something durable, because I use it every single workday. That's a lot to ask of a mere lunchbox. But I had some ideas...
First, I wanted to check out these BuiltNY lunchboxes. They are a neoprene (wetsuit) material with some incredibly fun patterns. My laptop travels around in one and the pattern just makes me feel a wee bit happier. But when I searched Sur La Table, I couldn't find them. A friendly clerk confirmed my suspicion - they no longer carried them. Drats.
Okay, on to Plan B. Get a new Whole Foods mini-grocery bag. So I enter Whole Foods...but only after I've made some rules for myself to prevent over-indulgence:
1) No frozen foods. Our freezer just doesn't have any room. Seriously, no room. I'm working on that...
2) Try really hard not to get refrigerated foods. With some Tetris-like arranging, I could find room in there...but I already have plenty to eat that is hidden in there.
3) Try really hard not to get too much food overall. And keep in mind you promised yourself to eat healthier (overall, of course. I'm not giving up stuff, just attempting to keep balance in mind). I have way too much food in the cabinet and on the table. I must reduce, not increase the amount of food I have!
Gulp. Can I do this? Previous experiences suggest I'm not likely to succeed, though there is rare occurrence when I don't buy too much.
Armed with my 3 self-imposed rules and an over-the-arm shopping basket, I entered the store and wandered into the produce section. Heaps of apples sang their siren song to me; NO!, I will not get more of you, I have a nice bag of McIntoshes and Honeycrisps at home, waiting to be used in my second attempt at Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie (coming soon!) and blogger Sassy Radish's Apple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cakes. I wandered out with only a bag of carrots, needed for soup. Phew, okay, good so far.
Then I stroll up to the bulk bins and eyeball the beans and grains. I can't resist the price of arborio rice since I've been craving risottos with the arrival of fall. Nor can I resist the opportunity to get a small amount of amaranth. With only one recipe using the grain that I have found, I'm not sure what I'll do with it. But I enjoy the challenge an unfamiliar ingredient offers. Plus it's good for you! I oogle the dried fruits, chocolates and nuts on the opposite side of the aisle. My hand picks up a container of kale chips. My mind turns over the idea. Hmm, they don't seem so bad. Maybe I'll like kale this way. Kale is awfully good for you...but $8 is really rather expensive... Hmmmmm... No, I'll put it back and try some other time. Whoa. I return to my senses. I almost bought kale chips. Kale. My mother's veggie obsession. I admit my self-control is slipping. So I leave the aisle and enter the next.
Oatmeal. Ohhhhh man. I want it all! Steel cut, old fashioned, quinoa flakes.... This is where I officially lose it. I fully admit that high-end grocery stores are my kryptonite. One of my many kryptonites, but certainly a highly potent one. It's a painful admission, but with this clarity comes a little bit of self-control. I'm able to resist more than I thought I would. I promised some items that I'd come back and try them later. Don't worry, though. I still found several items that made their way into my basket, including:
- Dried Anasazi beans - Bob's Red Mill knows the way to my heart. I never buy dried beans, but the label promised these cooked faster than most other types of dried beans. The label also asserted these are "Incredibly Tasty" (seriously, it's in the line above the name) and very nutritious. Plus I've never even heard of them before and I loved learning about the Anasazi Indians when I was in school.
- Canned Borlotti (cranberry) beans - I've heard a lot about these, but have never seen them. Had to try. I blame the Anasazi beans for pre-weakening my resolve.
- Dried Thai bird chilis and dried galangal - Two key Thai flavors, neither of which I've seen before! They were also relatively inexpensive. And I've always had a weakness for spices... I can't wait to try pad thai with these!
- 2 jars of Whole Foods Brand tomato sauce - inexpensive, probably tasty, and I needed sauce, so these would be a fun change.
- Ground cardamom - I nearly did a jig of excitement when I found a jar of ground cardamom for way less than $12. Had to. And I warned you that I have a weakness for spices.
- 2 bottles of wine - Whole Foods had some well priced wines. I almost picked up a bottle of Tarima, the new Spanish Monastrell by the guy who made the late Luzon Verde (also a Spanish Monastrell/Jumilla). Similar price and it's harder to find Tarima than I expected. I resisted, but I know I'll be going back sometime for it.
- Kettle Brand krinkle chips in Sweet Chili Garlic - I couldn't resist a new flavor in my favorite potato chip. Could you? I thought not.
My basket was very heavy by the time I walked up to the registers. I'd taken to setting it on the floor while I walked up and down the length of the aisle, slowly scanning every item. When the cashier started ringing up my groceries, I looked for the mini grocery bag to buy and use as my new lunchbox. None were to be found. The closest item was an intermediately sized grocery bag, advertised as a Trick or Treat bag, complete with a Halloween pumpkin, some bats, and Trick or Treat written across both sides. Hmm, thanks, but I'll pass on this.
So the lunchbox search continues. And I learned a little something about myself. Well, I admitted it to myself, since I already knew I liked being in high-end grocery stores way too much.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
A Fall Preview
Well, who knew almost a month has passed since I last wrote? It certainly didn't feel like a whole month. It barely felt like a week! As you would guess, I've been busy...so I'll see what I can recall from the abyss of my memory to share with you.
First and most pressing on my mind, I have my first exam on Friday for my crystallography class.
I need to study. Like crazy. If you couldn't tell, I'm stressing out over this exam, for a variety of reasons, most of which are probably awfully silly.
So the rest of today and tomorrow are for studying. Friday morning we have our school's grad student research forum, where I have to present my poster (from the thermo conference I recently attended) for a few hours. Since the exam is in the afternoon, I'll probably be skipping my bi-weekly yoga class, which is a huge bummer....
I've been doing better at exercising!
Not perfect, not everyday, but much more consistently. I think much credit for this success should go to the fitness classes at the gym that I've been checking out. Luckily, most of the fitness classes at our gym are free with your membership, so I can just pop into different classes as my schedule and interests dictate. I've been regularly attending a power yoga class during lunch twice a week. I love the instructor and I feel like I've made some progress, though I am definitely not an uber-flexible and mentally peaceful yogi!!! And I probably never will be. But I've been enjoying the challenges of her practices and I look forward to class quite a bit. I even bought a cushy yoga mat that I keep at work!
I also tried my first spinning class...and I didn't fall off the bike from sheer exhaustion like I had anticipated. Actually, I really like spinning and want to try to make a class once a week. Unfortunately, the popularity of spin class plus the limited number of bikes available make it challenging to meet that goal (last week I wasn't able to snag a bike because of the gaggle of girls hanging out at the counter, snatching up bike tickets the moment they were released). I'll continue my efforts, though!
