Chatty Cha

Berry Tasty Berry Crisp

Do you remember this sad sight? Well, I mentioned my poor pie crust making skills to the mother-in-law (she had given me a beautiful pie plate for my birthday). She responded, admitting to her own meager pie-crust beginnings, wherein she admitted to approaching her mother-in-law for her recipe. Then, she offered to hand down Grandma’s recipe to me, which I gladly accepted.

When I saw her at brunch yesterday, she gave me the recipe. I had pictured an age-old 3×5 recipe card, stained with shortening and specks of flour, displaying the signs of having been referred to over and over again. But rather than that she handed me a book, Great Pies and Tarts, by Carole Walter. In the book a page was flagged with a pie crust recipe from the 1930s. Brilliant! I had envisioned this family recipe, perhaps a secret one, being handed to me to care for and such and instead I received a new book from Borders. Apparently the original book the mother-in-law was looking for by Walter was no longer being published, but this one had the pie crust recipes which is really what mattered.

The cookbook, by the way, is so much fun to read. Especially as we approach another dessert-less week (remember, the husband and I are cutting back on the processed foods/desserts). I read it like a coffee table book or a magazine. Flip through it, find a fun recipe, read the the story behind it, salivate salivate salivate.

So, after a day of doing this it should come to no surprise that I felt the need to experiment in the kitchen a bit tonight. I had some frozen berries I had thawed (intended to have them for lunch but didn’t) and a dream of a berry crisp. I found a three-berry crisp recipe from Walter and just sort of went with it.

In a small ramekin, I sprinkled the thawed berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries) with some sugar and corn starch. Crumbled on top, a mixture of whole wheat flour, melted butter, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Then some chocolate chips on top. Baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (until the berries were bubbly).

Fun and sweet. And tart. I probably could have used a little bit more sugar in the berries, though the chocolate chips were a sweet surprise in each bite.

So long for a dessert-less week. On the other hand, this was a cheaper, homemade alternative. Hard to beat that.

Cake

I attended a super-fun baby shower over the weekend. It was held at Mike’s house in The ‘Quah, as I like to call it, hosted by Marissa and Carol, and featuring mum-to-be MJ. MJ’s mom took tons of photos, sent them out this morning and of course the only photo I look for is the one of the cake. Marissa has cake-baking in her blood (seriously, her mom is a professional baker), so I ALWAYS look forward to tasting whatever treats she brings. (I remember one work potluck she showed up with this awesome mocha-swirly decadent cheesecake. It put my sad pumpkin-chocolate-chip muffins to shame. Shame, I tell you!)

Details on the cake … yellow cake with raspberry jam and fresh raspberries in the center. The icing was a light and airy whipped topping (”stabilized whipped cream”, as Marissa put it), that I’ve always loved but never knew how to make. Now I know to look for BetterCream or PastryPride. On the top of the two-layer cake were these very cute mini-cakes, shaped like those wooden toy blocks that everyone played with as a tot. These little blocks were a chocolate cake with Nutella, and had whipped cream as the filling.

Now, I didn’t taste the chocolate cake, but the yellow cake was amazing. I was most impressed with the presentation. Some day, maybe, just maybe I could move out of my Muffins 101 level and become an advanced-placement cake baker, too.

Now that I’ve spent 242 words on the cake, I can also say that I had a great time at the shower. Pink was the theme for the day (you assume correctly if you think MJ is expecting a little baby girl), and we all oohed and aahed over the adorable pink outfits that MJ kept unwrapping. M & C did a fantastic job with coordinating everything, from the invites, to the decorations, to the goodie bag treats and the fun ‘catered’ lunch boxes with the girly cursive and pink themes. Loved it. Just made me smile.

Leftovers

One night we had a rotisseire chicken and with the leftovers I made a simple chicken salad. Eggless mayo (some day, I can tell you how it came about that we have eggless mayo in our refridgerator), celery, grapes and of course chicken chunks. I used a leftover flour tortilla (the husband had prepared quesadillas a few nights earlier), and served it with some leftover brown rice on the side. It’s always nice to go the extra step and enjoy leftovers with a slight twist.

