3 more weeks of school!!!!! Okay now I can add exclamation marks, and here's why. Things are starting to solidify. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before on the blog, but last summer I spent a month living with my grandpa and acting as caretaker for both him and the property. My aunt and uncle began a pretty extensive vegetable garden on the property and while they were away for the month I picked and cooked vegetables like nobody's business. Well they've taken that garden and expanded it tenfold. They began a community garden on another piece of the property, and from what they say, it's the size of three football fields. I am beyond excited to finally go back! That month was one of the best in my life. I got to cook, garden, deepen my relationship with my grandpa, and spend some much needed time with myself. Internet is mostly nonexistent, cell service is spotty, and it's too hot to sit and watch TV. It can be lonely at times, but I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. And now I get to go back, and while the work is going to be ten times harder than last summer, I'm looking forward to it so much. Living in the city makes me crave the outdoors and the heat and extensive physical activity and pretty soon I'll have more than I'll know what to do with! I'm giddy!
On top of that, I'll be going from Sonora to Hawaii for my sister's wedding. I've hardly ever been out of California so this is going to be such an adventure. I'll have plenty of wedding preparations to work on while I'm at my grandpa's so there shouldn't be a dull moment. After the wedding I'll have just a few weeks of August until school starts once again. Things are starting to take shape right before my eyes and let me tell you, I am loving the way it looks.
-LG
4.27.2011
Breakfast.
This wonderful tradition is not something I get to take part in all that much anymore. The mornings that I work don't leave enough time for me to eat before leaving, and now my body has gotten used to waiting until lunch. That means that on days that I don't work, like today, I'm generally not hungry when I wake up. But today was different. Today was going to be glorious. I woke up (at 7:30, since my mom seems to have a sixth sense for when I'm trying to sleep in and promptly texts me) hungry and imagining what delights I could fill my belly with on this fine, beautiful, sunny day. Alas, upon opening the fridge I was met head on by a stench so foul it almost made me lose my appetite. Imagine low tide. Rotten sea weed. Perhaps a dead fish. Now take that scent and mix it with stagnant, rotten, polluted lake water. Apparently that's what spinach smells like when it decomposes in the drawer of our fridge. I 409'd the shit out of our kitchen, hoping to cover the smell of death with the smell of toxic chemicals. So far it's doing the trick, but I might have to do a second layer of Febreeze Passionfruit in a little while.
Like I said, it almost made me lose my appetite. But I'm not easily deterred when I have soft boiled eggs on the brain. For anyone who has never had a soft boiled egg, please get on my level. They are amazing. It's essentially my perfect egg. Cooked whites with a creamy, gooey, salty yoke. Clearly I don't pay much attention to cholesterol. Last year when I was living in the dorms and had access to an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, I had two eggs every morning for breakfast. It's amazing that I haven't needed a triple bypass yet. Anyhow, the soft boiled egg is a tricky one to master. You have to get the timing down perfectly, and I spent many a morning last summer and fall experimenting. Five minutes and thirty seconds. Not a second more. Not a second less. If you don't cok it long enough, the whites will be runny, and let me tell you: there is absolutely nothing worse in this world than watery, runny whites that ruin your perfectly crafted, creamy yoke. "Lauren, what about world hunger? Genocide?" Nope. Runny whites. But I have a system down now that guarantees me the perfect soft boiled egg, and I just might share it with you all.
Along with my eggs I had some Greek yogurt and honey, and I mixed in some of my leftover blackberry compote. It was rather tasty. Although I will say that mixing in frozen fruit (mango chunks, for instance) is more my style. I like it cold. Anyhow, now that I have a free day and nowhere to go, I'm going to continue working on the dress, perhaps watch some more OC, and perhaps even do some of the exercises in my Fitness magazine. How lovely does that sound! Happy hump day all, I hope the sun is shining wherever you are!
-LG
PS Three more weeks until school is over. I'm too excited to add exclamation points (fun fact: when I was little I referred to those as "excited marks". Aptly named, if I do say so myself). This month is gonna go by so. Fast. Hell to the yes.
