Makin' a Mess

I Make Soup: Mushroom Barley Edition

2010-01-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

My last encounter with barley was in December. I spent New Years Eve vacationing in the mountains, nearly snowed in with a bunch of great friends. So I made barley soup for everyone. Not exactly the life of the party, but good hearty eating for sure.

Although not currently snowed in, I decided that today was a perfect day to make soup. In mid-January San Diego is still a sunny 65 degrees, but it was a little breezy today so it felt a bit like winter. (I'm really stretching it here, I know.) As I sat in my backyard enjoying the sun, helping my husband brew a batch of Steam Beer, the smell of malted grain and barley got to me. (Yes, I am married to a brewer!) He turns barley into beer, I turn barley into soup. I think it's a good set of talents to have in one household.

The first step in prepping this soup is to pour yourself a fine beverage, preferably one that pairs well with hearty soup. This Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir from Au Bon Climat is a favorite of ours. I can attest that it was certainly a pleasure to cook with a glass of this in hand.

A Quick note: The thing about barley soup is that it takes commitment. Once you get some broth boiling and toss in the barley, it takes over an hour to cook the grains. An hour and a half even if you use hulled barley. Perfect if you've got an afternoon to putter around the stove; not so good for a last minute weeknight dinner. Also, in this soup vegetables are added near the end, allowing them to cook until just tender without turning them to mush. Enjoy!

Mushroom Barley Soup.
Yield: 1 pot!
4-6 cups vegetable broth (Trader Joe's brand or homemade are my favorites)
1 cup barley (pearled cooks faster, hulled barley is higher in fiber)
1 can diced tomatoes, or 2 actual diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt, but reduce if using packaged broth containing salt
several grinds of black pepper
2-4 cups water, as needed
1-2 carrots
2-3 ribs celery
8 ounces cremini mushrooms
plus broccoli, cabbage, or other assorted vegetables.

In a large soup pot over plenty of heat, bring the broth to a boil. Add the barley, tomatoes, pepper and salt, then let liquid return to a boil. Turn the heat down and allow the barley to cook at a generous simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The barley will soak up a lot of liquid, so add water as needed to keep everything well hydrated.

While the broth and barley simmers on the stove filling your house with great aromas, chop up the carrot, celery, and mushrooms. If you've got them, now is the time to also chop broccoli, cabbage, etc. After 1 hour of cooking the barley, add in the chopped vegetables. Slightly lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook the soup for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the barley is cooked through and the vegetables are just tender. Taste for salt before serving.

A Graduate Student no Longer

2008-09-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

Cheers! Sunday evening is a great time for a cocktail, is it not? I just recently finished up school and started my first real job, finally becoming a contributing member of society. My husband also just started up a new year at his job after taking the summer off (teachers need the whole summer to recuperate, so I'm told). We just realized we're all ready to face another week ahead, and wanted to sit back, relax, and enjoy the evening. So naturally we headed to the liquor cabinet.

Living in San Diego, in such close proximity to Mexico, great margaritas should be flowing on every corner, in every cantina. Unfortunately, we've been searching for the perfect margarita for quite some time here, and have yet to find it. Sure, we have our favorite watering hole where the tequila is good and chips and salsa are fresh. But most places seem to cater to the tourist crowd where margaritas are served pre-mixed, in huge glasses, and with plenty of high fructose corn syrup and "lime flavoring." Sad, so so sad. So when we want a perfect margarita we have to take matters into our own hands.

Break out the shaker! The best rule I've found to making a decent margarita is to use just three ingredients:
a. tequila
b. orange liqueur (we use triple sec)
c. fresh lime juice

The ratio that our tastes prefer is a 3:2:1. Simple, right? Easy to remember even when tired after a hard day's work, or when tipsy after a few rounds.

So, here we go, Margaritas for Two-

Measure out 3 shots of tequila into a glass.
Add 2 shots of triple sec.
Top off with 1 shot of lime juice.
Shake with ice, then pour into margarita glasses.
Savor with ease; it's not Monday yet.

Feel free to salt the rims of the glasses, but I usually don't. The salt in the chips and salsa should be enough!

A fun tip: One lime usually equals about one shot, how convenient is that? But juice yield per lime can vary, so I usually squeeze the lime into a separate glass, then measure out a shot.

