Let Them Eat Cake

The Creature Fear

2008-06-01T12:56:00.002-04:00

I'm horrible, I know. I haven't posted anything in over a month. Its been so busy, with trips and end of year things. I feel like I've been eating a bland palate of chickpea salads, boxed indian meals, and the occasional pizza.

But, with 90+ degree heat, I've started to change. I pulled out my blender a week ago and started on some concoctions. I loose my appetite every summer. Its a dangerous thing - I'll go all day on a bowl of granola and realize at 7:30 PM I haven't had food in 12 hours. Last night the thought of an actual meal disgusted me, so I settled for some snacks. I made a quick hummus and started to make a black bean salad, but decided that black bean dip sounded waaayyy better.

Also, since it was a Saturday night, I went a little crazy and made a blended drink. I found a recipe using white wine and melon, both of which I had, and I sipped on that for the majority of the evening.

Just now on NPR's website, I found a new cookbook that I could die for. I'm sure I'll get back into the cooking mood when the days are long and I am free. But for now, I'll snack on dips.

Blender Bean Dip

2 cans of black beans
1 small onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 tomato
2 tbsp cilantro
2 tsp vinager
2 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

Drain the two cans of beans. Place them in the blender, until the beans are mushy, but not runny. Dice the onion and garlic. Place in a bowl with vinager, to mellow out the onion. Add the tomato, cilantro, and lime juice. Stir until mixed. Add blended black beans, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix. Place in fridge to chill for 30 minutes - 1 hour. Serve with carrots or blue corn chips.

I'm Just Sitting on the Shelf

2008-04-28T19:22:00.002-04:00

Around here, I like my pizza. Pizza is almost always composed of my three favorite things: cheese, bread, and garlic. When I was a kid, crazy hectic nights were sometimes (not that often in the grand scheme of things) accompanied by Papa John's. In college there was Pointer's. Pizza delivery until 2:00 AM - they knew it was me on the caller id. And probably suffered a profit loss after I moved.

Then came Trader Joe's Herb Pizza dough. I hate making dough, except for pies. You're never starving when you make a pie, but you are when it comes to dinner - and a quick one at that. Nothing saves me like my TJ pizza dough. (I've tried the whole wheat. Herb is the way to go.)

It takes 20 minutes to come to room temperature, but I microwave it for 10 seconds. It takes 6 minutes to bake. Toppings are endless.

Rather than write a recipe, let's just bask in the glory of the pizza dough while I conjure up a list of former toppings:

Cheeses: Goat, Parm, Feta, Blue Cheese, Gorgonzola, Mozz, and Gouda.

Vegetables: Broccoli, Green Beans, Edemame, Sweet Corn, Red Peppers, Roasted Red Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions, Shallots, Green Onions, Spinach

ETC: Pesto, Roasted Red Pepper and Eggplant spread, Hummus, Veggie Bacon, Tempeh, Meatless Meatballs

I love you, pizza.

2008-04-15T19:32:00.003-04:00

Spring break came and went. I did not spend it how I had intended to (visiting family, old friends, cooking a lot, taking a lot of walks, etc). Instead, I was hacking my lungs out with bronchitis (thank you students) and dodging my roommate's entire family.

Something about 6 people, one bathroom, and the in-advancement of modern day plumbing to accommodate that many showers made life in my home a bit less enjoyable.

There was very little cooking. Evan made these amazing Greek Hand Pies with Greens, Mint, and Feta. I made some hummus. I failed to make these pavlovas. Twice. There was a huge strawberry sale in Charlotte, so I ate probably 4 qts over one week. Alex and I grilled romaine, and added goat cheese, almonds, and strawberries for a cook-out salad. We won't mention the bag of cheetos I polished off over the past week.

So in light of that, I have no recipe.

So sorry. Maybe next time?

