Great American Bake Sale

You guys have heard of Share Our Strength, right? They're a non-profit organization dedicated to ending child hunger. They're currently running the Great American Bake Sale, where people around the country are organizing their own bake sales to benefit the organization.

Friends of mine in Chicago are holding their bake sale on May 7th at Butcher & Larder. They've got some awesome sponsors, and lots of people donating home-baked goods. If you can make it, please do, and say hi to Mike and Tati for me. If not (sadly, I'm in the can't make it group), you can still donate here.

Things I've Cooked Lately

Here's another installment of "things I've cooked lately", otherwise known as "I'm too lazy to write a whole post on one thing".

First, we have almonds for biscotti. Yummy little cookies. And I thought the picture was cool. Although it made me realize just how badly I need to send my knife to Kyocera to have it sharpened.

Next up, my take on a Cubano sandwich, using pork from a shoulder roast I made, Swiss cheese, deli ham, pickles, and mustard. Tip: Leave the pickles off the sandwich until after it's toasted. Because hot pickles are weird.

And from the same pork shoulder, crispy happy cracklings. Just peel off the skin and bake it at 350-400 until crackly.

And finally, butter. Why butter? Because I made it myself by shaking the hell out of some leftover cream. It was awesome.

That's all for now, hope everyone's enjoying their weekend!

A Random Collection of Food

Once again, I bring you a random collection of stuff I've made.

Crab and green onion quiche, courtesy of Kathy from Cooking on the Side.

Some layered potato thing. It wasn't very good, except for the top layer.

Some sort of spiced glazed chicken. Meh.

Spicy tomato and blue cheese soup, from Leite's Culinaria via Desert Candy. Served with a grilled cheese sandwich, of course. I like that you can see the steam.

Macaroni and cheese (blue box) with ground beef, courtesy of my Youngest.

Duck Prosciutto

Yes, duck prosciutto. What could be better? Gamey, salty, ducky, pork-esque cured meat.

I used the salt/sugar/spice ratio from them apples, then wrapped the breasts in a double-layer of cheesecloth, and hung them from a cooling rack for 10 days. I was aiming for 30% weight loss, recommended by Michael Ruhlman. Some recipes said 7 days, and I read one that said 5 weeks. At 10 days, I was at 28-29%, and decided that I was done, because I didn't want the duck to dry out too much around the edges. I started out the hanging in the refrigerator, but then got worried about the low humidity, so decided to move the rack to the kitchen counter during the day, and the fridge at night. I would've loved to hang them outside - the temperature has been perfect, but with all the rain, I was worried about too much humidity. And bugs.

So here are my ducky babies wrapped and hanging after their 3 day cure.

And here's what it looked like, finally unwrapped. Not very attractive, and to be honest, at this point I was slightly wary.

But, sliced, it took on a whole different look. A lot like "normal" prosciutto, actually:

What did it taste like? Kind of like prosciutto, but less salty. And more ducky. And delicious. I've got so many ideas in my head on how to use it - frittata, tortilla, spaghetti carbonara, potato au gratin. Or I'll just continue to shave off slice by slice and eat it unadorned and unadulterated.

A Mishmash of Stuff I've Cooked

Yes, this is a copout post. But I've got a bunch of pictures that didn't warrant their own post, plus I cooked some stuff and didn't take pictures. So here goes.

Fried cauliflower. I vaguely remember blanching, oven-drying, and deep-frying. Tasty. But not worth doing again.

Kama, or Yellowtail collar. This is so simple, just salt, broil, done. And it looks like a duck.

Stuffed mushrooms. I've made them before. These had sausage, and I think a smoked oyster.

Panko-Parmesan-Parsley Pork Chops from urbanbundle. These were delicious.

I also did le pied de cochon again, but this time with a shank thrown in for more meat. Tasty.

And I made Noble Pig's kapusta, or sauerkraut with pork neck bones and hamhock. Hearty, wonderful Eastern European peasant food.

Oh, and I made a salad out of the 2 smoked chicken leg quarters I bought. I was going to do something all fancy with cranberries and stuff, but Hubby said "make it like you make your tuna salad". So I did. And it was good. (Celery, peperoncini, hot "sport" peppers, parsley, celery leaves, green onion, sumac, black pepper, sansyo, mayo or yogurt)

Coffee Haiku

These are coffee odes.
I hope you enjoy reading
these poems today.


O percolator,
You give that which sustains life.
Life sucks without you.

That is not your cup.
Yours is the green Pokey one.
Hands off my cup, fool.

