Fourth of July Feast for Two

Since we had no plans, the day before we decided to grill up some hot dogs. A quick run to the store on Tuesday, in which I managed to get everything home on the scooter, INCLUDING the charcoal, and a little time in the kitchen on Weds, and BAM. Feast.

Cooking the corn for just a tiny bit longer...

Feast!! with chili cheese dogs and "fried" baked pickles.

Homemade wheat pretzels, sweet corn, salad with tomatoes from the garden, spiraled hot dog.
Plus, the edge of my festive dress- fireworks! (Not really, but I can pretend.)

Then we watched Thank You for Smoking. Such a funny movie- I giggle through the whole thing. I decided to buy it to add to my "patriotic collection"- all about individual choices. Rock.

Didn't see any fireworks, but did hear lots of popping from the neighbors.

A wonderful weekend

Saturday: kitten-sat for my brother, good printing run, delicious lunch, free comic books, french books, a fantastic new coat for the fall, ice cream, an informative crafting group meeting. A fun and productive day!

The Carnival- sweet cream ice cream, sprinkles, m&ms, and gummi bears. ROCK.

Sunday: kitten-sat, visit with mom, gardening, cooking, movie.

Worked on the herb garden. Fingers crossed they take.

Strawberry Upside-Down Cake from Joy the Baker - YUM

So sad that it's over. Why does Monday come after Sunday? There should be a buffer day. Like a 12-hour period of transition from sunny laid-back Sunday to Work-Day Monday. A period of novels on the couch with tea and fruit. Or maybe a matinee with parmesan popcorn. Something like that. I guess 8 hours of sleep will have to do.

Day Off from Extravaganza

Since yesterday was my brother's birthday, I took the day off from my extravaganza. So generous, I know.

I printed for inviting in the morning and cooked a little bit before dinner.

Making Horchata
David Libovitz's Recipe
Grinding up the Rice

Making Ginger Ale
Joy the Baker's Recipe
Chopping up the Ginger

Monterey Stuffed Chicken
Don't Panic, More Dinner's in the Freezer recipe
Made a bunch of thighs to freeze, but had to cook the breasts at once

Then birthday dinner at HomeSlice Pizza with Mom, T, the birthday guy, his g.f. and her friend.

The birthday guy.
He writes about the Spurs HERE and
has even written for espn.com before.
Yup, I'm a proud big sister.

The friend, the girlfriend, and the bday guy. Goofballs. : )

But now that his bday has passed, it's all about me again ; )

Who Is That Short Chef?

I think that was the title of my first cookbook. It was bright yellow and very early-80s. One of the recipes in it was for Monkey Bread, which is what I made this morning.

Yum. And there are leftovers for T all week. 

 For lunches this week, T got Sloppy Joes (made with real meat and not veggie crumbles like usual) and I made a tortellini salad. Goat cheese, walnuts, radishes, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, peas, and cheese tortellini. Will be topped with fresh spinach. Dressing is olive oil, red wine vinegar and s&p.

Because inviting's getting busy, with another show next Saturday, cooking time is being reduced. I ordered 2 cookbooks from amazon, Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer. (Was inspired by this post, and those are the books the busy lady used.) Looking forward to trying them out.

Ack! The Full English in Austin? Yes, please!

So the "full English" is one of the most amazing meals/things *ever*. Had it a few times in England and in Scotland. Imagine my surprise and joy when I saw that there's a cafe IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD called Full English. (Okay, not exact neighborhood but close enough to ride a bicycle to should I be so inclined. (i am not.) you get the idea though.) I'm really wondering how i am just NOW finding this out?* It's off a busy road and you can see if when driving by! Madness.  But anyway, I know of it now and am thrilled.

One of the many cozy seating areas of the Full English cafe

We went there for breakfast today because, again, a Full English is, well, when done all out, it's B.T.S. ; ) This one wasn't b.t.s, but it was still pretty damn tasty!

Bangers, fried toast, roasted tomato half, tasty tasty mushrooms, fried eggs, and yummy salty bacon. $8.

 Turns out they also do a High Tea ($15/person) so I'll be doing that (soon i hope!) with mom.
Check them out HERE. (*Oh, and turns out they just had their official grand opening on the 25th so I don't feel so bad now. yay.)

Any one know where to get black pudding in Austin?  (The pudding at Fado in their Full English is pretty good.)

In other news...

Made these Saturday morning for inviting. An etsian said she liked my folded cards and was looking for something like that to frame for a newborn's room, so I came up with these. The pinks (shown) are a little larger than 5x7, and they're also printed on white cotton paper, gray cardstock, and a cool coppery-shimmery cardstock.

