I just accidentally picked up a new hobby. I was hoping to learn to take better pictures so that I could photograph the food that I make and post it here or elsewhere on the intertubes. I fell down the rabbit hole and haven't come up yet. I made a flickr account so that I could upload the ones I like.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prismaticglasses
Gonna be a fun summer!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Pot Pie!!!
I am on a mission to do so much more cooking this summer. I got the stainless steel cooking pots and pans off the registry, so I am starting to use them. It's a new experience for a girl who has used almost exclusively non-stick. The only things I use that aren't non-stick are for rice, pasta, and soup.
Sunday for lunch I made a frittata. It was insanely good. I looked at a few recipes and didn't see any that fit what I wanted, so I made it up.
Ingredients:
1 russet potato, washed and sliced
2 zucchini, grated, put in strainer with paper towel, weighted, drained
1 onion, diced
4oz mushrooms, diced
shit tonne of garlic, minced (I used the 10-second garlic peeling method. It took longer than 10 seconds, but it was a lot of fun)
8 eggs
1 big spoonful of Trader Joe's plain Greek yogurt
S&P, spice mix that was made by a friend of ours as their wedding favor
Parmesan cheese, grated (I sent my SO to pick it up, and he brought back pre-grated. It worked, but fresh would have been better. I said, "Thank you," and left it at that.)
Once you've done all the prep, heat oil in a big pan. I used a nonstick pot because it was oven-safe, had straight sides, and was sitting out, anyway. Saute garlic for about 30 seconds in hot oil. Dump in onion and cook until translucent. Drop in potato slices. Cover and wander off for a bit. Come back, stir, return lid, wander off. Come back, stir, add mushrooms. Repeat stir/wander for a while. Turn heat to low. Add zucchini and let it cook down.
In a separate bowl, combine 6 eggs, a big spoonful of yogurt, salt and pepper, spices, and some parm. Realize that it's not enough egg for the amount of veggies and add two more eggs. Whisk until well-mixed. This will take a while, since the yogurt and the egg don't play nice at first. Be stubborn.
Turn heat back up to medium and preheat oven to 350. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and stir to combine. Let sit on medium heat until oven is to temp, then stick in oven until it doesn't jiggle when you jiggle the pan. Burn your hand by accidentally grabbing the hot handle because you folded the towel incorrectly when using it as a makeshift pot holder (optional).
It came out almost absurdly rich and delicious. I served it with a hunk of artisan bread and wilted greens from a big package of organic salad greens that I knew we wouldn't eat otherwise.
I had big plans that night to make a big supper with tons of sides, but I was exhausted. I'd already cleaned, then destroyed, then cleaned the kitchen, and making a big fancy meal meant destroying it and cleaning it AGAIN. Instead, I made a pasta sauce in the pan. A one-pot meal. I cooked a bit of bacon to render out the fat, then sprinkled in flour (a little too much flour, actually. Oops!), cooked that for a bit, then started adding milk. Once that was ready, I added a bunch of cheese and some spices. It was a bit too rich for the hot weather, but it was pretty tasty.
I plan to post recipes and in some cases tutorials for some stuff I cook. Last night I make country pork shoulder ribs, and tonight I made a ridiculously tasty pot pie. The pan you use makes all the difference. Seriously.
Sunday for lunch I made a frittata. It was insanely good. I looked at a few recipes and didn't see any that fit what I wanted, so I made it up.
Ingredients:
1 russet potato, washed and sliced
2 zucchini, grated, put in strainer with paper towel, weighted, drained
1 onion, diced
4oz mushrooms, diced
shit tonne of garlic, minced (I used the 10-second garlic peeling method. It took longer than 10 seconds, but it was a lot of fun)
8 eggs
1 big spoonful of Trader Joe's plain Greek yogurt
S&P, spice mix that was made by a friend of ours as their wedding favor
Parmesan cheese, grated (I sent my SO to pick it up, and he brought back pre-grated. It worked, but fresh would have been better. I said, "Thank you," and left it at that.)
