tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63771390998412419272024-02-19T18:07:09.740-05:00What's For Dinner?What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-47522225251306018532014-03-04T11:08:00.002-05:002014-03-04T11:08:42.001-05:00Glass Menagerie<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Words well up in my throat until I am choking on choking them back. What are these - Words? How do they reach? How far the divide? Screaming inside a glass box. On display, unreal; a parody of myself. Who I am inside, not ever who I am outside, always I try. Always I try... to make the world see me through my lips moving, </span><br />
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But they look with eyes, and no heart. Your eyes can't see you need your heart. Words well up. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of nouns and verbs; of tense. I rearrange I rephrase I start again, again. I am no closer I have not even begun to begin. I run from words I run from pens. They chase me down, no that's not true. They chase me from within, they hide in my brain. I can't escape words, words can't escape me. I lay them bare, to see; ugly and real, under fluorescent light, nothing incandescent to shade the eye. No relief from the things I see, no relief from the things I speak. I am town crier dirty and wild. You don't want to see the things I see, I lay them bare and ugly but still make them pretty. They come to me when they are not these. When they are ugly demeaning demanding useless little things. </div>
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What is a life, what is connection. We speak all these sounds, these consonants these vowels. We make pretty as we play at communication. We hear, we speak, but we do not see. What makes it a word and what makes you understand it? What makes an attraction, and how will you define it? </div>
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I am broken by the physicality of our intentions. I am broken by the physicality that does not match my intentions. I am broken by the physicality it was not what I intended. If how you feel is always words words talking but with no meaning. Why do you persist? We are running so fast, so fast, so fast to nowhere. We are saying, saying so much of nothing. We are trying trying to reach out our hands. We reach we grab but we do not grasp. What is in a life, and how does it find its connection. What attracts a life to other lives and how does your life define your connection? What do you look for and how do you find it? Is it in the eye, the mind, the heart the mouth? Does it come up from your bowels to your softly parted lips, regurgitating the sound? I house all of my beauty deep within me. I leave all of my ugliness outside to draw life away from me. I am camouflage I blend in fully. I do not want to be seen so intimately. I live my life in fairy tales, in whimsy. I smile and engage outwardly while dancing within me. In my glass box display I am a curiosity. A museum piece. A conversation starter. The eyes poking at me dissecting me while mouths mouth sounds mouthily. I see the lips moving pursing popping oohing. I hear the tongues wagging clacking. The teeth they dance, not touching then touching, touching then not touching, fighting and snapping biting and snatching, </div>
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and still I look down into the truth of things.<div>
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Don't come any closer to this box. I'm screaming loudly, I cannot stop. I see the truth but I'm too tired to speak it. I've said and said and now I forget. We are not wonderful lovely or loving. We are not kind or open or nurturing. We are not supportive supporting by being. We are cruel and superficial, we lie about our meanings. So what are words but a tool to deceive? If they are a tool why choose to believe? I can say anything and make it the truth, I can weave my story over and over, removing and adding, cutting and editing, moving and shaping life lived into a life of dreams. Am I dreaming or am I speaking? Am I in the box or is the box in me? Have I become so detached that I can again be with/in me? Is the box my body and am I the thing inside it? If I leave it how will you find me? </div>
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I am wasting away to nothing subsisting on eating my own words, but I don't make enough words to live on. </div>
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If I detach the two pieces of myself will I be permanently un-grounded? Floating always outside myself only connected by the pain of my self. Only connected by the pain. Only connected by the pain, my self, ballooning up. Only a balloon of myself floating above myself. Only connected by the pain, my self ballooning up. Only a balloon, my self, ballooning up this string thrumming the length of me to the hand tightly grasping resisting me pulling away. Detaching the two pieces of myself I become un-grounded floating outside myself only connected by the pain my self ballooning up this string thrumming the length to the hand tightly grasping not letting me float fully away. My physicality is breaking me apart. Too weighed down, too burdened I lose my lightness of being. I lose my sense of being. I lose what it means; being. I am broken with nowhere to turn for relief, for repair. I am broken and alone in my mind. What are the words? What are the words that mean what I'm saying? What are the words that feel what I'm feeling? I am losing words. I am losing. I am losing what it means to be me.</div>
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What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-65371333316211002372011-01-25T23:12:00.001-05:002011-01-27T18:32:03.988-05:00Holy Gratin! Don't pass this up. You need it in your life.Um. I feel really bad guys. I was supposed to be showing you this amazing picture of this amazing sweet potato and swiss chard gratin that I made yesterday. But see..the thing is... We kind of already ate it. All of it. In like-less than 24 hours.<br />
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But that's okay because you can head over to <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/11/swiss-chard-and-sweet-potato-gratin/">Smitten Kitchen</a> and see her pics that are like ten times better than mine would have been anyway. Also there is a cute cute CUTE baby. Did you see him? OMG. Perfect, right? Those eyes. Delicious! And the Gratin? It was like-there are no words. You have to make it. It has gruyere and a bechamel sauce. Guys. Don't make me spell this out for you go to the store. Pick up sweet potatoes, swiss chard, heavy cream and gruyere. I know you already have nutmeg. I know. I know you have some italian flat leaf parsley waiting for you to use it all up before it wilts. Thyme? Come on. This is child's play. I'm trying to rock your world here. Healthy, creamy veggie goodness. DO IT. Come on, DO IT. What are you waiting for?<br />
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This was pulled ver batim from her website ( hope she doesn't mind!) because I cannot match the amazing adorableness contained within (i mean yam-yam?) seriously? SO CUTE AHHH!<br />
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(<b>Deb's-</b> what is my obsession with food bloggers by the name of DEB?-) <br />
<b>"<span style="color: #e06666;">Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Gratin</span><span style="color: black;">"</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666;">I won’t lie, Swiss chard can be a real pain to prep, what with the rib-separation and rendering of unfathomable volumes down to a few measly cups of cooked greens. I like to chop, wash and dry mine the day before, but if you’re especially in a rush, I see no reason you can’t swap pre-washed (3 pounds) or even frozen spinach (about 5 to 6 cups). I also don’t see why you can’t swap the sweet potato for thin slices of butternut squash but then you will have less of an exuse to say “yam-yam” to the baby over and over again until he laughs.</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">Finally, if my gratin looks a little “wet” to you, don’t worry, yours — providing you squeeze your greens out well — should not. I just mindlessly baked mine for half the time covered with foil which is not a bad idea for all-potato gratins, not drying enough for greens.</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">Serves 12</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) butter<br />
1 small onion, finely chopped<br />
3 pounds Swiss chard, leaves and stems separated and both cut into 1-inch pieces<br />
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg<br />
2 cups heavy cream or whole milk<br />
2 garlic cloves, minced<br />
2 tablespoons flour<br />
2 pounds medium red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick rounds<br />
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley<br />
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme<br />
Fine sea salt<br />
Freshly ground black pepper<br />
