What I Made Yesterday

Abigail Jane

2010-11-30T12:27:00.002-05:00

Born November 16th, weighing 8 pounds 12 ounces, measuring 20 inches long. She is the most awesome thing I have EVER made.

Brace Yourselves

2010-01-28T14:50:00.002-05:00

I think I might just start posting to my blog again pretty soon. I may even change the header to reflect the new year! Time will tell...

Thanks for sticking around.

Cobb Salad

2009-08-09T11:33:00.002-04:00

We stayed at a DoubleTree Hotel when we traveled to Burlington a few months ago. Not only do they present you with warm chocolate chip cookies upon checking in, but their room service menu is surprisingly awesome.

I had ordered a cobb salad and was anticipating a ho-hum dining experience. I suppose a cobb salad is a tough thing to mess up, but this salad was so good that I recreated it as soon as we returned home.

I have been buying local chicken from our co-op and have figured out a cooking method that works perfectly, though I certainly did not invent this method! I confess, too, to buying skin-on chicken breasts because, well, skin tastes good. In my oven-safe grill pan, I sear the salted and peppered chicken skin-side down until it is nice and brown. I flip it over and pop it into a 375 degree oven with a probe thermometer set to alarm me when the internal temperature reaches about 170 degrees. The result is simple perfection!

Toss this chicken with some kind of greens, tomatoes, bacon, hard-boiled egg, avocado, roquefort cheese and vinaigrette. it's a new dinner staple in our home.

Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

2009-08-09T11:16:00.004-04:00

Another of Ellie Krieger's smart, easy recipes, I made fettuccine with creamy red pepper sauce a few weeks ago. I have a recent obsession with this goat cheese, though, and substituted it for the feta she calls for. It made for a creamy sauce, but lacked the saltiness that the feta would have imparted. Next time, feta!

I used a new whole-wheat pasta in this recipe—Bionaturae brand—and it was particularly tasty with a great texture.

At long last...

2009-07-27T20:56:00.003-04:00

Wow, so many things could follow that ellipsis...

At long last... I am posting to my blog. I am not at work in the evenings until 10pm. I am not eating Subway for lunch and McDonald's for dinner. I have begun to grocery shop and form meal plans again. I am beginning to experience summer.

A lovely bunch of my former co-workers had sent me a gift certificate to Kripalu after I lost my mom in March. I was holding on to it until the perfect time which, as it turned out, was last Sunday. I went a bit above and beyond the value of the gift certificate, booking a massage and a facial, buying a bunch of skin care products for myself, and eating lunch at Kripalu -- a perfect way to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle!

And then, I took a walk -- my first glimpse of exercise since (embarrassingly) October. 2009 has not been good to me. I am working to get myself back on track.

This week's meal plan is almost entirely coming from Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave." This cookbook has some great-looking, healthy, fun recipes and tonight I made her Orange Pistachio Wild Rice Salad.

The salad was filling and finding the pistachios was like a mini treasure hunt. There are a few minor things I would change next time, but mostly I'd like to experiment with the addition of some extra ingredients -- kalamata olives? avocado? 'Til then, I'm just excited to have cooked something real, to have segmented my first orange, and to have some pans (for John) to wash.

In Appreciation

2009-06-19T10:36:00.006-04:00

The 2009 Relay for Life begins in 7 hours. My life has been abnormally, unbearably hectic for the past 4 months. I am feeling lucky to have today off from work so I can make the preparations that a good team captain should, and so I can emotionally focus on this event and its specific meaning to me this year.

We knew before losing my mom that we wanted to do something special for the staff at Berkshire Medical Center who were so sensitive to her needs and dedicated to her comfort. What a difficult job these folks have. Soon following our last long day at the hospital, I began thinking of a way to thank these caring people.

I contacted calligrapher Debby Reelitz, who I had worked with previously on a piece that I gave to my parents as a thank-you for hosting my wedding. It was beautiful, and I knew that she would once again create something unique and special -- representative of both my mom and her craftwork.

We selected a color palette based upon my mom's beloved batik fabrics, and chose a poem that celebrated nursing.

I loved the frame as soon as I saw it, and although I worried it was too "whimsical" for something so serious, I could hear my mom's voice telling me that she also liked it and that there was nothing wrong with adding some fun into the piece.

I love it, and I am excited to finally present this most beautiful, meaningful "thank you" to the BMC staff today.

2009 Relay for Life

2009-05-19T08:00:00.002-04:00

Two months ago today, my mom lost her long battle with cancer.

One month from today is the Berkshire County Relay for Life. There are few things I can do to calm the tremendous loss I feel each day. Raising money for cancer research in honor of my mom seems like a good place to start.

I welcome you to visit our team page and make a donation -- of any amount -- to this wonderful cause. For the second year in a row, we are JoAnn's Knockouts.

Note: I will resume blogging sometime soon after this year's Relay.

(Dad, mom and friends -- 2008 Relay for Life)

Mini Vacation: Burlington, VT

2009-05-17T08:00:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, we escaped to Burlington, Vermont. I had been there only once, when I interviewed at the University of Vermont in 1992. In typical Erin-style, I had no memory of ever being there.

We were blessed with beautiful weather, and even got a little sunburn in April -- in Vermont! But mostly, we ate and enjoyed some much-needed relaxation.

Our Garmin GPS has a mind of her own, and she took us a bit off the beaten path as we traveled north, weaving through many miles of beautiful farmland. I had only a couple of must-do things on our trip, and one was to go to Mary's Restaurant at the Inn at Baldwin Creek in Bristol. Little did I realize that we had driven right past it en route to our hotel in Burlington. So, back we went though the miles of beautiful farmland to eat at this wonderful restaurant. The re-trip was well worth it, but that sort of "oops!" theme dominated our trip. I've never planned so little for a trip before, and will be much more diligent next time -- as is, you know, look at a map.

Mary's Restaurant:

Pedestrian Church Street on a warm afternoon:

How different my life would have been if I went to college in Burlington. I mean, there's no sailing in Bosto -- wait a minute...

The Flavor Graveyard at the Ben & Jerry's Factory (another "oops" moment that took us hours off-course):

Balsamic Chicken Thighs (and Wilted Spinach)

2009-05-15T08:00:00.004-04:00

It is essential to have some good, quick dinner recipes committed to memory. This was my first time making this Balsamic Chicken recipe from For the Love of Cooking, but it is something I'll be making again and again. (Vinegar!)

I've been using chicken thighs in a number of dishes, but this is the first time I've used thighs in a quick-cooking meal. I found them to be a little too fatty, since the fat wasn't allowed the time to melt as it would in a braise or slow roast. My plan is to remake this recipe with chicken breasts.

Also from For the Love of Cooking, I made a side of wilted spinach with bacon, using Smart Bacon — also quick and very enjoyable!

Pickled Grapes

2009-05-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

I love grapes. I love vinegar — and not just because a tablespoon of vinegar is the only cure I have found from my sometimes unrelenting hiccups. Put the two together and you have...? A really interesting combination!

The idea of pickling grapes had never occurred to be prior to seeing Smitten Kitchen's recipe. It was simple enough, though, that I had no excuse for not trying it immediately.

They kept in the fridge longer than I expected — both because I thought they would have spoiled more quickly and because we've found it difficult to stop nibbling on them once we start. I haven't thought of an application for them apart from eating them right out of the jar, but am thinking they would be an unexpected addition to a salad (fruit or otherwise). I'll be sure to follow up!

Sunday Dinner, Easter Dinner

2009-05-11T08:00:00.007-04:00

I'm excited to say that Easter marked our first official "Sunday Night Dinners with Dad" series. Of course, not all of the dinners since then have been quite as fabulous, but I try. Subsequent Sundays have brought to the table brasciole, brisket, spaghetti carbonara, and chicken fajitas. It's a day to look forward to, and a way to guarantee we'll get together at least once a week.

For our Easter dinner, I finally found a piece of beef tenderloin. (Recall that I looked all over town for one several months ago, and ended up cooking this recipe with a pork tenderloin.) I know now why they are not readily available — the price tag. Oddly enough, after purchasing my hunk of meat at Stop & Shop, I found that it is actually considerably less expensive at Guido's. Who'd have thought?

I spent a good amount of time trimming my lovely little tenderloin of fat and silver skin and tying it into an evenly shaped mass (how appetizing that sounds!). It marinated in a mix of mustard, horseradish, rosemary an thyme. It was perfection (if not a teensy bit overcooked for such a tender cut). With it, I served these cracked potatoes, which cook in olive oil on the stovetop (for much longer than the recipe says!) until they are brown and crunchy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside.

For dessert, I made Alton Brown's Baked Apple recipe, for which apples are hollowed out and stuffed with butter, brown sugar, oats and cinnamon. Here are the apples pre-baking, and well — served with a little vanilla ice cream, they were devoured too quickly for a post-baking picture. Next time...

Sheep to Shawl

2009-05-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

I can't take credit for the cute name of the little sheep festival that took place on Sheep Hill in Williamstown this past weekend. What a lovely spring day it was! It was a mini version of the last sheep festival I enjoyed in Waltham.

Mostly, it made me feel like we need to have a baby -- and not just because the little kids wouldn't give up the baby ducks for a minute so I could pet them. Really.

Hard workin' sheep dog:

Sheep-shearing the old way -- with hand-crank shears:

A shocked, sheared sheep:

Caramelized Tofu with Brussels Sprouts and Pecans

2009-05-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

I created a largely vegetarian meal plan this week ... and then ended up craving a burger badly come Tuesday afternoon. I am weak.

I had stumbled upon this recipe a while ago on Serious Eats, who stumbled upon the original recipe at 101 Cookbooks. There's lots of stumbling going on in the food blogosphere.

I finally made this for dinner tonight. I think this was my first successful attempt at cooking with tofu -- it always seems to fall apart on me in stir frys and the like. Tonight, though, the tofu was just perfect and I am suddenly feeling very soy-inspired.

We loved this simple meal. The next time I make it -- and there will be a next time -- I will cut the sugar to 2 tablespoons. I also can't help thinking that bacon (or Smart Bacon) would be a lovely addition. Brussels love bacon, and bacon loves them back.

Incidentally, the burgers at the Water Street Grill are really very good.

Improv Pasta -- 300th Post!

2009-05-05T19:49:00.005-04:00

Wow. 300 posts to my blog! Many thanks to the small handful of readers that help to stir up my motivation.

I thought it would be fitting if I posted about a dinner improvisation -- something to document how comfortable I've become in my kitchen over the past few years.

I had learned to make a sage and brown butter sauce in a pasta-making class a while back. It is both simple and wonderful. Incorporating roasted cherry tomatoes into this buttery sauce makes it even better.

The other night, I didn't feel like waiting for the oven to preheat, and I also wanted to spare my husband (who is our official dishwasher...um, apart from the actual dishwashing machine) from a pile of too many dishes. Instead, I halved a pint of cherry tomatoes and cooked them in some olive oil, sage (from my herb garden!), and garlic in a fry pan (with salt and pepper, of course). After the tomatoes started to lose their shape, I tossed in some chopped kale. Once the kale was bright green and wilty, I removed the pan from the heat and tossed the tomato-kale sauce with some penne.

I was so pleased with the result -- and am always excited to sneak kale into my meal.

Cookie of the Month, Part 2: Rugelach

2009-04-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

When I saw the recipe for "Walnut and Brown Sugar Rugelach" in Everyday Food many months ago, I was struck by its similarity to my mom's recipe for tassies (see Cookie of the Month, Part 1).

