Summer Projects: Cooking

This summer, I'm giving myself some Iron-chef-style personal challenges with the things that are in my pantry (seriously, where did all these kidney beans come from??). Recipes I've bookmarked for later:

Orange-Blossom Creme Brulee

Red Beans and Rice (it's been hard finding a recipe that doesn't use canned beans when I want to use up dried)

Curried Courgette Soup

Lilikoi Chiffon Pie

Caramel Corn

Shokata Gelatin

Cookies and Cream Pudding

Date Shakes

It's later.
I did not get around to the orange blossom creme brulee or the lilikoi chiffon pie.  I did, however, host two nights of crepes, very successful!  I highly recommend a mixture of ham and swiss for dinner and nutella with amaretto for dessert!

I've already blogged about the gelatin.  The date shakes were... meh. I don't think the dates got adequately pureed, so the whole blend-up just looked like, well, you can imagine.  Blech.

I also added to the mix an orange-blossom shortbread, sort of modeled on this. Cut into flower shapes, brushed with egg wash, and sprinkled with orange sanding sugar, they were good, but I think I will try a different shortbread recipe next time.  The orange blossom was subtle, but fragrant, which was good, because the floral scent can quickly make things taste soapy.

The real win, though? The caramel corn.  It's exquisitely addictive.  I started doing some riffs on the basic recipe, swapping almonds and almond extract to great effect.  It only takes a couple minutes in a standard microwave - you just have to play with the timing, but the best part of the recipe is that it results in caramel corn that is (and stays) crunchy!  Go on, try it.  You can use any kind of popcorn, but the best is stovetop-popped kernels in butter-flavored oil.

Fun With Gelatin!

More kitchen fun, this time with gelatin.

The basic proportion?  1 Knox envelope, with 2 c. liquid.

Assemble your liquids! Last year, I made americano gelee with unflavored gelatin, espresso, and water. This time, I'm using Shokata (lemon-elderflower soda), leftover Shiraz from last night's dinner (I added a couple teaspoons of sugar to the hot wine to take a bit of the edge off), and a passionfruit cordial I found in the clearance rack at my international market (about 3/4 c. diluted to 2 c.).

I used Knox envelopes, since that's what I had on hand, but you could use gelatin sheets, too, whatever the equivalent is. In 1 c. of cool liquid, I bloomed the gelatin by sprinkling the powder on top.

Meanwhile, I stuck the other 1 c. of liquid in the microwave to boil it. I added the boiling liquid to the bloomed gelatin and stirred more than I probably needed to, to make sure it was completely dissolved.

Then, into the serving dishes! I put the wine in wine glasses, naturally. The Shokata went into martini glasses - never seen gelatin so elegant! And the passionfruit got divided into four Japanese teacups.

And into the fridge! I let these gel overnight. It takes a few hours.










The results?
The best was the gelatinized Shokata.  Passionfruit was a second, but I might have liked it diluted with seltzer water instead of still.  The Shiraz was unconsumable.  Way too strong - should have made much smaller portions and sweetened it further - maybe with some fruit juice and fruit as a jiggly riff on sangria...

Crafty, crafty

Hot glue is just as miraculous as duct tape. What can't be fixed with a glue gun? Well, mine's been hot today. I have a long summer-project list - things I'd love to do, but never have any time during the school year - and I made some progress on it this morning. First, a wreath.

I saw a clever cookbook-page wreath in a fancypants kitchen shop in Marin.
 

When I picked it up, I saw the price tag: $120.  What! Surely I can make my own, I thought. I found this page for assistance, a $3 styrofoam wreath, a $1 thrift-shop reproduction of a 1909 Sears Roebuck catalog (nicely yellowed), a few hot-glue sticks, a scrap of ribbon, and a pin.

Summer Cooking I

So I had a burst of industry today. Surveyed our pantry, looked up some recipes, and went to the grocery store and came home with all kinds of fresh food for the week. I do love summer produce! Bought blueberries, mango, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, potatoes, bananas (both green and ripe - some for eating, some for baking), plums, green onions, peaches, plus some tilapia, ham, and sausage. My goals this week are to use up the following from the pantry:

macadamia nuts

beans (we have a ridiculous number of beans, canned and dried, right now)

white chocolate chips

double cream and apricot jam

popcorn

couscous

Well, the mac nuts and white chocolate chips simply begged for cookies. I also ran across a mac-nut-crusted tilapia recipe I hadn't had in a while - so that was put on the dinner list. When I opened the freezer, however, to pull out the mac nuts, I found I barely had enough to use for the fish, much less the cookies. Fail. But, I have a huge bag of walnuts in the freezer, so I quickly fast-tracked them to the list. I've hardly ever used walnuts for anything, really - this is perhaps the first time I'd ever purchased them, for a Lebanese pastry with orange-flower-water called ma'amoul. So I substituted walnuts for macadamias in my usual cookie recipe, and the results seem favorable!