1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) coarsely grated Gruyére cheese</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">Prep greens: Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter in a wide 8-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add chard stems, pinch of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender but not browned, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to moderately high and add chard leaves by large handfuls, stirring, until all greens are wilted. Season with salt and pepper then transfer greens to a colander to drain well and press out liquid with back of a large spoon.</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">Make sauce: Combine cream or milk and garlic in small saucepan; bring to simmer; keep warm. Melt two tablespoons butter in a medium heavy saucepan over moderate heat and stir in flour. Cook roux, whisking, one minute, then slowly whisk in warm cream/milk and boil, whisking, one minute. Season sauce with salt and pepper.</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">Assemble gratin: Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter deep 9×13 baking dish. Spread half of sweet potatoes in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, a quarter of the herbs and a 1/4 cup of the cheese. Distribute half of the greens mixture over the cheese, then sprinkle salt, pepper, a quarter of the herbs and 1/4 cup of the cheese over it. Pour half of bechamel sauce over the first two layers then continue with the remaining sweet potatoes, more salt, pepper, herbs and cheese and then the remaining greens, salt, pepper and herbs. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the gratin, pressing the vegetables slightly to ensure that they are as submerged as possible. Sprinkle with the last 1/4 cup of cheese.</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">Bake gratin for about 1 hour until golden and bubbly, and most of the liquid is absorbed. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. </span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;"><b>Do ahead:</b> You can make the entire gratin but not bake it up to a day in advance and keep it in the fridge. You can also make and bake the gratin and reheat it. Gratins reheat well, but they take almost as much time to gently heat through as they do to bake in the first place, especially deep ones like this. As for reheating, already baked and frozen, I will find out very soon! But I am near-positive it will be fine.</span><br />
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And Finally I want to extend an apology to my amazing friend Emily who told me about this recipe weeks ago when I first started my food blog for waiting so long to make this amazing yummy comforting awesomeness. I am a douche. You were right. This is a gamechanger. C wants me to make it every week for an indefinite amount of time. I'm going to the market tomorrow to pick up more ingredients.<br />
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Post comments when you've had a chance to try this! And go visit deb over at <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/">Smitten Kitchen</a> for more delicious food and snapshots of that adorable BABYYY *drool*What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-15481492052007832712011-01-20T14:29:00.003-05:002011-01-23T10:50:33.534-05:00Holy Fucking Shit! These cookies ARE GOOD! [Update-European conversions added!]Okay, have you ever been to Debbie Koenig's blog <a href="http://wordstoeatby.blogspot.com/">words to eat by</a>? It's amazing. You should look at it. Go <a href="http://wordstoeatby.blogspot.com/">now</a>. Did you go? Amazing right? I told you so.<br />
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So C and I love chocolate chip cookies. Like we could eat them EVERY DAY. With whole milk. Because we are fatties. Did I mention that we LOVE C.C.Cookies!!! Debbie has these ahhh-mm-a-zing chocolate chip cookies. MM. Ahh! Oh my god. Usually we buy the crazy expensive Immaculate Baking All Natural Chocolate Chunk Cookie dough- that is until we tried these cookies from Debbie. Holy Fucking Shit, did I mention how good they are?<br />
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I pulled this from her website and put it in red for red hot goodness!<br />
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<span style="color: red;">[Update:] I have added US Volume</span>/US Weight/Metric Weight/ as requested- which is ironic because when I first started my blog I really wanted to do this to everything a la <a href="http://blog.kitchenmage.com/">kitchenmage</a> - one of my other food blog heroes. I used a gram ingredient converter so please try it and let me know if it works, or if it is off, results etc. Thanks![/Update]<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">(Deb's) <span style="color: #cc0000;">"</span><span class="fullpost" style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://wordstoeatby.blogspot.com/2004/12/best-homemade-chocolate-chip-cookies.html">Unbelievably Good Chocolate Chunk Cookies</a>"</span><br />
Ingredients:<br />
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1 ½ cups <span style="color: black;">/6.614 oz /18.75 grams/ </span>all-purpose flour<br />
½ t. <span style="color: black;">/0.081 oz /2.3 grams/ </span>baking soda<br />
½ t. <span style="color: black;">/0.106 oz /3 grams/</span> salt<br />
¼ pound (1 stick) <span style="color: black;">/4 oz /113.4 grams/</span> cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces<br />
½ cup <span style="color: black;">/3.527 oz /100 grams/ </span>sugar<br />
¾ cup tightly packed <span style="color: black;">/5.82 oz /165 grams/</span> light brown sugar<br />
1 ½ t. <span style="color: black;">/0.229 oz /6.495 grams/</span> vanilla extract<br />
1 large egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten<br />
7 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch chunks [I just used half a 12-oz bag of bittersweet Ghiardelli chocolate chips]<span style="color: black;"><--Agreed!</span><br />
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1) Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.<br />
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2) Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars on low speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.<br />
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3) Add the vanilla and egg and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, or until fully incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.<br />
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4) On low speed, add the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chunks and mix until they are just incorporated. If using a hand mixer, use a wooden spoon to stir them in. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour, and preferably 24-36 hours.<br />
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5) Preheat oven to 350. Adjust racks to lower and upper thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Spoon the dough using a cookie scooper 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. (makes about 23 3-inch round cookies)<br />
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6) Bake for 11-13 minutes [it’s 13 in my oven] or until golden brown around the edges but still soft, almost underdone-looking, in the center. Turn the sheets front to back and switch racks halfway through.<br />
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Remove the sheet from the oven and carefully slide the parchment or Silpats directly onto a work surface. When cookies are set, remove them to a cooling rack. Wait at least 5 minutes before serving or 20 minutes before storing in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.<br />
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Holy Fucking Shit, these are good.<span style="color: black;"> Yes Deb. You are so right. I will never doubt you.</span></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6LdNMO3o6XrwI2TQycz6YmTmTZJ4uXZY2j0OPzUrhNXN7MZiW-WRuSSKoVN5xTKkvwjRQFw6dTYZ47jvYlSDIYnLCTzpwzur4ll9kOYRRH1Twz-2j4WI2kv1-PyG5jGvgnv2fWjhFcCab/s1600/image+1+of+cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6LdNMO3o6XrwI2TQycz6YmTmTZJ4uXZY2j0OPzUrhNXN7MZiW-WRuSSKoVN5xTKkvwjRQFw6dTYZ47jvYlSDIYnLCTzpwzur4ll9kOYRRH1Twz-2j4WI2kv1-PyG5jGvgnv2fWjhFcCab/s1600/image+1+of+cookies.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The first time I made them I let them sit in the fridge for three days. I highly recommend this. It will CHANGE your LIFE. The last time I made them (-yes- in the time we have discovered these cookies we have made two batches that have equaled for us 3-4 cookie per person 3 nights each: 36 cookies in all give or take). <br />
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The second time C was looking over my shoulder as I was obsessively re-reading the post and trying to talk myself out of cookie nirvana -I mean, moderation hello? And she saw the schlong. Oh, sigh. This meant that we just had to roll the dough into three reynold's ziplocks so we could cut them because this is the way C makes cookies anytime she makes cookies which is almost never because C almost never comes into the kitchen to make anything on her own and grumbles when I make her be my sous chef. <br />
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I should have listened to Debbie! She was right! Do NOT make into cookie schlong they will be too thin and crisp. But still delicious and irresistible. You will gain weight if you make these cookies because once you have made them they will haunt you and you will never be able to find a reason not to make them over and over again (GOD what is WRONG with us!) you crazy little cookie monster. <br />
