Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Cranberries Ahoy
So I stopped into the Winter's Farmer's Market (which is conveniently 3 blocks from my apartment, much like the Summer one is from my old apartment). I need to use up my $900 credit! So I spent $35 on lots of tasty things -- only to pick up three shifts. :-P So add another $200 to that credit...
In addition to all of the tasties I bought at my stand (two kinds of oranges, grapefruit, two kinds of cabbage, green beans, carrots, greens, shallots, potatoes and rutabaga) I bought some amazing looking Korma Kebobs at a butcher's shop and a pound of cranberries.
What does one do with cranberries? I keep meaning to get around to working with them, but Mister has always been of the opinion that unless I have a recipe and the actual intent to work with something I shouldn't buy it. But I can fill my OWN apartment with nommies!
I'm off to trawl the internets for cranberry recipes!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Gigs!
So I now have two part-time gigs. One, is that every Wednesday I help out at a farm stand in the Farmer's Market to the tune of $10/hour or its equivalent in vegetables. OM NOM NOM.
Also, I applied for, and got, a gig to make a vintage style dress for a lovely dude from Craigslist. He has a comedy act that involves dressing like Queen Elizabeth II, and his previous dress was a hacked together creation that is falling apart. So I'm going to work with him to create something beautiful and 50s style, and we'll probably work out some barter as he's a photographer and offered to shoot my wedding. Woot! I had completely forgotten about having to look into that!
I'm actually pretty excited to work on that dress, as it should be fun, and the guy seems awesome. We sent like 50 emails back and forth, and it should be an excellent collaboration. We're going to meet this Sunday to figure out exactly what we want to do.
Also, our band is now officially named: Ahab's Elephant. I've put in an application for this awesome seeming gig. An inn in Vermont will provide free room and board in exchange for musicians playing in their hall. So, hopefully they'll let us play!
Also, I applied for, and got, a gig to make a vintage style dress for a lovely dude from Craigslist. He has a comedy act that involves dressing like Queen Elizabeth II, and his previous dress was a hacked together creation that is falling apart. So I'm going to work with him to create something beautiful and 50s style, and we'll probably work out some barter as he's a photographer and offered to shoot my wedding. Woot! I had completely forgotten about having to look into that!
I'm actually pretty excited to work on that dress, as it should be fun, and the guy seems awesome. We sent like 50 emails back and forth, and it should be an excellent collaboration. We're going to meet this Sunday to figure out exactly what we want to do.
Also, our band is now officially named: Ahab's Elephant. I've put in an application for this awesome seeming gig. An inn in Vermont will provide free room and board in exchange for musicians playing in their hall. So, hopefully they'll let us play!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Easter
So Easter with my family did not happen as planned. It turned out that Mister and I got sick over the weekend. A quick jaunt to the doctor's today verified that we each had strep. This would be Mister's second bout of it in as many weeks, and my first lately.
Because of the lack of traveling, Mister and I had Easter at home. I've been pining for such feasts as my family always prepares, so I attempted to recreate it, with a fair amount of success!
Here is our lovely table set with the new china from my mother, Warwick AB9428, and a couple of vintage embroidered cloths. Mister and I had our dear friend M stop by to eat with us. Set on the table you can see: sliced ham, sliced sausage (it claimed to be kielbasa but it lied!), cottage cheese, butter, horseradish and beets, hardboiled eggs (green Americauna eggs, so they sorta look dyed :-P), and bread under the embroidered napkin.
The recipe I used for the horseradish and beets is this one. I only used 3 good sized beets in lieu of the 10-12 small ones they call for. In retrospect, I should have used far more horseradish than I used. Also, it's surprisingly difficult to grate! It flakes more than grates.
I wound up making close to 4 cups of horseradish and beets. AND I managed to do it without staining my kitchen counters, any cutting boards, or my hands! Victory!
When making the paska bread, I based it off of this recipe. I halved the recipe, but kept the same amount of eggs, added in craisins (I didn't have golden raisins on hand and I hate cooked dark raisins). I also didn't have sour cream, but I DID have that cottage cheese I bought... so I mixed a bit of cottage cheese with vanilla almond milk and a dash of white vinegar. I shaped it into a boule, not a ring. I also removed the handle of our small 2 quart saucepan to bake it. It also took it much closer to an hour to bake due to it's shape.
Here it is baking.
This is all that remains now! It was a success -- although it could have used a bit more sugar and perhaps another egg or two -- or maybe just the yolks for color? But it was a good substitute for paska bread.
Aside from that, two things remain regarding my Easter.
We bought a little pot of daffodils! When we bought it Saturday, it had no blooms. On Easter morning, it had 2. By that afternoon, it had 4. And it now has 6. It's a cute little plant.
I dyed my first yarn! Since I had to boil beets, I had all this gorgeous beet water. So I boiled some peruvian wool from knitpicks for about an hour, while I was prepping other things Saturday night. But when rinsing, it turned out to be yellow (it is much closer to goldenrod color than is evident in the picture). Who knew?
And that was my exciting Easter!
Because of the lack of traveling, Mister and I had Easter at home. I've been pining for such feasts as my family always prepares, so I attempted to recreate it, with a fair amount of success!
Here is our lovely table set with the new china from my mother, Warwick AB9428, and a couple of vintage embroidered cloths. Mister and I had our dear friend M stop by to eat with us. Set on the table you can see: sliced ham, sliced sausage (it claimed to be kielbasa but it lied!), cottage cheese, butter, horseradish and beets, hardboiled eggs (green Americauna eggs, so they sorta look dyed :-P), and bread under the embroidered napkin.
The recipe I used for the horseradish and beets is this one. I only used 3 good sized beets in lieu of the 10-12 small ones they call for. In retrospect, I should have used far more horseradish than I used. Also, it's surprisingly difficult to grate! It flakes more than grates.
I wound up making close to 4 cups of horseradish and beets. AND I managed to do it without staining my kitchen counters, any cutting boards, or my hands! Victory!
When making the paska bread, I based it off of this recipe. I halved the recipe, but kept the same amount of eggs, added in craisins (I didn't have golden raisins on hand and I hate cooked dark raisins). I also didn't have sour cream, but I DID have that cottage cheese I bought... so I mixed a bit of cottage cheese with vanilla almond milk and a dash of white vinegar. I shaped it into a boule, not a ring. I also removed the handle of our small 2 quart saucepan to bake it. It also took it much closer to an hour to bake due to it's shape.
Here it is baking.
This is all that remains now! It was a success -- although it could have used a bit more sugar and perhaps another egg or two -- or maybe just the yolks for color? But it was a good substitute for paska bread.
Aside from that, two things remain regarding my Easter.
We bought a little pot of daffodils! When we bought it Saturday, it had no blooms. On Easter morning, it had 2. By that afternoon, it had 4. And it now has 6. It's a cute little plant.
I dyed my first yarn! Since I had to boil beets, I had all this gorgeous beet water. So I boiled some peruvian wool from knitpicks for about an hour, while I was prepping other things Saturday night. But when rinsing, it turned out to be yellow (it is much closer to goldenrod color than is evident in the picture). Who knew?
And that was my exciting Easter!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Easter Festivities
I was telling my studio prof that I've been looking forward to April -- it is the month of tasty food. This weekend, Mister and I go to two Easter celebrations. Saturday is Easter dinner at my step-sister's house, and Sunday is Easter breakfast at my mother's house. Fast forward to NEXT Sunday, and Mister's mother and sister stop by for Pascha dinner. And then Mister's birthday is at the end of this month. Lots of tasty food!
I don't know what my step-sister will be serving, but Easter breakfast is highly proscribed. It's ham, kielbasa, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, horseradish and beets, and a rich, eggy, raisin-studded bread. So delicious. I dream of this meal all year. Luckily for me, I haven't had to deal with plaintive cries of "oh, you can't come home to do eggs?" as I've had to hear ever since I turned 18 and went to college. Since I left for college, I've never lived closer than 4 hours from my mother. No, I'm not going home to do eggs.
[I DID still have problems with mom concerning Easter. For some reason, she's convinced that the best way for us to get to my stepsisters is to go to my mother's house in Albany (3+ hrs), drive down to NYC with her (3+ hrs) and back. FYI, it's ALSO 3+ hrs to drive straight to NYC from Boston -- which is the option we've taken, and there are apparently hurt feelings involved. Wtf.]
Apparently for his mother's Pascha celebration, there aren't really hard and fast traditions like there are for my family. All that is required is lamb, which we are providing. The reason why it's at OUR house this year is because of his kid sister's boarding school. She only has the Sunday off, and rather than drive 6+ hours home and 6+ hours back, they are going to drive the 3+ hours to OUR house and back.
I'm honestly looking forward to roasting a lamb leg for the first time! Maybe next year we'll have a spit in the backyard... :-D
I don't know what my step-sister will be serving, but Easter breakfast is highly proscribed. It's ham, kielbasa, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, horseradish and beets, and a rich, eggy, raisin-studded bread. So delicious. I dream of this meal all year. Luckily for me, I haven't had to deal with plaintive cries of "oh, you can't come home to do eggs?" as I've had to hear ever since I turned 18 and went to college. Since I left for college, I've never lived closer than 4 hours from my mother. No, I'm not going home to do eggs.
[I DID still have problems with mom concerning Easter. For some reason, she's convinced that the best way for us to get to my stepsisters is to go to my mother's house in Albany (3+ hrs), drive down to NYC with her (3+ hrs) and back. FYI, it's ALSO 3+ hrs to drive straight to NYC from Boston -- which is the option we've taken, and there are apparently hurt feelings involved. Wtf.]
Apparently for his mother's Pascha celebration, there aren't really hard and fast traditions like there are for my family. All that is required is lamb, which we are providing. The reason why it's at OUR house this year is because of his kid sister's boarding school. She only has the Sunday off, and rather than drive 6+ hours home and 6+ hours back, they are going to drive the 3+ hours to OUR house and back.
I'm honestly looking forward to roasting a lamb leg for the first time! Maybe next year we'll have a spit in the backyard... :-D
Monday, March 5, 2012
Life is Busy
Man, who knew that classes could keep a person busy? Add in guest performing for a local symphony, applying to a local wind ensemble, and cooking tasty meals with friends, and you have a full schedule.
But yeah, my studio prof invited me to perform with the symphony that he's a member of. First concert was hard as hell as I didn't get the music and I sightread it for the two rehearsals I attended. I get the music for the concert at the end of this month this Thursday. :-P
I have a happy new reed that I made last week. I love having working reeds. The second clarinetist in orchestra sharpened my knives for me as I'm terrible at it.
The county wind ensemble is looking for oboists -- I've put in my application, and the conductor should be getting in contact...
Have I mentioned that I received venison from my dad? We just cooked some tasty venison steak tonight with brussel sprouts. So tasty. And on Saturday, Mister and I went to a local sausage maker and bought knockwurst, smoked Hungarian sausage and smoked Polish sausage. Add in my buddy Martin's fried cabbage, our mashed potatoes with cheese, sourdough bread with spread and lots of beer, and you have the recipe for an awesome night. Sometimes, food really is the greatest thing in life.