White-Chocolate Walnut Cookies

(adapted from this)

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. shortening

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. almond extract

2 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

2 c. chopped walnuts (or macadamias, if you're a purist!)

2 c. white chocolate chips

Cream together butter, shortening, and sugars. Beat in eggs. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Combine flour with baking soda and salt, then stir into butter mixture. Add nuts and chips. Drop by 2 tablespoons [the original recipe calls for making cookies by the teaspoon. Get serious, people! A chocolate chip takes up most of a teaspoon. I used my 2-tablespoon scoop, thankyouverymuch.] onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degF for about 12-14 min until tops are tanned.

I often can justify popcorn as dinner (with some Dr. Pepper to chase it down - mmmm!), but I wanted to use up some for more legitimate reasons. I happened across this recipe in my allrecipes.com box, and decided to give it a go. SO. INCREDIBLY. GOOD. Crunchy, not sticky (even in FL humidity, though I'll be honest, it hasn't lingered too long...), and the possibilities for modification (e.g. add nuts, tweak the extracts, etc etc) abound. Will definitely be making more of this stuff this summer.

Caramel Corn

(adapted from this)

1/3 c. popcorn

2 T. popcorn oil (you can use any vegetable oil, but I like the faux-buttery flavor of the bright-yellow stuff)

Pop popcorn(1), pick out any unpopped kernels, and set aside in a large microwave-safe bowl. I sprinkle mine with a little popcorn salt, to give more of the salty-sweet dichotomy we all know I love.

In a smaller microwave-safe bowl (but not too small), combine 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. butter, 2 T. corn syrup, and 1/4 t. salt. Microwave for 1 min. Stir, and microwave an additional 1.5 min. Add 1/2 t. vanilla and 1/4 t. baking soda.

Pour caramel mixture over corn in larger bowl and stir. Microwave 1 minute, stir. Microwave 1 minute, stir. If you have a large-wattage microwave, it'll probably be done at this point. If you have a smaller-wattage microwave, cook up to a minute more. Pour out onto parchment or a nonstick baking sheet to cool.

Note: be careful with this stuff. That sugar/butter mixture is napalm-hot, no joke. You'll see when you add the vanilla that it's hot enough for the extract to boil. Plus, it's sticky, and even a little drop on your fingers is going to hurt. Use a big spoon to stir the popcorn - you'll be glad you did.

Next up: Maple-pecan popcorn with maple syrup and toasted pecans; almond popcorn with almond extract and toasted almonds.

(1) Look, you can use microwave popcorn, but it's not going to be the same. Ditch the microwave bags and buy kernels. You won't spend that much more time on it, and stovetop-popped corn tastes way better. In a large covered pot, heat 2 T. oil on medium heat and add 3 kernels. Cover, and wait until you hear those test kernels pop. Add the remaining 1/3 c. kernels, and cook, shaking occasionally, until popping slows. Remove from heat, add salt, and never go back to microwave popcorn ever again.

I also needed to use some double cream that's been waiting patiently in my refrigerator. A lovely breakfast is some yogurt, some fresh fruit, and a scone topped with cream and apricot jam. So I needed some scones. I made some from a mix, but they came out flatter than roofing tiles. Back to my usual recipe:

Scones

(adapted from this)

1 c. sour cream

1 t. baking soda

4 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. cream of tartar

1 t. salt

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

Mix sour cream and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

Mix flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt in another bowl and set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add sour cream mixture and egg and blend thoroughly. Fold into flour mixture, taking care not to overmix. Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Roll into a rectangle and cut 12 triangle wedges from it, or else make 12 rounds. Bake at 350 degF for 12-15 minutes on parchment, or until edges begin to tan.

Not my favorite scones, but they're serviceable.

Quite the output for an afternoon. And it's not even time to start dinner yet!

Hymn

If to distant lands I scatter
If I sail to farthest seas
Would you find and firm and gather

'til I only dwell in Thee?

