tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64149097130997968392024-02-07T09:33:27.025-08:00Three in TulsaA tale of three living on Tulsa time. Food, family, photography and anything that catches my fancy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-618218544765032232014-07-27T21:16:00.001-07:002014-07-27T21:27:40.717-07:00Here I stand.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrAZMcN8cMWGWnB79n2KLOkHa1mUrk5-6mv_RQ8xyCpkpsq-GF5o_4G7-v2p6X_9b3IrTJH6vRdTcSdpt1WKH7xHtA19Kn3PiMw49zLTAosCH8U3hLGnfUD2stwn7Rc0OlF8rqHvrNvI/s1600/israel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrAZMcN8cMWGWnB79n2KLOkHa1mUrk5-6mv_RQ8xyCpkpsq-GF5o_4G7-v2p6X_9b3IrTJH6vRdTcSdpt1WKH7xHtA19Kn3PiMw49zLTAosCH8U3hLGnfUD2stwn7Rc0OlF8rqHvrNvI/s1600/israel.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think I’ve made
some people uncomfortable, or at least a little disoriented, with my recent
Facebook posts and thoughts around the current actions of Hamas. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For that, I am profoundly pleased.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many of you know
I’m a pretty big Pico Iyer fan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Years
and years ago (back when offices were as close as “the nearest fax machine or
modem”) I read his piece about Living in the Transit Lounge and it has been a
touchstone for me at various points since then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Each time I have returned to it I have learned something new.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His writings, along with those of David
Pollock and Ruth Van Reken have helped me place myself in a seemingly placeless
existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a Third Culture Kid I also
saw through their writings that my particular generation of transit loungers
were probably the last because, as “prototypes of the 21<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> century
citizen” we were simply slightly ahead of schedule on a path that the planetary
population was traveling together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
path toward a global mindset.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today, 14 years
into the 21<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> century I am only beginning to realize how accurate
they were in their thinking and writings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Iyer described
those of us who grew up living among worlds like this:</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I am simply a
fairly typical produce of a movable sensibility, living and working in a world
that is itself increasingly small and increasingly mongrel. I am a
multinational soul on a multicultural globe where more and more countries are
as polyglot and restless as airports. Taking planes seems as natural to me as
picking <span id="n148">up the phone, or going to school; I fold up myself and
carry it round with me as if I were an overnight case.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></blockquote>
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Several
researchers and thinkers have written about the benefits of such an existence
and the perspective it delivers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I
agree with all of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But few have
written as eloquently as Iyer when it comes to the flip side of the coin, the
dangerous other edge of a very sharp sword.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“For us in the
Transit Lounge, disorientation is as alien as affiliation. We become
professional observers, able to see the merits and deficiencies of anywhere, to
balance our parents' viewpoints with their enemies' position. Yes, we say, of
course it's terrible, but look at the situation from Saddam's point of view. I
understand how you feel, but the Chinese had their own cultural reasons for
Tiananmen Square. Fervour comes to seem to us the most foreign place of all.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Seasoned experts
at dispassion, we are less good at involvement, or suspensions of disbelief;
at, in fact, the abolition of distance. We are masters of the aerial
perspective, but touching down becomes more difficult. Unable to get stirred by
the raising of a flag, we are <span id="n152">sometimes unable to see how anyone
could be stirred.”</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“We become, in
fact, strangers to belief itself, unable to comprehend many of the rages and
dogmas that animate (and unite) people. Conflict itself seems inexplicable to
us sometimes, simply because partisanship is; we have the agnostic's inability
to retrace the steps of faith.”</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“We end up, then,
a little like non-aligned nations, confirming our reservations at every step.
We tell ourselves, self-servingly, that nationalism breeds monsters and choose
to ignore the fact that internationalism breeds them too. Ours is the
culpability not of the assassin, but of the bystander who takes a snapshot of
the murder. Or, when the revolution catches fire, hops on the next plane out.”</span></span></blockquote>
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think many
people who are connected to me on FB know me better from a time when I lived
life from an the safety of an aerial perspective, never touching down long
enough to align myself with much of anything and certainly not for much
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like a traveler killing time in
the transit lounge, I cherry picked my way through duty free shops of ideas and
beliefs, never paying the taxes on anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some may even think that my evolution into a placed person with
convictions and passion is a step backwards and shake their heads over my loss
of perspective or simply be disoriented because I’m not hopping the next plane
out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can only offer this by way of
explanation for the passions and convictions of my placed self … “home isn’t just the place where you sleep, it’s
the place where you stand.”</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recommended
reading / viewing:</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><a href="http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Ba20Spo-t1-body-d30.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Living
In The Transit Lounge</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- essay, Iyer</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Third-Culture-Kids-Growing-Revised/dp/1857885252"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Growing
Up Among Worlds</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – book, Pollock and Van Reken<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/pico_iyer_where_is_home"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Where is Home?</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – TED
talk, Iyer</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-67064784047866905672014-06-30T10:54:00.001-07:002014-06-30T19:01:44.511-07:00Fusion at Work<div dir="ltr">
What we have here is a Greek and Japanese spin on your classic bagel and lox.</div>
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No, you can't order this beauty anywhere around Tulsa but you can create it for yourself.</div>
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I grabbed an everything bagel with tzatiki cream cheese from <a href="http://www.oldschoolbagelcafe.com/">Old School Bagel Cafe</a> and had half of it for breakfast. Old School is the only source for honest to goodness, dense and chewy, New York style bagels in this town. Period.</div>
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The other half I sat aside as I ran through a morning gamut of meetings. Mid-morning inspiration for lunch hit when a coworker said she was getting sushi from <a href="http://www.yokozunzsushi.com/">Yokozuna.</a> </div>
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Come lunchtime it was one order of salmon poki + half an everything bagel with tzatziki schmear = the finest fusion dining at your desk!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLEpKwnktRqisFi4O1bvbMkchbXGS5LIi0YPydLUru2xnHalDRj8O_yekUCXN-50oDWo03wrl14xqNc8wFIOG229TJvZQsH0Ei3fxUUHw2AWL0QHANY4HbIYsEUNjdhq5gz9AcYh2iK4/s1600/IMG_20140630_123955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLEpKwnktRqisFi4O1bvbMkchbXGS5LIi0YPydLUru2xnHalDRj8O_yekUCXN-50oDWo03wrl14xqNc8wFIOG229TJvZQsH0Ei3fxUUHw2AWL0QHANY4HbIYsEUNjdhq5gz9AcYh2iK4/s400/IMG_20140630_123955.jpg" /> </a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-47396489653981504722014-06-22T18:52:00.001-07:002014-06-22T18:52:17.659-07:00Foodie Find: Honest Mint Limeade<p dir=ltr>I have found my go to drink for the summer! </p>
<p dir=ltr>This is cooling minty goodness married to zingy lime freshness with just enough (fair trade organic) cane sugar added to prevent the unpleasant puckers.</p>
<p dir=ltr>And yes, you're right.  It would love vodka but it's just tangy enough to be delightfully grown-up tasting without it.</p>
<p dir=ltr>Go out and get you some! </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83wJJ1z_i5i5h5uzuZKQwp6Xx8WSP0nH19Pn0xyPqamufFHIa34D4cV9xhQn4sIHyEVi34a8qhktg8tInXpGAsF_x2zThkGgH9qRDr_klktYdgEQ4OljiKXEqztCJDpaL-iRAqx_Y7xs/s1600/20140621_175515-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83wJJ1z_i5i5h5uzuZKQwp6Xx8WSP0nH19Pn0xyPqamufFHIa34D4cV9xhQn4sIHyEVi34a8qhktg8tInXpGAsF_x2zThkGgH9qRDr_klktYdgEQ4OljiKXEqztCJDpaL-iRAqx_Y7xs/s400/20140621_175515-1.jpg"> </a> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-77003736528711379012014-06-16T18:24:00.000-07:002014-06-16T18:24:27.468-07:00Birthdays are for cake.<div dir="ltr">
We have two birthdays in the house this month. Last Sunday I realized that one had come and gone, the other was less than a week away and I had done nothing. Clearly it was time for a spontaneous, late Sunday afternoon birthday cake guilt attack. After all, with flour, butter, sugar, eggs and milk in the house, how hard could it be?</div>
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Apparently very hard.</div>
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Undaunted, I ploughed through countless promising Pinterest leads, discarding those calling for sour cream or buttermilk or cream cheese, until I finally came across a simple butter cake recipe. Honestly, there should have been angels singing on high and beams of heavenly light. Instead, the dryer beeped and I put my cake quest on hold to fold clothes. Oh, okay... to empty the dryer. Who are we kidding here? The guys should just be glad I don't keep all the money and Legos I find. Especially the Legos.</div>
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/36732553185991218/">Best Butter Cake</a> required no tampering except for the part where, at the last minute, I decided to make it a Best Butter Almond Cake by adding 1tsp of almond flavoring to my very generous interpretation of 2 tsp vanilla. REAL vanilla, please. </div>
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This recipe creates one of those amazing cloud-like batters that is so delicious you find yourself licking the bowl and muttering salmonella-shmalmonella! (This is where my lawyer husband has an anxiety attack and asks me to consider that last line.)</div>
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Moving on. Light. Fluffy. Lickable.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvSDO4nSx3YtUFdV17Feb4D5Uu07VyV4Q3prDO11GgJAULn3JeRiHRIPIxQg5Wfslmni-Kx4UFwxYRqYsVlRs_J8HeTVgT76YwA6awJoH3ltzXLGL6Wyf_54176z8eZfwKfpsF7IR1PA/s1600/IMG_20140608_045930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvSDO4nSx3YtUFdV17Feb4D5Uu07VyV4Q3prDO11GgJAULn3JeRiHRIPIxQg5Wfslmni-Kx4UFwxYRqYsVlRs_J8HeTVgT76YwA6awJoH3ltzXLGL6Wyf_54176z8eZfwKfpsF7IR1PA/s640/IMG_20140608_045930.jpg" height="326" width="400" /> </a> </div>