This is the cookie that I baked and brought into work last week (after bingeing on several of them myself) — only, to make it even more like my mom's famous cookies, I replaced the walnuts with pecans.

Pecan and Brown Sugar Rugelach

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 TBS granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

Blend the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor. Add flour and pulse until a dough forms. Divide the dough in half and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Make an egg wash — combine egg with 1 tsp of water in a small bowl.

Preheat oven to 350, with racks set in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough half into an 11-inch circle (about 1/4-inch thick). Use a large dinner plate as a guide to trim the dough to make a perfect circle. Brush both circles with the egg wash, and sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans.

Use a pizza cutter to cut each circle into 16 triangles. Roll each triangle toward the center of the circle, place the roll on lined baking sheet (seam side down) and brush with egg wash. Bake for 30-32 minutes until golden brown; cool on a wire rack.

Delicious — like a springtime tassie!

Hazelnut Beans

2009-04-25T08:00:00.007-04:00

I cannot express enough joy about my discovery of Dean's Beans coffee. John and I were previously enjoying Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut Coffee each morning, but I decided to do an internet search one morning for organic decaf hazelnut coffee. Dean's Beans was one of the results of my search.

I ordered both their decaf and regular hazelnut beans, and we knew immediately that we had found something special. We accidentally miscounted the scoops and brewed an incredibly strong — yet remarkably smooth — pot of coffee.

From moral and health perspectives, I feel worlds better about buying coffee from Dean's Beans. Here's a little comparison:

Dean's Beans

"Dean's Beans only purchases beans from villages and importers that are committed to Fair Trade and working towards better economic opportunity, improved health and nutrition in the villages."

Ingredients: All-natural hazelnut essence, a splash of vanilla, roasted into a soft Peruvian bean.

Dunkin Donuts

"Dunkin' Donuts is the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world providing you, our loyal customers, with high quality coffee, bagels, donuts and other baked goods since 1950."

Ingredients: 100% Arabica Brewed Coffee, Hazelnut Flavor [Water, Propylene Glycol, Glycerine, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Caramel Color].

Clearly, D&D is more consumer-focused, while Dean's Beans is founded upon the fair treatment of those people at the source of the beans. And yet, Dean's Beans still provides a better product.

For so many reasons, the Dean's Beans coffee tastes better, and — this blows my mind — the price of a 1-pound bag of ground coffee is $8.00 from either company. As a quasi-locavore, I'm delighted that Dean's Beans is located in Massachusetts, as well.

I've made the switch.

Cookie of the Month, Part 1: Tassies

2009-04-23T08:06:00.010-04:00

The folks that I work for were so wonderfully supportive during the two months when my mom was extremely ill. They granted me a flexibility that allowed me to spend as much time with my mom and family as I desired, and I will forever be grateful for this.

As I told them, I didn't know how to thank them (apart from being a good employee!) at first, but then an idea popped into my head.

My mom was a wonderful baker — so much so that a handful of people at her wake mentioned the food of hers that they remembered and will miss at holiday gatherings. Me, too. In her memory, I decided to establish a "Cookie of the Month" at my workplace. It was therapeutic to take the time in the kitchen to make this first batch.

Everyone loved my mom's tassies, and rightfully so. I know that she didn't make up the recipe, but no one's tassies compared to hers, and she freely shared the recipe. I made a batch of these wonderful little pecan-pie-like cookies around Christmas and have been wanting to post the recipe since then.

My Mom's Tassies
For the crust:
• 3-oz package of cream cheese (room temp)
• 1/2 cup of butter (room temp)
• 1 cup flour

For the filling:
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 TBS butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup broken pecans

Blend butter and cream cheese, stir in flour. Chill slightly (about 1 hour), then shape into 2-dozen, 1" balls. Place the balls into the cups of a mini muffin pan. Press dough onto bottom and sides of cups and divide the pecans among the cups.

Beat together the egg, sugar, the TBS of butter, vanilla and salt until smooth. Add this filling mixture to the cups. (I have most recently been placing this mixture in a large plastic bag, then cutting the corner to make a spout for neater pouring.)

Bake at 325 for 25 minutes or until filling is set. Cool slightly and remove from the pans (they are easier to remove while still warm).

My God, they are good! (Part 2 to follow...)

Bear With This Blogger

2009-03-29T08:39:00.003-04:00

I am going through a very difficult right now, and regret that my blogging has been shelved for nearly two months.

I am just starting to consider and re-enter normal weekly routines (like grocery shopping and, say, being present at work all day), and will soon restart my work in the kitchen. Slowly, I'll get back to posting regularly, but it won't be easy.

I originally created this blog for myself as a means to document the things I create — edible and not. My mom soon became my biggest fan. (I think she was before I created this blog, but she most certainly became its most dedicated reader.)

On March 19th, we lost my mom to some aggressive, unstoppable, evil cancer cells — despite her determined, continuous 2-year fight against them. She was 60 and healthy and wanted so much to be here for me and my family. My mind still cannot seem to comprehend that she is gone.

In many ways, I know I will feel that I am still blogging for her.

Flourless Torte

2009-02-26T07:50:00.007-05:00

There has been very little 'making' going on here lately. (My mom remains in the hospital, where she is getting a little stronger each day.) The combination of take-out sandwiches and pizza I've eaten for the past 3 weeks recently had me yearning for something of more substance, and I jetted over to the newly opened The Dancing Vegan in Pittsfield. I wanted to give it a plug, as I will be going back. It seemed particularly appropriate to explore this new take-out vegan restaurant, as one of its founders beat cancer — after being told she had three months to live — by following a macrobiotic diet (learned at the Kushi Institute in Becket). I will be looking into this very soon.

Completely unrelated and un-vegan... I confess that this favorite torte of mine should have been posted in December when it was baked, but I wanted to post something. The written recipe makes this look more complicated than it is -- trust me.

Ingredients
unsweetened cocoa
2 8-ounce packages semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup butter
5 large eggs, separated
1 TBS vanilla
confectioner's sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 250. Grease a 9" by 2 1/2" springform pan; dust with cocoa. Line pan bottom with parchment or waxed paper.

In 2-quart saucepan over low heat melt chocolate with butter.

In large bowl with wire whisk or fork beat egg yolks with vanilla. Slowly beat warm chocolate mixture into yolks until blended.

In small bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup confectioners until sugar dissolves and whites stand in stiff peaks. Fold beaten whites into chocolate one-third at a time.

Spoon batter into pan, spreading evenly. Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan.

When cool, remove the sides of the pan, then remove torte from pan bottom. Discard parchment.

Cut into 12 wedges. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Eat!

Hospital Food

2009-02-14T15:16:00.006-05:00

Seems like I've been posting much more often since we moved back to the Berkshires, so it feels weird to have such a gap in the time that I have updated my blog. I feel compelled to explain that most of my recent time has been spent at the hospital, where my mom was admitted last week for cancer treatment.

Instead of attending the first 2009 Berkshire Relay for Life meeting on Tuesday, we ironically spent the night at the hospital. It's been a rough week, to say the least. I am glad that the hospital provides a wireless service, and I can look over my laptop screen as I type to see my mom reading the newspaper in her bed.

This hospital stay brings two things to mind. One, that we are planning to re-form our "JoAnn's Knockouts" team from last year's Relay, and two, that hospital food is truly awful.

I'm in no mood for a 'rant' right now, but the meal selections here for sick people are so unhealthy. There are no whole grains, almost no vegetables, and the amount of processed food (they can't make their own pudding in the hospital kitchen?!) that shows up on the trays is really shocking. It just seems more like hospital dietary caters more to the average American palette than it does to nutrition-packed foods. In a way, I appreciate the bacon offered at each breakfast, but...I would much rather see my mom's scrambled eggs accompanied by a side of freshly squeezed juice. I can't think of a better time to bring on the superfoods.

Pumpkin Risotto with Sage and Truffle Oil

2009-02-08T10:22:00.003-05:00

What do you get when you combine recipes for pumpkin penne and barley risotto? Why, pumpkin risotto, of course! I followed my risotto recipe, but replaced the thyme with sage. Near the end of its cooking time, I added about 1/2 can of pumpkin puree, and just a tiny swirl of white truffle oil. Oh, the truffle oil! It really turned this meal into something extra special.

Beet and Pear Salad with Feta

2009-02-06T08:00:00.003-05:00

A recent NY Times blog post discussed 11 foods we should all be eating more of. One of these items was raw beets.

I have added small amounts of beets while juicing, but have never really enjoyed them in their larger, solid form. In fact, a little beet goes such a long way in a juicer that I was worried that a beet-based salad would be overwhelmingly beety. It was not.

I discovered this recipe on Serious Eats only a day or so after reading the article in the Times, and we tried it right away. It's adapted from a Jaime Oliver recipe, and is typical of his simple "Jaime at Home" recipes. I used a mandoline slicer to cut the beet and pear and, based upon the trouble I had with my pears, I would recommend that you be sure to buy firm pears. (Bosch pears are pretty, but made for a mushier salad than I would have liked — note mushiness in photo below.) We also cut the amount of cheese in half...oh, and I couldn't find any mint, so we went without. Still, the salad exceeded our expectations!

Resolutions Check-up

2009-02-05T08:00:00.005-05:00

I didn't actually begin working toward my 2009 New Year's Resolutions until January 5th. A Monday, I decided, was a much better day than a Thursday to implement such things.

Anyway, I just want to document on February 5th that I have really worked hard at my goals, and have even reached some of them!

I have not finished reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," but I've made much progress. Also, my plan to read the newspaper at work changed when my workload suddenly picked up considerably; I've ended up working (and eating) at lunchtime. So, that needs to change.

I came very close to my goal of losing 5 pounds in a month. I lost 3.4 pounds, which is pretty significant given that it was done with diet alone. Still haven't been to the gym or, you know, for a walk. Stupid snow! Helping with my diet, I have successfully brought my lunch at least 4 out of 5 days of the work week. A much larger percentage of our meals this month have been vegetarian, as I'd hoped. I have also started to become more familiar with local farm options for food. Gosh, I'm excited for Spring!

I am working steadily at learning the bass clef (years of reliance on the treble clef have made my brain so resistant!), and here is my piano-playin' proof. It ain't pretty, but it's progress! (You didn't need to see my pajama-covered arms playing this, right?)

I also started learning to knit this month. Finally! I bought some beautiful cotton yarn (I'm allergic to wool) and what was sold to me as the Ferrari of knitting needles (really, I was hoping for the Corolla version) and have been practicing casting on and off, knitting, and purling with some practice yarn before I move on to the real deal. Good thing, eh?

AND, lastly, I have designed the business cards for my freelance design work, and they are being printed as you read this!

Sock It To Me!

2009-02-03T16:40:00.004-05:00

(Couldn't help it.) We've been using a wire mesh coffee filter for years. The mesh isn't quite fine enough, and we've always been left with a little sludge in the bottom of our carafe — not to mention a sludgy build-up in the machine that causes frequent, annoying leaks.

Before we broke down and bought paper filters, we decided to give the Coffee Sock a try. It works beautifully, even if it doesn't fit perfectly in the basket. The "Sock" immediately solved our problems, retaining the tiniest fragments of our coffee. We have not had a leak in weeks, and we didn't have to make room in our cabinets for a box of paper filters. Love it!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-02-02T16:12:00.007-05:00

So, I am actually skipping this Menu Plan Monday because it's Monday and I have no plan. Logical, eh? I started to come down with a throat/chest bug on Friday, and have been running a temperature that I can't seem to shake.

