Truth, Not Shells

<3 sour cherry pie <3

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:29:10 -0500

pitted sour cherries + almond extract + kuzu root (as a thickener) + brown sugar + oats + almond flour + cinnamon & nutmeg & cloves + sour cherry juice. simple as that!

. how to enter your floor’s annual holiday bakeoff: make a...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 14:31:00 -0500

butterscotch budino

with burnt caramel sauce

vanilla creme fraiche, and caramel lace.

how to enter your floor’s annual holiday bakeoff:

make a butterscotch budino. (twelve-dollar-bottle-of-dark-rum involved!)

realize that you did not let the caramel base heat up for long enough to be considered caramel, and that the toasty underlying flavor is sorely missing.

make a second try batch of butterscotch budino.

realize that you added one key ingredient (a teaspoon and a half of salt) too late in the game for its flavor property to properly be absorbed into the budino mixture, and curse yourself for going through the entire budinomaking process again, this time waiting long enough for the caramel base to toastify, only to make an entirely different but equally critical mistake.

pause.

mix the two faulty batches of butterscotch budino.

make the caramel sauce. (real vanilla bean pod and seeds included!)

modify such caramel sauce to burnt caramel sauce, because perhaps the heat was too high when you were making it? i prefer a toastier taste anyway, honest to all.

realize that you made too little caramel sauce.

make more caramel sauce.

whip up some vanilla creme fraiche

spoon out by-now-at-1-a.m.-sufficiently-chilled-budino-mixture into glass cups.

top with burnt caramel sauce.

dollop vanilla creme fraiche.

next, make caramel lace. waiting is involved. patience until it turns a “rich amber hue.”

this time, no mistakes. yay!

peel off parchment paper and position caramel lace pieces into budino cups.

insert three rosemary needles per cup, for holiday cheer and an evergreen fragrance.

sprinkle with edible gold dust. start with a mini makeup dusting brush, then feel finger spasms approaching and resort to expeditious finger sprinkling everywhere.

sprinkle edible gold stars. start meticulously with tweezers, then feel familiar finger spasms approach and resort to said expeditious finger sprinkling.

chill overnight.

take to work the next morning.

WIN.

cackle silently but tiredly due to lack of sleep from a late night of cooking, caramelizing, whipping, dolloping, lacing, near-spasming and sprinkling.

oh, and the result?

close-your-eyes delicious!

tarragon scrambled eggs in a pot. for two. sharing a simple...

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 01:11:00 -0500

tarragon scrambled eggs in a pot.

for two.

sharing a simple meal with a special person doesn’t make the person any less special! (and no i don’t mean the owl.)

simple is beautiful.

| crushed garlic | jasmine rice* | pat of goat’s milk...

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 01:03:00 -0500

fake pregnancy craving crab fried rice. (with ground white pepper sprinkled on top).

chopped garlic

crabmeat

ground white pepper and ginger

bendy scallions

chopped

snow pea shoots. a lively bunch.

DO YOU SMELL THAT FRAGRANCE IN THE AIR?

it's snowing jasmine rice and pea shoots!

egg or two. after all the seasonings. and all the crab. and all the green (the scallions, snow pea shoots, and cilantro). cook, coat, and fluff. voila!

* keep the rice on the dry side for extra fried rice fluffiness.

** can be any butter. if butter at all. i just think of the very american seaside combination of steamed crab and melted butter and decided to give the butter a shot before resorting to sesame oil, which would seem the most intuitive fit since this dish is thai/chinese/asian. the butter worked, and the fragrance of the browning garlic in the softly clarifying butter made the whole choice worth it.

*** a spontaneous addition that made a fresh and colorful substitute for the usual mungbean sprouts! i enjoyed their mild and verdant taste in this dish.

**** may or may not be leftover chopped cilantro from the Baja Fresh salsa bar of yesterday’s work lunch. so convenient! and cilantro, such a dream of an herb.

***** white pepper allows the fragrance and the flavor of the jasmine rice and the crab to float through uninterrupted, whereas black pepper would sully the floating with a more “dirty” kick to the fried rice. here we want subtle but sharp whistles, not dirty jagged kicks.

