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Saturday, June 15th, 2019 01:12 pmIt is really, really hard to make pumpkin muffins when you are lacking pumpkin. Just saying.
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Saturday, February 9th, 2019 02:09 pmThe work on the WORSE THING I HAVE EVER WRITTEN continues. I am now almost 44,000 words into this and it is hilarious to me how bad it is. I'm still enjoying writing it and will definitely recommend the software I am using to track the pacing. It works really, really well for my style of writing. I don't know what I'll do at the end of this story. Revise it? Cannibalize it for scenes/ideas? Its so bad.
Dinner tonight will be homemade chicken noodle soup. Right now I'm making the stock from a bag in the freezer full of what I so helpfully labelled "chicken bits." It's basically skin, spines, and those little bags of giblets from the last 4-5 times I spatchcocked a chicken and roasted it. Added to it were some tiny carrots from the CSA and the leftover bones from the last roasted chicken. I threw in some bay, salt & pepper, some dried onions, and the few cloves of garlic we had left in the fridge. Bring to boil and then simmer for two hours. Homemade chicken stock! I'll add the dark meat chicken, egg noodles, and chopped up celery/onions/carrots when I cook the noodles in the broth to make soup.
I also pulled a bag of corn I froze from when the CSA gave us an abundance of sweet corn in the summer and put that in the fridge. I'll probably have it with some of the chicken next week and a salad for dinner.
Dinner tonight will be homemade chicken noodle soup. Right now I'm making the stock from a bag in the freezer full of what I so helpfully labelled "chicken bits." It's basically skin, spines, and those little bags of giblets from the last 4-5 times I spatchcocked a chicken and roasted it. Added to it were some tiny carrots from the CSA and the leftover bones from the last roasted chicken. I threw in some bay, salt & pepper, some dried onions, and the few cloves of garlic we had left in the fridge. Bring to boil and then simmer for two hours. Homemade chicken stock! I'll add the dark meat chicken, egg noodles, and chopped up celery/onions/carrots when I cook the noodles in the broth to make soup.
I also pulled a bag of corn I froze from when the CSA gave us an abundance of sweet corn in the summer and put that in the fridge. I'll probably have it with some of the chicken next week and a salad for dinner.
Because my cat is awesome, I guess
Thursday, January 24th, 2013 06:39 pmIt's sad that my cat is more okay with being stuck with a giant needle every other day than I am.
Then again, I have a thing about needles. I am so glad![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
miome is willing to do the actual sticking while I just distract Kira. We're giving her fluids, which only takes a few minutes. She's not thrilled, but she's taking it well.
I can't even watch. -_-
In other news, I made delicious pasta with broccoli, leeks, and pine nuts. Definitely adding that recipe to my repertoire.
Then again, I have a thing about needles. I am so glad
miome is willing to do the actual sticking while I just distract Kira. We're giving her fluids, which only takes a few minutes. She's not thrilled, but she's taking it well.I can't even watch. -_-
In other news, I made delicious pasta with broccoli, leeks, and pine nuts. Definitely adding that recipe to my repertoire.
Lemon sugar cookies
Thursday, December 27th, 2012 04:25 pmdespite what the recipe says, these sugar cookies were not soft after an hour or two. They weren't as crispy as some cookies I've had though, so I guess that counts.. They were also some of the best lemon cookies I'd had. The only change I made in the recipe was to halve in (I did not need 3.5 dozen cookies), and to add a few drops of lemon extract to the sugar I rolled the dough in before baking.
Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies.
Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies.
So many apples
Sunday, November 11th, 2012 07:40 pmI bought a 1/2 bushel of delicious apples (called Spencerville Reds) for $20. I've spent the last day figuring out ways to keep these apples long enough that they can be eaten before they go bad. So far I've made a large bag freezer apple tart filling and have a crockpot full of apple butter. I know the first recipe says apple pie filling, but with that much liquid left in it (seriously, you don't cook the apples at all and you don't add any cornstarch to help thicken it) I have my doubts whether it would successfully make an apple pie. But I bet it would make an awesome apple tart.
