Striving for Success and Relief in the Kitchen

Food makes me feel better. It's not just the eating or talking about food, it's the making it. I'm not talking anything gourmet, I just like trying new recipes, new ingredients, new techniques. The fact that you can make something from start to finish with a tangible end product is really gratifying. So while I've always been inclined towards baking cookies, cakes, muffins, etc., I've recently been branching out. It seems to help me regain a bit of myself when I'm lost in the throws on toddler tantrums.

These past couple of weeks have been particularly trying. MetaDaddy has been traveling for work, so he's been gone for 10 of the past 14 days. And when he gets back, I can't expect much because of jet lag. As usual, the kids got sick the minute he stepped foot on the airport. Why, why why!?! MetaBoy started it, and MetaGirl was lucky enough to get a mild version of whatever he had. Then she caught something somewhere else, and now he's sick. Tomorrow is two weeks with one stomach flu or another.

So, I'm having a pity party, and everyone's invited!! Except you probably don't want to come over because you might get sick ;-)

And what's a party without presents? I "happened" to find something on sale that I've been eyeing for a while. I figured it's time to indulge.

Sur La Table is having a sale on Cuisinart ice cream makers (well reviewed by Amazon users). Supposedly, they retail for $90, but they seem to be $50 everywhere. You could get it at Bed Bath and Beyond with one of your million 20% off coupons, though I couldn't seem to find it on their website. The Sur La Table deal, available thru May 31, 2010, offers a $15 gift card with your purchase, which works out to for $50 plus tax, less $15 for a future purchase. Amazon's best offer, if you're willing to take the white machine instead of selecting one of the 5 other colors, is pretty comparable (currently $41.48).

No, I didn't need it. But we all like ice cream. And MetaBoy loves to help me in the kitchen, so I'm excited at the prospect of showing him how to make ice cream. I think it's incredibly valuable that he knows that foods he loves like bread, cake, or ice cream are easily made from scratch at home, even though we can also buy them at the store. As a kid, I didn't know that pancakes could be make without a mix. Or that butter is so incredibly easy to make!! Heck, I didn't know a lot of stuff about food until well into adulthood. We've learned to take basic stuff for granted, and it's a real shame. How can we know how to eat well if we don't know what we're eating?

Anyway, I haven't made anything with the machine yet because everyone's still recovering. But once we're ready, I've been eyeing a decadent mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home. I love that book. Some recipes are a little tedious or labor intensive, but there are several great, easy ones, like the amazing cauliflower soup that I could eat for days, or the chocolate shortbread cookies. Best of all, whatever recipe you make, you're guaranteed something delicious. There's comfort (food) in that.

Book for Kids: Tools by Taro Miura

There's a tiny little toy store in Venice called Toys and Tales. Much like small, independently owned stores, the selection there is great. I have a hard time leaving without buying something.

Case in point, I found Tools by Taro Miura. Drawn on two pages are a collection of tools, and the following page is a drawing of the person who uses the tools (e.g., electrician, barber, carpenter). My son, who is almost 4, is obsessed with this book. And the teachers at his preschool loved it so much that they picked up a few copies for the school. Highly recommended!


There aren't many small toy stores in the area, so it's nice to patronize the few that we have. The selection of toys and books is so much more interesting than at the big chains. And while there's room for everything in life, loyalty to the little guy means they'll be there tomorrow to help us find that perfect gift or expand our kids' horizons. So go out and find the small local store that you're going to help support :-)

Thomas Keller Book Signing with Williams Sonoma

Food geek that I am, I was so very excited when I heard that Thomas Keller, food hero, was signing his new book, Ad Hoc at Home, at Williams Sonoma in Santa Monica, CA.

Post news, I realized that MetaBoy was home from school for Veteran's Day. Today. The day of the book signing.

And there goes my glow.

I drove past, and the line was almost too long for me alone, nevermind with monsters in tow.

I'm still thinking of getting the book, even though it won't be signed. I keep reading glowing reviews. To rub salt in the wound, I found a picture of how he signs his books...very artsy!

(Photo from clarakim via Twitter)

If you're looking for Thomas Keller's next William Sonoma event, check out their site. He'll be in doing a lot of flying over the coming month!