****** entirely optional.

—

sometimes i get these random nighttime pregnancy cravings. though i am not pregnant. well, not pregnant in the lucy-ricardo-wants-some-pickles-and-ice-cream-so-get-it-for-me-ricky! way. but rather, pregnant with desire. a rather consuming desire. for a very specific kind of food. and one that most likely i’ve never eaten before but have oft seen on menus.

like crab fried rice. last night at around 12:30 am i was craving, quite randomly, crab fried rice. so i put the pregnancy craving into the pocket of my pajama top and woke up unusually early at 6:30 am this morning—no alarm, just my pocketed craving waking me up, i suspect— to set out for the grocery store to buy garlic, scallions, and jasmine rice. (the crab i already had in my pantry, just in case i ever had a craving for a crab-goat cheese-asparagus omelette, which i actually have made twice and with pleasant results.)

it was your unconventional saturday morning brunch.

carrot pappardelle in marinara! i bought a vegetable spiralizer...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:53:00 -0400

carrot pappardelle in marinara!

i bought a vegetable spiralizer cutter thing on amazon but the carrots were too organic and thus too narrow to be spiralized! frustration. and carrot stains on the white spiralizer too. the internet suggested using a potato peeler instead, and that worked magnificently.

(but honestly, unless i am cooking for someone special, i don’t think i’ll be making this again. it took me like 20 minutes to peel six carrots into pappardelle ribbons! who has time for that? students do. lucky people do. this is a hurricane-exclusive event. not an easy everyday cooking ritual for me.)

but it was worth it for today because it was delicious and now i know i can make it. :o)

| carrots | marinara sauce | fresh greens, tomatoes, or sausage to taste |

you just soften the wide carrot ribbons of “pasta” and then mix in the sauce. you may add dark leafy greens, cherry tomatoes, and sausage if you’d like.

kale gehranjjim (otherwise known as steamed korean egg custard,...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:44:00 -0400

kale gehranjjim (otherwise known as steamed korean egg custard, egg souffle, egg flan, whatever you wanna call it)

last month i was proven wrong. there is such a thing as too many greens. by blending in too much kale and too little egg at an absurd ratio of, say, 4 to 1, i created more of a fibrous, chewy, while oddly airy, steamed kale souffle. like a green cake made out of kale, but steamed. and savory. and too shrimpy. and… gah.

but the bottom layer (and if you look closely enough you can see it) was magnificent. it had just the right relationship between kale and egg, and the texture? like flan.

so i consider this a [literally] multi-layered culinary fairy tale. where the first two-thirds of one egg custard’s life starts out an ugly fibrous duckling. and then later blossoms into a beautiful flan.*

moral of the story: power to the egg. ratio reversal of egg:kale at 4:1.

blend all. pour into clay pot. place clay pot into large wide pot of shallow water. close lid. bring surrounding pool of shallow water to boil. reduce slightly to simmer. steam such clay pot of green goodness for 20 to 30 minutes.

* except that the flan has no sugar, caramel, vanilla, or mexican flavors whatsoever. just the texture is the same.

** but not too much, no matter how dark green and alluring she is!

last week i was craving cake like a mad child. but a) there...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:26:00 -0400

last week i was craving cake like a mad child. but a) there were no reasonably close cakeries that i find to be delicious (thank God), and b) the nearest delicious cupcakery (gtown cupcakes!) sells these… things that are purportedly cupcakes (but are actually soft and moist heroin-like crackcakes) that melt in my mouth and haunt me for days afterwards. not a good idea if you have other things to do.

so i tried to make a 2-minute microwaveable* mug cake out of the ingredients i had around. then i topped it with a chunk of an ice cream bar.

delicious! better than any banana dark chocolate muffin i’ve ever had!

mix everything (except for the chocolate and the ice cream) inside of a mug or microwaveable bowl (i cheated and used the bowl) until it reaches a cake batter-like consistency. fold in the chocolate chips. microwave for 2 minutes, or however long it takes for the center to cook. slice and serve a la mode.

