Have I mentioned lately how wonderful my life is?
Here's how this week lines up, so you can see.
Monday: Easy start to the week plus overtime plus ice cream for dinner
Tuesday: Soccer, then D comes home FINALLY
Wednesday: Hump day/hang out with mah boyyyyyyyfrien'
Thursday: Soccer. (It doesn't take much to please me?)
Friday: Date night
Saturday-Saturday: Fly to Boston and spend a whole week on Nantucket.
See? Plus, in this time we should close on the house, set a date to move in, and become real homeowners. Amazing.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Excess
I love living in California for a lot of reasons. The weather, the proximity to home, the local events. Mostly, though, I love the produce. Maybe a little too much.
Right now I have a ridiculous amount of fruits and veggies in my apartment. Wanna know why? First, one of my favorite things to do on Saturday mornings is head to the Santa Monica farmer's market. The produce is all locally grown, usually picked the day before, fresh, ripe, and tasty. Second, my patients brought in a bunch of ripe stuff that they grew at home. That's organic, right? Third, one of my favorite grocery stores from home, Sprouts, just opened a location in Culver City and I went to check it out today for the first time
Here's what I have right now.
3 Oranges
1 Apple
1 Watermelon
2 Cantaloupe
2 lbs cherries
4 kiwi
5 peaches
3 lbs apricots
10 lemons
3 limes
1 bag spinach
3 onions
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
5 tomatoes
6 bananas
4 cartons of blueberries
1 nectarine
4 zucchini
1 avocado
What in the world am I going to do with all of this?
Right now I have a ridiculous amount of fruits and veggies in my apartment. Wanna know why? First, one of my favorite things to do on Saturday mornings is head to the Santa Monica farmer's market. The produce is all locally grown, usually picked the day before, fresh, ripe, and tasty. Second, my patients brought in a bunch of ripe stuff that they grew at home. That's organic, right? Third, one of my favorite grocery stores from home, Sprouts, just opened a location in Culver City and I went to check it out today for the first time
Here's what I have right now.
3 Oranges
1 Apple
1 Watermelon
2 Cantaloupe
2 lbs cherries
4 kiwi
5 peaches
3 lbs apricots
10 lemons
3 limes
1 bag spinach
3 onions
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
5 tomatoes
6 bananas
4 cartons of blueberries
1 nectarine
4 zucchini
1 avocado
What in the world am I going to do with all of this?
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
I recently came into possesion of an ice cream maker, and I'm pretty sure its going to change my life. My manager at work used to work in the food service industry, doing baking and catering and the like. Since then she has been diagnosed with some pretty severe food allergies and had to give up wheat, eggs, dairy... pretty much all the things she used to cook with.
While unfortunate for her, I've certainly benefitted from her bad luck. She has been going through her kitchen and garage, cleaning out her old supplies, and donating to my, "I'm teaching myself how to cook" charity. So far I've gotten cookie cutters, pie weights, silicone baking cups, thermometers, cooling racks, and now, an ice cream maker. Its an older model but I can tell you one thing - it still works.
I've had this bad boy for about a week and I've been using it a LOT; pretty much every time that bowl is frozen I'm taking it out to whip something up. I've made strawberry granita, which didn't come out very well, chocolate ice cream, and my favorite so far: strawberry frozen yogurt.
The Mister and I picked up a huge crate of strawberries at Costco on Saturday. Random tangent: I LOVE California produce. That night we were sitting at home, recharging after a day of house shopping (and gearing up for more on Sunday) and were trying to decide what to eat for dinner when we realized that dessert would be much better. We had an unopened plain yogurt in the fridge and thus, strawberry froyo was born.
We love chains like Pinkberry, so we decided to go easy on the sugar to keep things nice and tart. We wanted chunks of strawberries so we didn't puree the mixture, and cooked the strawberries in phases so that some broke down completely and some stayed in larger bits. This was delicious that night, but even better the next day after a chance to solidify in the freezer.
I have a feeling this ice cream maker is going to be very, very well used.
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Adapted from here
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups full fat yogurt (if use low or non fat, then add 2 Tbsp cream)
Place half the strawberries, lemon juice, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the rest of the strawberries and continue to stir. Use a potato masher to mash up the strawberries as the mixture is heating. As soon as all of the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
Whisk in the milk and yogurt, until completely incorporated. Place the mixture in the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour until completely cold.
Process the mixture in your ice cream maker 20 to 25 minutes. Eat immediately or keep in freezer until served.
Makes about 1 quart.
While unfortunate for her, I've certainly benefitted from her bad luck. She has been going through her kitchen and garage, cleaning out her old supplies, and donating to my, "I'm teaching myself how to cook" charity. So far I've gotten cookie cutters, pie weights, silicone baking cups, thermometers, cooling racks, and now, an ice cream maker. Its an older model but I can tell you one thing - it still works.
I've had this bad boy for about a week and I've been using it a LOT; pretty much every time that bowl is frozen I'm taking it out to whip something up. I've made strawberry granita, which didn't come out very well, chocolate ice cream, and my favorite so far: strawberry frozen yogurt.
The Mister and I picked up a huge crate of strawberries at Costco on Saturday. Random tangent: I LOVE California produce. That night we were sitting at home, recharging after a day of house shopping (and gearing up for more on Sunday) and were trying to decide what to eat for dinner when we realized that dessert would be much better. We had an unopened plain yogurt in the fridge and thus, strawberry froyo was born.