Like I said, it almost made me lose my appetite. But I'm not easily deterred when I have soft boiled eggs on the brain. For anyone who has never had a soft boiled egg, please get on my level. They are amazing. It's essentially my perfect egg. Cooked whites with a creamy, gooey, salty yoke. Clearly I don't pay much attention to cholesterol. Last year when I was living in the dorms and had access to an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, I had two eggs every morning for breakfast. It's amazing that I haven't needed a triple bypass yet. Anyhow, the soft boiled egg is a tricky one to master. You have to get the timing down perfectly, and I spent many a morning last summer and fall experimenting. Five minutes and thirty seconds. Not a second more. Not a second less. If you don't cok it long enough, the whites will be runny, and let me tell you: there is absolutely nothing worse in this world than watery, runny whites that ruin your perfectly crafted, creamy yoke. "Lauren, what about world hunger? Genocide?" Nope. Runny whites. But I have a system down now that guarantees me the perfect soft boiled egg, and I just might share it with you all.
Along with my eggs I had some Greek yogurt and honey, and I mixed in some of my leftover blackberry compote. It was rather tasty. Although I will say that mixing in frozen fruit (mango chunks, for instance) is more my style. I like it cold. Anyhow, now that I have a free day and nowhere to go, I'm going to continue working on the dress, perhaps watch some more OC, and perhaps even do some of the exercises in my Fitness magazine. How lovely does that sound! Happy hump day all, I hope the sun is shining wherever you are!
-LG
PS Three more weeks until school is over. I'm too excited to add exclamation points (fun fact: when I was little I referred to those as "excited marks". Aptly named, if I do say so myself). This month is gonna go by so. Fast. Hell to the yes.
Alexa's Hearty Pasta With Ground Turkey and Tomato Sauce.
I absolutely love ground turkey because it’s so versatile and healthy. I was craving something hearty so I decided to make up my own recipe with the ingredients I had in my fridge. I knew I wanted pasta and ground turkey so I combined them with a fresh tomato sauce. You can use any kind of pasta, but I used trofie, which takes a little longer to cook so you can use spaghetti, penne or linguine. Whatever you prefer.
I also added arugula and parmesan cheese to the pasta when it was complete. The arugula added this indescribable kick and the parmesan of course gave it a tremendous flavor. Parmesan is one of my favorite cheeses and when you pair it with pasta it’s heaven in your mouth. I was running low on vegetables so the the small amount of arugula was the perfect addition to the pasta. I made a smaller portion for just myself so if you’re thinking about making it for another person or a group of people you can double or triple the recipe. You will want to try this recipe because it’s very fresh, somewhat healthy and mouth watering. Give it a shot!
Ingredients:
-2 Tablespoons of Olive oil
-Teaspoon of salt
-Teaspoon of pepper
-One garlic clove, minced
-Half of a yellow onion, chopped
-1/2 a can of tomato sauce
-Ground turkey ( Your preference if you want it meaty add more)
-Handful of arugula
-½ cup of parmesan
Directions:
Fill up a pot halfway with water and let boil. While you wait for water to boil cook ground turkey in a separate pan until golden brown.
In a sauce pan, heat up olive oil and then add the minced garlic. Let garlic cook and then add the chopped onion. Let that all simmer until the onions are soft. Add the tomato sauce and let it come to a boil then add salt and pepper. Drain the grease from the ground turkey and add to the tomato sauce. Mix that until turkey is drenched in sauce. Once water boils add pasta. Let pasta cook for 12-15 minutes if you use trofie. Then combine sauce and pasta. Add the grated parmesan and arugula and then Bon Appétit!!!!
-Alexa
4.26.2011
So Funny I Forgot To Laugh.
That's how much of my misfortune seems to go. Or idiocy, I should say. I have to laugh at myself because it's just too late to get upset. So it turns out that I have negative funds in my bank account and I do, in fact, possess a beater. I guess that last one isn't so much misfortune as it is me being too lazy to thoroughly check my kitchen. And I guess that first one isn't so much misfortune as it is me being too lazy to frequently check my bank balance. In any case, I just called in sick for work tomorrow, seeing as I have $2 to my name. Enough to get to work, but not enough to get home. And I'd rather not be stuck there, thanks. I thought that I was a "starving college student". One who happened to eat more than enough and shopped. A lot. But I think I just hit rock bottom and I tell ya, the view from down here is not pretty. It's tainted with panic and self-disgust and filled with the echoes of my promises to change my ways. If you're picturing the bottom of a deep, dark well, you're spot on. I get paid on Friday and don't have to go anywhere until then so I'm not panicking too much, but still. The best part is that the first thing I thought was "how am I going to get groceries for this week's recipe?!". Good to know my priorities are in order. I know that's what you were worried about too, but don't fret. I have plenty of ingredients to throw something together, and now I have a beater at my disposal so look out!
