Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie. I'm not out of season, YOU'RE out of season.

Usually, strawberry-rhubarb pie would be something to eat early in the summer.  If you grow rhubarb, you know it's best to pick it before the end of July.  However, I inherited a MASSIVE rhubarb plant from the last inhabitant of this place and it needed trimmed back.  Badly.  So while we were pulling the large green stalks off of the plant, I saved a few of the smaller, pinker ones in the center to make a pie with.

Now, I think rhubarb pie is gross.  And I think strawberry pie is gross.  Somehow, when you mix the two together, they become some sort of delicious magical treat.  The tartness of the rhubarb mixes with the sweetness of the strawberries and they balance one another out.  Next time I will probably go ahead and add the tapioca like most recipes suggest.  Corn starch and flour don't work like they do for apple pie, because the berries and rhubarb become extremely liquid.  Fortunately for me, most of the liquid spilled out into the pie pan where slices had been removed and left the actual pie, keeping it from turning into a soggy mess.

Pies- now with better lighting!

I used all the rhubarb and strawberries I had (a whole pound of strawberries!) and I think it still could have used more filling, but it was pretty tasty.

 *****

In other news our move to Sellwood has gone mostly very well.  A friend helped us with big furniture, but we have done most of it ourselves without any help.  Both of us have lost enough weight carrying things up the steps here to afford eating pie for breakfast.  We are not quite done yet but we will be probably by the end of the week.

A strange phenomenon has occurred, though.  Balloon and Furball no longer fight.  They are more like partners in crime, now.  They are both allowed to go outside (collars on, during daylight) and they seem a thousand times happier for it, though they act like snotty teenagers and pretend not to know us when they are outside.  All calls and temptations with food or treats fall on deaf ears until they are good and ready.

There are lots of other neighborhood cats, too.  Word traveled fast in the cat community, and once I gave treats to one, more came to say hi!  The neighbors have a tiny grey cat named Priscilla.  She might weigh 5 pounds and I think she's an adult.  Another cat without a name tag (Just a Multco registration tag) came to say hi.  I couldn't believe it; he was a beautiful cross-eyed Balinese!  Furball doesn't like the Balinese...colorpoint envy?  Zach said other cats had come during the day while I was at work, so I think there will be more.

For now here's a picture of our dining room, still not totally unpacked.  (Enlarge the picture, we totally have a framed photo of Ms T and her husband from our wedding.)

Today. I cooked. My face off.

Misery loves company cooking.  Lots of things have me down lately.  Bad attitudes.  Bad appraisals.  Boredom.  Illness.  If all my stuff wasn't boxed up, I would normally clean every inch of my apartment.  Since that would be pointless, today I cooked.  Everything.  Mostly foods I like.  And I didn't take pictures, because these are comfort foods.  They ain't pretty.  And my camera has sand it in from that time I took it to the river, so I'm getting a little help from creative commons photos nabbed from wikipedia.  Here goes.

First up were some pickled beet eggs.  This time I used fresh beets instead of canned, and the results are pending.  I can't imagine much of a difference, except I suspect the fresh beets will be more flavorful.  Why do people skydive or run marathons or choose natural child birth?  Just to say they did it?  I suspect this will be the case with my pickled beets.  I used five out of the six eggs I had. ***Update:  These are the best pickled beet eggs I have ever had.  I added a cinnamon stick and it was definitely worth it.

How my mousse would look if I took a picture.   With weird leaves and sticks.   From Wikimedia.

One egg was used in my recipe for Chocolate Mousse.  Right out of the same cookbook I've been using, Quick Foods.  It came out kind of heavy, so I'm not sure what I would do next time (whipping the cream before adding it?).  The recipe was kind of strange in that the ingredients called for coffee liqueur, but nowhere in the instructions did it mention when to add it.  No worries folks, it made its way in there.  Tasting more like ganache, I could only eat half a serving.  It's delicious but has that "I'm frickin' terrible for you" heavy chocolate flavor.

