tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651045309691526472024-02-21T00:38:41.038-08:00A Grad Student CooksStefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-73648470338219929782011-11-02T07:47:00.000-07:002011-11-02T07:47:55.444-07:00Pressing Apples: Autumn in the PalouseWhat would autumn be without apples? Harvests? Crisp air that mimics the bite of that perfect honeycrisp?<br />
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I love autumn, and I love where I live. In eastern Washington it's farm country, and while we celebrate every harvest here (we even have a National Lentil Festival) it's apple harvest that's my favorite. Why? I get to wear sweaters, autumn leaves are beautiful and fresh pressed cider is amazing.<br />
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A few weeks ago I went with some friends to Bishops' Orchard to press cider. They have old fashioned apple presses, so it's all done with your own sweat and toil. You wash the apples, chop them up, and then press them to make juice. One bucket is ~ 1 gallon, more or less. From these gallons I am making hard cider. Hard cider is so easy. Fill your carboy with 5 gallons apple juice. Crush up 1 campden tablet for each gallon, add those to neutralize the local yeasts and bacteria. Boil a little honey in water, add that. Wait a few minutes, add a white wine yeast. Done. Really, that's it. After brewing beer for so many years it's a welcome change. So... easy!<br />
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Well, I had one extra gallon that I knew what I wanted to do with: I made apple syrup. All you do is boil down 1 gallon of apple juice to about 1 quart of syrup. Just leave it on the stove, cooking away. The sweetness all comes from the natural flavor of the apples. I then added 1 jigger of whiskey for preservative. So simple. <br />
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It's still harvest time out there! We haven't had a deep enough freeze to kill the apples, so everyone go out and get your fresh pressed juice!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8i5O8N8iwA3tWVgSogMbLwIe00gcqItu_9paacimOO2NjPQ_4EvRqN3JtUifVOHcCoD577mB1gW5CQ-NlbvOX3mBKxD6TB-jmLmQQ0Y8Sg3W7FrIwCWMUEqaxBpNJErAvPVBJnkSCDNTg/s1600/apples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8i5O8N8iwA3tWVgSogMbLwIe00gcqItu_9paacimOO2NjPQ_4EvRqN3JtUifVOHcCoD577mB1gW5CQ-NlbvOX3mBKxD6TB-jmLmQQ0Y8Sg3W7FrIwCWMUEqaxBpNJErAvPVBJnkSCDNTg/s320/apples.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTEq5d_PzV-vaG3gMOsxPb_7ptK4EVH6x7mibK_eem7cARQTq_MaTU41_I9PYT1_14EXsiahMnEGgF9RRn4GkKiXXoWN1xIfYZVBUoEzNMV9jeZi8G2-6qwGL79DDybKQLp3ht281obr8a/s1600/apples2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTEq5d_PzV-vaG3gMOsxPb_7ptK4EVH6x7mibK_eem7cARQTq_MaTU41_I9PYT1_14EXsiahMnEGgF9RRn4GkKiXXoWN1xIfYZVBUoEzNMV9jeZi8G2-6qwGL79DDybKQLp3ht281obr8a/s320/apples2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEeMORPgZVEaca2LCmSwA7JRcFvVjFXxE1fdD85A8FTRG6r5TRzz3sZkLGnGb0tEwiSKnEG3RDOn410isNXuzx0xUElbk9cu5Wg8IvyyTdme211myIYCx4siWWIco9t9BBVZlPRpm4Ndu/s1600/Apple_tub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEeMORPgZVEaca2LCmSwA7JRcFvVjFXxE1fdD85A8FTRG6r5TRzz3sZkLGnGb0tEwiSKnEG3RDOn410isNXuzx0xUElbk9cu5Wg8IvyyTdme211myIYCx4siWWIco9t9BBVZlPRpm4Ndu/s1600/Apple_tub.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHSRvOJ4XygwMcy0xVQJNQlp7LrEDBcwzVYPjblZ1e_WFl4m4Gazf7oKTwo7Mz0Sgt9rjCaBAE4rW9kGPlhgtNTc-G0b_YG7sb7Xw8oLEjjL6rQp45PXUBWYKTC1TIUnicBk2PDCfY9mH/s1600/cider_press.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHSRvOJ4XygwMcy0xVQJNQlp7LrEDBcwzVYPjblZ1e_WFl4m4Gazf7oKTwo7Mz0Sgt9rjCaBAE4rW9kGPlhgtNTc-G0b_YG7sb7Xw8oLEjjL6rQp45PXUBWYKTC1TIUnicBk2PDCfY9mH/s1600/cider_press.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUhEscQH251FF7DvQkOeVOm-V7bDsOgfi9UbO9X4jBW4-weKCEVFQfD0a19ttQeKhp_281-9cR01knTmGf1OxUMEjOgtK51fxae3r43u3RXSpJIP9OzgD_YqfwaL1LqQydDrdSuZtAsP3/s1600/pressing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUhEscQH251FF7DvQkOeVOm-V7bDsOgfi9UbO9X4jBW4-weKCEVFQfD0a19ttQeKhp_281-9cR01knTmGf1OxUMEjOgtK51fxae3r43u3RXSpJIP9OzgD_YqfwaL1LqQydDrdSuZtAsP3/s320/pressing.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wHuOd15C1j4gJRiH5JB2n57IoPdHjNHaM8qZNssixUPd-UEPXcpcdEv4R1iqalc4YvD-B4j-9PQFJiatTSo1awxXRN7wZCftHealG8EOiUOxMC7I0UWnPKm7deT3eBnZHdV_Ge4ERyFJ/s1600/bounty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wHuOd15C1j4gJRiH5JB2n57IoPdHjNHaM8qZNssixUPd-UEPXcpcdEv4R1iqalc4YvD-B4j-9PQFJiatTSo1awxXRN7wZCftHealG8EOiUOxMC7I0UWnPKm7deT3eBnZHdV_Ge4ERyFJ/s320/bounty.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-46849625388377109202011-05-29T23:19:00.000-07:002011-05-29T23:24:22.874-07:00My mom's blackberry pie a la mode cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnezZe48qqv7UPDiOqpIaJFk43bhp4QX0dyZR6WG1zjN9vhPUxkweYE-3glSmj69MxPqokadE-ozXiojKjeyEc67PrvR1SpFrVqd85mHsf4Krte6E03RaiY5Flgo_98PwKw_g5eg-NfSyi/s1600/DSCN0963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnezZe48qqv7UPDiOqpIaJFk43bhp4QX0dyZR6WG1zjN9vhPUxkweYE-3glSmj69MxPqokadE-ozXiojKjeyEc67PrvR1SpFrVqd85mHsf4Krte6E03RaiY5Flgo_98PwKw_g5eg-NfSyi/s320/DSCN0963.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I am not one to shy away from a challenge, so when I saw Cupcake Project/Scoopalicious's 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake challenge I started fantasizing, nay, dreaming about the best possible ice cream cupcake I could make.<br />
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(For the original announcement please see <a href="http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2011/05/announcing-2011-ice-cream-cupcake.html">http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2011/05/announcing-2011-ice-cream-cupcake.html</a> and<br />
<a href="http://scoopalicious.blogspot.com/2011/05/announcing-2011-ice-cream-cupcake.html">http://scoopalicious.blogspot.com/2011/05/announcing-2011-ice-cream-cupcake.html</a>)<br />
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The only problem with this: I'm not a huge fan of cupcakes.<br />
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I <i>know</i> I <i>know!</i> Why would I enter a cupcake contest if I didn't really <i>love</i> cupcakes? Well, it's not that I dislike them, I'm just picky. First off, I don't like regular frosting. However, in my humble opinion I have the best cream cheese frosting recipe <i>ever</i>. So check one to the frosting. Second, I love pie. Obsessively. I love pie. But pie with cream cheese frosting? Weird. I do have a killer spice cake recipe, but spice cake a la mode with frosting, boring. I needed something with more... spice. :)<br />
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I heard about this competition while I was visiting my beautiful grandmother in St. Louis, MO. Maybe the familial nostalgia started overtaking me, but I came up with the best idea ever (I personally think):<br />
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Blackberry pie a la mode cupcakes. My mother's blackberry pie recipe married to cream cheese frosting, with a blackberry vanilla ice cream, butter based flakey and savory pie crust and the moistest spice cake known to man. <br />
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So, this recipe took some time. I had to decide what stratigraphy to put everything in. I didn't want to just dig out a hole in the middle of the spicecake. As an archaeologist this offended my perfectly square unit sensibilities. I wanted in tact stratigraphy, not some ice cream scoop krotovina tarnishing the former beautify of the levels. So here's what I came up with:<br />
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Pie crust "wrappers" (I've done this before for hand-held pies)<br />
Blackberry pie filling<br />
A layer of ice cream<br />
"muffin tops" of cake<br />
icing<br />
berry<br />
