Of Winds and Water

Spinach and Artichoke 2-for-1 Appetizer

2012-01-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love spinach and artichoke dip? No one. Even people who HATE spinach and HATE artichokes love this dip. So when I saw this recipe for s&a stuffed mushrooms...well, it sounded perfect. But if you've ever made stuffed mushrooms, you know that you ALWAYS have leftover stuffing. Here's how to work that to your advantage:

Whip up the stuffing. Recipe here, I'm not going to repost it because the magic is what happens after the mushrooms are done.

Stuff those buddies and bake 'em up! The great thing about stuffed mushrooms is that even when they're ugly, they're still a really cute appetizer. I sprinkled them with extra cheese and a few with cayenne pepper before baking.

But whoa! Look at how much stuffing you have left! What to do...

It really helps to know how to make a regular spinach and artichoke dip (something I've done before) so that you know it includes a good deal of alfredo sauce. And what is the base of alfredo sauce? Cream.

I added a cup of heavy whipping cream to the bowl and came up with this:

I also added more parmesan. Then I put it in a baking dish, sprinkled it with cheese and some cayenne pepper.

I baked it for a while. Say 350* for 20 minutes? All you really need to do is get the cream almost to boiling point all the way through. And let me tell you, this dip is tasty to the last bite. Can you ever really have too much spinach and artichoke dip?

Voila! Two appetizers for the effort of one. And I'm sure that you could add alfredo sauce instead of cream if that is what your taste buds desire. Bon appetit!

The Cutest Girl in the World

2012-01-24T18:31:00.000-08:00

Since it's my birthday, I'm not going out of my way to write a long post tonight. However, since the celebration isn't until tomorrow night, I'll give you a quick post about the cutest darlin' in the world.

She got a car for Christmas. And she knows how to use it.

Yes, those are my REAL car keys. She set the car alarm off from inside the apartment - I didn't even know it was possible!

She also love my phone. This is her "it's not working, turn it on right now" face.

I think she called Russia.

And this little gem is the face she gave me when she stole my phone and jumped in the car.

"Oh, yeah, I'm actually in the car right now...But you know what? I'll just kick up my feet and chat." Good thing I'll probably be dead by the time she actually starts driving.


Uh...this is where things got a little out of control...


Everybody loves snacktime!

All that driving made her tired!

K&J - thanks for letting us watch your daughter! It was probably my most productive day of Christmas break :)

The Best Blueberry Coffee Cake Ever

2012-01-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of my favorite Mennonite cookbook:

So, get together the ingredients and let's get cooking!

Take your egg (oh wait, you just used the last egg in an omelet. Improvise)

Beat until fluffy...um...

Well, just add stuff. It's not a lost cause yet.

And blueberries!

Brand new bread pans - a Christmas present!

The great thing about this recipe is that if you decide to forego the topping, it requires no butter! However, I got this nice log of butter from the A-man, so topping it is!

Bake until perfection...and then try not to eat all in one sitting!

Disclaimer: Bananas can be substituted for eggs. It's a well-known fact. True story.

Taco Bake

2012-01-14T18:41:00.000-08:00

So tonight I took advantage of my brand new camera and a tripod I happened to collect some years ago. Behold, a visual recipe!

Brown meat and put it in a 9x13 (I used home-canned venison, so it was already cooked)

Add corn (homegrown Indiana corn, frozen this summer)

Homemade salsa, canned this summer.

Black beans (from the store, sorry)

Green onions (you know it!).

Cilantro, because this stuff is seriously ALWAYS in my fridge.

Sweet peppers - isn't that pretty?

Always and forever, cheeeeese!

All those leftover tortilla chips from the bottom of the bag!

Bake for half an hour at 350 F

Add some tasty avocado slices and enjoy!

Kitchen Disasters, Part III (Healthy Cookie Dough Dip)

2012-01-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

Healthy Cookie Dough Dip (real recipe here)

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup peanut butter
up to 1/4 cup milk of choice (Start with 1 T, and add more as needed)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips
2 to 3 T oats (You can omit, but also omit the milk if you do)

Add all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) to a food processor, and blend until very smooth. Then mix in the chocolate chips.

How can this go wrong? you ask. What part of this super-simple recipe could possibly lead to struggles?

Clearly, you don't know me very well.

So we have a small blender. Actually, it's meant for smoothies. So I started attempting to blend up the chickpeas, but they were just too dry. So I added some milk. Then I added some more milk. Then a little more. Finally they all blended smooth.

I added the salt, baking soda, vanilla, and peanut butter. It didn't all fit in the blender, so I stirred it in a new container. It was the perfect consistency. And since I wanted to keep this recipe gluten-free, I opted to not put the oats in the mix. But remember what the recipe says about oats and milk? Sigh.

I had two ingredients left. I added the brown sugar, expecting the consistency to be enhanced.

Bam! Liquified. Primordial goo, anyone? Why, WHY do I ignore recipes? Does it ever end well? Will I ever learn?

On the plus side, I managed to score some rice flour and added that to the dip. It made the consistency more cookie dough-like, kept it gluten free, and didn't really affect the flavor. Throw some chocolate chips in there and pretend the whole thing didn't happen.

It was a hit! Graham crackers were my instinct to serve it with as well - but I don't blame you if you just eat it plain. Obviously, this doesn't taste exactly like cookie dough. But it is so fantastically close that no one will know unless you tell them the secret - it's healthy!

Green Onion Rejuvenation

2012-01-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

I've been really introspective lately, so tonight is a quick post to pictorially tell you why you don't ever need to buy green onions again.

Day 1, fresh-cut:

Day 3:

Day 5:

Day 8:

Day 15 (some fresh-cut onions were added to the bowl):

Gratitude

2012-01-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

I'm making myself write this post because I have a crappy attitude right now.

