So my taste buds and I went on a little journey with dill weed this evening. At 7pm as I was getting ready to make dinner, I was firmly convinced that I liked dill. I'm not sure where I got that idea since, upon later reflection, I could not remember any significant dishes that I have eaten and enjoyed which highlighted dill. Nonetheless, I was sure I liked it. And based on that assurance, I chose a lemon dill sauce recipe to go with my broiled Hailbut steaks. I mixed the sauce and tasted it and didn't really love it, but couldn't figure out why. My general thought was, "It tastes funny." After a few more tastes and one good sniff of the dill jar, I decided the "funny" taste was nothing other than the dill. I added a little more mustard and lemon juice to the sauce and tasted again.
Better.
Another teaspoon of capers.
Better still.
Another shake of the white pepper.
Perfecto!
I am once again convinced that I like dill, just not too much of it!
Broiled Halibut with Lemon Dill Sauce
2-4 Halibut Steaks
olive oil
1/2 pint sour cream (I used the Tofutti non-dairy brand and it worked beautifully!)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 tsp tsp white pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 T fresh lemon juice
2 tsp capers
(*These are approximate quantities. If you try this, start with the smaller measurement and then adjust to taste)
Mix the sauce ingredients.
Brush the Halibut with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and broil on low for about 5 minutes per side.
Serve with sauce for dipping on the side.
This was my first time eating Halibut and I loved it! It is a white fish that flakes like salmon but is thicker and more dense. The flavor was mild, which I liked since I don't care for too much "fishy" taste. I definitely recommend it! In addition, the sauce above came out of one of my favorite cookbooks and was called a general fish sauce, so I think it would be a good compliment to just about any plain, broiled or grilled fish.
Enjoy!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Happy Lips
I lived in Southern CA for a full 22 years. For my first two years in Colorado, my skin seemed to retain some residual moisture from those 22 years. Then slowly, every year after that, my skin has started to become more and more dry. This year, my lips seem to have taken the hardest hit and have been in a perpetual state of CHAPPED since November. Mine were a very unhappy set of lips, despite some very creative efforts on my part to help them!
Having become slightly obsessed with making my own bath products over the last few weeks, I started following a blog with bath recipes and last weekend I tried a recipe for homemade Vanilla Butter Lip Balm. After a week of "test-driving", my lips are super excited to announce that this is completely wonderful stuff!
If you live in the Colorado Springs area, you can get all of these products at Vitamin Cottage (along with fun little tins or glass pots to put it in!) You can also order the ingredients and the containers on Brambleberry.com but the price of shipping makes it less cost effective.
Vanilla Butter Lip Balm
1 Tablespoon cocoa butter (shaved or cut into small pieces)
1 Tablespoon bees wax (shavings or pearls)
1 Tablespoon almond oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a liquid measuring cup with a pouring spout, melt the cocoa butter, wax and almond oil together, stirring occasionally.
- Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Pour into containers (depending on the size of your container, this will make 2-4 containers)
- Once it cools, it is extremely firm and so I have been drawing my finger nail across it to get a little clump and then rubbing that into my lips.
And finally, in celebration of a set of lips that are feeling very happy once again, I have a treat for you. When I was thinking about this blog entry, somewhere in the back of my nanny/babysitter/sunday-school-teaching/child-loving brain, I thought I remembered a Veggie Tales Silly Song about lips. I Google'd it and found what I remembered:
Silly Songs with Larry: I Love My Lips!
I know it might be a tiny bit dorky, but I love Veggie Tales! I promise, if you happen to be feeling at all grumpy at this moment, "I Love My Lips" will perk you right up! And it might inspire you to go make some lip balm and start singing I Love my Lips!
Having become slightly obsessed with making my own bath products over the last few weeks, I started following a blog with bath recipes and last weekend I tried a recipe for homemade Vanilla Butter Lip Balm. After a week of "test-driving", my lips are super excited to announce that this is completely wonderful stuff!
If you live in the Colorado Springs area, you can get all of these products at Vitamin Cottage (along with fun little tins or glass pots to put it in!) You can also order the ingredients and the containers on Brambleberry.com but the price of shipping makes it less cost effective.
Vanilla Butter Lip Balm
1 Tablespoon cocoa butter (shaved or cut into small pieces)
1 Tablespoon bees wax (shavings or pearls)
1 Tablespoon almond oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a liquid measuring cup with a pouring spout, melt the cocoa butter, wax and almond oil together, stirring occasionally.
- Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Pour into containers (depending on the size of your container, this will make 2-4 containers)
- Once it cools, it is extremely firm and so I have been drawing my finger nail across it to get a little clump and then rubbing that into my lips.
And finally, in celebration of a set of lips that are feeling very happy once again, I have a treat for you. When I was thinking about this blog entry, somewhere in the back of my nanny/babysitter/sunday-school-teaching/child-loving brain, I thought I remembered a Veggie Tales Silly Song about lips. I Google'd it and found what I remembered:
Silly Songs with Larry: I Love My Lips!