Despite this, I'm starving. I took the day off from work, which allowed me to make my new 'famous' lasagna (only 4 people have ever eaten it) which just came out of the oven. I'm hoping it will provide meals for us through Wednesday. Add in an 'egg night' and a 'dumpling night' (have I mentioned how obsessed I am with frozen dumplings? So much easier than making my own!) and, well, that's my menu plan for the week!

Yesterday, we went for a short drive to get me out of the house (and out of my pajamas). I really enjoy having a destination, and so I grabbed the Garmin and plugged in the address for Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown. Coincidentally, it was at the end of the road that we very nearly lived on when we were searching for apartments in the area. I love our little house, but I like cows, too.

I had noticed on their website that their store has long business hours, and is open 7 days a week, so we were in luck. We were greeted at the farm's gate by three curious dogs, who we s-l-o-w-l-y drove past to arrive at the store, which has a change box and operates on the honor system. (Thus, the hours!) We poked through shelves, freezers and fridges and found that we can buy eggs, milk, cheese, and several types of free-range, grass-fed meat at this farm. Though I wasn't prepared to purchase anything on Sunday, this will be a go-to place for my meat needs in the future.

And then we came home and I put my pajamas back on.

Overnight Oatmeal

2009-01-31T09:24:00.006-05:00

John and I often joke about our valet...which we don't have. But if we did, he would brew our morning coffee, and he would most certainly have breakfast on the table by the time we hurriedly arrive downstairs.

This morning I discovered a near valet-replacement: my slow cooker.

Thanks to Alton Brown's 4-ingredient Overnight Oatmeal recipe — which took me less time to assemble than it took to pull the crock pot out of the cabinet — breakfast was waiting for us this morning. Who needs a valet?!

Oatmeal made with steel-cut oats tastes worlds better than the flakey stuff, it's less processed, and the texture is much more pleasant. I had a hard time finding unsulfured and low/no-sugar dried cranberries and figs at Stop & Shop, but found these items at our co-op.

One very important thing to note: our slow cooker has three settings — warm, low, and high. At about 9pm, I set this oatmeal to cook on the low setting for 2 hours, which then automatically switches to warm at the end of the set time. The oatmeal was ready by 6am. There are many recipe reviews disparaging this oatmeal because of charred results from cooking it on the low setting all night. Enjoy!

Turkey Picadillo

2009-01-30T07:39:00.007-05:00

If I could only get to the top of Mount Greylock this time of year, I would shout out my recommendation to the masses that they make this meal. Since I can actually reach more people via my blog — and because I'm scared of those mountain roads, even in the summer — I'll just say that I think this is a wonderful, interesting, healthy weeknight recipe and I think you should try it.

I was thrilled with the results of a Pork Mango Picadillo recipe a while back (my photo of which is even worse than the one below!*), but wanted to lighten the meal even more. In this variation from Eating Well, I used ground turkey and served the picadillo over brown rice. I also added a handful of slivered almonds at the end. I have made this both with and without eggs — if you don't already have hard-boiled eggs in the fridge, I wouldn't bother.

I am dying to use this meaty mixture as either a taco or empanada/calzone filling. Oh, and the leftovers are even better!

*The lighting in our little house is pretty bad, and one of our hard-to-reach bulbs just burned out — that, in combination with our super-white dishes is making for some bad winter evening photos of 'what I made yesterday!'

Menu Plan Monday

2009-01-26T06:40:00.000-05:00

Here is the first in a weekly post featuring the Murphy dinner menu for the week, as inspired by (and added to this blog). I think, along with it, I'll post the dollar amount of my weekly grocery bill — exciting, eh?

S: Pumpkin Penne with Apple Sausage and Sage
S: Chicken Saltimbocca
M: Shakshouka
T: Eggplant Curry with Brown Rice
W: Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans
T: Beetroot Salad with Feta and Scrambled Eggs
F: Open!

Grocery bill from Stop & Shop: $156.70

I had to stock up on some staples this week — thus the large bill!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

2009-01-25T09:49:00.010-05:00

It was in an airport bookstore that I first discovered Saveur magazine. That particular issue featured shrimp on the cover, and I instantly fell in love with the magazine's photography. I bought the issue and subscribed as soon as I arrived back home.

Saveur's 100th issue had a feature on bacon (see why I love this magazine?!) and contained a recipe for Spaghetti alla Carbonara that looked so pleasantly simple that I couldn't wait to make it. Wait, that's not true — it took me about 2 years to finally make this recipe! It was worth the wait.

I had made garlic confit about a week earlier by roasting a 2 heads of upside-down horizontally-sliced garlic, covered halfway by olive oil, in a glass dish along with a small handful of whole peppercorns and thyme. Cooking the garlic at 300 degrees for an hour not only produces perfectly spreadable garlic, but also yields the remaining flavored olive oil. Bonus! I started soups with this olive oil, dunked bread in this oil, and used it as a starting point for my Carbonara sauce. (Props to both Tony Fiore's Totally Vegetarian for the garlic confit recipe, and to the lovely blog 28 Cooks from which I won the book!)

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
(in Saveur, adapted from Marcella Hazan's More Classic Italian Cooking)

Heat 3 TBS garlic oil and add 2/3 lb of pancetta cut into strips — cook until edges are crisp. (I used regular ol' bacon this time.) Add 2/3 cup of white wine and simmer until thickened; remove from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup parmigiano-reggiano, 1/4 cup pecorino-romano (which makes EVERYTHING tastier and creamier!), a handful of chopped parsley, and 2 eggs. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup of hot pasta water to this mixture, then add the al-dente pasta and pancetta mixture. Season with salt and lots of pepper.

As I have mentioned before, I must remember that cooking with whole wheat pasta does not necessarily a healthy dish make! However, the (healthy) roasted brussels sprouts were the perfect side for this pasta.

Smackdown: Arborio versus Barley

2009-01-22T12:01:00.008-05:00

While browsing my meal options for the week this past Sunday, I came across two interesting recipes: one for a super-easy Almond-Vanilla Arborio Rice Pudding, and another for Barley Risotto. I had assessed the contents of my food cabinets just before stumbling upon these recipes and was coincidentally thinking about risotto, since I had quite a bit of arborio rice on hand.

But, barley risotto? I had searched Stop & Shop for barley only a few weeks earlier with no luck. I thought barley was an American staple?! They do sell pearl barley in bulk at the co-op, though, and I bought some for this project. I had never been exposed to barley before, and I was so pleased with the results of this risotto. Many thanks to Kristen Swensson and her post on Serious Eats!

I used chicken stock to make this risotto, but would like to make it again with vegetable stock. I also used the fabulous new enameled cast iron pot that I received for Christmas. In fact, I have used it 3 times over the past 3 days — I cannot recommend it enough.

I added a package of organic frozen grilled vegetables to the risotto for extra nutrients. It was a beautiful thing.

While I was still digesting this dinner, I decided to do a bit of research on barley. As it turns out, I didn't made the uber-healthy meal that I thought I had. The pearl barley I bought could be compared to white rice. It's entire hull and germ have been removed, rendering my little grains much less fibrous than in their dehulled state in which only the outermost part of the hull is removed. (Barley's outer hull must be removed to make it edible.) I am guessing that risotto could not be made using dehulled barley — it would take much longer to cook, and the consistency would likely be altered. It's certainly worth a try, though! Dehulled barley is an amazing source of fiber and nutrients — you can learn more here.

Determined to use my stash of arborio rice, the rice traditionally used to make risotto, I quickly mixed the ingredients for Smitten Kitchen's Almond-Vanilla Rice Pudding. It required so little attention and so few ingredients (all of which I had on hand), that this immediately became my go-to quickie dessert.

Mushroom Bourguignon

2009-01-20T10:40:00.005-05:00

I am making a conscious effort lately to make more vegetarian meals, and am feeling particularly adventurous in the process. I peruse a number of food blogs daily, and I was recently inspired by the Mushroom Bourguignon post on Smitten Kitchen, whose beautiful photos convince me to add most of their recipes to my to-cook list.

What a wonderful meal this made! (As much as I am trying to eat healthily, I might not be able to resist adding a bit more butter next time.)

I had no idea prior to finding them in the pasta aisle, but they now have whole wheat egg noodles! I do so love egg noodles.

African Ground Nut Stew

2009-01-16T15:59:00.008-05:00

When I was first accepted into MassArt, I was told I had to enroll in several Art History classes, and both Iraqi and African Art History were strongly recommended. Convinced that I had taken enough Art History courses already, and determined to start taking Graphic Design courses — I mean, enough with my academic career, already! My career-changing self had been in college for 9 years! — I reluctantly signed up for African Art History with Professor Margaret H. Turner.

It was awesome.

I really love taking Art History classes. In fact, I become overwhelmed with inspiration in an Art History classroom. This same professor traveled with a group of students to Africa, and they returned with a recipe. I have had that little blue recipe card filed away since 2004, and last week I finally made the meal.

It was awesome.

There seem to be a ton of extreme variations on "African Ground Nut Stew," but I am planning to stick with this one.

African Ground Nut Stew

olive oil
4 large onions, chopped
2lbs mushrooms, chunky sliced
2 cans tomato paste
3 green chili peppers, chopped (or 1TBS cayenne)
1.5 cups chunky peanut butter (can be cut back to taste)
vegetable or chicken stock (optional)
tamari (or soy sauce)
1lb fresh spinach
rice or grain of choice
fun garnish: banana chips, coconut, pineapple

Saute mushrooms (I used several kinds, but you couldn't distinguish between them in the dish) and onions in olive oil in a pretty big pot until the onions are translucent. The big pot is necessary to accommodate the spinach added later.

Add tomato paste, chili peppers (or cayenne), peanut butter (I used less) to the pot. It's thick, but it will loosen as it warms up. You can add vegetable or chicken stock to make the sauce a looser consistency, too. Add tamari (or soy sauce) to taste. Let this sauce summer for about 20 minutes.

Add all of the spinach to the pot (I suppose any dark green leafy thing would work just fine). This will take up a lot of space in the pot, but will cook down quickly. Once it's all wilty and incorporated into the sauce, it's ready to be served over rice or the grain of your choice (we used brown rice). We topped ours with banana chips, but pineapple and coconut were also both recommended.

This recipe made a LOT of sauce, with plenty for dinner and several lunches. I may cut it in half next time.

Weekend Breakfast

2009-01-13T08:00:00.003-05:00

My weekday breakfast consists of a small cup of OJ, a bowl of Kashi Heart-to-Heart Honey Toasted Oat cereal, a prenatal vitamin, and a cup of home-brewed Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut coffee (in which I try to use less and less sugar).

But when the weekend rolls around — look out! Then, I have a small cup of OJ, my vitamin, a cup of the aforementioned coffee, eggs of some kind, and two pieces of toasted sprouted bread topped with honey, peach or, mmmm, lingonberry preserves.

Apart from the loaves produced during my recent bread-making experiments, I eat almost no bread (although I like almost all bread). I didn't know what to expect when sprouted bread was recommended to me. According to their website, "Food For Life sprouted breads are made from freshly sprouted grains which contain all of the fiber, bran, vitamins and minerals of the original grain plus an average of approximately 100% increase in those vitamins and minerals."

Though I have only tried the Food for Life/Ezekiel brand, I absolutely love it, and thought I'd spread the word.

New URL

2009-01-10T11:00:00.003-05:00

I apologize for the lack of much advanced notice, but this little blog has a new, more appropriate URL:

http://whatimadeyesterday.blogspot.com

It is no longer http://ecbmurphy.blogspot.com (in case anyone searches for the old URL).

Kindly change your bookmarks! Thank you!

