It is so great living in the woods. Except if you want to grow things deer like to munch on. Which is pretty much everything. Scott and his dad worked on a fence for a new and improved garden. I am so excited it is done! Now we just have to build the new beds and I will be set to go for next year. I will be planting some garlic and shallots along with my other flower bulbs this fall to give them a head start.
I made up a recipe today with what I had on hand for curried tuna melts. They were actually very good.
Curried Tuna Melts
1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained and flaked
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 T thinly sliced green onions
2 T craisins
¼ cup chopped cashews
2 t lemon juice
pinch salt
1 t curry powder
4 slices hearty bread
4 slices Cheddar cheese
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine tuna, mayonnaise, onions, craisins, cashews, lemon juice, salt and curry powder. Spread about 1/4 cup on each slice of bread and top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
I am working on my cookbook and it is going slow and steady. The hardest thing is remembering to take pictures when I make things. Some items I don't make very often so if I forget to take a picture it is quite disappointing.
Maddie had fun at preschool today. I do think she is teething though as everything is going in her mouth again and she has been really sleepy lately. Hopefully the teeth will come in soon.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Oopa! Greek Meze Party
We had a fabulous Greek Meze Party on Saturday with our friends Brooke and Jason (and their adorable son Liel) and some new friends Brittnay and Chris (and their tiny sweet daughter Nora). Good wine, great conversation and tasty food. We started the night off with an aperitif of ouzo, orange juice and sparkling water. It was pretty good and cut the ouzo a bit, though it was still quite potent.
Brittany and Chris made a greek rice salad and smooth delicious hummus. Scott said we need to start making our own, because it was better than store bought. Brooke and Jason made baba ganoush, meat filled dolmas, and feta grilled in grape leaves. Oh my gosh everything was so delcious. I have never had meat in dolma's before and the feta on the grill was salty, smoky devine. Check out Brooke's blog for her fabulous recipes: http://lifeofsimplepleasures.blogspot.com/
Here are the recipes we made:
Wheat Greek Pita Bread
Fine Cooking July 2008 No. 93
Yields 12 7-inch pitas.
It helps to have a scale to divide dough evenly , and you'll need at least 6 sq. ft. of counter space to lay out the rolled pitas.
1 t granulated sugar
two ¼ oz. Packages active dry yeast
13 ½ oz (3 cups) unbleached all purpose flour, more for dusting
13 ½ oz (3 cups) whole-wheat flour
2 t kosher salt, more for sprinkling
½ cup plus 2 T extra-virgin olive oil
Make the dough: In a liquid measure, stir the sugar into 1 cup of lukewarm water. Stir in the yeast and set aside until the yeast is foamy (5 min).In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together both flours and the salt. Make a well in the center and pour the yeast mixture, 1/3 cup of the oil, and 1 cup lukewarm water into the well. Mix with the dough hook on low speed until the dough becomes smooth and elastic and gathers around the hook, 4-5 minutes.By hand shape the dough into a ball. Wipe out the mixing bowl an put the dough back in the bowl. Drizzle with 2 T oil and turn to coat. Cover with cloth and set aside in warm place 1 hour.
Gently deflate the dough with your hands, cover and let rest 20 minutes.
Turn the dough out on a lightly floured counter. Divide into 12 even pieces (3 ¾ oz each).
Shape each piece into a rough ball and then put each ball on an unfloured section of the counter, cup you hand over it and quickly rotate you hand over the dough. As long as the dough is stuck to the counter, this motion shapes the dough into a tight evenly round ball.
On the floured part of the counter, roll each pies into a 1/8-inch thick round that is about 7-inches across. As you finish each round, set aside on a lightly floured surface. When all the dough is rolled, cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile, position a rack in the bottom of the oven and heat to 500 degrees F.
Lightly sprinkle dough with salt. Arrange as many of the rounds as will fit on an unrimmed baking sheet and bake 5-6 minutes until just golden on top. As each batch comes out of the oven, stack 4 high and wrap in clean kitchen towels. Serve immediately or let cool to room temperature. Well wrapped they will keep 3 days in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. Reheat in a warm oven to soften before serving.
Greek pitas normally don't have pockets- the are meant to be wrapped around foods, not stuffed. This recipe has potential to make puffy pocketed pitas if the dough is rolled quickly but gently so as to express as little air as possible. Also be gentle when transferring pitas to the baking sheet.
