Friday, January 28, 2011

Whack What?


I’ve written before about how difficult it can be to maintain a blog. Oh, it’s easy enough when you first get started and have lots of ideas and lots to say. You blithely post about everything you can think of, then suddenly … you come up dry at the well. You’ve pretty much ripped through your repertoire of ideas. Even worse, you think of something to write about, but then peruse your blog archives only to realize you already wrote about it last year. Why didn’t I remember that? Is the beginning of Alzheimers? Well, crap.

I started thumbing through my favorite (and not-so-favorite) cookbooks to try and come up with ideas. “Catchy name,” I thought. I was looking for something which to inspire both me and you, my wonderful blog readers.



Big Zero, however, unless we want to talk about making Thomas Keller’s Oysters and Pearls. Not likely. Someday I will tell you about the time we went to The French Laundry and I was so sick that I couldn’t eat anything, repeat ANYTHING that was served to me. Tragically, I am not kidding. I poked around at everything, then made Henry eat my share. Food Police in reverse. He will probably never, ever get that lucky again.

Here's the menu I missed.  Sigh.

In the midst of my writer’s block, I got a Facebook message from a friend. “Hey Liz, I’m going to make the Wacky Cake that's in your cookbook. Does it need frosting?”

You may remember I have a home-grown, self-published cookbook that I created for my kids. Over the course of the last several years, I have also given copies to people I love. Our friend Shana was one of those recipients. When I got her message, I didn’t have the heart to tell her I had never made the recipe in the book.

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2010/09/recipes-from-home.html

Now in my own defense, I thought the recipe sounded good and since this book was intended for Andy and Eric only, I wasn’t overly concerned with testing recipes. Still, I didn’t feel comfortable giving Shana advice without having made the thing. So, I threw it together at 11pm. Turns out it was pretty easy. Turns out it was pretty good! And, if you care about these kinds of things, it is a vegan recipe.

Thanks, Shana! I appreciate the inspiration. As I posted on your wall, this cake is good “naked”, but even better if served with some softly whipped cream (maybe with the inclusion of a little cinnamon) or premium ice cream (coffee, perhaps?). I hope you made it for your dinner party and I hope it was a success!


WACKY CAKE (from Gale Gand)

1 ½ cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and 8 x 8-inch square pan.

Place the dry ingredients in a bowl. Make three small holes in the mixture. Pour the vanilla in one hole, the vinegar in another and the vegetable oil in the third. Pour water over the top and mix.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until center is puffed and a cake tester comes out clean.

Cut into squares, as desired. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Serves 8 - 10






This is a very moist cake, kind of like a very “cakey” brownie, but lighter. It’s delightful as a snacking cake, with a glass of cold milk, late in the afternoon, especially if you are curled up on a chilly day with a good book.

I dusted mine with powdered sugar and yes … I ate a piece of it before I gave it away and got it out of my house. So much for my efforts to limit carbs and sugar. At least I abstained from the ice cream. Still, I guess I will never be a skinny cook. I guess that’s why you can continue to trust me!

blacky!

hello, this is blacky!
He was my kitten before, and he has been living with a new marriage couple.
Already 5 months since he moved. i miss him.
He was the cuter kitten i've ever had.

he was lazy and always sleepy.
He loves me alot. so do i.

i miss him so much.
n wondering, how do he looks now.
blacky, i love you and miss you so bad...

Keep It Simple


So here's a thought for the new year: Keep it simple. Since I've come back from vacation, which was filled with eating wonderful food in excess, and which followed the holidays and eating wonderful food in excess, I've been thinking I should eat less (though just as wonderful) food.

Even the most passionate foodie needs a break, especially when I'm putting on the pounds.

So this week I kept it simple. And simple doesn't have to mean cereal. I've never had cereal for dinner - not once! This week I had some salads and made a homemade Fontina mac and cheese. I sauteed baby spinach in olive oil and garlic - so easy and good with a little squeeze of lemon on top. And I made the simplest of Indian dishes, some tandoori style chicken legs made with a spice rub.

I used to be reluctant to use boxed spice rubs because I figured I had all the spices anyway, why not mix them myself? But then I saw my mom using them, and her chicken is amazing. It's tender and juicy and sprinkled with deliciousness. I've decided that deliciousness is actually a spice, or perhaps an undiscovered element.

