[non] adventures of an amateur

Anyone still out there?

2011-03-13T21:38:00.000-04:00

Ack! So I sort of pulled the rug out from this blog and moved it. Renamed it, revamped it, trying to make it better and more focused on the food. I am now Nomnivorous, and if anyone is still here, I hope to see you over on the new .com.

Come Share the Love With Me

Take a Tumble

Tweet My Heart Out

And... I'm back?

2010-06-11T01:25:00.000-04:00

Well, it is a possibility! I bit the bullet and found myself a nice and not outrageously overprice laptop. I have missed regular writing, both here and on Babes Who Brunch, more than I can say. So I hope to see you again sooner rather than later.

Life is better with cookies.

2010-06-09T12:06:00.007-04:00

I don't know about you, but my life is insane. But it's so much better with cookies. Or, really, any homemade treat, but right now it' I'm competing in The LAMP's Best Desserts benefit tonight. All bakers were asked to make something whose recipe is from media, be it a television show, magazine, newspaper or website. I am bringing my Not Yo Mama's Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are an Alton Brown and Smitten Kitchen inspired creation.

Hosted by the lovely Alejandra Ramos of Always Order Dessert, it looks to be a great evening.

Want to know more? Alejandra says it best:

Hello lovely readers!

Just a reminder today about the Best Desserts charity food blogger bake-off that I'm co-hosting with The LAMP tomorrow night. The event is from 7PM to 9PM at Double Windsor bar in Brooklyn.

Tickets are just $20 (in advance; $25 at the door if you procrastinate) and get you entrance to the event, entry into all the raffles, exclusive drink specials, and--wait for it!--a tasting plate of all the delicious desserts! Check out the list below so you can see for yourself what delicious treats you'll be partaking of.

And for all you Throwdown/Chopped/Top Chef fans out there: this is YOUR chance to play snooty food judge! In addition to the winner selected by the panel of foodie-celeb judges, we are also opening up the vote to all the attendees who will get to taste and vote for their audience favorite.

So come to support The LAMP. Come to cheer on your favorite blogger. Come to eat delicious desserts!

Buy your ticket here (tax deductible and full amount goes to support The LAMP's programs in underserved NY communities).

What: Best Desserts: A Benefit for The LAMP
When: Wednesday, June 9 from 7PM – 9PM
Where: Double Windsor Bar, 210 Prospect Park W. at 16th Street, Brooklyn
Admission: $20 at http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=1837 or $25 at the door (price tax deductible and all proceeds benefit http://thelampnyc.org)

Admission gets you entrance to the event, a tasting plate of all the competing desserts (details below!), exclusive drink specials, automatic entry into the raffles featuring prizes from Flip Video, Whisk, Bowery Kitchen, The Hip Hostess, and many more!

Bloggers (and their competing dishes that you’ll get to taste!!) featured are:
Mocha Brownies by Katy Atlas of Sugarlaws
Seasonal strawberry cheesecake by Jen Bernstein of Local Appetite NY
Chocolate chip cookies by Esther Chai of AmbitiousDelicious(ness)
Salty butterscotch chocolate chip cookies by Emily Hanhan from (non) adventures of an amateur
Salted turtle cashew cupcakes by Anna Markow of Very Small Anna
Asian rice crispy treats by Rachel Mount from Best Part of the Day

Judges are:
Chef James Briscione: 2-time Food Network Chopped! Champion and cookbook author (also major hottie, just sayin’)
Giulia Melucci: Author of I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti
Divya Gugnani: Behind the Burner host & NBC personality

DC Vito, the executive director of The LAMP, and I will be the MCs for the night.

Hope to see you there!

xoxo

I truly hope to see all my dessert loving friends there tonight. I think the format of this event will be a nice change from the typical chaos of other food competitions (which I still love). We will be plating desserts so that each person just has to get one plate with all the competitors on it. Less finagling through lines and more ability for each cook to show their love in each bite.

Yes, I'm corny and sweet. That's why you're reading, right?

Locker Room Etiquette

2010-04-23T14:48:00.000-04:00

Ouch. It's been a good long while since I've given my bloggy any love. My life has been one big mashup of frantic apartment hunting during the month of March, even more frantic and chaotic moving, getting situated, work being busy, Emily being mentally and physically drained and now... Now I'm back on the Get My Ass in Shape horse.

Follow the insane thoughts of eight ladies who are Getting The Fuck Up on our Twitter stream #GTFU (because we're a bunch of dorks). We're doing this through Weight Watchers... Yes, I'm back, but it's more guidelines and keeping myself in check than totally reneging on the protein first mindset. It also helps that I have friends here supporting me. So, anyway, the point of that introduction is that I'm cross-posting something I wrote on my WW blog (mainly to keep too much crap from this main blog) that I would love everyone's input on.

Locker Room Etiquette (?)

So, five days later and I've officially worked out three days, yeah! Monday night, Wednesday morning and Friday morning. I have full plans on doing something involving exercise this weekend as well, so I am totally excited. Yes, getting up at 5 or 6am is not fun, but I know my body will be happy in the long run.

Buuut, having been in a locker room now after years since my last time around, I wonder if there is specific locker room etiquette in adulthood. The last time I was in a gym with a locker room was in college, which was just sort of a different animal. I can't say I've seen many bigger ladies at my current gym, but they're not all supermodels either, so I don't feel totally schlepy. Anyway, on the note of being bigger, well, the towels my gym provides are, on me, like a washcloth for a smaller woman. They're larger towels than I've seen in some gyms (my university one most certainly) but I still feel awkward. Basically, the towel can cover either my crotch, butt or boobs. Depending on how I grab it, I can sometimes cover the bottom half with a thigh hanging out.

No matter what, it makes for an awkward/clumsy walk from the locker to the shower. But here's the thing, I don't really care about people seeing my body. I'm not totally in love with it but I'm not painfully shy about showing it either. But at the same time, I don't want to be "that girl" in the locker room. And, er, I'm lazy - I don't want to carry my own towel or robe daily to the gym. Nope, not happening.

For the larger ladies, what do you do in the locker room? For the smaller ladies, do you pay any attention if you see some cellulite butt (mine) hanging out in the locker room? For everyone, is there formal etiquette for this kind of carp that I normally spend absolutely no time dwelling over)?

Catching up

2010-03-09T23:32:00.000-05:00

Why yes, I am still alive! What happens when life is so crazy, enjoyable, frustrating and simple jam-packed? I can't even separate the thoughts or find the time to write them all down. The place of employment is good and yet hectic and frustrating and such a daily learning experience, life is fantasmic and wonderful and yet so full of stress. So, basically, life as usual. I love it, I truly do, but I cannot wait till April.

Why? Oh right, amidst all of this, I'm moving. Our current lease ends March 31st & Omar wants to move in with some work buddies back in Astoria, so that's fine and dandy and now time to find a roommate. Or two. Newish friend Biana is also looking to move, and once we took a gander at our budget and our options, three bedroom apartments are quite a bit more affordable.

So here we go with this little jewel. What do we do to find this dear third roommate? The internet of course. This is the ad we posted on Craigslist today. Spread the word that we're searching for a third roommate for reaaaally affordable apartments in Brooklyn. Please do, thanks?

Are you a personable, relaxed Brooklynite looking for an affordable apartment with a few awesome roommates? B & E are looking to move into a three bedroom apartment (at the max budget of $700/person), but need that important third person. While a specific neighborhood isn't extremely important, our budget puts us mainly in Clinton Hill, Bed Stuy, Prospect Heights and Crown Heights. Both "young professionals" (we hate that phrase but it's pertinent), we're fairly socially active so we want an apartment that feels like home. We also hope to host gatherings in whatever space we find (brunch is a big part of our lives), so we would love the third roommate to hopefully enjoy said activities.

E is an avid cook & baker, and tends to keep lots of random spices and foods in the pantry and kitchen gadgets around. Fluctuating between being a social butterfly and vegging out at home, E is definitely looking for a space that can be totally relaxing when desired but also a great space for hosting friends. E is sometimes messy, but tends to keep it to her area. She also has Southern, motherly roots that come out time to time, but usually NY sentiments.

B is a social media consultant and can usually be found tethered to her computer and/or BlackBerry. She often works from home and yes even in her pajamas on occasion. B is very easy-going and she don't want no, no drama, no no no no drama. B also hates the Black Eyed Peas. B learned in kindergarten that sharing is caring, but she likes to be asked first. B is a fan of keeping communal spaces reasonably tidy. B is not a foodie so much as an eatie, which means she does make use of the kitchen frequently.

You are also a young professional, willing to take an equal part in apartment cleaning fun, male or female, straight or gay, petless (unless you have a clown fish named Nemo, then that's cool), willing to smoke outside if you are a smoker, able to contribute or help pay for some communal utilities and furnishings and available to move April 1.

Hope we haven't scared you off, just wanted to give you a better idea of what to expect with us. Let us know if you're looking for a room, we would love to meet ya.

And check out the actual posting with the email contact here.

Quite a delayed reaction

2010-02-17T22:27:00.000-05:00

I'm quite remiss not to mention this sooner.

As the world knows, Alexander McQueen passed away, or more accurately, committed suicide last Thursday. Not to get melodramatic, but I can't quite put into words what he has done for the industry. Very few designers are true artists, and even fewer continue to be artists as their careers blossom, but he truly did.

I greatly enjoy fashion, but don't write or reflect about it enough. [Even with my degree, I consider myself more the type of person that sits back and observes casually. I do want to change that now that I am creating on a daily basis.] But he was one creative mind that you couldn't ignore on the runway or the red carpet. (Thank you, Lady Gaga, among others.) I hope that whatever is developed under his name from here on out respects and represents the genius McQueen showed during his life.

Decadence in a bite: Elvis Cupcakes

2010-02-14T19:10:00.001-05:00

For anyone living under a rock, last Sunday was the Super Bowl. Having received an invite to friend Pas' Super Bowl party (at his outright amazing apartment in downtown Manhattan), I knew almost immediately what I wanted to make.

Peanut butter. Banana. Bacon. Cupcakes.

Otherwise known as Elvis Cupcakes. Oh yes, baby, they are as delicious as they sound. Well, at least my recipe is. Surprise, surprise, these recipes came from inspiration and combination of a few Smitten Kitchen recipes. I went with mini cupcakes because these are decadent, and I recommend giving these miniatures a try. I also really really wanted to debunk the dry mini cupcake myth. Even day-old cake doesn't have to dry out! Thus, I packed the cake with tons of banana and the next day, before frosting, I brushed the tops of the cake with Jack Daniels. My goal was to create a moist, banana-rich, peanut buttery, salty bacon dessert bite, a worthy tribute to The King, and I think these are winners.

My frosting did not want to pipe out, so they were sloppily frosted with a knife. Ignore the ugly, embrace the tasty.

Elvis Mini Cupcakes

Banana cake
[This makes 54 mini cupcakes or probably around two dozen regular cupcakes.]

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3.5 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1.5 - 2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (4 large)
3 tablespoons greek yogurt or sour cream
1 tablespoon whiskey (Jack Daniels), plus 1/4 cup [for topping the baked cupcakes]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift first 5 ingredients into bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until creamed. Beat in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, rum, and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions just until combined.

Line your mini cupcake with liners. Spoon no more than one tablespoon of batter into each liner, filling the cup 2/3 full max. Bake for 10-13 minutes max. [A toothpick may not come out "clean" because it's a very moist cake.] Remove cake from pan immediately and put on a cooling rack. Repeat process until batter is gone, it will take 2-3 batches of baking.

Directly before frosting, use a pastry brush (or new, clean paint brush) and brush the top of each cupcake with Jack Daniels.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups (which is more than you need for said cupcakes. Feel free to 3/4 the recipe, or give the frosting to a baker friend.)

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, commercial brand

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1/2-1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

The frosting will be quite thick and a bit difficult to pipe out because of the peanut butter. If possible, use a ziploc bag to frost the banana, Jack Daniels soaked cupcakes. If not, use a knife or small offset spatula and spread on.

Baked Bacon
10 slices high quality bacon

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place the bacon in a single layer on the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping 10 minutes into the process. You want the bacon crispy but not burnt, and it will continue to crisp as it cools.

Place cooked bacon on a paper towel lined plate, and once cooled, cut slices into fifths. Top each cupcake with a generous piece of bacon.

Put the cupcakes out on a nice platter and enjoy the questions. "Bacon? On a cupcake?" "Wait, what are these called?" And then enjoy the happy smiles and mouthgasms around the room.

The Treats Truck: A Mid-Afternoon Adventure

2010-02-10T20:53:00.006-05:00

The Backstory

A little while back, maybe a few months, I caught wind of something called 93 Plates. Without previously knowing of The Wandering Foodie, I found the idea intriguing on all parts. Doing what I often do when finding a new blog - added it to my Google Reader and also followed him on Twitter.

At some point, while still unemployed, I tweeted out that if he was ever looking for a fill-in, I might be up for it. Mainly because my schedule was flexible at that time and, still, curiosity about the project was there. Then, on the 29th of January, Hagan tweeted out an emergency cancellation at Treats Truck for lunch. That day, the truck was parked at 38th and 5th, and I happened to have time for a real lunch break so I offered to share in some small sampling.

And there I was, on a chilly January afternoon, getting fresh air and a full tummy and being a part of something I honestly think could only happen in NYC.

The Treats Truck
all photographs provided by Hagan Blount

I've been to the truck a few times when I was working at 34th st and 5th ave. I've met Kim Ima, the owner, then and also while volunteering at The Vendys back in August (fun times). She's a sweet lady, an easy business to support. She has a truly cute, vintage looking silver truck that is easy to spot amidst the crazy streets of Manhattan.

From the first bite, I truly believe her slogan is an extremely fair representation of her product. Simple, classic, American desserts. Often a bit rich and sweet, but there are some true stars in the bunch.

Sugar Dots

Incredibly classic, straightforward sugar cookies topped with a simple icing and sprinkles, these cookies acted practically as a palate cleanser between richer samples. I am a fan of the two sizes - the smaller "Dot" is a great little $0.50 snack. I can't complain nor rave about these - what you see is what you get.

Cran Almond Crispy

This was one of two items who I personally think don't fare well in the winter. The cold air doesn't do the best for Rice Krispy treats. And this was a marshmallow square amped up - with dried cranberries and almonds. More marshmallow would have been nice, and maybe in the summertime? But mainly it's a pass for me.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

Yet another classic American cookie, this is a solid but not spectacular cookie. It is also offered with pecans, which I might be willing to try. The cookie was dense, but without the nice combination of chewy toffee edges and moist center.

Raspberry Brownie

The brownies from the Treats Truck are rich, sweet, chocolatey bombs. Kim offers many different varieties, with caramel, raspberry, pecan, plain, spicy Mexican cocoa, and others (espresso, etc) available. With all her bars, she will ask if you prefer a corner, edge or center, which is a great little detail. The raspberry brownie was the second dessert damaged by the cold - the fruit swirl on the top had solidified in the cold. Not very easy to bite into or chew up, the winter is not the best time for the raspberry brownie. [As a side note, I've tried a bit of one of these brownies in the summer and the texture and consistency of the fruit is far better and makes for a more complete flavor.]

Peanut Butter Sandwich

Boy, if you like peanut butter, these are SO the cookies for you! It's the classic peanut butter cookie with a rich peanut butter filling. The small cookie is a bit decieving - there is a ton of peanutty flavor in a small package. She also offers the sandwich cookie with a jelly filling for some true nostalgia. And one other side note - as with most classic peanut butter cookie recipes, these are GLUTEN FREE.

The Truckers - Caramel Creme and Chocolate

Truckers, oh truckers, you both swooned me and turned me off in the same category. Yet another very rich option from The Treats Truck is the Caramel Creme Trucker. The cookie is buttery, a bit like a shortbread cookie, delicious with caramel flavor. The cream in the center is what I would classify as a standard cookie filling. The Caramel Creme Trucker falls into my top favorites from the Truck.

Unfortunately, the Chocolate Creme Trucker did not match up. Somehow, the chocolate cookie tasted chalkier, less chocolate-intense and just not quite on the money. If you're craving chocolate, go for a brownie.

Pumpkin Cake

Kim offers pumpkin and carrot cake, and Hagan told me that both received a strong endorsement from the ladies at Blondie & Brownie. After trying the pumpkin cake, I must agree. The cake had a nice balance of sweet, pumpkin and spice. Topped with a cream cheese frosting, I consider this one of the tastiest and best monetary values from The Treats Truck. Straightforward is the name of the game, and if you like pumpkin cake, I recommend this one.

Pecan Butterscotch Bar

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! The pecan butterscotch bar is truly my favorite from the Treats Truck. Yes, it's sweet and rich, dense indeed, but the butterscotch flavor and spread of pecans? Truly delicious. I must must encourage you to get an edge or corner bar - the delicious toffee flavor gets more intense at the edges, as the texture gets firmer. For less than $3, I definitely say this bar is worth swinging by The Treats Truck when in the neighborhood.

The Verdict

So the verdict on my experiences? Well, when it comes to The Treats Truck, "Not too fancy, always delicious!" still sums up the baked goods pretty darn well. My experience eating at the truck with 93 Plates did not change my opinion on the truck - it's worth checking out for certain items, certain cravings, and most definitely worth visiting to meet and chat up the very sweet owner, Kim. I want to thank her (and obviously give full disclosure) for the food, and thank Hagan for the experience.

There has been various musings around the web about the purpose and drive behind 93 Plates. I just want to say I understand all opinions on the matter, and I'm not going to say anything more brash about it. I haven't had the time nor desire to "seriously analyze" it all. But I did comment on friend Amy's blog before finally getting to this write-up.)

Insane. Amazing. Juggle!

2010-02-07T00:09:00.002-05:00

My life currently summed up in three words. (That last one is more like "Juggle, bitch, juggle!") But if you want a little bit more...

Three weeks into work and really is a juggle. I feel a bit in over my head (in terms of skills) but I'm trying to prove myself and make myself indispensable right now. Last week was especially insane and the company is trying to find the right balance with me as well.
Last week was "Social Media Week" in NYC. What does that mean, you ask? Lots of open bars, interesting panels and good friends. Tried to balance attending the important to me stuff - a fashion panel or two - with the just-can't-miss fun stuff. Last night's closing party / Patrice's birthday party was pretty much perfection. An insane amount of dancing and free liquor made for a perfect end to my week.
Oh, and last night was also my one year anniversary in New York City.
Speaking of indispensable, I'm reading Linchpin by Seth Godin right now. Game changer. For real. Once I read Emily's review, I had to have it. If you're doing anything creative at all in your life, put it at the top of your reading list. Oh, and give yourself a D.
And, still rolling along with Babes Who Brunch. Lots of great meals, and truly happy to have met and continue to get closer to Melissa. Even when life feels like it's in the john, she has a great, great spirit to her. And knows and appreciates goooood food.
Oh, one more memorable note to my life. My friends. Seriously, I cannot even begin to express the awesomeness that surrounds my life right now. There was so much congratulatory joy from you all when I got this job, I was truly overwhelmed. Thank you. No really, you make my life so worth it on a daily basis.

How bizarre...

2010-01-18T21:57:00.001-05:00

Yes, yes, first day at the new job for me. It generally felt good, lots of friendly people, but don't want to say too much. Just wanted to write about one moment that just caught me completely off-guard.

It was about two o'clock, I finally went to warm up my lunch. As I was plating it up to a paper plate, a man came into the kitchen. He was wearing jeans, a cotton button-down and sneakers. As he went to wash his hands, I oddly made the first move to say hello and introduce myself. "Hi, I'm Emily. It's my first day here." We shook hands and his response? "Hi, I'm **** and I own the company."

I know that whole don't judge a book by its cover, but really? I was so taken aback, not only was he dressed incredibly casually, but he was extremely friendly and warm. For a larger company, I never expected that. He knew there was someone new coming into the office and we had a great abbreviated conversation. Who knows what the future holds, but that moment today felt pretty darn good.

Pop the Cork!

2010-01-12T03:52:00.000-05:00

Oh wait, I already did...

I GOT A JOB!!!

Not just any job, a full-time, bill-paying job. Excitement is a complete understatement. Can't spill too many details over teh interwebs, but let's just say it's in my "industry" (and that would be pattern and print design), it's full time and it feels like a good company to be at. I have until Monday to relax, bask in the employment glow and get myself together. (Cook, clean, prep some clothes, etc.)

But you know what is first? A day at MOMA. I haven't been since the summer of 2008, so I think today is a MOMA day. If you're around the city and have some free time, give me a ring and stop by and peruse with me.

And I have to say, the timing is sort of perfect... There is a College of Textiles alumni dinner at Brother Jimmy's tonight, as Kent is in town for about 72 hours. It feels so damn good to know I have a job when friends and others ask what I'm doing.

I am a ball of nerves

2010-01-08T01:10:00.000-05:00

I had a job interview on Tuesday. And a follow-up skills test project thing on Wednesday. For my abilities and stuff, they both went pretty well. There was chemistry, and interest in my portfolio, all that. It's such a new feeling!

But now, I'm waiting. And growing more and more attached to the idea of this job. I do not know when I'll hear back... I know getting attached is bad, bad, bad, because they have other applicants and not everything about me is perfect for their needs. But it's just such a new, delightful feeling to being even close to employment.

Whatever you do to help the stars align (pray, cross fingers, meditate, eat cupcakes, whatever odd tick you revert to), will you do that for me? I'm having trouble sleeping tonight and going to try to calm myself and think positive.

Drum Roll Pleeeease!

2010-01-02T09:45:00.000-05:00

A new project for 2010 has begun, and I couldn't be more excited!

Melissa, a sweetheart and new friend, have begun a new blog together, Babes Who Brunch. I hope my dear readers will follow the link and check out our site, ideas, etc. If you're in the NYC area, are a babe and want to brunch with us, please please please let us know! I don't know what this will turn into, but it's an exciting little side project for the new year. (And yes, I am trying to keep with the Ten in 10 goals while brunching.)

Ten in 10: Ten Weeks to Healthy in 2010!

2010-01-01T19:22:00.000-05:00

It's a new year and while I'm not trying to make any definite resolutions, I'm trying to get myself and my life in order. Part of that is my eating habits. They've fallen off, hard, and it's got to change. That was already set in my head, and then I saw my friend Lara post about Ten in 10 earlier today. In these horrid winter months of January, February and March, a jumpstart like this seems like a great idea. It's also a great way to garner support, since there's a whole group of people doing this.

My official "goals" for Ten in 10 are very much about getting back to basics. Limit processed carbs, get back to healthy proteins, vegetables and whole grains, and try to do "some sort of" exercise daily. Recipe Girl, the creator of Ten in 10, is posting about it every Saturday, and I hope to do the same. Anyone else that wants to join (you can do so if you're on Twitter or you blog) still has time to enter - tomorrow is the deadline. Whether or not you participate in this event, I wish for all of you dear readers to have a healthy new year!

Woah... It's 2010!

2010-01-01T17:44:00.000-05:00

To my readers, I wish you a Happy New Year!

Nick McGlynn's kickass New Years party right over Times Square.

While I look like a hot mess in this picture, I'm happy as a clam. This was my evening last night, with so, so, SO many of my new friends. 2009 rightly sucked for many reasons, but when it comes to the connections I've made in my life, well damn, this is one lucky lady right here. So thank you, to all of you. You know who you are, you know you're greatly loved and you know that you've made my year about as great as it could be.

Happy Merry and all that jazz...

2009-12-28T20:33:00.002-05:00

A belated Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone! Oh the time to be at home with the family. Joyous, right?

Hah, yeah, if that's the kind of masochism you're into.

I have approximately 10 more hours here in North Carolina (not that I'm counting or anything), with an insane 5:45 am flight out of Raleigh. And I'm dealing with a horrible head cold, the only benefit of this being that, with a quiet Monday around here, being sick reduces the motherly criticism to a dull roar. Oh yes, this time home has been a great joy. Mothers obviously have basic training learning how to ruin an otherwise perfect day by a few comments at the end of the night. (Or, that's just my mom's style...)

So, while Christmas was enjoyable, I'm ready to be back in NYC. And, you know, preferably gainfully employed. (My unofficial-official deadline is the end of March, when our current lease ends.) I hope your holidays were just as passive-aggressive and lovely as mine.

Cookie Takedown 2009 Verdict: Madness!

2009-12-21T00:41:00.003-05:00

Pure and simply, that is what last night was… Or, more appropriately, that is what this weekend was. 1 small Brooklyn kitchen, 1 woman, 300 cookies.

And the verdict? Well, guess who FINALLY won! I tied for FIRST PLACE for the People’s Choice! Dude… excitement is totally an understatement. I’ll be honest, these food competitions are straight up fun for me. Stressful as all hell at times, but thoroughly enjoyable. Matt Timms’ Takedowns are practically comical because the dude is just that. He’s goofy, funny and he likes having a good time, eating damn good food and embracing the amateurs. (Same for Cathy Erway and the Food Obstructions!)

But, now that I’ve won, well, hah, I get why it’s important and so damn fun to win. I still would have loved to win straight up, no splitting of the money, but, alas, the cookie gods did not allow for such to happen. Still, no shame in $50 and a fancy bottle of rum. (Yay!)