On the wedding front: the invitations are in, Mister and I are just hammering out the guest list. I think we're pretty close, although K, you know some of the problems. :-P I've also been poking some more at the dress and possibilities for shoes. The bandmaster of the group we want to hire is incredibly busy so hasn't gotten back to confirm details, but we're pretty sure that it'll work out. We still need to contact the caterer. We had a design session with our jeweler, and good news! The design I want, and the size that I need are in her stock selection. She just has to adjust the size slightly (from a 5.5 to a 5.25). Mister's ring requires a bit more. But knowing that mine'll be pretty cheap makes me happy.
And I think that's life!
But yeah, my studio prof invited me to perform with the symphony that he's a member of. First concert was hard as hell as I didn't get the music and I sightread it for the two rehearsals I attended. I get the music for the concert at the end of this month this Thursday. :-P
I have a happy new reed that I made last week. I love having working reeds. The second clarinetist in orchestra sharpened my knives for me as I'm terrible at it.
The county wind ensemble is looking for oboists -- I've put in my application, and the conductor should be getting in contact...
Have I mentioned that I received venison from my dad? We just cooked some tasty venison steak tonight with brussel sprouts. So tasty. And on Saturday, Mister and I went to a local sausage maker and bought knockwurst, smoked Hungarian sausage and smoked Polish sausage. Add in my buddy Martin's fried cabbage, our mashed potatoes with cheese, sourdough bread with spread and lots of beer, and you have the recipe for an awesome night. Sometimes, food really is the greatest thing in life.
On the wedding front: the invitations are in, Mister and I are just hammering out the guest list. I think we're pretty close, although K, you know some of the problems. :-P I've also been poking some more at the dress and possibilities for shoes. The bandmaster of the group we want to hire is incredibly busy so hasn't gotten back to confirm details, but we're pretty sure that it'll work out. We still need to contact the caterer. We had a design session with our jeweler, and good news! The design I want, and the size that I need are in her stock selection. She just has to adjust the size slightly (from a 5.5 to a 5.25). Mister's ring requires a bit more. But knowing that mine'll be pretty cheap makes me happy.
And I think that's life!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Food of Late
So Mister and I haven't really been eating much at home (as per usual...) but what we have made has been fun!
For Superbowl Sunday, during the halftime show, we made onion strings and fried kasseri cheese using the same breading. As my one Calphalon pan started smelling and spluttering while we were heating the oil, I pulled out my wok for this one. Man it's been awhile since the wok and I were friends!
I learned today that my new favorite quesadilla is: cheddar, spinach and sour cream on the side. OMG delicious. It reminded me quite a bit of fried pierogi.
We've had thawing since last Thursday stewing venison that we got from my dad this Christmas (I love that my dad now hunts!), so venison stew needed to be made. We based it off of a sausage soup that we'd made recently, which Mister apparently based off of goulash? Any way, it involved frying onions in olive oil and bacon fat (venison is very lean, so needs fat added), browning the meat (which was prechopped to a decent size! I didn't expect that), deglazing the pan with a splash of brandy, adding beef stock, carrots, potatoes and spices: bay, salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, cumin, coriander (for those not in the US, this is the seeds, not the leaves), tarragon and cayenne. I let it cook down for about 4 hours, adding in two other batches of potatoes, so that the finished dish was quite thick from disintegrated potato but still had potato pieces. Oh it was delicious. I served it with crescent rolls from my freezer.
I also made veggie stock today! I pulled out two bags of frozen veg bits from the freezer, one was all potato peels (from Thanksgiving) and one was celery, onion, carrot, parsnips, and a handful of other things. I'm too lazy to go see what I wrote down on the bag. :-P I added that plus a quartered onion and the remains of four heads of lettuce to water and pretty much the same spices as the stew. Oh, and red pepper flakes. I let that cook for about 3 or 4 hours, strained it, and bottled it. It made about 120 oz, split between three 44 oz jars, with enough headroom to let me freeze them. This is super exciting!
Today I also cuddled starter, as she was looking sad in the fridge, and quite deflated. I fed her, and she perked right up sitting next to the simmering soups! She doubled in 4 hours like a healthy starter should, so I started up a proof with a new recipe: I used 1 c. all purpose and 2 c. white whole wheat, a bit of powdered milk, a heaping tablespoon of honey, and about 2 c. filtered water. When I work with it tomorrow morning, I'll just use all purpose flour and probably mix in some dried cranberries. Perhaps I'll also try to add in a cinnamon-sugar swirl when shaping it? I'm so excited to do something beyond a plain sourdough!
Also, for my own benefit, here are some sourdough recipes from sourdoughhome.com
Pizza Crusts
Bagels
Blueberry Muffins <-- I would have made this tonight if I had eggs
Rolls
English Muffins
Kaiser Rolls
For Superbowl Sunday, during the halftime show, we made onion strings and fried kasseri cheese using the same breading. As my one Calphalon pan started smelling and spluttering while we were heating the oil, I pulled out my wok for this one. Man it's been awhile since the wok and I were friends!
I learned today that my new favorite quesadilla is: cheddar, spinach and sour cream on the side. OMG delicious. It reminded me quite a bit of fried pierogi.
We've had thawing since last Thursday stewing venison that we got from my dad this Christmas (I love that my dad now hunts!), so venison stew needed to be made. We based it off of a sausage soup that we'd made recently, which Mister apparently based off of goulash? Any way, it involved frying onions in olive oil and bacon fat (venison is very lean, so needs fat added), browning the meat (which was prechopped to a decent size! I didn't expect that), deglazing the pan with a splash of brandy, adding beef stock, carrots, potatoes and spices: bay, salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, cumin, coriander (for those not in the US, this is the seeds, not the leaves), tarragon and cayenne. I let it cook down for about 4 hours, adding in two other batches of potatoes, so that the finished dish was quite thick from disintegrated potato but still had potato pieces. Oh it was delicious. I served it with crescent rolls from my freezer.
I also made veggie stock today! I pulled out two bags of frozen veg bits from the freezer, one was all potato peels (from Thanksgiving) and one was celery, onion, carrot, parsnips, and a handful of other things. I'm too lazy to go see what I wrote down on the bag. :-P I added that plus a quartered onion and the remains of four heads of lettuce to water and pretty much the same spices as the stew. Oh, and red pepper flakes. I let that cook for about 3 or 4 hours, strained it, and bottled it. It made about 120 oz, split between three 44 oz jars, with enough headroom to let me freeze them. This is super exciting!
Today I also cuddled starter, as she was looking sad in the fridge, and quite deflated. I fed her, and she perked right up sitting next to the simmering soups! She doubled in 4 hours like a healthy starter should, so I started up a proof with a new recipe: I used 1 c. all purpose and 2 c. white whole wheat, a bit of powdered milk, a heaping tablespoon of honey, and about 2 c. filtered water. When I work with it tomorrow morning, I'll just use all purpose flour and probably mix in some dried cranberries. Perhaps I'll also try to add in a cinnamon-sugar swirl when shaping it? I'm so excited to do something beyond a plain sourdough!
Also, for my own benefit, here are some sourdough recipes from sourdoughhome.com
Pizza Crusts
Bagels
Blueberry Muffins <-- I would have made this tonight if I had eggs
Rolls
English Muffins
Kaiser Rolls
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Victory is...
... making a quesadilla with perfectly puffed up tortillas. Because you (hopefully!) toast one side, flip it, add cheese and fold. Toast the now exposed sides. If you've perfectly heated HALFWAY through a tortilla, it puffs up like a crazy thing.
Also I still need to post pictures and a final summary of how my vegan, gluten free cream puff expedition went. :-P
Also I still need to post pictures and a final summary of how my vegan, gluten free cream puff expedition went. :-P
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Bread and Life
WARNING: LONG RAMBLING POST AHOY.
I made a batch of sourdough the other day. Honestly, I was super nervous. All that confidence I had built making bread a whopping five times with my starter? Gone. I was unsure about how I was kneading it, unsure about the amount of flour, it wasn't rising well, I didn't shape it well, etc. etc. But it still came out quite tasty.
I'm currently toasting two slices to spread with peanut butter, and heating the kettle to try some Starbucks Via (instant coffee) that I got from a friend -- adding sweetened condensed milk to the mix. Is peanut butter normally quite goopy? I had to open a jar for the first time in about a year, as we're out of peanut butter, and when I was mixing in the oil, it seemed like there was too much oil! That the peanut butter was too thin with it added. Granted, it was also room temp and we keep our peanut butter in the fridge so that could have been part of the problem.
EDIT: The via is not bad. I added a big spoonful of sweetened condensed milk, some more sugar and it's quite palatable. :-P But there is still a bit of bitterness that is just pure Starbucks. I dont' know as I would buy via, but I'll sure take it for free from my buddy.
Speaking of room temp... my heat is mysteriously not on. The thermostat has been wonky (it's digital) and I'd noticed a few days back that the screen wasn't lit up, but it came back. Last night however, it was unlit, hasn't come back, and the heat is also not turning on when I'm pretty sure it should by now. Mister's also not sure if this is a problem on NStar's end, or if we need to call our landlord because the heating system is broken. I'm gonna have him deal with that, since I wouldn't know one way from the other, and NStar is in his name anyway.
Yesterday was the last day of classes, and a highly productive one at that. I had my Russian oral exam with a partner -- I wasn't the best, but I wasn't the worst. There was one awesome sketch that had my prof laughing the entire time. Couldn't understand a word of it beyond: "'Oh hey Ivan!' 'Do I know you?' 'It's Hamid, Sasha's my sister.' 'Oh I thought you were her friend.'" There was also a memorable bit where Hamid stood up to go, said good bye, and Ivan was like "wait a minute Hamid, I have something to ask you." I think he then asked if Sasha liked him, judging by the class's response, but I have no idea. The assignment was actually super hard: 12 questions with a partner, 12 each!, and you can't repeat questions. I honestly stumbled over some of the parts at the end, because I forgot to write down what I was to say and I never recognize the verb "to eat dinner". Never. So I'm like 'uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...' and my parter was like "dinner!" :-P
Then on to theory where I had a presentation. That went well. We had studied a few Bach fugues in class, and I found a fugue that was the inspiration for one of Bach's. Bach's is much better. :-P
In ear training, I gave my presentation Monday so I was all set.
And then before my 1:00 History class, I wrote a 5-page paper. I started it at 8:00, had three hours of classes, and finished at 12:34. Tada! I had been attempting to work on it Monday and Tuesday, and I had a mental block about it -- I have no idea why. I wrote a highly amusing "essay" at about 3 am while ridiculously frustrated, though. It begins with: "The Twelve Tables and the Magna Carta are both super awesome." You can tell that an essay is a winner, when it begins like that!
So I have two finals to prep for: my history final tomorrow at 11:30, and my Russian final Wednesday at 8:00. KILL ME NOW. Luckily, I've felt woefully unprepared for each Russian exam, and gotten As... so either she's a super easy grader, gives easy tests or I really know more Russian than I think I do (doubtful)... but yeah, I'm not expecting that test to go well.
I have a doctor's appointment today at 3pm which I'm super excited about. Not in the journey to the doctor's office, as it's far away, but that I get to talk to my doc about the problems I've been having. Yay!