Tried making tempura veggies for the first time. A little difficult when the package has no english whatsoever. But I made it work, and wow was it yummy!! I did asparagus spears and avocado quarters. The avocado not so much, but the asparagus- très délicieux. So that, plus some ramen and edamame (not pictured) was dinner one night. Not the healthiest, but something new.

Have a great week, and don't forget you can purchase a letterpress printed bookmark HERE - all proceeds go to relief efforts in Japan.

New Recipes!

You know that person who bookmarks or emails herself every recipe that looks yummy, and then just sits on them? Yeah, that's me.

But not today!! This morning when looking for something to cook for lunches this week, I looked in my "cooking" bookmark folder and pulled two to try!

The first - Cheese-free Stuffed Shells from vegetarian times. Super easy to make, pretty economical (extremely important these days), and from the little bit of filling i tasted, it should be good.
Now, instead of the traditional ricotta cheese, this recipe uses tofu. If that's not your thing  (I haven't told T what's in it, and i'm not going to until I hear "Lunch was really good!") then know that it doesn't taste bland. Really. With the added salt and spices, it really might as well be the ricotta- texture is the same.  (And, it's good for you!) 

 

Looks good, right? I subbed regular mozzarella cheese for their recommended fake cheddar "cheese"

So, that plus steamed broccoli is our lunch for the next 2 days. 

And then last week I somehow got on this blog that is so pretty...  And this was the recipe that I landed on. French Breakfast Puffs. Really simple, and quite tasty. I baked them for about 23 minutes. Nice and crumbly. Can't wait for breakfast* tomorrow.

*Breakfast is actually already made for the next 2 days, to ensure that we don't skip it. Scrambled egg, 1 slice of bacon (nitrate-free thank you very much), and some quartered mushrooms sauteed. Plus tea. Earl Grey (and never buy the Bigelow brand for Earl Grey. Buy Twinnings (yellow box). Trust me on this.)

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Just got back from the store, left my list in the car, and only forgot 1 item - taco seasoning. No worries, b/c I remembered The Kitchn had a recipe for one:

Ingredients:
• 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper/Paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried Onions

1. Measure: Measure out all ingredients side by side to ensure you don't double up or leave one out.
2. Mix: Combine ingredients in a zip top bag or bowl and shake/stir to combine until cornstarch and onions are well distributed.
3. Store: Keep in an air tight container for up to 1 year.
4. To Use: 7 teaspoons of mix is enough to season 1 pound of meat. We often start with 4 teaspoons and increase it from there. Some meats like turkey and chicken take less, while pork and beef might take a little more. Play to your own tastes and remember, you can always add more, but you can't take it out!

I'll let you know how it goes!

My Weekday Breakfasts

Drinking one of these every (weekday) morning is my way of making sure I'm getting my veggies!

It's 1 cup kale, 1 cup baby spinach, 1/2 a pear, 1 banana and I use 1 cup 1% cow milk.  (Yes, Andrew, it really is that "ninja turtle ooze green.")

Picture is Joy the Baker's, not mine

And rather than make kale chips for T or spinach pesto to freeze since the greens' Use By date was rapidly approaching, i spent some time blending up my 1 cup servings for the freezer. This morning I just plopped in a frozen glob of kale and a frozen glob of spinach, and added the rest. I let them mingle for a minute (so as not to kill my little baby blender) and it took no time to blend. Result? A little colder but otherwise no difference! Also saved about 5 minutes (not to mention some $ in the produce department.

This is my baby blender. I wanted to try this recipe but with the bread machine, couldn't afford to give up any more counter space.

Picture Overstock.com's ,not mine.

 Tiny. And the little jars are the perfect size for toting a chai latte to work. Not their original intended purpose but it works for me. (Okay, I used a smaller one for chopping up my veggie portions yesterday.)

Drink the smoothie. It's good. Until the very last bit- that's when i go "blech." But until that point : )

Mushroom Toast, v.2

Made another loaf of french bread (i'm totally addicted- tweaked the recipe a bit and wow...) and had more mushrooms. Here's what I did this time:

2 tablespoons of butter in med. saucepan, medium-high heat.
Into that, I mixed:
5 large mushrooms, roughly chopped
3 or 4 strips of bacon that were cooked in the oven rather than the pan, roughly chopped
A couple sprinklings of dried parsley flakes (maybe 1 tablespoon total?)
a teaspoon or so of garlic powder
a pinch of ground black pepper
and 2 swooshes of olive oil
Stirred them around for a bit, until the bread was ready

The bread was buttered on one side and both sides toasted under the broiler. Then the mush-mix was put on it, with a sprinkling of grated parm, and cooked under broiler until cheese was all melty and delicious.