Funniest part about it was that the other winners not only had similar named cookies as mine but I knew one. Lee and I volunteered together at Twestival and he and his buddy were standing in for the cookie maker, their friend and fellow nacho fan. So, he was representing Nacho Mama’s Cookies, cute little nacho-esque butter cookies with orange buttercream. To be honest, I thought they looked more like grilled cheese halves, but still, adorable. Totally melt in your mouth like meringue. A bit of an unexpected win, to me, but I think the room was full of fellow nacho lovers.

And, guess what I just happened to name my cookies? Not Yo Mama’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. Yeah, how about that. And we were 3 spots away from each other. Our cookies were vastly different, which made life easier. My name came about out of the urge to name it something besides “Salted Brown Butter Pecan Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies” Which is what they were. I stand by my name, because dammit, these are Not Yo Mama’s Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I mean, look at that deliciousness. (Picture thanks to Metromix New York)

I know the only reason you’re here is for the recipe, so here we go.

Not Yo Mama’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Alton Brown’s The Chewy recipe.
Makes 5-6 dozen tbsp sized cookies or 3-4 dozen larger cookies

2 1/4 cups bread (yes, bread) flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown butter*
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped, roasted pecans
“Sel de mer gros”** AND kosher salt
1 batch of butterscotch sauce***

Small chop the pecans and roast in an oven at around 375 degrees for 5-10 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. You want them toasty, crunchy, but obviously not burnt. FYI they chop easier raw, so I recommend chopping before roasting.

Brown the butter thoroughly. Basically, put butter in a light colored pot or sauté pan and let cook on medium heat. Do not be afraid of browned bits – I feel like deep coloration of the butter makes for a nuttier, tastier cookie. [Elise at Simply Recipes has a great photo tutorial on browning butter; it's not as scary or complicated as it may sound.]

*Also, because you are cooking the butter, and losing some of the water, you need to start with more butter than the recipe calls for. I recommend starting at about 2.5 sticks butter. Once browned, measure in a liquid measuring cup, and any extra, well, slather it on some pasta or something. It’s not hard to use up.

Turn your oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in one bowl. Add the butter into a separate, larger bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-low, add the sugars to the butter and “cream” until thoroughly combined. (Your typical idea of creaming won’t happen with melted butter. Just beat together really well.) Add the egg, yolk, milk and vanilla and again, let thoroughly beat together. Slowly add the flour mixture with the mixer on low, until just combined. Fold in the chips and pecans with a spatula.

Scoop the cookie dough in anywhere from tablespoon sized cookies to the size 20 disher AB recommends. I highly discourage making larger cookies than that - the recipe just doesn’t translate well to a large cookie. (At least for me.) Roll into balls, and place on parchment lined baking sheets. (Yes, for non-bakers, parchment or silpat is totally worth it.) Gingerly place a pinch of the sel de mer onto each ball of cookie dough. Finish by dusting the pan with one giant pinch of kosher salt for an all-over salt that’s far finer.

**I used Baleine’s Sel de mer gros because, well, it’s all I could find at Sahadi’s. I think flakier, less chunky salt (fleur de sel proper) would be great.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. Don’t fear under baking, either. Err on the side of fewer minutes, particularly for the small cookies. Place on a cooling rack.

*** The butterscotch sauce can easily be made in advance. Just follow Smitten’s directions, it makes a really damn fine sauce and I can’t claim the recipe to be my own. (Yeah, I know I make SK recipes often. Get over it.) It totally cured my fear of cooking (and burning) sugar. 1 batch will make more than enough for the cookies. Warm the sauce gently before attempting to apply to cookies, as it thickens greatly cooled. If applying sauce while cookies are on cooling rack, obviously protect table/counter with a sheet pan or paper towels. I put the butterscotch sauce into a ketchup bottle thing and simply drizzled on, crisscrossing the cookies fairly liberally. I gave the cookies one last sprinkle of sel de mer, loosely across the tray.

Because I transported the cookies, I know I lost some of the salt in the process, so adding this final touch at location made sense. Feel free to salt at the end as desired but don’t be afraid of the salt! They are buttery, chocolately, butterscotchy cookies and the salt is a great counterbalance, especially a more delicate sea salt.

Serve these cookies ooey gooey warm. I have a feeling it’s what won me the competition. (I used sterno to keep small batches of cookies toasty and melty warm!)

And I promise to add photos as they start showing up on the Internet. I simply stink at photography whilst cooking and taking down!

Seriously Good Quiche

2009-12-13T18:39:00.001-05:00

Quiche, really? The doubtful audience could easily question how ho-hum quiche sounds. And hell, I'm right there with you. I grew up with my mom's quiche lorraine. As classic a recipe as a Southern girl could make it, it was fine, but simply the same recipe. Over and over and over again.

But, when brunch plans started falling into place for this afternoon, at another awesome Emily's home just a few blocks away, quiche just sort of happened. Ok, well, what really happened were seriously good boozy cupcakes. (Honestly, make these now. They work for all occasions, from brunch to birthday to the holidays. Who doesn't need liquor during the holidays?) I made it in cake form for Katie's birthday back in early October and the recipe has been on the brain since. I offered to make them again, and voila brunch plans with the three of us, plus a few more.

So, you know, we needed some real food before the cupcakery. And, with a random Pillsbury pie dough sitting in the freezer from Thanksgiving, along with the general affordability of eggs, quiche it was. On a Smitten Kitchen kick (seriously, I love this lady), I perused her site and discovered a few quiches. The richness of the one I picked, though, just seemed to be a winner.

This quiche sort of knocked my socks off... It was incredibly custardy, rich and delicious. I loved the flavor tweaks I made (acorn squash and bacon, yum!) and it was quite easily my favorite quiche ever. I have a feeling the richness and slight looseness of the quiche was from the squash puree. Also, I did not par bake my crust, but I recommend doing so unless you're going to make the homemade crust from the original recipe.

Seriously Good Quiche
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 cups diced leeks, white and light green only (from about 3 large leeks)
1/2 cup diced onion
3 slices meaty bacon
1 tbsp rendered bacon fat (or olive oil)
3 eggs
1/2 cup squash puree - any sort of winter squash.
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch pepper
1-2 stems fresh thyme
3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Dice the bacon into, um, pinky wide pieces? (Just make em squares somehow, it's fine!) and render in a large sauté pan (non-nonstick prefered) on low heat. Cook until a bit crisp but not well done, medium in color. Drain the pieces on a paper towel lined plate, reserving a tablespoon of fat, enough to coat the pan. In same pan, on low heat, sauté the leeks and onions in the olive oil 30 to 40 minutes until caramelized, occasionally stirring. Remove from heat and cool.

While that mixture is cooking, roll your prepared pie dough out into a greased and floured pie pan. I let it chill 30 minutes in the fridge. But, if I make this quiche again with crust that's not the recipe Smitten gave, I would parbake as directed in another SK quiche recipe.

For the filling, I roasted a small acorn squash in the oven, and then pureed it with a small amount of milk. I pushed the puree through a sieve to catch anything my blender couldn't handle. Then, add the puree back to your still dirty blender, add the sour cream, heavy cream, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg and thyme. Blend until incorporated.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the leek and onion mixture evenly over the base, add the bacon and then the cheese. Pour in the batter and place the quiche in the oven. The original recipe said it would take 25-30 minutes, but I probably ended up baking it for an hour - I originally underbaked it last night - the center was still soft. When I arrived to Emily's place, I put it in the oven for another 15 minutes at 350, 15 at 375. My crust never got too golden, thus why I think parbaking is necessary unless you're making the original recipe's homemade crust.

Notes: I can easily see this working with low fat greek yogurt instead of sour cream (sour cream that's been sitting in my fridge for a bit too long to admit) and also crustless if desired. I'd definitely consider it more of a "savory custard" if crustless. Also, this could be made incredibly easy by using the canned butternut squash or pumpkin puree, if desired!

Part II: The creation - How it all falls into place

2009-12-11T09:45:00.000-05:00

So, technically, part ii should be recipe testing. That's probably where I would have realized how to degrease the potstickers OR where i would have realized how quickly the things cool down. But, you know, this is an amateur speaking. For someone that's not working, I surprisingly don't have time to test. Or maybe I'm lazy and just refuse to spend the money to do so, haha. I mean, who needs to test a recipe, anyway? I've made potstickers before, I've roasted veggies before, I've pureed stuff before.

So in order to stretch a buck, include a Brooklyn product and make a very tasty filling, I created the merguez mix. I was inspired mostly by a random charcuterie blog I found upon Googling, which was quite helpful. So, inspired by Charcuterista and my general knowledge of Moroccan flavors, here's my homemade merguez mix.

Homemade Merguez
1/2 lb merguez sausage - 2 links of tasty stuff
1 lb 'meatball mix' - 1/3 beef, 1/3 pork, 1/3 veal
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoon harissa (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2-1 tablespoon spanish paprika
1 teaspoon ras el hanout (or to taste)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced
2-4 turkish dried apricots, fine diced
2 medjool dates, fine diced
1/8 cup dry red wine, chilled

Remove the merguez meat from the sausage casing, and mix with the other meats. Add everything except for the wine and work together thoroughly. You want the fruits, garlic, spices and meats to combine together as best as possible. Add the wine and finish combining. Let the mix marinate together for 12 hours minimal.
If you worry about erring on the side of too spicy, you can go light on the ras el hanout and harissa. Once the meat has marinated, I recommend taking a bite of the raw meat and cook it. At that point, you can up the spices and heat. I didn't take it light when originally seasoning, because I feel like more flavor is better. I ended up adding more harissa and the tomato paste, so tweak as need be. Don't be afraid!
This merguez is really damn tasty and can be used any way you could imagine!

Warning: this sauce is highly addictive. I recommend making it today, as it could really be used on, well, anything. really freakin tasty. This recipe is giant scale - feel free to scale down to use only like half of a squash.

Butternut Squash Saffron Sauce
1 giant butternut squash and 1/2 of a small squash, peeled and cubed
2 onions, chunked up
a handful of carrots (as much or as little as you want, really) (small cut)
olive oil, salt, pepper, stems of rosemary, thyme
1 cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream
pinch of saffron threads

Preheat oven to, um, 400?

Spread the vegetables on one or two cookie sheets and toss with the olive oil salt and pepper. Add the stems of herb and stick in oven. stir every 10-15, cook until fork tender.

Put your tiniest pot on the stovetop on as low as possible. Add 2 tbsp of heavy cream (basically just enough to cover the bottom of the pot). You don't really want to boil/cook the cream, that's not tasty, you just want it to warm up. once warm, take it off the eye and throw the saffron threads in. What I did was let it infuse for 15 minutes or so at room temp in a ramekin and then put it in the fridge.

Once the veggies are done, get out an immersion blender/food processor/blender. Depending on the size and power of your machine, put a little bit of liquid in (additional cream or high quality broth or water) and blend until as smooth as possible.

Push the blended veggies through a fine mesh strainer/sieve. This helps catch the herb stems, any onion skins and any chunks that didn't get pureed. (For me, the carrots weren't as tender as the squash so they had more trouble pureeing in my baby magic bullet.)

Depending on how much liquid you put in the puree, I highly recommend throwing it back into a low temperature pot on the stove and cooking it lightly for five minutes.

Ok, so here's the thing - I whipped the saffron infused cream with the rest of the heavy cream until soft peaks, just to barely get it whipped up. but, once i added it to the hot squash, it collapsed. but i then used the hand mixer to whip the entire sauce lightly. A cup of cream with the puree makes it quite a loose yet thick sauce. So, really, whipping the cream may not be necessary, but I did it. It took just a minute. Whatever.

The saffron paired with the sweet yet savory butternut squash is so tasty. Seriously. it's tasty on a soft boiled egg. it's tasty as a cream replacement in mashed sweet potatoes. I bet it's tasty with the homemade butternut squash gnocchi sitting in my freezer.

Mo-Rockin Merguez Dumplings

Take 1/2 tsp merguez filling and place it in one wonton wrapper. wet the edges of the wonton with water and fold over to make a triangle. Keep both the wonton wrappers and the made dumplings covered with a damp cloth.

To cook: Heat a pan to medium, and I highly recommend using spray oil OR a pastry brush with veg oil. You do not want a lot of oil! Spray/brush bottom of pan, add a comfortable amount of dumplings to your pan (if it's a large pan, you can probably fit 6-8 easily). Cook for 1-2 minutes without touching, until brown. Turn down to low, add 1/3 cup water or broth and cover with a lid and let steam for 1-2 minutes.

To compose as an appetizer: place dumpling on a tray, squirt a dollop of butternut squash sauce on top of the dumpling, and top with a pinch of grated kohlrabi and apple, and a few toasted pinenuts.

Part I: Ideation - Where the heck does it all come from?

2009-12-11T08:45:00.000-05:00

When time comes to serve the food to the crowd of hungry people, it always seems my food is far more complex than I ever expected. As you can see from the name, I had lots of flavors and stuff happening. With it being cold out, my brain gets stuck on roasted vegetables. root vegetables, winter squash, high heat, caramelization and deliciousness. Between last Food Obstructions and this one, I tried that amazing simple recipe that is butternut squash soup. I would have just as happily made butternut squash soup for FOII, but, uh, one of the winners last time had a thai butternut squash soup. So, yeah, I dunno, I knew if I was going to come in with soup, it had to be different...

Ok, so no thai curry, not really feeling indian curry, what's another tasty spicy region of the world? Well, of course there is the Middle East. and then, voila, merguez! Delicious Moroccan lamb sausage! So, yeah, at first, I was thinking of rendering merguez down in small bits to create sort of bacon bit style merguez bits, and adding a fresh little raw topping too, to add to the crunch and help with the richness of the soup. But, my brain can't keep simple enough alone. Soup and a little topping seemed ho-hum still. Brain started tinkering with a crouton, crostini, cigar, something... Something to expand upon the merguez part. Except, well, one of the obstructions this round is no butter. My brain kept focusing on phyllo, but without butter, phyllo is useless. Tinker, tinker, tinker, ooh, what about pie dough? But, that requires lard and rolling and, ugh, No. Oooh, the glory of dumpling wrappers. Maybe butternut squash soup with a merguez dumpling?

Once I finally started playing with the squash, and seeing how rich a simple squash puree is, I thought that if I do a flat, triangular merguez potsticker, it would be a great serving plate for the puree and, again, a fresh topping.

The same time I'm trying to come up with an idea, the obstructions keep my brain bouncing around. the obstructions were:
1.Must contain an ingredient beginning with the letter “K”
2. Must not contain butter
3. Must contain an ingredient grown or produced in Brooklyn
4. Must contain rosemary
5. Must contain an ingredient with seeds

The "K" ingredient was going to be kohlrabi - because I had it from my CSA sitting in my fridge. An ingredient I've never eaten before but knew it could be roasted and thrown in the soup or eaten fresh. Obviously, the butter played a big part in the carbohydrate choice. The Brooklyn produced food was a bit more difficult for my wallet, but that's the merguez - made at Brooklyn Fare. Delicioso! The rosemary was just a flavor I wasn't going to play up madly, but would include. And the seeds, well duh, squash. That's one thing I enjoy about Food Obstructions - the guidelines are little walls for the atoms of my brain to bounce around in!

Diary of a Food Competition

2009-12-11T06:37:00.001-05:00

As not to overwhelm with one gigantic post (where's the fun of that?), I am splitting up the process of ideation and creation for my most recent competition, Food Obstructions II, which was last Sunday.

My final product, which was no winner but it's damn solid eatin', was the "Mo-Rockin Merguez Dumpling", with butternut squash saffron sauce and kohlrabi and apple slaw. what i realized is my technique wasn't strong - the dumplings, which were really pot stickers, got far too greasy while cooking and got far too cold too quickly. Simply not transportable food, ya know?

My week

2009-12-05T18:10:00.000-05:00

Well, to put it lightly, this week has had its share of interesting, writable moments. And yet, nothing has come from it yet. Hopefully soon, my sparse audience, we shall see. There are tidbits to share, I am just deciding what to share and when this writing will happen.

I hope yours has been just as interesting, hopefully far less scary than mine. Dinner party later tonight, lots of good food and booze, I'm sure, and Food Obstructions II happening tomorrow night. (Please come out if you live in the area!) Otherwise, I simply want to stay in my bed, as it's grossly cold and slushy here in New York.

blogging on the go...

2009-12-02T01:09:00.000-05:00

if by "on the go" means laying in my bed, far too distracted by my new toy. (no, not THAT kind of toy... but that's a gift I would rarely turn down.)

almost a week after taking the plunge and ordering it, new phone arrived. considering what it cost, i'm putting insurance on it and hoping and praying it will be a worthy long-term investment.

(i was far too spoiled and used to having a smartphone... in new york, once you get adjusted to that, it's difficult to go back to a "regular" phone. at least that's what i've. convinced myself of!)

so, for the readers that know me, please text/email me your number so i can attempt to rebuild my contacts. stupid old dead phone, you suck! everyone else, please do convince me i'm not batshit insane to spend so much (er, of not my own moola) on a piece of technology. plz?

What's new?

2009-11-15T20:07:00.001-05:00

For any of you that are curious, here's what's floating around in my brain and my life.

I had a halfway decent, halfway epically fail job interview last Monday. The last part of it was a computer exercise, and I sat down and my brain turned into a bowl of ice cream that's been sitting in the July sun
I thusly realized how much I miss and need a computer of my own so that I can practice and keep fresh on all this damn technology.
My birthday is coming up next week (wink wink) and I want to invite friends out to dinner, but I can't figure out where. Looking for a restaurant that's not too swanky but nice enough, group friendly, yummy, close to bars and such for post dinner birthday celebration continuum. Any ideas?
I'm planning on participating in the Food Obstructions II and super excited about the ideas I have for this time around. Moroccan spiced winter squash soup with baco-bits style merguez and something else to either dip or mix in. (Any suggestions?)
I've been on a cookbook kick. Not necessarily buying the all-time best books, but they're great sources of inspiration if nothing else.

Vegetable Heaven - Inspiration for my (now finished) CSA dishes

Cooking Light Slow Cooker Essential Recipes - Because my slow cooker doesn't get enough usage.

Momofuku - free in a giveaway from Time Out New York! Woot! David Chang might be an asshole, but he seems to know his shit.

Casserole Crazy - from Casserole Party organizer and generally adorable person, Emily Farris.

Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2005 - Yes, it's older but it's every recipe from every 2005 F&W. Awesome variety.

Williams Sonoma New Flavors for Soups - Because, just as crockpots and casseroles seem seasonally appropriate, so do soups. (And while I can't afford their store, I can afford a WS cookbook!)

What's better? The last three books were a total of $20 at the awesome Housing Works Bookstore Cookbook sale! Going on until Nov 22nd, 30% off already affordable prices. It's dangerous I tell you, dangerous.

What's going on in everyone else's life?

Another [picture-less] Recipe

2009-11-10T21:26:00.001-05:00

Is winter squash soup an original idea? Hell no. Is it delicious? Why yes, yes it is. And perfect for winter. What I made was butternut squash Thai red curry soup, which was so, so, so delicious. But the fantasmic thing about this recipe is that it's versatile beyond belief:

It can be made from any winter squash (butternut, acorn, many other varietals, even pumpkin)
It can be made with any type of curry (Indian varietys, Thai red, green, etc.)
The root vegetables options are endless and, well, totally optional!

Emily's Incredibly Flexible Winter Squash Curry Soup

Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs winter squash (it was a butternut squash for me)
Root vegetables: carrots, parsnips, turnips, radishes, rutabagas, potatoes - maybe about 1/4-1/2 lb?
1 onion, diced
As much garlic as you want! (I'm sure I did no less than 4 cloves), minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups vegetable/chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
1 tsp - 2 tbsp curry powder or paste
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds. Rub cut sides with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place on cookie sheet cut-side down. Cube up whatever root vegetables of your choice into equal sized pieces. Place on a second cookie sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, until fully coated. Place both pans in the oven and roast for anywhere from 30-45 minutes, until fork tender. The root vegetables should be stirred maybe every 15 minutes, but the squash are fine as is.

While they're roasting, saute the onion in a heavy 3qt pot with, yet again, olive oil salt and pepper. Keep the heat low-medium. Once nicely softened, even a bit caramelized, add the garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add the tomato paste and curry powder/paste and cook another minute or so. In regards to the amount of curry, if you're not afraid of heat and flavor, I would start with 1 tbsp. If you're fearful, you can use less and add more at the end to taste.

Add the stock and half of the coconut milk to the pot. The roasting should be done - scoop the flesh out from the peeling and into the pot, along with the root vegetables. Bring to a boil and then let everything simmer together for 20 minutes. Once simmered, puree in a blender/food processor or in the pot with an immersion blender. Taste after it's blended - adjust as desired curry, red pepper, salt, etc. When serving, add more coconut milk to the top of each bowl as desired for one more final, creamy touch. Feel free to top with roasted squash/pumpkin seeds, bacon, the options are endless. Enjoy!

Crrrazy for Casseroles!

2009-11-05T19:44:00.003-05:00

So, I'm sort of back... [My brother] Omar has a computer now, so I'm now bumming off of his computer, which makes for generally shitty times all around, really. But, I have a little quiet time around here and a special request from a cooking competition and Twitter buddy. Another awesome Emily asked me if a recipe of mine was available online. So here I am.

What of casseroles, say you? Well, in mid-October, right before my lovely computer went kaput, I cooked for two different competitions, the Food Obstructions and the Casserole Crazy Party. Both were equally fun and interesting, with different vibes at both. [I do plan on posting my FO creation, but I think one recipe for tonight.] But, they ended up being three days apart from each other! Casseroles are a stretch for me, actually, but I signed up on a whim. So, after I recovered from Food Obstructions, it was time to put on my casserole thinking cap.

Casseroles are a tricky animal... I'm not really a cream of blahblahblah soup person, but I felt like going a bit trashy, unhealthy, and fun are necessary for this kind of shindig. So, my brain came up with this hybrid frito pie-chili cornbread casserole thing. Because it was a cheesy, fun, heart and stomach warming guilty pleasure type of casserole, I deemed it The Full House. Also known as 1990s' cheesiest sitcom.

The Full House
***So this casserole was a creation in progress, and after getting feedback from a judge I ended up hanging out with afterwards (and trying it myself), I have put my original ingredients in italics after what I think is the proper, yummiest amounts.***

Chili - 1 large (crock)pot full, or I guess 4-6 cans canned chili
2 bags Frito chips left whole 1 bag Frito chips crumbled
2 bags shredded cheddar cheese 1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
1.5-2 batches cornbread 1 batch cornbread

Chili:
***This chili was a work in progress... I went with vegetarian chili for the sake of feeding more mouths, but I love a good meaty, beany chili. Your classic slow cooker (or fast cooking) chili recipes will work just fine for this casserole.***

1 large onion, diced fine
1-2 red bell peppers, diced fine
4-6 cloves garlic (really, the more the better), minced
Tomato paste - 1-2 tbsp?
1 can vegetarian chili
1 can refried beans
Spices to taste - salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin
Water or broth
1 can petite diced tomatoes
3 cans of beans - I used black, pinto and kidney

In a large dutch oven or generally solid pot, saute the onions for 1-2 minutes on medium heat. Add in the red peppers, and saute until softened. Throw in the garlic for 30 seconds to a minute. At this time, add in a hearty pinch of salt, some fresh cracked pepper, a pinch of red pepper flakes, some cumin, and the tomato paste. Let this combine and then either transfer this to a crockpot or keep in current pot. Add the chili, refried beans, and 1-2 cans full of water or broth. Let this slow cook for, well, as long as you'd like, or just cook in the pot on very low heat for, same thing, as long as you can. Preferably an hour at least

Ok, so mine cooked in the slow cooker for 12 hours, and at this point I was shocked. Somehow I expected a thick chili (yeah, way too much water, not enough ingredients). BUT, it was a tasty sauce, so that's when I ran out and got the beans and tomatoes. Throw those in (all drained) and let cook at least another 15 minutes to combine. (Taste when you first add the beans to judge spices, salt, etc.)

I realize that's a lot of words for chili. Trust me, it's easy. Or, buy your favorite canned ~~crap~~ chili and use it.

Green Chili-Cheddar Cornbread:
***Pretty much stolen directly from Cooks Illustrated. Simple recipe kicked up with the cheese and peppers and just delicious. Original casserole had one batch on top for a thin crispy layer, but feel free to double this recipe for more carby goodness.***

1.5 cups all-purpose flour (7.5 oz)
1 cup yellow cornmeal (5.5 oz)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2-3 tbsp chopped green chiles (or 1 seeded, fine chopped jalapeno)
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese (1 1/3 cups)
3 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup corn kernels (frozen or fresh - mine happened to be fresh. Also, don't be afraid to use more corn)
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + lemon juice to get buttermilk)
2 eggs
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled (at least not piping hot)

Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, cayenne, green chiles, salt, and half of shredded cheddar in medium bowl until combined; set aside. In another bowl, combine sugar, corn and milk; then add beaten eggs. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just barely. Add melted butter and continue folding it together until everything is just moistened.

Casserole directions:
Preheat oven to 350 (maybe, I think?). Grease a traditional Pyrex pan, or possibly a deeper dish if you have one (especially if you double the cornbread amount). Throw a healthy handful of Fritos to cover the bottom of the dish. Spoon 1/3 of chili on top of the fritos. Add a healthy handful of cheese (don't be shy). Continue layering fritos, chili, cheese, until the chili is gone. The top layer, I put a little bit of cheese, and then dolloped on the cornbread batter until it was fully covering the casserole. Top with a bit more cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes. Right before it's done, feel free (actually, please do!) throw on more cheese. Once out of the oven, you can put more Fritos on top.

