Full Moon Rising

Well, hell must have frozen over, because I got an "oh, wow" moment with a loaf of bread--thanks to the most relaxing Christmas gift ever from Ryan: a super-snazzy Cuisinart bread machine. Swoon. I literally dumped the ingredients in and set the machine to do the work. And look what happened. Now, some of you purists will scoff at this lazy bread-making tactic. I'll admit, I was skeptical at first. Well, that and I wanted to prove that I could make the perfect loaf without modern technology. Homemade caramels I can do. Bechamel I can do. Aioli I can do. But bread? Well, folks, I couldn't. And...

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Rookie Mistake

I could start this post off many ways. I could tell you about my insatiable need to be adventurous in the kitchen--or to be in the kitchen at all, for that matter. I could also tell you that I've been reading non-stop about cooking holiday treats lately and I can't get enough. I could tell you that Ryan tried to tell me I made toffee, not caramel, because Jamie Oliver says you just add cream to caramel to make toffee. Or I could divulge the fact that I made my sister stand next to me and watch the thermometer while making this batch of caramel. But I think the most satisfying anecdote to tell...

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Thanksgiving Pies

So this is a wee bit out of date, no? But better late than never. I have been cooking up a storm lately and enjoying every minute of it. I made two pies for Thanksgiving; one for Ryan's family (tried and true apple) and one for my family (never-before-tried Caramel Pumpkin Tart). Both turned out pretty swell, and it was actually a lot of fun to branch out from my standard apple pie and try something new. Of course, this was a marathon cooking adventure; in the span of 2 days, I made a rum cake (another new recipe for me, and my brother gave me tips for the sauce--just rum and sugar!) for Ryan's...

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Move over ladies, Ryan's in the kitchen

Today Ryan missed the traditional beans and cornbread at my grandmother's because he got swept up in cleaning our apartment. That's right ladies, he spent all afternoon cleaning. So we're gonna go ahead and call that a 100% legit excuse for missing Nan's famous beans.But that was just the icing on the cake; last weekend, he treated us to a special homemade spaghetti recipe, brought to us via podcast by Jamie Oliver. Ryan prepared by watching the podcast multiple times, then shopping, then coming home to a clean kitchen to whip up something special for Sunday lunch.Without further ado, I bring...

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A Lesson in Roasting

This is photo documentation of my first successful attempt at roasting tomatoes and peppers. I put them under the broiler on a cookie sheet, and they got nice and charred. The skins of the tomatoes came off in a cinch, but the peppers were a bit trickier. After the roasting experiment, I cut up some onion...jalapeno...garlic...and blended into my own version of roasted salsa. And it was pretty darned good....

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Blueberry Hill...

Well, friends, it's been a while. Way too long of a while. And for that, I apologize. So to make it up to you... I come bearing beautiful photos of what turned out to be delicious muffins. Honestly, though, I made these so long ago that I've forgotten what recipe I used! I do know that I used a little whole wheat flour, and the blueberries were fresh and local, hand-picked from an East Texas farm. I made a giant batch of these puppies, complete with sugary streusel topping, and gave some to my sweet Nan.And with that, another promise that I'll be updating again soon. Ryan and I stopped getting...

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Homemade Gifts...yum

I know I've been absent lately, and I'm SORRY DINA.... :)But I've been busy blogging on another site and haven't had much time to devote to cooking. No excuse!So, without further adieu, here's the beginning of the catching-up. A few weeks ago, a friend of Ryan's sent him home with a jar of plum preserves. Home-canned. DELICIOUS. And so, that little jar needed a complementary baked good. I whipped up a batch of whole-wheat zucchini bread (double the zucchini). My recipe makes enough for two loaves, but I like to fill a muffin pan (a dozen zucchini muffins), and then use the rest to make a small...

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Remembering growing up...

I wrote this post only weeks before this skit aired on SNL. Now I read this and think...that's really hysterical. The SNL sketch is pretty close to what I saw that night. So read on, and then watch the clip for a good chuckle. "I'm gonna go watch the football game." That's how it usually starts. This football season started out a little bit on the rough side...And so the first U.T. game of the season, I stayed home while Ryan made his way to a local Tex-Mex place to watch it on PPV. We'd just watched some inspirational cooking shows on PBS, and Ryan left the TV on when he walked out the door....

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Agua Fresca II

We wised up for Agua Fresca, Part Deux. Instead of running all the melon through the food processor and pushing it through a sieve, I used the juicer. Worked wonders! Then, I added a good squeeze of lime and some fresh mint. The three flavors combined for an icy-cool refreshment on a 100-plus-degree day. Ryan's dad introduced us to the watermelon-mint-lime salad (cube watermelon, then add fresh mint and lime, marinate for 2-3 hours in the fridge and serve at a summer picnic) and the same idea works just as well as a beverage. Could make a pretty good margarita, too--just add some tequila and Triple...

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Early Morning Inspiration

Just a few photos of fresh morning fruit: blueberries and Texas figs with wildflower honey, the sweet nectar of li...

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SalisBEERy Steak

We had quite the success in the kitchen the other night. Out of sheer invention came one of the best meals we've had yet. It was a true team effort, and the name was Ryan's brilliant brainchild. Read on, friends: this is one you'll want to whip up for sure. Seasoning:1 teaspoon Season-All 1/2 tsp black pepper1/4 tsp celery salt1/4 tsp cayenne 1/4 tsp saltMix together well 1 large sweet potato, cut into large matchsticks3 medium red potatoes, cut into large matchsticks1-2 tablespoons olive oil to coat the potatoesPreheat the oven to 450. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray. In...