I even registered for a TRX circuit training class on main campus that I have to pay for. It works out to $3 per class, which is such a deal. I've only done TRX once before, but I loved the workout it gave me. I did not love the extreme soreness of random muscles nearly as much, but I think circuit training will keep me interested and having more fun than just doing my own workouts (because I do such an excellent job of wiggling my way out of my more intense workouts).
Fall foods have captured my attention in the kitchen.
I seriously have so many recipes to try for apples and pumpkins that it's laughable.
I made a standard apple pie with a oat crisp crust. Tasty, as always.
Inspired by my first apple pie of the fall, I wanted to try a new apple pie recipe (Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie). It was not exactly my best-looking pie. To be honest, I called the end result the Pie of Endless Frustration, because I'd had a frustrating day at work and the pie also chose to sass me (the crust wouldn't chill and firm up even after a few hours in the fridge, so the top crust of the pie was, um, edited out).
I also had the crazy idea to make a pumpkin pie from scratch. An adorable little pie pumpkin looked at me in the grocery store and encouraged me - you can do it, it's not that hard, I might even make pie taste better (as if pumpkin pie could get any better!). After a short delay, I muscled my pie pumpkin into cubes for roasting. No problem. Making the pie filling, though, was a bit of an adventure. I mushed the roasted pumpkin (hmm, this looks like the contents of a regurgitated stomach) and stirred in the evaporated milk and eggs with a bit of patience and effort. The pie tastes quite good, though it isn't any better than one made from canned pumpkin. However, my sad, dull brown color of pie filling didn't even look remotely pumpkin. I'll be returning to the ease and lovely color of canned pumpkin for future pies. But I'm glad I gave it a go.
I tested a new dish - roasted brussel sprouts with shallots, pear, and lemon juice. Very easy to make and quite tasty. Unfortunately, I don't think I really want to eat more than about 4 brussel sprouts at a time. So the remnants of this dish eventually made it to the trash can.
I also experimented with veggie "pancakes" - shredded zucchini, onion, black beans, and corn mixed with a mix of flour and egg and chili powder. To be honest, I had no idea how much flour and egg to add, so I kept plopping another spoonful in, stirring, and guessing. It worked, though, because there is enough batter there to hold the veggies together and to brown without being a full-blown pancake. I smothered these veggie pancakes in greek yogurt and hot sauce for a tasty little meal.
Despite my desire for fall foods and baked, cheesy dinners, I'm not ready for the fall (and then winter) weather.
As I've aged, I've definitely developed a stronger and stronger dislike of cold, rainy, dreary weather. It no longer means days off from school/work. It just means I have to trudge outside, drive a car in the sub-optimal conditions (a feat made infinitely worse by the hundreds of moronic drivers in the Cincy area), and be freezing cold all the time.
I'm not ready to say goodbye to my pretty, fun, easy summer clothes and shoes! I'm not ready for months of grey skies and rain, with so little golden sunshine! I'm not ready for a frigid apartment (being on the end of the building is not conducive to a warm set of rooms)! I'm not ready for shivering in the shower because the bathroom window lets too much cold air through, even when closed!
What I am looking forward to for fall and winter:
-seasonal produce, like honeycrisp apples and pumpkin out the wazoo!
-holidays with family and friends, seeing everyone, and eating!
-wearing leather boots with a skirt (I've been wanting to try this since last year, but am paranoid about looking silly and ruining my boots with precipitation)
-possibly going to a Tennessee football game with Eric!
-watching football every Saturday
-Christmas shopping. I love it. I know, I'm weird. I also figured out most of my presents for others awhile ago.
-baked mac and cheese, grilled cheeses (ooo! try Trader Joe's Colby Jack slices on wheat/10 grain bread...you will melt more than the cheese!), potato gratin, stews and soups, chili....mmmm!
-the arrival of Yuengling beer in Dayton and Cincinnati on October 31st! Can you tell I'm counting down???
-the return of new episodes of Psych!
-a recently purchased, adorable stuffed penguin with scarf and hat and a matching fleece blanket from Target
Wish me luck on my test on Friday! When it's over, I plan to enjoy my weekend thoroughly!!! I have a potato-fennel gratin planned, as well as brownie-cookies, watching Psych with Eric, and seeing the new store close to being open! So exciting!
First and most pressing on my mind, I have my first exam on Friday for my crystallography class.
I need to study. Like crazy. If you couldn't tell, I'm stressing out over this exam, for a variety of reasons, most of which are probably awfully silly.
So the rest of today and tomorrow are for studying. Friday morning we have our school's grad student research forum, where I have to present my poster (from the thermo conference I recently attended) for a few hours. Since the exam is in the afternoon, I'll probably be skipping my bi-weekly yoga class, which is a huge bummer....
I've been doing better at exercising!
Not perfect, not everyday, but much more consistently. I think much credit for this success should go to the fitness classes at the gym that I've been checking out. Luckily, most of the fitness classes at our gym are free with your membership, so I can just pop into different classes as my schedule and interests dictate. I've been regularly attending a power yoga class during lunch twice a week. I love the instructor and I feel like I've made some progress, though I am definitely not an uber-flexible and mentally peaceful yogi!!! And I probably never will be. But I've been enjoying the challenges of her practices and I look forward to class quite a bit. I even bought a cushy yoga mat that I keep at work!
I also tried my first spinning class...and I didn't fall off the bike from sheer exhaustion like I had anticipated. Actually, I really like spinning and want to try to make a class once a week. Unfortunately, the popularity of spin class plus the limited number of bikes available make it challenging to meet that goal (last week I wasn't able to snag a bike because of the gaggle of girls hanging out at the counter, snatching up bike tickets the moment they were released). I'll continue my efforts, though!
I even registered for a TRX circuit training class on main campus that I have to pay for. It works out to $3 per class, which is such a deal. I've only done TRX once before, but I loved the workout it gave me. I did not love the extreme soreness of random muscles nearly as much, but I think circuit training will keep me interested and having more fun than just doing my own workouts (because I do such an excellent job of wiggling my way out of my more intense workouts).
Fall foods have captured my attention in the kitchen.
I seriously have so many recipes to try for apples and pumpkins that it's laughable.
I made a standard apple pie with a oat crisp crust. Tasty, as always.
Inspired by my first apple pie of the fall, I wanted to try a new apple pie recipe (Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie). It was not exactly my best-looking pie. To be honest, I called the end result the Pie of Endless Frustration, because I'd had a frustrating day at work and the pie also chose to sass me (the crust wouldn't chill and firm up even after a few hours in the fridge, so the top crust of the pie was, um, edited out).