Anyway, now that I don't have to get up early for work, and since I'm not tired, I'm going to go watch The OC in bed while deconstructing this dress. I figured out what I wanna do to it, so here's to hoping I don't royally fuck it up. My plan is to make it shorter, take off the sleeves, remove the zipper from the back, and cut both the front and back necklines into V's. Then of course finishing off the edges. I've done something similar to a silky blouse, and it was rather successful. It's a shame I got deep red lipstick all over the back and can't wear it now. How did I manage that? Being an idiot. If you haven't already noticed, it's kinda my thing. ANYWAY! I'm leaving now, to go bask in the gray, murky glory that is my financial negligence. Toodles.
-LG
Anyway, now that I don't have to get up early for work, and since I'm not tired, I'm going to go watch The OC in bed while deconstructing this dress. I figured out what I wanna do to it, so here's to hoping I don't royally fuck it up. My plan is to make it shorter, take off the sleeves, remove the zipper from the back, and cut both the front and back necklines into V's. Then of course finishing off the edges. I've done something similar to a silky blouse, and it was rather successful. It's a shame I got deep red lipstick all over the back and can't wear it now. How did I manage that? Being an idiot. If you haven't already noticed, it's kinda my thing. ANYWAY! I'm leaving now, to go bask in the gray, murky glory that is my financial negligence. Toodles.
-LG
Post Script.
Alexa's recipe will be along shortly. Homegirl is in the middle of midterms and school comes first. So you just hold your horses.
-LG
-LG
Muffin Cake With Goat Cheese Frosting and Fruit Compote.
Alright here it is! Two days later than originally planned but you should be used to my tardiness by now. Pretend that it's endearing. A charming trait. One of my many delightful idiosyncrasies that brings you back again and again.
As I mentioned before, I wanted to make something with goat cheese. I don't know what it is with me lately, but I couldn't get goat cheese off my mind. I always find the stuff enchanting but this was along the lines of an irrational pregnancy craving. No I'm not pregnant. Anyway, specifically the combination of goat cheese and fruit. It's heavenly. So on Saturday morning I decided that I would make cake just so that I would have something to put goat cheese frosting on. The cake itself was made with a gluten free baking mix I already had on hand, and if I'm being completely honest, it was muffin mix. So I'm just gonna call it muffin cake. The muffin cake was provided by Pamela's, the gluten free brand I usually go with.
It's a good brand for mixes for things from pizza dough to cookies. I know that it's sold at Whole Foods. I'm not sure where else but you can always buy it online if you're interested. Anyhow, I used the muffin recipe from this particular mix and it was tasty enough. I'll get into that later.
I made two separate cakes. A nutmeg-cinnamon cake with pear compote, and a plain muffin cake with lemon juice and zest and blackberry-lemon compote.
Cake:
-Use the mix of your choice, or make it from scratch. I would suggest making something slightly more dense (but still moist) as opposed to a light and fluffy cake. I don't know why, I just feel like something too fluffy would clash with the frosting and compote.
-I chose to use bread pans instead of a cake pan or muffin tin. But any of these would work, it all depends on what you want the finished product to look like. I wanted two small two-tiered cakes, hence the bread pan.
-I wanted two different flavors of cake. To the first mix I added about a teaspoon of cinnamon and maybe half a teaspoon of nutmeg, but add to taste. To the second mix I added about a tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice and zested some of the peel, but again, add to taste.
-Bake the cakes as the recipe suggests, and let cool completely before frosting.
Goat Cheese Frosting:
-12 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
-6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
-1/2 cup confectioners sugar
-In a bowl, beat all 3 together thoroughly. You will most definitely have extra and it can be stored, covered, for up to three days. If you're like me and don't have a beater, you can mix by hand. It will be harder and take longer but this is why the ingredients being room temperature is so important. The softer they are, the easier it is for you to mix them.
