Sugar sugar

I'm rather stressed out today. Tim and I are supposed to be headed out to Oklahoma for Christmas, but our trip has been delayed because of the following:
1. Rock slide blocking I-40 in the mountains of NC
2. Snow storm clogging up our detour route through Virginia
3. Freshly broken tooth in the mouth of yours truly.
Not a happy day. But there's nothing I can do to change those things on this chilly Saturday night, so let's focus on something happy, huh? Something like baked goods!



Back in the 1990s, Corey's mother, Karen, frequently brought home these amazingly tasty sugar cookies topped with apricot icing. I think she bought them out of the back of some woman's car or something. They were obviously homemade - placed on a paper plate and wrapped with cling film, no hint of a price tag or ingredient list to be found. They were so tasty - so soft and chewy without the artificial-ness I taste in most cookies from commercial bakeries. And that icing! So unexpected and delicious.

Occasionally I think back to those amazing cookies & long to eat them again. Since Karen, rest her soul, has left us, I cannot ask her where she bought those cookies. Even if I knew it doesn't matter because I'm stuck in North Carolina now. There was only one thing to do: try to recreate the cookies at home. After tons of searching for the right cookie recipe, I found one on-line a few weeks ago that looked like it had great potential. I tweaked the recipe a bit and was quite pleased with the results. Tim took some to the office & our friend, Kevin, declared them the best sugar cookies he has ever eaten. They're easy to make, too, so if you're in the mood to get your bake on, give these a whirl.

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.
4. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Dip bottom half of balls into sugar. Place balls sugared-side down on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. DO NOT OVER-BAKE!
8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

I'm experimenting with the apricot icing. The icing I made this time is a blend of powdered sugar, apricot nectar, apricot extract, and a drop of red food coloring. I just kept adding stuff until it looked and tasted right. Don't you hate cooking directions like that? I know I do. At any rate, it was nice, but still not quite what I remembered. I think next time I'll try some apricot preserves instead. If I ever get it to a flavor I like I promise to pass it along.

Living up to their name

Mmmmmm ... baked goooooooooods ...

I love baked goods.

Especially homemade baked goods.

Potato yeast rolls are especially tempting for me. I can turn away a slab of cheesecake or a plate of fries. But hot, fresh, homemade potato yeast rolls? Oh my.

Pass the butter.

Memory Card Month - Day 23

Since I took you to Parker & Otis yesterday, I thought we'd stick around there for a little while.

I absolutely love this shop. It is deceptively large. From the street, you'd think it is a narrow little storefront. But it is DEEP. And it has great high ceiling with tons of light. For those of you in Tulsa, I'd say it's about 8 times the size of LaDonna's, but about 25% of that is seating.

In the back they have a bakery where they sell cupcakes amongst other things. I hear they serve some fabulous sandwiches for lunch, too. Maybe next time.

The front part of the store is the "pantry" section where you can buy fancy thing like truffle oil and swanky teas.

They also sell a lot of old fashioned candy like these Necco wafers. My mother LOVES these things for reasons that I don't think I shall ever understand.

I saw a number of things at Parker & Otis that made me think specifically of george. I'll post pics of them tomorrow.

Memory Card Month - Day 22

This is a zucchini cupcake with buttercream frosting from Parker & Otis, an adorable gourmet food store in downtown Durham. I wish I had one of these babies in my mits right now. That would be so choice.

Speaking of Scooby Doo, today is the birthday of my brother, Mike! Did I mention that one of his photos was featured in a 2 page spread in Spin Magazine? So cool! Go to the link on the left to see his portfolio ... and prepare to be amazed.

Babies on Spikes

Welcome to Day 8 of Memory Card Month! Today we're featuring a photo of one of Tim's favorite desserts: a little something we like to call Babies On Spikes.

Yes, it looks like a trifle. That's because it is a trifle. There's sponge cake & fruit with a layer of cherry jello, then a layer of custard, topped with a layer of whipped cream. All of those layers look very pretty, yes?