I also had the crazy idea to make a pumpkin pie from scratch. An adorable little pie pumpkin looked at me in the grocery store and encouraged me - you can do it, it's not that hard, I might even make pie taste better (as if pumpkin pie could get any better!). After a short delay, I muscled my pie pumpkin into cubes for roasting. No problem. Making the pie filling, though, was a bit of an adventure. I mushed the roasted pumpkin (hmm, this looks like the contents of a regurgitated stomach) and stirred in the evaporated milk and eggs with a bit of patience and effort. The pie tastes quite good, though it isn't any better than one made from canned pumpkin. However, my sad, dull brown color of pie filling didn't even look remotely pumpkin. I'll be returning to the ease and lovely color of canned pumpkin for future pies. But I'm glad I gave it a go.
I tested a new dish - roasted brussel sprouts with shallots, pear, and lemon juice. Very easy to make and quite tasty. Unfortunately, I don't think I really want to eat more than about 4 brussel sprouts at a time. So the remnants of this dish eventually made it to the trash can.
I also experimented with veggie "pancakes" - shredded zucchini, onion, black beans, and corn mixed with a mix of flour and egg and chili powder. To be honest, I had no idea how much flour and egg to add, so I kept plopping another spoonful in, stirring, and guessing. It worked, though, because there is enough batter there to hold the veggies together and to brown without being a full-blown pancake. I smothered these veggie pancakes in greek yogurt and hot sauce for a tasty little meal.
Despite my desire for fall foods and baked, cheesy dinners, I'm not ready for the fall (and then winter) weather.
As I've aged, I've definitely developed a stronger and stronger dislike of cold, rainy, dreary weather. It no longer means days off from school/work. It just means I have to trudge outside, drive a car in the sub-optimal conditions (a feat made infinitely worse by the hundreds of moronic drivers in the Cincy area), and be freezing cold all the time.
I'm not ready to say goodbye to my pretty, fun, easy summer clothes and shoes! I'm not ready for months of grey skies and rain, with so little golden sunshine! I'm not ready for a frigid apartment (being on the end of the building is not conducive to a warm set of rooms)! I'm not ready for shivering in the shower because the bathroom window lets too much cold air through, even when closed!
What I am looking forward to for fall and winter:
-seasonal produce, like honeycrisp apples and pumpkin out the wazoo!
-holidays with family and friends, seeing everyone, and eating!
-wearing leather boots with a skirt (I've been wanting to try this since last year, but am paranoid about looking silly and ruining my boots with precipitation)
-possibly going to a Tennessee football game with Eric!
-watching football every Saturday
-Christmas shopping. I love it. I know, I'm weird. I also figured out most of my presents for others awhile ago.
-baked mac and cheese, grilled cheeses (ooo! try Trader Joe's Colby Jack slices on wheat/10 grain bread...you will melt more than the cheese!), potato gratin, stews and soups, chili....mmmm!
-the arrival of Yuengling beer in Dayton and Cincinnati on October 31st! Can you tell I'm counting down???
-the return of new episodes of Psych!
-a recently purchased, adorable stuffed penguin with scarf and hat and a matching fleece blanket from Target
Wish me luck on my test on Friday! When it's over, I plan to enjoy my weekend thoroughly!!! I have a potato-fennel gratin planned, as well as brownie-cookies, watching Psych with Eric, and seeing the new store close to being open! So exciting!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
To The Kitchen!!!
I've realized recently that I read a lot of food-centric blogs. I'm perfectly happy with this, because the blogs are excellent and inspiring. The only conundrum this brings me is...how will I ever make all of the incredible recipes I've been discovering??? A wonderful problem to have, though sometime this does bring a wee bit of frustration into my weeknights when I'm running behind schedule but HAVE to make a recipe so ingredients don't spoil. Again, not an awful problem to have.
Anyway, I want to share some of the recent baking adventures I've had, thanks to recipes from all the lovely food-centric blogs!
From Sassy Radish...
Rhubarb Strawberry Banana Bread
Admission: I've made this bread twice in a week's time. It's that easy and that delicious. And to make it even easier, I've used frozen strawberries and frozen rhubarb that I microwave and sorta awkwardly slice in a bowl. Plus I can make it year round with frozen fruit! Also, I don't have dark rum in the house and, while I don't mind remedying that, I wanted to make this bread before I was able to acquire some rum. So I substituted in bourbon and I think it's perfectly lovely. My labmates and parents also think this bread is quite lovely.
From the first cookbook from the bakery Baked in New York...
Almond Cupcakes with Green Tea (Matcha) Icing
I've had my eye on these treats since I first opened that cookbook a few years ago. Once I finally bought some matcha (green tea leaf) powder, I was determined to make them. I've had some technical difficulties with some of Baked's other recipes - mainly, I think they're a little more complicated in parts than they need to be. And I have my usual problems with making icings and fillings set up. Probably because I'm not patient enough, but that's another thing. Happily, though, this icing worked like a charm for me!!! The instructions looked daunting (start icing on the stove?? use flour??), but they worked really well. Maybe it's also due to the fact that my apartment is starting to cool down with the fall weather, so it's not as hot and humid as a rainforest in there! Also, these cupcakes rely on shortening to provide moisture and texture, and it turns out really well. Most of the cake and cupcake recipes I use don't incorporate shortening, so it's somewhat of a novel texture and taste for me. Overall, these cupcakes are a study in subtlety - a hint of almond from the cupcake as well as a unique and delicate flavor from the green tea icing. I wasn't able to get the white chocolate to melt, though, so there aren't fortune cookies half covered in white chocolate atop the lovely pale green icing. Just a plain ol' fortune cookie. Oh well!
From Sassy Radish (again!)...
Peach Jam with Bourbon and Vanilla
In my hands, this didn't really become jam so much as peaches in a goodly amount of yummy bourbon-vanilla syrup. It was an adventure.. ..but it is still marvelous - on toast, on yogurt, on ice cream, on a spoon (like pb!).... Also, I didn't go through the canning process, so I froze 2 jars and have 2 jars in the fridge. Though I would like to get into canning/preserving, especially after finding some tempting recipes...
Tonight, I'm hoping to make Smores Brownies from Food Network Kitchens...
Oh man, these are simple. I know, you wouldn't expect more-than-brownies to be simple, but these are. I mix the graham cracker crust in the pan I'm using (less clean-up, yay!). While it's baking, make the batter - it's quick and incredibly rich. While the brownies are baking, slice large marshmallows in half. Press the marshmallows on top and, instead of broiling, I pop them back into the oven for about 2 more minutes. You get sinfully rich and marvelously gooey brownies. A word of warning - these will be very, very sticky when you cut them or move them or eat them. But you can either eat or wash the marshmallow deliciousness of your hands and all will be well. Better than well, actually.