We love chains like Pinkberry, so we decided to go easy on the sugar to keep things nice and tart. We wanted chunks of strawberries so we didn't puree the mixture, and cooked the strawberries in phases so that some broke down completely and some stayed in larger bits. This was delicious that night, but even better the next day after a chance to solidify in the freezer.
I have a feeling this ice cream maker is going to be very, very well used.
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Adapted from here
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups full fat yogurt (if use low or non fat, then add 2 Tbsp cream)
Place half the strawberries, lemon juice, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the rest of the strawberries and continue to stir. Use a potato masher to mash up the strawberries as the mixture is heating. As soon as all of the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
Whisk in the milk and yogurt, until completely incorporated. Place the mixture in the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour until completely cold.
Process the mixture in your ice cream maker 20 to 25 minutes. Eat immediately or keep in freezer until served.
Makes about 1 quart.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Justified
I don't post a lot of dinner recipes here. I'm in a dinner-funk: I haven't tried anything new in a while, and I'm getting bored with the same old, same old. But this article made me feel a bit better about what I do cook: because 90% of the time, it starts with 'saute onions and garlic in olive oil.' Yum.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies
The Significant Other (SO) has been away this week, and I have a confession to make: I really, reeeeeally enjoy eating while he isn't around. Its nothing against him; I'm just free to make whatever I want, when I want, how I want. I don't have to worry about making something too fatty (he is an 80's baby. His mother fed him lo-fat and no-fat everything.) or too vegetarian (the man loves his meat.) Also, I get to indulge on desserts :)
These brownies are sinful. They are everything I think a good brownie should be... dense, chocolatey, but not overly sweet. Mmmmm, betcha can' eat just one... I know I can't!
Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies
(From Apartment Therapy via Food Network Canada)
1 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder (sifted)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 large eggs, at room-temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon salt
The original recipe includes a ganache frosting which I skipped, in the interest of being more portable.
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8x8 pan and set aside.
Melt melt butter in microwave in a glass mixing bowl. Stir in chocolate and mix until creamy - I stuck everything back in the microwave for 30 seconds so the chocolate was nice and melty.
Stir the sugar into mixture until combined. Microwave for 30 seconds on high, then stir until shiny.
Mix in marscapone cheese, vanilla, eggs and beat until smooth.
Sift together the flour, salt and cocoa. Stir into chocolate mixture just until combined.
Pour batter into pan and smooth top to ensure even baking. Bake for 40 minutes until tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Cabbage, Carrot, and Jicama Slaw
I'm a particular eater.
I don't like seafood. I don't like mushrooms. Before I moved to California and had real avocado, I didn't like those either. The list goes on. But I'm lucky enough to like a lot of foods. I enjoy eating most fruits and vegetables, most meats, most anything. And as long as its not too gross or strange, I'm comfortable trying new things.
The Mister is not so open minded. While he will try new things, even more so than me, there are a lot of things that he's tried once and has sworn to never eat again. Things like corn chowder, garlic, Indian food, cabbage, and chicken thighs are just not things he will incorporate into his diet. But I don't think he dislikes as much as he thinks he does, and a small part of my meal planning/cooking goes toward preparing the things he won't eat in a way that I think he will like. Sometimes he refuses what I make altogether, but a lot of times he ends up not hating it, if not enjoying it.
This slaw is one of those experiments. He doesn't eat cabbage often and refuses to eat cole slaw at all, but I think that what he really doesn't like is the mayo. I wanted to make a slaw with ingredients I know he likes, with a oil and vinegar based sauce, and see what he thought about it. This one is a little Asian-Mexican fusion, with both cabbage and jicama, and made a little spicy with sriracha. I like it... but we will see what the Mister thinks :)
Cabbage, Carrot, and Jicama Slaw
1/2 head green cabbage
3 carrots
1 medium jicama
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp sriracha
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbps dry cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
handful raisins
Chop cabbage, carrots, and jicama into small strips. Place in large bowl.
Whisk together oil and vinegar. Whisk in seasonings and pour over vegetables, mixing well. Let sit for a few hours to let the flavors mellow and blend.
Add raisins just before serving, if desired.
I don't like seafood. I don't like mushrooms. Before I moved to California and had real avocado, I didn't like those either. The list goes on. But I'm lucky enough to like a lot of foods. I enjoy eating most fruits and vegetables, most meats, most anything. And as long as its not too gross or strange, I'm comfortable trying new things.
The Mister is not so open minded. While he will try new things, even more so than me, there are a lot of things that he's tried once and has sworn to never eat again. Things like corn chowder, garlic, Indian food, cabbage, and chicken thighs are just not things he will incorporate into his diet. But I don't think he dislikes as much as he thinks he does, and a small part of my meal planning/cooking goes toward preparing the things he won't eat in a way that I think he will like. Sometimes he refuses what I make altogether, but a lot of times he ends up not hating it, if not enjoying it.
This slaw is one of those experiments. He doesn't eat cabbage often and refuses to eat cole slaw at all, but I think that what he really doesn't like is the mayo. I wanted to make a slaw with ingredients I know he likes, with a oil and vinegar based sauce, and see what he thought about it. This one is a little Asian-Mexican fusion, with both cabbage and jicama, and made a little spicy with sriracha. I like it... but we will see what the Mister thinks :)
Cabbage, Carrot, and Jicama Slaw
1/2 head green cabbage
3 carrots
1 medium jicama
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp sriracha
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbps dry cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
handful raisins
Chop cabbage, carrots, and jicama into small strips. Place in large bowl.
Whisk together oil and vinegar. Whisk in seasonings and pour over vegetables, mixing well. Let sit for a few hours to let the flavors mellow and blend.
Add raisins just before serving, if desired.
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