Truffle Madness

With Finals Madness and Travel Madness draped over us, there is only one solution to the problem: Chocolate and everything that has to do with chocolate! and Kettle corn! I made little thank you gifts for my committee members for all their awesome help while i was running around like a chicken cut off to submit my fellowship application. Of course, Hobby Lobby and all its greatness was having this awesome 50% off sale on all the Christmas and holiday goodie containers and tins.



Truffles
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp granulated sugar
12 oz dark chocolate
1 T butter

• Chop the chocolate into small pieces
  
• Heat cream and sugar and butter until it reaches a boil
• add to chopped dark chocolate and stir until melted
• split the batch in half and add a cinnamon and cayenne pepper to one and leave the other
• cool in the refrigerator until solid
• when cooled, roll the truffles into balls and dust with cocoa powder or toasted chopped walnuts
  

Dusted with Cocoa Powder

Rolled in toasted nuts

kettle corn

1/3 c veg oil
1/3 c sugar
1/2 cup raw kernels

• Heat the oil in a large pot, throwing in a few kernels
• when the kernels pop, add sugar and raw kernels
• shake gently over high heat, removing from heat frequently to prevent burning
• when popping stopps, sprinkle with sea salt and cayenne pepper
  

the popcorn has got to be one of my favorites. it's definitely going to be made frequently.

Pumpkin Bread

With two cans of pumpkin left over after thanksgiving, and my burning desire to bake things rapidly dwindling, i didn't know what to do. Luckily my friend C happened to get her hands on this lovely pumpkin bread recipe and shared the wealth. It's a little modified from the original version, but it's still delicious none the less! I started by halving the recipe because i wasn't sure what i would do with two loaves. the result: a deliciously moist, light and flavorful pumpkin bread with a yummy crusty top and amazing chunks of dark chocolate!

Pumpkin Bread (recipe for 2 9in loaf pans)

1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 beaten eggs
1 can (15oz) pumpkin or 2 cups real pumpkin
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped chocolate

extra brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon for sprinkling

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Chop the chocolate and walnuts, and toast walnuts until warm. (they burn easily so make sure to stop the toasting before they turn all smoky and burnt)
• Mix oil and sugars in a large mixing bowl
  
• Add pumpkin puree until combined and add in the eggs one at a time
• In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients
• Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Add the chopped chocolate and walnuts
• Pour into a greased loaf pan
• Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon topping on top of the loaf
• Bake for 50-60 min until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  
• You can also bake these in little muffin tins. If this is the case, line muffin pan with paper cups or grease it well. Pour the batter in and top with sugar cinnamon mix. Bake at 350 for 20 min until toothpick inserted comes out clean
  

no pictures today.. i was too busy rushing to bake this so i could devour it. and then after it came out of the oven, i couldn't hold myself back enough long enough to take pictures of it... so instead the only thing left is crumbs and melty chocolate-y stains on my plate, hands, and lips.

I ended up baking the full batch a second time, making one loaf, and a bunch of muffins. You can't get sick of this... i have probably eaten some every day for a week now. do it. it makes a lovely toasty breakfast with coffee.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. My parents came and visited me in my house.... It was my first thanksgiving in the new place after I had settled in.... kind of. Of course my parents arrived in style, bringing my terror of a dog, and the equivalent of a small jungle that i KNOW i will kill off in a matter of months.... and also some cute christmas decorations.

Christmas Aloe :-)

My new orchid plant!

It was nice having them come by, my house feels like it has been warmed and blessed by my family (except my sister... she's far away and i miss her :'( sadders...) and it was so much fun preparing a huge thanksgiving dinner for my family (almost all by myself!!!)

On the menu:

Turkey! a whole 12 lb turkey that had been brining in the fridge for 2 days


Homemade gravy
Cheese and Crackers platter
Split pea and asparagus soup with Gorgonzola cheese
Veggie stuffing with raisins, apples, and walnuts
Roasted Veggie mashed potato
cranberry sauce (in a can... i cheated... but my mom loves the stuff-- and so do i!)
Caramel pumpkin pie with ginger snap crust and cinnamon whipped cream (again!! cuz i love this recipe!!!!)


we ate quite a bit of food... and drank a bit of wine... and my dog peed in my room looking for my cat. it was a joyous occasion.

My mom's plate of food yum!

They left my house and it suddenly felt like it had really been lived in. the plants are great, and now I have something to hang ornaments, and there's decorations on my mantle. now to hang the stockings :-)

Dad brought me new pet fish

Burnt Butter Toffee Bars

Brace yourself....


Daylight savings or Standard time... whatever time we're in now always gets me down, luckily there are friends who find joy in this darkness and propose awesome celebrations of _________!!!! My reason to celebrate was trying new recipes! and maybe... i don't know... the second turning of the leaves :-) It's been beautiful for a week and the weather suddenly went to crap but when it hits mid 70's in november, that's always a reason to celebrate too.

I stumbled across this amazing sounding recipe: Burnt Butter Toffee Bars found here. My vision for this dish was something a little different than the recipe and i ventured out to the grocery store to purchase items to make this treat. My vision was this: I wanted a ginger snap crust and a delicious almost carmel-y toffee flavored firm yet gooey middle layer topped off with some nice snappy dark chocolate sprinkled with salt but my mission was thwarted from the start. The ginger snap cookies were placed on the TOP SHELF of the grocery store.... the very top shelf where onlky the front bags are grabable at my height. I wandered around looking for a tall person or an employee to help me get a bag that was shoved as far back on the shelf as any unfortunate bag of lonely gingersnaps would be. i stood there jumping up and down trying to grab the bag but my small hands couldn't get a good grasp of the bag. It was such a tragedy. Dejected and forlorn i hung my head in shame and walked away from the cookies and crackers aisle and continued shopping. At that point, i was madly thinking about the different ways i could try to get that snappy ginger taste into the crust and furiously decided to craft a plan B.