With the arrival of gorgeous fall apples, I'm going to be diving into all things apple - cake, muffin, challah bread, baked, crisp.... hot damn! I'm going to miss summer berries and peaches, though. I also can't wait to start cooking mac and cheeses, garlic soup, and lasagnas! I have a hard time bringing myself to make and eat them during such hot and humid summer months, but come fall and winter, I quadruple my intake of cheese and baked foods. Give me comfort! And apple cider!!!!!
Happy Fall!
From Sassy Radish...
Rhubarb Strawberry Banana Bread
Admission: I've made this bread twice in a week's time. It's that easy and that delicious. And to make it even easier, I've used frozen strawberries and frozen rhubarb that I microwave and sorta awkwardly slice in a bowl. Plus I can make it year round with frozen fruit! Also, I don't have dark rum in the house and, while I don't mind remedying that, I wanted to make this bread before I was able to acquire some rum. So I substituted in bourbon and I think it's perfectly lovely. My labmates and parents also think this bread is quite lovely.
From the first cookbook from the bakery Baked in New York...
Almond Cupcakes with Green Tea (Matcha) Icing
I've had my eye on these treats since I first opened that cookbook a few years ago. Once I finally bought some matcha (green tea leaf) powder, I was determined to make them. I've had some technical difficulties with some of Baked's other recipes - mainly, I think they're a little more complicated in parts than they need to be. And I have my usual problems with making icings and fillings set up. Probably because I'm not patient enough, but that's another thing. Happily, though, this icing worked like a charm for me!!! The instructions looked daunting (start icing on the stove?? use flour??), but they worked really well. Maybe it's also due to the fact that my apartment is starting to cool down with the fall weather, so it's not as hot and humid as a rainforest in there! Also, these cupcakes rely on shortening to provide moisture and texture, and it turns out really well. Most of the cake and cupcake recipes I use don't incorporate shortening, so it's somewhat of a novel texture and taste for me. Overall, these cupcakes are a study in subtlety - a hint of almond from the cupcake as well as a unique and delicate flavor from the green tea icing. I wasn't able to get the white chocolate to melt, though, so there aren't fortune cookies half covered in white chocolate atop the lovely pale green icing. Just a plain ol' fortune cookie. Oh well!
From Sassy Radish (again!)...
Peach Jam with Bourbon and Vanilla
In my hands, this didn't really become jam so much as peaches in a goodly amount of yummy bourbon-vanilla syrup. It was an adventure.. ..but it is still marvelous - on toast, on yogurt, on ice cream, on a spoon (like pb!).... Also, I didn't go through the canning process, so I froze 2 jars and have 2 jars in the fridge. Though I would like to get into canning/preserving, especially after finding some tempting recipes...
Tonight, I'm hoping to make Smores Brownies from Food Network Kitchens...
Oh man, these are simple. I know, you wouldn't expect more-than-brownies to be simple, but these are. I mix the graham cracker crust in the pan I'm using (less clean-up, yay!). While it's baking, make the batter - it's quick and incredibly rich. While the brownies are baking, slice large marshmallows in half. Press the marshmallows on top and, instead of broiling, I pop them back into the oven for about 2 more minutes. You get sinfully rich and marvelously gooey brownies. A word of warning - these will be very, very sticky when you cut them or move them or eat them. But you can either eat or wash the marshmallow deliciousness of your hands and all will be well. Better than well, actually.
With the arrival of gorgeous fall apples, I'm going to be diving into all things apple - cake, muffin, challah bread, baked, crisp.... hot damn! I'm going to miss summer berries and peaches, though. I also can't wait to start cooking mac and cheeses, garlic soup, and lasagnas! I have a hard time bringing myself to make and eat them during such hot and humid summer months, but come fall and winter, I quadruple my intake of cheese and baked foods. Give me comfort! And apple cider!!!!!
Happy Fall!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Thermo Summer Camp
It's been a whirlwind of nerdiness and adventure for the the last week or so. Meaning I am exhausted. I even have nice dark bags under my eyes to prove it!
For the past few weeks, I've been putting together a giant (bigger than me) poster of my work in the lab. I've made posters like this before, but those were college projects....things I did with other people (so they decorated the hallways of the chemistry department but weren't "real" science, as horrible as it is to say. but that's another tangent to explore later...) or were not actually going to print out (hello, transition metals info poster!).
Instead of these amateur collegiate posters, I was putting up all of my own work. Okay, not all of my own work; my lab mate ZY actually generated (ie performed) half of the data that was on my poster. But I helped purify the proteins he used in the ITC experiments and I did the EMSAs on the poster first - he just re-did them to look nicer. I needed his info, though. to help set up the story of my work. And, to be quite honest, take up space on my poster because I only have a small portion of data. Sigh. So sad. Months of work and I really can only claim 2 figures. Damn, damn, damn.
Anyway, I spent awhile making a very professional-student-looking poster. I actually like it and am proud of it, if you don't notice 1 grammatical error (thanks, mom), 1 forgotten edit (I forgot to remove a d!), and 1 incorrect value in a table (unfortunately, it's in a very noticeable spot). Oh well. Still, I'm proud of it. And while it's only a baby step forward in my graduate student career, I was relieved to finally be able to take it.
I took this poster to a conference of biothermodynamics in Illinois, which is a 2.5 day scientific conference held on a nature preserve (that has conference and overnight guest capabilities). While it is a national conference, it is intentionally kept to a relatively small number of professors (aka Primary Investigators, or PIs) and post-docs and grad students, to facilitate interactions between people. I liked that. It was much better for me to identify people and approach total strangers than a behemoth national conference like The Protein Society (thousands of people. no joke). Keep in mind that the professors there are the leading researchers and thinkers in the field of biothermodynamics. Big time, incredibly smart people.
Wait, I suppose I should attempt an explanation of biothermodynamics....
Bio = biological. Meaning it is stuff that relates to living organisms. In our case, it means studies involving proteins or nucleic acids from animals. Sorry, we don't intentionally ignore plants, but most animal scientists don't seem to know much about plants and vice versa because they're such very different systems. Personally, I think learning about how plants work is cool....but I don't know nearly as much about it as I do animal systems because that's what the majority of research focuses on.
