BAKIN' LOVE

Birthday Cake!

2011-11-18T14:35:00.001-06:00

I'm typically not much of a decorator.

But my sweet, generous friend Anaka ordered a cake for her precious son's first birthday. I suggested carrot cake, she said round, I said I'd do something cute. Then I panicked, as I always do, a little, when I think about decorating cakes. (probably shouldn't put that on a blog where I'm trying to sell things...)

As always, God, in His great patience, taught me yet again that worrying adds nothing to my life, but rather than I should trust Him and the gifts He's given me. And the super helpful friends and roommates He gave me!

At craft night on Wednesday, my craft was decorating this cake. I cut out a carrot-shaped stencil from parchment paper and dusted sprinkles into it. I surrounded it with dollops and then used the most amazing invention to write in green - a Wilton Ready To Use Icing tube. I just screwed on my tip and started nervously writing.Now I have a whole tube of icing to decorate Christmas cookies with!

I hope it's as delicious as it is adorable.

Carrot cake recipe (I used the layer cake directions)
Cream cheese icing recipe (it's really the best.)

Fundraising update: I'm at $475/$1,150! Next week, I'm making 14 (yes, fourteen!) Thanksgiving pies, which should bring that total way up. Then Dec. 17 will be the big bake sale. I feel like I have three jobs right now, but I'm super grateful to the Lord for providing and my friends for their support.

bake sale preview

2011-11-07T17:07:00.002-06:00

this is the menu for my dec. 17 bake sale. with the pre-selling i've done, i calculated what i need to make at the bake sale and developed the menu from there. it was lots of fun mathematical thinking.
if you are coming and you want large quantities of something on or off the menu, or small quantities of something off the menu, let me know ahead of time! e-mail invite to come.

bake sailing

2011-11-06T17:05:00.001-06:00

once upon a time, i decided to take a short trip to the horn of africa. in order to do so, i had to raise some funds. and so i thought. i love to bake. usually i just do it for free. i bet i could make some cash from it! i hosted a bake sale in my home and, by His provision, i made $300!

now i'm preparing for a big move to OnlyHeknowswhere. before i go, i have some training to complete, and training costs money. lots of it. so i thought... i love to bake. usually i just do it for free. i bet i could make some cash from it! so bake sale 2.0 was born.

this time it's a bit more epic. it will be ongoing for six weeks, through December 17. people can place orders at any time for any thing, with at least one week notice. my orders so far have been for chocolate chip pecan cookie dough, pumpkin cupcakes, a thanksgiving pecan pie, a cake just for fun, and cookies for an 11/11/11 party. i updated my "for sale" page for the occasion. hoping to convey the idea that i will bake just about anything.

it's super sweet to realize how many people support me and what i'm doing through this whole process. if you'd like to know more (i'm being purposefully vague here), shoot me an email.

grace and peace, melissa

Fall! Fall!

2011-11-01T17:01:00.000-05:00

After the record-breaking (90 days at 100 degrees or more) heat of summer, it's only reasonable that I'm jumping into fall/winter with scarves and jackets and boots though it's really still 80 degrees outside. It's also time for fall treats.

Caramel apples. My roommate Rachael insisted that unwrapping each candy was a part of her childhood caramel apple experience, and so purchased the individually wrapped candies. While I would probably go for the chips... I forgive her. We melted it with some vanilla, salt, and half and half or whole milk (I forget which) til we got that just-right consistency.

Rachael fashioned some sticks out of plastic spoon handles and we dipped and rolled in almonds and coconuts and drizzled with melted chocolate. I even sprinkled a few with kosher salt. They were divine, but as the sat on the counter, gravity took its toll on the caramel and it slowly but surely pooled around the bottom of each apple.

My friend advised me for next time - keep caramel apples refrigerated. Also, I'm sure you will need this tip for any time in life that you use caramel. It's incredibly stubborn... but baking soda will get it off of most things!

Pumpkin Pie Poptarts. Joy the Baker's recipe for these is great. We made ours a litle smaller, because I was making them to serve at a party alongside a lot of other treats. Rachael also had the great idea of putting some glaze on right away to sink into the tart and then drizzling some on once they have cooled, mostly for looks. And! My favorite new crust tip - roll out your dough between two pieces of saran wrap. This way, you make less of a flour mess, and you add less flour to your dough, which can throw it off. Yay!

I'm no one trick pony. I love crafting as much as I love baking. And working with preschool-aged children is the perfect job for holiday crafts. Honestly, I only carved one eye on this pumpkin... but I helped get all the goop out.

These were the kids' trick or treat bags. I bet you can probably guess which ones the adults in the room made. The C is for Calabaza, the P for Pumpkin. I love my bilingual kiddos! Their costumes were way cuter than anything I've posted here, but it's not really kosher to post pics of other people's kids. Just imagine lots of little superheroes and fairy princesses.

The aforementioned engagement party! This beautiful display was made by the hostess, and just looks so very Pintrest and wonderful, so I had to share, in case you are hosting such a party sometime soon.

Snickerdoodle Cakeballs. The food spread! Also very well designed by our lovely hostess. You can see the pumpkin poptarts there and in the back in three tiers are my snickerdoodle cake balls. I'm not on the cakeball bandwagon, but everyone around me is, and I aim to please.

These I made with a recipe from Always With Butter. I made the cakes, took them out of the oven to cool, made the icing, and crumbled the cakes into the icing in a mixer where they blend together into a gnarly goop. Then you freeze for about an hour, or until it can be rolled into balls, either by hand or with a cookie scoop. The balls should freeze for four hours or overnight.

When you take them out, melt some coating chocolate (Hobby Lobby has lots of fun colors. For the snickerdoodle balls, I mix cinnamon into a vanilla coating). Because I'm adventurous, I roll the cake balls in the coating using my fingers. You can use a toothpick if you like, but they may fall apart, unless you use less frosting than I do. I use a lot of frosting.

Me with the happy couple. I really am that happy they are getting married... It's super neat to have watched their whole relationship and to know both of them really well. Oh, and I maaaaybe have another wedding cake assignment.

My roommates and I are were just too excited about the weather. Rachael cut paper snowflakes, and I sprinkled them with black (edible...) glitter. We hung them from yarn above our kitchen table. We probably should have done leaves and put these up in December but.... oh well.

We couldn't keep our holiday cheer to ourselves, so we delivered snowflakes to a bunch of our neighbors with a borderline creepy but mostly adorable sign. That's right, it says "We SNOW where you live!" Feel free to take this idea and run with it.

That's all. Hopefully it won't take me seventymillion years to update next time.

Melissa

The Apartment

2011-08-20T09:52:00.002-05:00

Welcome to my new home.

Clockwise, from top left: Goodwill Clock, $4.99; Our "Contemplation Corner" in the dining room. The best thing about this is the "half lamp"; Kitchen quiltings by Meghan; Ikea Bookends, $15, garage sale map $1, map from Puerto Rico, $2.

Lowe's mirror over the mantle, $9, decorated with fabric scraps; Goodwill paintings in the large wooden frame, $4.99 each, repurposed curtain wrapped around them and the empty frame; Target frames from the $1 bin filled with polaroids; art by my roommate, Courtney.

"Setting Moon," our native American friend, inherited by me from former roommates, framed calendar pages on the wall; my roommates and I enjoying the many seating options in our TV-free living room.

I love it here. Praise the Lord!

Cookies, cake balls, neighbors

2011-08-10T13:37:00.002-05:00

I moved for the kazillionth time in my life this past weekend, and I couldn't love my new apartment and my new roommates more. I'm not just saying that. I actually feel more chipper than I have in quite a while. That could also be because I started hitting the gym (in the lightest way possible...). I've heard something about endorphins or something...

Thankfully, these two baking projects were not for my consumption, so I won't counteract the strenuous 20 minutes a day I spend on the elliptical. First, I made Lemon Almond Meringue cookies from Joy the Baker to take to my new neighbors to introduce ourselves and immediately win their hearts. I bought these cute little cookie bags at Hobby Lobby:

They are pretty easy to make, although if you're scared of beating egg whites to create something like a meringue, you might freak out. But there's nothing to fear but eating all the cookies before anyone else gets one.

One of my new roommates then asked me to make cake balls for her cousin's lingerie shower (get it? cake balls?), which was a new endeavor for me. I read a bit online and came up with these red velvet and cream cheese icing cake balls dipped in coating chocolate and decorated with white squiggles. I used box mix (I never, ever do this) because of my former failures with red velvet.

It sort of freaked me out how red the batter was. That is the same color as my mixer! Who knows what's in there.... but I baked two 9X9s, crumbled them up, mixed them with two cups of my favorite cream cheese frosting and refrigerated the combo overnight. Then, today, I used my medium cookie scoop to make little balls of the mixture and froze it for an hour. This is maybe the most important part, because once they start to defrost they are impossible to dip in the chocolate.

At my brilliant roommate's suggestion, I used the bottom of a meat thermometer (it was clean, I swear... I didn't have toothpicks! they probably wouldn't have been strong enough anyway) and dipped the balls into two trays of coating chocolate melted in the microwave. It hardens as it sits on the parchment. Hopefully, the ladies will enjoy them.

fourth o july cupcakes

2011-07-04T12:06:00.006-05:00

Update: These cupcakes were ridiculously delicious. People were eating multiples. Make them for all events and holidays.

You probably still have a few hours before the BBQ, so fire up the oven.

Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes
Made 2 dozen cupcakes
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups unbleached (King Arthur) cake flour
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined.
Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.Whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla.
With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition. Beat until ingredients are incorporated; do not overbeat.
Fill liners 2/3s full with batter.
Bake 17 to 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Best Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
2 sticks of unsalted butter
4-6 cups of powdered sugar4 teaspoons vanilla
Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy.
Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
Mix in vanilla.
Refrigerate for about 10 minutes before frosting to set.

Decorate:
The easiest way I've found to ice professional looking cupcakes is Wilton's "1M swirl." You can buy the 1M tip at any hobby lobby for about $1.50. You also need a large coupler, which is another buck or two. For decorating bags, you can buy large disposable ones, or use a large ziploc bag. But I recommend the decorating bags because ziplocs can be weak. Or, I am too strong.
Fit the decorating tip to the decorating bag and fill with icing.
Hold tip one-quarter inch above the cupcake perpendicular to the surface. Begin at the outer edge and work inward, piping a spiral of icing.
Remove pressure and pull tip away.
Pipe a second, more narrow spiral on top, ending in the center. Pull tip straight up and away.

Otherwise, just smear some icing on there and cover it with berries.

I was going to use blue and red sprinkles, but I couldn't find a suitable blue. So in a Martha-inspired moment, I realized raspberries and blueberries would be cuter and more delightful than chunks of sugar.

Lisa was nice enough to let me list these here. Lots of fun recipes!

mates of state - maracas

2011-06-29T14:35:00.002-05:00

Mates Of State - "Maracas" from stereogum on Vimeo.

this'll be on the Mountaintops LP, out 9/13 via Barsuk. the announced tour doesn't yet have an austin date, but i'm assuming (hoping) it'll be added later!

Wedding cupcakes!

2011-06-19T09:46:00.007-05:00

Things that are less intimidating than a three tier, gorgeous wedding cake: cupcakes.

A friend of a friend of mine (Thanks, Melissa, for the recommendation :)) is coming over to taste these little confections for her wedding in November. The theme is black and ivory. I made carrot, red velvet, and chocolate cupcakes with three different types of icing for her to try. I scoured the cake shop near my house and found black cupcake liners and various black decorations. They have so many fun different things that it was hard not to walk away with more. And I definitely want more people to ask me to make them fanciful cupcakes.

Pin It

Another wedding cake, done

2011-06-17T12:03:00.005-05:00

I can't take much credit for the cake's appearance; the fresh flowers were applied by Juliet's florist, but I did get the icing smooth and make a cake well structured enough that it didn't topple. Thankfully I had plenty of patient, helpful friends around to encourage me along. And unless everyone at the ceremony was lying to my face, it tasted pretty darn good, too.

I used plastic straws for the dowel structure this time which I liked a lot more than the wooden dowel rods. The only real problem was when the layers were separated, my coating of powdered sugar wasn't quite enough to leave a clean surface where the cake board had been resting on the layer beneath it, and lots of cake was left frosting-less. I 'spose there's a reason people suggested coconut rather than sugar, but it turned out just fine, with plenty of cake to go around.

Most importantly, the bride and groom were thrilled, which is really all I wanted. Congratulations Juliet and Ryan!!

Acai Bowl

2011-05-11T15:27:00.006-05:00

Update your blogrolls (or don't, because it will just redirect anyway) because, I'm excited to say, bakinlove.blogspot.com is now just bakinlove.com. Yay for domain ownership!!

I may eventually develop this into a website for people looking for affordable cakes and tips on baking your own/your friend's wedding cake, with a blog on the side (because I'm pretty inconsistent anyway), but currently I am too busy to figure out website creation stuff.

Now, here is a recipe for a delicious summer (also appropriate in other seasons) treat I fell in love with in San Diego. And whatever you do, never buy one of these at whole foods. Their $8 "acai bowl" is a tub of acai with granola. Disappointing. Speaking of business endeavors, I think Austin needs an place that specializes in acai bowls. Maybe a trailer. We could be the next cupcakes/frozen yogurt/etc.

Acai Bowl
This is basically yogurt and granola, but you replace the yogurt with a berry smoothie.

Ingredients
your favorite granola
1 frozen Acai packet (these are widely available in most frozen fruit sections, manufactured by Sambazon)
a few splashes of real, good apple juice
frozen strawberries (or other desired fruit)
honey
1 banana
raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, coconut, and anything else you want to put on top. in San Diego, it came with bee pollen. Crunch.

Directions
Pour some granola into a cereal bowl.
Blend Acai, apple juice, frozen fruit, honey and half of a banana in a blender or food processor until thoroughly blended. You can add more or less apple juice for your desired consistency... since you eat it with a spoon it's better thick.
Pour smoothie over granola.
Top with the other half of the banana, berries, coconut, etc.
Enjoy.