Georgia On My Desk

2009-01-10T08:00:00.007-05:00

Hooray! Our first Georgia regulations book, in all its re-designed glory, has just arrived at the office. Since starting my job here in August, this is the first book I have worked on that is entirely my design. I really feel I have created a more approachable design with an easier-to-follow layout.

To see before/after samples of my redesign, please visit my design portfolio.

Wow, that's some bass!

Blog Name Change?

2009-01-09T11:06:00.002-05:00

I was a bit confused when I first set up my blog. I have pondered changing my blog's URL to http://whatimadeyesterday.blogspot.com a number of times, but always worry that I am going to lose one of my many followers in the process (read: sarcasm). But, I think it's time. It just makes sense, right?

So here's your heads-up (um, mom and handful of other followers) — I think this is a change I will be implementing over the weekend. So sorry for any inconvenience!

Doctor My Eyes

2009-01-07T08:00:00.003-05:00

It was John that offered this wonderful suggestion after watching me suffer for years while cutting onions. Ugh, and shallots! I love these ingredients, but quickly tear up at the first slice. If additional slicing or, god forbid, dicing are involved, my cutting board could easily become the scene of a finger-chopping incident. Blindness and a sharp knife — what a bad combo!

I've scoffed at the Onion Goggles at our local kitchen store, but when John approached me one evening with his swim goggles, I decided to give it a try.

How liberating! They worked perfectly, and their new home is in my kitchen drawer.

Loin Me Tender

2009-01-04T08:00:00.002-05:00

For a few years now, I have made a weekly food plan. Typically, I wake up ridiculously early on a Saturday and start rummaging through my recipe files (one for recipes I've made, and one for those I have yet to make) as I drink my morning coffee. I fold a blank piece of paper in half twice. On one of the inner panels, I list lunches and dinners that sound appealing to me at the moment, or that play off each other's ingredients. I usually list more meal options than there are meals in any given week, and so I eventually whittle the list down and, on the opposite inner panel, list what we shall have on which day.

I often leave one day blank, giving us the opportunity to grab take-out or to shuffle meals around. Once I know what we'll be eating, I make my grocery list on one of the outside panels. I also divide this panel into 4 rectangles and separate the items on my list into either dairy, meat, produce, or 'other.' I never seem to find myself in the same store, but this division always works. I may not be so organized in other aspects of my life, but my grocery list has definitely got it goin' on!

We don't have a good meat section anywhere here in Northern Berkshire County. (If anyone reads this and can dispute this fact, please let me know.) My nearest meat section is downright pathetic. I have found that I cannot always plan a meal around a given type or cut of meat, since I often cannot find said meat anywhere in this corner of Massachusetts.

Thinking that it was only my neighborhood store that didn't stock beef tenderloin, I bought all of the other ingredients to make a roast. After examining the meat departments of 3 other stores, I gave up and bought the much more affordable pork tenderloin. As per Emeril's recipe in Everyday Food, I marinated it in mustard, horseradish, rosemary and thyme. The roasted pork came out wonderful...but I'm still determined to find beef tenderloin!

Oh, how I miss the meat counter at Whole Foods!

The Resolutions (2009 version)

2009-01-01T10:19:00.007-05:00

Why do we do this to ourselves?!

I am going to keep this year's list o' resolutions simple. Attempts to break old habits and/or form new ones always offers a challenge, so I am hoping to avoid setting myself up for failure.

ONE
I will read one book per month, and I will blog about said book once it has been read. I have been 'reading' Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle for well over a year, I think. This is ridiculous. There are a ton of books on my shelf waiting to be read, and it makes me sad. Time to fix that.

TWO
I will read the newspaper during my lunch half-hour, instead of spending more time at the computer as I eat. I don't think I've picked up the paper since October (!!), missing some major news stories along the way. The only thing I miss about my Orange Line commute is the time I was able to spend reading the Metro. (Oh, and my train friend, of course!)

THREE
A list of resolutions just wouldn't be complete without a weight-related proclamation, so here it is: I will lose 5 pounds by the end of January. Winter is a tough time to implement such a change, but I'm going for it. Look at this crazy weight chart!! This chart shows a year of weight fluctuations, clearly affected my some major life events.

FOUR
A resolution related to both dollars and pounds, I will pack and bring my lunch box 4 out of 5 work days each week. No problem.

FIVE
A bit more abstract, but I am going to try to address ideas and issues when they arise. This will hopefully result in a shrinking — rather than an expanding — to-do list.

SIX
Stop thinking about craft-making, and start making crafts. Results to be posted on the WIMY blog, of course.

And then...

THE LITTLE THINGS
There are a few things I hope to take care of ASAP (see Resolution Five above). They're more like short-term goals that don't quite fall into the 'Resolutions' category:

Design, print and distribute my SplinkDesign business cards for freelance work
Learn the bass clef (how else can I progress with my piano-playing?!)
Visit local farms and food producers in the area, and hopefully learn enough to start a MeetUp group for such activities
Eat more fish and vegetarian meals

THE BIG THINGS
There are some aspirations that are difficult to quantify. For these, I turn to my circle of family and friends. I am incredibly fortunate to have been influenced throughout my life by such a group of people. Each day, I will strive to be...as strong as my mom, as reliable as my dad, as compassionate as Jane, as tireless as Ruthie, as smiley as Laura, as honest as Shannon, as artistic as Senta, as perceptive as John...I could go on and on...

Soupy Sunday

2009-01-01T08:00:00.004-05:00

I am on a soup kick. This coincides nicely with the bread kick about which I have yet to blog.

I am inspired by chilly winter days, great soup from the co-op, the massive amount of nutrition that you can pack into a soup bowl, and some wonderful recipes that I have come across recently.

Since making my first batch of minestrone, I have made it two more times. I discovered the recipe in Everyday Food and have found it to be easy and completely flexible — a wonderful way to clean out the fridge! I think I can make it without looking at the recipe now (well, my own version, anyway).

Minestrone Soup
Roughly dice (is that an oxymoron?) an onion, a couple carrots, and a couple celery stalks and add them to a big pot with a good amount of olive oil. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and some fresh herbs (rosemary and/or thyme are nice — dried works OK, too). Sweat these veggies over medium heat with some salt (and pepper) until they begin to soften.

If you have a tube, squish some tomato paste onto the softened veggies and stir until the paste cooks a bit. Add a can of whole tomatoes (I've only been using Muir Glen brand), which you have cut into chunks (using kitchen shears right in the can!), and let it reduce for a bit. When all of your veggies are ready, add them to the pot. I have used combinations of cannellini beans, edamame, green beans, kale and red potato. I have also added pasta to the mix.

Add 7 cups of water (or chicken stock) and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste — like, a lot — especially if you have used water and not stock. You can add basil and parmesan cheese after cooking, too.

I don't consider mine to be a food blog, really. In fact, it had started off as more of a craft/design blog, but we all have to eat, so... I don't always include recipes in my posts for that reason. Rest assured that if I take the time to type a recipe, I think it's worth sharing! (Of course, feel free to ask me for any that I don't include.)

Grandma's Galumpkis

2008-12-29T08:00:00.006-05:00

Neither side of my family is of Eastern European descent, but since the Irish have contributed little to the culinary world, we seem to cling like overly-mashed potato to the foods of other cultures. My grandmother and aunt have an obsession with making galumpkis that not only encouraged me to eat my first galumpki this year, but also had me making two different recipes to see if I could make the perfect cabbage-wrapped meat dumpling. (They are a perfect meal for John, who has successfully cut bread from his diet.)

The first recipe was my grandma's standard galumpki recipe, which I copied from the browned page of an old cookbook. These galumpkis are very good, but they just seem to be missing something. Of course, I have nothing to compare them to, so this is based upon my imagination. I also tried Tyler Florence's recipe, which differed from my grandmother's in that some of the "meat mix" ingredients were sauteed before rolling them in the cabbage leaves. It also had a different approach to the sauce, using crushed tomatoes instead of tomato soup. I turned to my crock pot both times, rather than the oven.

I think it is my extreme fondness for Asian potstickers that has me trying to tweak these Polish recipes. I want the sauce to be sweet and vinegary, and I want there to be some sausage flavor in my dumpling. Otherwise, I find them a bit...bland. I realize that I am straying from the foundation of the galumpki here, but these flavors will be my goal when I attempt to make these for the third time. OR, maybe I should try to make steamed, cabbage-wrapped Asian dumplings? (On that subject, the frozen vegetable and chicken potstickers from Stop & Shop are really very good!)

Last Vacation Day

2008-12-28T20:25:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure that trying to see everyone we know in a 4-day span constitutes a vacation, but sadly, today marks the end of my Christmas break. I celebrated by making soup and refusing to get out of my pajamas. I had fun with the whole wheat vegetable alphabet noodles as the soup cooked — thus, the new header! (It's about time I designed a custom header for my blog!)

What Dad Made Yesterday #1

2008-12-26T08:00:00.003-05:00

Those of you who live on or visit my parents' street might have noticed that there are fewer trees around their house each year. My dad has gone on several tree cutting sprees, all of which are perfectly justified by the trees' disease states. Says the cutter, "They are going to come down by themselves anyway, and this way they won't fall on the house...or a car...or a person." I'm paraphrasing here.

Anyway, the most recent victim was a large pine tree between the front yards of my parents and their (one) neighbor. When we fist moved to the street in 1982, the tree was small enough to be decorated with holiday lights. This fall, however, the tree was gigantic and infested with ants that had weakened the internal structure of the trunk. So, dad fired up the chain-saw and cut the tree down, with help from his neighbor, until a large stump remained.

And then he carved some more...and researched, and carved, and painted, and added little reflecty eyes. My dad chainsaw-carved a bear!

We Heart Our Wreath!

2008-12-23T08:00:00.003-05:00

What a wonderful surprise it was to see a big cardboard box waiting for us as we pulled into our driveway a few weeks ago! Thank you, Friend, for the wonderful boost to our not-so-boosted holiday spirit! We love it. It makes us smile.

Blue Box Be Gone!

2008-12-20T08:00:00.003-05:00

Although I have sworn off the famous Blue Box for life, some unseen force resulted in my grabbing an assortment of Annie's Organic Macaroni and Cheese from the grocery shelf: white cheddar, yellow cheddar and whole wheat. We ate them all, and then I bought more. This, I thought, must mean that we like it.

It will never compare to my nostalgic Blue Box Mac & Cheese, but I feel much better about eating Annie's (ya know, with Philip Morris owning Kraft Foods, and all).

Pumpkin Penne with Sausage

2008-12-17T08:00:00.004-05:00

Hmmm... What to do with some leftover pumpkin puree?

Determined to get it right this time (versus this time, and this time), I took a look at my previous attempts at making a pumpkin-related pasta dish. This time I got it right.

My plan of attack was to almost mimic my Penne ala Vodka, using pumpkin puree instead of tomato sauce, and adding meat. My meat of choice this time was maple-apple chicken sausage, which was a perfect match for the pumpkin. I cut the sausage into bite-sized pieces and browned them (even though it was pre-cooked) in some olive oil. Once browned, I added a couple handfuls of shallots to the mix, cooking until slightly soft. A bit of chicken stock deglazed the pan of its dark brown sausage-y bits, and after reducing for a few minutes, I added my leftover pumpkin puree (which was maybe 3/4 cup). I let the ingredients mingle as our (whole wheat) pasta cooked, then added some heavy cream, a little butter (never underestimate the power of butter!), and some salt and pepper.

It was perfect. It was almost perfect. It was so very orange, though, and John and I both decided that the addition of some sage in the next rendition would be the perfect cure.