The apple butter recipe calls for 10 apples, but I wound up using 13 to get 5 lbs. I think this is because a lot of the apples I got were small. I cannot wait to try the apple butter. Most apple butter recipes call for apples, sugar, and cinnamon, but they always tasted a bit simple to me. This recipe has spices and alcohol. I used rum instead of Applejack, but still. Only substitution I made. I bet it would delicious with brandy as well.
I do not know how either will taste, but man does it smell delicious in my house right now. This has only gotten me about 1/4 to 1/2 way through the bushel of apples. Tomorrow I will make a much more traditional freezer apple pie filling, which is enough for 5 apple pies. Since freezer apple pie filling last a year, I think it will be fine. It calls for 18 cups of apples. I am not sure how many apples that will take up, but I'm hoping a lot. Anything left, and I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe make more tart filling since that is quick and easy.
I know I'll take some of the tart filling and apple pie filling to Georgia for Thanksgiving with my family, so it will get used up.
And despite the mad rush to make everything with apples, I am not at all sorry I got the apples. Although I cannot even imagine what I would have done with a full bushel of apples. 0_O
The apple butter recipe calls for 10 apples, but I wound up using 13 to get 5 lbs. I think this is because a lot of the apples I got were small. I cannot wait to try the apple butter. Most apple butter recipes call for apples, sugar, and cinnamon, but they always tasted a bit simple to me. This recipe has spices and alcohol. I used rum instead of Applejack, but still. Only substitution I made. I bet it would delicious with brandy as well.
I do not know how either will taste, but man does it smell delicious in my house right now. This has only gotten me about 1/4 to 1/2 way through the bushel of apples. Tomorrow I will make a much more traditional freezer apple pie filling, which is enough for 5 apple pies. Since freezer apple pie filling last a year, I think it will be fine. It calls for 18 cups of apples. I am not sure how many apples that will take up, but I'm hoping a lot. Anything left, and I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe make more tart filling since that is quick and easy.
I know I'll take some of the tart filling and apple pie filling to Georgia for Thanksgiving with my family, so it will get used up.
And despite the mad rush to make everything with apples, I am not at all sorry I got the apples. Although I cannot even imagine what I would have done with a full bushel of apples. 0_O
It was an ignoble death
Sunday, October 14th, 2012 05:48 pmMade pumpkin bars with cream cheese icing this afternoon. They are finishing cooling in the fridge. Then we shall see how tasty they are. I wound up altering the cream cheese icing recipe quite a bit. It called for 3oz of cream cheese for two cups of powdered sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla, and 1/3 cup butter. WTF? I'm sorry but cream cheese icing should still taste like cream cheese, not regular vanilla icing. So I put the whole 8oz I had in there.
Best decision ever. This was just how cream cheese icing should taste: sweet, but with a nice creamy-sour bite from the cream cheese. I note the change in my cookbook so I can use it on carrot cake or spice cake next time we make those.
The story I was writing for Halloween has died. I swear, it was going great and then it just stopped. There's a plot hole I can't figure out how to fix. This happens quiet a lot in my writing, especially when I don't plan out the plot ahead of time. Which is what I did (or didn't, as the case may be) do this time. I just started writing to see where it went. Where it went was straight towards a plot hole. I left in alone for a week hoping that inspiration would strike again. No such luck. Starting Monday I'm going to continue to slog through it, just get words down and not worry about the problems. I can always go back and fix them on rewrite.
Which is my way of saying, I'm not sure the Halloween story will be done by Halloween. Oh well. It wasn't quite as Halloween-y as I was hoping for anyway. It can be just an October story.
I should totally due a story for each month at some point. I would be cool to incorporate stuff from each month into a story. Maybe give myself a word count limit, like 10,000 words, and just work on it for the first 10 or last 10 days of the month. I know from experience that I can easily do 1,000 words a night. Especially if I sit down before hand a list out 10-15 things associated with each month that I should include and do a rough outline of the plot.
That might be my New Year's resolution next year. A story a month.
Best decision ever. This was just how cream cheese icing should taste: sweet, but with a nice creamy-sour bite from the cream cheese. I note the change in my cookbook so I can use it on carrot cake or spice cake next time we make those.