Unfortunately, it doesn't look so pretty once you scoop it out & put it in a bowl. There are lumps of gelatinous red goo and ribbons of puss-yellow slime. Frankly, it kinda looks like what you might have if you took a cue from Eddie Izzard and, well, impaled some babies on spikes.

Who wants seconds!?

Durham Farmers' Market

Last night the Travel Channel aired an episode of "Man vs Food" that took place in Durham. It only mentioned a few restaurants - none of them particularly noteworthy in my opinion - but amongst the shots of the DoughMan competition, I believe I spotted some shots of the Durham Farmers' Market. Since the farmers' market is on the same block at the Scrap Exchange, it's only right that we wander on down there and take a peek!



My pics were taken on a Wednesday when the market is relatively quiet (probably 15 vendors). My friend John recently went on a Saturday when it was packed with at least twice as many booths.


What I love about the Durham market is that every single thing sold there is grown or raised within 70 miles of the market, so you know you're helping local farmers. Veggies, eggs, meat, etc., it's all local. There's even a booth where you can buy whole wheat flour ground from locally grown wheat. I should buy some of that next time.


Go here to see more of John's pics.

Next to the booth area is the Garden of Eatin'!

Get it? Eden? Eatin'? ANYway ... It's a permanent garden full of fruit trees and herbs and flowers and such. It's a great place to waste time while you're waiting for the booths to open.

Young blueberries still on the bush.


An honest to goodness paw paw tree! Makes me think of that song from "The Jungle Book"

Pink Cake!

On Tuesday my mother will arrive. In approximately 90 hours, her plane will land & 2 weeks of fun & frivolity will ensue! We're going to visit the state farmer's market and see "The Color Purple" at the DPAC and maybe go to an arts festival. Next weekend my dad and Ray will show up and we'll all drive out to the Outer Banks where we'll spend a whole week hanging out with Uncle Buster, Aunt Fay, my cousin David, his wife Cassie, and their daughter, Sammy. Ten people in a beach house, visiting historic sites or splashing in the ocean by day, playing Rock Band and poker by night. It should be fabulous!

But before then, I have to get the house ready. That has been my whole goal this week. I'm trying not to be too much of a perfectionist this time around, but it's hard to turn that off. A part of me wants to make sure that everything is JUST RIGHT. Every surface must be scrubbed! Or freshly painted! Every need must be anticipated! Right?
Wrong.
I need to relax. It's just my family, right? They won't care if I still haven't painted the upstairs hallway. They won't care if the shower curtain is still a couple inches too long. They'll be happy just to be here. Right. I'll keep reminding myself of that.

By the by, it has been 2 weeks since the Big Ol' Audition and I have not heard from anyone yet. Le siiiiiiiiiiigh.


Random side notes (a la george)
Other things I did to celebrate my birthweek
1. Saw the "This American Life" live broadcast with Tim, Jennifer, and Kyle
2. Drove down to the new Ikea (only 2 hours away!) & bought a ton of stuff for the house
3. Got a giant 8 quart stainless steel mixing bowl that, luckily for me, also works well as an impromptu rain bonnet
4. Had the gang over (the usual 7 people) for a dinner party, for which we made the following
- swedish meatballs (yes, Ikea was the inspiration)
- boiled new potatoes
- sauteed french green beans
- yeast potato rolls (soooooooo amazingly good)
- 2 layer strawberry cake with buttercream frosting (because pink cakes are the best)

Why be blue?

A number of months ago I found out about a quirky little film that's been playing on the festival circuit & ever since then I've been dying to see it. It's an animated film (but it's not for kids) that tells an ancient Indian love story and how the events of that fairy tale are mirrored in the life of the writer/animator who created the film. It isn't all happiness & rainbows, though, so don't confuse this with some sappy Disney fare. Need more convincing? then get this: it's got monkey warriors! And who doesn't love animated monkey warriors? It's called "Sita Sings The Blues" and it's now available on-line. You can watch a video stream or you can download it - all with the blessings of the woman who wrote, directed, animated, and produced the whole thing. I really really LOVED this film, so I urge you to watch it as soon as you can.
http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/watch.html

But before you push play, you need to spend a couple minutes in the kitchen. Because you will want to crunch on roasted chickpeas while you watch the film. Oh yes.