Serve with classic chili sides: sour cream, chopped red (or green) onions, cheese, Fritos, hot sauce, etc. I particularly recommend serving Fritos on the side because the ones in the casserole actually sort of dissipate with the moisture of the chili while baking.

So, lots of words for really a simple casserole. Trust me on this - it's a simple creation.

Worst Timing Ever.

2009-10-21T16:08:00.001-04:00

My computer bit the dust on Sunday. And I am le sad. To make it worse, not only am I job-hunting (or failing at doing so), but Omar is too. He left Centro, and went home for a bit last week. He's back here as is my older brother Easa and two cousins, Maher and (another) Isa. Once they leave, today, it's going to be sort of tough. Not only do we need the computer, but I'm not really looking forward to being home with my brother 24/7. While I am keeping busy, and still helping with that small part-time job, still... It's all sort of fail...

I've also been cooking a lot - I cooked for an event called the Food Obstructions for Sunday, and last night was the Casserole Crazy party. I hope, some point in the future, to be able to blog about the recipes, but I'll just give a quick rundown.

For Food Obstructions, I made "Cheese Plate Bread Pudding". Savory bread pudding with herbed goat, parmesan and homemade ricotta cheeses, reduced leeks and onions and sourdough bread. Served with fig 'salami' and pickled grapes. The bread pudding needed more custard, as it fell apart and felt a bit more like stuffing, but I was happy with the toppers. Pickled red grapes are crazy delicious.

For Casserole Crazy, I embraced my trashy southern roots and made the "Full House" - cheesy, corny, heart and stomach warming guilty pleasure (think 1990's sitcom). Layers of vegetarian, slow cooked chil, cheddar cheese and crushed fritos and topped with green chili-cheddar cornbread. It also wasn't perfect - needed MORE CHEESE and no crushing of fritos (they just sogged up) but pretty yummy.

I failed at getting pictures of any of these, but I have to say it's been a pretty fun few days. A few people I met through Katie cooked and attended the Casserole Party, which was nice. Also, not surprisingly, you end up running into the same circle of people at these events.

Obviously, I've got to get back to trying to find a job, but right now, that's on hold as I don't have a computer. I have a few possibilities of getting one, but I have to make sure it's a smart purchase. For now, I'm signing off, and hope to write again sooner rather than later.

[This was written on my cousin's laptop, before I say buhbye to it. :{]

You know I'm bad,

2009-10-15T23:21:00.001-04:00

I'm bad, you know it.

So what do Michael Jackson lyrics have to do with Blog Action Day? Eh, I can't say there is any connection, but today is Blog Action Day, and the first time I saw anything about it was a tweet from Shelly with the BAD acronym used and it stuck.

What the hell is this post all about, you ask? Well, BAD is basically just a day of bloggers starting a discussion. This year, it's all about climate change. And the main reason I chose to participate when I heard about this is, well, today! I woke up to a rainy, 40 day in the middle of October. In addition, this summer gave New York a new nickname - NYCeattle. June 2009 had maybe four rainless days. The summer of 2009 in New York was pretty much nonexistant, and this stark entrance to winter is not pleasant to my mild weather loving self.

Here's the thing about a mildly intelligent person blogging about a serious and growing problem - I'm only mildly intelligent. Articulating more serious topic regarding the change in climate and in the world is not my strong point. I do think that what we're doing right now is leading the planet away from a healthy place. I personally think the massive amount of chemicals and petrochemicals we produce and use in everything from the food we eat to the packaging of everything sold, etc, is hurting the planet and changing natural, healthy climate patterns.

Well, then what is a strength of mine? Ogling over pretty things! And if those pretty things just happen to be made of glass and metal instead of plastic? Even better.

I have always had a strong affection towards glass bottles. If they're colored, it's even better. I've been helping out a woman with some menial tasks in relation to her web shop (a really cool organic cosmetics website) and she has these bottles that I just adore. The stopper, the glass, and, surprise surprise, they're from Ikea.

I use a Brita pitcher at home, but here's the thing... Maybe I'm weird, but I don't mind the tap water here in Brooklyn. My biggest issue is that with water, especially, it HAS to be icy cold for me. So, the idea of buying a few of these bottles and keeping them filled in the fridge seems very appealing. They're also just simply pretty and a very clean, old school feeling.

Another thing that I'm sort of in love with are bento lunches. While I really don't have the patience to do all the awesome, adorable things a lot of mothers do for their kids or people do for themselves, fun, reusable lunch containers are always something I look for. This newest discovery, the Planetbox, has a quirky, 1950s lunchroom vibe that is sort of awesome.

They're metal instead of plastic and even better, they seem to be designed to reduce the chance of compartments intermingling. For someone who doesn't have the patience to keep a Laptop Lunchbox (also a cute lunch option) horizontal at all times, this seems really awesome. Plus, I personally find metal much easier to clean; plastic never quite seems clean enough, especially if you put anything oily in it.

And I don't think I even need to explain why lunch boxes like this are so awesome and so much better for reducing waste and all that jazz. Not only do you reduce the chances of eating out when you bring your lunch, but with single compartment items like this, you're reducing your use of plastic bags along with the purchase of single serve snacks. Hey, I think these are awesome for portion control, but SUCH a waste of packaging and more often outrageously expensive.

So take your lunch to work if you're lucky enough to be working, unlike some of us (le sigh). Brew tea at home using the bottles. Reduce your plastic consumption and hopefully help the planet clean up it's act. Reversing the damage we've done and the changes we've started may not be possible (who knows) but we can at least stop these changes from occuring even more rapidly.

And hey, join the conversation with Blog Action Day. I don't think they would mind the talk continue past October 15th.

Pet Peeve

2009-10-14T04:54:00.002-04:00

[This post recevies a special co-title of Epic Fail]

So, for anyone (anyone? anyone?) reading this thing with some regularity, you probably remember my mention of a StyleCareers career fair coming up, yeah? Yeaaah, about that. While I should probably not automatically label it as #epicfail, to say it was frustrating and exhausting is an understatement. Over the course of five hours, I spoke with four (yes, four) companies, and spent 97% of that time standing in line. It was the ultimate clusterfuck, and while there were over a dozen, closer to two dozen, companies there, the lines were insane. You could not figure out what line was for which company, where a line ended, how long the line truly was.

The downfall of my career fair choice was one particular company. This company's career website has never ever worked on my computer. Even with reliable, awesome Firefox, when I would go to submit my resume, well, epic fail! This company had four or five associate or assistant jobs listed among which they were looking for, and considering many companies had maybe one, if any, entry-ish level opportunuties, it became a must for this career fair. When I got in line, I had an idea that the line itself was long; unfortunately, it was also oddly split by one of the student volunteers working the event. So, for an hour or two, the split part of the line was simply screwed over. While I understand why she [supposedly] split it, to keep the stairway clear for entry and exit, the volunteers were generally incompetent.

Every hour, I would think "Dammit, I really should give up on this line, but I've already been here x hours. I don't want to waste the time spent in line already." But, the result of the wait in line was horribly, horribly depressing and annoying. The guy I finally spoke with glanced at the portfolio for a minute or two, returned my resume (they weren't taking any, I discovered) and then told me to apply for job xyz online.

Really? REALLY?! I just waited in line for four hours to be told to go apply online? Is this the motherfucking NCSU College of Textiles Career Fair? [Aside: that's pretty much what every company that visits the CoT fair tells you to do when they visit. Go to the company's career website.] Ok, seriously, I understand online applications, and they make life easier usually. But if this is how you run your damned business, maybe it's a good thing your website always fails for me. And when I, quite politely, told him one reason I waited in line this entire time is because the website never works for me, he basically told me to go use a PC. Oh, thanks. I appreciate that.

Two of the other three companies I talked with weren't hiring right away, but there are some possibilities. The last wasn't hiring lower level positions - I saw the textile designer position, got excited, waited in their long line and got three quarters of the way through it before realizing that I probably wasn't what they were looking for.

So, I went into this career fair naive and excited and left feeling more jaded and tired than I have in a while. Aaaaand, the search continues...

Tight Ass Tuesday: October's Bastardization

2009-10-10T01:19:00.003-04:00

Because I'm still broke and always up for a challenge, I'm doing another Tight Ass Tuesday for Thursday Night Smackdown. I mean, I won the damn thing last month, I can't leave TNS hanging now! Yep, I won! Woo! So, I got to pick the cooking 'prompt' for October. Feeling incredibly uncreative, here was my idea:

"It’s time to bastardize your two (or more) favorite cuisines! The ever popular, mostly outdated fusion cooking style is the challenge. Be creative or play it safe (Indian-Thai), just don’t be a jackass serving falafel in a taco shell."

So what the hell did I come up with? Err, I'm not even sure, but I'm calling it ConFusion Curry Raviolis. Having quite a bit of leftover lamb curry and cooked basmati rice from the Lamb Takedown, I really wanted to use them up in some creative way. Plus, the lamb was FREE. Making this perfect Smackdown material! And thus, we have the rice and curry ravioli/dumpling/potsticker. I got stuck on the idea of using the rice in the way pierogi and gnocchi dough uses potato, and just winged it along the way. I yoinked Mario Batali's potato ravioli recipe, attempting to puree rice in my measly baby blender. Warning: pureed rice, egg, water is really. Fucking. Sticky. While I only added 3/8th cup to the rice in the bowl, during the course of trying to knead the dough, and then make each little dumpling thing, I used a lot of flour. It sticks to fingers and counters really easily and needed the flour. The curry recipe I used is made from two pounds of lamb, but I probably only used about a cup of filling, if that. That recipe is also really delicious, and I recommend making it next time you're craving curry.

The "recipe" for ConFusion Curry Raviolis
1-2 cups delicious curry (frozen peas added to recipe)
Rice 'ravioli':
3ish cups cooked rice
1 egg
3/8th cup (1/4 cup + 2 tb) flour
salt, pepper, etc

If you have a real food processor, life will be easy. Add rice and egg to processor, and process just a little bit. It doesn't have to be completely pureed, but it can be; it just tends to get stickier the more it's pureed. Put the puree into a bowl and mix in the flour, salt and pepper. Flour your counter liberally, along with your fingers, and put the dough on the board. Carefully knead for five minutes and let rest on a floured plate.

Once rested, divide ball in half, and then into equal size pieces - I got 20 in the batch. If you're good with a rolling pin, you may be able to roll out the ravioli by hand. I simply floured my hands and board well and patted each chunk out by hand until it was thin and big enough to put some filling in. Put 1-2 tsp of curry (slightly mushed up if your curry was 'rustic' like mine) in the middle and squish closed. The rice is generally sticky still so you shouldn't need egg wash or water to close it up.

Heat a large pan with a little bit of oil. Once hot, fry each ravioli thingy until browned on each side. I'm sure you could steam/boil them, but the textural difference, with the crisp outside, creamier second layer of rice and curry inside is pretty delicious. To fill out the meal and play with more "non-Indian" flavors, I made very simply garlicky greens, dry roasted corn and browned butter. Greens are made simply with olive oil and lots of minced garlic, quickly cooked in a frying pan. Put some greens on the plate, a few raviolis, top with corn and a bit of the browned butter.

This recipe is all about leftovers; that's really what makes them easy, if not finicky to actually make. They're very easy to cook, and actually travel really well. They're also surprisingly filling. With the veggies and everything, 20 raviolis made three meals (for me!).

As for a price breakdown, that's easier said than done. I cooked that curry recipe times eight when I was cooking for the competition, so calculating what it costs for maybe 1-2 cups of curry was fun. I just counted it as 1/3 of the original recipe.

Price Breakdown:
rice - 3 cups cooked - $0.70
1 egg - $0.15
flour, oil - pantry staples
garlic, ginger, spices! - pantry staples [investments]
lamb - FREE!
1 onion - $0.25?
1/3 can tomato paste - $0.20
1/3 can (5oz) diced tomato - $0.30
frozen peas - maybe 1/6 bag? - $0.15
greens & corn - 1/5 CSA share - $2.00

Total: $3.75, or $1.25/person (should feed about three people, I think).

Wait, it's October?

2009-10-04T21:45:00.001-04:00

Wait, wait, wait, can someone slow down the clock? Seriously, I've been unemployed for three months now (ugh) and the time is flying. This partially comes from all the good and awesome shit I've been doing, but then again, dude, I want a job. I want to be even busier than I am now. The past few weeks has just been insane, with the Soup Kitchen, the Vendys, and then the second half of this week was jam packed. I've been keeping up with Unemployed Brooklyn, and we had another get together on Wednesday in Greenpoint. It was a surprisingly small turnout, but just a nice afternoon with a cheap beer. Briana (UB) is just a sweet girl, so it makes any event worthwhile. Because I'm crazy, I bought a ticket to the Brooklyn Meatup that was happening Wednesday evening. Briana's friend had surprised her with a ticket (after she sort of made fun of the whole thing) so we ended up going down to the Bell House together. We spent most of the time chilling together with her friend; to be honest, there was a ton of people there. Lots of people + me doesn't = lots of success.

But, I did meet a cute guy towards the end of the night (I was lame and went home around 11:30). It happened actually away from the craziness, outside in the hallway by the 'post-it note personals. I was reading some, and another few girls were as well and we were sort of chatting. A guy was standing by the table and joined the convo, and was like "Hah, yeah I put one up. Pretty corny." While it was, I was intrigued, and we started talking. We probably talked for 15-30 minutes (I didn't keep track of time) and at the end, exchanged numbers. I had a total foot-in-mouth, I'm an awkward motherfucker moment at the end, but oh well, I am an awkward motherfucker. It seems pretty obviously platonic (on his end) but dude, I got a number. Now, um, where to go from here?! (Seriously, this chick is clueless.)

Anyway, Thursday was lamb pickup (yes, I went crazy again!) for the Lamb Takedown that was today. Fifteen pounds of lamb picked up in Times Square, along with then going to pick up my CSA share made for a tired girl. By the time I got home, my body went kaput. Which was a bummer, because I had bought a ticket for The Roots $10 Jam at Brooklyn Bowl. I was sad that I missed out on what was most definitely an awesome show and wasted the money. But, at the same time, I had a cake to bake! Yes, my friend Katie's birthday was Friday, and after I decided to splurge on the dinner for Friday, I also decided I would bake for her. Because, as I've said a lot, any chance to bake and give it away, I will.

The cake I chose was complicated for this amateur baker, but de-freakin-licious. I adore Smitten Kitchen, and she seems to have the right hand for desserts; she knows when to decrease sugar on a regular recipe, when to sub, what to make it amazing. So, with chocolate in mind, I went to her site and stumbled on Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. Hrmm, Italian restaurant for dinner with unlimited wine + liquored dessert? Sounds like a plan! So, yeah, between shopping for the takedown and the cake, and baking and errands, I had quite a busy few days. Friday I had a haircut in the morning at Arrojo studio with a student (free! woo!). Finished the cake in the afternoon and went to Katie's dinner in Billyburg. It was a fuuuuun night, no doubt.

And, so, you'd think with 15 pounds of lamb to fix for Sunday that I would spend ALL DAY Saturday cooking, right? Yeah, except that I had the bright idea to go to the Chile Fiesta at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. There was a Chocolate and Chili Takedown there, too, with previous winners! So, it was nice to go out and support them. Unfortunately, by the time I went there and then finished up my final shopping, I didn't even get home until after 5pm. While I don't regret going out, considering that I've been wanting to check out the BBG for ages, and it's gorgeous, it was still a bit of an insane plan. Considering I planned on making a slow braised curry, one could say I was hopeful. Or dumb.

Saturday night and this morning was a slow hurry of braising and cooking and transferring to larger pans and cooking more and transferring to containers (Ziploc bags) and yeah. Fun. I made the slow braised lamb curry, created a mango, roasted red pepper and tomato chutney and basmati rice. Also took along sliced green onions, cilantro and frozen peas to add to the curry once I got to the Takedown. A few notes: baking rice is the BEST. THING. EVER. Seriously. It was perfect and that made me happy. Also, shit that I don't plan seems to work great. Like the last cookoff I did, where the "soup" was just a crazy creation I mixed together, the chutney was delicious. I saw chili mangoes at Trader Joes (in the dried fruit section) and knew I had at least a dozen peppers in my fridge from the CSA. It all turned into this yummy sauce, which I plan to write up a real "recipe" for soon.

The Takedown was fun, once I finally got there. A bit more hectic than the first cookoff I did, as there were more competitors and more attendees. While I didn't place (there were 3 judges and peoples choice awards), it was fun and there were some insane dishes there. I didn't get to try most of them until after the awards were handed out, as people were packing up. Most people cooking have a buddy with them, and they take turns getting samples around the room; I was the loser loner cook, haha, so I couldn't exactly leave my spot. While I came home with leftovers, it definitely wasn't the same food overflow as the Soup & Sandwich event.

Serious congrats to the winners; a few of them were already packed up or had ran out of food, but I can say that the Chinese Xi’an Spicy Cumin Lamb with Pickled Jalapenos was just insanely delicious, the Pulled Lamb with pears was divine and simply well done, and the tacos were also quite nice. Also, big thanks to Mr. Matt Timms. Not only is the guy a wacky, fun guy to be around, he truly wants to see these takedowns be a hit and help the cooks in any way he can. Also, one other thanks to the folks who donated the lamb to us, the American Lamb Board. Who turns down the opportunity to cook with such an awesome ingredient?!

Oh, and guess who has a huge career fair on Thursday? And still wants to create something new for the portfolio? Yeah, this week isn't going to slow down.

More Reflections

2009-09-29T13:22:00.000-04:00

So, after Wednesday, there was still more on my plate for the week. The Vendy Awards are something I discovered earlier this summer, and it looked like an exciting event. But, pricy. After exploring the website, I realized there was a "higher purpose" to this event. The Street Vendor Project is basically a group that is trying to give street vendor projects a bigger voice. New York City has so many vendors; merchandise, groceries, or cooked food; and yet they have the fewest rights of business owners. I feel like the fact that my father and his (therefore my) family are immigrants had this cause calling out to me even more. Most of the vendors out there are immigrants; more than likely, if my father's family had come to the New York City area, they might be in those same shoes. Anyway, definitely read more about the SVP purpose on their site, as I could ramble for a while.

But, with my affection towards some of the nicer vendors I've met out there, along with that general love of good food, the prospect of getting to volunteer, and at least be around for part of the event sounded like fun. So, I emailed the volunteer address, and on Thursday, went to an 'orientation' that basically gave us more information on the Street Vendor Project. As volunteers, we are definitely a voice for the Project.

The day of was a long one - I had the earlier shift, so I had to be in Queens by 9:30am. That was a solid hour commute from Clinton Hill, which made for a delightful 6am wakeup call on a Saturday morning. (That was fun, especially since I went to a "going away happy hour" for a sweetheart ice cream lady, Miss Softee, the night before.) I was a little bummed that I found out I was a "subway guide" for the event, which, at the Queens Museum of Art, meant I was about a five minute walk away from the event for the first two hours. It's just a bit more boring being away from the crowd, but it was my job, and I'll be honest, it wasn't the easiest venue to get to. The subway stop is also Citi Field's stop, and the Museum is in a park, so it's literally a walk in the park!

Once my shift was done, I had about 2 hours to attempt to taste eleven different carts. Some of the guys were smarter and did sample sizes, while others were giving out full size trays. Seriously, you need the full 2pm to 7pm time slot to eat everything! It was fun, and I nibbled a bit around at most places, finally getting some really delicious falafel, along with good Indian food, bbq (yay!), and a few others. The awards were doled out and I headed out. I didn't necessarily agree with all of the awards, but hey, that's not necessarily the point. It was a GREAT day and I will definitely come back next year as a volunteer. I'm bummed I didn't have batteries for my camera that day, as there was a lot of great food, trucks and general environment to document.

Sorry if I sped through this day; there's tons of Vendys coverage out there for anyone that's ACTUALLY interested in who won, lost, was nominated. But for me, the purpose was really a great one. There's an incredible black market in New York for street vendor permits, and it's simply insane. The more you learn about it, the more frustrating and simply stupid the system can seem. Especially for people struggling to just get by; who are working incredibly hard, long hours for very, very little money.

Reflections

2009-09-29T13:01:00.000-04:00

[Apologies for the rather Delilah title but the creative juices aren't flowing when it comes to subjects.]

Last week was full of some rather interesting happenings in my life in terms of giving back and also just enjoying life. Yes, there was the somewhat unfortunate interview on Monday, but I was at least pleased with myself for actually sending out a thank you card! In a timely manner at that. But then, Wednesday was the first of two exhausting but enjoyable events. One aspect of the Souperdouper Soup & Sandwich Cookoff back in August was that the winner would have the pleasure of creating a 'gourmet' menu to cook and serve at the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen. Everyone else that entered the competition, along with anyone else that wanted to join, was invited and encouraged to help out on the day of said meal.

Wednesday was the big day, and Jui, the winner, had changed up her menu options because of seasonality. Back in August, the porchetta buns and tomato consumme was perfect for the weather and crops, but with the change in weather, she worked with it. Also, Greenpoint has a huge Polish population, and as we discovered, most of the soup kitchen attendees are a part of that populus. So, on that note, Jui created a pretty impressive Polish inspired menu.

Summer Borscht, with beets, yogurt, tomatoes, cucumbers
Cabbage Rolls, stuffed with rice, chicken, tomatoes
Potato Latkes, made with purple potatoes, turnips, scallions
Crepes, homemade ice cream and fruit compote

She was quite ambitious, as you can see, and everything was from scratch. A few people worked on Tuesday doing prep from 6pm until midnight, and on Wednesday, we were working for a solid seven hours. I arrived right around 3pm, and Jui and Noah, one of the Souperdouper organizers, were already there. By the time we served and washed (and washed AND washed) dishes, we left the place at 10pm. Fortunately, t.b.d., the same pretty awesome bar that hosted the Cookoff, was close, so a few of us went for a few beers.

The meal itself was a huge hit, even if we started serving just a bit later than normal. I think the soup kitchen attendees were mostly pleasantly surprised by the Polish (inspired) fare. Everything was, well, delicious, and it was also nice to be able to feed the normal soup kitchen volunteers as well. I think they were pleasantly surprised with what was pulled off. The great thing about the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen is that they have been able to connect with one (or some?) local CSA. Any leftover produce the CSA has at the end of pickup gets donated to the kitchen, and, from what I could see, it's usually a good amount of food!

Not only was it great to simply give back, but I got to know Cathy, Noah, Jui, and one or two others, better. You know, awesome Brooklyn "foodies" [cringe at the word]. In addition, Cathy nicely gifted me a few chickens from a nice little butcher in Chinatown they have a connection with. Free, fresh food? Yes please! I definitely have plans for homemade chicken stock from the leftover roasted carcass. (Mmm, I roasted a bird today and it's, well, delicious.)

Part Deux coming shortly.

Story Time

2009-09-29T11:08:00.000-04:00

Last night I had a deja vu experience that was quite interesting for being so new to New York and Brooklyn particularly. It begins last year, at the end of my internship with Indigo Handloom. My boss and the owner Smita wanted to take the two interns left at the end of the summer (the third had started earlier in the summer and left mid-July) out to dinner. Along with the Tina (the assistant designer) and a few friends, we ventured around Brooklyn in Smita's car on a Friday night trying to find a restaurant that could take the six of us. The intended restaurant had about a two hour wait, so we just decided to wander around this new (to me) neighborhood of "Fort Greene". We found some dark, romantic little Mediterranean place in an otherwise residential part of the hood (maybe 2-3 blocks from a buzzing area). I remembered it was good, with lots of Greek style tapas and sangria. You know, typical chick fare, I guess. Not specific retails I could remember, but lots of general memories of a nice evening.

Well, last night, my brother wanted to go to dinner and had a few ideas of places, all in the same general area, he "might" want to try. Aqualis, Deniz (which we have eaten before, via delivery) Pequena and Olea (which are owned by the same people, who also own a decent comfort food joint, Maggie Brown). All in the true "heart" of Fort Greene, around Lafayette and Fulton - definitely a place I'd love to be able to move to. I do believe a solid 50% of restaurants in Brooklyn are closed on Monday, and so was true for Aqualis. We knew where Deniz was, and it was sort of the fallback option. We walked by Pequena and, well, it lives up to its name. Off to Olea, except as we started walking, we realized it was a bit separate from the others. "We may end up eating here by default," Omar said as we were almost there.

What do you know? As soon as we approached, the darker, moody vibe from across the street, in this residential spot, was indeed where the end of summer girl dinner was. Being so relatively new to Brooklyn makes experiences like this interesting and surprising for me. Sometimes, you know certain places so well, and yet don't even know it. And yes, this time around, dinner was good too. Quite good.

Ooooh, art.

2009-09-25T08:10:00.000-04:00

One thing the apartment is desperately in need of is artwork. My brother actually told me the other day that I am more than welcome to look for it, and he'll pay for it for now. Not to get all pluggy and such, but that's why when I saw this poster giveaway on another blog I somehow stumbled on, it looked, well, awesome. Diagnosis Deferred is giving away one 18x24" rolled poster print of your choice from LargeFormatPosters.com. "These posters are photo quality prints of any file you choose." Err, she's picking today, so go enter, quick. As for me, the never ending hunt for decent but not too expensive artwork continues.