I know it might be a tiny bit dorky, but I love Veggie Tales! I promise, if you happen to be feeling at all grumpy at this moment, "I Love My Lips" will perk you right up! And it might inspire you to go make some lip balm and start singing I Love my Lips!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Mom's German Chocolate Cake
I really enjoy making cakes! However, as you can guess, a girl just doesn't need to be eating whole cakes by herself and even sharing with 4 other roommates leaves me eating more cake than is good for me. So... I don't get to make them that often. However, we do birthday parties at Coleson Foods and occasionally I get to make the cake for those. My all-time favorite work memory involved such a cake back in August. August is a shared birthday month for me and 3 other co-workers and I volunteered to make my favorite carrot cake. I did the whole thing from scratch, frosting and all and brought it in to work the following morning. However, I made one fatal error. I carried the tupperware cake carrier by the handle! I know, I know... One wouldn't think that this would be such an incredible mistake since handles are typically made for carrying. But right after I passed through the front door of our office at 6:45am, the top came loose and dumped my beautiful cake all over the floor. I shrieked which brought my supervisor, Steve, and our IT guy, Nathanael (who also get here as insanely early as I do) running. Nathanael took one look at the pile 'o cake and said, "I'm getting the forks!". He dashed off to the kitchen for 3 forks and Steve, he and I sat in a circle and ate my carrot cake off of the floor! What was tragic turned incredibly comical and we still laugh over that moment.
(By the time this photo was taken, we had already scooped most of it back onto the offending carrier...)
Skip forward several months... I have learned my lesson about cake carriers and I now faithfully carry from the bottom! Henceforth, the German Chocolate Cake I made last night was safely deposited in our office kitchen this morning and is dutifully awaiting our party at noon, as we speak. This was my dad's favorite birthday cake while I was growing up and I have not had it in years. I have fond memories of celebrating him with it though, so I wanted to share the recipe with you.
Mom's German Chocolate Cake
CAKE
4oz Baker's Sweet German baking chocolate
1/2 c. milk
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
4 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
1 sm. instant chocolate pudding
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
Melt chocolate in milk without boiling the milk. Cool. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add yolks one at a time, beating well after each. Blend in vanilla and chocolate. Sift together flour, pudding, soda & salt. Add this mixture into the batter alternately with the buttermilk, beating after each addition until smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter. Pour into 3 greased & floured 9-inch cake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool. Frost.
FROSTING
12 oz evaporated milk
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
4 egg yolks
3/4 c. butter
1 c. chopped pecans
2 c. shredded coconut
2 tsp. vanilla
In a pot, combine milk, sugars, egg yolks and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 12 minutes. Add pecans, coconut and vanilla. Cool.
This makes enough frosting to spread between the layers of the cakes and on top, but not to go around the sides. It is pretty rich so just between the layers was sufficient for me. But if you want to frost around the sides, you will need to increase the quantities.
(Also, this is the CA version of the recipe. To account for our crazy altitude here in CO, I increased the milk in the cake batter by 2T, increased the flour by 3T, decreased the baking soda to 3/4 tsp, decreased the sugar to 1 2/3 c. and increased the baking time by 10 minutes. I haven't eaten the cake yet so I can't confirm for certain that this worked, but the layers didn't "fall" in the centers, so I think these were appropriate adjustments)
Enjoy !
(By the time this photo was taken, we had already scooped most of it back onto the offending carrier...)
Skip forward several months... I have learned my lesson about cake carriers and I now faithfully carry from the bottom! Henceforth, the German Chocolate Cake I made last night was safely deposited in our office kitchen this morning and is dutifully awaiting our party at noon, as we speak. This was my dad's favorite birthday cake while I was growing up and I have not had it in years. I have fond memories of celebrating him with it though, so I wanted to share the recipe with you.
Mom's German Chocolate Cake
CAKE
4oz Baker's Sweet German baking chocolate
1/2 c. milk
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
4 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
1 sm. instant chocolate pudding
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
Melt chocolate in milk without boiling the milk. Cool. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add yolks one at a time, beating well after each. Blend in vanilla and chocolate. Sift together flour, pudding, soda & salt. Add this mixture into the batter alternately with the buttermilk, beating after each addition until smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter. Pour into 3 greased & floured 9-inch cake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool. Frost.
FROSTING
12 oz evaporated milk
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
4 egg yolks
3/4 c. butter
1 c. chopped pecans
2 c. shredded coconut
2 tsp. vanilla
In a pot, combine milk, sugars, egg yolks and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 12 minutes. Add pecans, coconut and vanilla. Cool.
This makes enough frosting to spread between the layers of the cakes and on top, but not to go around the sides. It is pretty rich so just between the layers was sufficient for me. But if you want to frost around the sides, you will need to increase the quantities.
(Also, this is the CA version of the recipe. To account for our crazy altitude here in CO, I increased the milk in the cake batter by 2T, increased the flour by 3T, decreased the baking soda to 3/4 tsp, decreased the sugar to 1 2/3 c. and increased the baking time by 10 minutes. I haven't eaten the cake yet so I can't confirm for certain that this worked, but the layers didn't "fall" in the centers, so I think these were appropriate adjustments)
Enjoy !
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Homemade Body Butter
Last night was glorious! And no, I was not out doing wild and crazy things with the rest of the single twenty-somethings in this city. I was home with a friend making my own body butter. I have mentioned this before, but I get really unusual levels of enjoyment over making things for myself and for the last several years, I have had strange, secret desires to make my own soap and lotion. In addition, I enjoy using products that are simple and natural and non-chemical when possible (with the exception of fabric softener - I just can NOT give up the beloved smell of Downy, no matter how toxic it might be!).