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Happy Eating!What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-43361238271604884652011-01-16T12:16:00.000-05:002011-01-16T12:16:39.132-05:00Sacrificing Food for Function<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXOAblwsFayx3TkQ1za0aOqK6oi6K4SF2HaGp0PGgmlwArfqZx8Bgby32Xmdlaa4vEa89MxaDnN1m3SLQiXzNmfXRXFD3zMkZ6ErNJ_Y3NSUJjT__7awBHmy7M8S2XAFWa0JsbEfj7bJ4/s1600/Moni+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXOAblwsFayx3TkQ1za0aOqK6oi6K4SF2HaGp0PGgmlwArfqZx8Bgby32Xmdlaa4vEa89MxaDnN1m3SLQiXzNmfXRXFD3zMkZ6ErNJ_Y3NSUJjT__7awBHmy7M8S2XAFWa0JsbEfj7bJ4/s320/Moni+Pic.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>So I've kind of been in a funk the last week or so. I realized shortly after the New Year that my food spending was out of control. But I love food! Chaley mentioned to me that we can't do everything right now. And I know she's right but it made me sad. Why does eating locally seasonally and consciously have to be so much? Why do we have so little? Granted a big part of the problem is that my eyes are always bigger than my stomach/ the situation/ how much is really needed. But beyond that, between genetically modified everything, high fructose corn syrup, and antibiotic miserable meat, the price to live and eat simple just keeps rising. I really love getting meat from the Farmer's Market, but money is tight right now. So no more. I am (temporarily I hope) going to have to make the best choice out of the meat at the supermarket/ fresh direct. My resistance to reality could only hold out for so long. But it made me think. If I have spent some substantial portion of my life eating factory mass produced food, what made me think that regressing into some of those foods in order to sustain myself and C would result in some catastrophic body meltdown? Perhaps I lost you there. In our newer cleaner food state I likened those foods in our past to- well, to death really. And the idea of consuming some of them again seemed to me to be dooming us for all eternity to a slow and unhealthy death. But is it? Don't we all regress in our food choices every now and then? Isn't it like yoga, always a journey? Never perfection but always working towards it? Am I crazy for likening the choice to buy antibiotic-free wings versus murrays all natural free range wings to the lifelong humble practice of yoga? I don't know, But I will write you when I get there.<br />
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In the meantime, I guess I will just try to remember the original purpose of food is to fuel the body. And I can't fuel my or C's body if I am always running out of the tools to make the fuel. What food compromises have you made lately that you felt uncomfortable with?What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-4324986171386634932011-01-16T12:09:00.001-05:002011-01-16T12:10:57.714-05:00When Life turns your Lemons into Limes (and vice versa)So I am notorious for ruining food. I just- cannot store certain foods for optimal shelf life. Take for instance, lemons. Limes. Flat leaf Italian Parsley. Oranges, bananas. Garlic, Onions, Shallots- you get the picture. So I am always reading up on how to store things properly. Somehow in spite of this I seem to have epic fails every time I buy fresh produce. Take two weeks ago. I bought lemons, limes, potatoes, onions, shallots and garlic. And I was determined not to let anything spoil or go to waste. So, I put everything in my pantry (the bottom cupboard wedged between my fridge and my oven. The other day I went to grab a lemon and one of them had literally turned green. A powdery green film was covering one and a half lemons and spreading. I have had a lot of lemons grow bad on me but never quite like this. There was also some excess moisture in the grocery bag I left it in. So I pulled them all out of the cupboard and rinsed the green powder off the remaining lemons. Then today I pulled out my limes to go with the Carona that will accompany the wings that C is making tonight-- and my limes were turning yellow!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14dZJl0oLXqwN3J-HoF8K6wK7xxnWux1tn55NdIXMTeR6ZV9BoQU275N23fWZq4IDjth2eKEa_3Gxdtkpjbodkjgk2o05AdxK1IDHfg1aMITWq4lWGxSwREuDFj-KHjTJU38aT-kBzEF3/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14dZJl0oLXqwN3J-HoF8K6wK7xxnWux1tn55NdIXMTeR6ZV9BoQU275N23fWZq4IDjth2eKEa_3Gxdtkpjbodkjgk2o05AdxK1IDHfg1aMITWq4lWGxSwREuDFj-KHjTJU38aT-kBzEF3/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
What did I do wrong guys? Was the cupboard a bad idea? Do you think the heat from the oven caused moisture in my tiny cupboard?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnghxRf4kEjo535OxJz1mnE464lb0Nz7jt50l-NbzNcm-CFrSuOFBe0PZJh-318S50-8SjV5Wyn9hAIKjYJFQvnz-6_mi6Ua1sSM1V3vzPtflnDDvwEH4JJve981u7Aq91uGxUuVZpPkbo/s1600/shelf+life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnghxRf4kEjo535OxJz1mnE464lb0Nz7jt50l-NbzNcm-CFrSuOFBe0PZJh-318S50-8SjV5Wyn9hAIKjYJFQvnz-6_mi6Ua1sSM1V3vzPtflnDDvwEH4JJve981u7Aq91uGxUuVZpPkbo/s1600/shelf+life.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Please share your best food keeping secrets!<br />
Thanks and have a great three day weekend!What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-72991864156325828792010-12-30T23:17:00.033-05:002010-12-31T23:09:17.886-05:00Date with My Inner Baker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFRJ8yv68Yx3nei3ixZTjYiAzU8mC9GXPBmvw8Swi5ccn8kwbYloUoslIFmy6ol1wxXkC9bQGrJm17ygUygj8SutyzQJ6VJGjzADYDv83kG6GZlQr66iA8GwY4pSXdqLiJR0BIlLyZGbu/s1600/the+goods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFRJ8yv68Yx3nei3ixZTjYiAzU8mC9GXPBmvw8Swi5ccn8kwbYloUoslIFmy6ol1wxXkC9bQGrJm17ygUygj8SutyzQJ6VJGjzADYDv83kG6GZlQr66iA8GwY4pSXdqLiJR0BIlLyZGbu/s1600/the+goods.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">Who's been paying attention enough to know how late this blog post is- by a show of hands? Oh, what's that? No one? good then I don't have to feel guilty about it! I saved it thinking I would do all these wonderful editing things to it to make it amazing...but I didn't. So here you go! Enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Okay I have finally decided to do it. Bake my first and hopefully not my last loaf of bread! This mixer, flour, yeast and etc? Yeah. We went on a date today. It all started several months ago, really. I was searching recipes for various things through all-encompassing Google, when I kept coming across all these amazing food blogs. Just one such blog was A Year In Bread- amazing stuff really. I had been toying around with the idea of making my own bread and cheese (heavily influenced by my recent readings of "Animal Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, and Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Being somewhat of a flower child that grew up in the northwest it was like a refresher for things I was better versed at in middle/high school. What I loved most, though was the idea of making EVERYTHING from scratch. Cheese, Bread, Pasta Sauce. Am I showing how much the city has influenced me over the years? I feel like I'm not supposed to be so amazed at this concept, but I blame the supermarket and those behind it all pulling the strings- let me just cut myself off from this tangent- Anywho, I was on A Year in Bread, (and Wild Yeast, The Yumarama Bread Blog and etc subsequently) and I got the yearning to be in my kitchen making sandwiches from scratch with fresh loaves and just pulled cheese.... Yes I am very domestic. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmPEI4IaSvE11a4morS42MXgKJTnZzC5b4O4r6u4mdpN6uXRTudE9zhj730JDGeXQQ8vAB0tLPB4Ac8T8wcaTSHL6G6Ia1aQ1yD70UGR0hLBB21f5mM93fZ0fSB5FscPVjRJ3Kps3hF9e/s1600/Grocery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmPEI4IaSvE11a4morS42MXgKJTnZzC5b4O4r6u4mdpN6uXRTudE9zhj730JDGeXQQ8vAB0tLPB4Ac8T8wcaTSHL6G6Ia1aQ1yD70UGR0hLBB21f5mM93fZ0fSB5FscPVjRJ3Kps3hF9e/s1600/Grocery.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> So while at the grocery store picking up eggs this week I saw the yeast just sitting there calling my name. And I answered! I threw it and the Red Mill's Unbromated Organic Unbleached Flour (perfect for baking bread by hand or machine!) along with some sugar and left feeling very satisfied with myself. Then the panic set in. What am I thinking? I don't even have the perfect Chicago pans that are recommended? I don't own any tea towels! ETC ETC OMG! </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvG_N97KPx5fztVncSJnHP-blhHHWrSBNsuQff_AsCTBJogsOLe7iGPaPARsIggeBK8LcgZdtcLzVQNVehhCfzHXxkPFQaENS1zUuXhHp38Ff_pQZxD_YXHpyQp2D2aoZ9pg8ueYRWGR5/s1600/prep+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvG_N97KPx5fztVncSJnHP-blhHHWrSBNsuQff_AsCTBJogsOLe7iGPaPARsIggeBK8LcgZdtcLzVQNVehhCfzHXxkPFQaENS1zUuXhHp38Ff_pQZxD_YXHpyQp2D2aoZ9pg8ueYRWGR5/s1600/prep+2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">But I already had it all arranged so neatly on my counter...so I woke up this morning and popped right over to AYIB and saw Susan's Farmhouse White, perfect for beginner's. "It was meant to be!" I gasped to myself.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Here's the basic Recipe lifted but edited to include my commentary from <a href="http://ayearinbread.earthandhearth.com/2007/05/t-his-bread-which-i-call-farmhouse.html">AYIB</a>: her pictures are omitted in place of my notes and adjustments and also my own pics. To see Susan's pics and helpful background history/info etc click the link above!