Eat leeks in tide and garlic in May, and all the year after physicians may play.

I got rid o' my vLogs because heck I never like my productions! I do that quite often..delete vLogs after I post 'em! I don't sign right, I make funny faces, and whatnot! Probably not true, but I think so heh aanndd I think as I go, so my points are all over the place and I don't explain things very well. So, I found a great vLog that gets my point across better : )

Jon Savage's BULLY ASL

Homemade Eggnog

4 egg yolks
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
1 pint whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 ounces bourbon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 egg whites

In bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon, and nutmeg and stir to combine.
Place the egg whites in a clean bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running, gradually add 1 tbsp sugar and beat until stiff peaks forms.
Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Chill and serve.
Cooked Eggnog for high risk populations:
Beat the yolks in a stand mixture until they lighten in color. Gradually add 1/3 cup of sugar and beat until dissolved. Set aside.
In medium saucepan, over high heat, comvine the milk, heavy cream, nutmeg, and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and gradually temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture, then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. Remove from heat, stir in bourbon, pour into medium bowl, and set in refrigerator to chill.
In medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running, gradually add 1 tbsp sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk into chilled mixture.

**
Soup with potatoes and leeks have got to be my favorite. This recipe worked well, but I was upset I didn't have any bacon! Cook the veggies in bacon fat and crumble some bacon over the soup at the end. Yumm-o!

Potato Leek Soup



a lot of butter or even better, bacon fat!!
a pound of medium size potatoes of any kind (used red), diced
two medium leeks, white and light green part only, cleaned and sliced
small onion, diced (don't need onions, but I had some I wanted to use up)
four cups warmed free range low sodium chicken broth
1/2-1 cup heavy cream (preferred), milk, or half-and-half
salt and pepper
dill

Heat up the fat in a large pot over medium-high and add the vegetables. Season with salt. Cook until softened slightly, 5 to 7 minutes. Add enough warmed broth to cover vegetables; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes until potatoes are cooked through. Smash the potatoes slightly with wooden spoon and stir in cream. Cook a bit longer until soup has thickened.
In small batches (SRSLY. small batches, okay?? otherwise the soup is gonna explode!), puree in blender and return to pot. Reheat soup, taste for seasoning (I added white pepper. Freshly ground black pepper works, but white isn't visible). Stir in dill and serve.

Cinnamon and Ginger, Nutmegs and Cloves, And that, gave me my jolly red nose!

OYSTERS UNDER THE CUT, UNDER MY RANTIN' REGARDING MFCS (shakes fist) YEAH GO CHECK IT OUT HUH

Mmm cinnamon rolls. My first attempt some time ago was a tasty disaster. I had filled it with thinly sliced apples and well, what came out of the oven didn't quite look like a cinnamon roll. It was a bunch of widely spaced spiral rolls with apples peeking out! It just was not a cinnamon roll. I don't know what it was!!

This time, I made teeny weeny almond cinnamon rolls with almond extract and sliced almonds tucked away in the rolls. Fucken awesome stuff- Jesse and I ate fifty-six (the whole lot) in a single day!

Teeny Weeny Almond Cinnamon Rolls



dough: 1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1/2 cup lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/2 - 4 cups all-purpose flour
fillings: 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp almond extract
couple handfuls sliced almonds
(this was not enough filling for me! I suggest ya up everything by a bit)

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough flour to make dough easy to handle.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about five minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased-side up. Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Dough is ready when indentation made with your finger slowly rises up (if it holds its place, it is over-risen).
Punch down dough and separate into quarters. Roll each section out into flat rectangles as thick as tortillas.
In small bowl, mix together filling ingredients, except almonds. Spread about a quarter of the mixture onto each flat sheet of dough and sprinkle a light, scattered layer of almond slices over. Roll the dough up jelly-roll style. Slice each roll into sections, each section being a finished minature (or large as you wish) cinnamon roll. Place each roll cut-end down on a baking sheet and allow rolls to rise for about 35-40 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes for small rolls, 20 to 30 minutes for larger rolls.
For the glaze, mix a tablespoon of melted butter, a tablespoon of milk or cream, a teaspoon of almond extract, and 2-4 cups powdered sugar, depending on how thick you want your glaze to be. Glaze the rolls as soon as they're out of the oven to seal in the softness. Sprinkle toasted almonds* on top if you wish. Let them cool a few minutes then devour!
*almonds can be toasted in a skillet or 375 degrees oven for 4 to 6 minutes. keep an eye on them, for they will burn fast. toast until light golden brown.