I made a batch of sourdough the other day. Honestly, I was super nervous. All that confidence I had built making bread a whopping five times with my starter? Gone. I was unsure about how I was kneading it, unsure about the amount of flour, it wasn't rising well, I didn't shape it well, etc. etc. But it still came out quite tasty.
I'm currently toasting two slices to spread with peanut butter, and heating the kettle to try some Starbucks Via (instant coffee) that I got from a friend -- adding sweetened condensed milk to the mix. Is peanut butter normally quite goopy? I had to open a jar for the first time in about a year, as we're out of peanut butter, and when I was mixing in the oil, it seemed like there was too much oil! That the peanut butter was too thin with it added. Granted, it was also room temp and we keep our peanut butter in the fridge so that could have been part of the problem.
EDIT: The via is not bad. I added a big spoonful of sweetened condensed milk, some more sugar and it's quite palatable. :-P But there is still a bit of bitterness that is just pure Starbucks. I dont' know as I would buy via, but I'll sure take it for free from my buddy.
Speaking of room temp... my heat is mysteriously not on. The thermostat has been wonky (it's digital) and I'd noticed a few days back that the screen wasn't lit up, but it came back. Last night however, it was unlit, hasn't come back, and the heat is also not turning on when I'm pretty sure it should by now. Mister's also not sure if this is a problem on NStar's end, or if we need to call our landlord because the heating system is broken. I'm gonna have him deal with that, since I wouldn't know one way from the other, and NStar is in his name anyway.
Yesterday was the last day of classes, and a highly productive one at that. I had my Russian oral exam with a partner -- I wasn't the best, but I wasn't the worst. There was one awesome sketch that had my prof laughing the entire time. Couldn't understand a word of it beyond: "'Oh hey Ivan!' 'Do I know you?' 'It's Hamid, Sasha's my sister.' 'Oh I thought you were her friend.'" There was also a memorable bit where Hamid stood up to go, said good bye, and Ivan was like "wait a minute Hamid, I have something to ask you." I think he then asked if Sasha liked him, judging by the class's response, but I have no idea. The assignment was actually super hard: 12 questions with a partner, 12 each!, and you can't repeat questions. I honestly stumbled over some of the parts at the end, because I forgot to write down what I was to say and I never recognize the verb "to eat dinner". Never. So I'm like 'uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...' and my parter was like "dinner!" :-P
Then on to theory where I had a presentation. That went well. We had studied a few Bach fugues in class, and I found a fugue that was the inspiration for one of Bach's. Bach's is much better. :-P
In ear training, I gave my presentation Monday so I was all set.
And then before my 1:00 History class, I wrote a 5-page paper. I started it at 8:00, had three hours of classes, and finished at 12:34. Tada! I had been attempting to work on it Monday and Tuesday, and I had a mental block about it -- I have no idea why. I wrote a highly amusing "essay" at about 3 am while ridiculously frustrated, though. It begins with: "The Twelve Tables and the Magna Carta are both super awesome." You can tell that an essay is a winner, when it begins like that!
So I have two finals to prep for: my history final tomorrow at 11:30, and my Russian final Wednesday at 8:00. KILL ME NOW. Luckily, I've felt woefully unprepared for each Russian exam, and gotten As... so either she's a super easy grader, gives easy tests or I really know more Russian than I think I do (doubtful)... but yeah, I'm not expecting that test to go well.
I have a doctor's appointment today at 3pm which I'm super excited about. Not in the journey to the doctor's office, as it's far away, but that I get to talk to my doc about the problems I've been having. Yay!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Some Food Stuff
So today in Theory, the lovely girl who sits behind me had a present for me: Cranberry Marmalade! I told her I'd have to bring her some applesauce. Isn't that the sweetest thing? She said she felt like such a goof having it in her bag, and that it was a lame gift. In case you couldn't tell, we've bonded over food. She told me that I should bring her on my honeymoon to King Arthur Flour-land. So I'm currently making a batch of rolls to spread delicious marmalade upon. I have to report back, after all!
Update: verdict? OMG delicious.
Speaking of cranberries, this recipe for pickled cranberries sound intriguing. Just look at how pretty they are!
Also, tasty looking Chicken and Dumplings
Also a few ideas for wedding stuff.
Honey in a cute little jar as a favor! Love it!
Absolutely beautiful calligraphy on those envelopes. Must use...
And a cute looking Scarf Pattern.
Update: verdict? OMG delicious.
Speaking of cranberries, this recipe for pickled cranberries sound intriguing. Just look at how pretty they are!
Also, tasty looking Chicken and Dumplings
Also a few ideas for wedding stuff.
Honey in a cute little jar as a favor! Love it!
Absolutely beautiful calligraphy on those envelopes. Must use...
And a cute looking Scarf Pattern.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving coming up, everyone is posting the most delicious food recipes including myself!
I'll post what I've making to be involved with Thanksgiving for 22 people at a relative's house, and then post the links to what's had me drooling. All of the actual recipes will be at the bottom of the post.
A new recipe for Bourbon/Maple Pecan Pie.
I'm also making a pumpkin pie that my grandmother got out of the newspaper years ago (and still uses the bit of newsprint!). Note, I will be halving this recipe, as it makes two pies.
I will be making two batches of the rolls that my grandma always makes. They're remarkably similar to Parker House Rolls (by which I mean it's probably lifted), but they're called 60-Minute Rolls and came in a little booklet accompanying my grandmother's KitchenAid mixer. These rolls are absolutely delicious, and it wouldn't be a holiday without them. As a side note, when I called my grandma to get this recipe, she spent so long worrying about whether or not I was able to take it all down, if she went too fast, and to make sure to check the bottoms of the rolls as "sometimes the top gets golden but the bottom is all burned".
And Mister will be in charge of making some tasty tasty mashed potatoes with cheese and sage. We'll be doubling this recipe, and not using all of the liquid that it mentions as it gets a bit soupy that way.
Bourbon Maple Pecan Pie
One pie crust
One egg white, beaten [edit: I'm omitting this]
One pound Pecans
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup melted butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup real maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter or salted pecans)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Soak the pecans in the bourbon, stirring periodically. (I usually soak them for a couple hours, if I have the time)
Press pie crust into a pie pan. Coat the crust with a thin layer of the egg whites. This keeps the crust nice and flaky.
Beat the butter, sugar, and eggs together until they get a bit fluffy, it will still be pretty liquidy, but the mixture will be about 75% more volume.
Blend in the vanilla, salt, and maple syrup.
Leaving 1/4 inch from the top of the crust, put the pecans in the pie pan then add the syrup mixture over the pecans.
Cook for 45-60 minutes, keeping an eye on the pie. I’ve had widely varying cooking times with this pie. When most of the top is brown, and it seems pretty gelatinous, it is done. Be careful not to overcook and burn it.
Pumpkin Pie with Streudel Topping
-- 2 6-oz. graham cracker crusts (or use this recipex2)
-- 2 15-oz cans pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
-- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
-- 2 eggs
-- 2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-- 1 tsp. ginger (powdered)
-- 1 tsp. nutmeg
-- 1 tsp. salt
-- 1/2 c. brown sugar
-- 4 Tbs. flour
-- 4 Tbs. butter (or solid fat of choice)
-- 1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 425F.
Combine pumpkin, milk, egg, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Pour into crust.
Bake 15 mins. Remove pie and reduce heat to 350F.
Combine sugar, flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle over pie.
Bake 40 mins or until a knife comes clean when inserted into the middle.
Parker House Rolls disguised as 60-Minute Rolls
-- 4-5c. flour
-- 3 Tbs. sugar
-- 2 packets active dry yeast (2 1/3 tsp. yeast per packet)
-- 1 c. milk
-- 1/2 c. water
-- 1/4 c. butter
Combine 3 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast in bowl of mixer. Combine milk, water and butter in saucepan. Heat liquids over low heat until war,. ~130F. The butter does not even have to melt through.
On stand mixer, attach dough hook and bowl, and set to speed 2. Gradually add the liquid to dry ingredients. Mix 1 minute longer. Continue on speed 2, adding remaining flour 1/2 c. at a time until dough sticks to hook -- about 5-7 minutes.
Mix 10 minutes longer until dough is smooth and elastic.
Turn dough out into a greased bowl with a greased top. Let rise 15 minutes at 100F. (Note from grandma: she puts it in the oven on warm, but her oven's always warm because it has a pilot light so maybe your oven doesn't have a pilot...)
Turn dough out onto floured board and divide in half. Shape each half of the dough. (Note from grandma: I always make what looks like a crescent roll. I have a long end and short end and I roll them up. But the page has a lot of ways to shape it. I'll send you one because maybe you want it a different shape. I always do it a crescent, because I like the easy one. But I'll send you one.) After shaping, let rise again 15 minutes. (Note from grandma: I put the rolls on the sheet they'll bake on, and put it back in the oven to rise until it doubles. Put a little grease on the sheet before putting the rolls there. I put a sheet of foil over the top. When it doubles it's ready to bake.)
Bake rolls at 425F for 12 minutes or until done (Note from grandma: make sure to check the bottom of the rolls. And I bake them with the foil on, just so they don't get too dark on top. But make sure you check the bottom of the rolls, as sometimes it'll get too dark.)
When rolls are done, remove from tray and cool on a wire rack. (Note from grandma: I put a little butter or margarine on the top when they're done.)
Mashed Potatoes with Sage and White Cheddar Cheese
-- 4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2 cubes
-- 1/4 c. butter
-- 2 Tbs. + 1 tsp. minced fresh sage
-- 3/4 c. whipping cream
-- 3/4 cup whole milk
-- ~9 oz. coarsely grated sharp white cheddar cheese
Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbs. sage; stir unti butter begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add cream and milk; bring to simmer.
Drain potatoes; return to pot. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates. Add cream mixture; mash potatoes. Stir in 1 3/4 c. cheese. Season potatoes with salt and pepper. Transfer to buttered 8- to 10- cup baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. cheese and 1 tsp. sage. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with plastic. Chill.)
Preheat oven to 375F. Bake potatoes uncovered until heated through and golden brown, about 45 minutes.
N.B. I'm pretty sure Mister just makes super cheesy potatoes without baking them.
Oat and Linseed Sourdough Bread
Nutmeg/Maple Cream Pie
creamy Maple Apple Pie
Potatoes Romanoff
I'll post what I've making to be involved with Thanksgiving for 22 people at a relative's house, and then post the links to what's had me drooling. All of the actual recipes will be at the bottom of the post.
A new recipe for Bourbon/Maple Pecan Pie.
I'm also making a pumpkin pie that my grandmother got out of the newspaper years ago (and still uses the bit of newsprint!). Note, I will be halving this recipe, as it makes two pies.
I will be making two batches of the rolls that my grandma always makes. They're remarkably similar to Parker House Rolls (by which I mean it's probably lifted), but they're called 60-Minute Rolls and came in a little booklet accompanying my grandmother's KitchenAid mixer. These rolls are absolutely delicious, and it wouldn't be a holiday without them. As a side note, when I called my grandma to get this recipe, she spent so long worrying about whether or not I was able to take it all down, if she went too fast, and to make sure to check the bottoms of the rolls as "sometimes the top gets golden but the bottom is all burned".