Yellow cake with chocolate icing

2011-05-04T15:24:00.003-05:00

After finishing a delightful dinner of baked potatoes, black beans and green beans, my roommate Charissa, who just so happens to have recently started (successfully, I'd say) a new blog, mentioned she was craving box yellow cake with chocolate icing. After about 30 minutes of discussing whether we would actually go to the store, I started baking.

It's nothing too fancy looking, but four of us dug in with our forks and were quite satisfied. Even Charissa, who loves box cake, which I admit, homemade cake never tastes like (which I kind of think is a good thing).

So, for Charissa,'s reference and for my own files, and possibly for your (who are you anyway) enjoyment, here is a recipe for a Monday night cake.

Yellow cake with chocolate icing
Yellow Cake (halved recipe from Martha, for one 9-inch round)
Ingredients
1 stick (half cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup King Arthur unbleached cake flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 c + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 c + 2 tablespoons milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter 9x2 inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter parchment and dust with flour.
Sift flours, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.
Beat butter and sugar together with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Beat in vanilla.
Add flour in three parts, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until combined after each addition.
Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth with offset spatula.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester (knife) inserted in the center comes out clean. Rotate halfway through baking time for even baking.
Place on cooling rack outside of your hot kitchen while you make the icing.

Chocolate Icing
Ingredients
4 tablespoons salted butter (salted per Charissa's request)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Melt butter and sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
Add milk, bring to a boil, remove from heat.
Sift in cocoa and powdered sugar, stir until blended.
Stir in vanilla.

Now, conventional wisdom dictates that you should let the cake cool completely and not make the icing until it has cooled, because you have to spread it on right away. However, we wanted warm cake, so we dumped the icing in the middle of the cake right away and spread it around. It didn't drip down and it tasted super stinking good. So, get to it.

Baby Shower Cupcakes

2011-03-23T17:23:00.006-05:00

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Icing and Adorable Sprinkles.
I used food coloring to make the cupcakes pink; I now realize I should have just made strawberry cupcakes. You live and you learn.
One day, I will share some pictures and discoveries from SXSW 2011. Today is not that day.

Green Onion Soup

2011-03-03T14:23:00.003-06:00

I can never use all of my green onions. You just never need that many green onions, and in my farmhouse delivery, there's typically a large bunch. This last week, there was a bunch of green onions AND a bunch of spring onions, which are quite close cousins. I do love their flavor, so I didn't want to waste them. Sometimes, when I can't think of how to use a vegetable, I just add "soup" to the end of it and google. Because soup is easy, and soup is comforting.

Last night, I made green onion soup. It was easy and delicious. Well... easy except for the part where my blender exploded and me and my kitchen were covered in green onion soup. Twice. I'm still not sure why this happened. Anyway, we had our neighbors over for the first time (not always a great moment to try new recipes) and they liked it too! Best served with a loaf of bread for dipping and extra salt for flavoring.

Green Onion Soup (found here)
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
6 bunches green onions, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
5 cups vegetable broth
2 cups small mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup heavy cream
Directions
In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, melt the butter and add the green onions, along with salt and pepper to taste.
Saute for a few minutes, until the onions are softened, then add broth and bring the mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
Add 1 cup of the mushrooms. Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth, then put the soup back in the pot.
Add the cream and the remaining mushrooms, and heat gently (do not boil) until the mushrooms are tender.

I'm starting to really enjoy and feel comfortable cooking (as opposed to baking). Particularly with this recipe... I'm actually liking the fact that I don't need to be super precise with my measurements. And I could easily tweak in various ways. I think it could have used a bit of garlic flavor. Which I suppose I'll test out with the spring onions.

Wedding Caking

2011-03-01T13:11:00.008-06:00

Update: click here to see The Cake!

This past Sunday, I had Juliet and Ryan over for a cake tasting. For the last (my first) wedding cake, we did no such thing, because Heather knew she wanted the carrot cake I had already made. But this time around, we were working from just the idea that I could possibly bake something good enough for a wedding.

I spent the three weeks leading up to the tasting digging through blogs, forums, the Cake Bible, and the knowledge of those around me to determine the best options for a white cake with strawberry filling and cream cheese icing.

I ended up trying two white cake recipes: Martha's White Wedding Cake recipe and the King Arthur Flour Tender White Cake recipe. I was excited to learn that I had an alternative to (bleached - yuck) Swan's cake flour - King Arthur makes an unbleached cake flour. There is not a whole lot of variety in white wedding cake recipes, it's mostly technique. Martha asked me to beat the liquid and dry ingredients into the butter and sugar in a pattern, then fold in egg whites beat to stiff peaks. This resulted in a moist, dense cake. The King Arthur recipe, as well as the Cake Bible recipe, is simpler. You mix the dry ingredients, add butter, add egg whites then add milk and vanilla. This cake was drier, and more "cake-like," as the bride-to-be described it.

As far as icing goes, I tested out a plain cream cheese, flavored with just vanilla, a maple cream cheese, flavored with maple syrup rather than vanilla, and a cream cheese flavored with lemon zest and vanilla. For the strawberry filling, I attempted a simple, uncooked puree as well as one cooked with corn starch that was a bit thicker. We made mini cakes, putting the puree in the middle and the icing on top in various combinations to see what would work best together. We ended up with the following.

King Arthur Tender White Cake
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs whites plus 1 whole large egg
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line pans with parchment; butter parchment.
Mix all of the dry ingredients on slow speed to blend.
Add butter, mix until the mixture becomes crumbly. Increase the speed of the mixer and continue to mix until the crumbs begin to cling together.
Add the egg whites one at a time, then the whole egg, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition.
Whisk milk, vanilla and almond together. Add to batter 1/3 at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each addition.
Pour the batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes for 8 or 9 inch rounds. A cake tester will come out clean when done.
Cool completely on rack.

Strawberry Puree adapted from various recipes
Ingredients
1- 20 ounce bag frozen strawberries (frozen strawberries are caught at their peak flavor)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
1/4 cup sugar

Directions
Defrost strawberries in strainer over a bowl to catch the juice as they defrost. This will take several hours.
Completely puree strawberries in a food processor.
Whisk together cornstarch, strawberry juice and lemon juice in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
Whisk in pureed strawberries. Bring to a boil, whisking.
Whisk in lemon zest and sugar. Cook for about three minutes.
Cool completely before use.

Cream Cheese Frosting adapted from several sources
Ingredients
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions
With electric mixer on medium speed, beat together cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, incorporating well and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add vanilla. Beat until well combined and fluffy.
Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before icing.

So, using these recipes, I'll be creating a three layer (16, 12 and 8 inches) cake with three different colors of icing and lots of love and delight (I hope). The wedding is in June. Next up: Gathering of materials. Even bake strips, pans, boards, boxes, dowels, oh my!

Easy as apple pie

2011-02-04T08:09:00.004-06:00

Here's a really great video I found on 101cookbooks on how easy it is to make an amazing apple pie.

"It wants to be tamed, and it needs to learn to behave."

I just bought a pastry cutter... but I guess using your hands is better? I'm going to try this vinegar trick and see what develops. I should probably make an apple pie right now to serve with the salted butter caramel ice cream that is going to get churned up tonight. It is a snow day, after all!

Lazy spaghetti alla carbonara

2011-01-30T20:24:00.003-06:00

So I've recently come down with something I'm pretty sure is the flu, or closely related. But nothing can stop me from cooking. Nothing! Not really, it's just that there's not much to do when I feel too crappy to leave my apartment and tired of laying in my bed watching old movies. Although, Roman Holiday is a masterpiece.

I was reading Mark Bittman's last Minimalist column and was drawn to his "Pasta from the Pantry," which he listed on his top 25 columns. I haven't been eating much pasta lately, because I started hating the sauce that I had been using and found that canned sauce wasn't doing it for me. But this recipe, Spaghetti with Fried Eggs, appealed to me. And reminded me that it's been too long since I made breakfast pizza.

Also, it brought back memories of that fateful day when Piero, the Italian man I met at a train station, prepared lunch for my friends and I. He made his mother's spaghetti alla carbonara, and introduced me to the method of "blonding" garlic. Of course he didn't know what it was called (and neither did I before reading Bittman's column) but it seemed so fancy. Instead of mincing garlic for your sauce, you simply crush is slightly and press it into the olive oil, releasing it's flavor into the oil and throwing the garlic out. (I ate a clove of garlic in hopes that my health would benefit. Nothing yet.)

The rest of Piero's recipe featured eggs beaten together and pancetta. I had some prosciutto, not pancetta, and Bittman's recipe called for frying, not scrambling the eggs, so I did a little improvising. It was delicious and I can't wait to heat it up for lunch tomorrow. If I wake up before noon.

Lazy spaghetti alla carbonara
adapted, ever so slightly, from Mark Bittman's column featuring Arthur Schwartz
Ingredients
1/2 pound thin spaghetti

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, lightly smashed and peeled
4 eggs
3 thin slices of prosciutto, torn into bite size pieces
Freshly ground black pepper
Fine grain sea salt
Freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese

Directions
Bring a pot of water to the boil. It can be salted, but don't add olive oil, or you'll get a super oily dish. While waiting for the water to boil, proceed to the next step and start the sauce. Cook the pasta when the water boils.

Combine garlic and 4 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the garlic, pressing it into the oil occasionally to release its flavor; it should barely color on both sides. Remove the garlic, and add the remaining oil. I tried to eyeball my olive oil additions and I think I over shot, so you may want to actually measure to avoid the oiliness.

Fry eggs gently in the oil, until the whites are just about set and the yolks still quite runny. Add the prosciutto to the pan. Drain the pasta, and toss with the eggs, prosciutto and oil, breaking up the whites as you do. (The eggs will finish cooking in the heat of the pasta.) Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with cheese.

Yield: 3 or 4 servings.

Avocado Ice Cream

2011-01-28T10:00:00.001-06:00

Simple. Delicious.

Avocado Ice Cream
Ingredients
12 ounces avocado meat (about 3 avocados. I did 2.5)
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream

Directions
Puree avocado, lemon juice, milk and sugar in blender.
Pour into bowl and whisk in heavy cream.
Refrigerate 4 to 6 hours, or until 40 degrees F.
Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

I didn't wait 4 to 6 hours so I had to freeze the ice cream longer in the maker. But it was perfectly divine.

Harkurei Turnips

2011-01-27T17:22:00.004-06:00

This week, I decided to look at my farmhouse delivery box as a challenge. A challenge to enjoy all vegetables no matter the bitterness, heartiness or yuckiness I associate with them normally. These Harkurei Turnips look nice enough, but I wasn't expecting much from them. However, as I've learned, there isn't much that butter, cream and cheese can't make immensely delicious.

After I sliced these, I stopped taking pictures. My camera's auto focus is broken, and I'm no photographer. Manual focus is hard.

So after some online digging, I found a gratin recipe that specifically uses these turnips. It is modified from a 2007 Gourmet recipe that used twice as much cream and cheese. While I'm not opposed to more on either of those ingredients, this tasted plenty good without doubling. I may even reduce the amount of butter and cream the next time, as it was a little overly buttery. But delicious. I also recommend having a nice new friend in the kitchen with you like I did. To be honest... she prepared the gratin. Thanks Rikki!

Harkurei Turnip Gratin
Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
one bunch of white hakurei turnips
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup free-range chicken stock
1/2 cup of fresh parmesan cheese

Directions
Melt butter in a non-stick 12-inch skillet.
Wash turnips well. Cut off tops and roots at the bottom.
Slice them in 1/4 inch slices. Layer the slices in the pan.
Sprinkle turnips with thyme, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Cook for 3 minutes over medium heat.
Pour heavy cream and chicken stock over the top.
Cover and cook the turnips over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until turnips are completely cooked through.
Remove the cover and cook to reduce the liquid about 5-10 minutes a, or until the sauce is thickened.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese evenly over the top.
Serve the turnips hot.

Wedding Cake.

2011-01-19T20:07:00.004-06:00

Once, I made carrot cake cupcakes with maple cream cheese icing and my friend, Heather (now) Fossmo, loved them. She loved them so much that when she got engaged she asked if I could fashion them into a wedding cake. I was a little nervous at accepting but knew the only answer was yes, yes, yes, and that my dear friend Beth, who had completed a similar task before, would help me out. In fact, I couldn't have done it without her. And the wonderful, calming support of my friend Jackie.

Here's the finished product. After much investigation into batter amounts, cake boards, dowels, renting cake pans and only a few almost freak-outs, I'm pretty happy with the result.

And I think the happy couple was too.

Not to mention, it was insanely delicious.

photos by Meredith Stone.

Gingerbread House

2010-12-29T22:31:00.004-06:00

The day Beth, Joji and Melissa spent hours making a gingerbread house.
Photos (except the fuzzy iPhone one) by Beth Bond.

First we baked all these pieces.

Next, we colored the icing.

Then, we turned on the Pride & Prejudice miniseries.

Joji's incredible attention to detail really made this gingerbread house what it is.

Ta-da.

P.S. I hope you're seriously considering making those Meyer Lemon Bars I posted about, because I am still thinking about how great they were.

Meyer Lemon Bars

2010-12-28T14:00:00.001-06:00

I've tried to make lemon bars before, but never very successfully. My most memorable batch was in Italy the night we made a blanket fort in our living room. The lemon bars came out with a strange film on top, so we peeled it off and tried to eat the mush underneath. That may have had something to do with our oven being some kind of convection operation. We never quite figured that out.

Regardless, these lemon bars are absolutely perfect. Meyer lemons are larger, round and a little sweeter than ordinary lemons, and are thought to be a cross between a lemon and an orange or mandarin. Whatever it is that makes them so, they are far more wonderful than your ordinary lemon. I got a few in my farmhouse delivery box (citrus is a winter fruit? news to me), and I hope I get more so I can make these over and over.