So a couple of weeks ago, Joni (who is also the one who introduced me to Port and Dark Chocolate, bless her!) sent me an email link to some simple instructions for making your own body butter cream and body butter bars. I got super excited and did a little research. A company called Brambleberry.com sold my supplies for relatively inexpensive so I ordered them, they arrived last week, and Joni and I parked ourselves in my kitchen last night to see if we could whip up a little magic. We ended up making body butter cream, body butter bars and lip butter/gloss. I will give you the instructions for just the cream in this post and will do the other recipes another day...
Supplies:
a food scale
a glass bowl
hand mixer with a whisk attachment
some kind of container for your cream - I used a glass canning jar and the recipe filled up 1 quart sized jar to the top
3 oz pure cocoa butter
6 oz pure shea butter
3 oz any liquid oil (I used almond oil, but you could use jojoba or probably even good olive oil)
- Weigh out the two butters, cut them into relatively uniform-sized pieces and melt them together in the glass bowl in the microwave, stirring occasionally. I did not write down the exact amount of time this took, but I am guessing it was close to 5-7 minutes.
- Once the mixture is entirely liquid, give it a quick whisk and then place it either in the freezer or in another larger bowl filled with ice water.
- If you wanted to add a fragrance or essential oil of some kind, you could do it here. However, the cocoa butter smells just like chocolate and I loved that, so I left it alone.
-Let the bowl sit for 5 minutes. Whisk for about a minute. Let it sit for another 5 minutes. Whisk again, etc. As the mixture cools, you will need to scrape down the side of the bowl before whisking.
Do not let the mixture cool too much before pouring it into your jars. I would recommend pouring when it is the consistency of thick cake batter. Joni and I learned this the hard way (or the amusing way, depending on which way you look at it). I was distracted by how pretty it looked while I was mixing and then suddenly it got really firm! This lead to an interesting process of us trying to use our hands to press it down into our jars. We got it everywhere and our hands were covered. What's the problem, you ask? Well, this is pretty rich stuff and a little goes a long way. We called my roommate down from upstairs for aid! She rolled up our pant legs and we tried to rub the excess into our legs. When there was still more that needed to be rubbed in somewhere, well... Lets just say my feet weren't the only thing that were bare in the kitchen last night!
One disclaimer: If you try this, do not expect the consistency of a body butter that you would buy at the store. This stuff does not have any preservatives and it does not contain an emulsifier (which would keep it creamy). Once it cools, it has the consistency of... Hmmm... What to compare it to??? Well, it is firm, but turns to liquid as soon as you rub your hands together. It goes on oily, and it does take a little bit to soak in. However, I woke up this morning with softer skin than I have had in a very long time. That said, this is probably more of a night cream than a day cream.
And that is the end of my Friday night story. The bars and the lip butter also turned out really well! More on those soon :)
So a couple of weeks ago, Joni (who is also the one who introduced me to Port and Dark Chocolate, bless her!) sent me an email link to some simple instructions for making your own body butter cream and body butter bars. I got super excited and did a little research. A company called Brambleberry.com sold my supplies for relatively inexpensive so I ordered them, they arrived last week, and Joni and I parked ourselves in my kitchen last night to see if we could whip up a little magic. We ended up making body butter cream, body butter bars and lip butter/gloss. I will give you the instructions for just the cream in this post and will do the other recipes another day...
Supplies:
a food scale
a glass bowl
hand mixer with a whisk attachment
some kind of container for your cream - I used a glass canning jar and the recipe filled up 1 quart sized jar to the top
3 oz pure cocoa butter
6 oz pure shea butter
3 oz any liquid oil (I used almond oil, but you could use jojoba or probably even good olive oil)
- Weigh out the two butters, cut them into relatively uniform-sized pieces and melt them together in the glass bowl in the microwave, stirring occasionally. I did not write down the exact amount of time this took, but I am guessing it was close to 5-7 minutes.
- Once the mixture is entirely liquid, give it a quick whisk and then place it either in the freezer or in another larger bowl filled with ice water.
- If you wanted to add a fragrance or essential oil of some kind, you could do it here. However, the cocoa butter smells just like chocolate and I loved that, so I left it alone.
-Let the bowl sit for 5 minutes. Whisk for about a minute. Let it sit for another 5 minutes. Whisk again, etc. As the mixture cools, you will need to scrape down the side of the bowl before whisking.
Do not let the mixture cool too much before pouring it into your jars. I would recommend pouring when it is the consistency of thick cake batter. Joni and I learned this the hard way (or the amusing way, depending on which way you look at it). I was distracted by how pretty it looked while I was mixing and then suddenly it got really firm! This lead to an interesting process of us trying to use our hands to press it down into our jars. We got it everywhere and our hands were covered. What's the problem, you ask? Well, this is pretty rich stuff and a little goes a long way. We called my roommate down from upstairs for aid! She rolled up our pant legs and we tried to rub the excess into our legs. When there was still more that needed to be rubbed in somewhere, well... Lets just say my feet weren't the only thing that were bare in the kitchen last night!