One thing I did here, and it was totally for convenience, was to spoon the mousse into the smallest gladware containers you can buy, which is a 4 oz size, and topped with a little homemade whipped cream.  It's perfect because each container has a lid to keep it fresh.  Not terribly classy, but it might just be if you are the only one bringing a french dessert in your lunchbox at work.

Along the lines of pickled items, I used a can of salmon I had to make an easy pickled salmon + onions.  I remember liking it a lot as a kid, and my grandma gave me instructions on how to make it once.  All the recipes I looked up called for fresh salmon (duh) but I'm not about to use that until I've tried it once Grandma's way.  The salmon in the can was kind of yucky to me (pre-pickling), but Mr. Furball didn't mind the extra bits.

baby salmon are as adorable as their parents are delicious. Around
here, you can visit a salmon hatchery to see them jumping "upstream" into water jets.

I also made salmon dip. This is good because my eye doctor told me to eat lots of oily fish for my eyes. Cream cheese-based dips are easy if you have a food processor.  This recipe also came from my book, but dips like this are common and involve the following:

• Some kind of fish.  Smoked Trout, Smoked Salmon, maybe crab?  I'm pretty serious about oily fish, so I might try herring someday.  Maybe a combo?  I found that salmon comes in 4, 8 and 12 oz packages.  4 oz is really enough.
• Cheese.  I used cream cheese.  Try Neufchatel, it's got less fat.  I was going to but I couldn't make a solid decision at the store.  1 box of 8 oz is enough.  (get the box rather than the tub so you can slice it and use it in your food processor)
• Seasonings.  People like dill with Salmon.  Lemon Pepper is also a good choice with fish. Do what you love.
• I added plain yogurt.  It's tangy and made of awesome.   This made my dip thinner and more spreadable. 
• Capers.  In case you used smoked salmon.  They are like eating sad, pickled flowers.  Well, that is literally what they are.  Don't put them in, they are more of a topping.

Process these.  If you are awesome, serve it in a bread bowl.

Side note:  The Pacific Northwest and Alaska are famous for having lots of salmon in general.  Think that would make smoked salmon cheap here?  No it does not.  Still the most expensive item on my list, save perhaps the jumbo bottle of Kahlua I bought to make the mousse. 

How do I feel now?  It doesn't matter, I have dishes to do.

Fishy Goodness. (warning: educational)

Less is more...but sometimes it's not.

My friends are going on a road trip this weekend. You know, without me.  Being short on funds, finding food on a road trip might be a tad difficult.  Baking to the rescue.  Sometimes baking can be healthy...or at least a [somewhat] nutritious replacement for food.

Enter oatmeal cookies.  Well not JUST oatmeal.

Oatmeal-Raisin-Currant-Sesame Cookies.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-i/detail.aspx  + Replace half the raisins with dried currants.  Add sesame to your personal taste.  I just shook in the seeds, but you'll need at least a tablespoon.  Sesame seeds, while high in fat, also add fiber, small amounts of calcium and totally delicious flavor to your cookies.  I found that making one inch round balls and no bigger produced a bite-sized cookie with a crisp bottom perfect for snacking.  Ms. T might call this "portion control".

Blackberry Recipes for Indian Summer

Its a well-known secret that in August in Oregon, blackberries grow everywhere.  You can pay to U-pick them at a farm (along with blueberries and raspberries), but lots of people know a place where they grow wild.  Indeed I have my own secret spot; an almost unlimited supply of them during the month of August. And if you don't mind tearing your clothes and getting minor flesh wounds from thorn poke-age, you should look yourself!  No, I won't tell you where.  Not a chance.

So given pounds and pounds of blackberries, what would YOU make?

Cobbler:  For my cobbler, I used an old standard, Betty Crocker.  Its like a batter+fruit.  I found out I don't really like cobbler, but my husband liked it.  He's not really hard to please.

