Charivari Life - Discombobulated Craziness

Keik-e Yazdi

2011-12-19T14:44:00.000-06:00

Discussed Persian food a few weeks ago with a friend who very generously offered to cook all sorts of yummy Persian goodies for me. I would LOVE to have her, someone, anyone cooking Persian goodies for me....but it has to be without meat.

Yanni chi, bedoon-e gusht?? (What do you mean, no meat??)

Well, it can't have any meat in it.

Morgh chi? (How about chicken?)

No. No beef, chicken, lamb, fish; no eggs; no wheat.

Nemishe! (Can't be done!) Ye zarre gusht. (Just a little bit of meat.)

Alas (or aakhe, as one says in Farsi), most Persian food doesn't translate well to vegetarian and/or gluten-free. Some dishes are vegetarian, like kashk-e bademjoon, or some simple rice dishes like adas polo (though people usually add chicken to the rice dishes). Most of the delicious khoreshes (sauces) -- fesenjoon, ghorme sabzi, and others -- they're just not the same. Must work on vegetarianizing those!

Unfortunately another one of those pesky, persistent little "craving seeds" was planted during that last foodie conversation and I had in my mind that I must come up with a vegetarian, gluten-free version of keik-e yazdi, little rosewater and cardamom-scented (really, what other scent is there in Persian desserts??) cakes. So I got right on it.

I soaked some flax seeds, mixed up some Pamela's flour, melted butter, added some rose water, freshly ground cardamom, a little this and a little that, nary a trace of eggs, or wheat, and popped them into the oven and waited. Not in vain either, mind you.

Mage mishe?? (Is it possible??)

Khob, bokhor yedune. (Well, taste one.)

Che aali!!! Dasturesh-o barayam benevis. (How wonderful!!! Write the recipe for me.)

These little gems are lovely with hot tea, coffee, or chocolate. Perfect after spicy food or whenever you need an exotic little pick-me-up.

Noosh-e jaan. (Enjoy).

Craving satisfied

2011-11-20T20:50:00.001-06:00

Sometimes you get a craving and it haunts you till you give in. Ever had one of those? Yeah, I thought so!!

Well, I got one for....drumroll please.....doughnuts. Uhuh, doughnuts.

I'm not a doughnut person -- except, maybe those hubcap-sized midnight snack Moroccan ones we had in Paris back in the 70's -- but not too long ago I read about a recipe for some "killer" gluten-free doughnuts and I must admit they looked and sounded pretty good. And J is always raving about some maple doughnuts that his favorite doughnut baker lady never makes enough of and why can't she make more of them and fewer of those multicolor-sprinkles ones that sit in the case till the store closes?!? Ah, but that's another story.

So yesterday I'm shopping at Whole Foods and because it's so crowded, the checkout line I'm in snakes into the frozen food cases and there I am eye to doughnut hole. Gluten-free doughnuts, no less. I was tempted, but for some reason never opened the case to get a box. Instead, I came home and made one.

One single, solitary, all by it's lonesome doughnut.

Black. Fuzzy. Flowery.

A knit and felted doughnut-shaped ring, "sprinkled" with a little bit of free-form embroidery.

And it's gluten-free!!

I've got the hots for cold

2011-11-18T16:58:00.001-06:00

If you knowanything about me, it’s that I don’t like cold. Oh, I like cold things all right: ice cream, Eiskaffee, um….uh….hm,this list is shorter than I thought it would be. And it’s got to be pretty warm for meto even enjoy those short-list items.

I much preferwarm things: snuggly warm sheets and down blankets; warm baked goods; warm woolsocks, hats, scarves, and mittens; warm hugs; warm thoughts; and the “warm”list goes on and on. Add to that all thehot things I like, e.g. hot soup, hot water bottles, hot tea, etc. and the listgoes on ad infinitum.

Guess here iswhere I should clarify that I don’t like the cold – cold weather. Let me take that back. I like cold weather that involves beautifulazure skies, whipped cream mounds of snow, cardinals happily chirping away highatop ice-glazed tree branches, skaters waltzing dreamily over a frozen pond, thescent of piñon wafting heavenward in twirls of misty grey……yep, justlike on the “wish you were here” postcards. That’s not the kind of cold we have here in North Texas. No, we have the “icy wet wind that goes rightthrough every last layer of clothes and straight to your marrow” kind ofcold. Doesn’t last from November throughApril, doesn’t even last all of winter. No matter, I don’t like it. Eachyear I ~~hope~~ pray to wind up living in a more “comfortable” geography;alas, as the cold inevitably sets in and I’m still in North Texas, I try tomake peace with it…embrace it. I’m hereto tell you that, a few decades later, reverse psychology for cold does notwork……not for me, anyway.

So, how to copewith the cold?? Heaps of warm/hotthings. Mornings start with one lastsnuggle under the duvet and the promise of a mug of steaming hot tea. Followed by copious amounts of more hot tea,from Earl Grey, to sencha, to mugicha, to any number of herbalteas and/or coffees like Teecino. Candles flicker in warming vanilla, winter forest, orspicy fruit scents. Hot lunch promptlyensues, followed by hot snacks & tea, followed by more hot tea, followed byhot dinner, and that final steaming cup of nitey-nite before it’s off to theland of down.

I think you’rebeginning to see the picture, that I don’t like cold. Which it started off as to today: 40 degrees, windy, dismal lack of sunshine. Which immediately got me thinking about whatI’d have for lunch today. Which wasgoing to have to be something quick because I had way to much work to do. And, which, was unfortunate because I didn’thave any leftovers to warm up. So, asI’m ~~nodding off~~ concentrating during a work colleague’s brilliant webexpresentation, I’m trying to picture what’s in the fridge that would whip upinto a speedy meal. An onion, carrots, zucchinis….uttapam! Too much work, plus they’d for sure burnwhile I’m on the concall. Same thingwith a pot of clean-out-the-fridge soup and abgreste Nudeln, too. Curry! Red curry! With zucchinis &green beans. And tempeh. And brown rice. Yes!! And within about 5 minutes it was done: measured rice into cooker, addedwater, pinch of himmy, spoon of coconut oil, and pressed “cook;” heated somecoconut cream, added some red curry paste, along with some tamari, coconutsugar, and a red chili. Rinsed and chopped the zucchinis and green beans, threwthem into the curry, along with some julienned kaffir lime leaves. Sliced up the tempeh and set it into therice-cooker steamer. That’s it. All while listening to the concall….on mute,natch….in about 5 minutes. The ricecooked, the tempeh steamed, and the curry simmered for another 10 minutes. The house was filled with the exotic perfumeof Thai deliciousness, and I was….ahem….surprising glad it was chilly outside,because I sure don’t eat that kind of food for lunch when it’s warm J

Rumpelstiltskin: almond butter & hemp

2011-11-17T18:28:00.001-06:00

I know, I know. It’s been 3 months!! Not only did lot of water go under thebridge, it swept the bridge clean away. NOT……but it seems that way some times.

First this happened and that didn’t happen. Then this didn’t happen, and that didhappen, then it all did and/or didn’t happen. Couldn’t keep up and CharivariLife juststumbled, then crawled, and finally heaved a great sigh and laid down by thewayside….savasana……only to catch some much-needed breath before it could slowly,gently, revive itself.

Meanwhile, there was a great trip to California and awonderful visit with best old friends…old best friends? Best older friends?Older best friends? How to word itwithout sounding “odd,” (oh my, that sounds wrong, too)?? Hm, maybe I should saylong-time best friends. Yeah, that’sit!! Anyway, so fun to catch up on “deep into the night” conversations, goodfood, lots of laughter, some tears, and promises to make it all happen againsoon. The plan is for Austin in thespring! Nothing like the Texas HillCountry in springtime!! Miles of yellow flowers, poppies, Indian paintbrush, bluebonnets....and lots of sunshine.

What are the girlswaiting on, you ask? Homemade raw organicalmond butter. I’ve been making littlebatches, spiked with a touch of himmy, and eating it on my breakfast toast inthe mornings. By the way, Food for Lifemakes a most wonderful Bhutanese red rice bread that is so delicious toasted& spread with almond butter and a drop of raw honey. I love it because, not only is itgluten-free, it’s egg-free, too – woohoo!! The girls obviously like it, as well, and are passively "vulturing" around thetable, hoping it will inspire my generosity. Don’t count on it, girls.

Each batch of the almond butter takes quite a while to make in thefood processor because the motor tends to want to burn up. You process the almonds till they’re floury,then keep on processing till the almond meal becomes like a ball of dough andspins around the processor bowl a few times. Apparently that releases the oil and voila – almond butter. Now I know why it’s so expensive in thestores: it’s labor intensive, besides the fact that organic almonds aren’tcheap. But it is so good and so so worthit. Give it a try; just make sure youlet the machine rest occasionally to cool the motor. Otherwise, that jar of almond butter will have cost you the price of anew processor J

Doesn’t that lookgorgeous? I feel like I’m making something magical when I’m making almondbutter. Made me think of Rumpelstiltskinspinning straw into gold. I don’t likeraw almonds, but grind them up and add a sprinkle of salt, and I’m all overit.

Which brings me to………

The postie left me a wonderful surprise in my mailbox today– 1500 yards of 100% pure spun hemp by Hemp for Knitting. Can’t waitto start knitting with this yarn. Notsure what it will end up being – Shawl? Cardi? Face flannels? (Flannel soundsmuch nicer than wash-cloth.) And the color – isn’t it absolutelygorgeous?? I LOVE green!!
And now, one last item…… J and the girls ran a 10k lastweekend, while I supportively cheered them on from the warmth of thecar….knitting away on a lace moebius wrap. It was too windy and chilly to sitat the amphitheater and listen to the band, so I got in some knitting and couldwatch them as they started the first round of the run………..and welcome themback. I made a short video; will work on getting it posted, as well as some pics from SoCal.

A bientot......

112 degrees

2011-08-02T16:33:00.000-05:00

Not sure what the final temperature will be today in Dallas, but it's currently at 112 degrees Fahrenheit. 112!!!

Two things are for sure -- it's hot and it's a record.....again! Whew!!

Besides the movement of automated things like cars, buses, and 18-wheelers, it's quite still outside. Sort of like a science fiction, nuclear winter movie where all life has been decimated. Trees are dropping leaves like it's fall. Lawns are crunchy brown. Flowers are wilting, hanging on for dear life only with double-doses of hand watering. Nobody's out walking, running, biking. Nobody's walking their pets. It's too hot to swim.

You've heard of brain-freeze?? How 'bout brain-fry!!

It's hot.

But never too hot for dessert. Especially one you can pull from the fridge :)

Today's polka-dot-plate-special is raw vanilla-lavender and chocolate macaroons, served with some juicy raspberries. I got the recipe from Nutiva's Facebook posts, but had to change them up since they obviously left out some very key ingredients -- like a binding agent. They're delish and keep in the fridge so ~~you're~~ I'm not tempted to eat a whole plateful before they go south :)

If you're interested in my version, comment below and I'll post

Monday Memo: Stay Cool!

2011-07-25T16:47:00.000-05:00

We're at Day 23 of the 100+ temperatures for Dallas/Ft.Worth. We even got a "hot" shout-out on NPR this morning. It felt as fun as when Texas made the Top 10 on the obesity list.

Anyway........for this kind of weather, it's important to stay cool as possible, to stay hydrated, and make sure we get a nice balance of salts, minerals, and sugars. Besides eating tons of salads and other fresh, raw foods, it's nice to be able to sip (or slurp) on something that meets all the above criteria:

Paloodeh fits the bill. Paloodeh??

If you know anything about Persian cuisine, you've probably had or heard of faloodeh, a yummy dessert of frozen rice vermicelli in cherry-rose syrup, usually served along with bastani Akbar Mashti, saffron-rosewater ice cream. If you don't know anything about Persian cuisine, now aren't faloodeh ba bastani Akbar Mashti a great incentive to give Iranian food a try?!?!

Of course, one does not live on rosewater and saffron-scented desserts alone. And that's where paloodeh, frozen cantaloupe slush, comes in. Iranians love their melons (of course, always bigger, better, and sweeter in Iran) and have found that these frozen drinks area a wonderful way to keep cool, keep hydrated, and keep fed. So simple, it's made of cantaloupe (طالبي) whirred to a slush with ice cubes -- ah, so good!!

Paloodeh پالوده (Frozen Canteloupe Slush)

If the cantaloupe is not totally ripe, ie sweet, you can add some sweetener. Also, a little spoon of rosewater or lemon juice changes the flavor. Just don't do the East Texas thing, and season with salt and pepper!! Nah, go ahead if it floats your boat :)
I usually figure on 2 measures of cantaloupe to 1 measure of ice, but it all depends on how fragrant the fruit is and how icy you want it.

1 cantaloupe, peeled and cubed
cubed ice
the tiniest pinch of himmy (Himalayan salt)
sugar, to taste

Drop the cantaloupe into the blender container with the salt and pulse a few times. Add the ice and blend till smooth. Makes 2 tall glasses of nutritious, cooling refreshment.

Salad with blue potatoes and a side of memories

2011-07-22T12:35:00.000-05:00

Just a quick pick of my lunch yesterday: steamed tempeh with wild rice, tomatoes, carrots, celery, cilantro and smurf-blue potatoes topped with lemony vinaigrette. Aren't the potatoes cool? All organic, and oh so yummy!

Makes me think of Annette-Kolb Gymnasium Traunstein. We had to memorize a poem in 1. Klasse, das alizarinblaue Zwergenkind by Freiherr Börries von Münchhausen, about a tiny little fairy creature who decides to take a dip in an inkwell. When he comes up from the ink, he's all blue; he crawls out of the well, and plops his hinie onto a sheet of blotting paper, leaving behind a stamp, described like this:

Da hats ein Dreierbrotchen gedruckt,

Ein kleinwinziges, zweihälftiges Dreierbrot,

Ha ha!! You'd have to understand German and know about German breads to get this one, but it's too cute!!

We had to memorize lots of poetry in Deutschklasse in the late 60's. That's when school was school: lot of memorization, correct spelling and grammar, respect for authority, etc etc etc. All about academics. But it was lots of fun, too. Like when we sang buranko buranko (a Japanese swing song - another memory) for our class and the principal in our embroidered Chinese pajamas that Mama brought us back from Singapore while Daddy was in Viet Name. Has that really been more than 40 years ago??

Mensch, die Zeit vergeht......

p.s. it's GOOD for you!!

2011-07-20T15:25:00.007-05:00

A quick p.s. to today's earlier post, just learned from watching the Dr. Oz's "Cancer Edition" show, that matcha includes the following lovely anticarcinogenic benefit: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon equals about 8-10 cups of cancer-fighting green tea goodness.

Of course, you want to make sure that you're drinking quality, organic matcha - not just any old powdered green tea will do. You are what you eat and drink!!

Here's the link to Dr. Oz's video: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/ask-dr-oz-cancer-edition-pt-2

So, blend up some berry matcha coolers and know that you're doing your body matcha good :)

And, since I collect heart rocks, wanted to post a picture from our last vaca in Colorado.

Blazing hot, but matcha cooler today

2011-07-20T13:58:00.005-05:00

So, today is the 18th straight day of 100 or more degrees. What IS a body to do to stay cool??

Several weeks back as the 100's started, I popped into Whole Foods for some shopping. Dying of thirst, as one naturally does when it's this hot, I headed to the drinks bar and perused the menu. The frozen matcha slush sounded really good and refreshing, but then they also had a berry slush that sounded perky enough to counteract my wilting. Hm, which to choose? Which to choose?? Wer die Wahl, hat die Qual :)

I settled on the matcha slush, but a la Starbucks, I asked for a "shot" of berry - ha, I felt so clever :)

Can you do that for me, I asked the lovely dreadlocked mistress of libations.

Sure! What kind of milk do you want, she asked.

Coconut, please.

And with that she deftly scooped ice into the mixer, poured on the milk, added a scoop of matcha, drizzled in some syrup, set it on the base and whizzed it all into a slushy, frothy green 20-ounce concoction of sippableness. Don't know if sippableness is a word, but oooooh, it was love at first brain-freezable sip.

This is a drink that iss going to keep me hydrated (and awake) all summer.

Next day, I decided to try making it at home with frozen fruit and a touch of sweetener, since berry syrups aren't a staple in my pantry. Good choice!

Berry Matcha Cooler

I use a personal blender by Tribest, but any blender will do.

If you have some berry syrups, you may want to give those a shot, as they would no doubt intensify the fruit flavor. I bet it would be wonderful with peaches, too, or guavas.

I like it less milky, but you can add more milk to temper the matcha if it's too "bitter" for you.

1/2 to 1 cup coconut milk (or whatever kind you like)

1-2 teaspoons matcha -- how awake do you want to be, ha ha

1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey

7 or 8 frozen strawberries

Add all the above to your blender container. Blend -- you may need to add more liquid or more berries, depending on the size of your fruit -- until it's uniformly slushy. Also, check for sweetness and if you need more, add and finish blending.

Enjoy; I bet you'll feel matcha cooler :)

Presto Pesto

2011-07-19T15:06:00.003-05:00

The heat is on!! The veggie garden is basically a goner.....sigh........

Just pulled up the last of the fruitless tomato plants. The only thing left now is the basil (with morning and evening watering) and the jalapenos. So they go into everything we're cooking, or uncooking, now. Into the salads, the sandwiches, the scrambled eggs, you name it. Thinking of making some ice cream or sorbet with basil & pineapple. See, you name it, and basil or jalapenos are in it.

But the crowning achievement for basil is pesto -- ah, homemade pesto. Green summery goodness to slather on al dente pasta or a sandwich or to dip with chips.

So easy to make and it keeps for a good while, as long as you keep it sott'olio - covered with olive oil. Pick the basil in the morning before the sun hits it, wash it well and let it dry. Drop a couple of cloves of garlic into the food processor, followed by a good handful of nuts (I know pine nuts are de rigeur, but I like walnuts). Pulse a few times, just to chop them a bit. Cube the best cheese you can afford, either parmiggiano or pecorino romano, and drop it into the processor and pulse 4 or 5 times. When the basil is dry, put it in the machine and run while adding enough olive oil to make it saucey -- not too runny, but not too dry and pasty either. Stop and check it occasionally and when it's the consistency you like, presto it's finished.

A, che buono.......and it's only available in summer :)

Look for love....you WILL find it

2011-06-30T15:28:00.002-05:00

Water under the bridge......

2011-06-29T15:07:00.003-05:00

"Water under the bridge" obviously herewith applies just metaphorically. See, in Texas, we're in a drought. Wildfires. Lake levels sinking one foot per day! High temperatures. Sustained high winds.

Traffic jams everywhere and, as I heard this morning, heaps of them are cause by stalled cars -- with batteries that have succumbed to the heat.

It's hot. It's bad. Worst it's been in a long, long time. Longer than I've been alive.

Nevertheless, though there's not much water under the literal bridge, there's been lots under our metaphoric bridge....

Several surgeries -- all's good in the hood :)

Trips to the ER -- happy endings

A wedding -- happy ever after

Kitchen & bath renovations -- never again

Backyard renovation -- worth it

Personal renovation -- well, this one never really ends, does it?

Upside, however, is being able to participate in some of the flow of that metaphorical "water". Gotta focus on the fullness in the glass and the potential for the water level to rise and overflow :)

And eating some delicious foods, as one can do only in summer, is definitely an upside. Freshest greens & tomatoes. Sweet corn. Jalapenos from the garden. Fragrant basils. Yummo!!

Right now I've got the dehydrator going with some pureed bananas (for raw crepes!!); some tart shells that I'll fill maybe with some strawberry kreme (I know, doesn't that sound great?!?!); and raw oatmeal cookies with dates, apricots, and coconut -- great for breakfast.

I made the cookies something like this: Into a food processor dump 1/2 cup soaked walnuts, 6 soft medjools, 1/4 cup diced apricots, 1/2 cup coconut, about 1 cup of oats, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon, 2 tablespoons coconut oil, 1 tablespoon coconut butter, good pinch salt. All the measurements are what I imagined I put into the machine. Whizz it around till it's the consistency you like, adding a little liquid if it won't hold together. Shape into little round pillows/buttons - about 1 1/2" diameter and 3/4" thick (or whatever works for you) - then refrigerate and eat like cookie dough cookies, or dehydrate till they're dry.

The salad in the photo is my version of Bún Chay: rice vermicelli, sunflower sprouts, ribboned carrots, julienned cucumbers, diced tomatoes, basil (Italian and Thai), and chopped peanuts. I topped all with a little sauce of lime juice mixed with water, tamari, and maple syrup. So refreshing, light but filling, and suuuper tasty!!

For dessert, it's Inside Out PB Cups - my gluten free, vegan, ravishingly delicious and good-for-you version of Reese's cups. Not sure if I'll post the recipe.....BUT......I will gladly share them with you if you come see me :)

Meanwhile, à bientôt!

Foto Friday

2011-03-04T15:56:00.006-06:00

Vyeri, vyeri good...almost lyike Russian

2011-02-01T14:18:00.015-06:00

Today's post comes to you directly from Siberia, Texas.

A blizzardy, ice-cicly 15 degrees, with a windchill hovering around the big "O" certainly makes North Texas feel more like Siberia than...well, than North Texas. And when I think of Siberia, I think of a feast I got to share in one evening...

Twenty-some winters ago, I took Z to a supermarket and watched as she wandered from aisle to aisle like a slowmo pinball, staring in absolute awe at the quantities of groceries available. The fresh veggies, the canned and frozen ones; bread on the bakery shelves and frozen dough in the cases; beef, pork, lamb, fish, chicken; boxes of mixes for this and for that. And plenty of all of it. No queues of grumpy, elbowing, "hey, the back of the line is back there"-pointing shoppers.

Behesht e! Behesht e, Dana joon!

"It's paradise!" she exclaimed in her Farsi-by-way-of-Uzbekistan accent. Z had insisted on cooking dinner for us all that evening and wanted to buy some meat and vegetables to make soup and mantu, Uzbeki dumplings. So we went to the supermarket, she picked up a small package of meat, a handful of veggies and potatoes, and since I was sure we had flour at home, we left to get started on the feast.