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Since this is a birthday cake guilt attack, I decided on three layers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYnKZtfcQlCBB0BkoK5JaBy1Vuw7KrKhFhV373GCjJwtDY9AIAY6Y5SZJkFbaXAda3tmcsVlSmFdL7LaWbdQh_fc0j4G8-P30u1goNESSZWjFSVwr1FtdUoty6PLg2y94lIBQa7Jzf9A/s1600/20140608_165643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYnKZtfcQlCBB0BkoK5JaBy1Vuw7KrKhFhV373GCjJwtDY9AIAY6Y5SZJkFbaXAda3tmcsVlSmFdL7LaWbdQh_fc0j4G8-P30u1goNESSZWjFSVwr1FtdUoty6PLg2y94lIBQa7Jzf9A/s640/20140608_165643.jpg" height="300" width="400" /> </a> </div>
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About the time that I decided that the Best Butter Cake should be a Best Butter Almond Cake, I also decided that the buttercream frosting should be made with blackberry jam. Fruit and Nuts are one of my husband's favorite flavor combinations. Also describes our family pretty well.</div>
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I dug up a <a href="http://www.iheartnaptime.net/buttercream-frosting-recipe/" target="_blank">classic buttercream frosting</a> recipe and simply skipped the liquid and added about a third of a cup of home made blackberry jam instead.</div>
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Mmmm.... home made blackberry jam.</div>
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Then ... to assemble the cake. I used to be very intimidated by layer cakes and my outcomes didn't help much. They tended to slide, each layer in a different direction and I'd end up in a losing battle with the leaning tower of frosting. For years I solved this by simply not making layer cakes at all. But that didn't last forever. There's something about a culinary challenge getting the better of me that just couldn't be left alone.</div>
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So, I watched cake shows and read cake cookbooks and cake baker blogs and I learned a thing or two. Or more. Turns out, there's a lot to making a layer cake that is structurally sound, pretty AND yummy. </div>
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Now I'm going to make a comment that may come as a surprise, at least to people who know me. I like cake mixes. There's nothing wrong with making a cake from a cake mix. Unless you want to build a tall layer cake. Then the very thing I love - the tender, moist cake - is the first design flaw. To make a layer cake, you need a firmer cake, one that doesn't flop around when you try to build with it. The Better Butter (Almond) Cake worked very well.</div>
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Second, even if you're working with a firm cake, there's much to be said for freezing the cake layers and working with them cold. It keeps your butter cream from getting runny, for one thing. </div>
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Third, frosting should be spreadable but not warm. In fact, nothing should be at all warm. That was definitely one of the flaws of my earlier cake efforts. I would usually be in a rush, having scheduled insufficient time, and decide the cake was "cool enough." The cake can't be "cool enough." The cake needs to be cold. </div>
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Those are three rules I learned about the materials. Then came the whole business of actually getting your cake to look and taste as if it had distinct layers, even after it's assembled, frosted, cut and served. Once I graduated from sliding messes, I spent some time with cakes that were very pretty on the outside, and yummy to eat, but there was that moment of disappointment when I cut the first slice and it looked distinctly un-layer-y on the inside.</div>
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And I read more, and watched more, and talked to people who actually knew how to create structurally sound, pretty, yummy, layer-y cakes. And I practiced and practiced and today, I'm taking my cake building skills public. </div>
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Are you ready? </div>
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Yes?</div>
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Let's build a cake.</div>
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Step One: Starting with the first layer, use a highly flavored glaze, jam, or syrup to coat the top of the cake. This provides an extra punch of flavor and a barrier between cake and frosting that contributes to that desired layer-y-ness. In the case of this cake, I used ... of course ... home made blackberry jam. </div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82ULuP9DexqLVdWU4clcByTROS-C-OGfyUT8tlCbufc_YcXrHRMUepnp7_kD4-47URcOf1cfGPidn9Kjxb5G7Cu_YczbIs5RrGVgX7oIGbNAzGniA-FczIKIjiEtiHLAZQVB_0cSz9tE/s400/20140608_184822.jpg" /> </div>
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Step Two: Add a layer of frosting. This is another place where I get all dorky about my tools. You really just can't do better than an off set spatula for spreading frosting. Something like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Offset-Spatula-Set-Ateco/dp/B00024WO3U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402966510&sr=8-1&keywords=offset+cake+spatula" target="_blank">this</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4T-NH9jYD6rBrntlk08vscavU65xzPu1AqapJpHNzXQJwLnR6Fj4_kmquPtMrr_Bkdk12Sc2shBWa0Sac5knjmhjE0offXgxcPgJxezBwr1GY21x_lVSP0rWMc_z3ItzWT5lgX2p27s/s1600/20140608_185015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4T-NH9jYD6rBrntlk08vscavU65xzPu1AqapJpHNzXQJwLnR6Fj4_kmquPtMrr_Bkdk12Sc2shBWa0Sac5knjmhjE0offXgxcPgJxezBwr1GY21x_lVSP0rWMc_z3ItzWT5lgX2p27s/s400/20140608_185015.jpg" /> </a> </div>
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Step Three: Repeat the cake jam frosting pattern until you run out of layers or courage. This is where things used to start going terribly wrong for me. Instead of a nice even tower of deliciousness, I would have three layers headed three different directions with all manner of skewers and what have you sticking out in a vain attempt to keep to impending collapse at bay. But working with cold cake, chilly buttercream and the right techniques - viola! - we have a thing of beauty and strength.</div>
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Step Four: Frost the entire cake with a thin layer to seal in cake crumbs. This doesn't have to be pretty so much as it has to be uniform.</div>
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Step Five: Finish frosting the cake with as much or as little frosting as you have and/or like. Make it as fancy or as plain as you want. I usually start by piling the remaining frosting on the top and then spreading it out, down and around. I'm not a cake decorator so my results are not visually fancy. Maybe that will be the next chapter in my cake journey.</div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWHvY1k4VLdxqUJN5al8D2-57Zwarxlw7HggLMBTQIF_WGJdkBJ8LjNf0AIfzh-gdmEtcRu5vBhIgl3s0sTDUF6psHCZeNMjVzCddYYvGiBiKAgCVLxeKPjf1VYZmBp8oBmymJbEjbjg/s400/20140608_185744.jpg" /> </div>
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And will you look at that? It's pretty, it's yummy, it didn't fall apart and it's ... </div>
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LAYER-Y!!</div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Cwj9DgR3maLP8w35crP1JhHnKXwbfCIhyphenhyphen4BxHIv8kayK94pyWR8uZlu9dKcWFBWdxaVEED4kTRp1eMRGKAJyYqLHE-BQg2HPxMQswqHaiwRCqHNyh5pPnuLjYxN0Aqrniq7g-T_Y7lE/s400/20140608_192608.jpg" /> </div>
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Happy Birthday, Cake!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-36977624814450188312014-06-12T19:27:00.001-07:002014-06-12T19:27:51.636-07:00Foodie Find: Alexia Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries<div dir="ltr">
Oh. Yes.</div>
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Last week my local Sprouts had Alexia brand frozen potato products on sale. Well. Select variaties. And you know what that means... all the stuff you like is regular price while the fat free low salt wasabi seaweed lemon pepper fish flakes are "selected."</div>
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It wasn't quite that bad but most of the select variaties were of the sweet potato persuasion. Despite the fad for sweet potato everything, I confess that most of it leaves me just meh. At best.</div>
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Then I saw these...</div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvLAHJ7lxIms6DZY1VHrt261iqwOfuxgci9MV13pbqr9oBtXTghkVF652AxDH8vozwlT-J3qqmXYxk1cW5Y-oKgqH8rvcJ-pfnSuLVXPAdTEquhTEa8JIxNqi7L-9nxluSuQ9TKVvAyUs/s640/20140609_195202.jpg" height="300" width="400" /> </div>
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Hey. Spicy. Chipotle seasoned. On sale. Apparently that was the trifecta that convinced me to bring them home and fry them up to serve with burgers for dinner.</div>
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People... we have some serious not meh going on here. I do strongly recommend deep frying. Check out the <a href="http://threeintulsa.blogspot.com/2011/05/hush-puppy.html" target="_blank">rules</a> for doing it right on a (much) earlier post.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-28619646888233398842014-06-08T16:04:00.001-07:002014-06-10T19:35:35.029-07:00First Fruits<p dir="ltr">Our little urban garden has mixed feelings about all the rain we've been getting. The tomatoes are getting whiny but the green peppers are happy. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The first fruit (veggie) of the season is going in tonight's dinner!</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ulMWTxYi84ohU-bxBEKp9ojxpObSvsLgYIyfa4K71ZGtW0FSd2N_ZbxzUrTbcnxjf1kfF0BLjVHx-WkGsfqckFgPqSY9y4wna4N7qmqXyJ6faG0vdz91oORRia_LDPpIi7Tie4qYLXk/s1600/20140608_180035-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ulMWTxYi84ohU-bxBEKp9ojxpObSvsLgYIyfa4K71ZGtW0FSd2N_ZbxzUrTbcnxjf1kfF0BLjVHx-WkGsfqckFgPqSY9y4wna4N7qmqXyJ6faG0vdz91oORRia_LDPpIi7Tie4qYLXk/s640/20140608_180035-1-1.jpg"> </a> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-44736936205344512013-10-27T14:57:00.000-07:002013-10-27T14:57:12.173-07:00Chili verde and what happens when you have a real job.Last blog post ... 2011. That's what happens when you land a fantastic job. Suddenly blogging falls way down to the bottom of "stuff I do with my discretionary time." <br />
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But look, here I am again, and I'm going to talk about making chili verde. See, I posted some pictures on Facebook and a friend asked for my recipe. As usual, the answer is just not that simple. <br />
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A lot of times when I cook, it's a matter of finding things in the fridge that need to be used up, or taking advantage of what was fresh at the farmer's market that morning. I try to make stocks out of the meat and veggie scraps as I cook one meal and often use the stock in the next meal. So I have approaches rather than recipes, most of the time.<br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><strong><em>Here's how I happened to make a great batch of chili verde last night.</em></strong></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0U5FKfvCsJWK2lu2hnQjQuZ9hNofT_w2uH_gvQRZKrYZXqyHQ8crydKpgC5WxqypnU-VivM5SohzMuDoJJXZpS54NDOQMU8DUtqGQCdMGzmueq_fqaXjlqizXfYjugRgOib5u1x8k8Jk/s1600/chili+served.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0U5FKfvCsJWK2lu2hnQjQuZ9hNofT_w2uH_gvQRZKrYZXqyHQ8crydKpgC5WxqypnU-VivM5SohzMuDoJJXZpS54NDOQMU8DUtqGQCdMGzmueq_fqaXjlqizXfYjugRgOib5u1x8k8Jk/s1600/chili+served.jpg" /></a></div>
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First of all, I had a container of left over <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/traditional-style-new-mexico-green-chile-sauce-28467" target="_blank">New Mexico style green chili sauce</a> made from roasted hatch chilies. Earlier this year I bought a 25 pound case of those puppies and spent a weekend roasting and freezing them. And for everyone who thought I was nuts, be warned, next year I'm probably going to get 50 pounds.<br />
