Eye Appeal

Cupcakes have made a comeback.  They seem to have appeal on so many different levels--you don't have to purchase a whole big cake, you can sample a bunch of different kinds in one bakery box, they are always pretty, and everyone gets their own. 

 

Someone came up with the idea of using Ice Cream cones instead of cupcake papers, and I wanted to give it a try.  It isn't quite so simple.  I think the directions said to bake them in a muffin tin, which I probably did the first time and it worked out pretty well until I tried to manage them after the baking was complete.  They tend to be top heavy once the frosting goes on, and transporting them was a nightmare.

I tried again, and decided if I cut holes into an upside down foil lasagna pan set onto a baking sheet, things would turn out better.  My first attempt was a qualified success, since I started with X slits in the pan that I enlarged to squares.  But they were uneven, and some of the cones again tipped over in the car.  Note--they still got eaten...

Attempt #3 worked out very well.  I traced the base of the cone onto a piece of cardboard, enlarged it a bit, then scribed the circles onto the foil pan, and cut them out with my kitchen scissors.  The cones set much more solidly in the pan, and even though these never made it out of my kitchen, I'm sure the transportation issue would be solved.  They bring a smile to the faces of the kids--they can't wait to get them!  And some of them aren't so small...

Goldfinger

Doesn't it look like I'm just being "out there", older woman in crisis or something?  I confess to not knowing what to do with my hand--since I closed my finger in a kitchen drawer, totally bruised up the nail bed, and now it is all black, and just plain ugly.  Past experiences tell me that this is going to take months to grow out, and I really hate looking at it. 

For whatever reason, my nails only harden up enough to wear polish for one month every year--usually July, some years August.  This year it was July.  I have a pretty good collection of nail polish colors, and I had my nails nicely done up when we went on vacation, but by the time we came home, they were all layering again, and the polish was peeling away.  I did what I usually do, which is to clip them down, and take the polish off.  Except for that black one there in the middle.  Ugh!

So, for my own amusement, I will sample every color in my basket, and see which ones I enjoy the most--came across this gold glittery one, and there is a silver one too.  Maybe I can try some seasonal colors, since this is going to be with me for a while.  I can't see that the bruising is moving away from the cuticle and I don't know if this is normal or not.  Anyone know how this goes?

A Learning Process

Whenever people ask me about sewing, I tell them to get really good on the machine, maybe starting with something that they won't be wearing, like place mats or potholders.  It takes some practice to manage the technique.  The same is true for outdoor grilling, and I am still working on it.  But, unlike place mats that you don't have to wear, you have to eat what you grill.

A couple of years ago I got weary of MT complaining every time I announced that something needed to go out onto the bbq, so I got myself a gas grill that I thought looked snazzy over in Lowes.  I've been working on it, but still have a ways to go, since not everything has been an unqualified success.  Last night there was an abundance of chicken to cook (Garden Fairy freezer meltdown), so I decided to stack it all in there and get it all done in one pass.

I "spatchcocked" a Cornish game hen, (thank you Steve Reichlin) and got the timing about right.  I pulled a Buffalo wing sauce recipe off the computer (could have been a little zippier--maybe use some smoked paprika next time) and did a nice job on the wings.  The packets in the center were sliced red potatoes, salted and buttered, with some mystery spice concoction hanging out on my spice shelf--very tasty.  Less successful were some bone-in pieces over there on the side that flared up, probably due to the rosemary marinade that had some oil in it.  I guess I'll chop them up for salad or maybe a pasta dish--maybe something with pesto.



If I did more grilling, I would get better at it, this I know.  And certainly in all this heat we have been having, it is a nice alternative to turning on the stove.  But I confess, in this weather, I don't feel like eating anything hot--I've been cheating and just using leftovers and fresh vegetables to feed us both, and now I have cold chicken to get through for a few nights more.  Yay!

I got "Chopped"!

Isn't "Chopped" that tv show that gives the chefs a bunch of ingredients, and they have to make something delicious?  (As we are one of the handful of households who do not have cable, I can't keep up with the food shows  and besides, I don't enjoy watching people under pressure.) 

I got a call this morning that Garden Fairy's freezer had unfortunately defrosted overnight, and there was melted meat all over her kitchen.  Mike already had chicken soup going on the stove (it's 90* for heaven sake...), with plans for more dishes, and would I take some of the other stuff and use it?  Hmmm--cooking multiple dinners in the middle of a hot August.  Oh well.  My challenge for the day!

I figure in this heat, the crock pot and the bbq are the way to go.  I had some wonderful carrots from the garden share waiting in the vegetable drawer, so the two packages of beef got seasoned and browned up and went onto a big sliced onion, a little leftover chicken stock, red wine, a cube of tomato paste, veggies on top, crock pot on for the day.

There is some shrimp (soon to be salad with shallots and dill), chicken wings, (headed for the grill, buffalo sauce to follow) two chicken thighs from the Reading Market (special--gotta think about them) and a lone Cornish Game Hen.  I'm thinking that hen may get roasted outside next to the wings and find it's way into some cold pasta of some sort. 