Or it's this stuff, which can be found in any Indian store or ethnic market type of place. It's a very common brand.


The spice mix box has a recipe on it, but I wouldn't follow that. Here's what you should do. Use skinless drumsticks or thighs and rub salt all over them. Buy a ginger-garlic paste too, and rub that on the chicken. Or use fresh ginger and garlic. Then rub the spice mix all over the chicken. Use as much as you want, it can be spicy! Don't miss any spots though. Let that marinate for several hours or overnight. Even though you have to remember to marinate it, and you should be marinating all kinds of things on a regular basis, the spice rub and bottled ginger-garlic paste make for very fast prep. Bake in an oven heated to 375 degrees for 30 minutes, then brush with melted butter and move to the broiler. Broil on both sides until crispy and browned. In the summer, you can just throw the chicken on the grill...or into a tandoori if you have one! Squeeze some lemon on top when you serve it, this lovely dish of deliciousness.

Egypt

The thing that jumped out at me from these videos is the fierceness of the clashes. It's not lobbing a few Molotov cocktails followed by some tear gas followed by a few gestures and running away. These people are angry.


I'll confess, I'm not sure who the players are. The drama, however, is unmistakable.

Update: I did a tiny bit of research. According to the WSJ, is driven by economics and corruption. It doesn't seem to be the kind of thing that could be blamed on the Jews.

Lotus of wine

January 28


Ben Weinberg expressed amazement at Lotus of Siam’s wine list.


My old high school friend and enthusiastic wine writer was in town for a big Italian wine shindig called Vino 2011 and wanted to have dinner.


I missed Monday’s report in The New York Times that the Chutima family, who founded Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas and recently opened an outpost in New York, had given up on the Big Apple venture, apparently as suddenly as they announced they were opening it a few months back.

What can I say? I have to write about the whole country, so I miss a lot of local news.


Besides, it's a big-name Thai restaurant within easy walking distance of NRN's new offices on 17th and 8th. Surely it was worth checking out regardless of the ownership.

Ben had two fellow wine people and a bottle of Franciacorta in tow.

Franciacorta’s basically the Italian answer to Champagne, priced similarly, accorded nearly as much respect by many wine experts, but not remotely as well known.

That, of course, means Franciacorta’s much cooler to drink than Champagne, because only people in the know have the wisdom to drink it.

I hadn’t looked at much of what the critics and bloggers had said about Lotus of Siam, because as a general rule New Yorkers don’t have the faintest idea what they’re talking about when it comes to Thai food, so their opinions do not interest me.

I’ve since glimpsed some of the reviews and comments and don’t understand why people think they should be comparing what’s basically a fine dining restaurant in an elegant space on 5th Avenue with hole-in-the-wall food in Queens. They’re different.

People don’t drop $200 per person at Daniel and say, “well, I could have had a croque madame at La Bonne Soupe at a fraction of the price.”

Of course you could have, and indeed you might have enjoyed it more — it depends on your mood, the occasion, what you’re trying to get out of the experience.


Compare Lotus of Siam to Kittichai if you like — both are fine dining, both have lost their original chefs as Ian Chalermkittichai left the restaurant at 60 Thompson years ago, both offer fine-dining trappings — but comparing them to Sripraphai or Ploy Thai or Pam Real Thai Food or Won Dee Siam is silly.

If you’re with wine people, Lotus of Siam is appropriate.

Typically I drink beer with my Thai food, but I must say that my dining companions’ choices were excellent and made for a really fun evening — at eight or nine times the price of many other Thai meals I’ve had in New York, but wine can do that. It was money well spent.

Before I list what I ate and drank I will take a moment to comment on the very nice staff’s odd persistence in getting us to try the Koong Sarong, which they insisted was fantastic. It’s shrimp wrapped in bacon, rolled in a spring roll wrapper and deep-fried, and that’s exactly what it tastes like. It’s fine, but it’s not Thai.