Thermodynamics. Hmm....how to explain this... Okay, our trusted friend wikipedia breaks it down perfectly: Thermodynamics describes how systems change when they interact with one another or with their surroundings. Specifically, it looks at the transfer of heat (a form of energy) or of work done on or by bodies (for me, this means proteins) in a system. If you take a Lion King/Circle of Life view, every living thing changes when it interacts with something else...and thermodynamics looks at how it changes in terms of energy and other parameters (factors). It can also tell you how likely an interaction is to occur, based upon the changes that occur from the interaction. So here's an example: when 2 proteins interact and bind to each other, there is heat energy that is either absorbed or released into the fluid around them. When we measure that change in heat, we can insert those values (for heat change) into various equations...do a little algebraic manipulation....and acquire values for other factors that can be involved, like the amount of protein surface area that is buried in the interaction or how favorable it is for the reaction to occur (like humans, proteins are more likely/favorable to do an easy task, like sitting on the couch watching tv, instead of a harder/unfavorable task, like running a marathon). So I hope that helps clarify, even a little bit.....but thermo (short for thermodynamics) is complicated and not something easily understood. Trust me on this.
The conference is an entire meeting of scientists who study biothermodynamics. There are various techniques and various model systems in which to do this....but ultimately, everyone there looked at how interactions and energy were related. In biological sciences, thermo is often considered to be a highly specialized area of study, meaning most people don't look at thermo in their research because:
1. They don't care. Which is, in my opinion, silly, because thermo can give you some cool and useful insight into interactions.
2. They don't know how to measure and interpret thermo. Okay, this I understand because some techniques to measure thermo are specialized. But I don't think they're so hard you couldn't learn them. And at the very least, you could collaborate with someone who does specialize in thermo.
3. They're afraid of thermo or they don't understand it. I'm not comfortable with advanced math and I think my brain legitimately freaks out every time I see a number (sigh), but thermo can be kept at a "simple" level, where you plug a measurement into one equation, and you get all kinds of useful data about binding. Even I understand it. Regardless, there are people who hate thermo or don't respect people who do thermo research. Those people would probably say "Thermo research doesn't advance medicine, it can't help people". FALSE! Thermo can be essential in drug development or in understanding aspects of certain disorders. So silly. Sure there are some thermo researchers who are likewise firmly entrenched in their belief that thermo should be done to learn about thermo, not to have medical relevance. But more and more people are fusing thermo and medically-driven research.
So I went to this conference and I was terrified. Lots of incredibly smart people talking non-stop about a topic I barely understand the basics of. It turns out...I actually liked most of the talks that were given, even when I wasn't able to fully comprehend (okay, even when I didn't have much more than a basic understanding of) what techniques they used or what their data meant. Actually, thermo was kinda...cool. I started to feel like a Supporter of Thermo, ready to defend this misunderstood field and champion its usage in research everywhere!!! Alright, I didn't feel totally like that, but I felt like my eyes were opened to the fact that thermo is useful, thermo is versatile, thermo shouldn't be kept in the corner but should be out dirty dancing with Patrick Swayze. I want to learn more about thermo - what it is, what it means, techniques to study it... Whether I actually do all that on my own is another story; I've been attempting to read large amounts of science and of non-science, hobby-related books for several years now and haven't made much progress. Oops.
So I had fun at this conference and learned quite a bit and developed an interest and excitement for something new. I am, however, terribly sleep-deprived. Not only did I consume inhumanly large amounts of caffeine, but I also couldn't sleep each night because of rain hammering the tin roof of our cabin. It was the rain irregularly pounding down from the overhanging tree branches that really prevented my sleep. Sigh.... With a lot of sleep, a hot shower, a home-cooked meal, and lots of laundry-doing, I'll be returned to my average state of nerdiness and chaos before you know it.
Instead of these amateur collegiate posters, I was putting up all of my own work. Okay, not all of my own work; my lab mate ZY actually generated (ie performed) half of the data that was on my poster. But I helped purify the proteins he used in the ITC experiments and I did the EMSAs on the poster first - he just re-did them to look nicer. I needed his info, though. to help set up the story of my work. And, to be quite honest, take up space on my poster because I only have a small portion of data. Sigh. So sad. Months of work and I really can only claim 2 figures. Damn, damn, damn.
Anyway, I spent awhile making a very professional-student-looking poster. I actually like it and am proud of it, if you don't notice 1 grammatical error (thanks, mom), 1 forgotten edit (I forgot to remove a d!), and 1 incorrect value in a table (unfortunately, it's in a very noticeable spot). Oh well. Still, I'm proud of it. And while it's only a baby step forward in my graduate student career, I was relieved to finally be able to take it.
I took this poster to a conference of biothermodynamics in Illinois, which is a 2.5 day scientific conference held on a nature preserve (that has conference and overnight guest capabilities). While it is a national conference, it is intentionally kept to a relatively small number of professors (aka Primary Investigators, or PIs) and post-docs and grad students, to facilitate interactions between people. I liked that. It was much better for me to identify people and approach total strangers than a behemoth national conference like The Protein Society (thousands of people. no joke). Keep in mind that the professors there are the leading researchers and thinkers in the field of biothermodynamics. Big time, incredibly smart people.
Wait, I suppose I should attempt an explanation of biothermodynamics....
Bio = biological. Meaning it is stuff that relates to living organisms. In our case, it means studies involving proteins or nucleic acids from animals. Sorry, we don't intentionally ignore plants, but most animal scientists don't seem to know much about plants and vice versa because they're such very different systems. Personally, I think learning about how plants work is cool....but I don't know nearly as much about it as I do animal systems because that's what the majority of research focuses on.
Thermodynamics. Hmm....how to explain this... Okay, our trusted friend wikipedia breaks it down perfectly: Thermodynamics describes how systems change when they interact with one another or with their surroundings. Specifically, it looks at the transfer of heat (a form of energy) or of work done on or by bodies (for me, this means proteins) in a system. If you take a Lion King/Circle of Life view, every living thing changes when it interacts with something else...and thermodynamics looks at how it changes in terms of energy and other parameters (factors). It can also tell you how likely an interaction is to occur, based upon the changes that occur from the interaction. So here's an example: when 2 proteins interact and bind to each other, there is heat energy that is either absorbed or released into the fluid around them. When we measure that change in heat, we can insert those values (for heat change) into various equations...do a little algebraic manipulation....and acquire values for other factors that can be involved, like the amount of protein surface area that is buried in the interaction or how favorable it is for the reaction to occur (like humans, proteins are more likely/favorable to do an easy task, like sitting on the couch watching tv, instead of a harder/unfavorable task, like running a marathon). So I hope that helps clarify, even a little bit.....but thermo (short for thermodynamics) is complicated and not something easily understood. Trust me on this.
The conference is an entire meeting of scientists who study biothermodynamics. There are various techniques and various model systems in which to do this....but ultimately, everyone there looked at how interactions and energy were related. In biological sciences, thermo is often considered to be a highly specialized area of study, meaning most people don't look at thermo in their research because:
1. They don't care. Which is, in my opinion, silly, because thermo can give you some cool and useful insight into interactions.