One disclaimer: If you try this, do not expect the consistency of a body butter that you would buy at the store. This stuff does not have any preservatives and it does not contain an emulsifier (which would keep it creamy). Once it cools, it has the consistency of... Hmmm... What to compare it to??? Well, it is firm, but turns to liquid as soon as you rub your hands together. It goes on oily, and it does take a little bit to soak in. However, I woke up this morning with softer skin than I have had in a very long time. That said, this is probably more of a night cream than a day cream.
And that is the end of my Friday night story. The bars and the lip butter also turned out really well! More on those soon :)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The kitchen sneaks into my bathroom...
I had a friend over on Monday night and a conversation occurred that I have often. We were visiting in the living room in my basement and she asked to use my bathroom. Upon exiting the bathroom, she looked super puzzled. "Jenny, WHY do you have honey in your shower?" I gave her my standard and very enthusiastic reply and I am pretty sure I made another convert. (I have several walking around out there!) Upon later reflection, realized I have several trusty kitchen products in my bathroom. I thought I would share with you all a few new uses for stuff in your pantry.
DISCLAIMER: This stuff works for me in a Colorado (7K feet above sea level and so dry it sucks all the moisture out of your skin) climate. I have no idea how it would work for those of you who live in other places where the climate is kinder to your skin...
- HONEY: Yes, I keep honey in my shower and I wash my face with it every morning. I started doing this about 3-4 years ago when a friend gave me an article that described honey as a natural face cleanser because of its moisturizing and anti-microbial properties. It is not nearly as messy as you might imagine as it rinses off easily with warm water. Occasionally in the evenings if I have time, I will put it on my face dry and let it sit for 15-20 minutes like a mask. Otherwise I just wet my face, rub it on, smack my lips a little bit to enjoy the taste, and then rinse. Pretty much any form of soap makes my face really dry, so this is a happy and inexpensive option for me.
- OLIVE OIL: I also keep a little jar of extra virgin olive oil in my drawer near the sink and I use it in several ways. In the shower, I will mix it with a little SUGAR(which is also in a tub in the drawer) and exfoiliate with that mix. Or I might rub a little onto my skin before drying off. It makes a wonderful moisturizer and soaks in beautifully. I also mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with castor oil (found in the pharmacy section at a walmart/target or at a natural foods store) and use that as a cleanser on my face in the evenings. I know it sounds counter-intuitive to wash your face with an oil, but again, I read an article, was intrigued, tried it and have been really happy with the results. If you would like to read this article, see the link below. You might be surprised how much sense it makes.
Oil-Cleansing Method
- BAKING SODA: I have a little tub of this in the drawer too and use it on canker sores or blemishes. It can be a little tricky to get this in your mouth if you have a canker sore and it will hurt like the dickens and make you dance around and whimper! But it will take care of that darn canker sore within a day or two and I for one would rather have a few minutes of dancing and squealing as opposed to the longer option of letting it do its thing naturally. With blemishes, I will make a little paste and use it before bed. However, I don't recommend doing that for more than two days in a row on one spot because it will start to irritate the skin.
I think that is all my tips for now. If I stumble across more, I will let you all know.
Happy Friday Eve!
DISCLAIMER: This stuff works for me in a Colorado (7K feet above sea level and so dry it sucks all the moisture out of your skin) climate. I have no idea how it would work for those of you who live in other places where the climate is kinder to your skin...
- HONEY: Yes, I keep honey in my shower and I wash my face with it every morning. I started doing this about 3-4 years ago when a friend gave me an article that described honey as a natural face cleanser because of its moisturizing and anti-microbial properties. It is not nearly as messy as you might imagine as it rinses off easily with warm water. Occasionally in the evenings if I have time, I will put it on my face dry and let it sit for 15-20 minutes like a mask. Otherwise I just wet my face, rub it on, smack my lips a little bit to enjoy the taste, and then rinse. Pretty much any form of soap makes my face really dry, so this is a happy and inexpensive option for me.
- OLIVE OIL: I also keep a little jar of extra virgin olive oil in my drawer near the sink and I use it in several ways. In the shower, I will mix it with a little SUGAR(which is also in a tub in the drawer) and exfoiliate with that mix. Or I might rub a little onto my skin before drying off. It makes a wonderful moisturizer and soaks in beautifully. I also mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with castor oil (found in the pharmacy section at a walmart/target or at a natural foods store) and use that as a cleanser on my face in the evenings. I know it sounds counter-intuitive to wash your face with an oil, but again, I read an article, was intrigued, tried it and have been really happy with the results. If you would like to read this article, see the link below. You might be surprised how much sense it makes.
Oil-Cleansing Method
- BAKING SODA: I have a little tub of this in the drawer too and use it on canker sores or blemishes. It can be a little tricky to get this in your mouth if you have a canker sore and it will hurt like the dickens and make you dance around and whimper! But it will take care of that darn canker sore within a day or two and I for one would rather have a few minutes of dancing and squealing as opposed to the longer option of letting it do its thing naturally. With blemishes, I will make a little paste and use it before bed. However, I don't recommend doing that for more than two days in a row on one spot because it will start to irritate the skin.
I think that is all my tips for now. If I stumble across more, I will let you all know.
Happy Friday Eve!
Monday, January 18, 2010
P.S.