<a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Susan's Farmhouse White Sandwich Bread </span></b><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">(</span></b><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Moni's 1st attempt</span></b><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Makes 3 loaves, approximately 1-1/2 pounds each</i><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ingredient US volume Metric Volume US weight Metric</b><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">organic all-purpose flour</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"> 4 cups - 940 ml - 1 lb, 4 ounces - 566 grams</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">instant yeast**</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"> 2 Tablespoons - 30 ml - 22 grams</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">granulated sugar</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"> 2 Tablespoons - 30 ml - 28 grams</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">canola oil</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"> 2 Tablespoons - 30 ml - 30 grams</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">warm milk (or water)</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"> 4 cups - 940 ml - 2 lbs - 908 grams</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">organic bread flour</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"> (approximately) 6 cups - 1,410 ml - 1 lb, 13-1/8 ounces - 825 grams</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">salt</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"> 1½ Tablespoons - 22 ml - 3/4 ounce - 22 grams</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="pullquote" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div class="pullquote" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div class="pullquote" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div style="text-align: left;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_3ogaspscibfKt-LmCIBHuFZTJ4TcuRBC45HOQJEc1XYwipd-UA3oSsUsQw2rRgZOjepjTUyxIIRHEjgRsr4N_s4boLGshhRfP5_UkFbO5J9ZFitcpywLn3zZZALotUPvpPpPDEJ_SSb/s1600/flour+sugar+yeast+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_3ogaspscibfKt-LmCIBHuFZTJ4TcuRBC45HOQJEc1XYwipd-UA3oSsUsQw2rRgZOjepjTUyxIIRHEjgRsr4N_s4boLGshhRfP5_UkFbO5J9ZFitcpywLn3zZZALotUPvpPpPDEJ_SSb/s200/flour+sugar+yeast+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wet/Dry Mix </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmzngMgX7adjjG6sow5eKCEcZ2rRfqrh_d5s_TD8KsxBRuywpqZhjadLMqIvyZ8vEmYqQw0Ajz4XxzBTsP0t3wVLmFVUONJ8n1rQ9JXWp0XJXP-P-7o2wFXNS8e8UL7i5PMbpb70XODxU/s1600/buttermilk+packet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmzngMgX7adjjG6sow5eKCEcZ2rRfqrh_d5s_TD8KsxBRuywpqZhjadLMqIvyZ8vEmYqQw0Ajz4XxzBTsP0t3wVLmFVUONJ8n1rQ9JXWp0XJXP-P-7o2wFXNS8e8UL7i5PMbpb70XODxU/s200/buttermilk+packet.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flour, Sugar, Buttermilk</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;"> I mixed 4 cups of all purpose flour, and sugar together, then had a moment of panic when I realized I had grabbed Active Dry Yeast as opposed to Instant or rapid rise (curse my propensity to take anything that proves to be longer. I have a natural distrust for anything instant) and hopped on the web to try and figure out what i needed to do to adjust Susan's recipe. I ended up, after several nail biting minutes, mixing two packets of my ADY in 1/2 cup warm water and then adding sugar =-because who doesn't want to watch yeast rise and go bubbly? I added my proofed active dry yeast and mixed them all together. I was worried about adding my wet yeast mix since Susan's directions mixed wet all together then dry but it looked fine. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM92yQdCUn_2Gor_3M1mKEQ439hBIShFXl4aPatnXQca_4E7BhMcVeeVvWC3EQW58waR5qkGx3Tc10tKj-4t6EMabv2oIokOZKnoXEM78YlOEE_fVqHfRtIM5182FbVK2XkJgHKD7a7Zg/s1600/warm+milk+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM92yQdCUn_2Gor_3M1mKEQ439hBIShFXl4aPatnXQca_4E7BhMcVeeVvWC3EQW58waR5qkGx3Tc10tKj-4t6EMabv2oIokOZKnoXEM78YlOEE_fVqHfRtIM5182FbVK2XkJgHKD7a7Zg/s200/warm+milk+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warm Milk</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWI0xjTFYpPUspm3HuEmb-NAWm_YIzjCc45ITSCMe8QoNJRCssPyTuhfqnK9YPgukMczhS5Cc95IspjDHYJJzV9H91NmeszhmBYjpLHdaAQicfO86AQnqqOerh4HIBshvWcugVXM1VvNkU/s1600/oil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWI0xjTFYpPUspm3HuEmb-NAWm_YIzjCc45ITSCMe8QoNJRCssPyTuhfqnK9YPgukMczhS5Cc95IspjDHYJJzV9H91NmeszhmBYjpLHdaAQicfO86AQnqqOerh4HIBshvWcugVXM1VvNkU/s200/oil.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;">Then in went my canola blend oil my little well (not the good kind, but hey on a budget you have to cut where you can).The first major change I did to the recipe was substitute the equivalent of 1 cup of buttermilk (in the form of dry buttermilk which I added with the flour/ sugar) and used just 3 cups of warm milk.</span></span></div><br />
</div></div><div class="pullquote" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span></div><div class="pullquote" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-nbLp-bw6Ay_PSBqU8srTvJZBZ0OlZIZ7lhwBnYkQ7Cz1byZ8I0qoUh-TE6oi1xM-IvpaeJc6f2Qlpaw0RPzOAdQMCME4XW7YD9Hx9AeE_o6sIFG-DclDwtOmHVv96UqAMOVHOlFpnNI/s1600/shaggy+mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-nbLp-bw6Ay_PSBqU8srTvJZBZ0OlZIZ7lhwBnYkQ7Cz1byZ8I0qoUh-TE6oi1xM-IvpaeJc6f2Qlpaw0RPzOAdQMCME4XW7YD9Hx9AeE_o6sIFG-DclDwtOmHVv96UqAMOVHOlFpnNI/s1600/shaggy+mass.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Shaggy Mess</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;">I only had all purpose flour but it said it was great for bread baking so where I was supposed to begin incorporating one cup of bread flour at a time, I just continued using my APF. Man Did this require some elbow grease! I ended up using just five cups of flower, and on the fifth between my flimsy pink spatula and its top popping off <span style="color: #632423;">a</span></span></span><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;">t this point, I gave up and threw it into my mixer for the last cup of flour</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;"> My dough was soft and sticky, I just guessed at the texture and decided it was "slightly sticky." like the recipe stated :)</span></span></div><div class="pullquote" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xE2J82Gq9e6pF7qI49YvvVPlGyT5NVL0CwE3JYO95kzJ9fpU2xIbB9u35lAmbCBfWTRtNzTvixVGMImQ6YpOk6AC9l6PLZUZJM108XxswczCTNj6CecdegfIF-ypOTgY-_BIf43NKmXP/s1600/tired+hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xE2J82Gq9e6pF7qI49YvvVPlGyT5NVL0CwE3JYO95kzJ9fpU2xIbB9u35lAmbCBfWTRtNzTvixVGMImQ6YpOk6AC9l6PLZUZJM108XxswczCTNj6CecdegfIF-ypOTgY-_BIf43NKmXP/s1600/tired+hands.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2p9dcQRki56fD7zQ2k2sT0yQTefpsaMS4UQgK-x8ARd9DsNFLSEGxNlgdpwKugqVhqGnRo93KWuwJYdDVIccCzsOD9vcuwvGJkr_5v-TNSMsTuqpyN8WOiu_E7we77U_CpoO9ilK1REw/s1600/my+attempt+to+knead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2p9dcQRki56fD7zQ2k2sT0yQTefpsaMS4UQgK-x8ARd9DsNFLSEGxNlgdpwKugqVhqGnRo93KWuwJYdDVIccCzsOD9vcuwvGJkr_5v-TNSMsTuqpyN8WOiu_E7we77U_CpoO9ilK1REw/s1600/my+attempt+to+knead.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;">When I turned my dough out to knead I sort of pulled and folded as my technique. Rather than the hold with right hand, pull out gently with left and fold turning a quarter turn each time. (</span><span style="color: purple;">I also set a timer for six minutes (to make up for my inexperience with knowing when it was right).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;"> </span><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;">In doing this step, I ended up using the last cup of flour as I kept the dough, my countertop, and my hands floured.I was going to reuse my mixer bowl since its the largest bowl I have but the leftover dough got ahold of it and I really had to soak it. So I had Chaley hand me down a bowl from the top shelf and used that. It was glass and it really didn't want to let the flour stick to the sides so I sprinkled a little extra on top and around the sides.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: left;"></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eApNddCCxNl3S-HtRh4hEnm8iDewCCGG5wG_tGXz3iDB_8p6qtI47vi9xbDjRfxTHYA9USeVTGYriK_RuRcwsJ9G6eYpk9rSdnQgu4seyB9HDxsZ9hVSiDlrA-D0dw1susVRHJ0ThmzV/s1600/pillowcase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eApNddCCxNl3S-HtRh4hEnm8iDewCCGG5wG_tGXz3iDB_8p6qtI47vi9xbDjRfxTHYA9USeVTGYriK_RuRcwsJ9G6eYpk9rSdnQgu4seyB9HDxsZ9hVSiDlrA-D0dw1susVRHJ0ThmzV/s200/pillowcase.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Bamboo Pillowcase</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-small;">Okay so Susan's recipe calls for draping the bowl with a damp tea towel... I used a clean bamboo pillow sheet. It was the closest thing I had to a tea towel! I am the MacGyver of the kitchen! It worked fine and I was happy with my rise!</span></div></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In order to help with my rise I turned my oven to 350 F and left the oven door open- its way too cold here now with a draft and I was worried about my dough getting warm enough. Worked really well. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><br />