And Mister will be in charge of making some tasty tasty mashed potatoes with cheese and sage. We'll be doubling this recipe, and not using all of the liquid that it mentions as it gets a bit soupy that way.
Bourbon Maple Pecan Pie
One pie crust
One egg white, beaten [edit: I'm omitting this]
One pound Pecans
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup melted butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup real maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter or salted pecans)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Soak the pecans in the bourbon, stirring periodically. (I usually soak them for a couple hours, if I have the time)
Press pie crust into a pie pan. Coat the crust with a thin layer of the egg whites. This keeps the crust nice and flaky.
Beat the butter, sugar, and eggs together until they get a bit fluffy, it will still be pretty liquidy, but the mixture will be about 75% more volume.
Blend in the vanilla, salt, and maple syrup.
Leaving 1/4 inch from the top of the crust, put the pecans in the pie pan then add the syrup mixture over the pecans.
Cook for 45-60 minutes, keeping an eye on the pie. I’ve had widely varying cooking times with this pie. When most of the top is brown, and it seems pretty gelatinous, it is done. Be careful not to overcook and burn it.
Pumpkin Pie with Streudel Topping
-- 2 6-oz. graham cracker crusts (or use this recipex2)
-- 2 15-oz cans pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
-- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
-- 2 eggs
-- 2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-- 1 tsp. ginger (powdered)
-- 1 tsp. nutmeg
-- 1 tsp. salt
-- 1/2 c. brown sugar
-- 4 Tbs. flour
-- 4 Tbs. butter (or solid fat of choice)
-- 1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 425F.
Combine pumpkin, milk, egg, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Pour into crust.
Bake 15 mins. Remove pie and reduce heat to 350F.
Combine sugar, flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle over pie.
Bake 40 mins or until a knife comes clean when inserted into the middle.
Parker House Rolls disguised as 60-Minute Rolls
-- 4-5c. flour
-- 3 Tbs. sugar
-- 2 packets active dry yeast (2 1/3 tsp. yeast per packet)
-- 1 c. milk
-- 1/2 c. water
-- 1/4 c. butter
Combine 3 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast in bowl of mixer. Combine milk, water and butter in saucepan. Heat liquids over low heat until war,. ~130F. The butter does not even have to melt through.
On stand mixer, attach dough hook and bowl, and set to speed 2. Gradually add the liquid to dry ingredients. Mix 1 minute longer. Continue on speed 2, adding remaining flour 1/2 c. at a time until dough sticks to hook -- about 5-7 minutes.
Mix 10 minutes longer until dough is smooth and elastic.
Turn dough out into a greased bowl with a greased top. Let rise 15 minutes at 100F. (Note from grandma: she puts it in the oven on warm, but her oven's always warm because it has a pilot light so maybe your oven doesn't have a pilot...)
Turn dough out onto floured board and divide in half. Shape each half of the dough. (Note from grandma: I always make what looks like a crescent roll. I have a long end and short end and I roll them up. But the page has a lot of ways to shape it. I'll send you one because maybe you want it a different shape. I always do it a crescent, because I like the easy one. But I'll send you one.) After shaping, let rise again 15 minutes. (Note from grandma: I put the rolls on the sheet they'll bake on, and put it back in the oven to rise until it doubles. Put a little grease on the sheet before putting the rolls there. I put a sheet of foil over the top. When it doubles it's ready to bake.)
Bake rolls at 425F for 12 minutes or until done (Note from grandma: make sure to check the bottom of the rolls. And I bake them with the foil on, just so they don't get too dark on top. But make sure you check the bottom of the rolls, as sometimes it'll get too dark.)
When rolls are done, remove from tray and cool on a wire rack. (Note from grandma: I put a little butter or margarine on the top when they're done.)
Mashed Potatoes with Sage and White Cheddar Cheese
-- 4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2 cubes
-- 1/4 c. butter
-- 2 Tbs. + 1 tsp. minced fresh sage
-- 3/4 c. whipping cream
-- 3/4 cup whole milk
-- ~9 oz. coarsely grated sharp white cheddar cheese
Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbs. sage; stir unti butter begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add cream and milk; bring to simmer.
Drain potatoes; return to pot. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates. Add cream mixture; mash potatoes. Stir in 1 3/4 c. cheese. Season potatoes with salt and pepper. Transfer to buttered 8- to 10- cup baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. cheese and 1 tsp. sage. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with plastic. Chill.)
Preheat oven to 375F. Bake potatoes uncovered until heated through and golden brown, about 45 minutes.
N.B. I'm pretty sure Mister just makes super cheesy potatoes without baking them.
Oat and Linseed Sourdough Bread
Nutmeg/Maple Cream Pie
creamy Maple Apple Pie
Potatoes Romanoff
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Pictures!
R, you must have been pulling your hair out with my lack of pictures, the number of times you've yelled at me for it! (Oh I still forgot to photograph blanket shawl, but I will do that later.)
A while back now, I made a whole bunch of turmeric-colored pasta. So tasty! (Although the turmeric was kinda funny...) But it turned out that stereotypical 70s mustard yellow color, which I love! And yes, that is a trombone slide used as a drying rack.
That first night I served it with olive oil and cheese.
The second time (after I froze the pasta), I cooked the pasta with frozen peas, fried up some sausage and served it all with feta on top. Super tasty!
And me being crazy! I have a lot of cleaning to do today (note my lack of doing it right now :-P), I haven't showered yet, and mysteriously wound up watching a whole bunch of youtube videos from an Indonesian Muslim girl on wrapping hajibs in pretty styles. (That girl is beautiful omg) Since I'm too lazy to pin it in place, I just wrapped the ends of this turban underneath itself and it's been holding out for about 3 hours. I have to say, my head is warm! (Considering my hands, feet and nose are cold, I like this.) I've always been super jealous of those girls that wear headcoverings, mostly because I'm really lazy about my hair. Black girls, Muslim girls and Christians "dressing plain" often wear head coverings, and I've always felt super selfconscious whenever wearing just a bandana even. I don't see myself wearing this outside of the house, but it's fun to play with.
Also on the line of turbans, check out this amazing pic:
That is who I want to be when I grow up! Her name is Beatrix Ost and the pic is from Advanced Style.
A while back now, I made a whole bunch of turmeric-colored pasta. So tasty! (Although the turmeric was kinda funny...) But it turned out that stereotypical 70s mustard yellow color, which I love! And yes, that is a trombone slide used as a drying rack.
That first night I served it with olive oil and cheese.
The second time (after I froze the pasta), I cooked the pasta with frozen peas, fried up some sausage and served it all with feta on top. Super tasty!
And me being crazy! I have a lot of cleaning to do today (note my lack of doing it right now :-P), I haven't showered yet, and mysteriously wound up watching a whole bunch of youtube videos from an Indonesian Muslim girl on wrapping hajibs in pretty styles. (That girl is beautiful omg) Since I'm too lazy to pin it in place, I just wrapped the ends of this turban underneath itself and it's been holding out for about 3 hours. I have to say, my head is warm! (Considering my hands, feet and nose are cold, I like this.) I've always been super jealous of those girls that wear headcoverings, mostly because I'm really lazy about my hair. Black girls, Muslim girls and Christians "dressing plain" often wear head coverings, and I've always felt super selfconscious whenever wearing just a bandana even. I don't see myself wearing this outside of the house, but it's fun to play with.
Also on the line of turbans, check out this amazing pic:
That is who I want to be when I grow up! Her name is Beatrix Ost and the pic is from Advanced Style.
Honey
Is it weird that I prefer when my honey crystallizes? It's currently in a quart glass jar, as it had started both crystallizing and eating through the carton it came in a while back. But in a non-disintegrating container, I prefer it crystallized as it makes it that much easier to scoop a spoonful out for tea without getting honey absolutely everywhere.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Last Post for October! Household Updates
We had our first snow this past weekend! It snowed a little bit Friday night (it was mostly rain -- horrible, cold, grey rain), and Saturday, it snowed enough that we had our first snow plows. That's right, we had 2" of snow stick to the ground. It of course melted when the sun came out Sunday :-P. Apparently, there are hundreds of homes without power due to the snow. Say what? How can NO ONE have been prepared for snow in October? Seriously folks, it ain't hard. It's kinda a fact of life when you live in the north east US. If you tried to pull that kind of thing in Syracuse or Buffalo they'd laugh you out of town. But that's another story. Mister and I also only turned our heat on the day before any snow hit. We're just awesome like that. :-D
************
I started working on the muslin for my wedding dress. Let's just say that I suck at pleats and measuring the amount of fabric required. At one point, I threw the thing down and told Mister I was done. When I explained that it was too big, he inquired further.
Mister: Well, how big is it supposed to be?
Me: Me-sized.
Mister: How big is it?
Me: (*holds out hands 3' apart)
Mister: You could fit two of you in that!
I'm pretty sure it's because I think it requires three inches of fabric to make one inch of pleated fabric, and it winds up only needing two inches of fabric. But that's just my suspicion. I'm now tacking down pleats and seeing what I've got left after that.
Thankfully, this is the hardest part I think... It's a pleated bodice that connects to a fitted waist, and a full skirt that goes to just below the knee. There will be additional tricksy-ness for the actual dress as I'm doing super cute things with... uh... pleats... (maybe I should rethink :-P)
************
Basil and Pepper are cuddling in the kitchen currently and I may actually get more peppers. I kept meaning to bring Pepper in, and forgetting, and when Sunday, after the snow melted and I saw Pepper acting so happy I figured I'd bring him in. He has little pepper plants set! We'll see how this goes.
************
Still haven't heard from L about the money she owes us. We forgot to call her last Friday, so I've reminded Mister to call her and let her know that we're filing papers tomorrow. (It was supposed to be today.)
************
Bumped into a friend Saturday, as she was on her way back from picking up her sister at the train station. Wound up grabbing a meal with them, and while waiting for a table, it came up that my friend, M, had never seen Dirty Dancing. As this cannot be born, a movie night was had on Sunday after she got out of gamelan practice. Mister made his awesome Boeuf Bourgignon and we had goat cheese of some variety. M cannot have wheat, gluten, cow milk products, or chicken. Mister and I have rolled with this and we often cook delicious things for her (I made her cake for her birthday last week 'cause I rock ;-) ). Yet, every single time we cook something that we find quite obvious and simple (chili, beef stew, cabbage and bean soup, rice flour cake, etc.), she always seems quite surprised and shocked that we've a) cooked for her and b) found something delicious she can eat. Mister even commented to me last night: 'I think she doesn't really cook much or eat much variety...'. Which is quite probably true. I think what makes it perhaps different is that we're not going out and buying gluten-free wanna-be-wheat products or vegan cheese or what-have-you. Now, these are still quite simple meals -- I wouldn't call chili difficult in any sense of the word -- but perhaps it's something that she never thinks of? I dunno. Extrapolating with too few data points.