At least it was an interview?

2009-09-22T10:33:00.002-04:00

Meh.

Summation of my interview yesterday. Ok, well actually, it's more frustration than any other feeling. Maybe I completely misread the job listing, but the idea was was textile graphics AND prints job. Like 50/50, ya know? Prints are what I'm 'good' at; graphics... well, I mean, you have to create graphics to create a print, right? Right? Unfortunately, this company was looking more for someone who basically ate, drank, and breathes graphic tee shirts. Hah, I first typed shits... yeah, that should tell you how I feel about graphic tees.

Obviously, that was NOT what my portfolio contained, and thus, not the best interview. I'm sending out a thank you note today though, because, for ONCE, I'm on the ball. The job may not exactly be perfect, but damn it's upsetting. It's a corporation, but the office (a Junior's line in the big corp) had such a laid back vibe. Seemed like a pretty freakin nice combination of corporate (benefits, etc) and yet low key. Also, a bit upsetting when one of the first things you notice once sat down to the interview is, on the copy of my resume the interviewer had brought with her, a handwritten note at the top... "Looks good" Yes. Thanks for the waste of my time, Ms. I'm-Looking-for-a-Graphics-Designer but I'm going to bring in someone whose portfolio (which can be seen online) does not include them.

Guess whaaaat!

2009-09-21T07:15:00.004-04:00

Someone's got an interview today! I've said it before, I'll say it now... I don't want to jinx it, but I also sort of want to shout it from the rooftops. I do!!! Always a case for excitement, stress, wracked nerves and a little shopping. Thanks Mom for encouraging me to do so, hah. It's corporate job (fiiiine with me), so that adds a whole other layer of unknowns and such, because while I worked for a corporation last time around, I never had to interview with them.

I try not to get ahead of myself, because it's so easily to do so. What one little ounce of positive news can do for this girl's hope.

I'm up early, trying to cook up a healthy breakfast (eggs, chorizo, maybe a bit of potato?) and composed and out the door in time to get a quick manicure before the interview at 11. I can't quite put into words what good looking hands do for confidence - while I'd easily polish these at home, my cuticles look pretty bad and it's just one of those cases for the salon. Can manicures be written off?

It is really nice to feel wanted

2009-09-13T00:06:00.003-04:00

Tonight's Twestival was pretty awesome. It was really nice to just work on something, have a focus, and have people appreciating the effort. So, I admit it, I enjoy a bit of attention and appreciation. Not a ton, just a little.

Now, I have to get back to facing the fact that I am unemployed, and need to find a job. Soon. But, for now, I am going to take my grandma self to bed, for I am le tired.

eating local: amateur style

2009-09-12T11:27:00.010-04:00

When I stumbled across this post by Cathy [Not Eating Out in NY], I knew I had to do it. Not only have I dreamed of getting tickets for that event, but it's cooking, and cooking local. That's what I do. At the same time, I have a ton happening this week. Today is Twestival! This week has been crazy, with little time to actually cook. I picked up my CSA share for the week on Thursday; lots of tomatoes, lots of greens, some corn, among other things. Once I saw these items, some ideas started floating around, out of my control. I decided to take a riff on a dish I had at one of my favorite restaurants. A brunch dish in a casserole style, with greens, and egg and polenta, along with a bit of tomato sauce, I took it my direction.

I created a fresh corn "polenta", garlicky greens, homemade tomato sauce, topped with a fried egg. I personally love the runniness of yolk more than I like baked or scrambled eggs, and as for the "polenta"? Well, it's fresh grated corn; the best way to take something semi-healthy (vegetable) and turn it into a comforting, satisfying dish.

Fresh Corn "Polenta"

6 ears of corn, or about 2 cups final corn grate/juice (see above picture!)
Milk, water, or whey (leftover from homemade "ricotta")
Salt, pepper to taste
Rendered bacon (optional)

Either with a large box grater or a mandoline with the julienne blade in, grate the corn into a bowl. Basically grate as much as you can, getting all the juice/milk out. Once ears are grated, go back over the ears of corn with the back of the knife to get all the juice and guts out. (It's good stuff!) Put the corn into a pot on the stove and add enough liquid to basically thin it out a bit. I eyeballed, maybe had 1/2 cup? Salt, pepper to taste, and I threw in some rendered bacon to cook with it. Obviously completely optional, but if you're making the whole meal, it's a nice addition. Cook on low, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, or more if you're patient. I have a feeling you could also bake this in the oven, if you so desired. I winged the whole thing, so who knows.

Garlicky Greens
2 slices thick cut bacon (or 3 if it's the thin, wimpy stuff)
4-6 cloves garlic, sliced thin
lots of greens, your choice
red pepper flakes, salt to taste

Cube and render the bacon, low and slow. Once done, remove bacon from pan and keep the fat in. Keeping the pan on low, add the garlic and let it slow roast in the oil for a few minutes. You want to infuse the fat with the garlic flavor, along with letting the garlic soften. Toss in your greens and cook quick. Salt, and quickly remove from pan. [Personally, I'd much rather have underdone greens than mushy ones, and the heat will keep cooking.] Toss with red pepper flakes, and adjust if needs more salt.

Homemade Tomato Sauce
I used:
6 cups peeled, large diced fresh tomatoes, juice, seeds, everything
1 medium onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic
big pinch dried basil, oregano, red pepper flakes
1/3 cup fresh basil, rough chop/chiffonade
~1/3 cup? parsley, rough chop
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onion until translucent, and add the garlic. Cook another 30 sec to a minute, and then add the tomatoes, dried herbs and red pepper and half of the fresh basil. Bring to a boil, and then let simmer. Mine probably simmered for about an hour, but 30-40 minutes is minimum for thickening. Add the parsley and rest of the basil, turn off the heat.

My egg was fried on low, because I was aiming almost for more of a poached consistency than the crispy fried egg. Either is delicious.

In a bowl, spoon 'polenta' [corn pudding is more appropriate, methinks]. Add a layer of greens, then the egg, and a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce. Hearty, warm, filling, and, ok, it's a lot of ingredients and steps, but was actually not too hard to make. Break into the yolk and take a big bite, as I did!

Being an overachiever, I decided to make a simple, delicious dessert. By no means original recipes, but still good! Sauted apples and homemade ricotta.

Ricotta
4 cups milk
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

Slowly bring milk and salt to a rolling boil in a heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add lemon juice, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes or so. Line fine mesh sieve with cheesecloth, and add the ricotta to drain. I let it drain in the sieve about 15 minutes, then wrapped it up in the cloth with a twist tie and sat it in the fridge (still in the sieve, above a bowl).

I used the whey above in the fresh polenta; I've also read it can be used basically like milk. In crepes, etc.

Glazed Apples
Cubed apples (I used a honeycrisp; tarter than I expected for the name)
Honey
Cinnamon, nutmeg
Teeny bit of butter or oil

I put a bit of oil (tiny) in the pan, and heated it up. I added honey, enough to thinly coat the small pan, and a pinch of both spices. Heating the honey up a minute before adding the apples creates a nice glaze. Cook just long enough to get the apples warm and possibly brown. [Mine did not brown, but I didn't want to overcook the fruit or burn the honey.] Spoon the apples and glaze into a bowl, and add the fresh ricotta on top. Drizzle a bit more honey and dig in.

Ok, so where did these ingredients come from? Well, I'm a CSA member, as stated up top, and my CSA, Prince George, uses Norwich Meadows Farm, a certified organic farm [which I just realized while researching this] and is in Chenango County near Binghamton, New York. The CSA items I used were the greens, corn and tomatoes.

Everything else is from the Union Square Greenmarket. I love greenmarkets, I love the whole feeling. I'm a browser - I like to take my time, check out all the stalls, and then decide. Usually, Fridays at the market are packed with farmers. Unfortunately, yesterday was incredibly rainy, windy and cold, so my browsing options were limited.

The first stall I bought from is Samascott Orchards, from Kinderhook, NY. Searching for basic onions and garlic can be a semi-difficult thing at the market, at times, but Samascott had what I needed. They also had the "fresh picked" Honeycrisp apples. Those caught my eye and gave me the idea to do a dessert. I had never tried these apples before, and fortunately I found out today they were tart and perfect for a sweeter dessert.

From there, I went searching for milk since I had in mind to make ricotta. Milk Thistle Dairy, in Columbia County, NY, was one of the few (only?) people there with milk, and thus I made my way on.

Migorelli's, another large seller, out of Dutchess County, NY, is where I got the parsley for the sauce.

Tremblay Apiaries, Chemung County, NY, is a great seller of honey - the man at the stall yesterday was friendly, knowledgeable, and he had four varieties of honey. Tasting the most floral one, I knew I had found the right honey for the job. Full of flavor and simply delicious!

One of the last stops was the hypnotic bacon. Yes, bacon was optional in this dish, but once I saw the sign, I knew I had to stop. Tamarack Hollow Farms, which I just discovered is based in Vermont. When I saw their chalk sign regarding hypnotic bacon, and bacon love, I had to stop. A younger guy ran their stall, and was knowedgeable, friendly without being overbearing. While I'm not used to $11 bacon, it was definitely worth it.

As similar with milk, because the weather was so bad it was quite difficult to find eggs on Friday. I found another pig farmer, which I had missed, who was selling eggs, and again, very friendly. Flying Pigs Farm, in Washington County, NY, has great [chicken] eggs along with delicious looking chops, cutlets, bacon and other pork products.

On a side note, Central Valley Farm, usually out there on Fridays, not only sells good eggs, but the cutest little old man works the stand. Ask him the difference between jumbo and large eggs, please do. He tells the cutest story of how "Let me tell you, older does not mean better." (Jumbo eggs are from older chickens.)

Oh, a few other items! Basil is directly from my window herb garden, and the plant was bought at the greenmarket early in the summer. The only two things I can't claim are "local" is the teeny bit of oil and about 1/2 a lemon's worth of juice for the ricotta.

So... there it is. My best recipes, my not-so-great photography, and some great local farmers, products, and generally delicious food.

New name, same Emily

2009-09-09T09:24:00.003-04:00

Just Emily was boring me... I didn't put much effort in the original name because I started this blog knowing good and well that it could have easily been dropped at the waist side any day. And still, it could. But, seeing how I'm somewhat dabbling into everything currently, I wanted a bit of a change. But, in the same vein, my day-to-day life is pretty boring. So, the name "[non] adventures of an amateur" was born.

I'm generally wanting to renovate the look of the blog, and that was my initial reasonings to starting the Tumblr site too. It's much more customizable, but to that same degree, I'm quite the HTML noob. Just looking for something clean, modern, a bit girly; me, obviously. So, if anyone has any good Blogger themes they can suggest, or would want to take on the task to either teach me more about HTML or do it themselves, do let me know.

What's in MY name?

2009-09-05T22:23:00.004-04:00

Seeing the post over on Melting Mama, I decided to check out my name analysis and steal her idea, heh. I've always been intrigued by names, their meanings, their history, so I found it appropriate.

Emily

* The influence of Emily makes you positive, self-assertive, and independent.

* You can be creative, inventive, and ingenious in practical matters, such as handicrafts.

* When you have the opportunity to pursue your own goals and interests free from interference, you can feel very agreeable and express a buoyant optimism.

* On the other hand, you can be impulsive and forceful when opposed, and act without due forethought and discretion.

* Hence you have many bitter experiences and generally rather unsettled conditions in your life, with little progress and financial accumulation.

* You cannot tolerate any domination by others, or circumstances that restrict your freedom and independence.

* You are inclined to make changes abruptly in your life as an escape from such conditions.

* Although the name Emily creates an active mind and a restless urge to explore new ideas, we emphasize that it causes a blunt expression that alienates others.

* This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses in the solar plexus, and tension or accidents to the head.

It's actually quite interesting how spot on some of those are, especially the first five! Yes, some it is very astrological and hippy-dippy, but I don't mind that. [Well, besides the fact that I don't really get that whole last bullet point.]

Tight Ass Tuesday! Fruity Steak Tacos

2009-09-04T15:24:00.003-04:00

Back again, to Thursday Night Smackdown's Tight Ass Tuesday. What's better for a bored, broke amateur cook? Last month's winner, Dark Side of the Fridge (who will probably kick our asses again this month), declared that this month's challenge was to include fruit in the dish. No pussying out with a slice of lemon on the plate, a 'real' fruit component.

Thankfully, my CSA has included a small melon in two different weeks' regular vegetable share, so having this baby cantaloupe staring me down worked out. But melon, for dinner? For a CHEAP dinner? Well, duh, fruit salsa, you dope! What it ended up being was somewhere between salsa, salad and relish.

The thought process continued onto meat. Trying to find inexpensive, non-sketchy meat in Brooklyn or Manhattan is not easy. It does not exist, in most forms. So, when I stumbled upon london broil in my least-sketchy local grocery store for somewhere between $1.50-1.99/lb (I blanked on the price, whoops!), I grabbed it. I also accepted that I was probably going to have a chewy piece of steak, because that's what london broil is. Before last week, the only other form I've had London Broil in is killed beyond recognition in the oven by my mother. (Her specialty is Sahara-esque pork chops, chicken, beef.)

Anyway, chewy steak in basket and feeling otherwise stingy, I grabbed just a few essentials - an onion, cilantro, limes. At home, I had a box of tomatoes and jalapenos waiting for me from the garden. Not MY garden, but they were free to me, completely. Wanting to make something that would have a bit more shelf life than fresh salsa, I threw the tomatoes, an onion, a bunch of garlic and the two jalapenos I had into the slow cooker. Basically everything was in large chunks or whole (peppers, garlic).

That bubbled away on high while I worked on some tortillas. Yes, this amateur bread maker decided to make homemade tortillas for this tight ass meal. Following this recipe, which I have no idea how I found, I made the tortillas. Intelligently, I made them half the size as the recipe, for easier rolling and more taco-friendly sizing.

I cooked up the tortillas and kept them wrapped in a towel, while I threw the london broil in a pan. It had quick marinated in whatever the hell I happened to grab - lime, sriracha, garlic... a bottle of ghetto ginger beer that I have NO clue how it got into the fridge, and I added salt and pepper to it before pan frying. Because I worried of tenderness, and also because I love bloody meat, I just did a quick sear, a few minutes on each side, before the steak got taken out and rested on the cutting block. Somewhere in the middle of this, I pureed the cooked down salsa/gazpacho creation.

Oh, the fruit salsa? Yeah, about that. Recipe:

1 small melon (cantaloupe, honey dew) or 1/2 giant grocery store size
1.5-2 small cucumbers (or 1/2 of one of the giant english suckers)
3-4 baby red peppers (or 1/2-1 grocery store sized)
Teensy bit of onion
Lime juice
Mint, cilantro to taste (I used a little mint, a lot of cilantro)
Salt and pepper
Bit of olive oil

Melon was cubed up in my normal, inconsistent fashion, and the cucumber was diced, slightly smaller than the melon. Bell pepper also diced, even smaller than the cucumber. Grate or finely dice the onion, chiffonade mint and rough chop cilantro. Throw it all in a bowl, and season to taste, adding lime juice (I used 1-1.5 limes and they were juicy) and just a little oil. It's fairly heavy on the lime because the melon is quite sweet.

And then you make tacos! Because last time had no pictures, here's some step-by-step action.

One tortilla, nice and toasty. (And only slightly tough - I think I'm an overkneader.)

Spread on a thin layer of the (really quite spicy) cooked salsa.

Add some steak (if you're smart, stay away from the london broil and stick with flank/skirt, or chicken, pork, fish, whatever.)

Pile on the yummy, fresh salsa.

And om nom nom!

Final tally:

Pantry staples (Free!):
Tortilla ingredients (flour, water/milk, oil, baking powder), garlic
Garden (Free!):
Tomatoes, jalapenos, mint
CSA - 1/5 weekly draw - $1.85:
Melon, cucumber, red pepper
Steak - $2.25
1/6th onion ~ $0.10
1/10th cilanto ~ $0.10
2 limes - $0.50

$4.80 for 4 people, $1.20 per person.

I realize that some of the keys to being a tight ass cook come down to baking, gardening, and taking advantage of fucking awesome deals like CSAs. I joined it for the sake of cheap, local vegetables so I feel like it's a legit way to calculate my final costs. Also, if anyone thinks calling flour, milk or garlic pantry staples incorrect, feel free to call me out on it. But they are ALWAYS in my home, no matter what. So there.

Oh New York...

2009-09-03T10:34:00.000-04:00

You tempestuous little bitch. Some days, I'm not quite sure why I'm here; those lovely, dirty, crowded days where it all seems to go wrong. And then... Then you have days like Sunday where the torrid love/hate affair is reignited with full out passion. Sunday was just one of those days, full of new discoveries, old loves, new acquaintances, and a goodbye notwithstanding, a swoonfully fantastic day.

Sunday came to be from the goodbye to a new friend and family member that I semi-sort-of knew I had. Nadine grew up in Florida, but is more direct family with Basil and Mano. The Agapions are my Greek family-that's-not-family (who I adore and are talented fuckers). In the winter, Basil came to visit and we all went out - which was when I met Nadine. We went out a second time when Basil and the crew came up this summer. She's leaving New York, hopefully on to bigger and better things, so she had a last fling Sunday brunch (I know, how cliche NYC, haha).

Brunch in the West Village with a bunch of her girl friends - always fun to meet new people - at Garage Restaurant. Overpriced, slightly generic brunch, but most places are as such... From there, some of the big group walked up to Chelsea Market - Nadine had never been before. While it's not like "OMG the greatest thing in the world", it's one of those places you should go to at least once while living in New York. The walk there was nice - lazily walking through the West Village, gorgeous weather, and we met up with two of her guy friends. We walked through the Market, some of us got some Ronnybrook Dairy ice cream, and then decided to make our way to the Highline. One of those new places that I've been wanting to visit since it opened, it's a pretty kickass, above ground (old railroad line) park that's super green.

Side note: the water fountain(s) are one of the best designs I've seen. The runoff goes down into a drain and waters all the plants they have up there.

I'm sorry, but how cool is that?

So, after walking the full distance of the Highline, Alex, our tour guide for the day (the guy knew everything and everyone in NYC!), took us to a place called the Frying Pan. It's basically a kickass restaurant and bar on a barge (and the boat named Frying Pan, as well). Not only did we enjoy amazing views of the water (after struggling to find a table - the place was packed), but at the end of it, Alex basically took us on a probably-not-allowed tour of the boat. It was so crazy to be in this specimen of an old boat, with living spaces, nooks and crannies, just completely fascinating. Not something I would do on my own, but having Alex to basically show us took out some of the old, creepy fears I have.

Before I knew it, it was 8:30 - brunch started at 1pm! It was quite a great day, a really nice goodbye for Nadine and it was so much fun to just explore and interact with new places and people. Oh, and the day ended with Mad Men. Quite a memorable day, indeed.

Souperdouper Pictures! Finally!

2009-09-01T16:00:00.012-04:00

My XD card reader reappeared sometime last week (or so), but that whole uploading photos thing just happened. And, while it's old news, I made the effort to take picture while cooking, so dammit, I'm going to post about it!

All of the photos I took during prep are now on Flickr, so don't be shy - check them out!

So... my basic order of operations were:

Start boiling mint, water, sugar together to create a mint simple syrup. The original soup recipe I used as a reference added yogurt to the soup, but my mini test batch resulted in yummy, but mainly fruit yogurt. So, having my large container of yogurt that I wasn't going to otherwise eat, I thought mint would be a nice counterbalance to the sweet. Mint simple syrup + yogurt = problem solved. More complex flavors, less waste! Let the stuff cool on the counter once boiled - it never thickened much for me, but I don't seem to have luck with my syrups.

Then, on to the fruit. Basically, I hulled and chopped one one pound container of berries at a time, and was able to get them pureed in two batches on my little baby Magic Bullet. Each batch was strained through my mesh strainer - a step I didn't want to do at first but I was SO glad I did. Once all six pounds were pureed, I divided the one big batch, in the giant aluminum tray, into two trays, to equally add the massive amounts of vinegar.

(That's before dividing, adding vinegar.)

From there, basically I had to figure out how many ounces of liquid I had, and how much watermelon I needed to puree. It was all an eyeballing game. I was so worried about having enough (which ended up being TOO much for the final crowd). I eyeballed the sugar, a little at a time until it was sweet enough without being too sweet. Fortunately, making a slurry of powdered sugar with soup isn't so difficult and then just add it to the big batch and mix up.

I tried to knock out the soup and yogurt so I could get them refrigerated and cleaned up before tackling the sandwiches, but I know I was sort of multitasking. I finally got the soup into, um five or six containers - three big squeeze bottles, two or three random plastic containers. The yogurt, I minted to taste and attempted to whip it. It actually became much thinner, and I was unhappy about that, but that ended up being perfect for the thin fruit soup. It went into smaller squeeze bottles.

And now, the endearingly named "Oh SNABB!" ("Oh snap!") sandwiches.
Sourdough
Nutella
Apple
Brie
Bacon

I cooked a lot of bacon. A LOT. More than I ever want to see again in a long time. Enough that I don't even want to post a picture. You can see them on Flickr. Recommendation: don't cook lots of bacon if you don't have lots of cookie sheets or plates to drain them on. I live in NEW YORK. Massive quantities of kitchen supplies does not exist here. So, yeah, the bacon was a bit greasy, but oh well.

Sandwich composition was simple. Thin layer of nutella on one slice of sourdough bread, thin layer of brie on the other slice. Cover the nutella with thin slices of green apples, and then add bacon. I calculated eight slices per sandwich, but you could easily use six slices and it would be plenty of bacon.

Pretty, right?! So, from there, they were cut into eights. Which is harder than you think with fairly hearty ingredients and a generally completely inept knife in my kitchen. And each eight was toothpicked, usually having to be recomposed before picking. I had lots of sandwiches. Lots. Four smallish aluminum trays full of bites - 150+ bites. Way more than needed. The image below is less than half of what I made.

I was able to get all of the food made in time for about a... 30 minute nap and a shower, and I called a car service. Once I got to the location, I realized a few things.

1. We were outside. FUCK. Cold soup + yogurt + hot day = fail.
2. I should have brought the ingredients and prepped sandwiches there.
3. I really didn't need to cut my sandwiches so small.
4. Who knew people would bring panini grills to the location?!

I was unaware of what kind of prep time we would have, or I guess really, what pace we would be going at. I would rather bring the brie, nutella, pre-sliced, lemon juice soaked apple slices and cooked bacon along with a cutting board to compose sandwiches there. Then, I would also be able to judge sandwich size better, once I saw and realized that the people flow wasn't quite as high as hoped for.

The soup was ok, in terms of temperature. The bar the event was held at brought me a metal container and ice to store the soup in, but as the afternoon went on, the ice melted and I didn't have time to go in and get more.

Anyway, it was a great day even if I wasn't a winner, as I blogged about before. I mainly wanted to share with you all the photographic evidence of my creations. I have a few half-assed photos from the event that are also on Flickr here.

give this thingamabob a test

2009-08-28T14:36:00.002-04:00

so the guys at the 405 club mentioned that tumblr is supposedly awesome. i do like that they have more design options, so i set up emilyhanhan.tumblr.com. i'm importing my blogger stuff to there, but hopefully both sites will stay active. not that i particularly NEED two separate blog URLs.

Quantify...

2009-08-27T23:19:00.002-04:00

Sometimes you just have to quantify exactly what it is you're doing when you're unemployed.

For example, this week has been generally insane and that wasn't expected.

Sunday: worked from 1:30-7pm for the cosmetics packaging lady.

Monday: went to the post office, went into the city to Union Square simply to enjoy the greenmarket and get some groceries. came home and made homemade ricotta and then turned that into a ricotta zucchini "cheesecake".

Tuesday: Went into the city to work some via Cosi WIFI. Got a text from cosmetics woman asking if I was available at all that day, so went back to Brooklyn and worked from 3-6pm. Then, came back into the city for Twestival meeting. It was almost 10pm before I got home.

Wednesday: The 405 Club had a picnic in Central Park from 1-4pm. I ended up being there until 6pm, and then that evening, my brother and I went to dinner in Fort Green.

Thursday (today): Got up, stayed home to be productive and was so. Went into the city to do one of my two or three 'required' volunteer shifts for my CSA. Was in the city from 3-6pm, and ran back home, dropped off my veggies, left again to go to the "Non-Motivational Speakers" event held by Gelf Magazine. My favorite Big Gay Ice Cream Man was one of the speakers, so that was the initial draw, but it was just a cool evening. As I tweeted, the three guys speaking presented this fascinating view of Manhattan and Brooklyn, both past and present.

And this morning, off and on from 8am-1pmish, this was my "Got Done" list I made after:
Emailed resume to woman I met yesterday at 405 Picnic (she's forwarding it on to a friend)
Typed up Twestival meeting notes (4 handwritten pages)
Filled out my profile for Twestival (questionnaire thing)
Sent a follow up email regarding a job possibility I had been contacted about by a recruiter last week.
Sent cover letter/resume to Gilt for PT job
Sent emails to 2 celeb publicists for Twestival

So, in reality, no, I haven't really gotten many job applications out there lately. That's the reality. But I haven't been hating my life totally like a good bit of July and August. The cooking competition totally spurred me on to just doing. More. Shit. (No matter what.) Twestival is awesome - the people I'm working with are great. I wish there were other "fashion" people at all working in the team of volunteers, but if nothing else, I have some great friends and personal recommendations from voices outside of my industry.