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Susan says,</span></div></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> "Set the dough somewhere that is preferably between 70°F and 75°F until it has doubled in size, about 60 to 75 minutes. Ideally, the dough should also be between 70°F and 75°F. It's fine if your dough is cooler; it'll just take longer to rise and will end up even tastier. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">When the dough is ready to be shaped, you should be able to push a floured finger deep into it and leave an indentation that doesn't spring back. Unless your dough is rising in a straight-sided container, it can be difficult to judge whether it has "doubled in size" which is the guideline most recipes use. I find the finger poking method to be more reliable, though lately I've been letting all my doughs rise in plastic containers."<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-size: x-small;">I put two fingers in mine to be sure! I was really nervous about the rising and the shaping and the kneading-well you get my point. I poured it back onto the counter and gave it a few light punches and some more knuckle action before flattening it so I could cut it into threes. </span></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfP8vg0HLslMFsxiSblS0x4txZXzZYwcqKl9sfPC1m1UvpUV-Q-y52DU-4qDrkPQX08wfyzI7VTxrGSOv0U9UZyXFArLs8tYv5YJYPFP_syGz5he0LBCAbJN_3fawnA7m66Jbt2kwE3KE/s1600/shaping+the+dough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfP8vg0HLslMFsxiSblS0x4txZXzZYwcqKl9sfPC1m1UvpUV-Q-y52DU-4qDrkPQX08wfyzI7VTxrGSOv0U9UZyXFArLs8tYv5YJYPFP_syGz5he0LBCAbJN_3fawnA7m66Jbt2kwE3KE/s200/shaping+the+dough.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuge7iAIvD6NFqV6dbv3IHoJMOKaPk93Xf5ABeuGOQVdE7XGyKU5C_epsYHm0XkVFoBa6iVV8Ahon9CfH4QlxoSYVRgUm_yE1whE4wggkaGSB-U69_c9OwXx-ja7vMeSXD7nkxAKqUIis/s1600/three+equal+parts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuge7iAIvD6NFqV6dbv3IHoJMOKaPk93Xf5ABeuGOQVdE7XGyKU5C_epsYHm0XkVFoBa6iVV8Ahon9CfH4QlxoSYVRgUm_yE1whE4wggkaGSB-U69_c9OwXx-ja7vMeSXD7nkxAKqUIis/s200/three+equal+parts.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-NN96lvX4MFf5oBqEYlmn527YfX-w78KCl4oxZOKdt17AMSXAMEejsuP-ZhtuuPQqiw5zJJMap_2Ik3gZJCPWqfX0_8d277S68C7c2x_q7QHZWu0P2mPbQZ5ugtUWAZ_9LiGA5RUYoUl/s1600/loaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">My pan (yup solo. I really do need to go get some more kitchen supplies..one day!) was 9 5. x 2.75 inches compared to Susan's 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x less than 3 inches. So mine didn't get that pretty round top. I wanted to go a more fancy route in shaping but I felt overwhelmed by the first suggestion so I went with the jelly roll technique. It was great and they were so cute going in one by one lol. Before they hit the oven they went back under my pillowcase(!) for another hour.</span><br />
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<b></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrmzfY-dvNJvJP9U8JGE1ZSepm-60APXk0cz40ikz2h3BSy5yhUM8vNuy2k6oCX4ZmozX2T0l1TWjIbasz7JYAUZ6hC45Xc1UVd7p6KBVNtYEGLuG_CaDc8gyjrXZN-b36vWa4DcOmgys/s1600/loaf+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrmzfY-dvNJvJP9U8JGE1ZSepm-60APXk0cz40ikz2h3BSy5yhUM8vNuy2k6oCX4ZmozX2T0l1TWjIbasz7JYAUZ6hC45Xc1UVd7p6KBVNtYEGLuG_CaDc8gyjrXZN-b36vWa4DcOmgys/s1600/loaf+side.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;">I baked at 375 for 35 minutes and it was perfect. The crumb on these was amazing. I even waited the 40 minutes before testing/tasting. Go me!</span><br />
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Susan's last bit of advice: "Remove immediately from pans and let cool on a wire rack. Try to wait at least 40 minutes before cutting into a loaf. Store at room temperature or freeze in zipper freezer bags. Make sure loaves are completely cooled before sealing in bags."</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">These were heavenly! I know Susan made my first bread baking a success! I can't wait to try some more of AYIB's recipes! </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFQqaejEhrR2H6PnXSC21zgH3tOyxvBRwIIZXZ9reCpb6jeR3j-XhRImHLIKiKyM6sTjDbhP_2OZKrIqlJzWAHFu7mSKuaoNp8tAIRCGzZyy820ldeeU56n7XUMAk5qey0iGz0moDD3Kr/s1600/beautiful.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFQqaejEhrR2H6PnXSC21zgH3tOyxvBRwIIZXZ9reCpb6jeR3j-XhRImHLIKiKyM6sTjDbhP_2OZKrIqlJzWAHFu7mSKuaoNp8tAIRCGzZyy820ldeeU56n7XUMAk5qey0iGz0moDD3Kr/s1600/beautiful.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">I know it's a lot of pictures but this is only half of the pics I took! I have been harassing Chaley to make me a little slideshow so I can show everything step by step, but it's hard to rush the tech :) I also could have done a better job explaining the recipe but I really wanted to show the steps as I feel like more images would have helped me- I had to watch a lot of little you tubes to grasp some of the techniques. But as always, I hope you enjoy and definitely pop over to A Year in Bread, they have fantastic amazingness that should not be missed.</span></div>What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-9296884574303147182010-12-30T23:06:00.006-05:002010-12-31T23:06:58.061-05:00Making the Pasta into a Meal<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nZvv8M4QWj-9oTsUdHZEBxUR0pZevaOPtz8siprQ3m0M6XhwuU7nV2FKUbQaV1BQzuJSDS3KMHEdom2iEa_W3VXWb_YUg-F-4HKlpUKWJCuenQqAiHCydFw_QaOqqEMAUwkByqnly2ux/s1600/simple+meals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nZvv8M4QWj-9oTsUdHZEBxUR0pZevaOPtz8siprQ3m0M6XhwuU7nV2FKUbQaV1BQzuJSDS3KMHEdom2iEa_W3VXWb_YUg-F-4HKlpUKWJCuenQqAiHCydFw_QaOqqEMAUwkByqnly2ux/s200/simple+meals.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is just a picture I found when I googled "simple meals."</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">The title of this blog sucks. I'm tired and full.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">So Chaley is always asking me to make simple meals. For instance, she will have a craving for-whatever- and will ask me to make it. And I will- but with additions. Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo you say? But let’s turn it up a notch! Roasted Garlic! Cajun Chicken! Sun Dried Tomatoes! Steamed Broccoli in a little chicken broth and lemon! Tomato Paste!<br />
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This is sadly never what she really wants (simple classic chicken and broccoli alfredo) but rather, my version of a better more improved meal. I love to look through several recipes seeing what people have done to improve on classic dishes that we grew up on and combine a little of the old with a little of the new. Something even better that she didn't even know she wanted! Only- usually it’s just not what she wanted (hanging my head). But not tonight! Tonight, I resolved to make a simple Alfredo. (But I kept the roasted garlic-I mean come on! Roasted Garlic??? Anyway-) I combined<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fettuccine-alfredo-recipe/index.html"> Tyler Florence’s Fettucine Alfredo</a> and an<a href="http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/alfredo-sauce/Detail.aspx"> Alfredo Sauce</a> from allrecipes.com. Really, I mainly stuck with Tyler Florence’s recipe and added the nutmeg from the allrecipes version.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RAMPS! OM OM OM!</td></tr>
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And I added garlic powder. A lot of garlic powder. Because another thing I am obsessed with is garlic (only closely followed by lemon and onions). I mean ramp season? Obv. one of the best seasons EVER, followed by spring garlic season. Oniony Garlicky Heaven. But I digress =] </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsAQIpqkbLhf1PpWNKmTCAEQbj4hkmcX743DzvQq90jHIq8Lg-cuO4upS2DBrB3bfTsWta39eLk-UvoxzNvWcJnJtN5wTwivhMiPDShVaIE52uL4XhMHksQYPjaUBu2sVzBGk5gDKdaYzJ/s1600/broccoli+and+pasta+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsAQIpqkbLhf1PpWNKmTCAEQbj4hkmcX743DzvQq90jHIq8Lg-cuO4upS2DBrB3bfTsWta39eLk-UvoxzNvWcJnJtN5wTwivhMiPDShVaIE52uL4XhMHksQYPjaUBu2sVzBGk5gDKdaYzJ/s200/broccoli+and+pasta+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">So I threw my broccoli (florets!) in with the pasta for the last four minutes of cooking time since that was in every recipe I perused. And wow it was perfect! (Not like the “crisp/tender/al dente broccoli stalks-read: beasts- that I normally steam and throw in at the last minute) My pasta noodles plumped up and weren’t the most attractive when I threw them in the pot but man oh man were they good! I will definitely be making my own (simple straightforward) pasta noodles in the future, ThankYouVeryMuch Ms. Pennington!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhNs-hQgr0geQPCLoJcDuVOgGQU56c_KX7rjPnukKTLifJMZjyBFaIoKLZ9jwx5Vj7LdmsftR_n0uWWX_sNDLSPOapbn_KMDzY0ZUrvTOP-OmtUmaU89I1xfd0Tcd55AepMrc7Kp66j5S/s1600/mail.google.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhNs-hQgr0geQPCLoJcDuVOgGQU56c_KX7rjPnukKTLifJMZjyBFaIoKLZ9jwx5Vj7LdmsftR_n0uWWX_sNDLSPOapbn_KMDzY0ZUrvTOP-OmtUmaU89I1xfd0Tcd55AepMrc7Kp66j5S/s200/mail.google.com.jpg" width="200" /></a> I used those super thin chicken cutlets you can get pretty much<br />
anywhere. In a perfect world I would have bought the Murray’s, but I am poor didn’t I tell you??? So I just picked up the Fairway brand. Sigh. I seasoned them and sautéed them in some garlic olive oil I infused last week. Yummy! Chaley came in and snuck a piece as payment for her having to grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Her life is so hard let me tell you :P I made my Alfredo last, a pint of HWC, mixed in with a stick of unsalted butter, the cup of PR, salt, pepper, garlic powder,-ROASTED GARLIC OHMYGOD have I told you how much I/WE love GARLIC??? Just saying- a pinch of nutmeg and whisked it all together. I threw the pasta and broccoli back into my big pot, cut up the chicken and threw the Alfredo over it all with a quick toss. YUM-O. The best part? Chaley said it was “exactly what she wanted,” the best compliment ever.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YxiVVL0l5zlXfHT6iFmyVgi_Q5D5rAp2yccvZM9aKF9fhSMruWXzQRassJC1PKsqmeH5VB1UHkePotRe_2XADgN_2_AMJtBiHhrm3kcDfEPBS_4y5nO08VxBHWwxNqEFQygF63ZK6GC6/s1600/eat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YxiVVL0l5zlXfHT6iFmyVgi_Q5D5rAp2yccvZM9aKF9fhSMruWXzQRassJC1PKsqmeH5VB1UHkePotRe_2XADgN_2_AMJtBiHhrm3kcDfEPBS_4y5nO08VxBHWwxNqEFQygF63ZK6GC6/s1600/eat.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> This means I get to doctor up her next request right? </div></div>What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-78192763178793553902010-12-28T17:57:00.001-05:002010-12-31T23:11:06.431-05:00Hand Rolled Pasta, Anyone?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOi-cUilzx7-NwNEq_cKsPY9GNXEo-gIYOV59VQcpJ_UvBtBhxkf1-EkfL5k1TjlPB8jRkD3tS1wA4tjyjUGwyB-eBaAtBea7rwC_baaqi6t_g06l_EhEykEAZfW4T27M9dGZfIp743P0/s1600/flours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOi-cUilzx7-NwNEq_cKsPY9GNXEo-gIYOV59VQcpJ_UvBtBhxkf1-EkfL5k1TjlPB8jRkD3tS1wA4tjyjUGwyB-eBaAtBea7rwC_baaqi6t_g06l_EhEykEAZfW4T27M9dGZfIp743P0/s200/flours.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>So you know how I got that amazing book last week? (Yes you do, the Urban Pantry book I splurged on!) Well I have been absolutely obsessed with this book. There's a section stocking the pantry that goes over making your own bread, pasta and pie/tart shells etc. So this past Sunday, when we were out spending too much on groceries at Garden of Eden which I love but which is way too expensive and just a bit too gourmet (as in not a lot of real life options when you need them and where is the white bread?-) due to the oncoming blizzard that was dropping heaps of snow into our chilly little faces, I picked up some semolina. Why not right? At that point we were already paying $100 for NOTHING -excuse my bitterness, ahem, so I went ahead and splurged on the smallish Bob's Red Mill semolina flour they had.<br />