Here's to hoping we all have a great week!

Sometimes, a Girl Needs a Cocktail

2008-07-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

I've been busy the last few weeks. I just submitted my dissertation to my doctoral committee, summarizing the past 7 years of my research. It felt Really Good to finish that huge tome and hand it over to the six men who's signatures determine my fate.

In celebration of that feat, and to ease the accumulated tension of seven stressful years, I'm throwing a few back tonight. Just thought I'd let the internet know.

I'm starting off with a fresh mint mojito. Fresh because the mint came from the plant that my husband grows on our balcony. Can't really get fresher than that.

Recipe for "You're almost there! Mojito"
Serves 1

3 sprigs mint, fresh cut.
1/2 lime, quartered or otherwise cut up
2 shots white rum
ice
splash of simple syrup to taste
club soda

Cut some mint stems from your plant. Rinse off the leaves if there is dust or bugs. Or skip rinsing entirely, because basically it's just another step standing in the way of you and your drink. Put the leaves into a cocktail glass with the lime. Use a muddler to muddle the crap out of the produce. Or use a wooden spoon like I did because let's face it, no one actually owns a muddler. Add in the rum and some ice. Start with a bit of simple syrup (or sub white grape juice if you happen to have it in your fridge, or really anything sweet and not overpowering in flavor) and fill the glass with club soda. Or tonic water, like I did, because I happened to have a cold can of it. Stir it all up, top with a pink bendy straw, and drink to your success. Repeat as necessary.

Breakfast for Dinner- Tofu Florentine

2008-06-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

I love a big hearty breakfast, something that sticks with me a good part of the day. Incidentally I also love a big hearty breakfast eaten at dinner, preferably washed down with a cocktail. I just got home from a long day (long week!) at work and I'm starving as usual. I would die for some of these florentines right now. I found this picture that I'd taken awhile ago, during testing for Veganomicon.

The florentine is composed of a toasted english muffin (whole foods brand is vegan last time I checked) stacked with steamed spinach, broiled tofu, and smothered in a tangy cheezy sauce.

I'm going to pretend that's what I'm eating for dinner tonight. In reality I'm likely going to end up having margaritas and some tums. That's all I have energy for. But I can dream, sweet florentine dreams.

Frosting Tip

2008-06-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

I decided to take my cupcake decorating to the next level and invest in some quality hardware. I found this tip in the discount bin at a local kitchen supply store. I have no idea what the numbers on it mean, but they make me feel scientific.

Google tells me the tip is a rosette nozzle, but basically the frosting comes out looking similar to soft serve ice cream. So I practiced my skills on some mini cupcakes.

After a little practice, the frosting looks presentable. I'm not quite ready to submit my resume to Charm City Cakes, but I kinda impressed myself.

Vegan Buttercream Frosting

With a hand mixer, beat together equal parts shortening and margarine. I used about a half a cup each non-hydrogenated crisco and Earth Balance. Add in about a cup of powdered sugar and continue to beat. Throw in a splash of soymilk to make it smooth. You'll realize you probably added too much liquid, so now add in some more powdered sugar. Keep adding a bit more soymilk and powdered sugar until you get a fluffy frosting.

Sidenote: The frosting pictured above was this recipe but with broken Chocolate Joe Joe's cookies blended in. I used the cookies 'n creme frosting for some other cupcakes, then kept the frosting in the fridge for a week. I brought it to room temp, re-beat it with some soymilk, and the cookies dissolved and made chocolate frosting. And it still tastes good. Gross? Probably. Do I care? Evidently not.

Burger Time

2008-06-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

My Trader Joe's has these WildWood Tofu Veggie Burgers for $2.69 and I've walked past them a few times thinking they're too expensive. They come two burgers per pack, and although $2.69 is not a ton of money, it's a lot when I consider the 19oz block of tofu sitting right next to the burgers is only $1.19. But enough grocery details, the point is I finally unscrewed my tightwad attitude and bought a pack.

They don't come with cooking instructions, or at least I didn't see any. I guess they figure if you're brave enough to buy a Tofu Veggie Burger you're probably too brazen to follow directions anyway. So into my cast iron skillet they went. When in doubt, fry.