2. They don't know how to measure and interpret thermo. Okay, this I understand because some techniques to measure thermo are specialized. But I don't think they're so hard you couldn't learn them. And at the very least, you could collaborate with someone who does specialize in thermo.
3. They're afraid of thermo or they don't understand it. I'm not comfortable with advanced math and I think my brain legitimately freaks out every time I see a number (sigh), but thermo can be kept at a "simple" level, where you plug a measurement into one equation, and you get all kinds of useful data about binding. Even I understand it. Regardless, there are people who hate thermo or don't respect people who do thermo research. Those people would probably say "Thermo research doesn't advance medicine, it can't help people". FALSE! Thermo can be essential in drug development or in understanding aspects of certain disorders. So silly. Sure there are some thermo researchers who are likewise firmly entrenched in their belief that thermo should be done to learn about thermo, not to have medical relevance. But more and more people are fusing thermo and medically-driven research.
So I went to this conference and I was terrified. Lots of incredibly smart people talking non-stop about a topic I barely understand the basics of. It turns out...I actually liked most of the talks that were given, even when I wasn't able to fully comprehend (okay, even when I didn't have much more than a basic understanding of) what techniques they used or what their data meant. Actually, thermo was kinda...cool. I started to feel like a Supporter of Thermo, ready to defend this misunderstood field and champion its usage in research everywhere!!! Alright, I didn't feel totally like that, but I felt like my eyes were opened to the fact that thermo is useful, thermo is versatile, thermo shouldn't be kept in the corner but should be out dirty dancing with Patrick Swayze. I want to learn more about thermo - what it is, what it means, techniques to study it... Whether I actually do all that on my own is another story; I've been attempting to read large amounts of science and of non-science, hobby-related books for several years now and haven't made much progress. Oops.
So I had fun at this conference and learned quite a bit and developed an interest and excitement for something new. I am, however, terribly sleep-deprived. Not only did I consume inhumanly large amounts of caffeine, but I also couldn't sleep each night because of rain hammering the tin roof of our cabin. It was the rain irregularly pounding down from the overhanging tree branches that really prevented my sleep. Sigh.... With a lot of sleep, a hot shower, a home-cooked meal, and lots of laundry-doing, I'll be returned to my average state of nerdiness and chaos before you know it.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Formatting & Adventurous Baking
When I read other blogs, I usually feel inspired to blog right away. Sometimes I do, and you'll see a post that is relatively similar to my source of inspiration in either subject or writing layout. I admit, I'm not the most creative person, especially when it comes to writing.
Recently, I've added more blogs to list that I follow, thanks to Blogger's Blog of the Day feature or references in a blog I already read. All of these different writers have an amazing approach to their posts, and I want to mimic each of them! Of course, that's ridiculous. I really should figure out what I want to write about and how I want to do it. But....that would require picking a theme and sticking with it. I don't know how well I'd fare with that.
For now, I'm going to keep offering up a mish-mash of ideas and formats, though I'll certainly continue my love affair with bold titles on paragraphs. I just love bold and italics, don't you? I love variety in most aspects of my life, so why not reflect that here? I still would like to emulate some blog writers a little more, though, like Orangette - her stories always have an impact on me, even if it is to make me wistful for a food I've never had or a place I've never been or a person I've never met. Strange, I know, but her memories and her connections between memories and food are compelling and addicting to me.
Alright, moving along...
I've mentioned before that one of my coworkers is leaving soon and moving to a different state for a new job. I'm bummed about his leaving, because we share a passion for cooking and for complaining, so I always enjoyed our conversations. I wanted to make an awesome baked good to mark his leaving. That meant trying a new recipe. I had a few swirling around my mind. Baked's Sweet and Salty Cake (chocolate cake + salted caramel + chocolate ganache)...but after reading other blog's "reviews" of making this cake, I was honestly terrified. (Both blogs promised I could avoid their mistakes if I followed their tips but it sounded like something was bound to go wrong. Plus, other recipes from this bakery's cookbook are really rather more complicated than I think they need to be, so I don't go to them when I am feeling tired or busy.) Martha Stewart's Grasshopper Pie (chocolate crust + grasshopper [aka creme de menthe] fluffy filling). Smores Whoopie Pies (graham cracker pies + marshmallow and chocolate icing fillings). All good choices, all with a noticeable amount of effort which would thereby demonstrate my sadness at my coworker's departure. My roommate chose and I made the Grasshopper Pie. Her reason for choosing was the pure fun of saying "grasshopp-ah". I was a little shocked she didn't choose smores, which is a favorite of hers...but, I can't deny the fun of pronunciation.
I started on the Grasshopper Pie.
Step 1) Make chocolate pie crust...with some shredded coconut added in. Hmmm, I thought, curious. I've found that coconut is not widely liked, though I personally enjoy it. I loathe and actually gag when I think about the coconut in Malibu Rum, but I like real coconut quite a bit. I decided to go with it, and went ahead with a the coconut-chocolate crust.
Step 2) Make filling. This was broken up into a few steps and I started to get a little worried.
A) Steep milk with real mint leaves to up the minty flavor. I think I used too much real mint here, because in the resulting pie you can only taste this mint and not the creme de menthe (which makes it a less than successful Grasshopper in my eye).
B) Combine minty milk with creme de menthe (so green!), gelatin, sugar, and eggs. Heat over a double boiler to 150 degrees F, according to a candy thermometer. I assumed the temperature needed to be reached to cook the eggs and/or to activate the gelatin. This is where I started to get worried. I couldn't reach 150F....and eventually decided to call it quits on this step.
C)Set the bowl in an ice bath (another problem: I don't have ice. I tried a sink of cold tap water, which I drained and refilled a few times...but it's just not that cold) and whisk for 2 minutes until it thickens to a pudding consistency. Well, that just didn't happen. Whisk I did until my poor arm hurt. Let it sit for 15 minutes in the water to try to cool it down. Put it in the fridge for 15 minutes to try to cool it down too. Nothing worked; it remained liquid and decidedly not pudding-like. Damn.
D) I decided to repeat the heating to 150F process (though I realize it could severely screw things up), and I actually reached the temp! Woohoo, victory! I repeated the chilling/whisking process. Still no pudding-like consistency. Damn, damn, damn. So the bowl went into the fridge while I worked on Pumpkin Flans (started during part B). At 11pm, I decided to call it quits. The filling had won. I stirred in whipped cream, which remained clumpy in the non-pudding mixture, and poured my half-liquid, half-froth (from all the whisking) mixture into my coconut-chocolate crust, returned it to the fridge, and went to bed.