Yum

Mushroom Toast

Made this for dinner last night because i had homemade bread, mushrooms, and butter. (And parm. cheese which was quite nasty, but was saved by the helpful blade of a chef's knife.) It was very good! And, amazingly, T liked it too! Loved it actually. : )

I don't know who's happier that I got a bread machine, me or him. I've made 3 loaves so far- the dough for a cinnamon raisin, which I baked in a standard pan in the oven and took to work the next day, a loaf of french bread, which I used the timer for so I woke up to freshly baked bread- smelled sooooo good, and today the dough for french bread which i baked in a pan in the oven. Never been a fan of bread baked in the machine, but i'm a big fan of not having to knead the dough and find a good place for it to rise. : )

All Grown Up

I am officially a Grown Up.

I cooked my first ham.

And it was good!!

Whew.

So yes, I believe that makes me a grown up. I'm sure vegetarians have other standards, but that was a big one. (Of course, I've yet to do a turkey... yikes. Maybe next year?)

Christmas Eve dinner was fondue (the tradition, but with a twist- rather than cook the meat and seafood in oil, we did broth) and my late Christmas with my dad was the ham.

Also, my brother's girlfriend gave me Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I made some carrots from it (basically carrots simmering in butter and water), which i overcooked. Sigh. They tasted good but were too soft. Next time. (I hate carrots, but they're cheap and "healthy.")

World Market was having a sale on enamel cookware and I've been lusting after the le crueset dutch ovens for a while, but not their price tag, so picked one up from WM. I'm sure the quality isn't the same as l.c.'s but hello, i can't afford a $300 piece of cookware.

WM's picture. Not mine.

Wanted to get the smaller round one, but theoretically I could cook a whole chicken in this one...
Of course now i'm needing new potholders... i have 2- one has holes and the other is thin. Always something, right?

Hope everyone had a happy new year. 2011 is going to be great!!

I'll Never Buy Sushi Again

Okay, that's a lie. I probably will, but really, there's almost no need! (Except the raw stuff; I'm unsure about trying that.)

Using the Pioneer Woman's sushi chef as a guide, it was actually edible. And not just edible, it was good!

Yes, I'm aware that California Rolls are meant to be inside out, but those weren't very pretty so I switched to this method. Much tidier!

This was my second attempt (ever) at any sort of sushi. The first time was in my first apartment in Austin was it was so bad. Really, just so bad. Still have that rolling mat tho! This time, I used my new rice cooker (also a steamer- i could multi-task if i wanted to!). It was only $14. Spouts some messy liquid out the vent hole, and was sticky on the bottom, but overall, I'm pleased. I'll just aim the spout at the sink and use some non-stick cooking spray on the bottom of the pan, and then clean up should be a breeze. I think I really like the idea that I could add the rice and water, go workout for 30 minutes or so, and when I come back, the time consuming part of dinner could be ready.

What's your sushi-making experience? Got any favorite rolls I should try?
Leave me a comment. : )

Cooking Fun

Last Sunday, my regular cooking day, I made:
baba ghanoush
Didn't have any lemon juice (shocking!) so used a wee bit of lime, but wow was it good. Best eggplant food I've had. Made a great afternoon snack for a couple workdays.

mac & cheese
Didn't have whole milk so used skim with a little whipping cream. Wasn't as creamy as I'd like but it was still really good. I'm a sucker for mac & cheese tho.

curried vegetable & chickpea stew
in the slow cooker, 4 hours
Didn't add the spinach but I thought it was really good. The addition of the coconut milk it what made it, I think.

banana bread
From a cookbook I have. It was a little dry (my fault) and not as banana-y as I would have liked, but I wanted to try a new recipe.

Today I won't be cooking much. Making rice for some curry dishes in the freezer, and prepping veggies for salads. Easy. Maybe I'll make more banana bread tho. If I get bored, maybe a carrot cake too.

Have another blog, a collection of recipes. Needs loads of updates, but it's searchable by ingredient, which makes me happy - http://curiosityinthekitchen.blogspot.com/

Spring/Summer Rolls = Yum!

Finally tracked down some spring roll wrappers, at my World Market (they're cheap!) and got around to my first spring rolls last night.