As she cooked, she told stories of how she and B had met after he'd gotten stranded in Uzbekistan; how happy they were to have long-lost relatives in Amyerika; how life was in Uzbekistan (according to her, not the worst since B was a doctor); how pearls, furs and diamonds were inexpensive and how food was a luxury there; and on and on while she cut up the meat and veggies for the soup, and rolled and stuffed the mantu dough.

All the while, I was wondering how she was going to feed about 20 of us with the groceries we'd purchased. Like matryoshka, Russian nesting dolls?? Somehow we'd be surprised by the contents of the soup pot?

Each guest's bowl was lovingly and proudly filled with broth and tiny pieces of meat and vegetables. In the spirit of true Uzbeki hospitality, our hosts dished out the "best" to their guests.

I've never had a more watery "soup" than that evening. But I don't think I've ever heard two people "savor" and "mm and yumm" over their food more than Z and B did that night. This "paradisaic" soup was the richest food that they'd had in a very long time, and it was a splurge for them to use enough meat to make the soup taste just slightly more appetizing than the dishwater they were used to. The potato mantu, on the other hand, were delicious.

As the years passed, her soups got thicker and thicker, to where you could actually taste the ingredients, the chicken, the vegetables, the cilantro, the spices.

One time Z came over for lunch. I'd made a good warm soup out of beets and red cabbage, kind of a non-traditional vegetarian borscht. "Vyeri, vyeri good...almost lyike Russian." I took it as a compliment.

So as I'm rummaging through my fridge today looking for something "warming" to make while this Arctic front blasts through the region, I see a beet, some red cabbage, onions, and start thinking about throwing together a big pot of borscht. Well, something borscht-like, anyway. Even J has pronounced it vyeri, vyeri good....almost lyike Russian :)

Let me know what you think and if you've got any good "Siberia" stories :)

Banana's "Vyeri, Vyeri Good...Almost Like Russian" Borscht

2 onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups red lentils 1 beet, shredded (I did this in the processor)
1 large carrot, shredded
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup ruby quinoa, washed
1/4 cup dried dill (or 1 cup fresh)
2 veggie soup cubes
1 tablespoon Bragg's liquid aminos
1 tablespoon powdered limu omani (dried lime)
or 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or to taste)
fresh ground pepper

Heat a large soup pot over medium high and add the onions. When they're fragrant and starting to color, add the garlic. Stir for about a minute, then add the lentils, along with enough water to cover. Cook till the lentils are soft.

Add the remaining ingredients and let simmer till everything is soft. Season with lemon juice, pepper, and salt. If desired, serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek-style yogurt.

Memo from the Language Fairy

2011-01-17T21:12:00.001-06:00

It’s winter.

It’s winter and I’m cold.

It’s winter and I’m cold, and I won’t warm up until May.

It’s winter and I’m cold, and I won’t warm up until May so I’ll be making hot soup till then.

Learning a new language is tough and it seems there are nearly as many suggestions for learning one as there are languages themselves. I’m so fortunate to have grown up speaking more than one language because that ensured that I could think in another language. If I want to say something in German, I don’t have to first say it in English, then translate it into German. If I want to say something in German, I just say it. Same thing with Italian. Or French. Or Italian. Or Farsi.

Not that I speak all, or any, of them perfectly. Far from it! But I think in phrases in those languages and get stuck only when it comes to a particular word, or an idiomatic expression. And when I learn a little of a new language, I learn it in phrases.

Aap ka kiya hale hey?

Kif halek?

Kak vi pozhivayetye?

That’s “How are you?” in Urdu, Arabic, and Russian respectively.

Kids learn in building blocks of phrases, always adding to their foundation.

Want milk.

I want milk, please.

I want chocolate milk, please.

I want chocolate milk and cookies, please.

I’m having some milk and cookies, and yes watching TV helps me concentrate while I do my homework.

The one big “advantage” little kids have over adults learning a new language is that they are by default immersed in their “new” language. That eliminates the one big impediment for most people who are learning a new language – conjugation. Immersion means you’re going to be speaking, hearing, and most likely reading and writing, your new language. Little kids learn conjugation via mother’s milk. But most of us aren’t learning a new language via immersion. So, guess what? We’re going to have to buckle down and conjugate some verbs, the regular and irregular ones. You simply cannot learn a language well without doing that. Is it fun? Oh sure!! Pull another tooth while you’re at it!

MEMO

To: New Language Learner

FROM: The Language Fairy

It does not come by osmosis!!!

You can get by without conjugating verbs. People will understand you when you speak. You’ll understand people when they speak, and you’ll be able to read and understand the language. But you won’t be able to say you speak the language. Maybe that you’re learning the language, but not that you speak it. So do yourself the small favor of conjugating the main verbs (to be, have, do, go, give, take, see, feel, and so forth) and a few not so common ones….amazing how your grasp of the language

Whew! Got that off my chest. Feel tons better :)

I do two things when it’s cold:

1) I drink hot tea. I drink lots and lots of hot tea. I drink lots and lots of hot tea all day long.

And 2) I cook and eat lots of hot soup. Spicy tomato soup. Potato leek soup. Lentil soup. Quer durch den Kuehlschrank soup (literally translated as diagonally through the fridge soup). Miso soup. Just about any kind of fresh homemade soup or veggie stew you can imagine.

Tonight it was Sweet Potato Soup with Thai flavors, va in soup-ra intori dorost kardam (Farsi for this is how I made the soup)

1 cup coconut cream

2 tablespoons red curry paste

1 cup coconut milk

1 vegan soup bouillon cube

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in small cubes

2 kaffir lime leaves, julienned

water

salt

handful of green peas

cilantro, chopped

lime juice

In a large pot, heat the coconut cream over medium high heat; stir in the curry paste and cook for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk, soup cube, onions, sweet potatoes, and lime leaves.

Lower heat and cook, covered and occasionally stirring, until the potatoes are soft. You may need to add some water if it gets too thick. Puree and return to the stove; season with salt.

Add the green peas and cook for a few more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and sprinkle with fresh lime juice.

Nushe jaan va be salaamati. In other words, bon apetit (I know, I know; it should have an accent mark, but I can’t figure out how to insert one with this program) and be well :)

Cosmic Girls

2010-12-28T10:39:00.003-06:00

Lunch last week with the gorgeous Cosmic girls. Cosmic? Well, that's a stretch, but they do represent some corners of the earth....Egypt, NYC, Bavaria, and Illinois.... and they were taken at Cosmic Cafe down on Oak Lawn.

Love the postprandial smiles, courtesy of some delish veg food, vino, and their awesome vegan coconut cake....and funky decor.

Wish we could do this more often! But it's the occasion that makes it all the more special.

Five on Friday

2010-12-03T16:57:00.002-06:00

Five on Friday ~

1. Flowers - above is a photo of what I'm sure is my garden's last rose for the year

2. Friends - old and new....and rediscovered :)

3. Farsi - re-learning this language is keeping my brain working....vey, daaram pir misham!!

4. Firefighters - I love mine :)

5. Friday!! - gateway to the weekend.........

Hope you enjoy yours

Da ist der Wurm drin!!

2010-10-26T09:42:00.005-05:00

Long work day on Monday. Looong, looooong day. Running one report after another. Hm, how to reward myself?

Why, chocolate, of course!!

I opened the strawberry & pepper Hachez chocolate I recently received....and out crumbles the chocolate.

Crumbles?? Does chocolate crumble?? you wonder.

I wondered, too, and followed that thought up with da ist der Wurm drin -- German for "something is wrong here."

Something was definitely wrong here. Check it out....

Snapped a picture of one happy little Wurm doing the "red carpet" in, out, and all about my chocolate. Some of his camera-shy friends were hiding inside the bar. Literally da ist der Wurm drin!

Guess worms like chocolate too :)

Speechless Wednesday

2010-10-20T14:55:00.004-05:00

I added a photo a few weeks back for "Wordless Wednesday," something I've seen other bloggers do. Something I'd like to keep up occasionally.

But not today...

I had another picture in mind for today's Wordless Wednesday post -- until I checked the mailbox today. Instead of the usual bills and adverts, I pulled out a little brown box from Bremen, Germany. Stuffed to the gills with individually orange-paper-wrapped gifts of incredible merino lace yarns, Hachez chocolates (one is strawberries & pepper!!), patterns, and other little goodies, I just had to post the photo. Lovely package from my Amazing Lace knitting swap partner, Angela :)

Can't wait to start knitting!!

Oh, by the way, I hid the Hachez chocolates in my office...heh heh heh :)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T12:00:00.003-05:00

Kalte Natscherl und warme Trutscherl

2010-10-05T17:42:00.020-05:00

"I'm starving. What're we gonna have for dinner?"

Kalte Natscherl und warme Trutscherl.

"Mm, what's that??

After recent feasts of mutter paneer and dosas, saffron and rosewater bastani, and melanzane sott'olio (a gift from Adele - mille grazie!!), I guess J would be anticipating something on the creative & fantastical end of the culinary spectrum ;)

He was about to get something creative all right, but if I'd told him "I'm making fried rice"....well, suffice it to say he'd be happy he was getting something to eat -- but it just didn't sound as exotically enticing.

Kalte Natscherl und warme Trutscherl....that's what my Omi used to tell us when we'd ask her what was for lunch or dinner. We never knew what to expect. Sometimes that meant:

A guate Supp'n mit Suppenfleisch. Beef noodle soup was always a complete meal at Omi's house. First, she'd serve the broth and noodles served in large shallow Suppenteller (soup plates). Then she would slice the meat she'd used for the broth, and that would be served, with lots of salt and pepper, a lovely green or cucumber salad, and maybe some vegetables.

Gulasch. Gulasch, as served in Bavaria has nothing at all to do with what most Americans think of as "goulash" (rather ghoulish, IMHO). My grandmother's dish was made from onions, special cuts of meat, fragrantly fresh paprika from Hungary, and caraway seeds all slow-cooked to a spicy stew which she served with boiled potatoes, or sometimes with Spaetzle, and a small dollop of sour cream to tame the spice. Ah, Szegedinergulasch....

Apfelstrudel. Which meant, first course: a light soup, then second course: Strudel!!!

Sometimes it was leftovers. Especially then would we hear the Kalte Natscherl und warme Trutscherl response coming from the kitchen.

Thus, my response as noted at the top of this post. Truth be told, I'd have probably told myself the same thing instead of saying "fried rice." After all, fried rice doesn't exactly conjure "feast." But there's something about it. First of all, it's an ingenious way to use leftover rice. And what better way to clean out the veggie bin, right? That odd piece of zucchini or stalk of kale hiding underneath the bag of potatoes and ginger, which are both camouflaging the celery and cilantro. You know what I'm talking about. We both know all about those stray peas or shriveling baby carrots rolling around in the crisper!! Uh huh!! And, last but not least, it's quick comfort food.

Speaking of odd pieces of non-optimally ripe veggies, today I spent several hours on telecons & live meetings - my ears feel like cauliflower florets! Truly, the last thing I want to think about is cooking dinner. But I'm hungry too. What to make?!?!

What's in the fridge? Cold rice with peas, an onion, one lonely zucchini, some ginger, some roasted garlic, a lovely heirloom tomato, and a few sprigs of cilantro. Spin the wheel, Vanna!

And it's spinning...Soup? Pizza? Salad? Spinning slows and stops on Casserole? No, it stops on (in your best AM radio announcer voice) Kalte Natscherl und waaaarme Truuuutscherl. And tonight that means fried rice!

Fried rice?? Is fried rice worthy of it's own blogpost?? Well, all I can say is that after tonight's dinner, J suggested that "you should always cook extra rice so we can have fried rice." (Love his use of pronouns there!!) Maybe we were both just hungry, but here's how I made it:

Note: This is just a basic pattern; you can use whatever kinds of veggie combination you like. Or try adding sauteed pineapple and topping with holy basil and lime (instead of cilantro and lemon) for a more Thai version. Sometimes I toss in chopped kale or chard, or diced eggplant (the slim Japanese kind), or some bell pepper, whatever. Or you can vary the spices: leave out the ginger and habanero and use comino & chipotles, a handful of corn, and maybe sprinkle with some pecorino. Be creative!

KNWT Fried Rice

Coconut oil, a few tablespoons
½ cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 habanero pepper, minced
Roasted garlic cloves, maybe 10-12
1 medium zucchini, diced
½ green peas
1 tomato, diced
2 cups cold rice, I like brown basmati
Black pepper
½ cup chopped cilantro
Tamari (gluten-free), to taste
lemon

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. When it’s shimmery, add the chopped onion, and sauté for a few minutes – until glassy. Toss in the ginger & pepper – don’t inhale J -- the oils in the habanero can take your breath away!!

When the onion is golden, add the garlic, zucchini and green peas. Saute until the zukes are softened, then add the diced tomatoes and continue stir frying for a few minutes.

You may need to add more oil to the pan at any time during this dish.

Add the rice to the pan, breaking up any clumps, and stir fry till the rice is hot and no longer has a "grainy," crunchy core.

Grind on lots of black pepper, stir in the cilantro, and taste if it needs more tamari or pepper.

Plate it up, generously sprinkle with fresh lemon juice, and voilà – a most delicious version of kalte Natscherl und warme Trutscherl!!

Mahlzeit or bon apétit!

So, now it's your turn: What versions of kalte Natscherl und warme Trutscherl do you make??

Za'aferaan khordi??

2010-09-22T22:26:00.006-05:00

Anytime I used to giggle or belly-chuckle, Khanom-e Mansoori would ask me: "Za'aferaan khordi?"

Translated from Farsi, that means: "Have you eaten saffron?"

Apparently saffron is an upper, it makes you smile. And saffron in great quantities makes you giggly.

Saffron makes everything yellow -- the happy color -- so it makes total sense, right??

Tonight we celebrated the Firefighter's engagement to Nessa. A happy occasion at Jasper's in Plano. A great place to eat, by the way, if you're vegan or gluten-free. Well, there's not much on the menu, but if you ask your server, they'll gladly tell you that Chef is happy to accommodate your wishes. Would you like something based on pasta or rice? Would you like something spicy? Something with Indian flavors? Greek? Italian? It's just so pleasant to be able to get something other than the standard salad or grilled veggie platter. I can have that at home!! They made me and Nini Bell a delicious spiced rice dish, with lots of veggies, and plenty of heat. Best restaurant dish I've had in a loooong time.

Dessert for vegans or gluten-freers, on the other hand, is always a tad more difficult. So the vegan/gluten-free offer tonight was....please don't say it...fruit. Oh, believe me, I would've enjoyed the butterfinger creme brulee or chocolate mascarpone cheesecake had they been vegan/vegetarian or GF. I encouraged everyone else to partake, but personally passed on dessert and instead had an espresso with brandy -- cafe corretto, as they call it in Italy. Well, after all, I had dessert waiting at home....

I've been thinking a lot about Persian ice cream lately. Not sure why.

The other day at the Indian grocer's, I picked up a bottle of rosewater....for sentimental reasons. The firefighter used to love vanilla ice cream drizzled with rosewater. Aww, seems like forever ago....and now he's getting married....awww....

Anyway, I had this idea to make saffron-rosewater ice cream. I knew it wouldn't be exactly like the Akbar Mashti ice cream we used to buy: rosewater, saffron & pistachio-flavored ice cream studded with chunks of frozen cream, usually served along with faloodeh & sour cherry syrup. This would be the casalinga style -- the home-made style. I started with dissolving some saffron in boiling water, stirring in some sugar, mixing in the rosewater, finishing with coconut cream and then chilling.

I thought about it during dinner, wondering if it would be worth the wait. It is. This has more of a gelato consistency -- all the better, as you can eat more of it :)

You'll want to use really good saffron for this because it's the main flavor. Saffron itself is a deep red color, but will turn the liquid a lovely yellow-orange and smell perfumey and intense. If it doesn't, it's probably old, flavorless, and not worth adding to your dish. Buy the best you can afford and store it tightly-sealed in a dark, dry spot in your cupboard. Also, buy your rosewater from a Middle Eastern or Indian grocer - don't confuse this with the rosewater you buy in the bartender section of your local grocery/liquor store.

Rosewater Saffron Ice Kreme

1/2 teaspoon best quality saffron
2 tablespoons boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup rosewater
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup coconut cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

In a small bowl, steep the saffron in the boiling water for about 5 minutes. Stir in the rosewater and sugar.
In a blender, combine the coconut milk & cream and almond extract. Add the saffron mixture.
Blend well, then refrigerate for a few hours.
When the mixture is chilled, pour into the ice cream maker and churn until done.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Bah bah bah! as the say in Iran. Noosh-e jaan....enjoy....

And I hope you have lots to smile about :)

Technicolor lunches, Rohrschach, and Blue Teeth

2010-08-23T14:27:00.005-05:00

"What is this??"

What do you mean, what is this?? It's ice kreme!

"It looks like something the dogs ate -- and gave back."

Real funny! You mean like a technicolor lunch??

"A what?"

Technicolor lunch. That's Aussie for lunch 'the second time around'...

"Wow, this is delicious. What's in it??"

Myrtilles.

"So that's Aussie for..."

Nothing. It's French for blueberries :)

And it is absolutely delicious. J says it's now his favorite (till the next flavor). And much more colorful than the photo shows...and just a tad bluer than your teeth, gums, and lips will look after a bowlful :)

I remember years ago reading an account by Martha Stewart about how she'd served one of the European queens (Beatrix, maybe??) visiting the US a lovely pie made with some Concord grapes. She was proud to be able to showcase the fragrant purple globes in a typical American dessert: Flaky pastry, oozing a brilliant filling, topped with some whipped cream. Can't you just imagine the perfect plate and pie fork that Martha would have chosen for serving the pie? Yumm, who wouldn't want a slice?!

And then, to her horror, she realized why one does not serve blue desserts to royalty or any other important dignitary -- as people smiled at eachother they displayed lips and teeth stained, albeit temporarily, a dingy, washed-out shade of indigo.

Well, I'm here to tell you that eating this blueberry ice kreme will produce similar results. But if everybody eats some, it'll be like when everybody eats raw onions: nobody will really care. Except that everybody will want more of this kreme. Which is what J is counting on...

"I think we should sell this stuff. Really!"

We could call it Technicolor Lunch flavor.

"I'm serious, Banana. Get a booth at the farmers market in Bueny. Make this out of organic bluebs. Give people a taste of this in these, you know, little sample cup things, and then have some ready and some churning. And we could make plum jam. How much do you think we should charge?" he continues as I'm scraping the rest of the ice kreme out of the freezer bowl.

I'm wondering how we're going to squeeze our farmers market ice kreme business in with raising and spinning alpaca wool, running a B&B, climbing 14ers, building greenhouses for our year-round organic garden, holding knitting retreats, breathing, and teaching our old dogs new tricks.

I think I know how Rohrschach felt when he created his inkblots. They throw people off momentarily. They're derailing. Hand them an inkblot, they stop on a dime and give you that blind-sided "what's this?" look. His point exactly.

I hand J his second bowl of ice kreme and ask him what it looks like.

"A dream."

Hmmm...

Well, here's how I made Rohrschach's Technicolor Lunch Kreme last night :)

In the blender, whiz about 1 cup of blueberries, a spritz of lemon juice, some sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup, stevia -- I used 2 packets of stevia and a spoon of wildflower honey, but use whatever turns you on), and some coconut milk, maybe 3/4 of a cup -- enough to be able to blend the berries. When it's a uniformly crazy blue, add 1 cup or so of coconut cream. Pour into the ice cream maker and let that baby churn.

Enjoy...and don't forget to smile :)

Step softly and wait for das Lichtlein

2010-08-15T21:54:00.001-05:00

It's 1968 and Poesie Albums are all the rage at our all-girls prep school in Traunstein. Guess they're one of those things that "fad" in and out over generations. Leather-bound albums that were circulated among friends who decorated the pages with little drawings, poetry, maybe a "wish you were here" postcard, and signed and dated in friendship....or more.

I have one that belonged to my great aunt Marie, filled with art nouveau and stylized flowers, wreaths, etc. Sweet memories of friends…

I have one that my grandfather gave to my grandmother when they married. Has all sorts of drawings and little watercolors, along with love poems pledging eternal devotion. Ultimate proof that paper is patient - Papier ist geduldig.

My own is a red leather diary-like album, complete with lock & key. My mom drew a beautful tiny Japanese crane lifting in flight, with the words: Verzeih den anderen alles, Dir selber nichts. (Forgive others everything, yourself nothing.)

My sister drew some lovely blue morning glories cascading over a wall, with the poem ending in the words, "The truest joys they seldom prove who free from quarrels live. 'Tis the most tender part of love eachother to forgive."

These two "posts" are etched in my mind and I think of them often. Not that I've always followed the good counsel, but if I stray from the path, I try to get myself back in line.

Of all the beautiful & sentimenal writings and drawings in all the albums, one comes to mind as frequently as all the others put together. Maybe it's because it's what the writer put into each person's album that she wrote in:

Roughly translated as: “Just when think you can’t go on, from somewhere a light will appear.”

I repeated that phrase more than once going up Mt. Yale last week. A tough slog, seemingly straight up, with some slippery troughs near the summit. Whenever I thought “this is the last step I’m taking in the summit direction,” I’d tell myself, immer wenn Du denkst es geht nicht mehr… and like magic, I’d make it a few more steps.

Made me think of climbing Mt. Belford last year. I was so out of shape; had not trained – had not even walked the dogs – in the weeks leading up to that climb. Halfway up the switchbacks I wondered what in the world I was doing there. Well, the wondering probably started when we hit the trail at 3 a.m. that morning, but it hit me like a ton of bricks halfway up the mountain. Labored breaths, a summit that I did not seem to be closing in on, a chilly wind that had my lips numb, and an exposed trail that had about a 500’ drop on the left side…and this guy walks up behind me…says what a great day it is to be up on the mountain.