This is a really easy recipe. See that photo? That's all of the ingredients. Seriously! Not quite as easy as the dulce de leche I talked about a few weeks back, but almost. But this recipe is a whole lot healthier than dulce de leche, so that makes up for it - especially since these crispy little babies don't taste healthy. Actually, I feel I should warn you that these spicy nuggets can get addictive.

Garam Masala Roasted Chickpeas (from the Bitchin Camero blog)

2 15 oz. cans chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. Garam Masala (or curry powder or whatever spice makes you happy)
1 tsp. fine-grain sea salt (or regular table salt. Don't buy special salt for this)

1. Preheat your oven to 375F.
2. Dump the chickpeas in a colander and rinse them off really well. I don't know why, but my chickpeas always develop bubbles while I'm rinsing them off. When there are no more bubbles, I know they're properly rinsed.
3. Let the chickpeas sit & drain for about 5 minutes. You could also pour them out onto some paper towels. They don't have to be bone dry, but you don't want them drippy wet, either.
4. Put your drained chickpeas into a bowl. Add the oil, spices, and salt. Stir until chickpeas are well coated.
5. Spread chickpeas out in an even layer on a rimmed cookie sheet.
6. Roast for 40 - 45 minutes. Be sure to stir them half-way through cooking in order to keep the peas in the corners from burning. When the chickpeas are crispy, they're done!

There you have it. Your plans for the evening are set!

Nothin' says lovin' ...

Last Sunday was Tim's birthday & I wanted to do something nice for him so over the past couple weeks I've been busy in the kitchen cooking up lots of tasty stuff - mainly baked goods. Arguably too many. We had 7 people in this house for Tim's birthday party but they barely made a dent in it all. I gotta admit that it was fun to make, though. I just need more people to come over & help me consume my creations!

Here's a little taste (heh heh) of what I've been making.

Dulce de leche. Also known as Confiture de Lait, milk jam, or simply wonderful, caramel-y goo. This is the easiest thing in the world to make. Do yourself a favor & try it.


The famous chocolate chip cookies from The New York Times. These babies require some unusual ingredients & have to sit in the fridge for 24 to 36 hours before you bake them. Honestly, I think the recipe is a bit fussy, but I rather liked the big chocolate disks & the way they melt out in thin layers throughout the cookies.


Almond bundt cake. Hope you can spot it in the pic. This was Tim's official b-day cake and, like the cookies, it required some unusual ingredients (good luck finding almond filling!), but it certainly was tasty.


Touch of Grace biscuits. Yes, that's a biscuit in the photo. These were by far the MESSIEST things I have ever made in my entire life. Even messier than pie crust. When I was done, there was a thick layer of flour all over the oven & my hands were covered in gluey gunk. But oh my ... so yummy. Light yet moist with a touch of sweetness.


Tutti Fruiti ice cream ... or at least that's what Tim calls it. Following Tim's suggestion. I made strawberry ice cream & mixed in candied cherries (Tim's favorite) plus candied orange & lemon peel. I don't know if it's technically "tutti" but it sure is creamy, fruity, & delicious.


Somehow we've managed to consume most of this stuff in the past week. There's a good deal of ice cream left (it keeps better than anything else), as well as one cookie & a slice of cake. I suppose Tim and I have probably put on an extra pound or so in the past week. Oh well! I guess I'm just trying to put the "love" back in love handles.

Goods - mostly of the baked variety

It's coming up on February, which means I've got a lot of cooking in my forecast - our elopement anniversary, Tim's birthday, Jennifer's return from California, and ... ummm, because I want to? Oh, and Millie's birthday! Hooray for more excuses to bake!

In honor of these occasions, I think I'll make some things from my new cookbooks, but I've also found some recipes on-line that caught my interest. I'm going to post links here just so I don't lose them. So I guess this post is really just for me. Unless, of course, you're also in the mood to cook.

