So like I said, we got a home computer. But it is a big desktop and we weren't able to find a really comfortable place to use it. I have discovered that a key factor involved in my likelihood to use a computer is whether it is a giant desktop with a highly uncomfortable arrangement, or a little laptop that I can sink into the couch on. So despite the fact that I have access to what is needed to write blogs, I sincerely lack the motivation and willingness to spend any amount of time on the computer. I want to write blogs! I have the pictures! I have plans! I have ideas for the future! I just really, really, REALLY don't want to sit at that computer. So....I would like to say there will be a new blog up soon, but if I am honest, I really think it is going to end up waiting until I get a more portable, comfortable computer set up....
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
And we're back!!!
Finally got a computer, finally got it hooked up and finally got some pictures downloaded! New posts coming soon!!!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Quick update
So, I am having computer issues at the moment so it may be a bit before I can update. But I have things to tell you all!! Some awesome stuff! Some "if it tweak the recipe here and a little bit here it has the potential for awesomeness" stuff!! And one "I can't believe I spent all these years -not- eating this!!" stuff. So, stay tuned! Once our computer heals, I will be back to the regularly scheduled blogging!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
When is Guacamole Not Guacamole?
So guacamole is full of things that I do not enjoy. I don't like the color. I don't like avacados in general. I don't like the texture. And I am not a big fan of dips in general, with salsa being one of the few exceptions. Even then, I am really picky.
Awhile ago, we were at someone's house and they brought out guacamole. They were very proud of this guacamole. They were a tiny bit pushy about the guacamole. And they seemed somewhat offended when I said I didn't like guacamole. It was....uncomfortable. So after staring it down for awhile, I went for it.
Sort of. I took the smallest amount possible that could still make it appear as though I were trying it.
I tasted it. And then realized that I was being a giant sissy and that I couldn't validly consider that tiny amount as "trying it".
So I tried again.
And....other than the avocado, I really liked it. And I liked it enough that the avocado wasn't that big of a deal. It was like a creamy version of salsa.
I put off writing this post for awhile because, while I enjoyed the guacamole, I think I could do better if I made it at home. I was going to wait until I tried it out myself before I wrote about it, but I haven't had the chance to do that yet and I wanted to write something up for the blog. If I made the guacamole, I would definitely want more...stuff in it. I would like it to be spicier. However, not being a gaucamole connoisseur I am not entirely certain that if I did everything I wanted to the guacamole, this it would still be considered guacamole anymore rather than just salsa with some avocado in it.
So I must ask readers, do you have a good guacamole recipe? At what point does guacamole stop being guacamole and instead becomes some other type of chip dip? How many times do I have to type guacamole in this post before I spell it correctly the first time? These are the type of questions that keep me up at night....
Awhile ago, we were at someone's house and they brought out guacamole. They were very proud of this guacamole. They were a tiny bit pushy about the guacamole. And they seemed somewhat offended when I said I didn't like guacamole. It was....uncomfortable. So after staring it down for awhile, I went for it.
Sort of. I took the smallest amount possible that could still make it appear as though I were trying it.
I tasted it. And then realized that I was being a giant sissy and that I couldn't validly consider that tiny amount as "trying it".
So I tried again.
And....other than the avocado, I really liked it. And I liked it enough that the avocado wasn't that big of a deal. It was like a creamy version of salsa.
I put off writing this post for awhile because, while I enjoyed the guacamole, I think I could do better if I made it at home. I was going to wait until I tried it out myself before I wrote about it, but I haven't had the chance to do that yet and I wanted to write something up for the blog. If I made the guacamole, I would definitely want more...stuff in it. I would like it to be spicier. However, not being a gaucamole connoisseur I am not entirely certain that if I did everything I wanted to the guacamole, this it would still be considered guacamole anymore rather than just salsa with some avocado in it.
So I must ask readers, do you have a good guacamole recipe? At what point does guacamole stop being guacamole and instead becomes some other type of chip dip? How many times do I have to type guacamole in this post before I spell it correctly the first time? These are the type of questions that keep me up at night....
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Identity Crisis
I want to change the name of this blog. I feel like it is too limiting. Yes, moving out from under the shadow of my excessive food standards is a part of it. But there is more than that. It is about expanding all food related boundaries.
