Comfort Food

Ah, reality.  As much as I would like to stay immersed in my jet lag and the musings of my trip, life intrudes. Sigh.

My mom (you've read about her here before - she's the one who loves to cook, entertain her friends and drink lots of wine) called me the other day to tell me she has to have a root canal.  Apparently she went to her dentist, got diagnosed with an abcess of some sort or another and ended up with an appointment (in very short order) with some specialist who told her it would cost $1,100.  AND, she would need to spend an additional $1,000 later for a crown.

Henry and I don't normally intrude, but this didn't sound right.  To make a long story short, we got her to cancel the appointment (which was scheduled for this morning) and re-routed her to our dentist (that would be Jerry Richman here in Atlanta).  He's painless and he rocks ... well, as much as a dentist can.

He immediately started her on antibiotics, subscribing to the theory that the infection needs to be under control before any oral surgery.  What were those other folks thinking?  Additionally, he told her the cost would be closer to $800 and he could probably do a post-procedure for $200 which would eliminate the need for an expensive crown.  And also, he will work out a payment plan with her.  Thank you, Jerry.

I write this for two reasons.  First, I am just outraged at the people out there who are willing to take advantage of the elderly.  That is NOT okay.  And second, it gives me the opportunity to post a recipe for something I dearly love.  That would be baked custard.

I know, I know - it isn't trendy.  It isn't on anyone's radar screen.  You can't find it in any restaurant that I know of.  But to me, it's the ultimate comfort food.  It's what Mom always made for me when I was sick.  It's why I made it tonight, so she will have something silky smooth and wonderful to gently slide down her throat when she will be able to eat little else.

I use Mom's recipe, which is basically the same one that my friend Scott Peacock published in his wonderful book "The Gift of Southern Cooking."  I love what he says about it - "This classic Southern dessert is rarely made these days, which is unfortunate because it is a refreshing and simple and delicious dessert.  When I was growing up, Gertrude Moore, who cooked for our family, made this egg custard regularly.  Its sweet nutmeg flavor is one of the most wonderful and powerful taste memories of my life."

The next time you are casting about for some complicated dessert recipe, stop short and make this instead.  I can't think of a better "feel-good" food.

EGG CUSTARD  (From Scott Peacock's "The Gift of Southern Cooking")

6 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Place eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until just mixed.  Add sugar, salt and milk and mix to blend.  Strain through a fine-meshed sieve then stir in nutmeg and vanilla.  Divide evenly among eight 6-oz. custard cups. Put the cups into a deep baking pan and fill halfway up the cups with hot water.

Bake for 30 minutes or just until custards are set.  They should still be "jiggly" in the middle.  Remove from the hot water bath and let cool.  Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Yield:  8 servings

Obviously there are very few ingredients in this recipe, so you want to make sure you are using the best quality possible.  That means YOU HAVE TO GRATE THE NUTMEG YOURSELF.  Do not use the pre-ground stuff - I am adamant about this!

When I worked with Scott at Watershed here in Atlanta http://www.watershedrestaurant.com/ I made the apple cake which is still on the menu to this day.  It called for THREE fresh nutmegs, grated by hand.  I still have scars on the knuckle of my right thumb to prove it.  But, he was right.  It made all the difference.  It makes all the difference in this custard recipe, too.  Just do it!

The Kind of Brownie I Like

I just made some amazing brownies. When I pulled them out of the oven, a little undercooked, it seemed like they were going to fall apart. I started imagining all baked goods in which the crumbs never fuse together, but instead form individual crumblets that stay in the pan shape until cut into. Like a Monet you've come too close to, or a dream that disintegrates when you wake up.

But with brownies, as with life, patience is a virtue, and once the recalcitrant crumbs had cooled down, they formed a dense chocolaty interior with a glistening crust, and held together just fine when I lifted my second piece out of the pan (just to be sure it was any good).

This was the kind of brownie I liked. Dense and gooey and not at all cake like. Not too sweet, with a dark chocolate richness enhanced with a touch of espresso. No nuts, no frosting, no embellishment of any kind.

There are a lot of brownie recipes out there. Besides the wide variety of plain ones, there are recipes for mint brownies and cheesecake swirled brownies and caramel brownies and the brownie's sweeter, gentler younger sister the blondie. And you could try all of them. You should try all of them, to find the kind of brownie you like. Take your time and enjoy the search.

Double Chocolate Mocha Brownies (Gourmet, Dec 2002)

This recipe uses unsweetened chocolate squares, but cocoa powder works just as well. Since cocoa powder is just unsweetened chocolate separated from the cocoa butter, you can substitute one for the other by altering the butter or fat in the recipe. The substitution rate I've seen is 1 oz unsweetened chocolate = 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon butter. Don't be fooled by the chocolate chips in this recipe. They melt away and you'd never know they were there. If you're like me and hate a strong coffee flavor, cut the espresso in half. Also, I cut the recipe in half, using 3 oz chocolate and 5 tablespoons butter, in an 8x8 pan, and baked for only 15 minutes. It was perfect.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 5 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant-espresso powder or instant-coffee granules
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan with foil, allowing 2 inches of foil to hang over ends of pan, and grease foil well (except overhang) with 1 tablespoon butter.