Fruit Compote:
-Fruit of your choice (I used pears and blackberries)
-Sugar (optional)
-Water (optional)
-Cinnamon (optional but it tastes bomb so go ahead and use it)
-Lemon juice
-Fruit compote is one of those things that turns out to be so incredibly easy and delicious, it leaves you delightfully shocked and wondering why you didn't do it sooner. You will need fruit, sugar, and water. Like all of my recipes before this, I have half-assed measurements that depend on how much you're making and what you're using it for. So I'll say this: compote can be used for a great many things. I used it as cake filling but you can substitute it for jam on toast, add it to yogurt, put it in your oatmeal, or just eat it straight. Therefore if you make more than you need, it's fine. Put it in a container and use it tomorrow for something else. It's healthier than jam as you may not even need to add the sugar. That's really only for fruits that are more tart. The natural sweetness of the fruit is often all you need. The water is for fruits that have a lower moisture content, although off the top of my head I can't think of a good example.
-In a saucepan, simmer your fruit on a low heat and stir frequently. The heat will begin to break the fruit down and give it the consistency of a pie filling. This is also a matter of preference. If you want your compote to have more whole pieces of fruit, cook it for a shorter period of time. I wanted mine to be mushier, so I cooked it longer.
-For the pear compote, I used 2.5 bosque pears (they're crunchier than a bartlett pear, and have a crisper flavor) and chopped them into small cubes. I didn't add any sugar but did add some cinnamon (to taste. Sorry!). I guarantee that you will not need sugar for the pear compote. It's a sweet fruit to begin with and not in the least bit tart. Remember to stir frequently to prevent burning and to make sure it's all cooking evenly. If you wish, use a fork or spoon to mash the fruit as it gets softer if you want a mushier consistency. When the compote is at a consistency you like, remove from heat.
-If you are using a fruit with a lower water content, you can add some water. You don't need a lot! Start with less and work your way up if you feel it still isn't enough.
-For the blackberry-lemon compote, I did end up adding about a tablespoon of water (it turned out to be unnecessary but it didn't ruin anything), a tablespoon of sugar (but it's to taste. You can shoot me if you want) and some fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The sugar is more necessary with a fruit like blackberries since they can be very tart. When the compote it hot, it's more watery. But after removing it from the heat and letting it cool, it thickens up a bit.
-Remove from heat. Set aside.
Now that your cakes have cooled completely, you can begin icing. Mine started out as two rectangular cakes. I cut them in half so that they could later be stacked on top of each other to create two square two-tiered cakes. I frosted the bottom layers with a generous amount of goat cheese frosting. To the cinnamon nutmeg cake, I topped the bottom layer with the pear compote. I put the top layer on, frosted it, and added some pear slices, compote, and sprinkled cinnamon to the top for decoration. Repeat the steps for the blackberry cake. Keep in mind that the blackberry compote is runnier by nature as it is a very juicy fruit. This means that some of the juices ran down the side of the cake. I find this charming and rather pretty. I topped it with a few leftover blackberries and compote juice, letting it dribble down the side. I also added some lemon zest to the top. I then popped both cakes in the fridge to let them set.
If I were to go back and do any of this again, I would change a few things. One, I would use a different cake mix. It didn't taste bad, but gluten free mixes have a tendency to all have a corn-y aftertaste and texture about them. It takes away from the other flavors. Granted, I was using a muffin mix so I can't be too surprised that my cakes came out tasting like muffins. Two, I would wait until just before presenting the cakes to add the compote to the top. It didn't make a huge difference with the pears, but as you can see from the top picture, the blackberry compote bled into the frosting and set there in the fridge. Fresh dribbles and zest would have looked much more attractive. Three, I would have shaved the cakes down a little to make them more evenly square and flat. Four, I would have thought ahead more about what I wanted the finished product to look like. When you make up recipes as you go the way I have been, your focus is all on the individual steps. When you get to the end you realize that you hadn't planned that far ahead and now you have no idea how to make it look as good as it tastes. At least that's what my problem has been. Food styling is a whole new world for me and I'm still figuring out how to incorporate my other styling skills into the kitchen.
Anyhow, there you have it! I'm sorry this was such a novel. I guess that's what happens when you don't use any actual measurements for things. I'll work on that, I promise. If anybody takes any part of this recipe on, please please please share it! Enjoy!