What we ate and drank:

Pik kha kra pao krob — crispy fried chicken wings tossed with chile garlic sauce & fried Thai basil
Nam kao tod crispy rice — crispy rice tossed with Thai sausage, fresh chile, ginger, peanuts & lime
Nam prik hed — roasted chile, garlic & onion dip, pounded in a mortar (it was similar to nam phrik noom)
Northern larb — minced pork with spices and Thai herbs (without lime, unlike Issan laab).
Tenuta Mazzolino Oltrepo Pavese Cruase DOCG  Franciacorta 
Vincent Mothe Chablis, 2008

Kaeng khiao wan (green curry) with chicken
Moo krathiam prik thai — stir-fried pork with garlic and black pepper
Braised short rib penang
Julienas 'Clos du Fief,' Michel Tete 2009 (a fun and inspired choice by Doug Cook, creator of a wine search engine called able grape)

Koong Sarong (remember? the bacon-and-shrimp dish)
Sua rong hai (it literally means “crying tiger,”  please let me know if you know why) — grilled, marinated rib eye with chile-kaffir lime dipping sauce
Pla koong — grilled shrimp salad with sliced red onion, lime, Thai herbs and lettuce
Donnhoff Riesling Spatlese ‘Norheimer Kirschneck’ 2002

528 Bridge

This might be a boring post for some of you since you don't live here, but it's affecting my life, so I must blog. Last weekend there was a crash on the 528 bridge. (a mile from my house)

To those that are not familiar let me give you the low down. I live on and island, and there are only a couple bridges to get back to the mainland (Cocoa). 528, the one closest to my house is one of them, the others being 520 & 405.  This crash I speak of wasn't just any crash..it was between a truck and a tanker truck. The ones that carry gasoline. This is what it looked like.


It is a sad deal because two people lost their lives. It is also a royal pain in the ass for the rest of us, especially in North Merritt Island. If I want to go to the grocery store or to any other place for that matter, I have to drive a distance out of my way and there is crazy traffic EVERYWHERE. Looooong lines of traffic. Now that the fireball is out this is what is left of the bridge.




This is my life for the next month:
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)
 

Baked Apples with Cinnamon Nuts and Raisins



I don't often do desserts because it's hard to avoid all the sugar. When I do make desserts though, I try to make sure the sweetness comes naturally from fruits. This is a very very easy pudding, and one that satisfies both your sweet tooth and conscience!

Baked Apples with Cinnamon Nuts and Raisins
serves 2
Ingredients
2 Bramley apples (both a good eating and cooking apple and will end up sweet, light and fluffy inside)
a handful of chopped almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds (soaked and dried please! use any you fancy. pecans would be nice.)
1 tsp of raisins (if you want to jazz it up a bit, soak your raisins in rum or brandy for a couple of hours before)
1-2 tsp of brown sugar (I used raw cane sugar Rapadura)
a generous pinch of cinnamon
few dabs of butter

To serve
Plain Greek yogurt (or some raw cream or homemade custard)

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
2. Remove the core of the apples. I did it by cutting a square around the core of the apples, but stabbing my knife in at an angle, but if you have a fancy apple corer use that!
3. Mix the nuts, raisins, sugar and cinnamon together, before stuffing the mixture into the apple holes, and adding a happy dab of butter over.
4. Place the stuffed apples into an ovenproof dish, and pour some water around the apples so they don't dry out.
5. Bake for about 45 min until the apples are soft and oozing, but not collapsing. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and the apple juices spooned over.

6. Dig your spoon into it and have all the warm sweet apple juices flow out, mixed with that buttery toffee-ishness, and the crunch of the toasted caramelised nuts, and then on top of that, you have your creamy tangy yogurt. And then on top of all that, you have the reassuring knowledge that it's not loaded with the things that make a dessert sinful (:

Some hae meat and canna eat

I've been neglecting my Giraffes this week somewhat - blame it on the Bard!  But decided to do steak as a treat for a "Friday Night In" so bring on the Teriyaki Beef Rib Steak with Asparagus and Green Onions - Page 100.  I even managed to take the steaks out of the freezer in plenty time so they could defrost and then marinate overnight - I think I deserve a big pat on the back for that!  Talking of steaks I get mine from Donald Russell  I now wouldn't go anywhere else - their meat in general, but steaks especially are to die for and they offer your money back if you've ever tasted better  how's that for a guarantee?!

So my lovely sirloin steaks marinated overnight in the Teriyaki sauce, ginger and garlic.  I'll share a secret with you regarding those two ingreedients - I use Dorot Frozen Herb Cubes  They are so handy - none of this battling with a knarly chunk of ginger and a grater.  I've got the chilli and the corriander ones in my freezer too but they do a whole range.  I get them at Sainsburys which seems to be their only UK stockist.