I was going to be all linky with my post, because I know they're handy, but damn I'm tired tonight. I ate Hormel Turkey Chili for dinner tonight (at, oh, 11pm) if that tells you my exhaustion level!

Glorious Bounty

2009-08-20T20:10:00.003-04:00

Yes, this is a incredibly cliche but insanely appropriate term for this week's CSA share!

Starting at 12:00 and going clockwise, you have kale, 2 ears of corn, 2 lbs of summer squash, white and red peppers, 3/4 lb yellow cherry tomatoes, 10 oz of purple and yellow beans, either 2 or 3 lbs of tomatoes and a honeydew (or similar?) melon. Gorgeous! And think, I paid $225 for 20-24 weeks of this. Ok, this is the start of the really large, fantastic shares. But, in the cost scheme of things, I have to say that my CSA is a GREAT deal.

A recap of Saturday

2009-08-18T12:57:00.004-04:00

The lovely Cathy from Not Eating Out In NY - where I heard about Saturday's competition - did a recap of the day on her blog. For anyone that's interested in seeing what delicious eats we had, or seeing the recipe for some awesome pork buns and tomato consomme, give it a whirl. Everyone out there Saturday was damn talented.

Lovely soup creation...

2009-08-16T15:31:00.004-04:00

A recipe for you! Pictures will come sometime in the future - my card reader is still MIA and Fuji uses stupid XD cards. My brother has a multi-card reader, but it reads everything BUT XD.

Anyway, here we go. I scaled the recipe down as best I could - the original made somewhere near the 150 oz mark, so I'm a bit unsure of how much this batch makes. I would definitely double it if you're cooking for a group, but if you want to test it out for you and your significant other, roommate, friend, give this scale a shot.

Chilled Strawberry Watermelon Balsamic Soup (also known as Kickass Soup!)
1 lb container of strawberries
7-8 oz watermelon juice
4 oz balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp orange zest

Hull and rough chop the berries. If you have a blender or food processor, the berries will probably fit in one batch. I personally was using my magic bullet, so I had to split each container into two batches. Anyway, once pureed, pour into a fine mesh strainer and push the berries through. Yes, it's another step, but I reluctantly did this and was so glad I did. The soup is fairly thin, so you want it as smooth as possible. For the melon, it's basically the same process. I'm unsure how much watermelon it takes to make one cup of juice, but I used about 1.5 small watermelons to get ~45oz.

Mix up the strawberry puree, watermelon juice, vinegar and zests. Taste first before adding any sugar - depending on the quality of the fruit, the soup could possibly be sweet enough. From there, I would add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar in at a time and taste test. You want the soup to be sweet enough, because the vinegar has its strength, but it's not sugary sweet, just fruit sweet. (Does that make sense?) The confectioners sugar will dissolve fairly easily, but you can always use a hand mixer to make sure it's all dissolved.

Side note: Another way to get the sugar well dissolved is to take a bit of the soup out, into a separate bowl. Mis the sugar into this liquid with a whisk until smooth, and then add back to the main batch. Very similar to how you add cornstarch to a dish.

I don't think you will need more than 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) sugar, if that, but again, best bet is to add in small batches and taste.

The soup is done! Put it in your refrigerator until it's cold, and serve cold. It's nice as is and great with vanilla ice cream. You can also serve mint yogurt sauce with it, as I did. Recipe follows.

Mint Yogurt Sauce
1/2 cup yogurt (whole milk or low fat could work)
mint simple syrup to taste

This is an easy sauce - throw the yogurt in a bowl and add the mint syrup to taste. My syrup never quite "syruped" for me, and I also used the hand mixer to mix it up, so this sauce is thin. This was an accidental move on my part, but with the thinness of the soup, this is actually perfect. You want the yogurt to have a nice minty flavor, and it's best to just drizzle a little bit on top of the soup. Keep this cold, obviously!

Enjoy! This soup is great for these hot, humid August days. And don't let the 'soup' label fool you - think of it as an ice cream topping or even a drink mixer. Can you imagine that with vodka and some club soda, or even lemonade? Yum! That was a common theme yesterday - one girl's spicy gazpacho would make a great Bloody Mary, my soup, etc.

Today!

2009-08-15T19:26:00.002-04:00

Today was exhausting. In that crazy, invigorating way. I found out when I got to the event that it was outside. Yes, out. Side. In direct sun, for four+ hours. Great for a chilled soup, no?

To cut to the chase, I did not win/place. There were three honorable mentions, 3rd, 2nd, first, and popular vote. And there were 12 competitors total. I definitely made way too much food, spent way too much money, blah blah blah. But, the day just.... well, it sorta rocked. Seriously awesome people competing and tasting, a general vibe of a strong community, love for food, and admiration and respect for each other.

But, as I'm vegging out tonight, supposed to be washing dishes and such, I just wanted to throw up a few memorable quotes/moments from the day.

"Do you do this professionally?" To hear this question not once but at least a few times was sort of surprising. I feel like SUCH an amateur, so that just felt like a huge compliment.

"I've got to tell you, the sandwich is good. But the soup? It kicks ass!" Yes, that soup kicked ass. It really did.

And, a summary of a conversation I had with Matt Timms, who does these awesome food "takedowns" that I've never heard about. And that I will probably start doing. We were talking, and he asked me if anyone helped me, or came with me today. As I started telling him nope, I just sort of leaped in head first, etc, his response was so... positive? So much like "Damn, girl, you rock to do this solo, first time around." He's basically really encouraging, and that's an awesome type of personality to be around.

And that's the thing... Everyone there was encouraging, warm, and it seems like a true community. It wasn't that overbearing welcome, that smothering effect. Just a happy, cool crew of (mostly) Brooklynites and food enthusiasts. Yes, twas a fine day in Greenpoint.

it's 1am

2009-08-15T00:59:00.003-04:00

soup is a little over halfway done - berries are pureed, vinegar is added, a bit of watermelon has been added. gotta zest a few lemons and oranges, maybe juice an orange or two, add sugar, and maybe puree some more watermelon. (i need to have at least 150oz, preferably a bit more. right now with the berries, watermelon, vinegar, i'm at about 138oz. but i would rather err on the side of more than enough soup.)

i made a mint simple syrup that i'm gonna mix into yogurt and put just a teensy bit on top of the soup (hopefully) to add some creaminess, body, and another nice flavor to go along with the vinegar and fruit.

all the bacon is baked. i'm worried that it's way too greasy, (basically, i don't have enough cooking vessels to properly lay slices out to drain.) EIGHT packs of bacon.

so i'm gonna finish up the soup tonight, for sure. i'm afraid to put together any sandwiches too soon for grease factor. basically, i need 21 sandwiches - 20 to cut into eights for the general public, and i'd prefer to give the judges fourths. if they get eighths though, not the end of the world.

the other concern, besides finishing, is getting there. because of the sheer amount of food, i have a feeling i'm going to have to call a car. which is the last thing i want to do. blah.

i'm tired, and i feel like i need coffee and a gallon of ice cold water. (which i don't want to drink.) gotta get back to the soup, and hope that all comes together by 12pm tomorrow!

Musings from an entrepreneur's daughter

2009-08-13T23:03:00.004-04:00

I was walking in Manhattan, on my way to pick up my CSA share for the week, when my brain started wandering. In that urgent desire to write out what I was feeling, thinking, I actually stopped in Starbucks after the pickup, still in the city, to get my laptop out and write. Sometimes, I just know that if I don't get it out right now, it may disappear. And I don't think my brain benefits so much from these lost thoughts, bouncing around in my skull.

I don't consider myself a potential entrepreneur... Not even with this little experimental proposal. I don't have the true spirit of one, I don't think. Or maybe I don't have the balls to be one. I just know that if it ever happens, it's going to be when I am far more financially secure, when I am more experienced... when I'm an adult and not just feeling my way into it. Now, that could easily mean that it will never happen, but I always keep in mind that my father was in his late forties (probably more like right at fifty years old) when he opened the market. Anyway, tangents are my middle name, but me opening my own business isn't the point of this.

As I get older, I regularly realize small aspects of my personality that reflect what I grew up with to a tee. Things no one else may connect, but to me, it's oddly fascinating. How genes are passed, nature vs nurture, blah blah blah, have always intrigued me in a superficial way. So what's a better study than yourself? Anyway, as of lately, I've noticed how the way my father runs his business and the way his customers treat him are completely a part of how I treat business owners. While nothing is ever 100% true, if you're a small business and you do what you do well, I'm going to be a damn good customer. If it's possible, I love getting to know business owners on at least a slight personal level. I like connecting with people, and I obviously feel slightly knowledgeable in how it is to own your own business because I grew up around it. And because it was the only source of money in the household, the status of the store was news to know.

My dad's customers are pretty amazing. They constantly bring him food – homemade usually, or some interesting something or other they may have bought. There's art, trinkets, cards, just stuff. Ways they show their appreciation. I'm 99.9% sure that anything in the store that's 'plaqued' – newspaper reviews – customers did for him. Because my dad, while he is proud, is not overt. He's more of a subtle boaster - “Oh, it's just my little ol' store, nothing special.” When,you know it is something special and he damn well knows it.

As I spend more time in New York, and try to get to know businesses, cafes, restaurants, food carts, and I make connections with owners, I see the way my father's customers treat him coming through. My prime example of late is with the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. From day one, when I heard about him, I couldn't help but love it. Rainbow cone logo? Flamboyant and fun? C'mon, you've got your number one fan here. While ice cream is not what I should be eating, I still feel a camaraderie with a venture like this, and a desire to support him, even if it is not strictly financial. When you meet a business owner like Doug, who is a friendly, fun, creative New Yorker, you want to see them succeed. So, little things my father's customers do, I see myself doing. During one of my “I just must bake” fits, I took him some of the results. And then, I heard via Twitter that his truck was featured in the September issue of The Advocate (and that he didn't have a copy of the magazine yet). I was already in the Union Square area, so, even though I'm technically broke, I decided I would swing through Barnes & Noble and pick up a copy for him. One of those things where I know, being a business owner, and having a truck to tend to, that you don't have the time to go get something like that the days you're working. And your days off? It's called bed.

It's the small things that I really love doing for people. Surprises, things that make people smile because it's simply unexpected. And they're simple things. Things that so many people don't do anymore, which makes you value them even more. Yeah, I guess it's not just something I do for business owners I like, but more so for friends. I think that is something more people should consider these days – places you frequent, do you think of them as friends, or just another person you cross paths with? While I know every business isn't small enough to chat up with the owner, these are the places I love. I don't always get to do so, either because I'm feeling shy, rushed, or generally out of it. But in a giant city like New York, being able to connect with someone, even just the owner of your favorite market or your barista, on a more personal level is a great feeling. Yes, you can be a regular in this city!

[P.S. It seems like every post just gets more and more verbose...]

[P.P.S. I'll try not to gush about BGICT more... I realize my last post mentioned him too... teehee.]

...I think I'm crazy.

2009-08-12T14:12:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure what has gotten into me today. Really. But all of a sudden, I just had to, HAD. TO., sign up for this cooking competition: the Souperdouper Soup Kitchen Sandwich Special.

Do I make sandwiches at home often? No, not really at all. Maybe a quesadilla every once in a while. Do I make soups at home? Not in the summer, and in general, it just depends. I read about this a few days ago, and it piqued my interest. But then, today, I was reading about the prizes, and all of a sudden, I had to do it. But it's not even about the prizes. Yes, they kick ass, but it was just this uncontrollable urge.

And then, the brain started churning. Ideas... ideas... Sweet and savory combinations are sort of ruling my palate lately, and the idea of a hot soup now that summer has finally smacked us in the face didn't seem right. I just recently had saba, a sweet, balsamic-y vinegar, and blueberries, and adored it. I also just bought a (ok, inexpensive) bottle of balsamic vinegar. Strawberry balsamic soup? But what to pair it with... I wanted to keep with the sweet and savory theme because I don't think an all-sweet or all-savory sandwich would work with a fairly sweet soup.

And, of course, the same person that introduced me to saba and berries once again popped into my head... The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck.... His choinkwich ice cream sandwich (chocolate cookie, chocolate ice cream, caramelized bacon 'wheel'). What about a bacon and nutella sandwich on sourdough bread?

So... decadent, yes. Yummy? I hope so. Since the competition is Saturday afternoon, I don't have much time to test it. (And don't really want to overly do so.) But, I think the sandwich needs a little something else along with the bacon and nutella to make it perfect... I'm thinking of possibly rubbing the bacon with a little chili powder to give it just a teeny bit of heat. I'll probably bake it, and hopefully get it nice and crispy/chewy. What does the culinary world out there think about just a teensy smear of a mild goat cheese on the sandwich? I think it needs something in there to pick up the flavors, and to go along with the soup. Thin slices of tart apple?

Suggestions and recipes are totally welcome!!!

Now, how to estimate how much food to buy. (Yes, this is silly, since I am unemployed, but I just. Gah. Had to do it.) Basically I need a bite of food for 150 people - 2oz of soup each and somewhere between 1/4-1/8 of a regular size sandwich. Christ. I just realized... That's still about two GALLONS of soup. About 19 sandwiches... Um.... what did I get myself into?!

An interesting Saturday...

2009-08-08T22:48:00.003-04:00

So, to paraphrase my friend Sara, "Ah, you're not truly broke in NYC until you pose as a nude model." Aaaand... guess who is just that broke? A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a listing on Craiglist (in the 'Creative Gigs' section) calling for non-traditional models. Women with scars, extra weight, really anything or everything, for torso modeling. At this point, I was a few weeks post-unemployment and in the "Seriously, just someone pay me for something" mode. I saw $15/hour and got in contact with the artist. Her suggested date for meeting was today, August 8th.

Now, even though I know my parents are being (generously) financially supportive, so I could have easily backed out of the gig, for some reason I just didn't think much of it. And I'm not even sure why. But this seems to be a recurring theme. I headed down to the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn - a slightly sketchy looking, industrial area - mainly sketchy because of the industrial factor.

After meeting her, I found out that the artist, Clarity Haynes has been doing life-size female torso illustrations for quite a few years now. Before arriving at her studio, I really had no expectations. I definitely did not expect to be interacting in a sort of societal experiment, a study of how we perceive our bodies, and how the rest of the world does. Clarity has done a lot of drawings of breast cancer survivors, with single and double masectomies, along with many other generally interesting female bodies (and "plain" ones too, heh).

I feel like I was oddly displaced from the situation. I wasn't emotional, really, but I appreciate the whole message and purpose of her work. Taking my shirt and bra off in front of a person I just met, and then basically getting paid to have a four hour conversation while sitting topless? Oddly easy for me. It was nice - we're both intelligent people that can talk about lots of different topics. But, the ease is also where the displacement comes into play. It's real, but for such an emotional person, I wasn't really affected in the way that I think a lot of women are. When I look at the drawing, I see a body that I don't really care for. But, neither do I hate. There's no specific, strong emotion related to that drawing. In the long run, I am happy that I did it. And if she wants to do further work, I will definitely model again. To be a part of something a bit bigger than me; to have my 24.5 year old torso preserved in charcoal and paper (currently) is odd and unique. So... yeah, that was my interesting Saturday. My brain sort of perceives today in a choppy, disconnected manner, so I apologize for the choppy, disconnected writing.

Hobo Tuesday!

2009-08-07T19:48:00.008-04:00

Wait, what? Hah, I decided to participate in Tight Ass Tuesday. (Definitely check out the link - we've got ourselves a pretty entertaining writer over there, in my opinion.)

This month's theme was spiiiicy! And when I think of hot food, curries are what hit my brain first. I did a sort of bastardized Indian/Thai eggplant red curry that is well... I've made better, but it works for today.

Pictures, you ask? Yeah, I took some pretty ones Tuesday night, all garnished with green onions, cilantro and crushed peanuts. But, I've been incredibly disorganized lately, and thus I cannot find my card reader. Whoops.

This can also be known as CSA Curry, or "Whatever is about to die" Curry, because if you like curry, you can pretty much put whatever vegetables you like in it. I was also going to add ground turkey (possibly eliminating the $5 price limit), but it turned into a zombie on me. Quite the bummer, considering it was money lost and carnivorous (poultrious?) cravings unsatistfied.

Kick-Your-Tight-Ass Eggplant Red Curry
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 inches ginger, grated or minced
1 pound eggplants, sliced or cubed, whatever
some carrots, sliced
1 tiny bell pepper (about 1/3 size of your typical grocery store pepper, in my case)
1 super hot serrano, or a few serranos, thai chiles, jalapenos, pick your poison
about 1/4 can (2 tbsp?) red curry paste
1/2 can coconut milk (I used light, but I know some people consider that blasphemous)
optional garnish stuff: 1 scallion, sliced thin, some cilantro, crushed peanuts

If you're a sane person, unlike myself (and if you're reading this from TNS), I recommend making rice to go with it, especially since it's vegetarian, and hot. You need some filler.

Now, do as I say, not as I did (that's why the curry wasn't... spectacular. My technique was off on Tuesday.)

Fry up the eggplant until soft in a bit of oil. If you have a big wok, please use that. Otherwise, just use whatever will hold the eggplant. You may have to cook in two batches, which I would normally never recommend, but I do. My eggplant was crowded and I think it steamed too much.

Anyway, sorry, I ramble. Fry up the eggplant, set aside. Throw the onion in the skillet and cook till a bit softened, maybe 5 minutes. I recommend adding the carrots 3 minutes in, and the bell pepper a minute after. Add the garlic, ginger, diced peppers, and curry paste and let them fry a bit, 30 seconds. You'll be able to smell when they're good. Turn the temperature down a bit and add the coconut milk. Mix everything up, and toss in the cooked eggplant. At this point, just let it cook up until the eggplant is the doneness you prefer, and that the flavors have sort of gotten into the eggplant.

This made a big potful, for me, but since it's vegetarian, I'm counting it as three (I lied before) servings. Most people can eat a lot, if they're not burning alive.

A note on ingredients, cost, etc:

The eggplant, carrots, bell pepper were all from my CSA box or my parents' garden. (some eggplant from them) So they were small, baby eggplants, baby carrots, and that's why the pepper was so teeny. It also made the meal incredibly cheap - I pay $225 for 20-22 weeks of vegetables, and the vegetables were probably a third of my weekly pick up.

The serrano (it maaay have been a jalapeno, it was also from my parents' garden) had turned from green to red, sitting out for at least a week and a half, accidentally. So the flavor was intense. Normally, I would use two peppers at least for a curry.

The curry paste is a small, tuna can size container that I get at a Thai restaurant in Chelsea Market. $0.85 for at LEAST four dishes worth of curry paste. I adore the red curry, and I own a can of the green curry paste but have yet to try it.

Because the CSA is so affordable, and I know not everyone uses that, I used the prices from Fresh Direct (which seem vastly overpriced) as recommended by the TNS blogger.

The final run-down on cost:
1 lb eggplant - $1.69
1 white onion - $0.45
carrots - $0.50
1 tiny bell pepper - $0.25?
1 super hot jalapeno - $0.25?
4 cloves garlic - pantry staple
2-3" piece of ginger - pantry staple
~1/4 can curry paste - $0.25
1/2 can coconut milk - $0.50
1 scallion, cilantro, peanuts - these are staples for me, and optional.
rice - $0.75 - optional

$3.89 or $4.64 with rice, aka $1.29 or $1.54 per person!

Pretty damn affordable, and quite a spicy eat! Hopefully pictures will appear in the future...

I love digging myself into deep holes...

2009-07-29T17:40:00.000-04:00

Ugh.

How does one explain to their parents that they were too in denial and depressed about the situation to tell them about losing their job? For me, I'm such a damned emotional person that I don't think I can physically express that before getting to the tears where it would make any sense.

I'm an idiot and went blabbing about losing my job on Facebook before telling family. I just told my mom two days ago. Yes, TWO days ago. But, my aunt who is in Barcelona saw it on Facebook. Her husband, my uncle Raz, comes back to Greensboro for a week or two at a time every month or two. Raz, my aunt Nabila and mom and dad had dinner Sunday night (the day before I told Mom). Raz mentioned it at dinner, before my dad got there, and obviously it was news to my mom.

Well, not only was that hurtful to her, but then I guess yesterday at work, both Raz and Nabila came to the store. My dad told them the news, and, of course, they both said they already knew. That hurt my dad, a lot. And I know I have to talk to him, but now it's a must-do thing, by the end of the day if I want to seem any less heartless than I already do.

Never ever did I not tell people to hurt them. Immaturity? Denial? Sadness? Yes to all of the above.

I woke up late today. Feeling physically sick, before knowing about any of this. Now, not only am I trying to work on Jenna's project – that's not that stressful or difficult while not feeling hot – but now this on top. Phone calls like this not only eat up time but physical energy and I do not look forward to this. I realize this is all part of growing up, learning that acting this way does nothing good. I'm so ready to be completely independent from the parents, but it keeps looking further and further away.

Four weeks later...

2009-07-24T22:17:00.002-04:00

And I'm still unemployed. And it still depresses me. So, what's a girl to do when rent is due in about a week and a half? Well, I'm doing some 'brain-numbing' color matching/counting for my buddy Jenna. She's a grad student from the most wonderful school in the world (hehe), NCSU College of Textiles. The colors are car interior vinyls and leathers, and I'm working in more recent years. So wooooo, lots of neutrals. Anyway, I need to dive into that.

But, I also had a small idea tonight on the train home. This is by no means going to pay my rent (at least I don't expect it to). But, it's worth a shot. I created a group on Facebook, so here's the description.

Are you a New Yorker tired of always eating out? Not sure where the paycheck disappears to every week? Craving something homemade, but no time to spare? A friend of mine who has eaten something I've made and wants more? Well, since I now have a bit of time on my hands, I am putting my general knowledge and home experience of cooking and baking for sale.

In New York, especially, no one seems to have time for homemade, delicious food. We pay a premium for (often very good) food from restaurants and markets. Often, we grocery shop and then, before you know it, the vegetables you bought have spoiled before you could do anything with them!

I'm not expecting to "make a living" on this, but I have the time to spare, so I'm here to offer my time and love of cooking and baking. From anything as simple as homemade dressings, spaghetti sauce, roasted chicken to eggplant curry, apricot sriracha chicken, cupcakes, I can do it. (or at least try!)

Prices? I have no idea, but It's all negotiable. Supplies? If you have something in your fridge you want cooked, I'll do it. Otherwise, I'll buy the groceries and factor it in the price. Location? I'm willing to cook either in your apartment, or, more likely in my apartment in Brooklyn. And thus, delivery!

Like I said before, I'm not expecting a booming business from this, but if you're craving something specific or just want a good home cooked meal, shoot me an email or give me a call. Feel free to invite all your fellow NYC friends, who I may know or may not!

So... if you're in New York and are interested in home made food, send me an email! Or if you know of anyone in the city, please pass it on to them.

Just a quick recipe...

2009-07-15T21:05:00.002-04:00

After Leena so graciously gave me some ideas on my last post requesting culinary advice, yesterday I had quite a little cooking spree. She recommended a kale pizza with italian sausage. On that idea, and not really in the mood for pizza, I went with a stir-fry.

Ingredients:
Two links italian sausage - I used awesome spicy-sweet-fennel from Brooklyn Fare that was in my freezer.
3-4 cloves garlic
Onions - I used a bag of fresh pearl onions that were about to die, cut in half.
1 lb kale, chopped. Separate stems from leafy parts.
1/2 bottle beer - I used Brooklyn Brewery Lager
1 can chickpeas, drained
Salt, pepper, cumin, whatever else you care for.

Brown the italian sausage on medium-high. Take out meat, leave browned bits and a bit of sausage fat in. Add in the onions, and season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cumin. Let the onions caramelize as long as you're patient. I was patient, it paid off. If you're feeling fibrous, add the kale stems, and the garlic. Saute a minute and then add the beer. I'm not sure if I would add the stems again, because they never got tender. But let it boil, and let the beer reduce. Makes a great sauce because it pulls up all that browned sausage and onion goodness. Throw the sausage back in along with the chickpeas. If you're more patient than I am, let the chickpeas cook a bit. Mine tasted a bit too straight out of the can. Throw in the kale and toss for about a minute or two. I took mine out while the kale was still a bit underdone because the heat of everything helps cook, and I'd much rather have slightly raw than mushy kale.

All in all, my stir fry was a touch underseasoned. I would probably throw in a jalapeno with the garlic, or some red pepper flakes. But as of recent, I've been slightly heavy with the salt so I made sure not to overdo it. I also wasn't sure what direction the italian sausage was going to take it in, but it could probably use more cumin, and you could even throw some more indian spices in it if you wanted to take it in that direction. It would be great tossed with pasta, rice, quinoa, couscous, or any other grain out there.

It's also delicious with socca. David Lebovitz tweeted about Kalyn's Kitchen making socca yesterday. I had never heard of it before, but I had chickpea flour sitting in the pantry and I was intrigued, so I made it. (Who said Twitter was so bad? It's given me some culinary inspiration!) It's yummy and so easy.