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And today, while sitting around looking for writing jobs and generally feeling sorry for myself -(Chaley went back to work today, boo!) I decided to make pasta! My mommie got me this super cute french rolling pin for Christmas and I was dying to try it out!<br />
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Literally all I needed was 2 cups of A/P flour, (I used Bob Mill's Unbleached White Flour because I am obsessed with it? And him possibly?) 1 Cup of the semolina flour and 5 eggs. I mean, how could I not make this pasta? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQFxwEpRl17ZN-7D-XiTGRoRZKEXs6FXLDzrYpJvVTINTHZAYgOyoM1IGN1LXmDea-ZZDEhmKMnymiOZQCtegH2l1muG3EBbKycTuBiW5vUMM00T8bzY9gQyn-RskIX9GATtwluCs3uvq/s1600/flour+first.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQFxwEpRl17ZN-7D-XiTGRoRZKEXs6FXLDzrYpJvVTINTHZAYgOyoM1IGN1LXmDea-ZZDEhmKMnymiOZQCtegH2l1muG3EBbKycTuBiW5vUMM00T8bzY9gQyn-RskIX9GATtwluCs3uvq/s200/flour+first.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>I was worried that I was going to end up with flour all over me since I put all of it in before the eggs. But my KitchenAid mixer is big, so I had no problems (or maybe it's just because this is the best mixer -EVER!) Any way, I used my dough attachment which was a pain to screw in btw, and beat it for five minutes, I had to scrape the bowl because my flour was shy- it kept hiding out on the sides!<br />
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But after that it came together beautifully, I have to say I am not the best knead-er lol. I always rip when I pull. But I guess that gives me something to work towards :) After chilling in the fridge for an hour, I got to use my new rolling pin! It was divine. It was lovely. It had this awful sticker on it that took 10 minutes to peel off! Any way look how pretty this was!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitt3vWMVTaRWsS5MauuIL3T017b3XMm2XbR0kbUSn6ejYV5M2QFTWuC-cvtx1ysHyMLxQsIQoIbzVGPg5usT9H-E0mSMEKtkooAEL017oBRCYQFgaC-hQDvK3vXwR8uX6dcgFTW082ePkJ/s1600/big+noodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitt3vWMVTaRWsS5MauuIL3T017b3XMm2XbR0kbUSn6ejYV5M2QFTWuC-cvtx1ysHyMLxQsIQoIbzVGPg5usT9H-E0mSMEKtkooAEL017oBRCYQFgaC-hQDvK3vXwR8uX6dcgFTW082ePkJ/s200/big+noodles.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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I even mimicked her way of drying it by taking two of my wooden dining table chairs and tying kitchen string across it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdLEaeDYTzjsKAd3rQWe-Z2BvgbnRYZzc0LWCzACfdP5cWqm24NnuSebRTmr1MqzhLaqjpG2KLi64D03gjw7QbUUZ8f2BS3hDZtGOWwMbQ5_r_GHZXndQs6zMk5HnEcxUNv5R11iLrt0EJ/s1600/pretty+as+a+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdLEaeDYTzjsKAd3rQWe-Z2BvgbnRYZzc0LWCzACfdP5cWqm24NnuSebRTmr1MqzhLaqjpG2KLi64D03gjw7QbUUZ8f2BS3hDZtGOWwMbQ5_r_GHZXndQs6zMk5HnEcxUNv5R11iLrt0EJ/s1600/pretty+as+a+picture.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty as a Picture!</td></tr>
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Now I just have to figure out what to make with it....What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-11487837161550483222010-12-21T18:48:00.002-05:002010-12-31T23:13:05.866-05:00Busting the Budget- Spas Out Splurge!Okay. Okay! I know I am supposed to be budgeting- I know! Yes, all of my credit cards are almost maxed out, and yes I spent all afternoon perfecting the $50 food budget I made for the week. But then I saw the perfect book (some of you know how often this happens to me). And I mean come on! This title? "Urban Pantry: Tips and Recipes for a Thrifty Sustainable and Seasonal Kitchen"? Amy Pennington was speaking my life in that cramped aisle. I had to have this book. And the enabler totally agreed. And then there were the perfect Christmas cards...Sigh. So anyway. The budget went out of the window- but it's okay! Because I was still able to have enough money between cash and credit card to get the books, (the other one was just two dollars--stop judging me!) cards, and ingredients for one of the recipes in the book to try it out.<br />
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</b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><b>Baked Eggs with Kale & Crusty Bread</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uAS7ksEHMT_ux6Le-BHz8mC5M_05BKfQkogxo5rVvs9CaIPP_IS0WLK1n9c5YI5ZLL3BtKTooruigLXY03ZmuToh8ItWZ1od0ATeq6889HcFJHTyQi0Y_cCc8y3a0vLhjI0hWe6SAk-i/s1600/baked+eggs+and+kale+with+crusty+bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uAS7ksEHMT_ux6Le-BHz8mC5M_05BKfQkogxo5rVvs9CaIPP_IS0WLK1n9c5YI5ZLL3BtKTooruigLXY03ZmuToh8ItWZ1od0ATeq6889HcFJHTyQi0Y_cCc8y3a0vLhjI0hWe6SAk-i/s1600/baked+eggs+and+kale+with+crusty+bread.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-tQVgts0CGvDGM2uSa3mP80g-y1ZsSd8cYY6VybPNLMWig06d5FPH9bqavBFDBCERInJbotk2Ov04nAO_7M3d3clWCrdADAMzM1qhfVwV8QhnAclrl6aJlvTxxP3vPl284Ktoe2A0eTa/s1600/4+strips+of+bacon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-tQVgts0CGvDGM2uSa3mP80g-y1ZsSd8cYY6VybPNLMWig06d5FPH9bqavBFDBCERInJbotk2Ov04nAO_7M3d3clWCrdADAMzM1qhfVwV8QhnAclrl6aJlvTxxP3vPl284Ktoe2A0eTa/s200/4+strips+of+bacon.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2 to 3 strips of cooked Bacon (I used 4)</span></i></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Olive Oil</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Half an Onion thinly sliced</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>2 cloves of Garlic, crushed</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>1 bunch of Kale cut into ribbons crosswise starting at the stem end</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes ( I used cayenne)</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Salt</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>3 Eggs</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Toasted Baguette, rubbed with raw garlic clove</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Preheat the oven to 350.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGgScUmoXJ60lC7PyhZlL7h4LO3mIyLy0tKFAvKlkoi6zJAG81b20s8P7FfDKPIcO8xGwvkbJmoiOKfKyobcH-UIlp239vwBlMcmfRbyvsbA7qb4Dw8140gJXPD7TF5r7Ns2Z3OVDN-86/s1600/kale+cooking+down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGgScUmoXJ60lC7PyhZlL7h4LO3mIyLy0tKFAvKlkoi6zJAG81b20s8P7FfDKPIcO8xGwvkbJmoiOKfKyobcH-UIlp239vwBlMcmfRbyvsbA7qb4Dw8140gJXPD7TF5r7Ns2Z3OVDN-86/s200/kale+cooking+down.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">So you only need one skillet for this dish- score! You start off cooking the bacon, then take it out and drain the bacon grease ( I reserved this for a later use). Then I just put in my olive oil- didn't even wash or wipe it out- who can resist bacon grease? FLAVOR! Then I added my onion and garlic -walked out of the kitchen and nearly burned it too hehe. Didn't take me the 10 minutes she allotted but then my stove gets crazy hot. Then I put my Kale in three batches letting it cook down each time. It was about the last batch that I realized I didn't have any red pepper flakes so I just threw in a bit more than a pinch of my trusty cayenne pepper. Whew! And the salt after that I let it cook down for a few minutes, added my inch of water, and put the lid on to let it saute until tender- for me this was about 5-8 minutes. I don't mind a bit of a bite though. Then I drained off the excess liquid. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJwHXgsgG_DiDQtQci3p99-3QCTw1oCJyAYwK9h9WpWLH3BOorJXcpZKP34vz9WmO1JHlqJZ32kAvOYF2kAGoBMAJYFQpYqgjL1Cgu8lq94vn93Wgx8tvmY0rm-X6s9S9PlGq-Qh3Yg0M/s1600/on+the+way+into+the+oven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJwHXgsgG_DiDQtQci3p99-3QCTw1oCJyAYwK9h9WpWLH3BOorJXcpZKP34vz9WmO1JHlqJZ32kAvOYF2kAGoBMAJYFQpYqgjL1Cgu8lq94vn93Wgx8tvmY0rm-X6s9S9PlGq-Qh3Yg0M/s200/on+the+way+into+the+oven.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I turned my pan to medium high I was really nervous because as I said my stove gets hot! I had to move quickly here so I made three holes in my kale all the way to the bottom and dropped my three eggs into them lickety split. It was so pretty! Then I let them set before popping them into the oven. I always forget to preheat the oven so I didn't turn it on until the kale was already cooking because I glanced down and saw they needed to be in the oven soon! So I put them in at 275 (blush) for 10 minutes (the recommended time was 6-10) with the bread on top of my open skillet (wasn't sure the lid was oven proof) because I also forgot to toast it- Yay!