-LG
As I mentioned before, I wanted to make something with goat cheese. I don't know what it is with me lately, but I couldn't get goat cheese off my mind. I always find the stuff enchanting but this was along the lines of an irrational pregnancy craving. No I'm not pregnant. Anyway, specifically the combination of goat cheese and fruit. It's heavenly. So on Saturday morning I decided that I would make cake just so that I would have something to put goat cheese frosting on. The cake itself was made with a gluten free baking mix I already had on hand, and if I'm being completely honest, it was muffin mix. So I'm just gonna call it muffin cake. The muffin cake was provided by Pamela's, the gluten free brand I usually go with.
I made two separate cakes. A nutmeg-cinnamon cake with pear compote, and a plain muffin cake with lemon juice and zest and blackberry-lemon compote.
Cake:
-Use the mix of your choice, or make it from scratch. I would suggest making something slightly more dense (but still moist) as opposed to a light and fluffy cake. I don't know why, I just feel like something too fluffy would clash with the frosting and compote.
-I chose to use bread pans instead of a cake pan or muffin tin. But any of these would work, it all depends on what you want the finished product to look like. I wanted two small two-tiered cakes, hence the bread pan.
-I wanted two different flavors of cake. To the first mix I added about a teaspoon of cinnamon and maybe half a teaspoon of nutmeg, but add to taste. To the second mix I added about a tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice and zested some of the peel, but again, add to taste.
-Bake the cakes as the recipe suggests, and let cool completely before frosting.
Goat Cheese Frosting:
-12 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
-6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
-1/2 cup confectioners sugar
-In a bowl, beat all 3 together thoroughly. You will most definitely have extra and it can be stored, covered, for up to three days. If you're like me and don't have a beater, you can mix by hand. It will be harder and take longer but this is why the ingredients being room temperature is so important. The softer they are, the easier it is for you to mix them.
Fruit Compote:
-Fruit of your choice (I used pears and blackberries)
-Sugar (optional)
-Water (optional)
-Cinnamon (optional but it tastes bomb so go ahead and use it)
-Lemon juice
-Fruit compote is one of those things that turns out to be so incredibly easy and delicious, it leaves you delightfully shocked and wondering why you didn't do it sooner. You will need fruit, sugar, and water. Like all of my recipes before this, I have half-assed measurements that depend on how much you're making and what you're using it for. So I'll say this: compote can be used for a great many things. I used it as cake filling but you can substitute it for jam on toast, add it to yogurt, put it in your oatmeal, or just eat it straight. Therefore if you make more than you need, it's fine. Put it in a container and use it tomorrow for something else. It's healthier than jam as you may not even need to add the sugar. That's really only for fruits that are more tart. The natural sweetness of the fruit is often all you need. The water is for fruits that have a lower moisture content, although off the top of my head I can't think of a good example.
-In a saucepan, simmer your fruit on a low heat and stir frequently. The heat will begin to break the fruit down and give it the consistency of a pie filling. This is also a matter of preference. If you want your compote to have more whole pieces of fruit, cook it for a shorter period of time. I wanted mine to be mushier, so I cooked it longer.
-For the pear compote, I used 2.5 bosque pears (they're crunchier than a bartlett pear, and have a crisper flavor) and chopped them into small cubes. I didn't add any sugar but did add some cinnamon (to taste. Sorry!). I guarantee that you will not need sugar for the pear compote. It's a sweet fruit to begin with and not in the least bit tart. Remember to stir frequently to prevent burning and to make sure it's all cooking evenly. If you wish, use a fork or spoon to mash the fruit as it gets softer if you want a mushier consistency. When the compote is at a consistency you like, remove from heat.
-If you are using a fruit with a lower water content, you can add some water. You don't need a lot! Start with less and work your way up if you feel it still isn't enough.
-For the blackberry-lemon compote, I did end up adding about a tablespoon of water (it turned out to be unnecessary but it didn't ruin anything), a tablespoon of sugar (but it's to taste. You can shoot me if you want) and some fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The sugar is more necessary with a fruit like blackberries since they can be very tart. When the compote it hot, it's more watery. But after removing it from the heat and letting it cool, it thickens up a bit.
-Remove from heat. Set aside.