Health kick

The household is on a health kick (at least during the work week). The husband has been cutting down on carbs and upping the salad/vegetable ante. I’m still eating some carbs, but not as much as before. Here are a couple of Japanese-inspired meals that we had this week.

First, marinated seared tuna, alongside some California rolls. The Calif rolls were store-bought, but the tuna is a husband specialty:

A nice, light dinner is all you need, though many of us are accustomed to having a heavy meal late in the day.

Here, the husband whipped up the remaining buckwheat soba noodles we had in the house, and combined it with some stir fry vegetables. It was simply cooked in chicken broth. Again, nice a simple.

Mother’s Day Brunch

Happy Mother’s Day! My mother is in CO visiting her grandkids (it’s Mother’s Day so she gets to do what she wants.) Not sure if the mother of her grandkids was expecting it, but oh well. We went to brunch with the in-laws. Kirkland’s Yarrow Bay Grill, with its wonderful view of Lake Washington, offered a nice brunch today. We started with warm scones and croissants. The husband is a croissant connoisseur, and when he raves about a croissant, you know it’s going to be good. These, split in halves, were warm, moist, buttery and flaky. With some berry jam it was truly one of the best croissants I have tasted in a long time. I ended up picking up a second half. These were so good that the husband grabbed one more half before the main course was served for fear the waiter would take away the bread bowl too soon. That’s when I snapped this pic.

Up next was a fruit dish … berries, melons and pineapple with a smidgen of yogurt on top. The husband also got a mint leaf. Following the fruit we had a salmon and lox appetizer served with crackers. All very nice.

For the main course I ordered the Seafood Frittata. Lobster, crab, scallops and various other seafoods combined with eggs and served with roasted potatoes and asparagus. A tomato salsa was drizzled on top. It was a bit heavy on the cilantro. Not a problem for me, but meant that the husband wouldn’t give it a taste. The husband ordered the Scrambled Eggs Carbonara. That looked quite good but I didn’t give it a taste. I first said no when he offered me a bit and the plate was cleaned when I thought maybe I should have given it a try. He gave it a thumbs up (how can you not say no to anything with bacon?

The Seafood Frittata (a bit blurry, but I was was hurried as I attempted to be inconspicuous about taking a photo:

A nice, enjoyable brunch with the in-laws. It was lengthy, too. Our reservation was for 11:45 and we finally left around 1:30. Quite nice to not be rushed. A long line of mothers and their families were waiting for their tables as we were leaving. Was quite glad that we got an earlier reservation time.

Connector-ing

I’m trying out the new Connector service that is available by the firm. My trip so far:

8:40 am: leave my house to go to MM to get a latte. I figure 20 minutes is plenty of time to get a latte, even if the line is a bit long.

8:50: it’s my turn at the front of the line and I decide, no, not enough time to get a latte, so I order a short drip with room instead. The lady at the espresso maker is going at 33 RPM in a 45 RPM world. As much as I hate Starbucks, I know they can get through a line of 9 people in what seems like 9 minutes. Not the case here.

9:00 am: Board the Connector, find a good seat. Take a tour of Wedgewood as we pick up more and more worker bees. Predominantly male. I think I’m one of 2 women taking the Connector on this route. Unsure if this is reflecting the departure time (9am, with a 10 am arrival to your building), or if it reflects the alternative commute options. Hm.

9:24 am: We’ve just got on the ramp at Montlake. Traffic is not as bad as at 7:30, as well it shouldn’t be.

9:37 am: Just got off at the 148th Ave exit. We’re pretty much on schedule.

9:56 am: Sitting at my desk, finishing this post. The shuttle to my building left “West Campus” at 9:45 (Two minutes after the scheduled arrival time of the Connector. Not bad). While on the Connector I had enough time to review some email and proofread a document. The ride was quiet, comfortable, and didn’t smell like some of those Metro busses do.