Plan B was to use my leftover graham crackers. In retrospect, i would completely change the recipe. It was overall an incredibly delicious treat but it just wasn't what i had wanted. The recipe below is what i did. I'll supplement it with changes that i'd make next time i make this.

Burnt Butter Toffee Bars

1 c butter
2 pkg graham crackers
1/3 c molasses
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz semi sweet chocolate
1 c brown sugar
2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• In a food processor, throw in the graham crackers and pulse until crumbly.
  
• Melt the butter in a pot and cook until it browns in color. Don't over cook because it'll burn and you'll have tasty burnt morsels of butter in your toffee (oops... )
• Pour half the butter into the food processor and pulse with the butter. Add the molasses and ginger and cinnamon and continue to pulse until the liquids are incorporated. Press into a lined 9x13 pan and bake for 10-15 min. (At this point, I thought it would have been wiser for me to make the crumbs moister so they'd hold together better. i would pulse in cold butter, a little milk, or maybe even an egg with the graham crackers.... IF YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THIS RECIPE!!!! the final product was delicious but the crust did not hold together at all.... it was so sadders)
• while the crust cools, prepare the toffee. In the pot with the remaining butter, add brown sugar, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, cream, and corn syrup. bring the mixture to a nice boil and continue cooking for about 5 minutes or so, stirring continuously.
  
• When the concoction takes on a beautiful amber color and smells like buttery heaven, pour over the cooled crust. Let the toffee settle and cool.
  
• After the toffee is cooled (it won't stick to your fingers when you poke it), melt the chocolate in the microwave. When melted, pour over the toffee and sprinkle with kosher salt or some big chunky salt.

Melty Over Toffee

Salty Sprinkles

• When cool, use a clean sharp knife to cut into squares. eat
  

Yummmm

This turned out to be absolutely delicious but it wasn't quite what i had expected or wanted. it was a success wrought in failure :-) but a delicious success. a friend called it chocolate goo, and i think that really is the right way to describe it.

next time, it'll be so amazing.... i promise.

Butternut Squash Sage Gnocchi

I don't generally like sage... or most of the italian herbs... i love pasta, the noodles, the carbs, the tomatoes and veggies that go into the dishes... I had a huge giant butternut squash left over from who knows how long ago... luckily these things keep like champions. It's a short preface today, just because i'm exhausted from thinking about food :-) I love it, it's delicious, but even I need a brief rest from thinking about delicious things!

Butternut Squash Sage Gnocchi

1 lb roasted butternut squash
2 cloves garlic
2+ c flour
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Sauce:

I can't remember how i made the sauce, but it was creamy and delicious

Directions:

• Cut the butternut squash into manageable pieces and roast in the oven with the garlic until fork tender
• Puree the squash and garlic in a blender or food processor until smooth
• Move the puree to a large ish bowl, add the paresan cheese, sage, and a dash of salt. gradually add flour as you mix. It will be really sticky and a lot of flour will be used, I ended up using over 2 cups of flour because the squash was so moist. try not to over mix the dough
• break off a chunk of the dough and move to a floured surface and roll into a thick rope
• cut off small chunks of the rope and score with a fork to get the neat little lines and set them aside

Like cozy little kiddos

• To cook the gnocchi, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and toss in the raw gnocchi
• You'll know they're done cooking when they start to float on the surface of the water. Remove them with a slotted spoon
• These tasted incredibly delicious alone without any sauce, but if you want something to eat with the gnocchi, sauteed zucchini and onions and mushrooms would be great. or a drizzle of olive oil, and cut up cherry tomatoes, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese would be awesome too!
  

I topped mine off with some white sauce i had made, with some delicious leftover farmers market tomatoes with a sprinkle of truffle salt!

Dinner! is Served!!!

Another reason why fall is so amazing is because of the versatility of the fall and winter squashes :-) love. it. forever.

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

vegan! the word itself seems to strike fear into the hearts of all meat eaters across the world, their faces cringe and they go run to the nearest source of meat and immediately devour a hotdog or something after they hear the word. surprising things come from vegan recipes. Various substitutions to make sure that there are no animal products and byproducts in the dishes are so interesting, and i'm always curious to know how they figured those things out without necessarily compromising the flavor of the baked goods.

I came across this vegan red velvet cupcake recipe a long time ago (here) and it is by far, my favorite of all the red velvet recipes i've tried. It's so moist, so delicious, so red and velvety! i tell people it's vegan after they tell me it's so delicious :-) it makes me feel sneaky.

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

1 c soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 c flour
1 c sugar
2 T cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c vegetable oil
2 Tbls red food coloring (liquid)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake tin (I made mini cupcakes, so it was a 24 cupcake
  
• In the mixing bowl, combine the soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle
• Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt) in a separate bowl
• After the soy milk has been curdling, add the oil, food coloring and vanilla extract and mix well. slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until the large clumps are gone
• Carefully pour the batter into the cupcake pan, filling each liner with batter about 2/3 of the way up
• Bake for 15-18 min until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean
• Transfer to a wire rack and let cooooool
• this recipe makes about 30 or so mini cupcakes
  

I like to make cream cheese frosting to go on the cupcakes (which un veganizes them!!! ahhhhh sad... but it's so good you can eat it with or without the cream cheese frosting)



til next time!!!! eat well, drink well, and LIVE WELL!!!!

Pumpkin Lasagna

We recently had a pumpkin party. Inspired by ... you know... one of the greatest seasons ever!!!! FALL!!!! there was so much delicious food! pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin brownies, pumpkin soup, pumpkin beer, pumpkin shaped cookies, pumpkin muffins! but i would have to say the star of the night (in my belly) was the pumpkin lasagna. Soooooooooo good....

