Wednesday, April 28, 2010

18 Oreos in 1.5 hours

I finally got off my lazy bum and made these lovely cookies, from Smitten Kitchen: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/my-kingdom-for-a-glass-of-milk/

Changes:
-1 cup of sugar in the cookie recipe
-I don't have Dutch process cocoa.  In fact, I don't know where I'd find that....so I used Nestle's.
-I used 1/2 cup of butter plus 1 tbsp.  I tried to get away with halving this, but the dough was not forming.  Oh well.
-For the frosting, I halved the recipe and omitted the shortening altogether.  One of the few things that Mr. S. and I refuse to have in the house is Crisco.

I actually got enough for 25 Oreos, but 7 of them are destined to become ice cream sandwiches!

  Update:  One last picture... :) 

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Nom nom nom.

Good Mexican food is not easy to find here.

But we have found a tortilleria just across the river, and it is amazing.  The owners offered us free samples, hot off the press, as we watched the process at work.  Just imagine a 15 ft. long table filled with stacks of corn tortillas.  A pound sells for $1.25.

And did I mention that they have homemade salsa ($2)??!  Hot was so spicy that we don't want to know what "very hot" tastes like.  *shudder*

Monday, April 26, 2010

Lump sum.

Playing housewife for the week, so I've been cooking a lot.  

From up to down:
-bok choy and shrimp stir fry
-tofu, tomato, chicken dish (ultimate comfort food)
-more cake balls
-chicken marinated in Veri Veri Island Teriyaki sauce w/ green bean stir fry
-San Francisco sourdough bread (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/San-Francisco-Sourdough-Bread/Detail.aspx)  I omitted the onion and egg wash.  This didn't taste like sourdough, but that's Carl's fault (our starter.) 
-strawberry ice cream (http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Fresh-Picked-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-Electric-Ice-Cream-Machine-68036)  We did not puree the ingredients; we're too lazy to do so.  But this is SO good.  And I don't even like strawberries.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

How to use up dying vegetables

I decided today that it was time to get rid of the misc. veggies laying around: a Japanese eggplant, a yellow bell pepper, a few mushrooms, and a tiny handful of peas.  I was still craving curry so I decided to make the only Indian dish that's been successful for me, baingan bharta.  The recipe is here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baingan-Bharta-Eggplant-Curry/Detail.aspx

Changes:
--I do not have cumin seeds, but cumin powder works just as well.
--I was too lazy to create a ginger/garlic paste, so I tossed slices of both in and hoped for the best.
--I used garam masala instead of curry powder.  This probably alters the taste somewhat; I need to try it the "right" way.  :)
--Oh yeah, I added chicken too.  Because I am a member of PETA (People for the Eating of Tasty Animals).  

I burned my first batch of cumin covered onions.  :(

 Fortunately, I got it right the second time:


Roasting the eggplant (which I did not do the first time I made this) really does make a difference.  

In other news, the Hitler Downfall parodies are hilarious.  Here is the one that started it all: http://vbox7.com/play:609ceef4

It's on a Russian site since YouTube is taking them down for copyright infringement... :\

Friday, April 23, 2010

I love your sushi roll, hotter than wasabi.*

Yes, it's me again.

Celebratory, fun things happen when you get finished with 2 months of never sleeping in past 7 am and working on the weekends.   My idea of fun apparently involves causing rhinorrhea with Thai food and visiting a field of hot air balloons.  The latter is on my Facebook page if you care, but the former will be discussed here. 

I decided to visit the "best Thai place in Louisville" today, Simply Thai in St. Matthews.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, since I've been spoiled by having 5 Thai restaurants in my college town (2 of which sucked).  (One of them had a lunch buffet with a wonderful tofu/bamboo curry that made me cry of spiciness every time...and I loved it.  I took Mr. S. there and he managed to find the one curry with peanut sauce in it.  That was a sad day.)


It's tiny, and quite full, with people sitting outside and inside its lavender walls.  So far, so good.


I ordered my usual Thai comfort food, red curry with tofu.  I was disappointed about the lack of vegetable variety in the menu items--my dish only had bamboo shoots.  I think I'm used to the curries with bamboo, eggplant, basil, tofu, chicken, green beans....etc.  But that's okay.  

Prices were reasonable, ranging from $10 (most dishes) to $19 (sea bass).  I don't look at appetizers or desserts or wines, because I am not a real restaurant critic.  And I don't have that kind of money.


The wait was long, about 25 minutes.  I attributed this to the huge take-out orders they filled and to the fact that the restaurant was full.  I counted 13 Pad Thai dishes and at least 6 spring roll appetizers go by me as I sat hungrily staring....maybe I should've gotten those instead?







This fulfilled my expectations for red curry; it was creamy and VERY spicy.  The tofu was lightly fried and soft.  The rice was dry; I haven't found restaurant rice to be moist, ever, unless it's coated in oil and fried (ie, Chinese buffets).  Halfway through the bowl, I remember thinking "This isn't spicy, this is ridiculous," until it all hit me at once and I was gulping down water as if I was severely dehydrated.  I considered taking the rest home but my inner monologue told me to "quit being a p----". 