The story I was writing for Halloween has died. I swear, it was going great and then it just stopped. There's a plot hole I can't figure out how to fix. This happens quiet a lot in my writing, especially when I don't plan out the plot ahead of time. Which is what I did (or didn't, as the case may be) do this time. I just started writing to see where it went. Where it went was straight towards a plot hole. I left in alone for a week hoping that inspiration would strike again. No such luck. Starting Monday I'm going to continue to slog through it, just get words down and not worry about the problems. I can always go back and fix them on rewrite.
Which is my way of saying, I'm not sure the Halloween story will be done by Halloween. Oh well. It wasn't quite as Halloween-y as I was hoping for anyway. It can be just an October story.
I should totally due a story for each month at some point. I would be cool to incorporate stuff from each month into a story. Maybe give myself a word count limit, like 10,000 words, and just work on it for the first 10 or last 10 days of the month. I know from experience that I can easily do 1,000 words a night. Especially if I sit down before hand a list out 10-15 things associated with each month that I should include and do a rough outline of the plot.
That might be my New Year's resolution next year. A story a month.
Tonight, because I was lazy and didn't feel like heating up the house cooking, I decided to make gazpacho. It's a surprisingly filling, cold tomato based soup. I used this recipe, only leaving out the bell pepper (can't stand it) and halving the amount of jalapeno pepper. This meant it was the perfect spiciness for me. It was delicious and I will definitely make it again.
Using that recipe was something of a risk. I usually read the comments of people who have made the recipe before trying a recipe. That way I find out of something is too salty, bland, doesn't work, etc. before I put time/effort into it. However, most of the comments revolve around whether the jalapeno/bell peppers should be included since they are only really found in Mexican/South American food.
I wanted to tell them that peppers have been available to Spain and used in Spanish food for over 500 years. If we're going to use their criteria for why the peppers should be excluded, then gazpacho shouldn't contain tomatoes either considering both plants came from South America originally.
I realized I never said how the Shaker lemon pie came out. It was terrible. I don't know if I sliced the lemons too thick, didn't macerate them well enough, or if using regular lemons instead of Myer lemons really was not as okay as the recipe said. Whatever the cause, I cannot recommend. So disappointing.
Using that recipe was something of a risk. I usually read the comments of people who have made the recipe before trying a recipe. That way I find out of something is too salty, bland, doesn't work, etc. before I put time/effort into it. However, most of the comments revolve around whether the jalapeno/bell peppers should be included since they are only really found in Mexican/South American food.
I wanted to tell them that peppers have been available to Spain and used in Spanish food for over 500 years. If we're going to use their criteria for why the peppers should be excluded, then gazpacho shouldn't contain tomatoes either considering both plants came from South America originally.
I realized I never said how the Shaker lemon pie came out. It was terrible. I don't know if I sliced the lemons too thick, didn't macerate them well enough, or if using regular lemons instead of Myer lemons really was not as okay as the recipe said. Whatever the cause, I cannot recommend. So disappointing.
When life gives you lemons, MAKE PIE!
Saturday, July 14th, 2012 08:13 pmI am trying a new recipe for Lemon Shaker pie courtesy of The World Needs More Pie. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the recipe. It calls for slicing lemons, ring and all, and macerating them over night. So basically, I'm making candied lemons and then baking them in a pie. I am 100% okay with this (especially since I already had lemons on hand to make watermelon lemonade).
My only change is that I don't like pies with the top crust, so I'm leaving it off. I'm also cheating by using a frozen store bough crust. I have warm hands so making biscuits, pie crusts, etc. that need to remain cold is a pain in the butt for me. Hence, I cheat.
I will report the results tomorrow!
My only change is that I don't like pies with the top crust, so I'm leaving it off. I'm also cheating by using a frozen store bough crust. I have warm hands so making biscuits, pie crusts, etc. that need to remain cold is a pain in the butt for me. Hence, I cheat.
I will report the results tomorrow!