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First things first. We need to make the spice cake muffin tops. Here's what you need:<br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/2 cups cake flour</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/4 teaspoon baking soda</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> pinch of salt</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/8 teaspoon ground allspice</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/8 teaspoon ground ginger</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/4 stick unsalted butter, room temperature</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/3 cups (packed) golden brown sugar</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 large egg, separated</li><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/4 cup sour cream</li><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 350*. Sift first 7 ingredients into small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add brown sugar and beat until well blended. Beat in egg yolk. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with sour cream in 2 additions. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg white in medium bowl until stiff but not dry; fold into batter in 2 additions. Pour this into 12 well greased muffin tins (the same tins you will use for making the final cupcakes). Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove and let cool.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, make some pie dough. I mix 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt with one stick of COLD butter until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Add tablespoons of ice water until the mixture is sticky but not too sticky and forms a cohesive dough. The trick to good pie crust: wrap in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for 1-3 hours. It helps the gluten rest. I made the crust into 12 identical size balls (I think of them as grape shot) and leave them in the fridge. See the picture.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI50pXB4FQeeBGhbUkF7D3K4YW0oNmMz9k_gbEO_u8yDxXVbN6ZXD-3MmrN02Ugakxlj_bixAfb67y3BzALPb_ZlNulWOBsfVw05UvbvwrZaGJSU49_o2Dpm8TVexUdyT0s-3-BJ07Nm7n/s1600/DSCN0958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI50pXB4FQeeBGhbUkF7D3K4YW0oNmMz9k_gbEO_u8yDxXVbN6ZXD-3MmrN02Ugakxlj_bixAfb67y3BzALPb_ZlNulWOBsfVw05UvbvwrZaGJSU49_o2Dpm8TVexUdyT0s-3-BJ07Nm7n/s200/DSCN0958.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Then mix together 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 cup sugar and some cinnamon and nutmeg. Place aside.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Get one of those small containers of blackberries. Reserve 12 blackberries (the prettiest ones). Smoosh the rest of them in a bowl and reserve.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Roll out your 12 identical sized pie crusts into rounds and place into well-greased cupcake tin. Sprinkle a 1/2 tsp of flour/sugar mixture in the bottom, then add a tbsp or so of blackberry moosh into each of the floured pie crust rounds. Then sprinkle the rest of the flour/sugar mixture evenly over the smooshed blackberry mixture. The flour mixture will help the blackberries to not weep everywhere. </span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXb7_EyZRGvG9Rm09i69gNN15r2JqqOIUPTkTfT9uXok3eC3n5sKI08jMavFea_spPZyeDNQ2RGvgX9bQb2HIf7UKz7Ad4Crz_7oK0A4qsn2krjRjrTWY_k6J-DoWqtedBi4K00t40qgu/s1600/DSCN0957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXb7_EyZRGvG9Rm09i69gNN15r2JqqOIUPTkTfT9uXok3eC3n5sKI08jMavFea_spPZyeDNQ2RGvgX9bQb2HIf7UKz7Ad4Crz_7oK0A4qsn2krjRjrTWY_k6J-DoWqtedBi4K00t40qgu/s200/DSCN0957.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyways, melt a little butter, wash the pie crusts in butter and bake at 350* for 15 minutes or so, until the crusts are a little golden.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Pick your favorite icecream. I got Tillamook's "marion berry pie" ice cream. Keep it out of the fridge while the crusts are baking so it can soften. When the crusts/pies are cooked place them into the fridge ASAP so they can cool. Then spoon in semi-melty ice cream and add the "muffin tops" of cake. Place in freezer.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">While these are freezing, make the frosting, which is as follows:</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><ul class="ingredientsList" style="list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/3 stick unsalted butter, room temperature</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 cups powdered sugar (about 1 1/4 pounds)</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 tablespoons sour cream</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div>Whip the butter in the electric mixer. Add the cream cheese and beat then beat in sugar, then sour cream and vanilla. Spoon this delicious mixture into a pastry bag and put in the fridge for about an hour until it's cool.<br />
<br />
When the frosting is cool decorate your cupcakes; I used a "lattice-work" design to mimic a blackberry pie. Add a berry on top.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77Ou_zTVe9541nPZzsLo-caErnKwME3j5mxNVs4yJfs_rCQ4xR4qWqWq7RSsF80AnUJnx-C_KUK_hjSUficYWhQCR8TLqmDC7NCt_aK65CTqd8zfU8xiEw0kIlxNcbbWVQ15i1rxZ4UUt/s1600/DSCN0961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77Ou_zTVe9541nPZzsLo-caErnKwME3j5mxNVs4yJfs_rCQ4xR4qWqWq7RSsF80AnUJnx-C_KUK_hjSUficYWhQCR8TLqmDC7NCt_aK65CTqd8zfU8xiEw0kIlxNcbbWVQ15i1rxZ4UUt/s400/DSCN0961.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I brought these cupcakes to a few friends, my advisor and some colleagues. Everyone texted/emailed/called me to say "Oh my god! These are so good!" And despite the fact that they have so many steps they are so easy to make... you just have to do all the steps and put them together.<br />
<br />
And check out the final product. Look at that stratigraphy! Amazing, eh?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60wtXve1bUfYDABgNa9IlFHAgf3rwUOizsHfUjztGw8npQ8IeK3SGllXwuOoy8CFrGvCEcxYlUtn8lmnNaUO_pR7w36ew2ZHgQoUfGm46VQ_czs22j9OfGqSrNOoZX12AGOfFsBKok3Vn/s1600/DSCN0964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60wtXve1bUfYDABgNa9IlFHAgf3rwUOizsHfUjztGw8npQ8IeK3SGllXwuOoy8CFrGvCEcxYlUtn8lmnNaUO_pR7w36ew2ZHgQoUfGm46VQ_czs22j9OfGqSrNOoZX12AGOfFsBKok3Vn/s640/DSCN0964.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Tell me if you make them!</div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span>Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-72884322193291211942011-05-13T14:42:00.000-07:002011-05-13T14:42:15.742-07:00Airport bluesI have done so much traveling this year. And right now I find myself in the Salt Lake City airport hoping that my flight into Chicago is not delayed any more. I have flown through this airport quite a bit in my life, and if you haven't been here you need to know that the whole airport smells like Cinnabon. It's absolutely criminal. Have you ever had something that smells as deliciously evil as Cinnabon but tastes so disappointingly like gooey plastic? I did not fall into the temptation today. Instead I got some tea and a cookie. Unfortunately when I'm bored I eat. Yet hooray for free wifi!<br />
<br />
Like I said, this year has been a traveling year for me. It all started back in August when I went to Los Alamos for some archaeological site revisitation. It was a fantastic archaeological adventure. A few months later I found myself in New Orleans for the American Anthropological Association meetings. This was quite the culinary adventure! I'm pretty sure I gained 10 lbs in 4 days. <br />
<br />
Over Christmas break my boyfriend and I flew to Puerto Vallarta where we stayed for two weeks and ate fresh amazing Mexican food. This was only my second trip to Mexico and I loved it. We returned and three weeks later we took off to Paris for a 10 day sojourn (I had a conference to attend with some amazing French archaeologists). Two weeks from returning from that I went to Washington DC where I ate amazing Ethiopian food, and then 3 weeks later I took off to Crescent City to visit my boyfriend who was working in the area. The tsunami struck there 3 or 4 days before, so there was a strange surreal vibe to the place. After that, down to Sacramento for some more meetings! Now I'm on my way to Chicago to visit an archaeology friend and then St. Louis to visit my grandmother. *phew*<br />
<br />
All this traveling can really wear on a girl, you know? And this bad <u>bad</u> airplane/airport food can suck away at ones soul. But thankfully everywhere I have been this year has been a delicious adventure! My favorite meals this year were:<br />
<br />
Los Alamos: New Mexico green chile stew! Amazing, delicious, and boy I miss living somewhere where I can get these things! This summer I'm planning on heading to Pie Town, NM to check out their New Mexico green apple pie, made with green chiles and pine nuts! My lovely friend Natalie made one for me in December. It was incredible! Check out the pie-o-neer cafe for some of their amazing pies. http://www.pie-o-neer.com/pies-at-pioneer.html<br />
<br />