Crisp Lamb Meat Balls
Fine Cooking July 2008 No. 93
3 oz (about 3 slices) artisan style bread or dense white bread
1 lb ground lamb
½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 T chopped mint, more for garnish
2 T grated Greek kefalotyri cheese (or Parmigiano-Reggiano)
4 gloves garlic, minced
2 t chopped fresh oregano
1 t ground cinnamon
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups olive oil for frying
Put bread in small bowl and add enough water to soak through (about ½ cup). With your hands, squeeze the water out of bread and tear it into small pieces into a medium bowl. Add the lamb, onion, egg, mint, cheese, garlic, oregano, cinnamon, 1 t salt and ½ t pepper. Mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight.
Roll meat into 1-inch balls. Spread flour on baking sheet and gently roll balls until well covered. Pour oil into 12-inch skillet to a depth of ½ inch. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Add meatballs in a single layer and cook, turning occasionally until crisp and brown on all sides, 4-6 minutes total. Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels. Arrange meatballs on a platter and sprinkle with remaining mint.
You can make the meatball mixture up to a day ahead. You can shape the meatballs up to an hour ahead; fry them close to serving. Keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.
Zucchini Fritters
2 cups shredded zucchini
½ cup shredded yellow onion
2 cloves minced garlic
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup corn meal
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 t chili powder
½ t pepper
¼ t salt
oil for frying
Mix all ingredients. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoon fulls into hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, flipping half way.
If your mixture seems very wet or soupy, add more flour. Some zucchini are wetter than others.
For dessert we had a fresh pears mixed with some cinnamon sugar, a little almond paste, some sour cream wrapped in a puff pastry shell. Served with homemade vanilla icecream. Here is the recipe for home-made puff pastry and icecream.
Puff Pastry
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cake flour
½ t salt
2 t sugar (for a sweet puff pastry, if making savory leave out)
12 T unsalted butter
Ice cold water
Mix flours and salt (sugar if using) and put in freezer for 1 hour. Cut butter into chunks and freeze for one hour. Pour flour on counter top and add butter. Using a bench scraper cut butter into flour mixture until it is pea-sized. Try to touch the flour as little as possible with your hands. Make a trench in the flour and butter mixture and at 2 T ice cold water. Using bench scraper and hands gently mix water in. Continue to add water until the pastry just holds together. It can be a little crumbly. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a rectangle and then fold rectangle into ¼ Th's bringing each side into the middle and then folding the two sides onto themselves. Rotate the dough ¼ turn and roll into another rectangle and fold into fourths (we are creating the layers in the pastry). Repeat 2 more times. Roll out into rectangle one more time and fold into 1/3's like a letter. At this point pastry can be well wrapped and refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for 2 months. If ready to use roll into desired shape approximately ¼ inch thick.
Vanilla Ice Cream
3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
Place the half-and-half and the heavy cream (and vanilla bean if using) into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract or scrape seeds out of bean pod. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.
Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.
If you do not have an ice cream maker, simply put the cooled mixture into a freezer container and stir every hour for at least 4 hours until desired hardness is reached.
Brittany and Chris made a greek rice salad and smooth delicious hummus. Scott said we need to start making our own, because it was better than store bought. Brooke and Jason made baba ganoush, meat filled dolmas, and feta grilled in grape leaves. Oh my gosh everything was so delcious. I have never had meat in dolma's before and the feta on the grill was salty, smoky devine. Check out Brooke's blog for her fabulous recipes: http://lifeofsimplepleasures.blogspot.com/
Here are the recipes we made:
Wheat Greek Pita Bread
Fine Cooking July 2008 No. 93
Yields 12 7-inch pitas.
It helps to have a scale to divide dough evenly , and you'll need at least 6 sq. ft. of counter space to lay out the rolled pitas.
1 t granulated sugar
two ¼ oz. Packages active dry yeast
13 ½ oz (3 cups) unbleached all purpose flour, more for dusting
13 ½ oz (3 cups) whole-wheat flour
2 t kosher salt, more for sprinkling
½ cup plus 2 T extra-virgin olive oil
Make the dough: In a liquid measure, stir the sugar into 1 cup of lukewarm water. Stir in the yeast and set aside until the yeast is foamy (5 min).In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together both flours and the salt. Make a well in the center and pour the yeast mixture, 1/3 cup of the oil, and 1 cup lukewarm water into the well. Mix with the dough hook on low speed until the dough becomes smooth and elastic and gathers around the hook, 4-5 minutes.By hand shape the dough into a ball. Wipe out the mixing bowl an put the dough back in the bowl. Drizzle with 2 T oil and turn to coat. Cover with cloth and set aside in warm place 1 hour.