I grew up in a tiny village in Michigan. I moved away as soon as I could, with marvelous intentions to never touch the place again with a ten foot pole. I went to college in southern Michigan, and interned in Coastal Carolina. After the boat trip, I lived near Norfolk, VA. I had a degree that I spent many, many difficult hours attaining. But I couldn't find a use for it in Virginia. I worked the crappiest job I ever had for minimum wage until I couldn't stand it and quit. Then after that I found an okay job, but I was bored and it didn't challenge me. By that time I was going crazy. Even though I had jobs, I still called myself unemployed because I wasn't working in my field. Then I was offered a job. In my hometown.

It's a good job with a good company. But it's in a tiny village in Michigan that I swore I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. And because that's really eating at me right now, I'm going to tell you what I LOVE about this tiny town.

My parents live here, and it's great being in touch with them. They have the best dog in the world, and when I have a bad day, there is no better cure than taking that dog for walk. Since moving up here, I've been able to start a garden, and ask my mom every question about plants I can think of. I'm a lot closer to some really good friends, and even better, I've made some new friends that I really cherish.

Since moving up here, I have access to homegrown, cheap, mostly organic, and local foods (where homegrown means it's grown on a small scale with lots of love and attention, whereas mega-farms don't have time for attention so they use chemicals). In addition, I've had access to canning supplies and I've had people with a lot of experience coach me through my first canning experiences. I got strawberries and blueberries for jaw-dropping prices (pick-your-own). I've picked wild elderberries, wild leeks, huckleberries and Grandma's grapes for free. For the first time ever, I've successfully grown some herbs.

I bought a boat and sailed it around the lake.

I went on vacation with my entire family.

I hosted Thanksgiving...successfully.

I canned salsa with Rachel, served wine at an art and wine showcase with Kimber, and survived a long-distance relationship with Kyle. I jumped out of an airplane.

I decorated my first apartment, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results.

I ran a 5K.

I get to start planning this year's garden. Next month, I get to start planting it. I live on a gorgeous lake that I get to look at every day. I have one of the shortest commutes I've ever had, and I get to go home for lunch. I am only hours away from some of the most beautiful sights in the US. I have abundant trails to hike and hills to ski. I get to re-explore my hometown with adult eyes. I get to reconnect with people and get to know all those people that I should have when I was a teenager.

There are really good things about this town that I won't find anywhere else. Maybe this place won't be forever, but it's my here and now.

12 Things Happy People Do Differently

2012-01-03T15:17:00.000-08:00

This is a bit more on resolutions. I read this post on 12 Things Happy People Do Differently, and it has some really good points. I'm not going to repost the whole thing, but I would highly recommend trotting over to Marc and Angel's site for the original post.

Out of the twelve points, there are a couple that I would really like to focus on.

3. Avoid over-thinking and social comparison
"...If we’re ‘worse’ than the person that we’re comparing ourselves to, we usually discredit the hard work that we’ve done and dismiss all the progress that we’ve made.... If you feel called to compare yourself to something, compare yourself to an earlier version of yourself."

Wow. Now that I read it, I realize I do this. Frequently. And I know - I KNOW - that other people have different skills and talents and there's no point in comparing myself to them. However, it never occurred to me to make a comparison between my current self and an earlier version of myself. Frankly, the difference between me five years ago and me today is astounding. I like myself now so much better than I did then. I've made good progress! And, in looking back that far, I realize that there are some improvements I had been making that I really don't work on anymore, and I should.

Let's back up only one year. My life has changed so drastically in the past year. I'm still working on figuring out what I want out of life, but I've taken several steps in a direction that makes me really happy.

I don't want life to make my decisions, I want to push life to the furthest edge I can take it. As Thoreau says, "I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."

How wonderful is that? To drive life into a corner and reduce it to its lowest terms? I think I've been letting life take its course lately, and it is time for me to be proactive again.

5. Nurture social relationships.
"The happiest people on the planet are the ones who have deep, meaningful relationships. Did you know studies show that people’s mortality rates are DOUBLED when they’re lonely?"

This goes right in line with something I've read in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (which I also highly recommend). He describes a town in Pennsylvania composed primarily of Italians, and how the death rate there is 30 - 35% lower than in the rest of the US. While many Americans were suffering from heart disease, this Italian community was healthy and thriving. There was no difference in diet, exercise or genetics. It became apparent that the difference was the community - the people visited each other, stopped to chat on the street, or cooked for each other in their backyards. The relationships were so strong that they were literally keeping people healthy.

How awesome is that? I went to lunch with a friend last month and was amazed at how euphoric I felt afterward. It's incredible what human relationships can do. I'm not great at socializing, so this is a great reminder that it's NOT okay to take the easy road and stay at home. Friends keep you stable and grounded. I feel like I'm too busy to have people over for dinner most of the time, but I really can't even tell you what I'm so busy doing.

"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" --Thoreau

So that is something to think about for a while. It is good to be reminded to push for the most out of life.

Resolutions

2012-01-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

So, I don't really make New Year's resolutions. They probably work out great for some people, but personally, I set "resolutions" all the time (although I usually refer to them as 'goals'). I don't feel any pressure to try to make some big changes at the beginning of the year, because if I see the need for a change, I'd rather work on it immediately.

But, for the sake of blogging, I can try to come up with a few goals for my year.