If I flee from greenest pastures
Would you leave to look for me?
Forfeit glory to come after
'Til I only dwell in Thee

(Brooke Fraser)

Summer Projects

It's summer, which means I finally have time to tackle all the projects that come up during the school year. I've also been inspired by last year's cleaning and purging of a friend's apartment and classroom, prior to her cross-country move. And it just feels good to live light. Here's my summer-project list. I'm really good at starting projects, but less good about finishing them, so maybe some public-post accountability is what I need. ha ha

Clear out old semester exams (I have 7 years of exams in a file cabinet in my classroom)

Clear out old college notes and books (I moved these across the country twice. Twice too many.)

Shred pay stubs (how many do I need to keep, anyhow?)

Clean out old cosmetics (my morning routine is significantly shorter than it once was, and there's a bunch of stuff in my train case that I never use)

Jewelry repair (need to fix a bunch of things that broke this year)

Make some fun headbands with feathers and ribbons

Give new life to a marker-stained skirt (I think maybe with buttons to camouflage the stain)

Finish knitting some scarves for friends

Teach myself to crochet

Make some felted cup cozies - maybe my coffee shop can sell some?

Make postcards from my travel pictures

Make a vintage-cookbook-page wreath

Whoa, May.

So this month, no, this year just screamed by. I can't believe it's getting to be my birthday already - our last day of class is tomorrow! Some have asked for my annual list, so here it is. :)

As always, nothing means more to me than handwritten notes and letters from friends. There are few joys quite like receiving mail!

Moleskine Recipe Journal

Trish McEvoy #9 perfume

2G SD memory cards

Pilot Varsity pen set

Levenger Stub-nib True Writer

Ten weeks of open studio time here.

Crochet hooks and yarn - plus this book. Like I need more summer projects! ;)

Green coffee beans, and an air-popper roaster. Yeah, what I just said about projects.... :)

The newest Paul Simon album

The Civil Wars album

Great Lakes Myth Society albums

Teachers and Teaching

I've been involved, or privy to, at least four separate conversations today about learning and teaching and just what it is we've each learned from one another. And another conversation about how shamefully neglectful I've been of my blog. So, here you go, dear reader. Some (largely unedited) thoughts.

As a teacher, I like to think I teach my students plenty. Well, some days more than others, of course... But I also know I don't teach my subject matter in a vacuum - and I've been aware of that for a while. No, I mostly teach what it looks like to be a grown-up. What it looks like to know God and follow Him. How it's okay to be a nerd. That one's worth is not determined by a figure on a paycheck. Et cetera.

But the influence totally goes both ways. My students affect me - profoundly. Sometimes it's been delightfully unexpected; sometimes I ask God for it. I doubt they could know just how much I learn through them. Not necessarily from them - they usually don't explicitly teach me things. But, rather, I am taught things through them. As much as I believe myself to be a conduit (rather than a source) for understanding, I suppose they are the same, though completely unaware. I learn so much of God's love, patience, and mercy through my interactions with them. The nature of grace, existing only in its extension. The deeper meanings of service. Of selflessness. Of sovereignty. The commonality of the human experience and the singularity of it all.

I'm just really grateful for this venue for an education that surpasses my wildest imaginings. I can only marvel at it, for I cannot wrap any part of me around it.

More tangibly, however, their influence is most easily seen in the music on my ipod. Lately, a peculiar mix of indie-hipster and glowsticky house.

Wish List

Since friends and family will be asking soon enough...

Handwritten letters from friends!

I really mean it - that's why this is at the top of my list.

Dansko clogs in Petrol Patent, size 40

I had a pair of black Danskos that were my everyday shoe for about 8 years - the sole has finally crumbled.

Chaco ZX/2 sandals, size 9

These are my everyday summer shoe; I lost one shoe somewhere between Hawaii and Florida and I miss it terribly. My problem is that I have NO idea what color I want. My absolute favorite - Sundae, a pink/white/khaki combo - is long retired... Probably Zebra Aqua? Except the Multi Red is pretty sweet. I don't know.

Prayer of St. Francis Bracelet

I had a cheaper pewter one that cracked, so I'd like a sterling one to replace it.

Virtually everything on this list is replacing something I've over-loved...

Moleskines - Large ruled notebooks

Making swift progress through my most recent book. Can never have enough blank books.

Nars Trans Siberian lipstick

Best red lipstick, ever.

Trish #9 perfume

Any size. A longtime favorite.

9-inch straight-side cake pans

Two, please!