So yeah, MFCS is bullshit ahaha it's too bad because I was totally excited about working at a farm store, but man.. yuck. Almost daily, I see three things wrong with raw chicken and all happening simultaneously! Raw chicken stored wrong, raw chicken sitting in a bowl of still water, and raw chicken left out on the counter by the grill for hours. I wouldn't dare to eat anything with chicken there! And countless times I noticed the meat smelled or looked really funky before slicing, so I'd always say something and the response was always awful like "Well, YOU have a heightened sense of smell than the rest of us. It's fine." Yeah I'm deaf so therefore my smelling must be a hundred thousand times superior than hearing people huh what even if that's true, use it to your advantage oh thank goddd someone caught the stanky smellin' meat before it was served! Man they were super rude about communicating with me. Rolled eyes and espagerated (sp!!) sighs when I write out a question or comment for someone (WHO-T SCOFFFS.) I also pointed out green meat once, and I was told color doesn't fucking matter. hell yes color matters! If your meat has gone from a nice soft pink to a putrid green, I think that's a damn indicator it's rotten. That place was also infested with flies it was disgusting. Flies spit into food, which dissolves it into liquid that they can absorb. And flies just absolutely love dog spit and rancid rotten food so what are they're bringing into that place, huh? The refrigerator's fucking awful. Way too over-crowded and it's often dripping wet. Shit spills all the time and when I let the owner know it's dirty, she was like yeah so? YEAH SO?!?? Good lord. I could go on, but jesus christ almighty I've said enough!!

So having a boyfriend who's a boat rigger has its perks! The other day, Jesse came home with a bag full o' oysters!! Pulled 'em off a bottom of one of the boats that came in for some fixin' and got like, thirty



I made a chipotle aioli, which was made by following the homemade mayonnaise recipe here and adding a buncha garlic softened with salt and smashed into a paste and a couple chipotles with about a tablespoon or more of adobo sauce. The oysters, after a long process of shuckin' em, were very lightly dredged in seasoned flour and sauteed for no more than ten seconds per side. Pretty dang tasty! Next time Jesse brings home a bunch o' oysters, I would love to make Leeks and Oyster Chowder mmmm.

All cornbread is authentic, as long as it's good, hot, and made with love and fresh ingredients.

Buttermilk Scallion Skillet Corn Bread



1 stick unsalted butter
6 scallions
2 cups stoneground yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable shortening or rendered bacon fat
4 large eggs
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter and cool. Finely chop scallions. Into a bowl, sift together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Heat a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet in middle of oven for 10 minutes. Put shortening or bacon fat in skillet and heat 5 minutes (was too long for me! only did a minute or two). Swish skillet to coat.
While skillet is heating, make batter: separate eggs. In large bowl with an electric mixer, beat yolks until pale and beat in butter and buttermilk. In bowl with cleaned beaters, beat whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Stir flour mixture into yolk mixture and fold in egg whites and scallions gently but thoroughly. Pour batter into hot skillet and, working quickly, spread evenly.
Bake corn bread in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

God sendeth and giveth both mouth and meat.

I made ahh-mazing ragu with things mom had sent in a care package. I highly recommend this recipe, for there's nothing better than a thick hearty meat sauce to go on top of some good ol' pasta.