Lasagna is probably one of my favorite things to make when i have time on a Sunday. It's easy to make, super fast, super delicious, and will feed you for a week if you can bear to eat the same thing every day for lunch and dinner. Using pumpkin was a great idea. The flavor of the pumpkin isn't overwhelming, it's more of a subtle flavor that lingers on the back of your tongue after all the pepper and sage and vegetables have their way with your tastebuds. my friend tried a slice and said he would never have guessed that it was made with pumpkin, it was delicious, and he devoured it.

Pumpkin Lasagna
12 pieces of lasagna
2 cans pumpkin puree
1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
shredded Parmesan
8 oz button mushrooms
8 oz sliced shittake mushrooms
1/2 large onion
1 clove garlic
2 tsp sage
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili pepper

Directions:

• Boil noodles til al dente in salted water
• Sautee the mushrooms, onion, garlic, and add a can of pumpkin puree
  
• Mix the ricotta cheese with the second can of pumpkin puree and add some salt and pepper to taste
• assemble the layers as desired (i like to do noodles, pumpkin + veggies with shredded parm, noodles, pumpkin + ricotta + more shredded parm, noodles, maybe whatever's leftover, noodles, more shredded cheese!)
• bake at 400 degrees for about 20 min, covered with foil
  
• turn the oven to broil and remove the foil. broil until the cheese is golden and crispy

enjoy!

High Time for PIE!!

I was overcome with a little bit of Pie Madness recently and went on some crazed baking spree. you know that "pumpkin shortage" i mentioned a couple entries ago? yeah.. i went out and bought like, 4 more cans of pumpkin puree. I had hoped to make some amazing pie crusts but i'm afraid of pie crust. instead i opted for a less fancy but equally tasty graham cracker version. it's also a lot easier to make... in my opinion.... and i like the crumbly texture.

inspired by bacaro's pumpkin pie and pecan crust, i opted to try out a caramel pumpkin pie with graham cracker pecan crust recipe. (in parallel, i made a sweet potato apricot pie... but that one needs a little more work. it's tasty... but not mind blowing!!)

Graham cracker pecan crust

1 pkg graham crackers (what is that... like, 8 crackers?)
1 cup toasted pecans
4 tbsp butter
dash of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 T sugar

caramel pumpkin pie filling

1/2 c sugar
1/8 c water
1 c heavy cream
1 c pumpkin puree
2 large eggs

cinnamon whipped cream
1 c heavy cream
2T sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 C
  
• Crush the graham crackers and lightly toast the pecans.
  
• Throw them into a food processor and pulse with butter
• Bake crust for 10-15 min, just until the crust is browned and the aroma of the pecans fills your kitchen
• As the crust cools, prepare the filling. heat the sugar and water and let it come to a boil. Swirl the sugar instead of stirring with a spoon. after about 10 or so minutes (watch the sugar cuz it'll burn quickly) until it becomes a golden color
• slowly add the cream, stirring with a wooden spoon. The mixture will bubble furiously so be careful not to let it spill over.
  
• let the caramel cool for a bit and prepare the pumpkin and spices. In a mixing bowl, start mixing the pumpkin puree and the cinnamon, slowly adding the hot caramel
• once the caramel is incorporated, crack in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated
• pour into the baked crust and bake some more at 335 for another 50 min or until the center is set and only minimally jiggly.
• let cool. refrigerate if you can bear not eating it right away

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

• whip the cream and sugar and a tsp of cinnamon until stiff peaks form.
  
• eat with pie!!!!
  

Yum.... close up

Slice of Pie!

Slice of Pie with Cinnamon Whipped Cream!

this pie is great. i'm definitely making it again. maybe for thanksgiving dinner with my parents.

Market Night - Dinner at Bacaro

Every sunday morning is the farmers market. It's a quaint, little, but still bustling farmers market, and the produce is delicious. You start to see familiar faces and you start to see familiar pets, and the vendors and their familiar foods are so comforting. One of the chefs at a local restaurant, Bacaro is great and wonderful about supporting the local community, especially when it comes to local produce. Monday night is Market Night where they use produce from the farmers market and create a beautifully presented and amazingly flavored meal. You have the option of wine pairing for an extra 20 dollars where you can sample 4 wines to go with your dishes. I highly recommend the pairing if you do not have a favorite. otherwise, it's nice to just have a glass of something delicious to go with your meal even if it wasn't specially paired for the night.

The menu, as far as i can recall was something similar to this: (the names aren't exactly right but the description of the dish seems to be right. I should have asked for the pairing menu as well because some of the wines were just amazing... and it's unfortunate that i can't remember what they were!!!!! it's almost infuriating!!)

Just as a note, I have not eaten substantial amounts of meat in years... I have eaten small morsels of meats to explore new dishes, but i haven't actually consumed quantities larger than my pinky nail in almost 6 years. They didn't offer any substitutions for this meal because this was all that the kitchen had prepared (they have a more extensive menu the rest of the week which is equally delicious) so i told them it was ok and I decided to eat (try to eat) a portion or so of the duck which was the featured meat. Duck is incredibly tasty, and back when i did eat it, i enjoyed it a lot. It is also a very fatty animal. My fault entirely, but after eating a thumb or two sized portion of duck meat, my insides were in knots for an entire week trying to process this foreign protein... BUT.... all GI distress aside, the entire meal... was soooooooooooooooooo delicious!!! D got the wine pairing, and I opted for an Argentinian red... 2006 of some sort. very good... and the wine pairing definitely complimented the dishes very well.

but here was the breakdown of the meal:

Duck Confit Bread Pudding
-wow. this was amazing. it was savory and delicious and warm, with the flavors of the duck baked into the soft squishy bread. Luckily the pieces of duck were large so i managed to fish them out and give them to D... i felt kind of bad for him... he ate a lot of my meat that night... but it's ok... the meat was also delicious.