</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsX-k05jfW0FgczoPtqDSU52f_6hiA4XN5zhy5KDQvEiM3QoEBwOlJprCU6zCXgDhUGOhOKNIJ08KhEq7vpo8VbpfH-dkhTxLQfPbMFwa-1_So90esxCqVLYbvjceDh76IqIk8jt3AF42/s1600/baguettes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsX-k05jfW0FgczoPtqDSU52f_6hiA4XN5zhy5KDQvEiM3QoEBwOlJprCU6zCXgDhUGOhOKNIJ08KhEq7vpo8VbpfH-dkhTxLQfPbMFwa-1_So90esxCqVLYbvjceDh76IqIk8jt3AF42/s200/baguettes.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My bread hanging out waiting to go in the oven</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0dE3bhTooBv8Hun_AOyQyAXRn3LzY3iv7DzJaJInyNGcN8gK_l6q5BDDhV6BR6203i1tzoUOYQdRJMN0SmyLs2ZFlIjHwG3FKTEMzANyQOxloddETOoQtk5bwE2StasyX37C8O1bTV4R/s1600/fresh+out+of+the+oven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0dE3bhTooBv8Hun_AOyQyAXRn3LzY3iv7DzJaJInyNGcN8gK_l6q5BDDhV6BR6203i1tzoUOYQdRJMN0SmyLs2ZFlIjHwG3FKTEMzANyQOxloddETOoQtk5bwE2StasyX37C8O1bTV4R/s200/fresh+out+of+the+oven.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">My favorite part was of course next. I popped them out of the oven- they were so CUTE! </div><div style="text-align: left;">and rubbed my bread down with a crushed clove and added a drizzle of flax seed oil- I gotta be healthy lol. and topped with my crumbled bacon.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5Dgk1q5wJIc8V3D2onUdi7GcJRi4hxKjUipbCqBKU8zItksLoKBVJ35kjHg3U6ckP5aC6KgqwFImO5mxQTxeccXqvNcuyN_Q6B2jgKS8wapEvKCmHT-4HRLNKM0qRs5EDwHATSPhBJVw/s1600/tadah%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5Dgk1q5wJIc8V3D2onUdi7GcJRi4hxKjUipbCqBKU8zItksLoKBVJ35kjHg3U6ckP5aC6KgqwFImO5mxQTxeccXqvNcuyN_Q6B2jgKS8wapEvKCmHT-4HRLNKM0qRs5EDwHATSPhBJVw/s1600/tadah%2521.jpg" /></a></div><br />
It was beyond Delish! Make it! Tell me if you loved it! Go buy her book! And tell me about that too!<br />
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<i>"Urban Pantry: Tips & Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable & Seasonal Kitchen" By Amy Pennington</i>What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-35654929105661707042010-12-19T23:30:00.001-05:002010-12-31T23:15:10.262-05:00Mismatched Ingredients and other "creating on a budget" disasters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6iiGR-GVMrQByNnc5z6u31OP-f9S6M15JCOQCvus5iKXXQf_rSVUSCOcqB-CgS-Okw4TLbdrOCci4ZZjGGQ0MNf-e2z8H4i9vc0tjUDfaFIcCZYWpF9ihv9wMhzPJr36vIG5A-XrnZAvK/s1600/photo%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6iiGR-GVMrQByNnc5z6u31OP-f9S6M15JCOQCvus5iKXXQf_rSVUSCOcqB-CgS-Okw4TLbdrOCci4ZZjGGQ0MNf-e2z8H4i9vc0tjUDfaFIcCZYWpF9ihv9wMhzPJr36vIG5A-XrnZAvK/s200/photo%25284%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Ok so you know how you will have one or two (or if you are lucky and amazingly more organized dedicated and awesome than I am several) weeks maybe where you responsibly and diligently stock your fridge with the perfect ingredients to make wholesome healthy and satisfying meals, leaving you satisfied, happy and proud of yourself? Where you pat yourself on the back for not eating out because you planned ahead so well you never had an "Oh, Crap what are we going to eat for dinner/breakfast/snacks/ the weekend," moment? Which is always inevitably followed by the week/s where you open your fridge and there is nothing- NOTHING to make a meal with? Why is that?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>For some reason this happens to me a lot.<br />
<a name='more'></a> I get on a good roll and then I <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>just start taking it for granted that there are yummy meal making food options and I stop looking at grocery ads, stop stalking FreshDirect and stop planning my next grocery trip. And then one day I open the fridge at like 6pm right before Chaley gets home and it's like S*$@ what in the world are we going to eat??? And I know she isn't going to want to go grocery shopping after work (and its 20 degrees outside who wants to pick up milk etc in this chilling weather? So then we are wither a) rifling through delivery menus/delivery.com/menupages.com trying to find<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xnbOMlThyWOdwkIPJq4EY0D280cgfCzdt1O5t1T47HYmrtsmCnM-POImw_tYDVxCxRgPlfiJPFd4eCtZUXR7m37wCioUIG0s30HC-LJwnV4Ygi0OO8l8uQnHyKkGSqnGuMgu-V7OoM4x/s1600/photo%25287%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xnbOMlThyWOdwkIPJq4EY0D280cgfCzdt1O5t1T47HYmrtsmCnM-POImw_tYDVxCxRgPlfiJPFd4eCtZUXR7m37wCioUIG0s30HC-LJwnV4Ygi0OO8l8uQnHyKkGSqnGuMgu-V7OoM4x/s200/photo%25287%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>ONE THING FOR GOODNESS" SAKE THAT WE WANT TO EAT! And that's when we never want any of it. In fact all we want is a good homecooked meal. Or b) I look in the cupboard/fridge/(pantry otherwise known as my counter) and I see this:<br />
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And for some reason I think, "Hey I'll make an Asian pasta salad! No peanuts? NO sesame seeds? Just Pine Nuts? NO problem! All I have are some green beans? We'll make it work! No wonton crunchies? No scallions? No yummy asian anything besides this Asian marinade dressing and pineapple chunks? WHO CARES??? IT DOESN'T MATTER! I'LL Be CREATIVE! And then there I am boiling campanella noodles and talking myself into believing this is going to work; Marinade, Blanched Green Beans, Pine Nuts, and Pineapple Chunks. Don't judge me.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcY38Yq1MYMhAQOKtMvV2PZbXtMts7L03mDHzYhItzEspIXYkQfyxz6S4DvCdrzzrlF4PohMG51R57ljRlJWNVTu2Ts_-CHwFvKU3UhTJyzSGfo-nnS8o_Pmfd2vyCpvIXgWp-Yn2Fk54/s1600/photo%25286%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcY38Yq1MYMhAQOKtMvV2PZbXtMts7L03mDHzYhItzEspIXYkQfyxz6S4DvCdrzzrlF4PohMG51R57ljRlJWNVTu2Ts_-CHwFvKU3UhTJyzSGfo-nnS8o_Pmfd2vyCpvIXgWp-Yn2Fk54/s200/photo%25286%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50iTsNzU1iZ-aDgLySrw6zdIKqFgGJXo9wdwrxP43BHQBdfwFcuqE1CDah8aKlKaoj5w1IwvzhA1fGM6V9waAAq12QBBs8sWwro_-iXikb8LfpYR47TeUUMGXs9EFFb1la-vP8jdw8np2/s1600/photo%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50iTsNzU1iZ-aDgLySrw6zdIKqFgGJXo9wdwrxP43BHQBdfwFcuqE1CDah8aKlKaoj5w1IwvzhA1fGM6V9waAAq12QBBs8sWwro_-iXikb8LfpYR47TeUUMGXs9EFFb1la-vP8jdw8np2/s200/photo%25283%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuCHfOt_qOOA98Pq9Ux6ehkiX8D3s0-zVuFaLUSzTdvbv0Gdh-KPBO86AIkG5H-N_xDLMNI1R2LhYNyLAwkfAC3h6QoB3hKtUFa72Nqmgrs_H0TYNNI91QFzcRXnl8rXKQju-o5MC_Pxw/s1600/photo%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuCHfOt_qOOA98Pq9Ux6ehkiX8D3s0-zVuFaLUSzTdvbv0Gdh-KPBO86AIkG5H-N_xDLMNI1R2LhYNyLAwkfAC3h6QoB3hKtUFa72Nqmgrs_H0TYNNI91QFzcRXnl8rXKQju-o5MC_Pxw/s200/photo%25285%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBRzmm7-xSFS24OKWXtQUO7nnJRGgk1cqzK1EIu7_ISpszL7R0lnHesGTBYTzlQBCXitar4ZELGSn-smojuxfcTe_dxvKNRsDBcTKAtv4p5N1rvIJHKuEib_j4RUherAGpi0hoGXBPXEh/s1600/photo%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBRzmm7-xSFS24OKWXtQUO7nnJRGgk1cqzK1EIu7_ISpszL7R0lnHesGTBYTzlQBCXitar4ZELGSn-smojuxfcTe_dxvKNRsDBcTKAtv4p5N1rvIJHKuEib_j4RUherAGpi0hoGXBPXEh/s200/photo%25282%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRucgDOaW559URa5yU_-08T0g7kK8GSFfib5x_7mjyKjYTj8rxQVhVChzSO-YcBSrQSLJU1dLDpahi9QpxnCDOgHjng8tKrTZtvOyEMBy-UEGE8ue0aXTWD8X_teYaqOp0jNQPga9SB6V4/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRucgDOaW559URa5yU_-08T0g7kK8GSFfib5x_7mjyKjYTj8rxQVhVChzSO-YcBSrQSLJU1dLDpahi9QpxnCDOgHjng8tKrTZtvOyEMBy-UEGE8ue0aXTWD8X_teYaqOp0jNQPga9SB6V4/s200/photo.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>This was literally all I had. Okay Okay I confess when I tasted it all in my head it did not taste ...great. But I was hungry and Delusional. AND hunger makes you do some crazy things but sometimes beauty comes out of throwing whatever you have together. Just not this time.<br />
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So we had Thai instead.What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-38779813334077581422010-12-06T21:28:00.000-05:002010-12-30T23:13:34.045-05:00Bread Baking and BootcampSo I made bread. And it was awesome and I took a lot of pictures so I could share my experience step by step. And then I sat down on Saturday night for 3 hours writing and picking from the 80 or so pictures I took. Whoa. Way more that I expected! So I am still editing and trying to cut where I can. But I hope to post it tomorrow at the latest! Bear with me :)<br />
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In other news I started my second week of bootcamp today. And I ALMOST DIED!!!! Seriously. SERIOUSLY! It was all chest work and leg work. Not easy for someone as out of shape as I am. Also, it was 19 degrees out with wind chill which means stiff muscles! So even though I struggled the most there was not one person who wasn't struggling today. So there's that. You know misery loves company. I felt really disappointed in myself this morning. My calves were tight, my arches were killing me and I felt like I was in an exhaustive fog the whole workout. <br />
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At the end, Laura and one of my fellow bootcampers told me I did a good job today, and that I never give up. It made me feel really good because today was my hardest bootcamp day. I made it! Let's hope Wednesday's a better day :)<br />