Can I make the foods that I usually buy pre-made?
Can I ever manage to get rid of my ice cream machine?
Can I find something new and exciting to do with a food that I use every day?
Can I master a new cooking technique that has always intimidated me?
I want to come up with something that can encompass all of those things. And….you know….that sounds cool. So….suggestions anyone?
My first idea: Panem et Circenses.
I need input!!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Balancing it out with a success....
On the heels of the unsuccessful banana granita debacle, I was feeling very unsatisfied and wanted to do something more successful. That something, was Horchata. (Recipe at the end)
Horchata is a drink The Husband loves. I smelled it once. It smelled okay, but I never got around to actually trying it. You can buy this powder stuff that you mix with milk to make horchata at home, but I don't think it was that great because The Husband bought it once and never even finished the bag. So I thought I would see about making it from scratch. I looked over a couple of recipes and it turned out to be surprisingly easy!!
Step One:
Put a cup of long grain rice in 2 quarts of warm water. Stir it up a little and let it sit for 1/2 an hour.
Done!
Step 2: Strain out the rice and reserve the water. Take the rice and a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and put them through the food processor until it makes a paste. Add it back into the water. This time you will let it sit in there for at least 2 hours, stirring it occasionally to get all that ricey, cinnamony goodness mixed in.
Done!!
Step 3: Strain it using a fine sieve and throw away all the ricey gunk. Mix in 1 1/4 cups of milk, 14 oz of sweetened condensed milk and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Then chill it for at least two hours. Then pour yourself a glass and enjoy!
Done!!! So I tasted it. It was delicious!! Sweet but not too sweet. Cinnamony but not over powering. Not too thick, not too thin. It was really good. And yet, I still have a weird block against it. I had a small glass of it and that was all. Every time I saw it in the fridge, I would think about drinking it but would inevitably end up with one of my usual drinks instead. Something about it just throws me off and makes me resistant. It looks like milk, which I hate. It smells like cinnamon, which I hate. It kind of reminds me of eggnog, which I hate. It is the perfect storm of something delicious all packaged up to look like something I would never enjoy. The Husband loved it. It lasted all of three days before he finished it. I am definitely going to make more of it though. And this time, I am going to remember to ignore my instincts and just go with it.
(PS-I love those POM glasses. I don't know why they quit selling those. Half of our glasses are these POM glasses.)
(PPS-Apparently Horchata goes very well with rum.)
Horchata
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 quarts warm water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Rum to taste (optional)
Horchata is a drink The Husband loves. I smelled it once. It smelled okay, but I never got around to actually trying it. You can buy this powder stuff that you mix with milk to make horchata at home, but I don't think it was that great because The Husband bought it once and never even finished the bag. So I thought I would see about making it from scratch. I looked over a couple of recipes and it turned out to be surprisingly easy!!
Step One:
Put a cup of long grain rice in 2 quarts of warm water. Stir it up a little and let it sit for 1/2 an hour.
Done!
Step 2: Strain out the rice and reserve the water. Take the rice and a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and put them through the food processor until it makes a paste. Add it back into the water. This time you will let it sit in there for at least 2 hours, stirring it occasionally to get all that ricey, cinnamony goodness mixed in.
Done!!
Step 3: Strain it using a fine sieve and throw away all the ricey gunk. Mix in 1 1/4 cups of milk, 14 oz of sweetened condensed milk and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Then chill it for at least two hours. Then pour yourself a glass and enjoy!
Done!!! So I tasted it. It was delicious!! Sweet but not too sweet. Cinnamony but not over powering. Not too thick, not too thin. It was really good. And yet, I still have a weird block against it. I had a small glass of it and that was all. Every time I saw it in the fridge, I would think about drinking it but would inevitably end up with one of my usual drinks instead. Something about it just throws me off and makes me resistant. It looks like milk, which I hate. It smells like cinnamon, which I hate. It kind of reminds me of eggnog, which I hate. It is the perfect storm of something delicious all packaged up to look like something I would never enjoy. The Husband loved it. It lasted all of three days before he finished it. I am definitely going to make more of it though. And this time, I am going to remember to ignore my instincts and just go with it.
