Sunday, October 9, 2011

Update


Sorry there were not many posts this summer, in fact none at all. So I say I will try to make more blog post but this is not a promise. More news is that I have gone dairy- free, so that means no butter or tasty cream for me. Which especially saddens me when October roles around. In October we like to embrace fall, this is when we start making pumpkins stuffed with cream, expensive cheese, bread cubes, and sometimes more. But I have survived so far.
Bella our beagle is learning slowly that doors won't open if you bark at them, and toast doesn't tend to fall off the table when bark. She loves shredding toys all over the place. So since toys are so expensive these days, and you don't know if she will like them. I have taken to sewing them myself, she enjoys them and I don't freak out every time she shreds a toy. And I know you may be thinking if she is shredding toys what else is shredding. But Bella has not found a taste for expensive items.
Not much else is happening around here other then school, I promise a blog post about food or baking...yummy that means I will have to make something to post. And pictures will be included. Bye for now.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Great Ricotta Experiment. Part 1.

So a few days ago our favorite food blogger posts on making fresh Ricotta. I was excited and mulled it over for 30 minutes before discovering a lack of whole milk or cream in our refrigerator... However, tomorrow I will be going shopping and with the abundance of strawberries we seem to have from the farmers market this week, I figure what could be better than ricotta and strawberry tart??? Well probably alot of things... still, have faith... it will all work out in the end.

But getting to the point... I've been fascinated with cheese making ever since, as a small boy, I went to the tillamook cheese factory and saw these big orange blocks being wrapped, and curds forming in long tubs.  As the years have passed this curiosity has been flamed by the occasional library book on traditional indian food that would mention traditional paneer, or a CHOW piece about mozzarella. So now I am ready to make the plunge into cheese-making, okay ricotta isn't exactly cheddar but still its a start! I'm thinking, if I don't let someone else make my pizzas, (or in this case manicotti) Why would I let them make the cheese?
The Tillamook Factory Floor.


More on how this all turns out later.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Veggie Chili

So how do I tell this to you but I have been busy. . . raising a crazy beagle who is now 6 months
old and still crazy as ever. School has been a problem too. Summer break began a couple of weeks ago and somehow I still forgot about posting. I have been wondering this since the blog started is any one out there reading us. . . anyone?

Ok any who, the name veggie chili might throw you off. But really there are only 2 different kinds of vegetables in the whole thing (if you don't count canned tomatoes as a vegetable). I found this recipe off of threadbanger.com, of all places you would think to find a chili recipe, and it is delicious.

The first time I made this recipe it was snowy here in Seattle, WA. The day before thanksgiving. I had planned to make it sooner, but there had just been no time. And so now I shall get on with it and give you the recipe.

serves 6-10 people
  • 4 celery stalks
  • 4 large carrots
  • 1 medium sized onion
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • olive oil to saute the veggies
  • 1-2 cups vegetable broth
  • 4 cans of assorted beans (I used pinto, black, kidney, and white)
  • seasoning to taste such as cumin, soy sauce, paprika......
  • 1 large can of diced tomatoes
Start by sauteing the first 5 ingredients, then add in your vegetable broth. Let those tasty things simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Now very important, make sure to drain and rinse your beans. After your veggies have simmered for awhile pour in your drained and rinsed beans and the large can of diced tomatoes, juice and all.

Bring the pot of stuff, about to be called chili, to a boil, after that you can now add your seasonings. This is what will make or break your chili, so start with a little each of your seasonings and slowing add more, you don't want to accidentally add to much cayenne or soy sauce. You get what I mean. After the vegetables are cooked and everything tastes good you are ready to serve. You can enjoy your chili with cornbread or tortilla chips and a multitude of other things , whatever works for you. Have fun, enjoy!

*So sorry there are no pictures, I will try to get some up soon. Happy Father's Day!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Neglect.

Ugh, Here it is in June and I have neglected this blog like the plague. I should probably promise my return to it. But I won't. Instead I will say I have spent some of the time doing useful things, like continuing my learning experiments in the art of cinematography. And at least one or two months was spent laboring in the kitchen, only to not write about any of the food. I sold my car, fixed up my bike, and genrally mucked about all over the internet without much aim or ambition. . .

So now, where does this leave us (me)?

Another completely unrelated thought of course. Emily is baking, All. The. Time. It no longer matters how hard I try I'm not going to be losing weight with her baking. Its not so much bread and savory things. Its at least 2 batches of new and interesting sweets a week! She is also venturing into puppy treats of increasing complexity, which is a great leap forward for her, after using the same tired biscuit recipe for the last 4 years. . .

Anywho, hopefully this post is the start of something, good. If not good. At least tasty, eh?

Saturday, November 27, 2010

A thanksgiving Paula Deen Tribute.

This thanksgiving I was tasked with making the two pies. One classic apple, and the other a "not to spicy" pumpkin pie. Easy as that was, somewhere in the time it took the exceptionally buttery dough to chill, Emily and I started watching Paula Deen youtube videos...Deep-Fried Green Tomatoes? yep she can. Doughnut Burgers? yep she did. Deep-fried cheesecake?!?!?.... Some questions come to mind like; "Who has a deep-fryer AT HOME?!?!" "So thats how you cover up the fact your burger sauce sucks..." "Was that cheese cake just not good enough for you?" and "Wait a minute lets try and make one of those, how bad could it be?"

Five minutes later there was a little blob of butter pastry dough being rolled millimeter thin. Chocolate being delicately chopped up and whipped cream being made. The finished product was not cheese cake deep fried but rather an accidental puffball-shaped cannoli (when I say "cannoli" it may have the flavour, but no italian grandmother would recognize) These will make wonderful little party deserts or hors d'oeuvres to fatten up your victims (err...guests) before the toast in your honor.



So take your butter pastry and a rolling pin and bring it down to about wonton or spring roll thickness. Make a nice pile of chocolate chunks in the middle (about the diameter of a 50 cent piece.) Take all the sides and tuck into a ball shape. Cover the joints with some egg wash then flip-over and place onto an oiled baking sheet. Egg wash the top side and sprinkle with a liberal amount of sugar. Pop 'em into a 375 degree oven. Bake until a nice dark golden-brown colour appears on top. Remove and let cool on the sheet, it is important that you don't move the balls until the chocolate has solidified significantly. Now put some whipped cream into a zip-lock, snip the tip, puncture the top of your puff-ball cannoli and fill with cream. Leave some cream sitting on top for looks because cooking, as we all know, is about the style. Serve. and Enjoy.



One puff-ball:
-2 Tablespoons Pastry Dough
-1 Tablespoon Chocolate
-Egg White (for washing it in)
-Sugar
-3 Tablespoons Whipped Cream