Ramekins - 4-oz, 6-oz, and 10-oz

Breakage has left me a random assortment - none of which could be called a "set"

Tokina 12-24mm super-wide-angle lens

Hey, it's a wishlist, right?

Digital photo frame

A 2007 Kind of Week

Wow, it's been too long.

As has this week. Normally they fly by, but this one sure took its sweet time. I remember thinking on Wednesday morning that it had to be Friday. Thursday, at the very least. But no. The week's journey was an interesting one. Went swimming into others' spiritual storms and found myself in a pretty dark place by midweek. Where the work seemed far too big. And it is, for me. But not for God. Prayer and meditation, plus a restorative phone call with a friend helped turn the week around, and I was back to being a real person again by Friday. So, all's well that ends well.

Meanwhile, the frippery machine is in full swing - soccer and basketball games, senior speeches and shirts, plans for prom. I adore it all! As a teacher, I get to enjoy all the trappings of high school, but with an older, wiser perspective above all the teenageriness. And with the precious opportunity to speak into the lives of students whom - despite what I thought four years ago - I love dearly and celebrate with a special pride I haven't felt in several years. And if there's one thing I do, it's celebrate! I just wish it wasn't already November. There is still so much to be taught and learned.

I also made the executive decision that it's time to put Christmas music in the playlist.

He sends His word and melts them; He stirs up His breezes, and the waters flow. 1

I don't know how long I'm gonna have you for, but I'll be watching when you change the world. 2

August Prayer

All I Have

Lyrics by Mat Kearney

Well here we go at it three years later

Would you help me to dream it all up again?

Tired of the same song everyone's singing

I'd rather be lost with you instead

Don't you come around here

Come around here any more

Dragging my fears

Dragging my fears out the door

All I have all I have all I have, well, you know it's yours

Every breath every step every moment I'm looking for

All I have all I have all I have is yours

And you watch my heart break a little bit more

My heart break a little bit more

My heart break a little bit more

Is it cold yet in New York City?

Round here the trees been blowing up red

And everyone's talking about change on the airwaves

But I still got you on my breath

Lord, I'm still trying at this my hardest

Would you pick us all up from a fall?

Rip a little corner off the darkness

Just a crack of light in the middle of it all

Stuff Jen Likes IV

The smell of tomato vines

Baking on parchment paper

The cello

Kaleidoscopes

Front seats on roller coasters

The contrast of bright white planes or birds against dark clouds

Parsley. I'll eat your garnish right off your plate.

Cherries from canned fruit cocktail

Dichroic glass jewelry

Cake. Ice cream. But not cake-and-ice-cream together on the same plate. I don't like when the cake soaks up melted ice-cream.

Skirts. Much preferred to pants.

Iconography in medieval and renaissance art

Bougainvillea

String bracelets

Robert Talbott ties

Earl Grey tea

Tomato paste in a tube

What I Have to Show for My Summer

A broken foot

A lovely vacation, up until (and quite frankly, even including) the aforementioned foot

Catching up with a long-neglected friend in California

A lot of grading:

- 2413 question-1s on the 2010 AP Chemistry exam

A lot of cleaning:

- A better cleaning of a friend's refrigerator than I have ever done to my own.

- An organized pantry, two bedrooms, and an office (in progress), inspired by the aforementioned friend's pre-move cleanout.

A lot of reading:

- Francis Chan, Crazy Love

- Donald Miller, To Own a Dragon

- CS Lewis, The Four Loves

- Brent Curtis and John Eldredge, The Sacred Romance

- Henri Nouwen, Spiritual Direction

- Ravi Zakarias, Light in the Shadow of Jihad

- Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis, Tea with Hezbollah (in progress)

- Jim Wallis, The Soul of Politics (in progress)

- Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love (in progress)

- A year's worth (or so) of backlogged Saveur magazines

A lot of book-buying:

- Several by Jim Wallis

- Several by CS Lewis

- Several by Kahlil Gibran

Lots and lots of cooking and baking.

I'm never as productive as I intend, but I'd say this was a summer well-spent.

Kitchen (Mis)Adventures

Who has two thumbs and fails at pocket-pie making? That's right, this girl.

Like most misadventures, it all started out fine. I got some empenada discs at the grocery store, intending to fill them with jam for a sort of riff on pop-tarts. You know, a quick on-the-road breakfast, what with school starting soon and all. So I plopped a tablespoon (okay, more like two) of my homemade blackberry jam in the center, folded, crimped, buttered, and sugared. Cute, right?