They came out pretty tasty, crisp outside and firm yet tender inside. The burgers seem like they would be sturdy enough to cook on a grill too. WildWood doesn't attempt to make them taste at all like meat, which is an asset in my opinion, so the taste is of a basic seasoned tofu. I'll keep these in mind for summer parties, they're definitely better than other veggie patties I've tried.

Afternoon Delight

2008-05-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

I've been away from my kitchen for awhile, out gallivanting on the other side of the country. While I was living the high life in New York and Boston, my kitchen in San Diego was lying dormant, the stove collecting dust. Yes, my husband was still at home while I was away, but he reverted to full bachelor mode and only used the kitchen to store empty pizza boxes.

This afternoon I made these chocolate chip pecan cookies as a little welcome home present for myself. They're a much needed comfort food because the delicious but greasy cuisine of New York left me with a heavy feeling in my stomach.

And I'm always looking for an excuse to break out the Big Red. It's serious about mixing.

There's no messing around here. Well, actually there was a small incident with the speed control that flung a few glops of cookie dough out of the bowl. But other than that I mean, there was no messing around.

The recipe is from "The Joy of Vegan Baking," by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. It makes my kind of cookie: crisp exterior with a soft and yielding interior. And we just discovered that if you eat enough of them straight out of the oven, there really isn't any need to eat dinner. A meal replacement cookie, sort of.

Mess of the Week

2008-05-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

A long time ago, during a performance review, I had a boss tell me that although satisfied with my overall performance he was disappointed in my writing skills. In fact, he directly told me that writing was my Achilles' heel. Fair enough. I'm no Shakespeare.

Well. I just finished reading the final version of a manuscript that he wrote and submitted for publication in an international journal. The manuscript was riddled with typos. At one point, he (unnecessarily) used the phrase "Achilles' heel." Except that he spelled it "Achilles heal". H-E-A-L. No apostrophe. Ha! Who's the poor writer now, dude!?!?

A Vegan Takes to the Skies

2008-05-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Airplane food is notoriously bad. We all know this. Most accept that fact, arm themselves with Tums, and suffer through the airline meal. I am not one of those people. When I travel I always carry the essentials: a good book, some good headphones, and enough food to see me through the flight and any unforeseen delays. I say no thanks to the pre-made tray of tasteless food.

I'm traveling for the next couple of days and prepared some flight-friendly food. I know that the San Diego airport TSAs are suspicious of soy-yogurt and hummus, but are okay with oozing bean burritos; it seems that the definition of "liquid or gel" varies slightly from person to person. In the past I've tried to explain to a harried security guard that hummus is neither a liquid nor a gel, merely a non-flammable tasty Mediterranean spread make of chickpeas and tahini. However, my pleas fell on deaf ears and the hummus ended up in the trash. So now I try to bring foods that appear less exotic.

For my morning flight, these peanut butter waffles served nicely as my breakfast (recipe from the upcoming cookbook The Crack of Noon). I made them the night before, let em cool, and wrapped them in sturdy foil. Just after takeoff I unearthed them from the depths of my carry-on and the whole plane was jealous. They were snacking on Terra Blue potato chips and I was enjoying a delicious waffled creation. With an apple and a tangelo, and a $4 bottle of water from the airport Starbucks, this was damn good eats.

This was a cross-country jaunt, a long flight necessitating lunch. When the in-flight movie (27 dresses) was over I brought out this chickpea-salad sandwich, recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. I also prepared this the night before the flight, waking up my husband with the noisy food processor. ("Why are you processing chickpeas? It's midnight forcryinoutloud!" oops, sorry babe, it's for a good cause.)

It's on whole grain bread, topped with spinach and romaine leaves. I added some stone ground mustard to spice it up a bit. This is a great flight option because it tastes great and is filling, but doesn't have a strong smell that fellow travelers may find offensive. Ever sit next to someone eating a tuna sandwich? It's not exactly an olfactory experience I'd recommend.

I packed other treats as well, just in case. Carrot and celery sticks, potato chips, cookies, peanut trail mix, and a few odwalla bars in case things got crazy, all simple things that aren't too fragile or prone to melting or spoilage. That's way too much food for one person on one flight, but I'll eat it all eventually at my destination.