Gently deflate the dough with your hands, cover and let rest 20 minutes.
Turn the dough out on a lightly floured counter. Divide into 12 even pieces (3 ¾ oz each).
Shape each piece into a rough ball and then put each ball on an unfloured section of the counter, cup you hand over it and quickly rotate you hand over the dough. As long as the dough is stuck to the counter, this motion shapes the dough into a tight evenly round ball.
On the floured part of the counter, roll each pies into a 1/8-inch thick round that is about 7-inches across. As you finish each round, set aside on a lightly floured surface. When all the dough is rolled, cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile, position a rack in the bottom of the oven and heat to 500 degrees F.
Lightly sprinkle dough with salt. Arrange as many of the rounds as will fit on an unrimmed baking sheet and bake 5-6 minutes until just golden on top. As each batch comes out of the oven, stack 4 high and wrap in clean kitchen towels. Serve immediately or let cool to room temperature. Well wrapped they will keep 3 days in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. Reheat in a warm oven to soften before serving.
Greek pitas normally don't have pockets- the are meant to be wrapped around foods, not stuffed. This recipe has potential to make puffy pocketed pitas if the dough is rolled quickly but gently so as to express as little air as possible. Also be gentle when transferring pitas to the baking sheet.
Crisp Lamb Meat Balls
Fine Cooking July 2008 No. 93
3 oz (about 3 slices) artisan style bread or dense white bread
1 lb ground lamb
½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 T chopped mint, more for garnish
2 T grated Greek kefalotyri cheese (or Parmigiano-Reggiano)
4 gloves garlic, minced
2 t chopped fresh oregano
1 t ground cinnamon
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups olive oil for frying
Put bread in small bowl and add enough water to soak through (about ½ cup). With your hands, squeeze the water out of bread and tear it into small pieces into a medium bowl. Add the lamb, onion, egg, mint, cheese, garlic, oregano, cinnamon, 1 t salt and ½ t pepper. Mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight.
Roll meat into 1-inch balls. Spread flour on baking sheet and gently roll balls until well covered. Pour oil into 12-inch skillet to a depth of ½ inch. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Add meatballs in a single layer and cook, turning occasionally until crisp and brown on all sides, 4-6 minutes total. Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels. Arrange meatballs on a platter and sprinkle with remaining mint.
You can make the meatball mixture up to a day ahead. You can shape the meatballs up to an hour ahead; fry them close to serving. Keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.
Zucchini Fritters
2 cups shredded zucchini
½ cup shredded yellow onion
2 cloves minced garlic
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup corn meal
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 t chili powder
½ t pepper
¼ t salt
oil for frying
Mix all ingredients. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoon fulls into hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, flipping half way.
If your mixture seems very wet or soupy, add more flour. Some zucchini are wetter than others.
For dessert we had a fresh pears mixed with some cinnamon sugar, a little almond paste, some sour cream wrapped in a puff pastry shell. Served with homemade vanilla icecream. Here is the recipe for home-made puff pastry and icecream.
Puff Pastry
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cake flour
½ t salt
2 t sugar (for a sweet puff pastry, if making savory leave out)
12 T unsalted butter
Ice cold water
Mix flours and salt (sugar if using) and put in freezer for 1 hour. Cut butter into chunks and freeze for one hour. Pour flour on counter top and add butter. Using a bench scraper cut butter into flour mixture until it is pea-sized. Try to touch the flour as little as possible with your hands. Make a trench in the flour and butter mixture and at 2 T ice cold water. Using bench scraper and hands gently mix water in. Continue to add water until the pastry just holds together. It can be a little crumbly. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a rectangle and then fold rectangle into ¼ Th's bringing each side into the middle and then folding the two sides onto themselves. Rotate the dough ¼ turn and roll into another rectangle and fold into fourths (we are creating the layers in the pastry). Repeat 2 more times. Roll out into rectangle one more time and fold into 1/3's like a letter. At this point pastry can be well wrapped and refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for 2 months. If ready to use roll into desired shape approximately ¼ inch thick.
Vanilla Ice Cream
3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
Place the half-and-half and the heavy cream (and vanilla bean if using) into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract or scrape seeds out of bean pod. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.
Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.
If you do not have an ice cream maker, simply put the cooled mixture into a freezer container and stir every hour for at least 4 hours until desired hardness is reached.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Fabulous Lemon Chicken
We had lemon chicken last night with preserved lemons from my friend Brooke. They are preserved in olive oil and they have so much flavor. I seared the chicken in a little olive oil and butter and then deglazed the pan with some white wine and added the finely sliced lemons. It was so tasty. Maddie gobbled all of hers up and asked for more.
It was so cute today she was talking about mermaids (she is obsessed with Ariel from her princess book) and she said "mermaids are girls that wear fishy pants." She is a character.
I am working on compiling my cookbook. I want to get it all digital because while it is all in one notebook it isn't editable. Plus I would like to be able to share it some day. It is a long tedious process though.
We hope to go camping this weekend but we might have some people out to work on our new roof that is leaking (yipes!).
It was so cute today she was talking about mermaids (she is obsessed with Ariel from her princess book) and she said "mermaids are girls that wear fishy pants." She is a character.
I am working on compiling my cookbook. I want to get it all digital because while it is all in one notebook it isn't editable. Plus I would like to be able to share it some day. It is a long tedious process though.
We hope to go camping this weekend but we might have some people out to work on our new roof that is leaking (yipes!).
Visitors from Arizona
We have had a busy last couple of weeks. Some friends of ours Mike and Shelly came up from Arizona for a visit. The weather was fairly cooperative and we enjoyed taking them around to see the sites. Maddie loved the aquarium. I was almost arrested for child abuse as I forced her to touch a starfish in the touch tank but she has been talking about it ever since (I knew she would). She says "I touched a starfish" and I ask her what she was doing when she was touching the starfish and she says "screaming". But seriously this kid loves marine life in any form. We were thrilled with the octopus performance and got a great look at his underside and beak. We also went to Pike Place Market and sampled Beecher's Cheese which was fabulous. I got some pastry's from a bakery and some fantastic orange cinnamon black tea. It is so good with milk. Don't even need sugar it is so sweet.
This weekend we went over to our friend's Brooke and Jason's house and had an Italian themed dinner party. There was so much fabulous food we ate ourselves silly. I helped to roll out the pasta which was a new experience for me and one I think I need to practice. I made the filling for butternut squash ravioli and it was pretty good. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/butternut-squash-ravioli-with-sage-brown-butter-and-bittersweet-chocolate-recipe/index.html
A tad too sweet I think. Next time I won't add the molasses. The brown butter sage sauce was quite tasty and I am very fond of crunchy-fried-in-butter sage leaves. Cheslea made this delicious pesto and salad and Jill made an alfredo sauce that was so creamy.
Alfredo Sauce
2 chicken boullion cubes
1/2 c water
1/2 c butter
1/4 c flour
2 c half & half
1 c parmesan cheese
garlic powder, to taste
Dissolve chicken boullion cubes in 1/2 cup water.Melt butter over low heat in saucepan.Gradually, stir in flour.Continue stirring and gradually add half-and-half.Add chicken boullion.Increase heat to medium and continue stirring.Cook until thickened.Stir in parmesan cheese and garlic powder, if desired.Serve over hot pasta and garnish with parsley Jill says: I subbed 1 c of non fat milk for the half & half, and the first time I made it I used 1 c 1% and 1 c half & half. They both seemed to work fine. Also, I added bacon and mushrooms the 2nd time I made it, and at the same time I forgot to add the parm cheese! So I think if you're going to add bacon, don't add the cheese, or do very little, I think it would be very salty
We had Brooke and Jason's signature chocolate mouse cake for dessert.
Chocolate Mouse Cake
From How to be a Domestic Goddess cookbook.