To Be Surprised

2008-04-05T19:18:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted in a while because, well, I just haven't made anything spectacular in a while. I've been pretty "blah" lately, remaking things I enjoyed before in the past. A few nights ago I got an itch to cook; however, that was stamped out when Evan suggested "taco night" because he really wanted "lettuce and cheese."

I don't know. And now I am on spring break, so I may stir up something over the next couple of days. Currently, I am the only person I know in Charlotte. Everyone else is on some exotic spring break destination. I have taken a vacation in solitude. My friend Miriam did this over winter break - no disruptions, no plans, nothing. I bought some new bedding today:

"Vintage Paisley"

This was an important accomplishment for spring break, since my dog ate my other bedding. Luckily it was just a tapestry and a mattress pad, nothing huge. I've been hacking a lot as well. I must have some kind of upper respitory thing, but I don't feel "sick." I have a stack of books to read (for fun!), and I'm going to visit the local art museum on Tuesday (since its freeeee on Tuesdays!), and Friday I am going hiking.

The only thing I can think to post is dessert from last weekend. Our friends Nate and Lisa came over for a dorky night of gaming. Evan went all out with a baked pasta dish, Nate and Lisa made a salad, and I provided dessert. I wanted something "springy," and the only thing I had on my mind was shortcake. I settled on a baked rhubarb recipe, and threw in my own shortcake. Nate really enjoyed it, I thought it was ok, and every one else said it was great.

Baked Rhubarb with Ricotta

6 stalks of rhubarb
1 1/3 cups sugar
orange zest
fresh ricotta
shortcakes

Preheat oven to 375. Clean and cut the rhubarb. Slice into 3-4 inch pieces. Place in a baking dish, and add the sugar. (I know this seems like a lot of sugar, but you need it!) Add 2-3 cups of water and a tbsp of orange zest. The rhubarb should be floating. Place the dish into the oven, and bake for roughly 45 minutes - 1 hour. When finished, remove the rhubarb stalks from the watery syrup in the pan - but DO NOT throw out the pan water! Put it in a sauce pan over low stove heat, and make a syrup! Let the rhubarb cool to room temperature. Place on top of shortcakes ( I make Jiffy Cake short cakes ), and add ricotta. Top with syrup.

I read somewhere that if you only had access to store brand ricotta, forget it. This is sound advice, store brand ricotta is pretty gross. Unfortunately, I no longer live in the land of Italian ancestors. Fresh ricotta is foreign to Charlotte, I believe. Next time I make this, I'm adding strawberries to the stove syrup - I think that would give it that sweet kick it needs.

One last thing - change in seasons means change in seasonal beers! I love spring and summer ales. They're light and flowery. I don't like my beers to be a liquid meal for me, so most winter ales are out. This year I'm excited to try all of these "eastern" beers I see everywhere. One that I thought was an 'eastern' beer ( but that's brewed in Oregon ) is Pyramid. They have an Apricot Weizen that is spring in a bottle. So, that is my dessert for tonight, and probably the next few nights.

+++
Sondre Lerche "To Be Suprised"

Life Inside the Music Box Ain't Easy

2008-03-22T20:13:00.004-04:00

Oh, another holiday here in Charlotte. I am spending this Easter with the two goofballs on the left. (I adore this picture of Alex; however, Evan looks like an awkward preteen.)

So my small Easter dinner with Evan has increased by 600%. I will now be joined by Evan, Alex, Jarred, Valerie, Kevin, Lisa, and Nate. I am thrilled, but a bit nervous that my dinner won't appeal to meat eaters. Oh well, maybe they won't notice its absence.

I spent very little time making my menu, and even less time shopping. I am glad, this is a step in "hostessing" for me. I'm not overexerting myself, I'm not overspending. I even went so far as to say "forget dessert, I'm making a lot already." Actually, the dessert I wanted to make took hours of preparation, and appeared to be a recipe for early heart failure.

My Easter Menu: A List by Angela

Beet and Feta Tart
Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette
Roasted Baby Red and Yukon Gold Potatoes
Black Lentil Crostini
Hummus

I am so excited for this tart. Expect pictures. Happy Easter.