Recipe: Passion Fruit Chocolate Cloud Cake

I've made this cake more times than I can count. It's my go-to cake when I need something delicious, reliable, and pleasing to all. The cake is rich, fudgy and dense; you really can't eat more than a small serving. But as a result, it really feels like a treat. It's become more standard since finding out that a friend has Celiac disease, which means that she can't eat gluten (wheat, pasta, rye, barley). Even small amounts are a problem, so she had to purchase a separate toaster at home for her gluten-free toasting needs. It's been a huge lifestyle change for her and her family. So when we have them over for dinner, I like making a few different things with as many gluten-free options as possible. It's not that hard as long as you think about it beforehand, but it does take some thought and research. For example, soy sauce is not necessarily gluten-free. I didn't see that one coming.

But I digress. This cake is a great flourless chocolate cake. My favorite part is the freshness imparted by the fruity contribution. Nigella's original recipe included 2 tablespoons of Cointreau (an orange liquor) and some orange zest. But I wanted to try something different, so I consulted The Flavor Bible, which has become a great source of inspiration for trying out new flavors. I found that passion fruit goes well with dark chocolate, and it reminded me that my favorite chocolate ever is a passion fruit dark chocolate from Jin Patisserie (absolutely wonderful!!) in Venice, CA. So I substituted 3 tablespoons of passion fruit puree for the Cointreau. I cut the fruit, put the pulp in a sieve, and scraped out, on average, 1 tablespoon from every 2 passion fruits. I thought it was a nice start, but it could have used more; the fruit was too subtle. I'll add at least another tablespoon next time. That said, it was still delicious, and I thought the Cointreau in the cream served to bring out the passion fruit in the cake.

Chocolate Cloud Cake
from Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson

250g (9 ounces) dark chocolate
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
6 eggs: 2 whole, 4 separated
7 ounces sugar
3 tablespoons passion fruit puree (from about 6 passion fruits)

Cream topping:
16 ounces double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Cointreau (or other orange liquor)
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or a microwave, and then let the butter melt in the warm chocolate.

Beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with 2 ounces sugar, then gently add the chocolate mixture and the passion fruit.

In another bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the 5 ounces of sugar and whisk until the whites are holding their shape but not too stiff. Lighten the chocolate mixture with a dollop of egg whites, and then fold in the rest of the whites. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the center is no longer wobbly. Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack; the middle will sink as it cools.

When you are ready to eat, place the still tin-bound cake on a cake stand or plate for serving and carefully remove the cake from its tin. Don't worry about cracks or rough edges; it's the crater look we're going for here. Whip the cream until it's soft and then add the vanilla and Cointreau and continue whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff. Fill the crater on the cake with the whipped cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake, and dust the top lightly with cocoa powder.

Serves 8-12.

Recipe: Pie Dough

This is not my great secret on pie dough. This is simply a collection of information and tips that have helped me gather the courage to make pie dough. If you're intimidated, I hope this helps...because it turns out it's not that bad ;-)

I've always been intimidated at the thought of making pies. Not so much by the filling as by the crust. I've tried some recipes, and as someone who follows a recipe with precision, I was always frustrated when the resulting dough seemed so difficult to work with. I've also been dismayed at the time it takes to get a crust ready for use (i.e., chill in the refrigerator before using). That just requires a lot of patience in my book!

But I've been tempted yet again to try my hand at making pies. In reading various cookbooks, it occurred to me to try making a free form tart because

• it only requires one rolled out circle of pastry
  
• it doesn't require a dish (e.g., pie pan, tart pan)
  
• you can put as much or as little fruit (within reason) as you like into the tart and it holds up pretty well

So, I went with Michael Ruhlman's Ratio for a sweet pie dough: 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, 1 part water, plus sugar. I mixed 12 ounces of flour with 2 tablespoons of sugar, then added 8 ounces of very cold cubes of salted butter (or use unsalted butter, but add 1/2 teaspoon salt). A pastry blender would keep the butter from warming at the touch of my hand, but I don't have one so I use my hands. To offset the warmth of my hands, I put the diced butter in the freezer for about 10 minutes, then toss it into the flour and start rubbing the butter to mix. The butter doesn't have to be completely blended in. The best description I've heard for the look of mixture is that it should look like damp sand, though it should contain plenty of chunks of butter. I then add up to 4 ounces of ice water. Since one of the tricks in getting the pastry right is getting the right amount of water in, Ruhlman points out that the amount of water required will vary from pastry to pastry because of the weather, humidity, the kind of fat used in dough, etc. So I pour out 4 ounces of water, and slowly added it to my pastry until I achieve the right texture: sticks together, but isn't too wet. I then cut the mass in half, shape each into a disc, wrap them in cling film, and put them in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 15 minutes, though some sources say as long as 1 hour. Something to consider if you have the time.