Melt remaining 11 tablespoons butter with unsweetened chocolate in a large metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove bowl from heat and whisk in sugar, espresso powder, vanilla, and salt (mixture will be grainy), then add eggs 1 at a time, whisking after each addition until batter is smooth.

Toss together flour and chocolate chips in another bowl and add to batter, stirring until just combined.

Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake in middle of oven until top is firm and edges just begin to pull away from sides of pan, about 20 minutes (do not overbake).

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then carefully lift brownies from pan by grasping both ends of foil and transfer to rack to cool 10 minutes more. Cut into 32 squares and lift brownies off foil with a spatula.

all about VITAMINs

mari membangun habit konsumsi makanan sehat, termasuk buah dan sayur ;)

Vitamin A

terkandung pada: wortel, tomat, pepaya, bayam, daun katuk, bit merah, labu kuning, mangga.
manfaat utk kesehatan (terutama anak2): sebagai antioksidan, membantu kesehatan mata, pertumbuhan tulang, kesehatan kulit-gigi-rambut, meningkatkan daya tahan tubuh terhadap infeksi.


Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)

terkandung pada: kacang panjang, buncis, kacang kapri.
manfaat: mengubah karbohidrat menjadi glukosa yang menjadi bahan bakar sistem saraf dan otak, menjaga selera makan.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

terkandung pada: sayuran warna hijau seperti bayam, brokoli, sawi hijau.
manfaat: membantu pertumbuhan anak, menanggulangi anemia-gangguan susunan saraf-penglihatan yang kurang baik, membantu metabolisme karbohidrat-lemak-protein, menjaga kesehatan kulit-kuku-rambut-mulut-bibir-tenggorokan.

Vitamin B3

terkandung pada: kacang2an, kurma, alpokat.
manfaat: mengurangi kelelahan, menjaga kesehatan kulit, mencegah anemia.

Vitamin B7 (biotin)

terkandung pada: kembang kol, kedelai.
manfaat: meningkatkan daya serap tubuh terhadap vitamin B yang lain, memperkuat kuku, membantu produksi dan penggunaan lemak serta asam amino.

Vitamin B9 (asam folat)

terkandung pada: jeruk, kol, brokoli, wortel, lobak, kentang, bayam, sawi hijau, asparagus.
manfaat: menstabilkan mood, mengurangi depresi, mencegah anemia, membantu pertumbuhan anak, meningkatkan selera makan anak.

Vitamin C

terkandung pada: pisang ambon, pepaya, tomat, jeruk, jambu biji, mangga, sayuran hijau.
manfaat: meningkatkan imunitas/daya tahan tubuh terhadap infeksi, pemeliharaan kesehatan gigi dan gusi, menjaga kekenyalan dan elastisitas kulit, membantu penyerapan zat besi.

Vitamin E

terkandung pada: taoge/kecambah, brokoli, alpukat, tomat, bayam, sawi hijau, daun katuk, asparagus.
manfaat: sebagai antioksidan yang melindungi sel dari kerusakan, menghalangi oksidasi lemak dalam tubuh, menjaga kesehatan kulit dan otot.

Vitamin K

terkandung pada: bayam, brokoli, lettuce/selada, kol, kacang polong segar.
manfaat: penting untuk proses pembekuan darah, membentuk tulang yang kuat.
source: Buku Pintar Jus utk Bayi & Balita, Ayu Bulan Febry K.D.,S.Km. & dr. Zulfito Marendra

Tips about Juice

mau jus buah atau campur sayur, ternyata ada pantangan juga loh...

Hati-hati , Jangan asal mencampur !

1. Jus wortel dengan jus anggur dapat menyebabkan perut kembung.
2. Jus jeruk tidak tercampur baik dengan jus lobak. disamping itu, rasanya juga tidak enak.
3. Jus tomat dan pear kurang dapat tercampur dengan baik. selain itu, rasanya juga tidak enak.

Cara menyimpan Jus dengan baik

sebaiknya jus diminum sesegera mungkin setelah dibuat karena mudah teroksidasi oleh udara, terutama vitamin A dan C. selain itu, enzim aktif yang terkandung didalamnya juga akan mengalami kerusakan bila disimpan terlalu lama dan dapat terjadi perubahan warna sehingga rasanya masam. tetapi, bila ingin disimpan maka caranya:

1. Jus ditaruh dalam wadah tertutup rapat. dan simpan dalam lemari pendingin a.k.a kolkas.
2. Tambahkan sedikit jus jeruk lemon pada saat membuat jus buah dan sayuran untuk mengurangi oksidasi vitamin dan zat gizi lainnya, serta menjaga warna alami jus.

source: Buku Pintar Jus utk Bayi & Balita, Ayu Bulan Febry K.D.,S.Km. & dr. Zulfito Marendra
gambar jus dari sini.