New Orleans: Wow, this is a hard one! Oysters at the Acme oyster company were amazing, as were the BBQ shrimp (ingredients: butter and worcestershire sauce) at Mr B's. However, my favorite meal was actually at a mexican/NOLA fusion restaurant (sacrilege, I know!) You see, I had been to NOLA for the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, and my father and I cook NOLA food quite a bit, so this burrito took me by surprise! Roasted garlic, sweet potatoes and so much else. It was a masterpiece of epic proportions and goes to show that NOLA chefs are ready to push the boundaries of all kinds of food! I also took a cooking course when I was there my last morning and learned to make so many things correctly. We ate here: http://www.juansflyingburrito.com<br />
<br />
Puerto Vallarta: The pie in Yalapa was amazing! The "market food" of carne asada and milkshakes. Oh my, how delicious!<br />
<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/AVvXsEh5b19Aelon-xgoQNxg0Asanht_vjaT-wS7RlSd7i7wefsvWMWoGmyYs2DNLDe4OOhO143ZKDrfR-45MMAajtZizk9cleLROuWK9yVrIhOS1QpdMv4vsA9Ix9mEVVNMFlMOHdLqtLmG6o0t/s1600/DSCN0719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5b19Aelon-xgoQNxg0Asanht_vjaT-wS7RlSd7i7wefsvWMWoGmyYs2DNLDe4OOhO143ZKDrfR-45MMAajtZizk9cleLROuWK9yVrIhOS1QpdMv4vsA9Ix9mEVVNMFlMOHdLqtLmG6o0t/s320/DSCN0719.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me sipping a cocktail at one of my favorite haunts in Paris</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Paris: additionally, really difficult to decide. The food at Les Fetes Gallantes was incredible, as always. My friend Bibi is the chef extraordinaire and he did not disappoint. I had tongue at a cafe in the 14th, rabbit in the 4th, escargot, fondue, absinthe (the real kind), hot wine on the street and crepes crepes crepes! Oh, and a foie gras salad on the Champs Elysées with the conference participants. It was a magical 9 days of food! It was however a high of 25* F when we were there, so Paris was cold! But that didn't make it any less charming. I even brought back some Paul croissants to my classmates when I flew home.<br />
<br />
DC: The Ethiopian food! My friend lives at the border of the old Ethiopian town in DC so there was no paucity of amazing food. We can't get this kind of food in Pullman, so I gobbled it up with gusto.<br />
<br />
Crescent City: really, I don't remember too much. We cooked in mostly. We rented a beach house for a few days.<br />
<br />
Sacramento: WOW this town has revived itself! I used to drive through and try to find *anything* that was open. It's really much better now! Our favorite was a British pub where I tried Scotch Eggs for the first time. Yum!<br />
<br />
Now I'm off to Chi-town and St. Louis! Adventures to be had by all!Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-7558858302817677802011-05-10T12:06:00.000-07:002011-05-10T12:06:42.887-07:00A word about spices<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/AVvXsEiQIxoqx6n2IXu1FcpNn6OQEpeg5XecY2CUGi31IEmo4uVdP1eHTqM_QUPZX-UPPhTPummdRsiB_d0WE0jQM_a_3Gafb2SSDwTsvtA9sk0COFo_j1W0PEXGCGenW4JPnHt71pZgJuaUaEyb/s1600/DSCN0898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIxoqx6n2IXu1FcpNn6OQEpeg5XecY2CUGi31IEmo4uVdP1eHTqM_QUPZX-UPPhTPummdRsiB_d0WE0jQM_a_3Gafb2SSDwTsvtA9sk0COFo_j1W0PEXGCGenW4JPnHt71pZgJuaUaEyb/s320/DSCN0898.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A picture of long pepper, one of the spices<br />
traded by the seaport of Broach from<br />
India to the Roman Empire. It looks<br />
like odd pine cones, but smells and<br />
tastes better. Trust me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday a second box of spices arrived in the mail, this one from </span><a href="http://www.penzeys.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Penzeys</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. I made room for them in my newly organized spice drawers and basked in the glory. And then I remembered all my friends who don't own many spices and I felt a bit sad. So, I thought I'd write about spices here. As an archaeologist I feel well qualified to write about the history of the spice trade.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">When people think of the spice trade they think of colonialism and more specifically the British Empire. However, the spice trade has much deeper roots than that. For thousands of years people have wanted tasty food. Do you blame them? Why have bland mutton stew when you can have tasty mutton stew? To be completely self serving and insert a bit of academe into here, I'm currently working on an article talking about the interactions of hunter-gatherers with agriculturalists. But the following bit talks about the spice trade.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<!--StartFragment--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"The ancient seaport of Broach linked India to the outside world starting from the 1</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">st</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> century A.D. Despite its relative inaccessibility, the preponderance of material wealth from this port shows that merchants braved the shoals and difficult currents to have access to the Indian interior and the lucrative position of supplying material wealth to distant states. Many products, such as spices (e.g. nard, spikenard, costus, longpepper) were supplied to Broach during the first to fifth centuries A.D and were probably gathered by Indian hunter-gatherers (see Stiles, 1993 for more info)." (from as of yet unpublished Crabtree, Stefani publication). </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<!--StartFragment--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><!--EndFragment--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So, from this we gather that </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Rome</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> was venturing to </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">India</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> to get things to make tasty food! Spices were so valued from then on that in the French court in the middle ages you could seduce someone with pepper; indeed pepper weighed more ounce per ounce than gold. People killed and died for spices. And of course, let's not forget our buddy Christopher Columbus who was trying to find a passage to India not for gold and silver but for spices. (If you want to read a good novelization of the spice industry, </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Moor's Last Sigh</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> by Salman Rushdie will do well).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So, we have at least 2,000 years of history (there are many many more years of history, dating back back back to Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Chinese etc) here riding on our shoulders of our ancestors going to all lengths for tasty food. So why then do so many people own three "spices:" iodized salt, lawrey's season salt and some lemon pepper (and if they're being adventurous some dried parsley)?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I think they just don't know about spices and are afraid to experiment. Also, how intimidating is a grocery store spice aisle? First of all, it's put right next to the canned frosting. I avoid this aisle like the plague. I have a weakness for rainbow chip frosting and I try to not buy it. Also, the aisle </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">smells</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> like canned frosting. This is a very odd smell. It's a blend of high fructose corn syrup, red dye #40 and failure. So while you're trying to imagine what will really bring out the flavors of that juicy rib eye you just bought you're smelling a nightmare. No wonder you can't quite picture it! Finally, spices in the supermarket are </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">expensive</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. I almost choked once when I popped over to the supermarket because I ran out of something and found that the store brand of it was $12. I'm sorry, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">TWELVE freaking DOLLARS?!?!</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> It's ridiculous. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thankfully I lived in Boulder the last few years so I got to learn about the glory of </span><a href="http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Savory Spice Shop.