E) In the morning, the filling had set up. Victory! Sure, there were lumps of whipped cream visible, but I'm sure it'd taste just fine. I cut the pie into wedges, packed them into plastic containers, and hauled them to school. In transit, they smushed against each other a bit, so they weren't pristine wedges. But they definitely tasted good. More real mint than creme de menthe and the coconut was very detectable.
I think my coworker liked it, and that's what matters. In the future, though, I'd change the recipe by: not using coconut in the crust, not using as much real mint so the creme de menthe can shine through, and have ice for the ice bath. Sigh. What an adventure for a simple pie! But that's how a lot of my baking goes. I suppose that should be some eloquent metaphor for life....but....I leave that up to you.
By the way, the pumpkin flans were quite delicious. Like a pumpkin pie without the crust. I kinda like pumpkin pie with the crust, though, so I'll still make it that way too. I also had an issue getting the caramel out of the ramekins I baked the flans inside, which caused a brief panic during cleanup. The issue was resolved by soaking the ramekins (containing glass-like caramel hardened to the bottom) with soap and water overnight. Phew, crisis averted!
Tonight, I'm adventuring into making Indian food - Aloo Gobi. And some Peach Cake, since I have a few slightly bruised and very ripe peaches that I'd rather cook with than eat plain (I like a like firmness to my peaches). I'll let you know if there are any crazy disasters!
Recently, I've added more blogs to list that I follow, thanks to Blogger's Blog of the Day feature or references in a blog I already read. All of these different writers have an amazing approach to their posts, and I want to mimic each of them! Of course, that's ridiculous. I really should figure out what I want to write about and how I want to do it. But....that would require picking a theme and sticking with it. I don't know how well I'd fare with that.
For now, I'm going to keep offering up a mish-mash of ideas and formats, though I'll certainly continue my love affair with bold titles on paragraphs. I just love bold and italics, don't you? I love variety in most aspects of my life, so why not reflect that here? I still would like to emulate some blog writers a little more, though, like Orangette - her stories always have an impact on me, even if it is to make me wistful for a food I've never had or a place I've never been or a person I've never met. Strange, I know, but her memories and her connections between memories and food are compelling and addicting to me.
Alright, moving along...
I've mentioned before that one of my coworkers is leaving soon and moving to a different state for a new job. I'm bummed about his leaving, because we share a passion for cooking and for complaining, so I always enjoyed our conversations. I wanted to make an awesome baked good to mark his leaving. That meant trying a new recipe. I had a few swirling around my mind. Baked's Sweet and Salty Cake (chocolate cake + salted caramel + chocolate ganache)...but after reading other blog's "reviews" of making this cake, I was honestly terrified. (Both blogs promised I could avoid their mistakes if I followed their tips but it sounded like something was bound to go wrong. Plus, other recipes from this bakery's cookbook are really rather more complicated than I think they need to be, so I don't go to them when I am feeling tired or busy.) Martha Stewart's Grasshopper Pie (chocolate crust + grasshopper [aka creme de menthe] fluffy filling). Smores Whoopie Pies (graham cracker pies + marshmallow and chocolate icing fillings). All good choices, all with a noticeable amount of effort which would thereby demonstrate my sadness at my coworker's departure. My roommate chose and I made the Grasshopper Pie. Her reason for choosing was the pure fun of saying "grasshopp-ah". I was a little shocked she didn't choose smores, which is a favorite of hers...but, I can't deny the fun of pronunciation.
I started on the Grasshopper Pie.
Step 1) Make chocolate pie crust...with some shredded coconut added in. Hmmm, I thought, curious. I've found that coconut is not widely liked, though I personally enjoy it. I loathe and actually gag when I think about the coconut in Malibu Rum, but I like real coconut quite a bit. I decided to go with it, and went ahead with a the coconut-chocolate crust.
Step 2) Make filling. This was broken up into a few steps and I started to get a little worried.
A) Steep milk with real mint leaves to up the minty flavor. I think I used too much real mint here, because in the resulting pie you can only taste this mint and not the creme de menthe (which makes it a less than successful Grasshopper in my eye).
B) Combine minty milk with creme de menthe (so green!), gelatin, sugar, and eggs. Heat over a double boiler to 150 degrees F, according to a candy thermometer. I assumed the temperature needed to be reached to cook the eggs and/or to activate the gelatin. This is where I started to get worried. I couldn't reach 150F....and eventually decided to call it quits on this step.
C)Set the bowl in an ice bath (another problem: I don't have ice. I tried a sink of cold tap water, which I drained and refilled a few times...but it's just not that cold) and whisk for 2 minutes until it thickens to a pudding consistency. Well, that just didn't happen. Whisk I did until my poor arm hurt. Let it sit for 15 minutes in the water to try to cool it down. Put it in the fridge for 15 minutes to try to cool it down too. Nothing worked; it remained liquid and decidedly not pudding-like. Damn.
D) I decided to repeat the heating to 150F process (though I realize it could severely screw things up), and I actually reached the temp! Woohoo, victory! I repeated the chilling/whisking process. Still no pudding-like consistency. Damn, damn, damn. So the bowl went into the fridge while I worked on Pumpkin Flans (started during part B). At 11pm, I decided to call it quits. The filling had won. I stirred in whipped cream, which remained clumpy in the non-pudding mixture, and poured my half-liquid, half-froth (from all the whisking) mixture into my coconut-chocolate crust, returned it to the fridge, and went to bed.
E) In the morning, the filling had set up. Victory! Sure, there were lumps of whipped cream visible, but I'm sure it'd taste just fine. I cut the pie into wedges, packed them into plastic containers, and hauled them to school. In transit, they smushed against each other a bit, so they weren't pristine wedges. But they definitely tasted good. More real mint than creme de menthe and the coconut was very detectable.
I think my coworker liked it, and that's what matters. In the future, though, I'd change the recipe by: not using coconut in the crust, not using as much real mint so the creme de menthe can shine through, and have ice for the ice bath. Sigh. What an adventure for a simple pie! But that's how a lot of my baking goes. I suppose that should be some eloquent metaphor for life....but....I leave that up to you.
By the way, the pumpkin flans were quite delicious. Like a pumpkin pie without the crust. I kinda like pumpkin pie with the crust, though, so I'll still make it that way too. I also had an issue getting the caramel out of the ramekins I baked the flans inside, which caused a brief panic during cleanup. The issue was resolved by soaking the ramekins (containing glass-like caramel hardened to the bottom) with soap and water overnight. Phew, crisis averted!