I'm sitting in a hotel room right now, on the bed with the comforter safely pulled back. After only a few days away, my stomach is already wishing it was back home in it's own kitchen. The conference I'm attending actually has a wide variety of food that's passably edible. I'm actually having a good time. But Dorothy sure had it right: There's no place like home.

Good Day Sunshine

2008-05-10T15:10:00.000-07:00

There's no better way to begin the weekend than by puttering around in my kitchen for three hours making coffee cake. Orange Pecan Crumbcake to be exact. The recipe is from the test kitchen of the upcoming brunch cookbook, The Crack of Noon, by Isa of The PPK.

It didn't really take me three hours to bake the cake; but, when I factor in the time it took to first clean all the dishes out of my sink while simultaneously watching Sandra Lee make a semi-homemade chocolate volcano cake, three hours it was. Let's break it down and demonstrate just how proficient I am at wasting time.

9:00am to 10:00am: prepare pecan crumb topping.
Why did that take an hour? Allow me to elaborate.

First, dig food processor out of cupboard. Spend several minutes shuffling last night's wine glasses around on the counter to make room for food processor. Unplug coffee grinder so as to clear a plug for the processor. Accidentally unplug the coffeemaker, mid-brew. Reprogram timer on coffee machine. Pour large mug of coffee for myself. Fill sink with soapy water, gingerly wash wine glasses. Wait, what was I doing? Oh yeah, crumb topping. Measure ingredients, add to mixer, process, done. That was easy.

10:00am-10:15am: Wander around the house looking for where I set my coffee. Find it on the bathroom sink. Ponder the many ways in which it may have arrived at that location. Dump it out, pour new cup of coffee.

10:15am-10:30am: Zest oranges!

The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of zest, so I find my microplane grater. I wash one of my grandpa's homegrown oranges and begin zesting. And zest. Sip coffee. Zest some more. Wince at Sandra Lee's annoying habit of calling her nephew "Bricer." Laugh at the kid trying not to roll his eyes at her.

10:30am-10:31am: Sean tells me our friend Nick is coming to visit tonight. Yay! Visitors!

10:32am-11:00am: Freak out and frantically try and transform our apartment from its current state of "in shambles" to something more along the lines of "acceptably presentable."

11:00am-11:15am: Give up on cleaning. Give in to starvation and get the cake in the oven, finally.

11:15am-noon: bake coffee cake. Marvel at the pile of dirty laundry waiting in my closet. Why do I have so many clothes? Why can't they just wash themselves? Watch YouTube videos with Sean of kids using power tools. Make absolutely no progress on urgent priority of cleaning house.

And there you have it, 3 hours of puttering around. But at least I have this to show for it. There it is, all glorious 9x13 inches of Orange Pecan Crumbcake.

I don't think I actually sat down to eat a piece until well after 1:00pm. A little later than I usually take breakfast, but in the true casual nature of a weekend brunch. I hope Nick likes coffee cake, because there's a lot to go around!

Little. Yellow. Different.

2008-05-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

If someone asks me what I want for Christmas or my Birthday or other gift giving occasion, I always try to be pretty specific in my response. I used to try and go the modest route, insisting I didn't need anything or would enjoy anything. Both of which are generally true. But eventually, in my wise old age, I've discovered that the chances of receiving something awesome increase dramatically if I actually ask for what I want. Which is how I ended up with a mini-donut pan for Christmas; it is undeniable in it's awesomeness.

Since December I've been perfecting my mini-donut skills with several test batches. Tweaking little things here and there, taste testing for quality control though the whole ordeal. Practice makes perfect, right?

I think this batch was a great success. Here's the naked donuts, removed from the baking pan, cooling on a rack.

Once the donuts are all baked up, out of the oven, and cooled, I go to town with the chocolate glaze.

Some with nuts too!

And just to be sassy, some get zebra stripes.

These little guys have the texture of a nice cake donut, very reminiscent of the hostess mini donuts that come 6 to a cellophane pack. Except without all the chemical crap.

This recipe was inspired by and modified from the one on VeganYumYum.

Plain Cake Donuts!
Makes 2 dozen.

Sift together:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
little pinch of nutmeg

Mix in a measuring cup:
2/3 cup soymilk or almond milk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
5 Tbs canola oil
3 Tbs soy yogurt (or egg replacer of choice)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix wet with dry to form a thick batter/smooth dough. Spoon into ungreased mini-donut pan. Bake 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool, frost, eat!