Not only is it too hot to cook, it's too hot to eat.  The stew will likely land in my freezer, and probably reappear on a cold fall evening, with GF and Mike at our table, and we'll all have a good laugh, and remember how hot it was!

Thanks to Mother Necessity for the inspiration to write again.  It's been a whole year since my last entry--did you miss me?

Summer Dresses/Staying Out Of Joann's

I used to have a bunch of sundresses that I would wear for playing weddings on boiling Saturday afternoons in our un-airconditioned church balcony. By the time I gave up that job, the dresses were all a little tired looking from being washed, and worn, so I sent them on their way. I thought I would sew some more, but went to skirts and tank tops instead, which was working out until I put on a little weight, and the summer has gotten unbearably hot. I decided to hunt up some fabric in my "attic store" and make something cool and comfy. My idea was to attach a skirt to a tank top. I pulled some candidates out of the stacks, and brought them down to the sewing room to see if that idea would work.

Last Wednesday I went to the mall for WW, was strolling past Macy's, and what do I see--a rack of dresses just like what I wanted to sew. Alright! I will not be out of style! Thursday morning I decided if I went back to Macy's, I could buy one of those dresses, and use it as a pattern. It helps if I have some of the measurements to know how long and how wide the skirt should be--things like that. I go to where the rack should have been, and the whole thing is gone. I hunted up and down, back and forth, finally got a girl to help me out--no dresses. I figured they had moved them to the markdown rack, but there wasn't one in any size anywhere. What did they do with them? They couldn't have sold them all overnight--there were too many of them.

So, now I'm on my own and this is what I came up with. All out of my attic. I'll be cool and comfortable, even it if is hot!

Still Struggling With Weight Watchers

I have been attending Weight Watchers meetings for something like three years now, mostly because I have two dedicated friends and we meet there every week and catch up afterwards over coffee. I'm sure without that grouping we all would have fallen away a long time ago. We certainly haven't heard anything new in a long time, and we all know what we need to do to "eat healthy".

I guess my big beef with WW is that they do not address those of us who really know how to cook. They kind of dumb it down so that it will appeal to the most number of people--it's a business, and like any business, they have to maintain a paying clientelle. I do my best to cut the calories, but it is so hard when I can go out into my kitchen and put together something delicious with whatever is on hand. Take tonight. 5 pm, no dinner planned, watching the news. Actually, 6 pm, since it is Saturday, and the news comes on late. Also, I want to catch the episode of Sherlock Holmes that will be on PBS at 7 pm.

Hit the freezer, defrost a pound package of tuna medallions. (What a lovely find these have been. They wait for me frozen until I want to fix them, either pan seared, or grilled outside with marinade--on sale for only $3.99!) Do a couple of steamed potatoes in the microwave, blanch fresh string beans, HB two eggs, slice up farm lettuce, a few black olives and Voila! Salade Nicoise! Perfect for a 90* day when who wants to eat anything hot.




Last night we had America's Test Kitchen recipe for Chicken Paprikash with couscous--and
yes, there was a salad on the side.

At Easter the WW leader told us to skip the cheese and crackers--they aren't delicious...Do you think she has ever tasted triple cream Havarti or St Andre's? At least I have managed to get over dessert. I pretty much just don't make it any more unless we are having company. But, I am a good baker. I used to make 10 loaves of bread at a time for the fam...

I confess I will continue to fight the good fight--I suppose half due to vanity, and half due to the fact that I enjoy my life too much to give it up to obesity. But, WW needs to start a gourmet class...

Flashback To A Lonely Beach

Last year we took a trip to Hawaii. We landed in Kona, and stayed at a beautiful resort condo on the lava side of the island. It was so unusual there, since one whole side of the island is a giant lava field--everything is black and spiky--like being in outer space, but with lovely air and water. They have taken to building big resorts on that side of the island, out by the beach, but along the main (only) road there is nothing but black lava. We drove up to the north end where things were entirely different. You kind of turn a corner at the point of the island, and there is the most amazing giant vegetation covering everything. Trees are towering, with winding vines growing up that have huge leaves and bright flowers in reds and yellows. We pulled off the road at a marina, just to look at the ocean, and were rewarded with spinner dolphins hunting in a pack--close enough to follow what they were doing, circling, and feeding. Then, a pod of pilot whales came past--at least eight spouting, plus a baby who kept jumping.

We went further on, and were directed by signs to a small park/beach. We were the only people there, and the waves were crashing in on the rocks. The water was such a gorgeous blue green, and the foam was bright white, and it was all so striking, but a little creepy because it seemed so deserted. And--just to the left of the picture were big tsunami warning signs, and a tower with four horns attached to the top. Made me not want to linger.

This morning when we got up, the river flooding in New Jersey was bumped off the news by the tsunami warnings for Hawaii and the west coast. It took me right back to that beach. Now, I live on an island, but I could not live on THAT island. It has the volcano at your back, and the ocean at your front, and no place that you could get to for miles and miles. Maybe I think too much...it was pretty...