Once you've done all the prep, heat oil in a big pan. I used a nonstick pot because it was oven-safe, had straight sides, and was sitting out, anyway. Saute garlic for about 30 seconds in hot oil. Dump in onion and cook until translucent. Drop in potato slices. Cover and wander off for a bit. Come back, stir, return lid, wander off. Come back, stir, add mushrooms. Repeat stir/wander for a while. Turn heat to low. Add zucchini and let it cook down.
In a separate bowl, combine 6 eggs, a big spoonful of yogurt, salt and pepper, spices, and some parm. Realize that it's not enough egg for the amount of veggies and add two more eggs. Whisk until well-mixed. This will take a while, since the yogurt and the egg don't play nice at first. Be stubborn.
Turn heat back up to medium and preheat oven to 350. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and stir to combine. Let sit on medium heat until oven is to temp, then stick in oven until it doesn't jiggle when you jiggle the pan. Burn your hand by accidentally grabbing the hot handle because you folded the towel incorrectly when using it as a makeshift pot holder (optional).
It came out almost absurdly rich and delicious. I served it with a hunk of artisan bread and wilted greens from a big package of organic salad greens that I knew we wouldn't eat otherwise.
I had big plans that night to make a big supper with tons of sides, but I was exhausted. I'd already cleaned, then destroyed, then cleaned the kitchen, and making a big fancy meal meant destroying it and cleaning it AGAIN. Instead, I made a pasta sauce in the pan. A one-pot meal. I cooked a bit of bacon to render out the fat, then sprinkled in flour (a little too much flour, actually. Oops!), cooked that for a bit, then started adding milk. Once that was ready, I added a bunch of cheese and some spices. It was a bit too rich for the hot weather, but it was pretty tasty.
I plan to post recipes and in some cases tutorials for some stuff I cook. Last night I make country pork shoulder ribs, and tonight I made a ridiculously tasty pot pie. The pan you use makes all the difference. Seriously.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
New Beginning
School is out. Only a few things have changed since last time, but all for the good. It's all jumbled together right now, so I'm not going to divide it up into sections.
My final went mostly smoothly, and I have about 1/4 of them graded. I spent the morning planning meals for this next week and then went shopping. This afternoon I had to go do all the last minute things at the old house today and turn in the keys, but we are officially only living in ONE place now, which is amazing. I'm going to get another large chunk done over the course of tomorrow (I can only grade 3-5 at a time before I run out of juice) while also enjoying some time with friends and doing some awesome cooking. Since I did not manage to get to the grocery store for so long, I spent much more during this trip than usual, but we have food to last us quite some time. I'm particularly excited about tomorrow's menu of a frittata of beans, mushrooms, artichokes, and onion with wilted greens on the side for lunch and country style pork ribs with corn on the cob and pan-grilled zucchini. For dessert I will be making banana ice cream (freeze bananas. Blend. Eat.) with fresh strawberries and blackberries.
My feet are back in ship shape, and I went to the gym on Friday night, which felt awesome. In just two weeks I'm already able to tell how I've lost endurance, but I'm doing well on strength. I haven't lost any weight these last two weeks, but I also haven't gained any, so I'm satisfied. Now to start getting those numbers WAY down. I'm thinking about buying groceries more frequently than once per week and walking/biking to the market instead of driving and getting a giant load every week. It will require more planning and time, but it's exercise built in to healthy eating.
Now that I don't need to dress for school every day, there will be a significantly different wardrobe going on. If I have to leave the house, jeans and a polo. If I don't have to leave the house, t-shirt with pants optional. Gonna be a good summer.
My final went mostly smoothly, and I have about 1/4 of them graded. I spent the morning planning meals for this next week and then went shopping. This afternoon I had to go do all the last minute things at the old house today and turn in the keys, but we are officially only living in ONE place now, which is amazing. I'm going to get another large chunk done over the course of tomorrow (I can only grade 3-5 at a time before I run out of juice) while also enjoying some time with friends and doing some awesome cooking. Since I did not manage to get to the grocery store for so long, I spent much more during this trip than usual, but we have food to last us quite some time. I'm particularly excited about tomorrow's menu of a frittata of beans, mushrooms, artichokes, and onion with wilted greens on the side for lunch and country style pork ribs with corn on the cob and pan-grilled zucchini. For dessert I will be making banana ice cream (freeze bananas. Blend. Eat.) with fresh strawberries and blackberries.