Ragù con Porcini e Pinoli alla Ligure
Ragù with Porcini and Pine Nuts in the Style of Liguria



1/2 cup (30g) dried porcini*
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, very finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/4 pounds fresh or canned drained plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

*subsitute 1/4 pounds fresh porcini, chanterelles, cremini, or shiitake mushrooms for the dried porcini

Soak the dried porcini in 3/4 cup of warm water for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid. Squeeze out the excess water and then chop the porcini. Strain the liquid through paper towels and reserve.
Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft, 3-4 minutes.
Add the ground beef and salt, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat and turn it so that it browns evenly. Saute until light brown on the surface but still pinkish inside, about 5 minutes.
Pour in the wine and allow it to evaporate, about 2 minutes. Add the porcini, pine nuts, rosemary, bay leaf, and tomato paste. Stir, then add the porcini soaking liquor (substitue with 3/4 cup broth). Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes and simmer, partially covered, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thick and aromatic, about 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Check for salt and add pepper.

Not unless the chicken jumped out of the oven and banged one.

Some time ago, Jesse had a craving for roasted chicken, so I found a recipe for him to do. Well, I did all the prep work and he cooked the chicken. I'll still pass it off as his work ;) Don't mind the sauteed zucchini, squash, and shrooms in the picture. Just something I whipped up with leftovers!

Roasted Chicken with Herb Butter



3-4 pounds organic free-range chicken
1 medium onion, unpeeled and cut lengthwise into sections
4 tbsp dry white wine (didn't have any, so we used beer)
6 tbsp butter, room temperature
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp finely snipped chives or finely chopped scallion
1 tsp finely chopped fresh tarragon or thyme leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

First, make the herb butter. Put the butter in a bowl and beat it with a wooden spoon to soften it. Add the chopped herbs, scallion if using, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Stir the ingredients together, then beat them vigorously until combined. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare the chicken*, putting two onion sections in the cavity of the bird before tying the legs with string. Put the remaining onion in the roasting pan.
Put the rack in the pan and place the bird on the rack. Spread the herb butter liberally all over the bird (I stuffed some of the butter under the breast skin), then spoon the white wine into the pan.
Turn the chicken upside down (on its boob) and roast for about 20 minutes or until browned, then turn it over so that it is breasy side up and baste it with the buttery cooking juices.
Return the chicken to the oven and roast for 55-70 minutes more, or until the thickest part registers 160 degrees when probe of instant-read thermometer is inserted.
Wrap the chicken in a large sheet of foil, then let it rest for about 15 minutes. Remove the rack and onion from the pan and make the gravy**

*Preparing a chicken:
With your fingers, pull off the excess white fat on both sides of the opening at the tail end of the bird.
Wipe the cavity with paper towels, then use a fresh piece to wipe the skin. The skin crisps better if dry.
Turn the bird breast side down and pull the neck skin over the neck cavity. If you like, cut off the excess skin with scissors to neaten it.
Twist the wings around so the tips come up and over the skin to secure it. Turn the bird breast side up and tie the legs together with string.

**Making gravy:
Tilt the roasting pan so the juices settle in one corner, then spoon off most of the fat, leaving the dark juices in the pan. Discard the surplus fat. Put the roasting pan on the burner, over medium heat.
Sprinkle 2 tsp all-purpose flour over the juices in the pan and whisk with a coil whisk over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the flour browns a little.
Pour in 1 1/4 cups hot stock and bring to boil, whisking all the time. If you like, add 4 tbsp white or red wine; whisk to mix. Simmer for 2 minutes then check for seasoning.

Keys to success:
Defrost a frozen bird thoroughly before you prepare it, or it will not cook thoroughly. Pierce the wrapping, then stand the bird on paper towels in a container. Let stand in refrigerator for 36 hours until no ice crystals remain in the cavity.
For the skin to be crisp, it must be completely dry before cooking, so wipe it well with paper towels (do before rubbing on butter). This is especially important if the bird has been frozen, because it is often quite wet after defrosting.
If the breast skin shows signs of overbrowning during roasting, remove the chicken from oven, cover it with a "tent" of foil, and then return to oven.

Tomatoes and squash never fail to reach maturity. You can spray them with acid, beat them with sticks and burn them; they love it.

For some time, I actually could afford going to the Farmer's Market [gasps]and was on a big late summer / fall vegetables kick.