Pink strawberry cake made from scratch with real strawberries (no Jello!)
Check comments for buttercream frosting recipe. I've been looking for a recipe like this for, oh, 4 months or so. Who knew is was so hard to make pink cake without food coloring?

Homemade perogies!
Because everybody loves perogies ... even if they don't know it yet.

Dorrie Greenspan's perfect party cake
So pretty! Perhaps I'm developing a thing for pink food.

Almond bundt cake
Originally found here. Tim loves all thing amaretto, so I might make this for his birthday.

The recipe that swept up a baking frenzy in the cooking world last summer ...
NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Changes & substitutions from The Kitchn

Michelle Obama's shortbread cookies
Droooooooool.


Edited 1/29/09 to add ...
I found more stuff I want to make!

Dulche de leche made simply in the oven.

Truffles 4 ways

Peanut butter fudge rice krispie treats
Just read that name again. Amazing, no? At it's easy to leave the chocolate off for people like george.

Big hearted cookies
'Cause V-Day is coming fast

Whipped Shortbread Cookies
I've eaten the tinned variety of these so many times. Time to do it from scratch!

Cherry chocolate chip cookies
Why have I never thought of this before? Brilliant!

Whisky soaked dark chocolate bundt cake
I feel a little light-headed just reading this recipe ... but in a good way

Lull

Isn't it interesting how you can have days on end where nothing interesting happens, and then you suddenly fall into a 24 hour block that is chock full of delightful activity? That's been the story around here, hence the lack of posts in the past 2 weeks.

Last week was sooooooooo boring. The most exciting thing I did all week was move Millie's litter box from the guest bathroom to the laundry room. Luckily, Millie adapted to the change without incident. How thrilling.

Then came the glorious anniversary of the day when Tim got his driving license. He has now been a licensed driver in the states for 3 years which means our insurance rates have finally gone down. I know this news is boring as all get out to the average individual and, honestly, few things put me into a coma faster than reading sentences with words like "insurance rates" in them. But our bill was more than $100 cheaper this month than last month! And that's really something.

So yeah. Litter box. Insurance rates. These are the exciting components of my day-to-day life. So when I'm talking to my friends back home and they say that they envy me and my quiet little life, I should remind them of the reality of the situation.
Litter box.
Insurance rates.

It isn't all dull 'round here, though. This Wednesday I checked my schedule and discovered that my dance card was rather full for the evening. First of all, Tim and I met my friend Jackie and her husband David at a British Ex-Pat meet-up at our neighborhood pub. It was really nice to sit outside, eat hot wings, and chat about the things we miss back in England. I didn't have time to get too comfortable, though, because I had to be at Dana & Benni's house at 9pm to watch Project Runway. Yes, peeps, I finally found friends with satellite televsion who are willing to invite me over to enjoy our beloved PR. And my hosts are two of the funniest ladies to be found in town. After the show, Dana and I managed to stay awake chattering away until one o'clock in the morning! And we still weren't sick of eachother, so the 3 of us got together a mere 12 hours later to go to the state farmer's market.

Why the farmer's market? Well, Dana thought it was a crime that I had lived here for 2 whole years and had never been. This obviously needed to be rectified immediately. I tell you, I was kicking myself for leaving my camera at home. The state farmer's market is FABULOUS. It's in Raleigh and it is open every single day of the year. It's a great open air market where you can buy food of all sorts, all of which is grown/raised/caught in North Carolina. There was vendor after vendor after vendor selling every type of fresh produce imaginable (and giving out free samples, too). There were fresh flowers and herbs. There was goat cheese and meat. Fresh baked bread. And then there was the seafood restaurant. I had shrimp, catfish, home fries, hush puppies, and sweet tea. Good ol' fashioned cookin'. There's another restaurant there where they sell other southern favorites like biscuits and gravy. Oh my lands, the state farmers market is a glorious thing. I am definitely taking the fam there in September.

Now it's Friday & I expect another quiet weekend. That's okay. Sometimes a lull is a good thing. It makes the fun days all that much more enjoyable.