Travel: I have one good friend who is in Hawaii right now and I thought I would be able to join her, but it didn't work out. I also have another friend in Ecuador. I feel like I didn't travel anywhere in 2011, and that just sucks! So I'm taking a big trip this year. Destination TBD.
Blogging: I did well for a while, but once I moved to Michigan I stopped. It's something I enjoy, I would like to get out a post or two per week, which also ensures that I do something interesting enough to blog about.
Goals: Rachel has this marvelous habit of setting goals at the beginning of the month, and then at the end of the month summarizing how well she did. I'm going to try it.
Fatigue: this one is kind of hard to admit. I have a serious problem with chronic fatigue, and I have for the past 2.5 years. I finally have a good job and good insurance, so I'm going to make it a goal to find an answer. Fatigue is a really common symptom, so it's hard to diagnose the cause, but I am just so tired of being so tired all the time.

January goals:

Paleo diet for 2 to 3 weeks. Paleo is crazy restrictive, so I'm not sure if I can do it. Basically, all you can eat is meat, fruit, veggies and nuts (but not peanuts!). It cuts out all grains, anything processed (for instance, lunch meat is not okay), and all starches (potatoes and rice). I'll be using it as a detox - my aunt did it for a month and said she never felt better.
Pampered Chef party. That's happening this week! I'm excited to show off my apartment and hang out with friends. And while PC stuff is expensive, it's really great quality.
Not spend money (I know what you're thinking, but I'm pretty sure I can do a PC party and not buy anything too big). December was a rough month! I have never in my life had that high of a credit card bill, so January is essentials ONLY (food, gas, rent).
Budget. This has been a goal for a while. It's time to make it happen, mostly because I finally understand why I need to budget - I am financially stable, I track all my spending, and I don't spend excessively, so I thought I didn't need a budget.
Garden! I want to start planting things in February, so January is the time for planning and ordering seeds. I am considering (but most likely making this a goal for next year's garden) getting all non-GMO seeds and then saving seeds, but I don't think I'm ready for that.

Alright, I think that's a good, manageable list. Except Paleo. I am a little scared. I'll keep you posted :)

Homemade Grape Juice

2011-12-29T16:34:00.000-08:00

I love grape juice. It is my favorite of all the fruit juices. I'm just not an orange juice person. And if you're willing to put in a little time and effort, you can have grape juice for free. Storebought juices are a) expensive and b) full of preservatives and mystery chemicals and flavor packets and really, who knows what else.

So to start out, you need grapes. My grandma graciously donated her concord grapes, because she has adequate supplies of grape juice to last her for another year.

The next step is the uber-laborious destemming, sorting and washing. For which you will want to recruit help.

Next, take those grapes and put them in the biggest pot you own. DO NOT OVERFILL IT. Grape juice that boils over is not fun to clean up. This is a voice of experience. So, fill it maybe 3/4 of the way with grapes, then cover them with water. GENTLY SIMMER until the grapes look spent. See photos for details.

Now the messy part. These bad boys need to be strained. I used a pillow case. If you like your grape juice to be clear, you might want to find something more finely woven. I hung the pillow cases from a kayak paddle hung across the two counters in our tiny kitchen. Be creative. You can make this work. Wear old clothes though.

Alright, so if you're paying attention to details, you'll see I have some jars with sugar in them. I think it was like half a cup. I don't really know. It's to taste. But, having opened a couple jars, it wasn't enough. When you can the juice, I think something happens and it loses some sweetness. So add extra sugar. And then fill up your jars with juice. Since it's juice, you don't need much headspace. Check out those 2-qt jars! I got them at an auction. They are perfect for juice.

Then can it! I had some jars where the juice was still pretty hot, they only needed to be processed for 15 - 20 minutes, but some of the juice got cold and I think I might have processed them maybe half an hour. If you are going to can grape juice, please use a real recipe because I don't want to be responsible for canning gone wrong. That being said, it is juice, so you can't really OVER process it. Alternatives to canning it include drinking it, giving it away, and turning it into wine (probably not with concord grapes though).

I started this project after work on Friday night. We were up canning until 1am. Food preservation is not for the faint of heart, but mid winter when you open a jar of last summer's grape juice, the satisfaction will make up for it. I promise! I know that what I'm eating is local, natural, and VERY inexpensive.

And delicious! :)

Kitchen Disasters, Part II (French Macarons)

2011-12-27T13:23:00.000-08:00

This is a story where everything that could go wrong did. If you are looking for a recipe because you are ACTUALLY going to make macarons, this blog is not for you. Nothing to see here, move along.

So how is this related to Part I? Well, I had all these egg whites. And actually, while I didn't realize it at the time, I found another use for all that ridiculous baking chocolate. So, real recipe here, and my take on it below.

Macaron Batter
1 c. powdered sugar
½ c. powdered almonds (sliced almonds, pulverized)
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons granulated sugar

Chocolate Filling
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, ~~finely chopped~~ grated
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

To make the macarons:
Preheat the oven to 350º F and line some pans with parchment paper. PARCHMENT paper. Not wax paper.

Put the almonds in a food processor to help them achieve a powder status. Kyle tells me that if you use whole almonds, the oils will cause the almonds to form a paste, not a powder. That's why the recipe calls for sliced almonds. I used salad almonds (pictured below). Add the cocoa powder and powdered sugar so that everything is evenly mixed.

Use a mixer to beat the egg whites until they're stiff. Gradually add the granulated sugar.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag. I used a gallon zip-lock bag.

Pipe the batter onto the parchment paper in one-inch dia. circles. Rap the pans on the counter to flatten the macarons, then put them in the oven. The recipe I read said 15-18 min. I would suggest 13 min. I would not suggest 18, and I probably wouldn't even suggest 15.

To make the chocolate filling:
Heat the cream in a small saucepan with the corn syrup. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using.

Okay, it all sounds so simple, right? Well let's look at how well I did...

I don't have a food processor so I used a blender. No big deal. The almonds tried to paste up, but it was okay. The powder part turned out okay. Kyle requires that I show you what a mess I made with the powdered sugar though. All over the floor too.