Questions???

We gals were just sitting around coming up with all kinds of ideas for our next blog entry. None of them seemed to be working tonight though. Soooooo.....we thought you could help.

Have you ever thought of a question you'd like to ask us? Any question. Here's your opportunity. That's right, readers...ask us any question you want and we will answer. You can direct your question to one of us specifically, or to all four. We'll answer every question we get.

There's only one condition...we don't have be truthful. ;)

We'll post the questions and answers on a blog post one week from today. So get your questions in soon!

Hmmm....this could be very interesting. Have fun!!!

Well, duh.

Where on earth have I been? (besides Cambodia, of course).  My friend Laura sent me a FB message today asking if she could be updated whenever I post a new blog entry. 

It took me two seconds to figure out that I could add a "follow" button to my blog.  Why didn't I figure this out earlier?

Just go to the top bar on the blog and click on the "follow" button which is on the left.  You can sign up either publicly or privately.  Or, not at all.  Just wanted to let you know it's an option which is now available.

Thanks, Laura!

My Valentine's day: a little brunch and a Lolita meeting

Hello everybody! I hope your weekend was ok, as your monday... did you receive lots of presents last sunday? I hope so!

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On that day, I went with Laia for brunch. Unfortunatelly, the place we were looking for was closed, so finally we had it in another one called Marmalade. It was good, but of course, not as good as the one at Berlin!!

 

  

We ate Benedict's eggs with salmon and Pancakes... really good! After brunch, we met Esther in our favourite coffee and I helped her with her hair, because we had a lolita meeting at half past five. We went into Opera's cafe and had a lovely time chatting with people...

 

  

Mavako brought as some candies, lovely!!

Edo, Esther and me

Alba's bunnybag was raped by us... 

I would like to show you some of the wonderful girls on the party...

 

Esther, with her stunnig Juliette et Justine dress. 

 

Malloco; I really love her style, is wonderful!

Sara was so beautiful too, she's got a great style!

My beloved Yayra, so sweet!

Mavako with a lovely handmade apron-skirt, lovely!

And this is what I was wearing... 

 

Shirt - Blanco

Cardigan - Mango

Halloween skirt - Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Tights - Calzedonia

Shoes - International Choice

Scarf - H&M

Head flower - Handmade

Tomorrow I'm back into my classes; it's a pity that they're only once at week!!

Quick post: The times they're-a-changing

As I complete to retouch photos of yesterday's meeting, I thought that my blog has changed a lot, both in content and appearance, since I started. That is why I make na short guide to what you can find it at the level of links directed to other places outside it.

In the sidebar you can find l lateral section "You can read me to ...", which are located at the following buttons:

The Bloglovin' button. I discovered Bloglovin' a while ago, thanks to Laia; and I must say that it's the best tool for reading blogs I've ever seen. It's fast, confortable an easy to use for following your blogs; almost everybody has it! And it's cool because you can save your favourite post of your bloggers!

I've been searching all the blogs I follow by Google Friend Connection, but I haven't found all of them... so, if you read this and finally you decide to make your bloglovin' account, please, tell me! So I could follow you in an easier way!
And of cours,e if you like my blog, you're welcome to follow me in that way too!

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The Lookbook.nu button. Lookbook is a fashion community about real people who post their daily looks. It's full of awesome inspiration, that's why I've got an account there! So, if you don't know about lookbook, just go around it and have a look!

The Twitter button. Everybody's got a twitter these days... and you know how it works! I must say that I don't use it a lot, but it's good to have one just for having the latest information of the people you follow!

The Modepass buttons. Modepass is an international fashion community; I think is the first one I joined, and I had the pleasure of being interviewed by them, so you can go to Modepass and to my interview by clicking in those buttons!

The Chictopia's friends button, that counts the friends I've got at Chictopia, another big fashion community that I check everyday for inspiration!

And finally, the Independent Fashion Bloggers badge, a great tool for spread the inspiration and great posts between fashion bloggers from all around the world!

Just below you can find this:

It's a direct link to Laia's blog, Let me feel like a doll. I think that you all know how close we're, so we decided that instead of change buttons, we could have this funny picture of us in our sidebars!

And a little bit more down, you'll find The Hardest Button to Button, a section that I specifically made for your buttons, if you want to change them with me; and after that, you can fin the I support section, with a link to Indiestylemedia, a blog from that community and a button to Mando Diao's page (I'm a part of Barcelona's Street Team; by clicking on it you support us).

Finally, in the lower part of the whole blog, you can fin another Mando Diao's button and my latest Flickr's pictures... and I think that's all!

Hope this was useful... do you think that I need something more for my blog? An email me button or something like that? Ideas are welcome!!

And now I'm going to finish my other post!! Have a nice monday!