Sous Vide Christmas Lamb

I've been playing with my immersion circulator again and came up with this festively coloured lamb dish.



The cut is rump and it was vacuum sealed along with some rosemary before being cooked to the magic 64 degrees and then quickly seared in a smoking hot pan.



Served with a sweet tomato passata, pepped up with a little chilli, spiced cous cous and baby leaf spinach it was darn near perfect.

bla bla bla

Hello guys and gals! Happy Tuesday! :)

How was your day?

Tuesday... Tuesday for me... huh.

*sedang menimbang-nimbang... tulis. enggak. tulis. enggak. tulis....*

Okay, pagi ini gue bangun dengan malas-malasan.

Gue memaksa diri untuk masuk sekolah. Berhubung ini classmeeting, gue nyampe sekolah jam 8 pagi, dan hanya bertahan 34 menit disekolah gue sudah menyeret Roro kerumah Adya.

Yak, Adya baru saja banguuuun, saudara-saudara!

Dan awalnya niat menyeret Adya Respati ikut main kerumah Idon berbuah kemalasan tingkat tinggi dan akhirnya menetap dirumah Adya hingga siang, lalu dilanjutkan melancong kerumah Adryan (pacarnya Adya yang juga classmate dan rumahnya hanya beda 200 meter) hingga larut sore. Yap, numpang nonton tv doangan gitu!

Anyway....

Gue mau menceritakan hal lain. Yang sudah menenggelamkan gue pada kesintingan tingkat tinggi. Gue sedang terobsesi. (kata orang-orang)

Tentang seseorang...

Seseorang yang sejujur-jujurnya baru gue temui dua kali, dengan kualitas yang makin buruk. No action. Sejujur-jujurnya lagi, gue baru satu kali ngomong sama dia. Buruk. Sangat buruk menurut gue.

Inisial namanya "T.I.M" tiga kata.

Gue bertemu gue dia awal bulan september.

Harinya persis hari Rabu. Dan sekolah belum libur.

Tepat sekali saat itu, bertepatan dengan berlangsungnya bulan puasa.

Gue puasa, dia puasa.

Dia salah satu murid sekolah terkenal di Jakarta Selatan.

Sekolah swasta yang gue pikir, mayoritas non-muslim.

Diaaaa...

Sewaktu teman gue memanggilnya, dan dia menoleh, jleeep! Gue terbius.

Honestly gue gugup dan makin nervous dibuatnya.

Dia punya sorot mata yang membuat penasaran bagi gue, dengan kata-katanya yang enggak konyol kedengarannya, dan dia enggak se-pecicilan teman-temannya. Love at the first sight.

Ini bukan yang pertama, tapi ini yang terlama dan terparah.

Sepulangnya dari tempat kejadian, gue searching fb-nya.

Ketemu! Thanks GOD.

Gue enggak mikir panjang, langsung aja ngeadd dia.

Itu awal, agak ketengah dikit, di bulan SEPTEMBER.

Dan, guess what, di bulan Desember ceria ini, di penghujung tahun ini, dia belum ngeconfirm friend request gue aja gituuuu. dududududu.

Yup yyup yup, empat bulan! Good job!

Gue, jadi gila. Ya serius, gue gila!

Karena dia open profile, gue bisa liat aktivitasnya.

Dia ngeconfirm yang lain-lain, selain gue, mia, ditha. Ya, team film dokumenter bodyshop.

Hmmm hmmm hmmm. Naas ya?

Gue menyimpulkan, dia tau gue bertiga, dan dia enggak ngeconfirm karena ada alasannya. Dan so far, hanya dia yang tahu.

Gue makin gila gila gila gila dan gila.

Waktu gue lagi liat foto2 di album temennya yang juga sudah menjadi friend gue di fb, gue nemuin beberapa foto dia.

Tau apa yang gue lakuin? Gue ngesave aja gituh foto-fotonya.

Silly!!

Gue memperhatikan dari waktu ke waktu, enggak juga ada perubahan.

Sampai hari Minggu kemaren, gue mampir ke profilnya  dan baru menyadari bahwa gue bisa melihat foto2nya.

gue seperti atau bahkan menjadi seorang stalker.