I forgot to take photos of the next part. Remember, these egg whites had been in the fridge for a couple days. They didn't get as stiff as they should have. I don't know what that means. But the folding of the dry ingredients into the egg whites and sugar felt successful. It didn't feel like anything had gone wrong.

The piping...well, I gave myself every advantage. I made two batches of these, so anything that went wrong the first time could be corrected in the second batch. So the first batch was a mess, but by Round 2, I had it down to an art.

Here's where things really went downhill. I rapped the pans on the counter. I put them in the oven. I walked away...

When I stopped by five minutes later, smoke was pouring out of the oven vent. I opened the oven and smoke billowed. There was no flame. What was I to do? Since there wasn't any fire, I just left them. I was mid-experiment! I couldn't just give up! So here's the haze of my kitchen.

Finally the timer went off. I took them out of the oven. I left them to cool and made the second batch. The oven had stopped smoking (thankfully). However, as soon as I put the second batch in the oven, it started smoking again! Moral of the story: WAX paper is not the same as PARCHMENT paper. DO NOT USE WAX PAPER.

Alright. So now I've got five pans of macarons. How did they turn out? Funny that you should ask... The first two pans, I piped the macarons WAY too large. And they stuck to the wax paper so badly that I ended up throwing most of them out. The next pan was burnt. The next pan was all cracked, and so far, none of the pans had achieved the "feet" that the original recipe said was characteristic of good macarons. But the last pan? Oh, the last pan. Perfect. PERFECT. Not cracked, not burnt, had beautiful feet...

And then the chocolate filling. I feel like I corrected everything that had gone wrong with the mousse in making this filling. The cream was cooked perfectly, the chocolate blended perfectly, everything was great...and then I tasted it. SO bitter. In a panic, I threw in about half a cup of powdered sugar. I wasn't sure if I was messing with the science of the filling or not...but in the end, that was the one thing that really turned out.

So, after waiting for the filling to cool, I smeared some between each cookie. And actually, it wasn't so bad.

Mini photo shoot with the pretty macarons...oh, by the way, I got a new camera. DSLR. And I love it.

So there you have it. Smoky-tasty, just-about-edible macarons. Hopefully the family likes them, because I am DONE baking.

Kitchen Disasters, Part I (Chocolate Mousse)

2011-12-23T14:46:00.000-08:00

This story starts with the Amish. This is the story of how they ruined Christmas.

Well, that might be pointing fingers a bit. I might be partially to blame. It all started at my last shopping trip to the Amish Store, aka the place where magic happens. The Amish sell discounted goods, and that makes it easy to stock up on whatever wonders they offer this week. And last week, they offered some nice Ghirardelli dark 100% cacao chocolate. Being a dark chocolate lover, and an idiot, I bought some. I went for a bar of it after dinner, and cringed. Unsweetened. This is not eating chocolate. This is baking chocolate.

Luckily, this chocolate came with some recipes, so not all was lost. Let's start out with the recipe this time, and then we can dig into where things went awry.

Ingredients:
4 large egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 1/2 c. whipping cream
1 1/2 bars (6 oz) Ghirardelli 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bars, chopped

1. Beat egg yolks in a small bowl on high speed until thick and lemon colored, about 3 min. Gradually add sugar.

2. Heat one cup of whipping cream in saucepan over medium heat just until hot (do not boil). Gradually stir half the cream into the egg yolk mixture then combine back into hot cream saucepan. Cook over low heat about five minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is blended and thickens.

3. Let cool ten minutes, then add chocolate and stir until thick. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until just chilled.

4. Beat remaining 1 1/2 cups of cream in chilled medium bowl on high until stiff. Mix 3/4 c. of the whipping cream into chocolate mixture until blended. Fold remaining whipping cream gradually into chocolate mixture until well blended.

5. Spoon mixture into dessert bowls. Refrigerate any remaining dessert.

Okay, so not as straightforward as your average recipe, but definitely doable. No baking required! I started by chopping my chocolate bars. I think this is where I first went wrong.

Then I beat the egg yolks. I saved aside the whites, because egg whites can do awesome things, and google told me that I can freeze the yolks and they will STILL do awesome things. Waste not, want not. The whites were put in the fridge.

Look at how pretty and lemon-colored my yolks and sugar are! And then, I combined them with the cream in the saucepan. I think this is another place I went wrong. "Hot" is a pretty subjective term. The cream was "hot," but I think it should have been hotter. My next cream recipe put it well - not boiling, but just starting to bubble at the edges.

And then I added the chocolate. It never quite melted all the way, so this mousse had texture and it wasn't so great. Noted: "chopped" chocolate is a dangerous game to play. Grated chocolate is a safe bet.

How can you screw up whipping the cream? Well, if maybe you only bought two cups of whipping cream, not 2 1/2...

So while it mixed in okay, between how much I heat the cream and how much stiff cream I used, the mousse never set. It was pretty runny. It tasted delicious, sure, but I still count this as a disaster. I got to use my pretty new IKEA bowl though!

Alright, so that was the story, Part I. Stay tuned for Part II, which was a far bigger disaster.

And everyone have a merry Christmas! I'll be taking a break until after the holiday.

Ithaca, NY

2011-12-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

So I took a quick trip to Ithaca this fall for work. I didn't ever get to go explore before 5pm, so it was nearly dark by the time I started exploring. But the things I saw - absolutely glorious. So once again, the photos aren't fantastic, but you'll get the drift.

Ithaca is located at the base of one of the finger lakes, which were formed by glaciers. There are many gorges and waterfalls, and lots of hiking paths. Ithaca is home to Cornell University, so there are lots of college kids roaming around - and plenty of bars.