The spiciness rating was a 4, in case you were wondering (on a scale of 1-5, from mildest to spiciest).  I don't want to know what a 5 tastes like... :-O

If this is as good as it gets, then I might be back for any future Thai cravings. But I'll still be looking for a favorite Thai place.


*They serve sushi too, but getting sushi at a Thai place sounds about as logical as expecting good bratwurst and spaetzle at a French restaurant.  Eight pieces per roll for ~$7-9 doesn't sound like a bad deal though.

Simply Thai on Urbanspoon

Oh snap.

What do you do if your gallon of milk suddenly perforates? If you're Mr. S., you make pudding (from a box). If you're me and you don't like pudding, you make rolls. My addiction to carbohydrates is nearly pathological...









Recipe here: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Unknownchef86s-Very-Best-Dinner-Rolls-96514

I made the following modifications:

  • 3 cups King Arthur white wheat flour, 4 cups Pillsbury bread flour
  • 5 tsp butter (so little over 1/4 of a cup)
  • kosher salt (always)
  • No butter on top.
  • I let these rise for 2 sessions of 1 hr each (and punched down the dough using my hands instead of the dough hook.)
  • Removing the "plops" was easy when I coated my hands with oil.
  • I didn't let them rise for the extra 30-40 min (I was in a hurry). But as you can see, they puffed up pretty well.
  • 11 min at 400 degrees---a tiny bit underdone, but I like them that way. :)

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Husband baked, wife approved.

If anything looks like cornbread, I will eat it.

I should be in food heaven next week, and I can't wait.


Friday, April 16, 2010

River Lobsters





We attended the 25th annual U. of L. crawfish boil today...where I got this magnificent plate for only $5. (It has some sausage & red beans and rice on the bottom. There were also corn, potatoes, and onions.) It was fun and I had a great time, but it made us all want crab. And lobster. Mmmmm.....lobster. *drools*



Thursday, April 15, 2010

No Oreos yet. --updated a couple of times

But we have something better: blueberry ice cream!



Recipe here: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Blueberry-Ice-Cream-91781

Mr. S. added 2% milk in lieu of some of the half-and-half though...and doesn't remember what quantity. He also did not strain the berries or remove the skins. The consistency is more icy than creamy.



To sum this up--- not bad, but could be better.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Just because.



Sometimes, I am so tired of work that I throw my hands in the air, say "*#@& it" and start driving. Last weekend, I did just that (minus the cursing) and went out to the farmer's market, local charity book sale, aforementioned bakery, and expensive international store of goodness (to be covered in a later post perhaps).



Then I came home and made jambalaya with newly acquired sausage from the farmer's market, which was delicious, but extremely fatty. A greasy film covered the bottom of the bowl. Ugh.




The other night, I decided to make fish tacos with tilapia, yellow pepper, tomato, and a generous helping of McCormick's Mojito Lime seasoning and fresh cilantro. I think it turned out pretty well, despite not having tortillas and settling for pita bread instead. (Freshly baked from an Arabic store...yeah, that'll be another post too.)


As for tonight...I'm feeling pretty lazy. So leftover Qdoba it is.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Jasmin Bakery- updated!











This place has loaves for $2.50, gyro sandwiches for $3.50 (small) or $7 (large), turnovers, and baklava for a mere $1. AND it smells like freshly baked bread in there. What's not to love?

Needless to say, we are never buying bread at Wal-Mart again. We're smitten.

Next post...homemade Oreo cookies!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Cake balls









Go to http://www.bakerella.com for a tutorial; your coworkers will thank you. :)

Monday, April 5, 2010

Pita Delites Review

Bedtime awaits, so this will be a short review. I'm still working out the kinks in the site, since I'm not used to Blogger at all. And I haven't had a web site in umm....years, and haven't written for fun in that duration as well. Let's see how much time I can spend on this...

Location:
1616 Grinstead Dr.

Decor: cute. As you can tell, it's located in what used to be a house. The restaurant was clean with simple decor, including a couple of camel statues.

Budget: friendly. The most costly entrees were $14 each.

Service: The waiter filled up our water glasses in a timely manner. No complaints here.

Food: Your basic Mediterranean fare: appetizers such as spanakopita, baba ganoush, hummus, and dolmades; sandwich platters with beef & lamb, chicken, falafel, or the ubiquitous gyro, and dinner platters including shish kabobs, the salmon, lamb, and kibbeh seen below. The sandwich platters come with a choice of salad (Greek, tahini, or house) and rice (veggie basmati or mujadara).

Thoughts: Mr. S. and I bought the falafel sandwich platter with a Greek salad and veggie basmati rice ($9.99). Our friends got the other dishes pictured. We all enjoyed the food overall. The falafel was smothered in a sour tahini sauce, which I didn't like. (I would've preferred tzatziki sauce, but that's just a personal bias.) The salad was nothing special: lettuce, tomato, bits of cucumber, and feta in a lemon oil dressing. We were most impressed by the rice, which was flavorful, moist, tasting (and smelling) strongly of cinnamon. The worst aspect of the dish was the pita bread---it was tough and tasted like it was out of a bag rather than the oven.

Bottom Line: Fairly cheap Mediterranean food. I would return again, although I'd avoid the pita bread.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Preview






















From top to bottom: grilled lamb, kibbeh, grilled salmon, falafel sandwich, Greek salad