What I Am is Tired of Jam

2008-03-18T17:40:00.005-04:00

I recently read "Bread and Jam for Frances" to my kindergarten class, and I realized that I have fallen in love with the poached egg. There is nothing better, in my mind, than a poached egg. Or as Father Badger says, "I should like to think there is nothing quite as nice as a poached egg for breakfast." However, I'm pretty sure I use to sing the same song as Frances:

I do not like the way you slide,
I do not like your soft inside.
I do not like you lots of ways,
And I could go for many days,
Without eggs.

Last night I had the best serving of poached eggs. I got the recipe from orangette.blogspot.com, and was intrigued by the idea of more servings of poached eggs.

Simply put, here is my adapted version of "Bread and Poached Eggs for Angela:"

2 eggs, poached

1 cup yogurt

1 clove garlic

1/8 tbsp of butter

6 sage leaves

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt

pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan, adding the sage leaves and crushed red pepper flakes. Let simmer for a few minutes, and then turn off heat to prevent scorching.

Heat a skillet pan with water, until small bubbles appear at the bottom of the skillet. Do not boil the water. Add 1 tbsp of white vinegar to the water. Crack an egg into a soup ladle, or a cup. Submerge the ladle or cup into the skillet of hot water, slowly releasing the egg from the ladle to the pan of water. Let the egg cook for 2-4 minutes, until egg whites are formed. Remove from skillet with a spatula, and place in a bowl of hot (but not boiling) water. This will remove the vinegar.

Mince the garlic, and add to the cup of yogurt. Put the yogurt as a base in a bowl. Place the poached eggs on top. Pour the sage butter over the eggs. This is so good with a nice slice of bread. Amazing, really. If Frances had this, she'd quickly change her tune.

Red, White, and Greens

2008-03-11T18:46:00.003-04:00

I'm at home sick on the couch. I don't know if it is sinusitis, cold and sinusitis, flu, flu and sinusitis, or a combination of all three. Webmd is of no help. So my dinner consists of vegetable broth with some flat leaf parsley, and water. And more water. And get this - I threw some water in there. I'll wrap this delicious dinner up with some Emergen-C. At least I'm not taking Airborn.

Oh well. Twittering away on npr.org, I found this podcast from a 1996 episode of All Things Considered (my favorite npr show, aside from This American Life). So Italians shop for produce not by list, but by what looks best, and then base the meal around it.

Now, this goes against my mother's budgeting crusades, but maybe not? If the mushrooms at the grocery store look kinda blah, and I plan on making a mushroom dish three nights from now, should I purchase them? I think not. However, right now all produce looks, well, gross. But my farmer's market should be opening soon. I did a stupid thing and left my bike out in the rain too often, so its in need of some work. Also, the hills here are SO HUGE, I really should buy a new, lighter bike. Either way, once that gets up and running this summer - guess who's back to biking for produce!

Despite the illness, I'm excited.

Maybe One Day, My Dreams Will Match Up With My Pay

2008-03-09T12:47:00.003-04:00

So, going over my "budget" last month, I realized that I spent a ridiculous amount of money on groceries. $250.00. Two hundred fifty dollars. That's twenty five thousand pennies. 163 euros. 10, 105 rupees. 7,870 baht. 2,711.02 pesos. I usually wouldn't mind as much, but I have an itch to go buy a new pair of shoes.

This month, I am combating that ridiculous spending with budgeting by week, rather than bi-weekly. Shamefully, I ate all 250.00 of that food I bought in February (a short month, nonetheless). So, I preplanned my meals for this upcoming week. I know my mom is getting some sick satisfaction out of this - she lectured me for years on doing this, and is probably dancing around her laptop with glee and excitement that I finally listened to her. I'm a bit stubborn, but the apple don't fall far from the tree.

All of my meals this week are from Orangette. I could go on and on about how much I love reading her blog, but why ruin the experience for you? Check it out.