My pan has only 12 spaces, so I wipe it out after the first round before baking the rest.

If you don't have a mini donut pan, you can make a pretty decent "donut holes" in a mini muffin pan.

Someone's Got a Green Thumb

2008-05-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

These beauties are from my Grandma's rose garden. As long as I can remember, she's had roses blooming in her yard no matter what time of year. These seem to smell better than any other roses too. She's got skills. And lucky for me, she's always willing to share a bouquet when her favorite granddaughter comes to visit.

Hot Child in the City

2008-04-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend was hot. Damn hot. Hot like I actually didn't mind having to go into work because at least they've got air conditioning. I spent a fair amount of time lounging in front of a fan with a frosty beverage to cope with the heat. Oh, and I also made some tofu scramble.

The tofu is scrambled with sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms, seasoned with thyme, cumin, turmeric, paprika, and a bit of salt. Aren't the spices pretty?

Thanks Joe, you're quite the Trader

2008-04-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'm little Miss Semi-Homemade on this dinner tonight. Maybe someday I'll get a real job and be able to spend my weekends at home making yeasted pizza dough from scratch and lovingly simmering tomato sauce on the stove all the live long day. That would be the life. Sigh.

In reality I spent the whole day at school; consequently, in order to make dinner I have to get by with a little help from my friends. (Not Paul and Winnie, I wish.) I mean Trader Joe's. So here's what I've got to show for it.

I started out with some TJ's whole wheat pizza dough. It's basically ready to go, just needs 20 min at room temp to relax. I cut it in half, stretch it all out, and fill up calzones for Sean and I.

This one is mine, filled with a whole week of leftovers. Starting from the bottom: TJ's pizza sauce, my homemade pesto, TJ's meatless-balls, some FYH soy cheese, artichoke hearts, olives, shiitake and enoki mushrooms, spinach, and somehow some shredded carrots ended up in there too.

Sean basted the tops of the calzones with a mixture of olive oil and a nice dark Porter beer. Actually his beer "accidentally" spilled into my little bowl of olive oil and we just went with it. You can't tame innovators. Lucky for us, it did make for a rich and tasty crust.

In the end, we enjoyed our pesto-Porter-mushroom-meatless ball calzones. Not bad for dinner on the fly. Trader Joe would be proud.

The Big One

2008-04-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

I suffered through a 2 hour mind numbing meeting today in a stuffy conference room. I would have comfortably lapsed into a nice little nap in the back, were it not for the person sitting next to me that was eating peanuts, one at a time, crunching them loudly directly in my ear. Now I don't mind peanuts, in fact I love them. But my eardrums can only handle so much. I had to retreat deep into my happy place in order to maintain sanity. And maybe I was hungry for lunch or maybe I just really love muffins, but baking muffins was what I was thinking about.
These are Cherry Almond Muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance, they bake up nice and tall, they'll cure what ails you.

Pass Me the Green

2008-04-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

Pesto! I have both basil and mint plants growing on my balcony. They are most often used in preparation of happy hour mojitos, but come in handy when life demands pesto.

Angel hair is my particular pasta of choice to pair with pesto. I dare you to convince me otherwise.

Make Crepes, Not War

2008-04-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

These crepes were made with the audio accompaniments of repeated gunshots and blaring sirens. No, there isn't an impending revolution in graduate housing. The sounds were coming from inside my apartment, specifically from the television where my husband was very involved in a heated session of Grand Theft Auto on his playstation. "Stop starting gang wars and come eat your breakfast!" Something I don't get to say everyday.

I use the crepe recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. The batter is basically flour, water, salt, and olive oil. It comes together really quickly, especially if you've already chugged two cups of coffee.

I make the crepes one at a time on my favorite non-stick skillet and stick them in my toaster oven while subsequent crepes are being cooked. I don't turn the toaster on; rather, the heat and steam from the crepes is trapped in the oven so the crepes stay warm and don't stick together. When I'm all done cooking I've got a heaping, steaming pile of crepes. (Coprophiles, go back and read that sentence again, get your mind out of the gutter!)

The crepes were filled with strawberry soy yogurt and Ligonberries. Rolled up and topped off with strawberry sauce, they satisfy the gangster in everyone.