Mexican Mole Sauce

2011-12-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

Go back to your serranos. They might be useful for the wild goodness about to come your way.

For those of you unfamiliar with mole (mo-LAY), it is a very tasty sauce that can be used in/on burritos or enchiladas. And while it has some surprising ingredients, the taste is surprisingly awesome. Full recipe that I tweaked found here.

Put all this in a blender:

4 pasilla peppers (dried, stems and seeds removed)

A few serranos - these will make it spicy if you don't remove the seeds (dried, stems and seeds removed)

1 onion (chopped)

2 garlic cloves (chopped)

2 tomatoes (peeled and seeds removed chopped)

2 tbsps sesame seeds

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 corn tortilla (torn into pieces)

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground coriander

Water, as needed

It should come out to this tasty orange/tan color. It doesn't smell too appetizing yet, but the flavor changes a lot from here. Put 3 tbsps vegetable oil (or shortening) in a frying pan, heat it up, and add the blended mixture. Saute for ~10 min.

Next, add 1 cup chicken broth and 1 oz unsweetened chocolate (which I didn't have on-hand, so I added cocoa powder in accordance with substitutions - 3 tbs cocoa powder + 1 tbs water). This will darken the sauce. Then cook on low heat for 45 minutes. The sauce will get darker and thicker, though I made my sauce thinner on purpose this time. The kitchen will smell wonderful.

And while my finished mole still isn't a pretty color, I am going to note that I have very yellow lighting in my kitchen. Seriously, it does look pretty when you're done. And it is very delicious to put it in enchiladas and then pour overtop, and bake for the time that your enchilada recipe requires. It is difficult to describe the taste, but the little hint of chocolate is what really makes this sauce a staple for me.

Bear with me on the photos! I'm getting a dSLR for Christmas, but right now I'm working through some fall projects so it might be a while before you see my adventures with the new camera.

Full recipe:

4 pasilla (dried, peppers stems and seeds removed)

4 seeds (dried new mexico chiles stems, removed)

1 onion (chopped)

2 garlic cloves (chopped)

2 tomatoes (peeled and seeds removed chopped)

2 tbsps sesame seeds

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 corn tortilla (torn into pieces)

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground coriander

water (rum)

3 tbsps vegetable oil (shortening)

1 cup chicken broth

1 oz unsweetened chocolate (square to taste or mexican chocolate or)

	Combine the chiles, onion, garlic, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the sesame seeds, almonds, tortilla, raisins, cloves, cinnamon, and coriander. Puree small amounts of this mixture in a blender until smooth. (I added a small of amount of water or rum each time to make it smooth.).
	Melt the shortening in a skillet and sauté the puree for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chicken broth and chocolate and cook over a very low heat for 45 minutes. The sauce should be very thick. The remaining sesame seeds are used as a garnish.

Dried Chilis (Serranos)

2011-12-16T17:01:00.000-08:00

Hello, world, I'm back. Just in time for the holidays! And just in time to set some goals for 2012, like blogging regularly again.

So let's dive right in. My garden was planted late, and as such, there came a date when I had to face the fact of winter and just pick everything that was edible. That included a few serrano pepper plants that gifted me with a whole slew of peppers. And while I do love serranos, I do not love a whole slew of them at once. Freezing was a solution, but it wasn't my favorite. So I turned to the internets for options.

Here's what I've got for you. You can dry peppers. You can do it in different ways. Since I don't live in a hot, sunny, dry climate, I went with the next best (read: easiest) thing. An oven!

So, put your oven on a low heat (around 200* should be fine) and add a panful of peppers. This is going to take some time, so plan on hanging out and getting stuff done around the house. I checked on them and flipped them about every half hour.

Since this was the product of a garden purge, I had some pretty baby peppers in there. They were done after about three hours. The bigger ones took upwards of four hours to dry. The not-quite-done ones are still soft, you know the peppers are done when you squeeze them and they pop or crack, sort of like a peanut shell.

It's also worth noting that the peppers shrink when they dry. So a panful of serranos turned into a small jarful of dried peppers. Use them for anything! Crush them over pizza, put them in a pot of chili, or my personal favorite, Mexican mole. More on that later.

So welcome me back! And give me more ways to use my dried peppers :)

Hot Tamales

2011-02-21T06:47:00.000-08:00

Whoops, welcome back, semi-faithful readers. Today's will be a winner, I promise. Clear your calendars, because we're in for a Tamale Weekend!

For a pictureless recipe, click here (I got my recipe from my Taste of Home magazine). For a confusing but illustrated recipe, continue reading.

Step 1. Seriously, clear your schedule. These are time consuming like no other, so we're going to make a TON of tamales to make it worth our time.

Step 2. Start soaking your cornhusks - I probably used about 40-50 by the time I was done. I had to weigh them down with bowls to keep them submerged. This is also where I set the timer for two hours.

Step 3. Start cooking the meat (in water, if you want to use the water for broth later - you'll need 6 cups later in the recipe). Every other recipe I read has the meat cooking for about four hours. Besides, if you start cooking it now, then you can sit and relax. Or, as I did, run to the store to pick up more ingredients because I suddenly decided I wanted peppers and onion in this too.

Step 4. Simmer the meat forever! I used:
      3 lbs ground beef
      a couple cloves of garlic
      1/2 an onion
      1 green pepper
      2 serrano peppers
I think I simmered the meat for about 45 minutes, then pour off the broth to save for the masa and other things.

Step 5. Make the dough. Combine 1 cup of shortening with 2 cups of broth and 3 cups of masa harina (corn flour - NOT corn meal). Stir stir stir! The recipe says it is supposed to be so light and fluffy that it floats in a cup of water. Mine never floated. It tried really hard though, so I still gave it a passing grade, mostly because I could no longer feel my arms. The picture refuses to rotate the correct way.