Tonight, I'm adventuring into making Indian food - Aloo Gobi. And some Peach Cake, since I have a few slightly bruised and very ripe peaches that I'd rather cook with than eat plain (I like a like firmness to my peaches). I'll let you know if there are any crazy disasters!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
An Instant Classic
I've been flipping through cookbooks and cooking magazines a lot in the past few months, searching for new dishes to try, both sweet and savory. My recipe hunting arose from the desire to plan my meals for the week in advance so I don't buy too much at the grocery store. See, I'd developed this rather bad habit of buying too much without really knowing what I would make with it all, and far too much food went to waste.
Advanced grocery planning has worked well so far, except when I buy fruit. For some reason, I can't stop myself from buying too much fruit. The only progress in this arena has been to scale back on the amount of grapes I'll buy for a week; I went from a full bag to 1 or 2 clusters. In the summer, it's even harder to resist the siren's song of all the lusciously ripe fruit, like peaches, nectarines, plums, berries, pineapple.... But I digress.
There have been a few of these recipes I've tried out that, shall we say, won't be reappearing in my kitchen. The Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake comes to mind. The actual slices of meyer lemon in the cake were too tough and bitter to enjoy despite being briefly boiled and then cooked in the cake. Several soups have also been sadly disappointing too. One was too sweet (sweet potato/north african soup, flavored with peanut butter and honey, was just too sweet for me, even without a full dose of honey), others lacked enough flavor to encourage me to polish off the entire batch of soup (tuscan veggie soup, which just didn't have any kick or memorable flavor to it).
But there have been numerous recipes that became an instant favorite. I've even returned to a few of these multiple times already, indicating they're here to stay. Ellie Krieger's Pumpkin Muffins (topped with tasty little pumpkin seeds) survive a month or two in the freezer individually wrapped; just set it on the counter before you go to bed and voila! a tasty and healthy breakfast component. Sorry, I need more than just a muffin for breakfast, so these often get paired with yogurt or a smoothie. Or Ellie Krieger's Asian Summer Rolls, which, by the way, I'm making for dinner tonight. They're perfect for the days you don't want to turn on the stove or oven and you just want to assemble. I fill mine with rice noodles, carrot, green onion, avocado and mint. It's also very critical to soak up as much of the dipping sauce as you possibly can. Trust me on this. Or Whoopie Pies. Hot damn, so tasty and fun. Or Ina Garten's Plum Tatin or Alton Brown's Individual Peach Upside Down Cakes...
Last night, I tested a new recipe and immediately knew it was going to join my repetoire of summer dishes. It may even make a cameo appearance mid-winter, so I can remember what summer tastes like. Best of all, it's incredibly easy to make.
Martha Stewart Living - Campanelle with Corn, Scallions and Arugula
http://www.marthastewart.com/777179/campanelle-corn-scallions-and-arugula
I took some liberty with this recipe, though...
*I didn't add arugula or parmesan cheese at the end.
*I substituted orichette pasta in for the campanelle pasta, since that's what I had in the cabinet.
*I eyeballed the ingredients - 2 handfuls of frozen and thawed corn off the cob (from last summer's crop!) in the corn puree + 3 ears of fresh corn cut off the cob added to the pan. And I didn't cook the corn beforehand. I was unclear about whether I should do that and decided, because it was already 9pm, that I would skip that possibly unnecessary step.
*I substituted a jalapeno for the Thai red chili, since that's what I found at the grocery.
The resulting dish was amazing - a combination of pasta and creamy corn, with a bit of smokiness from the crisped bacon. The addition of arugula and parmesan cheese would probably take this dish to the next level, but I am not a big fan of arugula (though I desperately want to be!) and absolutely detest reheating greens of any sort in a dish.
Advanced grocery planning has worked well so far, except when I buy fruit. For some reason, I can't stop myself from buying too much fruit. The only progress in this arena has been to scale back on the amount of grapes I'll buy for a week; I went from a full bag to 1 or 2 clusters. In the summer, it's even harder to resist the siren's song of all the lusciously ripe fruit, like peaches, nectarines, plums, berries, pineapple.... But I digress.
There have been a few of these recipes I've tried out that, shall we say, won't be reappearing in my kitchen. The Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake comes to mind. The actual slices of meyer lemon in the cake were too tough and bitter to enjoy despite being briefly boiled and then cooked in the cake. Several soups have also been sadly disappointing too. One was too sweet (sweet potato/north african soup, flavored with peanut butter and honey, was just too sweet for me, even without a full dose of honey), others lacked enough flavor to encourage me to polish off the entire batch of soup (tuscan veggie soup, which just didn't have any kick or memorable flavor to it).
But there have been numerous recipes that became an instant favorite. I've even returned to a few of these multiple times already, indicating they're here to stay. Ellie Krieger's Pumpkin Muffins (topped with tasty little pumpkin seeds) survive a month or two in the freezer individually wrapped; just set it on the counter before you go to bed and voila! a tasty and healthy breakfast component. Sorry, I need more than just a muffin for breakfast, so these often get paired with yogurt or a smoothie. Or Ellie Krieger's Asian Summer Rolls, which, by the way, I'm making for dinner tonight. They're perfect for the days you don't want to turn on the stove or oven and you just want to assemble. I fill mine with rice noodles, carrot, green onion, avocado and mint. It's also very critical to soak up as much of the dipping sauce as you possibly can. Trust me on this. Or Whoopie Pies. Hot damn, so tasty and fun. Or Ina Garten's Plum Tatin or Alton Brown's Individual Peach Upside Down Cakes...
Last night, I tested a new recipe and immediately knew it was going to join my repetoire of summer dishes. It may even make a cameo appearance mid-winter, so I can remember what summer tastes like. Best of all, it's incredibly easy to make.
Martha Stewart Living - Campanelle with Corn, Scallions and Arugula
http://www.marthastewart.com/777179/campanelle-corn-scallions-and-arugula
I took some liberty with this recipe, though...
*I didn't add arugula or parmesan cheese at the end.
*I substituted orichette pasta in for the campanelle pasta, since that's what I had in the cabinet.
*I eyeballed the ingredients - 2 handfuls of frozen and thawed corn off the cob (from last summer's crop!) in the corn puree + 3 ears of fresh corn cut off the cob added to the pan. And I didn't cook the corn beforehand. I was unclear about whether I should do that and decided, because it was already 9pm, that I would skip that possibly unnecessary step.
*I substituted a jalapeno for the Thai red chili, since that's what I found at the grocery.
The resulting dish was amazing - a combination of pasta and creamy corn, with a bit of smokiness from the crisped bacon. The addition of arugula and parmesan cheese would probably take this dish to the next level, but I am not a big fan of arugula (though I desperately want to be!) and absolutely detest reheating greens of any sort in a dish.
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