It's homemade
Monday, February 20th, 2012 06:18 pmYesterday miome roasted a whole chicken (which was fantastic). This resulted in chicken bones and quite a bit of meat. So I made chicken stock after dinner last night and tonight, made chicken noodle soup with it. I always forget that when you make chicken stock with actual bones, when it cools, you wind up with something closer to chicken jelly than liquid. However, it tastes fantastic once you get it back up to boiling. Add some thinly sliced carrots and celery, egg noodles, and cut up chicken, and you have homemade chicken soup. This is wonderful if you've been sick like I have this weekend and takes less than thirty minutes to throw together.
It is so good though. Even better, there's enough for me to take into work along with a PB&J sandwich. Mmmm.... lunch.
miome roasted a whole chicken (which was fantastic). This resulted in chicken bones and quite a bit of meat. So I made chicken stock after dinner last night and tonight, made chicken noodle soup with it. I always forget that when you make chicken stock with actual bones, when it cools, you wind up with something closer to chicken jelly than liquid. However, it tastes fantastic once you get it back up to boiling. Add some thinly sliced carrots and celery, egg noodles, and cut up chicken, and you have homemade chicken soup. This is wonderful if you've been sick like I have this weekend and takes less than thirty minutes to throw together.It is so good though. Even better, there's enough for me to take into work along with a PB&J sandwich. Mmmm.... lunch.
Pie update
Monday, November 14th, 2011 08:28 pmThe chocolate pecan pie did set in the fridge, but it is not as good as advertised. I think I will be making a regular pecan pie for Thanksgiving.
It's a trial run
Saturday, November 12th, 2011 08:12 pmChocolate pecan pie is in the oven cooking. We shall see if it is good enough for Thanksgiving.
Good luck with that
Friday, October 28th, 2011 07:14 pmThere is someone running for the Board of Education with the last name of Lolita. o_O
Also, I am still trying to figure out my shiny new gas stove. It cooks much, much faster than anything I am use to. I am at the "Shit, dinner is burning. NOOOOO. The smoke alarm is going off!" stage. But at least I haven't truly ruined dinner yet.
Also, I am still trying to figure out my shiny new gas stove. It cooks much, much faster than anything I am use to. I am at the "Shit, dinner is burning. NOOOOO. The smoke alarm is going off!" stage. But at least I haven't truly ruined dinner yet.
Tempting fate
Saturday, August 27th, 2011 05:12 pmI will be very displeased if the power goes out before dinner is done (35 minutes to bake vegetarian lasagna). VERY DISPLEASED.
EDIT: Lasagna is cooling on the counter. Only one power flicker and one big gust of wind during cooking. All is well.
The worst of the hurricane is supposed to hit tonight. Maybe I should make the apple muffins tonight, just in case. It is something to ponder.
EDIT: Lasagna is cooling on the counter. Only one power flicker and one big gust of wind during cooking. All is well.
The worst of the hurricane is supposed to hit tonight. Maybe I should make the apple muffins tonight, just in case. It is something to ponder.
Why is there no fanfiction?
Sunday, July 24th, 2011 12:46 pmAll I have seen is a minute long trailer, and I already wish there was fanfiction for the Avengers movie. Hell, I'd be tempted to write it myself if I didn't know that it was going to get jossed all to hell come May 2012.
Althoughmiome and I came up with a hilarious snippet that ended with Tony Stark feeling the need to write a letter of apology to some dwarven engineer for telling Thor about cockrings. ^_^
In other news, I made salmon with tomatillo sauce that was absolutely fantastic. Sauce was a bit more work than I thought it would be, but you can make it ahead of time and just warm it up. Will have to remember that.
And at the end of this post, spell checker does not like the words tomatillo, jossed, cockring, dwarven, or fanfiction. Fanfiction and jossed I can understand, but the other three are just mind boggling. Clearly the Firefox spell checker needs to get out more.
Although
miome and I came up with a hilarious snippet that ended with Tony Stark feeling the need to write a letter of apology to some dwarven engineer for telling Thor about cockrings. ^_^In other news, I made salmon with tomatillo sauce that was absolutely fantastic. Sauce was a bit more work than I thought it would be, but you can make it ahead of time and just warm it up. Will have to remember that.