There was an article full of heart-warming pictures of Chef Ramsey cooking with his daughter (aw man I'm so jealous of that little sweetheart! I mean, g'damn Ramsey's her dad!!) and there was a recipe for..

Sauteed Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, and Basil



six servings
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 cups small cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, garlic, and rosemary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until zucchini is just tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and olives. Saute until tomatoes just begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Mix in basil and vinegar. Season vegetables to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

..which I paired with

Potato-Onion Gratin (not pictured)

six servings
3 tbsp olive oil, divided + more for brushing
4 cups thinly sliced onions
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 pounds Yukon Gold, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

Heat 2 tbsp oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until onions are golden, about 8 minutes. Add thyme and rosemary; saute two minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish with oil. Arrange 1/3 of potatoes in dish. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Top potatoes with half of the onion mixture. Repeat; finish top layer with potatoes. Pour broth over and drizzle with 1 tbsp oil.
Cover dish with foil. Bake potatoes 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until potatoes are tender and top is golden, about 25 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

Simple and delicious! I can't remember if I cooked meat to go with that, or if I did a vegetarian dinner. Humm good both ways!




Here, is a sort of pad-thai thing. Sliced carrots and zucchini sauteed until softened, organic packaged udon noodles added to the mix, and then covered in a sauce of peanut butter, coconut milk, teriyaki sauce, curry paste, and garlic. Sauteed until sauce's thick and coats the noodles. Pretty darn good, and easy! Add marinated baked tofu or chicken to the mix if ya wish.

Manx may be short of tail, but long with personality.

I'm working on the hundred thousand (a few) meals I have not yet posted. There was a request for more picture/videos of Grizzly, and on my camera was plenty o' cute pictures and adorable vLogs of my kitterkats, so here they are!



From Wikipedia: There are various legends that seek to explain why the Manx has no tail. In one of them, Noah closed the door of the ark when it began to rain and accidentally cut off the Manx's tail, who'd been playing and almost got left behind.

Goodness, I'd believe that! Manx cats are so personable and very, very playful!

See I got him, see the size! Stripped and cleaned before your eyes. Sweet meat look, fresh and ready to cook.

Watch the upper left corner/center 'bout 25 sec into the video and ya will see Mr. Crawfish! At 'bout 50 sec, ya can see him being pulled in from the center of the video!



Such a crappy vid, but see how the dang guy won't let go off the jerky once he gets it? Crazy easy to catch 'em!

What'd I do with 'em crawfish? Well, there wasn't enough for a big meal (got 'bout seventeen) so we got prawns (I wanted chicken but what was at the store looked groossss.) and made 'crab'cakes! Dang yummy. To go with it, I made chipotle mayonnaise mm good stuff in an egg sandwich in the morning!



Crawfish Cakes with Chipotle Tartar Sauce

Homemade mayonnaise:
if making by hand, use an egg yolk only rather than a whole egg
1 large egg
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1 1/4 cups sunflower oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Put the egg, mustard, vinegar, and seasoning in a processor with the metal blade; process until blended.
With the machine on full speed, gradually add the oil through the feed tube in a steady stream.
When the mayonnaise is thick, remove the lid, add the lemon juice, and process to combine. Check seasoning. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

variation: chipotle mayonnaise- add 1-2 chipotles and a tablespoon+ of adobo sauce (from can of chipotles)

Tartar sauce:
instead of adding dried chipotles, I made chipotle mayonnaise
2 dried chipotle peppers
1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped green onions
juice of lemon
salt and pepper

In a cast-iron skillet over high heat pan roast peppers, toasting them on all sides, until smoky and slightly charred. Chop finely.
In a small bowl combine with remaining sauce ingredients. Adjust seasonings, to taste, with salt and pepper.