Now I like my steak rare so I just gave it 2 minutes on each side and then rested it.  You can give it longer if you are not so keen on the possibility of it getting up and running off your plate.  It was absolutely divine - the marinade really worked well.  Some folk might get caught out as the soy sauce and wasabi required for serving aren't listed in the ingreedients but luckily its something I had in my storecupboard anyway.

Not so sure on the asparagus and green onions.  They were a bit limp for my liking.  Method says to blanch and then refresh - perhaps I did this wrongly but they went soggy on me.  Next time I wouldn't bother and would just chuck them on the griddle pan from fresh.  Will definately be making this one again - we hae meat and we can eat, sae let the Lord be thankit!

A Proposed Location for the First 2012 Presidential Debate

Let's do it at the United Artists Theater in Detroit. Without renovations. Question #1: What did we get for $850B+ of Stimuloid Porkgasm™?


Click on the image to go to the source of the photo.

H/T: Secular Apostate.

Nutty's Hot and Spicy Chili Sauce (Sambal Kacang Pedas)

Nutty's Hot and Spicy Chili Sauce (Sambal Kacang Pedas)

8 fresh red chilies, seeded and sliced
8 candlenuts or 10 Macadamia nuts
1/2 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp chicken broth, if required

Using a mini food processor, or a blender, process the chilies, nuts, salt and lemon juice to a smooth paste, adding drops of chicken broth to facilitate processing, if required.

This type of Chili sauce is to pour over Chicken Satay.

Nutty's Hot and Spicy Chili Sauce (Sambal Kacang Pedas)

Nutty's Hot and Spicy Chili Sauce (Sambal Kacang Pedas)

8 fresh red chilies, seeded and sliced
8 candlenuts or 10 Macadamia nuts
1/2 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp chicken broth, if required

Using a mini food processor, or a blender, process the chilies, nuts, salt and lemon juice to a smooth paste, adding drops of chicken broth to facilitate processing, if required.

This type of Chili sauce is to pour over Chicken Satay.

me and baby

This is my baby picture.
I found not along changes on me since i was baby until present.
When i look into this pict, i always pulled back into my childhood.
How wonderful as a kid i was.

And it brings me to the fantasy, im imagining that i already married and have many cute babies. uuh.
And i wonder, how my babies will look like. hihi.

I found a fun website that will predicts how the baby look like with combining two pictures. brilliant!

And this is one of the example.

You can put your picture with anyone.
With your lover, celebs, also your secret admire.
hahaha.
It just an example.
But it is really fun to try.
Have fun!

And last, i really love babies!

Love ya!
xoxo

A Narrowly Averted Catastrophe

The crack editorial staff of The Scratching Post awoke this morning to find that our Interweb Tubes were down. We had only our Droid 2 and Verizon between us and regression into a primitive, savage, possibly cannibalistic state of societal decay. Fortunately, Time Warner rectified the situation before we fell upon each other like wild beasts, burning down our offices in a spasm of prehistoric violence.

It's sobering to realize that civilization balances on the edge of just such a knife every day.

Project 31. - Day 5.

Day 5.  Write a post thanking someone who has made your heart come alive.

Easy peasy. My husband Nathan. We met 8 years ago before college, before we knew the direction in our lives. Back then we were just a couple of twenty year olds that liked to go to dive bars and hear bands, drink cheap beer, and party.

We've grown up together in these 8 years. My heart came alive when I met Nathan...his ambition in life rubbed off, and inspired me to chase my dreams. When we are together, it is just pure excitement. We can act totally silly together, say the most random things and laugh hysterically at each other. I have become so much more outgoing and happy in my daily life. I have zest for what I do and I try to live each day to the fullest. We always say I love you and goodnight in the evening and we always welcome the day with good morning I love you. I am so lucky to have found someone like Nathan, because of him I feel whole.