And at the end of this post, spell checker does not like the words tomatillo, jossed, cockring, dwarven, or fanfiction. Fanfiction and jossed I can understand, but the other three are just mind boggling. Clearly the Firefox spell checker needs to get out more.
Three times I've tried to plant onions and three times it has failed. I'm beginning to think I just got a bad batch of seed. Oh well. Went to the farmer's market and picked up three seedlings to go in those pots instead. I now have chives, lime mint, and chocolate mint. I hope to grow enough mint this year that I can start making mint sugar syrup again. I also found instructions to turn sugar syrup into sorbet. Mint sorbet. Mmmmm...
I prepped and got started the beef roast for tonight. I'm cooking it in the crock pot with potatoes, carrots, celery, canned tomatoes, onions, bay leaves, and fresh herbs from the pots. Here's a trick: since I had finding dried or hard parts of herbs in my dishes (like rosemary stems), I put them in tea bags, seal up the tea bag, and toss it in. At the end I fish out the tea bag and yet still get flavored food. Ta-dah!
Finally,starparty was complaining about some really, really disproportionate male anatomy she saw in a romance she was reading. I, of course, had to respond in the most appropriate way I could.
I prepped and got started the beef roast for tonight. I'm cooking it in the crock pot with potatoes, carrots, celery, canned tomatoes, onions, bay leaves, and fresh herbs from the pots. Here's a trick: since I had finding dried or hard parts of herbs in my dishes (like rosemary stems), I put them in tea bags, seal up the tea bag, and toss it in. At the end I fish out the tea bag and yet still get flavored food. Ta-dah!
Finally,
starparty was complaining about some really, really disproportionate male anatomy she saw in a romance she was reading. I, of course, had to respond in the most appropriate way I could.It's a soup stock kind of day
Saturday, April 30th, 2011 12:36 pmMaking stock today because it's cold enough in the apartment that we won't be bothered if I heat up the kitchen for the next 4-5 hours. I've got onion, some carrots that were getting a bit gone, leek tops (that I froze last time I made a dish with leeks), celery (left over from another dish and frozen so they wouldn't go bad), some dried porcini mushrooms that I found in the cabinet, herbs, bay leaves, salt, white pepper, and two ham hocks that have been in the freezer too long.
So basically it's a pantry/freezer raid stock. I'll simmer it for the next few hours, then put it in bags in 1-2 cup measurements. Mostly I'll use it to make rice and vegetables in the Southern belief that all vegetables are better when they're flavored with pork.
I am so looking forward to this nice, relaxing weekend.
So basically it's a pantry/freezer raid stock. I'll simmer it for the next few hours, then put it in bags in 1-2 cup measurements. Mostly I'll use it to make rice and vegetables in the Southern belief that all vegetables are better when they're flavored with pork.
I am so looking forward to this nice, relaxing weekend.
Om nom nom
Sunday, April 3rd, 2011 11:45 amI am making roasted cod with bacon and leeks for lunch. Right now I am roasting the leeks and bacon in a bath of white wine and herbs, and my apartment smells divine. I haven't even put the fish in yet, and I want to eat this dish.
I have to remember to make asparagus for the side. I totally forgot to put the potatoes in to roast with the leeks, so we're not having those. Ah well. I can have the potatoes with another dish.
EDIT: Smoke alarm just went off. That's a sign that it's going to be delicious. :D
I have to remember to make asparagus for the side. I totally forgot to put the potatoes in to roast with the leeks, so we're not having those. Ah well. I can have the potatoes with another dish.
EDIT: Smoke alarm just went off. That's a sign that it's going to be delicious. :D
Accomlishments and Goals
Saturday, March 5th, 2011 05:56 pmToday:
- Made mushroom and onion omelet for breakfast
- Sewed button back on jacket
- Mended one sweater seam and one bra with my admittedly horrible sewing skills
- Took a walk
- Made spinach with fried garlic for dinner (miome made gnocchi with pesto)
For tomorrow:
- Drop Miome off at Metro so she can catch her flight
- Do filing in prep for taxes
- Send in IRA contribution with cover letter so it goes on last year's taxes
- Register for convention in Seattle in April
- Trip to Home Depot for gardening supplies?
