Managing My Own Expectations

I keep putting off writing here because I Need To Find The Time To Write Something Awesome.  Today I remembered that two of the blogs I really Love Reading sometimes just put up a sentence or two with a picture, a quick story, or something really simple.  Thank you, ladies.  I actually love reading those posts, and now am inspired by you to post some really cool pictures I took the other week.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Jellyfish at Underwater Adventures in the Mall of America:

Oooooooooooooo!!!!

Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

Edward, no!

Geeked Out Barbecue

 

Last Sunday I went to a really great barbecue at the home of a lovely man named Neil Gaiman.  The food and company were wonderful and his home and dogs and cats are beautiful. White German Shepherd, Lola, was especially cute after a roll in the mud.  Of course, I may think so because I didn't have to bathe her afterward.

Neil showed us around his garden, where the oregano was taking everything over, so a bunch of it met its fate between the briquettes and the chicken on the grill that evening where their smoke made our meal even more delicious.  I learned about garlic sprouting little garlicky bulbs way up on their  shoots to reseed themselves, and I learned that asparagus, when left alone, becomes an amazing, Seussian bush taller than I, that looks not unlike a giant runaway dill plant.

Then we all went down to see the bees.  Our friend Sharon keeps Neil's bees, and donned her bee suit along with me.  Not everyone wore one, but I can't figure out why - they're super sexy.

Dig my red Wellies, too.  

I had ankle socks and low top Chucks, but apparently bees are ankle stingers, so I opted for the borrowed boots as well.  Thank you, Lorraine.

We went down to the hives and I learned a lot about bees.  (They will - and did - eat honey right out of your hand!)  Sharon and Neil selected a comb to bring back up to the house, and my un-bee-suited husband, Bill carried it back up the hill for us.

We were told this side looked pretty much like a perfect comb.  Isn't it pretty?

  

This side, obviously, not so much, but doesn't Bill look like a kid showing off his 4-H project?!  CUTE!

Back up at the house, we unsuited (DAMN, bee suits are hot) and were handed plastic spoons.  If you ever get the chance to eat honey this way, please take it.  It's amazing.  There were little dark spots that were actually little pockets of pure pollen.  It took a little thinking, but Bill eventually came up with what they tasted like: artichoke.  Oh, man.

 L to R: Me, Neil, Kevin Murphy and Bill dig in with some new friends.  

Woodsman Hans gets a beer in the background.

 

See the little dark orange hexagons in the bottom right of the liquid honey?  That the pollen. 

We watched a storm roll in and when it started to rain, we took a tour of the house, leaving the two chickens on the grill with a can of Strongbow up each of their arses and a huge bundle of flowering oregano beneath them, lending their delicious smoke to the smell of the rain.  The house, as you can imagine was beautiful and full of amazing things. 

The tour and the rain stopped around the same time -- though not exactly, as some of the brave souls finished cooking rounds of the zucchini-the-size-of-my-calf from the garden on the grill along with the chickens and the heads of romaine in the end moments of the rain.  The meal, which also included grilled eggplant, fruit salad and bison sausages, was delicious.  It also included a fantastic potato salad that I had to ask the recipe for.  And here it is:

This is a rustic dish, and you should use proportions that please you.  I had left over onions, bacon and dressing when I made the potato salad.  The night I made this, I put the extra onions and bacon on the hot dogs we were having, and today I used the leftover dressing for a chicken pasta salad with grapes, cucumber, almonds, dill and chives.

Neil Himself's Warm Potato Salad, as interpreted by me:

Red Potatoes, whole or halved if bigger than a tennis ball.

1 cup plain yogurt

2 TBS mayonnaise 

1 TBSish lemon juice

Bacon

Onion, large diced

Boil potatoes, skin on, til fork tender

Cook the bacon til crisp, drain on paper towels and eat at least three strips while cooking

Cook the onions in the bacon fat

Combine yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, bacon fat and onions in a bowl/measuring cup

Pour dressing over warm potatoes, crumble in bacon, stir.