Coffee is sucky.
I hate it. It is bitter.
Coffee can suck it.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Yes, I'm a bit late. You've probably all roasted your seeds already, or (sadly) thrown your pumpkin seeds in the trash or your compost heap. But whatever.





















Clean your seeds by soaking them, and then running your hands through the seeds, picking out all the pumpkin gack. Drain the seeds, dry them off a bit with paper towels. Dump the seeds onto a baking tray, toss with some olive oil, and some good sea salt. I used a Trapani chunky salt that I found in my cabinet, and ground up in a little dish with my pestle.

Spread the seeds out into as even a layer as you can. Roast at 350-400 until they're done, stirring a few times.
















Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

I think my pumpkin's pretty scary...
















And you know what? Baby chihuahuas love pumpkin.
















Have a happy and safe Halloween! And try not to overdo the candy :)

Google Tag

Browsing through my Reader, I came across Betts's Google Tag post over at Damn Yankee. It sounded like fun, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

1. Your favorite beverage



















Red wine, preferably something light like a Sangiovese. If wine was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me.

2. Your hometown
















Bolingbrook, IL. Typical midwestern suburb. CNN Money said it was 32 out of the 100 best places to live in 2008. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it was a good place to grow up.

3. Your favorite television show

















Not having a television, I don't really have a favorite show. But when we had a TV, I never missed No Reservations.

4. Your occupation


















I'm a Quality Assurance Manager for a medical device company. I won't bore you with details.

5. First car








1985 Chevy Camaro. Loved that car.

6. Favorite dish
















Sushi, without a doubt. I could eat it every day if I could afford it.

7. A celebrity you've been told you resemble




















People always tell me I look like Jodie Foster when she was younger. I don't see it. But it continues to happen, even with random strangers in the grocery store.


8. Celebrity on your "to-do" list





















Rodrigo Santoro. He was Xerxes in 300, and Raúl Castro in Che. Please, click on the picture. You'll understand why he's on my list.

9. Favorite children's toy



















My favorite, but I bet my parents hated what it did to the lawn.


10. Any random pic















Because they're cute. And I miss my hedgehog. I'd get another, but they're illegal in CA, and very hard to come across.

11. What are you doing tonight?


































Reading Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. Good book.

And watching the Bears game.

Tiramisu

Doesn't it look delicious?














I can't take credit for it. My good friend Drita made it.

Good bye, Drita, and good luck in your new home. We'll all miss you.

Beautiful Food

Since there's not much beautiful food going on around here lately, I thought I'd share this with you. Listening to it makes me hungry.

Beautiful Food, by Edan.

Progression is Lacking...

I'm seriously thinking of changing A Work in Progress to A Lack of Progress.

Tonight was the first time I've cooked anything since I can't even remember when. (Just checked the archives, eggplants and clams from over 10 days ago.)

Ironically, it was more eggplant - I made an eggplant/hummus hybrid, the idea taken from Cooking with Michele, the quantities all mine and not measured. Hubby (eggplant lover) didn't care for it - I think I didn't mash the garbanzo beans smooth enough. His mother (eggplant hater) loved it. Go figure. (Youngest didn't try it, no surprise there.)

To go with the Mediterranean fusion (aka not-so-pretty glop in a bowl), I made tzatziki and toasted some pita bread.

Not only is there a lack of progress on the cooking front, I'm having the same difficulties with my physical ailment, ie. 9 months of chronic pain in my leg that so far has been undiagnosed and untreatable. I think I've tried all the opiates out there, lidocaine, muscle relaxers, nerve blocks, acupuncture, Neurontin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, a TENS unit, nothing works. When I told my doctor that I was wearing a Fentanyl patch and had taken 2 Vicodin (still completely coherent, still totally in pain), his jaw just about hit the floor.

So it's off to the neurologist on Friday, for an EMG and nerve conduction study (ouch) in the morning and then a bone scan in the afternoon. I'm torn between hoping they find something (which will probably be un-fixable) and hoping they don't.

In the meantime, amputation is looking better and better. But then with my luck, I'd have phantom limb pain.

Oh, and I get to have a root canal tomorrow.

So, uh..., yeah...until further notice...A Lack of Progress.

Random Quotes from the WIP Household, Part III

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OK, but can I eat first? 'Cause if I eat without my glasses on, I'll hurt myself.

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I like saying 'harpoon'. I never get to say 'harpoon'.

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Are you the popcorn Messiah?

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Dude, I had no idea that Chuck Norris was a real person.

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Dad, pants are your friend.

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Your firt's on shatwards.

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Time Out

Hello?