Meyer Lemon Bars (makes one 8-inch square pan)
found here
Crust
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/8 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
Combine flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor.
Add butter and pulse until the mixture is pebbly.
Press evenly into the bottom of prepared pan.
Bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes.

Filling
Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp finely grated meyer lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice
Directions:
Whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and salt.
Whisk in lemon zest and juice until well combined.
Pour over crust.
Bake until filling is just set, about 15 to 18 minutes.
Cool completely and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Kohlrabi

2010-12-17T14:00:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I get vegetables that I don't recognize in my Farmhouse Delivery boxes. Even with the e-mailed list explaining the contents... I still have to google to make sure I've identified each correctly. The lovely, other-worldly vegetable pictured (thanks google image search) is called kohlrabi, or a German turnip. It tastes (to me) like a more flavorful version of cabbage. It's apparently quite popular in Kashmir.

That's your vegetable lesson for today. Now onto how I prepared such a vegetable for consumption. Apparently you can eat it raw, but I tend to prefer things cooked. Of all the kohlrabi recipes I found online, this puree from Farmgirl Fare was most convincing. You need leaves and bulbs, and it's not pretty, but it's pretty delicious. We enjoyed it on some ritz crackers and freshly baked bread, but you can also eat it just with a spoon.

Kohlrabi Puree (adapted from here)
Ingredients
3-4 kohlrabi bulbs with leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon milk*
2 tablespoons beef stock*
salt and pepper
*you can also use cream, chicken stock, olive oil or water, in any combination totaling 3 tablespoons.
Directions
Trim kohlrabi bulbs. I left the skin on, but you can peel it if it seems too tough. Cut the bulbs into 1-inch pieces. Boil a saucepan of lightly salted water. Add kohlrabi chunks and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until tender.
Rinse leaves, pat dry, coarsely chop.
Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium low. Saute onion until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and stir, cooking another 1-2 minutes. Do not let garlic brown.
Add kohlrabi leaves to the skillet. Cover, cook 5 minutes.
Uncover and cook, stirring, until liquid evaporates. Mine barely had any liquid at this point.
Remove from heat.
Drain kohlrabi chunks (my water was a cool blue color) and put in food processor. Add everything else. Puree until smooth.

Winter Vegetable Tarte Tatin

2010-12-16T20:05:00.006-06:00

The most exciting thing about this dish is that almost everything in it came from my Farmhouse Delivery box. Sweet potato, rutabaga, spinach, carrots! Next week, my box will include some Meyer lemons too! I had to get the one for this recipe from Whole Foods. Anyway, I invited some girls over for dinner and we all really enjoyed this treat.

It was served alongside this salad, comprised of spinach, apples and nectarines, also all from my Farmhouse Delivery box. Yay local farms!

This is how the tarte looked before applying the crust and baking. Look at all that hearty goodness.

Crusted and ready for the oven.

Winter Vegetable Tarte Tatin
(tarte tatin refers to the cooking method. cute origin stories here.)
found on Food52, posted by a fellow Austinite.
I adjusted below for what I put in my tarte. I am pretty sure it will work with whatever amounts of whatever vegetables you have on hand. It's one of those wonderful versatile things.
Pastry Shell
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced small
1 large egg, beaten
Directions
Combine flour and salt in food processor, give it a whirl.
Add diced butter. Process until butter is incorporated and it looks like a coarse meal.
Add egg, process until it starts to come together.
Dump dough onto plastic wrap and use your hands to form the mixture into a 4 inch disk, wrap it, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
(This can also be done using a pastry cutter or fork. I just love the ease of a food processor.)
Vegetables
Ingredients
1 sweet potato, peeled, sliced into 1/4" thick disks
1 bunch carrots, cut on the diagonal in 1/4" thick slices
1/2 onion, peeled, sliced in 1/4" slices, rings separated
3 small rutabaga, peeled, cut in 1/4" slices
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with foil, and spread vegetables out evenly.
Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper
Roast for 30 minutes, until vegetables start to brown. Remove from oven.
The tarte
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons meyer lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoon local honey
1 teaspoon meyer lemon zest
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 handful spinach
Directions
Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Roll out the pastry on a well-floured work surface into a 12" circle.
Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet* over medium heat.
Add the lemon juice and honey and stir until the mixture is combined and bubbly.
Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and thyme.
When the roasted vegetables are cool enough to handle, begin layering them, along with the uncooked spinach, on top of the glaze in the cast iron skillet.
The tarte will be inverted, so you might want to make the bottom layer look pretty. Dump the rest of the vegetables on top.
Place the pastry shell on top of the vegetables in the cast iron skillet.
Bake in the skillet for 30 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes before inverting onto a plate.
Amaze your dinner guests with your fancy, seasonal tarte!

*Note: I borrowed Beth's cast iron skillet for this recipe, but she suggested you could probably do it without one. I suppose you could make the glaze in a regular skillet, then pour it into pie or cake round, and layer the vegetables and crust in there before baking. I'm not sure how that all would work out, but I'll probably give it a try sometime.

Chocolate crinkles

2010-12-02T21:52:00.002-06:00

I have a new favorite Christmas cookie. Actually, I'm not sure that I had a favorite Christmas cookie before this one, although I've always enjoyed decorating sugar cookies at Christmas parties. But these, these are somewhere in the magical land between brownie and cookie, and easily modified with nuts or spices for different moods. I found this recipe here while looking through cookie week tweets, and I added pecans and upped the cinnamon. I love cinnamon in my chocolate. And I like their name a lot, too.

Chocolate Crinkles

Ingredients
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans
Powdered sugar

Directions
Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter together over medium heat. I make a double boiler by stacking a smaller pot in a larger one with some water.
Beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla. Add chocolate mixture.
Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to chocolate mixture.
Cover and refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fill a shallow bowl with powdered sugar.
Make 1 1/2 inch rounds with the dough and roll them in the powdered sugar until they are completely coated.
Place the balls of dough on the baking sheet about 1 and 1/2 inches apart.
Bake 10-12 minutes until the edges are firm but the centers are still soft.
Cool on wire rack.

It's pretty simple, and everyone who had one at work said midbite, "These are delicious!"

Next week I'm back on my Farmhouse Delivery schedule (I took November off), so winter vegetable experimentation is sure to come. Something like this rutabaga tarte tatin will be my first venture, I believe.

Thanksgiving 2010.1

2010-11-25T18:14:00.007-06:00

Thanksgiving is basically the perfect holiday. You cook all day, spend time with your friends and family, focus on thanking God for all that you have, and EAT. These are the ingredients to a happy day in my life. Also, the genius who determined it should be on Thursday deserves a medal. Holidays on Friday and Monday mean only one day off. But Thursday? If it's on Thursday, you get Friday off, too!

I'm actually not that excited by this part, because, alas, I do not have Thanksgiving or the day after off of my newspaper job, only my online tutoring job. However, I am thankful that I have a job to have to go to, even if it's on Thanksgiving! And, it really worked out for the best. Since I had to stay in Austin, and Sally did too, I got to spend the day with her and her mom cooking and eat with her family and some friends. I'm working the night shift, but it really doesn't feel like I missed out. Especially because we're having a Thanksgiving potluck here too. And I get to have a second Thanksgiving with my family on Saturday!

Here are two things I made today. I'm also thankful for my iPhone, which takes okay pictures.

These are "Parker House Rolls" from the Pioneer Woman. I've made four of her recipes this week. This was my first time making bread, aside from the pumpkin/zucchini variety, really. Following her photos made it very simple. It was fun... I made the dough last night, and put it in the fridge to rise overnight. Kneading is a really cool thing to do at 2 a.m. I made way too many. Next time I'm halving the recipe, or freezing the dough.

Sweet Cherry Pie. This recipe is from Deb. Sally made the filling under my instruction, and requested the lattice top. Deb didn't say to prebake the crust, but I'm a huge fan of prebaking now. 20 minutes at 425 degrees with wax or parchment paper held down by pie weights (beans, pennies, actual pie weights (oh hey, Christmas present idea)). It's particularly nice for juicy pies like this, so the crust is less likely to get soggy. Although mine did. Oh well. I also made gravy for the first time in my life, with Sally's mom. It was delicious, although the giblets creep me out.

And I still get to have Thanksgiving 2010.2 at my parent's house on Saturday. I'm not sure what I'm making yet, but since we may all be tired of the usuals, I might spice it up and make something different. Sweet corn spoonbread? Stuffed mushrooms? Pumpkin bread pudding? We'll see. I'm just thankful to have another day of cooking.

Sufjan Stevens on Jimmy Fallon. Perfect.

2010-11-20T02:07:00.006-06:00

Watch in full screen only.

I need to become one of those backup dancers. Voice lesson time.

Get you some new music.

2010-11-18T18:00:00.001-06:00

My beautiful friend Katy, or Bearkat, released a new EP today. For just $6 you can buy it here! You really should, it's beautiful music. I listened to Bearkat on the trains in Italy, and Katy is captivating live. For example:

This is my favorite picture of her ever:

This picture and the video above are by another talented lady friend of mine, Meredith Stone. Check out her photography here. Catch Katy on what remains of her winter tour:

November 19th: Knoxville, TN 8pm @ The Birdhouse
November 20th: Chapel Hill, NC 8pm @ Champions Bar and Grill
November 21st: Richmond, VA 6pm @ Gallery 5
November 22nd: Baltimore, MD 8pm @ The Clycops
November 24th: Easton, MD 8pm @ Night Cat
November 26th: Pollifax Session! NJ
November 27th: MAINE! House show
November 28th: Biddeford, ME 8pm @ Oak and the Axe
November 30th: Chicago, IL 8pm @ Reggies
December 1st: Rochester, MN House Show @ the Mangans!
December 2nd: Minneapolis, MN 8pm Kitty Kat Club
December 4th : Lincoln, NE 8pm Clawfoot Club
December 5th: Boulder/Nederland (IN THE WORKS or AT YOUR HOUSE!?!)
December 8th: Yakima, WA 8pm Northtown Coffeehouse
December 9th: Seattle, WA 8pm Comet Tavern
December 10th: Bellingham, WA (In the works!)
December 11th: Portland, OR Alberta Street Pub

Man, I just realized I won't see her for a while. Bummer.

The great reluctance

2010-10-28T20:02:00.000-05:00

Okay. It's been a bit more than a month since I determined my body hates lactose. I've tested my theory too many times to great disappointment and stomachaches. Basically, it's gotten to the point were I somewhat dread eating, which is surprising to me, because it's been my favorite extracurricular activity for some time. But seriously. Lactose. Is. Everywhere.

Anyway... it also makes all of this a lot less fun. Reading other people's food blogs makes me sad, and thinking about baking things without using real butter or milk doesn't exactly excite me. I did make this lactose free Sweet Potato Pie with coconut milk that I liked... but the crust (made with fake butter) was pretty disappointing. Not to mention... it's a little bit more expensive. And I'm currently living on a budget much smaller than I had in college. Which is fine, but it's an adjustment. I guess I never realized what a luxury baking is.

Blah, blah, blah, woe is me, etc. I guess I'll be back to baking soon enough, because my best friend's bridal shower and bachelorette party are fast approaching, not to mention my favorite food filled holiday, Thanksgiving. And, since these are for other people and not my own sampling, I can use all the butter and cream I want. Maybe I should finally go to pastry school, open a bakery, and start making money off all the sweet things I love to create but can't eat.

Lastly, because sometimes I say things about music - I saw Sufjan Stevens at the Long Center last Tuesday and it was the best concert, nay, general performance, or just best thing ever possible this side of heaven. I really hope they produce a DVD of one of these epic performances. I want to watch it over and over. I'm calling it now, Age of Adz - album of the century. And we're only 10 years in. I'm done gushing now.

A food lover's guide to the Texas Book Festival

2010-10-15T09:00:00.002-05:00

ACL has come and gone, and I experienced none of it, except one hour long drive across town to avoid traffic. But another, more exciting (i.e. free) festival is this weekend. The Texas Book Festival! My first experience with the festival was in high school, and I mostly remember looking at lots of books in tents and eating at Kerbey Lane. Oh the things you do before you live in Austin. Alright, I still eat there quite a bit.

Anyway... probably the most exciting part to me is the Cooking Tent sponsored by Central Market. As if I didn't have enough reasons to love H-E-B.

Saturday
11:00 - 12:00
Amanda Hesser
presents The Essential New York Times Cookbook
(Check out this wonderful article she wrote. Thanks, Beth!)
12:30 - 1:30
Writing about Wine: Why We Love the Vine
with Wes Marshall and Mark Oldman
(that this sounds awesome to me goes without saying, even though I said it.)
2:00 - 3:00
Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
the Baked duo will demo tasty sweets from their new cookbook Baked Explorations
(DEMO TASTY SWEETS? Awesome, because we all know I can't replicate their deliciousity.)

UPDATE: I missed one some how! And it sounds delightful.
3:30 - 4:30
Edible Austin & TBF present Deborah Madison
talking about Seasonal Fruit Desserts with some of Texas' organic fruit growers
Mod: Marla Camp

Sunday
12:30 - 1:30
Melissa Clark
demos recipes from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: 150 Recipes and Stories about the Food You Love
(of "A Good Appetite")
2:00 - 3:00
Diana Kennedy
the legendary food writer talks about her new cookbook Oaxaca al Gusto
(The "Julia Child of Mexican Cuisine!")
3:30 - 4:30
Claire Robinson
The Food Network star demos recipes from 5 Ingredient Fix: Easy, Elegant, and Irresistible Recipes
(eh. maybe I'm missing something but I just don't like much on the Food Network so I haven't checked it out in a while.)

There are plenty of other fantastical thing to see at the festival. Michelle Norris, Ingrid Betancourt, the Literary Death Match, P.J. O'Rourke, the fun of the children's tents and the Teleportal Readings event on Saturday night, but I digress. Aside from the Food Network celebrity (sorry) I basically want to attend all of events in the cooking tent. It will be hard to branch out.