The next day, I was advised by Neil's amazing assistant, Fabulous Lorraine, to fry up the leftovers if you have any.  I did, and I topped them with fried eggs.  Yeah.

Dice up the leftovers.

Fry them. (I used butter and olive oil)

Fry two eggs and put them on top.  Looks like I had a strip of bacon to crumble on top, too.

I call this "Next Dress Size Up Hash"

We were also served three different kinds of pie purchased at the local farmer's market and vanilla frozen custard.  Good thing, because by the time dessert came around, only a few of the Blueberry White Chocolate Ginger Cookies (from EatingWell) I brought were left, as they had been snacked upon in the kitchen all day.   

These were the first thing I cooked in my new oven (learning that it runs 25 degrees hot). I added a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger to that recipe, and will do so again!!

Cookies:

Pretty ingredients

Ready for the oven.

I keep crystalized ginger, dried blueberries and white chocolate chips in the cupboard at all times so I can make these super easy, delicious and impressive cookies any time.

To close this post, I will leave you with a picture of our merry band outside, marveling, snapping pictures and making internet meme references....

...of the double rainbow that we were blessed with that day.

I know what it means.

Aaaaaaand we're back.

Hi.  I missed you.

I've done a lot of things in the past little while,  and I'm going to tell you all about them.  Let's start with the move.  I moved from here: 

My last meal cooked in this house was blueberry pancakes.  It looked like this, because all the utensils were packed, and I needed to use a plastic butter knife instead of a spatula:

I moved to here:

Immediately afterward, this happened.  Can't be a coincidence.

My first meal cooked in my new kitchen (with a gas stove, hallelujah) was a chorizzo, spinach and gouda scramble:

There's more.  Lots more.  And I'll tell you all about it.

You were gone....

I'm blogging inefficiently from my iPhone to let you know that I have no abandoned you. I miss you, blog, but in the past two weeks I've packed up my entire house, moved one town over, gone out to dinner and drinks, seen Wait Wait Don't Tell Me live, flown with my family to Columbus, Ohio, driven to Wheeling, West Virginia where I stayed in a 6 bedroom cabin with 16 family members (the four of us sleeping in one room for a week), Seen Twilight: Eclipse on opening night in the middle of nowhere, driven back to Columbus, flown back to Minneapolis, and am now on day one and a half of unpacking the new house.

In all that time, I have of course eaten a lot, and unfortunatly only cooked a little - great movement like this often involves processed and packaged foods. As soon as my kitchen is set up, and I locate my Apple AirPort so I can use my computer, I'll tell you more and post some pictures.

Know that I've been thinking about you and missing you, blog, and I'll be back as soon as I can.

Love,
V

Greens and Eggs for Breakfasts

I've been way into greens for breakfast for a while now.  My favorite so far has been sauteed shallots, garlic and mixed greens (lots of spinach), served with goat cheese and  poached eggs on top.   

I make this for any meal of the day.  Sometimes I make a lemony vinaigrette for it, sometimes I add toasted pine nuts, sometimes I use scallions instead of shallots, sometimes I fry the eggs to make it go quicker.  I just learned that it's best to drain the finished greens by pressing them in a sieve before serving.  Otherwise you get a black/green puddle under your eggs half way through your meal.  Not terrible, but not very pretty.

Speaking of faster "melty eggs", I recently looked up ways to poach eggs in the microwave.  The ones pictured above are thusly cooked, but were my one and only success at this technique.  I love poached eggs, and really want a way to cook them that's faster than boiling water, adding white vinegar, putting the eggs in individual ramekins, submerging the lip and dropping the eggs in the water, and waiting four minutes.

I did these in a bowl with some water.  All other attempts exploded all over the microwave.  I like poachies so much, I think I need to invest in some sort of pan or microwave contraption.  Anyone out there have any experience with any of these?

Great Cookbooks: Eating Well Rush Hour

I'm always on the lookout for great cookbooks. This is the first in a series where I will share my favorites with you.