11 oz best bittersweet chocolate
2 oz best milk chocolate
¾ C unsalted butter
8 large eggs, separated
Scant ½ C light brown sugar
½ C sugar1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
9 inch spring form pan lined with (oven size) aluminum foil
Preheat the oven to 350 and put the kettle on to boil. Line the spring form pan with foil, making sure to press into sides and bottom of pan so that it forms a smooth surface. This will prevent water from getting in the cake when it is cooked in the water bath.Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave or double boiler, and let it cool. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugars until very thick and pale, as creamy as mayonnaise; the mixture should form and fall in ribbons when you life up the whisk. Stir in the vanilla and salt, and then the cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form, then lighten the chocolate mixture with a briskly beaten in dollop of whites before gently folding the rest of them into it.Pour the cake batter into the foil lined spring form, which you have placed in a large roasting pan. Add hot water from the recently boiled kettle to come about 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan and carefully put the roasting pan with its cargo into the oven.Cook for 50 minutes. The inside of the cake will be damp and mousse like, but the top should look cooked and dry. Let it cool completely on a cooling rack before releasing it from the pan. This calls for a little bit of patience, because you will need to peel the foil gently away from the sides. Just go slowly and remember that this is a very damp cake and you won’t be able to pry it away from its foil lined base – though its easy enough to tear off excess foil once you’ve set the cake on its plate. Dust with powdered sugar if you want, and serve with crème fraise and maybe some raspberries.
Maddie had a little visit with her friend she has know since she was 6 months old, Jennalyn. They had a great time at Penny park and they kept Jen and I on our toes. Both girls are tom boys and had their shoes and socks off in no time.
We can't wait for Grandma and Grandpa Peterson to come up and visit from California. We are also looking at planning a trip out to see my Grandparents in North Carolina some time in October or November.
This weekend we went over to our friend's Brooke and Jason's house and had an Italian themed dinner party. There was so much fabulous food we ate ourselves silly. I helped to roll out the pasta which was a new experience for me and one I think I need to practice. I made the filling for butternut squash ravioli and it was pretty good. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/butternut-squash-ravioli-with-sage-brown-butter-and-bittersweet-chocolate-recipe/index.html
A tad too sweet I think. Next time I won't add the molasses. The brown butter sage sauce was quite tasty and I am very fond of crunchy-fried-in-butter sage leaves. Cheslea made this delicious pesto and salad and Jill made an alfredo sauce that was so creamy.
Alfredo Sauce
2 chicken boullion cubes
1/2 c water
1/2 c butter
1/4 c flour
2 c half & half
1 c parmesan cheese
garlic powder, to taste
Dissolve chicken boullion cubes in 1/2 cup water.Melt butter over low heat in saucepan.Gradually, stir in flour.Continue stirring and gradually add half-and-half.Add chicken boullion.Increase heat to medium and continue stirring.Cook until thickened.Stir in parmesan cheese and garlic powder, if desired.Serve over hot pasta and garnish with parsley Jill says: I subbed 1 c of non fat milk for the half & half, and the first time I made it I used 1 c 1% and 1 c half & half. They both seemed to work fine. Also, I added bacon and mushrooms the 2nd time I made it, and at the same time I forgot to add the parm cheese! So I think if you're going to add bacon, don't add the cheese, or do very little, I think it would be very salty
We had Brooke and Jason's signature chocolate mouse cake for dessert.
Chocolate Mouse Cake
From How to be a Domestic Goddess cookbook.
11 oz best bittersweet chocolate
2 oz best milk chocolate
¾ C unsalted butter
8 large eggs, separated
Scant ½ C light brown sugar
½ C sugar1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
9 inch spring form pan lined with (oven size) aluminum foil
Preheat the oven to 350 and put the kettle on to boil. Line the spring form pan with foil, making sure to press into sides and bottom of pan so that it forms a smooth surface. This will prevent water from getting in the cake when it is cooked in the water bath.Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave or double boiler, and let it cool. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugars until very thick and pale, as creamy as mayonnaise; the mixture should form and fall in ribbons when you life up the whisk. Stir in the vanilla and salt, and then the cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form, then lighten the chocolate mixture with a briskly beaten in dollop of whites before gently folding the rest of them into it.Pour the cake batter into the foil lined spring form, which you have placed in a large roasting pan. Add hot water from the recently boiled kettle to come about 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan and carefully put the roasting pan with its cargo into the oven.Cook for 50 minutes. The inside of the cake will be damp and mousse like, but the top should look cooked and dry. Let it cool completely on a cooling rack before releasing it from the pan. This calls for a little bit of patience, because you will need to peel the foil gently away from the sides. Just go slowly and remember that this is a very damp cake and you won’t be able to pry it away from its foil lined base – though its easy enough to tear off excess foil once you’ve set the cake on its plate. Dust with powdered sugar if you want, and serve with crème fraise and maybe some raspberries.
Maddie had a little visit with her friend she has know since she was 6 months old, Jennalyn. They had a great time at Penny park and they kept Jen and I on our toes. Both girls are tom boys and had their shoes and socks off in no time.