Crawfish cakes:
2 tbsp + 1 tsp oil
1 cup shelled crawfish tails
2 tbsp each chopped onion, red bell pepper, celery
creole spice
1 egg
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
chopped parsley for garnish

In a sauté pan heat 1 teaspoon oil, add chopped onion, red pepper and celery, and toss and cook 2 minutes until tender. Remove pan from heat and add garlic, crawfish meat, and 1 teaspoon Creole spice or to taste. Transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside to cool.
Mix in egg and enough bread crumbs for mixture to bind; adjust seasonings to taste with salt, pepper and Creole spice. Form into 4 equal patties and flatten to 3/4-inch thick.
Heat remaining oil in a sauté pan and cook cakes on both sides until brown and crispy. Serve garnished with parsley and a dollop of tartar sauce.



The salad is red oak lettuce picked from my own little vegetable garden, candied walnuts (walnuts lightly toasted in walnut oil and brown sugar), Humboldt Fog (best blue cheese ever) and lemon vinaigrette that I made.
In the bowl is chipotle tartar sauce and the can w/ lid is my vinaigrette. Jesse also filled a bowl with sour patch kids for dessert, and in the glasses is Petite Sirah from Jesse's parent's winery.

Yum!

Here's a cute picture of Grizzly, the silliest little Manx ever.

An apple is an excellent thing-- until you have tried a peach.

Baking is the only thing that will make me enthusiastically jump out of bed at five in the morning! Before the road trip down south last weekend, I got up early to make an adapted version of Plum Tarte Tatin using peaches Jesse and I picked from a tree we spotted while picking berries in Blue Lake. It was all made using only a cast iron skillet, and that was fun! Start it on the stove and finish off in the oven, flip it right-side-up once cooled throughout and ya got yourself a tarte tatin, which is an upside-down caramel tart. Very cool!



I brought it down to Jesse's parents, and they gobbled it all up! Compliments were plenty, and I'm sure glad they liked it. It was yummy! I'd make it again, trying different fruits each time.



Plum Tarte Tatin with Orange Creme Fraiche (I adapted this recipe)

1 cup creme fraiche
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (1/2 of 17.3oz pack), properly thawed (follow instructions)
2 1/4 lbs sweet firm red plums, halved and pitted
2 tbsp + 2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tbsp unsalted butter

Whisk creme fraiche and orange peel in small bowl. Cover; chill. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface; trim corners to create circle.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix plums, 2 tbsp sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, nutmeg and seeds from vanilla bean in large bowl. Let stand for half an hour.
Melt butter in heavy ovenproof 9-inch-diameter skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup sugar evenly over melted butter. Tightly arrange plums, cut side up, in concentric circles in skillet. Plums will soften while cooking, creating an even layer. Drizzle accumulated juices from bowl over top. Cook over medium heat, shaking skillet gently to prevent sticking. Continue cooking until syrup turns deel red, pressing plums slightly to form compact layer, about 35 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; cool 10 minutes.
Slide crust atop plums in skillet. press crust edges down around plums at edge of skillet. Cut several slits to allow steam to escape. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool tart completely in skillet.
Rewarm in skillet set over high heat to loosen, about 3 minutes. Place large platter over skillet. Using oven mitts, hold skillet and platter together and invert, allowing tart to settle on platter. Slowly lift off skillet. Let stand at least 30 minutes and up to four hours at room temperature. Serve with orange creme fraiche.

My manwich!

I made slow cooked sloppy joes for dinner, and it was fabulous! I got a bit excited with the rooster chili sauce, so it was super spicy heh but I think I did a pretty good job softening the heat (see vLogs). I wish I got pictures of the finished sandwich, but Melissa and Timm were over for dinner and we all were very eager to start eating, so I forgot! Bummer because they looked great heh organic buns and local cheddar (Loleta), and big heapings of slow cooked sloppy joes mmmm!

Favorite Sloppy Joes (serves 6-8)

2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup prepared mustard
2 tsp chili powder
hamburger buns, split
cheddar cheese, sliced

Note: I caught the camera before it hit something! Order of ingredients I added: chili powder, rooster chili sauce (smells good..spicy!!), organic mustard

Lookit! My tomatoes &lettuce :)

And I've got somebody special for y'all to see! She's a sweet little Manx


Transcript: Hi! I want to introduce you to my new kitty named Grizzly. Cutee! See she has no tail? She's a Manx.