“I’m so tired,” I said, “and I have a terrible fear of heights.”

“Step softly,” he said. “Try to step without making a sound. It’ll help. And, if you need to, hold my hand.”

Truer words were never spoken about climbing or hiking. It didn’t really make the climb easier, or the grade less steep. But it made me slow down and focus on making it easier for myself, to quit chafing. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot…all the way to the top.

Life is not always easy. Sometimes we have that tough uphill climb, revel on the summit, and then realize we’ve still got to make it down – using a whole nother set of muscles.

Step softly…and just when you think you can’t go on, wait for that light to appear…

Plum delish!

2010-08-09T18:26:00.006-05:00

Again (!) it's been way too long. Can't believe the last post was....April???

Lots going on. Super busy with work. Just back from another working vaca in Colorado -- hiking the Rockies. Actually glad to give my thighs a rest -- boy were they happy to sit in my office chair today....237 new emails and all....

Knitted my first sock!! A pattern called Kalajoki (find it on Ravelry), like the Finnish river. Once I finish the left sock, I may just frame the pair :)

Published my first knitting pattern on Ravelry -- it's a free download, so go grab it.

Making lots of ice kreme (vegetarian/vegan style ice cream) -- fresh plum is our fave so far, with banana slipping in a close second. The plum is this simple to make:

Whiz 5 pitted organic plums in a blender, peels included, until they're "apple-saucy." Add some flavorful, natural vanilla extract or vanilla bean seeds, a teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice, a bit of sweetener (2 packets of stevia should do it, depending on how sweet your plums are), and a good cup of coconut cream (not the kind you use in mixed drinks, but the kind used for Thai cooking). Blend it well and refrigerate. Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker (I've got the kind that has a frozen canister); churn for about 15-20 minutes. Perfect!!!

I thought about this ice kreme while we were hiking, and how good it would've been when we were back in our cabin after a long day out in the mountains. Although it was chilly up at 12-14,000 feet, it was relatively warmer (75 degrees) at "base camp," and something cool and kremey would have been soothing.

I also thought about how to make a hiking trip more pleasurable and made mental notes for the "Top 10 tips while hiking/climbing". That will be the next post, along with some photos of the trip. Stay tuned.

Meanshile, what kind of ice kreme do you like....or fantasize about??

Salad for dinner? Again?? Ok!!

2010-04-16T17:39:00.001-05:00

“Hey, B invited me to go out to eat with him and C.”

Oh, great! (Not really. I know where this is heading.) Where’re you guys going?

“We’re gonna grab a buffalo burger.” (My dinner fate is sealed.)

Ok, yeah, that’s cool.

“And that way you won’t have to cook tonight. Right??”

Uh, well, I DO have to make myself something.

“Yeah, but you can eat salad or something…” he trails off as he heads out the door.

Yeah, I can eat another salad, I grumble to myself, just like I do every day of the year.

Honestly, I wasn’t much in the mood for salad tonight. I’d planned to grill some shrimp with lemon and pepper for J, steam some broccoli, and try out this new gluten free organic black bean spaghetti I’d picked up at Whole Foods the other day. Maybe toss it with a cumin-cilantro vinaigrette and some diced tomatoes. Maybe some chiles, too.

Ah, instead I opened the fridge, got out the lettuce and started to prepare my salad – my dinner. I gave it a good swirl of evoo; spooned on the lemon juice; a good squirt of Braggs liquid aminos rounded out the vinaigrette. Tossed on some raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds, a small handful of toasted almonds. Topped it all with tomato cubes and dried cranberries.

As I sat down to eat, I wondered what kind of crackers or chips we had to go with the salad. Not in the mood for rice crackers. Definitely no toast. Didn’t have any kind of focaccia or other heart bread around.

Naturally I went for the sprouted corn tortillas. Heated a pan over medium high, tossed on a tortilla and let it get flavorful, ripe banana brown spots on each side. It was a bit dry and stiff when I put it on the plate and that’s when I had my “aha” moment – I’m having tostadas tonight!!

Onto the tostada went part of my salad. Muy sabroso!! That was a great dinner :)

Anyway, I think is going to be one of my “go to” meals this summer. It’s fast; it’s nourishing; it’s gluten free; it’s delicious. And I’m just imagining it with some black beans scattered on, or some ruby quinoa, maybe some diced mango. The possibilities are endless -- it’s salad :)

I’ll get to the black bean spaghetti and keep you posted.

Technorati Tags: tostada,salad,gluten free,black bean spaghetti

These cupcakes are real lemons…

2010-04-15T23:31:00.001-05:00

Lemon tree, oh so pretty!

And, indeed, the lemon flower is sweet!! Our lemon tree is blooming and the scent that floats through the yard is indescribable…sweet lemony perfuminess. The bees are buzzing around it and it makes me feel like I’m contributing to the earth’s fruitfulness.

I can’t wait till the flowers start producing little lemons, and the little lemons, in turn, become big, edible lemons. We “harvested” about 10 of them last year. Hope we can have at least that many again this year.

Lemons make me happy. They make everything taste better, they’re so cute to look at, they’re so versatile. How on earth did they become associated with things that are wrong??

"The car’s a real lemon!” Shouldn’t that mean “it’s a perfectly perky little automobile?"

“We bought a new fridge and it’s a real lemon!” And you know whoever is saying that is swathing the statement in utter disgust. Oh, that breaks my heart!!

“I made a batch of cupcakes yesterday and they’re real lemons.” With that statement I’d like to change forever the association of lemons with anything subpar, for the lemon cupcakes are real winners. They’re lemons :)

So here’s the story:

Every day when we juice, we juice at least a couple of organic lemons, peel and all. I love the juice in place of vinegar in salads. Imagine the sparkle it adds to steamed broccoli and asparagus. Somehow juicing the whole thing softens, yet intensifies the flavor all at the same time. Mm, sooo good!

J has been begging me to make him a lemon cake. I used to make this delicious vegan lemon cake – and since I’ve gone gluten free, no more lemon cake. I refuse to put that much work into something I can’t eat. So I’ve been trying to figure out how to make the lemon cake that he insists he dreams of. Geez, can he get any more dramatic??

The other day I got my weekly e-mailer from Whole Foods and they had a recipe for gluten-free spice cupcakes. I don’t know, spice cupcakes just don’t do anything for me in spring or summer. Maybe in a snowbound winter, but not in warm weather. Anyway, I looked at the ingredient ratios and thought, I could do this with lemon!!!

Act I. Scene I - So I got everything out, mixed the batter up, dropped it into the lined cupcake tins, and popped them in the oven. Oh my, they smelled grreat!! They rose beautifully and…deflated with a vengeance. Hmmm.

I let them cool and then gently peeled the paper off. Not sure why I peeled it gently because I could tell from the weight of the cake that it was not a gentle thing. I handed one to J with the look of promise in my eyes, and we bit into them.

“They’re different! Good, but different,” he said. “They remind me of mochi. Lemon mochi.”

“That’s because I made them with sweet rice flour,” I sighed. “That’s the only kind of rice flour I had.”

Shoot, these cupcakes were lemons. They tasted soooo good, but they felt like a ton of lead in the belly. Ach, lemons!

“Ok, J, I’m making these again,” I said, “but this time I’m using brown rice flour. I’ll buy some and give them another shot.”

Act II - Several days later. The lemon chorus: “They’re different. Good, but different. Why are they so gritty?”

He was right. The brown rice flour brought back memories of “that thar cowpoke eatin’ dust and a-dyin’ in the desert”.

Another batch of good old-fashioned lemons.

“I’m gonna give these one more shot. One more shot and that’s it. If they’re not right, I’m not wasting any more time on your dream cake. Harrumph!!” Exit kitchen left.

Act III. Deus ex machina. (Well, not really, but my college degree likes it.) Kitchen alchemy begins. Powders are measured and mixed. Liquids are blended and swirled. The elements are cajoled to bind thee one unto another till teeth thee do part. The little muffin tins are lined and filled and the mounds of lemony batter are whisked to their igneous fate. Trial by fire. Leia and Sonoma can feel the tension building as the cloud of lemony scent billows its way through the house.

A cupcake is plated. Lemon blossom and blackberry crown it, as a few more berries surround the cake as if to soften the blow as it, too, falls from dream grace.

“Banana! This is THE best cupcake I have ever eaten. In my whole life.” J is drifting in an out of gastronomic delirium.

Well, I don’t know if they’re the best thing E.V.E.R, but they’re pret-ty delicious. They’re real lemons!!

I changed the original recipe up and down and all around. These babies are vegetarian AND gluten-free. How much better does it get?! And if you want to veganize them, substitute for the butter in the frosting. They don’t need frosting, but sometimes there’s nothing like a little dab of icing on the cupcake to do ya

Technorati Tags: lemon cupcake,gluten free,vegan,vegetarian

Give them a try and let me know if you agree with J :)

Lemon Cupcakes – Vegetarian & Gluten-free

Ingredients:

2 T ground flax seeds

1/4 c water

2/3 c vanilla yogurt

1/3 c sugar

1/2 c coconut oil

1/2 c coconut milk

1 t fresh lemon juice (I used juice from a juiced lemon, peel and all)

1 t freshly grated lemon zest

1 c brown rice flour

1 c Pamela’s baking mix

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t xanthan gum

1/4 t salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cupcake tin with muffin liners.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the flax seeds and water. Set aside.

3. In a bowl, mix together the yogurt and sugar. Whisk in the coconut oil until well incorporated. Add the coconut milk, lemon juice and zest. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

5. Stir the flax seed mixture into the liquid mixture, then pour all into the flour mixture. Mix until no flour is visible. Drop the batter evenly into the 12 cupcake liners and bake for about 23 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

The cupcakes are fairly delicate, but firm up a bit as they cool. Serve as is, with fruit, ice cream, frosting, or any combination of the aforementioned. Enjoy!!

Lemon Frosting

4 T softened butter

1 T coconut oil

2 T lemon juice (juiced lemon, peel and all)

1 1/2 c icing sugar

Beat the butter and coconut oil together. Blend in the lemon juice. Stir in the icing sugar, then beat till well-combined. Frost cupcakes as desired.

1 day later…

2010-04-04T18:04:00.001-05:00

So I thought the lacy shrug I posted about yesterday was a pattern I’d found on Ravelry. Well, the link can be found there. But actually it’s a pattern called Ribbed Lace Bolero and it can be found here on the “10 feet high” blog. Gotta give credit where credit is due.

And, now, gotta run because I just had this -- a goblet of zingy-zappin’ energy juice: apples, carrots, celery, lemon, beets, cranberries, sea buckthorn, cherries, grapefruit, tangerines, oranges, and ginger…

and because this big girl and her sister are ready to go on a nice long walk.

25 years later….

2010-04-03T21:19:00.001-05:00

8pm and it’s still light outside. I love it!!

Light breeze, all the windows are open, and I was just going back through time courtesy of a photo album S gave me the other day. Ha, there are some photos of me back in 1984 knitting a sweater I’d be wearing in the 1985 photo of me on a train from Berlin to Munich. Seems like another world ago. Check these out…

Someone asked me not too long ago if I ever knitted anything but shawls. I don’t currently knit much besides shawls, but there was a time when I made all kinds of things. I used to knit my little Firefighter’s sweaters, hats, and booties. Obviously, from the pictures, I used to knit myself little sweaters. But there’s an element of mindlessness that comes with knitting shawls that I find comforting, necessary for my life phase. Even the ones with complicated patterns are somehow mindless. And they never “don’t fit.” They’re always just right. And I love that they can be made in any color under the sun. I usually knit with wool, but for my upcoming trip to Florida, I wanted cotton or silk and found some gorgeous ones at Woolie Ewe. I’m nearly done with the marigold Ishbel, but wouldn’t you know it, I ran out of yarn and need to buy another hank to finish about 9 rows plus the bind-off. Ach, knitting trauma.

The flamingo wool I bought is actually going to be another shawl. First I thought I’d knit another Ishbel, but decided to branch out and try another pattern. What could be more fitting for a trip than Traveling Woman? Here’s a peek at the stockinette portion; the lace pattern is about to begin tonight since the marigold one is on hold.

I had bought some silvery lilac cotton, too, and instead of a shawl actually made a little shrug. I found the free pattern on Ravelry, but can’t remember the name. If I think of it, I’ll post it. So, I like the shrug even though it’s a little big. Maybe I can shrink it a bit with a good hot wash?? Anyway, I have one skein left. Not sure what it will become. Maybe a little lace beanie??

So I don’t just knit shawls, I do knit other things. I just prefer knitting shawls :)

But I don’t just knit. I cook, too. This afternoon I made some really cool little tacos that reminded me of Antigua. Sorry, no pics, but they were great and super easy. Next time I make them, and I will make them again, I’ll try to snap some photos before they’re devoured.

Tempeh Tacos

Tempeh, cut into strips and steam for about 5 minutes
Season with lemon juice and curry powder
Heat a pan over medium-high, add a tablespoon or so of coconut oil, and sautee the strips, till they’re crispy on both sides
Julienne some green & red cabbage
Cut some tomatoes into matchsticks
Heat some sprouted corn tortillas on a hot pan until they’re fragrant
Assemble: Spread a little sweet & spicy mustard on a tortilla. Layer on some cabbage, tomatoes, tempeh and more cabbage
Fold and eat. Oh yeah!!

I also made a delicious veggie stew/soup the other day. Sort of a “goodbye winter – hello springtime” kind of dish.

It had all kinds of goodies in it: tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, cabbage, kale, lots of cilantro and -- the dot on the i -- lemon juice. Not just regular old lemon juice. Juiced organic lemon juice. Before the other fruits and veggies go into the juicer each day, I drop in a lemon or two, peel and all. Out comes the most fragrant nectar that makes anything it goes on taste vibrantly delicious. It’s incredible on salads in place of vinegar, in juices, and as a seasoning. Lip-smacking good, I’m telling you. We keep a jar in the fridge and it’s finding its way into all kinds of edibles. Tomorrow it’s going to make an appearance in the chickpeas I’ve got soaking – mmmm, lemony hummos. Can’t wait!

Last pic of today’s post…Sonoma snoozing in the car. Isn’t she a doll?

Still here and kicking….

2010-03-13T18:41:00.001-06:00

It’s been 4 months to the day since my last post. What?!? Time flows by so quickly, pulling us swiftly along through the currents…come la bianca scia di un’elica…

And there’s been lots of water under the bridge – Texas is no longer considered a drought state!! – and lots of snow on the ground – Texas had record snowfalls this winter. We were down at the lake when the big snowstorm hit. It really was beautiful. I spent the days working with the fireplace blazing, lots of hot tea, and watching the girls frolicking in the snow. After my workday, we’d go for walks, marveling at how different the landscape looks all frosted in a gazillion snowflakes…miraculously enough, each one different. Amazing!!

Lots of knitting going on, too.

I keep hearing how knitting is the new yoga. Don’t know about that, but it’s amazing how many knitters there are out there. The lines today at Woolie Ewe were long and slow-moving. Maybe that’s the yogic part about knitting :)

Going to Florida next month for business pleasure and want to knit myself a cotton wrap. I’ve got some “flamingo pink” Araucania Merino wool that’s going to be another Ishbel, like this grape-colored one…

but I also wanted something sunny and cottony. Found a lovely light marigold cotton by Araucania, with a lovely sheen. Also found some lovely light, light silvery lilac Cascade Yarns pima cotton. Which one shall I start first? More likely is which one will I finish first? Can I finish both before April 26th? On 3.5 mm needles?? Hm, the race is on.

Lots of cooking going on, too. With the warmer weather I’m getting excited about doing more raw. Stocked up on buckwheat, quinoa, millet, lots of fruit. It’s like the summer wardrobe for the dehydrator. Sprouted buckwheat granola. Flax seed bread. I’m going to try dehydrating miso, at my mom’s request. I can just imagine that powdered miso would be fantastic sprinkled over all sorts of things.

Been on an uttapam kick, too. Loaded with chiles, veggies, and cilantro. Served with coconut chutney and sambar. Mm, can it get any better? The Indian market up the road carries a lovely ready-made dosa batter that we’ve been buying. It’s just urad dal, rice, salt, and water. Easy enough to make the batter yourself, but sometimes it’s hard to get the soaked rice and dal ground finely enough. Then there’s the waiting for it to soak and get that light sour flavor. The ready-made is just that, ready. No waiting. I’d never made coconut chutney before but tried it this week and it was easy enough…Here’s how I made mine:

Banana’s Coconut Chutney

1 c grated coconut

2 hot green chiles

about 4-5 sprigs of cilantro

water

1 t coconut oil

2 t mustard seed

2 t cumin seed

curry leaves

1 T urad dal

1 dried red chile

salt to taste

1. In a blender, whir together the coconut, green chiles, cilantro, and enough water to keep the chutney blending. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a small saute pan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, and red chile. Stir and take care when the seeds start popping – you may need to cover the pan with a lid. Don’t allow to burn.

3. Stir the spice mixture into the coconut.

4. Season with salt and enjoy.

Sweet 61% Darkness

2009-11-13T18:31:00.015-06:00

I don't like buying gifts when I go on trips. I always wind up looking for "the perfect gift", spending more of my time searching for that special something than enjoying my trip. It's always there in the back of my mind, nagging me, "What can I bring for So-and-So??"

Sad, because I love to bring back the perfect gift.
I don't want to just settle for that last-minute airport quickie -- the shotglass, keychain, or t-shirt. They're fine for people who collect them (like me), but even among shotglasses, keychains, and t-shirts, there are the good, the bad, and the "gee-thanks".

Before I left for Paris, I asked J what he wanted me to bring him. Years back someone had brought him a tie from Hermès. How do you top that? Certainly not with a t-shirt, shotglass, or keychain. So I bought myself a lovely bottle of Un Jardin sur le Nil. After all, J would get to enjoy the second-hand scent, right? Close to the perfect gift, but no cigar.

We love to collect local honeys. And I found some beauties, like Provençal lavender, eucalyptus, limeflower, and thyme. But I kept imagining having to lick it off my clothes after landing and discovering the bottles had broken mid-flight.

I found some wines. Same mid-flight-explosion nightmare.

Hmmm....

And then, miracle of miracles, I found Kaoka, chocolat noir biologique éclats de fèves de cacao caramélisés!! Doesn't that sound mysterious? 61% of purely delicious chocolate darkness, blissfully laden with caramelized (!!!) cocoa nibs. And it's organic and fair trade!!

I keep trying to convince J that this perfect gift must be shared, but we don't quite see eye to eye on that one. Now why didn't I buy a whole case of these, the perfect gift??

J keeps asking me if I'm absolutely sure this isn't available in the US. I've not seen it before, but believe me, I'm now scouring the internet for it. If you come across some, buy it -- it's perfect!!

From now on, trips will be much less stressful. It's simple: Buy chocolate.

Lesson learned.

Matter of fact, I think I'm going to approach Whole Foods to see if they will consider ordering and carrying it. That way I can perfect the lesson with weekly purchases :)

Autumn Weekend Tofu Scramble

2009-11-09T17:54:00.002-06:00

Here are some photos from our weekend at the lakehouse. The tofu veggie scramble at the bottom of the mosaic is what fueled the autumnal work. The colors of nature made it all a pleasure.

Time Flies –- Eat a Good Breakfast!!

2009-11-08T13:44:00.000-06:00

It's been a long work week, and I found myself on more than one occasion wishing I was still on vacation. That got me to thinking about how vacations are little milestones or markers on the highway of life and how we so often measure time relative to our vacations.

First we look forward to our trip, counting down the months, then weeks, then days and even hours before the vacation. Right now I’m counting my five more weeks till Boston.

Then it comes and goes and we begin counting the time since the trip. So it's been more than a week since we've been back from Paris. About 6 weeks since we've been back from this year’s annual trek to Colorado. Two years since Broken Bow. Four years since Australia? Seven years since Antigua? Eleven years since Germany?

What? That long?? Already??? Really????

Wow, tempus fugit...at a mind-numbing speed. Must be why we feel jet-lagged all the time, eh?

Spring ‘09 - gone.

Summer ’09 - gone.

Fall ‘09 – whoosh. It’s flying by as quickly as the colors are turning on the trees. Ah, we’re tumbling through autumn. As are the leaves. Piles and piles of leaves.

In the city, we’ve got a huge oak tree in the backyard that is so very generously raining its fruit upon everything in its shadow. The roof sounds like an old typewriter as the acorns drop from the branches that overhang the house. Walking in the backyard is a veritable acupressure treatment for the feet. And the sloping driveway has turned into a roller rink, with wham-bam roller derby sound effects as the car tires crunch over the acorns.

At the lakehouse, we’ve got everything from flowering maples festooned with deep pink flowers to Japanese maples cloaked in brilliant scarlet, to oaks cloaked in shades ranging from umber to chartreuse, to redbuds which have nary a leaf left on their little branches. The ground is a crazy quilt of all the above.

With each falling leaf, I thought I could wax poetic this morning, rambling on oh so metaphorically about the falling of the leaves corresponding to life.

But looking at it all just makes me hungry. Because I know that each one of those brilliant little palettes of color eventually has to be raked and bagged.

Thus, the need for a nourishing breakfast of champions. Breakfast today is going to have to last us till dinner time, till our acre of autumnal splendor is packaged into stuffed recycle sacks neatly stacked at the curb.

So, as I head out into the ukiyo-e of East Texas autumn leaves, feeling a little bit Renoir and a little bit chain-gang, I leave you with the Tofu Scramble I made this morning. I used the veggies I had on hand. Like the colors of the leaves, mix and match the ingredients as you like.

Veggie Tofu Scramble

2 tablespoons oil (I like coconut or evoo)

1 baby-fist-sized shallot, chopped (or ½ cup chopped sweet red onion)

2 small potatoes, cooked and cubed (I like Yukon golds with the skin on)

1 zucchini, diced

½ teaspoon freshly ground comino

1 package tofu, well-drained (I like firm, but any type will do)

1 teaspoon turmeric

Salt & pepper, to taste

Sprouted corn tortillas

Cheese (I like Alta Dena’s raw goat cheddar)

Sliced tomatoes

1. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium high. Add the shallot, potatoes, zucchini and comino, stirring till all veggies are golden.