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I had a hunk (about 3 lbs) of pork shoulder (aka boston butt) roast. I trimmed off the excess fat and cubed the meat and sprinkled it liberally with cumin, salt and cayenne pepper.<br />
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Pondering the state of my leftover green chili sauce, I decided it had been reheated so often that it had broken down into green chili sludge and that my chili verde would need something chunky in it besides pork. So I chopped up a yellow onion into a large-ish chunks. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1yAGsMLDOSuKwIBUXB972h_oXidRO4TTFPD2KBuHfKEs7yi2CG2QYXte384qvwQRdRQWFJcTX6i6gEJPd97WBVFYZEGjAXFbEJ5gm4i9Y_2EMCvNMRecJhSjQWiCfLz32zSB7c21tA_k/s1600/10521013564_9d6e537a36_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1yAGsMLDOSuKwIBUXB972h_oXidRO4TTFPD2KBuHfKEs7yi2CG2QYXte384qvwQRdRQWFJcTX6i6gEJPd97WBVFYZEGjAXFbEJ5gm4i9Y_2EMCvNMRecJhSjQWiCfLz32zSB7c21tA_k/s320/10521013564_9d6e537a36_n.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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I tossed the seasoned meat and the onions in pork fat that had been heating slowly in a large skillet on the stove. Yep, pork fat ... I acquired that by throwing the fat I trimmed off my last shoulder roast into the oven (275 degreed F) and then just pouring the golden goodness into a jar.<br />
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As I looked around the kitchen in it's perpetual state of needing to be cleaned, I noticed that we had not eaten all of the cilantro chutney that I made for last night's samosas. I had made that batch by chucking the following into my food processor: 2 bunches of cilantro, about an inch of ginger, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 green chilies, lime juice, salt and a little sugar. I say "that batch" because my green chutney is often a matter of what's on hand as well. My favorite green chutney from an actual recipe is for <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cilantro-Mint-Chutney-238020" target="_blank">cilantro mint chutney</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1F9Fxnc0zHKWiZ1-i3i0q9nxonTUTZFDKIkpUYvQrst39syBU0ub9l4JVXaXhilf1otz4n27KnBIPHB9-2gcwhDP3aLnNh1pmgjm6S-zqEFRDsQvA2ECHY_BXZ6u-8827iEWt23A18dU/s1600/chili+cooking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1F9Fxnc0zHKWiZ1-i3i0q9nxonTUTZFDKIkpUYvQrst39syBU0ub9l4JVXaXhilf1otz4n27KnBIPHB9-2gcwhDP3aLnNh1pmgjm6S-zqEFRDsQvA2ECHY_BXZ6u-8827iEWt23A18dU/s1600/chili+cooking.jpg" /></a></div>
Well, now that I thought about it, those flavors sounded like a good addition to my chili verde. So in went two tablespoons of the chutney as well. Once the meat was browned a bit, I added my left over green chili and about 2 cups of homemade pork stock. (Yay! Two containers out of the fridge!) <br />
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All that was left to do was let the chili simmer for a couple of hours until the liquid had reduced to a nice thick sauce and the pork was falling apart tender.<br />
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We ate it with fresh avocado and yellow corn tortillas. One of these days I'm going to learn how to make my own corn tortillas. Until then, I'm a huge fan of <a href="http://latortillafactory.com/products-8.aspx" target="_blank">La Tortilla Factory's Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas.</a><br />
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And there you have it. My "recipe" for chili verde. <br />
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I'll try to post again before 2015, but I'm not promising anything. First I have to update my blog name. Since our older son moved back home, we're Four in Tulsa these days.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-618233399052408862011-09-24T17:48:00.000-07:002011-09-24T17:48:18.968-07:00Summer. Saturday. Mornings.<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps the most nourishing thing I do during the summer is start my Saturday mornings at the Cherry Street Farmer's Market. This is where I feed my soul for the week while buying food to feed our bodies. So, if you are so inclined, would you join me on a Tulsa Saturday Morning in August? Even though we're in late September and you are heaven only knows where?</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/garlic-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/garlic-1-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Usually I start at the <strong>coffee house on cherry street</strong> but it was so hot by nine o'clock this morning that I thought it wiser to hit the market before the mercury hit 100.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The melon truck was still in business and I picked up a cantaloupe that smelled like heat and honey and left me breathless.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQg6fciSiLLs_-DiKrh5hbKoDg33VWm-ZLN2BInFvlRQFYQ4aqKHgDyShmjNDyYNhiSQLPU_1UmOv_-y2ZOS7vJzNbNC1YLHfwNb8ELxfhhzRG_aOiAuA-Qg5RwLEhQPY3bYeBE9k1nA/s1600/melon+truck+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQg6fciSiLLs_-DiKrh5hbKoDg33VWm-ZLN2BInFvlRQFYQ4aqKHgDyShmjNDyYNhiSQLPU_1UmOv_-y2ZOS7vJzNbNC1YLHfwNb8ELxfhhzRG_aOiAuA-Qg5RwLEhQPY3bYeBE9k1nA/s1600/melon+truck+blog.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I'm flying to Colorado monday morning... driving to OKC after lunch at a friend's house tomorrow so I'm not shopping for much today. I'm hungry for a good BLT though so I'm looking for tomatoes, bacon, bread. The lettuce is long gone here.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg4Wojtji8-P61MVzysZTD39LH4L8hms_QXBnKBk0AKTXtNkWjER4IegXmOJm4Bmm2fahGqeKh4tm7nTZgEyvEtWvE9jgEfll1RGRkJnUf8zo4c5Axe1K_Ev0PPwMEi3gqLYZTJTu3H4w/s1600/pork+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg4Wojtji8-P61MVzysZTD39LH4L8hms_QXBnKBk0AKTXtNkWjER4IegXmOJm4Bmm2fahGqeKh4tm7nTZgEyvEtWvE9jgEfll1RGRkJnUf8zo4c5Axe1K_Ev0PPwMEi3gqLYZTJTu3H4w/s1600/pork+blog.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Pork & Greens</strong> is my favorite place for anything from a pig. sadly, they were out of bacon by the time I got there. The woman in front of me got the last pound. Fortunately, they're not the only supplier. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVhdESkFO7PFrC5aFfLMJCyonmE23g66HvXuaH5lNJEhgAy39VTBUfQMPkcVlJZmYgxRybMxn8pm-kF7Vln_PZBs_EzhmafjTCby9ILKi4gSEY-6nn1ReYc_J7dEix0l0H9eRtRIgfuY/s1600/greenwood+farms+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVhdESkFO7PFrC5aFfLMJCyonmE23g66HvXuaH5lNJEhgAy39VTBUfQMPkcVlJZmYgxRybMxn8pm-kF7Vln_PZBs_EzhmafjTCby9ILKi4gSEY-6nn1ReYc_J7dEix0l0H9eRtRIgfuY/s1600/greenwood+farms+blog.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Greenwood Farms</strong> still had bacon. I didn't need eggs (their's are wonderful) and there's still some chorizo and smoked andouille in the freezer from a couple of weeks ago. The sweet italian sausage has been eaten up but I'll come back next saturday and stock up on that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The only produce I need is tomatoes but I can't help but stop and look, talk and imagine - tucking ideas away in my head for future weeks. Not too future ... the market closes in October and that will be here before I know it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My favorite produce vendor is <strong>Three Springs Farm</strong>. Some of the local restaurants buy their produce from them. It makes my day when I'm standing next to someone buying up half the truck and talking about the appetizer they're going to put on the menu that night to take advantage of whatever treasure they've found. </span></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>three springs farm</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iEPwaRIrHEVZsp3vOKfl5ekMz9REzGPK9lLLomvuSAFwPC7Pf8QMlHrDe40P97-K6zYBkSsklChKbUczHvQYj9KZKL5hFBBmMtjCKVN3gPwryvgcoDhmU9qmW_2tP1JXpENTy6vXbME/s1600/three+springs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iEPwaRIrHEVZsp3vOKfl5ekMz9REzGPK9lLLomvuSAFwPC7Pf8QMlHrDe40P97-K6zYBkSsklChKbUczHvQYj9KZKL5hFBBmMtjCKVN3gPwryvgcoDhmU9qmW_2tP1JXpENTy6vXbME/s640/three+springs.JPG" t$="true" width="488" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And yes, I believe we have found the tomatoes for dinner sandwiches. I feel obligated to note that I didn't edit the tomato picture at all except to crop it. And yes, the flavor is as intense as the color. I'm happy to just bite into one like an apple and let the juice run all down my face. There is nothing like a vine ripened tomato.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrlMMNjQ1DUI5VGL5S69t21_LoX5_l_30bO5-3mUPwSGeV45kx3SyTn-Dj9h2Kuc3Bj7rIiJK8j7L7Co9n81aFT2q3qVWzPvZL1yx8ZeuhyphenhyphenKSMnl7b5GD6__GaDH_Nc5l43Wne4ike_g/s1600/tomatoes+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrlMMNjQ1DUI5VGL5S69t21_LoX5_l_30bO5-3mUPwSGeV45kx3SyTn-Dj9h2Kuc3Bj7rIiJK8j7L7Co9n81aFT2q3qVWzPvZL1yx8ZeuhyphenhyphenKSMnl7b5GD6__GaDH_Nc5l43Wne4ike_g/s1600/tomatoes+blog.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">About this time I was feeling really grateful for the existence of thin, 100% cotton clothing. I wonder how the farmers are making it this year. It's been so mercilessly hot and dry for weeks. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I have my bacon, my tomatoes and I'm hot and hungry. T</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">hinking it's about time I found my ritual almond pastry and headed to CHOCS to hide from the heat and recharge my body and soul.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">mmm ... and there they are ...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMAY9ZS4mx1J5c0bm2fEKD2SsO0ghe3Ge4aKXaydjiRlgcKZUAzsq2-czcagoWmTii1UcqpKZ9JZsPoluEruClAYIU6mFSi38aLKP2dMcUj-9j0pKcOjGmE-88M-oZOK9xrs8hjd4g0nA/s1600/breakfast.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMAY9ZS4mx1J5c0bm2fEKD2SsO0ghe3Ge4aKXaydjiRlgcKZUAzsq2-czcagoWmTii1UcqpKZ9JZsPoluEruClAYIU6mFSi38aLKP2dMcUj-9j0pKcOjGmE-88M-oZOK9xrs8hjd4g0nA/s640/breakfast.JPG" t$="true" width="402" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So back down cherry street, pick up loaf of sourdough from <strong>Farrell Family Bread</strong>. The bambino eggplant almost made me cave and buy something I wouldn't be able to do anything with before leaving town tomorrow. So I settled for admiring them, chatting with their grower, and taking a picture.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNnrXGPRO-rnL5FLzNBcaKhBbDi1-juMeGznRAKCPSmh2wkVCfy3Ljuvp2AWzVIatVY1acHQByzCTd5tuwQs2Sxhkmrg8K58-4Y1eI4tpBCn0nd6VFWiaYsSW_6oseZictlwIyLRL7Vo/s1600/bambinos+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNnrXGPRO-rnL5FLzNBcaKhBbDi1-juMeGznRAKCPSmh2wkVCfy3Ljuvp2AWzVIatVY1acHQByzCTd5tuwQs2Sxhkmrg8K58-4Y1eI4tpBCn0nd6VFWiaYsSW_6oseZictlwIyLRL7Vo/s1600/bambinos+blog.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ah ... CHOCS is in sight ... and despite the brutal heat and the fact that my shirt is now sticking to me, i want a hot cup of coffee so i believe inside it will be today.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I duck inside and immediately my soul lifts, my shoulders straighten. I love this place. The noise of happy conversation, espresso machines, the staff teasing, a baby laughing, extra fans running in every corner. I splurge and order a medium cappuccino. For here. This is not the to-go part of my week. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Oh. My coffee is up and it's beautiful.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Excellent. There's plenty of room left in the cozy reading nook and I score the corner table, cushy chair and footstool. Fistbump. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And now - breakfast. