I made this cake for Bryan for Valentine's Day. It is amazing. I would have taken pictures, but we ate it.
http://www.grist.org/advice/daughter/2009/02/12/index.html
Instead of cocoa powder on top, I just used more frosting, and sprinkled some flaked coconut on top. It is always appropriate to show one's love with chocolate.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Model PRC-12
Jeff and I bought a new percolator on January 27th. A Cuisinart Classic Percolator with "Traditional Stainless Steel Styling", a "Convenient Stay-Cool Base" and "Adapts from 4 cups to 12 cups". I am familiar with percolators since I had a nice percolator in college and we used it throughout the first decade or so of our marriage.
This Percolator, from it's "Stay-Cool" base to it's "Dripless Tapered Spout to its "Lock-Down Safe Cover" is a bunch of junk
No matter what I do, the resulting coffee tastes like warm water. Yes, I have referred to the enclosed Instruction Manual. As recommended, I now buy course grind coffee and increased the amount of coffee I use as outlined in the nice little chart on page 5 of the booklet.
I make 8 cups of coffee in the morning. (Sometimes Jeff and I drink it all, sometimes we don't.) With my drip pot, I used 1/3 cup coffee for the 8 cup mark. With this dumb percolator I started with 8 Tablespoons of ground coffee ( Mild Brew Strength) and have now increased the the recommended "Strong Brew Strength" of 16 T. for 8 cups of coffee. Who would think a coffee pot could take a whole cup of ground coffee and after perking, it would result in colored hot water? With the price of coffee, I might as well drive the 10 miles to South Main Street and buy ready made coffee at the drive-through Jitters stand.
I became so desperate this morning that I emptied the whole pot of just perked coffee into a large pyrex measuring cup and then slowly poured it back through the course ground coffee in the 'dishwasher safe coffee basket". Only slight improvement plus it was messy.
I just emailed Cuisinart. Anxious to hear what they say.
Oh, I should mention; this Cuisinart Percolator cost us $59.99 plus 5% tax.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Cheesy Question
Since the subject is cheese I have a question. What would you all do with some nice caraway gouda? Any ideas?
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Hooray for Cheese!
Bryan came across this website this morning. If you had any questions about which delicious Wisconsin cheese to pair with your favorite alcoholic beverage, this site will give you some guidelines: cheesecupid.com
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Lizard Ridge Hat
While I was in FDL for Christmas, I picked up some yarn and a pattern for a new hat. The pattern is called Lizard Ridge and it is so much fun to knit. The knitting store in Rockland has the same yarn, so I think I'm going to start knitting another one. The bumps are created by 'short rows', this is when you stop and knit back in the same place. I think maybe some sock and mitten patterns do this? Anyways, here are the pictures of before and after the felting process. And one of me wearing it while snowshoeing. It looks a little goofy, but it is warm!
No Potato Peel Pie
Last night I had Book Club at my house-an event preceded by deep housecleaning and several days of cooking. At the organizational meeting last August, it was decided that the meal should be simple and most foods "out of a can".
No one seems to be following that rule as at every hostess has offered two main dish choices and two dessert choices. I served two soups; White Bean Chili and Minestrone, with a Tossed Salad and Beer Bread. Four Layer Torte and Hawaiian Cake followed for dessert. I happily have lots of leftovers. I did not serve potato peel pie. I just couldn't think of a way to make mashed potatoes sweetened with beets palatable. *(see below for other offerings)
The hostess also gets to choose the book. I chose The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I read the book last fall and can't recall a book that I loved so much, well maybe the Harry Potter books or Chronicles of Narnia. It is a historical fiction love story but the main focus of the book is on the transformative powers of reading.
I am now totally obsessed with the Island of Guernsey and while I was showing Jeff some photos of it on YouTube he suggested our Book Club go there for a field trip. The Book Club thought this a good idea only if we could also stop in London since Juliet, one of the main characters, lived there for awhile!