Gue mensave semua foto dia yang gue anggap jelas atau berekspresi lucu.

Hingga malam tadi.

Akhirnya gue gerah. gue langsung mengsms temen gue yang kebetulan seniornya di sekolah.

Gue tanya-tanya dan gue cukup dapat informasi.

Informasi yang gue dapet :

• rumah dia jauh (dipinggir kota jakarta, deket depok kayaknya)
• dia rajin soalt *oh iya, dia islam loh*
• dia anak IPA, meskipun tampangnya binal dan sundal
• dia (katanya) tajir
• dia orang jawa :)
  
• dia cinta olahraga, gue taksir, dia suka banget futsal dan sepak bola

Lumayan kaaaan?


Seriously, gue mulai gila.
Karena gue mulai ngetweet namanya dia doang. Mengomentari foto-fotonya aja di twitter. Bahkan, teman-teman sekolah gue pun jadi pada tahu, siapa gebetan gue itu. hahaha.
bahkan ketika gue membolak balik huruf-huruf namanya, mereka bisa menebak dengan mudah.


Ya ya ya, gue terobsesi dengannya.
Gue gila karenyanya.
Najis ya? gue sendiri jijik jadinya. hahahaha.
Do you have tips for help me?


ah anyway...
sudah menjelang tengah malam, segini saja dulu yaa.
Besok gue mesti sekolah, dan pak soleh mau ngabsen.
Semoga dengan ini, gue berharap akan ada pencerahan. ahahaha.


Oh ya, fellas, gue berharap nanti, tingkat kenekatan gue lebih dari ini.
Gue berharap bisa membuka blak-blakan siapa namanya dan fotonya.
Tapi yang join twitter gue pasti sudah melihat-lihat namanya. hahaha.


goodnite fellas, bye!

Christmas Trees and Hannukah Candles

I am a Jew by choice.  I converted a number of years ago and have never looked back.  We all have our reasons for doing what we do and I do not feel the need to explain my actions.  I did what I wanted to do for me and that's that.

However, if you've been reading my blog for awhile, then you know my maiden name is "Cromwell."  Clearly, not the stuff Jews are made of.  Which means I spent most of my life celebrating Christmas.  Indeed, when our kids were growing up, we celebrated both holidays - Christmas and Hannukah.  But, let's call it like it is (or was).  Hannukah?  Not so much.  Christmas was the holiday that ruled and of course it had to do with the excitement of leaving cookies out for Santa and the plethora of presents on Christmas morning.  I'll leave it at that.

And then they grew up.  And left our house.  By that time, I was officially Jewish anyway, so no more Christmas holidays here.

 I will confess I have silently breathed a sigh of relief that I haven't had to do the frenzied shopping thing for years now.  Folks will ask me if I have finished my Christmas shopping and I will just smile, knowing that I am immune.

Oh, but wait.  Holy crap.  I forgot about the mailman, the hairdresser, the dry cleaning guy, the yard crew, the folks at the VA where I volunteer, my mother and a host of others whom I care about and who are deserving of some kind of gift from me.  Oy veh.  I always think that I'm exempt and don't have to deal with any of it until the reality comes crashing down on me - hard - usually a week or so away from December 25th.  As you can probably guess, that's where I found myself today.

First, though, let me digress (I'm good at that, right?).  As I was walking up to the entrance of Whole Paycheck Foods the other day, I was all but accosted by a slew of little, tiny Christmas trees.  I'm talking about the size you can place on a desk or a table.  I wavered.  We haven't had a Christmas tree in years.  I caved.  It's kind of like eating a broken cookie - it doesn't count.  Same with a miniscule tree, yes?

So I bought it.  And then had to head to Target for little, tiny ornaments (the heirloom ones ensconced in my attic are way too big).  But WTF????  They were totally sold out of little white lights.  WTF????

Turns out that's not uncommon.  My friend Olive explained to me today that she buys her lights 6 months in advance because they always are sold out.  Who knew?