The bread turned out YUMMY! My expectations were pretty low because gluten-free bread is gluten free and most of it is, in my opinion, not worth eating. However, my favorite bakery for buying a decent version was closed today for the holiday so I bought a mix that I had heard was good. The best part was that it made my house smell wonderful, just like real bread.
Pamela's Wheat & Gluten Free Bread Mix
(I bought my package at Vitamin Cottage. Next time I will go ahead and buy the 6-pack on Amazon as it is a little cheaper)
Yay for bread! I am happy enough to include a picture of me posing proudly with my loaf and another where I might have gotten a little carried away in my glee :)
Pamela's Wheat & Gluten Free Bread Mix
(I bought my package at Vitamin Cottage. Next time I will go ahead and buy the 6-pack on Amazon as it is a little cheaper)
Yay for bread! I am happy enough to include a picture of me posing proudly with my loaf and another where I might have gotten a little carried away in my glee :)
Feeling Chatty...
So, I don't really have any new food adventures to share (although my very first gluten-free loaf of bread is in the oven as we speak!), but I am feeling chatty and two delightful things just happened. No one is physically around to share them with so you all get to hear them. They are pretty small things and will probably lose some of their delightfulness when I try to write them down, but nonetheless, here they are...
I was out enjoying a glorious "its-winter-but-I'm-going-to-tease-you-and-pretend-it-is-spring" Colorado afternoon on a trail that runs through a gully out behind my neighborhood. My pace was alternately jogging (I know, its shocking!), walking and picking my way through the mud. I was gingerly making my way through a very muddy patch and, since I hadn't seen a single person in 45 minutes, was also singing along with my iPod to the country song, 99% Sure I've Never Been Here Before. I was at the particularly fun "ninety-nine point, ninety-nine point, na-na-NA-na-NA-na-na" part when I glanced up and saw a father and his son watching me and looking extremely amused! Sigh... Its a good thing I have learned to laugh at myself!
Then a little bit later I was nearly back to my house and was walking by the little neighborhood park at the end of our street and I saw a little boy climbing on some of the equipment. He looked to be about 4 years old and he was completely decked out in a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads and shin guards! I almost laughed out loud when I saw him and I am laughing out loud while I write this. Poor kid! The thing is, I have a lurking suspicion that I would be capable of doing the same thing to my poor unborn children. Lord help them! Hopefully many of you will still know me someday when I have kids. Please smack me upside the head if I send them to the playground in full body armor. I am giving you permission ahead of time!
Thats all. Today has been a particularly nice day and it is nice to find enjoyment in simple things. I know a couple of you reading this do the gluten-free thing, so I will let you know how this bread turns out!
I was out enjoying a glorious "its-winter-but-I'm-going-to-tease-you-and-pretend-it-is-spring" Colorado afternoon on a trail that runs through a gully out behind my neighborhood. My pace was alternately jogging (I know, its shocking!), walking and picking my way through the mud. I was gingerly making my way through a very muddy patch and, since I hadn't seen a single person in 45 minutes, was also singing along with my iPod to the country song, 99% Sure I've Never Been Here Before. I was at the particularly fun "ninety-nine point, ninety-nine point, na-na-NA-na-NA-na-na" part when I glanced up and saw a father and his son watching me and looking extremely amused! Sigh... Its a good thing I have learned to laugh at myself!
Then a little bit later I was nearly back to my house and was walking by the little neighborhood park at the end of our street and I saw a little boy climbing on some of the equipment. He looked to be about 4 years old and he was completely decked out in a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads and shin guards! I almost laughed out loud when I saw him and I am laughing out loud while I write this. Poor kid! The thing is, I have a lurking suspicion that I would be capable of doing the same thing to my poor unborn children. Lord help them! Hopefully many of you will still know me someday when I have kids. Please smack me upside the head if I send them to the playground in full body armor. I am giving you permission ahead of time!
Thats all. Today has been a particularly nice day and it is nice to find enjoyment in simple things. I know a couple of you reading this do the gluten-free thing, so I will let you know how this bread turns out!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Thai Coconut Sticky Rice
I got to have dinner with my sweet roommate, Samantha this past Wednesday night. She had a coupon for a local Thai place where if you spent $35, you got $25 off (so $5 bucks each is a great deal for dinner). The funny part was that I think the most expensive item on the menu was $7 so it was a stretch for she and I to come up with a $35 tab! The result of our efforts was a completely gluttonous (is that a word??) Thai feast including soup and appetizers and an entree and drinks and dessert (and ice cream to go for her parents). The dessert we chose was a Coconut Sticky Rice with fresh mango. I am not usually a huge fan of coconut milk, unless it is combined with curry (in which case I get SUPER excited!). However, something about this dish totally worked and I was hooked after the first bite! My mind went where it usually goes: "I bet I can make this" so I spent my lunch breaks this week researching sweet, sticky rice recipes online.
And now, here is my recommendation for the your weekend (I know... I am not giving you very much notice since it is already Saturday night!). Go to the closest grocery store, buy a bag of sushi rice (sometimes called sticky rice), a can of coconut milk and a nice, ripe mango. Get home as quickly as possible and continue with the following instructions:
- Cook 1 cup of the sticky rice according to package directions.
- Simultaneously, bring 3/4 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 tsp salt to a boil.