Friends, flames, and so much more

I really really really need to get a new memory card for my camera. I have realized that I don't feel right about posting on the ol' blog unless I have a photo to share with you. But how can I share new photos if I can't take more photos?! Vicious cycle! Ahhhhh! I'll fix that soon. Really. In the mean time, please use your imagination to create pictures in your mind as I describe the marvelously intriguing life I lead.

That last sentence was meant to be said with a good deal of sarcasm, but to be honest, things have been busy, exciting, and fun around here. It's a nice change. You see, it can be very hard for me to come back to NC after visiting old friends and family in Oklahoma. I go from a situation where I'm surrounded by activity and fun to ... well ... quiet & a touch of depression. But Tim was determined to change that this time, so he arranged some activites for us shortly after my return and I kept up the momentum by planning a few things of my own.

In the 12 days since I came back, we've done a lot. We've eaten out with friends a couple of times. And I saw a movie with Jennifer. And we went over to Wayne's house (Tim's boss) with a few friends for BBQ & swimming and we had much more fun than I expected. So it appears that we've got a social life and everything! Hooray! Plus, I've been busy cooking up new recipes in the kitchen. I made my first quiche (sooooo good!) and practiced my kneading skills by making yeast rolls all by myself for the first time (thanks for the tips, Mom!). And I finally went to the Durham farmers market for the first time and bought lots of locally-grown veggies (& explored downtown Durham while I was at it). And what's that sitting in my freezer right now? Why, it's homemade vanilla ice cream made with real vanilla beans. And there's caramel sauce swirled through that ice cream just to make it extra tasty. Imagine that.

By far the best part of this week was Tim's annual review at work. No really. Tim got fabulous marks across the board. None of that "needs improvement" crap for him. Nope, he is Mr. Exceeds Expectations! Woot! And as a reward, he received a promotion to Senior Engineer! And a lovely raise! I am so so so proud of him. He's been having a rough time at work over the last couple of months(damn PlayStation 3), so it is wonderful to see Tim get acknowledged like this. To celebrate we spent far too much money on books & then went out for Japanese food at the local hibachi restaurant. Because nothing says, "Congrats!" like flames and flashing knives.

Apparently the element of danger inherent in any trip to a hibachi restaurant brings romance to mind for some people, as evidenced by the exchange we witnessed that night. Early into our meal, we saw a couple get engaged. They appeared to be surrounded by family (Man, I hope that was family at their station & not a bunch of strangers). The guy presented his potential bride with a giant heart-shaped balloon that had "I Love You!" printed on it. And he got down on one knee and put a ring on her finger. All while wearing his baseball cap. Then the employees of the restaurant sang some unrecognizeable song and everyone in the restaurant clapped. And then I immediately turned to Tim & thanked him for not proposing to me in the middle of a Japanese restaurant surrounded by my entire family and/or a slew of strangers. But if he ever wants to give me a giant balloon in an effort to communicate his love for me, that would be cool ... especially if he's willing to breathe in the helium from said balloon because, dude, I have never heard anyone with an English accent talk with a helium voice before. And I imagine that would kick some major ass. Fer reals.

Come on. You wanna hear it, too. Admit it.

I scream

I assume that if you're reading this, you probably know me a little bit. And if you know me, you probably know that I am a worrier. Is it a personality trait? A hobby? A bad habit I just can't kick? Who knows, but it's part of what makes me so gloriously, wonderfully me. The thing I worry about most is money. And in the last few months, I've been worried more than usual. I won't list everything, but basically we had some unexpected bills and our savings took a hit. Thank goodness for tax refunds and tax rebates! With their help, we're almost back to normal (almost). But we still need to be careful. And I'm still worried.