In any event, I managed to find some (crappy) ones at the local Kroger.  I got the tree decorated.  And then I came home today and made some really good English Toffee with Fleur de Sel to package up as gifts for everyone.  Here's the recipe.  And it doesn't discriminate between Christmas or Hannukah, either.

English Toffee with Fleur de Sel

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Fleur de Sel

Heat butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Cook and stir until mixture reaches 310-degrees (hard-crack stage).  Divide between 2 sheet pans which have been greased (or preferably lined with Sil-Pats).  Use a small offset spatula to spread caramel evenly.

As soon as caramel is cool to the touch (this will only take a couple of minutes), flip it over to prevent sticking. If you wait too long, it will harden and you won't be able to flip it without cracking.  It needs to be cool, but still pliable.

In the meantime, melt the chocolate. 

After caramel is cool, blot off excess butter with paper towels.  Pour half of chocolate over each pan and spread out with a spatula.  Sprinkle Fleur de Sel evenly over.

Place pans in refrigerator to cool and harden, about 30 minutes.  Break into shards and uneven pieces.  Try to refrain from eating most of it as you do this.

Yield:  a whole bunch.  Enough for lots of gifts if you don't decide to keep it all for yourself.

Flatbread

Does anyone out there make bread at home anymore?  I do.  Well, not often but certainly around the holidays.  Or when I am having a dinner party (which doesn't seem to be often any more - I must be getting lazy).  And sure, you can make a pan or two of homemade rolls but why go to the trouble of shaping and forming them when all you have to do is whip up a quick dough in your electric mixer, let it rise, throw it in a pan, pat it out, top it with whatever and stick it in the oven.  Voila!  You have just made flatbread which is both a showstopper and a cinch.

What I am giving you here is a basic flatbread recipe.  It's the one we used at Watershed when I worked there and it is easy and delicious.  Don't be afraid of it because if you follow the recipe, it will turn out beautifully every time. 

Flatbread (adapted from Watershed Restaurant, Decatur, GA)

1/3 cup warm water (105-115 degrees.  Use a thermometer.  Don't guess)

1 packet yeast (not rapid-rising)

2 lbs. unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 1/3 cups water, room temperature

1/4 cup extra-virgin oil, plus more for rising

1 tablespoon sea salt

Place the 1/3 cup of water in the bowl of electric mixer.  Add yeast and mix briefly to blend then let sit for 5 minutes.  Add flour, remaining water, olive oil and salt.  Turn on mixer just to combine then turn mixer off and let sit for 10 minutes.  Then mix on low speed for 8 minutes.

Oil a large container or bowl.  Place dough inside and cover.  Place in a warm place (not in the oven, however) and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.

Here's what it looks like before and after rising

Generously grease a baking sheet (I use a half sheet pan) with olive oil.  Place dough in pan and press out as much as possible.  Let rest for 10 minutes.  Keep repeating until dough covers the entire pan, about 30-40 minutes.  Dimple well with your fingertips and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Spread topping over.  Bread is ready to bake when it has risen to the edge of the pan.

Place in oven preheated to 375-degrees.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, turning pan once until browned, golden and done in the middle.

Cool slightly, then use run a large spatula around sides and underneath flatbread until it comes loose.  Turn out onto a cutting board and cut with a serrated knife as desired.

Serves 12-16.

Oh, but now for the fun part!  You can top this with just about anything you like and you can serve this in several different ways:

1)  Cut it into small squares or rectangles and you have a terrific appetizer. 
2)  Take it a step further, cut those squares in half, spread with goat cheese or whatever you can think of and now you have gorgeous little mini-sandwiches. 
3)  Slice the entire thing lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips.  Lay strips flat on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil or butter, bake at 350-degrees for 8-10 minutes and you have crunchy and crispy flatbread sticks.  Serve as an appetizer or alongside a steaming bowl of soup or pasta. 
4)  Add a sweet topping (like the roasted grape idea below) and serve warm squares of it with a soft, runny cheese for dessert, along with a yummy dessert wine.

Here are two ideas to get you started:

Fresh Herb Topping

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Lots of kosher salt

Mix well and spread over unbaked flatbread dough.