Step 6. Heat up 6 tbs of cooking oil, add 6 tbs of flour and cook until the flour is browned. Add to that 3/4 cup chili powder, and, to taste, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the meat and 4 cups of broth. Simmer for another 45 minutes.

Step 7. If you've been efficient, the husks should have been soaking for two hours by now. I was inefficient, but extra soaking time isn't a bad thing. At this point, kick everyone out of the house, because the good smells have permeated every corner and everyone is leaving a trail of drool wherever they go.

Step 8. Time for the fun part. Take a corn husk, pat it dry. My lovely assistant will demonstrate how to spread the masa (the thinner the better) on the husk and add filling. Try to leave an inch or more at the top and bottom of the husk - aka the pointy end and the wide end, respectively. Add a couple spoonfuls of meat filling.

Step 9. Fold in both the sides of the husk, and then fold the bottom and top. Grab a piece of string (preferably the kind that won't melt) and tie it up.

Step 10. Continue this for about another hour, until you have a steamer basket full. Add an inch of water to the bottom of your steamer (in my case, pressure cooker). Then steam those buddies for 45-50 minutes, until the masa dough peels away from the husk.

They are such cute little packages! Since I made a ton, I had a couple freezer bags full of them to freeze for an easy treat later. And since I'd basically been eating spoonfuls of meat the whole time, I wasn't really hungry when my tamales were finished, but I HAD to try a couple. So crack open a cheap Mexican beer and dig in!

Delicious. And since something either went horribly wrong or horribly right, I also had enough meat left over to make some delicious enchiladas as well :)

Homemade Pizza Rolls

2011-01-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

Love those easy frozen pizza rolls at the store, but hate processed foods? A couple hours on Saturday can cure all your problems, my friend. Or even on a weeknight, if you're feeling ambitious. Amounts are going to be estimated, but bear with me and you'll find that just like real pizza toppings, all quantities are negotiable. Also, I was making this recipe up as I went along, so feel free to fine-tune to your own gourmet tastes.

Step 1.
Mix up some innards for your pizza rolls. I used 1 can of tomato sauce, half a turkey kielbasa, some diced peppers (if memory serves correctly, I skipped the green and went straight for the serrano, which is why I used multiple peppers), 4-6 fresh mushrooms, about two cups of shredded mozzarella and some pizza-sounding spices (oh, you know, oregano, cumin, paprika...basically all my favorites).

Step 2.
Mix up some dough. I will tell you right now that I used the Walmart brand "just add water" dough - two packages? Three packages? It's extremely easy, cheap, and failproof. I find making it from scratch to be the opposite of failproof.

Step 3.
Put a straw in your glass of wine. Things are about to get messy and you don't want the glass to slip out of your hand.

Step 5.

Take...half of a handful of dough. That sounds about right. Flatten it out in your hand. I keep a bowl of water nearby so I can wet down my hands so the dough doesn't stick (it is my magic trick for making these guys).

Step 6.
Put of spoonful of the filling in the center of the flattened dough. Fold up the edges around it. I made them all nice and pretty and sealed up, but apparently that doesn't matter. So just do the best you can, and know that the oven is still going to win.

Step 7.
Put all your pizza rolls on the pan that you buttered in Step 4. Oh, did Step 4 just sneak attack you? Well then I hope you read the whole recipe before you started, as any culinary expert would have done.

Step 8.
Take a sip of your wine. Aren't you glad you put a straw in it? Your hands are a mess!

Step 9.
Bake for a random amount of time, at a random temperature. Since there is nothing raw on the inside, you are mostly just trying to bake the dough. I think I had them at 350* for about 12 minutes. Helpful hints to know when they are baked: they are becoming golden brown, they are spewing their insides.

Look, I tried and tried to make these so that they wouldn't crack open and spew pizza everywhere. Not with my recipe, folks. The bright side is that you need to eat the really ugly ones. And they are delicious.

Step 10.
Cool, then freeze all the ones you don't want to eat. This probably won't be very many, but that's why this is a pretty big recipe. I had two gallon bags full of these guys. And unlike frozen pizza rolls from the store, these are pretty big so it will only take 4-6 of them to sate the eater. These will probably freeze okay for at least six months, but it's laughable to think they won't be eaten within two weeks.

I made much more than this. Where are they?

Voila! It takes quite a bit of time so definitely make a big batch of them. How else were you going to fill up all that freezer space?

January Happenings

2011-01-23T10:21:00.000-08:00

Alright, now that you're caught up on December, it's time to get caught up on January. My apologies, but it will take a while.

Okay, so we started out by spending the first week working at Kyle's boss' beach house, repairing a water-damaged wall.

I tried to replicate the knockdown texture on the wall, but as Kyle says, solid stuff doesn't aerosol very well.

And of course, all that hard work deserved some reward: Black and Blue Pizza! Frozen pizza covered with mushrooms, peppers, bacon and bleu cheese, baked to perfection.

When we got back to Virginia, we embraced the landlubbers philosophy once again - we moved into a house. A real house! With a full-sized fridge AND freezer. With an oven and a bathroom larger than a shower stall. With closets. Except this house's closets were already full. I mean, literally every storage space was already occupied, so I actually had to move stuff OUT before I could move our stuff in. This is what the bathroom cabinets looked like when I arrived:

There was also a bottle of 2000 cab sauv in the fridge...I have never had 10 year old wine. So we bought the matching 2009 bottle and had a mini wine tasting. It was just Sutter Home, nothing too expensive, but it was an interesting comparison.