************
Had another friend, M (too many Ms!), over Saturday night for cards, and the conversation turned to reed making. At which point he proclaimed that it probably wasn't too hard and he could make them. I immediately pulled my kit out and put him to the test. He managed to make a functioning (not perfect) reed in 30 mins, and snapped two others due to a) not soaking b) not sharpening the knife often enough or c) not appreciating the delicate nature of cane. I call that a success. He can work in my reed sweatshop ANY time! :-D
************
Mister and I realized something last night: half of the reason why the kitchen hadn't been getting clean of late is because we kept trying to say it was this person's job or that person's job. When really, we work better when the two of us are in there, and not getting in each other's way. He was cooking and I was washing dishes, and washing what he needed, and cleaning the counter space that he needed -- when we both try to wash, or both clean, we wind up sniping at each other because we work quite differently, yet similarly in one way: we both are brusque and demanding when in work-mode. This has led to quite a few exciting fights.
************
I'll also post today on school updates, as I haven't been posting much of late.
************
I started working on the muslin for my wedding dress. Let's just say that I suck at pleats and measuring the amount of fabric required. At one point, I threw the thing down and told Mister I was done. When I explained that it was too big, he inquired further.
Mister: Well, how big is it supposed to be?
Me: Me-sized.
Mister: How big is it?
Me: (*holds out hands 3' apart)
Mister: You could fit two of you in that!
I'm pretty sure it's because I think it requires three inches of fabric to make one inch of pleated fabric, and it winds up only needing two inches of fabric. But that's just my suspicion. I'm now tacking down pleats and seeing what I've got left after that.
Thankfully, this is the hardest part I think... It's a pleated bodice that connects to a fitted waist, and a full skirt that goes to just below the knee. There will be additional tricksy-ness for the actual dress as I'm doing super cute things with... uh... pleats... (maybe I should rethink :-P)
************
Basil and Pepper are cuddling in the kitchen currently and I may actually get more peppers. I kept meaning to bring Pepper in, and forgetting, and when Sunday, after the snow melted and I saw Pepper acting so happy I figured I'd bring him in. He has little pepper plants set! We'll see how this goes.
************
Still haven't heard from L about the money she owes us. We forgot to call her last Friday, so I've reminded Mister to call her and let her know that we're filing papers tomorrow. (It was supposed to be today.)
************
Bumped into a friend Saturday, as she was on her way back from picking up her sister at the train station. Wound up grabbing a meal with them, and while waiting for a table, it came up that my friend, M, had never seen Dirty Dancing. As this cannot be born, a movie night was had on Sunday after she got out of gamelan practice. Mister made his awesome Boeuf Bourgignon and we had goat cheese of some variety. M cannot have wheat, gluten, cow milk products, or chicken. Mister and I have rolled with this and we often cook delicious things for her (I made her cake for her birthday last week 'cause I rock ;-) ). Yet, every single time we cook something that we find quite obvious and simple (chili, beef stew, cabbage and bean soup, rice flour cake, etc.), she always seems quite surprised and shocked that we've a) cooked for her and b) found something delicious she can eat. Mister even commented to me last night: 'I think she doesn't really cook much or eat much variety...'. Which is quite probably true. I think what makes it perhaps different is that we're not going out and buying gluten-free wanna-be-wheat products or vegan cheese or what-have-you. Now, these are still quite simple meals -- I wouldn't call chili difficult in any sense of the word -- but perhaps it's something that she never thinks of? I dunno. Extrapolating with too few data points.
************
Had another friend, M (too many Ms!), over Saturday night for cards, and the conversation turned to reed making. At which point he proclaimed that it probably wasn't too hard and he could make them. I immediately pulled my kit out and put him to the test. He managed to make a functioning (not perfect) reed in 30 mins, and snapped two others due to a) not soaking b) not sharpening the knife often enough or c) not appreciating the delicate nature of cane. I call that a success. He can work in my reed sweatshop ANY time! :-D
************
Mister and I realized something last night: half of the reason why the kitchen hadn't been getting clean of late is because we kept trying to say it was this person's job or that person's job. When really, we work better when the two of us are in there, and not getting in each other's way. He was cooking and I was washing dishes, and washing what he needed, and cleaning the counter space that he needed -- when we both try to wash, or both clean, we wind up sniping at each other because we work quite differently, yet similarly in one way: we both are brusque and demanding when in work-mode. This has led to quite a few exciting fights.
************
I'll also post today on school updates, as I haven't been posting much of late.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Planning Russian Tea Party
Based upon this website, I am building my Russian tea party. In order to save the information, I will also put it here.
I intend to make pierogi, and probably fry them up as well served with sour cream, and I will probably make a sweet of some sort. But will that be enough? Should I maybe do a meat pie or a cabbage pie or a potato pie (all of which sound AMAZING), should I do open-faced Russian sandwiches, or should I at least include bread and butter and jam? I want to make a lot of delicious food, but it ALL sounds good!
... I have half of a cabbage in my fridge, and perhaps I should make cabbage pie tonight!
And since I'm super nervous about losing these recipes and the website, I will list off their recipes as well.
Over the course of the last two hundred years, the tea ceremony has become one of the strongest and most pervasive cultural traditions in Central Russia. Since its introduction from China early in the seventeenth century, tea has become the Russians' favorite drink. The tea ceremony has become not only a cultural tradition but also has developed into a strong communicational bond for the society.
In Russia tea is served after meals and during mid-afternoon breaks, a kind of English "five-o'clock-tea" with difference that this Russian "five-o'clock-tea" may occur in any part of day and in any place - in office, in a car, in a park. When friends visit somebody hosts invite them to have a cup of tea. This "cup of tea" is not just a tea but a lots of cookies, sandwiches, other meal. Each feast ends with tea-drinking with candies and cakes. Till present time when bagged tea got popular in the world Russians still prefer tea prepared in old classical way when loose tea is brewed in a hot teapot or samovar - the central symbol of the Russian Tea Ceremony.
Here are 9 rules for Russian tea ceremony:
1) Russian tea drinking is called chaepitie, tea is chai
2) Russian tea means - black tea. There are some rules to prepare good tea. That water should be boiled till "sparkling boiling" when first air bubbles appeared. Water should be soft, hard water with much salts is not good for tea. A tea-pot is heated a little bit with some hot water. Then tea is put into the tea-pot - 1 tea-spoon for each person plus 1 for tea-pot - classical recipe. After 3-4 minutes tea is ready.
3) Loose tea is brewed in a teapot, producing strong tea called zavarka. Zavarka is served in teacups or stakan s podstakannikom (glass with metal holder) diluted with hot water to fit personal taste.
4) Sugar and a lemon are a must, everyone adds them in tea to taste.
5) Tea is drunk from cups with saucers. Drinking tea from saucers is allowed, but not recommended. Children often allowed to do it in order to cool their tea.
6) If children are the part of the ceremony they are usially seated at the separate little table, with much less strict rules of behaviour.
7) Russian tea drinking is accompanied by plentiful snack.
- snack nourishing (pies with meat or fish, with cottage cheese, with cabbage, with rice, pancakes with nourishing stuffings).
- sandwiches, cut bread and butter.
- pastries and sweets (any sweet cookies, cakes, chocolate, jam, honey, nuts, pancakes with sweet stuffings). Jam and honey are not put into cup or glass with tea but are served in a kind of bowl or special vase and then each participant of tea party put portion into personal little plate or bowl and then eats by a tea spoon. Often white bread or roll is offered, in this case loaves of bread are spread with jam or honey. Of course fresh butter is served - just in case to spread onto bread.
8) Most of all, remember that tea, in Russia, is not just for tea time. I like to think that the warmth, comfort and hospitality that tea symbolizes, in Russian culture, is why it is offered at every meal and anytime during the day, especially when family and friends are gathered.
9) The main tea drinking in Russian is a conversation. Therefore simply do not invite to tea visitors who you do not want to have a deep conversation with.
Pleasant chaepitie!
Russian Samovars
The samovar came to Russia from Persia and the Middle East in the 18th century. The samovar is a a metal urn in which water is kept boiling for tea. Charcoal or wood is burned in a vertical pipe through the center of the samovar and this heats the water. On top of the samovar is a holder for a small teapot. In this pot, a strong tea concentrate is brewed. This tea essence is then diluted with hot water from the samovar.
In old Russia, in the days before mass production, tea drinking was a way of life. The samovar was a staple in homes, restaurants and offices. Samovars would be located on street corners to sell tea to passersby. Even trains were equipped with samovars for their passengers.
The first samovars in Russia were imported and were very utilitarian in form. As is typical for the Russian people, they began to decorate and develop the samovar into a beautiful work of art, as welcome in the Winter Palace as in a peasant's izba (hut). The first samovar was made in Tula in 1820. After a while, Tula became known as the center of Russian samovar production (in addition to the production of munitions and other metalwork). By 1900, there were 40 samovar factories in Tula with an annual production of around 630,000. The Batashev Metalworks, which became one of the most famous factories, produced 110,000 samovars alone each year.
Samovars came in various shapes and sizes depending on their use. Most were small, around 18 inches high, and were used in homes and offices. Larger samovars could be several feet in hight and diameter. Traveling samovars were equipped with handles and removable legs. Others had compartments for preparing food. The metalworkers of the Russian samovar factories provided exquisite detail in silver, bronze, and iron.
Modern day Russians still use the samovar quite often. However modern technology has provided for electric samovars which don't require the use of charcoal. As in old, these samovars are found in kitchens, offices, and even on Russian Trains. And the use of the samovar has spread from Russia to much of eastern Europe.
I intend to make pierogi, and probably fry them up as well served with sour cream, and I will probably make a sweet of some sort. But will that be enough? Should I maybe do a meat pie or a cabbage pie or a potato pie (all of which sound AMAZING), should I do open-faced Russian sandwiches, or should I at least include bread and butter and jam? I want to make a lot of delicious food, but it ALL sounds good!
... I have half of a cabbage in my fridge, and perhaps I should make cabbage pie tonight!
And since I'm super nervous about losing these recipes and the website, I will list off their recipes as well.
Cabbage Pirog
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 lb. sweet butter, divided
3/4 cup cold water
2 tsp. salt, divided
1 tbsp. rum or vodka
2 lbs cabbage
1 tsp. sugar
3 hardboiled eggs, peeled and chopped
Milk
1 egg yolk
Preparation:
To make the dough combine 3 cups flour with 1/2 lb. cold sweet butter (2 sticks), cutting it until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix together the 3/4 cup water, 1 tsp. salt, and the rum or vodka. Add this to the flour mixture and gently mix. Turn out onto a floured board and roll out dough into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Fold into thirds, seal in a plastic bag and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Bring one stick butter (1/4-lb.) to room temperature. Roll out dough again to a thickness of 1/2-inch and spread butter on it. Fold into thirds and roll again. Fold the dough again, place in airtight plastic in refrigerator.
Finely shred the cabbage as if you were making cole slaw. (Or you can use 3 bags of the already shredded cabbage that you can purchase at some supermarkets, but be sure the cabbage is very white and fresh.) Put cabbage in a pan with enough milk to cover 1/2 the depth of the cabbage. Add 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp. salt. Mix gently and cook, uncovered, until soft. Drain cabbage well. Into the pan that you used to cook the cabbage, put the remaining 1 stick of butter and heat to melt. Add the cabbage and the chopped hard-boiled eggs.