I guess the Book Club is stuck in a food theme as next month the hostess picked, I Was Told There'd be Cake by Sloane Crosley
* The reason these ladies, all unknown to me except one before the club, didn't want to join the existing book club at the library is because they wanted to also enjoy alcoholic beverages while they intellectually discussed the books. So I served a Cranberry Orange Brandy Slush, Hot Cider with Cinnamon Schnapps and Hot Buttered Rum. With the exception of the Slush, all had non-alcoholic options for the two designated drivers.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
More Squash and No End in Sight
On Sunday, we made squash-based oatmeal cookies and squash-based muffins. (If you use squash, you don't need eggs! This is excellent for lazy people who want to wait as long as possible before going to the grocery store.)
Tonight, Bryan made squash gnocchi. They were delicious with parmesan, black pepper, and olive oil, and there are enough for lunch tomorrow as well.
All of our food seems to be yellow....
There's only about a cup of squash left from the giant one we roasted on Saturday (except the half that we froze already). Just five butternut and a small Queensland Blue left. We are hoping Bryan can pawn off a few butternut on some co-workers.
Tonight, Bryan made squash gnocchi. They were delicious with parmesan, black pepper, and olive oil, and there are enough for lunch tomorrow as well.
All of our food seems to be yellow....
There's only about a cup of squash left from the giant one we roasted on Saturday (except the half that we froze already). Just five butternut and a small Queensland Blue left. We are hoping Bryan can pawn off a few butternut on some co-workers.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Experimental Cooking Goes Right!
I know it will be such a treat for all of you to get a thorough description of how home-cooked meals happen at our house.
It's getting to be that time of year again, when winter squash seem to be reproducing on the counter (or decomposing, but that's another story). Bryan said on Thursday, when I brought home the most recent load of squash, that we absolutely must use some squash this weekend. We started with the oldest and largest, a Queensland Blue about six inches tall and fifteen inches in diameter, weighing maybe ten pounds. Bryan hacked it in half and scooped out all the seeds, and then it took an hour and fifteen minutes to roast it, and I browsed the internet to try to find a recipe I thought I'd read somewhere the day before, didn't find it, but did find a variety of other recipes.
(Concurrently: Bryan cleaned off all the squash seeds, boiled them for an hour or so, and toasted them with salt and oil for a tasty treat.)
We also have a build-up of other vegetables. While the squash roasted, we peeled and grated two parsnips, two carrots, and three fist-sized potatoes, and mixed them with a small minced red onion, about a tablespoon of dried parsley, and about half a teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. When the squash was done, Bryan mashed about a cup and a half of squashed and mixed it with all the grated veggies, then mixed in four pieces of fried, crispy bacon, crumbled, about a half cup of flour, and a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. Bryan formed the mixture into patties, put them on an oiled cookie sheet, and popped them in the oven to bake.
(Also concurrently: We had some cornmeal in the cupboard, and still plenty of squash. I made the Moosewood cookbook's cornbread recipe, except instead of an egg, I used about a cup of mashed squash, and instead of plain yogurt, I used French vanilla, since we had some.)
The veggie patties weren't getting firm in the oven, so Bryan pulled out the griddle, made more patties from the second half of the mixture, and fried those for maybe five minutes on each side. Then, we took the baking patties out of the oven, tossed those on the griddle, and put the fried ones in the oven to bake for a few minutes.
At the end of several hours, we sat down to our version of root vegetable pancakes (with sour cream) and cornbread. It was delicious and worth the wait. And, because we analyze this during/after every meal, here's what we'll do differently next time:
- we'll grate the veggies into a collander rather than a bowl, and press out some liquid
- we'll add more flour (maybe whole wheat?)
- we'll fry first, then bake
- we'll add just one parsnip (dominant flavor), and maybe a beet if one is available.
Don't you feel like you were here for dinner last night? Would you go nuts if you had to cook with me all the time?
It's getting to be that time of year again, when winter squash seem to be reproducing on the counter (or decomposing, but that's another story). Bryan said on Thursday, when I brought home the most recent load of squash, that we absolutely must use some squash this weekend. We started with the oldest and largest, a Queensland Blue about six inches tall and fifteen inches in diameter, weighing maybe ten pounds. Bryan hacked it in half and scooped out all the seeds, and then it took an hour and fifteen minutes to roast it, and I browsed the internet to try to find a recipe I thought I'd read somewhere the day before, didn't find it, but did find a variety of other recipes.