Hopefully I can tell Matt and Renato about my disastrous experience with their salty cake, but if not, at least I'll get to try some of their new goodies. Maybe I'll get my book signed. No... that seems as lame as the "after the concert meet the band to awkwardly take a photo" moment. Which I still do sometimes because of course you want a picture with someone you greatly admire.

I made a delicious dairy-free version of Deb's Buttermilk Sweet Potato Pie today that I'll have to share later, mostly so I remember it. I have three big fat events, possibly four, that I'm baking for in the next several weeks. I'm always excited to expand my culinary audience for good causes. Details to come.

How to make Ugandan food

2010-10-13T20:00:00.003-05:00

This is Rehema, in the middle of melting sugar for our sesame (or as she calls it, simsim) balls. Rehema is a graduate student here in Austin, and an excellent runner, chef, and teacher. As she told us "I was in the Olympics, just once." I guess we should have expected the intense food experience that followed that introduction.

I met Rehema at an event my friend Anna hosts just about once a month. She created this "Women's International Cooking Collective" (that's what these snazzy aprons say) as a way to learn more about global food and culture as well as cultivate friendships with people from all over the world that find themselves in Austin. I think it's a beautiful thing, and I feel blessed and excited to be a part of it. You can read about when they cooked with Leen, a refugee from Baghdad, here, and about cooking with Sharda, from India, here.

Rehema was pretty ambitious and great at giving intructions. We watched and helped her make fish, chicken, collard and mustard greens, black beans, sesame balls, cassava (yucca), and ugali (cornmeal + water).

To summarize... we stewed the fish chicken and greens in a mixture we made in the food processor. The mixture contained tomatoes, jalapeños, red onion and garlic. This made us all want chips. We also made sesame balls, boiled yucca, warmed up beans, and as we jumped ahead to serve ourselves food, Rehema prepared the ugali.

This was probably everyone's number one take away. Peanut butter added to black beans on the stove. Shocking, I know. But they tasted much better than black beans without peanut butter.

The number two take away - Rehema is a brave woman. She rolled these sesame balls in her hands straight out of the pot that she melted the sugar in. The looks on these girls' faces are not staged, but in fact genuine. We were all pretty impressed.

These were really delicious. Along with the aforementioned yucca/cassava, these reminded me of things from Puerto Rico I've enjoyed with my family. I can't wait to make them myself. Please see below for the simple recipe.

The finished plate. We had rice, yucca/cassava and ugali to use for picking up our food. That fork on the side was just for decoration. Some of it reminded me so much of Ethiopian food, although it had it's own, wonderful flavor. The recipes were all rather simple, it was just complicated to make so many things at once! I plan on preparing the chicken again some time with ugali. I love, love, love cornmeal. And I want to make these sesame seed balls every day. I'm so glad Rehema was willing to share her food and her stories with us, and I can't wait for the next cooking adventure!

Sweet Sesame Seed Balls
as instructed by Rehema
Notes: The amount of sugar you use depends on the consistency you desire. More sugar will make the candy harder and sweeter. Less sugar will make the candy softer and less sweet. We used 1 1/2 cups and the candy was perfect, leaning toward the harder and sweeter description. Rehema told us, also, that because sugar is harder to obtain than other ingredients, these are typically made for visitors and special occasions.

Ingredients
1 (7 ounce) bag of sesame seeds
Organic sugar

Directions
Wash sesame seeds before use. Drain all water from them before roasting.
Roast sesame seeds in a large skillet until they begin to pop. Rehema encouraged us to listen for when they are ready, by grabbing a handful and holding it to our ears.
Pour into a large pan to cool.
Melt sugar in saucepan, stirring constantly. A silicon spoon is the best tool here... we used a metal spoon which gets hot and can hurt your pan. I was a little wary of this because melting sugar is so precarious... but Rehema made it look quite easy!
When sugar is mostly melted, add sesame seeds and stir vigorously.
If you are feeling brave: grab chunks off the ball that forms and roll them into balls with your bare hands.
If you are feeling scared: dump the ball onto a large flat surface (probably a cutting board) and roll it flat. Cut the flat piece into squares. I'm actually used to eating this stuff in little rectangles, but you can also roll it into balls.
Most importantly: Eat with peanut butter! And call me so I can come have some.

I want to go to there.

2010-10-09T09:40:00.000-05:00

I love Sugar Mama's. I haven't had any since the lactose discovery... but I'm going to overdose on lactaid pills for this.

Pear Cake (and an upsetting realization)

2010-09-18T13:19:00.001-05:00

From the moment this cake first hit my tastebuds, I knew it was love, and I knew I would have to make it again and again. It's a simple six ingredients... although I'd like to try adding some fresh ginger one day. It just sounds right. This cake has a dirty secret, though. Despite my personal aversion to substituting anything for butter...

I used this dairy-free alternative in my cake. This feels unnatural to me, against everything I believe about baking. But, alas, I recently discovered that my recent stomach problems, which have persisted for several months, are due to an intolerance of lactose. I've read about some butters with lower lactose, and that I can possibly tolerate a small amount, but for now I'm going full on dairy free.

This is challenging and depressing. I love turkey melts, iced lattes, oh, and baking. My top six ingredients? Sugar, butter, cream, milk, flour, eggs. Half of those are now forbidden, or at least only to be enjoyed sparingly. As in... I can't eat a grilled cheese for lunch followed with some blueberry cobbler topped with ice cream. So maybe this is good, and will guide me toward a healthier lifestyle. But it's still quite a change for me.

But onward I will go. These beautiful pears from my Farmhouse Delivery box were begging to be sweetened up. Although the few slices I enjoyed myself before baking the cake were divine.

Lay them just like so. Recipe follows.

Pear Cake (from Chocolate and Zucchini)
Ingredients
These measurements are what I got when I used the weights she provided. They are not fullproof, as weight and density and all that mathematical stuff are really complicated, but they worked for me, deliciously.
9 tbsps salted butter, or, in my case, Earth Balance buttery sticks, melted
4 large or 6 small pears, washed, peeled and sliced
1 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unbleached, all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease a 9 inch cake round.
Lay the pears on the bottom of the pan.
Whisk together sugar and eggs.
Add flour and baking powder, mix well.
Add melted butter, mix well.
Pour cake batter over fruit.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Once the cake has cooled off, you can invert it on a pan and then flip it onto another plate to get the fruit on the bottom... or you can just eat it out of the pan if you don't have the need to be fancy. Tastes best (to me) warm.

What is a Squash Blossom?

2010-09-17T13:02:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I get things in my Farmhouse Delivery box that I cannot identify. Last week it turned out to be spaghetti squash. This week... squash blossoms! Who hasn't always wanted to eat a flower? But they don't taste like other edible flowers I've experienced. They are quite savory, and really have the flavor of the squash they come from.

See? They aren't labeled. Thankfully, the lovely folks at Farmhouse Delivery send out an e-mail describing the contents of our box and include a tagged Flickr picture. Once I figured it out, I started googling and asking around. Most of the time these are prepared with cheese, a problem for a recently developed lactose intolerant person.

I found a recipe for frying them here, which I was linked to from Homesick Texan's post about them. I really wanted to try them in the quesadilla, but unfortunately I wasn't ready for an entire quesadilla of fake cheese. That stuff tastes a little odd. And luckily enough, this frying recipe didn't include milk or buttermilk like most that I've used do. Which means I'll probably use it to fry some other things. Not that I just want to go around frying things. Anyway. I also think this recipe could use some spices added to the batter, maybe some cayenne pepper or something like the fried okra. I also found a recipe that makes the batter out of beer and flour, which sounds lovely. So many ways to fry, so little time. Here's what I did:

Mmmm getting fried.

Fried Squash (or Zucchini, I suppose) Blossoms (from Sassy Radish, apparently also from Food Network)
Ingredients
Vegetable oil
2 large egg yolks
1 cup ice cold water
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
Squash or Zucchini blossoms with stems
Salt and pepper

Directions
Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer or large pan. I use a regular old large skillet sometimes.
Beat yolks, mix in ice water. Mix in flour until the batter is the consistency of heavy cream
Dip blossoms into batter and coat them completely. I tried to make sure they had a lot of batter on them, and at one point poured batter on top of them while frying. I just thought they should be really coated.
Fry until crisp and golden brown.
Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, season with salt and pepper.

These are mine in a tupperware. I know fried things don't generally taste good "later" but these were pretty tasty, and I couldn't eat all of them, so I'm going to try to heat them up in the oven and see what happens.

Peach Cake

2010-09-16T12:47:00.003-05:00

I grabbed this recipe card at Whole Foods a while ago, because I love peach cake and was getting peaches in my biweekly delivery. I'm not ready to decide if I like peach cobbler or peach cake better, but this peach cake was pretty darn good. I took the leftovers to work, as usual, and it was well received.

Here's the pan all buttered up, and the cute recipe card. "Simple Summer Peach Cake." I'm guessing the recipe might be available at the food52 website. I didn't find almond flour so I ended up just throwing almonds in the food processor. I thought it might taste nice to leave it a little coarse instead of finely ground, as suggested, and I was right!

Peach Cake
Ingredients
3-4 ripe peaches, cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
6 tbsps softned, unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour/ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Turbinado sugar (this is cheap in the bulk section)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Butter and flour a 9 inch cake pan.
Toss peaches with nutmeg and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
In a separate bowl, cream together butter and remaining sugar. Add egg, buttermilk, vanilla, and almond extract.
In a third bowl (there's got to be a better way to do this) combine flours, baking powder and soda, and salt.
Add this to the butter mixture and blend until almost smooth but probably somewhat lumpy. Pour into prepared cake pan.
Press the bite size peaches into the top of the cake and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Reduce to 325 degrees and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

God bless Texas

2010-09-11T17:08:00.001-05:00

Melissa C. and I (Melissa M.) took a little road trip yesterday.

We drove to Llano, about and hour and 45 minutes away, for this.

We were in Llano less time than we were in the car.

But as you can see, it was worth it.

It's not entirely evident here, but I went way overboard on my meat order.

The ribs were spectacular.

We stopped here on the way home. I'm a little sad I only had $1.50 cash.

I bought two peaches. But I wanted okra.

And tomatoes.
This isn't exactly related, but this is my dog, Tex.

And this is Melissa C.'s dog, Franklin.

Being at Cooper's eating BBQ, potato salad, beans, pecan cobbler (I'm making THAT soon), and drinking sweet tea was one of those moments where all you can think or talk about is what a great moment it is. It was possibly the best thing we could have done with our Friday afternoon, or any Friday afternoon. I got to have the BBQ for dinner at work too.

It was also a good, relaxing, exciting thing to do on my last weekend before I start AmeriCorps. I'm really excited for AmeriCorps. I'm officially placed in the preschool's library, where I'll be shelving books and reading to children in Spanish and English. I've already started looking at library science grad school programs, because I'm getting so excited about the concept of hanging out in a library forever.

Jenny and Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now

2010-08-31T00:32:00.007-05:00

It's here, it's here!
Jenny and Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now

Jenny and I have been through a lot. There was the first Rilo Kiley experience, in the passenger seat, sitting by a boy I hoped was trying to tell me something by playing pretty songs about love. I fell in love (with the music) and scoured the Internet, downloading anything and everything Rilo Kiley related. This included not only all videos and songs, but also Jenny's appearance on the Golden Girls and in other shows and movies. I rattled off my extensive Jenny Lewis knowledge to all who listened.

It's been a tumultuous relationship. "Under the Blacklight" was kind of a dark period for us. I'm not sure what happened there. Sometimes I deny that most of that album ever came out, although "Breaking Up" is a pretty great song for particular moments. "Rabbit Fur Coat" helped me realize I love all things folk and country inspired. I've seen it all live, from Rilo Kiley, to Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins to just Jenny Lewis. And I'll be seeing Jenny and Johnny at the end of September!

All that said, I got a highly anticipated e-mail today that my iTunes preorder was ready for download. I was slightly skeptical, because Jonathan Rice isn't my favorite, but also hopeful, because Jenny Lewis really is my favorite. Regardless, I rushed home to download it, and I am not disappointed. I love this album. It's easygoing but not boring, fun but not meaningless, sweet but not saccharine. If for some reason you're cheap and/or crazy and just want one song, go with "Big Wave."

So... this is more of a love letter to Jenny Lewis than an album review. Now go:
Stream the album at NPR's First Listen
Download Scissor Runner
Buy it on iTunes or their site
Get tickets to their show in Austin Sept. 29.

Get loved, make more, try to stay alive.

Wavves

2010-08-27T21:55:00.002-05:00

Summer's almost over, but this song (and the sweltering Texas heat) will help us stay there for a two and a half minutes more.

Fried Okra

2010-08-26T19:45:00.004-05:00

The table is set

Dinner is served

We all know shared meals are the best way to make and strengthen friendships. Although, this one was so good that we mostly just talked about how delicious everything was. This past Sunday, my friend and tocaya Melissa hosted "Soul Food Sunday." She really just wanted to mash potatoes, but ended up also baking chicken and zucchini casseroles, brewing sweet tea and making yeast rolls. I was deeply impressed. My contributions were Mac n Cheese casserole and...

Fried okra. I'm pretty excited this okra turned out. I think I still prefer it roasted, as does my health, but it was good for the occasion and, as always, exciting to make something new.

Fried okra (adapted from Paula Dean. And my knowledge of how to fry stuff)

Ingredients
Oil, for frying
1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
however much fresh okra you want to fry, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2 cup buttermilk
Ranch dressing, or some other delicious sauce, for dippin'

Directions
Combine cornmeal, flour, pepper, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl.
Pour buttermilk in a shallow bowl.
Set up the sliced okra, buttermilk and corn meal by the skillet you'll be frying in, in that order.
Pour oil into a large skillet (no more than halfway up the sides).
Be careful not to splash yourself with hot oil, please.
Dip okra in buttermilk, then cornmeal mixture, then plop it in the oil to fry.
Let fry until golden brown... this took a while for me. Patience.
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Photos from the Great Cake Disaster.