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Home Court (dis)Advantage

We had plenty of okra from Greenling and needed something to do with it. Pickled okra was the obvious choice. So, one hot Saturday morning at around 7, I hopped on the bike, grabbed the (wrong) wallet, and headed to the store for lids, the right kind of salt, and some dill seed. Pickling proceeded. At about this point, we realized that we do not own any kind of jar tongs to get the boiling mason jars out of the boiling water. Luckily for us, we're inventive and brave, and we wound up using regular old kitchen tongs with a wing and a prayer. Seriously. Three of our four jars popped satisfyingly,...

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Manana...

With the leftover tortillas and meat, we whipped up breakfast tacos. Now that's a good way to start the d...

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Viva La Fiesta!

Mmmm...tacos. We cooked grass-fed beef from my dad's neighbor with all the right seasonings (for us: plenty of garlic, s&p, celery salt, and some cayenne), and added onions and peppers from Greenling. A few months ago, I bought a cast iron skillet (which I love) and learned to make homemade flour tortillas. So, I busted it out. Ryan says that he'll never go back to store-bought--what a compliment! The salsa is also homemade--and it's my mom's famous recipe. We had jalapenos in the basket, too, and cilantro, so the salsa was a jiffy: Here's the skinny:1 large can organic peeled whole tomatoes,...

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It was a...DISASTER!

Now, I'm the first to admit that I am still learning my way around the culinary arts. But I've made eggplant parmesan [once] before [with a chef's help] and it was great [because I had a chef helping]. Making it on my own couldn't be too different, right? And by the looks of things...it turned out pretty good. But then we tried to eat it. Poor, sweet, understanding Ryan. I ignored every warning he tried to give me ("Are you sure you know how to make eggplant parm?" "Do you know what to do with an eggplant?" "I can make French onion soup if you want!") and went ahead with my plan. I sweated the...

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Easy Veggies

Sometimes, nothing is better than just simple roasted vegetables. Summery zucchini, squash, and red potatoes tossed together with plenty of seasonings (including celery salt, garlic powder, sea salt, fresh pepper) and olive oil were roasted at about 450 until very tender. The details are a little fuzzy (no, there wasn't any wine involved this time...but this dinner was a couple of weeks ago!), but I'm pretty sure this was the night that Ryan stopped by Boston Market for a rotisserie chicken and I had roasted veggies ready when he got home. Just goes to show, when in doubt (and when you're drowning...

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Dressing up a weekday meal

Ryan's generous colleague sent a bottle of white wine home with him one night. In our four-year history together, we've only ever saved one bottle of wine for a special occasion--and every time a special one comes about, we forget to open our special bottle of wine. So I didn't think twice when I popped this bottle open for nothing more exciting than a Wednesday evening dinner. Mushrooms, onions, and squash (all from Greenling) sauteed together in plenty of butter, minced garlic, and sea salt with a splash of wine. The veggies topped off a mini-mountain of whole wheat cous cous, and a sprig of...

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When life hands you lemons...By all means, don't waste 'em!

It was a hot Saturday. We're talking 100-plus degrees. In the shade. Ryan and I had made a trip down to Torchy's for breakfast tacos, and then over to Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop to look for an earth-friendly messenger bag. We left with a pair of Earth-friendly shoes and a t-shirt for Ryan, and with an unquenchable thirst that kept begging the question, "Where should we stop for lemonade?"Not wanting to pull over yet again and shell out more cash for a beverage when we'd done enough shopping already, we decided to make it at home.Talk about hitting it out of the park. We made a simple syrup on the...

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Updates Coming Soon!

I learned something VERY exciting over the weekend: people actually read my blog! Yes. You do. And you like it! You really, really like it! (So leave me a comment, ok? Puh-lease?)My heart is a-flutter with the thought of you, my dear readers, perusing through this site. And here I am, leaving you with no fresh material!Well, rest assured, a big honkin' update is on its way. Let me tell you: there is fresh salsa. There are homemade tortillas. There is agua fresca. (C'mon, we're in Texas. Mexico is not that far away, folks.) I will be catching up this week, no doubt about it. And in the meantime,...

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"Do you need some help?"

Last week, Ryan offered to cook dinner one night. I headed straight home after work and played with Fin, and was greeted half an hour later by my boyfriend walking through the door with two paper bags full of groceries. I spotted carrot foliage sticking out the top, but hadn't a clue what else was in store. He'd nabbed crisp, organic romaine lettuce and carrots, tilapia fillets, white wine, and organic chocolate chip cookie dough. Using a recipefrom Mark Bittman, Ryan showed me how to slightly wilt the lettuce in boiling water, then wrap the fish gingerly. He poached them in white wine and butter,...

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Lemon dose #1: Lemon-Rosemary Cake

After tasting a bite of my friend's lemon-rosemary cake at Chez Zee, I knew I had to find the perfect copycat recipe. After whipping up a success in the kitchen for dinner (see the pizza?), I decided spending another hour or two baking would be a treat, and not a chore. I found a simple recipe and followed it to the tee. I'm not going to post it just yet, because I think it can be better. Once I get it just right, I'll post it here. The first try was tasty, but it was too dense for what I wanted. I also want to try the lighter, fluffier version with a seven-minute icing. Not a bad first try,...

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What are you cooking?

After hopping off the bus home, I trotted over to our grocery store, canvas bag in hand. (Go green!) I had a short list--a friend went to NYC and inspired me after all her talk about pizza, so I decided to try my own pie. It wasn't such a hard decision to make, since it was pretty well governed by an intense craving for a fancy pizza. You know what that feels like, right?This thin crust recipe has resulted in a not-quite-successful pizza before, but last night I tried it again. I used only AP flour (no whole wheat subs this time) and I think that truly was the trick. Might have also been the carefully...

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