Pie:  Yesterday I made a pie.  I used this one.  I added peaches as well.  Do take the advice of the reviewer who added lemon juice, it adds much needed tartness to the pie.

Crisp:  This is still in the works, though I have to admit that its a much healthier dessert than pie.  Using rolled oats and 1/3 the butter, its a great alternative for those on a diet.  Updates later on the taste.

Don't have a blackberry patch?  Substitute frozen.  While I probably wouldn't eat frozen blackberries raw, when they are cooked there isn't really a noticeable difference...

Kawaii Meringues.

It's easy to make tiny meringues!

2 egg whites
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (this one is pretty optional, I still think it would work without)
pinch salt.


Preheat oven to 280 degrees F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.


Beat egg whites until foamy and gradually add sugar.  Add vanilla, cinnamon, salt, cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.  This process might take about 15 minutes or more, depending on your mixer

Using a small spoon or an icing bag + tip (preferable), make cookies 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter.  Smaller cookies become crunchier, while larger cookies remain chewy in the middle.  Leave a little bit of space between each one, they puff up slightly while baking.

Bake 20 minutes or until cookies slide off of the parchment easily.  They may crack a bit, this is normal.

Become addicted.

Midnight snack II...

Attention science geeks, stoners, pregnant women, and Portal fans:  Holy shit, you can make cake in a mug.  In minutes.  Yes you can.  No, really, you can.

How does it taste?  We liked it.  Not as good as regular cake, kinda spongy, chocolatey.  I admit it would probably be 100 times better with chocolate chips, as the recipe suggests.  Some reviewers say there is too much cocoa; this may be true as it was quite strong.  Don't try to cut out any sugar, it won't taste right.  And don't burn your tongue, it's pretty hot.

Cupcake Update.

Cupcakes up close.

Sugar shapes tutorial.

Happy 4th of July!

70-odd mini cupcakes chilling in my fridge for the Harrison Towers 4th of July celebration tomorrow.  Eggless chocolate "depression" cake batter with standard vanilla buttercream frosting piped onto them.  Sugar star shapes made by hand.

Naturally I had cupcake ingredients in lieu of any sort of dinner tonight.  Tummy not feeling so great.  Probably won't actually have any baked ones tomorrow.  I really wish I could un-eat all that icing.

Not pictured:  Two weiner-y cats who are hiding from fireworks.

Laziness pie.

Yesterday I decided to make a pie.  I think I was in a good mood because it was sunny and Zach and I had a day off together.  Sadly, none of those things were still true today.  And some bad kids gave me a cold.  Oops, I meant "some kids gave me a bad cold".

But at least I still have my pie...I have to say I'm getting great at all butter crusts.  I don't use shortening usually because it's supposed to be terrible for you.  Butter is real, etc.  I just think it tastes better, really.   I find after getting used to an all-butter crust, putting in shortening makes it super bland.  That being said, it's been a long time since my last pie, and I just looked up a random all-butter recipe as a refresher.  After I had made it, I realized it was for only one crust!  Crap.  It was 10:30, I had to get up for work, and I still wanted pie.

Dutch apple pie to the rescue!  Five stars, indeed.  I may never make a regular two-crust pie again.  I did cut way back on the nutmeg, though.  Because ew, nutmeg.  I think I shook the shaker once on top of 5 cups of apples just to say it was in there.  Why is it called Dutch Apple Pie anyway?  I'm guessing it has more to do with Pennsylvania Dutch and less to do with Netherlands Dutch.

I tend to bake pies on top of a cookie sheet in case they leak...

 I'm gonna need ideas for strawberry-rhubarb soon.  Sounds like a great summertime pie.

The big 64

The other day I bought 64 ounces of plain yogurt.  I've been eyeing up this jumbo tub of Nancy's for a while, but searching for something new to inspire me I went right ahead and bought it last week.  So, other than eating it covered in honey and frozen black raspberries (they were much more delicious-and a whole lot less money- back when I got them from grandma's back yard!) what in the world do you do with that much yogurt?