</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> I remember the day it opened and how excited I was! This place is a friendly, inviting space. When it first opened I was broke; my then-roommate (amazing chef </span><a href="http://www.backtobasicskitchen.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Susanna Minichiello</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">) and I would go smell (and taste!) the spices and we wouldn't get kicked out! It smells like the best restaurant you've ever been to. They get fresh ingredients, grind their spices daily and blend things by hand. The proprietor in the Boulder shop looked exactly like Judge Reinhold (I find that comforting) and is the nicest, chillest man alive. I'm pretty sure he is the chillest man in Boulder who does not run one of the now-ubiquitous "Medical" marijuana stores. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So, best of all, the spices there are </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">less expensive</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> than at the supermarket. By </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">a lot </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">in many cases. Sure, some things are more expensive (fancy cinnamon at Savory versus a giant plastic canister of cinnamon that was ground by child labor in 1972 that you can buy at your local supermarket) but by and large you're going to save money. Why? The spices you buy there are fresh so you don't need to use as much--a little can go a looooong way in flavoring food. Also, that's all they sell (well, and a few spice related gadgets). Specializing can be an optimal way of doing things, minimizing costs by increasing efficiency (yes, for you anthro geeks, I definitely just wrote about Optimal Foraging Theory here).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">True, when I go in I spend $50 on spices, but that's because I write a list and buy everything at once. Also true, you are more likely to </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">notice</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> spending $50 on spices when you go there because that's all you buy. When you go to the supermarket and are buying $150 of groceries and $50 worth of crappy spices you won't notice because it's in the rest of your gargantuan bill.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Moral of the story: buy good spices. Your ancestors will thank you.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So where to buy them? Well, like I said, I love Savory Spice Shop, but there are others that I frequent as well. I recently began a love affair with Penzeys; I don't like their Boulder store layout as much as Savory (and their sales clerks don't look like 1980's heart-throbs), but their spices are absolutely top-notch, they are a tried and true company and I buy their spices frequently (as is evidenced by the package I just got from them). I will have links to all of these at the bottom. I also recently discovered the Milford Spice Company. I am very impressed with their blends! And when I go to Seattle I go to the World Spice Merchants (I don't like how they package their spices though, and transfer them as soon as possible to glass jars). I'm picky.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Readers: do you have some favorite spice shops I should try out?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Also, I just figured out how to see the "stats" of who has viewed my blog. 300 views yesterday (and that's not counting me)! I hope you are enjoying it. I just fixed the "comment" box so that anyone can comment (including anonymous readers) so feel free to post.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So, the spice shops:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.penzeys.com/</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.milfordspice.com/</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.worldspice.com/</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I hope this brings a little spice into your life! Hahaha! Pun definitely intended!</span>Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-37390139261933595602011-05-09T12:33:00.000-07:002011-05-09T14:00:39.082-07:00Parties, panna cotta and loxHello friends,<br /><div><br /></div><div>This weekend I had a wonderful garden party for all of my friends who graduated. The party was an amazing success! I usually am in bed by 10:30pm, but I stayed up until 2:30am talking with my friends. Two friends stayed the night (a walk home at 2:30 sounded terrible) and in the morning we woke up and had coffee and crepes. It was a wonderful experience, magical and awesome and I felt so loved all day yesterday.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thankfully the weather cooperated and gave me enough sunshine on Saturday that we could all hang outside. I spent hours in my backyard this past week; there is an area behind the grass that is a sloping hill that heretofore was a mess of brambles, old yard clippings and broken bottles. I donned my gardening gloves and cleaned up the mess and created a very liveable space. This is just phase one, but after moving all the debris, setting up some lawn chairs and purchasing solar fairy lights the area is a magical forest of awesomeness. I invite everyone over to experience the glory.</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-F93liJTEGJ3-RLZk15HWRwlvL3WJqrJ1x34L3Zkj8N6eeleIfltDRTghPzDpRlddq0sTFezpc1CIYVMDHnDcJTuj7B88D5FbPH7CG7jKlu4TjC30yU7kvCZv8JA6rVnJhDb1Ou8RFHw3/s200/DSCN0901.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604822709200729746" /></div><div>Now on to the food. What good is a food blog without all the food? </div><div><br /></div><div>First off, at the suggestion of Portland based rock star Dave Depper I made some lox. Dave made lox last month and his rhetorical question to the realms of facebook "why haven't you made this?" made me wonder why I hadn't. So I looked up a few recipes and figured out how easy it is. All you need to make lox is: salmon, salt, sugar, spices and a really heavy weight. That's it! So, the golden ratio of preserving is: 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup salt. Mix these together in a big bowl. I used NW Alder smoked seasalt (available <a href="http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/">here</a>) and ground it myself and mixed it with organic cane sugar. I then added a bit of long pepper (also from Savory Spice, linked above) which I also ground myself. Then I added some dried dill my father grew and harvested for me. I packed it on and then cut the salmon in half and folded it lengthwise. I then wrapped the salmon is saran wrap, keeping one side open, and laid it in a baking dish. Then came the hard part: finding something heavy that would put pressure on the fish evenly that would fit in the other baking pan.</div><br /><div>I wandered my house to no avail (my man took his handweights with him to the field) and decided to see if there was a heavy rock out back. But LUCK! There was a decomposing cinder block that fit perfectly in my baking pan! I got a bucket of hot and soapy water and took to scrubbing the cinder. My neighbors came out. Oblivious to their stares, they finally said "Um, Stefani? What are you doing?" And I replied "I'm washing a cinder block. Obviously."</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOe_60wtnHjSdo47yzP29H50oDtYh1JR2Q1vCxtCshjwcnlk4lj9DTtEjPjjhNS4pWkQMsJTPLXUBUaGSyEne6_t-rganh7nfb8COyl3Nlq0YPVYK2oXtXoE_oSjC40Nyda0nDRXesirs/s320/DSCN0908.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604823816975677858" /></div><div>I took the cinder block inside, set up my fish in a baking pan, baking dish on top, cinder block on that baking dish, and then found some old socks and propped one end of the contraption up so the juices could drain out. Fastforward 48 hours, the fish is done! Unwrap and wash the sucker clean. The next hard part came with cutting the fish. My grandmother bought me a mandolin, and I tried that, but it really works much better on vegetables and the fish was just gumming it up. So I spent 20 minutes sharpening a knife (note to self: ask for sushi knife for birthday!) and then finally I was able to cleave the meat away in nice pieces. I placed all the pieces in the tray, sprinkled them with a little lemon juice, and liberally sprinkled with dill. These will be served on rosemary crackers this afternoon with the clotted cream for my proper tea.