(PS-I love those POM glasses. I don't know why they quit selling those. Half of our glasses are these POM glasses.)
(PPS-Apparently Horchata goes very well with rum.)
Horchata
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 quarts warm water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Rum to taste (optional)
- Mix the rice and warm water together in a bowl, and let stand for 1/2 hour. Reserving the water, drain, and place the rice in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cinnamon and process until a paste forms. Return the rice to the water and let stand at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally as the water turns milky white.
- Strain the rice through a fine sieve into a bowl or pitcher. Stir in the milk, condensed milk, vanilla, and rum, if desired (Can also be added to individual servings), until evenly blended. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Serve and enjoy!!
Less than awesome...
So my awesome and amazing friend Ashley (blatant sucking up....) sent me this link for Banana-Ginger Granitas and asked me to try it out for her. I agreed for several reasons. 1--I hate bananas, so this definitely falls under the heading of something I should try out. 2--We have an ice cream maker. I would love to be able to get rid of it and this was the second mention I had heard about blending up frozen bananas to make ice-cream-machine-less ice cream. 3--Because she asked nicely and I am a nice person :-)
So I went out and bought some bananas. I got the ripest ones I could find because the other article I had seen about banana ice cream had mentioned that if they aren't ripe, there tends to be a bitter aftertaste. So...
I sliced up the bananas and put them in the freezer. The next day I took them out, took out some ginger-ale and the food processor and set it up.
Nervous about having to eat bananas for the first time in years, but excited about potentially finding a way to get rid of my ice cream machine, I set about grinding them up. There were big chunks of banana that refused to grind. It is entirely possible that my food processor just wasn't burly enough to take them down but it was incredibly frustrating to keep grinding and grinding and just having it...not work. So I paused and figured I might as well taste it to see if it was worth it. I opened it up and saw this:
Wildly unappetizing. I tasted it. Yep....tasted like bananas. To be fair, the part that had blended did have an ice cream-like consistency. So that part was a success. I thought maybe I'd add more ginger ale. The original recipe called for only 2 tablespoons which seemed like a tiny amount to go with 2 whole bananas. And....it didn't help. I added a little honey to it. No go. It was gross. The husband tried it out and he didn't hate it although he thought it was pretty weird. He ended up eating a bunch of it. However, I don't count that as a point in this recipe's favor as there is a reason I refer to him as "The human garbage disposal". He'll eat pretty much anything.
So I count this as....well....not a failure! I still tried something new, food-wise and technique-wise. But definitely not a success. So for now, the ice cream machine will stay on the shelf, taking up space. But there is still hope! I recently found another recipe for non-machine related ice cream that I am much more hopeful about! So....stay tuned for that!
So I went out and bought some bananas. I got the ripest ones I could find because the other article I had seen about banana ice cream had mentioned that if they aren't ripe, there tends to be a bitter aftertaste. So...
I sliced up the bananas and put them in the freezer. The next day I took them out, took out some ginger-ale and the food processor and set it up.
Nervous about having to eat bananas for the first time in years, but excited about potentially finding a way to get rid of my ice cream machine, I set about grinding them up. There were big chunks of banana that refused to grind. It is entirely possible that my food processor just wasn't burly enough to take them down but it was incredibly frustrating to keep grinding and grinding and just having it...not work. So I paused and figured I might as well taste it to see if it was worth it. I opened it up and saw this:
Wildly unappetizing. I tasted it. Yep....tasted like bananas. To be fair, the part that had blended did have an ice cream-like consistency. So that part was a success. I thought maybe I'd add more ginger ale. The original recipe called for only 2 tablespoons which seemed like a tiny amount to go with 2 whole bananas. And....it didn't help. I added a little honey to it. No go. It was gross. The husband tried it out and he didn't hate it although he thought it was pretty weird. He ended up eating a bunch of it. However, I don't count that as a point in this recipe's favor as there is a reason I refer to him as "The human garbage disposal". He'll eat pretty much anything.
So I count this as....well....not a failure! I still tried something new, food-wise and technique-wise. But definitely not a success. So for now, the ice cream machine will stay on the shelf, taking up space. But there is still hope! I recently found another recipe for non-machine related ice cream that I am much more hopeful about! So....stay tuned for that!
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