Because of her back leg proportions, she hops rather than run! Manx cats started the urban legend of the Cabbit (half cat, half rabbit). Man, they're the craziest things! So playful and sweet..Far more interested in humans than other animals and loves to ride in the car! So we're leash-training her :)


ya can't see grizzly do squat! She's too small and black heh

Put a big long hook on a big long pole, and I pulled Mr. Crawfish out of his hole

These muffins are addictive in the sense that all great things in life are worth repeating.

I made two versions of the chocolate chip lemon muffin from the book seen in the photo. One with chocolate chips and one with poppyseed. But it was only after I saw this picture that I noticed I goofed up the first batter (choco chips), because I added an extra egg! Funny though, both Jesse and I prefered the light, cake-y fluff of the first muffins. Second batch wasn't as delicate, but they were both special (winks) and tasted great!
Note: cookbook from Vita. Thanks, girl!!!



Chocolate Chip Lemon Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, one cup of the sugar, and baking powder.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir in flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin pan with paper cups. Sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over tops.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-24 minutes or until puffed, light golden and a skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.



Note: I skipped sprinkling sugar over the tops and created a glaze of confectioner's sugar, lemon zest, and freshly squeezed lemon juice and dipped the muffin tops into the glaze once the muffins were almost completely cooled. For the poppyseed muffins, simply omit the chocolate chips and pour in small amounts of poppyseed at a time until it looks sufficient. Not much is needed, maybe 1/4 cup?





Also, Jesse and I went berry-picking a couple hours before dinner at Melissa &Timm's with their grandparents, and ended up picking enough blackberries and huckleberries for pie! So we hurried home and I made a quick pie crust, zested a lemon and tore up some mint leaves. It was awesome, especially with some Humboldt Creamery ice cream!


yes, another crust did go on top of the filling! :p

Sail forth, steer for the deep waters only; Reckless, O' soul, exploring. I with thee, and thou with me.

The custard came out of the oven not too long ago. It looks good, but it's flat! and the caramel made such a mess. Pretty much none of it stayed inside the bundt pan! Man I need to get rid of that dumb two-piece pan..I have a leak problem every time I use it. Grr.

How do you make caramel? I have noo patience and messed it up a couple times lolol man. Pictures and recipes coming up in the next entry..Meanwhile, check out some photos from Stone Lagoon!






view from the campsite



beautiful, foggy humboldt :]















Cheers!

Those who forget the pasta are condemned to reheat it.

I modified this awesome pasta recipe slightly..the changes in ingredients are in bold. This was great and it's one of these dishes you want to make for a proposal or romantic dinner because you're going to get it good afterwards [grins] Per usual, local organic ingredients were used.

Creamy Fusilli with Yellow Squash and Bacon

8 oz fusilli egg noodles
4 slices bacon, sliced crosswise
4 medium yellow squash, quarted lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes
1 medium shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese Parmigiano Reggiano and Romano cheese

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup wasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.
While pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium. Add bacon, and cook until browned and crisp, 5-7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving bacon fat in skillet.
Place skillet over medium-high. Add squash and garlic (and tomatoes&shallot) to fat in skillet; season to taste with salt and pepper (don't need much salt with bacon fat), and toss well. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash begins to soften, 5-7 mins. Uncover and continue to cook until liquid is evaporated and squash is tender, 2-3 min more. Add cream and cooked pasta to skillet; toss well, and cook until cream begins to thicken, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cheese and add enough reserved pasta water (not all!!!) to create a sauce that coats pasta.
Serve topped with reserved bacon and more cheese.



Jesse grilled up some awesome steak from his boss to serve with the pasta. YUM.