Good Coffee or Great Coffee?

2008-04-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

My husband and I start our weekend mornings off very differently. I embrace Saturday morning by sleeping in. My husband, however, wakes up at the crack of dawn and putters around on his computer for awhile. He eventually brews a huge pot of coffee in hopes that I'll wake up and cook him breakfast. This particular morning, his sly tactics succeeded in coaxing me out of my beauty rest.

I take my coffee on the sweet side, with a scoop of Nestle Quik chocolate and warmed chocolate Almond Milk. Occasionally I top it off with Soyatoo vegan whipped cream, so by this point it no longer really counts as coffee; it's more of a caffeine laced hot cocoa.

Long Duck Dong

2008-04-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that all of my previous posts have been about breakfast and dessert, or dessert-like breakfasts. By looking at this blog you'd think I subsist solely on cupcakes, donuts, and waffles. And you'd be pretty much right.

But I do occasionally prepare myself a balanced meal for dinner.

I made a trip to the Asian market this weekend; I narrowly avoided a parking lot fender bender, bought baby bok-choy and a shitload of shiitake mushrooms on the cheap, marvelled at the 50lb sacks of rice, and bought canned seitan. It was quite a trip, as I'm sure you can imagine.

This vegetarian mock duck is made from wheat gluten, making it high in protein and cholesterol free (try not to be distracted by my amazingly long fingers). I had to dare myself to buy it, because who really buys canned faux duck? Before this weekend, certainly not the likes of me. But the can was only $1.39 so I figured I could take the risk.

The mock duck was pan-fried with some sliced shiitake mushrooms, and served alongside steamed rice and baby bok-choy with caramelized shallots and sesame seeds (recipe from Veganomicon cookbook). The mock duck/mushrooms were seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and a generous squirt of Sriracha hot sauce.

The verdict?

Pretty damn tasty for a $1.39. Two amazingly long thumbs up.

The Triumphant Tofu Omelet

2008-04-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and you're not at all hungry for breakfast?

Nope? Me neither.

This weekend's breakfast challenge was the vegan omelet. The recipe is a tester from The Crack of Noon, the vegan brunch cookbook from the Post Punk Kitchen. Yes, it is tofu based! But don't be scared, it actually tastes pretty good...

The omelet's flavor is derived from one secret ingredient that combines with everything else to mimic a traditional omelet in texture, taste, and likelihood to massively overeat. Kala namak, or black salt, adds the egg-y flavor but can be an elusive ingredient. I took a field trip to my local Indian market to pick some up. I went a little overboard in the spice aisle, picking up several little spice packets (so cute! so cheap!) but that's another story.

When the omelet was done, filled with sautéed mushrooms and covered in lots of fresh black pepper, it reminded me of the eggs that my dad makes. Which was sort of cool but sort of unsettling, being that it's been several years since my last experience with eggs. But my basic omelet instinct came back immediately, and I hoovered the tofu-melet down no problem.

Stop, Waffle Time!

2008-03-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

I would like to dedicate this breakfast to MC Hammer, in honor of his single "U Can't Touch This," which was the first tape I ever bought and the song that was in the nightmare that woke me up at 5:30am yesterday morning. That, and for giving the world Hammer pants for a brief stint in the 90s. Thanks a lot.

As I was laying in bed wide awake at 5:30 I decided I wanted to make waffles. Strawberry chocolate waffles to be exact. I was going to use my new waffle iron I got for Christmas. We're still getting to know each other, this appliance and I, but so far I've figured out that it doesn't handle "add ins" very well. It wants batter, and only batter, thank you very much get those damn blueberries out of here. Adding in chocolate chips AND strawberries would be tempting fate.

To play it safe, I kept the waffles plain (waffle iron cooperated beautifully) and made some sauces to top things off. I heated some strawberries with orange juice, fresh squeezed from oranges my grandpa grows in his backyard. A little whiz with the immersion blender, and damn I just made a nice little fruit sauce.

For the chocolate, I melted semi-sweet chocolate chips with a little soymilk and maple syrup. I also added in a few squares of my favorite chocolate bar, this Chuao Spicy Maya. It's from a local San Diego chocolatier, dark chocolate with a hint of spicy chiles. I thought the bit o spice would go well with the sweet fruit. And I was pretty much right.

