lee and i don't do any religious holidays, but sometimes it is a nice excuse to have a lovely dinner. this year, we barbecued with our upstairs neighbors and had some great food!
marinated tofu kebabs
lamb kebabs
2 different kinds of mint sauce: english mint sauce and yoghurt mint sauce
mushroom and pea risotto
balsamic glazed pearl onions
a spicy green bean and tomato dish with feta cheese
and finally, carrot cake with lemon cream cheese frosting, served with salted caramel ice cream! again, no pictures, but i am getting notoriously bad at remembering to take photos these days!
carrot cake (makes 1 10-inch cake) adapted from a recipe for torta di carote del veneto from cucina ebraica by joyce goldstein
1/2 c butter (1 stick)
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
2 c gluten free all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
approx. 1 lb. carrots, grated
1/2 c almond meal (i sucessfully substituted cornmeal here this time because one of the neighbors is allergic to almonds...)
1. preheat oven to 350 and grease and line a 10 inch spring form pan
2. in a bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add the eggs, ginger, vanilla extract and lemon zest. mix thoroughly.
3. add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. mix well.
4. fold in carrots and almond meal.
5. pour into prepared cake pan and bake until golden--about 45 minutes. cool, then frost with:
lemon cream cheese frosting
1/4 c butter
1/4 c cream cheese
2 c confectioner's sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1. cream together softened butter and cream cheese.
2. add confectioner's sugar, 1/2 c at a time, until all is added and well blended.
3. squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and blend.
D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!
Monday, April 25, 2011
more books and pics of ms. v
i've finally been reading a lot again recently and have finished some good books. i read another jules verne--this time it was 20,000 leagues under the sea. i vastly preferred a journey to the center of the earth, but i'm really glad i read 20,000. mostly, the main character in this one was just not as captivating. he was a little dry, really. he was a dry scientist, listing facts and ocean specimens constantly. but i remember the movie from when i was a kid, and the book delivered. i wouldn't give it as much of a rave review as journey though.
i also read a fun book with some friends called spiced by dalia jurgensen. it's an autobiography of her journey as a pastry chef. it's not pedantic (like some other chef bios), but much more enjoyable and less self-aggrandizing. she tells some pretty funny anecdotes and talks about the fantastic places she worked. and she talks about how her life changed, too, when she decided to become a chef--and i remember this stuff well: working every holiday, working long days, never getting breaks, etc. the book also made me pretty hungry and threw me back into baking :) i recommend it for people who like foodie-type books. it's a really quick read, but worth it!
now on to my pup, ms. violet, or v as we've grown to call her (or pupcake, because she's the same color as the pupcakes at kickass cupcakes and she likes them!). v is now 9 months old and about 36 lbs. she has not grown as much as we expected her to, since she is a german shepherd mix. so dad must have been a small pup, and since she's supposed to be a bit hound-y, possibly a beagle type mix. we honestly have no idea! but you can see here that she and sid do get along--not always mind you! she's still way too hyper and excitable for him, but they have their moments when they definitely enjoy each other's company :)
and here she is laying on our window seat. this is the only "furniture" she is allowed on and so far she seems to like it. some day, we'll get a nice cushion made for it and it will be softer for her. the she won't have to cram herself on the little pillow up there!
and interestingly, we went to ohio in february to celebrate the birthdays of my nephews. it turns out that all violet wants is a suburban house with children all around her, because this is how she behaved the whole time we were there. note: she is not often like this at our house! to get her to act like this yesterday (for example), she went on a 5 mile run with lee in the morning. then she went for an hour at the dog park in the afternoon, and then she played fetch with the upstairs neighbor for about a 1/2 hour while we finished cooking dinner... but at my parents house, after hanging out with the kids, she just did this:
there you go! and for good measure, another one of my sweet sid :)
i also read a fun book with some friends called spiced by dalia jurgensen. it's an autobiography of her journey as a pastry chef. it's not pedantic (like some other chef bios), but much more enjoyable and less self-aggrandizing. she tells some pretty funny anecdotes and talks about the fantastic places she worked. and she talks about how her life changed, too, when she decided to become a chef--and i remember this stuff well: working every holiday, working long days, never getting breaks, etc. the book also made me pretty hungry and threw me back into baking :) i recommend it for people who like foodie-type books. it's a really quick read, but worth it!