Haste Khelte khana Pakao; cook with a smile on your face

Chicken Tikkas

1/2 cup thick plain whole-milk yogurt
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp finely grated peeled fresh ginger
3/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 lb skinless boneless thighs, cut in 1" cubes
soaked wooden skewers

Stir together all ingredients except chicken in medium bowl, then add chicken and stir to coat. Marinate covered and chilled 30 mins - 1 hour.
Prepare grill over medium hot charcoal (moderate-high heat for gas). While grill is heating, thread a few pieces of chicken on each skewer, leaving a little space between pieces, and transfer to a tray lined with plastic wrap.
Oil grill rack, then grill chicken, covering if using gas grill, turning occasionally until browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes.

Potato-Swiss Chard Curry

3 medium red-skinned potatoes cut in 1" pieces
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups Swiss chard, chopped
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

Place potatoes in saucepan; cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil 4-6 minutes and drain. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high until hot. Add potatoes, sugar, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes.
Stir in Swiss chard and tomatoes. Reduce heat to med-low; cover and simmer 4-6 minutes until chards are crisp-tender.

Ja, Kuchen!

Transcript: I treated myself to some cheese and bread. Add wine to the mix, and ya got the three things i could live on and nothing else! So my favorite cheese from a local producer- Humboldt Fog..blue cheese with vegetable ash in the middle. Yummm-o! Goes well with my favorite bread- pain au levian. Today I was excited to see a new line of cheese- Truffle Tremor! Made with truffles, duh. Earthy flavor, but yeah the cheese started underground so of course. Sooo I've got the munchies. Bread, cheese and wine! Rude, I know. But I can't help myself! Tonight ima make condensed milk custard. It's from Brazil and similar to flan, but..bigger! You'll see. Have a good one!

Pull-Apart Kuchen, Monkey Bread

Dough
1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
8 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
Topping
3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
3/4 cup coarsely chopped 62% semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
butter and sugar for the pan.

For the dough
Combine water and yeast in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. Let stand for 10 minutes until foamy.
Place yolks in bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. In small saucepan, heat the butter and milk over medium-low until butter has melted. With mixer on low, carefully combine butter into yolks. Let stand until just warm.
With the mixer on low, add the salt, sugar, and yeast, mixing until just combined. Stop and add 2 cups of the flour, then mix on low until just incorporated. There will be lumps. Add the remaining flour and mix for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and mix until smooth, about 5 minutes. Dough will still be sticky.
Lightly butter a large bowl. Using a dough scraper, transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat with butter. Cover with kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size.
For the topping
Pulse the pecans, chocolate, and sugar in a food processor until sandy consistency (do not make 'butter'). Butter and sugar a 12-cup (10-inch) bundt pan.
Pour melted butter into small bowl. Pull off small pieces of the dough and roll into balls. Roll in butter then the nut & chocolate mixture to coat. Line the bottom of the pan with a layer of balls and continue stacking until dough is finished. Make the top layer fairly even. Cover with kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise in warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and brush the top of the kuchen with any remaining butter. Bake 45-50 minutes until top is dark brown and a test skewer inserted in bread comes out clean. Let stand 3-5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Serve warm!


This bread was great. I totally enjoyed making it and the end result was a dense challah-like bread. Yumm-o!


I got a buncha guppies so they can poo and make my fish tank ready for bigger fish (catfish!). Minikitty loves them little fish ;) In the second vid, she has a fat lip from eating a bee. Poor baby! Third vid is of the guppy fry (baby fish) in the breeding tank/box thing. Kind of hard to see 'em, but minikitty got jealous and wanted to steal the show.

This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord intended a more divine means of consumption... Beer!

Beer Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 12-oz bottle of beer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
Combine all but beer in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beer and stir until stiff dough forms. May be necessary to use hands. Scrape into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 50-60 minutes. Cool in pan for five minutes and then turn out onto cooling rack.





I loved this! It didn't rise as much as the bread in the picture from the recipe did. I don't know why, but I didn't mind. This is not a yeast dough, so preparation and baking is very much like banana bread, zuchinni bread, etc. I will be making this bread pretty often with different beer every time!