What's in them? Thinly sliced steak (first time cooking steak), thinly sliced carrots, cabbage and lettuce, rice noodles "cooked" and broken up, and a few torn basil leaves. I think that was it. Yum!
Also made a peanut sauce to go with it: about 1 T natural peanut butter, 1 take-out packet of soy sauce, a squirt of sriracha, a teeny bit of water. It's peanuty with a kick.

Will try these again, with different veggies and a marinated steak/chicken/shrimp/tofu (depending on what's in the fridge I suppose!).

In decorating news... ; )

Started painting the bathroom. Covering the blah-inducing yellowish, beige-ish, i-look-ugly wall color with "muffin mix"- what we used in the bedroom in the apartment! Oh, it is so much fresher looking in there. It looks surprisingly great with the green tiles. Will finish the first coat tomorrow and pick up a qt of a satin-finish for the second.

Also have pretty much decided to paint the hallway a really light sky blue (oh, and have replaced the blah light fixture, with a bubbly one like I did for the ceiling fan!) and to paint the Peacock table a super-glossy teal. In honor of the Peacock? Perhaps. Besides, that color will look GREAT with the ivory sofa.

In crafting news...

How fabulous will an embroidered/cross-stitched Dita von Teese photo look? Pretty great, I think. Will be looking through my book (that I was told one of T's Conan buddies was going through last game. Funny mix- barbarian speak + burlesque.) and scanning a few pics to see which will make the best pattern. Think it'll be my to-the-Valley-road-trip project, but I may not be able to wait that long.

Caprese Salad, Where Have You Been All My Life?

After seeing these on thekitchn.com last week, I finally made one myself.

I always get good tomatoes from Guido at the Hill Country Produce Club so that was easy. The basil, I got a large bag for $5 from Newflower Market (several sprigs are in glasses of water, hoping they'll sprout roots), and the mozzarella was probably the best I've ever had! Don't remember the name, but it was at HEB for $7, packaged like a tube/roll of polenta.; not the ball of cheese in water like I'd usually get. It was heavenly. I could eat the whole package, I swear.

Added a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper, a teensy pinch of sea salt, a drizzle of olive oil and a few splotches of balsamic vinegar. YUM. It's my dinner tomorrow night too.

And as T *hates* tomatoes, I don't have to share this! : )

Sad news though, we're out of gin. I know, it's heartbreaking. Do you need tissues? I might.
Our utility bill this month was huge- there went my booze money! Well, I think there's some tequila still. And I have limes (15 for $1!). I think I'll survive.

Shrimp Eggrolls

I was hoping to make spring rolls yesterday but couldn't find the wrappers at my grocery store; settled for trying egg rolls. And they are awesome!

Shrimp Eggrolls, my version of the recipe on the wrapper

1/2 cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
Saute in 1-2 T oil for 3 minutes or so. Drain.

1/2 lb cooked shrimp, chopped

3 T soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
3-finger pinch kosher salt
2 T corn starch
Mix sauce, add shrimp, stir and drain.

Combine veggies and meat. Drain.

Put 1 T - 1/4 cup mixture on corner of egg roll wrapper and roll up halfway. Fold sides in, moisten wrapper tip and roll up to seal. Fry in 1/4-1/2" inch of oil until golden and flip. When both sides are crispy-brown, remove from pan and let sit on paper towel.

I am SO going to make these again.

And if you know a place in south Austin that has spring roll wrappers, please let me know!

Yummy Yummy Indian Food

Indian food that is cheap. And easy. And comes in a convenient pouch. And has no preservatives? Yup. Love it.

These little guys ($2.99 and sometimes on sale for $1.99 at World Market- if you buy them out at my store I will find you and beat you. Don't test me.) are awesome. Sure some are a little high in fat or sodium (18% often) but the ingredients are like this: tomatoes, potatoes, spices, water, carrots, vegetable oil, spinach, salt. Everything you'd normally cook with; everything easy to identify and pronounce. How many packaged foods can you say that about? So yeah, half a cup of basmati rice (cooked with butter and tumeric) topped with half a pouch saucy veggies (the spinach and soy one is also super good, but i think the veg. korma is my favorite), nuked for 1 minute = yummy lunch.

I highly recommend these little guys. Just stay away from my nearby World Market. ; )

Staycation Day 3 and 4

Yesterday the scooter had to go in for its oil change so T followed me up there to drop it off, then we went to his work where I dropped him off and took the car.