</div><div><br /></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJIH3CnHGXsk1FbkzN45NNMkgsVil1Il82_3ZKpACWN9KDXkvh6KQ2saQhoPoDVrnTa9wZCA_eJ8aFDvOGk6B-r-yAWlX2IBPUHb5rwT4pHZgiG6s3Q_zUCg374Yw5I70xAyZI0Q7lOTx/s320/DSCN0895.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604821856371222498" /><div>I also made a yogurt based panna cotta this weekend, flavored with saffron, vanilla bean and cardamom, inspired by a recipe from the cookbook Eat Well. All you need is:</div><div>2 packets unflavored gelatin</div><div>1.5 cups milk (2% or higher)</div><div>1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise</div><div>3/4 cup sugar</div><div>orange or tangerine zest (I used tangerines in this)</div><div>2 cups plain yogurt, whole fat or partial, but not non-fat</div><div><br /></div><div>So, first step: separate out 1/2 cup milk and sprinkle contents of one packet of gelatin onto the milk. DO NOT STIR! Let it stand for 10 minutes as it is for the gelatin to moisten.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pour the rest of the milk (1 cup) into a small saucepan over medium heat. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into the milk and add the ground up inner seeds of the cardamom. Add the vanilla bean pod, 1/2 cup of sugar and the zest. Stir until the sugar dissolves in (took a while since I use big granules of sugar) and the mixture begins to simmer. Remove from heat. Add the gelatin mixture and stir it in until gelatin is completely dissolved. At this point, I started worrying I didn't have enough gelatin, with terrifying fantasies of serving my guests yogurt goo that just glops off the table and onto the floor, so I sprinkled in the second packet. This might not have been necessary, but my end result was so delicious it might be a good idea.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then transfer the liquid to a large bowl, cool for about 10 minutes, then remove the vanilla bean husk (people don't like eating bark. It's just gross). Whisk in the yogurt until it's well blended.</div><div><br /></div><div>You'll need 6 ramekins for this; brush them with butter or your favorite non-fat cooking spray. Divide yogurt evenly among ramekins and let set in the fridge for 2 hours to 2 days.</div><div><br /></div><div>THEN to make the syrup, you need 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and some lemon juice. Simmer until the sugar dissolves, and then poor this over prepared orange quarters and let cool.</div><div><br /></div><div>To serve, gently run a butter knife between panna cotta and sides of ramekins to loosen. Place a plate over each ramekin and, holding plate and ramekin together, invert and shake until the panna cotta comes loose. Pour the syrup over, garnish with oranges (and I added a bit of homemade grenadine for good measure).</div><div><br /></div><div>Happy eating!</div>Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-79746155632451715372011-05-05T19:06:00.001-07:002011-05-05T19:56:27.691-07:00Stress relieving through better cookingWhen you're stressed, what do you do? I eat and I cook. I <b>love</b> to cook. I'm sure you realize this. The last week has been supremely stressful. Not only is it the end of the year, but my good friend had to say goodbye to her sister last week after a brave battle with cancer. I've also had some personal/family stuff to deal with lately. So, I retreat to my kitchen to make delicious things.<div><br /></div><div>The first of these delicious things is clotted cream. I volunteered to host my class at my house this upcoming Monday when we will be discussing publishing a paper. My professor is British. I suggested we have proper tea in my backyard. Not only that, but I enthusiastically said "I'll make clotted cream!" Now, I have never made clotted cream before, nor actually did I even know what clotted cream was, but I knew it was something to serve with fancy tea. I was also sure I could take a stab at making it, and if it failed, oh well, the Co-op or the cheese shop probably sells the stuff anyways.</div><div><br /></div><div>Turns out making clotted cream is insanely easy. All you need is a pint of heavy whipping cream, a heavy bottomed pot with a lid, and an oven that can stay at 180* for a sustained amount of time (12-15) hours. All of these I had, so I gave it a go. At the end of the 15 hours I pulled the pot out and lo and behold, there was a thick, yellowish skin on the top of the cream. That, my dear readers, is the clotted cream (cue "ewwwww" from Becki).</div><div><br /></div><div>So, I skimmed off the skin, put it in a </div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPa2gIS6dx1pGUoBNDM6T8c6vB6loowNX7dYZc6QrQ_V7zp-5EQkhrGZJr-wc-Mb4A-iq4F-xMBYnORq9nsSG1pA58fp_gIaiyaP3k7IoKGGRVLyNPxcPkjjgMC5LHnuQRcMNxIm3xHRjH/s320/DSCN0880.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603427794718301234" /><div>mason jar, and put it in the fridge. The stuff got rock hard, so I googled "how to serve clotted cream" and saw pictures of it in pretty shapes and learned that it's essentially butter, so it needs to be softened before serving.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, as a big dorky archaeologist it turns out that I own a few wooden butter molds of the Amish persuasion. So, I let the cream soften, soaked the wooden molds, and stuffed them with the creamy buttery goodness. Voila! You can see the results for yourselves. I did one little one for each of us, and then made the remaining cream into a giant square with a star in the middle. I dare say, they will be impressed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Additionally I made grenadine. Look at the photos, doesn't it look delicious? All</div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHMh_V0GXnG1CdtjLs_nBvA5IyoNhRybQieLcnU1AiFSLZk4BQMH2u3f46Rj7doYqZzNs0aLVoytuMKqOLsiG9XMt3Xfw5tvXmHsZ2wcdvlef90c8Zv2iRouW2JtssZ8eGTKoLMZWp9_c/s200/DSCN0885.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603429535956833778" /><div> you do is boil down 32 oz of pomegranate juice to half its volume, take it off the heat, add 2c sugar and then 1 oz vodka (optional; it's a curing agent though, so if you want the stuff to last this step is essential). I had some Dry sodas (http://www.drysoda.com/) which are honestly the best things EVER, used a vanilla bean one, added an ounce of grenadine and it made the most AMAZING shirley temple ever. Seriously, do yourself a favor and make one now.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, a girl can't subsist on this stuff only, so I had to make dinner. Dinner tonight was simple: shrimp boil (water, crab boil seasoning, shrimp) but OH NO! I had no cocktail sauce! So I made some! (are we seeing a trend here?) Here's how:</div><div>2 tbsp ketchup</div><div>1/2 tsp lemon juice</div><div>2 tsp horseradish</div><div>1 tsp worcestershire sauce</div><div>Mix and YUM! Tasted just like the Beaver Brand stuff, but without the preservatives.<br /></div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD78S4LckE7NT4xxE6BKBHXPj76Iu9kwOfubYvlg_4AGj_S6P1XKFfCjK8qYVwWgbjvHM7fzU6w5GjjA4yL_OlgcYHZQeQkn-Qvjv66lx3U7AlfsLoCGWi8S_paqoZg44PrvZat7atfFyL/s200/DSCN0888.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603430181957236818" /></div><div><br /></div><div>This last recipe here is for Nikki. Please make this tomorrow and tell me how it is. I made roasted broccoli </div><div>with a vinaigrette and pinenuts. So easy, and yet so good. Did you know broccoli has a nutty flavor if roasted? Yeah, I didn't either. I always had mushy steamed broccoli before. Never again I tell you! So here's how you do it:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>1 head broccoli</div><div>some salt</div><div>1 tbsp olive oil</div><div>So, chop the broc up into little bite sized bits. Then throw it in a bowl, and add the above ingredients. Toss around so it's well coated. Place in oven at 400* and bake for... 10 minutes? When the broccoli reaches 10 minutes throw in a handful of pinenuts so they get nice and toasted. Leave in another 5 minutes or so.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, mix together 2tbsp balsamic and 1 tbsp dijon mustard (I, of course, have some homemade stuff I like to use). When the broccoli crowns start getting a little browned pull 'em on out, throw back in the original bowl, pour the dressing over and toss. Voila, amazingness.</div><div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXmQ9nde0WXYxYeMtoyRaYHFF1CQja4ZSwLYxLq6qb7Q8eWJBV3jtA2-gCLWH5ljTjVP16YlCL4b7lvVJS4ps875r_4q4ogqwXAfkN0WKctvNKDnmTK3eqsxTjgqriJimfiQkAh6U82wZg/s320/DSCN0891.