Photoshop!

Oh the joys of photoshop.

http://m3.torispics.com/piles/?s=baphotoshop

Be on the look out for additions as well as subtractions.

Waffles!

I've been watching Good Eats again, and you know what happens when one of us does that. GE 09x09 The Waffle Truth has reminded me, yet again, that we need to make waffles from scratch. AB's recipes are generally a good place to start, and so I give you, for easy reference:

The Basic Waffle:
1 cup AP flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 whole eggs, beaten
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

While the waffle iron is preheating, in a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (include the sugar). In another bowl beat eggs and melted butter together until smooth, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet to the dry and stir until lumpy but combined. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.

…We already know how to cook waffles, etc... Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

The Chocolate Waffle!:
1.5 cups AP flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 whole eggs, beaten
1/2 stick of butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

While the waffle iron is preheating, in a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (include the sugar, but not chips). In another bowl beat eggs, melted butter, and vanilla together until smooth, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet to the dry, then add the chocolate chips and stir until lumpy but combined. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.

…We already know how to cook waffles, etc... Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

If you prefer, the ounce measurements and the full directions are available in the original recipes. Mmmm, time to go make waffles... in a week.

winter break cooking To Do list

Our most important plans for time together generally revolve around cooking and food, so it should come as no surprise that this winter break will be no different. We often put off doing or trying things until we're together, and thus there develops a "to do" list. Fun and exciting items for the upcoming holiday include:

Pepperoni Rolls (I've been thinking about that one for a month or two)

Pecan Dreams (before I get nagged into an early grave)

Cheesepie (comparison to test sour cream layer vs. substitution thereof by vanilla yogurt)

Biscuits (You know the ones. /reference GE 01x07 The Dough Also Rises)

That Wonderful Stuffed Chicken Breast that Banik Makes (aka How the Woman was Won)

Hand Pies (Second go, expecting good things. /reference GE 09x12 A Pie in Every Pocket)

Sweet Potato Fries (which are on Banik's list but were also discussed the other night seperately)

Cinnamon Twirls (which may or may not be linked to pie or pot pie as is generally proper)

Rainbow Trout (with lemon chive butter?)


Various other things of equal awesomeness which have not yet been devised. That is all.

"A recipe to try" Turns into a rambling to do list

Well folks, here we go.

I'm tired, procrastination, and crunched for time. I'm giving a thesis presentation to a room full of peers and faculty in about 12 hours, so what am I doing?

Looking at recipes on various foodie blogs, of course.

So, as such, this is going to be a disjointed post of a to do list of things I find appealing.

First, I should try some smoked-salmon and lemon fettucini alfredo.

Second, oriental salad dressing, dipping sauce, cole slaw sauce (nappa), and marinade:
1 Sesame Oil
2 Soy Sauce
2 Rice Vinegar
x Red pepper flakes
x crushed ginger
x crushed garlic
x peanut(butter) for the thai flavor

Third, Sweet Potato Fries.

Four, quinoa? Quinoa/blackbean/corn/cilantro/lime juice/cucumber/onion/tomato salad? Just learn more about quinoa.

Five, soy based butters and cheeses? What? I suppose I'll try them.

Six, Eat more turkey. Turkey's Tasty.

Seven, this cinnamon roll recipe is rather Spectacular. I've made them... 2? 3? times? Once or twice with Alison. They're Really Good. Throw together some cream cheese frosting (which I'll put up an excellent recipe for next time I make it and write proportions down... seriously.) Ok, it looks like the link got lost somewhere. I'll post it when I get back to school.

Eight, Look! It's a rollertoaster! http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/appliances-small/jaren-gohs-rollertoaster-015192

Nine, wait wait wait. Uni isn't sea urchin roe, but rather sea urchin Gonads? WTF is this?

Ten, this is sweet!
http://www.artisansweets.com/product/bee-raw-varietal-honey-flight

Eleven, this page shows you what 200 calories look like... irl.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-200-calories-look-like.htm

Twelve, I should try to use miso paste more. I bet it has all sorts of handy uses.

Thirtenn,

¼ Cup Apricot Preserves
¼ Cup Peach Preserves
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
5 teaspoons white vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons corn starch
½ teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon yellow mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons water

Puree everything but the water. Add the puree and the water to a saucepan, boil for 5m and let cool.

Ok. That's it for now.

Ciao.

A brief hiatus

Well, November 17th was the day Thanksgiving Break began. After returning, it seems like our lives have been filled with work and not-posting.

We'll be back.

Sometime.

ice shot glasses?

Sometimes a product seems like a really good idea until you think about its practicality. Case in point: Ice Shot Glasses.

Now I'm sure that those who like to drink probably have seen these before, but since I don't it shouldn't come as a surprise that I'd not heard of them before last week. I wasn't so much thinking of putting alcohol in them as figuring out what else I could do with them. I've only found two decent looking versions: that above and this one. I seriously considered getting a mold for Banik, but then the logic invaded.

Sure they keep things cold, but they also melt. So whether it's a dipping sauce or pickled ginger it's just going to get watered down even though it stays pleasantly chilled. You could make them out of different things, but then what?

Perhaps if you intend to eat the cup all along. Of course, then it has to be something soft enough to eat. Maybe if they were made out of jello and actually escaped the molds intact they could be filled with something. I wonder if you could fill them with homemade ice cream and then fill the inside with what you'd usually put on top? Still doesn't seem useful enough.

Ah well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Other People's Pets

Being in a transient stage in life is annoying for a lot of reasons. The most irritating part of this, after not being able to live with Banik in our own place, is that I can't really have pets. So long as you love them and care for them, pets are little bodies of unconditional love; everyone should have a pet. Fortunately for me other people have pets, and sometimes I get to see them.

At Home there are three cats and a dog- more or less my parent's pets. My family can drive me bonkers, so I often prefer the company of the critters. They probably adore me because I play with them more than my family does, the Bear (our Golden Labtriever) especially so because I'm the only one who lets him run and wonder around in the yard.

On an infrequent basis I also see people's dogs here at school and the pair of Jack Russells that Banik's parents keep. My favorites here are Haley, the loveably droopy-faced Basset Hound of our ancient architectural history professor, and Lucha, the enthusiastic chihuapug of a couple I've been in school with since undergrad. Other students and faculty have dogs that they bring in, but those two stand out for their friendly qualities. In a place as depressing as this a visit from anyone's pet generally does wonders for moral.

As for me, I have some plants to check on. My plants love me.