There are a few things I really really love in cookbooks: Lots of pictures, being arranged by season, and complete menus. This one has them all. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you (my dog-eared, ratty, well-loved edition of) The Eating Well Rush Hour Cookbook.

As is evidenced by this blog, I really love EatingWell. I have been reading EatingWell magazine since the very first issue. It all started with my mom's subscription, which taught us both that cooking in your home can produce complex, layered flavors, and helped us expand our palates and love of cooking. I got my own subscription in my adulthood, and have given it as a gift countless times ($15 for a whole year of a magazine that's basically a new cookbook in your mailbox every two months! What could be better?). After a while, I gathered up all the cookbooks I could. Even after they were out of print, I got them on E-Bay. This one is my favorite. Arranged by season, including whole menus and lots and lots of pictures, and comprised of meals that only take less than an hour to make, this is the cookbook that all others in my collection strive to beat. Most of my standby dishes are from this book - even if they are not kept with their menu cohorts. Most of my "cook something impressive, company is coming" meals come from this book - it's got whole, in-season menus!!

In the late 90s, I lost my beloved Rush Hour Cookbook to an apartment flood down my kitchen wall and into the cupboard where I kept my cookbooks. I contacted EatingWell to see if I could get another - I couldn't even find one on E-Bay at that time. Patsy Jamieson, then food editor and now contributing editor, searched around, found me one, taped some removed pages back in and sent it to me with a note inside:

This was like having a celebrity chef sign and send me something.  

I couldn't believe it.

I looked for it in the shop on the EatingWell website, and I do not see it for sale.  However, I do see I have some serious EatingWell cookbook catching up to do. (I only have 5 or 6 that were printed early on.  I'm sure you'll see them later in the Great Cookbook Series.) I did, however, find Rush Hour on E-Bay if you're interested.

Here is a list of my very favorites from this book, paired where applicable:

SPRING:

Risotto with Spring Vegetables

Pork Tenderloin with Keys Mango Sauce (the recipe linked here is a variation on the recipe in the book)

Braised Scallions and Peas

Salmon with Cucumbers and Dill

Crushed Red Potatoes with Buttermilk

Fresh Berry Gratin (possibly my favorite EatingWell recipe of all time)

SUMMER:

Swordfish Kebabs 

       (Not listed on the site. I'd get the book for this recipe alone.  I actually made it earlier this week!)

Bruschetta with Tomatoes

Grilled Sirlion Salad

AUTUMN:

Shrimp and Coconut Milk Curry  

Basmati Rice with Raisins and Cashews 

    (I substitute half the water for the rice with leftover coconut milk from the curry!)

I was inspired by this menu in April and made this.

Paella Rapida (I omit the mussels, myself)

WINTER:

Pork Medallions with Port and Dried Cranberry Sauce

Beef Tournedos with Gin and Juniper Sauce

Potato Galettes

Please try some of these out and let me know what you think.  I'm so happy to bring these older recipes out of the EatingWell site, and to share with you my love of this book.  

w00tstock. Three (five) hours of geeks and music (and food).

Hi, foodies.  I have a confession.  I'm not only a foodie.  I'm also a geek.  A nerd.  Often a spaz and a dork.  Sometimes even a dweeb.  I read David Eddings novels.  I like etymology.  My mom took me out of 3rd grade early one day to go to the opening day matinee of Return of the Jedi.  I carry a towel in my car, and not just because I have kids.  I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation every week while making tacos.  I played Diablo, Diablo II, WarCraft II, and Balder's Gate.  Before that, I played games on my ColecoVision and Nintendo 64.  Hell, I married the guy who played Crow T. Robot and Observer on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

None of that may make any sense to some of you.  Some of you already know.  One thing you should all know is that there is a show you should see, should it come to your town.  It is full of geeks, music, and runs about three (or five) of the funniest, most awesome hours evar.  That show is w00tstock.  And here are some pictures and clips.

Don't worry, foodies - There's cake - it's in the middle (and it's not a lie).  And I made cookies.  They're at the end.  You can skip down there if you just don't get it and/or care about the geeky stuff.  It's ok.  I won't judge and/or know.