Roasted Grape Topping

1 bunch (about 4 cups) red seedless grapes

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Kosher salt

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons lemon or orange zest

1/2 cup turbinado (raw) sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place grapes in a bowl.  Toss with olive oil, chopped thyme and kosher salt to taste.  Spread out on a baking sheet and roast in oven preheated to 350-degrees for 15-20 minutes, shaking pan once.  Remove from oven and let cool. 

Scatter roasted grapes over unbaked flatbread then sprinkle over pecans, rosemary, zest and sugar.  Season generously with salt and pepper then bake as directed above.  (Note:  this would also be delicious with crumbled goat cheese sprinkled over as well).

This is what I made last week.  Crap, why did I give it away?  What was I thinking?

Freebees!

My favorite mornings are those that start with oats and laptop time (blogging) time. Oh, and cappuccino. Absolutely cannot forget the cappuccino.

And not any oats, bloggies...the best oats. Oats a la pumpkin butter! With Splenda brown sugar, turbinado, and pecans. Mmmmm! To DIE for!!!

What's your favorite way to start your morning?

Sadly, Lily's toe is hurt. She was playing with her sissy yesterday, though we're not sure what actually happened. Sweetie pie has been limping around looking all pathetic since it happened. She's going in to see the doggie doc this afternoon. Poor punkin...

Literally, she's looked like this since yesterday. Doesn't she just look...sad? And pathetic?

Count her chins..that always makes me smile.

 Lunch today was Tuna Edamame Salad, light string cheese, a Nutridel cookie, and a can of Zevia. It was a really satisfying lunch -- one of the most satisfying I've had in a long time! High-five, self, for planning ahead and making that tuna salad last night!!

 

The wonderful people at The Healthy Baking Company sent me suncakes and Heart Thrive Meals-to-go. Not only are they adorable, but check this out...

One 2-ounce Heart Thrive contains...

~150-165 calories

~2 grams of fat

~32 grams of carbohydrate

~6 grams of fiber

~15 mg sodium

~6-7 grams of protein

~260 mg calcium

Ingredients in the Apricot Heart Thrive: Oats, unsulfured apricots, brown rice syrup, brown rice flour, soy protein concentrate, soy flour, inulin (chicory root extract), rice bran, natural fruit juice, dried plums, dried apples, dried pears, orange peel, calcium citrate, almond extract.

Facts: Vegan, wheat-free, dairy free, no preservatives, no GMO, low glycemic index

Taste: A

Nutrition: A-

These Heart Thrives are GOOD! My only regret is that they're not lower in calories. Hence the minus. Would I recommend this product? ABSOLUTELY! The Heart Thrive was extremely filling, but I would need something more to call it a meal. Though, I do have the appetite of a heifer.

Thank you, Mark over at The Healthy Baking Company for the tasty samples! If you're interested in trying Suncakes or Heart Thrives, go here. 

BEST PART!! If you place an order, you get SIX FREE Heart Thrives/Suncakes...and I do, too! Did you hear that?! Drop my name or blog name saying that you heard about The Healthy Baking Company through me and you get 6 FREE items with your order! 

You may also be a lucky recipient of a suncake or Heart Thrive if you participate in this...

I received a slew of recipes yesterday for the cookbook but none yet today. :( Don't forget to send your recipe(s) to Mrs.RD44@gmail.com! You will be the lucky recipient of tried and true favorite recipes and also enter to win a fabulous giveaway (which will be edible!). Up to 12 entries per person! Go here for more details!

In nutrition and health news...

Will the Food Guide Pyramid eventually include weekend and holiday guidelines? Studies show that weekend eating habits are as terrible as at the holidays. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that the quantity and quality of foods eaten during a meal over the course of the day differs considerably on weekends and and holidays [1]. If you're anything like me, that's not an understatement in the least.

Question: Do you think it's sensible to add holiday and weekend guidelines to the Food Guide Pyramid?

Have a good evening, all...and to all a goodnight! Just kidding...I'll be poking around reading blogs later!

[1]. Leff Ritchie, Amanda. Should Guidelines For Weekend and Holiday Eating Be Incorporated Into Food Pyramid? University of Pittsburgh. December 11, 2009.