I apologize for no pictures, but I'm lazy. Yes. It's been a productive/lazy week and I'm still bummed about the no job thing.

Calling all food gods/goddesses...

2009-07-12T00:42:00.002-04:00

I need cooking inspiration! Thursday's CSA load was:

1 Head of Lettuce
1 Napa Cabbage
1 Fennel
2 Onions
1 Large Pac Choi (Chinese cabbage)
1 lb Kale

I have no idea what to do with a lot of this, particularly fennel and something exciting for the pac choi and kale. I also don't really want to buy much of anything since I don't have money. I have shrimp, ground turkey, buffalo burgers in the freezer, and the only fresh items I have otherwise are a few eggs, garlic scape pesto, possibly some older parsley, and lots of fresh basil, rosemary, sage, thai basil and chives.

I'm also looking for things to fix that will survive unrefrigerated for a little while. Since I'm still spending most days out of the house, in a coffee shop or somewhere like that, I need to take food with me that isn't so vulnerable to heat. Ideas anyone?

A good day...

2009-07-10T13:08:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to swing the mood of my blog back upwards a bit. The past few days have been pretty awesome, and although I still measure every day's productivity by the number of resumes sent out (thus making yesterday and today a "failure" so far), but life is otherwise good.

I didn't mention it, but the night of my last entry, I had gone to a Tri-State (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) Wolfpack event at Brother Jimmy's with a friend. Brother Jimmy's is a North Carolina style bbq restaurant with ACC themed decor. You know, kitschy, overpriced, but they were offering free drinks and apps to the NCSU folks. Anyway, even though the rest of the evening's depression seemed to void that out, it was a nice time.

Yesterday, I went to Broadway in Bryant Park and got to see Stomp, Phantom of the Opera, Avenue Q and In the Heights perform a few songs from their respective shows. It was quite fantastic. I picked up my CSA stuff and came home, to then go back out and have dinner with my friend Jenna. It was awesome to hang out with her and we got reaaally spoiled at Centro. (Yes, I drag all my friends there.) It was nice to hang out with her for a little while since she's been up in the city vacationing/'researching'. I miss my College of Textiles friends, so it was a nice evening.

And today, another CoT friend emailed me about happy hour tonight! I haven't seen her in ages, and she's awesome too, so I'm excited to see her and meet some of her friends. And, I got an interview lined up for Monday! Woot! So, yes, technically today has not been productive. But, in the scheme of my mood and other things, it's been a great day.

i'm a name dropper...

2009-07-08T00:04:00.005-04:00

on a side note, garlic scape pesto (see leena and adam's recipes (yes, i like calling food bloggers i regularly read by their first name)) + egg + parmesan + tomatoes = yummy breakfast. when not dropped on your toe. baked eggs are the easiest thing ever, but i don't recommend eating them standing up in the kitchen when you're a klutz like me. otherwise, injuries (and messes) can result.

simple recipe
grease/pam a 2 oz ramekin.
throw a teaspoon of pesto in.
crack egg in (making sure yolk is towards bottom of ramekin.
cover with lots of parmesan (i also did this to make sure yolk wasn't showing at all, so it wouldn't dry out)
bake for more than 5 minutes but not 10 minutes at 350.
top with a spoonful of fresh tomato salad - tomatoes, red onion, garlic, lemon, olive oil. cucumbers too, if your salad happens to be left over from independence day.
multiply x size of your stomach or your crowd.
thank heidi for the baked egg inspiration, and leena and adam for a zingy, delicious condiment. these would be awesome for a group brunch - the flavor is impressive, but the process is easy enough for a complete novice.

thoughts on the c train

2009-07-08T00:00:00.001-04:00

i'm scared shitless. i am scared absolutely shitless. i despise this feeling and yet it consumes me currently. i'm doing ok and then all of a sudden, one little thing in my day messes up and *voila*, i'm in the stomach of a monster. the self doubt from a while ago? it looks like a baby in terms of the danger it could do to me. this thing just destroys any sense of confidence i may have ever had.

it's so bad that i'm literally writing this on the subway. i had it's 10:30 at night and i'm writing this on my laptop on the way home. as if it weren't bad enough that i'm the fatty, taking up more than my fair share, i have my computer propped on my bag. i'm sure everyone standing hates me.

i really do hate writing mopey blogs like this. i hate that it's even a part of me. and that i post it on the internet for friends, acquaintances, strangers to read? (haha, i'm flattering myself in thinking that many people read this.) but i don't know. i post it, because, i do. i would love for this to be a blog of random daily thoughts, recipes, observations. but i feel like it's overwhelmed with 'blah blah blah, my life sucks, wtf is wrong with me mentally?"

and now the subway is braking rough, and the dumbasses standing NOT holding a handle, thus losing their balance and falling into everyone else (and possibly my laptop, since i'm being an asshole - but i did move it into my lap so that I wouldn't take up so much space). these people, i can't stand. some days, i really can't stand 99.9% of new york. and thus, tonight, in the midst of this self hatred, self doubt, disdain for the current happening, i wonder "can i handle new york?" i wonder "was this all a big fucking mistake?" i wonder if i really have friends here, and if i really can make new friends. i mean, come the fuck on. meeting people in college was easy. i happened to connect with some amazing people. here? i just. feel like a kindergartner in a sea of pros.

deep, deep int he depths of my brain, i realize i need to shut up. just shut up completely. ok, i lost my internship. life is NOT easy, and at some point, i was going to have to find, ya know, a real job. the depths of my brain know that, yeah, we all have ny hating times. but i also realize that there are a LOT of people here. thus, a lot of people to choose to not like. (and then some that you do like). i know, in reality, that i do have some friends here. i may not be super close with them, but there ARE people here that i like, like me, and we click. it's just we're all so busy, it's hard to just 'hang out.' oh, and i also, guess, think i'm able, strong enough, creative enough, to get a (good) job.

but the intelligent, rational, logical part doesn't stop the part of me that just releases tears like it's a damn broken faucet. in the middle of the upper west side, at 10pm on a tuesday night. most of my friends assure me that, especially in comparison to other people, i'm mentally healthy. but then, the ease that i can (and DO) cry, at small (and larger) events just makes me question it, more than i do on a regular basis. i don't like being so emotionally vulnerable, and really don't feel like it's something i'm trying to do. sometimes, just every once in a while, i feel like i need a xanax... or one of those meds...

oh, and this morning, after diligently making (yummy) garlic pesto baked eggs, i went and dropped one of the ramekins. on my toe. this morning, i was mostly too pissed at the wasted food, mess made, and time lost. it hurt, yes. but now, 14 hrs later, my toe still hurts. or should i say it hurts more? i don't know, but boy am i glad to have something else to add to my list of concerns.

if anyone actually read this whole entry,...thank you? you're probably a very good friend of mine, and i love you for caring enough to follow my rants, raves, and general brain diarrhea.

-one last note. i'm very glad i wrote this on the train home, even if i did look maniacal. i'm far too tired now to think about writing, but i needed the catharsis. also, i dropped a small ramekin on my toe this morning, and i'm preeeeeetty sure it's hurt. now that my brain has finally died down, the toe pain is increasing.

One week

2009-07-06T15:30:00.003-04:00

And I feel about as bad as I did a week ago.

Yay unemployment manic depression! (I exaggerate, but it feels slightly like that.)

I had an interview this morning, with a staffing/recruiting/temp fashion company. I was so excited, got all dolled up (in that cute, professional, fashionable line I attempt to ride, at least when trying to impress people). Aaaaaand, then... The interview lasted for twenty minutes.

Okay, that's bad, right? Horrible? I mean, to be honest, it didn't feel "bad", just New Yorker brief. Considering that she was basically getting to know me, saw my resume and portfolio, and told me a bit about the job she contacted me for. It's all good, because basically it's connecting me with her, and she's going to keep her eye out for any print/CAD design jobs. We discussed pay, and doing temp or freelance (just to see if I wanted to. And of course, yes.) She's going to forward my resume and some portfolio images to the company she contacted me about.

But, the problem with that? Well, they're in Long Island. First thing she asked was if I would consider commuting outside of the city. "Of course!" I mean, if it's a job, it's a job, right? And of course, I'm looking too far forward into this (considering I have no idea if the company is even interested). But that's what I do. I didn't get a specific location - she mentioned it, I didn't think to ask again, and write it down - but it Hopstop estimates a two hour commute there. (She mentioned it was 40 min from Penn Station... I sorta call bs.) Like I said, I shouldn't be fretting over something I don't even know if I have, but it just makes me feel blaaaah.

Side note: Still, post-op, if I'm bored or depressed-ish, I tend to eat. Unemployment makes me both. Food costs money. Unemployment removes money. These ideas do not add up to a relationship that works. I personally need removal from my apartment to approach productivity, but being in a coffee shop, well, I can't exactly bring in my own food and coffee. I'm also struggling to find the right place for me, that's friendly, doesn't mind a 'camper' in the shop, that has wifi and outlets, and good (iced) coffee. And that's at least near the subway or a bus near me. Oh the life of a bum.

"Corporate Restructuring"

2009-06-29T18:26:00.002-04:00

Mature (sounding) words for "Bye bye, internship."

Yep, I was laid off today. A little before noon, Tom asked me to follow him down the hall. For some reason, as soon as he said that, my stomach dropped. We went all the way across the office to a private room with basically the guy in charge of doing this.

The short story: corporate restructuring. Not having the work load really necessary to keep another intern. Tom had no choice in the matter, and didn't want to lose me. He just found out late Friday afternoon, and I found out today. I got a live check for the timesheet I just turned in this morning, and voila, I was out the door.

Fuck.

On the bright side? Tom basically guaranteed me a fucking fantastic reference, and he told me to email him my resume asap, that he would get it out to everyone he could. I just hate that I didn't really get to say bye to anyone or get any sort of general recognition that I was leaving. It's stupid, but damn, it sucks. Even the Cincinnati co-ops got that.

I know it's probably immature to do so, but I'm holding off on telling the parents or brother. I know, I know, but I just... Need some time to breathe. I have enough for July and August rent and tight living expenses.

Why did I have to predict the future a few blogs ago? And why had I not started the job search yet? I hate myself for that. ... Okay, gonna stop the tears and end this post. Today has been a dry day, for what it could be, and I don't want to open the flood gates.

Eat your veggies! Part II

2009-06-20T21:48:00.004-04:00

Garlicky Greens
(adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

1 huge bunch of greens, mixed or one kind
4 slices of bacon, chopped and rendered (optional)
Bacon fat or olive oil
fine grain sea salt
3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
2 stems of green garlic, sliced (whites and greens)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (opt)
crushed red pepper flakes
toasted pine nuts

Render the chopped bacon, low and slow. Don't rush.

Remove bacon, and let drain on paper towels. Turn pan with the bacon fat and browned bits on to medium low, add a bit of olive oil. Add the garlic and white parts of the green garlic. Cook slowly, about five minutes, and add the salt.

Scoot the garlic up to the sides/edges of the pan and turn the pan to medium/medium high. Add the entire bunch of greens to the pan. (They should be cut into about 1" pieces and washed thoroughly, drained.) A great hint/tip from Heidi - "They should hiss and spit a bit when they hit the pan. " Stir continuously until their color gets bright green, and they just barely start to collapse. They cook REALLY fast, so I suggest aiming for 1-2 minutes, and take them off the heat. The hot pan will continue to cook.

Stir in the green parts of the green garlic, the Parmesan, and add a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Serve immediately! In the bowl/plate, add some of the cooked bacon if you want, and the toasted pine nuts.

To make it a full meal, I topped it with a fried egg. It you keep the egg yolky, it's a yummy collaboration of flavors! Mmmm-almost-vegetarian-meal.

On a side note - every single person out there NEEDS to make Sassy Radish's Apricot Glazed Sriracha Ginger Chicken. Seriously. Everyone. Make it NOW. It's amazing. I made it earlier this week with a whole chicken. OM NOM NOM.

Eat your veggies!

2009-06-20T21:14:00.003-04:00

It's been gross and rainy for the entire month of June here in New York, and maybe it's just me, but it makes me want to turn into a couch slug and eat horribly. But, I've also just been in a personal funk lately. I don't know if my actions lead to my mindset or vice versa, but it's not fun.

Actions? Running late in the morning (from not wanting to get out of bed or getting distracted by stupid things), letting the stupid subway stalling cause an emotional breakdown. (Literally, I cried for most of the ride to work. I just could. not. stop.) Oh, and not waking up until 9am another day? Which meant I didn't get to work till 10:30, and had to bullshit an excuse. I was too embarrassed to man up and say "Yeah, I overslept." Just feeling..eh.

On Wednesday, the day I got into work at 10:30, I decided to walk as far as I could after work until I didn't feel like it. I started from work, and went south on Fifth and then Sixth Ave. I ended up walking 2.3 miles before I got on the C train. It didn't fix all ails, but it was nice to just walk. I love that New Yorkers really couldn't give a damn about others. No one cared if I was walking to 'escape' my funk (whether it was outwardly as obvious as it was inwardly to me) or what. I got some odd looks the morning I was crying on the subway but no one was nosy enough to ask.

So...that's an update. But, what was my original point in posting? Oh, yeah... So two Thursdays ago, my first CSA pickup, we got a ton of mixed greens. I had no idea what to do with them, so I emailed Heidi from 101 Cookbooks. She's what I consider the master of healthy, yummy vegetarian recipes. She gave me some great basic directions and I really appreciate it. Tonight, I went with her ideas, and made her Garlicky Greens, or my take on them, FINALLY. I was pleasantly surprised with how the greens had faired in the fridge for a week and a half. Since I rambled on about my feelings and my life, I'm going to post the actual recipe in a second post. But two things I have to say - it's amazing (for me) how cooking something delicious can perk me up. Mentally having a recipe work makes me happy. And two, don't be intimidated by greens, nor think you have to kill them like Southerners do with collards. Just go to Heidi!

A History Lesson

2009-06-18T23:25:00.002-04:00

I just submitted this to Beyond the Birds and the Bees. Whether or not it's posted, I wanted to post it here. That website is awesome, and it really had me thinking about what I've grown up with. I sort of look at this as an open letter to my parents... Although they would be shocked (and probably not happy) that there's stuff on the interwebs!!!! about them.

- - - - - - -

A History Lesson

Since I've begun reading BBB, my mind has begun wondering about what I've grown up with and my experiences with "sex ed". I realized, at my young age, I can't quite remember one defining moment with my parents. More importantly, what I've come away with are examples. Role models that have instilled in my the knowledge to not only approach sex intelligently but my entire life that way.

My mother was born and raised in the South in the 1950's and 60s. My father was born in a family of ten in Palestine in the 1940's and 50s. (We won't get into politics at the moment.) Although they grew up in opposite ends of the world, they were raised in similar households. Fairly Christian, fairly conservative, you mostly get married and have kids at a young age. Your life should be your family, and your family is your life.

And yet, my mother and father created a different road for themselves. Both the oldest children of their family, they created a life of their own first. The free spirited nature of the 1960s and 70s definitely rubbed off on my mother, and she spent a good amount of time living in different cities around the south with her best girlfriend and gay guy friend. My father used education as an escape from the realities of the traditional Arab life.

My father and mother were 42 and 32 respectively before they married or had children. They have never ever pressured my two brother or I about dating or marriage, even as we reach our "prime" marrying age around our neck of the woods. I look at both sides of our family, and our parents have silently (and vocally, at times) instilled values in my brothers and I based upon the "Learn from the mistakes of the people that surround you to avoid making the same mistakes."

As I'm growing up, maturing, dealing with being an 'adult', and being separated from my family, I appreciate what examples my parents have set for me. The focus on living your life in an intelligent manner has set the tone for my lifestyle. No matter what I do, I try to keep sane. If the time comes for me to have a family, I will be more physically vocal about safe sex and education of our bodies. But I will always keep in mind the one thing my mother said recently when talking to myself and a friend of mine who was a teenage mother (and has done extremely well for herself) - "I don't care if you're having sex, just make sure you're having safe sex!"

So, thank you mom and dad. Dad, for your strong, silent personality that kept me in line (almost out of fear) and mom for the cool, hippie spirit that comes through your motherly love and overprotection. You've taught me well and I will always value that.

I don't even know what to title this...

2009-06-12T20:02:00.004-04:00

But it might as well be "Fuck My Life." It's been a really long week for me, generally worrisome and just, blah. I mean, it's had awesome moments, don't get me wrong, but right now, I don't give a damn about those.

We've had issues with our toilet since we've moved in. I thought it was just because my brother and I can have some... intense bathroom times. Tonight, I got home dying to poop... I knew our toilet was acting funny, but I HAD to go. Went to flush, and the damn thing flooded over before I could get the water turned off.

That's just disgusting. Like, it's gross. And it's expensive - cleaning that up with towels means even MORE laundry. And it's just...gross. Really gross. I was already really really upset about that, because we've been dealing with this for a while. Well, then I walked into the kitchen to grab a paper towel for my sweaty face. Oh, what a lovely sight to see.

YAY for fire escape windows. So I guess we have a squirrel that decided to invade and conquer. There were a few pieces of food leading out the window as well.

(Ok, we really don't normally keep bags of trash sitting around, but when I got home yesterday, Omar had crammed pizza boxes into the trash, tied it up and sat it by the window. Like every morning, I was running late today, and didn't take it out. I have no idea if this somehow happened when Omar was here or after he left.)

I'm so tired already, this got me so flustered. Shit (literal and non) to clean up, and plans to cook what I had just shopped for are out the window because I'm over it now. Dinner shall be the two beers I bought, mkay?

...I wonder if the apartment management would laugh in my face if I requested screens be installed on our windows? Not only would it be good for damned squirrels (or WHATEVER that was) but that would prevent me from being COVERED in mosquito bites (which I already am. Fucking yay).

I think I need a drinking buddy.

We have a visitor to the blog...

2009-06-09T19:35:00.003-04:00

Should I say a returning visitor? Either way, blog readers, meet Emily's self doubt. Self doubt, say hi to the group (...pair?). This was going to wait until after I cooked dinner, but I kept feeling like it sort of couldn't wait, and I just wanted to get it out.

While I have heard nothing official, I'm pretty sure Li is coming back to work this Monday. Somewhat frustrated no one has said anything to me yet, I vaguely heard Sue responding to someone (who was walking by, I think?) asking about Li. I'm already bad about my random eavesdropping, so I didn't say anything today, but I'll ask Sue or Tom tomorrow.

In reality, I'm not surprised she's coming back. She definitely didn't seem like one of those women who had the money laying around to be a full-time stay at home mother in New York. But now, my mind is racing... Now that Garan is getting this steady influx of University of Cincinnati co-ops (the current group mainly leaves Friday, the next group comes in two weeks from now), I wonder about my full usefulness around the office. Li will be back, they'll have an equivalent (maybe?) number of Cincinnati students, and even fewer computers for everyone to use.

Ok, I KNOW I've done fairly well in the office, I do realize to some degree that I'm useful, but that's why self doubt is back visiting. There are just so many questions and not really any answers.

And, a side note, but since my computer crapped out a while ago, and was revived back to life with absolutely minimal add-ons, I no longer have software to even update the resume. Yeah, I also don't think it would be ethical to do that at work. EVEN if it was after 6pm (or my "lunch break") and I didn't count it in my paid time. So that makes trying to move forward with finding a full-time, long-term job that much more frustrating and difficult.

Oh YAY, self doubt brought along its pal, negativity. Thanks, buddies. You know just how to get my mind in a rut.

Mystery SOLVED!

2009-06-04T20:30:00.002-04:00

Holy cow! Every day, people surprise me.

So, the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, I was perusing Zappos and saw some decent looking sandals that came in my crazy shoe size (7.5 EE) that were only $40. Ordered them, and patiently waited. On Friday of last week, I got a slip from UPS. It oddly said it was the 2nd try delivering the package, and I had no previous slip. So on Tuesday night, I realized I had never heard from UPS again. I also realized that there was a number on the slip that I could get info on the package.

So, I looked it up online Tuesday night and was stumped. Someone had submitted a delivery change request at some point and it had been delivered that day. What the hell?! Wednesday, I finally took a lunch break and gave UPS a call. So, UPS had no idea how, but someone had my package redirected to a building on Sixth Ave. UPS filed a tracing report, but otherwise couldn't do much. They were trying to contact the office it was delivered to when we got disconnected. So, I called Zappos - the Zappos Service Twitter had responded to a frustration tweet of mine, so I called the number they gave me. The lady was super sweet and totally stumped at what could have happened. Unfortunately, they were completely out of stock of the sandals in my size, so I got a refund and a $15 off coupon for my next purchase.

BUT, today after work, my door bell buzzed and guess who it was? My neighbor! The first time around, they left the slip at the next building over, the same apartment number as mine. The slip had no name nor the full address, only the apartment letter/number, so she had no idea it wasn't her package. The address she had it redirected to was her work (thanks UPS for never noticing HER name wasn't MY name). And then UPS got in touch with her, after Zappos got in touch with UPS. I am so thankful that I have a friendly, helpful neighbor, I must say! The shoes are here, and now I'm in the ethic/moral dilemma of "If I keep the shoes, do I keep the refund?" I'm not 100% sure of the fit, so I'm wearing them around the apartment. But still...

Oh, other exciting news?
I'm officially a CSA member! First pickup next Thursday!
I went to Cringe last night. Awesome, awesome, AWESOME!
Going to the Renegade Craft Fair Saturday. Imagine Etsy in person!

Oh fleeting youth...

2009-05-30T01:48:00.004-04:00

I just arrived home from an interesting night out with the interns from Garan. After hearing a bit about Centro from me, we decided to go. It was one of the roommates' birthday - she's also from Cincinnati (where they're from, they're doing 3 month co-ops here. The roommate is co-oping at Aeropostale). Five of us for dinner, a sixth arrives for dessert. Free champagne as soon as we're seated, and then once Omar comes out to visit and the bartender sees he knows the table of girls, he sends over shots.

We went across the street to a cheap, chill bar and spent a few hours there. It was nice, met some interesting West Point boys in town for the night. I tried my hand at flirting with one when he was at the table, and then rightly admitted that I had never in my life used that line. He was going around the table, realizing a few of us didn't have drinks. I was the first one he asked "What are you drinking?" My response? "Whatever you want to buy me!" The girls sort of cracked up, as did I, and then I said "Yeah, I'll be 100% honest - I've never used that line before in my life." He was like "Hey, it's never too late to try."

Unfortunately, it didn't work - not that I needed (nor wanted) another drink, but it was just funny to try out a cheesy line on a guy. And see his slightly taken aback look to my response.

The more I'm around the girls, who are mostly 19 and 20 (college sophomores), except for one that's soon to be 23, it's interesting. While I definitely picked up the feeling of "Wow, I feel more mature than most the people here" at NCSU my last semester, it's déjà vu. Most of them are sweet girls, but some of them have that cute/hot college girl, "I can charm and flirt my way into or out of anything." Yeah, I'm a bit jealous, but then again, I spend a few minutes (um, seconds) comparing our maturity levels and then don't feel so bad.

[No, I don't consider myself old... No offense to any readers out there. If I ever said I "felt old", I know Mom would smack me back to reality.]

Really?

2009-05-29T12:53:00.004-04:00

New York City is a great place to people watch. While I haven't purposely done that in a while, I noticed a girl today that just made me go "Really?" Enough that I felt like writing about it.

You know those fashion trends that are bad enough on skinny minnies who may actually have the body for them, but it's just a bad idea, period? And then...you see them on a bigger girl. What's today's fashion horror?

Leggings.

In all honesty, in this season, leggings are sort of essential. When the mornings are still chilly but it gets toasty by noon, leggings are a handy, sort of necessary evil (for those of us that enjoy wearing skirts and dresses). But I seriously do not get, aesthetically or in any other aspect, wearing leggings as pants. While I know Go Fug Yourself has covered this horror many times (thanks, Lindsay Lohan), I just. Don't. Get. It. There are some girls at work that are repeat offenders. Cute girls, great bodies, all that jazz. But no, just no. If you're wearing leggings, you should be wearing a top/dress that covers the crotch. Unfortunately, that seems rare nowadays.

I was walking down 34th Street today, heading back to work after my Sephora lunch break (whooops) and what did I spy? A 200lb+ girl wearing a tee shirt and printed leggings (some weird leopard print-esque but not animal print). My thoughts? No one wants to see the crotch area. I just don't consider that area very attractive when covered in leggings. Not to mention the possibility of camel toe. But once you're in the plus sizes, it's just incredibly unflattering. The whole thing was just...wrong. I completely understand being proud of your body, no matter what size, but people really need to learn how to dress themselves in a complimentary fashion. Patterned, skintight leggings over large thighs with nothing to distract from it - a dress, tunic, longer jacket, something! - does NOTHING for the body.

So yeah, that's my observation/rant for the day.

Take that, Bear Naked?

2009-05-26T22:05:00.004-04:00

I'll admit it, I'm a fan of granola. Nowadays, if I buy it, it's the vastly overpriced but pretty good Bear Naked Granola. They have a lower fat one, and a higher protein one. But, as of lately, I wanted to try my own shot at granola. Between reading Smitten Kitchen's granola recipe, and then Sassy Radish's take on it, I decided to attempt to create a higher protein, lower carb yummy granola.