Ice Storm

2008-12-16T08:00:00.003-05:00

John and I left early Saturday morning for a weekend trip to Boston. As we packed our little suitcase, our conversation went something like this:

Him: I was thinking of taking the Pike to Boston and Route 2 home from Boston. [You see, we're very tired of the turnpike...to the point where it sucks the life out of us. Er, me.]

Me: Well, it's a beautiful driving day today, and we don't know what tomorrow is going to be like...[clearly]...so we should take Route 2 today. It'll be fun!

Him: OK.
___

So, yeah...we have a small pile of unopened newspapers from the latter part of last week, and once we saw that John had school on Friday, we thought that the storm forecasters had really gotten it wrong.

They didn't. The storm just happened to miss us, and for that we are very lucky and grateful. Below are some photos from the early part of our trip on Route 116 through Cheshire, Savoy, and Windsor, Massachusetts. Absolutely everything was encased in glass-like ice, weighing down trees, powerlines, signs, and even blades of grass.

(Even apart from the storm, this was the worst route yet that we have taken across the state!)

Pumpkin Ice Cream

2008-12-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

I have been a slacker when it comes to making desserts. Thanksgiving morning, I knew it would be a boost for my holiday spirit to put that can of pumpkin puree to good use. So, I spent the morning making pumpkin ice cream.

As with most of the ice cream I have made, the recipe came from the Williams-Sonoma Ice Cream book, which has proven to be a wonderful resource. (The only disaster I've experienced so far in my ice-cream making involved orange sorbet, and I'm pretty sure that was entirely my fault.)

Here's my creation, packed and ready to be transported to our T-Day gathering:

Looks like peanut butter, doesn't it?

I found this ice cream to be very heavy, almost as if I drank a glass of pumpkin pie (milk cravings soon followed). All of the home-made ice creams I have made are more substantial than their store-bought counterparts, most likely because of the egg content. Still, it's difficult not to fill up one's bowl with giant scoops!

Baby Shower Invites: Lucas and Elena

2008-12-13T08:00:00.002-05:00

My friend, Jessie, had found the perfect invitation for her baby shower...almost. It was not the right color for her celebration and, more importantly, it did not reflect that there are two babies on the way. With her direction, we put a spin on the invitation that she found.

The original, by Tiny*Prints, can be viewed by clicking here.

And here is my design:

Matching thank-you cards will soon be designed, as well. Especially since the little duckies arrived this week!

My 1st New Jersey Freshwater Fishing Digest

2008-12-12T12:32:00.007-05:00

I've been at my new job since the middle of August, and am very excited that my first book is about to hit the shelves in New Jersey!

Picking up another designer's files (and making them your own) can be very challenging. Style sheets are so personal!

Most of my own personal style and (obsessive) attention to detail can be felt beyond the cover, and I really think that my designs and re-designs have improved the readability of this book. Readability seems particularly important when your job is to clearly convey the laws of the Environmental Protection Agency. Of course, all of the charts and fish identification images I have been working on have me wanting to design a logo, or come up with an ad campaign!

Kathy's Famous Lasagna, Remixed

2008-12-11T08:00:00.014-05:00

Our Christmas and 4th of July gatherings would simply not be the same without my Aunt Kathy's famous lasagna. This is not a family recipe, per se, nor is it an authentic lasagna recipe by any means. It's entirely constructed of pre-made ingredients, most of which are really salty and fatty and bad for you. My god, though...this lasagna really tastes very good.

To make this much-loved dish, Kathy browns some ground beef, sometimes along with some sausage, and ads this meat to a big jar of Ragu (with meat) along with a packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix...and pepperoni. Salty Salterson! Uncooked lasagna noodles are layered with this sauce, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. I've never met a person who didn't like it.

Unfortunately, that recipe relies heavily on processed, packaged foods. It's a wonderful treat twice a year, but I wanted a weekday meal that we could consume without guilt for several days. I set out to make a healthier version, using ingredients as close as possible to their natural form.

I replaced all of the meat with hot turkey sausage. I browned the meat and added 2 cans of Muir Glen crushed tomatoes to the mix along with a little kosher salt. (As an important aside, I buy Muir Glen tomatoes in their various canned forms whenever possible. Their flavor and freshness really do make a difference in the outcome of any meal.)

I let this tomato sauce simmer for a while (30 minutes?) while I made some caramelized onions to replace the concentrated flavor of the Lipton Onion Soup Mix. I cut about 5 medium onions into rough strips and slowly cooked them in some olive oil and butter over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, occasionally covering and sometimes stirring until brown, sweet, and just starting to fall apart.

To add some nutrition to the meal, I thawed two packages of frozen spinach, ringing them out very well to get rid of the extra water. I was also sure to use whole wheat lasagna noodles (I've never once pre-cooked lasagna noodles, nor have I ever bought the no-boil noodles — they all work!) and low-fat cottage cheese (I refuse to buy non-fat products—they scare me), as well as part-skim mozzarella cheese.

Once everything was ready (and the oven was preheated to 375 degrees), I began the layering: sauce, noodles, sauce, cottage cheese, spinach, onions, mozzarella, shredded parmesan, noodles, sauce, cottage cheese, spinach, onions, mozzarella, shredded parmesan, noodles, sauce, mozzarella, parmesan. Phew, that was fun!

Then, into the oven it goes — covered with foil for the first 45 minutes, then foil-less for the final 15 until the cheese is brown and the lasagna is bubbly.

This lasagna was unbelievably awesome and, really, it was my first official original recipe! John really loved it, which worked out especially well. The lasagna was primed for consumption (after a rest overnight in the fridge) on his birthday. Since he's not eating bread or anything remotely cake-like, I came up with a solution... (The lit candle, a barrier between the lasagna and his fork, didn't last long enough for a photo.)

Homemade Pesto, Storebought Pasta

2008-12-08T08:00:00.004-05:00

OK, OK... I made this meal at the end of the summer in an effort to gather and use the leaves of my basil plant before it died.

I find that jarred pestos often have a weird fake taste to them, and it was great to make my own (using Helen Rennie's recipe as posted on her blog — my god, she must think I am a stalker!) to top some quickie Buitoni 3-Cheese Tortellini. As much as I try to make all of my meals from scratch, there are (at least) two nights a week where I give in to at least partially prepared dinners.

I have actually been having a difficult time finding the refrigerated Buitoni pasta in my local grocery stores. Stop & Shop has replaced it with their own (nasty) brand, and Price Chopper no longer carries it. We recently tried the Barilla (dry) Porcini Mushroom Tortellini in its place (below, with a quick buttery cream sauce with peas), and found the filling texture to be gritty and weird. Ew. Maybe we need to try frozen?

Cast Iron, Reseasoned

2008-12-05T08:17:00.005-05:00

Those of you who follow my blog might remember how I stupidly braised chicken in wine in my beautifully-seasoned cast iron dutch oven. When I washed the pot, I discovered that the acidic wine had stripped the iron of its protective coating. Oops.

Finally, I got around to reseasoning the pot. It was easy enough...just had to melt some vegetable shortening in the microwave to make it liquidy enough to easily coat the entire pot. I then popped the upside-down pan into a cold oven (with an aluminum-lined cookie sheet on the rack beneath it), and heated the oven to 400 degrees. The pot "cooked" for an hour, then remained in the oven to cool. It got smelly in the house (and my eyes burned a little), but I was delighted when I removed the cool pot to find that the silvery areas were nice and coated once again. (Easy enough, but it doesn't stop me from dreaming of an enamel coated cast iron dutch oven...)

Italian Soup, Two Ways

2008-12-02T08:00:00.005-05:00

My mom discovered this Italian Soup recipe sometime around 1990 (perhaps she remembers the source, and can share it in a comment below...?) It's one of the first things I ever attempted to make on my own, and it really is a tasty, hearty dish. Much more stew-like than soup-like, I think.

I recently made this using the old recipe card I had written 15 years ago, and decided that I would make some healthy adjustments in my next attempt.

Here's the original recipe:

Brown a roll of Jimmy Dean pork sausage in a dutch oven; add one chopped onion and one chopped green pepper. Once the vegetables have started to cook, add a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, 2 8oz cans of tomato sauce, 2 8oz cans of water, 3 cubes of chicken bouillon, and 3/4 tsp garlic powder and simmer (covered) on low for 15 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of ditallini pasta, stir, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. (The soup will thicken if it is left to sit for a bit). Top with shredded mozzarella and serve. Yum!

So, I basically tried to un-Sandra-Lee-ify this recipe. For the modified recipe, I browned turkey sausage (instead of the Jimmy Dean pork sausage) in some olive oil, I omitted the bouillon cubes and replaced the water with chicken stock, I used real garlic instead of garlic powder, and I used small whole wheat pasta shells instead of the standard ditallini. The result was wonderful, and might even be considered healthy!

Cream of Wheat, How I Love Thee

2008-11-29T08:00:00.003-05:00

It was John that introduced me to cream of wheat, after he excitedly ordered it at this cute outdoor Union Square restaurant with horrific service. Since then, it has become a cold weather breakfast treat for us, and I have almost figured out when to remove the pan from the heat in order to achieve the perfect not-too-thick consistency.

I insist upon making my cream of wheat using only milk (no water), and have started experimenting with some additional ingredients (not that it lacks anything on its own!). Most recently, we have been topping our cream of wheat with mixed berries (these guys were frozen...it's not exactly berry season here), and just a tiny bit of some wonderful local maple syrup. LOVE IT.

Pork Mango Picadillo

2008-11-26T08:00:00.001-05:00

I came across this recipe for Pork Mango Picadillo a long time ago, and was drawn in by both the photo and the ingredients. I had never heard of picadillo before, and it seemed like this Latin American dish could be considered somewhat healthy, especially as it incorporated vegetables and fruit and could easily be modified. Basically, picadillo consists of ground meat spiced with cloves and cinnamon, mixed with various other ingredients (tomatoes, onions, almonds...). It can be served with rice (brown rice, in the case of our dinner) or as a filling for tacos. Mmmm...this would be very good in a taco.

I really liked this recipe, but for the sake of comparison I have since printed out a number of picadillo recipes. I am amazed at the regional variability (such as the addition of olives and raisins) from one recipe to another. I am looking forward to making this simple dish again soon, and may try it with ground turkey to lighten it up a bit.

11-11: Anniversary No.2

2008-11-23T09:41:00.003-05:00

We were surprised and delighted to receive a beautiful, unique bouquet of flowers from our family friends, the Moons, in celebration of our second wedding anniversary on November 11th. There's a cabbage in there!

Thank you!!

Natural Bridge State Park

2008-11-23T08:00:00.007-05:00

On a beautiful mid-October day, my friend Laura and I set out to find the Natural Bridge State Park somewhere off Route 8 in North Adams. We had a hard time. Our GPS could find neither the street nor the park, so we just winged it and drove to where we thought the park might be. Luckily, there were signs, and we found it with little difficulty. Unfortunately, we arrived 15 minutes before the park closed, so we had only those 15 minutes to figure out where this "natural bridge" was.

I'm not sure we ever found out? At one point, we asked someone where it was, and she implied that we were standing on it, so...hmmm. I'm just going to say (until we make the trip again in the spring) that the park consists of big hunks of rock (very scientific) that continue to be carved by the flow of water. There are all sorts of deep valleys in the rock that you pass over on narrow fenced stairways, and you can see the water flowing below. I'm assuming that this water sculpted what is now the "bridge"?