That's the tough part, which I've found that after a few attempts, is no longer as tough as it used to be. I chill the dough for 30 minutes, or I wrap it up well, put in a zip top bag, and freeze. When I need it, I leave the frozen disc in the refrigerator overnight, and it's ready to use. Since the above proportions give me enough pastry for two discs, I can use one now, and freeze one for later.

Now, here are some random tips I've picked up from here and there:

• From Sherry Yard's The Secrets of Baking: "The secret to flaky pastry is to make the butter believe it is solid. The small pieces of cold butter must be left whole and flattened within the dough. They must not be allowed to combine with the flour but should remain intact."
  
• Ruhlman says that too much water or kneading will result in a tough dough. But Yard tells us that having a slightly wet, tacky dough is better than a dry one. As in life, it's all about balance.
  
• The addition of a bit of acid (e.g., 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar) will help inhibit the gluten proteins, which can make rolling easier.
  
• If you mix the dough by hand, all you need is a bowl and a scale (for precision). Though some recipes suggest using a food processor, that's a lot of extra cleaning up!
  
• You can buy premade dough that can be rolled out at home (e.g., Trader Joe's frozen pastry circles). Since you still have to roll out the dough for your purposes, you're only saving that first step of mixing everything together, about 10 minutes. Yes, you have to chill it. But you would also have to defrost the frozen dough.
  
• If you buy a premixed dough, you can't control flavor (e.g., Ruhlan's savory dough: omit sugar, add 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano).
• Use good butter. We love Kerrygold Irish butter, which we find at a reasonable price at our local Trader Joe's.
  
• If you're intimidated, you'll likely find that after a few attempts, it's actually not that difficult or time consuming. And the end result is lovely. It feels good to make something so basic and versatile.

Some other sources that provide some great tips and insight on technique and recipes for their version of the perfect pie dough:

Cook's Illustrated's Foolproof Pie Dough @ Serious Eats

Pie Crust 102: All Butter, Really Flaky Pie Dough @ Smitten Kitchen

Perfect Pie Crust @ Simply Recipes

Around the Internet

Are We Farmers Market Failures - Hey, out there! Vote for your favorite farmers' market here. Show how much you love your farmers. And if you live in the Los Angeles area, definitely do this. We're not in the top 20, but we have some spectacular markets! The Santa Monica market on Wednesdays, anyone? Perhaps we're taking for granted how our wonderful weather allows us to have strawberries, tomatoes, avocados, and so many other foods for so many months of the year. But think about how lucky we are, and vote! Now, I'm off to slice up some sweet, juicy watermelon and tuck into some green, yellow, and red tomatoes...mmm...

Starbucks tests new names for stores - A sign of the times: Starbucks is experimenting with avoiding the use of their name in new stores. I never thought I'd see the day...

How to Take Better Baby Photos - Tips on taking better pictures of babies and kids. Some of this is over my head, but I think I still learned something.

Coolio: The Next Julia Child? - LOL...no. Do you even remember Coolio? Well, back when, he got all into food and starred in an online cooking show on My Damn Channel.

Risk of mad cow disease from farmed fish? - There is now concern that eating farmed fish who are fed byproducts rendered from cows might be at risk. So now, who's going to be protecting consumers from this? Because the USDA and the FDA can't handle what they have on their plates so far. And I think we all know how unlikely it is that any corporation or industry will self-regulate.

Living in a Discount Culture

This was an interesting segment about discount shopping on Marketplace. Ellen Ruppel Shell's latest book Cheap:the High Price of Discount Culture is her analysis of bargains in the U.S., which she says can end up costing consumers more than they think. For example, if instead of buying the boots you love you buy the most discounted pair which you never wear, did you save money? Personally, I find myself always repeating the question to myself "yes it's cheap, but will I use/wear it?" If not, I won't buy it. My argument is both about money and space. I can't afford space for stuff I won't use. I taught myself that lesson years ago, but it primarily stems from my Virgo nature. Practical, organized...boring ;-)

Another interesting comment was about "sales" and how prices are set:

"How many of us, for example, have ever paid full price for a mattress. There's an object, you know, it's always, quote, unquote, on sale. Well, it's really not on a sale. That's the real price of the mattress. The other mattresses in that department store have higher prices, but the merchant doesn't really expect to sell those mattresses. He rotates all his mattresses into the sale pile, and he expects to sell them at that sale price, which is actually the full price."