My final creation has a bit more fat and calories, and equivalent protein and carbs, as the Bear Naked Power Protein Granola, but hell, it's homemade, so I figure it's not a bad shot for the first time around!

Higher Protein, Reduced Carb Cinnamon Granola
2.5 oz sliced blanched almonds
2.5 oz pepitas (or pumpkin seeds) (I used roasted, salted pepitas, but unsalted, unroasted ones are best)
1.5 oz walnuts, rough chop
4 oz flax seeds
2-2.25 oz wheat germ
2 cups rolled oats
1.5 scoops Cinnamon Bun Lean Dessert Protein Powder
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
pinch of salt

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add agave nectar and oil and mix together. Spread out on a pan sprayed with vegetable oil and bake at 350-375 for 20-35 minutes. I recommend mixing every five minutes, and watch it - some ovens only take 20 minutes, others take 35 minutes. Once cooled, store in an air-tight bag or container in the freezer.

My recipe made about 23.75 oz of granola, and the nutritional stats for one ounce are:

Calories: 169.8
Fat: 9.5g
Saturated Fat: 1.2g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 4.8g
Monounsaturated Fat: 2.9g
Carbohydrate: 15.7g
Dietary Fiber: 3.8g
Protein: 5.8g

The granola is a bit flax-heavy, but it's yummy. The protein powder is totally undetectable except for the cinnamony flavor it gave it. I feel like next time around, I could easily up it to 2-2.5 scoops. Also, because the pepitas were salted, the granola itself isn't overly sweet. Next time around, I may add a bit more agave nectar. Although it adds on the carbs, it's a lower glycemic index sweetener, so I figure there are worse choices out there.

Also, does anyone have suggestions for replacing the walnuts with a higher protein, lower fat nut? I like the flavor of walnuts and pecans, but I'd rather have better nutritional stats than a few walnuts.

A side note...

2009-05-26T21:43:00.003-04:00

A friend gently reminded, or requested, that I try to blog more about life and less about cooking. And she's right. I hope the few people that read my blog for me and not food still keep up, but I'll try to interject more blogs about my thoughts, my life, all of that truly fascinating stuff more often...

I'll be honest, it feels like the same old, same old. I'm still struggling with my eating, and to actually lose weight. I still want to try the dating game, but no desire to go to a bar to attempt to flirt with guys. Seriously, how does this thing work? I still have my small bouts of missing Alix. Yes, still. I don't think that will ever stop, honestly. That reminds me! Her mother randomly IMed me one day. Before I saw it, she signed off. I need to get in touch with her, let her know what's going on in my life. And I'm still incredibly proud of what Omar is doing up here in the city. I'm still enjoying my job, if it's not stressful. I'm also stressing on what the future holds. Li, the assistant designer on maternity leave, left mid-March and was taking three months off. That would mean that in a month, she's scheduled to return. Will she? Won't she? I don't know. What I do know is that I need to get the resume revised and restart (finally) job hunting.

Yes, it feels good to simply blog. But, I admit, there's one. More. Recipe. To be posted shortly. What can I say? Cooking is ingrained in me!

¡Olé!

2009-05-26T21:18:00.004-04:00

Do you like Mexican food? Want yummy Mexican food that's, in the scheme of things, portable? Give these Enchilada "Muffins" a try. They're easy to pack for lunch, and a great balance of protein, fiber and fat. Oh, and they're yummy!

Thanks to the lovely Shira who made some version of this last fall and inspired me. It just took, oh, 9 months to make it.

Enchilada Muffins

My filling made enough to technically fill about 14 tortilla cups. I bet it would also be amazing as quiche bites - makes me mad I just ate mine as is!

Filling:
14 oz poached chicken breasts (or thighs, if you prefer)
2 small onions, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
about 1/2 can diced tomatoes, without juice
1 can low fat salsa refried beans (Trader Joe's)
about 1/2 bottle Trader Joe's enchilada sauce
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, chili powder, cumin, paprika to taste (or, taco seasoning if you insist on going that route...i thinkg $2 on a pouch of salt is insane.)
2 oz Trader Joe's Lite 3 Cheese blend

Other needs:
6-7 soft taco sized tortillas (I used Mission Carb Balance White Tortillas)
2-3 oz TJ's cheese blend

Saute onions, green pepper, garlic, jalapeno till softened nicely. Add tomatoes, spices, saute a minute more. Add beans, chicken, sauce and cheese and stir together quickly.

How to make tortilla cups:

Spray pan with vegetable oil. Cut tortilla in half - I used half a tortilla per cup. I cut the tortilla like so:

Lay the two pieces from the left side of the drawing criss-crossed in the muffin cup, up the sides of the cup. Use the other strips around the edges of the cup. Spray tortilla with oil again, fill with enchilada filling, and top with another 7 grams or .25 oz cheese.

Bake um 15-20 minutes at 400-450? I can't remember exactly how long or at what temperature, but it's not really that important.

Cooking up a storm!

2009-05-26T00:30:00.004-04:00

So we'll start with the easiest thing ever. I've made it twice, there are many ways to do it, here's the basic idea.

Eggplant Curry Dip
~0.75 eggplant, roasted/sauteed/stir-fried till super soft
1-2 tbsp red curry paste (to taste) (find a good thai store, it's usually cheap and YUMMY there)
1-1.5 cups Trader Joe's nonfat greek yogurt (or brand of choice)

Cook eggplant thoroughly in whatever method you choose. In a dip, it's fine to overcook eggplant, especially since it gets pureed in the end. I keep the skin on but that's just because I'm too lazy to peel. Plus, that's where the antioxidants are! But, it's your choice. Put the eggplant and 1-2 tablespoons (or more, depending on your spice choice) in a Magic Bullet/blender/food processor. Blend it until smooth and until the skin is at least chopped fine. I added in about a quarter to a half of the yogurt in to my Magic Bullet while blending to help get it pureed well enough, along with a tablespoon or two of water. I then hand mixed the rest of the yogurt into the eggplant. Voila!

Just as an aside: The first time I made this, I made a curry, with sauteed onions and garlic in the eggplant. I then pureed it all. It had a bit more flavor to it, and is a great way to use leftovers, but it's completely your choice on how you want to make this.

This is great with veggies, soy crisps, ak-maks and other yummy crackers, and even spread onto sandwiches or deli meat roll ups.

Will the enchilada muffin and granola recipes be posted tonight? Not so sure... I should be getting to bed.

100th Post!

2009-05-26T00:04:00.002-04:00

Whoopie! As I was about to create this entry, Blogger told me I currently have 99 posts.

So what's been going on here? What's this magnificent post going to be about? Cooking, of course! I had a long weekend - done at noon on Friday and of course Memorial Day off. I spent most of Friday spending TOO much money - Container Store, TJ Maxx, Farmer's Market (didn't get much - I was too exhausted by then), thai food. Saturday, I slept in, bummed around, cleaned some and made some pretty awesome Enchilada Muffins. Recipe to follow!

Sunday, Omar had the day off so we decided to head to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Waterfalls Cafe has some absolutely AMAZING middle eastern food. The grape leaves were honestly as good as my Aunt Violet's, which is saying a LOT. After eating, we realized Sahadi's, a really awesome shop, is closed on Sunday, so we headed to Trader Joe's. My brother had never been before, and I think he was fairly impressed. The meat looked pretty good, the dried fruit and nut prices are good, he was a fan of the single beers, and he pretty much wanted to buy every cookie, chocolate, and frozen dessert. After shopping, we came home and crashed. And then got some amazing sushi for dinner. I must say, my brother always finds the most delicious restaurants to eat at, but my budget gets blown out of the water.

Today, after getting a mani/pedi - god I love New York, $20 for the two - and some quick grocery shopping, I came home to cook. Homemade granola, sauted shrimp, roasted eggplant and some thai dressing. I made this delicious dressing with thai basil from my herb garden, fish sauce, a chile, lime juice, agave nectar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Then, I spilled it all over the counter, wall, and kitchen rug. Can we say PISSED? I attempted to recreate it, but it was nowhere near as good, especially since I didn't have much basil left. Oh well. Tried to roast some eggplant in the toaster oven - bad idea. I was just going to eat the shrimp and eggplant with the dressing/dip, but since it was subpar, I sauteed the other half of the eggplant and made yummy eggplant curry dip. I'm going to post all the recipes in one or a few posts.

I think I might have a problem...

2009-05-19T21:16:00.003-04:00

This is going to sound incredibly dirty, but I could completely make love to roasted corn on the cob. I guess, really, it's "grilled" corn on the cob, but something about the summertime influx of delicious fresh corn makes me happy. In general, between the tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and fresh fruit of all sorts, I'm a happy lady in the summer. I love my share of an awesome medium steak straight from the grill, but the change of the seasons has me happily living off of simply cooked or raw vegetables.

I'm quite bummed to have moved from an apartment with a yard to a third floor apartment, but there wasn't much choice in the matter. So, all the plans to grill out are out the window. (An aside - I'm going to see if the roof of our apartment is accessible, and if so, how illegal it would be to grill up there.) But tonight, Google helped me realize I could replicate wonderfully roasted corn straight on the gas stove. Between the corn and some yummy cilantro-curry-whatever in the fridge burgers, it was a nicely faked summertime meal. Quick, delicious meals make a wonderful end to a very long workday.

Just...WOW.

2009-05-18T21:47:00.003-04:00

Saturday morning, I checked out the Grand Army Plaza green market by Prospect Park. It's gigantic, I soon found out. Within twenty minutes there, I had a ton of stuff and had dropped a fair amount of cash. ($10 on scallops and $16 on ground turkey made a dent.)

What I got:

Arugula, chives (with the yummy purple flowers), cilantro, green onions, red & white onions, thyme, parsley, asparagus, broccoli rabe, carrots, 3/4 lb scallops, a pound of ground turkey breast & a pound of ground light/dark turkey. After reading the Amateur Gourmet's post on "forcing yourself" to buy something new at the Farmer's Market each time you go, I took that idea to the extreme. While I've eaten chives, broccoli rabe and arugula before, I've never bought a huge bunch of any of it. Arugula? The tame Whole Foods loose baby arugula. Chives? Used em, but rarely bought them. Broccoli rabe? I've had it recently at a few different restaurants and liked it, but I've never bought it before.

But, seeing the gigantic bunch of rabe, the bouquet of chives with the gorgeous (and delicious) flowers, and the same out of control bunch of arugula, I knew I wanted them all. I figured at a few bucks an item, the cost for the risk is minimal.

Let me tell you, tonight's dinner has an already semi-permanent farmer's market fan a permanent one. The scallops were at the edge of being good, so they had to be fixed tonight. After reading the same AG post about a raw asparagus salad, and then today's Smitten Kitten's asparagus, goat cheese and lemon pasta, I had a basic idea in mind. Simple seared scallops and pesto, goat cheese asparagus.

Sear scallops - I followed trusty Cooks Illustrated. Basically, dry the scallops, salt and pepper each side liberally, sear 2 min on one side, 1-2 min on the other in butter or olive oil. I made a basic pesto (also from CI) in my Magic Bullet and blanched the sliced asparagus (a bit too long, unfortunately). The pesto wasn't blending well because I only had a little bit, so I added a fair amount of lemon juice to loosen it up. Considering that so often I eat asparagus with lemon, it worked. In a bowl, I tossed the asparagus with the pesto and a spoonful of garlic herb goat cheese. Mix well until the goat cheese distributes evenly.

Once I plated it up, I added more toasted pine nuts and snipped a chive on top, along with the chive flower. The flowers are intensely flavored, delicious.

The scallops were so sweet and melt in your mouth tender. I kept them fairly medium in doneness because that's my preference. Overdone seafood just has no appeal to me. The scallops are simply delicious, the asparagus is flavorful and has a tart kick from the lemon and goat cheese. I'm quite impressed with myself, if I do say so!

Broiled baby bok choy and burning flesh

2009-05-11T22:13:00.003-04:00

Tonight was going so well...until the stupid pasta! Those of you who know me know that at times, I don't have the strongest "street smarts". Tonight, I chose to attempt to break noodles in half that were already in a pot of water. Of course, the noodles that fell into the pot splashed up nicely on my left hand (and a bit on my right) and I'm not a happy camper.

I knew I didn't need those noodles... But they seemed like a good idea! I made broiled baby bok choy with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. To absorb the leftover dressing from the bok choy after cooking, I thought I'd toss them with pasta and top with some parmesan.

It was yummy and very easy, but I'm still bummed about my idiocy with boiling water.

Um, want a recipe for the bok choy? Mkay... Cut baby bok choy bunches in half. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and 2-3 cloves garlic diced fine. Put on preheated pan, broil for 5-10 minutes. Toss with pasta, or not, and eat.

I don't know what the bok choy has it in, but I swear my body must be craving it because I totally destroyed two big bunches of baby bok choy in two days!

The closest thing to a bento I've created in a while...

2009-05-10T23:50:00.005-04:00

I'm a huge fan of bentos, but I'm not really great at creating them. But, my foods I prepared for tomorrow just happened to have a sort of cute, bento-esque look to them

Breakfast is two giant strawberries and roll ups - buffalo sliced chicken and pepper jack cheese. (Along with a piece of lettuce to divide the sweet and savory.) Goldfish crackers and nonfat pomegranate greek yogurt are the snacks. Lunch is marinated shrimp that I quick broiled in my toaster oven (which was freakin awesome) and a bunch of fresh sugar snap peas. I also mixed up some leftover marinade with greek yogurt for a dressing/dipping sauce.

What was the marinade? It's leftover from the curry I made two weeks ago (and was still tasty). "Puree of ginger, garlic, cilantro, onion, a seeded jalapeno, soy sauce, ketchup and brown sugar." So, just dressed the shrimp with salt and pepper and spooned the marinade over the shrimp liberally, popped them on my foil-lined, oiled toaster oven pan and broiled for ~10. The marinade was also added to greek yogurt, and dressed up with lime zest and juice, salt and pepper. Mmmmm!

Now...can anyone stop Monday morning from arriving? Please?!

Time flies when you're having fun..

2009-05-09T19:01:00.004-04:00

Um, how long have I been in Brooklyn? It feels like months, and days.

I am growing to love the area - Fort Greene and Clinton Hill are very cool. I'll be honest, the area we actually live (on the edge of Clinton Hill and BedStuy) can look a touch sketchy at times. But I've never felt afraid or anything here, but some people might not be completely keen to live here.

We've gotten settled into the apartment nicely, with a BIG help of my mom and Aunt Teresa. They came up to New York last Thursday night and stayed until Wednesday. We had a serious bootcamp weekend of shopping - Ikea and Target - and decorating. I owe my mother so freakin much, in money (yes, I am going to work on paying her back) and just in life, period. And it makes me feel horrible that I'm not getting her anything for Mother's Day. She'll get a card (late) but that's it for now. :-/

Work is about the same - no real progress (on, you know, a permanent job or anything), but hopefully by next weekend, I'll have updated my resume and I'll restart the job hunt. While there's no rush, I don't think, I need to start again for the sake of making the effort.

...and i'm done!

2009-04-26T22:08:00.002-04:00

Thai red curry? Check!

A piece of advice for anyone out there who enjoys thai curries and cooks - find yourself a thai restaurant or store with minimal english. Look for curry pastes with the same minimal or no english. Buy and enjoy.

When I was in Chelsea Market a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Chelsea Thai Wholesale. While it may not have been the least-English speaking Thai takeout and store, the items they had looked pretty authentic. And for 85 cents for a small (tuna fish size) can of curry paste, it was a win-win situation. I picked up red and green curry pastes along with a delicious plate of Pad Thai.

Using a can of coconut milk (light is preferred but I had a brain fart and got the full-fat stuff), the red curry paste, a container of fresh asian stir-fry vegetables from Trader Joe's (so yummy! onions, peas, broccoli, bell peppers, water chestnuts, fresh, chopped up and ready to go), chicken and some fish sauce and brown sugar, I whipped up a delicious curry.

Chicken? Cut up thighs marinated in a puree of ginger, garlic, cilantro, onion, a seeded jalapeno, soy sauce, ketchup and brown sugar. Sauted it pretty fully cooked after it marinated for a few hours, diced it up some more and then threw it in the curry mixture.

If you like curry and don't always have the time, money, or patience for fully authentic curry, get thyself to a good thai market and "invest" in curry pastes!

the good, the okay, the ugly...

2009-04-26T20:13:00.003-04:00

i'm sweating. it's totally gross in our apartment. but i'm cooking. it's just one of those weekends - between the packing, moving, unpacking, i haven't had time to play in the kitchen. and while i'm exhausted, i'm cooking.

today i finally put together the 'stuffed shells' meatballs. my mom always used to make stuffed shells - ground beef, spinach, cottage cheese, spices in large shell pasta, baked in tomato sauce. i had a package of 85/15 ground beef that was chilling in the freezer for a little too long, so i decided to experiment.

the results? yummy, but not pretty.

i had no interest in standing over the stove frying the meatballs up, so i attempted alton brown's technique of baking meatballs. but, i didn't have any foil cups leftover, and i guess i did not grease well enough. so we had sticky meatballs.

the picture shows the darkest meatball which was one of six i did saute - the recipe made 30 meatballs, 24 fit into my mini muffin pan. it was the preferred meatball to me, because i love the dark, crusty edge. the front meatball is one that made it out of the muffin pan in one piece, and the one in the back fell apart.

because of the cheeses and spinach in them, they're very delicate, and pretty delicious. one plus to the meatballs (versus mom's stuffed shells) is that the cottage cheese melts a lot more and incorporates well. maybe not your typical really meaty meatball, but flavorful, and i think they're pretty versatile. i could see them crumbled into a salad, on top of a tortilla pizza, served with spaghetti sauce on top of pasta or veggies, etc.

the recipe is below!

"stuffed shells" meatballs
1-1.5 lb 85/15 ground beef
1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
about 3/4 cup diced onion
4 cloves garlic
2 eggs
1 cup crushed Kay's Naturals Parmesan Protein Chips (or breadcrumbs)
1 cup 1% cottage cheese, drained
1/2 cup or 2 oz shredded mozzarella
1/2ish cup shredded parmesan
2-3 tsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
hearty pinch of red pepper flakes

saute onions till soft, add garlic and spinach till warmed through. let the mixture cool. mix all ingredients together well, and form into 1.5 oz meatballs. either saute/fry in olive oil on stove until browned and pop into the oven to finish cooking, or cook in greased mini muffin cups in the oven for 20 minutes at 400.

Hazelnut Mocha Chip Protein Muffins

2009-04-26T00:12:00.008-04:00

So...I haven't felt so hot today, but I've had an itch to bake. Having finally picked up spelt flour at Whole Foods last week, I decided on Eggface's protein muffins. But, I was looking for something a bit more decadent than fruit. Nutella is like my favorite thing ever, so what's better than hazelnut mocha chip protein muffins?! Chocolate, coffee, hazelnuts, yum!

3/4 cup Spelt Flour
1/2 cup chocolate protein powder - used 1.5 scoops Lean Dessert Chocolate Fudge Pudding and 1 scoop Click Mocha, which yielded a bit more than 1/2 cup but it worked
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp sugar free syrup (I used 2 parts vanilla, 1 part SF hazelnut, 1 part Kahlua)
2 tbsp 1% cottage cheese
3 tbsp instant coffee - I'd recommend instant espresso instead
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/2 cup chopped Guylian no sugar added dark chocolate

Combine dry ingredients, excluding the coffee but including the hazelnuts and chocolate. Mix together, coating the pieces well. I whizzed the eggs, oil, syrups, vanilla, and coffee in the magic bullet (but mixing by hand is fine) and added to the dry ingredients. Stir until well-combined.

It makes 24 mini muffins, and bakes 12 minutes at 350.

They're a tad over-coffee-y for me, but not bad - now that I've had a second one, I think it's also heavy on the cinnamon. Next time, I may cut the cinnamon to 1/4 tsp, throw a little bit of splenda in it, take the kahlua syrup out, just use hazelnut and vanilla. As for nutrition stats, the nuts and chocolate makes the fat content a bit higher, but it's pretty darn good for the final product!

Attempting on the menu tomororw? My "stuffed shells" meatballs - spinach and cottage cheese. And, if the day goes well, red curry. But there's never enough time on Sunday!

crazy month, slow morning

2009-04-24T09:19:00.002-04:00

The month of April has been...crazy, to put it lightly.

I'm officially moved in to our Brooklyn apartment - got some awesome movers last weekend and they were done in ~2 hours, for $250 (including tip). Tomorrow, I'm going back to Astoria one last time to do a general clean up, pick up anything I forgot, and give the girls the keys.

Work is oddly slow this morning, but both Tom and Sue aren't in today, and Lori (supervisor) is in a meeting. It's been somewhat nice to relax this first hour.

- Aaaand, just as I said that, I was given stuff to do. Which is fine by me! -

Yeah, so there's not really a lot to blog about - busy but nothing remarkable. I did slice my index finger nicely a week or so ago with an exacto knife. Fortunately, no stitches were needed but it took the corner chunk of my nail with it.

I've been doing some cooking and plan on doing some more this weekend. The only remarkable thing from this week were some delicious ginger poached noodles inspired by Heidi at 101 Cookbooks from last night. Wednesday night, Omar cooked up a flank steak marinated in soy, sriracha, garlic, and ketchup I think, roasted some asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper and topped with lemon zest and Parmesan, and did a simple olive oil based potato salad with scallions and parsley. With the leftover steak and asparagus in mind, last night I cooked up some noodles.

Basically, I boiled up water and vegetable broth cube, tossed in ~2 oz sliced ginger, 4-5 smashed garlic cloves, 1 jalapeño cut into thick rings. I was lazy and didn't want to seed it, but the pepper was a lot hotter than expected, so I recommend seeding. I let it boil and infuse for probably 5-10 minutes, while I chopped up 3 scallions and a handful of cilantro, shaved some carrot (literally whittled at a carrot with a knife - hey, most of my utensils are still packed up), cut up the roasted asparagus (8ish spears?) and sliced up 2-3 oz of the flank steak.

Toss in drained shirataki noodles and let boil. They only really need 2-3 minutes to par boil, but I let them go for at least 5 (maybe 10?) minutes in hopes to infuse them with the flavor. I didn't know if they would absorb any flavor because I had never tried this method.

I added a few handfuls of frozen peas into the mixture a minute or two before draining. Drain, pick out whatever big chunks you can find, particularly the pepper. I saved some of the broth, following the original recipe, but because I didn't seed the pepper and it was QUITE hotter than I ever expected, the broth was too hot to use. Advice: don't expect the jalapeños at the Korean market to be as wimpy as Key Food jalapeños!

Throw the noodles and peas in a bowl, add the other veggies, and toss with 2-3 tbsp soy sauce, a drizzle of sesame oil, and lemon juice. (Lime would be better, but they were still packed too. Oh, and I used about half the life of one half of a juicy lemon.) I added the steak to my final plate, on top of the mixture, because there was more noodle salad than one serving.

Om nom nom!

Ideas for this weekend? "Stuffed shells" meatballs - ground beef, chopped spinach, either ricotta or cottage cheeses? (Just an idea I'm throwing around in my head because of slightly freezer burned 85/15 ground beef waiting for me.) Some of Eggface's protein muffins - but maybe mocha chip? Hazelnuts, coffee, some nsa dark chocolate? If anyone has any other cooking ideas, pass them this way. I have some red and green curry pastes I picked up from a great Thai place in Chelsea Market that I may have to play around with some too, especially since Shira has been raving about the curry she made (which I made in February).

so...fucking...frustrating.

2009-04-07T21:53:00.003-04:00

along with my hard drive pretty much dieing on me on saturday - the apple store spent two hours getting it to a point where it works again tonight but no one knows for how long. i just got home and had planned on either having some "chicken" nuggets or mini taco things - frozen decently-healthy goodies i got from Shira when she left NY. guess what's missing from my freezer? yeah, fuck you people. what's even more annoying? i can pretty much assume that the roommates didn't eat them, but threw them out. jennifer and her kitchen clutter pet peeve probably threw it out during one of her cleaning sprees because they may have shown the slightest sign of time in the freezer. oh my god, frost? in the freezer? no!

seriously, fuck. you. my day started out annoying - douche bag on the train couldn't not take up 4 feet of space so i didn't get a seat the whole way to work. then, the day wouldn't go by fast enough, and then two hours at apple. it's perfect that it's going to end with me not eating dinner.

i apologize for the ranty, bitchy, crude post but i'm over this shit. (and pissed/frustrated at the amount of money i'm probably going to have to drop on this computer, along with every other budget/money concern associated with moving.)

mixed results

2009-04-05T00:03:00.003-04:00

So I'm feeling the desire to get moved sooner (meaning next weekend) rather than later. Except that I do not want to pack. I picked up four egg boxes from Key Foods today and I've packed one full, the other over halfway. But, conveniently, I ran out of packing tape after 9 tonight. So I'm waiting to go to Staples tomorrow.

Instead, I cooked - lunch for this week maybe? This was a game of "What's in Emily's Fridge?" + "Let's Try Something New!"

So, I had a block of extra firm tofu in the fridge, and I want to make some macafoni and cheese, but I know that I get tired of the same food over and over. So I split the block in half and decided I wanted to fry some up and maybe make lo mein since I have shirataki in the fridge. I've never really made tofu at home besides the macafoni, so I figured, why not waste a few hours?