- Once the rice has cooked, combine it with the coconut milk mixture and put the whole thing in a covered bowl on the counter for about an hour to cool. I think this dish is technically supposed to be served at room temperature. But if you just can't wait, you could technically break the rules and eat it warm.
- While the rice is cooling, put another 1/2 cup coconut milk in the pan with 1 tsp of sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, a dash of vanilla and just under 1 Tablespoon of Tapioca starch (I didn't have any of this and used corn starch, which worked fine). Heat until it thickens.
- Put rice in bowls, add chopped mango, drizzle your sauce on top and sit yourself down to properly savor this treat!
(Side note: The recipe called for toasted sesame seeds to sprinkle on top, but I did not have any and did not want to spend $8 on a large jar at the store. I may try to find a smaller container of them for next time...)
Hope you enjoy a lovely weekend!
And now, here is my recommendation for the your weekend (I know... I am not giving you very much notice since it is already Saturday night!). Go to the closest grocery store, buy a bag of sushi rice (sometimes called sticky rice), a can of coconut milk and a nice, ripe mango. Get home as quickly as possible and continue with the following instructions:
- Cook 1 cup of the sticky rice according to package directions.
- Simultaneously, bring 3/4 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 tsp salt to a boil.
- Once the rice has cooked, combine it with the coconut milk mixture and put the whole thing in a covered bowl on the counter for about an hour to cool. I think this dish is technically supposed to be served at room temperature. But if you just can't wait, you could technically break the rules and eat it warm.
- While the rice is cooling, put another 1/2 cup coconut milk in the pan with 1 tsp of sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, a dash of vanilla and just under 1 Tablespoon of Tapioca starch (I didn't have any of this and used corn starch, which worked fine). Heat until it thickens.
- Put rice in bowls, add chopped mango, drizzle your sauce on top and sit yourself down to properly savor this treat!
(Side note: The recipe called for toasted sesame seeds to sprinkle on top, but I did not have any and did not want to spend $8 on a large jar at the store. I may try to find a smaller container of them for next time...)
Hope you enjoy a lovely weekend!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Lemon Poppy Seed Yumminess
If I want my body to remain on speaking terms with me, I have to keep my wheat/gluten consumption to a minimum. This is rather inconvenient for someone who loves dessert (hence my totally irrational excitement over the discovery of dark chocolate and port!). Not long after I started this blog, I found another, much fancier, food blog done by a woman whose name I don't know. I have quickly become a fan. This past weekend, she posted a recipe for a Lemon Poppy Seed cake. I immediately noticed that the entire cake recipe calls for only 1/2 cup of flour. My dessert-loving antenna perked right up and I tried the recipe this evening. Delicious! If lemon cake and lemon pudding were to meet and fall in love and get married, this cake would be their baby. It is a super strange recipe on all fronts: very little flour or sugar, but a whole 1/2 cup of corn starch and 8 egg yolks! The texture is surprisingly "light", but also strangely creamy. I am going to direct you to this lady's blog (so long as you promise to still read mine) for the recipe and instructions:
Smitten Kitchen: Poppy Seed Lemon Cake
If you decide to try it, here are a few things that I found:
- At first the idea of using nearly a whole dozen eggs (and just their yolks at that) almost made me abandon ship. But then I decided that a dozen eggs cost about $2 and so even if I did waste all those egg whites, it wasn't really that big of a deal. Then this afternoon, I learned that egg whites can be frozen. I am not sure that I will ever use them, but I did freeze little baggies of 2 egg whites each for future use...
- I do not have a tube pan and really dislike trying to grease bundt pans with all those little ridges, so I just used a 9in x 9in brownie pan. I still greased and floured the dish and turned it over to serve the finished square cake by itself (instead of serving it out of the pan like brownies).
- I bought the poppy seeds in the baking section at the grocery store. The little $2.99 container was just shy of a 1/2 cup.
- She says to grease a sheet of foil and cover the dish while baking. I did this but the cake still stuck to the foil when it rose and I ended up just taking it off for the last 20 minutes of cooking.
- I don't know if this is a funky Colorado elevation thing or just the fact that I used a different kind of pan, but she cooked her cake for 40 minutes and it took mine an hour and 20 minutes. I judged it as done when the middle stopped jiggling and the edges were light brown and starting to pull away from the edges.
- Lastly, once the cake had cooled a tiny bit, I dusted it with powdered sugar on top. My mom used to have this funny little metal cup with a mesh bottom and you turned a handle to sift powdered sugar out. I don't have anything like that but I do have a wire mesh strainer. I put the powdered sugar in that and lightly tapped the side to let the powdered sugar dust come out the bottom. I felt just like Marmie in Little Women (the movie) in the scene where it is Christmas and they are in the kitchen and Meg and Jo are arguing about whether Meg should marry John Brooks or not. While they are talking, Marmie is dusting this cake with powdered sugar just the same way I did it. That was a nice, domestic moment for me: dusting my cake and feeling like Marmie in Little Women!
If you try this one, let me know if you enjoy it!
Smitten Kitchen: Poppy Seed Lemon Cake
If you decide to try it, here are a few things that I found:
- At first the idea of using nearly a whole dozen eggs (and just their yolks at that) almost made me abandon ship. But then I decided that a dozen eggs cost about $2 and so even if I did waste all those egg whites, it wasn't really that big of a deal. Then this afternoon, I learned that egg whites can be frozen. I am not sure that I will ever use them, but I did freeze little baggies of 2 egg whites each for future use...