Here's my chosen recipes:

Quick Black Beans with Cumin and Oregano

Egg and Tomato Gratin

Bagnette (I am having company on Wednesday night - great appetizer; I'm considering mixing it with orzo for lunch the next day)

Warm Chickpea Salad with Shallots

Tartine Poireaux-Oeufs Brouillés

I am so pumped for these dinners. I'm a bit over-excited. Off to the store!

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Title: "Mushaboom" Feist

These Things Collide

2008-03-07T17:13:00.008-05:00

Charleston Tea Plantation (America's Only Tea Plantation): Next stop, India.

My trip to Charleston was wonderful. I really needed the weekend away from work. Also, I would say it was well deserved - spending everyday at school from 6:45 to 4:45 - that's draining.

I had this grand idea of posting photos of all the awesome meals I had, but due to the "upscale nature" of many of these restaurants, I felt a little shy of pulling out the old Canon to take a snapshot. And when I mean old, I mean old.

Anyway, I had three fantastic meals. The first was at a small restaurant called Blend. I had Lavender Batter French Toast. Amazing - crunchy, soft hint of lavender, kinda like the best doughnut ever. Evan was exploring his southern side, and had Shrimp and Grits:

Southern Evan (but that ice tea is 'unsweetened')

This he thoroughly enjoyed. Apparently, it was his first time having it, and he devoured it in minutes. Ok, so I lied - I took one food photo. Anyway, this trip was also the first time Evan had "Cheerwine." Luckily there is no photographic evidence of that. He had such a sugar rush, I nearly pushed him out of a moving vehicle.

Next we ate at The Red Drum. Words cannot express how marvelous this meal was. I think this was the best meal I've ever had, to date. I can't even go into it all, it was just amazing. Ginger mojitos, Roasted Beet and Walnut salad with Lemon Thyme Dressing, Honey and Almond Green Beans, some type of amazing spinach, etc. etc. etc.

Our last meal was at Tristan. There I had Wild Mushroom Eggs Benedict. It was perfect - right amount of hollandaise, wonderful mushrooms, not too much vinegar in the poached eggs. I loved every bit of it.

Which leads me to my latest obsessions: salads and poached eggs. I've been eating poached eggs on everything lately. I made a great french soup that I found here on Orangette. Sure enough, I added the poached egg. I had poached eggs for breakfast at Zada Jane's. If I could successfully eat a poached egg in the car on the way to school, I bet I would.

As far as salads are concerned, I made my favorite for lunch today. I ate it all before I thought about a picture, so use your imagination!

Blustery Day Beet Salad

Field Greens/Spinach
Canned Beets, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp gorgonzola cheese
1 avocado
Lemon Thyme Dressing

Its really easy to assemble, and effortless. I make the dressing with the juice of 2 lemons, 1 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, dash of salt, pepper, and about 10 springs of thyme.

If I had the energy, I would roast the beets myself. But canned beets will do when I'm sleepy and chilly. I made this two nights ago - Alex devoured, and Evan ate without speaking. The beets give it a nice earthly taste, the gorgonzola is sharp, the avocado is creamy, and the lemon thyme is light. I ran out of beets today, so I used a tangerine! Awesome, still.

So there you have it, a recent foodie on vacation - landmarked by the restaurants, the tea plantations, and the food itself.

++++
Title: "Long Division" by Bagheera

Time's a Crooked Bone

2008-02-23T13:36:00.007-05:00

At school, I'm reworking the morning work routine my students go through every morning. I've decided that they no longer deserve fun worksheets: coloring, connect the dots, etc. I'm changing the routine to a week rotation of activities - writing, drawing, letter formation practices, etc.

One thing I try to work with them on is nursery rhymes. Children no longer know nursery rhymes. I was shocked when they knew the words to "Down By the Bay." Studying the letter Qq limits you to nursery rhymes - all except "The Queen of Hearts."

Which got me thinking - tarts. I have frozen raspberries. I have dough materials. Let's set on out!