—

* yes, microwave. pause. it’s a nutrient assassin and a borderline bad word and i don’t generally like to use it… ever… but a mug cake is a mug cake is a mug cake, aiiight?

** i used this new nut butter called “nuttzo” that is one of the most delicious nut butters i’ve ever had. it is a mixture of peanut, cashew, almond, hazelnut, brazil nut, sunflower seed,*** and flaxseeds.

*** (sorry daisy, you’ll just have to sit this one out)

“Ten pictures are worth ten thousand words.” -...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:09:00 -0400

admire it. (nature's bounty. the changing seasons. the arrival of fall and all its winds of change.)

treat it.

halve it.

gut it. (hehe well, tomorrow is october 31 and this practically subs for jack-o-lantern carving)

arrange it.

flip and brush it.

shower it. (degree of sprinkling may vary.)

bake it.

hello, fall. goodbye, hurricane sandy.

“Ten pictures are worth ten thousand words.”

- Trudthucius

baked acorn squash slices. from various recipes found in the [internet’s gigantic conglomerated] cookbook.

bake raw at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. brush and sprinkle. bake again for 5.

* any butter is fine. this kind’s slightly sweet and creamy, almost cheesy flavor shines most brightly in whipped-scrambled egg dishes, but here it remained in hiding.

** brown sugar works best. sucanat would be a great substitution too.

in celebration of graduation: the best study snack ever....

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 17:32:00 -0400

in celebration of graduation:

the best study snack ever. memories of philadelphia with annie. <3

homemade garlic sucanat kettle corn

unpopped corn kernels | garlic powder | sucanat | salt and pepper | olive oil

optional substitution: brown sugar for the sucanat, although i prefer sucanat because it gives the popcorn a nice roasty, caramelized coating that brown sugar cannot.

also, if you like the idea of rosemary and red pepper and coriander and mustard seed granules in your homemade kettle corn, then [trader joe’s] everyday spice mix for the salt and pepper.

mix up all the ingredients with just enough olive oil to coat the kernels with the spices. shake it up in a plastic container if you want! or just stir it up in a bowl. whatever you do, coat those corn kernel babies with the mixture.

heat up a pan on the stove. a deeper-dished cast iron skillet works best, but anything that’s deep and has a lid will do.

pour just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. place two unpopped kernels on the bottom of the pan and close the lid. wait until those two kernels pop. when you see those beautiful popcorn blooms, lower the heat to medium-high and pour the rest of your spice-and-sucanat coated kernels into the pot and close the lid.

shake shake shake it up so that every kernel gets a fair shot at popping into the spice-and-sucanat mixture. shake and place, shake and place. wait until popping rate slows down and turn off flame. you do not want to burn your kernels (see below).

enjoy.

the honest truth: i can never go back to bagged kettle corn now. it’s out of the question!

a long overdue post from this past spring. i...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 17:31:44 -0400

a long overdue post from this past spring. i apologize.

above: slightly burnt, but ever so promising.

… but you know what?

how to salvage a failed mac and cheese:

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:54:00 -0400

| leftover [failed, bland, unappetizing] mac and cheese that would rather die than get pushed into the microwave | crushed garlic | milk (i used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, believe it or not, since that’s all i had in my fridge!) | sundried tomatoes | spinach | dijon mustard | parmesan cheese (especially if you have like only 1.5 useless tbsp left over) |

start with the garlic. let it heat on the stove and get all warm and fragrant and stuff. add all other ingredients except for the leftover mac and cheese, and stir it all up so that it creates a creamy and slightly cheesy pasta sauce. once the sauce is almost bubbling, add the leftover mac and cheese. add the fresh spinach last. fresh ground salt and pepper to taste. mix it all up and enjoy! it’s like a delicious sundried tomato-and-spinach-alfredo-y pasta. the kind that usually comes with blackened chicken, but we don’t need that in this case because the dark green wilted spinach + sundried tomatoes are enough.

i would have included a picture but it was just too delicious and i kept eating as i thought to myself, “why can’t i stop?!” i could not stop, so no picture.

” for every failed recipe there is an intuitive transformation waiting to happen. it will be tasty. “

- me

an experiment in macaroni and cheese. so i made a few errors....