Ugh, I'm sure Laura would agree that we would have learned more if we weren't so afraid of getting locked in the park overnight! Anyway, here are a few pictures of the park:

The path upon which we ran through the park:

The water carved a valley beneath us:

We think this white rock is the "bridge" — it extended around to the part upon which we were standing. Very bridge-like!

There were areas for picnicking and leaf-peeping, too:

This was pretty much the last perfectly autumnal Berkshire day of 2008:

Burgundy Beans, Revisited

2008-11-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning for a while to post my experience with these bizarre purple beans that I had bought at the North Adams farmer's market over the summer. When the farmer saw my excitement at their burgundy-ness, she let me down easy, telling me that they turn green — like any other bean — when they are cooked. I had to put it to the test.

Here are the lovely raw beans — look how they are green inside!

Here are those same beans, microwaved in a casserole dish with a little water, a pat of butter, a couple of cloves of crushed garlic and some salt — so easy and good!

She was right! (I suppose they tasted the same as regular ol' green beans, too!)

Penne ala...

2008-11-15T09:35:00.004-05:00

I first started watching the Food Network sometime in 2001. Although I hate to admit this (because she is just not the same person she was then), it was largely due to Rachel Ray. One of the first things she ever made on 30 Minute Meals was Penne ala Vodka (which she unfortunately felt the need to call You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta.

A friend of mine had made her family's version of this dish for me about 5 years before I watched this episode. It was one of the most delicious things I had ever eaten, and when I tried to create her recipe, it didn't even compare. (Not sure what went wrong there, MJ!)

So, when I saw that RR had a few slightly different ingredients, I gave it a try and it came out just great. It was the first successful dish I had ever cooked, and though it is so easy for me now, it was a major challenge then. Completely unsure of myself in the kitchen, I even counted out the 20 leaves of basil!

This was also the first meal I made for my husband (before he was my husband) — I guess I wasn't single for long? Since he doesn't drink, I learned that making this sauce without the vodka is no big deal at all (and it makes the meal a bit more affordable, too).

When I made this the other night, it was a breeze — makes me realize how far I have come!

Hairpin Turn

2008-11-11T08:00:00.005-05:00

On a lovely fall day, we parked at the hairpin turn on Route 2 in North Adams. We had taken Route 2 from Boston when we moved to the Berkshires, and it wasn't until we drove through Florida (the town) that I remembered John would have to navigate this crazy-sharp turn in a giant U-Haul. He told me afterward that his hands got all sweaty. Yikes! It is easy to see why:

In our Corolla, however, it was a very pleasant trip:

Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers

2008-11-08T08:00:00.002-05:00

I have a great pecan chicken recipe that I found on the internet when the web was a very new thing. I'll be sure to make it soon and post it on the ol' blog.

Right now, though, we are on an almond kick. They sell surprisingly inexpensive bulk almonds at our food co-op, and we always have some on hand. Also, I really prefer to make chicken recipes that do not involve cutting the chicken in any way. The potential spread of salmonella seems, in my mind, to multiply like crazy when you involve a cutting board and a knife. So, I'm all about the package-to-pan method of cooking chicken. Of course, this recipe involved an additional step, so it's really a package-to-coating-to-pan recipe — and it was very good and nutritious!

Anyone else hate the new Food Network website?

We Voted!

2008-11-05T19:36:00.004-05:00

I hope my friend doesn't mind my posting a picture of her super cute daughter on my blog... I thought her casual little post-voting pose was better than any election-related picture I was going to come up with!

I am very jealous of her sticker. I had even looked for them at the polling place. Oh, well...2012...

Filet Mignon

2008-11-03T08:00:00.003-05:00

Below is a horrible, hastily-taken photo of one of the best steaks I have ever eaten. I have wanted for some time to apply the techniques I learned in the Tender at the Bone (aka Meat) Class that I took last year to make us a meal featuring filet mignon.

I have tried to make filet mignon twice before, using a recipe that claimed a hot sear for 3 minutes on each side would produce a medium-rare steak. It does not. Filet mignon is a thick little steak, and both times I attempted that recipe I had to return the steak to the pan several times. But not this time.

A technique suggested in an issue of Cook's Illustrated involves cooking the meat in the oven to a specific internal temperature (using a probe thermometer), then removing it from the oven and searing it on all sides. While the meat rests on a plate, a pan sauce can be made (which I then mixed with some mushrooms that I had sauteed throughout the process.) Despite the ugly photo (we were in a hurry to eat it!), this was definitely one of the best things I have ever cooked. And, cooking filet mignon yourself not only saves tons of money, but ensures that your steak is actually cooked to your liking.

Borscht

2008-11-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

Until making it myself, I had never had borscht. I had, however, once had a beet soup made with a duck stock and it sure was memorable. (I have yet to dislike duck in any culinary form.) So, when Helen Rennie posted her family's borscht recipe on her blog, along with a mouth-watering photo of her creation, I had to give it a try. (She is Russian, after all...)

I confess that I did not make my own beef stock, so I missed out on beefy bits it my soup. Also, I had three different kinds of beef stock in the cabinet that I was interested in using up, and I was surprised to see that they each had a unique color and clarity. I hope to make my own next time. And there shall be a next time...

What Mom Made Yesterday #8

2008-10-30T08:00:00.004-04:00

With our first Berkshire snow falling in October this year, I was reminded of this felt wall-hanging that my mom made a few years ago. So cute!

BerkShares

2008-10-28T08:00:00.007-04:00

I recently discovered that Berkshire County has its own currency — BerkShares. There was a BerkShare festival in August, but I was unable to go to learn more about this local cash.

BerkShares are largely a southern Berkshire County idea, designed to promote shopping in local stores. You can purchase the Berkshares with normal cash, at a 10% discount. So, you can buy 10 Berkshares for 9 dollars, and then you can spend your 10 BerkShares at a participating shop (again, most of which are in south county).

One of the best places I can think to utilize BerkShares is at Guido's Fresh Marketplace in Lenox and Great Barrington, one of a handful of specialty (pricey) food shops in the area. I will happily take 10% off my Guido's food bill!

In the meantime, I'm hoping the BerkShares idea catches on and spreads to my north county neighborhood.

Here are some images of the currency from the BerkShares website):

Salmon Burgers

2008-10-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

I ran into my high school Biology teacher at the 2008 Relay for Life in Pittsfield. Herself a cancer survivor, she was giving a nutritional cooking demonstration. I flipped though her handout of recipes and nothing really caught my eye...but when I tried her salmon burgers, I knew I had to make them.

The idea of running fish through the food processor did seem kind of nasty (my mom was reminded of the old Bass-o-Matic SNL skit), but it was well worth it. The salmon was blended with ginger and garlic, then folded into panko bread crumbs, green onions, red peppers (missing in mine!), and an egg. The pan-seared burgers are served with a wasabi-mayo sauce. Wow.

So far, this is my favorite salmon dish...ever.

Addendum: I recently tried to make these burgers using canned salmon, and the whole canned fish thing skeeved me out to such a degree that I couldn't eat them. That's right, pureed fish is more appetizing than canned fish to me.

Chicken Soup For the Rotator Cuff's Soul

2008-10-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

I have tried to make chicken soup on several occasions and it never comes out quite right. This time, I roasted the chicken and vegetables prior to simmering them, giving the soup a nice color and flavor. I desperately wanted to add alphabet noodles, but couldn't find them at our local store. Next time, for sure.

The inspiration for the soup was my aunt, who had just undergone rotator cuff surgery, however it made plenty to share with non-recovering people, too.

Ridin' the Rail Trail

2008-10-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

We are so lucky to live right next to the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. Old railroad tracks were removed to create an 11.2-mile paved trail that runs through three Berkshire towns, by lakes and rivers...and the Berkshire Mall.

We can access the trail easily by crossing Route 8, and it has felt great to finally get some use out of the bike I bought last summer (to replace the one that was stolen in Somerville). My parents once ran into a bear on the trail, but all I have seen are bunnies and turtles. I'm fine with that.

Brasciole

2008-10-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

At last, I made brasciole. It was wonderful, and the slow braise in the oven gave the tomato sauce the most amazing flavor.

However, I had no idea that I was supposed to pound out the meat before filling and rolling it. So, here is an uber-thick version of Giada DeLaurentis' brasciole. (I'll be pounding out this recipe again soon.)

Wow. Close-up photos of beef are just not attractive, are they?

What Mom Made Yesterday #7

2008-10-18T08:00:00.003-04:00

I confess that I've come across some older photos and, in fact, mom made this more than five years ago. I am sure of this because the baby for whom this quilt was made just started kindergarten! Here is Mikey's bright, fun quilt:

The Last of the Heirlooms

2008-10-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

I should confess, I have been updating my blog by posting into the future. Mid-October is no time for heirloom tomatoes. We actually ate this beautiful little specimen in early September. It was worth its own post!

Just Another Manic Morning

2008-10-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

I think it's safe to say that I suffer from a somewhat fictitious condition that I have decided to name Morning Mania. No, you won't find it in the DSM, but my husband will definitely vouch for me. I overwhelm myself with ideas and lists of tasks that I could never possibly have enough time to accomplish. (This kind of makes me resent having to go to work, although, I have new earlier work hours that are going to help tremendously.)

This most frequently occurs on weekend mornings, and it sometimes keeps me from sleeping as long as I should. A typical Saturday morning involves waking earlier than I do during the week, making grocery lists and other to-do lists, getting wrapped up in an unexpected project, finally getting to the grocery store...then completely crashing sometime around 11:30am. Grumpy and tired, but refusing to take a nap, I struggle to get through my lists, and feel disappointed when I can't accomplish everything. Essentially, I set myself up to fail, and this is not good.

I think it's clear from this blog that I take advantage of my creative energy. But I'm starting to realize that I need more downtime. I need to sit and read. I need to take naps. I need to just be.

The only solution I can come up with, in an effort to become more conscious of my pressure-inducing-list-making habit, is to limit the number of items on my lists. I am going to implement this idea this weekend and see how it goes. I think I will be happier for doing so.

U-Haul, U Suck

2008-10-12T08:00:00.004-04:00

I want everyone to know that U-Haul is evil.

They encourage you to buy more of their boxes than you think you may need for your move, and promise that you can return all unused boxes for a full refund. They call this their "100% Buyback Guarantee." It sounds nice. I bought $90 worth of extra boxes.

They do not tell you that the boxes must be returned to designated U-Haul centers. So if you are, say, moving to rural Massachusetts, you cannot return the boxes along with the truck, and the nearest designated center is an hour away.

Boxes are big. They fit nicely in the U-Haul truck, but do not fit in our little Corolla. After the company failed twice to contact me about the situation, as they had promised, I spoke to a representative who gave me the option of FedEx-ing my boxes to U-Haul headquarters...for $250. She refused to provide me with a mailing address where I could send a letter requesting that they change their website to list the specific box-buyback store locations.

John and I borrowed a car to return the boxes at a U-Haul center in Northampton, MA. Others could easily be stuck with hundreds of dollars worth of boxes.

We decided that we weren't going to let U-Haul ruin our day and, actually, the man that assisted us in Northampton was very helpful. (I might have told him in advance that I was going to freak out on him if he didn't process the return...) We celebrated with delicious lunch at Spoletto Express and German Chocolate Cake Ice Cream (my absolute favorite) from the Williamsburg General Store on the way home.

Blueberry Redemption

2008-10-10T08:00:00.002-04:00

I really wanted to go blueberry picking after discovering that I bought berries from California and Canada to make a fruit salad. There are berry picking places throughout the Berkshires, and I truly felt guilty for not giving them my business. Unfortunately, I had just missed berry-picking season.