2. Crumble in the tofu, sprinkle with turmeric, and stir so it doesn’t stick.

3. Season with salt & pepper.

4. When the tofu is heated through, heat another small skillet over medium and heat the tortillas on both sides, one at a time. After I flip the tortilla over, I layer on some of the cheese and allow it to melt slightly and the tortilla to crisp a little.

5. Plate the tortilla, spoon on some tofu scramble, layer on some tomato slices, try to roll up or fold in half like a taco, and enjoy. It’s messy, but it’s good and filling.

NB: You can use fresh mushrooms, cooked eggplant chunks, diced tomatoes, shredded cabbage, peas, cauliflower. You can use different spices, as well, like marjoram, curry powder, chiles. The combinations really are endless. Instead of rolling into tortillas or wraps, this can be served alongside bread and jam for a more formal breakfast. It can be served for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner, depending how it’s served up.

Lastly, we’re at the lake where the internet is too slow to upload photos. So, pictures will be posted later.

Le Mosaïque - Paris, Chapitre Deux

2009-11-01T09:35:00.005-06:00

Le Parfum du Pain - Paris, Chapitre Un

2009-10-31T10:48:00.032-05:00

Another whirlwind vacation -- Paris -- has come and gone. A week in the City of Lights, walking, talking, eating, shopping, taking in the sights, laughing, and having a great time with my mom.

The last time I saw Paris was in 1973. Mama, Nini Belle, our French teacher Camille Kessler, and Nini Potter and Julie Neil, two other French students at Vicenza American High School, boarded the Orient Express in Vicenza, Italy, bound for Paris. We had reserved seats for each segment of the trip to Paris (Vicenza to Milano, Milano to Lausane, Lausanne to Paris) -- a must if you didn't want to stand for the 12-hour trip. We got on in Vicenza, or tried to anyway. We never got to our seats, because the entrance to the train, the little section between cars, was packed full. How full? Passengers were shuffling chicken crates and bundles of goods to make room for the 6 of us to squeeze in. Squeeze in for the one-legged ride to Milano. Each of us stood the whole way, one leg on the floor, the other bent-kneed on our little suitcases. Mama was fortunate enough to be packed in face to face with a gentleman who understood enough English to laugh heartily every time one of us spoke. Unfortunately for Mama, this gentleman had consumed a hearty, bowl-you-over dose of garlic before getting on the train and she was stuck there enduring one hellacious dose of ozostomia. Fortunately for Mama, there was no way she could fall over :) Thirty six years later, we still laugh about that one.

We arrived in Paris the next morning, took a taxi to our hotel in the sixieme arrondissement (6th) on the Left Bank, the Hôtel de Chevreuse, quickly unpacked and headed out to explore our Parisian wonderland.

Fast forward to 2009. We arrived in Paris in the morning, took the Air France shuttle to our lodgings in the seizieme, the Gentle Gourmet B&B, unpacked, had a cup of tea and some gluten-free biscuits, chatted with Deborah (the lovely and gracious owner), then headed out for a relaxing week of whatever we wanted to do. No plan, no agenda, except to have fun together.

And we did just that. Each day we set out on the Métro in one direction or another, thinking we might like to visit this or that museum, or shop here or there, or eat at this or that vegetarian restaurant. In fact, we'd get on at either the Argentine (Ligne 1) or Victor Hugo (Ligne 2) stop and head towards our destination, exit the subway, and act like we knew where we were going. I guess we looked like locals because quite a few times we were stopped and asked in French (by French tourists) if we knew where a particular monument or metro stop was.

Désolée. Nous ne sommes pas d'ici. "Sorry, we're not from here," Mama might say.

Or, Oui, le Petit Palais c'est la. "Yes, the Petit Palais is there," pointing in a given direction towards the museum.

A constant in our daily adventures were the boulangeries/pâtisseries, the bakery/pastry shops. Windows laden with beautiful golden baguettes and other pains (breads), like pain au chocolat (chocolate-filled croissants), or Rubenesque braids of mixed grain. Then there were the little jewelbox pastries and tartes, fruity gem-like concoctions presented like crown jewels. I was oohing and ahing each time we encountered a new neighborhood bakery. It is said one eats with the eyes first. To be sure, these "daily breads" were beautiful to behold. But, to me, it was the scent wafting around the bakeries that was intoxicating.

I've always thought I could truly live on bread alone. I l.o.v.e. bread in just about every form. All the different flatbreads, like the yeasted pita, barbari,and crackers. Unyeasted chapattis and sprouted corn tortillas. Black and whole grain breads. Challahs, Stollens, sourdough and sweet yeast loaves. Caramel cinnamon rolls, injera, naan. Scones and muffins, both the quick and English types. Name any bread -- I love it. Mm, mir läuft das Wasser im Mund zusammen. Mm, my mouth is watering.

I used to bake breads all the time, too. Especially yeast breads. I guess it's the activity of the yeast that I really love to smell. There's no more comforting scent to me than bread baking. It evokes warmth and satisfaction, and every good memory possible.

And that's what I smelled at around 2:45 a.m. of our last morning in Paris. One sleepless second I was breathing in the scent of one of the perfumes I'd been spritzed with at the Galeries Lafayette department store and the next I inhaled the perfume of bread. And inhale I did. Inhaled till I couldn't distinguish the smell anymore and wondered if I'd actually dreamt it up.

It may as well have been a dream because of all the breads I saw in the shop windows, I couldn't eat a single one. Surrounded by some of the most incredible breads on the planet, and I couldn't have even a single, teeny tiny little bite, as not one was gluten-free.

Well, I actually did have some nice bread while in Paris. Deborah found some gluten-free loaves made with quinoa, teff, and chestnut flours. Dense and flavorful, they were wonderful sliced and toasted for breakfast. Although I couldn't have the breads of my dreams, I feasted on some rather tasty and nutritious gluten-free ones. One morning we were discussing whether or not these breads could be made into french toast. Deborah mentioned making vegan french toast with a banana and soy milk batter. Not sure if that would work with those dense breads, but it got me to thinking about how I hadn't made my vegan french toast since I went gluten-free. So guess what we had for breakfast this morning? Vegan french toast made with Udi's bread. It was perfect!

One of Firefighter's friends in high school was a vegetarian from India. He spent the night once and fairly early the next morning I heard him getting ready to leave. I guess he thought I'd be serving eggs and bacon with biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I assured him I'd been vegetarian longer than he was old and would make him some breakfast without using dairy or eggs. I whipped up some french toast served with maple syrup and tempeh "bacon" -- he ate every bite. A few days later I had a call from his mom, wanting to know if I could give her my recipe because Shubham kept talking about how good it was.

I don't remember how I came up with the recipe -- no doubt it's a combination of many different vegan versions I read about in books and on the internet -- but it's a good one. Best of all, it's vegan and gluten-free, and good enough that I just might make it again for breakfast tomorrow :)

Without further ado, here's my vegan pain perdu, or french toast...

French Toast - Vegan and Gluten-free

1 tablespoon tahini

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1 cup coconut or soy milk

2 tablespoons brown rice flour (or gluten-free or other all purpose flour)

1 teaspoon sugar or maple syrup

Sliced bread

Coconut oil for pan-frying

1. Mix the tahini and flax seeds; slowly stir in the milk. Whisk in the flour and sugar.

2. Heat a large saute pan.

3. Soak as many slices of bread in the batter as will fit in your saute pan. Turn to make sure the bread is covered. I usually soak mine for about 5 seconds per side.

4. Add about 1 teaspoon coconut oil to the pan and swirl to coat.

5. Lift the bread slices from the batter and carefully lay them onto the pan. Flip the toast when the underside is golden and crispy, and allow the second side to saute until crispy golden brown.

6. Serve hot.

I like to serve mine with maple syrup and apricot-applesauce.

NB: I like to use raw tahini, but any good tahini, or even cashew or almond butter, will do. This makes enough batter for about 4 or 5 slices of bread, but it also depends on how long you soak the slices. I don't let mine get too soggy, otherwise the slices are too hard to lift out of the batter and are custardy inside.

Colorado 2009 -- The Working Vacation

2009-10-10T15:30:00.003-05:00

40+ years of knitting

2009-10-10T10:56:00.018-05:00

Like most knitters, I've got lots of projects going simultaneously; never have enough sets of needles; keep buying yarn even though I've got tons of unused balls and hanks stashed; and enjoy drooling over the beautiful patterns and items that craft bloggers post -- all the while, plotting more projects. In other words, too much yarn and too little time.

A few weeks back, I was glancing through The Nerd and the Needles blog and saw a photo of a cute little scarf. Every once in a while a pattern hits the craft circle and everybody is making it, gifting it, and/or wearing it. Baktus is one of those. It's nothing fancy or special, but it's fast and easy, and takes very little yarn to complete. There are lots of variations out there -- some are striped, some have a simple lace component added, some are larger, some smaller. Google "baktus" and you'll see what I mean.

Hm, I thought, think I'll try it with that grey sock yarn. Maybe stripe it with the orange sock yarn? Hmmm...

I've been knitting since I was about 10 years old. Sounds impressive, but in reality I had to knit when I was 10 years old. I'd been crocheting, which I really enjoyed because it creatively facilitated my inability to coordinate two-handed projects. That's why I never could play piano. How do you work the left and right hands at the same time?!

The year my dad was in Viet Nam, Nini Belle and I attended German college prep school -- 1. Klasse Oberschule at the Annette-Kolb-Gymnasium in Traunstein. And in the 60's, that meant we'd be learning to knit, crochet lace for hankies, weave baskets, embroider, and all sorts of other things that would ensure that we were proper young ladies -- all for a grade. And 10 was a good age to start building a trousseau, ja? My aunt, Tante Marie, had attended a convent school and had made some of the most beautiful needlework projects, a few of which I still have. Her linens (actual finely woven linen and hemp) were embroidered with her initials, MW (a beautiful combination of letters for artwork), and had hand-made crocheted, tatted, and bobbin lace insets. Just gorgeous. Same with her pillowcases and hankies.

I had hopes and aspirations (severely misplaced, I now realize) of producing similar quality school projects. I could see my teachers oohing and aahing at my natural talent. Mm, wunderbar gestrickt und bestickt. It didn't happen. Oh, my crocheted lace was nice enough - a relatively simple shell pattern crocheted with sewing thread (yes, that fine). But then I had to engage both hands (right and left? at the same time??) for a knitted scarf and hat, and in that two-needle swoop my trousseau dreams were felled. I tried, and cried, and in the end, my mom and grandmother finished my scarf and mittens. They both got passing grades ;)

So, I have been knitting since I was 10, just not continuously. I picked it up again some 20 years ago when I was pregnant with Firefighter. I wanted to make him some booties and sweaters and all the patterns I liked were for kniting. I tried it and it actually wasn't bad. I think my brain-hand-eye coordination benefitted from that 20 year hiatus. Well, if you don't count my first attempt at mittens a few weeks back. One fits me, the other fits J. How embarrassing! I just wasn't paying attention.

I picked up a few beautiful merino lace yarns while we were in Buena Vista, but I'm saving those for something special. Not yet sure what, but Ravelry's got plenty of patterns to choose from. So, maybe the blue sock yarn for the Baktus? Or the malabrigo merino?

I settled on the sock-yarns: a self-striping grey (grey, toffee, pistachio, and pumpkin) alternated with "tequila sunrise" (pumpkin, wine, gold, peach, blue, and olive). Got out some 4.5mm needles and went to it. The original pattern calls for using a skein of yarn, using half of it to increase to the middle, and the remainder to decrease till done. It involves weighing the yarn at the start, then weighing again once you think you're about halfway done so that you have enough to finish. A little too exciting for me, so I just knitted the basic pattern till I had 55 stitches on my needles, then I started the decreases. Larger than the original, but more to my liking. Check out the slide show (on the right side of this page) and let me know what you think. Isn't Sonoma cute? The colors suit her.

The pattern was great for mindless knitting (my kind of knitting) and I had it done in a few evenings. Certainly will be making a few more of these. Maybe I'll try the Karius variation, which is stockinette stitch vs. garter stitch. I even thought about running a cable along the increase / decrease edge, or maybe a leaf pattern. Check out this Karibak (a combination of Karius and Baktus) on Knitorious. Love her yarn choice!!

Have one really special project on the needles. Special project for a special person for a special occasion. When done, it'll contain about 9,000 stitches. Worth every one. You'll see when I'm done and it's gifted.

Do you knit?

Fall is here....and it's dudh chia time!!

2009-10-03T07:59:00.043-05:00

Ah, fall has arrived in North Texas. I saw the signs in late August. One yellowing pecan-tree leaf was spied butterflying through the air while I was walking the girls on the greenbelt. When I got home I announced to J that fall was upon us.

"It's 95 degrees outside!!"

"Yeah, but it feels different."

A few days later I noticed that Leia seemed to be shedding a lot. Chicken Little made another pronouncement, quickly and deftly refuted by J -- along with a look and shaking of the head that suggested I might indeed be "off" in more ways than one.

So we packed up the car, loaded the girls, and headed off to Colorado. I like to think that I was tracking down autumn, but we were in fact headed out on vacation. Can you say working vacation?

We drove up to Buena Vista where we'd rented a cabin with easy access to some of the Collegiate 14ers: Mts. Yale, Oxford, Harvard, and all their ivy cousins. And we were going to climb a 14er (my first) this year.

Last year while in Colorado, we stayed in Leadville (first and last time) and attempted several of the 14ers, but the weather was so rainy that we didn't have much luck in getting up any of them. We did Pike's Peak, but it didn't really count because we drove up most of the way, parked at one of the trailheads, then climbed the remainder. You walk a short way along the road, cross over, and then hike up a path to the boulders that separate you from the peak. As we got to the boulders, it started raining. Then the graupel started. Then the lightning. But we made it. And it was such a let-down because, as you're sucking in those deep breaths in that 14,000 foot thin air, you realize you're inhaling pure car exhaust. We snapped a few pics at the summit, by which time the sleet was coming down in sheets, and then a couple generously (as mountain people are wont to be) offered to drive us down to our car. Pike's Peak - proof that no 14er peak should be accessible by car.

We attempted Mts. Belford and Elbert, but decided we didn't want to experiment at being human lightning rods and high-tailed it down as fast as one can "run" down a mountain, through wooded switchbacks, over streams with slippery log crossings, and to the dry safety of the car. Whew!

This year we were going to give Mt. Belford another try. We were going to start early (around 3 a.m.); do the switchback route (that I didn't want to do last year because it looked tough and like there were "exposed" areas); take the alternate route back; and hopefully be back to the car by 1 or 2 in the afternoon. The route is an ankle-twisting, torture-every-fiber-of-muscle-in-your-legs 11 miles long -- 5.5 miles of which is up, up, and more up.

I hadn't prepared myself at all for the climb. First of all, I really hadn't done anything resembling a workout since last December's surgery. Then, two additional surgeries were plenty of justification to go ahead, take it easy. So my body's been through the mill with surgeries and healing, I haven't done anything physical to speak of, and I'm about to embark on a trip to Colorado to do some hike/climbs that are listed as "moderately difficult." See, I said it was a working vacation. A moderately difficult working vacation.

So about 2 weeks before we left, I decided I should probably start walking, doing squats, riding my bike. Something. Anything. But it was so hot. Fall, but hot nevertheless. And so I put off my training hoping that somehow I could miraculously make it up the mountain.

Instead, I concentrated on our food. I mixed up the spices for our sweet milk tea (Nepali dudh chia); mixed up our mueslis (oat groats for me, rolled oats for J); gathered and packed our breads (gluten-free for me, foccaccia for J); sliced cheese and Quorn roast for sandwiches; made tempeh chili; made arepas; made wonderful little rice crispy treats from Heidi's recipe (you MUST try these); packed the girls' food and treats.

Ah, the day of judgment was coming. Fast.

In Buena Vista we checked the weather, meticulously, over and over, and determined that Monday the 14th would be the day. Meantime, we did a few little hikes on the trails above the rec center park, walked from our cabins to the farmer's market, to Serendipity yarn shop (often, heh heh), and just enjoyed being in the mountains.

"Doesn't this place feel like home??" J kept asking. "I want to move here. I need to move here."

Leia and Sonoma love it, too. J played ball with them every day at the soccer fields.

Fast forward to the day of judgment. Up at 2 a.m. Fed the girls, grabbed our muesli to eat in the car, and drove to the trailhead. Good thing we had dudh chia to start it off, because 3 a.m. at 9,500+ feet in September is ch.ch.chill.ly. Got the girls' backpacks on, got ours on, quick photo (the reflective strips on the girls' stuff lights up brilliantly!!), and hi-ho hi-ho it's up the mountain we go.

If you've never done it, you need to start off on a hike while it's still dark. And cold. It's quiet. Peaceful. Headlamps help you navigate the trail, as you feel the excitement and energy of a new adventure.

The girls felt it, too. Both of them were pulling so hard that I felt out of breath just trying to keep up their breakneck pace. After just a few minutes of this, I seriously regretted my lack of physical preparation. OMG and we still had hours to go before daylight....

Daylight did come and it was magnificent. Hard to describe, but whenever I get to watch a sunrise, even after I've already put in a few hours of hard labor, it feels like all is right with the world. You're not thinking about phone calls and emails you have to return, or what needs fixing around the house, or whose sales are hitting forecast. You just know that this earth, terra firma, is home and you're connected to it and every living thing on it. It's all good.

Out of the trees, into the daylight, and the switchbacks are directly ahead. Take a deep breath, because you're gonna need it. Well, I needed it. I needed it to energize myself. I needed it to focus myself on the task at hand -- a few thousand feet of switchbacks and dizzying heights. Did I mention I have a horrible fear of heights?? It was at this point that I started my mantra: Look up and ahead. Take it one quiet step at a time. Left. Right. I didn't dare even suggest to myself not to look down. I was trying to be positive and think only about up and ahead, and that each step would get me closer to the top.

By this point, J had taken on both Leia and Sonoma. I couldn't deal with the heights, the exposure, and the thought of having one of them pulling me....right off the side of Mt. Belford. So J and the girls sped ahead and every once in a while would take a little break while I huffed and puffed my way toward them. By the time I reached them, they were rehydrated, snacked up and refreshed, and ready to move on.

I, on the other hand, never stopped. I kept going, one step at a time, looking up and ahead -- till I got to the spot. The exposed spot. I saw J up and ahead looking down at me, and I had the feeling he wanted to say something, but he just kept watching. Yeah, he was thinking this was the spot where I call it quits. I was thinking the same thing. Only I had begun to crouch in toward the side of the slope and knew that there was no way I could walk back down the switchbacks (because that would mean looking down, not up and ahead!!), and that to get off this mountain I had to get to the summit. Heartrate speeds up. Or call in the mountain rescue and chopper me out. Heart beats faster. And where did I propose they land?? Heart beats a lot faster. So, it's up the mountain or...

Out of nowhere, this guy comes running up the switchbacks and says, "Perfect day, isn't it?"

I took a deep breath and on the exhale quietly said, "I'm terribly afraid of heights" in a voice that made him stop and say, "Yeah, it's a little exposed here. Wanna take my hand and let me help you around this spot?"

At which point J calls down, "Sir, could you please help my wife around that spot?"

J thanked the guy and explained to him about the cancer and the surgeries, and that Nini Belle was going through chemo, and that I was climbing this mountain for us. Telling the guy how strong I was. And the guy was saying how great and inspirational that was. Yadda yadda. Totally obligating me to beat the mountain since I'd beat the cancer.

And the rest is history. Well, herstory. But not that fast!

It was a long, cold haul up there. Made it through the icy graupel patches. Through the shivering wind. I never stopped moving till I reached the sunshine-swathed summit. Then I cried. Cried hard. Because I made it. Because I beat it. The cancer and the mountain.

A kiss from J. Hugs for Leia and Sonoma. A few summit photos. A delicious sandwich and big gulps of water. Five and a half miles back to the trailhead. Drove back to the cabing. Mugs of dudh chia. A long, hot shower. A great day.

Will post more pics.

Dudh Chia

In Estes Park, there's a little family-run restaurant we've always gone to eat called Nepal's Cafe on Elkhorn Avenue. The family serves delicious hot spiced milk tea the way it's made in Nepal. While I don't know exactly how they make theirs, I played around with spice combinations and this comes as close to our memory of their tea as I can imagine. First you have to make the spice mix. Then, mix that with milk, water, sugar, tea and enjoy. Take a sip, close your eyes, and pretend you're at Base Camp on Everest.

Spice Mix:

1 tablespoon each of ground cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Stir the spices together and keep in an airtight glass jar. Obviously, the fresher the spices, the tastier the tea.

To make the hot tea, heat 1 1/2 cups water, 1 cup milk (I use coconut or soy), and 1 tablespoon sugar (or honey) in a saucepan till boiling. Stir in 1 heaping tablespoon of black tea (I like Earl Grey) and 1-2 teaspoons spice mix (I use 2 because I like it spicy). Allow to simmer about 5 minutes, strain into heated mugs, and serve. Makes 2 servings.

** Editor's Note: Editor-schmeditor -- the layout is virtually impossible to control. Sorry!!

Off to the Land of Fairy Slippers and Pipsissewas

2009-09-05T17:09:00.016-05:00

Good morning, good morning ~

We're heading to Colorado on Friday morning for some hiking/climbing in the Buena Vista area. Fourteerners, here we come with the girls!!

We're renting a cabin this year, which will make my food issues of the past virtually disappear. We still have to take some and cook some, but it won't be "camping style" with the Jetboil, Coleman stove, and such. We can come down off the trail, shower, put on the girls' food, and cook and eat a real meal in our own little cabin. This will make all the hard work worth all the while.

