Sunday, 31 May 2009

german potatoes, a la ryan

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Last week I slacked on my kitchen duties. I neglected the grocery store, but thanks to my efforts to make sure our pantry is stocked, that didn't pose much of a problem. More so, though, when I wanted to relax after work one night in the hammock, I asked Ryan to pour me a glass of wine and bring me the potato cookbook.  He obliged, and while I was thumbing through recipe after recipe for potatoes, he offered to make dinner.  And I took him up on the offer.  No more than one pound of potatoes and fifteen minutes later, dinner was served.  He's big on eating small dinners, but...
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Friday, 29 May 2009

eye candy. or cookies.

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I made cookies. Soft, cake-like oatmeal cookies speckled with cinnamon and nutmeg and a few with raisins. They weren't the best, which is why I don't feel the need to share the recipe with you; but they were beautiful. And warm. And a great subject for my new camera.  A month or so ago, I came across this 1961 edition of the Joy of Cooking at a bookstore. It is beautiful; I love that the faded blue cover is accented by the still-bright red bookmark. And the pages. Oh, the pages. They smell like a small-town library and some feel so worn down they could pass for onion skins. This book was...
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Wednesday, 27 May 2009

my 100th post: fire up the grill

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Rather than mark my blog's birthday, since I got to this landmark just a week and a half before it, I thought I'd point out that today's post marks my 100th. Can you believe it!? 100-plus sustainable dishes from my kitchen. And what better way to share this exciting moment with you than to bring you a special edition: Ryan and I took our show on the road this weekend and made an impromptu trip to his parents' house to cook dinner. We decided to team up this time--Ryan and I did equal parts cooking and prepping, and he even took some photos! It was a blast. They have a fantastic grill...
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Friday, 22 May 2009

garden-inspired pizza: heirloom onions and squash

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I've realized there never really comes a point where I stop myself and ask, "Did I just add too much cheese?" And in the unlikely event that the question comes up, the answer is always a resounding, "Nope, carry on."Cheese. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!Last night when I was the sole beneficiary of this week's garden pizza, I went to town. There was sauce--lots of it. There was spinach. There were onions and squash (from the farmer's market; I asked Ryan to pick out anything that could inspire me for pizza, and boy did he deliver). And. There. Was. Cheese.Since my eating habits are...
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Wednesday, 20 May 2009

a light meal: crackers and cheese

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When it comes to dinner, I tend to be a "big production" type of person. I am not a one-dish type o' gal; if there's soup, I want bread too. If there are veggies, I need some kind of starch. And normally, I like to have a meal-sized meal. You know what I mean?So when I got a text from Ryan while I was at Central Market that said something along the lines of "I want to eat light tonight," I thought... there goes my plan.But instead of chucking my idea for a pseudo-gourmet meal out the window, I decided to embrace Ryan's light wishes and run with it. I snagged some locally made chive-cheese spread...
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Monday, 18 May 2009

sprouting is fun!

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A while ago, my mom sent me this video about sprouting. It made us both laugh--these folks are totally enthusiastic about sprouting--but it also inspired us to go forth and do the same. The idea had escaped us for a while, but then I read Fresh Food From Small Spaces, by R.J. Ruppenthal, and the urge to sprout came rushing back. And so, for Mother's Day, I ordered four pounds (yes, pounds) of sprouts from SproutPeople to split between my mom and I. Four pounds may sound like a lot: let me confirm for you that it is, in fact, a whole lot more than we may have needed. In any case, let the sprouting...
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Thursday, 14 May 2009

garden-inspired pizza: onions and herbs

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There is absolutely something to be said for learning from one's mistakes. In the past, I've wound up with under-cooked pizzas, had trouble with dough not rising, and stuck to a strict roster of toppings that never really amounted to more than a buffet-style flop. Earlier this week, things were different. I tell you, folks, this novice cook might--might--be coming into her own.First of all, I utilized my bread machine. You know, that glorious piece of kitchen machinery so lovingly gifted to me at Christmastime? I had yet to make pizza dough in it! The insanity! In just 90 minutes, I had a...
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Tuesday, 12 May 2009

curry: it may stain your bamboo utensils

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I have to start out by saying that Ryan kept an amazingly open mind when I decided on "curry night." After spending two days reading the "Indian Curry Master Recipe" from Cooks Illustrated (I signed up for a free trial and love it so much that when the trial is up, I will actually pay for the service--how's that for a testimonial!?), thinking that if I read it enough I'd memorize it.Not so.But reading it over and over did give me the confidence I needed to make the dish. I set out to get the things I needed, and to no one's surprise forgot several things. Here is my oh-so-altered Master Curry...
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Monday, 11 May 2009

a change, it is a comin'

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Last night, under the influence of an Austin-ified Mexican martini (I went for the locally distilled liquors, to be sustainable) from Cedar Door and wielding the supreme--err, unruly--power of the eBay app for my iPhone (lots of second capitals there), I made a purchase.A big purchase.And for someone who shops at Ross and considers $15 too much to pay for a shirt, this purchase felt strange. Yet even with my pre-purchase pangs of buyer's remorse, I shouted with glee and high-fived Ryan when I won the bidding war for a fancy schmancy digital SLR. I bought a (hopefully gently) used Canon 20d,...
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Thursday, 7 May 2009

thoughts on real food

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Meet Fernando. He really has nothing to do with my thoughts on real food, other than the fact that he lives in an idyllic pasture and leads a wonderful, happy life out on the farm. That's "farm" with two syllables.Traveling makes it difficult to live up to the food standards I've set for myself, and for the kind of eating that Ryan and I now not only enjoy, but also take pride in. Away from home, I can't dictate that my whole-wheat bread be organic and free from HFCS, or that my vegetables be grown less than 40 miles away. I can't even rest assured that the continental breakfast at the hotel has...
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Wednesday, 6 May 2009

the family that cooks together sticks together

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Ever since we were little, my sister Aubrey and brother Britton and I have shared memories in the kitchen. Most of them revolve around family suppers around the dinner table (the one summer meal when I tried beets sticks out from the bunch), or decorating Christmas cookies on the big blue tray, or helping Mom roll out cinnamon rolls. Since I've started this blog, I've posted a few family favorites from growing up on the farm and yesterday, in the midst of my deadline at work, I received an email from my sister about cooking one of her favorite meals from childhood. And she's making strides toward...
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Monday, 4 May 2009

stockin' the pantry

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I’ve done it. I’ve officially stocked my pantry. I can say that everything (except dried mushrooms, but you can bet I’ll be picking them up soon) on each of these lists can be found in my pantry...Savory pantry items Sweet pantry items Up until this week, when I bought ground mustard and curry powder, my pantry was ever so slightly incomplete. Now, it is finished. I’ve spent the first months of this year preparing my kitchen for the unlikely event of not being able to purchase any food; we can whip up a tasty, healthy meal from the cupboard (and did just that last weekend when my brother stopped...
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Friday, 1 May 2009

now officially a "granola-eating hippie"

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*I've tweaked my granola recipe... Read below for the updates!*Y'all are getting spoiled, what with this one post every day, right?Well I hope you are recognizing some improvements in my kitchen. Like, more and more things are actually turning out not just edible, but good. And I am pleased to say that this post is another success story; and, it gets me closer to my goal of being totally homemade.Once I had success with the homemade yogurt, I needed a sweet and crunchy counterpart to my new dairy item. Granola seemed the perfect addition. Now, there are as many granola recipes out there as you...
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