Truffle and Mushroom Soup with baked cheese
-the soup was so delicious. A little on the salty side, and the baked asiago cheese that was added didn't help cut the saltiness... but otherwise the flavor was great. the mushrooms and the truffle were so great to eat. i'm not sure i would have it again just because it was almost overwhelmingly salty... but if it were diluted a little and served with a slice of crusty bread, it would have been PERFECT.

Duck Breast over Swiss chard, Sweet potato and Chocolate Balsamic sauce (which was AMAZING)
-the duck... was soooooooo tender.... but i'll have to rant and rave about the combination of vegetables that were served with this dish. the swiss chard was piled high and i don't know how it was prepared but it was amazing. maybe it was sauteed to perfection in some amazing sauce that the duck meat provided, maybe it was steamed or blanched in something amazing... but it was perfect. it wasn't overcooked, it wasn't undercooked, the flavor wasn't overwhelming but it wasn't too bland. the subtle flavors kind of like well prepared spinach but 10000x better went so well with the morsels of sweet potato. if you grabbed a forkful of the swiss chard with some sweet potato, and a nugget of duck.... and swirl it around in the chocolate balsamic sauce, it was seriously a mouthful of heaven. the chocolate balsamic sauce, as strange as it may sound, was so delicious. if it were appropriate, i would have stuck my finger into the sauce and cleaned the plate. It was rich with chocolate flavor, not really sweet like a milk chocolate but rich and slightly bitter like a dark chocolate or cocoa powder and the balsamic vinegar definitely added a great depth to the chocolate. It wasn't tart or overwhelmingly flavored like an italian salad but rather incredibly subtle. Tasting the sauce was a great adventure of flavors because upon first taste, you'd smell the chocolate and taste the sweet aroma of the chocolate, and then it would dissolve into the rich and almost bitter flavor of good dark chocolate and as that flavor rolled off your tongue, the balsamic vinegar ended the taste with it's playful tartness. your mouth wasn't overwhelmed with sugar but rather the flavor rolled off your tongue and into your belly... and settled into a warmness with whatever foods you had already eaten. ok but enough of the chocolate, on to the next plate

Ewes milk cheese with red pepper jelly
-I can't say i'm a huge fan of ewe milk cheese.... it's hard to describe the flavor, but alone, i found it to be unpleasant. It had the consistency of soft butter and the rind was pretty terrible... (D's plate of cheese was almost entirely rind... oops... ) but the crusty bread and the red pepper jelly to go with the cheese were definitely the saving grace of the cheese. The red pepper jelly tasted like, red peppers with a little bit of a spicy kick made into a sweet red jelly. all together, it was tasty. cheese alone, yuck :-( luckily the wine that was paired with it definitely helped to temper the indescribable flavor of the cheese.

Pumpkin Pie with Rum caramel glaze and some sort of Pecan crust
-you can't go wrong with pumpkin pie. Nor can you go wrong with a pecan crust. and you top that with a rum caramel glaze... you have a winner. win win win! at this point in the meal, i was on the verge of exploding with amazing food, but never fear, my DESSERT STOMACH came to the rescue! amazing consistency, amazing texture! i had to scrape off some of the caramel syrup because i found the rum flavor to be a little overwhelming... but all in all, it was a solid dessert. great way to end the meal.

i would highly recommend going to market night. support the local growers support the community, eat great food because life is too short to be eating crap all the time.


I WISH I HAD TAKEN PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

next time, i'll have my camera handy :-)

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

It is fall! and it's time for the pumpkin madness to begin! I had "stocked up" on canned pumpkin puree because i saw signs everywhere lamenting the pumpkin shortage this year.... !!! again!!! to wander from store to store and see that the shelves are missing such an important integral ingredient of these autumnal foods was such a tragedy. luckily, one of the grocery stores nearby had some canned pumpkin puree in stock. we were limited to 4 cans per customer. i only got two... i think i might need to venture back and get 4 this time....

but anyway, with these beautiful cans of pumpkin puree, i sat there dreaming of all the amazing and delicious fall foods that i could make! but i only had two cans... so i had to choose my recipes wisely.

my first attempt at something amazingly delicoius was kind of a flop. i made vegan pumpkin muffins..... with whole wheat flour, not enough sugar, too much spice, not enough nuts, not enough love.... yuck. D love them for some reason so he ate them. sadly the batch also only produced 10/12 muffins. but it's ok. all i tasted was dirt anyway. my second attempt at something amazingly delicious turned out to be.... AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!!!!! i saw the recipe here and instantly fell in love. not because i love butterscotch (i really don't like butterscotch that much to be honest), not because i love cookies... but because it's fall! and i could use my pumpkin in a can!!! slight modifications but wow they were DEEEEELICIOUSSSSSSS!!!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients
2 c all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 F
• Combine dry ingredients in a bowl -- flour, baking soda, powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger
• in the mixer, combine the eggs and sugar and beat until smooth and light. slowly blend in the oil, pumpkin puree, and the vanille extract until everything is combined.
  
• Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated and gently add in the butter scotch chips
• drop table spoon sized balls of dough on the baking sheets and bake in the oven for about 14-16 min.
  
• cool on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.
  