Now that your cakes have cooled completely, you can begin icing. Mine started out as two rectangular cakes. I cut them in half so that they could later be stacked on top of each other to create two square two-tiered cakes. I frosted the bottom layers with a generous amount of goat cheese frosting. To the cinnamon nutmeg cake, I topped the bottom layer with the pear compote. I put the top layer on, frosted it, and added some pear slices, compote, and sprinkled cinnamon to the top for decoration. Repeat the steps for the blackberry cake. Keep in mind that the blackberry compote is runnier by nature as it is a very juicy fruit. This means that some of the juices ran down the side of the cake. I find this charming and rather pretty. I topped it with a few leftover blackberries and compote juice, letting it dribble down the side. I also added some lemon zest to the top. I then popped both cakes in the fridge to let them set.
If I were to go back and do any of this again, I would change a few things. One, I would use a different cake mix. It didn't taste bad, but gluten free mixes have a tendency to all have a corn-y aftertaste and texture about them. It takes away from the other flavors. Granted, I was using a muffin mix so I can't be too surprised that my cakes came out tasting like muffins. Two, I would wait until just before presenting the cakes to add the compote to the top. It didn't make a huge difference with the pears, but as you can see from the top picture, the blackberry compote bled into the frosting and set there in the fridge. Fresh dribbles and zest would have looked much more attractive. Three, I would have shaved the cakes down a little to make them more evenly square and flat. Four, I would have thought ahead more about what I wanted the finished product to look like. When you make up recipes as you go the way I have been, your focus is all on the individual steps. When you get to the end you realize that you hadn't planned that far ahead and now you have no idea how to make it look as good as it tastes. At least that's what my problem has been. Food styling is a whole new world for me and I'm still figuring out how to incorporate my other styling skills into the kitchen.
Anyhow, there you have it! I'm sorry this was such a novel. I guess that's what happens when you don't use any actual measurements for things. I'll work on that, I promise. If anybody takes any part of this recipe on, please please please share it! Enjoy!
-LG
4.25.2011
Delay.
Apparently our upstairs neighbors (the partiers and early morning masturbators) have turned their living room into a court of some kind. Not basketball, though, no. They are an edgy crowd that enjoys hybrid sports. This one is like extreme frisbee mixed with basketball mixed with golf. From what we can tell, it involves a lot of bouncing of said golf ball (don't be fooled by a golf ball's size. They make quite the ruckus). And chatter. A lot of incoherent yet persistent chatter. So it's a spectator sport. And once again, we are offended. Why weren't we invited! We enjoy Tuesday afternoon beer pong, and who doesn't relish the occasional 3 am bathtub self-pleasure sesh? And now this? The bastards.
Anyway, I am SORRY but the recipes are gonna have to be posted tomorrow. If I'm being completely honest, I'm exhausted. It's a good exhausted, as I spent the last few hours being stuffed to the point of uncomfortable bloating by my friend's cooking. But I'm exhausted nonetheless. Here's the upside: if I post tomorrow (which I will), I will have had a chance to get the pictures of my creations from my sister's phone.
The weather tomorrow is supposed to be a grand improvement from this morning's and I plan on spending the day enjoying the sun with a friend for a late birthday lunch. We're getting Ramen down by the ocean and I'm very much looking forward to it. So now you have even more updates to look forward to! You lucky ducks! Anyhow, congratulations on Monday coming to an end and I hope your Tuesday is magnificent. Splendiferous. Glorious.
-LG
Anyway, I am SORRY but the recipes are gonna have to be posted tomorrow. If I'm being completely honest, I'm exhausted. It's a good exhausted, as I spent the last few hours being stuffed to the point of uncomfortable bloating by my friend's cooking. But I'm exhausted nonetheless. Here's the upside: if I post tomorrow (which I will), I will have had a chance to get the pictures of my creations from my sister's phone.
The weather tomorrow is supposed to be a grand improvement from this morning's and I plan on spending the day enjoying the sun with a friend for a late birthday lunch. We're getting Ramen down by the ocean and I'm very much looking forward to it. So now you have even more updates to look forward to! You lucky ducks! Anyhow, congratulations on Monday coming to an end and I hope your Tuesday is magnificent. Splendiferous. Glorious.
-LG
Drizzle My Nizzle.
