today's cooking adventures.

So, I tried two new recipes today.  Sadly, neither of them came from cookbooks in the house.  But on the plus side, they were both delicious!

The first was dinner.  It was my first attempt as risotto and it was a success. I went with the basic recipe from about.com
The only personal touches I added were freshly grated Parmesan.  (I like good fresh cheese...I didn't want to use a handful of the powdery stuff.)  It called for a quart of chicken stock...I heated up some extra because it took a few additional ladles to get to the point where the rice didn't have at tough bite.  The stock I used was called 'tuscan' chicken stock. It had basil and oregano seasonings in it.  (It was the only one they had at the discount grocery...and at $1 per quart it was a good find.)

I topped it with some seared scallops....yum.

Dessert was a Mardi Gras King Cake...I was in the mood for one the other day and my friend Corey sent me a link to a simple recipe at allrecipes.com

Here it is before the second rise:

And here's the tasty goodness after the glaze and colored sugar.  I did have to make my own purple, since I couldn't find any.  It came out more grey than purple....but I think you get the idea of the Mardi Gras colors.  

 Smile cake: it's your close up!

And after the first slice....it was still warm when I cut it...

I highly recommend it with a cold glass of milk...but I'm sure it will be just as tasty with a cup of coffee in the morning.  It works for breakfast, right?

It was a good eating day.  And now it's time for bed.

Until the next post . . .

belated birthday post

So thankful to welcome into the last year of my 30s with many fond memories!

It was totally worth going to work...it began with a workout.  (which based on my food intake for the rest of the day was a really good thing.)

I enjoyed several of the mini cupcakes from my friend Chris...and shared the rest with co-workers and friends.  We went out for our usual cluster lunch...and I was highly encouraged to get the 'birthday special'....which was the colossal drink.  A larger than life mojito with four bendy straws and a glow in the dark plastic ice cube.  Woo...I had a little help with it...but not nearly enough.

I needed copious amounts of caffeine to get through the rest of the day.

Which continued in an excellent manner.  Calls from friends and family and the fun comments on Facebook.  Dinner was at The City Tap House.  If you are in the University City area of Philly you must check it out.  60 brews on tap and if you get a flight you can fill out a card with tasting notes :)

Tasty Jambalaya pizza for an appetizer and 1/2 chicken roasted on black beans for the main course.  Yum!

Dessert was a tasty Young's Double Chocolate Stout Ice Cream Float.

Then we waddled over to The Blockley for a great night of music.  A great small venue...a good crowd and we were a few feet from the stage.  We danced to the music of the New Sound Brass Band out of Philly....

Nothing compares to a stage with 6 trombones!  Good times...

We also danced until 1 to the sounds of Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers.  

What a wonderful night.

The next day was brought to you by a large coffee from Dunkin Donuts followed by a chai latte with a shot of espresso.

Several days later and I'm nearly caught up on my sleep...but again, totally worth it.

Thankful for the opportunity to celebrate.

D. Day.

I tell ya, I could get used to this sabbath thing.

After being pretty sick this past week, I was truly looking forward to shopping for my wedding dress today.  I got up early, had some breakfast a cup of coffee....and even completed a load of laundry before my good friend showed up for the best girl's day out, ever!

We started with frou frou coffee drinks at the local coffee shop and headed on our way to the first appointment.  With just one picture....and many, many ideas, we began to pluck dresses off the walls.  The first dress was a winner.  Then there were some others that just didn't look so good.
One would have been perfect if the wedding was in Greece.
Another would have been perfect if I was trying to look like a purse.
And then a beautiful one.  And it was a perfect fit.
But I wasn't totally sold.  That one came off and the first one went back on....and then a few more dresses.
The consultant working with me went 'upstairs' to look for a few more.
The first one, not so good.
And then....*the* dress.  A totally winner.  A perfect fit.  No alterations needed.
I wasn't totally sure about it and had another appointment after lunch, so we left it there and had some lunch.  5 minutes into lunch I knew it was the dress.
Luckily our lunch spot was less than 5 minutes away from the bridal shop.

Needless to say, I canceled the second appointment.  :)

So...now to look for a bouquet...I'm thinking paper flowers or fabric flowers...so they are easy to travel with...and to talk to my good friend Corey about some jewelry to wear on that special day.

I'm getting more and more excited!

To complete my sabbath day...I spent some time starting a puzzle, dropping off a package and some mail at the post office.
I tried on a few skirts and sweaters at the local goodwill....although it was weird not having someone help me get in and out of the clothes....and then picked up some Chinese take out for dinner.  With a few messages sent to girlfriends to get together over the next few weeks and a blog post, I'm calling it a day.

I think I'm ready for bed.

Until the next post . . .

Thankful.

A wonderful sabbath day was had yesterday.  

From a new haircut, to relaxing with my fiance, to a little tidying up in the kitchen, to dinner with good friends, and finishing off the day with some tasty home brew.  

It was a day that provided relaxation, friendship, good food, rest and time away from work.  

Yay for sabbath days.  

Today began early....and it was cold....but the first annual Frosted Chocolate Buns 5K was a success!  