But now on top of being worried, I feel guilty because I spent a HELL of a lot of cash this week. Why? Because I'm a masochist, of course. Here's what I bought & their approximate prices:
1. A necklace at the Handmade Market: $25
2. A new bathing suit. And not a cheap Target one. It's from Lands End, but I promise it's cute: $80
3. Plane tickets for Girl Party 2008: $300 (I paid extra for decent flights)
4. An ice cream maker with 2 freezing bowls: $60


Oddly enough, the thing I feel least guilty about is the ice cream maker - the thing that seems most silly and indulgent on that entire list. For this lack of guilt, I blame my mother. I was on the fence about buying the ice cream maker when Mom called me on Wednesday. Mom was overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the idea and her excitement was contagious. She even got on the internet to look at the model I was considering. "Did you see the video that shows how it works?!" she asked, excitedly. Then she pointed out that I could make Tim's favorite ice cream - cherry vanilla - which is very hard to find in stores. Eventually we decided that it was worth purchasing purely for experimental purposes. I would sacrifice myself & try out the machine, then let my mother know if I enjoyed it or not. If I was satisfied, then Mother could buy an ice cream maker of her very own without worry, knowing that her beloved daughter had test-driven the model and had been pleased with the results. This wouldn't be just any purchase. This would be an act of love ... love for my mother in the days before Mother's Day. How could I say no to that?

I talked to Mom before I went to the store. And Mom called me while I was driving the 2 miles to the store. And then I called Mom again once I got to the store to let her know that, yes, the advertised price on the website was the same as the in-store price. Because this was a very important mission, you see, and we needed to be in constant communication at all times so that we could share every little detail.

Bad mommy. She's such a terrible influence. But in the very best of ways.

7000 words or less

I should keep my camera with me more often. I saw so many interesting things in the last week.

- At Kevin & Shawna's place, I saw their adorable hedgehog & their 2 bunnies. One of the bunnies let me pet it for quite a while even though I wasn't feeding it at the time. That's a major feat.
- Saturday morning at the Duke Gardens, I saw a jazz band (The Dixie Dukes) made up entirely of senior citizens. They played "Honeysuckle Rose" & it was fabulous.
- While riding home from the fish shop, I saw a gaggle of young men playing some sort of combination of football and frizbee. What would you call that? Frizball seems wrong since there was no ball involved and Footbee sounds too cute to be a sport. We need a new word!

All of those things sound cool and all, but they'd be so much better if you could see them ... the old "picture is worth a thousand words" thingamy. I'm finding that most of the time I actually prefer posting photos on this blog than writing. That doesn't mean I intend to turn this into a photoblog, but I like that photos allow me to show you all of the things that I just can't properly tell you about over the phone or in an e-mail. Besides, my life might seem more interesting in photos. I mean, do you honestly want to hear me talk about filing my taxes? Or about how crampy my period was this month? Or about how disappointed I am that Katarzyna got kicked off of ANTM this week? Wouldn't you much rather look at photos of my cat? Of course. So with that in mind, allow me to share some sights from around the house from the past couple of weeks, m'kay? M'kay.








And lest we forget ...

3 (aka The Things We Do For Love)

In case any of you are considering getting married one day, please allow me to humbly suggest to have your wedding on April 2nd. It's a really kickass day.

This year, April 2nd felt a lot like how it did back in Tulsa in 2005. It was sunny, but not hot. The air felt clean and refreshing. The trees and bushes and flowers were in all their early spring glory. Gorgeous. But this year instead of dashing off to a frou-frou salon to get prettified, I started the day by mowing the lawn for the first time this season. It took a lot less time and effort to tidy my garden than it did to tidy myself on our wedding day. Funny that.


Gardening was not the biggest task of my day though. I had decided that I wanted to make something special for Tim for our anniversary. And lord help me, I settled on cheese and onion pasties. Tim loves these things & hadn't eaten one in the 3 years since he left England to be with me. I decided to show him that he could have me and cheesey, oniony goodness, too. The problem?
Pastry.
Pasties are made from pastry. Which means rolling out dough. And we all know how much I love pastry dough, don't we. But this is Tim and Tim deserves it, so I made the shortcrust pastry dough from scratch. I will admit that I uttered one grunt of frustration. And when Tim made the mistake of checking in on my progress, I was a bit cross with him. But the final result was amazingly tasty. I wish I'd taken photos, but I was too busy stuffing my face. For the first time ever, pastry dough was worth the effort.