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Okay I'll see you tomorrow, with two new blogs, the bread and what I ate on it.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIA5UPspwRevk1vMYB_CxhhkENnr722_9Lc16p4nr6zb3m9Y-6VjfDPGnIh9sLza2Xtd6fmor-K143uT3JezLTRw_GiGQguJowhIJ6ph59sxYXKdGks7VqxQ9LFHnzY5bSJ9FzYm7PpoAf/s1600/Egg+sandwiches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIA5UPspwRevk1vMYB_CxhhkENnr722_9Lc16p4nr6zb3m9Y-6VjfDPGnIh9sLza2Xtd6fmor-K143uT3JezLTRw_GiGQguJowhIJ6ph59sxYXKdGks7VqxQ9LFHnzY5bSJ9FzYm7PpoAf/s400/Egg+sandwiches.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Radish, Scallion and Egg Salad Sandwiches</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-53542948232386450312010-12-03T11:31:00.003-05:002010-12-31T23:17:06.244-05:004:00 AM Already?So you know that feeling you get when you realize you are approaching 30 and you're whole life has been passing you by while you fret over bills and what you're going to make for dinner? Well I had that feeling times ten this fall when I realized- I am turning 27! Seriously? Like, how did that happen? So I did what any sane person would do.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvbQ2t3mgBf5GFYEVOy_OO-lxebqfOA_93S05a6DZzumfCtjJnz2M48P4NBQ3z4vR78-VU9IKnvlxeAUslho81w_CHcDhV6y7TwDlYM6-s-jlUEPyJu23Kq9w-3ZuBasPeEXFQ49xlAVcz/s1600/The+Tools.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvbQ2t3mgBf5GFYEVOy_OO-lxebqfOA_93S05a6DZzumfCtjJnz2M48P4NBQ3z4vR78-VU9IKnvlxeAUslho81w_CHcDhV6y7TwDlYM6-s-jlUEPyJu23Kq9w-3ZuBasPeEXFQ49xlAVcz/s1600/The+Tools.jpg" /></a>I signed up for a bootcamp. I mean, really I can blame this ALL on wellandgoodnyc.com- they had a special being advertised and at 80% a girl like me with a budget like mine can't get fit for a better price. So I signed up for the one that started this past Monday because that was my 27th birthday and what better way to start off 27 right? Well, let me tell you at 4:00 Monday morning I was definitely kicking myself. But I got out of bed anyway and at 5:20 I was...lost.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3SZB1kilEs458qyaPZfz1ne0_biRFNP6HODrpXh8wI1RjNizS97PWrWDdCcwgKBihgCtvBQiihNxEkcVSy1MliTEI0B76OM_XCskolVu45T0QbbWDACYqqVLHHwf2P88XoWhg53ynV-V/s1600/bootcamp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3SZB1kilEs458qyaPZfz1ne0_biRFNP6HODrpXh8wI1RjNizS97PWrWDdCcwgKBihgCtvBQiihNxEkcVSy1MliTEI0B76OM_XCskolVu45T0QbbWDACYqqVLHHwf2P88XoWhg53ynV-V/s1600/bootcamp2.jpg" /></a>LOL. Yes, my sense of direction when it's dark and I am still sleepy could use a lot of help. I wandered around for 40 minutes in the cold before I finally found my way (*whew) and when I got there the women were all doing circuits (its a women's bootcamp). They were all also coincidentally- TINY! Worst nightmare. Seriously. I'm talking Lululemon model fit. And they were doing crazy circuits. in super cute Lululemon/ Athletica/ Nike/ awesome workout clothing. And then there was me. In my sweats and hoodie. Because those stores don't carry my size, actually. So yay for that! I was definitely already feeling self conscious about being late and I thought, "Wait, so not one of you can be overweight? Like, not even a little?? I really have to be the only fat girl?" LOL. SOO NOT FAIR LIFE! This is why overweight women like myself don't workout. We are alway surrounded by these perfect little high energy people who look at us with those EYES!<br />
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I'm projecting aren't I? Sorry! :) I had a moment. I'm good now. So I only caught like the last 20 minutes of the workout but that last 20 mins was no joke. I left really apprehensive for Wednesday. Am I going to make it through an entire hour? I definitely felt the need to prove that I wasn't going to hold everyone back. But Wednesday though brutal was awesome! I didn't stop early or pass out or give up so yay!<br />
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My brother Mikaelin said something profound over thanksgiving about how hard 26 was and how at 27 he realized he can't just wait for everything in life to fan out to start living the way he wants to live and being who he wants to be. And I think I had that same realization. Like you spend this huge chunk of your life saying when I'm rich or when I have this or when I have that, I'm going to do a,b, and c. And we both just sort of realized life will pass you by like this and we're not getting any younger so we might as well just do those things and be those people now/ Dress how we want, look how we want, live how we want. We need to live for today! OMG how simple and rudimentary is that! It's one of those things people say to you EVERY DAY! So, I'm not getting any younger. I have to get fit now. :)<br />
So there you go.<br />
This is the view I had walking home from bootcamp this morning:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNlRqX6osLRxFzN2tV5PW2a-6Ko16pa-nbzAD1BW_e99tWYEeK-Tqp4cOxeEFwlJnnVXAno_7MKGK8TA3sILBo4iVxl8dGrfTfzFGnIGcGZviAjj0byrsx2EJhyE-ElhNh1s3v0pBnYT2/s1600/Bootcamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNlRqX6osLRxFzN2tV5PW2a-6Ko16pa-nbzAD1BW_e99tWYEeK-Tqp4cOxeEFwlJnnVXAno_7MKGK8TA3sILBo4iVxl8dGrfTfzFGnIGcGZviAjj0byrsx2EJhyE-ElhNh1s3v0pBnYT2/s1600/Bootcamp.jpg" /></a>Beautiful. I feel good :)What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6377139099841241927.post-7555491207533857742010-12-02T16:32:00.001-05:002010-12-02T21:12:28.438-05:00Looking in the Fridge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1XL2uHq7QPJDH3wppWxc-MnGkXExwF87kwAr6mR4vl-Xdem1zIpTeCsZ0W41sQCYveii8Dq_Y6x2OTQcXuRGRzHZEHmmD0skiSC1mUVnECtNc0xVHfjdjdBMdygWss-4M7gkjU8o9Mdz/s1600/155440_10150096292191117_503671116_7694036_3496276_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1XL2uHq7QPJDH3wppWxc-MnGkXExwF87kwAr6mR4vl-Xdem1zIpTeCsZ0W41sQCYveii8Dq_Y6x2OTQcXuRGRzHZEHmmD0skiSC1mUVnECtNc0xVHfjdjdBMdygWss-4M7gkjU8o9Mdz/s320/155440_10150096292191117_503671116_7694036_3496276_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>So of course after thanksgiving the fridge slowly begins to empty of all the yummy thanksgiving leftovers. All the prep and beauty just disappears day by day. (6 large onions people! 2 lbs of mushrooms! All the celery!!)<br />
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So now I can see all of the neglected items I bought before thanksgiving- the fresh leeks that were thick and hearty at the farmers market, the baby rainbow carrots that were just so cute, the bright happy little radishes and the still crisp scallions. But one thing that thanksgiving does give me an appetite for is sweets. I fill up on savory my taste of choice and so begin my rare and few but oh so intense sugar cravings. Needless to say, none of those yummy veggies made it out of the fridge the other day. I bypassed them straight away for the still full Nutella and half full mascarpone sitting in my fridge.<br />
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Okay, so what I am about to say is going to sound like blasphemy. But please bear with me! I have had these two items in my fridge for FOREVER!! I didn't even know Nutella wasn't supposed to be refrigerated until I took it out of the fridge. Here's why: I don't like it! I bought it on the recommendation of a friend and scooped it out to make some banana dish (classic right? ri-ight??) and hated it. I thought it was way too sweet. I'm more of a dark chocolate girl and I am iffy when it comes to hazelnut. So why did I buy it?? Right? Well I happen to find a good sale (2/$5) really hard to resist and at that price why not give it a try, right? So it was sitting in my fridge looking forlorn next to the mascarpone that I also had in my fridge because I hadn't found the taste of mascarpone to be that awesome either to be honest.<br />
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But dear reader don't despair! I was ready to give them another go! So I searched and searched for a Nutella/Mascarpone recipe. Took me forever to find on that sounded good enough to adapt without me having to run out to the store (budgeting, hello?) I happened upon a mascarpone Nutella mousse, and as I had some leftover pecans from thanksgiving along with a few walnuts and almonds hanging out in a cupboard decided to make a nut pie crust. Healthier right? Eh, not so much what with the melted butter. It was a combination of these two recipes I found on allrecipes.com: <a href="http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/pecan-nut-crust/Detail.aspx">Pecan Nut Crust</a> and <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Walnut-Pie-Crust/Detail.aspx">Walnut Pie Crust</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwZuY5N0JaQp7VI5aSAyJ5JJg9Yh499DOKBFVr1JJx7pq-e0OIOHjIOpYqIudzWz3HALzJrPOA9G9vQb3V8Gr-_Ury60m8d2NtdcHX2Npjfnhb5ZCq_TvKX9Gqt6RdVvkWzKYhWrIwVaE/s1600/148997_10150098925111117_503671116_7733783_6776500_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwZuY5N0JaQp7VI5aSAyJ5JJg9Yh499DOKBFVr1JJx7pq-e0OIOHjIOpYqIudzWz3HALzJrPOA9G9vQb3V8Gr-_Ury60m8d2NtdcHX2Npjfnhb5ZCq_TvKX9Gqt6RdVvkWzKYhWrIwVaE/s320/148997_10150098925111117_503671116_7733783_6776500_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>I had about two cups of nuts once I pulsed it in the food processor, so I modified accordingly, using four tbsp of butter, and also adding 1/3 cup of flour. I kept the ground cinnamon from the pecan version and it added such a holiday feel to this pie. I refrigerated it for 2 hours then took it out and added a thin layer of Nutella to the top of the crust before baking it. While it baked I made my whipped mousse and refrigerated it, to keep it cool while waiting for my crust to come out and cool. Then i just spooned it onto the top and smoothed it down. I wish it had one more layer to fill the deep dish pie pan, but man oh man was it good!<br />
It may not look like much but this little humble pie totally sold me on Nutella and Mascarpone.<br />
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Score!What's For Dinner?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16425159664535272949noreply@blogger.com0