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:53:00 -0500

found no pancetta, used clams instead.

a basketful of kale for color.

these macaroni shapes are irresistible.

aged gruyere invites fresh sage.

nutmeg, a rogue bay leaf,some white wine

the macaroni go-a-swimming.

kale+clams+shallot

bitter greens and fragrant cheese marry.

oops, forgot to add this. justfolditin.

voila.

an experiment in macaroni and cheese.

so i made a few errors.

Forwarded conversation
Subject: hav you seen this?
————————————

From: Tru
Date: Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 9:12 AM
To: Dotori

that’s the uganda thing, no? i have not seen it. i shall bc you said so.

also, i am making baked MACARONI AND CHEESE THIS MORNING! i made a few [possibly fatal] substitutions, but regardless of how it turns out i will bring it to you on friday. get excited!

also, i have your room present so remind me to bring it.

—————
From: Tru
Date: Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 9:41 AM
To: Dotori

bleh…. it’s not very good…. you can have the whole thing…..

—————
From: Tru
Date: Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 9:41 AM
To: Dotori

i did add like an entire bag of kale so i think that made the cheese sauce all stick to the kale and not to the macaroni. oopsy. oh well, at least you have some cheesy kale to eat!!!

per request by annie. * skeleton of a miso soup * 2 trimmed...

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:31:00 -0500

miso soup round II, bottom

miso soup round 1, bottom

per request by annie.

skeleton of a miso soup

optional additions: cooked salmon | kale | enoki, shiitake, or just plain white button mushrooms (any kind of mushrooms) | sliced green cabbage | soft little tofu cubes

*note on what in the world is dashi : these usually consist of dried anchovy and dried kelp in a little teabag-like packet. dashi seems to be a fundamental ingredient in all homemade asian clear broth soups, if not all asian soups, period. they really anchor the flavor by preventing the highlighted flavor of the broth from loosely and directionlessly running around. dashi packets are sold in asian markets around the globe!

** the rice wine can be any white hued wine, really. preferably sake or mirin, and i like the korean ‘chungju’ bottle. but i used a dry white wine/vermouth because it was all i had.

*** note on when to add the miso paste : natural miso contains beneficial probiotic cultures, so it is best to “loosen” the miso into the hot broth with a spoon just before the soup is removed from the heat. miso’s health benefits are maximized when consumed raw, but considering this soup’s identity as a hot, steaming, comforting pot of a thing, that might prove difficult.

bring water to boil with the dashi packet, trimmed leeks, and optional 1/2 onion inside. once boiling, add a swish of the rice wine or other white wine. add turnip blocks. add whatever other vegetables you so desire. when vegetables are cooked, turn off the heat. take a heaping spoonful of the miso paste and dissolve into the clear broth to make it clow-dee. cloudy. ideally, once the water boils, the stove should not be on for more that 10 minutes.

Hooray for cloudy miso soup! Although you can’t really tell from the photo i took (see top of post) with all the turnip wedges, salmon filet, and kale that I added. I like to put a nice piece of fish in my bowl, then transfer the turnip wedges and ever-so-slightly-wilted kale from the pot (i like my leafy greens to still be crisp and lively), and the spoon some of the miso broth on top.

Okay you caught me. The miso “soup” is really just a vehicle in which to dunk the volume-heavy vegetables that I favor. But still… it’s as dreamy as cloudlandia!

This one’s for annie. (as will be all the others,...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:43:00 -0500

This one’s for annie. (as will be all the others, hehehehehe!)

Roasted Pumpkin Pieces

[the best part? only 4 ingredients!]

optional addition: dulse flakes

Pre-heat oven to 400° F. | Mix the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, dulse, and rosemary. This is now your magical pumpkin seasoning mixture. | Toss pumpkin cubes in the magical mixture to coat. | Top with some salt & pepper and lightly toss again. | Bake in the oven for about 40 to 45 minutes or until pumpkin pieces are browned on the outside.

These orange babies might taste even better than pumpkin gnocchi!!! They will be ever so lightly crisped on the outside, yet soft on the inside. Mmmm… dreamy…