Foreign Berry Salad:

Other opportunities for picking my own local produce began to present themselves to me, however. My boss owns a farm share at Caretaker Farm in Williamstown. When he and his family went out of town for a weekend, they let us collect their share for the week. We filled their canvas bag with greens, a pumpkin, beets, onions, a cabbage, herbs...and then we picked our own edamame, kale and raspberries. It was awesome. (My camera was acting up that morning, so the image below is from the farm's website.)

We also recently went apple-picking at Lakeview Orchard in Lanesboro. We arrived early on a Saturday morning to beat the crowds. It was my first time ever picking apples, and I made sure to enjoy some mulled cider and a cider doughnut, too.

I am also proud to say that John and I just became members of the food co-op in Williamstown. I hope I've made up for my berry mishap!

Send It to My Hotmail

2008-10-08T08:00:00.006-04:00

No, really.

That picture was taken on a hot morning in August. The one below was taken this morning. Brrr!

I couldn't help but also take a picture of the bizarre fur-like frost that grew on our car's roof overnight. Weird! (Click on the photo for a larger image.)

Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

2008-10-06T08:00:00.010-04:00

I discovered quinoa a while ago, and had been following the cooking directions on the box...until I read Helen Rennie's post describing a quinoa cooking method similar to that of risotto. What a difference! Plus, we tried the slightly firmer red quinoa in this wonderful salad:

I don't think I'm the only one who stalks Helen's blog, and rightfully so!

Palin's Popcorn

2008-10-05T05:09:00.002-04:00

I was pretty excited to watch the vice-presidential debate on Thursday evening. I anticipated that it would be more entertaining than the Sex and the City movie that I had (finally) watched the night before and, in preparation, I made some popcorn.

I don't know why anyone thinks that special equipment is needed to make popcorn, or how boxed, plastic-wrapped, chemically-drowned microwave popcorn is the norm. (Oooo, and don't get me started about the cost of movie popcorn — the people should revolt!)

Anyway, it's just this easy (and incredibly inexpensive) to make popcorn:

• Choose a saucepan and lid
• Coat the bottom of pan with a layer of oil (vegetable, olive, whatever...)
• Pour popcorn kernels to just barely cover the bottom of the pan (it doesn't look like much, but it is!)
• Place the pan (with lid!) over medium-high heat, shaking occasionally until you hear popping
• Keep shaking over heat until popping stops, remove lid
• Toss popcorn in a large bowl with salt and melted butter (or olive oil, as we did — yum!)

It takes the same amount of time as the microwave popcorn, is so much cheaper and healthier, and...it's kind of fun, too.

I don't want to comment much on the debate, other than noticing that Palin came across as the Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee of candidates. The way she spoke to the American public (and to Senator Joe Biden) was disrespectful of our intelligence. Her choice to offer her responses using words usually reserved for the most informal of situations did not make her seem more accessible, it made her come across as inauthentic. (As an aside, if Barack Obama spoke in this fashion, he would most certainly not be a candidate for the presidency.)

In short, it was the worst job interview I have ever witnessed...but my popcorn was the real deal. (Really, it all relates...)

Pee-Wee's Big Dusty Adventure

2008-10-04T08:00:00.004-04:00

Where to begin? I bought this Pee-Wee Herman action figure when I lived in Las Vegas. (Yes, I lived in Las Vegas). That was around the year 2000. Since then, this thing has moved along with me about 5 times. My thought was that it would someday reside in my office at work—that it would only leave its packaging when it had a lovely desk to live on. I am working from my third cubicle now, and I see no office in my future (other than a home office!).

Why could I not just love Pee-Wee's Playhouse without having to attach those feelings to a plastic toy? (I confess that I recently got rid of my Mulder and Scully action figures, too.) This, I suppose, is emotional consumerism. I am marking my official sensitivity to this issue by selling my Pee-Wee doll at an a tag sale today. I'm not concerned about its selling price (despite still being in its package) — I just want it to go.

On the topic of the unnecessary accumulation of trendy, media-driven garbage, I cannot believe that Disney-Pixar has the nerve to sell toys from the anti-consumerism themed movie, WALL•E. That is so very sad.

ADDENDUM (10/4/08): Pee-Wee sold for $2 to a woman who was living with her sister in Sarasota, FL when Paul Reubens was arrested there. She bought it as a gag gift for her sister.

Brown Eggs Are (Actually) Local Eggs (This Time)

2008-10-02T08:00:00.002-04:00

We have been eating eggs much more regularly for a few months. We have "egg night" once a week, and we've been adding eggs to some salads, as well. I'm excited to have been stocking our fridge with eggs from local Williamstown chickens (through the Wild Oats Co-Op). They are wonderful.

According to Mr.Breakfast, there is no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs (making the claim in the jingle erroneous), but there is a difference between farm fresh eggs and those from the grocery store shelf that have been transported from who-knows-where (even if they're brown). Farm fresh eggs are tastier and fluffier, and sometimes more yellow. Mostly though, it just feels great to be supporting a local farmer.

What Mom Made Yesterday #6

2008-10-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Another lovely little wool felt holiday mat made by mom!

Cream Puffs

2008-09-30T08:00:00.003-04:00

I made these cream puffs (or, the fancier name...pâte à choux) for my grandma on grandparents' day. She does love cream puffs! They are surprisingly easy to make, although, I accidentally made them twice the size they were supposed to be, according to Alton Brown's recipe. Perhaps that wasn't a problem at all!

Puffs in the making:

A freshly baked and filled puff:

Roasted Carrots with Honey

2008-09-28T08:00:00.002-04:00

I have roasted carrots before, typically tossing "baby carrots" into a roasting pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper. They have never been as good as these:

These deliciously sweet little carrots, from the farmers market in North Adams, were cut into smaller pieces, and cooked at a high temperature until I could see that the carrots' natural sugars were beginning to caramelize. I moved the carrots from the cookie sheet to a bowl, where I tossed them with only a tiny bit of honey. They were amazing.

Braised Chicken with Dried Plums

2008-09-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

OK. No one says dried grapes when referring to raisins, so I'm not sure why Everyday Food decided to title this recipe "Braised Chicken with Dried Plums."

I thought to myself, my puny local store is never going to carry something as exotic and new-age-hippy-souding as dried plums. And then I realized that dried plums are prunes, and there were containers a'plenty at the store.

This was a wonderful dinner — another successful meal made with chicken thighs! The flavors blended wonderfully together, and the dried plums were sweet and soft after briefly cooking in the braise.

I did make a horrible mistake, however, making this wine-based braise in my cast iron dutch oven. The acid from the wine removed the seasoning from my pan. This isn't disastrous, as it can be re-seasoned, but it does have me exploring the unchartered world of enamel-coated cast iron. Yummy...

Lunchtime Walk

2008-09-24T08:00:00.002-04:00

Although my new workplace building appears to be somewhat isolated (apart from a nearby Dunkin Donuts), it turns out that the center of Williamstown is only a short walk away. I recently changed my work hours, making for a 1/2 hour lunch, but a few weeks ago I was having to kill an hour at lunchtime. The walks were great — but getting out early is much better!

Here are some photos of "downtown" Williamstown, Williams College, and the Williams College Museum of Art:

Matchstick Potatoes

2008-09-22T08:00:00.001-04:00

There is a lot to be said for cooking spray. I try to avoid it, when possible, as it seems to consist of compressed chemicals in a can. This recipe specifically called for spraying the foil-lined pan with such spray, and it seemed like a very good idea...only I had none.

Boy, did these little mandoline-matchsticked potatoes stick to the foil. I watched them roast in their olive oil goodness in the oven, then went to toss them intermittently and — nope — they weren't going to budge. I was essentially making a giant oven-roasted hash brown. This was not what I had in mind to go with our burgers.

John was the voice of hope, saying that maybe they would be OK. He was right. I peeled my hash brown from the foil like a Smurf from a giant sheet of Colorforms.

They were good. I'm wondering — can we do the same thing with beets? Carrots?

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-09-21T08:01:00.000-04:00

Although it would have been obvious to make a pie to bring to Taylor Pie's house concert, I decided instead to try out this cookie recipe that has been circulation around the web like crazy. I'm not much of a cookie person, but these were pretty darn good.

They're no more complicated to make than when using the recipe from the yellow Tollhouse bag, but there are a few more ingredients, and the batter needs to rest in the fridge for 24 hours. The extra fun and tasty part, though, is the freshly ground sea salt that tops the cookies just before baking.

Pie-Oh-My*

2008-09-21T08:00:00.005-04:00

I was honored to have been invited to the home of my dear friends, Senta and Karen, last night to see folk-singer Taylor Pie perform live...in house concert!

I was only slightly familiar with her music, having previewed some tunes online last Christmas, for which I bought Senta one of Taylor Pie's CDs. Senta has long-remembered Taylor Pie, or "Pie," from the time she spent singing and songwriting in the Berkshires in the 80s. After last night, I am joining Senta and her family as fans of Pie, for sure. It was a cozy, beautiful evening.

Taylor Pie will be performing in (non-house) concert next Thursday, September 25th, at the American Legion in Pittsfield.

*Die-hard fans of The Sopranos might recall that Tony's horse was named Pie-Oh-My. John and I are in the middle of watching Season 4 right now...slightly obsessed!

What Mom Made Yesterday #5

2008-09-20T12:02:00.003-04:00

Mom's been working on this lovely little autumn-themed wool felt mat for a friend of the family. Now that it's finished and the friend has received it, I can post it on the ol' blog without ruining any surprises!

Love the colors!

What perfect little stitches!

Weekend Outing: Windsor Jambs

2008-09-20T08:00:00.006-04:00

John and I have really been enjoying our proximity to places of outdoor adventure. We wanted to go for a bit of a drive for a day trip, and it seemed that all of the exciting places to visit were right around the corner!

With our handy Garmin, we arrived quickly at Windsor Jambs...kind of. I found all sorts of conflicting information as to which Berkshire town this forest resides. Finally, I plugged in a nearby address and we followed signs. Weird!

We arrived at the picnic area and walked around a bit, then decided to follow the hiking trail uphill to the jambs. I had been to the picnic area once before (when I was about 3 years old), but had never returned and had never seen the tumbling water of the jambs. I was on a mission...only we couldn't find the trail! So, we drove to the jambs and hiked around the trails there. Ah, well...

Windsor Dam (not to be confused with Windsor Jambs):

The Jambs:

I experienced a total flashback when we first arrived at the forest. I was standing by the edge of the pond and saw all of the tadpoles swimming in the sunny, warm part of the water. Suddenly, I remembered looking at the tadpoles 30 years ago in that very spot. (Actually, I had forgotten all about tadpoles!) I did some photo research when we got home, and here was the proof:

Um, you'll just have to trust me that this photo was taken at Windsor Jambs with the tadpoles. Anyway, click here for a few more photos from our adventure.

A Little Bloggy Head Count

2008-09-19T12:30:00.003-04:00

Hello friends! This blogger would really like to know who is reading my blog on a regular, or even semi-regular basis. OK, if you've ever even once looked to see if my blog has been updated, can you please leave me a comment after this post? I'd love to know who I am talking to.

Many, many thanks!
Erin

Workin' on My Tian

2008-09-18T08:00:00.006-04:00

My obsession with local, seasonal produce and my discovery of the kitchen mandoline collided when I made a vegetable tian the other morning. According to the Boston Globe, a tian is a mixture of vegetables, all very thinly sliced, tucked into tight overlapping concentric circles in a shallow dish and baked together. That's exactly what I did.