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATOdCRXZ05t_LT7lH_4TTZkwFE3HIsUYF6V8Qun-5GqW045PwPPL5I6Xh2vFhVxsai7Lr8lt6py-NENJYT5rlLkusi00aoOHooareBnkhAV3kmrMZSQZU_5ys77xWJ0V9jd9T1-nJR-I/s1600/breakfast2+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATOdCRXZ05t_LT7lH_4TTZkwFE3HIsUYF6V8Qun-5GqW045PwPPL5I6Xh2vFhVxsai7Lr8lt6py-NENJYT5rlLkusi00aoOHooareBnkhAV3kmrMZSQZU_5ys77xWJ0V9jd9T1-nJR-I/s1600/breakfast2+blog.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwj_A_XSP4nDjU_OuU_Sm15Th5UcNxtsfhcbMCwpKqbJJft2uhE9XJleJYHuQxdda7rNtcxc0v7PyfAJJUW0EQQdkD3ebwyD89UnKk_mQaFAXf8q0m1ZpJpvNJM8lA8WW4IZ84pE7txmw/s1600/going.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwj_A_XSP4nDjU_OuU_Sm15Th5UcNxtsfhcbMCwpKqbJJft2uhE9XJleJYHuQxdda7rNtcxc0v7PyfAJJUW0EQQdkD3ebwyD89UnKk_mQaFAXf8q0m1ZpJpvNJM8lA8WW4IZ84pE7txmw/s320/going.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The man across from me is absorbed in his cup of tea and magazine. I sit and go through the pictures I just took, hook into the free wifi, hang out on fb. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiCU5DlN_XLrg8F_zYzX6-L3sOCbBSbQ4mKg5mdfW6RhjQ1Pu2FWyHFNHyuHUNwjAcNVPZ18G9l0GjwJ2ZnUL1cM5ze1f-qMHmSHwhQeBQEoW25wacJCFXMH2Vgh0AK27a2U2TU_bJE0/s1600/going2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiCU5DlN_XLrg8F_zYzX6-L3sOCbBSbQ4mKg5mdfW6RhjQ1Pu2FWyHFNHyuHUNwjAcNVPZ18G9l0GjwJ2ZnUL1cM5ze1f-qMHmSHwhQeBQEoW25wacJCFXMH2Vgh0AK27a2U2TU_bJE0/s320/going2.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I think about my family and friends and what I could have done with those bambino eggplant. I drift away on my coffee and the torch singer music drifitng through the rooms. Think about my life. It's good. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And then. My coffee is gone.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwp37LxDcGtg8ySPFJMJ1l0bywm3vP0RC5ugaNfJOMH7RtkQ5Ov0yLzGzUyXqLGuQQu4O9g6uw3hZIM-nGd36ilUaGJJuRrW8Q_aHnhTSMvQv7qJP2IhhYo5sdhH6oqckKJMuZzEPLJI/s1600/gone+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwp37LxDcGtg8ySPFJMJ1l0bywm3vP0RC5ugaNfJOMH7RtkQ5Ov0yLzGzUyXqLGuQQu4O9g6uw3hZIM-nGd36ilUaGJJuRrW8Q_aHnhTSMvQv7qJP2IhhYo5sdhH6oqckKJMuZzEPLJI/s1600/gone+blog.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">really completely indisputably gone</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So I go. There's laundry, bills, a dirty kitchen and unpaid rent waiting to be dealt with. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">But it's all good. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">All of it.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-75266231437710567492011-07-22T17:03:00.000-07:002011-07-22T17:03:02.899-07:00Hello, blog.<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I haven't forgotten about you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Really.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-37866068356125754682011-06-26T17:36:00.000-07:002011-06-26T17:36:55.246-07:00Key Lime Bliss<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcv1x5991vqpAv5mLxV00VZrGn2Sjj7_Zyzp8PzmT-cIQMUmoBa96U_T3Z9Dfh03heIiS8SJ9sV8YkpI7bvrDlxFv_SGVYvNkO-YvQKoCksaUoPx9nmawpc5a2WnVPSbiKOZkZ3_zfrE/s1600/crust2+-+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcv1x5991vqpAv5mLxV00VZrGn2Sjj7_Zyzp8PzmT-cIQMUmoBa96U_T3Z9Dfh03heIiS8SJ9sV8YkpI7bvrDlxFv_SGVYvNkO-YvQKoCksaUoPx9nmawpc5a2WnVPSbiKOZkZ3_zfrE/s1600/crust2+-+blog.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sometimes a recipe calls for a whole lot of tweaking, tinkering and personalizing to really make it sing. And sometimes you should just keep your stickly little paws off a tried and true tradition.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Key Lime Pie falls squarely into the latter category.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I follow a Cook's Illustrated recipe, but the bottom line is always going to be: eggs, sweetened condensed milk, limes. That's all. Yes, we could go at it for days over whole eggs vs. egg yolks and key limes vs. (gasp!) regular limes ... </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">...but at the end of the day it's really just three key ingredients to sublime lime.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/limetwist-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/limetwist-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Stuff</strong></span></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Lime Filling</em></strong></span></div></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">4 </span><span class="unit">teaspoons</span></span> <span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name">grated lime zest</span> <span class="specialInstructions"></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">1/2 </span><span class="unit">cup</span></span> <span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name">lime juice</span> <span class="specialInstructions">from 3 to 4 limes</span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">4</span><span class="unit"></span></span> <span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name">large egg yolks</span> <span class="specialInstructions"></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">1</span><span class="unit"></span></span> </span><span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk</span></span> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="ingredientSectionTitle"><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Graham Cracker Crust</em></strong></span></div></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">11</span><span class="unit"></span></span> <span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name">graham crackers</span> <span class="specialInstructions">, processed to fine crumbs (1 1/4 cups)</span></span></span></span></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">3</span><span class="unit">tablespoons</span></span> <span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name">granulated sugar</span> <span class="specialInstructions"></span></span></span></span></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">5</span><span class="unit">tablespoons</span></span> <span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name">unsalted butter</span> <span class="specialInstructions">, melted</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ingredientSectionTitle"><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Whipped Cream Topping</em></strong></span></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">3/4</span><span class="unit">cup</span></span> <span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name">heavy cream</span> <span class="specialInstructions"></span></span></span></span></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">1/4</span><span class="unit">cup</span></span> <span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name">confectioners' sugar</span> <span class="specialInstructions"></span></span></span></span></div><div itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span itemprop="amount"><span class="amount">1/2</span><span class="unit"></span></span> <span class="ingredient"><span class="preInstructions"></span><span class="item" itemprop="name">lime</span> <span class="specialInstructions">, sliced paper thin and dipped in sugar (optional)</span></span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/limesafter-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="540" i$="true" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/limesafter-1.jpg" width="540" /></span></a></div><div><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Way</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: black;"><strong><em>For the Filling: </em></strong>Whisk zest and yolks in medium bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice; set aside at room temperature to thicken.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><strong><em>For the Crust:</em></strong> Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add butter; stir with fork until well blended. Pour mixture into 9-inch pie pan; press crumbs over bottom and up sides of pan to form even crust. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. </span></span><br />
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</div></div><div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/crust1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="540" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/crust1-1.jpg" width="540" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Pour lime filling into crust; bake until center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, 15 to 17 minutes. Return pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours. (Can be covered with lightly oiled or oil-sprayed plastic wrap laid directly on filling and refrigerated up to 1 day.) </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/pie1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/pie1-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><strong><em>For the Whipped Cream:</em></strong> Up to 2 hours before serving, whip cream in medium bowl to very soft peaks. Adding confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, continue whipping to just-stiff peaks. Decoratively pipe whipped cream over filling or spread evenly with rubber spatula. Garnish with optional sugared lime slices and serve.</span></span></div><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>Tips and Tricks</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Did I say this didn't require any tweaking, tinkering or personalizing? Did you actually believe me? Did you think I could actually keep my sticky paws off of a recipe?</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><em>Here are my opinions on the matter:</em></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Limes work just as well, if not better than key limes. There. I said it. Get in line. For everyone who says I'm off my rocker, I've got someone willing to declare mine is the best "key" lime pie they've ever eaten. And no, I don't pay them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Get some super crunchy, super gingery ginger snaps and replace half to a third of the graham crackers with that. Awesome crust.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Whipped cream? I don't bother. I actually think it detracts from the tart simplicity that is the pie.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Did I say pie? I meant tart. I make mine in a tart pan and it comes out superb and gorgeous each and every time.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Want a perfectly pressed tart crust with clean edges? I have just the perfect tool of you. Introducing... the measuring cup. My seven year old can create a masterpiece with this - I know you can.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/crusttechnique-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/crusttechnique-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: black;"><img height="96" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/limesafter-1.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 400px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 1386px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /></span><br />