And I get to eat real sandwiches this year. No more sweet bar after sweet bar after sweet bar while on the trail. Now, I love my sweets, but when you're working your body really hard, carrying a heavy pack, walking and climbing uphill for miles, you just get to where you dread another sweet granola or protein bar. you want something you can sink your teeth into. About a week back, we discovered Udi's Whole Grain Bread which our Plano Whole Foods market now carries.

"Eh, let's give it a try," I said. "If it sucks, we can compost it."

Ha! It's sooo good!! It will never seee the inside of our composter. Even J is going to be eating Udi's bread this trip. Of course, he'll pack his with turkey and stuff, I'll just do sliced cheese. I thought I'd have to be baking wrap bread for us, but Udi saved the day.

We're bringing along muesli with fruit and yogurt for our breakfasts; snacks and the sandwich stuff for the trail; veggie/tempeh chili, arepas, and salad fixings for dinner. We'll probably sleep in a little on Saturday morning and allow ourselves to adjust to the altitude. Neither one of us has ever had problems with it, but we like to take it slower on our first day (J's got an "easy" 8-mile hike to some mining cabin planned) and ease ourselves into the 7-8,000 elevation gain from Dallas. So, I'll probably bring along enough scone mix to whip up a quick batch. Or maybe we'll make pancakes. That'll be our one relaxed breakfast that we get to eat in the cabin; the rest will be eaten early mornings at the trailheads. Gotta hit the mountains early to make the summits before the early afternoon thunderstorms.

Even if we don't make any summits, we'll still see incredible things. Last year we got a late start on Mt. Belford and got rained off at about 13,000 feet. Some hikers we met on their way down told us about these little mountain orchids , fairy slippers (Calypso bulbosa), that they'd seen somewhere in the saddle between some of the fairly close peaks. We were so disappointed that we wouldn't see them but the lightning was a pretty diligent taskmaster at getting us down the mountain. I had thoughts of tossing my hiking poles lest they become lightning rods -- but we made it. But we did see them hiking down from the Maroon Bells trail on our last hike last year. Incredibly beautiful little orchids. I tried to take a few photos of them last year, but they turned out blurry. Maybe this year we'll see them again.

My favorite alpine flower is the pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata). Most people miss it because it grows a bit away from the main trails, usually in shady, moist areas. The tiny white or light pink blossoms are so sweetly fragrant that I wish I could bottle the scent. We look for them every year.

Most likely won't be posting till after our trip, but hope to have some great photos to put up then. Meanwhile, I'm off to munch on my delicious breakfast scones, courtesy of Pamela's Baking mix (and basic scone recipe) mixed with Bob's Red Mill Biscuit mix. I use about 1 1/2 cups Pamela's, 3/4 c Bob's, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, cut the sugar waaay down to about 1 tablespoon, grate in 5 tablespoons frozen butter, stir in a good 2/3 cup icy cold coconut milk mixed with an egg, toss in a handful of dried cherries, shape (drop by large tablespoon and ever so slightly flatten) and bake for about 22 minutes at 375 F. Makes about 8, which means 2 for me, 2 for J, and 2 each in the toaster tomorrow morning.

Ta....and enjoy your brekkie.

Zwetschgendatschi...mmmm fall is in the air

2009-09-05T10:16:00.019-05:00

There are moments in life when we crave that certain something to eat. Crave beyond just crave. Maybe I should say long for something to eat. And not just to eat because we have a craving or because we need to put food into our bodies. It's a longing that has to do with nourishing our self.

Nourishing that longing that is associated with a memory. Usually a good memory; thus, the longing. And thus today's post.

I know it's not officially fall. And here in Texas, dipping down to 89 degrees during the day certainly doesn't mean fall has arrived. But there's something going on that I just can't quite put my finger on, and it's telling me fall is upon us.

A few more leaves than usual are falling, and they're golden, not drought-shriveled.

Leia and Sonoma are shedding more, and I just know they're getting ready to blow their coats for fall. How do I know? Why, all of the above.

And the truest harbingers of fall for me, prune plums, are sitting like dark purple velvet mini footballs in produce sections all over town. I like how they describe them over at The Kitchn: "little baby-fist-sized plums." Perfect description.

We grew up eating Pflaumen, plums, during the summer. But in fall, the farmers' markets began to display these dark bluish-purple plums, Zwetschgen, more football-shaped than round, with a silvery-blue sheen to them. Kind of like damson plums, but more oval. And Zwetschgen, of course, meant one thing: Zwetschgendatschi!

If you know anything about Zwetschgendatschi, you fall into one of 2 groups: those who like the yeasted dough or those who like the tart pastry dough. Our family has only ever baked the tart pastry version. Sure, most bakeries make the yeasted version, as do some home cooks. Why? I don't know. Certainly, making a perfect tart crust is an art that rivals yeast dough making. I personally don't care for yeast dough fruit tarts because the dough always gets so mushy. I love yeast dough and have made more than my share of yeast-raised breads and pastries in my life, but for Zwetschgendatschi it's got to be tart crust for me.

When I went gluten-free, I knew there'd be things I could probably never eat again, simply because the dough must have gluten to be right. That's fine. The trade-off of feeling good is worth it. But there's that occasional longing that comes from deep inside and just leaves a pit in my core, followed by a deep sigh. The memory alone has to suffice. Like the memory of Apfelstrudel, or a crusty Schwarzbrot.

It's been 40 (!!) years since one of the most memorable autumns of my life: fall of 1969 my daddy came home from serving in Viet Nam. Times have certainly changed because now soldiers are returning from the various war theaters and being hailed as heros. When my daddy came home in '69 it was a different story. Even though my mom, Nini Belle, and I were living in Germany while daddy was in Viet Nam, he'd had enough of a non-heroic welcome when he arrived in San Francisco to not wear his uniform while traveling on to meet up with us in Europe.

Politics meant nothing to this 10 year old. Our daddy was coming home and that's all I cared about. Nini Belle and I got to skip school for the day. We got to wear our long hair, which was always braided, down. We got to wear these beautiful raspberry red dresses with gold-buttoned epaulets our Omi had sewn for us. And I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that Omi had made my dad a welcome home meal of Leberknödel (liverdumplings in broth) and Zwetschgendatschi.

When I went to Whole Foods the other day and saw the prune plums, I picked out a few pounds and sighed as I thought of making a Zwetschgendatschi. I sighed, because the memory of my daddy would have to suffice as the last 40 years would come rushing by with each mouthful of Zwetschgendatschi.

I got home, got out my recipe, converted it to gluten-free, and it worked beautifully. Matter of fact, I got a bonus from this recipe: I decided to use the butter "trick" below to make my scones and biscuits and it produces the most incredibly light pastry. Here's how I made it:

Bayerischer Zwetschgendatschi
Prune Plum Tart -- gluten-free

1/3 cup rice flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca or potato starch (or a mixture of the two)
pinch salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, freeze for about 30 minutes
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
2 egg yolks
2 tablesoons chilled coconut milk (or any other kind of milk)
prune plums
sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling

1. Mix the flours, salt, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
2. Butter trick: Use a grater and grate in the frozen butter. Stir lightly to coat the butter.
3. Mix in the vanilla, lemon peel, and egg yolks. Add enough of the cold milk to make a smooth dough, but avoid handling too much.
4. Press the dough into a 9" spingform or tart pan with removable bottom. Refrigerate.
5. While the dough is chilling preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and pit and quarter the plums.
6. Place the plum quarters onto the tart dough in concentric circles, starting at the outside.
7. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and pop into the oven for about 40-45 minutes. The dough should be deep golden and the fruit bubbly.

I know you'll want to do like I do and burn your tongue with a piping hot piece, but believe me, you'll be able taste it much more if you let it cool slightly. Place a voluptuous dollop of whipped cream onto each serving and savor a generations-old Bavarian tradition.

What kinds of food memories do you have?

Kicking and screaming....for chocolate sauce??

2009-08-28T16:00:00.022-05:00

When we moved to the States over three decades ago, I got sucked into American pop culture. Just because that's all there was. I mean, we moved from Northern Italy to Big L in East Texas. In the 70's. Kicking and screaming all the way.

Texas in the 70's was not the Texas of the 21st century. Especially, East Texas. Sometimes I think East Texas still isn't quite in the 21st century, but that's part of its charm, n'est-ce pas? But at 16, it was anything but charming.

My first day in my new high school I was fielding questions, prompted by the overly anxious world history teacher to a sea of typical bored adolescents, suspicious of this girl from "where's she from??" who just might be interested in stealing the star football player from the voluptuous, but highly insecure, cheerleader. No, of all things, I had, up till this point, actually enjoyed school for pure academic reasons and hadn't considered that social activities might be the sole reason for attending?? Thanks, but no thanks, I wasn't interested in Mr. Muscles in his tight jeans and cowboy boots or in high-kicking my way through high school in a white-fringed green bolero and tutu, white go-go boots, a cowboy hat, and toy pistol.

"Do they drive cars there?" someone asked.

"What kind of clothes do they wear?" ventured another.

Sigh. It was pure infanticide. How could my father have brought us to wilt away in these hinterlands?! I now understood why the history teacher was anxious: Finally someone in class who understood that the Roman empire really and truly existed and preceded the guy on the packaging of Roman meal bread.

I kicked and screamed my way through high school in Big L.

There were no "foreign food" restaurants in Big L other than the El Chicos and the token Chinese place, which always looked like a B-movie set that got left behind. The former served meals that seemed like they'd been scooped off the frozen dinner trays onto your plate, and garnished with the sprinkling of shredded iceberg, and the latter served everything coated in a garish, sweet and sour red sauce.

Oh, and there was the occasional tamale place where my dad would buy himself a dozen tamales. He was the only one in our family who ate them. I think I never quite trusted that they weren't made with roadkill, or someone's missing family pet. They always smelled really good, spicy and corn-y, but I couldn't get beyond the vision I still had of those canned tamales that Daddy would buy at the commissary on post, heat up and devour. They were just so "wrong" -- nothing edible should slide out of a can the way those babies did!! With that little "pffuoph!!" sound when they eased out.

Every day after school, I did the stereotypical teenage routine: Plopped my books on the table, opened the fridge, stood there staring for a few minutes, then slammed the door shut. Went to my room, put away my books, turned on the TV, and headed back into the kitchen to check if anything "edible" had miraculously materialized in the fridge since my last inspection.

A few sighs and head-scratches later, I'd pull out some leftovers, maybe a slice of my mom's homemade pizza, or Reisauflauf, a sort of rice souffle. Remember, this was Anno 1973 PM, pre-microwave (and microwavable food), so afternoon snacks had to be something that could be eaten cold. Sometimes I'd grab the saute pan, toss in a buttered tortilla, heat it and roll it up with some chutney and sour cream. Or a heaping bowl of ice cream topped with some Magic Shell....

And then contentedly plop myself down for some episodes of Gilligan or the Brady Bunch. Ah, time to relax. Yep, and I'll admit that I loved those shows. The problems the Brady kids had and all those silly attempts Gilligan and his shipmates made to flee the island and a myriad of pirates were such sweet escape. Sometimes there was even an afternoon movie on, with beautiful star-crossed lovers and their (truly) impossible options. I'd get so engrossed in this heartrending distraction that the noise of cracking through the Magic Shell, or even chewing, was often too loud.

"Shhhhh!!!" I'd shush my mom if she happened to interrupt during such fragile and dramatic TV moments. "Can't it wait till the commercial?!"

Ah, commercials during a show -- unheard of growing up in Europe. At first I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread -- catchy tunes, great way to get to the loo without missing a beat of the show, time to dig in to my snack. That love affair was short lived. Now I'm thinking of letting my cable subscription go -- all because of commercials.

For lunch today, we had sweet potato vermicelli with broccoli and tofu. Yum, just hit the spot with all its spicy goodness. Some iced yerba mate with cardamom and kaffir lime to ease the heat. And all the while, I was craving ice cream. With chocolate sauce. Where that craving came from, I know not, but it had to be satisfied.

I used to love the way Magic Shell created a, well, a magic shell on the ice cream. That's the part I loved on the drumstick ice cream cones. Maybe because it reminded me of the frosty layer that's created by whipped cream layered onto ice cream. I don't know how many Eiskaffes, iced coffees, I've had in my lifetime, just because I love that icy layer of whipped cream freeze-bonding to ice cream. Eiskaffe is a "dessert" in Europe: tall sundae glass filled with small balls of vanilla ice cream, topped with strong coffee, maybe a shot of cognac, and topped with clouds of (usually and preferably) unsweetened whipped cream. Ooh la la!

When my son was little and I had tons of time to cook and craft, I used to make some incredible tortes and roulades, filled and garnished with homemade whipped cream: Heat together 3/4 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup best quality unsalted butter. Pour into a blender and blend on high speed for about 2-3 minutes. Pour into a clean glass and chill overnight. Whip and use as needed. Yeah, incredibly easy and incredibly delicious!!

Sometimes I'd pipe rosettes of homemade whipped cream onto a small baking sheet, freeze, then plop the rosettes into a freezer bag. That way I would always have fresh cream toppings for my hot coffee drinks.

I wanted to post about my chocolate sauce today, and I keep getting side-tracked. So without further ado, let me just tell you that I wanted coconut ice cream, which I had. I wanted it topped with chocolate sauce, which I didn't have. So, I went to my chocolate box (yes, while others have bread boxes, I have a chocolate box), picked out a (3 ounce) dark chocolate bar with sea salt and broke it into a glass marmelade jar. I considered butter, but decided instead to use coconut oil (because I love coconut oil and thought it would keep the sauce liquidy) and spooned about 3 tablespoons of it over the chocolate pieces. About 1 minute in the microwave, stir, and like magic, my chocolate sauce was.....Magic Shell??? Ha, it sure was and it was delicious and good for you all rolled up in one deep, dark, pourable mixture. And that little sea salt crunch.

Mmmm, left me (and J) kicking and screaming....for more :)

Sorry, I didn't get around to snapping a pic of the chocolate sauce, just the mate before brewing.

Stressed?? How about some wool and chocolate?

2009-08-22T17:23:00.024-05:00

I've always got knitting projects going (like the scarf pictured here made with light moss-green Icelandic Lett-Lopi wool). Always got one scarf or another that I'm working away on. I love to knit long, wrap-around-you-numerous-times scarves. Don't know what it is about knitting scarves, but....but yes, I do know: it's completely de-stressing. It's like luxuriating in a bubbly, frothy bath of, ahem, wool.

Wool?? No, I know that doesn't sound de-stressing, especially having grown up wearing wool tights that sometimes itched so bad I thought I was going to hurl. Patterned wool tights that left their rows and curlycues so deeply grooved on my butt and thighs, only to keep me scratching hours after I got to take them off. Remember those?? They were fine outside where it was so cold that you couldn't feel most of your body anyway, but get indoors and sheer woolen terror would set in. Geez, the thought makes me shudder!!

But, pour moi, knitting scarves is kind of mindless. All I have to do is pick up my kneedles and start click-clacking. Well, that and remember what row I'm on if I'm following a pattern -- because I can not memorize a pattern to save my life....but I have a written pattern, so memory stress is not an issue. Plug in a movie, pour a glass of wine or hot cuppa, and before I know it, a quarter is done, then half, then nearly there, then bind off. Ahh, I feel so much better.

And with scarves you don't really worry about tension and gauge, or knitting with anything other than what feels good against your own skin. You can easily make up your own "patterns" by incorporating a few types of stitches, a cable here, some stripes there, and repeating rows quite mindlessly till you get the length you want -- or you run out of yarn. Colors and yarn types are infinitesimal, too. Silks and silk blends, merinos, cashmeres, bamboo, cotton. You name it, it's out there to buy.

Tart 'em up with all kinds of beads, tassels, crocheted or felted flowers and such. The right scarf looks great with anything: chunky merinos with jeans to glittery rayons with cocktail attire.

Need a great gift? Knit a scarf because just about everybody loves scarves. A gorgeous tweed for guys; rufflle-edged chenille or cashmere for the girls. Usually when I'm buying yarn, I've got someone special in mind when I pick out a hank of this or that color.

Also, I read about a cool project the other day that involved knitting (or crocheting) red scarves for orphans leaving the foster system. Gotta Google and look into that before I forget about it. I know it involved getting the scarves to an organization, I believe, from September to November of this year and they would then match them up with kids and give them out. Sounds great! I think some yarn shops may be involved, so check with your favorite shop if you want to participate.

Don't know how to knit or crochet? Check out www.ravelry.com because they have all kinds of tutorials and inspiration out of the wazoo. When I'm stumped or just too stressed to come up with something on my own, I head to ravelry. There are also tons of knitting/crocheting blogs written by some of the most (enviably) creative men and women on the planet. It's absolutely amazing what some knitters have on their needles, and how prolifically productive they are. Blows me away. And don't get me started on the hand-knit socks.

Of course, if I'm super stressed, I head to the kitchen. There's always chocolate in there and just a piece or two of that edible darkness can start the soothing, calming process. Mm, I put it in my mouth, letting it warm in the cradle of my tongue, then let it start melting and flowing like slow-flowing lava to the back and sides of my palate....ahh. Seems to fill every stressed and craving pore of my body.

My oncologist is always telling me to gain a few pounds. According to studies, she says that underweight women score as poorly as overweight women when it comes to cancer. Ack, is that a stressor or what?!?! Why she doesn't write me a scrip for chocolate is beyond me. Wouldn't it be cool to head into the drug store and drop off a scrip for a pound of Michel Cluizel Noir aux Ecorces d'Orange dark chocolate, TID, no generics accepted? And 12 refills, please?

Nini Belle and I went shopping today: sushi for lunch (delicious), tennis shoes for her (2 pairs -yay!), hikers for me (woohoo!), and groceries for both of us. The Plano Whole Foods had its usual Saturday sampling going on, most of which I don't ever get to enjoy because it's not gluten- or meat-free. But today, there was a beautiful young vendor, raw food chef Susan O'Brien of Hail Merry, sampling her raw coconut macaroons and chocolate mint tarts. Oh, wow, they were both super delicious. One bite of the tart and I knew why chocolate was called theobroma, food of the gods. However much I was wanting to sell my soul for one of those little 3-4" tarts, though, my one-salary-household couldn't quite justify the price, so I came home and made my own. And it's wonderful!! I made mine mint-less, but I'm sure you could easily add mint extract, or any other kind of extract, to flavor the chocolate tart. Hm, fresh orange or tangerine zest?

It's raw. It's vegan. It's gluten-free. It's chic. It's satisfying. It's delicious. It's got lots of coconut oil, with all it's MCFAs (middle chain fatty acids) so it's extra good for you!! My doc would be so proud.

It's kind of like a scarf: Dress it up for a special occasion dinner, served on a gorgeous plate with maybe some fresh raspberries, chocolate curls, and some champagne. Or do the chunky tweed version like J and I do and cut yourself a chilled slice and chow down, baby ;) And, yes, lick those fingers!!!

Banana's Raw Chocolate Ganache Tarte

Makes 1 8" tarte -- in about 10 minutes from start to finish! Or you could make smaller tarts, or even fill mini muffin pans, or.....

Crust ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup raw macadamias

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 grinds of coarse salt

1. Place all crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse, occasionally scraping down, till all is blended. You can decide how chunky you want the nuts to remain, but I like them about the size of coarse polenta meal.

2. Turn the crust into the tarte pan (with removable bottom) and press evenly into the bottom and sides.

3. Refrigerate while preparing the ganache and clean out the processor bowl and blade.

Ganache ingredients:

2/3 cup cocoa

2/3 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

1. Put all the ganache ingredients into the processor bowl and whirrrrr for 5-10 seconds.

2. Pour the ganache into the prepared crust and refrigerate for several hours.

3. Once it's cooled and hardened a bit, decorate as desired.

4. When ready to serve, cut into wedges and let sit a few minutes before serving.

Notes: I ate my first serving of tarte with a small scoop of coconut ice cream. It would be great with strawberry or any other flavor. I ate several slices after that, directly out of hand.

The unchilled ganache would likewise be delectable over a scoop of ice cream, or over a slice of vanilla pound cake.

Although I haven't tried it, I bet a jar of the chilled ganache (which could be eaten straight out of the jar) could be made softly spreadable by placing the jar in some warm water.

Like a scarf, it would be a great gift.

Let me know what you think.

Seeing Things

2009-08-13T16:33:00.030-05:00

So I'm out on the patio a few days ago, smiling away at the rainbows I'm creating while I water my little flower and veggie garden, when I saw an odd looking rock under the tomato-moonflower-cucumber 'monstosity' we've got growing in one corner by the house. Sonoma is our 'rockhound,' always trotting around with a rock of some sort in her mouth, moving rocks around in the dry "riverbed" we created to run around the patio. I stood there for a minute trying to figure out which rock that might be....

I need to explain here that we collect rocks from wherever we go. Big rocks, like the boulder-sized crystals we've found while cruising around on some Eastern Oklahoma lakes to rugby-ball-sized granite chunks from the Texas Hill Country to river rocks from the Traun in Bavaria to pieces of various summits we've reached. All my friends know what to bring me whenever they go on a trip: a rock. No, not something from a neatly landscaped shopping center or hoity-toitily coifed hotel grounds, but a real rock they might spy while out hiking around. Like the heart-shaped rock from the cathedral in New Orleans or the bushrock from Australia (shhh! you're not supposed to take bushrock out of Oz).

The night J first brought Sonoma home, he took her for a little let's-get-better-acquainted run through her old neighborhood where she was being fostered. Sometime during the run they stopped and J petted and 'talked to' her, explaining that she was going to be going with him to her forever home. There at their feet was a little granite landscaping rock, probably kicked out of someone's yard by some bored kid. Sonoma grabbed it up with her teeth and J let her carry it for the rest of their run. But she didn't drop it when they hopped in the car to come home. And she didn't immediately drop it when she walked into our house. She carried it around with her as she inspected her new digs room by room. So J started calling it our rock.

"Sonoma! Where's our rock?" he'd sing-song as he played with her.

She's not like Leia, absolutely obsessed with anything even remotely resembling an orb. No, she likes her shredded towels, any one of her dozens of stolen socks, any stuffed anything she can grab while you're running after her like a crazed person, yelling "Drop it!!!"