- Made mushroom and onion omelet for breakfast
- Sewed button back on jacket
- Mended one sweater seam and one bra with my admittedly horrible sewing skills
- Took a walk
- Made spinach with fried garlic for dinner (
miome made gnocchi with pesto)For tomorrow:
- Drop Miome off at Metro so she can catch her flight
- Do filing in prep for taxes
- Send in IRA contribution with cover letter so it goes on last year's taxes
- Register for convention in Seattle in April
- Trip to Home Depot for gardening supplies?
Definitely a stay in kind of night
Thursday, February 10th, 2011 05:35 pmAfter an afternoon of working from home because I feel like death warmed over followed up by a rousing episode of miome attempting to set the kitchen on fire, we have decided that it is best for everyone if we just order Chinese tonight and stay indoors.
miome attempting to set the kitchen on fire, we have decided that it is best for everyone if we just order Chinese tonight and stay indoors.Good idea, bad idea
Monday, January 24th, 2011 05:53 pmGood idea: Grating potatoes to make delicious potato pancakes.
Bad idea: Grating my finger, bleeding, and cursing a whole lot
The end.
Bad idea: Grating my finger, bleeding, and cursing a whole lot
The end.
This is why I grew up
Sunday, December 5th, 2010 08:18 amBeing an adult means I can have caramelized bananas with brown sugar for breakfast. And I have the skill to make them too!
Mmmm.... food.
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 06:21 pmOn Sunday, I made carnitas. This was not a simple recipe. This was four hours of work, only two of which were cooking time. The other two were prepping, cutting, pulling, stirring, and coating. It's pretty intensive as far as recipes I'll attempt go, but at the end I had pork that tasted a little bit like heaven.
Tonight I made delicious Mexican rice from a new recipe. Man, this recipe is definitely a keeper. It tastes exactly like I want Mexican rice to taste, and was not trying to be something it's not. We had green beans and some more of the pork to go with it.
I'm beginning to believemiome when she tells me I'm turning into a better cook than she is. Now if only I can get her to admit I'm a better baker as well. :D
Tonight I made delicious Mexican rice from a new recipe. Man, this recipe is definitely a keeper. It tastes exactly like I want Mexican rice to taste, and was not trying to be something it's not. We had green beans and some more of the pork to go with it.
I'm beginning to believe
miome when she tells me I'm turning into a better cook than she is. Now if only I can get her to admit I'm a better baker as well. :DHoly chocolate, Batman!
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010 05:47 pmThey make bags of Hershey's miniatures that are all made with dark chocolate?
WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THIS SOONER?
In other news, tonight I made tuna melt sandwiches with Swiss cheese. I make them with Swiss cheese not because I don't like cheddar or American. It's because my stomach can't handle melted yellow cheeses for some odd reason. They were delicious. I am kind of scared that I have to give Paula Dean (Queen of All Things Should Include Butter) some credit for how good the tuna sandwiches were. On one of her shows, she mentioned that if you run out of butter, you can make grilled sandwiches using a thin layer of mayonnaise to brown the bread. I thought she was crazy. However, they do grill much more evenly and I prefer the taste of the mayonnaise on my tuna melt to the taste of butter. I also think they are less greasy, but I think that my be debated by some.
Now to finish my dinner and then eat some chocolate
WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THIS SOONER?
In other news, tonight I made tuna melt sandwiches with Swiss cheese. I make them with Swiss cheese not because I don't like cheddar or American. It's because my stomach can't handle melted yellow cheeses for some odd reason. They were delicious. I am kind of scared that I have to give Paula Dean (Queen of All Things Should Include Butter) some credit for how good the tuna sandwiches were. On one of her shows, she mentioned that if you run out of butter, you can make grilled sandwiches using a thin layer of mayonnaise to brown the bread. I thought she was crazy. However, they do grill much more evenly and I prefer the taste of the mayonnaise on my tuna melt to the taste of butter. I also think they are less greasy, but I think that my be debated by some.
Now to finish my dinner and then eat some chocolate