And since I spent all day moving stuff and Kyle spent all day at work, we also picked up some grocery store sushi so we didn't have to dig out pots or pans to make a dinner from scratch :)

My favorite feature of this house is by far and wide the cabinet-style record player (also 8-track player/recorder and radio!). I immediately went out and bought a dozen records. Amazing. This is definitely coming with us when we move out of this house. We also bought a bookshelf and found it to be inadequate for our collection :)

Oh! And did I mention that when I got home from Michigan, Kyle surprised me with another Christmas present? An herb nook in the boat! So of course one of the first things I did was devote an area to plants, and planted more herbs and some veggies.

I also started a batch of wine, Kyle started a batch of mead, and I've been baking like a fool. That will all wait til another post, however.

In the meantime, I got a job! Not engineering, but it will definitely suffice in the meantime. Some definite advantages over the ice rink job: I don't have to work on the weekends or at night, I don't ever have to get up at 4am, and I'm making more than minimum wage so I might even be able to pay rent. I believe this job will help me find that engineering job, I just need to be patient...and if there's anything I've learned in the past year, I think patience is definitely it. So starting Monday, I will no longer be a lady of leisure, maintaining a clean house and cooking intricate meals. And that's about all that's been going on in the past month.

A Christmas Photoblog

2011-01-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

Michigan was such a contrast to life here - since I don't know many people in the area I don't get out much. After all the activity there, I needed a vacation! And it's all because...

1) I sewed myself a shirt. I saw one on TV that I liked, and so I made one for myself. Satin is a challenge.

2) I went snowshoeing for the first time.

3) I made mozzarella cheese from scratch...and ate it.

4) I found some of my favorite beer - made in Chicago and therefore unavailable in this area - and drank it.

5) I made some new friends in a sled train. I made some new enemies when we crashed :P (a big thanks to someone named Jacob or possibly Isaac for these great shots)

6) I made a gingerbread...mess with my brother and friends.

7) Rachel and I learned how to make sushi (the vegetarian kind - I'm not messing around with salmonella!).

8) We went ice skating!

9) And finally, we rang in the new year with some Badass!

Whew! So when I got back to VA and Kyle's boss asked Kyle and me to spend a (working) vacation out at his beach house, it sounded like a dream come true. A week out at the beach with Kyle? It's a good thing it was the off-season, or I would have spent all my days at the beach until I resembled a sun-dried tomato!

But the whirlwind of activity didn't stop when I got back to Virginia. Stay tuned, because my life is about as stable as a swing-set in a hurricane...

Making up for the holidays

2011-01-14T12:34:00.000-08:00

Things have been up and down lately. I haven't posted in a month, mostly because I spent three weeks in Michigan and then one week out at Nags Head. I went up to MI two weeks before Christmas for a job interview that didn't pan out (although they did try to make a position available for me even after they hired someone else). Then I got caught up in a whirlwind of seeing friends and family. So let's backtrack. Here's what you missed in December:

1) I quit my job at the ice rink. I was unhappy there, and I doubt they would have let me take three weeks off so I could to go MI for both the interview and Christmas festivities.

2) Kyle and I started exploring our new habitat, and found out that Portsmouth has some amazing goings-on even in the winter. First Fridays is where businesses are open late, Angry Adam's offers free wine tasting, and the local museums put together some great deals. First Saturdays, the Portsmouth Farmers Market is open - yes, even in December! We picked up some organic eggs, green peppers and I lusted after some herbs. Check out that massive rogue egg - we were so scared of it, we never even cooked it. There was also a flea market that took up the entire first floor of a parking garage. We found some great stuff there.

3) I attempted to make lemon bars in muffin tins by baking them in a toaster oven. They turned out okay - maybe a little messy.

4) Kyle and I traipsed around downtown Portsmouth three times in one VERY cold day to take some photos to put in Christmas cards. The first time, my battery died immediately. The third time we came back because it was dark out and Portsmouth has some very pretty Christmas lights. Here are our three picks.

Kyle's favorite

Alright, I think that's all I'm going to throw at you for now. Next time I'll tell you about the craziness of Christmastime in Michigan, including snowshoeing, sushi, and skating.

Thanksgiving in Oriental

2010-12-07T08:26:00.000-08:00

Oh, is it halfway through December? I think I'll blog about Thanksgiving...

We went to Dick and Jackie's house, because the delicious food can only be beat by the wonderful company. We always meet new people when we stop at Dick and Jackie's, and they are always some of the best people one could meet.

Thanksgiving morning started out aboard the Wild Haggis, where we kept up Jim and Beth's tradition of oyster stew for breakfast. Some of us couldn't quite handle such rich seafood for breakfast...(oyster stew is made of butter, milk and oysters).

After that, it was home to work work work! I've never helped prepare a Thanksgiving meal before. It is pretty intense. Mostly the timing of everything that needs to go in the oven and figuring out when to start each dish.

Kyle and Dick worked on peeling potatoes, while Jackie and I compiled the candied yams and stuffing balls and all the other delicious things that went into this meal. And drank some wine. And entertained the guests as they arrived!

Dinner was a huge success, and the laughter could be heard for miles, I'm sure. There were a lot of new faces, and some faces that I'd apparently met before but forgotten. As you may recall, when we first met Dick and Jackie, it was a week before Easter, and the second thing out of Jackie's mouth was "Would you like to come over for Easter dinner?" I think they take in all the strays during the holidays.

After everyone was in a food coma, Jackie herded us all up and dressed us as pirates. We were going pillaging!

Except what we actually did was bring desserts to a neighboring party, so it was more like reverse pillaging. All in all, and excellent way to spend a holiday. It was so nice to see our Oriental friends, and it's always great to meet new ones!