That information will forever change how I see sales. I'm tempted to buy the book, but like those never worn boots, will I ever get around to reading it?

Maybe if it's on sale ;-)

Movie: Away We Go

I LOVE Dave Eggers. I thoroughly believe his book "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" defined a generation. If you got it, you really found Eggers speaking your thoughts, even though his situation was probably nothing like yours. If you didn't get it, then you probably thought he was a whining idiot. I got it, and I've had a soft spot for him ever since. Mind you, it's been at least 10 years since I read the book, so who knows how I'd feel about it today.

I just heard about a new movie directed by Sam Mendes and co-written by...Dave Eggers! Away We Go, per the trailer, is reminiscent of Juno, but for adults. Funny, heart warming, soul searching...how do you handle getting your life ready when you've got a baby on the way. Maybe it's a movie that girls can relate to...especially those who've had a baby...and are me.

Eh, I don't know who the audience is, but I know that if we didn't have to pay $100 for movie tickets, a meal, and babysitter, we'd see this as soon as it hit theaters. Ah, parenthood.

Looking forward to the full feature via Netflix. In the meantime, the trailer.

Trailer: Away We Go

New Cookbooks: Ratio and The Flavor Bible

I cook at home for my family. The extent of my training is from cookbooks, which I read for fun (easier to finish than a novel these days), and TV personalities, primarily those with entertaining accents (yes, Jacques, I'm looking at you).

But you don't really learn much from those sources, other than a specific recipe and an occasional tip. One of the reasons I watch Alton Brown religiously and subscribe to Cook's Illustrated is because I want to know how the cooking and baking processes work, so that I can understand how to negotiate a recipe to serve my needs.

Yes, certain foods are easy to vary (e.g., add more vegetables, use less salt). I have no problem changing things up in a stew, for example. Herbs and spices are always mere suggestions. And there's always room for some vermouth! But when it comes to making bread, pie crusts, or cakes, I'm at the mercy of my recipe books. I love my books, but sometimes I wish I understood why certain ingredients are listed so that I know whether or not I can substitute or omit them all together.

Enter Michael Ruhlman. His most recent book is Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. This is the book I've been looking for since I burned, cut, and maimed myself while foraging for sustenance in my sad little kitchen oh so long ago. This book gives you the ratios of how to make foods that require precision, thereby offering me a foundation from which to be creative in the kitchen.

For example, as he states after offering the ratio for bread is 5 parts flour to 3 parts water:

"You can make fresh bread without opening a single book or scouring a website for random recipes, and you can make as much or as little as you like. That 500 grams of flour or 20 ounces of flour with the water, a pinch of dry yeast, and 2 big pinches of salt make a good loaf of bread. But if you want to liven it up, add a tablespoon of freshly chopped rosemary and a head of roasted garlic and stretch it out for a roasted garlic and rosemary ciabatta. Other fresh herbs such as thyme, sage, and oregano work beautifully, too. Or use other intense, flavorful ingredients: poblano and chipotle peppers, kalamata olives and walnuts, chocolate and cherries, pistachios and cranberries. Caramelized onion! A sausage! Cheese! The variations are limitless because you know the ratio, 5 parts flour, 3 parts water."

After giving you ratios and a few other tips, he gives you a few recipes to understand how to use the information. Because the point isn't to walk away with a recipe, it's to walk away with an understanding of how you can make every recipe bend and yield at your command!! Mwa, ha, haaaaa!! Hmm...too much? OK, it's at least a great tool in understanding how you can manipulate recipes to suit your ingredients on hand, or alter the servings needed (serves 4 vs. serves 8 isn't always a matter of doubling everything).

Now that this book is in my hot little hands, I'm much more keen on getting The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. After hearing about it at every turn (a fun review here), I checked it out from the library, and found that it wasn't for me. Much like a dictionary, it lists foods and their complimentary pairings. For example, if you look up cherries, it will list every food that goes well with cherries, as well as a list of foods that go exceptionally well with cherries. Personally, I found that it put the onus on me of understanding what I cook, and that's just silly. But as I feel a bit more confident in cooking and baking, I might feel more inclined to have such a tool in my kitchen. As a home cook, it really can come in handy. If I'm debating on what to do for dinner and I know I have some herbs or vegetables that I want to use up before they go off, this book would be a great way to figure out how I can use a few ingredients effectively. Things like that don't just come to me...I need help! And how likely is it that I'll find a recipe in a random book or online as easily? Riiiiiight.