I kept dessert simple: Brownies. But because I'm goofy and romantic, I cut out the brownies into little circles which I stacked on top of one another and dusted with powdered sugar. See? Little chocolate wedding cakes!

In a final gesture of love for my husband, I did not watch America's Next Top Model last night. Instead we watched episodes of Black Adder and the season of Doctor Who with Christopher Ecclestone. I know that there are people out there who would consider that to be a pretty lame way to celebrate a wedding anniversary, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Tim and I don't need fancy gifts and frippery. Good food, good entertainment, and a comfy spot to cuddle on the couch are all we need. I guess that's how we've managed to stay happy together: simple pleasures and low expectations. :P

Grumpy Easter

When I woke up this morning, I felt rather under the weather. This persisted for a few hours ... and made me grumpy. The whole time I was sick, the cat kept meowing at me because she wanted to be fed/loved on/what have you, which didn't help my mood, either. And then I read some stuff on-line that made me grumpier. And I managed to think of a few other things in my life that hack me off, so I decided to mull on them for a while, too. Ya know, so that I could efficently get all of my bitching done in one go. Grrr.

But then I watched the Forumla One race and ate some cheese and now I'm watching the figure skating world championships. So everything is okay.
Well, almost everything.
The only little problem annoying me now is that we don't have any of my favorite cookies left. I made them for the first time last week and they were SO GOOD! So delicious were they, in fact, that we ate them all. And I'm low on ingredients and sickly so I won't be making more of these today. Poo.

However you, dear reader, should whip some of these babies up as soon as you can because, man, they are soooooooo freakin' good! They will certainly put you in a good mood. Really. Give it a try. Note that these cookies are big. You know the cookies you can buy at coffee shops that cost $2 and just one cookie hits the spot quite nicely? These are like that only better because (1) they cost a lot less and (2) you made them yourself! Hooray!

Super-sized Ginger Cookies
makes 12 to 14 cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
about 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F with rack in middle position. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (or I guess you can grease the pans, but I prefer parchment paper).

2. Sift first 6 ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter & brown sugar together until smoothly blended. Then add egg & molasses and mix until blended. On low speed, add flour mixture, blending just to incorporate it.

3. Put granulated sugar in a cereal bowl or on a plate. Roll 1/4 cup of the dough into a 2 inch ball, roll in the sugar, and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Space the cookies about 3 or 4 inches apart.

4. Bake for 14 minutes until top feels firm but still soft in the middle. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Pi!

Did you know that yesterday - March 14th - was Pi Day? You probably did because if you're reading this you're probably about as dorky as I am and you get a kick out of silly holidays like this. In honor of Pi Day, I made pie. Indeed, I made TWO pies on Pi Day. Glorious, yes? But it was more than that. It was ... miraculous. Allow me to explain.

Confession time: I don't like making pie. Or more to the point, I don't like making pie crust. It takes so much time and effort to make pie crust. Rolling it out is a pain in the butt because the dough is always trying to stick to the table or the rolling pin. And it's hard to get it just the right size, because it never wants to form into a perfect circle with an even thickness. No, it's always got to be oblong with thin bits that tear while the thicker bits on the side laugh at me, mockingly. And then there's all of that flour everywhere - all over the table, all over your clothes. It frustrates me to no end. So much effort for what is basically an edible shelf that usually contributes very little to the overall flavor of the pie. You would think I would get the hang of it with practice, but no. For YEARS I was in charge of making the pies for every Thanksgiving and Christmas. And for years I struggled with annoying pie dough because in my family we have always made it from scratch.

Well, ya know what? Enough. Deep down I'm a purist and I love making everything from scratch. Hell, I've been thinking about making my own butter! But there is a point when one must embrace this modern age in which we live. And ... well, frankly, I don't want cooking to be stressful & annoying. I want it to be pleasurable. I figure that if buying pre-made pie crust keeps my hair brown for just a little while longer, than so be it. Pre-made pie crust it shall be.