From Moyock to Portsmouth

2010-11-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

We had a gorgeous day for traveling. The first bit was a little windy but after we made it out of the Currituck Sound, things calmed down. This is starting to be a familiar sight - leaving the colony - although it's never been quite this pretty.

Once underway, we discovered we'd had a prowler aboard. And yes, I'm completely comfortable with showing the whole internet how dirty the dodger is.

After navigating some "submerged danger!" we found the fall colors to be quite lovely.

It was my first time going through locks. Kyle wasn't nearly as excited about it as I was. I was pretty disappointed by the whole thing, actually.

Tall tugboat! Just doesn't seem ocean-safe...

The most exciting thing that happened all trip was a railroad bridge that held us up for a while. We were concerned we wouldn't make it to the Jordan Bridge until 3:30 and then we'd be stuck there til 5:30 because it doesn't open for rush hour. Apparently our fears were unfounded (and our guide books out of date), because this is the remains of the Jordan Bridge.

Suddenly, Norfolk! And Portsmouth! And our new marina. That is a naval ship in the dry dock - it is so skinny and streamlined.

And that completes the last few miles of the ICW that I had never been on. We still have a few miles left to cover in Florida, but we'll save that for another trip :)

Some Easy Favorites

2010-11-16T08:26:00.000-08:00

Since we're getting ready for a move, I wanted to prepare some food that would be really easy - heat'n'eat meals. So I spent just about all of yesterday cooking.

The first thing I made was stromboli. It isn't really stromboli, I just keep calling it that. I think it might better fit the definition of a calzone. Basically, a hot pocket without the sauce (and with REAL food inside...). I got a box of bread mix because it usually works out better than bread from scratch. For the filling, I cooked up some chicken, green peppers, jalapenos, mushrooms and mozzarella. One box yielded eight stromboli/calzone buddies, which is quite a stretch. I think they were mostly filling, which is tastier anyway :)

I always have some leftover filling, and I decided to make a pot of white chicken chili with it. I cooked up more chicken and sauteed the peppers with some scallions. I used the pressure cooker to cook some Great Northern beans. Throw it all in a large pot, add a couple cups of chicken broth, simmer forever. What else did I put in it...a handful of mozzarella, and a spice packet I bought (I could have done the spices better myself though - I won't use one of those again).

Also, in between easy meals I used the last of the pecans - the last of them? How did we go through them so quickly? They are actually a really great snack, just sit down with a bowl of pecans and a nutcracker. Perfect for late at night when I got home from work, hadn't eaten dinner, was really hungry but didn't want a full meal. Anyway, I used the last of the pecans to make Pecan Sandies! This is one of the weirdest cookie recipes I've ever followed. The main ingredient is butter, which meant that you refrigerate the dough to make a brick of butter, then break off pieces to bake. And the baking time is very long - I needed 20 min for bitesized cookies.

Toss in powdered sugar for a perfect cookie. They really are "the best I've ever had!" as the recipe quotes.

So finally, I got done with all my cooking and thought a bowl of soup would be the perfect lunch. I was somewhat surprised to find that I wasn't even hungry. I guess I'd been "sampling" my work a little more often than I thought. I still had a small bowl, and it was delicious. Kyle took a stromboli buddy to work today, so I'll get the reviews on that one tonight.

Stromboli and white chicken chili are from my go-to recipes - the things I would make in college so I didn't have to cook again that week. Also in that group is manicotti, fajitas, regular chili and fried potatoes. Between those recipes, I don't think I really ate much else in college, except for when I occasioned to buy some bread, lettuce and lunchmeat.

Good luck to all my hunters out there! Someone shoot me a deer, please, I'm running low on venison. And stay safe!

We're Moving!

2010-11-15T11:38:00.000-08:00

Kyle and I rented a slip in Portsmouth, VA. We actually signed the lease for the beginning of November, but this week is the first time the Southern Cross has been floating all month. This means that Kyle is skipping work on Wednesday (with his boss's permission, of course) and we'll be taking a boat trip up those last few miles of the ICW.

Stay tuned because big things are happening :)

Southern Adventure Leads to Amazing Dinner

2010-11-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

This just in: pecan-encrusted fish are the hot new food. And I am loving this new trend, especially with my latest acquisition (pecans!). So I spent my yesterday browsing the internets for the most intriguing pecan-encrusted salmon yesterday. A huge thanks to Brad for the salmon - those fillets were so big that one easily fed both Kyle and me.

And here it is, the most intriguing recipe I found:

Ingredients:

8 (4 oz) salmon fillets
2 c. pecans
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Put the pecans in a food processor and chop until fine.
Add garlic, salt and cayenne pepper to food processor and process just till mixed well.
Brush the salmon fillets with olive oil and roll in pecan mixture.
Heat a large non-stick fry pan and lightly saute the salmon on one side until browned.
Turn and saute until done (approximately 5 to 6 minutes per side).

Yes, you read that correctly. The pecans are mixed with garlic and cayenne pepper! Note: fresh pecans are pretty difficult to chop with a rolling pin. They were so moist and oily that I basically made a bunch of tiny pecan pancakes. But after that they crumbled, so it turned out okay. In addition, I also baked my salmon because I just didn't see pan-frying turning out that well because the pecans weren't really sticking to the fish.

Also, since I only had two fillets (actually, two halves of one monster fillet), I had to cut the recipe in quarters. Except for the cayenne pepper, which I doubled, because I love cayenne pepper. The salmon ended up spicy and delicious. The pecans added more texture than flavor, but the flavor that they added wasn't out of place or weird. Also, I served my salmon with asiago dill potatoes, which are always a huge hit. Love dill. Love asiago.

Look at how spoiled I am. I didn't even have to do dishes afterward. Hey Kyle, if you don't want me to post weird pictures of you, then don't make weird faces at the camera :)