• best if eaten just after baking, or if you can stand the wait, even better the next day after refrigeration.
  

no pictures of food today :-( but there will be pictures of fall

Butternut Squash penne and Sweet Potato Chickpea soup

SF was an awesome weekend. coming back to the real world... or this twisted reality i call the real world was incredibly depressing. the weather was beautiful, the topography and geography was amazing, the food was delectable, the people were so nice and everything!! it was just so perfect. Napa valley was beautiful and while we were only able to go to taste at two vineyards, it was such an amazing day well spent. we did our homework and watched bottle shock the night before Napa. of course we also sat there in wikipedia to find out what REALLY happened! of course this was followed by Glee. lots of Glee.

one thing that would have made san francisco absolutely perfect would have been trees turning. the road down to monterey was beautiful as we drove up and down the mountainside. we were surrounded by huge tall trees and in monterey, we were surrounded by gorgeous cypress trees... but everything was green. somewhere deep in my heart, i longed for the deep oranges and reds and the yellows and purples and the orange tipped green leaves, the trees that would quietly soak up the evening sun and change to match the color of the sky.

of course, missing the fall colors did not stop me from bursting into tears at the first sight of the ocean through a break in the cypress woods. it wasn't even a full view. just a glimpse. the waves caught the sun and you could see the cliffs and rocky beaches... and my heart stopped to do a back flip and then tug at the corner of my eyes.

i cry for beauty. J cries for humanity. together, we are an emotional pair :-)

Back in the midwest, to tackle the depression, D and i made a festive, fall flavored dinner!
Butternut Squash Penne and Sweet Potato Chickpea soup

Pasta sauce
1 lb butternut squash
1/2 medium white onion
4 strips of bacon
1 clove garlic
1/2 T brown sugar
1/3 c cream
1/2 c chicken broth
sage

penne rigate as al dente as you like it

Soup
1 large sweet potato cut into smallish cubes
1/2 med white onion
2 stalks celery chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 c chicken broth
1 c water
1/2 c cream
1/2 c chick peas
1/2 c diced tomatoes
butter

salt and pepper to taste
Directions for the pasta:

• chop the butternut squash into 1/2 in cubes
  
• fry the bacon. when the bacon is crispy, put the strips aside and reserve some of the bacon drippings. add chopped garlic to the bacon fat and let fry for a minute
• add the chopped butternut squash and brown in the bacon fat
• sprinkle brown sugar over the squash and continue cooking, adding some chicken stock if it dries too much
• while the squash is cooking, start preparing the noodles.
  
• when the squash cubes are tender, add the remaining chicken stock and cream and let simmer for a bit.

• the squash sauce should be both chunky and creamy

• pour/scoop sauce over the penne and shave parmesean/aged manchego over the sauce

Directions for the soup

• chop celery, sweet potato, onion and garlic and sautee in a pat of butter in a saucepan until the sweet potatoes are mostly tender
• add chicken broth and let simmer until the potatoes are tender
• puree the broth containing the vegetables until smooth, adding water until the desired consistency is reached
  
• add the diced tomatoes and canned chick peas and let simmer until the peas are tender
• add the cream and some cracked pepper
  

the soup and pasta were amazing. david garnished his pasta with the bacon pieces. i added a sprinkle of black truffle salt to mine and it was perfect. the flavor of the pasta was slightly sweet and the soup was somehow rich and savory. i think if the pasta or the soup had been a little spicy, it would have been absolutely perfect. i would put up photos but they turned out terribly. so instead, i'll leave you with pictures of the ocean.

The beach

Near the Lone Cypress

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Let me tell you about this amazing shop that i recently discovered.

enter: Cheese & Crackers

This shop was so cute with a lovely spread of cheese and chocolate. The staff are incredibly happy and fun and great to talk to, providing awesome suggestions and pairings for meals you might be making. not to mention their extensive shelf of intelligentsia coffee, baked breads from pekara, and organic and different kinds of pastas.

I went home with aged manchego, parmasean, and gjetost (pronounce yost? i asked them several times but i can't seem to get it down). the gjetost is this amazing caramely norwegian cheese that people eat with toast for breakfast. it's so smooth and delicious. apparently they make it with milk and heat it til it acquires a golden caramel brown color and develops its rich sweet and slightly nutty flavor. it is literally... caramel cheese... one of the guys there showed me how to shave cheese and gave me a short lesson on maximizing the flavor of hard cheese without needing any fancy cheese slicing equipment :-) He brought his cutting board and knife out and demonstrate the shaving technique which was awesomely simple and packed with flavor.

the store also carries an amazing assortment of fine artisan chocolates, each piece hand painted by some lady in new york. a little skeptical at first, i bought two pieces: 1. apricot chili and 2. white peach champaign. and i must say, they were indeed delicious. i have to go back and try their other chocolates.

Um, and lastly... they carry a basket of flavored and seasoned salts from a local distributor in danville. hellooooo pink hawiian sea salt, volcano salt, hicory smoked salt, black truffle sea salt... and a ton more. and yes... i fell for the delicious suggestion of sprinkling black truffle sea salt on my soup!!!!!!!!!!!! so i bought it. and it was one of the best purchases of my weekend. I asked the girl whether they had the black salt, smoked to a charcoaly perfection, that they carried at Carmon's. And instead of saying no... she turned to me and said, you know what.. you are the fourth person today to ask that question. I'm going to place an order today.

This, my friends... is a great great store. Please support them. they are a gem in this community.


And with the treasures that i acquired, both fromthe farmers market and the cheese and crackers store, i made....

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

4 med sized red pepper
3 cloves garlic
3 med sized tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 acorn squash
1/2 c cream
1 c water
couple T of olive oil
dashes of salt and pepper to taste

shaves of aged manchego and parmesean cheese

a dash of black truffle sea salt (or regular sea salt)

• Roast the red peppers over a flame til the outsides are nicely charred and store in a covered container until the skin starts to blister

Just Partially Charred

• Cut acorn squash in half and roast at 400, face down in a little bit of water
• Cut tomatoes into small wedges and sprinkle with kosher salt. roast in oven until the tomatoes are slightly wrinkly and losing water (if they get nice and crispy along the edges, even better)
• Chop onions into large pieces and sautee with olive oil and garlic until the onion is soft and semi translucent
• Scoop out the guts of the acorn squash, cut and peel the roasted peppers, add tomatoes and sautee briefly with the onions and garlic. Add half cup of water and simmer briefly
  
• Using a food processor or blender, puree the peppers, tomatoes, squash, onion and garlic mix until you reach a desired consistency. (i wanted it to be really creamy but my processor has its limits. chunky soups are delicious too)
• Put back into sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Add the remaining water and cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. for thicker soup, add less water. for more delicious soup, use a stock or broth of some sort... i had nothing so i just used water.
• Shave parmesean and aged manchego cheese and sprinkle over the hot soup and add a sprinkle of black truffle sea salt and enjoy with crusty bread.