So here are pictures and clips of what I saw last Monday at the Guthrie in Minneapolis.  It still geeks me out that my husband gets to do stuff like this for his job, and that I get to go along for the ride - my life is pretty surreal sometimes.  And awesome.

My Pass.  It's made of fabric and is a sticker!

Bill and some of the cast.  There was a lot of photobombing happening that night.  

This was sort of the mass photobomb.    

This clip is Paul and Storm introducing Len Peralta.  You should click that link and then click FlipFace and pay the man to make you one.  They. Are. Awesome.  Here's mine:

From this....

....to this.

...or this for Christmas.

Then I got bangs...

...and a new FlipFace (complete with necklace!)

OK, so that's Len.  Also in that clip above, is the CAKE from Celebration Generation. (See mass photobomb above, too.  Marie Porter, pastry genius and chef to the nerdy, is in the chef's whites in the middle.)  Backstage there were coffee brownies and chai blondies.  I bought the mix for the chai blondies - they have CAFFEINE IN THEM! And ARE AWESOME!!

She also inspired me to make these:

They're Rummy Bears.  

These little Gummy Bears are currently soaking up rum as I type this. 

More later on that.

Now, back to w00tstock. Here are some clips.

My husband, Bill, and Kevin Murphy invite Paul and Storm to the stage for a Sing-Along.  

Do you know the chorus?

The Whole Cast sings a generic National Anthem.

A w00tstock first.  

She said yes!

  

The big finale with the Dating Game Kiss at the end.

Trace Beaulieu, Kevin Murphy and Bill with Molly Lewis.

She plays the ukelele and writes songs.  And wants to have Stephen Frye's baby.

.

Here's Wil Wheaton wearing her shirt.

Here's Bill and the rest of the cast signing autographs.  

Yes.  After a FIVE HOUR SHOW, everyone signed autographs for 90 minutes.  

Bless you, Guthrie Staff, for not killing us all.

Wil Wheaton, Bill, Adam Savage and me.  

Dig my @rootsandzest tee shirt. 

You can get your own, personalized Twitter shirt from TinyRun.

I promised you cookies.  Here they are.  I made two kinds, but only took pictures of one.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate cookies.  Don't let the fact that it's a Weight Watchers recipe scare you.  They're awesome.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup natural peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's peanut butter with flaxseeds)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Instructions:

*Beat butter and sugars with a mixer until blended.   Add vanilla and egg; beat well.  Add peanut butter, beat until blended.  Divide butter mixture evenly between two bowls.

*Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.  Spoon half of flour mixture into one of the bowls of butter mixture; stir until well blended.

*Stir cocoa into remaining flour mixture; add to remaining bowl of butter mixture, stirring until well blended.

*Cover both bowls and chill at least one hour. (I did it overnight.)

*Preheat oven to 375F

*Roll peanut butter dough into 76 balls (1/2tsp works well for amount).  Roll chocolate dough into 76 balls.

*Gently roll together one chocolate ball and one peanut butter ball.  Place balls 2 inches apart on lightly grease baking sheets.  (Make sure to place them so you can see both sides.)

*Flatten cookies with the bottom of a glass or ramekin.

*Bake at 375F for 8 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

38 calories per cookie!

I also made EatingWell's Blueberry & White Chocolate Chunk Ginger Cookies, but I had to do it quick so my kids wouldn't see, and didn't take any pictures.  Sorry!!

I brought these cookies and some wine to the show.  For backstage, not for me in the audience.

The wine (Rootstock Sauv. Blanc from Trader Joe's, changed with a Sharpie) was gone by the end of the show.  Finished onstage by the cast. (photo by HellZiggy)

(Len Peralta, Bill, Me, Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton,  John Scalzi (foreground), Mrs. Wheaton,  Chris Wright.  Photo taken by Molly Lewis.)

The leftover cookies were brought to the lobby of the hotel where the cast was staying and enjoyed until 4am.

The End.