2010-08-23T13:45:00.008-05:00

I purchased a card reader so I could finally share these photos.
My roommates and their some of their family.

Our delicious dinner.Our undelicious cake.Posed with a photo of what we were aiming for.

The great cake disaster.

2010-08-19T22:25:00.003-05:00

This is what our cake was supposed to look like. I can't get my camera to upload pictures (it's broken in so many ways...) so instead, look at this pretty one and imagine the exact opposite.

I have a small problem of having scary reactions to mishaps while I'm baking. I get overly frustrated with myself, angry, impatient, and slightly depressed if things go wrong. Usually I feel silly afterwards, because it ends up tasting just fine.

Tuesday night's Sweet and Salty Cake fiasco is a different story. No longer will the phrase "it will be fine, just keep going forward" convince me. This cake is from Baked, the place in Brooklyn, and the book Beth gave me for my birthday. As I texted Beth, this cake was a sweet and salty pain in my ass. We probably should have chosen to try this cake on a day we weren't also making a big dinner. And maybe we should have thought about how hard it can be to make caramel before we burnt two batches.

A confluence of a few wrong ingredients (does that flour bag say self-rising on it?), frustration (let's just try to caramel one more time), lack of parchment paper (greasing the pan well does not suffice) and an underestimation of the importance of salt brands (I should always listen to Deb.) created the biggest kitchen disaster of my life. Thankfully, my roommate Charissa was there with me to share the blame, and, although a few exclamatory vulgarities might have escaped from between my lips, neither one of us cried, and we created a lasting, albeit depressing, memory together. This picture of our dry erase boards includes two quotes from me at different points in the cake-making process, as recorded by my other roommate, Stephanie.

Excuse the vulgarity, and the blasphemy of having that great encouraging Bible verse up there... but I know I'm not the only that fails to control her tongue in extreme frustration. And it's funny.

To make up for it, and to convince myself my kitchen is not cursed and my baking skills did not disappear, I made the following yesterday:
1. Banana Bread
2. Creamy Jalapeño Dip
3. Pear Apple Pie
4. Basil Lemon Granita
And I'm proud to say, they are all edible and rather delicious. Unlike the cake. Which we sadly had to dump into the trash can.

Because I am who I am, I will have to try this cake again. Probably after I master making the Carrot Wedding Cake and have saved up some money to afford all the exactly right ingredients for the Sweet and Salty Cake (I will share this total; it's gotta be ridiculous). Until then, I'll be working on anxiety control in the kitchen.

Words

2010-08-12T21:24:00.005-05:00

If you haven't seen this yet, it's from Radiolab. Their latest episode was about Words, a topic that resides in my "top five things I like to read and learn about" list. Then they had some awesome filmmakers make this fun, inspiring, engrossing video full of word play and magic. Yes. Magic. Is that enough hype for you?

Kitchenless

2010-08-05T23:37:00.002-05:00

Part of moving is this strange kitchenless state I find myself in. My leases didn't quite line up, so I moved out of my apartment into my new roommates' home for a week. There's a kitchen there, but being in packing mode, it's not wise to make a baking/cooking mess in there. Not that I'm messy... but it's simpler this way. I've been eating out, and eating leftovers from eating out, and forgoing a real breakfast. I miss the purr of my KitchenAid mixer...

I've been bookmarking recipes in my Google Reader obsessively and fantasizing about what could possibly come in my first Farmhouse Delivery of the fall. I'm hoping for more okra, peaches, tomatoes and corn in particular. My bookmarks include slow roasted tomatoes, Creme Brulee, okra fritters and a zucchini and ricotta galette. I try to read every food blog on the internet. My friend Taylor also loaned me her ice cream maker while she's out of the country for a while, and I'd really like to attempt to use it every day. Dang it. Now I'm hungry, and it's much too late to eat.

Anyway, the problem is, with fall comes some new time commitments, including a part time gig through AmeriCorps with the ACE childhood literacy program and an even more part time position as online tutor with Smarthinking. Three jobs, 40 hours a week, probably a bit less time to play in my kitchen. Especially with my new dog, Tex (short for "The Best State in the USA"). He moves in next Monday and, hopefully, he won't inspire me to turn my blog into a series of adorable dog photos. Just kidding, that won't happen. I will create a new blog for that. But here's one just because I mentioned it:

He's much bigger than this now. This was at like four weeks, and he's at least four months old now.

Moving, on

2010-07-28T23:41:00.009-05:00

Blogging has escaped me. I was on quite the roll there for a while, but we all knew it was too good to be true. There were birthdays to be celebrated, friends to be spoken to and goodbyes to be said. I haven't really baked or cooked anything serious in about two weeks. I did make a pretty delicious eggplant parmesan, and some bread and butter pickles. I don't like pickles, but I like to be able to make things.

I didn't make these. My friend made them. She's the kind of friend that is what people are talking about when they use the phrase "That's what friends are for." She also made my beautiful owl graduation cake. She wrote about this dessert here, and gave me the wonderful book the recipe was in.
This is her. Well one of the people in the photo. The other one is me, making my signature open-mouthed smile face because birthdays are my favorite, especially with Italian food. In addition to the things mentioned above, she put together a surprise gathering the night before my birthday. I'm so thankful God's given me these people to show me so much love.

These are two dear friends I had to say goodbye to this summer, one just last night. That's a more extreme version of the open mouth smile, this one warranted by the fact that I was having one of the best days of my life. I think a lot of days are the best day of my life. Anyway, this was my fourth goodbye this summer, and there are more in the queue. Ah, being a college graduate. Alas, as a wise woman once told me, Life is Life. We have to keep going. And thankfully, God is good and He provides.

And here is some of his provision. These are my two future roommates. I think we are going to be great friends, once I get over my jealousy of how pretty their eyes are. And once we're all moved in, I'll open up my new baking cookbook and hook it up with a sweet recipe. Like. Actually sweet.

I'm moving this Saturday AND next Saturday (joy of joys!). But once I'm settled, I have to practice the wedding cake I'm making in October. Gosh that's soon. Hopefully my new roommates want to help me take pictures of that process.

Blackberry Cobbler

2010-07-09T11:11:00.010-05:00

I haven't posted sweets in a while, but my friend Steve recently asked me to bake for his send off. He's leaving for training and then heading to a land far, far away to spread the Good News of the Gospel! I can't make it to the send off party, so I was stoked to be able to be there in some way. I really love to bake for my friends, and I really feel it's just as much of a blessing for me as it is to them. But, geez. It's very hard for me not to eat all of these before they make it to the party.

Blackberry Cobbler (thanks Pio neer Woman)
Ingredients (so simple, I took a picture)

1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 stick butter, melt
2 cup berries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk flour and 1 cup of sugar together.
Add milk and whisk until combined.
Whisk in melted butter.
Pour into pan.
Evenly sprinkle berries in batter,
Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar on top.
Bake for an hour, or until bubbly and golden.
Ten minutes before it's ready, sprinkle sugar over the top for a delightful sugar crackle crust on top.

Yep, I made three!

I also made Pioneer Woman's basic chocolate chip cookies. I think I'm falling in love with her, though a little later than the rest of the world.

However, my first love will always be deb at smitten kitchen. Here's 50 of her simple, delicious basic cocoa brownies.

Lemon Bars. I don't know... they didn't come out quite right. I've never quite mastered these, though they are one of my favorite desserts.

And all together, they make a nice spread for my dear friend's party.

Music Post

2010-07-09T10:11:00.000-05:00

I'm a whole day late.
Kid Cudi + Rostram Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend + (the aformentioned) Best Coast - All Summer
download from Converse.
This is another nice song for the summer. Short, catchy, dancy.
"All summer, drinkin water, tryin to keep your eyes dry."

Also, She & Him has a new video, for Thieves. I really enjoyed Pitchfork's description of it. I'm just gonna let ya watch it.

Neither Best Coast nor She & Him are coming to Austin on their tour, but She & Him weren't that great at SXSW anyway. And Best Coast has a new album coming July 27. Adding that to the birthday list. Anyway, I still like this S&H song and video. And I watched Gigantic on Netflix the other day. It was quintessentially... something.

Zucchini Frittata

2010-07-08T12:06:00.003-05:00

Once I put my zucchini frittata in the oven, I briefly considered that it maybe wasn't the best idea to try a new, potentially disastrous dish for my first dinner with my future roommates. But it was too late then. And it turned out just delicious. I added tomato to the recipe, because my friend Ashley's mother had just given me a fresh tomato from her garden. I also used more zucchini than originally called for because I just have so much, and nothing to do with it. Also, this called for using an ovenproof skillet, which I don't have. I used a regular skillet and transferred it all to a round cake pan.

Zucchini Frittata (adapted from The Big Book of Easy Suppers)
Served 3 plus breakfast the next day

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 sliced green onions, including tender green tops
2 unpeeled chopped zucchinis
1 chopped tomato
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons water
1/4 tsp each dried or fresh thyme, basil, oregano, depending on what you have and like
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup grated mozarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat saute mushrooms, onions, zucchinis until tender.
Transfer to round cake/pie pan unless you've got an ovenproof skillet.
Whisk together eggs, water, herbs, salt and pepper. Add tomatoes.
Pour over vegetables. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake until firm, about 30 minutes. Wait at least 5 minutes before digging in.

Celebration

2010-07-06T12:20:00.006-05:00

That's Melissa. I feel like she might not love the face she is making here, but I think it's beautiful, and the backdrop is too good to not share.
This was our picnic. Isn't that box of Bochs just adorable?
Two friends, basking in the glow of freedom.Michelle and her beloved balloon.Even the sky wore red, white and blue.Sometimes I hate the tall buildings, but Austin is beautiful.

We were at Auditorium Shores for a very long time, but it was all very enjoyable. The fireworks were better than ever this year and I so thoroughly enjoyed them that I took no photos.

America's Birthday

2010-07-04T13:43:00.006-05:00

It's July 4th. I'm an American. So I made potato salad.

These are the potatoes. They come from Yellow Prairie Farm, and come to me through Farmhouse Delivery.
Now the thing about me making potato salad is that, while I am American and love my country, a small piece of my heart will always belong to Italy. So I used an "Italian Potato Salad" recipe. I can't imagine most of my friends from Italy actually eating such a thing as potato salad, but it's a cute idea. Pancetta replaces bacon, and olive oil (in the above adorable container that has a painting of Perugia, my heart city) with garlic and oregano replaces mayonnaise.
Well I thought you should see the whole bottle. Because it's just precious.

There she is. Although, no pancetta yet because some of my eaters are vegetarians.

Italian Potato Salad (adapted from Food52)
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs potatoes
4 ounces of diced pancetta
1 cup of good olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon freshly, coarsely ground black pepper3 scallions, sliced on the diagonal
Directions
Slice potatoes into 1/2 inch circles. Boil the potatoes in enough water to cover them for about 10 minutes, uncovered. Drain in a colander.
In a skillet over medium heat with generous olive oil, cook pancetta until crisp and brown. Remove pancetta from pan to a plate lined with a paper towel.
In a skillet over low heat, stir together 1 cup of olive oil and garlic; cook over low heat until garlic becomes aromatic and loses its sharp aroma.
Stir in the drained potatoes, lemon juice, cider vinegar, salt, sugar, oregano and red pepper flakes. Turn heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender.
Transfer potatoes to a serving bowl with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle with black pepper and the scallions; combine.
Top with pancetta and serve.

And because dessert is another requirement of any good picnic, here is Blueberry Boy Bait, to which I added two fresh Texas peaches.

Happy Birthday, America!

Summer Songs

2010-07-02T18:42:00.008-05:00

It doesn't feel like summer, with the torrential downpour courtesy of Hurricane Alex, but that doesn't mean it can't SOUND like summer. My summer song requirements:
- short (under 3:50 preferred)
- upbeat/light hearted
- I can practically feel the waves washing over my feet when i listen

that being said:
Best Coast - Boyfriend (via MFR, my fave music blog)
I don't recommend dwelling on the all too familiar feelings described in this song, which can lead to much sadness, but the easy, breezy melody transports me to the beach. I'm also really enjoying this beach-related band name trend. More than the vampire one. Coming soon: my review of Eclipse.

also, a cover of daniel johnston from an old fave, and what a sweet vid:

Stream or buy (just $5!!!) the cover mixtape at their website, where you can also download this song freeee. But just buy Crushes. It's $5. And they are skipping Austin on their tour, so you won't have to pay for that.

We are vegetables.

2010-07-01T17:53:00.004-05:00

Farmhouse Delivery has caused me to eat so many things I'm not used to but dearly love. they posted this David Lebowitz slaw recipe on facebook the other day. I created a salad loosely inspired by that slaw.

Peeled and sliced cucumber.
Peeled and chopped mango. A bonafide Texas mango. Fact: It is impossible to peel and chop a mango without eating most of it before it hits the bowl.
Key Limes. I had already made a Key Lime Pie this week... so I'm trying to use them in a new way. They were my dressing, along with some olive oil. Simple.
Sliced bell peppers. Bell Peppers are in my top 5, right next to Key Lime Pie and those calamari I had at Vespaio, oh and everything I ate in Italy.
I am in love with farm fresh carrots and I'll be darned if I ever return to the bagged baby carrots version for as long as I live.
The salad. As you can (maybe?) see, it also has nuts that I roasted on a pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Just regular old mixed nuts. And those carrots? after I peeled them I just continued to use the peeler to make those thin slices. One day I'll have my one mandoline slicer... til then.

Party Food

2010-06-30T00:57:00.007-05:00

Well, that World Cup game was certainly disappointing. But since I'm just a temporary fan anyway, I rebounded quickly, and last night, I hosted a pictionary, pie and cocktails party, which I think should be a thing. On the menu: Mojitos, Bee's Knees, Key Lime Pie with Homemade Mint Whipped Cream, Cherry Pie with Homemade Whipped Cream.