The race was well received even with the freezing temps!  I was super thankful that I was able to run.  After over 3 months of rest due to Achilles Tendonitis, I was given the okay to run on Monday.  The tendon felt fine.  I started the race with friends of mine, but as we skirted around slush and ice, they bobbed and weaved ahead....and I didn't hustle to keep up.  It felt so good just to be out there.  I found my groove and stuck with it.  I'll be back running with them soon enough.  

I indulged in a map this afternoon, since I haven't run in 3 months I was pretty tired after the race. 

I did muster up the energy after worship to check out the Chocolate Festival at church.  I walked around the silent auction and placed a few wagers and hoped for the best.  After a second round of wagers I ended up winning one of the baskets.  It contained a nalgene bottle, power bars, and a three month membership to the local gym.  I'm pretty excited.  It looks like cross training and strength training is in my future.  Good times.  

Here's hoping you all are having some good days...some restful moments and daily joys.  

Until the next post . . . 

eggplant parm

Let me begin by saying that I had a pretty tasty eggplant parm on Sunday night when I was at the staff and council thank you dinner.

Luckily, I had picked up two of these last week:

The Book: (Thanks, mom for a gift from many years ago.)

The recipe: (p. 518)

Things were off to a good start. From the egg and flour (here's another purpose...coating eggplant)

To the frying stage....

Until the last batch....when apparently the pan was just too hot.  

The kitchen was a bit smoky, and the last two slices looked like this:

They may have been salvageable, but smelled so smoky and burn-ey that I just pitched them. As I've been watching a fair amount of Chopped and Top Chef, I've learned that it's better to leave it off the plate if it's not up to par.  

So the other slices went in the pan, topped with grated Parmesan, spaghetti sauce, and then some grated mozzarella.  

After baking for the allotted time, I turned on the broiler and finished it off.  

It came out looking like this: 

It was easy and tasty.

I had it alongside a tasty salad....

Chef's Notes:

It was yummy and it will be a repeat recipe with one major change.  

It was lacking in salt.  The only salt in the dish was in the parm directly on the eggplant before the sauce and baking. 

I have two thoughts, but am also open to other suggestions.

1) salt and pepper the flour before dredging the eggplant in it.

2) as soon as the eggplant is fried season them with salt (like you would onion rings)

 So, all you great chefs out there how/when would you salt it?  

Until the next post . . .

Best. Bars. Ever.

Last Friday night there was an epic baking experience in my kitchen.

Thanks to some good music and more importantly and awesomely cool sous chef....I mean friend, who was here visiting from New York we made the Best. Bars. Ever.
The Book:

The recipe: Margarita Cookie Bars (p. 223)

This was the first time I made a 'lemon bar' type recipe.  And having my dear friend Steph in the kitchen with me was the highlight of the evening.  

With all-purpose flour (what are all those purposes? see post script), powdered sugar and butter ready to go in the mixer, we began the base of the bars.  I started it up, went to check something in the other room and when I came back, it was to this:

The site of the flourpocalypse.   

The next morning I found some on the water pitcher.   

Luckily all the rest of the bar ingredients made it into the pan and into the oven.  

The next step was the margarita part stuff....Steph's first time zesting!  Watch out lime...

 Lots of zest means a naked lime. Or half a naked lime, the half-naked lime?  That would be a great name for a bar at the beach.  

There's the amazing Steph with the baked bars!

The only thing missing in that picture is the final touch of confectioners' sugar.  Yup, I did say confectioners' sugar.  You may have noticed above that the recipe called for powdered sugar.  It did.  The first half of the recipe called for powdered sugar and the second half called for confectioners'.  We had to check it several times.

It was so fun baking with a friend.

Until the next post . . .


Post Script.
Purposes for all purpose flour

Yeti making
Baking
Flourpocalypses
Flouring fingers
Leaving tracks showing where the cat has been
Showing exactly where you brushed up against the counter in a black shirt
Making it snow inside (or out)

This certainly can't be all the purposes, so feel free to make additions to this list.

Baby steps.

Drum roll please.....

I went for a walk today.  Nothing uber-strenuous.  I didn't time it nor did I push myself to go super fast. I was just feeling incredibly stir crazy this morning and knew that I needed to get out.

It felt great.  Not just the fresh air, but also the time to pray, think and reflect.  I plotted out some of the trek that I'll be leading at the YouthQuake this weekend and pondered my newsletter articles and upcoming events.

I saw a fellow who I used to pass by on a regular basis back when I was running and biking more regularly.  He said, "You're walking now, huh?"  I told him about my tendon and the 3 months of rest and how I hoped to get back into being out and about by walking first.  He touched me on the arm as he said it was good to see me.

So often I talk about the affirmation of my call to serve in this place.  The affirmations are not so much the 'nice sermon, pastor' comments, but the connections that I see throughout the community.

I'm thankful for those brief moments where a smile or conversation is shared....and the presence of God is in the midst of it.

In other news, I go to the doctor next week to see how my tendon looks.  It hasn't ached for over a week which is a good sign.  I'm hoping that I can get back into movin' and groovin' a few days a week with some strength training a few other days and feel a little more human again.  But it's one day at a time.

Until the next post...