Preheat oven to 550-degrees F. Butter a 9 x 12 x-inch pan. Take 3/4 of the dough, roll it into a rectangle slightly larger than the pan, bringing the dough up the sides and cutting off the excess. Spread cabbage mixture over top. Roll out remaining dough and place over top. Pinch edges to seal. Brush with an egg wash that you have made by combining one egg yolk and 1-tsp. water. Make holes in the top of the pie to let steam escape during cooking.
Place pan on lowest rack of preheated oven. Bake for 15-minutes. Move up to middle rack and lower heat to 500-degrees. Bake another 30 to 35 minutes, watching to see that it does not burn. Note: Doubled, to serve a large group, this recipe will fill a standard 12 x 18-inch baking sheet.
Meat Pirog
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
250 g butter
15 g yeast
0.5 c milk
Filling:
500 g meat
2-3 onions
2-3 potatoes
parsley
dill
salt
pepper
2 eggs
0.5 c meat stock
Preparation:
Make dough from the butter, flour, 1 egg, yeast, and put it in the cold. Roll out the dough in a layer 1 cm thick. Place a half of it in a dripping pan and cover with the meat filling, onions and herbs. Salt the filling, add some pepper, 1 bay leaf, and finely chopped raw potatoes. Cover with the second layer of dough, and spread an egg over it. Make small holes in the pie, and pour some broth through it while baking. Bake in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes.
Kulebiaka
Ingredients:
4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 pound of chilled unsalted butter, cut into bits
6 tablespoons of chilled vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon of salt
10 to 12 tablespoons of ice water
Filling:
2 cups of dry white wine
1 cup of coarsely chopped onions
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped celery
1 cup of scraped, coarsely chopped carrots
10 whole black peppercorns
4 1/2 teaspoons of salt
2 1/2 pounds of fresh salmon, in one piece
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1/4 pound stick)
1/2 pound of fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons of fresh, strained lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
3 cups of finely chopped onions
1/2 cup of unconverted, long-grain white rice
1 cup of chicken stock, fresh or canned
1/3 cup of finely cut fresh dill leaves
3 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped
Preparation:
In a large, chilled bowl, combine the flour, butter, shortening and salt. Working quickly, use your fingers to rub the flour and fat together until they blend and resemble flakes of a coarse meal. Pour 10 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture all at once, toss together lightly and gather into a ball. If the dough seems crumbly, add up to 2 tablespoons more of ice water by drops. Divide the dough in half, dust each half with flour, and wrap them separately in wax paper. Refrigerate 3 hours, or until firm.
Combine 3 quarts of water, wine, coarsely chopped onions, celery, carrots, peppercorns, and 3 teaspoons of salt in a 4- to 6-quart enameled or stainless steel casserole. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the salmon into the liquid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, or until the fish is firm to the touch. With a slotted spatula, transfer the fish to a large bowl and separate it into small flakes with your fingers or a fork.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet set over high heat. Add the mushrooms, reduce the heat to moderate, and, stirring occasionally, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft. With a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a small bowl and toss them with lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grindings of black pepper.
Melt 4 more tablespoons of butter in the skillet over high heat and drop in all but 1 tablespoon of the finely chopped onions. Reduce the heat to moderate and, stirring occasionally, cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft but not brown. Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and with a rubber spatula, scrape into the mushrooms.
Now melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet over high heat. Drop in the remaining tablespoon of onion, reduce the heat to moderate and stirring frequently, cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft but not brown. Stir in the rice and cook 2 or 3 minutes, stirring almost constantly, until each grain is coated with butter. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and over the pan tightly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 12 minutes, or until the water is completely absorbed and the rice is tender and fluffy. Off the heat, stir in the dill with a fork. Add the cooked mushrooms and onions, rice and chopped, hard-cooked eggs to the bowl of salmon and toss together lightly but thoroughly. Taste for seasoning.
Blini
Ingredients:
4.5 glasses (7 cups) flour
4 glasses (4 1/2 cups) milk
25 g (1 1/2 tbsps) yeast
25 g (1 1/2 tbsps) butter
100 g (1/2 cup) cream
2 eggs
2 tsps sugar
1 tsp salt
Preparation:
Dissolve half the flour, the yeast and butter in milk and let it rise. Beat up the dough, add the rest of the flour, salt and egg yolks ground with sugar. Beat again, add the beaten egg whites and cream, let the dough rest and then begin to bake.
Blinchiki with Tvorog
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs
salt
oil to fry
Filling:
200 g tvorog (Russian style cottage cheese)
1/2 cup milk
100 g poppy seeds
1 c raisins
sugar to taste
Preparation:
Put ground poppy seeds and raisins in hot milk and heat until dense, add sugar and cool down. Combine the mixture with tvorog and 2 yolks. Sift flour in a bowl, add milk and salt. Stir in 1 whole egg and 2 whites and knead dough. Bake thin pancakes, but fry only on one side. Put a pancake fried side on a plate, spread the filling and roll into a log. Put all the rolls on a baking sheet, brush with butter and bake in the oven. Serve with milk or juice.
Syrniki
Ingredients:
250 g tvorog (Russian style cottage cheese)
75 g oil to fry
2 tb semolina flour
2 tb wheat flour
3 tb sugar
2 eggs
Preparation:
Combine all the ingredients, except flour, and knead stiff dough. Shape small balls and roll in flour. Fry in oil for 3-4 minutes every side until bright golden.
Piroshki
Ingredients:
4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
16 tablespoons (two and a quarter pound sticks) unslated butter, cut into 1/4-inch bits and chilled
8 tablespoons of chilled lard, cut into 1/4-inch bits
8 to 12 tablespoons of ice water
Filling: meat
4 tablespoons of butter
3 cups of finely choppped onions
11/2 pounds of lean ground beef
3 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
6 tablespoons of finely cut fresh dill leaves
2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Filling: cabbage
3 pound head of white cabbage, quartered, cored, then coarsely shredded
4 tablespoons of butter
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
4 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped
1/4 cup of finely cut fresh dill leaves
2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
Combine the flour, salt, butter and lard in a deep bowl. With your fingers, rub the flour and fat together until they look like flakes of coarse meal. Pour in 8 tablespoons of ice water all at once and gather the dough into a ball. If it curmbles, add up to 4 tablespoons more of ice water, a tablespoon at a time, until the particles adhere. Wrap the ball of dough in wax paper, and chill for about 1 hour. On a lightlly floured surface, shape the pastry into a rough rectangle 1 inch thick and roll it into a strip about 21 inches long and 6 inches wide. Turn the pastry around and again roll it out lengthwise int a 21-by-6-inch strip. Fold into thirds and roll out the packet as before. Repeat this entire process twice more, ending with the folded packet. Wrap it is wax paper and refrigerate for an additional hour.
Meat Filling:
Over high heat, melt the butter in a heavy 10-to 12-inch skillet. Add onions and, stirring occasionally, cook over moderate heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are soft and transparent but not brown. Stir in the beef and, mashing the meat with a fork to break up any lumps, cook briskly until no traces of pink remain. Grind the meat-and-onion mixture through the finest blade of a meat grinder (or, the mixture finely with a knife). Combine the meat in a large bowl with eggs, dill, salt and pepper, mix thoroughly and taste for seasoning.
Cabbage Filling:
Over high heat, bring 4 quarts of lightly salted water to a boil in a 8- to 10-quart pot and drop in the cabbage. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Then drain the cabbage in a colander and set it aside.
Melt the butter over high heat in a deep skillet or 3- to 4-quart casserole. Add the chopped onions, reduce the heat to moderate, and cook 5 to 8 minutes, or until the onions are soft and lightly colored. Drop in the cabbage and cover the pan. (The pan may be filled to the brim, but the cabbage will shrink as it cooks.) Simmer over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender, then uncover the pan, raise the heat to high and boil briskly until almost all of the liquid in the pan has evaporated. Drain the cabbage in a colander and combine it with the chopped eggs, dill and parsley. Stir in the salt, sugar and a few grindings of pepper and taste for seasoning.
Preheat the oven to 400 degree. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. With a 3- to 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Gather the scraps into a ball and roll out again, cutting additional circles. Drop 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each round and flatten the filling slightly. Fold one long side of the dough up over the filling, almost covering it. Fold in the two ends of the dough about 1/2 inch, and lastly, fold over the remaining long side of the dough. Place the pirozhki side by side, with the seam sides down on a buttered baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes , or until golden brown.
Knydli
Ingredients:
600 g potatoes.
200 g flour.
1 ea egg.
200 g small plums boneless.
salt.
sugar.
butter.
Preparation:
Grate potatoes very finely and pour off the juice. Add flour, egg, sugar and salt. Knead stiff dough (use more flour if needed). Shape small balls and put a boneless plum inside of every ball. Cook in boiling lightly salted water. Knydli are served with melted butter.
Vatrushki
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 egg
1/2 cup of sour cream
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
Filling:
1 pound of tvorog (Russian style cottage cheese)
1 tablespoon of sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Preparation:
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a deep well in the center of the flour and drop in the egg, sour cream and butter. With your fingers, slowly mix the flour into the liquid ingredients, then beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth, moderately firm dough is formed. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it loosely in wax paper, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Drain the tvorog by placing it is a colander, covering it with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a kitchen towel and weighting it with a heavy dish on top. Let it drain undisturbed for 2 or 3 hours, then with the back of a large spoon, rub the cheese through a fine sieve set over a large bowl. Beat into it the sour cream, eggs, sugar and salt. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
On ligtly floured surface, roll te dough into a circle of about 1/8 inch thick. With a 4-inch cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as possible. Gather the remaining scraps into a ball, roll it out again, and cut out additional circles (there should be 14 to 16 circles in all). Make a border around each circle by turning over about 1/4 inch of the dough all around its circumference and pinching this raised rim into small decorative pleats. Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons of the filling into the center and flatten it slightly. Using a pastry brush, coat the filling and borders with the egg yolk-and-water mixture and bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, or until pale gold in color.
Smetannik
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1/4-pound stick), cut into 1/3-inch bits
3 tablespoons of chilled vegetable oil shortening
2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
5 to7 tablespoons of ice water
Filling:
2 cups of finely ground almonds, lightly toasted
4 teaspoons of milk
6 tablespoons of raspberry jam
6 tablespoons of cherry jam
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup of sour cream
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, softened
Preparation:
Soak the almonds in milk for 5 to 10 minutes. With the back of a large spoon, rub the raspberry and cherry jams through a fine sieve set over a large bowl. Then beat in the egg yolks, sour cream, cinnamon, nuts and soaking milk.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. With a pastry brush, coat the bottom and sides of a 9-inch false-bottomed tart pan with the tablespoon of softened butter. Drape the pastry over the rolling pin, lift it up and unfold it slackly over the pan. Gently press the pastry into the bottom and around the sides of the pan, being careful not to stretch it. Roll the pin over the rim of the pan, pressing down hard to trim off the excess pastry.
Preheat the oven to 425 Degree F. Pour the filling into the pastry shell and roll out the other half of dough into a 12-inch circle. Drape it over the rolling pin, lift it up and unfold it over the filling. Press the edges of the pastry layers together. Then crimp them with your fingers or press them firmly around the rim with the prongs of a fork. With a sharp knife, cut three 1-inch slits about 1 inch apart in the top of the pastry. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Then set the pan on a large jar or coffee can and carefully slip off the outside rim. Let the pie cool to room temperature before serving.