Shaved Parm

Yum.....

I couldn't get enough of the soup so I used it as a base for my pasta sauce. Simmered it down a little with some regular store bought pasta sauce (i ran out of tomatoes :-( sadddd!!!) and added more shreeded cheese!!! and a pinch of black truffle sea salt!!!!!! yum. This was my delicious pre-bike ride dinner :-)

Pastaaaaa

Til next time-- eat well, drink well, live well!!!

Chocolate Biscotti

dark chocolate is one of my favorite foods. dark chocolate. I have an affinity for the slightly bitter but yet so subtly sweet and rich dark chocolate morsels. I love the way the pieces break off with a satisfying snap. The way that the small corner of chocolate melts on your tongue, and the armoa and flavor of the chocolate as it fills your mouth... nothing that I bake will ever.... ever be able to capture the deliciousness of the 72% cocoa dark chocolate morsels that I consumed in between baking this delicious chocolatey treat.

Enter: Chocolate Biscotti modified from here

Ingredients:

6 TBS butter, softened
2/3 C white sugar
2 oz melted and cooled dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate)
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped Ghirardelli dark chocolate

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 F
• Melt chocolate and let cool

Melty Chocolate mmmm

• Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy
  
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding vanilla and the cooled melted chocolate

Melty Remains

• Add flour and baking powder, add the chopped chocolate
• Chill dough for ~15 minutes.
• Divide dough into half and roll into a log and place on parchment paper, flattening the log before baking
• Bake 20 min and remove to wire rack to cool until the loaves can be handled
• Slice the loaves into 1/2-1 inch diagonal slices and bake on one side for 9 min. Turn slices over and bake again for ~9 min
• Devour. maybe save some for later in an airtight container.

Choco-scotti??

The fall is beautiful. i wish i had more time to enjoy the weather. my heart is a mess with the beauty around me.

Grass Gone to Seed

Sunset over the Prarie

til next time....

Lemon Toddy Pudding Cake

A storm is rolling in. And in between exams and presentations and talks, all i can think about right now is how the smell of the rain just before, during, and just afterwards is such a familiar and welcome smell. The winds are picking up and the trees with their still green leaves are rustling. it sounds reminiscent of the ocean waves hitting the shore. and it makes me want to go away from here and be near the water. i think i was born to be along the coast. i would die to hike along the shore and bike the winding roads and sit on the beaches just to watch the sun rise or set and hear the water.

A monstrous gust of wind blew a sheet of rain downwards. it's going to be an awesome storm... if/when it ever comes. the giant storms of the midwest! i love how they announce their presence with rolling claps of thunder and monstrous lightning. in the daytime, you can see the sky change. the wind picks up and you can smell it in the air. when the temperature drops, then you know you're in for a big storm, and you see along the horizon, the front line of the clouds rolling in. One time, i had to go and pay the vet at the clinic for pet sitting for me. a massive storm was coming. and you could feel it in your bones. the winds picked up to 40+mph and on the western horizon came the line of clouds. an army of angry rain clouds that looked like they wanted to drown you with their sorrows. it was beautiful. only because i made it into the car as the first drops of a torrential downpour began to splash down. driving was impossible so i just sat in the car. and waited til i couldn't wait anymore (meaning about 2 minutes). and i rushed home as fast as i could before the underpasses were flash flooded. funnel clouds were spotted, and the storm ended. boring boring boring... but so beautiful.

So, on to food. What is a toddy? so, according to wikipedia, a toddy is a hot drink, usually containing alcohol-- that you drink before going to bed... and/or in wet, cold weather.

A traditional Scottish recipe for a toddy goes as follows: pour whisky (a shot or so) into a mug and add boiling water. add a spoonful of honey or sugar, half a lemon slice, some cloves and a cinnamon stick and let brew for 3-5 min.

sounds delicious... in pudding cake form! this cake was slightly modified as i didn't have any whisky... i substituted it with some amaretto.... a sad replacement... but it was all i had.

Lemon (Toddy) Pudding Cake

recipe modified from here

1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup Scotch (i wish i had scotch... used amaretto instead... sadders)
1/2 stick butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons mild honey
1-2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup sugar

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a shallow dish.
• Whisk together soy milk, lemon juice, amaretto, butter, honey, zest, salt and egg yolks, then stir in flour.
• Beat whites until they start to get frothy, then add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time while beating, until whites just hold stiff peaks
  
• Stir some of the meringue into flour mixture to lighten the mix and gently fold in the remaining whites. Transfer to your dish and bake (in a water bath) until the top is set and golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes.

Something about the texture of this cake was a little bit off. maybe it was the use of soy instead of regular milk... or maybe it was the smallish size of the eggs i used... the flavor was marvelous! the slight sweetness from the amaretto and the amazing lemony flavor!!!! i just wish it was more... cakey on top and more gooey on the inside. maybe my baking dish wasn't right... maybe i should have whisked it better... but all i can think about when the lemon and the milk is mixed is how much it curdles.

maybe next time, i'll try it again with regular milk. and see if i can get the texture and consistency to be... smooth and creamy... so i can relaly enjoy it. with a splash of whisky... and maybe a real toddy on the side. :-)

in the mean time, here is a caterpillar. he's eating so he can turn into a big beautiful butterfly!





eat and grow!