Mojito:
Mint leaves + Limes - muddle
2 squirts simple syrup
Ice
One shot of rum
Splash of club soda
Siiiiiiip.

Bee's Knees:
Juice of 1 lemon
Equal amount of honey-simple syrup (1 parts honey, 1 parts water boiled)
One shot gin
Ice
Siiiiiiiiiip.

Sweet Cherry Pie

Key Lime Pie

Whipped Cream:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Whip with automatic mixer for about five minutes, or many more minutes by hand.
For mint whipped cream, add 1/8 teaspoon mint extract and a tablespoon of mint leaves that you crushed into a paste with a pestle and mortar. Serve on top of Key Lime Pie to turn it into Mojito Pie!

Red, white and blue... cheese

2010-06-25T21:19:00.004-05:00

I've always been a bit conflicted about patriotism, not normally one to fist pump along to Born in the U.S.A., wear red, white and blue on the Fourth, or defend our nation's integrity to the many who challenged it while I was in Europe. I don't have a particular disdain for the States, I just am more likely to consider myself Texan or Puerto Rican than American (and yes, I fully realize that being both of these things also makes me American).

Anyway, I'm thinking about this today because the Fourth is around the corner, and like last year, I'm hoping to enjoy the Austin Symphony July 4th Concert and Fireworks at Auditorium Shores, because I love a good concert and colorful stuff blowing up in the sky. I also really enjoy the 75-millimeter Howitzer Cannon blasts. They make me think fondly of Angelina Eberly, who saved Austin, and her awesome statue on Congress Avenue. Thanks to her, I get to play at the Capitol grounds, which is one of my favorite Austin activities. I love Texas.

The incredible statue of Angelina Eberly, as photographed by the folks at Austin360. Don't you love that little girl's face? I need to have my photo taken here.

The World Cup is on my mind too. Texas and Puerto Rico don't have teams, but there are a few Texans on the USA team, and Italy is out, so I guess it's time to start rooting for my country. Tomorrow at noon, I'll join other moderately patriotic temporary soccer fans (at least that's my best guess about what kind of crowd I'll find at this East Austin venue) and possibly cheer for the USA. Although... I really think it would be more exciting for Ghana to win. Maybe the beer will change my mind.

I digress. I sat down here to write about the Red Potato and Blue Cheese Tart that my friend Jordan and I made today. My camera was in the car and my iPhone takes really unappetizing photos of food (I probably need to buy the iPhone 4, huh?) so you can't see it, but MAN. It was an attractive little tart. And red (potatoes), white (1 cup heavy cream), and blue (cheese... which I don't love). It smelled incredible and the fresh rosemary made the blue cheese a lot more bearable than it usually is. And red white and blue happen to be the colors of the Puerto Rican and Texan flags as well.

So if you, like me, have a bunch of potatoes left over from your biweekly produce deliveries... test out this Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart from Smitten Kitchen. Listen. I've been trying to expand. Pioneer Woman, Epicurious, and various random food blogs are being read... but no one convinces me to get to it quite like Deb. Anyway, I followed the recipe for the most part. I didn't have thyme, and I used a regular old pie pan. I think next time I will use less cream, and maybe a less... blue cheese. I still failed at getting the crust cooked all the way through. This is my curse. Maybe one day I will go the library and grab some books and learn some true baking techniques. For now... this is good enough.

Recently in my kitchen...

2010-06-23T20:19:00.005-05:00

unrelated photo from my recent trip to Puerto Rico. On the beach in Culebra, my future home.

I've been spending a lot of time with my farm fresh vegetables lately. I've been roasting carrots, green beans and squash, stir-frying Texas chard, and recently mourned the loss of my peaches. Don't leave your fruits on the counter with the AC off for the weekend... ick. I wanted to do something delicious with my heirloom tomatoes and corn and after some brief Googling, I found this recipe for Heirloom Tomato and Corn Pizza.

This recipe was written up as an appetizer, because it is more like a bruschetta due to the lack of sauce, but it was also incredibly delicious as dinner last night and lunch today. The Garlic Pistou stuff is incredible, I want to eat it in on everything.

Ingredients
for Garlic Pistou 1 head garlic, top trimmed
¼ cup pine nuts
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. fresh oregano leaves
1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
for Pizza
1 prepared pizza dough (I grabbed some from Southside Flying Pizza)
1 1/2 oz. Cotija cheese
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
1/2 lb. assorted heirloom tomatoes, sliced
2 Tbs. torn fresh basil
2 tsp. chopped fresh dill

Directions
Make Garlic Pistou:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Wrap garlic in foil.
Bake 40 minutes, or until softened. Cool.
Squeeze garlic cloves into bowl of food processor.
Blend with remaining ingredients until smooth.

Make Pizza:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place dough on baking sheet coated with cooking spray or a heated pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal.
Spread with half of Garlic Pistou.
Sprinkle with cheese and corn.
Bake 15 minutes, or until crisp.
Meanwhile, toss tomatoes with basil and dill in bowl.
When pizza is done, arrange tomatoes

For my friend Chris' birthday I made the Best Cake Ever again. I also made this coffee cake from Pioneer Woman, and when that breakfast item ran out I made a sticky mess baking these scones with fresh blackberries. Next I'm going to buy a tart pan to make this red potato and blue cheese tart. Every time I open my Google Reader I want to be in my kitchen.

French Sorrel Soup

2010-06-04T22:58:00.003-05:00

french sorrel. lemony delight.

I'm not great at cooking. I can bake. I can bake most sweets people can think of. I fear no dessert. I can even bake savory things. Me and the oven just get along so well. But when it comes to cooking and using my stove top... once we move past grilled cheese and scrambled eggs, I don't have the intuition nor the desire to use a little bit of this and a little bit of that and cook up a storm. But... I have all these vegetables, so I decided to make a French Sorrel Soup. It's not bad. It didn't have a lot of flavor at first, so I added eggs. Then I added salt. Then I added too much salt. And I guess this is the part of why I started blogging, to remember my success and failures, and attempts at greatness.

French Sorrel Soup

Ingredients
olive oil
bunch of french sorrel
a few russet potatoes, washed, peeled, chopped
6 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
a few eggs to taste

Directions
Wash sorrel, removing stems and de-ribbing any seriously thick pieces.
Cook sorrel down in olive oil in a saucepan, until it wilts.
Add potato and water, bring to a boil.
Lower to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft.
Use a blender/food processor/chopping skills to puree soup (unless you want it to be chunky... but I don't really know how that ends.)
Add cream and return to a simmer.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Right before serving (or storing, if you're me, but maybe I shouldn't have done this...) add lightly scrambled eggs to the soup. This gives it a nice texture and extra flavor.

Enjoy hot or cold, today or tomorrow, or never, because really... who gets french sorrel?
I'm thinking about cooking classes.

Farmhouse Delivery: Part 1

2010-06-02T23:12:00.006-05:00

My first biweekly bushel from the local produce distributors Farmhouse Delivery arrived today. Of the many reasons I signed up for their service ($39 for a bushel at your door every two weeks), the main three are: I want to eat more vegetables, I want to support local family farms and I want to cook more. When my friend Jackie told me about it, I made an impulsive decision and signed right up.

The e-mail announcing the expected contents of the bushel offered items from mushrooms and herbs to grassfed meats, eggs and dairy, as well as bread and pastries on an a la carte basis and comes with recipe suggestions. They also post recipes can be found at their beautiful blog. I resisted the urge to add lots to my order because I'm going to Puerto Rico Monday, but I might finagle my budget to fit in even more local food.

Today, when I found the bushel outside my door, I unloaded it on my kitchen counter and wondered what on earth I would do with all these green things by Monday, when my plane departs. The peaches were easy. Ever since Beth's cherry cobbler, I'd been wanting to cobble my own dessert. I combined a couple of recipes I found online and ended up with a pecan peach cobbler that I struggled not to eat entirely on my own.

Some Texas peaches, peeled and unpeeled

The unbaked peach pecan cobbler

The baked peach pecan cobbler

I moved on to the vegetables. I have a pretty bad memory, but I'm almost certain I've never eaten beets before. I decided to go for roasted beets with balsamic vinegar. I washed the beets and cut them, leaving an inch of stem. I wrapped them in foil and stuck them in the oven at 425 degrees for an hour. In the meantime, their leafy greens looked edible. Not necessarily delicious, but edible. I wanted to be resourceful, so I sauteed them with red onion, garlic and olive oil. Surprisingly tasty, as were the beets themselves. I took them out of the oven, peeled them and sliced them into half inch pieces. Even without the balsamic vinegar, they were great, slightly sweet and easy to enjoy.

beets? what do i do with beets?!

I think I can eat you...

Sauteed beet greens

Roasted, sliced beets

Find out more and sign up for Farmhouse Delivery here.
Get my peach pecan cobbler recipe in a future post... and more adventures with vegetables also to come.

Vampire Weekend - Holiday

2010-05-27T22:57:00.001-05:00

New Vampire Weekend video: Wayfarers, powdered wigs, dessert and summertime. Possibly even more epic than the one with a Jonas.

Vampire Weekend - New Music - More Music Videos

GOOD STUFF. via this great write up at Pitchfork.

Snickers Cake

2010-05-27T16:08:00.005-05:00

For Free Cakes for Kids Austin, I signed up to make a German Chocolate Cake for a group birthday party at Helping Hand Home for Children. When the request was changed to a Snickers Cake, I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but after some Googling, I finally found this recipe, which seemed simple, kid-friendly and delicious.

I don't usually use a cake mix but this had so many other components that I just went with it, and with the creative help of Nikki and Chelsea, I think it looks pretty adorable.

Snickers Cake

Ingredients
1 Box German Chocolate Cake Mix ( including the eggs, vegetable oil and water to prepare it)
1 large bag caramel pieces
1 stick butter
1/3 cup of milk
1/2 bag chocolate chips
1 cup peanuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare cake mix as directed. Bake half of it in a 13X9 inch pan for 20 minutes
While its baking, melt caramels with butter and milk on the stove over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Remove cake, let cool for 5 minutes.
Pour the caramel over the cake. It'll sink to the sides, but that is okay. Leave some to drizzle on top when it's finished.
Sprinkle chocolate chips and peanuts over caramel.
Pour on the rest of the cake batter.
Bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Let the cake cool. Flip it out on a flat surface, or just drizzle caramel over it in the pan.

Banana Coconut Hazelnut Muffins

2010-05-25T22:06:00.003-05:00

There a few things I find more disgusting that rotting fruit, but I'd rather not describe them. When I came home and found my overripe bananas, I started to slice and freeze them for almond butter smoothies... but then I decided to go for banana bread. It's no secret that I think deb at smitten kitchen is a genius, so I looked for a recipe there, which she tweaked from Simply Recipes and I further tweaked because I had hazelnuts, a can of coconut milk, and no bourbon or loaf pan.

(Super Moist) Banana Coconut Hazelnut Muffins
yield: about 2 dozen muffins
Ingredients
Four smashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons coconut milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of flour
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare muffin pan with liners or grease loaf pan.
Mix butter into mashed bananas with a wooden spoon in a big bowl.
Mix in sugar, egg, vanilla, coconut milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Sprinkle baking soda and salt and mix in.
Add flour, mix.
For loaf pan: Pour into pan, bake 40-50 minutes.
For muffins: Pour into muffin cups (fill 'em all the way up!), bake 15-25 minutes.
Bake until a tester when inserted comes out clean.

maybe this is next. I found this lovely pie pan at Thriftland.

M.I.A.?

2010-05-20T19:34:00.004-05:00

I'm confused by this new M.I.A. song - XXXO. I don't hate it or anything. It just doesn't seem right. Especially with all her Gaga dissing.

Blackberry Pie

2010-05-17T14:45:00.005-05:00

My dear friend and chocolate pie lover Chelsea Marcum got engaged last week, the same day I graduated, making it a day of truly epic proportions. She visited this weekend to come tell the whole story and hug and giggle and talk about dresses, which nicely coincided with a sale on blackberries (77 cents a pint!) so I made us a pie.

I'm starting to think I need to try a new crust recipe, because this one never bakes up quite right anymore.

I basically used this recipe for the filling without cinnamon (because I forgot) and with less butter. It made me wish Amie Glover, who I originally baked that for, was around.

So that's
2 or 3 pints blackberries (i used three and it was super tart)
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup of sugar

tossed, put in crust, baked on 350 for 40-50 minutes.

Pretty amazing way to start the weekend, which only got better from there, with a great show by Hello Wheels and the four hour dance party that followed, and this was finally played:

Back to Bakin'

2010-05-10T14:57:00.005-05:00

I DID IT!

On my extensive "You've graduated from college... Now what?" to-do list, returning to posting recipes on this blog is included. I'll be volunteering with Free Cakes For Kids Austin, which I'm incredibly excited about. My first cake will be a 50-serving German Chocolate Sheet cake. And you get to read about it.

Graduation Inspiration

2010-05-01T21:34:00.003-05:00

This last week of my life as a college student, I'm soaking in as much inspiration and encouragement as I can. I know it's not really going to feel like a huge change right away, and I have a job so I won't be floundering or overcome with worry about money, but now that I won't be a student, I want to figure out what I will be. No pressure, I still have time, but I'd like to be on a path to somewhere. So here's my inspirational quote for the day:

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

I used to hate these things (especially when expressed on magnets and bookmarks and the like) but now I think they are awesome. Another good one (from a magnet that I will likely buy for myself):

"Go forth and set the world on fire."
-St. Ignatius of Loyola

Also I got may day flowers from a nice friend today, a tradition I was unaware of but it sure was nice to walk out of my door when I had ten hours of work to look forward to and find a colorful bouquet.

Things that are currently rocking my face off

2010-04-21T22:59:00.005-05:00

1. This Langhorne Slim Song

2. Pomplamoose

Also download many of their covers (including Lady Gaga's Telephone) here.