I started with this recipe/website - I cut the tofu into strips, dry-fried it, and marinated it in lots of garlic, ginger, scallions, 1/2 cup soy sauce, less than a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a squirt of sriracha, and maybe 1/8-1/4 cup rice vinegar.

I let that marinate for an hour, and then fried it up a la Cooks Illustrated - dusted in a bit of cornstarch. Once it was fried nicely, I added the glaze from CI - a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of brown sugar, two tablespoons of chicken broth. Once that was tossed together - at the high heat it glazed up very, very quickly, I threw it in a bowl and added pre-cooked shrimp. (I had half a bag from Trader Joe's left over in the freezer.)

The lo mein has mushrooms, scallions, edamame, and a decent amount of a napa cabbage-carrot-scallion-cilantro-mint mix. I had the cabbage mix left over from another recipe and it was about to hit the trash otherwise. I added the tofu marinade with water and cornstarch at the end, along with the shirataki, and let it come to a boil. I pretty much followed the directions in this recipe. I then topped it with more fresh scallions and cashews.

Why mixed results? The mint permeated the dish a bit more than I expected. Also, the tofu probably only needed 30 minutes in the marinade - since they were smaller strips, they sucked up the soy faster. And, since I made the mistake of adding ALL the marinade to the dish, it's a bit on the salty side. It's not bad, but it's not perfect. I'm thinking of drizzling just a teeny bit of honey on top of it when I eat it for lunch or whatever, to help cut the salt.

It's sort of a clusterfuck of ingredients:
shirataki (tofu) noodles, tofu, shrimp, cremini mushrooms, scallions, edamame, napa cabbage, carrots, cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic, cashews, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar.

If nothing else, it's a learning experience. The tofu is divine - the glaze is yummy and almost burnt, and it fried up nicely without actually being so "fried". I would definitely recommend it.

yummm...pizza!

2009-04-02T22:23:00.003-04:00

Another foodie post for me!

Tortilla pizza a la Eggface
1 tortilla (this is burrito sized because that's all I can find around here, Mission low carb/whole wheat)
tomato sauce - I used Newman's Own tomato basil
lots of cheese - I used TJ's lite three cheese blend, along with fresh grated parm on top
2 leftover turkey meatballs (see previous post)
a few slices of [turkey] pepperoni
caramelized onions
optional - roasted garlic

I rubbed the roasted garlic on the tortilla before anything was added. spoon sauce, add cheese, meatball slices, pepperoni, caramelized onions, top with some more cheese and italian blend herbs and red pepper flakes. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

The basis of this recipe is totally Michelle's (Eggface), but the great thing about the tortilla pizza is that it's a vehicle for leftovers, just like a quesadilla. I really love cooked onions, and I have a feeling it's gonna be yummy. It's for lunch and dinner tomorrow, so I haven't tried it.

If you want to know how to caramelize onions, google it. ;) You can do it on the stove, in the oven or even a large batch in a slow cooker. I just sliced up less than half a large onion, put it in hot olive oil and turned it down to medium-medium low. I let it chill, stirring every 5-10 minutes, on low. You could just saute the onions quicker if impatient.

OH, one other note - we got the apartment!!!!!! Holy crap I don't know how I'm going to afford this month - moving, furniture, etc. But...we shall see...

I'm exhausted...

2009-03-29T22:31:00.004-04:00

"But Emily, it's Sunday, not Friday. You should be rested from the weekend!" my (sparse) audience says.

Except, yeah... This weekend has been just plain crazy.

Friday consisted of:
Work...busy, busy work. I didn't even eat lunch until 4pm.
Open house for apartments in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (that were both big fat NOs).
A random, last minute apartment showing in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn right after. I had emailed about a CL ad Friday morning before work. She responded with her phone number by 9am, I hadn't had time to call during the day (obviously). So, after the bummer apartments in Williamsburg, I called her. She was free in about 45 minutes. I made my way over there.
And I found an apartment that's pretty awesome. Yep.

Positives:
Two decent sized bedrooms that are similar in size
An actual living room
A small but good bathroom - with GOOD water pressure. the current tenant was there that night and she said she would miss the shower greatly.
$1395 (with 4/1/09 lease date) including heat and hot water.
Gas stove (an unspoken, small desire of Omar's)
third floor walk-up (hey, at least I can't avoid SOME exercise every day)
Negatives:
Kitchen in general is sort of small. not much cabinet or counter space, nor a dishwasher. But I've been so spoiled by my Astoria kitchen.
No backyard (well duh, third floor)
I think we'll have to buy A/C units for the place (not 100% sure on this).
Buying furniture for the place... but that was unavoidable...
Third floor walk-up (SUCKS for moving, but that's what paying movers is for, right?)

Oh, yeah, k, after seeing the apartment in Brooklyn? I ended up talking to my mom on the phone for about an hour (while still in Brooklyn). My cell phone died, cousins called - they were in town for a few days. So I made my way back to Astoria, which took about an hour.
Once I got home, I charged my phone for a few minutes, ate some chips and guacamole (yeah, that was dinner for the night) and headed out to try to meet up with cousins Basil and Maher.
It was already after midnight then, and I finally found them (I thought they were still at a bar on Steinway st, but they were back at Basil's sister Dena's apartment pre-gaming - she lives in Astoria too).
I completely forgot that "going out" with Basil means fucking GOING OUT. I had a drink at Dena's, and then Basil, Maher, Dena's hubby Tony and a cousin of Basil's who lives in NY, Nadine, and I went out. We went to three different [very Greek] clubs and then to a 24hr Greek restaurant.
It was 6-o-fucking-clock in the morning when I got home. I had been up for almost 24 hours. And I had three drinks and two shots. That's a helluva lot for me. Especially considering my dinner consisted of soy-flaxseed tortilla chips and guacamole.

Yeah, and then Saturday? I was up by 11:30am.
Talked with Omar about the apartment, and about the fact that if we want it, we basically needed to get Erin (the agent) the deposit TODAY. I wrangled his debit card from him before he went to lunch with the cousins, and then I chilled for a while.
Finally got up and moving, and had to attempt to figure out how to take out $1395 from an ATM. That was fun. I ended up draining my bank account because BB&T has a withdrawal limit. So I had $500 from Omar's account, and was lucky enough to have about $975 in my BoA account.
Erin was on Steinway, and we met up, filled out the paperwork (not the final stuff, just the "we're taking it off the market until we get your application and approve you or not.)
After that crazy running around, I decided to chill in Starbucks and read a book for a while (after talking with mom again). I really needed to veg out, and was hoping the house might be sort of quiet when I got home.
But, nah, Jennifer and Jessica were there, and Jennifer's friend Julie was on her way over. Jen cooked, and her and Julie hung out before going out. I got to veg out temporarily and then talked with Omar about the apartment when he finally got home.

And today...well, today has been vegging out, cooking, attempting to clean up, wanting to crawl into bed for about twelve hours. Yeah... I really, really can't shake this tiredness. And considering that this is just the beginning of moving, fuuuuck.

I swore I was going to make my bed tonight - I sent my sheets to the laundry like LAST weekend, and still haven't had time to make my bed. I've just been sleeping on the mattress with my blanket and comforter on top (which is fine with me but I feel a tad ghetto). Oh, and that same time I sent the sheets out, I sent out clothes. And they're still folded up in the hamper. Again, I swore I was going to get my room cleaned up this weekend, but the gods of time are working against me. So, yeah, um, good night...

Mmm...asparagus!

2009-03-29T22:10:00.003-04:00

Someone asked me for the recipe on Facebook, and by the time I had typed it up in the reply to comment box, it was too long to post. So I'm throwing it up here. After I made turkey croquettes/meatballs, I was going to make something curry-esque with chickpeas, but I had a VERY old bunch of asparagus chillin in the fridge and knew they needed to be dealt with. The turkey croquettes are a tad on the dry side (they're made with ground breast meat), so I wanted something a bit saucy.

I just sort of made it up on the fly... My roommate made some amazing honey dijon green beans last night, so I was inspired by her.

I had already cut up onions and garlic (for that scrapped Indian dish). So I threw them in the pan with olive oil and let them get very soft and delicious. I was going for "caramelized" but they got a bit darker quicker than I wanted (yeah, I'm impatient).

Add the asparagus to the pan - I cut the spears in half, feel free to do whatever. Season well with salt and pepper. Let them saute with the onions and garlic for a bit - not too long, you don't want mushy asparagus at the end.

Then I just eye-balled water, dijon mustard and honey. It was probably about a half-cup of water, and a few tablespoons each of the mustard and honey. Let it come to a boil, and simmer. It's going to look thin at first, but reducing it by simmering gets it nice and thick, and the honey helps fantastically. Mine was probably a little sweet by the end, but the asparagus were more done than I normally go for, so I didn't want to keep them in the pan.

I threw some sliced almonds in at the end basically because my roommate had them left over from her green beans last night. Yum!

- - - - -

Also, here's an incredibly easy idea for asparagus. This is what I normally do. So tasty! Basically, trim the ends of the spears, throw on a cookie sheet, add olive oil and salt and pepper and toss together. You want everything coated, but not soaked, and season liberally. Throw in the oven ~450, or even on broil. Don't touch them - the more you move veggies, the less brown they get - for a little bit. Cook until the desired tenderness.

- - - - -

Oh, since I'm doing a cooking blog at the moment, mmm turkey croquettes/meatballs. Thank you Shira's grandmother! I took the basic idea that I got from Shira and her gma, and changed it a bit. These are really tasty, neutral balls o' protein that I figure I can pair with something like that Indian chickpea dish, or top with tomato sauce and cheese, or whatever.

1 lb ground turkey breast
1 egg
1 cup protein chips "bread crumbs" - I grind up Kay's Natural's parmesan crisps
A chunk of onion, a couple of garlic cloves
1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2-3/4 tsp salt, a hearty sprinkle (1/4-1/2 tsp?) red pepper flakes

In different stages/cups, I do these steps with my magic bullet blender: grind protein chips. Puree onion and garlic. "Beat" egg.

Add everything together in a bowl, and mix well. Form into small balls, patties, whatever - I normally make "patties" smaller than a hamburger, bigger than a meatball, but today I made balls. For me, I think it made about 28 balls, but at the rate I've been snacking on them, I can't give you a definite answer. In a pan with a nice coating of olive oil heated to medium-high, brown well. Voila, you're done!

Oh, and a trick Shira suggested when we first made these this summer: We weren't sure if we had seasoned enough (we used italian seasoning in them, which is a great choice), so we just cooked up a bite or two of it and went from there. You can always remix more of whatever it's lacking and trial cook again or just go for it.

some morning humor (or not)

2009-03-27T08:45:00.000-04:00

What does ATM spell backward (and reflect)? MTA! Ba-dum-chink!

A not-so-funny joke for New Yorkers. The MTA is raising prices by 30% across the board while cutting service and jobs. In all honesty, I wouldn't mind cutting back on two meals out to afford the rise, but the service cuts and lack of safety and cleanliness from fewer employees is dangerous.

I think bailouts aren't usually the best bet, but the state government needs to realize the downward spiral that these cuts could cause.

All of this also makes apartment hunting even more difficult - I need to do some research on what lines are being cut all together or severely reduced. Fuuun stuff, eh?

mmm...

2009-03-26T21:58:00.002-04:00

Homemade nachos. Tonight, I walked away from the Haagen Daaz freezer at the bodega, even as the rainy cold weather was calling to veg out. Instead, I made some nachos at home.

Trader Joe's makes some delicious spicy soy flaxseed tortilla chips that have a nice protein/carb/fat balance. Top with leftover rotisserie chicken (I had to at least attempt to make it healthier) and LOTS of Trader Joe's light three cheese blend.

Ripe avocados, red onion, garlic, lime, lots of cilantro, salt and red pepper thrown in the blender gave me a nice guacamole. Although it's definitely not as good blended, I was too lazy to chop. The flavors were sort of off - I think the lemon juice I added and the lack of jalapeno, replaced with the red pepper flakes, weren't quite right - but the spicy chips helped.

Throw a few tablespoons of salsa into some fat free refried beans, warm it in the microwave, and there's dip option number two.

I must say my super-loaded nachos were yummy and not too horrible for you. I could have eaten the entire bowl of guacamole (two avocados), but I resisted, which is better than normal!

- - - - - -

Anyone feel like sponsoring an apartment broker? Working full-time (and not having access to gmail at work) is making the apartment search crappy. But I really can't afford another month's rent to pay a broker. >.< I just want to find a place soon, especially because I can tell the roommates (well, it seems like one in particular) is getting tired of the situation. And I'll be honest, I'm sort of ready for the change.

I really don't want to move (in terms of the physical process and money it costs), but the one roommate that seems over the brother situation is also a bit anal in general, especially about the kitchen. I'm tired of coming home at least once a week, if not more often, to find the kitchen looking bare. Which means that anything of mine that was on the counter is now thrown into the cabinet. Seriously, there was a glass bottle of olive oil just casually put on top of a basket of stuff. On a diagonal, pretty much ready to fall out when the cabinet was opened. It's just like, really? I much rather have a place organized than just "clean-looking". But I also just don't get the bare-kitchen look. I'm sorry, but why keep your oil, salt, etc in the cabinet if you're using it everyday? But I'm not so surprised...the bare kitchen look is what most upper-class white families who aren't big into cooking go for. I'd MUCH rather my kitchen be friendly to cooking than look totally and boringly uncluttered.

So, like I said, I'm sort of ready to move, if an affordable apartment in a safe area of Brooklyn (or even better, Manhattan) were to find me. And hopefully I can find some affordable movers, because I'm not doing this myself. Blah.

I can't say a whole lot...

2009-03-21T02:23:00.004-04:00

But I can say that I have a feeling that at work, I'm moving from "newbie intern" to "more experienced intern".

They're getting six new interns (if I heard correctly) on Monday. I'm moving from the intern computer/table to a desk/cubicle shared with another employee. The woman whose desk I'm taking over (temporarily?) left for maternity leave last Friday.

So...nothing official. But basically, in very vague terms, I feel like the door is opening, at least a crack, for something more to come from this internship. Which is quite, quite exciting.

Well there goes a month!

2009-03-16T21:23:00.002-04:00

Sorry everyone, but it seems like February and March have flown by. That is probably because:

- I'm working 40 hours a week
- Sara came up to see me during NCSU's Spring Break - Saturday Feb. 28th to Thursday March 5th. It was her first time in the city and it was really an amazing week. I love that girl, and I'm gonna miss her! (She got into Univ of Manchester for grad school! Go her!)
- Thursday March 5th, the evening Sara left, my younger brother Omar came up for an indefinite amount of time. He is looking to get a job at a restaurant in the city, and from the sounds of it, he does have an opportunity at this place called Centro Vinoteca. (Opportunity meaning today is his first day of work!)
- Saturday, Shira left for an indeterminate amount of time - at least until August? Which bums me out. The reasons she's going back to LA are absolutely fantastic ones, but I mean, she has a special place in my heart. She took me in last summer without knowing a whole lot about me and letting me totally invade her space and privacy.

So...what does that mean? Well, that probably means that we're going to look for a place together. My roommates are pretty badass, as is this apartment, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Omar and there is absolutely no reason he should live with some random sketchy find on Craigslist. Nor could he afford a studio (I mean, really, who can?!)

That's sort of scary...the prospect of moving again. The expenses, the general labor, finding a sublet for this apartment. But I spoke with Jessica and Jennifer tonight, and they're totally supportive. They understand the situation, with it being family, and aren't offended by the move, if it happens. So, that makes me feel better. They will also let anyone they know about the room being available.

Work has been really good. The week Sara was up here, a large group of Garan employees (designers, mostly) were trend shopping in Europe. So the week before was crazy, and these past two weeks, now that they're back, is sort of crazy. They bought tons and tons of clothes for trend research, and even more pictures, so there's a lot to sort through, hang up, print out, and on and on. I want to, at some point soon, try to discuss with Lori, my boss, about any openings for permanent employment and/or the general timeline as an intern. They seem completely open to me staying there as long as I want to - they have the need for an intern, and I think I'm doing a pretty good job. I just have absolutely NO idea how to approach the topic. And with everyone (including Lori) preparing for trend meetings (sometime at the end of March), it's probably not really the best time to do it.

If anyone has any suggestions whatsoever on the best way to do that whole thing - introduce the topic (of meeting), and then the meeting in general, my ears are open.

Besides being sick - a month in NYC being surrounded by sickies - at work, at the apartment - I finally got sick on Friday. So, let's hope it leaves me soon, kthx? Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, besides being sick and busy, um, not much else happening. I feel like such a grandma, especially on the weekends. I don't really go out, but I mean, especially Friday nights, I'm tiiiiiiired! It's exciting living here, but exhausting at times.

Oh, and a random high point of my evening? Even being sick, this recipe delighted my taste buds. If you're seriously jonesin for spring to get here and FAST, fix this. It helps.

Good night everyone. The old fart has to pack her lunch and get to bed before it gets much later!

I love baking for people...

2009-02-24T10:49:00.006-05:00

And cooking. It just makes me happy. And if it's a surprise? Even better!

I've been itching to bake recently. So, Sunday I picked up things I knew I needed (baking soda, brown sugar, chocolate chips) and decided I'd raid the pantry to come up with an idea. Also, I used the massive America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated cookbook we have.

What I came up with?

Banana, Salted Pecan Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups non-fat greek yogurt
1 cup frozen-thawed bananas (including liquid), pureed
3/4 cup chopped roasted salted pecans
1 (heaping) cup semisweet chocolate chips
Vegetable cooking spray for muffin tins

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, sugar and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Whisk yogurt and eggs together, add vanilla extract. Fold yogurt and eggs into dry mixture until just barely combined. Fold cooled butter into battter. At very end, add pecans, chocolate chips and pureed bananas into batter.

3. Spray twelve-cup muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray or coat lightly with butter. Use ice cream scoop to divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

Side notes - this recipe made 12 large muffins and about 20 mini muffins. I used muffin liners, as well. They all only cooked for 20-25 minutes. The recipe isn't exactly like the Cooks Illustrated one found online - the cookbook had slightly different directions. They could probably use the extra butter the online recipe included, and the online recipe said to cream the butter and sugar, using a mixer. Also, it called for low-fat yogurt, and I used non-fat greek yogurt because that's what I had in the fridge. But these turned out pretty good - they were delicious right out of the oven, and not quite as good as they sat. But that's expected, right?

All I know is that I brought in 9 large muffins and like 6 mini muffins to work, and in less than 3 hours, they're gone.

Mmmmm...dinner...

2009-02-18T20:26:00.003-05:00

That was tonight's dinner. That's the beef in cabernet stew with frozen peas throw in and a spoonful of mashed potatoes on top. The peas cook in the microwave in the stew, and I made the taters.

I got home and I was absolutely famished. As well as exhausted, and cold. We got a tiny bit of snow that turned into rain (and will continue to rain tomorrow) and it's just gross out. All I wanted was creamy, buttery (cheesy?) carby goodness. In reality, what I wanted was polenta - that's what Omar (my brother) cooks with the beef dishes, but I decided to raid the community pantry and found potatoes. And while I did eat probably the same amount or more potatoes as in the picture while I was making them, I feel like it's a respectable balance of something sort of good for you and something baaaad for you. :) (Because those potatoes have butter and half and half - the only decent fat level milk we had in the fridge - in them. )

Mmmmm....this may be lunch tomorrow since it's going to be icky.

ok...so...the job!

2009-02-16T16:57:00.003-05:00

Finally, a wrap-up of my first week at the new internship.

I work in Infant/Toddler Boys, and I work directly with a few people in the department, but pretty much do what's needed for whomever in IT Boys. The people I directly work with and almost everyone I have encountered seem like friendly, sane, intelligent folks.

There's a kitchen/lunchroom with four (?) tables, a big fridge, a coffee maker, vending machines, two microwaves and a sink. After spending the summer with a company that had none of the above (well, a sink), I really appreciate this! Also, the lunch room has been a nice place to meet people. Since I can take up to an hour (and at least 30 minutes) for lunch, if I want to be social, I can.

[There's one girl I've sat with twice - she's friends of this girl Jennifer who's from NC and is super friendly to me. Well, I'll see this one girl in the bathroom and such, and she never says a thing. So she's maybe the one "bitchy" encounter I've had so far. But whatever, I don't feel like I'm missing out on much by her not talking to me.]

So what do I do all day? Print photographs from trend research trips. I printed somewhere around ~400 pictures from the trend trip to LA Monday/Tuesday. I'm reprinting a good 200 back out because we cut a bunch up to make trend boards. And I do a *lot* of mounting and cutting. Basically, they make "life-size croquis" of shirts and pants when they can't get the sample back in time for a company so they print things out on those giant 40" fancy color printers. I have to use like 3" wide double stick tape, cover large cardstock boards with the tape, and smoothly apply the shirt to the board. Then I use scissors to cut the shirt out. Exacto it every once in a while to clean it up and reach where the scissors can't (particulary the arm hole).

I've also had to mount boards. Tuesday, this was not pretty. Basically, it's the same double stick tape and 20x30" foam board and paper. Completely cover the board (or paper) with tape, and attempt to smoothly attach it to the opposite item. And then trim it with the exacto (because it's not exactly 20x30"). Yeaaaah... So Tuesday, I had two to do. The first went fine. The second? I messed up FOUR times. And then it was 6pm.

BUT, by the end of the day, a coworker showed me what's now my favorite way to do it, and Wednesday/Thursday, I mounted two more boards problem-free! Also, the same coworker, who the board was for, stayed very nice the whole time I kept fucking up. I could tell she was frustrated by the end of Tuesday, but I was honestly surprised by how nice she was about it.

So...that's about it. Everyone got to leave early Friday (and it was a generally slow day). I'm listed as an "undefined" (time period) intern, which means there's a possibility they'll keep me on for the summer. While I'm very much searching otherwise, I am so thankful for this job! And who knows what might open up at Garan during this time... ;)

I am the definition of grace and intelligence in the kitchen

2009-02-16T16:36:00.003-05:00

Yeah friggin right.

So, the beef in cabernet - since it was stew beef and slow cooked for a solid 12 hours, it definitely turned into a wine stew of sorts. I wanted to reduce the wine sauce and help eliminate some of the alcoholic flavor of the wine, so I dumped it into a large pot from the slow cooker and turned the stove eye on. On for less than five minutes, I notice that some of the shredded beef, onions, carrots, celery deliciousness are already stuck to the bottom of the pan. >.< I figure I still need to reduce it, so might as well go for it. I add cornstarch mixed with broth to the mixture, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for a bit.

I do realize I could let it cook longer and get thicker, but by now, I'm just ready to be done. So, after it's cooled for a few minutes, start to transfer it to plastic containers. Boy am I smart when I try to pour a whole pot of stew into a container made to hold MAYBE half of the contents. It takes the container completely spilling over for me to realize this, and I don't think I've made a bigger mess.

Plus, the whole bottom of the pan is nicely scorched on. I pray I just didn't scrape too much off to give the whole freakin stew that lovely burnt flavor. It's finally in 4 small containers, cooling before I stick most of them in the freezer. God I'm glad the one roommate that had been around left to run for a while. I did NOT want anyone to see me being a complete retard.

Culinary suggestions

2009-02-16T13:55:00.002-05:00

[Seriously, later this afternoon, I will blog about Garan. <3]

I was a total slug Saturday...so to make up for it, I was up by 8am Sunday. Went to Trader Joe's, home by 1, back out to grocery stores in Astoria by 2 (after eating). I'm such a dork. I walked down to Key Foods for their cottage cheese sale, but on the way, stopped at Trade Fair and Top Tomato (more of a veggie/fruit store) to price check. I got a few things at Key Food and then stopped at TT and TF on the way back. I shopped at four freakin stores Sunday. :dork:

I had a few plans on things to cook - a slow cooker beef in Cabernet wine inspired by this delicious recipe my brother made on Thanksgiving (one of MANY things). And I think I'm going to attempt a slow cooker chicken curry today - chicken thighs, sweet potatoes, eggplant, maybe some chickpeas? and peas?... (Any ideas?) I'm sort of blending together this recipe and a slow cooker curry recipe from an America's Test Kitchen cookbook.

But last night, after getting the beef in the slow cooker, I also made roasted shrimp and broccoli. The recipe is found here, and I found out about it through The Amateur Gourmet. (He's so cute, imo...) I have a few issues with it - I thought my broccoli was cut small enough, but by the time the shrimp was done, the broccoli is still a bit too crunchy. I figure by the time I reheat it, the microwave may take care of that issue. But I'm trying to figure out how to dress it... It's been a while since I had actually had cumin and coriander, so the flavor was good but a bit unexpected. Any suggestions on things to dress it or what to throw in with it if I decide to make it into a salad? It's good but it's just missing... something.

So...the beef (it was a stew beef, with lots of carrots, onions, celery, garlic, bacon, a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon - $3 buck Chuck from TJ's) ended up cooking for 12 hours! And now it's cooling in the fridge. The plan is to skim off the fat and possibly reduce the wine down a bit more. :) I wish I could share the full Beef in Barolo recipe with you (I do have it...) but I will say, Cook's Illustrated is sort of worth the cost if you're a culinary type. As for the coming curry, I definitely want to do the sweet potatoes, eggplant, some onion, and throw some peas in at the end. Does anyone think chickpeas are a warranted add-in? Any other suggestions? Thanks!