So I bought a box of crust. I opened the packaging, unrolled the circle of dough, plopped it in the pie pan. And that was it! A miracle! Amazing! Splendid! Marvelous! And it tastes about the same as the dough I've slaved over for years. It appears that I truly can have pie and my sanity all at the same time. I didn't think it was possible! Hooray!

All of this to say that I made turkey pot pie for dinner and egg custard pie for dessert. And now that I've discovered this shortcut, I think I'll be making pies far more often.

No Knead Bread

Painting the living room has got me thinking creatively. Or at least it has got my fingers twitching. I find that I want to make things and change things and improve some of the basic little details in my life. So in the last week I've started on a few little projects. Today I'll talk about my latest success: homemade bread.


As much as I adore bread and baked goods, the idea of making yeast bread has always seemed too fussy to me. Actually, anything that requires me to flour a surface and [gasp] touch the dough with my bare hands just seems wrong. I don't like having sticky dough all over my hands. Nasty. So last year when all of the food & cooking blogs started talking about No Knead Bread, I thought, "Hooray! A bread for the rest of us!"


Well ... here's the thing. At one point in this recipe, you do have to dump the dough on a floured work surface. And you do have to touch it with your bare hands. But ya know what? It wasn't so bad! It was a lot neater and easier than my previous experiences with doughs that require actual kneading and rolling.


Yes, that's right. I touched that. And it wasn't messy. The key: wet hands! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This recipe really delivers. It's easy and yummy and costs oodles less than if you'd bought it at the store. The only draw-backs:
1. You need a big pot with a heavy lid
2. You need to let the dough sit for 12 to 20 hours. Yes. Really.
The good news:
1a. You spend less than 5 minutes actually fiddling with the dough, total.
1b.You don't have to do anything to the dough during that long resting period. It just sits there on your countertop.
2. Four ingredients: flour, yeast, salt, water. I like it when I can easily pronounce the ingredients in my food.
3. Fresh baked bread smells fabulous.
4. It tastes lovely, too. Especially if you eat it warm with a bit of butter.

Want to make some for yourself? Here's a great step-by-step tutorial: SteamyKitchen's Tutorial. This person had her 4 year old son make the dough for her. It's honestly that simple.

Note to Le Creuset: You seriously need to made a rectangular pot with a lid so that people can make sandwich bread with this recipe. Please! I'll be your friend forever!

Link dump

Just dropping off some links to food sites.


Pumpkin muffins (from Smitten Kitchen): http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/10/promise-keeper-pumpkin-eater

More pumpkin muffins (with some additional instructions): http://feliciasullivan.com/?p=725

Molasses cookies: http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/2007/09/cookies-for-fall.html

Rose lassi: http://www.kurma.net/essays/e2.html

If you like that, you'll probably LOVE my favorite site for food porn: http://www.tastespotting.com/


And totally unrelated to food ...
For those who have trouble understanding my husband (or some of the language I've picked up from him), here's a guide to British slang: http://www.effingpot.com/slang.shtml

Experimental cooking

Other than fretting over the proper use of turn signals and illegal blood-alcohol levels (.08, thank you very much), I have also been cooking this week! I finally broke in my food processor and made a Bakewell tart for Tim. This was one of our favorite treats in England. The bed of the tart has a layer of rasberry jam topped with an almond cream filling & a nice thin layer of icing on the top. I tried making one a few weeks ago without the food processor, but it was gritty & wrong. This time it was sooooooo much better! Almost exactly like what we would have in Bakewell. And it's all thanks to my new food processor. It would seem that there is love in my heart for more than one household appliance, afterall.



I also made an attempt at dulce de leche. The ingredient list is very short & simple; it's little more than milk and sugar. Mostly it takes time & attention. And, as I have learned the hard way, practice. The directions said to simmer for an hour & a half. I stopped after an hour, but it still turned out harder than it should have. I was wanting a jam-like consistency, but it's hard as a rock unless you heat it up in the microwave. Oh well! Guess I'll just have to make more. Somehow I don't think Tim will mind.