All in all, a positive experience. Hooray! As much as I’m enjoying this (wi-fi! Lookit me, I’m online, trying to be productive!), nothing beats the Vanpool. Are you hearing me, Eva? Nothing beats a quick pick up route and drop off right in front of my building.

Fruit

As much as I love dessert (and if you can’t tell from my posts, I <3 desserts!), the husband and I have finally had to put the kibosh on buying slices of pie; cookies; eclairs and other sweet treats for a while. (My anniversary cupcake, red velvet with cream cheese frosting from Cupcake Royale, doesn’t count). So instead, I’ve been making fruit salad. Mangoes from Mexico have entered their ripe season, and every one I’ve bought have been ripe, sweet and juicy (for anyone interested today’s mango was my third in eight days). Also here are red grapes; ruby red grapefruit; banana, fuji apples and a couple of slices of (canned) peaches.

The greatest form of flattery

My other favorite NY food blog, Lunch Studio, was the inspiration for this Metro Market impluse purchase. Anna’s Ginger Thins are delicate and spicy.

Thanks for the idea.

Tyler Florence Classic

Picture this. January 2003. Winter in Chicago, my second quarter in graduate school. Living in a tiny studio, with a cruddy Internet connection. With freezing cold winter days and the husband (at that point, the fiance) in a different time zone, it is no wonder that my best friend was cable television (as seen through a 13-inch VCR/TV Combo). Winter 2003 is when I discovered the Food Network. My favorite show, the one I taped if I was at school, and watched every day, sometimes twice a day, was Food 911 with Tyler Florence. This recipe, from an episode when he was helping some housewife learn how to cook with tofu, became a staple when I was in school. This, and a chick pea/tomato/spinach curry dish over rice. Hmm. I’ll have to re-create that one at some point, too.

Panko-breaded tofu, pan-fried, served atop soba noodles in a spicy ginger soup. In this instance I used buckwheat noodles, but you get the idea. The soup is a hot and sour type of broth, made with a mixture of soy, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, sambal sauce and thinly sliced ginger coins.

BTW, it was in grad school that I also loved watching reruns of NYPD Blue. I watched five or more seasons of the show throughout the spring/summer (LOVED not having class until 1PM!)

This just in … whimsy & spice has arrived

Friends of my brother have recently started a boutique confectioners business. Aware of my fondness for food blogs, Ray sent me the link to their blog right away (why are all these great food blogs out of NYC, anyway?). Sweet fine day is an ongoing tale of a couple starting a family and a business, at the same time. Drool over incredible photos of dulce de leche brownies, and view interesting posts about the trials and errors of creating the perfect marshmallow, the right shortbread cookie, etc. Throw in a few Asian recipes, some photos of very cute kids and you’ve got a reason to check in every day.

So imagine my excitement when Ray informed me that whimsy & spice had opened an etsy shop! As soon as they were available I purchased some caramel-infused marshmallows. Along with it came chocolate marshmallows, and samples of nut and spice biscotti and shortbread cookies. I was so excited I nearly forgot that I eschewed desserts for the rest of the week. Then again, if I eat this for breakfast, it’s not exactly breaking any rules.

I can’t do the food photography justice, so you’ll have to visit their etsy shop, their Web site, or their blog and see for yourself.

Thanks, Whimsy & Spice. I love the marshmallows. I’m bringing them to work, a) to enjoy with my morning cup of coffee, and b) to show off and instruct everyone to get buy their own.

If I lived in Brooklyn I would visit you at the Flea, but since I don’t I’ll continue to enjoy your find shipping services.

By the way, the marshmallows. They taste … like marshmallows. Incredibly light, fluffy and fresh marshmallows. I shall have some hot chocolate tomorrow specifically to enjoy with a light, fluffy and fresh marshmallow.