Edible Geometry.

Now you can have your Fibonacci sequence and eat it, too.

This is Romanesco.  Its a type of cauliflower that looks like it's from another planet.  I first saw it at the Portland Farmer's market a few weeks ago, but I didn't buy any because I had no idea what it was or how to cook it.  I ran into Romanesco again at Trader Joe's the last time I went shopping.  Trader Joe's version comes in a bag with regular cauliflower and in general is foolproof to prepare...And a perfect example of golden section geometry.

How's it taste?   Its a cruciferous vegetable, so its flavor is about halfway between broccoli and cauliflower (as you might guess).  Next time I'll get some to steam myself!

Getting steamy in the pan.

Gobble it up.

A Turkey is a strange animal.  If done correctly, it is also a tasty animal.  I was commissioned to prepare a turkey for my neighbor this Thanksgiving, but I hardly ever cook meat.  At first I was definitely apprehensive, but after some recipe research I was ready to give this traditional holiday bird a go.  The bird turned out great, but I still have plenty of improvements to make before I'm a turkey pro.

I started with this recipe from allrecipes, which suggests brining the turkey in a saltwater solution overnight before cooking it.  The brining process allows the turkey to absorb water and results in a perfect, juicy turkey.  In an ideal world, you have a stock pot large enough to submerge the turkey, but instead I had to do half at a time.  Each side probably only got about 6 hours of brining time, but in the end it seemed like enough. Next year maybe I'll have a bigger pot.  

15 pound turkey brining.

For the stuffing, the recipe suggests stuffing the turkey with chopped carrots, celery and onion.  I found that even after cooking the turkey for 4 hours, the stuffing didn't get cooked...so next year for stuffing I would probably prepare an oven-style stuffing separate from the bird.  I have heard that simply putting a halved lemon or orange inside the turkey will also keep it moist, and I'd definitely like to try that.  Cutting up all those vegetables was too much work for something I couldn't eat, even if I used the Vidalia chopper.

The prepared stuffing mix.

I made a few more changes to the recipe.  Instead of fresh thyme, I used fresh rosemary because its growing outside and it was readily available.  I also already know that I like rosemary and turkey together.  I'm not sure about thyme though I'd like to try it someday.

Cooking the turkey breast-down definitely helps keep it moist, however the recipe suggests turning the bird 3/4 of the way through.  Be prepared for this to be incredibly difficult, as turkeys tend to be heavy.  We accomplished it somehow.  I also removed the stuffing and  turned the oven up to 400 for the last 20 minutes of cooking to make sure the inside was done. (I decided to do that because once I discovered the stuffing wasn't done, I was worried about the inside of the turkey may also have been undone.  I hope next year to have both a meat thermometer and a turkey baster.)

The finished bird!  I don't have any pictures of it carved, sadly.  It was very
very juicy though! 

Unfortunately I turned down the carcass at the end...I just don't have enough time right now to make turkey stock.  I did bring home a lot of extra meat, so turkey chili is in order for later this week.

New hat...and a new cat!

My latest knitting project is Super Cupcake.  Its one of the first non-free patterns I have actually finished.  The price tag for this pattern and two neckwarmer-type scarves is $5 $4.  Honestly, I think that's a little pricey for the simplicity of this pattern, which only consists of 1x1 rib and "shaker rib" which has a bunch of other names, but is also a very simple stitch to do. That being said, I do recommend putting a safety line every inch or so while knitting, because if a stitch is dropped in this pattern, it is nearly impossible to fix. I am pleased with the hat, but if I were doing it over, I would just have tried to find a similar free pattern.

At least I finished it just in time to lose my other hat...

We'd also like to welcome a gorgeous  new member to our family!  Balloon is 2 1/2 year old tortoiseshell domestic shorthair.  She's so much different from our first cat.  All cuddle and no play!  She's from Washington State, so we can forgive her for being a little weird.

No, she's not stuck in a Tron-style video game environment... she's hiding under the bed from Furball!

Balloon is a little bit of a pushover, so she's afraid of Furball, who is still hissing at her every time he passes by.  Luckily for us, she's too laid back and aloof to escalate the drama between the two in any way, so we've had no fighting or caterwauling.  She's been hiding though, which means that if we want to see her, we have to lock Furball up for a few hours so she'll come out from underneath the furniture.  Its going to take some adjustment, but we hope the two will be friends someday.

She may look chunky, but her jowls are pure fur!  

We know she's found the furrlosipher's stone...she's turning half of herself into gold!

November comfort foods...

Last night's acorn squash was a complete improvisation -- er, I mean success.  I was certainly inspired by this:

Pioneer Woman Cooks - Sweet-Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash
and this:  Uggh, Martha.

But in the end I mixed butter(nobody will be upset if you sub vegan margarine or olive oil) and brown sugar, used a bit of dried rosemary (I'm too lazy to go downstairs and grab the rosemary growing by the pool), salt, pepper and 1 shallot chopped coarsely.  The last time I roasted acorn squash, I only used brown sugar and butter and it was certainly delicious.  This time, however I wanted a little more flavor, and I was pleased with the results.
Note about roasting squash: A lot of recipes will have the acorn squash just cut in half so that a delicious pool of brown sugar and butter forms in the middle...that's what I did last time, and its great for dipping, but we found the process of eating it just too messy.  Its really up to you.

As a side, my own favorite quinoa with walnuts and onions.

Speaking of quinoa, this morning I made something different for breakfast:  Quinoa Porridge.  Its very good, but I never add any extras until the end of my cooking.  Heat can destroy vanilla especially.  I have heard that adding sugar affects the way grains cook(no idea if its true), so just to be safe I left that out until the end, too.  Besides, it's always better to sweeten something after you've tasted it.  Its really hearty, and great topped with thawed frozen berries.  One recipe equals about one serving, or two small ones.

Yes, I made the bowl, too.

Hey I think both of these are gluten-free, too...

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.

October...a memorable month.

The month started of well with the discovery of  this delicious cabbage salad.

I learned how to crochet!

Tess and I made wedding cookies!

In front of the Stephen Foster Memorial.

Zach and I got married at the Zenith Vegetarian Cafe in Pittsburgh!

Halloween is my favorite holiday.  Happy birthday Dad!

Right now I'm cooking up my favorite pumpkin recipes just in time for Thanksgiving.  That, of course, means TONS OF PUMPKIN!  Today, I turned my lovely jack-o-lantern into a delicious soup.  (You have to keep it wrapped up in the fridge after Halloween if you want to cook with it.  Don't cook with one that's been on the porch for days)

Links:
Our Wedding Photographer's Album
Dad's wedding pictures
http://www.zenithpgh.com/

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