- I do not have a tube pan and really dislike trying to grease bundt pans with all those little ridges, so I just used a 9in x 9in brownie pan. I still greased and floured the dish and turned it over to serve the finished square cake by itself (instead of serving it out of the pan like brownies).
- I bought the poppy seeds in the baking section at the grocery store. The little $2.99 container was just shy of a 1/2 cup.
- She says to grease a sheet of foil and cover the dish while baking. I did this but the cake still stuck to the foil when it rose and I ended up just taking it off for the last 20 minutes of cooking.
- I don't know if this is a funky Colorado elevation thing or just the fact that I used a different kind of pan, but she cooked her cake for 40 minutes and it took mine an hour and 20 minutes. I judged it as done when the middle stopped jiggling and the edges were light brown and starting to pull away from the edges.
- Lastly, once the cake had cooled a tiny bit, I dusted it with powdered sugar on top. My mom used to have this funny little metal cup with a mesh bottom and you turned a handle to sift powdered sugar out. I don't have anything like that but I do have a wire mesh strainer. I put the powdered sugar in that and lightly tapped the side to let the powdered sugar dust come out the bottom. I felt just like Marmie in Little Women (the movie) in the scene where it is Christmas and they are in the kitchen and Meg and Jo are arguing about whether Meg should marry John Brooks or not. While they are talking, Marmie is dusting this cake with powdered sugar just the same way I did it. That was a nice, domestic moment for me: dusting my cake and feeling like Marmie in Little Women!
If you try this one, let me know if you enjoy it!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A New Favorite Thing!
Well... The end of the holiday season found me in possession of two new and unexpected gifts: 4 Filet Mignon Steaks and a bottle of Port. As previously discussed, cooking red meat intimidates the heck out of me and Filet Mignon was no exception. If anything, knowing it is an expensive cut of meat made me more nervous because if I "killed" it, I would feel like I wasted something really precious. As far as Port, I had heard of it, but had no idea what it tasted like or if I would like it. I had, however, seen it as an ingredient in several recipes so I did some homework to see what would happen if I put the Filet Mignon and the Port together...
I found a Filet Mignon recipe with a Port Wine Mushroom sauce. If you are anything like me, you read that and thought !!YUM!! So I made plans to cook my fancy meal this past Monday evening. The Filet Mignon turned out wonderful, the sauce was "so-so".
1. After reading up about how to cook those fancy-schmancy little steaks, I found several sources that recommended simply cooking them in a pan with a little olive oil over a high heat for a short period of time. Apparently overcooking filet mignon is considered a travesty so I heated the oil almost to the smoking point and then put my little steaks in the pan for 3 minutes on each side. I then let them sit for another 3 minutes with the pan covered but removed from the heat. They turned out delicious!
2. The sauce was very simple: Shallots, garlic, wild mushrooms, a pinch of sugar, salt & pepper sauteed in a little olive oil. Then you add a cup of the Port and boil for a few minutes and then 3 cups of chicken broth and boil for another 1/2 hour. The flavor was good but the sauce did not thicken at all so it was like pouring soup over my steak. I also thought that it would have tasted just as good with some white wine or sherry. Which brings me to point # 3.
3. I mentioned my bottle of Port to a co-worker and she told me that the proper way to consume Port is to sip it while nibbling Dark Chocolate. It just so happened that I had some Dove Dark Chocolate and so I poured myself a tiny glass and sipped and nibbled while cooking my meal (And I might add, felt very sophisticated while I was doing it!). Well... No sooner had I started sipping and nibbling, then I greatly regretted putting a whole cup of that lovely Port in my sauce! The Port and the dark chocolate together were completely wonderful and in a strange way, more satisfying to me than a whole piece of cake or other traditional dessert would have been.
So the moral of this story is: If you find yourself in possession of a bottle of Port, save it for sipping and dark chocolate nibbling and just use wine or sherry in your dinner sauce!
I found a Filet Mignon recipe with a Port Wine Mushroom sauce. If you are anything like me, you read that and thought !!YUM!! So I made plans to cook my fancy meal this past Monday evening. The Filet Mignon turned out wonderful, the sauce was "so-so".
1. After reading up about how to cook those fancy-schmancy little steaks, I found several sources that recommended simply cooking them in a pan with a little olive oil over a high heat for a short period of time. Apparently overcooking filet mignon is considered a travesty so I heated the oil almost to the smoking point and then put my little steaks in the pan for 3 minutes on each side. I then let them sit for another 3 minutes with the pan covered but removed from the heat. They turned out delicious!
2. The sauce was very simple: Shallots, garlic, wild mushrooms, a pinch of sugar, salt & pepper sauteed in a little olive oil. Then you add a cup of the Port and boil for a few minutes and then 3 cups of chicken broth and boil for another 1/2 hour. The flavor was good but the sauce did not thicken at all so it was like pouring soup over my steak. I also thought that it would have tasted just as good with some white wine or sherry. Which brings me to point # 3.