My feet are back in ship shape, and I went to the gym on Friday night, which felt awesome. In just two weeks I'm already able to tell how I've lost endurance, but I'm doing well on strength. I haven't lost any weight these last two weeks, but I also haven't gained any, so I'm satisfied. Now to start getting those numbers WAY down. I'm thinking about buying groceries more frequently than once per week and walking/biking to the market instead of driving and getting a giant load every week. It will require more planning and time, but it's exercise built in to healthy eating.
Now that I don't need to dress for school every day, there will be a significantly different wardrobe going on. If I have to leave the house, jeans and a polo. If I don't have to leave the house, t-shirt with pants optional. Gonna be a good summer.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Yet Another Long Break
I am completely terrible at "regularly blogging". I did ok in April, then school went nutso crazy bonkers, and I barely had time to sleep among all the planning and grading and moving and other ridiculousness. HOWEVER, this last month has been amazing.
Moving: We are moved in and about 90% of the way settled. The old lease is up next Saturday, so one more week of cleaning and getting the last few things out, and that project is completely done. I spent two weekends ago on my hands and knees cleaning the old master bathroom from stem to stern, so it is ready for move-out inspection. The things that I worry about are the kitchen and the garage, but we shall see.
Teaching: I have a contract for next year. It is amazing. My final is written and will happen Wednesday morning. There's some graduations and meetings and such that I am required to attend, but for the most part my major responsibility is going to be grading the 60 final exams in a very short period of time and finishing up comments on my students. One class out of six has comments finished, so I plan to work on that tomorrow while I'm proctoring the Spanish finals. I was asked to be the adviser for the robotics team tomorrow, so I have a lot of research to do over the summer. My textbook for AP is picked, and a few hours on Friday has my AP and Gen Phys texts mapped together so I can keep the two classes on track as far as topics. So much stuff going on this summer with teaching, so we shall see how it goes.
Fitness: I have been bad lately. Last weekend my feet got all messed up with over two dozen mosquito bites. I haven't been able to wear shoes for over a week, and walking has been pretty painful, so little in the way of exercise. However, as of a week ago I was down ten pounds from where I started in April. I never thought I'd see those numbers again, so it's a great feeling. Now I need to get my feet healed up, get my ass back to the gym, and keep those numbers going in the right direction!
Cooking: I've been having a lot of fun with meal planning and cooking lately. It's all fairly simple fare, but it's all been tasty. There are some issues I still need to work out with my portion sizes vs G's portion sizes and what leftovers are going to be eaten when, but things are on the right track. It's still costing more than I would like, but that is my fault for still relying on packaged foods. Once I get better at making larger amounts of food, reliance on pre-packaged or frozen meals should plummet. Over this summer I want to get into baking my own bread, as well. I've tried off and on over the years, but nothing has ever been consistent. Now that I have time, a KA mixer, and a few recipes for no-knead bread, this may very well be the Summer Of Bread.
Crafting: I have done jack and squat as far as crafting lately. My sewing area is piled with flotsam and jetsam lever over from moving that has not found a home yet. I have Big Plans for my first few projects. Most notably, and what can be made from my stash, is potholders. I looked at a bunch of tutorials for various styles, and all of them seemed not quite right. I fooled around in the kitchen for a few minutes lifting things and putting things in/out of the oven to see how I grip hot pans. I want to make my own design that is halfway between a potholder and an oven mitt that is easy to use, is both protective and allows dexterity, and probably won't be made from simple rectangles. The other project I want to make, and this one will require shopping, is a magic wrap skirt. I saw a video of the five hundred different ways one can be worn, but they don't really come in colors/patterns I like and also big enough for me being a giant. SO, I will get my silky awesome fabrics in pretty colors/patterns and figure out the damn pattern myself! I miss engineering patterns.