We can't wait for Grandma and Grandpa Peterson to come up and visit from California. We are also looking at planning a trip out to see my Grandparents in North Carolina some time in October or November.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Chai anyone?
Maddie and I went over to Shripal's house today for a playdate with Avinash. She offered me some chai and taught me how to make it. Turns out the Orange Pekoe tea that Sirisha brought me back from India last year is the black tea that they use as the base for chai. I got so excited about it when I got home I made my own masala (sp?) mix and brewed up some chai for myself. Maddie of course loved it as she is my little tea drinker in training.
I was able to use my mortar and pestle Scott got for me for Christmas last year as well which was a double bonus. Those cardamom seeds fly everywhere!
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon white pepper
Grind all spices together with mortar and pestle or you could use a food processor I suppose. Brew tea and add 2 heaping teaspoons to the hot water. Add milk to your liking.
Shripal put everything in a pot on the stove and boiled it and then added the milk and boiled it again. Then she strained out the tea. She had these really cool Orange Pekoe tea kernels and all I had was the tea bags so I had to adapt a bit. But the flavor was there. Now I have a little canister of ready to go chai mix. Yum!
I was able to use my mortar and pestle Scott got for me for Christmas last year as well which was a double bonus. Those cardamom seeds fly everywhere!
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon white pepper
Grind all spices together with mortar and pestle or you could use a food processor I suppose. Brew tea and add 2 heaping teaspoons to the hot water. Add milk to your liking.
Shripal put everything in a pot on the stove and boiled it and then added the milk and boiled it again. Then she strained out the tea. She had these really cool Orange Pekoe tea kernels and all I had was the tea bags so I had to adapt a bit. But the flavor was there. Now I have a little canister of ready to go chai mix. Yum!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
A day of firsts
This is my first ever blog post. Thanks to my new friend Brooke for introducing me to it. I met Brooke over the weekend at her house where she hosted a fabulous dinner party. I ate my weight in homemade ravioli with gorgozola cream sauce. I am very much looking forward to future culinary events and getting to know Brooke and her family better.
Maddie and I went to Priest Point Park for the first time today and hiked down to the ocean. It was low tide and the signs all said something about not touching anything and showering thoroughly if you do. Of course the first thing Maddie does is bound off into the mud flats and get her shoe caught so she falls and rolls the back of her body in the mud. Good thing I am not a germ-a-phobe. What doesn't kill us...right? We did see our first Sand Piper not in a book and Maddie actually knew what it was. My budding ornithologist can remember bird names better than I can.
Another first was our dinner tonight. I picked some fresh zucchini from the garden and fried it up in wedges like I had once a hundred years ago at Red Robin. I think they used a beer batter and I just used an egg wash and panko bread crumbs so mine were tasty but different. I also roasted some beets and potatoes. So for the first time in a long time we had a vegetarian meal. We are sans Dad this week so we can be less carnivorous while our T-rex is at his work conference.
I saw my first swallow tail butterfly on our Budliea today but it was too late to get Maddie to have a peak. She is ready with her butterfly net. I just hope she can wield it carefully enough not to injure the beautiful creatures. Ever since Grandma Darlene bought her the Fancy Nancy Butterfly book she has been dying to try out her net.
I will close for tonight.
Maddie and I went to Priest Point Park for the first time today and hiked down to the ocean. It was low tide and the signs all said something about not touching anything and showering thoroughly if you do. Of course the first thing Maddie does is bound off into the mud flats and get her shoe caught so she falls and rolls the back of her body in the mud. Good thing I am not a germ-a-phobe. What doesn't kill us...right? We did see our first Sand Piper not in a book and Maddie actually knew what it was. My budding ornithologist can remember bird names better than I can.
Another first was our dinner tonight. I picked some fresh zucchini from the garden and fried it up in wedges like I had once a hundred years ago at Red Robin. I think they used a beer batter and I just used an egg wash and panko bread crumbs so mine were tasty but different. I also roasted some beets and potatoes. So for the first time in a long time we had a vegetarian meal. We are sans Dad this week so we can be less carnivorous while our T-rex is at his work conference.
I saw my first swallow tail butterfly on our Budliea today but it was too late to get Maddie to have a peak. She is ready with her butterfly net. I just hope she can wield it carefully enough not to injure the beautiful creatures. Ever since Grandma Darlene bought her the Fancy Nancy Butterfly book she has been dying to try out her net.
I will close for tonight.
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