Medovik
Ingredients:
8 lg eggs; separated
6 tb butter
14 oz honey; clover or wild
2 c sugar
6 c flour
2 ts baking powder
2 ts baking powder
2 ts cinnamon
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 c strong coffee
1 c sour cream
1 c walnuts, chopped
Preparation:
Heat the honey to boiling and allow to cool. Separate the eggs, reserving the whites. Beat the room temperature yolks with the butter until fluffy. Add the cooled honey and beat until well blended. Add the sugar and blend well. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon together, then sift again. add to the honey mixture. Add the orange zest, juice, coffee and sour cream stirring until no dry flour shows. Whip the egg whites until stiff, then fold in a little of the whites, mixing well, then add the rest of the whites. Stir in the chopped nuts, if using them. Pour into buttered and floured loaf pans, rapping them to even the batter. Bake in a preheated 325 Degree F. oven for about an hour. DO NOT open the oven door during the first 30 minutes of baking. When done, cool on wire racks for 10 minutes and then turn out to finish cooling. Wrap well in heavy duty aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator.
Mazurka
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, softened
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup of superfine sugar
grated rind of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon of fresh strained lemon juice
1 /2 pound of toasted hazelnuts, shelled and pulverized in a mortar and pestle a grinder
5 egg whites
Topping:
1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of rum
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar (confectioners�)
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 Degree F. With a pastry brush, butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch -wide, 3-inch-deep springform cake pan with the tablespoons of softened butter. With a whisk or a rotary or electric beater, beat the egg yolks for about minute, then slowly pour in the sugar. Continue beating until the mixture falls back upon itself in a ribbon when the beater is lifted out of the bowl. Beat in the grated lemon rind and lemon juice. With a rubber spatula, fold in the hazelnuts.
In another bowl, and with a clean beater, beat the egg whites until they form firm, unwavering peaks on the beater when it is lifted out of the bowl. Gently but thoroughly fold the whites into the egg-yolk mixture until no streaks of white show. Pour the batter into the buttered pan and spread evenly to the sides with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes, or until it has puffed and has begun to come slightly away from the sides of the pan. Turn off the heat and let the cake rest in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the side of the pan and turn the cake out on a cake rack. Cool to room temperature.
To make the topping, beat the cream with a whisk or rotary or electric beater until it forms soft peaks. The gradually beat in the rum and sugar and continue to beat until stiff. With a spatula, spread over the top of the cake and serve at once.
Napoleon
Ingredients:
1500 g flour
250 g margarine
1 ea egg
1 tb vinegar Icing:
1 sugar
0,5 l milk
2 ea eggs
2 tb flour
200 g butter
vanilla.
Preparation:
Cut margarine into small pieces and toss with flour until smooth. Mix egg, vinegar in 1 cup of water and add it to flour. Knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Divide the dough into 8 parts and put in the fridge for 40-60 minutes. Roll out every part very thin, put in a baking form, cut out remains, pierce with a fork and bake in a preheated oven until light golden. Bake the remains of dough until golden colour.
Icing: Mix sugar, eggs, flour and then pour over milk. Cook on low heat, stirring regularly, until dense. When icing cools down a little, add butter and vanilla.
Spread the icing on every shortcake and on the top. Crumb the dough remains and sprinkle all the cake with them. Puy in a fridge at least for a couple of hours.
Kartoshka
Ingredients:
cocoa powder (unsweeted)
1 2/3 cups ground toasted walnuts, sifted
1 2/3 cups dry sponge cake crumbs, sifted
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
3/4 cup unsweetened evaporated milk or heavy cream
3 tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon rum
Preparation:
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the 1/4 cup of ground walnuts and mix thoroughly until well blended. Scoop up about 1/4 cup of the mixture and shape into a ball. Spread the 1/4 cup of ground walnuts or cocoa on wax paper, roll the rum ball in them.
Kulich
Ingredients:
2 pkg. rapid rise yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water
4 cups evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
4 cups flour
1 tbs ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups butter
3 cups sugar
2 tbs salt
1 tbs vanilla
1 tbs grated orange peel
1 tbs grated lemon peel
9 eggs
12 cups flour
3 cups raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preparation:
Dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water. Set aside. Scald and cool to lukewarm the 4 cups milk. Add yeast and the 1 cup sugar, 4 cups of the flour and the cardamom to the lukewarm milk. Mix into a smooth sponge and set in a warm place for approximately 2 hours. When sponge is done resting, melt and warm the butter. Stir the sugar, salt, vanilla and zest into the butter and add to the sponge. Gradually work in the flour until the dough is smooth and elastic. Knead for 5 minutes. Add nuts and raisins and knead another 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl and oil or butte dough to prevent crust from forming. Let rise until double in bulk. Roll into various sized balls and place in greased various sized metal cans you have saved. Oil the top of dough. Bake in a 350-degree oven. Baking time will vary depending on size of cans. When dough is done remove from pan and butter the crust. Place on baking rack to cool.
Paskha
Ingredients:
2 kg tvorog (Russian style cottage cheese)
300 g butter
400 g sour cream
4 ea eggs
salt to taste
Preparation:
Paskha is a traditional dish for Easter table. Butter must be soft and supple.Put tvorog under weight for 2 hours, drain through the sieve twice (never use a mincer). Drained tvorog is souffle and light. Bring to boil butter, sour cream and 3 eggs in a separate pan, stirring constantly. Pour in hot mass in drained tvorog, add 1 egg and salt. Blend until homogenous. Fill in the Easter form (with a traditional drawing and ornaments). The bottom is covered with wet gauze. Cover with a plate and put a weight. Keep in the fridge for 12 hours.
Pishki
Ingredients:
1 pc active dry yeast
1/4 c warm water
1/3 c butter
3/2 c sugar
1 ea egg
3 ea egg yolks
1 ts vanilla extract
1 ts grated lemon peel
3/4 ts salt
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
confectioners' sugar
oil to fry
Preparation:
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, then egg yolks, one at a time. Add vanilla extract, lemon peel, dissolved yeast, and salt. Beat up until well mixed. Stir in flour gradually, adding enough to make a stiff dough. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic for about 10 minutes. Place in a floured bowl. Cover. Let rise until doubled. Shape little flat rounds. Fry in hot fat 2 to 3 minutes; turn to brown all sides. Drain doughnuts on paper towels and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired.
Pryaniki
Ingredients:
1 lb sugar, 1/2 c water
1 1/2 c honey
1/2 lb almonds
500 g flour
12 g potash
cardamom
cloves
Icing:
1 1/2 lb sugar
1/2 lb chocolate powder.
Preparation:
Dissolve sugar in the water, mix with honey and boil this syrupin a big pan. Add potash, cardamom, cloves to taste and choppedalmonds. Take off from the heat and add flour. Stir thoroughlyand make the dough on the table. Cut out different figurines,put on the sheet and bake in the oven until ready.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Pondering Cooking
I'm sitting in my dining room with my temporary roommate L, me with the laptop, checking up on all of my blogs, and her waiting for a date to show up (he was supposed to be here anywhere from a half hour ago to 2 mins from now... jerk). I have a mug of cold tea and a bowl of cooling soup (Thai Sweet Potato from a box -- not a fan of lemongrass, ick). I also have a stockpot with the beginnings of stock on the stove.
I'd cooked a chicken for Saturday's dinner* (with Mister's uncle and significant other), and the time had come for its carcass to be useful once more. After removing all of the citrus from the cavity, I broke apart the easily separated bones on the carcass and put it in the stock pot with water to cover it. (I left all of the garlic cloves in.) I roughly chopped an onion, a few sticks of celery and added plenty of spices (pepper, salt, rosemary, parsley (semi-fresh, there were some old leaves that I used), dried oregano, two bay leaves, etc.). I'll let it cook down for a few hours and then strain it all, then add the meat back into the liquid and whatever else I'd like to put into my soup.
Sitting here waiting for the stock, I realized that I feel like a competent cook. I've always had a fair hand at baking, but my cooking was usually less than inspired. About a year ago, Mister told me "wow! You've learned to cook!" I was ridiculously offended, but he protested his innocence, claiming that ever since I started reading all of the doomer and cooking blogs, I really picked up a lot, but before I really only knew how to stir-fry things (not a bad thing IMO). I brushed him off at the time, but perhaps he's right. (Acknowledgement a year later means that I don't have to inform him, right?)
I didn't need to look up "How To Make Stock" on the interwebs, I just knew what to do. I didn't even need to double check what spices other people use, I just grabbed what would work. Honestly, I could grab most things in the kitchen and make a decent meal out of them, without resources. To make things spectacular if I've never made them before, I'd probably want a reference. But I don't need it. And that absolutely floors me.
I think what I find most incredible about it is it's yet another step along the path of Adulthood. I've fought really long and hard to deny that I'm full grown, that I can be still considered a kid in some contexts. But in all honesty? I'm 24. I've been living on my own for almost four years (and was at school for three years before that, but that only half counts). I've been working full time for almost four years (and back to non-employment and school :-P). I'm getting MARRIED next summer, and if that's not adult, I don't know what is.
But, I can cook now.
*I stuffed the cavity with an orange cut into 12ths, and an equal number of garlic cloves. It was then trussed to keep it all together. The "marinade" or whatever it's called was orange juice, mustard, butter, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and rosemary infused together on the stove top; although after the first 30 minutes I could use pan drippings to baste, so the remainder of the marinade went towards making the gravy at the end. I cook it for the first 10 minutes at 425F, then at 375 for the rest of the time, basting every 30 minutes religiously. This chicken had the most delicious skin of any chicken I've made yet.
I'd cooked a chicken for Saturday's dinner* (with Mister's uncle and significant other), and the time had come for its carcass to be useful once more. After removing all of the citrus from the cavity, I broke apart the easily separated bones on the carcass and put it in the stock pot with water to cover it. (I left all of the garlic cloves in.) I roughly chopped an onion, a few sticks of celery and added plenty of spices (pepper, salt, rosemary, parsley (semi-fresh, there were some old leaves that I used), dried oregano, two bay leaves, etc.). I'll let it cook down for a few hours and then strain it all, then add the meat back into the liquid and whatever else I'd like to put into my soup.
Sitting here waiting for the stock, I realized that I feel like a competent cook. I've always had a fair hand at baking, but my cooking was usually less than inspired. About a year ago, Mister told me "wow! You've learned to cook!" I was ridiculously offended, but he protested his innocence, claiming that ever since I started reading all of the doomer and cooking blogs, I really picked up a lot, but before I really only knew how to stir-fry things (not a bad thing IMO). I brushed him off at the time, but perhaps he's right. (Acknowledgement a year later means that I don't have to inform him, right?)
I didn't need to look up "How To Make Stock" on the interwebs, I just knew what to do. I didn't even need to double check what spices other people use, I just grabbed what would work. Honestly, I could grab most things in the kitchen and make a decent meal out of them, without resources. To make things spectacular if I've never made them before, I'd probably want a reference. But I don't need it. And that absolutely floors me.