It's raining. And I am far from pleased. I do not possess an umbrella. Or a rain jacket. How have I managed to exist in this city for almost two years without either of these items? Good question. Anyway, it's Monday and I have eight hours of work ahead of me. I got ready freakishly fast today so I thought I would use that extra time to let you all know what will be coming up next: my day with Melanie in the kitchen, my weekend with my sisters, my successful goat cheese confections, and Alexa's recipe as well! For some reason unbeknownst to me, my manager scheduled me for 30 hours this week. I'm not complaining, as I have come to really enjoy my paycheck. But this means I will be very unpleasantly busy. My recipe for this week will have to accommodate that. This will be the last week that Alexa and I do random recipes! Starting next week we will be departing on our culinary adventure around the world! This week we'll be discussing what country we want to do first and I am very excited. A friend of mine got me a gluten free cookbook for my birthday that has Mexican, Italian, and Asian recipes so I can't wait to start cooking my way through it. Anyway it's time for me to run. I can't tell you how much I look forward to standing behind a register for eight hours. It's a transcendent experience, truly. Happy Monday! I hope the sun is shining wherever you are.
-LG
-LG
4.23.2011
Someone's In The Laboratory With Lauren.
Hello there. Sorry for my short absence, the past few days have been filled with work and festivities. I am officially the big 2-0, and while I didn't do anything illegal to send my teens off with a bang, I have been spending my birthday week with friends and family and I can't ask for anything better than that.
It is the morning of the Big Sleepover that I'm having with my sisters, and I have only just now decided what I want to make. Last minute inspiration strikes again! And what's even better is that my best friend Melanie has agreed to make the trek from the East Bay to be my Baking Co-pilot today. So here's what I'm planning on making. For tomorrow morning, I will bake a breakfast pizza complete with mango sausages, mushrooms, and monterey jack cheese. The dough has already been made with Italian spices added to it for flavor. Gluten free breads and doughs tend to need all the extra flavor they can get. And I'm thinking of adding garlic cloves to the dough before putting it in the over. And for tonight, I will attempt to bake what is essentially going to be a muffin cake with fruit compote and goat cheese frosting. I got super excited at work the other day when I thought up goat cheese frosting, thinking that I was about to be the inventor of something awesome. Turns out someone beat me to it. Anyway, I want to make a pear compote and a blackberry compote. I'm thinking the pear cakelette will be a savory, cinnamon-y, spicy confection with the tart frosting to cut the sweetness. The blackberry cakelette will be sweeter, and perhaps have lemon zest in it. I will be making up the recipe as I go along, hence the reference to a laboratory. It could all go terribly wrong. I don't have a beater for the frosting, so it's creaminess depends on how jacked I'm feeling today. I don't have one for the cake mix either, for that matter, so Melanie and I will have to tag team. I'm pretty sure she works out though so if anything I'll just make her do it. I don't have cupcake tins but that's fine because I do have bread tins and my plan is to make mini square layer cakes. I have very high hopes for these cakes and very little time to execute them. I'm leaving in a few minutes to fetch Melanie from BART, and from there we're going straight to Trader Joes to get all the necessary ingredients. My sister is picking me up at four and from there we're heading over to Marin. So I am under the gun, people!!! Wish me luck and I'll report back with the full recipe and, I can only assume, delightful anecdotes of my many failures. Happy Saturday everyone!
-LG
It is the morning of the Big Sleepover that I'm having with my sisters, and I have only just now decided what I want to make. Last minute inspiration strikes again! And what's even better is that my best friend Melanie has agreed to make the trek from the East Bay to be my Baking Co-pilot today. So here's what I'm planning on making. For tomorrow morning, I will bake a breakfast pizza complete with mango sausages, mushrooms, and monterey jack cheese. The dough has already been made with Italian spices added to it for flavor. Gluten free breads and doughs tend to need all the extra flavor they can get. And I'm thinking of adding garlic cloves to the dough before putting it in the over. And for tonight, I will attempt to bake what is essentially going to be a muffin cake with fruit compote and goat cheese frosting. I got super excited at work the other day when I thought up goat cheese frosting, thinking that I was about to be the inventor of something awesome. Turns out someone beat me to it. Anyway, I want to make a pear compote and a blackberry compote. I'm thinking the pear cakelette will be a savory, cinnamon-y, spicy confection with the tart frosting to cut the sweetness. The blackberry cakelette will be sweeter, and perhaps have lemon zest in it. I will be making up the recipe as I go along, hence the reference to a laboratory. It could all go terribly wrong. I don't have a beater for the frosting, so it's creaminess depends on how jacked I'm feeling today. I don't have one for the cake mix either, for that matter, so Melanie and I will have to tag team. I'm pretty sure she works out though so if anything I'll just make her do it. I don't have cupcake tins but that's fine because I do have bread tins and my plan is to make mini square layer cakes. I have very high hopes for these cakes and very little time to execute them. I'm leaving in a few minutes to fetch Melanie from BART, and from there we're going straight to Trader Joes to get all the necessary ingredients. My sister is picking me up at four and from there we're heading over to Marin. So I am under the gun, people!!! Wish me luck and I'll report back with the full recipe and, I can only assume, delightful anecdotes of my many failures. Happy Saturday everyone!