<div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-74770570763651496322011-05-31T18:39:00.000-07:002011-05-31T18:49:18.169-07:00That Bulgar Keema Thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAu1AxPXPISjlY-Wot4APQ5Li18KVkaKavCLcJNhkbwaBKC0DJmB5NAsqVPuaESDiULgghn-1BrqckFrX5SvK-0bJEsDGUYxwSwEcqQk_FACSQPJh168CcJYB5s57GD8hb6QeOB-TjFM/s1600/bulgar+khemma+blog4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAu1AxPXPISjlY-Wot4APQ5Li18KVkaKavCLcJNhkbwaBKC0DJmB5NAsqVPuaESDiULgghn-1BrqckFrX5SvK-0bJEsDGUYxwSwEcqQk_FACSQPJh168CcJYB5s57GD8hb6QeOB-TjFM/s1600/bulgar+khemma+blog4.JPG" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So far I've been trying to post some of more tried and true recipes, or even items like the <a href="http://threeintulsa.blogspot.com/2011/05/chocolate-french-silk-ohmygoodness.html">French Silk Pie</a> which was someone else's recipe and basically I documented my experiences with it. (All good, by the way.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">However, that is not how I usually roll in the kitchen. Tonight's dinner was more typical. Leaving the office and walking to my car I thought to myself, "I really need to cook or freeze that ground beef that's in the fridge." This was soon followed by "Ugh. Why do I buy ground beef? I make the same boring stuff with it ... burgers, spaghetti sauce, meatloaf. AGH!" And I trudged along for half a block and then thought, "Wait a minute. Indian cooking uses a lot of spiced ground meats. So does Turkish cooking and ... well, wow, there's just a whole lot of options out there that would be so much more interesting."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">By the time I got to my car I was rifling through my pantry in my head, determined not to stop at the grocery store for anything. What would it be good with? Oh, I know, I have bulgar wheat! And I could use that lemon juice, olive oil, cinnamon dressing that I do ... oh wait. No lemon. Ah-hah! But I have limes! And fresh parsley!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">And so it went on the drive home. By the time I got into the kitchen I was in full wing-it mode, talking to myself as I poked around in the fridge and cupboards. Oh look! There's that baby spinach salad I got the other day for lunch and never ate. That would go great chopped up with the parsley. Ah, and a quarter of a red onion. What's this? A can of chickpeas? Perfection. Oh, and next to the lime is one sad looking tomato that really needs to be cooked in something. Peachy! Chicken stock in the fridge. Yay!</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The end result was pretty much a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keema">keema</a> </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">mixed with a bulgar pilaf. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/bulgarkhemmablog1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/bulgarkhemmablog1-1.jpg" t8="true" width="540" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I'm going to try to capture it here for myself (and my husband who kept saying "This is <em>really</em> good!" every third bite), and for anyone who would like an idea of how I usually roll.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Stuff...</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>...for the bulgar.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1 Cup bulgar wheat</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1 1/2 Cups good quality chicken stock (not broth, <em>stock</em>)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>... for the keema.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1/3 lb of good quality ground chuck</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1/2 C canned (or cooked) chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1 medium ripe tomato, chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2 cloves of garlic, crushed into a paste</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1 inch of ginger, crushed into a paste</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (or more or less depending on your heat tolerance)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1/2 tsp ground cumin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1/4 tsp ground coriander</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1 tsp garam masala</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Salt and black pepper to taste</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>... to make it a pilaf.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">chopped baby spinach</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">raisins (or currants or dried cranberries...)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">chopped red onion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">chopped fresh parsley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">anything else that you think would be yummy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><em>Like chopped green olives? or chopped toasted almonds or pistachios? pine nuts? Ooo... next time, yah yah.</em></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>... to dress it all up.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1/4 C good quality extra virgin olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">juice from 1 lime</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">salt and pepper</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LpC5-Qw_Em6iqNc3CD2JjZjR4f208bGLaJBB3dZHbjIC0DaPGEv-vSTE5skdC3SWDWDH2eh5XHrIEAGroFNZRubA79H3YgHO7gmGVHM8HPHLsyKZ1s1djp77fWg1yVA4aF8MsBVWU9Y/s1600/bulgar+khemma+blog3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LpC5-Qw_Em6iqNc3CD2JjZjR4f208bGLaJBB3dZHbjIC0DaPGEv-vSTE5skdC3SWDWDH2eh5XHrIEAGroFNZRubA79H3YgHO7gmGVHM8HPHLsyKZ1s1djp77fWg1yVA4aF8MsBVWU9Y/s1600/bulgar+khemma+blog3.JPG" t8="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Way with some Ideas thrown in.</strong></span></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">In a medium saucepan heat the stock to a boil and pour in bulgar wheat. Return to a boil, cover with a tight fitting lid and turn heat very low (gas) or off (electric). Leave it alone for 10 - 20 minutes depending on your bulgar. Alternatively, follow the cooking directions on the package if you bought it that way. I find most commercial bulgar cooking directions call for too much liquid and produce a cooked cereal thing not a pilaf thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Saute garlic, ginger, ground beef, cayenne, cumin and coriander until beef is browned. Add chickpeas and tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are softened and all the flavors have had a chance to meld. Maybe 5 minutes. Add garam masala and stir.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Toss any dried fruit you may be using on top of the cooked bulgar and put the lid back on it to let it steam for a couple of minutes. The drier the fruit, the longer the steam. You don't want it mushy though. Fluff the bulgar before adding it to the other ingredients.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">In a small bowl, whisk olive oil and lemon juice together until emulsified (this is seconds if you have a good whisk). Add salt and pepper to taste.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">In a large bowl, combine all your chopped fresh veggies and herbs with the bulgar mixture and beef mixture. Toss it together. Drizzle with the olive oil dressing and toss again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6vlqngwlY1hcUbZXVnXt01Gx19NjQ5w3PY4B6DqU750wa_K9nr0VyTCjQUkx113MaCELIF6sdMnbt0xWPukIqxcUJbE33_T4COD3lac2qqqYEB89FN3WzP81v_-KvK9c1A3M43UrqzM/s1600/bulgar+khemma+blog6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6vlqngwlY1hcUbZXVnXt01Gx19NjQ5w3PY4B6DqU750wa_K9nr0VyTCjQUkx113MaCELIF6sdMnbt0xWPukIqxcUJbE33_T4COD3lac2qqqYEB89FN3WzP81v_-KvK9c1A3M43UrqzM/s1600/bulgar+khemma+blog6.JPG" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Taste it. Adjust taste with salt and pepper. I found mine needed a little something and concluded that it wasn't more salt, but rather a little sweet - which often fixes a salt problem when you find yourself adding more salt and more salt and more salt and not getting what you're after. So I drizzled on a little agave nectar (honey would work) and that did the trick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I served it up on bright red soup plates and topped it with a green olive. This made enough for my husband and I to both have it for dinner, and I would say there are probably 4 servings left. At least some of it's going to the office with me for tomorrow's lunch.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFquf7YHc81RR06GrWuFkODSmgrhCXbkhrMmCHUR8LOCEj76TddM5LJOzzp-duCqRxft9JtvlAtZBXgKSCXcnzJH9kFRghuM9FBzRhaFqIRO_hluo6cayNRRTYo6KhZQbWjv1o207GBrw/s1600/bulgar+khemma+blog5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFquf7YHc81RR06GrWuFkODSmgrhCXbkhrMmCHUR8LOCEj76TddM5LJOzzp-duCqRxft9JtvlAtZBXgKSCXcnzJH9kFRghuM9FBzRhaFqIRO_hluo6cayNRRTYo6KhZQbWjv1o207GBrw/s1600/bulgar+khemma+blog5.JPG" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Also ... this whole thing was concocted, served and eaten within 30 minutes. Definitely a workable work night dinner. Also a testament to how fast we can inhale food around here.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-72577642692940659012011-05-30T12:36:00.000-07:002011-05-30T12:36:51.663-07:00Crusty Crostini<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kIF3pl4buqUJp_W1a-7kf6mYEMEt5DeEzjhxAJvFawEl58Lm1aAL8YSVTwMzUXDq7RALemBv8AbAZJi2k3LxjDqicS7RXHtVDuCsbJhx4TgC9UPGXR4A5kFWOskqS2jKjLEVJbO8GjM/s1600/crostini+blog1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kIF3pl4buqUJp_W1a-7kf6mYEMEt5DeEzjhxAJvFawEl58Lm1aAL8YSVTwMzUXDq7RALemBv8AbAZJi2k3LxjDqicS7RXHtVDuCsbJhx4TgC9UPGXR4A5kFWOskqS2jKjLEVJbO8GjM/s1600/crostini+blog1.JPG" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Everything is on crostini lately, and food magazines yell at me that I must follow their secret to success, usually involving a grill, if I want my parties to be the talk of the season. Thankfully, I'm not worried about being the talk of anything and I watched <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135503/">Julie & Julia</a> so I know that you can make heart breakingly yummy food on a small stove in a cramped apartment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">When it comes to cooking, I am inspired by an unpredictable assortment of books, movies, sights, scents ... in the case of crostini, I was enchanted with the scene where Julie is making grilled bread in a cast iron skillet on her stove. The colors were so vibrant, the technique so simple, the equipment something I already had, the end result mouthwatering.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">And I thought: Hey, I can do that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">And I did.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyLOSVRwBoKJiByQmbNIOV-uaq_6ALEcqdfYwa4KmBjx6pVa3C5D77u4lNOp-mxvI_5F_WOgVn-Toc9HnCHF9NJaW7HJpYX1tP4KmijLKbBZQwVTheYoCGhhE2Q_Wsi7uTe4IMkOmICY/s1600/crostini+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyLOSVRwBoKJiByQmbNIOV-uaq_6ALEcqdfYwa4KmBjx6pVa3C5D77u4lNOp-mxvI_5F_WOgVn-Toc9HnCHF9NJaW7HJpYX1tP4KmijLKbBZQwVTheYoCGhhE2Q_Wsi7uTe4IMkOmICY/s1600/crostini+blog.JPG" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Stuff</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Good quality bread (and I don't mean Pepperidge Farm sandwich!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Olive oil and/or butter</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Way</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Slice</em></strong> the bread into @1/2 inch slices - thick enough to be sturdy, thin enough that you won't have to dislocate your jaw to get a mouthful of the bread plus toppings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Heat</em></strong> a cast iron skillet (oh, okay, any skillet, really) over medium heat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Brush</em></strong> both sides of the bread with olive oil (or a combination of olive oil and butter).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Snuggle</em></strong> bread slices into skillet and cook on each side until golden brown with some dark brown almost burnt parts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Serve</em></strong> topped with your choice of yumminess.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>Ideas</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Rub a halved clove of garlic over the hot, crunchy bread before topping.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Don't bother topping it at all and just inhale.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Top with... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> fresh mozzerella, basil and tomato.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> chopped tomatoes, roasted red pepper, minced onion.