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603427056895823794" /></div><div>Oh, and finally, I alphebetized my spice drawers the other day, and then ordered more spices from Savory Spice Shop in CO and they arrived today. Cue gratuitous picture </div><div>of my spices.</div><div><br /></div><div>The broccoli was so good I just went back for a second helping. :)</div>Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-57480419116492998112011-05-03T20:17:00.000-07:002011-05-03T23:12:01.834-07:00End of the... year? Wow.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjPO425dZ3t6K16Rn1ukxFwjoHuO_hwGOs7kVKBxlR2WNN6tqHJjTYKrScQOv8ws6C18idJMZXj8-6XdvocJPvNPfO4Byy_FVjMUDVu4_uMZn7Kv4b5EO3DLSjUlZlXdFLSq-jox2_q1x/s1600/DSCN0273.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjPO425dZ3t6K16Rn1ukxFwjoHuO_hwGOs7kVKBxlR2WNN6tqHJjTYKrScQOv8ws6C18idJMZXj8-6XdvocJPvNPfO4Byy_FVjMUDVu4_uMZn7Kv4b5EO3DLSjUlZlXdFLSq-jox2_q1x/s200/DSCN0273.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602700263716749810" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45q28wxaLRnzo56oDd9AkVWYgiGHzwiYMIS11CF7rDY5Lk6bwQ76Dbes8hd3UDWzFZnWcrLaJ1mmR_rK995WxJwTC0uUKd-Gjnhd1f4fwr3UrpkmoTqDHx7wpig-nZxLjwgGshJ9GC-_p/s1600/DSCN0272.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45q28wxaLRnzo56oDd9AkVWYgiGHzwiYMIS11CF7rDY5Lk6bwQ76Dbes8hd3UDWzFZnWcrLaJ1mmR_rK995WxJwTC0uUKd-Gjnhd1f4fwr3UrpkmoTqDHx7wpig-nZxLjwgGshJ9GC-_p/s200/DSCN0272.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602699744367354946" /></a><br /><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHCiLWsIAdG3DoObGUME9NGDVB-ILCwy1s6w0OoWYL6LHZnfkpJFAc_VfOkLLUIT5yeh58Bka1Ea2PtFwdtFYX30mLIab-EwpDowtGpeVhSx2NT2HAEOhyrCz3X6uXhH-zvjJjFoqqDKa/s200/DSCN0267.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602699314351913506" /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So, last year I spent a very good amount of time cooking and fantasizing about blogging. This year I spent very little time cooking and feeling guilty about not blogging. Grad school got difficult, friends, and I'm sorry to shirk on my blogging duties.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>I have some catching up to do for sure. I've made some incredible dishes in the past many months. My favorite was a quail egg raviolone. The growers market here in town has a guy who sells quail eggs, and 24 of them followed me home. What do you do with 24 quail eggs? Well, a friend of mine pointed me to this newspaper article (http://www.saltyseattle.com/2010/01/quail-egg-raviolone-aka-inverted-carbonara/) and I adapted it a little. The recipe is below.</div><div><br /></div><div>First of all, I baked the raviolones, because I think baked ravioli is ambrosia. Second, I added a few other cheeses and some tarragon to the cheese mix. </div><div><br /></div><div>Today I also found the amazing website The Cupcake Project, whose name is ALSO Stefani and who ALSO loves making things from scratch. I feel like I have a compatriot in arms out there in the cyber world. I tried her grenadine from scratch and it's incredible; so much so I called my mother and had to tell her all about it. I'm also making her clotted cream (the real reason I ended up on her website). As it takes 8-12 hours to cook, it's still in the oven, but when I have proper tea with my British professor on Monday I hope to impress with the cream!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Now that school is (almost) over I plan on posting more... my love of food keeps shining! Now I guess I should get back to finishing that paper... *sigh* The neverending flow of words from my fingertips is truly astounding.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family:'Century Gothic', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 28px; "><b> <!--StartFragment--> </b></p><b><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:48.0pt;line-height:28.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Quail Egg Ravioli aka Inverted Carbonara</span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:48.0pt;line-height:28.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For the pasta:</span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 2 tbsp butter<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 2 cloves garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 4 sprigs thyme leaves, chopped<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 1 tbsp dried tarragon<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> ¼ c white wine<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Salt and pepper to taste<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 1 lb whole milk ricotta<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 1 c grated parmigiano reggiano<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 1 c grated gouda<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Your favorite semolina-based pasta dough recipe to make 8 sheets 25” long by 5.5” wide<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 24 quail eggs<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 1 egg white whisked with 1 tbsp cold water for egg wash<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:48.0pt;line-height:28.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For the sauce:</span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Four pieces of bacon, diced<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 1 tsp Meyer lemon zest<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 2 tbsp Meyer lemon juice<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> ½ c white wine<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 2 c heavy cream<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 2 tbsp butter cut into four pieces<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 1 bunch of asparagus cut into 1” pieces and very lightly steamed<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> 1 bag organic frozen peas<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l2 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1.</span></span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To make the filling, sautee the garlic and thyme in the butter for 30 seconds, just long enough for them to release their flavor. Add the white wine, and reduce by half over medium heat. Remove from heat, add the salt and pepper, and mix with the parmigiano and the ricotta in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until needed to keep firm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l2 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2.</span></span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Working with two sheets at a time, place four dollops about 1.5 tbsp each of ricotta mixture in equal distances along one sheet of pasta. Make a depression in each dollop large enough to contain one quail egg, though it’s ok if a bit of white spills over as it will help with cohesion. Crack one quail egg into each depression. Wash the edges and between the dollops/eggs with egg white. Carefully set the second equally-shaped pasta sheet over the first, and pinch together on the edges and between the quail egg dollops. Cut each sheet into four circles using a 5” cookie cutter or glass. Place each raviolo on a floured baking sheet and continue process with remaining sheets until you have 24 ravioli. Let them air dry for an hour or up to three while you’re making the sauce. Right before you put them in the oven, paint with melted butter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:48.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;line-height:22.0pt;mso-pagination:none; mso-list:l2 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">3.</span></span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For the sauce, fry the bacon in a large skillet until fat has rendered and it’s crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, but keep as much grease in the pan as possible. Add the zest, juice and white wine to the pan. Reduce the wine by half over medium low heat. Add the cream and bring almost to the point of simmer, stirring constantly. Add the butter one piece at a time, stirring to fully incorporate. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, and keep warm over very low heat. Add the peas and asparagus 5 minutes before you plan to drizzle the sauce over the ravioli.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To cook the ravioli bake at 350* for 10 minutes. YUM!