3. I mentioned my bottle of Port to a co-worker and she told me that the proper way to consume Port is to sip it while nibbling Dark Chocolate. It just so happened that I had some Dove Dark Chocolate and so I poured myself a tiny glass and sipped and nibbled while cooking my meal (And I might add, felt very sophisticated while I was doing it!). Well... No sooner had I started sipping and nibbling, then I greatly regretted putting a whole cup of that lovely Port in my sauce! The Port and the dark chocolate together were completely wonderful and in a strange way, more satisfying to me than a whole piece of cake or other traditional dessert would have been.
So the moral of this story is: If you find yourself in possession of a bottle of Port, save it for sipping and dark chocolate nibbling and just use wine or sherry in your dinner sauce!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year & Spicy Caramel Popcorn
Happy New Year Loved Ones!
It is 5pm and I confess it feels like it should be lunch time. I guess that is what happens when you get out of bed around noon and eat "breakfast" at 1:30pm! I actually woke up much earlier but enjoyed a couple hours in bed with my journal and a cup of coffee, celebrating the first part of 2010 with Jesus. I really love the beginning of a a new year and the sense of expectation in my heart.
However, the rest of the day has been sheer laziness, watching movies in my PJ's with two of my sweet roommates. We decided to break for snacks about 1/2 an hour ago and we descended on the kitchen to come up with something special. Samantha is finishing up some spring rolls as we speak and I made a bowl of Spicy Caramel Popcorn for dessert. I found this recipe over the weekend on another cooking blog that I just started following. It is a nice, unexpected twist on normal caramel corn with a tasty mixture of sweet, salty and spicy. Hope you enjoy!
Spicy Caramel Popcorn
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
2 cups salted peanuts (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups sugar
3 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup water
- My roommates and I have 3 different kinds of popcorn makers: oil popper (WOW, I just found a typo! I originally typed "oil pooper! How funny!), air popper and microwave popper. If you have something like this, just pop the popcorn that way. If not, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat in a pot with a lid. Add the popcorn, fit the lid and keep the pot moving until all the kernels have popped (or pooped, whichever way you prefer to look at it) Set aside in a bowl and toss with peanuts, if using.
- In a small bowl, mix the baking soda and cayenne pepper
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, salt and water. Cook over high heat, without stirring, until the mixture becomes a light, golden brown caramel color. (I found it incredibly difficult not to stir! The mixture practically begged me to participate in its golden, bubbly loveliness by stirring. I don't know why these instructions say not to, but other than dipping my spoon in there once because I just couldn't resist, I obeyed and did not stir)
- Remove caramel from heat and wisk in baking soda/pepper mixture. It will foam up a bit.
- Immediately pour over popcorn and toss.
- Spread caramel corn onto two baking sheets and allow to cool. As it cools, separate into smaller chunks.
- TIP: The recipe I used advised coating the bowl, spoons and baking sheets with a light layer of non-stick cooking spray. This was very helpful when handling the popcorn.
*P.S. I apologize for the "pooping" comments on step one if that grosses you out. I made that first typo and then every time I wrote the word "pop", I would start to giggle thinking about "poop" and I guess I am a little loopy today!
It is 5pm and I confess it feels like it should be lunch time. I guess that is what happens when you get out of bed around noon and eat "breakfast" at 1:30pm! I actually woke up much earlier but enjoyed a couple hours in bed with my journal and a cup of coffee, celebrating the first part of 2010 with Jesus. I really love the beginning of a a new year and the sense of expectation in my heart.
However, the rest of the day has been sheer laziness, watching movies in my PJ's with two of my sweet roommates. We decided to break for snacks about 1/2 an hour ago and we descended on the kitchen to come up with something special. Samantha is finishing up some spring rolls as we speak and I made a bowl of Spicy Caramel Popcorn for dessert. I found this recipe over the weekend on another cooking blog that I just started following. It is a nice, unexpected twist on normal caramel corn with a tasty mixture of sweet, salty and spicy. Hope you enjoy!
Spicy Caramel Popcorn
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
2 cups salted peanuts (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups sugar
3 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup water
- My roommates and I have 3 different kinds of popcorn makers: oil popper (WOW, I just found a typo! I originally typed "oil pooper! How funny!), air popper and microwave popper. If you have something like this, just pop the popcorn that way. If not, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat in a pot with a lid. Add the popcorn, fit the lid and keep the pot moving until all the kernels have popped (or pooped, whichever way you prefer to look at it) Set aside in a bowl and toss with peanuts, if using.
- In a small bowl, mix the baking soda and cayenne pepper
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, salt and water. Cook over high heat, without stirring, until the mixture becomes a light, golden brown caramel color. (I found it incredibly difficult not to stir! The mixture practically begged me to participate in its golden, bubbly loveliness by stirring. I don't know why these instructions say not to, but other than dipping my spoon in there once because I just couldn't resist, I obeyed and did not stir)
- Remove caramel from heat and wisk in baking soda/pepper mixture. It will foam up a bit.
- Immediately pour over popcorn and toss.
- Spread caramel corn onto two baking sheets and allow to cool. As it cools, separate into smaller chunks.
- TIP: The recipe I used advised coating the bowl, spoons and baking sheets with a light layer of non-stick cooking spray. This was very helpful when handling the popcorn.
*P.S. I apologize for the "pooping" comments on step one if that grosses you out. I made that first typo and then every time I wrote the word "pop", I would start to giggle thinking about "poop" and I guess I am a little loopy today!
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