Halfway through, I caught a glimpse of my honey bottle out of the corner of my eye and thought, "brilliant!" so I made a couple blackberry-honey pies, and once the blackberry jam jar was exhausted, made a couple honey-only ones. (Thought about maple syrup - maybe another time)

But then, in a flash of blinding stupidity, I forgot to prick any vent holes in the tops. So, I had filling containment breaches all over the place.

Including the honey. Which you can see, in this picture, is now permanently baked onto my pan, I suspect. I was getting ready to wax all poetic about parchment and how I bake nearly everything on parchment and how wonderful it is. Alas, it was no match for 400-degree honey hell-bent on oozing right out of my pies.

Made some fresh banana ice cream, too, but it didn't freeze quite as firm as it usually does.

Maybe this string of fail is just a sign it's time to get out of the kitchen and into the office to start preparations for the school year, which - for teachers - begins on Wednesday...

UPDATE:

The kitchen has been redeemed by lunch. Made myself a lunch of vegetables and fruit only, after binging yesterday in the Publix produce section (I love summer produce!). Romaine salad, roasted broccoli, raw carrots, thomcord grapes (that grape-jelly flavor (1) but seedless), and two kinds of zucchini soup - and I am happily stuffed.

I had been looking for a creamy zucchini soup recipe to re-create a saffron-courgette soup I had last summer in the UK. Found this recipe on allrecipes.com, but the curry sounded good, too, so I split the recipe into two: half curry, half saffron. The hand-blender gave it the creamy texture without the need for cream (and I marvel at the ability of curry - well, turmeric, really - to render everything in a 10-meter radius yellow, including the lower 4cm of my hand blender...). When I do it again, I'll add more saffron, but that sure makes for a pricey soup. The curry is equally good, actually, probably better. Garnish with a drizzle of cream, toasted croutons, and maybe a grating of fresh zucchini. Got a garden full of zucchini (and can't stomach any more zucchini bread, plus the neighbors are onto you and the bags of zucchini left on their doorsteps under the cover of darkness)? Give this a go.

Creamy Curry Zucchini Soup

2 T. olive oil

1 large (or two small) onions, halved and thinly sliced

1 T. curry powder (go on, kick it up a notch - you won't be sorry)

4 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

4 c. chicken stock (2)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and curry powder. Stir until softened. Add zucchini slices and cook until zucchini is tender. Add stock, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15-20 min. Use a hand blender, or transfer in batches to blender (make sure you vent the lid!), to puree soup until smooth.

1 The wine-snob term for this is "foxy" :)

2 I don't see why vegetarians couldn't substitute vegetable stock here

More Kitchen Adventures

I'm not sure why it took me so long to get on the unflavored gelatin wagon. Turn any liquid into Jell-o?? I'm in!

Americano Jelly

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (could use sheets, too, I imagine, but the Knox stuff is available everywhere)

1 c. cool water

1 c. hot espresso

Brew some espresso (or just make some strong coffee).

Meanwhile, soften gelatin over cool water. (I just want to poke it!)

Line a 8-inch square pan with plastic wrap.

Mix hot espresso into gelatin mixture, and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved (4-5 min). Add some sugar, to taste. Or don't. Or substitute a little cool milk for some of the water (a latte jelly!). Or don't. It's your jelly - do what you like!

Pour into pan! Refrigerate until set! Cut into cubes!

Jelly cubes! Look how cute!

Cubes at the bottom of my iced coffee, all boba-style. Word.

Tonight's dinner: Pizza Bianca with olive oil, fresh basil, rosemary, parmesan, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and prosciutto. The crust was AMAZING. Beats the socks off the Publix dough we usually use and doesn't take much work - just time.

Earlier tonight: Cocoa and Sea-Salt Shortbreads again, but with darker cocoa (still no cacao nibs). Inky-black and highly addictive - even more so than the first batch.

Later tonight: Fresh yogurt, and some homemade pop-tarts (made from this summer's blackberry jam and empenada dough.

Breadventures

The loaves in this picture differ only by a couple tablespoons of milk and a couple tablespoons of honey instead of sugar. I must have measured something wrong on the oddly-shapen right loaf. It tastes fine, but it's as dense as lead.

I turned two slices of the left loaf into the most enchanting French Toast to ever pass my lips. A generous shake of my new kitchen-magic Cake Spice didn't hurt.