</span></span></span><span style="mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latinfont-family:Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </b><p></p></span></div></div>Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-52274484343319168562010-08-31T22:35:00.000-07:002010-08-31T23:04:04.655-07:00You call it rabbit, I call it delicious...<div>No pictures today... where did I put that camera cable?</div><div><br /></div>I am constantly bemused by the fact that the average American could go their whole lives with eating basically three terrestrial animals: chickens, pigs and cows. Throw in a once a year turkey to liven things up, and that's pretty much what you can buy in the supermarket. Of course I know there is lamb, but it's hard to find good lamb, and there are some others too...<div><br /></div><div>I, for one, have become obsessed with eating "different" animals. I have no qualms with believing I am toward the top of the food chain, so I don't think I will ever be a very practical vegetarian. And, well, if I were in the forest in India and a tiger ate me, well, okay, I guess I had it coming.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've eaten a lot of weird things that some of you would prefer I didn't mention. Dog. It's not bad, it's not good. It's just dog. The obligatory escargot (snails) from when I lived in Paris. Rancid yak butter tea from the Himalayas. All the unmentionables: tongue, brain, sweetbreads (a gland), Rocky Mountain oysters (if you have to ask, you don't want to know). Oh, and my personal favorite: it's not a food, it's a medicine, but it's bear bile. It is what it sounds like. They use it as an immune booster in Asia. It is illegal, but I was given some by a family in Vietnam. It's pretty disgusting, but it works.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, I was at the Co-op in Moscow and came across a few delicious things: elk steaks, bison steaks, goat meat (halal!) and rabbit. Naturally, I bought all of these, and we have slowly but surely been eating them. This weekend we made rabbit. I had rabbit once before in Paris and it was amazing, so I decided to try my hand at it.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was incredible! The texture of the animal is kind of different, for they have such powerful legs! But I really highly recommend it.</div><div><br /></div><div>As dinner was cooking my mouth watered, and I decided to make chocolate soufflé as well. I have a no-nonsense easy recipe to follow. The biggest thing to know about soufflés are do NOT open the oven until that timer goes off! Soufflés are very shy and they will collapse if you open the door before they are ready to see the world!</div><div><br /></div><div>School is going okay. My agent-based modeling class is great but difficult. K and I spent 2 hours trying to work through 3 mathematical modeling problems today. I have abstracts due for the Society for American Archaeology meetings, and just generally too much to do. To top it off I had some pretty intense nightmares last night, so I'm guessing I'm stressed. It's unfair: it's only the 2nd week of school!</div><div><br /></div><div>In other news I really want a French country tablecloth for my round table upstairs. I can't believe they're $100! I wish I hadn't left mine in Paris 7 years ago....</div><div><br /></div><div>Chocolate Soufflé</div><div><br /></div><div>2tsp butter</div><div>1/2 c sugar in all</div><div>8 oz semi sweet chocolate</div><div>4 large egg whites</div><div>3 large egg yolks</div><div>1/4 cup grand marnier</div><div>3/4 cup chocolate grand marnier sauce (to follow)</div><div><br /></div><div>preheat oven to 400*</div><div>great ramekins with butter and sprinkle 1 tsp sugar throughout each to coat all sides</div><div><br /></div><div>In a double boiler melt the chocolate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, using electric mixer beat the egg whites with 1/4 cup of sugar until very stiff.</div><div><br /></div><div>When chocolate is melted add egg yolks in 1 at a time. Add the grandmarnier and then whisk in 2 tbsp sugar. Fold in the egg whites and whisk till blended.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pour chocolate in ramekins. Bake until puffy, 20-25 minutes.</div><div><br /></div><div>This recipe will at least double in size, so make sure you don't fill those ramekins above halfway! Glass works best, though I have used muffin tins in a pinch, they just shouldn't cook for anywhere near as long. Turn the light on in the oven at the beginning so you can periodically check on your desserts as they are cooking. Once the middle of the soufflé is no longer bowed they're pretty much done.</div><div><br /></div><div>Run a knife along the edge and flip the soufflé onto a plate upside down.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, the sauce:</div><div>1/4 cup heavy cream</div><div>1.5 tsp grand marnier</div><div>3/4 tsp sugar</div><div>3/4 oz semi sweet chocolate (though this weekend I ran out of chocolate chips so I used hersheys syrup and it turned out okay)</div><div><br /></div><div>Heat cream in small saucepan. Add grand marnier and sugar. Whisk in chocolate, bring to a boil. Whisk constantly. Remove from heat and drizzle over the soufflées. </div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, someone else try this recipe and tell me how it works! :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Without further ado, the rabbit!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; "><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">2 tablespoons all-purpose flour</li><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">1 teaspoon salt</li><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">a 2 1/2- to 3-pound rabbit, thawed if frozen, cut into 7 or 8 serving pieces</li><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">3 tablespoons olive oil</li><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">1 large onion, chopped</li><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">2 garlic cloves, minced</li><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves</li><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">1 1/2 cups chicken broth</li><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">1 cup dry red wine</li><li class="ingredient" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves</li><br /><p class="instructions" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">In a large bowl stir together flour and salt. Add rabbit and toss to coat. In a heavy kettle heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown rabbit in batches, transferring pieces to a bowl.</p><p class="instructions" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Add onion and remaining tablespoon oil to kettle and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned. Stir in garlic and rosemary and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, wine, and rabbit with any juices accumulated in bowl and simmer, covered, 1 hour, or until rabbit is tender. Remove lid and simmer until sauce is thickened slightly. Stir in parsley.</p><p class="instructions" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></p><span><br /></span></span></div>Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-91296759761121162192010-08-27T19:59:00.000-07:002010-08-27T22:36:57.874-07:00Roadkill, Cherry Tomatoes and approaching autumn<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTbkTuVLXxX3tevqMhmlrQd3nzpzWsADAyNU9YdSfbd5njC-FrrmECxa-2mf0aC0gQyXHmMWh4Jbhv78i2osYBtlb2Mkz6ep-XP_ile2SOtiSfYl4G1gq5mpsvJuTApvBzFzahCvq6z8M/s320/DSCN0234.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510330363004538050" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEi4E44e4MPOGwhsSFFX4N4AgsmOZQlSGu92jBWZNC5XKU5wjDNWpG1q1zUANyCNUwg68d2JKU974OgmPGsnCm6I0FfwJkIzQHCHwVLyBc9TVblor7WGNdud01VnwNLds8Kby0TWMhBgWC/s1600/DSCN0235.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEi4E44e4MPOGwhsSFFX4N4AgsmOZQlSGu92jBWZNC5XKU5wjDNWpG1q1zUANyCNUwg68d2JKU974OgmPGsnCm6I0FfwJkIzQHCHwVLyBc9TVblor7WGNdud01VnwNLds8Kby0TWMhBgWC/s320/DSCN0235.