I think what I find most incredible about it is it's yet another step along the path of Adulthood. I've fought really long and hard to deny that I'm full grown, that I can be still considered a kid in some contexts. But in all honesty? I'm 24. I've been living on my own for almost four years (and was at school for three years before that, but that only half counts). I've been working full time for almost four years (and back to non-employment and school :-P). I'm getting MARRIED next summer, and if that's not adult, I don't know what is.
But, I can cook now.
*I stuffed the cavity with an orange cut into 12ths, and an equal number of garlic cloves. It was then trussed to keep it all together. The "marinade" or whatever it's called was orange juice, mustard, butter, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and rosemary infused together on the stove top; although after the first 30 minutes I could use pan drippings to baste, so the remainder of the marinade went towards making the gravy at the end. I cook it for the first 10 minutes at 425F, then at 375 for the rest of the time, basting every 30 minutes religiously. This chicken had the most delicious skin of any chicken I've made yet.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
I have nothing better to do
... than browse the internet and troll through archives! Stuff that I have open tabs for:
OMG, General Tso's Chicken
I want to can a bushel of tomatoes! Now where to find them... :-P
The shoes that I want to turn into bike shoes -- but I can't convince myself to spend $45 on a pair of shoes that I'm going to take a dremel to...
How-to make a loom out of a cardboard box
From a post on packing lunches I like how she does portion control by having two containers of the same size. Filling one with veggies, and the other half of carbs, half of protein.
Although in Polish, ornaments made from leftover icing from gingerbread
Argyle Ornaments
Fabric Artichoke Ornaments
Crocheted Trivet
OMG, General Tso's Chicken
I want to can a bushel of tomatoes! Now where to find them... :-P
The shoes that I want to turn into bike shoes -- but I can't convince myself to spend $45 on a pair of shoes that I'm going to take a dremel to...
How-to make a loom out of a cardboard box
From a post on packing lunches I like how she does portion control by having two containers of the same size. Filling one with veggies, and the other half of carbs, half of protein.
Although in Polish, ornaments made from leftover icing from gingerbread
Argyle Ornaments
Fabric Artichoke Ornaments
Crocheted Trivet
Monday, August 22, 2011
What Not To Do
So last week Mister bought fruit. Fast forward to today, and they were attracting fruit flies. So, thinking I was a smart cookie, I figured I'd turn them to jam. The pears were a lost cause. But the peaches were fully salvageable!
So I hunted up an easy peach jam recipe and set to work.
(Sliced peaches and put on heat with sugar)
Poking around the freezer turned up a bag of blueberries. Perfect! I tossed them in with a little more sugar. All told, I added peaches, blueberries, sugar, oj, cinnamon, nutmeg, garam masala and vanilla. I was feeling pretty crafty.
Added to that crafty feeling was my heating and sterilizing my jars in the same water as the water bath. How sneaky am I, I thought. And then I realized that I didn't have my jar lifters, they're still in storage.
Never fear, thought I, I am resourceful. I can figure this out. So to fish my clean jars out I grabbed a spatula and a silicone oven mitt.
I was futzing with the jar when disaster struck. I dipped the silicone oven mitt far enough under the water that it filled up and became a silicone cup of water. Feeling my hand burned, I freaked out, and reared back... throwing the water from the oven mitt directly at my face. Luckily, I wear glasses. Tearing the glasses off my face, I ran to the sink to throw cold water over everything in pain (with a constant stream of f-bombs). I also dashed into the bedroom to grab the aloe vera and smear it thickly upon everything.
I did manage to use the silicone oven mitt and spatula in lieu of the jar lifters, but thanks to my burn, the wafts of steam made it an exciting process.
I can happily write this all now, with two pint jars of jam on the counter, and my right hand in a bowl of water. But boy, what an ounce of prevention is worth!
So I hunted up an easy peach jam recipe and set to work.
(Sliced peaches and put on heat with sugar)
Poking around the freezer turned up a bag of blueberries. Perfect! I tossed them in with a little more sugar. All told, I added peaches, blueberries, sugar, oj, cinnamon, nutmeg, garam masala and vanilla. I was feeling pretty crafty.
Added to that crafty feeling was my heating and sterilizing my jars in the same water as the water bath. How sneaky am I, I thought. And then I realized that I didn't have my jar lifters, they're still in storage.
Never fear, thought I, I am resourceful. I can figure this out. So to fish my clean jars out I grabbed a spatula and a silicone oven mitt.
I was futzing with the jar when disaster struck. I dipped the silicone oven mitt far enough under the water that it filled up and became a silicone cup of water. Feeling my hand burned, I freaked out, and reared back... throwing the water from the oven mitt directly at my face. Luckily, I wear glasses. Tearing the glasses off my face, I ran to the sink to throw cold water over everything in pain (with a constant stream of f-bombs). I also dashed into the bedroom to grab the aloe vera and smear it thickly upon everything.
I did manage to use the silicone oven mitt and spatula in lieu of the jar lifters, but thanks to my burn, the wafts of steam made it an exciting process.
I can happily write this all now, with two pint jars of jam on the counter, and my right hand in a bowl of water. But boy, what an ounce of prevention is worth!
Schedule
Mister and I had a bit of brainstorming Saturday, and this is what we came up with.
Monday: clean out fridge, take out trash, buy groceries
Tuesday: wash floors
Wednesday: (no chores)
Thursday: clean bathroom, new towels
Friday: (no chores)
Saturday: (no chores)
Sunday: sweep floors, dust baseboards and surfaces, wash laundry, put laundry away
As we often have guests on the weeked, or go out ourselves, we wrote in a break. Wednesdays are also no chores because we get home late that day.
We also put together a basic rotating meal plan.
Monday: vegetarian
Tuesday: pasta and salad
Wednesday: breakfast for dinner (Mister's in charge)
Thursday: crock pot (I'm in charge)
Friday: roast chicken or casserole (I'm in charge)
Saturday: no plan
Sunday: soup or stew
We'll do a roast chicken twice a month or so because it's some of the best bang-per-buck options. Tuesdays are pasta because we have band practice, and it needs to be fast. Lunches will be leftovers, PBJ, fruit, trailmix, etc.
Monday: clean out fridge, take out trash, buy groceries
Tuesday: wash floors
Wednesday: (no chores)
Thursday: clean bathroom, new towels
Friday: (no chores)
Saturday: (no chores)
Sunday: sweep floors, dust baseboards and surfaces, wash laundry, put laundry away
As we often have guests on the weeked, or go out ourselves, we wrote in a break. Wednesdays are also no chores because we get home late that day.
We also put together a basic rotating meal plan.
Monday: vegetarian
Tuesday: pasta and salad
Wednesday: breakfast for dinner (Mister's in charge)
Thursday: crock pot (I'm in charge)
Friday: roast chicken or casserole (I'm in charge)
Saturday: no plan
Sunday: soup or stew
We'll do a roast chicken twice a month or so because it's some of the best bang-per-buck options. Tuesdays are pasta because we have band practice, and it needs to be fast. Lunches will be leftovers, PBJ, fruit, trailmix, etc.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Hot
It is hotter than hell out here these days. Now, I'm not gonna lie, this apartment is miles about the last in that it has great air flow, and that makes such a difference. Yesterday, Mister and I set the futon mattresses up in the living room and slept out there instead of in the bedroom. Aside from the jackhammers at 8am, it was a great situation with the breeziness of the living room AND away from the neverending 24/7 light of my neighbors that shines in my bedroom window.
(Ooh, a breeze just came through the house to me RIGHT NOW.)
The peas are completely dead. The fusillarium wilt or whatever did a job on it. My beans are middlin' (they have a lot of yellow leaves and I'm not quite sure why), the peppers are such prima donnas, and the tomatoes that AREN'T in cages are much happier than those in cages... but I've got blossoms on peppers, tomatoes and my vining critters as well -- so I should get some yields at the very least.
Mister and I are attempting to eat down the pantry. I find it hard, because I so much prefer snacks. I had to fight to buy cereal the other day! :-P In light of such decisions, we had mexican for dinner last night. Mexican rice (using some broth from the fridge and a hefty amount of adobo -- finally found a use for it!), beans (using half of an onion from the fridge) and tortillas and cheese (which we bought). I now have leftover rice, beans and tortillas.
I went to the Farmer's Market today and bought zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, grean beans (which I've already trimmed), a bag of salad mix (which I need to take care of asap), strawberries (which I've already eaten), cherries, blueberries and raspberries.
Since using the oven or the stove heats up the kitchen so much I feel that I should plan what I'm cooking today. I want to make some soda bread, I want to make some mini pies, I might make blueberry muffins, and I don't know what's for dinner yet. Hm...
Also Mister and I have undertaken a Project together. There is not one, but TWO nasty plants in my backyard (one is Trumpet Creeper and I haven't figured out the other yet, but it's main branches are 6" diameter...) that we want gone. I went out twice yesterday, and Mister once to go out and kill those plants. (Mister has no care for my herbs which makes me want to smack him with my knives.) We've gotten a lot of the green and branches out, and detached it forcibly from the garage, but we're no where near done. There are 3x as much green to remove as well as attempting to deal with the massive tap roots and other such pests.
In a similar note, I'm apparently allergic to something in the backyard. I know that it makes my hands itchy, so I wore gloves and a flannel going out the first time, and forgot the flannel the second -- I had hives all up and down my arms, so yes, I am allergic to something!
(Ooh, a breeze just came through the house to me RIGHT NOW.)
The peas are completely dead. The fusillarium wilt or whatever did a job on it. My beans are middlin' (they have a lot of yellow leaves and I'm not quite sure why), the peppers are such prima donnas, and the tomatoes that AREN'T in cages are much happier than those in cages... but I've got blossoms on peppers, tomatoes and my vining critters as well -- so I should get some yields at the very least.
Mister and I are attempting to eat down the pantry. I find it hard, because I so much prefer snacks. I had to fight to buy cereal the other day! :-P In light of such decisions, we had mexican for dinner last night. Mexican rice (using some broth from the fridge and a hefty amount of adobo -- finally found a use for it!), beans (using half of an onion from the fridge) and tortillas and cheese (which we bought). I now have leftover rice, beans and tortillas.
I went to the Farmer's Market today and bought zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, grean beans (which I've already trimmed), a bag of salad mix (which I need to take care of asap), strawberries (which I've already eaten), cherries, blueberries and raspberries.
Since using the oven or the stove heats up the kitchen so much I feel that I should plan what I'm cooking today. I want to make some soda bread, I want to make some mini pies, I might make blueberry muffins, and I don't know what's for dinner yet. Hm...
Also Mister and I have undertaken a Project together. There is not one, but TWO nasty plants in my backyard (one is Trumpet Creeper and I haven't figured out the other yet, but it's main branches are 6" diameter...) that we want gone. I went out twice yesterday, and Mister once to go out and kill those plants. (Mister has no care for my herbs which makes me want to smack him with my knives.) We've gotten a lot of the green and branches out, and detached it forcibly from the garage, but we're no where near done. There are 3x as much green to remove as well as attempting to deal with the massive tap roots and other such pests.
In a similar note, I'm apparently allergic to something in the backyard. I know that it makes my hands itchy, so I wore gloves and a flannel going out the first time, and forgot the flannel the second -- I had hives all up and down my arms, so yes, I am allergic to something!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
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