3. I finish college in 17 days, 2 exams and 2 papers. Yippie!

4. I read Donald Miller's "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." It was full of many inspiring, insightful, amazing words. Here's a favorite.

“We live in a world where bad stories are told, stories that teach us that life doesn’t mean anything and that humanity has no great purpose. It’s a good calling, then, to speak a better story.”

i don't normally do this but...

2010-04-01T23:43:00.004-05:00

this is completely unrelated to everything (i haven't even posted sxsw pictures...maybe won't at this point), but it's the cutest thing i've ever seen and it's making me pretty happy right now.

Two new videos that make me feel almost okay missing some hours of SXSW for work

2010-03-18T19:08:00.010-05:00

That cute tennis player is Joe Jonas. I love the Jonas brothers, because of this video. You cannot deny its charms. Oh and Vampire Weekend is alright too. And Jake Gyllenhaal ain't too bad to look at.

And this is She and Him, who I always love and will see Saturday night. I like this video for referencing Britney Spears but think the Feist part at the end is weirder to copy.

Speaking of SXSW, I've seen thus far: Real Estate, Antlers, Generationals, Dawes, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Frightened Rabbit, Neon Indian, Morning Benders, Choir of Young Believers, Roky Erickson with Okkervil River and a few great things with names I don't remember. Free music, free beer, friends all over the place. I forgot how great SXSW is. Pictures and more to come when the crazy wonderful time is over.

breakfast pizza for dinner

2010-03-15T13:37:00.006-05:00

fry bacon

crumble bacon on a crust with lotsa mozzarella and parmesan, crack four eggs

bake for 10-15 minutes at 500, preferably on a hot pizza stone, but this worked.

sprinkle shallots, chives, parsley and scallions on top

slice and serve with a gin cocktail and spinach salad

real recipe

we had it for dinner, but I had leftovers for breakfast the next day and it was so so satisfying.

Homemade Pasta for your lunch break

2010-03-03T23:42:00.005-06:00

I had a dilemma today. I didn't want to spend money on eating lunch out, inspired by my impending graduation and recent posts by Addie Bryoles, but I knew my kitchen contents were meager. No eggs, no vegetables, no legumes, no fruit, no desire for peanut butter and jelly. Solution: Make pasta, use leftover sauce.

A quick Google search confirmed my belief that pasta can easily be created without eggs. I went with what someone sourced as Guiliano Bugialli's recipe for trenette, even though I didn't cut it in any fancy way. (If you have eggs, see this post for another homemade pasta option)

Ingredients
2.5 cups of flour
1 cup of water
2 teaspoons olive oil
pinch of salt

Method
Dump flour on the counter and form it into a mound. Create a well in the center. Pour water, oil, and salt into this well. Now go at it. If you're anything like me it will be messy and water will be running all over the counter. If you're anything like the Italian grandmothers I met abroad, it will be a neat, seamless, magical process. Either way, it will end up delicious.

Knead the dough until its smooth. I tore it in half and stored some in the freezer for another day. Roll it out very thin. As thin as you can. If you think it's thin enough, keep rolling a bit. If you don't have a rolling pin, use a wine bottle.

Cut it into whatever thickness you'd like. I love papperdelle so I tend to cut wide noodles. This pasta is traditionally cut with a knife on one side and a jagged pasta cutter on the other.

Cook in boiling water for 4-6 minutes.

I've been making this sauce the past two months, and keeping a jar of it in my fridge at all times. All you do is cook a can of tomatoes with an onion and some butter for 45 minutes. Simple and incredible. If you want to get more adventurous, pesto is also delicious. I haven't made my own at home yet, but I'll bet you lunch I will within the week.

Really though, I get worried about my time constraints as a full time student with two part time jobs and friends, but every time I make something from scratch instead of hopping into some fast food place I'm far more satisfied. Maybe I'm becoming food snobby, or maybe I just miss the glory of Italian cuisine too much, but a lot of things I eat at restaurants lately are not much more than mediocre.

Two New Albums

2010-02-25T23:00:00.007-06:00

1. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
"all my life, i've felt as though i'm inside a beautiful memory replaying with the sound turned down low"
I've never been a Joanna Newsom fan. Even when I wanted to be, I just couldn't make it through Ys satisfied. I decided to listen to this album because it's streaming for free at npr.org, and I have a lot of time at work to listen to music. And now I'm a Joanna Newsom fan, at least of this album. I haven't decided if I'll by the Triple LP ($25) or just get MP3s, but I have decided to tell all my friends it's worth a listen. The storytelling is moving, the music is engaging and exciting and varied, and my favorite quality of any music... it makes me feeeeeel things. For a little over two hours.
Purchase here.
Stream here.

2. The Rocket Summer - Of Men and Angels
"this is hope. this is a refuge. this is love. forget lies that lead you away form home, because this is a refuge, this love."So on the other side of the musical world in my mind in many ways, an old favorite, Bryce Avary, released this album Tuesday. I never understand the whole "I'm not a Christian artist" thing that some people whose lyrics feature "religious overtones" always insist upon. Either way, the songs on this album are a lot more open and clear about Avary's spiritual journey. And I stand inspired. Finding myself on the "road back" spiritually these days, songs like "Nothing Matters" and "Walls" nearly make me want to cry. So maybe his music is cheesy (I think I will always skip a couple of these tracks) but it's fun and beautiful in it's own right. It's only $7.99 on iTunes, where it was number 1 for a while.
Purchase here.

Unrelated: This puppy is adorable. Picture by Ralph Barrera from the Statesman photo blog, Collective Vision.

SXSW excitement building

2010-02-16T15:40:00.003-06:00

Saturday, March 21, free, auditorium shores

- Kimya Dawson, 3 p.m.
- Dawes, 4 p.m.
- Justin Townes Earle, 5 p.m.
- Deer Tick, 6 p.m.
- Lucero, 7 p.m.
- She & Him, 8 p.m.

I'm excited!

Via Austin360.

i probably just broke two links total

2010-01-31T22:36:00.002-06:00

but felt the need to post and say i changed the url here, to make more sense because it's the blog's name.

http://bakinlove.blogspot.com

lately i've made three really delicious things i recommend trying.
brownies
spaghetti sauce
the best: green chili pork, with beth.
and lots of plans to get back to italy.

love,
melissa

Caramel Corn

2010-01-14T20:05:00.006-06:00

In the kitchen I often learn that things I'm terrified of (pasta, pie crust, etc) are not to be feared but, rather, conquered. Today, I conquered caramel corn. I had an hour before work and I was extremely tired of reading for school (it's only the fourth day... oh crap). So I used this smitten kitchen recipe to learn myself good. Despite my love for salsa, I don't love spicy, nor do I have cayenne pepper, so I just made it sweet. Guess what? It was surprisingly easy. I shall sum it up here.

Caramel Corn:

Pop 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels in 3 tablespoons of oil on stove. You heat the oil, add the kernels, cover the pan and shake it around. Put into a greased bowl. toss with some peanuts if you want.

Cook 3 cups of sugar, 3 tablespoons of butter, half a cup of water and some salt, without stirring, on high heat until it turns golden yellow.

Whisk in 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda. The caramel puffs up and comes out of the pan onto the popcorn easily. I exclaimed with surprise when this happened.

Poor caramel onto popcorn right away. Use a greased spatula or two to coat the popcorn and peanuts.

Spread on oiled cookie sheets or parchment paper to cool to an edible temperature.

Coming soon: Not much, since school started, unless inspiration strikes.
Two recommendations: 1. Austinites and visitors to Austin, eat at G'Raj Mahal at 91 Red River. It's not super cheap but it's reasonable and delicious and open 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. That's dinner and fourth meal. 2. The new Vampire Weekend, Contra, is great.

FREE: Dirty Projectors

2010-01-11T22:17:00.004-06:00

I love free. Dirty Projectors are giving away songs from a 7", Ascending Melody. Download here, buy a physical copy (so 2009) here.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-27T18:32:00.006-06:00

Christmas Eve dinner: pork, yucca, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, arroz con gandules.

Christmas Eve dessert: hermit cookies, tiramisu, vanilla roasted pears.

I moved into my new South Austin apartment yesterday. It's entirely too big for one person, even though there is just one bedroom, but I plan on rolling around on the floor a lot and having dance parties to make up for it.

I miss Italy.

a happy photo

2009-12-19T16:21:00.001-06:00

Despite my purple coat, I could never be mistaken for a real Italian, for I ate gelato proudly in the bitter cold of December.

Home, Sweet, What is Home?

2009-12-19T16:11:00.003-06:00

This is one of my favorite group pictures of us. I miss these girls something terrible.

I left Perugia yesterday at 1 a.m. on a bus to Rome, took a 6:30 a.m. plane through Amsterdam to Houston and finally got to my parents house yesterday at 10:30 p.m. Since then I've sat in this bed alternately sulking and watching TV shows I missed out on.

I was way more of a wreck than I thought I would be when we left. According to my friend Aisling I was "literally hysterical." I think I've always been a pretty emotional person anyway, but leaving a couple dozen people I've got to know and love over these four months, a city where I felt at home, a language I have little use or opportunity for here, and food that will go unmatched for the rest of my life was more difficult than I expected.

My parents claim it took me three weeks (they were keeping track) to adjust to life in Perugia. So I'm assuming it'll take three weeks to adjust back and feel okay again. I'm just sorry I'm not super stoked to be "home."

Recipes from Italy: Tiramisu

2009-12-13T11:09:00.004-06:00

We made this video for our Italian final presentation. Handily enough, it includes actual tiramisu-making directions... albeit in Italian. I'll post the recipe in English when I'm home and reminiscing.

Please excuse my excessive overuse of powerpoint transitions. It was 4 a.m.

Guest Writer: Angelina Luspo

2009-12-09T09:00:00.005-06:00

My friend, the aspiring writer Angelina Luspo, wrote this for a Creative Writing course at our university here in Perugia. I love it, so, with her permission, I am publishing it here.

Angelina in front of her Perugian home.

Ephemerality
by Angelina Luspo

“It’s a dynamic city,” Joe the Australian explains over the blaring pop music as he nurses his beer from across the table. “Don’t let the medieval outfit fool you. People come and go in this city faster than you can blink.”

It’s my first weekend in Perugia, and my friends and I have stumbled upon a little bar named La Tana dell’Orso for our first night on the town. We have yet to encounter the true spirit of Perugia. For us, the city is simply a new place with new views, monuments, and food to be discovered. Much like ourselves, Joe the Australian happens to have studied in Perugia a handful of years ago for a semester abroad. It is this piece of common ground that finds my three roommates and myself huddled around a table in the corner of the bar with Joe, picking his brains about what Perugia has in store for us. And sure enough, true to his word, five days later he is gone, vacationing in some other European city.

For a while, I didn’t believe him. For me, Perugia was a lot of things. Beautiful, intriguing, and quaint, yes. But I couldn’t quite call it dynamic. The medieval architecture and aged pavements did indeed have me fooled into believing the city had been the same for ages and would stay that way. For three months I’ve passed the same people on the city’s large, stony streets. For three months the Rosso Huomo has planted himself in the middle of Corso Vannucci in his fire-engine red track suit preaching about Jesus in Italian at the top of his lungs. For three months I’ve watched the elderly man with the classical guitar strum Italian songs outside of Via dei Priori. For three months I’ve avoided the gazes of the two gypsies with their braids and their flowery skirts and rejected the advances of the middle-aged Bangladeshis and their bouquets of roses. For three months the accordion man has brightened my step with his cheerful renditions of the Amelie theme, and for three months I’ve stopped to admire the beautiful chalk drawings by the young street artist.

And then there are the lesser-known characters of Perugia who may not be city-famous but who will still stick with me for far longer than I’ll stick with them. Nearly every day I’d stop to pick up a panino at the alimentarsi below our school and be greeted by Paola or a member of her warm family, ready to spread some pesto on my prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich even though any other Italian would be simply traumatized by the notion. Or there’s the happy gelato man that tempts me into buying a Nutella crepe every time I pass his shop on my way to my friends’ apartment. There’s my energetic Italian professor, whose interest in my Filipino heritage never ceases, and the seven other American students I’ve spent every waking hour with here but still haven’t managed to get sick of. And, of course, the many Italian students that I’ve encountered along the way whose lessons in Italian culture have far surpassed anything I could’ve ever learned in a classroom. We’ve held dinner parties, laughed on the Duomo steps, danced the night away, and soaked up enough culture from each other to last a lifetime.

“I’m coming back to Perugia in two years,” I boast to my Calabrian friend as we lounge on the steps of the Comunale one night. “My parents are already planning a vacation.”

He takes one last drag of his cigarette for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows pensively before tossing it on the ground.

“I hope I’m not here,” he says decidedly, extinguishing the smoke with the heel of his boot. I frown, fully prepared to be offended before he takes a moment to explain. He can’t stay in Perugia all his life, he says. He’s here to study, and then move on. I understand his logic, of course, but it does nothing for the disappointment bubbling to the surface.

Joe the Australian was right. The soul of Perugia is as dynamic as it comes. True, many who study in Perugia may fall in love with it and return one day. But few intend to remain forever. When I return to Perugia in two years, the majority of the friends I’ve made will have already graduated. Yes, the Duomo will still be here. Fontana Maggiore will still be here. With any luck, Pizza Mediterranea will still be here. But it won’t be the same. Not that these elements don’t matter to the city; on the contrary, they are essential to its existence. But, truthfully, every city in Italy has a Duomo in the center with steps leading to a beautiful piazza. Every city in Italy has the best pizza and pasta and wine you’ll taste in your life. Medieval architecture, food, and drink aren’t what Perugia is about. The spirit of Perugia lies in the people that occupy it. The people are what make Perugia what it is, and though our time here is fleeting there is only one way I’ll ever remember this city: by the many people that have helped make the past three and a half months the time of my life.