Queen of Hearts Tart

Dough:

1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1 stick of butter, chilled, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 to 1/4 cup ice water

Blend the flour, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Transfer to a food processor. In the food processor, add the chilled butter. Pulse for 30 seconds, reaching that consistency of clumpy brown sugar. Add vanilla and 1/8 cup ice water. Pulse until pastry forms together, if necessary, adding the additional 1/8 cup of ice water.

Drop pastry dough onto saran wrap. Form into a ball, and chill for 1 hour (at least). I really wish I had a special shirt for this time that says "GLUTEN SAYS RELAX."

After chilling the dough for at least an hour, roll out on a floured surface. I rolled mine into 1/4" thick, creating a diameter of at least 10". Fold the edge of the dough over, creating a crust that's about 1 1/2 " in length. I folded mine into 5 sections, one overlapping the next. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of sugar over the tart.

Filling:

2 cups raspberries, cleaned and stemmed
lemon zest
1 tbsp sugar

Clean the raspberries and remove all stems. Beginning from the middle of the dough, place the raspberries in the tart, stem side down, until the entire tart is covered. I went in a circular motion - it was pretty! Grate some lemon zest, and sprinkle on top of the tart, along with 1 more tbsp of sugar.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crust browns. Serve with mascarpone cream sauce (juice from 1 lemon, 5 tbsp of mascarpone cheese, 3 tbsp of heavy cream - whip together and chill).

++++

Title: Andrew Bird "Armchairs"

Wake Up Its Time to Rise

2008-02-22T19:58:00.005-05:00

No twenty-two year old should be at home on a Friday night, sitting in an oversized chair, wearing her pajamas, and starting a blog. However, no one should suffer the same head cold as me. I'm in a constant state of watery eyes, itchy throat, and stuffy nose. Colds generally call for soup, tea, and more soup. The older I get, the more fond I become of soup. This warm winter has been no exception.

Early in December, Evan made an excellent vegetable soup with Napa cabbage. I ate it for days. Earlier in February, I made daal one afternoon for the heck of it. Alex and I devoured it at 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon, and it left me unable to eat dinner at a reasonable hour.

One soup that I will always love is an adaptation of mine from Deborah Madison's cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The concept is really simple: bring 2 quarts water and 1 can vegetarian broth to a boil. Add 2 lbs of 1/4 inch thick sliced potatoes (I like red skin potatoes for this). Reduce the heat and allow mixture to thicken (20 minutes). Add 1 cup of chopped parsley and 2 tbsp butter. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Add 2 tbsp of heavy cream, salt, and pepper. I usually add a bit more parsley, as well. Serve.

There's something wonderful about the parsley in the soup. The only other time I eat parsley is in tabbouleh, which is often so overpoweringly acidic, I tend to stray away from eating in on a regular basis. But parsley gives the potato a really fresh feeling - despite the fact that its laden with carbohydrates. Also, minimal cream in the soup keeps it from tasty like a can of "chunky" soup.

A bowl of this soup would have been wonderful today. But it didn't happen. I have very little food in the house, and after 7 hours with five year olds, I did not have the strength to fight the "after work store rush." So I settled for a tempeh sandwich:

A Feeling of Defeat: Tempeh Salad Sandwich

1 package of tempeh (I prefer the "three grain" type, opposed to the soy)
1 carrot
1 lemon
1 tbsp mayonnaise, yogurt, or other white, fluffy stuff
1 tbsp tahini
1 tsp chopped dill
1 garlic clove

Really simple - chop the tempeh into bite sizes. Shred the carrot. Juice half of the lemon into a bowl with the mayo/yogurt and tahini. Mix with a whisk. Add tempeh, carrot, dill, and garlic.

I ate mine on a piece of Trader Joe's Garlic Naan, with some spinach leaves. Not potato soup, but I definitely ate it all. And maybe one day I will purchase an actual camera, and not use my Mac and Photobooth.

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Title from: http://www.myspace.com/natbaldwin