Using the mandoline made for a speedy cutting job, but layering the veggies was a bit time consuming. (This leads me to think that one could make a 'Lazy Man's Tian' where everything is sort of tossed in together.) Maybe I need to take less of a design approach to my tians?

As you can see, it just looks like a blob anyway after it's cut, so I'm all for the Lazy Man method!

This dish was good when it came out of the oven...but it was spectacular the following day for lunch.

ADDENDUM:
I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make an entire dish from the current veggies at the farmer's market, so I made another tian. Let's call it Busy Man's Tian — especially appropriate because I was cooking/prepping three other things at the same time. This time I just mixed everything together in the same bowl and plopped it into the pie dish. The verdict will have to be delivered by those who ate it — feel free to leave a comment, mom!

Online Blog Auctions for a Family in Need

2008-09-16T21:37:00.004-04:00

I came across this family's story in several of the design/craft blogs I regularly read. Their story is below, along with two blogs that are offering hand-crafted items for auction, for which the family receives 100% of the proceeds. As a very tiny, tiny member of the blogging community, I felt strongly compelled to help spread the word:

From the family's blog:

Carol Decker, my wife, had an emergency cesarean section on June 10, 2008. After the surgery she developed life-threatening hypotension from a septic pneumonia infection. After fighting for several weeks, the medicine she was on to save her life had the unfortunate side effect of blocking blood flow to her legs, left arm and eyes.

Since then, Carol has had both legs below the knee amputated, her left arm amputated and she is blind. Carol was transferred to Harborview after an extended stay in ICU at Swedish Hospital, which insurance has covered to an extent and the rest we have had to pay for out of pocket. Carol will now begin inpatient rehab, which her insurance will not cover, and is estimated to cost somewhere around $80,000.

Carol, Chloe, Safiya and I just want to say "thank you" to everyone who is helping. Your thoughts, prayers and contributions are not only hard to believe but really have shown us the humanity and compassion that people really have. I hope we have the opportunity to personally thank each and every one of you. Until then, please accept our deepest gratitude and thanks.

Warm Regards,
Scott & Carol Decker

Click here to see the lovely items on one ongoing auction, and here for the other.

Little Fish in a Little Pond

2008-09-16T08:00:00.004-04:00

Who knew that starting a new job in late summer meant that I would score a second company summer outing?! My first outing this year was to catch a Lowell Spinners Game (in Lowell, of course), and my second brought me to Laurel Lake in Lee for a bass fishing tournament, competing against six of my very new co-workers. (Sadly, my camera battery was dead when I arrived at the lake, so I've included a couple of cell phone pictures.)

I shared a boat with my remaining co-workers, and I quickly learned how to cast a line (and how to avoid getting snagged by someone else's cast line in tight quarters). I had gone fishing many times, many years ago with my dad, but we used a different technique. (I won't dispel that technique here, just in case it's his secret weapon — similar to the secret ingredient in his famous beef stew.) Proudly, and somewhat amazingly, I caught the first three tiny fish for our team.

It was a hot day, and apparently fish don't like the sun. Well, and we ran out of worms. My successful morning with the ol' hook and worm soon turned to hours of uneventful casting with some kind of fancy lure that made a rattle-y sound (do fish even have ears?). Early afternoon events included casting my line into a tree and getting a pretty bad sunburn on my chest.

Alas, here is the trophy our boat's team did not win. So close...if only one of my fish were a little bigger!

I got to keep my new rod and reel, and I now have a giant tackle box of goodies. I'd go out fishing again, but I need someone to help me put the worm on and take the fish off!

Eggplant Rollatini

2008-09-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

I had just enough sauce left over from Pizzafest '08 to make eggplant rollatini, which I convinced myself was healthy. It was not, but WOW, it was good.

I got to use my mandoline slicer for the first time, and it speedily produced perfect eggplant slices for this dish. In fact, this meal was very easy to make, even though it looks like a lot of work. I combined ideas from a few recipes to make these little tasty rolls, and the only thing I would change next time is a slightly longer cooking time to soften the eggplant even more.

The rollatinis in progress:

Finito!

Orpheum Theatre "Response"

2008-09-13T08:00:00.004-04:00

On my birthday this year, I received a response to my letter of complaint regarding my horrific experience at the Orpheum Theatre in April. According to the general manager, my seats were not the slightest bit obstructed.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Ms. Murphy,

I am writing regarding your letter of July 24th. Lee Zazofsky is no longer with the Orpheum Theater and is now working at another of our facilities. I am uncertain why you would consider Balcony Row T, Seats 210 & 211 obstructed. The Orpheum is closed in the summer so I apologize for the delay in my response. I went in to the theater and sat in the seats in question. There is nothing in front of the seats except the possibility of taller guests. Was it the people in front of you that obstructed the view? If so, this is an unavoidable situation that occurs in theaters from time to time.

The sound system was provided and operated by the visiting artist. I am glad it appears Eddie Izzard did respond and correct the sound.

I am sorry your experience was unpleasant, but I cannot honor your request for a refund.

Sincerely,
Bruce Montgomery
General Manager

I suppose the theater manager realizes there is not much I can do to combat his assessment of my experience. I am certainly not going to waste more printer ink in an attempt to prove him wrong. What I can do is hope that others are exposed to my post on this blog, or that readers will come across my description of this experience on Yelp.

I signed up for a Yelp account specifically so I could voice my Orpheum experience. And, just to balance out my karma, I was sure to add four positive reviews for other businesses.

And, of course, I will never attend another concert at the Orpheum again.

King Corn & the Heirlooms

2008-09-12T08:00:00.001-04:00

I have been struggling to read, Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle for about a year. This is not because I don't love the book, it's because I have experienced a life-long struggle to sit down and read. So, I've read it in small, memorable chunks.

One of the most eye-opening parts of the book (so far) talks about the genetic modification and homogenization of foods to the point where we no longer have species variety. Delicate, interesting and nutritious crops have been replaced by durable, but flavorless crops that are able to withstand long truck- and plane-rides across state and country borders. She offers the example of heirloom tomatoes in this case, and mentions the efforts of determined people to preserve and promote the many delicious varieties that have slowly been replaced by grainy, nasty supermarket tomatoes.

I was thrilled to come across a vendor on Saturday selling about 10 varieties of heirloom tomatoes for $3/pound (the same price as the disgusting potato-flavored Fuji apples I bought at my local grocery store — potapples, I'm calling them). The colors are amazing, and some of them resemble other fruits altogether. One looks like a tiny watermelon. Sliced and sprinkled with some salt and pepper, they each have a distinct and wonderful flavor.

We recently watched the documentary King Corn, which follows two young men from Somerville (John recognized the street view at the start of the movie) to Iowa, where they plant an acre of corn, talk openly (and non-judgmentally) with local farmers, and follow their grains of corn as they are distributed throughout the country. The corn they (and the other farmers) are growing in the area is inedible. Like my potapple, the corn contains a huge amount of starch, and absolutely no sweetness or flavor. (It is also genetically resistant to certain herbicides used to kill crop weeds.) The filmmakers show that the colorful varieties of corn that once grew in the Midwest have been entirely replaced by this corn, completely subsidized by the government, which primarily makes its way to either livestock feed (which it slowly kills due to its unnatural acidity) or high fructose corn syrup factories. The chemical process used to create high fructose corn syrup (which is a main ingredient in almost everything on a grocery store shelf) from this high starch corn seems so elaborate and unnecessary, particularly when the end product has zero nutritional value. On the contrary, it is easy to conclude that it is the cause of many health problems. So, why is our government encouraging this process?

Again, the filmmakers did a great job of letting the viewer make his/her own decisions about the current agricultural laws and this crazy corn process. They allowed a corn syrup factory spokeswoman to share, uninterrupted, what was clearly heavily rehearsed propaganda. It was creepy.

What if, instead, the government subsidized these corn crops for the purpose of creating something both useful and timely, such as "plastic" biodegradable products made from corn. Friends and I were thrilled to see that one of our favorite places to grab lunch started using biodegradable corn-based 'plastic' for their to-go beverages. Why is there a high cost for this uncommon eco-product, while overly sweetened sodas are overly affordable and excessively promoted?

Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival

2008-09-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

Apart from the long and scenic drive to the Adams Recycling Station, John and I took our first day trip today to attend the 13th Annual Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival in Bennington. Mostly, I was on a mission to try garlic ice cream (as promised in our local newspaper), but my taste buds were useless by the time we found the ice cream after having tried countless varieties of garlic in all its forms (raw, pickled...). The garlic ice cream, then, just tasted like vanilla.

In our 2007 CSA farm share, we received a bag of locally grown garlic. It was small and dark and a bit difficult to free from the garlic head, but it was really wonderful. I roasted it, and made Chicken and 40 Cloves, and used it in everything I cooked. It had never occurred to me before today that there are different kinds of garlic. In retrospect, this seems stupid, but I got to taste the different varieties today, jabbing a toothpick into tiny (spicy!) raw pieces of cloves. I decided to take home a bunch of the larger Porcelain variety, which I purchased from Mud Road Farm (of St. Johnsville, NY).

Aren't they cute?

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

2008-09-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

My first ice cream arrived late this season! I'm going to have to squish in at least one more before summer's end. It's not helpful that we're both on diets! This one was for my mom, anyway — a nice ending to our pizzafest.

What I Made Yesterday

Abigail Jane

Brace Yourselves

Cobb Salad

Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

At long last...

In Appreciation

2009 Relay for Life

Mini Vacation: Burlington, VT

Balsamic Chicken Thighs (and Wilted Spinach)

Pickled Grapes

Sunday Dinner, Easter Dinner

Sheep to Shawl

Caramelized Tofu with Brussels Sprouts and Pecans

Improv Pasta -- 300th Post!

Cookie of the Month, Part 2: Rugelach

Hazelnut Beans

Cookie of the Month, Part 1: Tassies

Bear With This Blogger

Flourless Torte

Hospital Food

Pumpkin Risotto with Sage and Truffle Oil

Beet and Pear Salad with Feta

Resolutions Check-up

Sock It To Me!

Menu Plan Monday

Overnight Oatmeal

Turkey Picadillo

Menu Plan Monday

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Smackdown: Arborio versus Barley

Mushroom Bourguignon

African Ground Nut Stew

Weekend Breakfast

New URL

Georgia On My Desk

Blog Name Change?

Doctor My Eyes

Loin Me Tender

The Resolutions (2009 version)

Soupy Sunday

Grandma's Galumpkis

Last Vacation Day

What Dad Made Yesterday #1

We *Heart* Our Wreath!

Blue Box Be Gone!

Pumpkin Penne with Sausage

Ice Storm

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Baby Shower Invites: Lucas and Elena

My 1st New Jersey Freshwater Fishing Digest

Kathy's Famous Lasagna, Remixed

Homemade Pesto, Storebought Pasta

Cast Iron, Reseasoned

Italian Soup, Two Ways

Cream of Wheat, How I Love Thee

Pork Mango Picadillo

11-11: Anniversary No.2

Natural Bridge State Park

Burgundy Beans, Revisited

Penne ala...

Hairpin Turn

Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers

We Voted!

Filet Mignon

Borscht

What Mom Made Yesterday #8

BerkShares

Salmon Burgers

Chicken Soup For the Rotator Cuff's Soul

Ridin' the Rail Trail

Brasciole

What Mom Made Yesterday #7

The Last of the Heirlooms

Just Another Manic Morning

U-Haul, U Suck

Blueberry Redemption

Send It to My Hotmail

Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Palin's Popcorn

We Heart Our Wreath!