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"><strong>Talk back: What's your favorite topping?</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-44150924692221643812011-05-29T20:55:00.000-07:002011-05-30T15:48:29.939-07:00Rosemary Chicken Dinner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRH_FvQ-vFSfYwjN1eZfYAURc3Xi2PC407K0XbQTuL8GH4X12RyQpNbsZoL0_lcWFr0HlYN-Ol7GS0XTrIgpGUmVQu4DQu7-Ht-1SuqHa-qgvxXN9bmwJBCV6ClawoyqP2MD92b4MJjY/s1600/rosemary+chicken+blog1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRH_FvQ-vFSfYwjN1eZfYAURc3Xi2PC407K0XbQTuL8GH4X12RyQpNbsZoL0_lcWFr0HlYN-Ol7GS0XTrIgpGUmVQu4DQu7-Ht-1SuqHa-qgvxXN9bmwJBCV6ClawoyqP2MD92b4MJjY/s1600/rosemary+chicken+blog1.JPG" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Years ago I picked up a cooking magazine that featured a "French roast chicken dinner" on the cover. I don't know if I ever cooked the dish according to that recipe or not, but I do know that the ideas took root and became one of my "go to" dinners. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is one of those mindless throw-it-all-in-the-oven dinners that fills your home with heady aromas, hits the table looking like a million bucks and causes that most sought after of responses ... the pause, the groan, and then the deep silence of what our family calls "happy eating sounds."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So, without further ado, I present to you my Rosemary Chicken.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Proportions</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1 chicken, cut-up (or one cut up chicken, however you like to deal with it)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">4 medium sized russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1 large white onion, minced</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2 tsp salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2 tsp black pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2 Tbs fresh rosemary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1 Cup white wine</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Method</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Preheat</em></strong> oven to 400 degrees.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Mix</em></strong> minced onion, salt, pepper, potato chunks and chicken pieces together in a large oven proof pan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Bake</em></strong> chicken and potatoes at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until chicken is just starting to brown.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Add</em></strong> white wine to chicken and cover with foil.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Lower</em></strong> oven temperature to 350 degrees.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Bake</em></strong> for 30 - 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Remove</em></strong> foil.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Bake</em></strong> for another 20 minutes or until chicken is a deep golden brown and sauce has reduced.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/rosemarychicken8-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="540" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/rosemarychicken8-2.jpg" t8="true" width="540" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Tips</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Can we talk chicken here for a minute? The spongy white @#$% sold in our grocery stores isn't worth the price (no matter how low) you pay. It's crammed with pesticides, antibiotics and hormones but even worse - it's tasteless! It's been processed by being submerged in ice cold water until it's completely water logged and then frozen for shipping. Is it any wonder that it resembles its styrofoam packing? Even if you can't afford or find true free range organic hens, I do recommend that you seek out something like <a href="http://pages.smartchicken.com/pages/default.aspx">Smart Chicken</a> that is air chilled instead of drowned in dirty water. It really will make a difference. By the way, if you haven't ever worked with a "real" chicken before? Yes, the fat is supposed to be bright yellow, the breast meat is supposed to be a dark pink and the thighs really are meant to by that ruby color.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So ... anyway. Buy good chicken. Please.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Fresh herbs. I'm not even going to say more. Except that sure, I've made this dish with dried rosemary any number of times. It's yummy. Fresh herbs are just better, that's all.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Potatoes? I listed 4 russet potatoes because that's what I had when I made this tonight. There were sort of sad so I peeled them. It could just as easily be 8 red skins, skins on and halved. Or 12 baby potatoes. Or whatever floats your potato boat. It's going to get coated in chicken fat, salt, pepper, rosemary and white wine. It's kind of hard to go wrong.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">A few last thoughts - make sure that your baking dish is large enough that the potatoes and chicken fit in a single layer without being too crowded. I use a huge skillet that is also known as my chicken frying skillet (we'll get to that one day). I got it from my Mom. She got it from her Dad. He made it, or so the story goes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">You can substitute chicken stock for the white wine if you prefer not to cook with alcohol (although all the alcoholic content bubbles off). Just remember one thing. Skip or significantly lower the amount of salt you use if you're using stock in place of wine. It's best to realize you don't have any white wine in the house after all BEFORE you add the salt ... just ask my son Michael. He'll take great delight in telling you exactly how inedible the end results are if you don't adjust the salt for using stock instead of wine!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV76oVh7z_hXFg5fmYo4jL1DdCdl83pTF6Eem_m8tb-Es8wJhwEpV-psdiPOAUMf2avNuRrFaGP1q9Fk5vaYRC9yTENH38AsUC3vwthxF63HM0gBK0xhg-LUSJD5u_Rp0PLrYgA2gucII/s1600/rosemary+chicken+blog2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV76oVh7z_hXFg5fmYo4jL1DdCdl83pTF6Eem_m8tb-Es8wJhwEpV-psdiPOAUMf2avNuRrFaGP1q9Fk5vaYRC9yTENH38AsUC3vwthxF63HM0gBK0xhg-LUSJD5u_Rp0PLrYgA2gucII/s1600/rosemary+chicken+blog2.JPG" t8="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-87207852126529281892011-05-24T19:00:00.000-07:002011-05-24T19:15:16.217-07:00Chocolate French Silk OhMyGoodness!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/pie3-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/pie3-1.jpg" t8="true" width="323" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My fabulous brother and his family live and work in Honduras. I don't. As a result, our time together is too short and too infrequent. This past weekend I had the pleasure of hanging out with my brother for a little more than a day - unexpected and very treasured time with him. Of course, I simply had to make sure he got a slab of French Silk Pie crammed into his visit since it's one of his favorite things. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Before I launched into an epic French Silk Pie making event though, the wisdom of my age suggested I make sure that's the way <em>he</em> wanted <em>me</em> to spend my time during his visit. The discussion went something like this...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><em><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Me</strong>: I was thinking of making a French Silk Pie while ..</span></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><em><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Him</strong>: OH-KAY!</span></em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Okay.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So I went hunting for a real French Silk Pie recipe. Having never made one before, and having enjoyed some good ones and many mediocre ones, I was convinced that this would be a complex and time consuming cooking challenge.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Um.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">NOT.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">If you're a freak about eating anything with raw eggs in it, I suggest <a href="http://www.cookscountry.com/pwlogin.asp?did=5396&area=recipe&iseason=">Cook's Country version</a> with a cooked custard. Yes, you will need a subscription to get to the recipe with that link. I haven't tried it, but I'm offering it as an option because I've never made a recipe from the Cook's family that didn't rock.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I used a recipe I found just googling and contemplating the recipes. This one is from Suite101 and can be found <a href="http://www.suite101.com/content/chocolate-french-silk-pie-recipe-a36084">here.</a> For your convenience, it's duplicated below:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Proportions Part One</strong></span><br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3/4 cup butter, softened</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 cup white sugar</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 one ounce squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2 tsp pure vanilla</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 large eggs</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Method Part One</strong></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Melt</em></strong> chocolate in a small bowl over hot water. Do not let the chocolate harden up.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>In a large mixing bowl, cream</em></strong> the butter at medium to high speed about 1 minute.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Add sugar</em></strong>, 1/4 cup at a time and continue to beat until light and fluffy. This will take 3-5 minutes. Scrape bowl often. It must be mixed long enough so it is no longer gritty.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Slowly add</em></strong> the melted chocolate to the butter mixture, beating on low to medium speed until the chocolate is well blended and mixture is smooth and creamy. Scrape again.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>On medium speed, add</em></strong> eggs one at a time, beating after each one before adding the next egg. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Scrape bowl. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Add</em></strong> vanilla and give it one more mix.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Spread</em></strong> into prepared pie crust. </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Set aside.</em></strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Proportions Part Two</strong></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 cup heavy whipping cream</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/4 cup powdered sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/2 tsp pure vanilla</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate curls, optional for garnish</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Method Part Two</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>In large mixing bowl, beat</em></strong> cream until it sets up. There is no way to explain how long this will take. Every mixer is different. It should be light and fluffy and look like soft whipped cream. Do NOT let it get to the butter stage which can happen very quickly. If in doubt, under mix. You can always whip it a little more after the sugar is added.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Add </em></strong>powdered sugar and and vanilla and beat until fluffy and stiff. Do not over beat.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Put </em></strong>whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and decorate the pie. Or pile the cream on high with a spatula.