But she does like her rock. And she considers any rock on our property her property. Is that where the term 'rockhound' comes from??

And I like my rocks, too. Enough to know just about where each one is at any given time, and whence its provenance. Yeah, I took Geology :) Actually, I did my honors thesis on rocks from the Caribbean island of Antigua, "Sourcing Lithics in Antigua". Earned me a Summa cum Laude, thank you very much.

So when I saw this odd-shaped rock under the tomato-moonflower-cucumber conglomerate, I couldn't help but wonder why it didn't appear familiar. Where'd this thing come from??

Well, upon closer inspection, I knew immediately and exactly where it came from -- it was another compost bin 'dividend.' That wasn't a cucumber vine so gracefully intertwining and birling 'round the tomatoes and moonflowers. It was a canteloupe!! Ha!

Now why did I go through all that when I wanted to blog today about arepas?? Um, I think it's because when I looked through the camera lens to shoot the arepas on the placemat, I saw dots. Colored dots on the placemats; dots of arepas on the plate; dots of corn in the salsa; lots of dots. And then my mind 'moseyed' in its own peculiarly rambling way to the canteloupe rock. Yeah, mhm, that's exactly how it was.

We had arepas for lunch a few days ago. They're pretty quick from the mixing bowl to the table. They taste great. They're homemade. They reheat well. All definite and welcome pluses in my summer (non)cooking book. So we had them again for lunch today.

I used to buy them at a South American cafe downtown. I always had the cheese-filled. J always got the ham-and-cheese and/or ham-cheese-fried egg-filled. They serve them with a fresh tomato salsa and lots of napkins. But I can make 6 for the price of one. So now, unless I happen to be driving by the cafe and starving, I make my own.

I've read all kinds of ways to make the different kinds of arepas. I've found that the recipe on the bag of masa precocida para arepas (pre-cooked masa) is perfect: 2 cups masa, 3 cups warm water, and salt to taste (I grind in about 1 teaspoon). Mix all together till you have a soft dough; let sit about 5 minutes (it will firm up); then shape and fry. Doesn't get much simpler. They can then be sliced in half, filled as desired, and served with everything from ham, cheese, eggs -- anthing savory -- to butter, jam, honey. The choices are endless.

Most of the time, however, I fill my arepas with cheese. Sometimes I use manchego slices, other times crumbled cotija, other times chipotle cheddar. Here's how I make my arepas:

I wet my hands, take about 1/4 cupful of dough, roughly shape it into a disk, lay it onto a cutting board and top with some cheese, making sure to leave the edge clean. Then I take another 1/4 cupful of dough, shape a disk, and press it onto the cheese-filled dough. Seal it well and pat it all into a disk about 1/2" thick. Set aside and make several more.

Heat a large saute pan over medium, spoon in about 2 teaspoons coconut oil, and layer in a few arepas. They should be golden brown on the bottom; flip them over till the other side is golden brown and serve. Mm, muy ricas!!

Cool any leftovers, wrap, and refrigerate. To reheat, heat a skillet over low-medium (no need to add oil) till both sides are crispy. Great for breakfast with guava jam!!

How do you like your arepas?

Got the Munchies? Mmm, Hemp Brownies...

2009-07-25T22:29:00.007-05:00

C and I finally went to Bliss, the raw cafe on Greenville and Park in Dallas. Had the Bliss Salad....hmmm, okay, but nothing to really blog about.

You know, when you're vegetarian, you get really picky about your salads. It's got to be fresh, all of it. No limp leaves, no black spots -- yuck -- both of which appeared on my plate. It was garnished with some finely shredded carrots, oil cured olives, sun dried tomatoes. It was ok.

C had the corn chowder, and it was delicious. I think I would've spiced it up a bit more, but it was cool and soothing. Her sandwich looked a lot like the one I made several posts ago.

I also ordered the raw soft tacos, but I took them home to J -- it was just too hot to eat. We were sitting outside; I could feel little rivulets of sweat trickling down my back and pooling around my backside. TMI?

Well, J ate the tacos and pronounced them "yeah, really good!" So I guess I need to go back and order them, or anything besides the salad.

I did also get a dessert. The server ran through a short list of cheezecakes, ice kreme, and something else, but I chose: crunchy hemp brownies. They came 4 little brownie "dice" surrounding one of the most delicious strawberries I've ever eaten, and gilded with 4 dabs of a lovely little sauce. And they were truly delicious. Compact, yet light; intense, yet not overpoweringly raw. Really good. Really.

I ate one little die. Mmm, yummy chocolately crunchiness. And so good for you, right?

"Don't you want one," I offered to C. I was (secretly) so glad she didn't want to taste one of the little morsels of mmm-ness.

Mm, I had another one. Should I bring the other two to J? Gosh, the dilemmas we face in life, right?? :)

I was good; I brought the remaining (yes, two) brownies home and J pronounced them....what else?....good. He's NOT like Mikey: he likes everything!!

I'll admit, I was secretly wishing he would decline my offer to partake of the little brownie bites. Now I was stuck with my sweet tooth and nothing to feed it. What to do but hit the internet and find a recipe. There were lots of them, but most of them were basically the same. I settled on the one at gone raw and changed it up slightly to suit moi.

I actually made a sauce, too, which I spooned into a little dish and promptly and clumsily dropped onto the floor. The girls loved it :)

Here's my version of...

Banana's Crunchy Hemp Brownies - raw and gluten-free

10 dates, pitted and quartered
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup hemp seeds, plus some for sprinkling
1 tablespoon mesquite powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
sea salt

1. Process the dates, then toss in the remaining ingredients.
2. Blend all well and then gently press into a 6" square. It'll only be about 1" tall.
3. Sprinkle on more hemp seeds and, yep, a grind or two of sea salt.
4. Chill well.
5. To serve, cut into little squares and eat "as is" or plate up with fruit and sauce

Sweet Sauce -- which goes well with everything

2 tablespoons raw tahini
2 tablespoons maple or agave
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Stir all in a small bowl.
2. Taste and adjust. Mm, taste again.

Redemption, thy name is sprouted buckwheat granola

2009-06-20T09:32:00.017-05:00

Did I really edit in my former life?? I did?? Ugh. You couldn't tell by yesterday's post. Shall I chalk it up to stress? being tired? quick fingers? joie d'ecrire? Maybe it was the 3 glasses of iced mate?? It certainly was something because there was one mistake after the other. As if the words and letters were racing to make it onto the page. Embarassing! Humble apologies.

However, I will try to redeem myself with today's post/recipe.

I know, I know. Two posts, two days in a row?? Well, it's been stressfully busy around here: Nini Belle's surgery on Monday, a sick dog (took Nomi to the vet this morning -- it's colitis), work out of the wazoo, out of work husband... Please stop me from droning on....

What fuels me during the crazy times? Whatever it is, it's got to last me through a couple of mealtimes. You know what I mean: you eat breakfast, start doing "stuff" and, before you know it, you turn around and it's 3 or 4 in the afternoon. What? How'd that happen? And then you realize you're kinda hungry.

That fuel of late has been a bowl of sprouted buckwheat granola with coconut milk and lots of fresh fruit - chopped strawberries, blueberries, mangos, bananas, cherries. Whatever I've got on hand and in random combinations. I first tried sprouted buckwheat granola at Daily Juice Cafe in Austin. You must go there -- sooooo good!! They served it with cinnamon hemp milk, sliced bananas, and diced strawberries. Delectable. Hooked. Instantly. Wanted more. Controlled self. But still wanted more, much more.

The whole time I was eating it, the gears were turning: Since I don't live in Austin, I've got to make this at home. How do I make this at home? How do you sprout buckwheat?

Well, I got home and did the 21st century thing: hit the internet. I have a dehydrator, but I had no idea how to sprout buckwheat. Read all about it and along the way also read a few posts with recipes for sprouted buckwheat granola. I played around with several recipes, tweaked here and there, threw in some add-ins I like and happened to have onhand, and, well, the rest is history. Herstory, actually :)

So, here's how I make my all raw, all organic sprouted buckwheat granola. It's great with your favorite milk, yogurt, fruit. On ice cream. (Have you tried the Luna and Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss ice cream?? Honestly, it does not get any better.) Out of hand.

Make it. It's delectable. You'll be hooked. Instantly.

Banana's Sprouted Buckwheat Granola -- naturally gluten free :)

3-4 cups raw buckwheat groats - sprout these (you should have 6-8 cups sprouted)
1 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup sesame seed
1/2 cup hemp seed

few handfulls coconut shreds
1 cup sunflower seeds
about 2 cups coarsely chopped dried fruit - I used cherries, mulberries, dates, and green raisins (yes, green raisins from Iran)

about 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup agave
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
few grinds of salt

Mix it all up in a large bowl. Spread the granola about 1/2" thick onto oiled dehydrator sheets and dehydrate till dry and crispy. My dehydrator is an older Magic Aire II and it took about 18 hours. Just keep checking till it's the crispness that you like.

Note: Make sure to use buckwheat groats (they're a creamy green color), and not kasha

By the way, I'll apologize right now for how this post looks. I can't seem to master the gentle art of paragraph spacing. They look fine on the preview, but once they're published.....oh well...

See?? That's the kind of stress that drives me to the granola :)

It's so easy being green....

2009-06-19T18:25:00.020-05:00

Oops! I don't really believe that was I blog is worth posting twice in one evening, it's just that it's been so long since I posted anything that the verbal horses were out of the gate before I knew that I'd accidentally hit "Publish Post" instead of "Save Now". Sorry 'bout that!

I had a friend whose compost pile grew the most ginormous papaya plant in one season -- all from a rotten papaya she tossed onto thepile. I was fascinated and hooked. I wanted to compost, too, doggone it!!

When we bought our composter last summer, I was hoping that within a few year's time, we'd (rather, it) would produce some really potent, jack-and-the-beanstockesque growing medium for us. It didn't take years at all. By this spring, we had enough to replant some of our plants that actually survived the infamous December snow and ice storms.

One day soon after the repotting, as I was watering one of the crown of thorns, I noticed something growing alongside one of the little seedlings -- seedlings that definitely were not crown of thorns. They looked more like tomatoes? And in another pot was what looked like peppers?? And the pesky little "weeds" that I'd just pulled from around the gerber daisies were basil. Well, I'll be!

Composter + kitchen scraps + x = soil and surprises

All the stuff we'd been throwing into the composter just needed that x of sunshine to produce, like magic, the most incredible growing medium and little surprises: seedlings of all the stuff we loved to eat.

So we now have potted jalapenos, campari tomatoes, and basil. And a mini clementine. And some other surprises that I haven't yet been able to identify. All thriving happily amongst eachother.

Man, the way we go through bananas, I wish I could get some of those to grow :)

And today was our first harvest!! A beautifully fruity jalapeno for our fresh salsa. Afraid I couldn't get a pic of the salsa....it was gone before I could even think to take a photo. Honest, it was that incredibly delicious. I tossed about a cup of tomato chunks with a handful of garbanzo sprouts; added a cobful of fresh corn kernels, a spoonful of cilantro chutney, and the minced jalapeno. A couple glugs of lemon olive oil, lime juice, a few grinds of salt and pepper. Voila! Before I could get the cheese-stuffed arepas heated and off the griddle, J was already spooning the salsa onto some chips. I will most definitely be making that salsa combo again.

Well, this time it's not the horses chomping at the bit, it's the girls. They're ready for the evening snack. Tonight it's coconut and blueberries for my little fruit lovers.

Remind me to blog about the arepas (well, I call them arepanadas) and raw buckwheat granola I've been making. Wowzer!! And, yeah, the girls love those, too ;)

Life is good

2009-06-15T22:41:00.002-05:00

Nine Belle made it through her surgery!!!
Prayers are answered....
'Nuff said :)

Raw -- it does my body good :)

2009-05-17T12:36:00.006-05:00

I DID IT!!! One week of raw!!!

Well, I say I did it because I'm nearly there! Today's my last day and I'm off to a great start: A delicious bowl of oat groats muesli with cherries, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, sun-dried mulberries, and a sprinkling of chia seeds. Yum yum!!

And pictured at left is part of last night's dinner: Raw flax-sunflower seed bread generously filled with chatni geshneez (spicy homemade cilantro chutney), artisanal butter lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sunflower sprouts, lime-spiked sweet onion slices, avocado slices, and a dash of Himalayan salt. Although J conked out on Raw Day 1, he did volunteer to become my personal cup-bearer.

The muesli got the taste-test. "Mmm, make me some for breakfast tomorrow, would you? And let's mix in blueberries and strawberries."

The salads got the taste-test. "Wow, these sprouted beans and dried tomatoes really make this thing, don't they? Hey, pass me some more basil."

The raw goodies, like the carrot cake with cashew cream frosting and the date balls, all got the taste test. "These are raw?? What's this frosting stuff? I could eat this by itself."

And my dinner sandwich last night got a huge chunk taken out of it -- "Well, for testing purposes only," of course -- immediately after I snapped the photo. Sorry it's so bright, but it got pretty mangled with the taste-test.

Everything was tested and pronounced "fit" for me to eat. The dehydrated bananas, raw crackers, all of it.

Seriously, it was not as hard as I thought it would be. Having a dehydrator really helped, though, because I could make bread for a sandwich or snacking. I love salads and fresh fruits and veggies, but sometimes it's nice to really be able to sink your teeth into something.

I didn't get around to making "cheeses" or really fancy dishes and desserts, but I will definitely be trying some of them. And I won't be doing raw for weeks at a time -- I just love hot foods, even in summer -- but it will be a big part of my life. Especially the bread. Being gluten-free, it's hard to find really great bread that travels well. Last year's climbing trip to Colorado, I took brown rice flour tortillas along and rolled them around all sorts of filling combinations: cheese slices, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, herbs, you name it. But before I could get two or three bites down, the tortilla was dried, cracking, and peeling -- like bad paint. All I did was complain that I'm about to call it quits with road trips because I can't ever find good road trip food. I didn't like myself on this trip -- all because of the bread ;)

Along comes this raw bread (I used Ani Phyo's black sesame sunflower bread) which is fantastically supple. I know it will be what I'll be taking with me on ALL future camping and road trips. It's delicious, adapts well to flavor variations, and holds up to all kinds of fillings. Thank you, Ani, for saving me!! Can't wait to get on the road now :)

Besides all the great tastes, I've felt really good and "light," with an amazing amount of energy. You know, whenever you tell your physician, or anybody else for that matter, that you're vegetarian, or that you're doing a raw diet, the first thing they challenge is that you won't get enough protein. Oddly enough, these are usually also the same people who drink diet sodas and eat fat-free, low-carb, preservative-rich and chemically-fortified food. There are so many sources of protein, other than animal, that if you're halfway educated about food and do minimal research, you'll get plenty of protein....complete proteins, and vitamins, and enzymes, and fiber, and the list of pronounceable ingredients goes on.

For the first time since my last surgery (nearly four weeks ago), we took the dogs out for a walk. J was desperate for a breakfast burrito with sauteed onions, jalapenos, bell peppers, tomatoes, and veggie brekkie sausage. Of course, we had no bells, so at 9pm, we geared up Leia and Nomi and headed out to the supermarket. After meandering through the neighborhood, we ran across the main road, and just kept running. I was running. I, the non-runner, was running and it actually felt like I could've run a long time. I wasn't panting; I wasn't saying, "Stop! Stop! That's all I can do." Well, to be honest, I was saying, "Stop! Stop! That's all I can do" -- because I'm not supposed to be bouncing "the girls" around yet.

My point, though, is that I had a lot more energy than I expected. No headaches. No body aches. Sure, the prep time is consuming, but so is prep time for any "regular" fresh food. The cost is probably the same; haven't calculated.

The cost to my body? Priceless!

Raw -- it does my body good :)

Ok, gotta go. I'm off to make a batch of Sun-dried Tomato Cheeze for my dinner salad & sandwich tonight.

Oh, last but not least, I must apologize for not having a give-away this month. Just way too much going on, including work, work, and more work, and therapy for my injured rotator cuff, and my niece is graduating next week from University of Texas (hook 'em horns!!), and my firefighter son bought a new house and "mom, please" got volunteered to wait as all the appliances were delivered one by one, and....oh, what they hey!!! Next month's giveaway is:

THE MILLENNIUM COOKBOOK: Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine by Eric Tucker & John Westerdahl, with dessert recipes by Sascha Weiss. The back cover reads, in part:

"This is vegan eating at its lush, sensual best, a gourmet feast for the eyes and senses. The recipes draw on a world of culinary influences, bringing together glorious flavors from Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and beyond, in intriguing appetizers, wholesome soups and salads, creative pizzas and pastas, satisfying entrees, and truly decadent desserts."

You WILL want this book!!

Cococcinos...and Peace

2009-05-10T14:33:00.009-05:00

Tomorrow starts "raw food week" chez moi. Yesterday afternoon my sis, mom, and I prepped ourselves some goodies to snack on as we blaze our way through our 7 days of edible freshness.

Mama peeled and "thirded" (run your finger down the center of a peeled banana and watch it separate into 3 beautiful strips) a huge bunch of bananas. Onto the trays and into the dehydrator they went.

Nini Belle had read about pesto-stuffed mushrooms, so she busied herself processing the filling of walnuts, basil, garlic, and seasalt for stuffing the caps. Wow, they smelled sooo delicious!! They were also loaded into the dehydrator.

I'd seen the recipe for mulberry jam cookies at Raw Epicurean and decided they would be a perfect snack, or even breakfast. I love toot (as they're called in Iran) and always have a bag of dried ones tu yakhchalam (in my fridge). They're sweet, chewy, and have a taste that's reminiscent of late summer. Lacking the fresh mulberries the recipe called for, I soaked dried ones overnight. I also added a bit of lemon zest and a touch of cardamom to the mixture. We formed them into little "thumbprints" (coconut oil on the palms helped shape them) -- albeit a bit more "rustically" than the directions called for (yep, those are mine above). I noticed one of the comments on these cookies on Raw Epicurean mentioned that they barely made it to the drying stage -- yeah, the "batter" tastes delicious in its rawest form. But I exercised some self-discipline and we got them shaped, filled, and loaded into the machine.

The last dehydrator entry was Ani Phyo's Black Sesame Sunflower Bread. We added a bit of chili to the mix, as we all love things a bit (actually, a lot) spicy. Engines were started and all systems go.

We also made little carrot cake cookies (carrot pulp from juicing, walnuts, coconut, agave, cardamom, cinnamon, lemon) topped with creamy cashew icing. They're so cute and, darn it, so edible :) They were packed up into airtight containers and went into the fridge to await our snack attack.

After all that work, we poured ourelves some Shiraz, sat out on the back patio, and just chilled for a bit. Literally chilled -- the weather had turned downright cold yesterday evening. I grabbed a jacket for each of us and we discussed the curry plant, how great the San Augustine was doing, the roses, the myrrh plant. "Omi hat a Myrtekraenzchen auf g'habt wia's g'heirat hat," ("Omi wore a crown of myrrh at her wedding") my mom said. I love to hear and speak Bavarian -- a dying language that not too many people, especially outside of Southern Germany, speak anymore.

We chilled a little longer then decided to come back inside, make some tomato and avocado salads, and watch a movie. Foreign, naturellement. The French film De Battre Mon Couer s'est Arrete, "The Beat That My Heart Skipped." Certainly not what I expected from the description. Naturellement. But just "chilling" with Mama and Nini Belle was the good part :)

Armed with an arsenal of snacking yumminess, I've now just sat down for an afternoon snack: a most lovely & delicious cococcino (I decided to make myself a capuccino with steamed coconut milk -- a very winning combination that I'll definitely be making again after raw week) and a mulberry jam cookie. The cup says it all.....

peace....

In the Raw :)

2009-05-08T17:37:00.004-05:00

It has been way too long. And, I know, the cookbook giveaway is way overdue. And before I delay announcing the winner by going into a long sob story......it's Ms Latida!! So, ML, please send me an email -- and maybe we can finally meet!!!!

So, on to my sob story, chapter 1....well, I'm not really going to torture you with that, but suffice it to say that it's been a rough few weeks. Had my reconstruction surgery a few weeks back with the most incredible plastic surgeon, Dr. William Carpenter (and his fantastic staff) at Baylor. The man's a creative genius when it comes to breasts! How else do you explain why my "girls" look like they belong on a 20 year old :) They look great and feel great; I look great and feel great! Wish I could post a picture!! But the best part is, I feel like the Big C is finally and forever behind me -- and what an incredible feeling that is. Three surgeries in 4 months is tough, and the older I get the tougher it is to bounce back. I've been in an anesthesia fog since December....

Chapter 2 of the sob story is that my big sis has had a recurrence of the Big C!! This time I'll be taking care of her (hopefully as passionately and compassionately as she did me) as she deals with this thing. This had better be it, though, because neither one of us likes this game very much!!!

One of the positives along this road has been to read about and connect with other women, and men, going through various stages of various cancers. It's empowering to be encouraged by others who have "made it" or who are fighting hard to get through something so ravaging. Even reading about how some are struggling to be positive or not cry all day long or deal with whatever painful or humbling therapies they're undergoing...it feels good to belong to this group because it truly grounds you. We can't always be in the house of mirth; sometimes it's good to take a tour of the house of pain and sorrow. It certainly equalizes people and things.

One of the websites I've found most useful during the past months is Kris Carr's My Crazy Sexy Life. It's full of invaluable information in the form of personal pages, rocking blogs, inspirational and encouraging tips, even recipes that promote healthier eating, and some pretty groovy music and artwork. It's just a great resource for anyone who has cancer or knows someone who does. One of my good friends bemoans the fact that she didn't find her "therapist" (read My Crazy Sexy Life) last year when she was diagnosed and undergoing treatment, because it would've made the battle a lot easier. I'm telling you, it's that good!!! Check it out -- you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be glad you did!