So these are my exciting new kitchen finds. Have you seen anything exciting out there?

Recipe: Green Zebra Gazpacho Soup

Here's a recent find from The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook, by Amelia Saltsman. I've had this book for over a year, but I always seem to find some lovely treat when I'm in the mood for something new. A favorite then, a favorite today.

Case in point, Gazpacho. The name doesn't do it for me, and the thought of a cold tomato soup feels...well, kinda blagh. But I keep forgetting that because it's a raw soup, it's almost more like a salad than a soup. The flavors are so fresh, and when you leave the right amount of texture, there's even that bit of crunch in each spoon. I had gazpacho in Spain, and it completely changed my perception of it. But I left that behind when I left Spain. I decided to give it another chance with this recipe as my inspiration, and I'm hooked again!

There's a decent amount of prep work involved in this recipe, the worst of which involves the tomatoes. As for everything else, remember that it's all going to get blended in the end, so don't worry too much about chopping. Oh, and when you do start blending, cover up. This soup has more jump than Splash Mountain.

You have been warned.

Lastly, flavors are best when the soup is left to sit for a bit, so don't plan on eating it right away. And because it's served cold, leave seasoning for when you're about to serve. Cold food needs more seasoning.

Green Zebra Gazpacho
2 lbs ripe Green Zebra or Evergreen tomatoes
2 Persian cucumbers (about 10 ounces total)
1 small white onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup seedless green grapes
2 cups torn, crust-free, stale French bread
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 to 1 small jalapeno chile, cut into small pieces
Leaves from 8 to 10 sprigs cilantro
Leaves from 8 to 10 sprigs mint
2 tablespoons canola or other mild cooking oil
Kosher or sea salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch dice
Snipped fresh chives for garnish

Peel and seed tomatoes, reserving the juices that collect in the bowl. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and add them to the bowl. Peel the cucumbers, cut them in half lenthwise, and use the tip of a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Cut the cucumbers into chunks and add them to the bowl. Stir in the cucumbers, onion, grapes, bread, juice of 1 lime, 1/2 chile, cilantro, mint, oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and water.

Puree the soup with a stand blender, leaving the texture a little chunky. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt. If the soup is not zesty enough, grind the remaining 1/2 chile with a little of the soup and stir it into the soup. Garnish each serving with the avocado, chives, and an extra sprinkling of salt.

Mo Willems Captions

Do you know Mo Willems? He wrote Knuffle Bunny (a MetaToddler favorite) and the Pigeon books after winning 6 Emmys for his writing for Sesame Street.

Needless to say, he knows funny. He knows kids, too, but that's another post.

He's teamed up with NPR's All Things Considered for a caption contest. He drew and captioned four cartoons, but anyone can take a look and submit a caption of their own. It's cute and fun, so go on and check it out if you're looking for a few minutes of amusement :-)

Around the Internet

Flying the Friendly Bookshelves - Boogie is going through an "I love planes" phase. For boys, I hear this phase lasts...forever. MetaDaddy is still in his. Me? I'm out.

Terra Cotta Warriors - We saw the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xian, China during our 2004 trip. There are a staggering number of these warriors. And at their age, it's shocking that they can travel. If you're in the Los Angeles area and you can make it, stop by the Bowers Museum to check them out. Honestly, I can't imagine they'll be coming back any time soon. So you can see them here, or fly to China ;-)

Ceramic Water Stakes via Boston Gals - Plants keep dying? Need some help watering them? Get help! I must say, I'm intrigued.

Thrifty Kitchen: Use it up! - Some clever ideas on reducing your kitchen waste.

Around the Internet

The Tales of Beetle the Bard - I saw this link on Amazon, and I was racking my brain and quizzing MetaDaddy to see if he'd ever heard of "The Tales of Beetle the Bard." Eventually, I clicked through and found out it was from the last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Duh! He didn't read any of them, so he's off the hook.

It turns out J.K. Rowling wrote the book comprised of five wizarding fairy tales, and Amazon bought one of the seven handmade (yes, handmade) copies at a Sotheby's auction for £1,950,000 (that's around $3,810,276.62).