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510330369082835602" /></a><br /><br />Have you ever reached into the 'fridge, pulled out your little carton of cherry tomatoes and said "awwww! They got all wrinkly! Damn it!" Well, I learned my food preservation techniques from my parents. Eggs, in the fridge. Butter, in the fridge. Hot sauce, in the fridge. Honestly, everything goes in the fridge that isn't either chalk full of chemicals or hermetically sealed against the elements. Now I keep at least one stick of butter out every week so I have a good consistency for toast. My french friends tended to keep their eggs in the pantry, not the fridge. I alternate between putting hotsauce in the fridge or the pantry, based on which one is less full. I haven't died yet. Well, it turns out cherry tomatoes don't want to be refrigerated either! The carton I got had a cute little cartoon that said "I don't like being cold--keep me on the counter, not in the fridge!" Wow, thanks carton, I didn't know! So cherry tomatoes are like certain parts of the male anatomy: when put in the cold and damp they shrivel up and get small. I'll never put you in the fridge again, cherry toms (except, of course, when I forget!)<div><br /></div><div>So, the roadkill story: my man got a shotgun recently and hasn't gone hunting yet, but is planning on going bird hunting. I am excited. I love new meats and am happy with the prospect of hunting our own. However, last week my brother and I were driving to Moscow Mountain and a pheasant jumped out in front of the car. I have a rule: I do not slam on brakes or swerve for animals if it will endanger my own species. Humans first, animals later. Needless to say, I quite literally punted the pheasant off the passenger headlight. The thing went peeeewiiiiiiiiiiiiing, rocketing off the front, tumbling a bit, and landing in some thick vegetation. Well, bro and I decided to stop the car and look for the bird. There was a HUGE spray of feathers all over the road. We followed where we thought the bird landed, but couldn't find it in the brush! I was disappointed--I thought it would give me good practice plucking and gutting. There is no way that the bird could have survived, so my theory is it disintegrated.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, on that note, today was quite a culinary day! I had an AM meeting with a classmate of mine who is working on helping me understand the most mind-melting project. He is a godsend, so I try to bribe him with food whenever I can. P understands R and Matlab much better than me. If he were to quit the project I would be up shit creek. So, I made him scones. Oatmeal scones, and I couldn't find my regular oats (I just moved) so I used 2 packets of instant. I think it definitely changed the texture a bit (made it drier) but the overall result was pretty good. Recipe to follow at the end.</div><div><br /></div><div>At lunch my lab-mate K and I went to a French teahouse where we tried a white tea and an oolong, had a cheese tartlet with fresh organic greens, and lavender crème brulée for dessert. Delicious!</div><div><br /></div><div>Dinner was a portobello sandwich in balsamic reduction with roasted (end of) summer squash on the side. My man made this for me, and it was simple yet elegant.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of end of summer, my god! Where did it go? I am ready to go pick apples and press cider, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the days to get shorter. Who am I kidding? I'm never ready for the days to get shorter! Here in Pullman the shortest day of the year means the sun sets at 3:30!!! Ouch! I know, for those of you who live in Alaska I am complaining about nothing, but 3:30 is just too damn early, if you ask me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Scones:</div><div>In a bowl stir together 2 cups flour, 1 cup oats, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, and salt to taste. Add in 6 tbsp room temp butter (I smoosh it together with my hands) until dough gets a crumbly texture. Meanwhile, in small bowl whisk together 3/4 cup buttermilk (I didn't have any, but I had some heavy whipping cream (!) so I used that!) and 1 egg. Add to flour mixture along with 1/2 cup fruit, 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup nuts. Mix thoroughly. Divide dough into 8 even balls. Smoosh balls onto a cookie sheet, place in preheated to 350* oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes. (photos are of pre-baked, and right before being shoved into my mouth)</div>Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365104530969152647.post-91243518801169048132010-08-25T18:58:00.000-07:002010-08-25T19:34:03.615-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFNrlooam58_zY_SOpTYzfFjjCn1vuHFQYklFv6hvbOeJI2tjJbA8Z9h4x6x6nuedBcu2grOpBnpniuiqhOK6uga8DW5rTt3tbSQPN2zHCLphQVpTLmy-o-UqipPJDD8FvxirD5tVI1gu/s1600/DSCN0231.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFNrlooam58_zY_SOpTYzfFjjCn1vuHFQYklFv6hvbOeJI2tjJbA8Z9h4x6x6nuedBcu2grOpBnpniuiqhOK6uga8DW5rTt3tbSQPN2zHCLphQVpTLmy-o-UqipPJDD8FvxirD5tVI1gu/s320/DSCN0231.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509539935846246210" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtzeGJHK1jFWw-3Eygr_MRz8TFUK687EVyMTgzGXyrHSH1ayJMtr2pLGY0MkIYTe7jQ_LnFLMLx-iPaRDVmesM-ZbTSg6XLdJIxHgNymcugMlMSk-2egqWj08dyp4NVEJEKePHtAGPkzT/s1600/DSCN0216.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtzeGJHK1jFWw-3Eygr_MRz8TFUK687EVyMTgzGXyrHSH1ayJMtr2pLGY0MkIYTe7jQ_LnFLMLx-iPaRDVmesM-ZbTSg6XLdJIxHgNymcugMlMSk-2egqWj08dyp4NVEJEKePHtAGPkzT/s320/DSCN0216.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509539925181148226" /></a><br />I am a graduate student. Sometimes that feels like more than a full time job. And I'm sure some of you are wondering "does she even have time to make anything but frozen pizza?" While there are definitely nights where that digiorno gets popped in the oven, more often than not I will find ways into the kitchen.<div><br /></div><div>For example, last March WSU had the "Iron Coug Video Cooking Competition." It's a fairly dorky video, but I had just bought my new MacBook and was thrilled to try out the video editing software. What's more, I won! Hoorah! </div><div><br /></div><div>The video even features my music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apGRLWV2_f0</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight it was breakfast for dinner! I had a hankering for poached eggs (I know, odd) so I went to the store and bought some new white wine vinegar and had a bouquet of flowers follow me home. I'm in a new house, a 1930's bungalow style, and I think fresh flowers will become a mainstay here.</div><div><br /></div><div>I whipped up a hollandaise with egg yolks, vinegar and butter and then added some tarragon and orange peel to spice it up. The seeded baguette I bought at the farmer's market served as the platform, upon which I piled prosciutto, tomato, fresh basil leaves and the poached egg. Topping it off with the hollandaise made this a delicious little eggs benedict! </div><div><br /></div><div>I remember how I used to buy eggs benedict at breakfast places and be amazed at it, thinking it was such a difficult dish. Really, it's not! I was surprised. Although the poached eggs can be a bit temperamental, the rest is quite easy if you're patient. Thankfully the meal didn't take long, as I still have quite a bit of reading to do for my class in the morning. Doesn't it look delicious? Kind of like an eggy ice cream scoop!</div><div><br /></div><div>This is my second year of graduate school, and it is going quite well. Last year I quite literally cried for the first few weeks fairly regularly. I had taken 5 years off between undergrad and graduate school, and my brain was just not used to reading all the material. This year, no tears yet. Although... some of these classes are very difficult. </div><div><br /></div><div>I study archaeology. Before you think "oh cool, dinosaurs!" that's paleontology. A common mistake, don't feel bad. Archaeology is the study of human cultures. I am working with Dr. Tim Kohler, certified genius, doing agent-based modeling of pre-hispanic people in the southwest. I specifically am interested in looking at how cooperation and conflict both affect a group's ability to survive in marginal climates. I get to work with some of the most amazing archaeology. Last week Tim took me to Bandelier National Monument, where I got to talk to our collaborators (also certified geniuses) and wander the forest with my advisor looking at archaeology. Amazing! </div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, well, enough for tonight. I have much to tell you about; I have made so much jam, and my man and I have brewed 7 batches of beer and two batches of mead! Details will soon follow; as well as posts about cooking with strange meat (octopi!) and trying to salvage a pheasant I hit with my car... what's wrong with road kill? I mean, really?</div><div><br /></div><div>Goodnight friends</div>Stefanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07610748350000519269noreply@blogger.com3