Well to start, you're going to want to whip yourself up a batch of this amazing low-fat pasta salad.  Its a bit summery, but that's what one needs in late January.  I found when I was making it that I had only about two tablespoons of mayonnaise left, so I just used more yogurt to replace it.  I also only had tomatoes, onions, and celery, but those seemed to work really well in this. I added feta cheese, and believe me, you'll want to.  It adds such a great texture to the yogurt dressing.  If you don't like feta, I'd still try adding just a bit of Parmesan cheese.  Don't forget lots of salt and pepper, but other than that it doesn't need much!  Its very similar to a pasta salad they sell where I volunteer and I'm constantly addicted to it.

This was great but I'll probably never eat red onions again...talk about two days of the worst stomachache possible!

Remember that cheap ice cream maker I bought last year? That's right, I'm way ahead of myself in terms of the seasons!  The husband and I happen to frequent those by-the-ounce frozen yogurt shops that cost a fortune.  Let me tell you, for less than one trip to a yogurt shop you can make yourself a pint and a half of creamy goodness and it is incredibly easy.  I found this recipe, and quickly whipped some up.  In less than an hour I had amazing frozen yogurt.

They claim you can't use low-fat yogurt, but guess what? You can. And its good.  Maybe not as creamy as ice cream, but it certainly beats those soft-serve places.  The yogurt plus the toppings ran us under 10 dollars, and we still have some left after a delicious and healthy dessert.

The recipe calls for greek yogurt but I used regular american-style plain yogurt.  Its very tangy and delicious and I can only imagine what using Fage would do for this yummy stuff.

The toppings are mini-mochi...we got them at our local asian market.  They're soft and chewy and make a great topping for ice cream and fro-yo.

So now maybe I feel a little snazzier than I did last week...but I still have some yogurt to eat!

Fall Favorites...

Whoever told me fall isn't as nice in the Pacific Northwest as back east must have been confused...It's just as nice and much, much longer.  Up until yesterday it has been in the 60's and partly cloudy.  Its grey now but the leaves have been colorful on the trees for weeks now,and it doesn't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon.

So of course, its time for a great sweater and some fall favorite recipes.  Disclaimer:  Cooking with fresh pumpkin is not for the faint of heart.  It takes all day and gets pretty messy, even if you cheat and roast it in the microwave instead of the oven.  That being said, I definitely recommend getting the small, flavorful pie-type pumpkins rather than cooking with a large jack-o-lantern type pumpkin.  I always like to cook with my jack-o-lantern, but cooking with smaller ones bred for pies makes an incredible difference.

Last week I made one of my favorite soups:  Creamy Thai Pumpkin Soup.

This soup is great, especially if you're a fan of tom kha gai or other thai food.  Some advice, however:  If you put all the ingredients in at the beginning as the recipe suggests, it ends up rather bland.  What I will do next time is actually cook the pumpkin in the broth, then later add some crushed garlic, lemongrass, coconut milk and other ingredients (its really good if you add fresh ginger, too) right before its done cooking.  While it cools, the ingredients will flavor the soup, and you won't lose any of the boldness. Also, please try to avoid the problem I always have:  missing some of the lemongrass before I puree it, which leaves it really stringy (a note about lemongrass:  even though the recipe doesn't really mention this, you do have to remove it. It won't puree smoothly no matter how long you try).

My second favorite pumpkin recipe is the best one to share.  These Easy Pumpkin Muffins are great to take to fall potlucks, family Thanksgiving dinners, classes, meetings, or work.  People will love you, just don't tell them they take almost no effort to make.

I love the orange color that it turns when you add the pumpkin!

Follow the recipe exactly.  The batter will be thick, but don't add eggs or oil.  They don't actually need it, and if you do your muffins will end up too wet.  I've tried this with Trader Joe's baking mix as well with limited results.  I know its bad for you and blah blah blah but it is just best with a Duncan Hines mix.  Add walnuts and top them with brown sugar for a crunch.