Another positive is that I've become even more aware of what I eat. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not sure that I could ever give up chocolate or cakes and cookies (all gluten-free, of course). But I'm really investigating and reading a lot about raw food diets and their effects on a body dealing with cancer. So, drumroll.....I'm going to give it a try next week! Can I, the starch and carb lover make it?? Please check back and see; or, better yet, shoot me a "you can do it" email.

I've got J, my sister, and my mom all on board -- happiness loves company, right?? And with the weather turning warmer (was it really 92 today?!), it actually sounds downright appealing.

There's a whole list of stuff I'm shopping for tomorrow, all raw natch: cashews, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, tahini, buckwheat, and, as the King of Siam said, "etcetera etcetera etcetera." Of course, there'll be the usual salads and lots of fresh fruits and veggies. The juista will be manning the Green Star for our daily libation. Ooh, I'm excited!! I already made some super delicious raw date cookies (check out this irresistible recipe by Emilie) that I guarantee will not see the light of Monday ;)

Another of the "raw" websites I found has the most delicious-looking food: Choosing Raw. And Gena is giving away a "spiralizer" that makes these fantabulous "noodles" out of veggies and fruits. Check out her website and sign up for her giveaway, and don't leave without promising yourself to make one of her wonderful dishes. You'll know what I mean when you catch yourself drooling over her blog :) I'm making her zucchini noodles with pesto tonight -- can't wait!!

So, if you're feeling funky, try going raw with me for a week. I'm offering a 100% guarantee you'll feel better!! If you're not 100% satisfied, let me know and I'll send you a chocolate goody in the mail :)

And I haven't forgotten my "goal" to give away a cookbook a month. I may slack off a bit, but I'm going to try and get another one together for an end of May giveaway. Not yet sure which it'll be, but it won't disappoint. Keep posted :)

Last, but not least, Sonoma and Leia grace this post as they swim through the yard at the lakehouse. You heard right, they swam in the yard at the lakehouse! We had so much rain there last weekend that the water came over the seawall and eventually was a good 2 feet deep at the edge of the yard. The girls loved it!!

Peace out!!

Cookbook Giveaway # 2

2009-04-07T18:26:00.012-05:00

The juista made me a delightful pick-me-up this afternoon. The beets, apples, cherries, and tangelos produced the loveliest slightly neon color, that I just can't capture on film. My orchids tried to lend a hand with composition, but they, too, look a little washed out. Hm, high time for photography 101.

Well, on to the proverbial meat of the matter: Cookbook Giveaway # 2!!

This time around it's The Fearless Chef: Innovative Recipes from the Edge of American Cuisine by Andy Husbands and Joe Yonan, who happen to dedicate the book to their mothers, "the first chefs we met -- and by far the most fearless." I love these guys!!

The Fearless Chef is a lovely 304-page soft cover book filled with mouthwatering temptations from barbecued shrimp with hominy to za'atar spiced pita to crispy pork chops with maple chili glaze to soft-shell crab BLTs with basil aioli to mango margarita tres leches cake to raspberry lime rickey ice cream.

Makes me want to jump the vegetarian/gluten-free ship :)

If you're interested, or would like to gift the book, leave me a comment. As always, the names go in the hat and a winner will be announced May 1st.

And if you've got photography tips on how to capture color, send them my way.

Mamma mia, che buona pizza!

2009-04-06T20:07:00.024-05:00

"32?? Tonight?? You've got to be kidding!!"

My mom is as incredulous as I am that winter's last hurrah a few weeks back was NOT its last hurrah.

Well, April Fool's is 5 days past, so, no, I'm not kidding. It's supposed to go down to 32 (!!) degrees (F) tonight. And that means: Drag the plants in yet once again. I think they're as tired of making the journey back and forth to the lightless garage as we are. Thanks to an injured rotator cuff, J got to transport the plants all by himself this time around. Let's hope it's the last time before the fall migrations.

On the bright side, the cold snap means that I don't mind having the oven on for all sorts of things. Like toasting almonds. And baking nocciola brownies. And pizza. All of which I did this evening.

So, after my mom and I got off our respective soapboxes about our dislike of the cold weather "and that wind!!" the conversation naturally turned to food. One of her friends "had ordered a specially-made gluten-free pizza," my mom continued, "and was so disappointed because by the time she got the pizza home, the crust was thick and chewy....and not in a good way."

I grew up in Northern Italy among a cult of pizza-worshippers. We regularly went to Tony's pizza place in Vicenza, il Corsaro Rosso, for a margherita (tomatoes and fresh bufala mozzarella), or quattro stagioni (four seasons: each quarter is topped differently), or funghi (mushrooms). But never with tomato sauce. And never with oregano. The dough was started in the morning, rested all day, and then was hand-thrown, topped as requested, and shoved into a wood-burning clay oven that had been heated to perfection. The fairly thin, yeasty dough blistered and "set" immediately. And upon emerging from the blazing hot forno, was anointed with an intensely fruity olive oil and rushed to its adoring fans who could hardly wait for it to cool by even a degree...and regularly suffered seared palates. Mamma mia, che buona pizza! And we washed it down with a glass of coke -- room temperature with a slice of lemon.

I returned to Vicenza in 1992 with my son, Alex, who was 6 at the time. We were going to visit friends who still lived there, and from whom I'd ascertained that Tony and his pizzas were still going strong as Tony's Pizzeria on Via Todeschini Maffeo, 66, just off Viale Trieste. I'd been telling Alex all about the Italian pizze we used to eat: how they were made, how the toppings were different from American pizza, all about Tony's. "You'll see," I'd tell him, "you're gonna love 'em." And love 'em he did -- room temperature coke with lemon and all. His favorite was frutti di mare -- seafood.

Sixteen years later, Alex is still raving about Tony's pizza -- and every other pizza he ate while we were in Italy. Matter of fact, he loved ALL the food we ate during our visit: the pizza, polenta, bigoli, gelati, krafen, you name it. Of course, while he loved the pizza, what he found really interesting at Tony's was the bathroom: the hole in the floor, with little elevated "footsteps" to stand on while you do your business, and the long flush chain extending directly from the ceiling. After seeing that toilet, he learned how to say, "Dov'e il gabinetto?" "Where's the restroom?" was always the first thing he'd ask wherever we went. Boys!

And sixteen years later I'm eating gluten-free pizza. I call it my pizzetta. The brown rice tortilla dough, or base, is of course nothing like pizza, really. It's just a flat receptacle for toppings. And the toppings? Well, they've evolved to things I can find here. The taste? "Wow! These are good!!" is the usual response. And then a few days later it's: "I made these tonight and everybody loved them."

Well, they're easy and quick to make, they're pretty tasty, and they're gluten-free. You can top them with just about anything you like. Just make sure you use the best. "No tomato sauce??" one of my friends recently asked. No, and once you make these you'll see why. Meat? Well, I'd never, but feel free to.

Give them a try and let me know how you like your pizzetta. Here's how we like mine....

My Pizzetta

GF brown rice tortilla, 1 per person....or more
evoo....extra virgin olive oil
zucchinis, sliced very thin
eggplant, sliced very thin
marinated artichoke hearts
cerignola olives, green and/or black
sun-dried tomato pieces (the kinds packed in olive oil, garlic, and herbs)
manchego cheese, sliced
feta or cotija cheese, crumbled
herbes de provence
crushed red pepper

1. Heat your oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Brush the tortillas with evoo.
3. Top the tortillas, as desired. I top them with the listed ingredients and in that order.
4. Bake the pizzas for about 12 - 13 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese melts.
5. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with red pepper, if desired, and cut into 4 or 6 pieces.
6. Enjoy hot -- with a glass of vino.....or warm coke and lemon :)

Note: The toppings need to be fairly dry/drained; otherwise the tortilla will become soggy and limp. With brown rice tortillas you want a crispy crust. Also, I like my cheese to lightly blanket, not smother, the rest of the toppings. And is summer, I like to add shreds of fresh basil.

Sprouting Bermuda and Sweet Potato Noodles

2009-03-30T19:46:00.017-05:00

Sprouting Bermuda and sweet potato noodles. Sounds like an incantation. The incantation for spring to finally spring.

One day it's shorts and t-shirts, the next it's sweats and UGGs. You know, once I break out the shorts I just flat don't want to go back to heavy duty winter clothes. And that's what last Saturday was all about.

Joyous that winter in Northeast Texas was over, we bought Bermuda seed and spread it onto the lawn's bald spots. We watered and peacocked over our handiwork, imagining the lush green that would be sprouting in a week or so.

We leashed up the dogs and headed across the street to the greenbelt for what we knew would be a long, hot walk with the girls. Well, we walk, they pull. And by the end of the hour walk/pull we were indeed "glowing" in spring's warmth.

Ah, and then the shower felt wonderful. All the windows were open and the breeze was perfect at caressing each little bead of dampness on our skin into cooling moisture....for about 10 minutes. What?? The sky was greying....no, it was turning black. The breeze became a freight train and the rush was on to get all the windows closed. Tight. And the shorts and t-shirts were quickly ripped off and thrown into the closet in favor of the sweats, wool socks, and mugs of hot tea.

Winter's last hurrah.

And our thoughts for dinner quickly turned from a refreshing salad and assorted cheeses to "what will warm me from the inside??" Pizza? No, we had that on Friday night. Soup? No, we'd just recently finished the last of a big pot of tomato chickpea minestra. Noodles? Yeah! What kind?

A review of the pantry offered various rice noodles (vermicelli to 1" wide), corn, quinoa, mungbean threads, or sweet potato. Sweet potato. Start soaking.

A quick glance in the fridge offered tempeh, tofu, cabbage, golden beets, lots of ginger and tons of fruit. That's it??

Wow, who's been eating me out of house and home?!

I grabbed the tofu and cabbage, cubed both, marinated one and set the other aside. Whipped up a quick sauce and then threw it all in the pan and voila! Dindin is served. Belly is warmed. Smiles all around.

Winter's last hurrah is short lived! Spring is just around the corner! The Bermuda will sprout!!

Although it serves 6 according to the new and improved serving size guidelines, it only serves 3 of us: J and me, and J again. Play around with this; if you don't like cabbage, try zucchinis or broccoli; maybe add some minced ginger. If you're not vegetarian, it might work with chicken or shrimp?

Sweet Potato Noodles with Tofu and Cabbage

1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
2 tablespoons low sodium tamari
1 block extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
sweet potato vermicelli (250g)*
1/3 cup low sodium tamari
2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
juice of 1 lime (or 1/4 cup orange juice)
1 tablespoon kaffir lime leaves, finely julienned
1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small or 1/2 large green cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces

1. In a small bowl, mix together the chili garlic paste and tamari. Stir in the tofu cubes and allow to marinate while the noodles soak and the rest of the ingredients are prepared/cooked.

2. Soak the sweet potato vermicelli in hot water for at least 1 hour.

3. In another small bowl, mix together the 1/3 cup tamari, honey, lime juice, and lime leaves. Set aside.

4. When you're ready to start cooking, drain the tofu and reserve the marinade.

5. Heat the oils in a large pan over medium high heat. Carefully add the tofu cubes and saute until golden on all sides.

6. Add the cabbage and cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has softened.

7. Add the reserved marinade and tamari honey mixture, along with the drained noodles. Stir and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and allow the noodles to absorb the liquid, stirring occasionally so they don't stick and/or burn. You may need to add a bit of water if the noodles seem dry. They shouldn't be saucey, but not dry either. Reduce the heat further, if necessary.

8. When the noodles are cooked (soft and translucent), remove all to a serving dish and enjoy.

* I usually buy the 1 kg packet from my local Korean grocery and use about 1/4 of the package for this dish. If you like, the noodles can be cut into shorter lengths after soaking and before adding to the cooking pan. If you don't have or can't find sweet potato noodles, try rice vermicelli. They, too, will need to be soaked before cooking.

Damn, it's good to be a juista...

2009-03-30T18:57:00.031-05:00

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day and embodied everything that makes spring in Texas a joy. Saturday's last hurrah of winter ended and Sunday started as a day of sun billowing in through the windows. I ran outside to take a picture of the clematis blossom that had been blooming for days, but seemed so dreary till the sun started shining. Isn't she gorgeous -- all 7 inches of her???

And what better brekkie to welcome spring than blueberry pancakes and maple syrup?? Add a tall glass of freshly juiced fruit, and you can practically feel yourself radiating health and happiness.

I mixed the pancake batter and set it aside to "soften" for about 30 minutes; gluten free pancakes take a little more time -- time enought to make the juice. I love picking the flavors that will make the juice "du jour." J likes his juice ice cold; I like mine room temp. Just seems like the flavors are more real, natural when they're not chilled. But I keep apples and some other juice additions in the fridge to strike a happy medium.

So, two apples, a tangelo, a stalk of celery, 1/2 a golden beet, a large knob of ginger, a pear and some organic black cherry concentrate later and it's off to the Green Star to whip up a batch of the most incredible libation. Funny, when we first started juicing, J looked me from the corner of his eye with that "you're not serious" look as I suggested adding celery and ginger to the juice. When you grow up on powdered juice drinks or frozen concentrate, I guess it's hard to embrace celery in your fruit juice.

"Ok, maybe I'll experiment with it later ," I told him. Well, technically it was later -- 5 seconds later -- when I added the celery, and then the ginger, to the rest of the goodies going into the feed chute. I poured the concoction into glasses, put his in the fridge, and mine on the table.

Mm, the last pancake was sizzling in coconut oil and ready to be plated up. Ready to eat? Maple syrup drizzled onto each stack, we dug in. Lovely pillowy bites of blueberry-laden goodness, alternated with sips, no, gulps, of juice. Oh.My.Goodness. The breakfast of champions!!

"Man, this juice is great!!" J kept exclaiming. "I think that celery would've ruined the fruit flavor. What's that zing in here?"

"Ginger. And celery."

"Well, I like it." And not 5 seconds later, "I love it."

After brekkie, we took the dogs to Arbor Hills Park and did our usual: Jason ran the bike trail with Leia while I walked Sonoma around the main trail; we met at the bridge at trail's end, and switched out our girls so that I ended up walking Leia and Jason ran the bike trail with Sonoma.

The cardinals were trilling their beautiful songs from the tops of the hightest trees they could find. The texas vervain flecked the still grey-gold fields with its clusters of tiny purple flowers, each a little nosegay. All kinds of butterflies fluttering from the last blooms of the mountain laurels and redbuds to dandelions and clover. A redtail hawk perched at the edge of the woods, no doubt wondering what kinds of foreign "birds" the kites were. Avian UFOs??

And all the while I kept thinking about juice. How alive it made me feel, and how energetic. Wow, this was some tonic!! I just can't believe I'd had my juicer for a few months before I made my first batch of this miracle beverage. When I was considering chemo, no expense seemed too outrageous, nothing too complicated or time-consuming as far as my health and wellness were concerned. I'd read about the Green Star juicers and would have one, damn the cost. It arrived, I decided against chemo, and there it sat....on the counter....taking up precious space.

"Send the thing back if you're not gonna use it," J kept insisting " Where's the box? I'll pack it up."

"Whatever!! I'll use it!! I'll.Use.It!!!"

And use it I did, and use it I do, and use it WE do. We make juice every morning, and sometimes in the afternoon. We've been buying apples, tangelos, guavas, and every other kind of fruit out of the wazzoo. We try all kinds of combinations; some with veggies, some without. Some we like better than others, but they're all delicious. Leia and Sonoma love the Green Star, too. When we pull it forward on the counter, gather and prep all the fruits and veggies, they sit right at our feet, looking up at this thing that miraculously produces one of their favorit snacks: pulp!! Sometimes I wonder who loves the juicer more: we or the girls!

Using the juicer guarantees that nothing at all is wasted from the fruits and veggies that are getting to be more and more expensive. We drink the juice, the girls get the pulp. I feel good about helping save the planet. Everybody's happy. Everybody's healthy.

"Wanna make some juice before we go to bed?" J asks.

Damn, it's good to be a juista!!

One good turn....

2009-03-20T11:33:00.006-05:00

...and see what happens?

That's what I mean about "random" acts of kindness -- they should be called "premeditated" acts of kindness. Even when they seem spur of the moment, they always issue from someone who has medidated on how to be kinder and more gracious.

Like Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs. She gave away some delicious desserts a few months back.

In turn, Iwas inspired to give away a book last month.

My sister recently posted a "handmade give-away" on her facebook page. The catch? You had to promise to give away something handmade in return. For a handmade gift from my sister? You bet I signed up on the spot.

And now Ricki's at it again. This time, it's organic maple syrup from Coombs Family Farms that she'll ship to a lucky winner anywhere in North America!! And, if you live in the Toronto area, you can win one of her custom-baked chocolate layer cakes. Check out the photos she has posted of some of her beautiful creations and possible combinations, like chocolate cake with sweet potato truffle filling, and chocolate frosting. Oh, why-o-why do I live in Texas??? Make sure to check out her website, enter for the drawing, and just enjoy perusing her fun posts and ultra-delicious recipes.

Let their turns inspire your good turn. Because, as you know, for every good turn turn turn, there is a season, turn turn turn....

March 22 P.S. Ah, here's another givea-away, this time for a Vitamix. Check out Brilynn's blog at Jumbo Emapanadas and try not to drool as you read your way through her gorgeous photos and incredibly innovative recipes.

Name dropping....

2009-03-02T20:28:00.017-06:00

I got out the hat.....

dropped in the names.....

and the winner is.....

My goal is to give away one cookbook per month for the rest of 2009. I'll be listing the next give-away shortly, so check back soon. Hey, if only 3 or so people enter the give-away each month, your odds of winning at some point during this year are really good.

Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings.

Craziness. Because life goes on....

2009-02-21T18:58:00.020-06:00

Discombobulated craziness. Yes, craziness in its purest form has come to reside in our home. Her name is Sonoma. And she's blue. And she's a Weimaraner. Our second. Just because.

Life was put on hold for a while. Would I work? Could I work? Would there be energy for anything besides just making it through each day? The Maroon Bells were waiting, but I was climbing a different sort of mountain that demanded not only my full dedication and concentration, but that of my loved ones around me as well. The "stuff" of life was trimmed, from my hair (shoulder length cropped to 1" long) to our routines to our budgets. All to prepare for the climb of our life. Cancer. Her2+ breast cancer....And chemo.

Amazing how pervasive the Big C's noxious cousin, Chemo, is. All thoughts and actions were sieved like we were panning for gold. And gold is what time and good health truly are. When you think either will be curtailed by so much as a minute, they become even more precious. Fortunately for me, the chemo risks outweighed the benefits and it was "suggested" that I hold off on the toxic therapy. Suggestion taken -- with all my heart!!! Honey, I snatched that suggestion and raced back to life and planning and vacations and work and love and everything else that had been put on hold for the last months.

Funny how you always think you won't put your life on hold for something, especially something negative. I'll plow right through that stumbling block. The proverbial steamroller, right?? But most of us aren't in a position to drop everything, live life to the fullest, see those top 10 destinations of the world, do those things you'd do if you have 6 months to live. Who came up with that advertisement, anyway??? For most of us, it's more like, "How am I going to pay the mortgage if I have to take FMLA?" or "I hope my job lasts long enough to get the deductible paid," or "God, let me please just get through this and I'll be a good girl for the rest of my life."

In the end, we somehow find the happy middle ground and take care of the daily grind while gaining a deeper appreciation for everyday life and the ones we love. Life is good. And life indeed goes on. And we indeed move on. And the daily grind begins...over and over again. But this time around, it's a little less of an industrial boulder grinder and more of a coffee grinder. (Heh heh, remember the coffee grinder scene in City Slickers?? I'm telling you, sometime it's the little things that effect the big things.)

Thus, the need to add one more to our pack. The story goes that Sonoma had been thrown out of a car onto the highway. Bruised and battered, she dragged herself to nearby woods, and was finally picked up and taken to a vet who saw to her wounds. The Weimaraner Rescue of North Texas was contacted; they picked her up; nursed back to health; fostered her; we saw her photo posted on the website; and the rest is history. Well, a complicated history. After all, we already have Princess Leia, a "special girl," as everyone likes to call her. Long story short, the princess had been abused and was very fearful of people. The first time we met her at the WRNT, she bit J on the face as he reached down to pet her. That was a reaction, a fear bite. Me she nipped twice during that first meeting, and both times it appeared as though she meditated whether or not to do it and, yep, she went for it. J and I recognized that she was just scared and reasoned that if she growled at and bit people, she'd scare them away and they wouldn't hurt her.

Little did she know that J and I would go home, do all the research we could about fear-biting animals only to return and approach her in a more appropriate way. The rest is history. We brought her home in August and, although we had some drum-roll moments, she is the best dog either of us has ever had. We LOVE our Leia. She's not perfect; she doesn't like or want to be around most people, especially when they try to pet her head; she doesn't want to have anything to do with other dogs -- but she is a love hound when she's with us. Incredibly intelligent, she knows all her toys by name; she loves to play hide and seek; she will sit and wait for an hour if she thinks you will throw her a ball; she will play fetch (but she won't "give") till she nearly collapses. We LOVE our Leia.

And she has been a true princess as we have included Sonoma in our pack -- gracious, patient, hospitable. Only occasionally has she given Sonoma the "don't you dare sniff my hiney one more freaking time" glare or nip. She's not perfect, but she's trying so hard to be accommodating. And Sonoma's learning that life with Leia could be good -- she just needs to give her some space. After all, royalty had its needs and privileges.

And so, in just a few short months, we've gone from a couple, to a trio, to "the four of us." Because life is good and life goes on....

Here's Princess Leia

Here's Sonoma

And here are our girls....

P.S. If you're ready to add a furry friend to your pack, please please please consider a rescue animal. Check your local area for rescue organizations -- the reward is incredible.

Cookbook Give-away

2009-02-12T13:22:00.010-06:00

Just perusing my blog, and re-read the entry about Ricky's random act of kindness (I prefer to think of them as premeditated acts) on her Diet, Dessert and Dogs blog. She was giving away cookies to lucky recipients in the Toronto area. Got me thinking about a give-away here on Charivari Life.