-LG
4.19.2011
Heart Via Stomach.
Over the weekend a friend asked me what my favorite kind of cooking is. By that they meant baking versus BBQ, oven versus stove, etc. But the only answer I could give was that what I love most is cooking for other people. Cooking itself is wonderful, but it's only part of the experience. I love trying to pick dishes I think everyone will like, spending a good part of my day preparing and cooking the meal, and finally setting it down in front of them to wait anxiously for their reaction. It has nothing to do with impressing anyone. It's about bringing that person comfort and pleasure on a plate. Giving them a moment to (hopefully) enjoy something outside of what is usually a busy and preoccupying day. It's about getting to a person's heart through their stomach.
This coming weekend two of my sisters and I are having a slumber party. It's years overdue. Being the youngest of four was hard for me growing up. I watched as, one by one, my sisters grew up and on to other, bigger things. My mom would always assure me that we would all become close again when we were older, and that I just needed to be patient. I didn't believe her. But now that we're all growing into/settling into adulthood, we find ourselves settling into each other again. And so this weekend I want to lavish upon my sisters heaps of mouth watering food. I want to fatten them up with love from my tiny, infuriating kitchen. Whatever I make for this week's recipe, I will share with them and hope that they love it. I don't know yet what I want to make, just that I want to get creative and improvise as much as possible. My sister Kaitlin is a successful gluten free eater, and so the recipe will have to be gluten free. Thinking about cooking her a gluten free meal or treat has me thinking about cooking gluten free in general. I desperately need to kick my gluten habit. I think the only way to get me motivated and keep me encouraged (because it can be incredibly discouraging) is if I try to conquer gluten free food. I want to not only try gluten free recipes, but maybe even make some up. I want to become a bomb ass gluten free cook. I'm going to add this to my list of goals for the coming year. If I'm going to be cooking more, I might as well cook gluten free as often as possible.
I'll keep you all posted with what I choose. I want to make something surprising and successfully unusual. I want to combine ingredients that you wouldn't think of combining. I want to make something beyond what an every day meal would be for them. I have much mulling over to do.
This coming weekend two of my sisters and I are having a slumber party. It's years overdue. Being the youngest of four was hard for me growing up. I watched as, one by one, my sisters grew up and on to other, bigger things. My mom would always assure me that we would all become close again when we were older, and that I just needed to be patient. I didn't believe her. But now that we're all growing into/settling into adulthood, we find ourselves settling into each other again. And so this weekend I want to lavish upon my sisters heaps of mouth watering food. I want to fatten them up with love from my tiny, infuriating kitchen. Whatever I make for this week's recipe, I will share with them and hope that they love it. I don't know yet what I want to make, just that I want to get creative and improvise as much as possible. My sister Kaitlin is a successful gluten free eater, and so the recipe will have to be gluten free. Thinking about cooking her a gluten free meal or treat has me thinking about cooking gluten free in general. I desperately need to kick my gluten habit. I think the only way to get me motivated and keep me encouraged (because it can be incredibly discouraging) is if I try to conquer gluten free food. I want to not only try gluten free recipes, but maybe even make some up. I want to become a bomb ass gluten free cook. I'm going to add this to my list of goals for the coming year. If I'm going to be cooking more, I might as well cook gluten free as often as possible.
I'll keep you all posted with what I choose. I want to make something surprising and successfully unusual. I want to combine ingredients that you wouldn't think of combining. I want to make something beyond what an every day meal would be for them. I have much mulling over to do.
Back when I was still the shortest.
Me, age 3; Kaitlin, age 6.
In bossy matching nightgowns, no less.
-LG
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