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard is extensively illustrated and handwritten by the bard herself--all 157 pages of it. It's bound in brown Moroccan leather and embellished with five hand-chased hallmarked sterling silver ornaments and mounted moonstones."

More airports to use 'whole body imaging' machines - A pat-down is a bit of a privacy thief, so it seems like it's a bit less intrusive to have a machine do the job, especially since:
(1) the screeners are in a remote location,
(2) the face is blurred (pixelated), and
(3) the image is not stored.
That said, I don't know if I really want to subject my body to something called "millimeter wave machines" if I can avoid it with a dehumanizing pat-down.
Dang, I've totally just doomed my next flight. I'm going to be sooooooooooo not happy.





RAKKIDDO - For Kids - How many shoes does a kid need?








Matryoshka Dolls via Cool Mom Picks - Are these not the most precious things you've ever seen? I know MetaToddler's just going to put them in his mouth or slather them in yogurt, but I'm pretty sure he's going to get a set before the year is out :-)

LA Times Festival of Books

If you're looking for something fun to do in Los Angeles this weekend, look no further than UCLA. They're hosting the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Seriously, there's something there for everyone. Food, books, music, sunshine, picnics, speakers.

Parking's painful at $8, but admission is free. Besides, it's a nice day out :-)

Book Club: Yays and Woes

I like my book club. It's an opportunity to get together with a bunch of relatively like-minded women with interesting perspectives, pursuits, and backgrounds. Our reactions to books are generally all over the place, when we all manage to read the novel in question, that is. It makes for fun debates. And inevitably, we meander through topics ranging from politics to tabloid gossip to chocolate.  Always chocolate.

I felt a bit guilty not reading this month's selection, but I got a bit distracted. We had 6 weeks between meetings, and I kept thinking "I have loads of time." Then, I was down to two weeks. Then one. My only vindication was in knowing that the book was truly depressing, and as such, I probably wouldn't have finished it. I'm not good with depressing topics these days ;-)

Moving right along, I've decided to get cracking and get the selection for this month, "Places to Stay the Night" by Ann Hood. No, not a travel guide, silly. Unfortunately, my local library doesn't carry it. And since it's out of print, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and the author's website don't carry it new, though some do carry it used. Yes, used is cheaper. However, it's the worst of both worlds, isn't it? Used AND not free. Even worse, if it turns out that I don't like it, it'll find it's way to my bookshelf until I manage to expunge it from my collection. Funny enough, if I do end up liking it, it'll be gone in no time because I'll be excited to share it with others.

The cost of literacy and socializing, I suppose :-P

Recipe: Spanish Omelette

My contribution to food for gameday.

I made a Spanish omelette from Nigella's new cookbook Nigella Express. She has a great collection of delicious, comforting recipes. However, they're not always quick or easy. This book is her attempt at quick and easy and comforting.

This recipe isn't for what I would call a Spanish omelette. However, the recipe was easy, and the end result was quite tasty. Even more interesting, it really reminded me of potato skins (a secret love, truth be told). I think it was a combination of the potatoes, cheese, and the smokiness of the roasted bell peppers (Trader Joe's carry a selection). We cut it into 8 wedges and had it with salsa, but I think a bit of sour cream would have really been a great touch. Yum!!

Spanish Omelette
Serves 4

225g baby new potatoes
4 eggs
2-3 ounces chopped caramelized or flame-roasted peppers from a jar
3 spring onions finely sliced
2-3 ounces grated Manchego or Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon butter
drop of oil
salt and pepper to taste

Turn on the broiler and let it heat up while you start off the omelette. Cook the new potatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes, until cooked through, then drain and cut in half.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl, then add the potatoes, peppers, spring onions and cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. I found the potatoes a bit too large, so I lightly broke them down with a masher.

Heat the butter and oil in a cast iron skillet, and, when hot, pour in the omelette mix and cook gently for 5 minutes. Instead of flipping it to set the top, simply put it in the broiler for a few minutes.

Turn the omelette upside-down onto a plate to let cool. It's fine if it feels a bit wobbly because it'll continue cooking once it's out. Once cool, slice in to 4 large or 8 smaller wedges.

For more ridiculously tasty gameday ideas, check out Simply Recipes ;-)

A Beach, A Book, and A Pie

A day filled with interesting novelties for us.