(Concurrently: Bryan cleaned off all the squash seeds, boiled them for an hour or so, and toasted them with salt and oil for a tasty treat.)
We also have a build-up of other vegetables. While the squash roasted, we peeled and grated two parsnips, two carrots, and three fist-sized potatoes, and mixed them with a small minced red onion, about a tablespoon of dried parsley, and about half a teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. When the squash was done, Bryan mashed about a cup and a half of squashed and mixed it with all the grated veggies, then mixed in four pieces of fried, crispy bacon, crumbled, about a half cup of flour, and a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. Bryan formed the mixture into patties, put them on an oiled cookie sheet, and popped them in the oven to bake.
(Also concurrently: We had some cornmeal in the cupboard, and still plenty of squash. I made the Moosewood cookbook's cornbread recipe, except instead of an egg, I used about a cup of mashed squash, and instead of plain yogurt, I used French vanilla, since we had some.)
The veggie patties weren't getting firm in the oven, so Bryan pulled out the griddle, made more patties from the second half of the mixture, and fried those for maybe five minutes on each side. Then, we took the baking patties out of the oven, tossed those on the griddle, and put the fried ones in the oven to bake for a few minutes.
At the end of several hours, we sat down to our version of root vegetable pancakes (with sour cream) and cornbread. It was delicious and worth the wait. And, because we analyze this during/after every meal, here's what we'll do differently next time:
- we'll grate the veggies into a collander rather than a bowl, and press out some liquid
- we'll add more flour (maybe whole wheat?)
- we'll fry first, then bake
- we'll add just one parsnip (dominant flavor), and maybe a beet if one is available.
Don't you feel like you were here for dinner last night? Would you go nuts if you had to cook with me all the time?
Monday, January 5, 2009
Darleen Still Whining
I just looked my birthday up and I was born on a Wednesday. You know, "Wednesday's child is full of woe". Well, my woe has lifted a little... I am finally feeling better, coughing less and my nose is no longer running away. BUT NOW Rachel and Jeff both have it. I sure hope they get better faster than I did. The cool water vaporizer has been running non-stop for weeks now and will probably run a few weeks more.
My biggest problem right now is I can't get out of the house. Well, I could if I wasn't afraid of falling. The back porch, including the steps are a glare of 1" thick ice. The sidewalks and driveway are all covered in ice. Smooth, clear, nice ice. I could skate if I still skated. The neighbor behind me worked on his driveway ice yesterday and again this morning. I have seen him fall already 3 times and it's not like I just spend all my time watching him. I just glance up and there he is falling again. Even the snow looks like it is covered in ice. (Jeff actually tried to "plant" our Christmas tree in a large snowbank yesterday and the trunk kind of bounced off the icy snow.)
I'm thankful I don't have to go anywhere today but tomorrow is another story. I may have to slide carefully across the back porch out to the steps, try sit down carefully and bump down the 3 steps on my bottom. I might bet a little wet and cold but that way if I slip, I will already be down! Then to get to the garage.... hum. I will have to think about that.
My biggest problem right now is I can't get out of the house. Well, I could if I wasn't afraid of falling. The back porch, including the steps are a glare of 1" thick ice. The sidewalks and driveway are all covered in ice. Smooth, clear, nice ice. I could skate if I still skated. The neighbor behind me worked on his driveway ice yesterday and again this morning. I have seen him fall already 3 times and it's not like I just spend all my time watching him. I just glance up and there he is falling again. Even the snow looks like it is covered in ice. (Jeff actually tried to "plant" our Christmas tree in a large snowbank yesterday and the trunk kind of bounced off the icy snow.)
I'm thankful I don't have to go anywhere today but tomorrow is another story. I may have to slide carefully across the back porch out to the steps, try sit down carefully and bump down the 3 steps on my bottom. I might bet a little wet and cold but that way if I slip, I will already be down! Then to get to the garage.... hum. I will have to think about that.
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