The Long and Difficult Road

I was on the Big Island of Hawaii recently, where I broke a bone in my foot. It's a crummy thing to have happen on vacation, surely, but if it was going to happen, at least it was after we got to the volcano - I'd been there before, so I only missed out on one hike I hadn't done before.

There was a surface lava flow just outside the park, so we drove to the county-run viewing area. On a foot broken only 48h earlier, and no crutches, I set off from the parking area as the sun slipped behind the mountains. One mile out (though I didn't really realize it was that far at the time - but a) I'm known for my ridiculous death-march hikes and b) it's not like we have a volcano at home. I was gonna see lava.)

One younger-dad type passed us, saw my limp, but encouraged us to keep going. We were maybe only a third of the way in. He said it's still a long walk, but it's incredible. So we continued on.

Later, maybe another third of the way, we passed an older-dad type, who told the group walking in front of us that the walk wasn't worth it, they may as well turn around, there wasn't anything more to see.

Ever the eternal optimist, I chose to believe the first guy. We walked about as far as you could go on the paved path. We didn't get close enough for the lava to singe our toes or melt our shoes or anything, but we did see some fires where the lava was consuming trees. And slowly, as night continued falling, more and more red spots on the hillside became more and more visible. It was quite a sight, even if not the apocalyptic lava fountains one secretly hopes to witness on such a vacation. But something, for sure, unlike anything I'd seen before. Standing on rock (1) younger than me - younger than my students, even - watching island-building in action. A whole fiery hillside sliding toward the sea under a glassy black crust.

But back to the two men who offered very different advice along the way. It's interesting that neither saw the lava in its full nighttime glory. We passed them on the way out, while the bright tropical sunlight was still obscuring the more subtle incandescence from the lava.

Maybe the first one had seen it on a previous evening. Who knows. It's easy to feel sorry for the second guy, who spoke from a hardened heart, of sorts, and who doesn't even know what he doesn't know.

These encounters echoed a passage from Brent Curtis and John Eldredge's The Sacred Romance that I read the very next morning (2).

When we face a decision to fall back or press on, the whole universe holds its breath - angels, demons, our friends and foes, and the Trinity itself - watching with bated breath to see what we will do. ... The question that lingers from the fall of Satan and the fall of man remains: Will anyone trust the great heart of the Father, or will we shrink back in faithless fear?

So, to whom am I listening on other journeys? The acknowledgment that the road is long and, in my broken condition, may be quite difficult and painful, but that in the end it is all worthwhile? Or the voice of easy abandonment: turn around now, you've already seen all that's good to see? We'd probably like to say the first. But the second is so dismissively seductive that it's easy to choose.

Broken, I press on, with the promise of the spectacular.

-----

1 Which has since been covered by new lava!

2 I've encountered an incredible amount of well-timed reading in the past few months. Skeptics may call it coincidence or an artifact of my awareness. I see their points, but choose a different explanation.

Kitchen Adventures

In the past 12h, my kitchen has been the epicenter of quite the cooking-quake:

Started off with a full cooked breakfast (including freshly-made scones) with homemade yogurt and homemade blackberry jam. So the yogurt and jam don't really count towards today's cooking throughput, but eating has to count for something.

2 loaves of Banana Granola Bread - one to keep, one to send to a friend.

Chocolate and Sea Salt Shortbread - I ran out of cocoa, so I had to make just a half-batch, but in a loaves-and-fishes moment, I wound up with more cookies than the recipe predicts. The dough was impossible to work without loads of flour, so perhaps it could have benefited from a chill first. I'd like to try them again, but with the cacao nibs, if I can find them. (Anyone know a good source?) I wasn't too sure whether the salt would be overpowering, but it's a nice counterpoint to the rich and almost fruity cocoa. I'd also like to try these with a darker cocoa.

Cauliflower and Potato Sabzi for lunch. (minus the fresh ginger and cilantro; plus green peas)

Gougeres. Cheesy savory cream puff goodness. These will likely be the feature of another blog next week sometime. You know how I was ahead of the trend on cupcakes? I'll go ahead and predict that cream puffs will be the next big food trend.

Dinner: Black-Pepper-Parmesan-Crusted Pork Cutlets, whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, Green Beans Provencal, and probably a fresh peach for dessert.

All this baking is hot on the heels of a bunch of wedding-cake samples for tastings the past few days, plus a second shot at ma'amoul, which may get its own post some day.

I am exhausted, but it's a good brand of tired. :)