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Sprinkle</em></strong> with chocolate curls.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Refrigerate</em></strong> pie and any leftovers.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/frenchsilk4-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="540" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/frenchsilk4-1.jpg" t8="true" width="540" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Tips</strong></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The recipe itself includes some good tips, especially when it comes to getting the filling smooth and not turning your whipped cream into butter.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I would add that use of superfine sugar instead of regular sugar will contribute to a smoother filling. However, I used regular sugar and beat the living daylights out of it and finally gave up on the gritty ever going away. By the time I added the melted chocolate and the eggs, the filling was smooth as ... well ... silk. In retrospect, I might not have had to mix the butter/sugar combo as long as I did but hey, that's one place where it's more than okay to overmix. Air is good.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">A word about mixers. If you have a weeny, underpowered hand mixer this pie might take a while to achieve that cloud-like, perfectly smooth, chocolately goodness. If you have a good stand mixer, it will be easier. If, like me, you are blessed with owning a <a href="http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/product/KP26M1XWH">KitchenAid Professional 600</a> series mixer then this pie is as easy as falling off a log and will pretty much make itself in a matter of minutes.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">About the crust... every recipe I've looked at tells you to put this in a regular pre-baked pie crust. Why? Why oh why oh why? Doesn't this just scream out for a chocolate cookie crust? <em><span style="color: #990000;">(The answer is, "Yes, Marie, it does. Why didn't the rest of the cooking world realize this sooner? Thank you for saving us from this culinary tragedy.")</span></em> </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So, I made my first Chocolate French Silk Pie using a chocolate wafer crust.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Proportions</strong></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="ingredient">32 chocolate wafers (e.g., Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers)</span><br />
<span class="ingredient">3 tbsp butter</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span class="ingredient"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Method</strong></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Heat</em></strong> oven to 350 degrees. </span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Crush</em></strong> chocolate wafers. </span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>M</em></strong></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>elt</em></strong> butter and blend with the crushed wafers. </span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Press</em></strong> into pie pan. </span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Bake</em></strong> for 6-8 minutes. </span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Cool.</em></strong></span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>A Few More Tips</strong></span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">A food processor makes crushing the chocolate wafers a snap. You can also just keep the processor running and drizzle the melted butter into it. You will end up with something that looks like wet coffee grounds and makes the most delicious chocolate crust.</span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The bottom of a measuring cup is a perfect tool for pressing crumb crusts into a pie pan.</span></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div class="instructions" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #772222; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">You don't have to use exactly 32 wafers. I think I used 35. Or maybe 30. I don't know ... I ate some along the way.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-86297933392920405752011-05-17T20:41:00.000-07:002011-05-17T21:06:48.215-07:00Hush, puppy!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraYi-bdjyLD2XFohWU5SnOUgQTAZIUqmy_hpmttPFXBs-xVTFiGsKP80tqNUzxLMUabbpOb6PGQlO27U1HkThXiDTRmSiuvnL_jiQB1T4Y3yvmejdUUTvXL2tYjewkJcFDA8YvFEKA3E/s1600/hushpuppy1b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraYi-bdjyLD2XFohWU5SnOUgQTAZIUqmy_hpmttPFXBs-xVTFiGsKP80tqNUzxLMUabbpOb6PGQlO27U1HkThXiDTRmSiuvnL_jiQB1T4Y3yvmejdUUTvXL2tYjewkJcFDA8YvFEKA3E/s1600/hushpuppy1b.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There are few things that make me as happy as a really good hushpuppy. Frankly, anything involving perfectly fried, salty carbohydrates has my immediate attention. Recently, I put out a call on my FaceBook page for a good recipe and my Aunt Betty (my Dad's sister from my epic cooking Mississippi side of the family) obliged with the following:</span><br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2 c cornmeal, 1/3 c flour, 2 tables sugar, chopped onion, enough b milk to make it stick together, fry in hot grease. When they ready they should turn over in the pan. Now does that sound like mamaw's recipe?</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">She then later specified that it's self-rising flour and self-rising cornmeal, both of which I have in my pantry thanks not to my South East Asian upbringing, but to my deep south roots. And I have the say, this is a delightfully detailed recipe for one that came out of my Mamaw's kitchen. I remember digging through scraps of paper and torn envelopes covered in scribbles that, if I concentrated really hard, might look like a list of ingredients (as long as you could do without measurements or complete words).</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Proportions</strong></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2 Cups self-rising yellow corn meal mix (no, people, <em>not</em> a box of Jiffy!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/2 Cup self-rising flour </span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2 Tbs sugar</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">about 1/2 Cup grated onion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">about 1 finely minced jalapeno pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">enough buttermilk (more about this later) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Method</strong></span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Heat </em></strong>enough oil in a heavy pot (or use a deep fryer) until it reaches 350 degrees.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Mix</em></strong> first three ingredients together in a large bowl. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Stir</em></strong> in grated onion and minced jalapeno pepper. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Add </em></strong>enough buttermilk to make a sticky batter type dough. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Scoop</em></strong> dough out with a spoon and drop into hot oil.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Fry</em></strong> until hushpuppies roll over.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><em>Drain</em></strong> immediately on oil absorbant paper.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Rules</strong></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"Fried food isn't bad. Bad fried food is bad." - Emeril Lagasse</span></em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Thou shalt have, and hold, thy oil at the right temperture:</em> Start it at a little above 350 degrees so that, as you quickly drop in your blobs of goodness, the temp stays in the 350 vicinity.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Thou shalt use enough oil:</em> I use a cast iron dutch oven filled with about four inches of oil (I used a combo of vegetable and corn oil for this batch). You want enough oil for the hushpuppies to float and bob around freely, cooking evenly. This also gives you the magic "I'm done" moment when the hushpuppy turns itself over in the oil. Flip - out it comes! Enough oil also helps the oil maintain its temperature.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Thou shalt not crowd thy cooking vessel:</em> Want your oil temperature to plummet, and your crispy-crunchy-moist-on-the-inside miracle to turn into a soggy mess? Then please, cram as many as you can in at a time. I generally try to leave at least as much free oil as I have frying items. If that makes sense.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As with all self-rising buttermilk type items like biscuits and pancakes... <em>thou shalt not overstir</em>. Unless you like hushpuppies that behave like mini tennis balls. And you don't.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Tips</strong></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Grated onion and minced jalapenos are not the only things you can add. At that point you could add anything else you think is yummy in a hushpuppy - like crumbled bacon, or diced cooked shrimp, or ... I don't know ... white truffles or anchovies or whatever. Me, I like onion and jalapeno. Period. Thanks.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And a word about grated onion ... it does wonders for flavoring something like a hushpuppy because the grating releases much more onion juice (ergo <em>flavor</em>) than chopping or mincing does. Scrape all that soggy goodness into the dry ingredients and mix it up.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What is "enough buttermilk?" Okay, I apologize for not having a measurement here but I really don't know. Even when I make the same thing over and over, "enough buttermilk" changes depending on the dry ingredients, the buttermilk, and whether Jupiter is aligned with Mars. You want it to hold together well in a moist blob that you can scoop and shape easily with a spoon, not runny but not be so dry that you have to roll the batter in your hand to get it to stick together. Think drop biscuits if that helps.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I promise the next time I make these (and there are going to be so many next times!) I will measure the buttermilk to give you at least a ball park idea. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/hushpuppy3-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/hushpuppy3-1-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-87695841158945495372011-05-16T18:10:00.000-07:002011-05-16T18:10:32.319-07:00The Adventure ContinuesOn July 28, 2009 I shared the following note on FaceBook - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=128348903419">New Adventures: Background for The Curious</a> in which I explained why I was leaving corporate work and what I intended to pursue instead: teaching.<br />
<br />
It has been a fascinating almost two years. <br />
<br />
I have learned a lot about myself, my family, my camera settings, my local libraries, farmers markets and schools. A lot of my time has been spent working as Gabriel's champion in a world and an educational system that isn't designed with him in mind. At all. Ever. I painted our house in Texas, and cleaned and dealt with competing flooring bids and learned that caulk is my friend, not my foe. I packed and pitched and sold and consolidated all of us (more or less) into a much smaller apartment in Tulsa and rented out our house in Texas. I cooked a lot. I fell in love with Tulsa.<br />
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I worked on my teaching certification. I fell into working as a visual impairment coach for a second grade girl and discovered a wonderful world with her. I watched the country decide, state by state, that the miserable few dollars they allot to education was too much and saw thousands of educators laid off as a result.<br />