• Went for a walk on the beach and actually walked on sand. It was too cold for us to get in the water, though that didn't stop local surfers from taking the challenge. Instead, we scurried up and down the sand with our camera. Once MetaBaby got used to walking on the wettish sand, he was running and giggling like a pro.
  
  
• I'm in the groove of my bookclub book, Middlesex. After having it on our "maybe" list for years, we finally gave in. It's a great read, and I'm at that stage where it's hard to put it down. In another lifetime, I'd be staying up until the crack of dawn to finish it.
  
  
• We made Nigella Lawson's Chicken Pot Pie. It wasn't quite express as far as I'm concerned, but it was really tasty. In terms of prep, we only had to chop the bacon, mushrooms, chicken, and coat the chicken in a flour & thyme mixture. Honestly, the hardest part was managing to get the puff pastry on the ready dish.

Don't you love weekends?

Blogosphere: Food & Recipes

Tortilla de Patatas from Smitten Kitchen - This was a great recipe adapted from her new favorite Spanish cookbook, the New Spanish Table. I made it, and it came out delicious. It was not a quick recipe, though it was not too difficult. Best part? Leftovers that you can happily eat hot, warm, or cold. In fact, I'll be right back.

Halibut & Saffron Rice from Tiny Morsels - Looks mighty good, though I haven't tried it yet. It's on my radar for a future meal, though :-)

A Pig Farm - A beautiful post on farm life, pigs, and sustainability. An interesting quote from her post:

"Is it not ironic that we take naturally lean cattle, who just want to eat grass, and we raise them in feedlots to fatten them up while at the same time we take naturally fat pigs, and we breed all the fat out of them?"

Adults do the strangest things.

First NY Times Restaurant Review from Kottke - This is just funny. The way restaurants and food were regarded back in the day has certainly changed.

"The lights will be brilliant, the waiters will be curled and perfumed and gloved, the dishes will be strictly en règle and the wines will come with precision of clock-work that has been duly wound up."

3 Minutes with Alan Alda

Alan Alda recently posted on the Huffington Post. Yes, that Alan Alda. Hawkeye. He was also in ER, The West Wing (which I really miss), and countless movies.

What's he up to? He's giving quick and cheap recipes for oatmeal. It's actually a clever idea. He prefers the steel-cut Irish oatmeal (found at Trader Joe's and various other food stores), which happens to take 40 minutes to make. However, he makes a big batch once a week and heats up a daily serving every morning in about 3 microwave minutes. Ahh...brilliant, Hawkeye! He goes on to argue the point that oatmeal, and he by association, are not boring, but quite the opposite. This oatmeal is "the kind that pops in your mouth when you bite into it in little glorious bursts like a sort of gummy champagne." Hmm...I don't know about that, but I'll let it slide.

Besides oatmeal, he also gets into a debate with himself about the existential meaning of life, which is indeed interesting, if potentially depressing. There's a reason people don't smile when you say "Camus." That said, he's funny, and funny is as funny does. It seems he's also written a few books. Prolific.

Either way, enjoy his oatmeal. It's good for you.

Feeding Your Ravenous Teenage Boy

The more I think about this "parenthood" thing, the more I realize how blind I was. Sure the pregnancy and labor was a challenge. And yes, it's still pretty hard to get an uninterrupted night of sleep. However, when MetaBaby gets older, things should be easier, right? I know, I know...LOLOLOLOL.

Well, here's something I surely didn't bank on. Teenage boys eat a lot. Like, a tall boy who's playing sports might consume as much as 4,000 calories. WHOA!!! At least that's what Georgia Orcutt said in her interview on Good Food. She described how her boys would go "blind" when they opened the refrigerator in search of something, which they'd never find. She was constantly running out of food she was counting on like milk, bananas, and cheese, so much so that she would walk through her house yelling "who ate all the cheese?" I'm sure I'll be that mother one day. And yes, I will be "mother" at that point, and only "mommy" in unkind jokes, to which I have every intention of responding harshly enough to put the jokester in his/her place. Let that be known, jokester.

So she wrote a book entitled How to Feed a Teenage Boy: Recipes And Strategies , which sounds like an interesting read for anyone in search of tips on how to keep food in the house with ravenous boys. She mentioned some clever tips like teaching her boys how to cut up an orange, which while fundamental, I suppose not all teenage boys think of doing. Hence, starvation. She also put all of the food needed to make a sandwich in a box in the refrigerator and labeled it "food." Her boys can now feed themselves without driving they're mom bananas.

Mmm...bananas.