now on to my pup, ms. violet, or v as we've grown to call her (or pupcake, because she's the same color as the pupcakes at kickass cupcakes and she likes them!). v is now 9 months old and about 36 lbs. she has not grown as much as we expected her to, since she is a german shepherd mix. so dad must have been a small pup, and since she's supposed to be a bit hound-y, possibly a beagle type mix. we honestly have no idea! but you can see here that she and sid do get along--not always mind you! she's still way too hyper and excitable for him, but they have their moments when they definitely enjoy each other's company :)
and here she is laying on our window seat. this is the only "furniture" she is allowed on and so far she seems to like it. some day, we'll get a nice cushion made for it and it will be softer for her. the she won't have to cram herself on the little pillow up there!
and interestingly, we went to ohio in february to celebrate the birthdays of my nephews. it turns out that all violet wants is a suburban house with children all around her, because this is how she behaved the whole time we were there. note: she is not often like this at our house! to get her to act like this yesterday (for example), she went on a 5 mile run with lee in the morning. then she went for an hour at the dog park in the afternoon, and then she played fetch with the upstairs neighbor for about a 1/2 hour while we finished cooking dinner... but at my parents house, after hanging out with the kids, she just did this:
there you go! and for good measure, another one of my sweet sid :)
pineapple gingerbread
wow, was this a delicious recipe i adapted from an applesauce gingerbread recipe in the joy of cooking :) sorry i have no pictures, but hey--i'm back in the saddle with some great posts!
i also have a new and much preferred gluten free flour blend that i'm using: better batter. i was using namaste perfect flour blend (with success), but goodies often had a spongy or stretchy texture to them. the taste was fine, but i wasn't always in love with the texture. this better batter stuff is amazing! i have passed off plenty of baked goodies now with it and friends are feeling sad that i can't eat the things i've made for them because they don't realize it's gluten free. yay!
pineapple gingerbread muffins
1 c crushed pineapple, mostly drained
1/2 c molasses
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c gluten free all-purpose flour
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c vegetable oil
1. preheat oven to 350. line a muffin tin with liners or grease a 8 x 8 inch pan.
2. with a medium bowl in the microwave, bring crushed pineapple to a boil. add molasses and baking soda. the mixture will be foamy and bubble vigorously. let this cool slightly.
3. sift together gf flour (or regular old ap flour), ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
4. in yet another bowl, beat eggs and sugar together on high speed until thick and pale. gradually beat in the oil.
5. fold in flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the pineapple/molasses mixture in 2 parts.
6. scrape batter into muffin tin or 8 x 8 pan and bake--about 25 minutes for muffins or 45 minutes for cake.
i also have a new and much preferred gluten free flour blend that i'm using: better batter. i was using namaste perfect flour blend (with success), but goodies often had a spongy or stretchy texture to them. the taste was fine, but i wasn't always in love with the texture. this better batter stuff is amazing! i have passed off plenty of baked goodies now with it and friends are feeling sad that i can't eat the things i've made for them because they don't realize it's gluten free. yay!
pineapple gingerbread muffins
1 c crushed pineapple, mostly drained
1/2 c molasses
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c gluten free all-purpose flour
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c vegetable oil
1. preheat oven to 350. line a muffin tin with liners or grease a 8 x 8 inch pan.
2. with a medium bowl in the microwave, bring crushed pineapple to a boil. add molasses and baking soda. the mixture will be foamy and bubble vigorously. let this cool slightly.
3. sift together gf flour (or regular old ap flour), ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
4. in yet another bowl, beat eggs and sugar together on high speed until thick and pale. gradually beat in the oil.
5. fold in flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the pineapple/molasses mixture in 2 parts.
6. scrape batter into muffin tin or 8 x 8 pan and bake--about 25 minutes for muffins or 45 minutes for cake.
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