I also made mine mini, they're better for sharing.

I've been busy! (cookie preview)...

I've been so busy!  Right now I'm in Pittsburgh getting ready for the biggest day of my life.  I haven't had time to take pictures or post anything, but Ms. T has.  Here's her blog post, I hope you find it interesting!

The Silver Linings Saga

Lemon Sorbet

Lately I have been experimenting with a Donvier ice cream maker I bought at Goodwill last winter.  Its the kind where you freeze the cylinder overnight and then add your ingredients and turn the paddle.  Its a little difficult to get to know at first, and your freezer must be on the coldest setting possible.   Not doing so has resulted in one ice cream disaster (last Halloween), and one coconut sorbet disaster (last week, we still ate it, it was good but chunky.)

This time it worked!

Behold my latest summer dessert:  lemon sorbet.  Its an excellent treat for a summer evening.  No fat, filled with fruit juice and quite an excellent taste.   This recipe has half the sugar of the previous coconut one, which I found much too sweet.  So if you find yourself with an ice cream maker, or if you want to make sorbet with a blender or food processor, I highly recommend this one!

Don't like lemon?  Here's my Coconut-lime sorbet(vegan):

1 can Coconut Milk
Zest of 1 lime
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 - 1 Cup sugar
1 Cup water

Add the sugar to the water and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the water is reduced by half.  Remove from heat add the coconut milk. Put the lime zest in a tea ball and let it sit in the mixture that you have just created. Chill in the refrigerator.  Remove the teaball.  For extra lime-y flavor and tang add a little of the lime juice.  Pour into your sorbet-creation device.

recipe for lemon sorbet
no ice cream maker? no problem.

Sweet Potato Pie

I'm really against wasting food, and now that I can afford to just buy more food, I'm trying extra hard to not be wasteful.  So, what to do with 2 extra sweet potatoes in your fridge?  Well you could bake them, or you could bake them into a PIE. This was my first attempt at sweet potato pie, and my first pie for at least six months.  The crust is an all-butter recipe.  Its crispy and I like it, but it might be worth it to try one with shortening in the future.  The recipe is much like pumpkin pie, but working with fresh sweet potatoes is much more managable than either a pumpkin or a butternut squash.  Easy to make in an evening with ingredients you probably have already, great for the holiday weekend.  Happy 4th of July!

 

Black Rice Pudding - Say Whaaaat?

I really love rice pudding, but I can no longer have dairy, especially milk.  My favorite recipe called for lots of it, so I stopped making it a few months ago.

A few days ago while shopping at Whole Foods in the bulk section I noticed some unusual black rice.  Its called "Forbidden Rice", supposedly because it was forbidden for anyone except the Emperor to eat (according to Wikipedia, anyway).  I had to have some, and besides, it was on sale.  But the main problem:  what does one make with black rice?  Originally I was looking for a savory recipe to serve with salmon, but when I saw one for black rice pudding I couldn't say no.

Uncooked black rice.  Soak 1 hour in water before you cook it!

The recipe for black rice pudding calls for very few ingredients, using coconut milk instead of dairy. With just the rice, coconut milk, sugar, salt and water, you can whip up an easy and delicious pudding for yourself in about 2 hours.  

Topped with some coconut milk-yum!

The resulting pudding is purplish-black in color.  Its very chewy, filling and slightly sweet.  High in saturated fat, but also high in minerals including iron, this pudding can be eaten for dessert or even breakfast.  I can tell that this recipe would also be great with other kinds of rice, like brown or even white or sticky rice.  Next time I might add a touch more sugar because I think puddings should be a tad sweeter than this was.

Ugh I haven't finished any knitting projects recently.  I really need to get going with them, I have a few started already that I'm looking forward to finishing but its so very hard to knit when its not cold out...