Wedding: Where did I get those two dozen mosquito bites? In Oklahoma, visiting my family for our engagement party. My parents are awesome, and they throw an incredible shindig. Other than that, wedding planning is on hold. I'm not worried about this, because I scheduled May in as an off month since I knew we'd be moving. I am officially done with school as of June 13 when grades are due, so after that wedding planning begins anew with renewed vigor and haste. Also, it's now close enough to the wedding that we could buy a marriage license. SO AWESOME.
In short, life is crazy, but also wonderful. Living with just G and no roommates is the best housing decision I have made in my adult life. Today is a good day.
Moving: We are moved in and about 90% of the way settled. The old lease is up next Saturday, so one more week of cleaning and getting the last few things out, and that project is completely done. I spent two weekends ago on my hands and knees cleaning the old master bathroom from stem to stern, so it is ready for move-out inspection. The things that I worry about are the kitchen and the garage, but we shall see.
Teaching: I have a contract for next year. It is amazing. My final is written and will happen Wednesday morning. There's some graduations and meetings and such that I am required to attend, but for the most part my major responsibility is going to be grading the 60 final exams in a very short period of time and finishing up comments on my students. One class out of six has comments finished, so I plan to work on that tomorrow while I'm proctoring the Spanish finals. I was asked to be the adviser for the robotics team tomorrow, so I have a lot of research to do over the summer. My textbook for AP is picked, and a few hours on Friday has my AP and Gen Phys texts mapped together so I can keep the two classes on track as far as topics. So much stuff going on this summer with teaching, so we shall see how it goes.
Fitness: I have been bad lately. Last weekend my feet got all messed up with over two dozen mosquito bites. I haven't been able to wear shoes for over a week, and walking has been pretty painful, so little in the way of exercise. However, as of a week ago I was down ten pounds from where I started in April. I never thought I'd see those numbers again, so it's a great feeling. Now I need to get my feet healed up, get my ass back to the gym, and keep those numbers going in the right direction!
Cooking: I've been having a lot of fun with meal planning and cooking lately. It's all fairly simple fare, but it's all been tasty. There are some issues I still need to work out with my portion sizes vs G's portion sizes and what leftovers are going to be eaten when, but things are on the right track. It's still costing more than I would like, but that is my fault for still relying on packaged foods. Once I get better at making larger amounts of food, reliance on pre-packaged or frozen meals should plummet. Over this summer I want to get into baking my own bread, as well. I've tried off and on over the years, but nothing has ever been consistent. Now that I have time, a KA mixer, and a few recipes for no-knead bread, this may very well be the Summer Of Bread.
Crafting: I have done jack and squat as far as crafting lately. My sewing area is piled with flotsam and jetsam lever over from moving that has not found a home yet. I have Big Plans for my first few projects. Most notably, and what can be made from my stash, is potholders. I looked at a bunch of tutorials for various styles, and all of them seemed not quite right. I fooled around in the kitchen for a few minutes lifting things and putting things in/out of the oven to see how I grip hot pans. I want to make my own design that is halfway between a potholder and an oven mitt that is easy to use, is both protective and allows dexterity, and probably won't be made from simple rectangles. The other project I want to make, and this one will require shopping, is a magic wrap skirt. I saw a video of the five hundred different ways one can be worn, but they don't really come in colors/patterns I like and also big enough for me being a giant. SO, I will get my silky awesome fabrics in pretty colors/patterns and figure out the damn pattern myself! I miss engineering patterns.
Wedding: Where did I get those two dozen mosquito bites? In Oklahoma, visiting my family for our engagement party. My parents are awesome, and they throw an incredible shindig. Other than that, wedding planning is on hold. I'm not worried about this, because I scheduled May in as an off month since I knew we'd be moving. I am officially done with school as of June 13 when grades are due, so after that wedding planning begins anew with renewed vigor and haste. Also, it's now close enough to the wedding that we could buy a marriage license. SO AWESOME.
In short, life is crazy, but also wonderful. Living with just G and no roommates is the best housing decision I have made in my adult life. Today is a good day.
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