<br />
I watched our financial reserves dwindle down to ... hey ... wait, I just found a quarter!<br />
<br />
So I started looking for work where I knew I could have the most success - back in pure HR. And I applied for this and for that and wasn't very excited about any of it, except that it beat living off of the change in the couch. And I interviewed and I didn't like them and they didn't like me and on and on it went. I said, "Hey, Universe. I need to do something here so ... I'm just going to keep trucking and you figure out where it is I'm supposed to go."<br />
<br />
And then it happened. After months of applications that took companies weeks if not months to respond to (if they responded at all), I saw a job that was too perfect for me. If you took my resume and wrote a job description, you would have ended up with this job. And with a good company. In Tulsa. I applied and prepared to be ignored or wait weeks but before I had even had time to move on to the next application, I got a call. And an interview - immediately. <br />
<br />
Then the next day another call, and a scheduled interview on the phone. Then, in rapid succession two more phone interviews and an invitation to go to headquarters in the Denver area for final interviews. My scheduled five interviews that day turned into seven during the course of the day as the Global Head of HR and one of the legal team were added to the schedule. And one business day later ... a job offer that literally left me breathless. Oh wait, I found enough breath to say "Yes, please!" And the best part is - they are at least as excited as I am, perhaps more so.<br />
<br />
So it goes, so it goes. I started my new job today. I am impressed with the company, with my manager, my team, my senior leader. The location is good, the job is interesting, the resources are excellent. For now, I'm back in corporate America and hopefully in a place and a time where it makes sense.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-36459755927095598422011-05-15T12:20:00.000-07:002011-05-17T16:22:47.174-07:00On cooking and recipes...<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I thought that, for those who aren't already used to being frustrated at getting an "ummmmm..." in return for a polite request for a recipe, I would take a moment to explain food, cooking, recipes and where they fit in my world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">By the time I was able to get my nose up to the counter, my Mom had me cooking and marketing for good food. I say marketing, not shopping, because I was born and raised in South East Asia and many of my earliest memories involve trolling the early morning wet markets for fresh ingredients. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Chicken? Yes, I'll take that reddish brown hen over there, running around in the corner - she looks healthy. Then off to pick out vegetables so fresh sometimes there was damp dirt still clinging to roots. Fish only if it looked like it still had a flop or two left in it. Need some pork? It came off of a freshly butchered pig that still looked just like the animal pork comes from, and spices were ground while you waited for you custom blend. <em>"Curry for lamb, ah?"</em> and the Serganoon Road spice seller would shuffle around his burlap bags of whole spices concocting the best mix for you before grinding it under your sneezing nose. </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I didn't grow up in a world where spices came out of a red and white can, vegetables from a stay fresh freezer bag, or meat from a row of uniform plastic wrapped trays. Oh hey, we need to get back to the chicken guy, I bet our bird is ready to go home - featherless, innardless, lifeless but otherwise intact from beak to claws.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I grew up understanding and appreciating that which all of our food comes from: the earth, the ocean, the lives, the labor and art of harvesting and butchering. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I also grew up in a food loving family and a family who loved through food. Not fancy food, just real good eats. I grew up surrounded by the best of not just South East Asia, but the American Deep South from my father's family roots and the American Mid-West from my mother's side. I moved to the United States the summer of my eighteenth birthday, a US citizen who had never lived here before. My introduction to local food was horrifying since it came in the form of the worst sort of college cafeteria food. If it had not been for the kitchens full of cooks in my extended family of relatives and friends, I may have concluded that there was no edible food in these United States. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">What I know how to cook, really know, I learned from watching cooks who didn't measure and whose recipe collection existed between their ears or, if it was complicated, was represented by a collection of yellowed paper scraps and index cards that may, or may not, come complete with detailed instructions or precise amounts ... or amounts at all, for that matter. Mothers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, roommates, in-laws and out-laws - they all taught me a different style, a different art of cooking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with cookbooks. And there are a different set of things I cook that I learned from books and formal recipes. When I share those, I'll be sure to explain where the recipe originated. I'm a big fan of citing my sources (one too many rounds of graduate school, I supsect). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">As I got older I also became more and more concerned with the decrease of real food and the increase of food science. I started making more basics from scratch when I could: granola, biscuit mix, bread and found that not only were they cheap and easy, they beat the commercial options to smack and back on taste.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">All of these influences have woven together over the years and made cooking and sharing what I have made with my own hands a way of living and loving: a celebration of life, family, friends, and an appreciation of all the world has to offer. Which isn't to say I don't have Doritos for dinner or coffee (just coffee, thanks) for breakfast some days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">L'chaim!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-9308725553456974272011-05-08T20:43:00.000-07:002011-05-08T22:08:58.283-07:00The Basics: Granola<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/granola9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" j8="true" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/granola9.jpg" width="540" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Years ago, I picked up a 1973 Los Angeles Times Natural Foods Cookbook for $1.10 ... or at least that's the price that is penciled on the inside cover. Over the years it has inspired and educated (I don't think I'll <em>ever</em> make an edible soy loaf and I'm okay with that).</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">One of the inspiration recipes is for granola. I'm not going to post it here though. Don't get me wrong, it's a great recipe if you like your granola to be more oat brittle candy than muesli. While it did not become my go to recipe for granola, it taught me how to make granola. My husband and I both love the stuff and it's stupidly expensive to purchase. It is also frequently very high in sugar, fat, and all manner of unpronounceable additives. What if I just wanted grains and nuts with a little edge of sweet? Could I do that? Well, yes, it turns out I could ... and even better ... it was easy and cheap.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Proportions</strong></span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">10 Cups of old fashioned rolled oats (or any rolled grain you like)</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> 2 Cups of coarsely chopped almonds (or any other nut you like)</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1/2 Cup oil</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1/2 Cup honey </span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Method</strong></span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Mix</em></strong> the grains and nuts together in a large pan (I use my big turkey roaster). </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Simmer</em></strong> oil and honey in a small pot over medium heat until it just comes to a boil.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Drizzle</em></strong> oil and honey mixture over grains and nuts. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Toss </em></strong>to coat evenly.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/granola6-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="540" j8="true" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/granola6-2.jpg" width="540" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><em>Bake</em></strong> in a 250 degree oven for about one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Bake until a deep golden brown, remove from oven, dump onto a large cookie sheet and let cool completely before storing in airtight containers. </span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Tips</strong></span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Good rolled oats, once well toasted, are sweet in and of themselves. You do not need a lot of added sugars to make great granola. Having said that, play around with the proportions of oil/sweeter to grains/nuts until you find what you like. You can make everything from granola candy to toasted oats following this general method.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Some people love dried fruit in their granola. We're some people. Never bake the dried fruit in your granola, unless you are <em>trying</em> to establish a college fund for your dentist's children. </span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Play around with sweetener options - brown sugar, molasses, different types of honey, agave nectar, maple syrup. The batch I made tonight is oat and almond with honey and agave nectar. Tomorrow I'll eat some with fresh blueberries and thick yogurt. Mmm... </span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/granola7-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/texasp3/Blog/granola7-1.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6414909713099796839.post-54134630736053604292011-05-07T16:29:00.000-07:002011-05-07T16:30:49.876-07:00And a one, and a two...<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">After a combination of resisting the overwhelming urge to punch FB in its elusive face over the dysfunctional Notes feature and listening to the endless refrain of "start a blog start a blog" from some of my friends, I bring you ... My Blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I'm not entirely sure what I will do with it. I'm positive I will be erratic about whatever it is. I'll probably post about my adventures in fooding, parenting and working, or not working as the case may be. There will be pictures.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">To those of you who wanted me to do this ... um ... here it is in its infancy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I don't even know what to do with most of what Blogger has now made possible. Anyone who wants to enlighten me or make suggestions is welcome to do just that. If you want to correct my grammar or spelling you can <em>go soak your head</em>. (I'm also determined to keep my language clean and resurrect as many of the G rated alternatives from my childhood as I can recall.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">By the way ... I need a really great hush puppy recipe. Anyone? Anyone?</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0