I used local beer from the Lost Coast Brewery. I'm not a big fan of that brewery, really..but Great White is my favorite beer out of what they have. Personally, as for local beer, I much prefer Eel River Brewery, which is the first and only organic certified brewery in America : )

Go buy a six pack of your favorite beer and save a bottle for some Beer Bread. Great for thick, hearty meals! Cheers.

Have a popover, froggy!

I LOVE POPOVERS! The thrill of popovers is opening the oven to giant golden balloons. Crusty outsides and a tender, creamy, almost hollow interior just perfect for jam!




Popovers (makes six)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease popover pan, or small ramekins.
Beat all ingredients together (I use a blender) until smooth. Fill the cups almost to the top and bake for thirty minutes until golden and feels light when lifted out of its cup. Serve immediately (before it falls!) with jam. Rewarmed, the popovers will get some of its puffiness back.

Popovers rise highest when they get a forceful amount of heat quickly. If you use muffin tins instead of separate containers or a popover pan, you will end up with popunders!! They're meant to go with chicken, roasts, salads, and soups; they don't belong with spaghetti, curries, or chili. Also, popovers make one of the best breakfasts in the world with good ol' homemade jam!





To go with the popovers, I made smothered chicken with mushrooms.



Smothered chicken with mushrooms (serves four)

1 3-lb frying chicken, in 8 pieces (see this post for how to butcher a chicken)
salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cups olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 lb fresh mushrooms, wiped clean (never wash under water) and sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the oil over high heat and brown the chicken pieces, turning when necessary. Adjust the heat so that the chicken browns quickly, but does not burn. Transfer the chicken to a shallow casserole large enough to hold the pieces in one layer. Add the onions to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft and lightly colored. Stir in the flour and mix it in well with a spoon. Pour in the chicken broth and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the broth simmer for 2-3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the casserole, cover tightly, and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes. Scatter the mushrooms over the chicken, re-cover, and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Sprinkle the parsley over the top and serve.

Not tonight, love. I'm having a kebab.

My gosh, I've slacked enough on posting! There was a little crisis at home on Friday and I broke my sidekick in the midst of all the chaos, so I was emotionally drained. But there's nothing like spending some time in the woods to lift your spirits! Jesse and I joined Melissa and Timm at the Van Duzen river on Saturday. The trout were far too young to be fished, but I had fun swimming amongst them! Being nibbled by tiny fish is a funny sensation hehe


Humboldt beauties

So, that meant no fish for dinner. I kept nagging Jesse about what to bring to prepare with the fish, but he told me to never plan on catching fish. Good thing I listened to him! Instead, I made potatoes with green onions and bacon and beef kebabs. Timm complimented the seasoning on the beef, which I love to hear! I almost always season my beef with my staples: cumin, salt, and pepper. I also used chili powder for the kebabs. Jesse cooked the beef perfectly! It was awesome, as campfire food always is :]




So, the potatoes were prepared first since it required about 30-40 minutes of cooking time. Bacon was crisped up in a bit of vegetable oil in the dutch oven, and then taken out with the drippings reserved. I chopped up about eight red potatoes, which should be hasslebacked--deep cuts crosswise about 1/4-inch apart, stopping 1/4-inch from the bottom--but I kept cutting through the bottom with the silly little paring knife I had on me, so I just chopped them up. Put the potatoes on foil and drizzle the bacon drippings over (with hasslebacked potatoes, pour the dripping in between the slices) and toss with a few coarsely chopped cloves of garlic. Place the potatoes, still on top of the foil, in the dutch oven (or loosely wrapped in foil in a regular oven preheated to 450 degrees). Cover and cook for 30-40 minutes over the fire (45-50 minutes in an oven). Add the green onions and crispy bacon, crumbled and stir. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I added crushed red pepper flakes to my potatoes because I like a little kick :]



The kebabs were simple, as kebabs should be. All I used was red bell peppers, onion, bacon, and seasoned cubed beef. The ingredients were coarsely chopped (onions were quartered), and threaded onto wooden skewers that had been soaking in water for half an hour. They were put over the fire (with foil underneath), lightly drizzled with oil and lightly seasoned with salt, and grilled until slightly charred in spots and cooked through.