 


 Day 1.  What does beauty mean to you?
Day 2.  What makes you uniquely you?
Day 3.  Who is someone you know who inspires beauty?
Day 4.  Style 31.  Post a pic of you in your favorite outfit.
Day 5.  Write a blog thanking someone who has made your heart come alive.
Day 6.  Jaded beauty.  Has the world's definition of beauty ever jaded you?
Day 7.  Write a blog to encourage another beautiful woman.
Day 8.  Have a beauty secret (e.g. hair tip, make up tip)?  Share, please!
Day 9.  What virtues do you value in yourself?
Day 10.  What are you learning as a wife, mom, or friend? (Or just woman in general?)
Day 11.  Post a recipe.  Or if you don't cook, try a new recipe and write about it.
Day 12.  Write about what wears you out as a woman.
Day 13.  Tell us something you would like to change about yourself for the better.
Day 14.  Style 31.  Post an outfit pic!
Day 15.  Write to encourage a friend.  Inspire her beauty.
Day 16.  Write a letter to (daughter,niece,young girl). Tell her what beauty means.
Day 17.  Write about 3 things that make you happy.
Day 18.  Describe your personality.
Day 19.  Write about your favorite comfort food.
Day 20.  Write about your job and why you love it or hate it.  
Day 21.  Write a letter to your husband to encourage him.
Day 22.  Write a letter to your family as a whole.
Day 23.  What are your strengths?  What are your weaknesses?
Day 24.  What are you being taught you presently?
Day 25.  Style 31.  Post a pic of your favorite comfy clothes.
Day 26.  What do you hope your grandchildren will say about you someday?
Day 27.  Write a blog to encourage someone and build their confidence!
Day 28.  Write about your insecurities as a woman.
Day 29.  Write about "a day in the life of me."  (Pics are great!)
Day 30.  Who is your role model as a woman?
Day 31.  Write about your dreams and goals as a beautiful woman!

Project 31 - Day 4.

Day 4.  Post a pic of you in your favorite outfit.

I don't really have a "favorite" outfit. Mostly my outfits consist of:

- Plain tanks or with an applique
- A cardigan if its cool outside
- Flip-Flops, Flats or Bare Feet
- A range of bold jewelry

I really like to dress plain with small details and wear really bold jewelry that I've bought or made. Accessories are your friend but only when paired with a simple outfit. Anyway..I'm not posting a favorite outfit, just something I'm wearing today, enjoy the awkward photo of the day. haha.

Tank: Old Navy $2!!!
Cardigan: H&M
Jeans: H&M
Flip-Flops: Charlotte Russe
Amazing Necklace: Target


THAT is a hell of a necklace...I freakin' love it!


Day 1.  What does beauty mean to you?
Day 2.  What makes you uniquely you?
Day 3.  Who is someone you know who inspires beauty?
Day 4.  Style 31.  Post a pic of you in your favorite outfit.
Day 5.  Write a blog thanking someone who has made your heart come alive.
Day 6.  Jaded beauty.  Has the world's definition of beauty ever jaded you?
Day 7.  Write a blog to encourage another beautiful woman.
Day 8.  Have a beauty secret (e.g. hair tip, make up tip)?  Share, please!
Day 9.  What virtues do you value in yourself?
Day 10.  What are you learning as a wife, mom, or friend? (Or just woman in general?)
Day 11.  Post a recipe.  Or if you don't cook, try a new recipe and write about it.
Day 12.  Write about what wears you out as a woman.
Day 13.  Tell us something you would like to change about yourself for the better.
Day 14.  Style 31.  Post an outfit pic!
Day 15.  Write to encourage a friend.  Inspire her beauty.
Day 16.  Write a letter to (daughter,niece,young girl). Tell her what beauty means.
Day 17.  Write about 3 things that make you happy.
Day 18.  Describe your personality.
Day 19.  Write about your favorite comfort food.
Day 20.  Write about your job and why you love it or hate it.  
Day 21.  Write a letter to your husband to encourage him.
Day 22.  Write a letter to your family as a whole.
Day 23.  What are your strengths?  What are your weaknesses?
Day 24.  What are you being taught you presently?
Day 25.  Style 31.  Post a pic of your favorite comfy clothes.
Day 26.  What do you hope your grandchildren will say about you someday?
Day 27.  Write a blog to encourage someone and build their confidence!
Day 28.  Write about your insecurities as a woman.
Day 29.  Write about "a day in the life of me."  (Pics are great!)
Day 30.  Who is your role model as a woman?
Day 31.  Write about your dreams and goals as a beautiful woman!