Apricot Bread Pudding with Meringue

Bread pudding is... delicious. With the changing seasons, I find myself craving the warm and spicy and steamy sweet delicious foods. Summer flew by without much to say, but the crisp early morning air cries out for attention. not much to say besides life is stressful! but food makes it bearable :-)

Recipe modified from here

Meringue Bread Pudding

6 ounces sweet bread
1/2 c apricot jam
1 c milk
1/2 c heavy cream
2 eggs
2 T sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 T vanilla
1 pinch salt
Amaretto for drizzling

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice the brioche into rough slices.

• Spread each slice of bread with jam, layering the slices in a 2 quart souffle dish. Drizzle some amaretto over the slices
• Mix the milk, cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla, and beat until the egg is thoroughly incorporated. Pour the egg mixture over the brioche. Let sit for about 5 minutes to let the bread soak in custard
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
  

Meringue:

2 egg whites
2 T sugar
1 pinch salt

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place a shiny cookie sheet, shiny side down, on the top rack of the oven on the highest setting, and the other rack on the lowest rung.
• Beat egg whites and salt until fluffy. Slowly add sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.
• Spread meringue over the top of the bread pudding, making little peaks as you go

• Place pudding on lowest rack of the oven, beneath the cookie sheet.
  
• Bake the pudding for about 8 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown. Serve warm.

look at those peaks...

MMMmmmm

to be honest, i was a little bit disappointed with the bread pudding. Yes, it was warm and delicious... and yes, the apricot and the amaretto and cinnamon made an amazingly warm combination of flavors in your mouth... and yes... the meringue topping was just the perfect touch of fluffy toasty sweetness and the wine we drank was a great match for the dessert... but I wanted it to be more puddinglike... i wanted it to jiggle and ooze with cream and juices... but it didn't. it was dry. i guess next time, i'll just up the liquids :-)

but otherwise.... it was delicious.

Something like being alone

All year, I begged for a weekend to myself. And all summer, my weekends were immensely occupied by visitors, people, renovations, life, death, and the likes… it’s strange to be in a position where there is Absolutely. Nothing. To. Do. I finally got my wish and I finally have a weekend to myself, but was a weekend riddled with stress and stressors. It’s frustrating to be obligated to do things you never signed up for. To have that expectation from people to be here or there and back and forth at this time or that time… to be chained to your phone for fear you might miss something exciting, to be chained to your phone because someone will call you every hour and demand to know what your plans are for the next hour until they call you again and demand to know what your plans are for the following hour… it’s depressing. All I want to do (or... i guess have been wanting to do since february)… is sit by myself at home, in my home in my house with my cat and watch tv, eat ice cream, go for long bike rides for hours, browse recipes, cook delicious food, and be at peace with where I am.

I don’t mind being cut off from the world. Sometimes it is liberating to be distanced from technology. But there is a difference between distancing yourself and complete isolation. And what I experienced last weekend was something like complete isolation. Sitting in the confines of a little room in the confines of a house with no internet with no tv and not even able to watch dvds on my computer because I don’t have a cd drive on my computer (uh, my fault entirely on that one). I sat… in a cave. In a well lit cave… and it bothered me that i could not still for lack of things to do.

Books were strewn across the bed and floor, but my attention was so divided between wondering what to do next, wanting to leave and escape, and wanting to sleep and rest. And all this is the stress that is called "going to my parents’ house." I wish I was comfortable sitting and doing nothing. but the neurotic workaholic graduate student self that I am cannot sit for more than 10 minutes and not do anything. I am not one to sit idly. I can’t stand it. And yet, while I sat there wishing I could do nothing, there were so many things that I wanted to do… but alone, in the comforts of my own home, where things are placed in a familiar manner, where my cat will rub up against you and meow petulantly for treats.

I become a mess of nerves when I’m separated from my work with no agenda for my days.

one day... there will be a weekend to rest. and from the looks of it... it won't be til december... :-(

in the mean time... pictures from the gardens

Prairie grass gone to seed

Purple leaves

Bonsai Garden

More flowers

I promise (i guess to myself....), the next entry will be food. not that anyone reads this :-(

Prelim Madness

A PhD is a long road. how do you describe it to someone who's not pursuing the same degree in a similar field?

My friend has a great analogy for what med school is like: imagine you are a sponge. you are an eager and dry sponge waiting to learn and absorb everything that is taught to you. but you're standing in front of a fire hose and when classes start, that fire hose is turned on to full blast and there you are, a helpless sponge trying to absorb all you can... and when the spray is finished, you're clinging on to every drop you can.... so you can pass (pass mind you.... not pass with flying colors....) your exams, wring yourself out and stand in front of that fire hose again.

postgraduate education is a test of endurance, you're thrown into a pool and told to swim a million laps and when you're done, you exit the pool with an md, a jd, an mba... whatever. as an academic research graduate student, you're thrown into an ocean with maybe a small small flotation device that can barely keep you above water and you are told by whoever dropped you off in the middle of the ocean, "find your way to land" and they leave you. floundering, cold, alone, and very very hungry and sad...

yet we still... keep going... and we hit our milestones. and every milestone you hit is inspiration for everyone around you... except yourself... because you just spent the past month preparing and are too tired to really appreciate the joys of taking that next step.