Started watching Bleak House...Napped and then headed to the mall that afternoon- decided spending some time at the mall (near T's work) would be better than stuck in rush hour traffic. Exchanged jeans at old navy, got my pupil distance at eye masters (needed to place an order here), unsuccessfully shopped victoria's secret (still in love with their new dressing rooms), went to sephora and walked out with a huge tub of body butter, a small solid perfume and a birthday gift of 3 small lip glosses. How fun!

T and I grilled Firecracker Shrimp, mixed martinis, and watched Elvis. (Didn't Robert Patrick (T1000) play the dad in Walk the Line as well?)

Today, sad that my week is coming to an end, I picked up my scooter (thank you Mom!), finished Bleak House, napped with both cats briefly, and puttered in the kitchen.

I also hung the candle holder in the bedroom


Made an eggplant dish for my lunch; a chick from the produce club told me about it. You slice the eggplant, bake it for a bit until you can bend it easily, then put some ricotta cheese (i added some dried parsley, dried basil, and a little s&p) on it, roll it up (secure with toothpicks), throw some tomato sauce on it, and bake it again. Pretty good! Having leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

For dinner I "made" one of those indian sauce packs from World Market. They're pretty good. This one was a hearty vegetable in coconut sauce. Added leftover grilled shrimp from last night and served on some brown jasmine rice cooked with a few saffron thread, just to try it. As I was cooking T called and said he'd be working late. Bah! Well, I made my plate and sat at the table with Sarah Vowell. Such fun!

And when cleaning the kitchen tonight I was noticing little things that I really love about it:

My cute little spice jars, $.99 at world market

Knife rack

Liter of olive oil, garlic, onions and pepper, next to the stove

Little corner lit by the margarita night light

Staycation Day 1

So for my first day of the staycation...

Spent an hour or so in the print shop today, making blind-punched thank you notes.

They are listed on etsy now.

Watched a meh movie (Duets) on netflix and knitted some of a scarf- pink organic cotton yarn- chunky and textured.

Aiming for a somewhat narrow long fun scarf. Looking forward to fall...

Went to the Domain to The Steeping Room for tea and scones with Mom, then wandered through a few shops

Yummy scone with jam and clotted cream!
When the weather cools down, will definitely go back for a pot of hot tea and scones.

Put on Clueless for background giggles (sadly it made me feel old; dumb high school kids, man...) and marinated some chicken for dinner and tried some zucchini cakes- yum!! Serve that with some plain organic yogurt with a 3-finger pinch of curry powder...

Also saw the carrots in the fridge (blech, carrots. Really. Especially baby carrots- i can only eat 5 and then I feel the gag coming...) and decided Carrot Cake! I don't think I've ever made it from scratch before so... Found a recipe from a pretty reliable source.

Not the prettiest, but you know what? I don't care!
It's a cake from scratch, and it tastes like carrot cake, so there!

Had dinner with T (chicken, basmati rice, steamed brocolli, and a zucchini cake

Wouldn't tell T what was in the veggie mound until after he tasted it.
He does not like zucchini, but thought these were okay. Didn't care for the yogurt dipping sauce.

And went to Central Market in hopes of finding those citrus slices.

Success!

Someone who features letterpress studios, who I've been in contact with, has asked to feature us. Eeek! I'm not ready! But no time like the present, right? In the morning I'll do a few reprints, get them online, and *then* say "sure!"

The Sophie Garden

Sophie, the family cat died early Sunday morning. She was 16. As with Cat, who died when I was 12, a pinwheel marks her spot.

Mom bought some pentas and we planted those to attract butterflies. (The bricks are temporary. Will remove them in a few months.)

The other funeral attendant was the friendly white cat I call Pinky (from that 90s cartoon, Pinky & the Brain).

Darcy and Pinky engaged in a staring contest

Mom also bought me some zinnias. As I haven't created a garden yet (THANK YOU LOWES, jerks) they will live in a pot for a while.


For lunches this week (to keep T off frozen meals) I made some enchilladas- 1 dish/3 meals for him with a beef or pork that was leftover from his Conan game, and 1 dish/3 meals for me- veggie crumbles cooked with taco seasoning, put in the tortilla with cropped spinach and a little cheese:

Yes, I know corn tortillas are better, but T prefers flour and I didn't feel like dealing w/ 2 kinds.

This week is going to be crazy busy- have Bond Night tonight (grilling spicy shrimp and watching GoldenEye), tomorrow my dad's in town to help my brother move and I'm going to hopefully get him to take me to Garden Ridge for a patio sofa that's on sale, and then our summer/birthday party is Saturday and I'm sooooooo not prepared. Eeks.