The waffles were topped with the strawberry/orange sauce, drizzled with the chocolate, and finished off with a little Soyatoo whipped cream and Spicy Maya shavings. Here, have a bite:

Brought to you by the color Orange

2008-03-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

I brought some of these tomato-rosemary scones to work with me. They seem to attract a lot of attention in the lunchroom due to their bright color, those attention whore scones. They are another tester from the upcoming cookbook "The Crack of Noon." The taste is a little bit like pizza.

The nasturtium in my garden is blooming, knowing full well the scones can barely compete when it comes to provocative color. Little do they know, nasturtium are edible flowers and I've got some plans for them. (and yeah, the scones are hanging out in the garden, they like it out there.)

These mystery flowers started blooming on a plant I've had for several years. For the longest time it was just a green, chronically dehydrated shrub. Then my husband took custody of the shrub, and it has blossomed under his tutelage.

Happy Spring!

I think I'm turning Japanese

2008-03-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend my friend from Japan hosted a dinner party at her house and taught us to make our own authentic Japanese Sushi. The first step was to take a field trip to the Japanese market to pick up ingredients. I planned to make vegetable sushi, so I chose (clockwise from top) pickled japanese eggplant (tokoton ganko nasu), spicy radish sprouts, a salted yellow radish (jumbo takuan), japanese cucumber, avocado, and (center) ohba leaves. In the top left corner are sweet shirakiku inari pockets. Not pictured are several bottles of premium Japanese beer.

My friend the sushi-sensei prepared the rice. After rinsing the grains, she cooks the rice in her fancy digital rice cooker. Then she seasons it with sweetened rice vinegar. She stirs it well to help it cool.

The sushi-sensei also prepared the vegetables. She slices the cucumber and yellow radish into spears that are the same length as a nori sheet. The pickled eggplant is in a brine, so she drains it a bit before using. At this point in the evening, the only help I've contributed is getting my sensei a beer.

But soon we got down to business. Our hostess laid down sheets of foil on the table, and distributed bamboo sushi mats. She recommends the mats made of thin strips of bamboo because they are easier to roll in comparison to thicker bamboo. Interestingly, our imported Japanese sushi mats had stickers on them that said "made in China."

Basically, we spread a thin layer of rice on a nori sheet using rice paddles, then placed fillings on the bottom half. Pictured above is a pickled radish, radish sprout, and ohba roll. Our sushi-sensei emphasized the importance of getting the rice spread out all the way to the top, so it's stickyness will help seal the nori once it's rolled.

Here's a nice fat radish roll, my first sushi. Once it's rolled up in the bamboo mat, we squeeze it tight to help it seal and stay together. Then we place them seam side down on a tray.

The process is repeated until we think we have enough. Then we make a few more just because.

This cucumber, avocado, radish sprout, and ohba roll ended up being one of my favorites.

Once all the sushi is rolled, find the sharpest knife you can and get to work slicing. Make sure to put your beer in a safe place when using the knife! If the ends of the sushi fall apart or don't look so pretty, sushi-sensei says to put those aside or just eat them. Don't put inferior sushi on the platter!

Here are the fruits of my labor. Luckily I had some friends to help me eat all this veggie sushi, and still had plenty to take home. It was served with the typical soy sauce, wasabi, and sake accompaniments.

For a sweet treat we also made inari sushi. The inari pockets are made of sweetened tofu that is somehow cooked in thin squares. When one is cut in half, it is like a pita bread and the middle just opens up. Then it's stuffed with sushi rice and the bottom is folded over as a seal.

Domo arigato sushi-sensei! Kampai!

Brunch is the Most Important Meal of the Day

2008-03-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

My husband and my brother are both homebrewers; they make their own beer. They have just started the spring maintenance on their mini farm where they grow hops. My brother came over early this morning with big plans to get right to work.

I couldn't let them out the door on empty stomachs, and who really can say no to a hot plate of buckwheat pancakes?

The pancake recipe is from an upcoming vegan cookbook, The Crack of Noon, that's all about the fine cuisine of brunch. The blueberry topping is thawed frozen blueberries heated with a little agave nectar.