Hello? Is this thing on?


I apologize for the unexplained absence. My Youngest took my camera to LA for an extended trip. She's currently galavanting around Los Angeles and its surrounding 'burbs. I hope my baby makes it back ok. (I'm sure the kid will be fine, it's the camera I'm concerned about.) (Wait, "about which I am concerned". Stupid grammar.)

As for cooking....I made some beautiful lamb, onion, and bell pepper skewers on the grill. Also some bigass steaks, and corn with chili-lime butter. Some dehydrated and microwaved crispy asparagus and mushrooms. A chestnut risotto drizzled with honey. A coconut cherry macaroon-type dessert (needle-nose pliers make great cherry-pitters). Spicy "Chinese-style" green beans. Asparagus quick-sauteed with oyster and soy sauce and garlic. Today I was going to make kung pao chicken with white rice and a cold cucumber salad, but I was asked not to cook, because it's just too damn hot.

Because I hate a post without a picture, here's my baby, sleeping on her Raider monkey.

















And this is probably more suited to Twitter, but whatever, I'm already typing here - something just exploded, probably at Pendleton, and it made my windows rattle.

Kid and camera should be back in a week or so. Hope to see you then.

Happy 4th of July!

In honor of the 4th, here's a video from PES, my favorite stop-motion guys.

Strawberry

In the interests of keeping my blog active, and keeping my readers (all 4 of you) entertained, here's a strawberry.


















It was good.

Celery Lavender Cocktail

A while back I had received a sample bag of lavender from Marx Foods. I had never cooked with lavender before - when I think of it, I think of soap, or those little sachets you put in your underwear drawer. But to cook with it? Hmm...

Perusing the interwebs, I came across this recipe for a celery lavender cocktail from Marc of [No Recipes]. If you haven't checked out Marc's site (or his other site focusing on individual ingredients), you really should. He's one of my favorite bloggers.

Anyhow, on to the cocktail: Celery? Lavender? In a drink? Why the heck not.





















Chop, blend, strain. Pour into a mixer with gin and ice. Shake. Pour.

This is seriously unique. You can smell the lavender, but you can't really taste it. It does leave a slightly (pleasant) floral aftertaste on your tongue, however. Mostly you get the green flavor of celery, tempered by the lemon juice and sugar. Not your typical cocktail. But something I'd definitely have again.

Non-Food Post - Vegas and other things

Yes, I've been absent for a while. Things have been happening.

My best friend's cancer came back. It's rare, they don't know how to treat it. Surgery and chemo aren't options currently. They're going to try steroids. Thank God it seems to be non-aggressive (for now).

Hubby's brother got married in Vegas over the weekend. A good time was had by all. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. So no pics of the frivolity.

And, since I hate posting without a picture, here's my tan line. I swear I haven't been this dark in 20 years.

I'm a Bad Blogger

It's not that I haven't been cooking, I have. Kind of. I just can't seem to take a decent picture.

So, here's a rundown of what I've been making lately, using photographs that I didn't take (with one exception).

I made fresh garbanzo beans with chili garlic sauce, using the sauce from the Chili Garlic Edamame recipe from 28 Cooks. The flavor was good, of course (it's the only way I make edamame), but the garbanzo pods were kind of a pain in the butt to eat that way.















I made Japanese curry with tonkatsu, using Eat a Duck I Must!'s recipe and Bull-Dog tonkatsu sauce. Hubby used Country Bob's All-Purpose Sauce. They taste amazingly similar.





































I made a sandwich with an everything bagel, salami, American cheese, and an overeasy egg. Obviously not the sandwich in the picture, but I like that picture. And it was a great sandwich too.

















I made a chicken rogan josh, using a packaged Tasty Bite sauce, served with sauteed Swiss chard leaves. It was ok, but I've had better packaged sauces, notably Tean's Chicken Curry Paste from Asian Supermarket 365, which I posted about here. With the Swiss chard stems, I did my go-to "Chinese" stir-fry, and had it over rice for lunch.




















I made Gramercy Tavern's Gingerbread. But I goofed and sugared the pans instead of floured them, and the weather was all weird, so the breads deflated and stuck to the pans. Still tasted good, though.

Random Quotes from the WIP Household, Part II

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"We live like the Mafia, only with less spaghetti."

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"I'm nice and toasty in my leather jacket. No wonder cows never get cold."

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"I was having trouble speaking, because my pants were bothering me."

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"Nice shirt, Dad. Got some pants to go with it?"

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"Don't be looking it up and then clicking on it, 'cause I ain't listening to it."

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