Onion Skin
Party Lantern
These are both inverted lens macro shots. You just take the lens off your camera, turn it around, et voila, instant macro! It’s fiddly and unforgiving of even tiny movements, but it’s fun to play with.
The top one is much crisper than the bottom one, but I like both of them.
Brown Sugar
I hate having rolled up, partially used bags of food in the cupboard, so I store things like brown sugar and hot cereal in canning jars. It’s much tidier, and you can easily see what you have and how much is left.
Farina
I write directly on the glass with a Sharpie, including any cooking directions or proportions.
I went ahead and joined Bloomingfoods last night. On my little shopping list, in addition to Quorn (two packages), were oatmeal, milk, and farina. I was irritated with myself for forgetting oatmeal when I went grocery shopping on Friday, but now I’m glad I did. Target quick oats are fine, but they really do not taste as good as Irish oatmeal. With milk and brown sugar. Yum.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in Bloomingfoods, and I’d forgotten just how hippie-granola the place is. It was a very nice change from Kroger.
We have a local food co-op in town, with three storefront locations, one of which is just a few blocks from my house. I’ve been intending to join, but I assumed (stupid me) that it was kind of pricey. Their website says membership is $90, and that it can be split up into monthly or quarterly payments. Okayfine. But what it doesn’t make clear is that that’s a lifetime membership fee, not a yearly membership fee, so it’s just a one-time $90 investment (or $7.50/month).
I R dum. Also, I R joining tout de friggin’ suite.
Mmmm… Quorn…
These are chewy right out of the oven. After they cool, they harden around the edges, but they should retain a bit of chewiness in the center.
2 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger (The recipe called for 1 tsp, but the ginger smelled so good that I wanted to use more; I think it was a good choice.)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 C soft butter
1 C brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 C dark molasses (I used mild molasses, which suited me; use darker if that’s what you like.)
1 tsp vinegar
In the first bowl, combine first four ingredients (the recipe calls for sifting, but I just used a whisk to make sure any lumps were broken up). In the second bowl, cream butter until shiny. Add sugar and cream until thoroughly incorporated. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Add molasses, stir, then add vinegar and stir. Add half the dry mix to the wet mix, combine, then add the second half and stir until thoroughly incorporated. The batter should be fairly stiff.
Preheat oven to 374F. Grease cookie sheet with butter, then with buttery hands, roll dough into walnut-sized balls. Place on cookie sheet, about 2-3 inches apart (it will depend on how large you make them, but I fit 16 cookies on a 14 x 15 inch cookie sheet). Bake for 10-11 minutes, remove from oven and let set for about a minute, then move to a cooling rack or paper towels.
(Recipe adapted from Meta Given’s Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, 1955, volume 1, p. 476-477.)
I’ve been enjoying the 30 Bucks a Week blog. It’s made me more mindful of what I buy, and more careful about using up all my fresh food, instead of wasting half of it. I went hunting and gathering yesterday. I’ve been on a citrus kick, so I bought more grapefruit and splurged on some blood oranges, to go with it. I think the two together will make a tasty and pretty snack.
The other thing I picked up was a new litter box for Pandora. She’s gotten so wobbly that it was becoming hard for her to get in and out of the old one. This one has super low walls, which should help. The up side, if there is one, to her increased unsteadiness is that I no longer have to worry about her climbing up on the kitchen cabinets. She can’t even jump onto the dining room chairs, so the cabinets are out of the question, which means that food left on the counters and stove is once more safe from thieving wee kitties.
Speaking of the kitchen, I did some more rearranging, and I think it’s almost the way I want it. Still searching for a rug for the hideous floor, though. Urban Outfitters has a cotton one the right size, in a dark blue, that looks light-weight enough to stuff in a washing machine. It’s cheap, too, which is a plus.
In book news, I’m reading Inkheart. I got it through ILL a month ago, and it sat on the coffee table until last week. Once I had it in my hands, I wasn’t motivated to read it, and even after I finally picked it up, it took me awhile to get into it. The writing seemed uneven, which I found distracting. My mom pointed out (duh!) that it’s a translation, so the fault likely lies in that direction. Some of the passages are absolutely gorgeous, but others seem clumsy. I’m trying to ignore the clumsy ones, and the story itself has become so engaging that I think I’m over that mental hurdle.
The department secretary brought treats to work, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Yum. Only, I took one of the chocolate chip cookies, and it tastes distinctly like ginger bread. With chocolate chips. I’m half-way through the cookie, and I still can’t decide if I love it or hate it.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m making boxty tonight. I’ll probably have stir-fried cabbage, scallions, peppers, carrots, and whatever else is in my fridge, with it. The stir-fry isn’t especially Irish (especially not if I put Szechuan sauce on it!), but it will make a nice, bright complement to the potato pancakes.
I mentioned that I have a serious love for both broccoli and green beans? And mashed potatoes? Despite the fact that I normally have a food taboo against mixing ingredients, one of my most favorite comfort dishes is mashed potatoes mixed with green beans and/or broccoli (spinach and corn are good additions, too). I especially like it served with a side of stir fried cabbage, onions, and shredded carrots.
Come to find out, as I was trawling Apartment Therapy’s Kitchn blog, there was a link to a recipe for Irio.
Irio is a Kenyan dish made of mashed potatoes and green veggies that’s a lot like Colcannon, which is a lot like my favorite mashed potatoes. I think most cultures that eat potatoes probably have a similar dish, because it’s quick, easy, filling, and emotionally satisfying.
I’m having steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes for supper. And for lunch tomorrow. And probably for supper tomorrow night, too. I have a deep and abiding love of broccoli (it nearly rivals my love of green beans), so there is no such thing as “too much broccoli” in my world.
I loves me some bananas, but they are not a very good lunch food. They make everything in your lunch bag taste banana-y. Banana-Oreos, banana-cheese sandwich, banana-radishes, etc. Not good.
red paper boat 