Nice to be in a home, though it's not my own

2009-12-09T08:43:00.006-06:00

snow-capped mountains. i was hoping to see actual snow that i could touch, but this will do.

nermina at work in her bakery... delicious.

we spent lots of hours doing this. that blur of fur is dog.

hot chocolate. in Italy, it's kind of like heated up hershey's syrup. except more delicious.

churches in nearby ascoli-piceno

pasteries from the shop

mom and dad serving us crepe lasagna. the food was amazing all weekend. we had both italian and bosnian specialties and never went hungry.

Last weekend Nermina invited us to stay at her parent's home for a weekend. It's pretty normal for Italian college students to head home every weekend to work and visit their parents. One of the things us American students greatly miss and realize we take for granted back in the states is being in a real family home with parents, pets, and superb home cooked food, so we were glad to join Nermina for a weekend at home in the small village of Comunanza, up in the mountains in the region of Le Marche.

Bologna

2009-12-07T07:34:00.005-06:00

This was last weekend, and I've already had a new adventure since then. However, since I loved Bologna so dearly, I must post photos.

Firenze

2009-11-30T12:53:00.005-06:00

my renaissance art survey class took an overnight trip to florence this weekend. we saw almost everything we've studied in class this semester. this is something i've been looking forward to since before coming to italy, and it lived up to all the hype. we visited santa maria novella (my favorite building ever), the uffizi (took a lot of stealth photos of da vincis and botticellis), santa croce, santissima annunziata (beautiful early mannerist work), brancacci chapel, the bargello (no secret pictures here, too terrified), san marco, and finally the David at the accademia, which i snuck a crooked photo of.

florence is ridiculously beautiful, and we also found the "Diner," which served... american diner food. i'm slightly ashamed to admit we ate there three of the four meals we had in florence. our one italian meal was also very delicious, but the pull of breakfast foods and bacon and cheddar cheese was just too much to avoid.

Thanksgiving abroad

2009-11-30T09:01:00.006-06:00

We had a huge Thanksgiving feast with visiting friends from home, family and many friends we've made while living in Perugia. Everyone contributed a special dish, from green bean casserole to amazing real Italian lasagna and of course, a turkey and TONS of stuffing. I made four pies. One of the best Thanksgivings I will probably ever have.

The whole shebang

Italians, Americans, Morrocans, eating Thanksgiving together.

Jordyn's dad and Maria's mom carving up the amazing turkey, which Maria's mom plucked the feathers off of earlier in the day. This actually brought tears to my eyes.

my pies. thanks Beth, for the pecans, pumpkin and vanilla. i didn't exactly have pie pans here, but i made it work.

New Moon, dubbed in Italian

2009-11-22T11:28:00.007-06:00

Last night, a bunch of us went to see New Moon at the local cinema. Something I didn't know before coming to Perugia is that, since the late 1940s, practically every foreign film has been dubbed in Italian. In fact, even some Italian films were dubbed after filming. Dubbing is a big deal around here, and dubbers can achieve the same level of fame as actors in Italy.

I loved it, because the drama of New Moon was even more intense in Italian, and it was a great chance to test my Italian skills. Honestly, by the end of the movie, you get used to the Italian voice being out of sync with the movement of Kristen Stewart's mouth and terrible facial expressions.

Another entertaining note on Italian cinema, at least the one I attended. For 2.50 euro, I purchased an unpopped bag of popcorn and popped it in a microwave stand decorated in red white and blue, featuring a cowboy on a bull and something about: POPCORN, an American original. Should've taken a picture for this post... but Edward's beauty will suffice.

late Fall, at a park, in Perugia

2009-11-15T09:15:00.006-06:00

Spoleto

2009-11-14T10:54:00.009-06:00

I haven't been feeling better exactly, I've just been staying in my bed asleep a lot. I think I've slept enough in the past few days to make up for all the hours I missed the rest of the semester.

I got out of bed (at least physically, not so much mentally) yesterday, because my Early Christianity class had a field trip to Spoleto. I was in a daze, so I don't remember much that my professor said, but I was vaguely aware that they things we were looking at were beautiful so I tried to take some photos.

Doctor! Doctor!

2009-11-09T11:51:00.003-06:00

I guess now that I've lived here for a bit, I don't take my camera out as much, and I don't experience that many new things.

Until now!

I got a cold, probably because, for those of you who are unaware, it's really cold in Perugia. Maybe not really cold by some standards, but definitely by my Central-Texas-I-only-own-one-sweater standards. I wear tights and socks under my jeans and boots every day and a shirt, sweater, coat, scarf, hat and gloves (the latter four purchased in Italy). This is not normal for me. But it's good practice, since the AmeriCorps and job opportunities I'm looking at for next year are Boston, Chicago and NYC.

Anyway, I got a cold. Really it was just a cough, which I like to let slide by for a few days. But then I got stuffy. And then I got stuffier. And yesterday I lost my voice. So I decided to go to the doctor today. I walked 20 minutes (in the cold! with a cold!) then took the elevator up. I was let into an examination room-office combo. The doctor and I spoke (in Italian!) for approximately 30 seconds, listened to my heart while I inhaled and exhaled (voca aperta!) and prescribed some medicine.

I didn't wait, filled out no paperwork and paid her (not a receptionist? awkward) 26 euro directly. Then at the pharmacy, my two drugs, a tissue packet and throat drops were only 10 euro. I'm pretty satisfied with the ease of the whole thing, and now I have hopes of surviving the winter. Maybe it would help if I could buy another sweater... but after going to Paris spending money isn't really an option.

paris

2009-11-02T06:32:00.011-06:00

sacre coeur

school for girls. i think madeline attends.

formage. i like the little goat a lot

paris/tour eiffel from the louvre

chillin at musee d'orsay

falafel time

pigeons at the tour eiffel

the tour eiffel, paris at night, from the montparnasse tower

les petites bourrettes at la maroquinerie

rome

2009-11-02T06:25:00.007-06:00

Baking in Italy

2009-10-23T07:57:00.006-05:00

The ingredients

The result

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are pretty basic, and I've made them a million times. However... being in Italy presents a bit of a baking challenge, which makes life for someone who loves/needs to bake pretty hard. The biggest? Brown sugar. I checked a few regular stores, only to find natural cane sugar and white sugar. Finally at Bavachi I found what could possibly be dark brown sugar, and dropped 5 euros on it.

Vanilla comes in little vials and is definitely not vanilla extract, but rather "aroma per dolce." I had no idea how much of this to use so I just used both vials. I had tracked down baking soda (had to ask someone in the store to fetch it from a secret lair) a few weeks ago for pancakes. Thankfully there is an abundance of good chocolate in Perugia. I used milk chocolate instead of the usual dark because I was scared about a lack of sweetness due to the weird vanilla and sugar.

Once I figured out what temperature to set the oven on (oh, Celsius) and how long to bake them for (i'm a ways above sea level here), the cookies ended up delicious, at least according to my American friends here. I'm not sure how the Italians felt because it's hard to tell when people from other cultures are fibbing. But I'm sure they were being honest, not just polite.

Sicilia

2009-10-18T08:58:00.008-05:00

Sometimes when you follow a strange man around in a foreign country, you end up trapped at an art history lecture regarding a stolen Caravaggio that you can barely comprehend with your third grade Italian. Other times, you are treated to beer, gelato, dinner (mm pizza), dance lessons (bachata, salsa, vai vai vai!), and a ride to the airport, in that order. And that was my weekend in Sicily. Other things we did: are Arancine and Cannoli, danced in downtown Palermo, visited some Cathedrals, avoided the dead body museum, spent the night in an airport, frolicked in green grass, got caught in a torrential down pour during la pausa (everything's closed!).

Now I'm back in Perugia and the chaos that is Eurochocolate is upon is. People are carving things out of large blocks of chocolate up and down the main drag and my usual 5 minute walk to school took 20 today because of the crowds.

Oh, Italia.

Lucca, who knew?

2009-10-11T11:57:00.007-05:00

We took a train to Lucca Thursday night, because we wanted to. It was charming, quaint, beautiful and quite fun. We had our first legitimate sit down meal, even with wine and dessert! We climbed two towers to see some panoramas and drank champagne on top of one. Every one rides their bikes around, which made me nostalgic for my bike and for Austin, Texas.

(The Leaning Tower of) Pisa

2009-10-11T11:52:00.007-05:00

not it

it's really comical in person.
for cheesy posed photos, refer to flickr.

Roma

2009-10-05T06:28:00.009-05:00

One of the beautiful things about living in Italy is taking day trips to places that have only existed in fantasies and films for me until now. Friday morning we hopped on the train to Rome and spent six hours meandering about. We were mainly going to shop, because we all have trips scheduled to see all the sights. We did catch a glimpse of the Pantheon and spend some time at the Trevi Fountain. I dropped a lot of cash on some leather boots, the only nice thing I'll really buy in Italy, which I've worn every day since.

pantheon

trevi

throwing a coin in. i really will come back, with beth! fact: approximately 3,000 euro are thrown in the fountain every day, and are collected every night for a charity that provides a free supermarket for the needy.

in piazza navona.

i truly loved rome, and i'm finally falling in love with italy.

An Italian frustration and lesson in humility

2009-10-01T11:44:00.005-05:00

I spent five hours at the Questura (the police headquarters) today getting a devilish little thing called the Permesso di Soggiorno. I don't technically have it for another month, and I leave two months after that, but in case I run into any riff-raff, it'll be there. The Questura, to many American students and Italians who shall remain unnamed for their protection, is the last place on earth anyone wants to be, much less for five hours. Or as someone out there put it, "This place is Hell." Hard to believe, guys, but Hell will be worse.

I suppose someone coming into America, or any foreign country, may face the same problems. You don't know the language, so you don't understand the policies. You don't understand the logic (which I assume there is) behind the way the bureaucracy operates. It seems repetitive, it's frustrating, and people are cutting you in line left and right mainly because you have no idea what's going on.

And it makes for a very angry morning. I got up to the counter and was turned away and called a liar. I left the building immediately, knowing I was about to fly into a violent rage. Then I saw two monks and two nuns that had been waiting just as long as me and are smiling and calmly accept that they have to return tomorrow (which I did not calmly accept on my first visit) and I am humbled and remember it's not that important. And I seriously contemplated becoming a nun for at least a minute.

Assisi

2009-09-29T09:15:00.007-05:00

I visited Assisi on Saturday to get a look at the Basilica of St. Francis, out of interest and also for my independent study course. I'm still searching for a topic but I think I'm going to end up writing about the Franciscan order as St. Francis envisaged it in contrast to what it "became" after his death. I speak in general terms, because I haven't done much research yet. But after reading just a bit about his life and times and then visiting the basilica and the town, I couldn't help but think there was a bit of contradiction. The church is massive and adorned with frescoes by the masters of their time. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful sight to see, but it just seems so far away from the the first Franciscans who lived in humble huts on the outskirts of town.

Anyway, here are some more photos from Assisi. Probably a little more interesting than my scholarly reflections.

Italian cooking class

2009-09-28T04:58:00.008-05:00

This Friday, some of us girls had a cooking class with chef Christine Hickman, a New Mexico native that spends half of her year in her amazing apartment in Perugia and half in New Mexico. We learned her recipes for White Bean & Tomato Bruschette, Fresh Pappardelle with a Basic Marinara with Sausage sauce, and Italian Green Salad and Tiramisu. We picked up several tips on Italian cuisine and strategies for pasta making, garlic peeling, and salad dressing.

Philippe Halsman and Jumping

2009-09-25T08:30:00.008-05:00

jumping pictures, anyone? a friend recently informed me about philippe halsman, the innovator of jumping photos, and what he termed "jumpology." as he puts it: "When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears."

i'd really like his book on this for my coffee table. and my life.

also, today i download sam mean's (ex-member of that great band that broke up, the format) new song here. it's quite a pleasure.

Italy's still great. Went to my first European dance club last night.

Breakfast for Dinner

2009-09-24T03:11:00.013-05:00

I tried to satisfy my craving for chips and salsa with a visit to the "international" food store, but the overpriced chips, made in Belgium (?), aren't quite right. However, last night we decided to cook breakfast for dinner. Not an Italian breakfast of a cornetto and caffe. An all out American breakfast of banana pancakes, omelettes, potatoes and mimosas.

I was initially discouraged when I couldn't find buttermilk, baking soda, baking powder or affordable maple syrup. Then I asked the lovely staff at Umbra for some help and learned the words for baking soda (bicarbonato) and baking powder (polvere lievito) and that you can make your own buttermilk (one cup of milk + one tbs vinegar + 5 minutes) and, of course, nutella is PERFECT for a banana pancake.

making banana pancakes

the omelette fixin's

the "omellette"

the whole breakfast. mimosaaaaas!

Ancient ruins, a beautiful island, the best pizza in the world

2009-09-21T07:59:00.011-05:00

Weekend no. 2. This is the view from the most epic moment. We rented a motorboat and took a turn about the island of Capri, stopping periodically to jump into the bluest water, swim through grottos, and take underwater photos.

But I get ahead of myself. Our first stop was Pompeii, where our hilarious tour guide Enrico led us through the ruins, pointing out old theaters, restaurants and brothels. It was a perfect day for the tour, the sky was perfectly blue.

We drove to Sorrento and spent some time on the beach swimming, frolicking and drinking beer with our new friend from "near Liverpool," Matt, before and after dinner.

The next morning, we took a boat out to the island of Capri. Before the amazing motorboat trip around the island, we took a chair lift to the top of the highest point, where we were eye-level with the clouds and looking out at the entire island.

The last day we spent in Naples. I really like the city, which we walked around for about half an hour to find the Pizzeria da Michele, recommended to us by various travel books and a girl from Naples we met on the beach in Sorrento. Alas, it was closed, but we still enjoyed Magherita pizza and beer across the street. It wasn't even just the delicious pizza. Naples charmed me with it's busy streets and beautiful buildings and the amazing piazza. I would love to go back for a longer visit one day.

as always, for more photos, check out my flickr.