(thank you PhD comics for figures!)

figure 1. styleized timeline of graduate progress

Figure 2. salaries :-(

in our department, the preliminary exam is where you present your proposed thesis work... for me, it was right around "friend from undergrad who didn't go to grad school shows of his/her new BMW" (fig 1). that's already happened to me but insert prelim exam there. we write and propose the work that we will be doing for our thesis research and present it to a committee of faculty who are there to judge you and your advisor and the project you are saying that you will do. mindyou, it's already been three years and you wonder... what the hell have i been doing this whole time... if i'm JUST getting around to putting my thesis project together.....???? and then you realize... it just took THAT long to even assemble a project that was worth pursuing. the previous years were spent adjusting to the lab, figuring out how to do things, figuring out what you're doing with yourself, doubting the fact that you belong in academia, questioning your career path, and being lost in the endless dark tunnel called "grad school."

it is a truly lonely and solitary endeavor... it's hard to tear people away from their research.. your future colleagues and friends... it's hard to network when people are ball and chained to their bench. but you find ways to meet fellow embittered grad students and you cope together in your jaded haze.... and you manage with your tiny salary (Fig 2). it's far from glamorous but it's worth knowing that you have flexibility to pursue your interests (as long as they're in line with your advisor's interests). remember... we're here to be life long learners and to know how to ask the right questions when given an impossible problem.

the impossible problem presented to me on Thursday: how can i get my thesis committee to pass me on my prelim?

i asked the right questions: what kinds of people are they? what time is the prelim scheduled? what are their interests? have i done my lit review? is my paper spell checked?

and i checked my materials, wrote up a protocol and began my experiment. which yielded amazing and delicious data points that were figure worthy (see below).

Peach Apple Walnut cake

1 cup diced gala apples
1 cup peaches (i had some fuzzy white ones)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
  
• Butter and flour 8x8x2-inch baking pan.
  
• Throw together cut fruit, sugar, butter and egg in large bowl.
  
• Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
  
• Add chopped walnuts, mix thoroughly. Transfer mixture to prepared pan.
  
• Bake for 35 min until tester toothpick comes out clean

so, the cake... smelled amazing. but i was a little saddened to see that it was a little too moist when we dug into it. sad. but tasty. (pictures to come soon)

i also made the salted caramel thumbprints and cut up some fruit.

results: pass.

the anxiety of presenting in front of four incredibly smart and competent individuals on a topic that they are relatively unfamiliar with, and convincing them that it's an interesting project... is almost unbearable.

however, when else would you get four faculty who are experts in their field, providing input and devoting all their attention on a student and their project all at once? it was almost magical... to be given their blessing, the encouraging words, and their smiles, to see their support and their suggestions...

so i guess it's time to START my research.... the past three years were only warmup.

Panna Cotta with Lemon Blueberry topping

I have never eaten panna cotta. Why I have never eaten or tired to eat panna cotta was always a mystery to me. Was it a texture thing? Was I afraid of what the consistency would be? Maybe it was because I never had cute glassware to put them in. People would post pictures of their panna cotta masterpieces in adorable glassware, the perfect snooth white gel overlayed with the perfect colorful fruit accompaniment, all set up with tiny matching spoon and cute napkins on a perfect platter, ready to be eaten. After browsing for years and seeing these pictures I decided 1. I NEED cute glassware! and 2. at this rate, a panna cotta would never emerge from my kitchen and I would be doomed to wonder for the rest of my life.

But I was invited to a dinner party. I had two hours. And I needed to whip up something quick and delicious. And what I had wanted to make would have taken a substantially longer time. So enter: Panna cotta! with a blueberry and lemon topping!

Blueberry Lime Panna Cotta

Panna Cotta
2 cups heavy cream (or half-and-half if you want to cut calories)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 packets powdered gelatin
3 tablespoons cold water

Lightly grease 8 ramekins or cups with oil.

In a large saucepan, heat cream and sugar until sugar fully dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

In a small bowl, combine powdered gelatin and cold water. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, after the gelatin has set, stir into the cream and sugar mixture. Stir until the gelatin completely dissolves into the cream.

Blueberry Lime Sauce
2 cups (1 pint) blueberries
2 limes
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

To begin, zest each lime. Make sure the zest is a fine zest. You may the slice the zest into smaller pieces with a knife if this is not the case. Take one of the zested limes and juice it. Set aside.


In a large saucepan, combine the blueberries, lime zest, the juice of one lime, and the sugar. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes to allow the blueberries to soften and release their juices. Stir occasionally. When cooked, add the cornstarch to the sauce to thicken.

Cheaters

Cheating is not good. The only way cheating can be good is if it is the form of an amazingly edible, delicious desert. Enter: Berry Trifle.

my go-to quick fix cheater dessert. it's light, fluffy, delicious, and fruity... a perfect summer dessert.

BERRY TRIFLE

8 in angel food cake
1 pack instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tub cool whip
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 pint black berries
1 pint strawberries
sugar

Save some blueberries and strawberries for garnishing :-)

• Let the cool whip thaw in the fridge for a couple hours
  
• Wash and cut strawberries and blackberries into small pieces (usually halves for the blackberries and eighths for strawberries), wash blueberries and toss in a large bowl.
  
• sprinkle the fruit with two tablespoons sugar and two tablespoons of water and mix
• Let the berries sit at room temperature for an hour or two until delicious juices start to come out
• prepare the instant pudding (directions were two cups of cold milk with a packet of instant pudding mix, let sit 5 min)
• while the pudding is setting, tear of large hunks of angel food cake and line a 8x12 pan
• scoop generous heaping spoonfuls of fruit over the angel food cake, letting the juices soak into the cake
• scoop the pudding over the fruit and cake in equally generous, if not more generous, heaps and smooth out to cover the entire cake

Hellooooo Pudding!

• over the pudding, scoop and smooth out the cool whip until the layer of pudding is no longer visible

There it goesssssss

Sea of Coolwhip

• wash the strawberries that were set aside for garnishing and slice thinly. decorate the cool whip, toss some blueberries on top, and refrigerate for hours.

Berry Topping... mmmm

• eattttttt
  

and because i am a glutton for fresh looking foods, here are more pictures :-)

Onions and cherry tomatoes for my stew

til next time, eat. a lot