My brother, who contributed to the actual cooking of the flapjacks because I was dealing with a sink full of dirty dishes (damn those dishes!), gave them an enthusiastic endorsement.

How to Make My Day

2008-03-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I just got home from one of those banner days at work. You know, when the delicate house of cards I've been building for the past few months comes crashing down in one fell swoop. And the only thing I can do is swallow the agonizing frustration, pick up the pieces and start over. I'm really earning this Ph.D, that's for sure.

I came home planning to drown my sorrows in sake and reality tv, perhaps topping off the night by falling asleep on the couch. That was not to be the case, however. My spirits brightened considerably when I walked in the door and was greeted by this on our kitchen table:

My parents have just returned from Las Vegas. Through a relay exchange between at least three different family members, a long drive through the desert, and probably horse drawn carriage or pack mule, these brave vegan donuts found their way to me!

Not only do my parents get major thanks for orchestrating delivery of said donuts, but serious bonus points go to my Dad for walking into a donut shop and inquiring about vegan items with ease. At least now I think he knows what the word means! (He didn't actually eat one, that would be going TOO far.)

The frosting is a little banged up from the journey, but hot damn do they taste good.

Tomorrow I'll return to work, fueled entirely by apple fritters. Can't wait to see how the day goes!

Kickin it Old School

2008-03-18T22:21:00.001-07:00

I went on my first motorcycle ride this weekend, a little joyride up the coast on the back of my husband's bike. I felt really badass, I almost forgot about the girly purple flowers airbrushed on my helmet. I've been known to have a dainty stomach, however, so when we got home I felt a little woozy. Too much racing around corners and knocking helmets. We head out on the highway, looking for adventure, and what comes my way is nausea.

So I whipped up a batch of fauxstess cupcakes because a sugar high makes everything feel better.

Inspired by Jackson Pollack

2008-03-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

I just dropped a container of barbecue sauce. Big Rorschach BBQ blots on the kitchen floor, bright red splatters on the wall. Am I cooking dinner or does someone have a gushing flesh wound?
I wish I had a dog to help clean up.

Tijuana Makes Me Happy

2008-03-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight I took a trip south of the border, because nothing says Happy St. Patrick's day quite like a plate of tacos. Instead of spilling green beer all over ourselves at a crowded bar, my husband and I opted to visit a famous taqueria and stuff ourselves silly. The tacos there are legendary; when the owner rolls open the door at 6pm, he is greeted by a small crowd eager to get in on some hott taco action. Then the party starts.

We took seats at the bar and our friend commenced ordering in a rapid exchange with the chef. The chef nodded, greeted the gringos with a smile, and stopped slicing avocados just long enough to get our food on the grill. Meanwhile, we were scorching our taste buds on the appetizer, sliced cucumbers presented with about 20 different salsas.

Soon we were elbow deep in a fabulous taco frenzy. My favorites were the potato taco (baked potato mixed with pinto beans, mushrooms, and roasted jalapeños, topped with a rich chipotle sauce on a fresh corn tortilla... St. Patrick would approve) and the taco dulce.

My novice photo skills don't do the taco dulce justice. It is a heavenly creation of caramelized pineapple topped with mango sauce, raspberry sauce, strawberry sauce, and finished off with chopped walnuts. I swear the chef didn't even have to stop slicing avocados to make this; it just magically appeared in front of me.

Nothing could really compete after that, so we hoisted ourselves off the barstools and lumbered back outside. We tipped the security guy who watched our car with a bottle of aspirin and were on our way back stateside. Aside from a lingering paranoia that I may have contracted Montezuma's Revenge, it was a perfect meal.

The Thunder Rolls

2008-03-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

This morning at some wee ungodly hour I was startled awake by a huge booming crack of thunder. At first I didn't know what it was, being half asleep and from a land where thunder is not a common occurrence. I peeked out the window, fully expecting to see a mushroom cloud and the end of the world as I know it.

And what did I see?
Nothing, it was dark. Maybe a raccoon in the dumpster. Hardly an apocalypse.

Nevertheless, I decided that if there indeed was an emergency, I didn't want the SDPD or the Red Cross or FEMA or whoever to see the week's worth of dishes that was piled high in my kitchen sink. So right then and there, in the still of the night, I firmly resolved to clean up my act.

And by "act" I mean "kitchen."