Since I've been gluten-free, I've had to rethink my baking. GF flours just flat don't behave the way other grain flours do. And although I still use some "regular" baking recipes as guides and inspiration, my cookbooks are getting opened less and less frequently. Honestly, part of it is that I truly don't feel like looking at (read drooling over) things I know I can never again bake and eat. Well, I could still bake them....for others. But why? GF stuff has taken over our household and deliciously replaces anything -- except bread!! -- gluten-laden.

So, in an effort to "zen" my life a little, my cookbook collection is going to get trimmed to my bare essentials.

The first book I'd like to give away is the drool-worthy "The Cake Book" by Tish Boyle.

At 368 pages, with gorgeous photographs, it's truly a lovely guide to making fantastic-tasting and beautifully decorated cakes of all kinds: Angel food, pound, coffee, fruit-based, flourless, cheese, mousse, and meringue cakes. The instructions are clear. There are mail-order sources listed for special ingredients. In short, a gem of a book.

If you'd like to win the book, please leave a comment along with the first name (only) of someone you love. End of February, there'll be a random drawing -- yep, the time-honored pull-a-name-from-the-hat routine. Hopefully you'll win the book and you can bake that someone you love a sweet little surprise -- in a premeditated act of kindness :)

Yes, we have no (dana) banana muffins

2009-02-04T15:50:00.009-06:00

Banana. That's been the suffix to my name for as long as I can remember. DanaBanana. And since the 'dana' part of my name is pronounced like the last two syllables of the edible yellow fruit of the lovely Musa genus, I usually introduce myself as "Dana, like banana." To which most people then usually respond, “Oh, Dana,”....with a long “a” sound. Hm, do you say ba-nay-na and I say ba-nah-na??

"Banana!" is how J usually calls to me when we're separated at a yellable distance. Heads always turn with that, “What did he call her?” look. Although I thought it was slightly deprecating when I was younger, I’ve grown attached to its sound. DanaBanana. I LIKE it!

Good thing, because I also happen to like bananas. I’ve always got fresh ones around: the big ones like Cavendish, the little finger bananas, the little red ones. And ripe chunks in the freezer – ready for smoothies, cake, or muffins. And does anything smell better than banana muffins baking? Mm, laden with toasted walnuts, chocolate, and perfumed with vanilla.

Banana muffins were the first recipe I sought to deglutenize when I went gluten-free. I’d been using a recipe based on one Nini Belle had given to me years ago that I’d already changed up by using whole wheat, flax seeds, and omitting the egg. Could it be that much harder to also make it gluten-free?

I came up with a combination of flours that seemed to work right off the bat: brown rice, tapioca, sorghum, and teff. I’m sure you could substitute for anyone of them, but this mixture always works great for me. And you can fancy-schmancy the muffins with whipped cream, buttercream, glaze. Or do as I sometimes do, and bake the batter in two small cake pans and serve in wedges or squares, maybe with an anglaise. Or leave out the chocolate – NOT. Leave out the nuts; add coconut; add different spices. Like the varieties of bananas, the possibilities are many. But like bananas, get these homemade muffins while you can – they’re an endangered species – so you can say, “Yes, we have no banana muffins."

The Best (Dana) Banana Muffins (gluten-free and vegan)

1 good cup mashed bananas (I usually use 3 really ripe bananas)
2/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil (or olive, grapeseed, etc.)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup soymilk (or other milk, or even orange juice)
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup each of tapioca, sorghum, and teff flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
good 1/2 cup chocolate chunks
good 1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line muffin pan with liners. Or butter 2 small (6” diameter) cake pans.
2. Mash the bananas and stir in the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and milk.
3. Mix together all remaining ingredients, except chocolate and nuts.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the banana mixture. When it’s just about mixed, stir in the chocolate and nuts. Spoon into the muffin or cake pans and bake, about 13-15 minutes for the muffins and about 20 minutes for the cakes.
5. Cool (at least long enough not to burn your tongue!!) and enjoy.

Note: Use really ripe bananas – the flavor reward is all the greater. Thus, the reason for the frozen banana chunks – just thaw and they’re ready to use.

Hell and Vanilla Pudding

2009-02-02T16:25:00.020-06:00

"When you're going through hell," Winston Churchill said, "keep going." And once in a while the planets align just enough to allow you to do that, to keep going.

After the myriad emotions, stresses, and physical changes of going for my yearly mammogram in November, to the follow-up mammo, the biopsy, the diagnosis, the mastectomy, the port surgery, to chemo.....the wedding's off. Well, chemo is anyway. And this all happened in only 2 short (only 2??), but incredibly long, months. I still have to remind myself to untie my shoulders from over my head.

Sometimes things happen in rapid-fire succession; we struggle against currents, pant and gasp for breath, reach "the other side," and laugh/cry that we've survived. Sometimes things happen so slowly that we don't realize we've drifted way off course; we go with the flow, then slog our way through the bog of "life" and live to tell about it. And sometimes it's a combination: things are happening rapidly, we realize we're drifting way off course, we struggle, we rant, we nurse our wounds, and pick our battered selves up. War is hell. Maybe we're no longer physically whole, but we're all the tougher for it all.

And we realize that life is still good. I realize that life is still good. And that it's still the little things that make it so "ah, that's beautiful."

Or sweeter. J says my bottom looks all the better for the few pounds I worked to put on before I started chemo. (Thank you, Dr. O, for telling me the words every woman wants to hear: "You're too thin." Now I get to work those pounds back off.)

Or nicer. Thank you, Nini Belle and Mama, for a lovely celebration dinner at Daniele Osteria! Why do we always wait for big stuff to celebrate? I think the Lederhuber Dirndln should celebrate the everyday stuff more often, and together!

Or tastier. When I went gluten-free, I was virtually despondent that, besides my daily bread and pasta, I had to give up Maggi, the "taste" behind nearly every dish in our home. It's like soy sauce in the Orient -- food just is NOT food without it. So I'd been seeing these ads for Bragg Liquid Aminos in my veg magazines, in some food blogs, and decided to buy some. Lo and behold, it tastes just like Maggi!! I was so excited!! About a food seasoning. See how little things truly make the world go round? And this prompted me to make my all-time favorite lunch today: spaghetti with ketchup, parmiggiano, and the secret ingredient....Bragg Liquid Aminos. I called my mom and told her about it while I was chowing my second plate. Hah, gluten-free gets easier and tastier all the time.

So, now that I'd finished off a package of pasta for lunch (OMG, did I really polish off the whole 12 ounce package myself??), I had to think of something for dinner. Leftovers, I guess: Baghali polo (dilled rice with baby limas), smoked salmon for J, yogurt, tomato salad, sliced avocados with lime and salt, and a little something for dessert. Been jonesing for something sweet, so I whipped up some vegan vanilla pudding -- the best. Topped it with some un-vegan dulce de leche and will serve it up with some fresh blackberries. Yum!! Life IS good!! And what tastes better than homemade vanilla pudding when you're going through hell??

Note: This pudding is delicious just as is, warm or cold. I also use it as the base for banana pudding or banana cream pie; add some grated dark chocolate for delicious chocolate pudding; flavor it with cardamom and a dash of rosewater; layer it with fresh orange caramel and/or raspberries; top it with mocha ganache; "unveganize" it by using butter and/or milk and/or cream....the variations are absolutely endless and I think I've tried most of them. Suggestions for some new variations? I'm game....

Vegan Vanilla Pudding (gluten free)

1/2 cup sugar

scant 1/4 cup cornstarch

pinch seasalt

2 cups soy milk (or your choice milk)

2 tablespoons coconut oil*

1 1/ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.

2. Slowly whisk in the milk, dissolving any clumps.

3. With heat set to medium, stir until the pudding thickens.

4. Once it starts "bubbling," remove from heat and whisk in the coconut oil and vanilla.

5. Spoon it into little bowls, goblets, or whatever container you need for your dessert, or do as I do most often, eat it right out of the pan. Mm, enjoy :)

* Be sure to use only organic virgin, unrefined, coconut oil. The rest just tastes like oil.

Random Acts of Kindness??

2009-01-30T16:56:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post that Ricky at Diet, Dessert and Dogs has a contest going...and readers can win all sorts of chocolates and gluten-free homebaked deliciousness. She's baking goodies to send out to the lucky winners. Check it out here but do it quickly -- January 30th is the last day to enter the drawing.

Don't you just love premeditated acts of kindness?? Thanks Ricky!

Life's little trinkets

2009-01-01T16:13:00.008-06:00

For some odd reason, I awoke today thinking about filo dough. I used to make these delicious sweet dessert cigars by brushing sheets of filo with butter, sprinkling with sugar and perhaps a dash of cinnamon, loosely rolling up and baking till golden and flaky. Mmm, so simple, so good and light, and the house perfumed with a lovely spicy caramel scent. Ah, those were the days -- the days when I ate anything and everything made with flour. The good ol' days....kinda. They weren't good to my intestines and skin, but my tastebuds sure went nutso ;)

I'm not aware of a gluten free filo dough, so I tried to think of something else that I might make to sweeten my day. I used to make a delicious flourless chocolate nut cake, long before I knew I needed to be gluten free. Lots of German, and other European, Kuchen and Torten are made substituting ground nuts for flour and this cake uses almonds and bread crumbs.

But, I'm tired today and making a cake today just seemed to require too much effort. So my mind switched gears to cookies: almond cookies, spicy cookies, chewy cookies. Argh, too many choices but my palate had something specific in mind and, after a bit of pulling mental files, settled on a cookie I'd actually only tried making once before: Brunsli, Swiss almond cookies. My mom had received a beautiful, 10-volume collection of recipes called Menü many moons ago. The photos were to die for and I'd spend hours curled up with a single volume, dreaming and salivating over the incredible culinary offerings which ranged from Aal blau (poached eel) to Zigeunerspieβe (gypsy kababs).

My sister and I tried out a lovely apple soup with buttery croutons one time and thought we were the most innovative chefs we knew.....all at the tender ages of 13 and 14. I made the sugar-sprinkled, yeasted Butterkuchen till I couldn't fit in my jeans anymore, as well as all kinds of Tyrolean and Bavarian rye breads, homemade whipped cream, and mixed drinks. Menü had it all.

My mom made sure we were exposed to all kinds of foods at an early age (herzlichsten Dank, Mutti!!!): sukiyaki, homemade sourdough breads, pilafs, imam bayildi, among others, were things she picked up from friends and acquaintances overseas and made for us on a regular basis, along with potato Knödel, delicious tortes, yogurts. I grew up eating food that I thought was totally normal every day stuff, till kids came over and commented on how "weird" our food was. Actually, we were just lightyears ahead with the "fusion cusisine" idea.

And then my uncle introduced me to all kinds of goodies like Vanillesteak, a wonderfully seasoned steak with spicy cognac sauce and topped with a small scoop of....vanilla ice cream. It was absolute perfection!! He kept caviar and Krimsekt in his fridge and made Rumtopf and his own Lebkuchen.

And my Oma, who made the best Zwiebelfleisch and Zwetschgendatschi (plum tart with buttercrust, not yeast dough), and the absolute best blueberry crepes, using fresh-picked tiny forest blueberries and palm oil. Between my uncle, my grandmother, and my mom, it seems that every gustatory delight was covered.

Wow, I have been eating the best food all my life!!! And I know that son A appreciates that I used to take the babyfood grinder with me wherever we went. Whatever we were eating, he got some too: Indian, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Thai, German, Italian, Korean. Now he eats anything and everything. I remember bringing him lunch at school: spicy Korean octopus with sticky rice. All the other kids' eyes were popping out as he flashed the fiery red-sauced tentacles at them :) Can't you just hear a school cafeteria full of 4th grade boys and their reaction to octopus?!?!

For lunch today, we had spicy cabbage with peas and tomatoes, served with brown rice and yogurt, and some spicy tofu I picked up at my local Korean grocers (yummy -- need to figure out how to make it). The cabbage is based on a dish I read about in a Dallas paper probably 15 years ago. I believe it comes from a microwave Indian cookbook that was featured in the newspaper, the author(s) and book title which I unfortunately don't know and can't acknowledge.

The cabbage was so good, the house perfumed deliciously with spice, that the Brunsli making got pushed aside.....they'll surface another day. 2009 will be here for a while....enjoy each day :)

Spicy Cabbage with Peas and Tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil

2 teaspoons chili garlic paste

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 cabbage, thinly sliced

1 cup green peas

Grind together the black pepper corns, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, and coriander. Mix in the smoked paprika, turmeric, and salt. Set aside.

In a large pot, heat the ghee or coconut oil over medium heat. Add the chili garlic paste and spices, stirring for a minute, then add the tomatoes. Cook this mixture for about 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage and green peas, stirring till coated with the tomatoes. Cover, lower heat a bit, and cook another 15 minutes or so.

This is wonderful with rice, mashed potatoes, in a wrap, alone, as part of a larger meal.....just plain delicious. Enjoy and if you know where the original recipe is, please let me know.

Glabellars?? Let's eat cake!

2008-12-27T15:52:00.017-06:00

Been a while...and lots of water under the bridge. High tide, I mean high time for another post.

So, I switch on the laptop and, while waiting for things to load, catch my reflection in the monitor. Yep, those "highlights" are gray hairs. Wow. Not necessarily a bad "wow" either. And I can faintly see the color line as I allow my hair, colored for years, to return to its natural colors. My eyes scan a bit lower and notice the glabellar lines, like soft close and open parentheses between my eyebrows. The nasolabial folds, like two half-arches....from lots of laughter, I smile quietly.

Funny, years ago I would've reminded myself to relax my brow and soften my jaw. I certainly didn't want to age, but if I was going to ever be old, I wanted to look incredible and draw (unsolicited) comments like, "Fifty?? I can't believe it. I thought maybe 30!!" And at one point, even 30 sounded old!

So, here we are twenty years later, and I'm thinking that 50's the new 30. It's really pretty great...even with all its "unexpecteds." Transformation? Don't really know, but I'm much more accepting of the little crows feet than I thought I would be. Maybe it's because the alternative to aging looks a lot less inviting.

And the other changes are okay by me, too. A few mornings ago when I looked at my body in the mirror, I asked J if it now looked deformed. "You're healthy again and you're home; that's all that matters," he said as he gave me a little kiss. We both looked at my breast*, smiled, and went about the day.

But, yeah, I really wanted to add that to my list of things to celebrate, right behind the fact that I'd just washed my hair and bathed -- all by myself for the first time in weeks!! So we celebrated and toasted those accomplishments, and good health among other things, that evening with a glass of champagne. Well, peach sparkling wine, anyway. Delicious bubbly tingles that breathed of spring and new beginnings.

My dad used to tell me, "if you've got your health, you've got everything"....corny at 15, gospel truth at 50. How life changes.

And changes. As a youngster I thought of ooey, gooey chocolate anything as the ultimate dessert. As I've gotten older, I still enjoy a delicious, organic dark chocolate, preferably plain, to be slowly savored like fine cognac. And I still love the comfort that only sweet dessert can deliver. But my dessert taste buds have shifted from the ooey gooey to fruity. One of my favorite treats is a cup of steaming hot tea with a slice, or two, of plain butter cake with fruit in it.

As my appetite has returned post-hospital, I've been buying the frozen gluten free cookies at Whole Foods. Love their molasses ginger cookies! But I was really craving something homemade, so today my first baking attempt in weeks was to make my standard butter cake. I'd bought some quinces a while back at H MART off of the Bush Tollway and made morabba-ye beh, an Iranian quince preserve, with sugar, fesh lemon juice, crushed cardamom, and a drop of golab, rosewater. Mm, butter cake with quinces sounded like just what I needed to keep me going through the weekend. You know, a slice here, a slice there, till it's all gone....yeah.

So, that's what I made -- all by myself. But the cake can be made with any soft fruit: plums, apricots, cherries. I've also made it with pineapple curd (recipe at another time) and lemon curd. And, yes, I've made it with chocolate. And Nutella. And had it with a glass of bubbly.

Give it a try. Life is short and meant to be enjoyed....by the buttery, or bubbly, mouthful.

I wish you a New Year filled with love, happiness, and health -- all that really matters.

*On December 15th, I had a mastectomy. I'd been diagnosed several weeks earlier with an invasive cancer that had spread to all quadrants.

Small Buttercake with or without Fruit

4 tablespoons softened, unsalted butter
2 tablespoons virgin, organic coconut oil**
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup GF flour (your favorite mix, Bob's Red Mill, or AP if you're not gluten free)
1 teaspoon baking powder
dash salt
1/4 cup milk (soy, rice, dairy, or whatever)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
If desired, fruit topping of choice or curd

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a small cake pan (I used a fluted 7" pan), and line with buttered parchment.
2. Cream butter and coconut oil; add sugar, and beat till fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time.
4. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the mixture.
5. Lastly, stir in milk, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.
6. Spoon batter into prepared pan and top with fruit or curd. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired, and bake about 40 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool (or not) and serve plain, with more fruit, whipped cream, ice cream....

** I like to use a mixture of unsalted butter and coconut oil because I love the subtle richness coconut oil adds. And, for the taste, our health, and the record, I use organic, whole foods wherever possible.

Nocciola...Gelato to Brownies via Maroni e Panna Montata

2008-12-09T14:51:00.020-06:00

“I’m so tired of coffee and chai. Let’s meet for gelato,” said one of my friends, as we tried to decide where we wanted to do a quick meet-up before another December (and, indeed, another year!!) left us in its wake.

Gelato. O.M.G. I loved gelato. Loved?? Well, I loved gelato when I lived in Italy. But I don’t love the stuff they call “gelato” here in the States. It’s just not the same; something is “off” in the taste, texture, something. There are some cool flavors, though: pineapple basil, mint & rose, caramel tangerine. Don’t those sound yummily tempting? Hm, I may just have to give this gelato thing another shot; just go for the flavors, tell myself it’s ice cream, and enjoy it for what it is.

My all-time favorite flavor, though, was nocciola, hazelnut. Sure, every once in a while I'd veer off the beaten filbert path and get a toroncino (a kind of nut nougat), stracciatella (vanilla & chocolate) or gianduia (hazelnut & chocolate). Occasionally I’d even go fruity with a delicious, refreshing limone (lemon), lampone (raspberry) or fragola (strawberry). But I always came home to the creamy, seductively fragrant nocciola -- except for in wintertime.

Back in the 70’s, you were hard-pressed to find ice cream in winter in northern Italy. “It’s freezing cold outside. Why would you want something freezing cold inside you?” That’s when the season went from offering frozen gelato concoctions to huge drums roasting maroni (chestnuts). Walk down any street in town, and the maroni vendors and shoppers would be huddled around the steaming drums, inhaling the aromas, trying to keep warm, and discussing how bad the last sciopero (strike) was. And then you’d get your own little newspaper sacchetto filled with the x-scored nuts that would absolutely burn your fingers as you tried to peel them. But peel, and quickly peel, you must to get to the cream-coloured, floury, flowery treasure. How often did my tongue literally sizzle when the hot chestnut touched it? Pretty often, but it was worth it.

Besides the maroni, there was also the gustatory optical illusion: panna montata (whipped cream in an ice cream cone). It looked like ice cream, but wasn’t. Eh, I usually opted for the chestnuts.

Then you had the shops that totally changed their inventories with the flip-flopped season: In summer they were the ice cream shop; in winter they might sell furs. One of those switcheroo shops had (in my 70’s teenager mind) the most ingenious, “out there” ice cream dish of all: “spaghetti” ice cream. Vanilla ice cream was pressed through some contraption so that it came out in spaghetti-like strands, topped with strawberry “marinara” sauce, and grated coconut “cheese.” I loved it. Why hadn’t I thought of the century’s most brilliant dessert?? Maybe if I could’ve devised a nocciola-based brown “spaghetti”….Hm, nocciola ice cream “soba” with banana “tempura” and rum caramel “miso sauce”? Think I might be on to something...

So, fall has definitely turned wintry in North Texas: Gusting winds are encouraging the temperatures tonight to drop into the 30’s, with highs tomorrow in the 40’s plummeting into the 20’s overnight. It’s maroni and panna montata weather. Lacking the big roasting drums, and not craving the whipped cream optical illusion, I’ve got nocciola something or other on my mind. Lacking access to great gelato, I’m going for brownies….nocciola brownies.

These are really quick and really good. I use Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix; not sure how they would be with a different baking mix. If you try another pre-packaged, or even your own, baking mix, I'd love to know how your brownies turn out.

Hey, C, if you're reading this, come on over. I've got some great nocciola brownies to celebrate the passing of another whirlwind year. And, of course, some bubbly to wash them down.

Buon appetito!

Quick Nocciola Brownies

¼ cup softened butter
¼ cup coconut oil, liquid or soft state
½ cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup Nutella
1 ½ cup Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix*
½ to 1 cup dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
good ½ cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
additional Nutella for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13” x 9” baking pan.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the Nutella until well-combined. Now add the baking mix, chocolate, and nuts until just combined.

Spread batter in baking sheet, spoon on additional Nutella (sometimes I drizzle it and sometimes I just “glop” it on) -- and make sure to lick all the Nutella off the spoon before putting it in the dishwasher!

Bake about 20-25 minutes. I like them on the “done” side and go for the 25 minutes.

*Even if you’re not gluten-free, Pamela’s Mix is a great and versatile product. Give it a try!

Charivari Life - Discombobulated Craziness

2008-12-06T18:39:00.006-06:00

Charivari - the word has as many definitions as the number of charms that can hang from a silver Charivari.

Growing up in northern Italy, with my maternal grandmother only a few hours' drive away in Bavaria, a Charivari was a heavy silver chain, laden with Anhaenger, or charms. All I knew about Charivaris was that my mom's Grossvater had one that was enviably heavy, each link dangling a memento associated with a personal milestone: coins minted during anniversary years, a piece of crystal, maybe a rabbit's foot or bird claws, and maybe even a Penisknochen. And, yes, Penis in German has the same meaning as it does in English. And, no, I don't why anyone would want to sport one of those. But that's just a small bit of those traditions I grew up with.

I've always loved the word Charivari and always wanted to have my own. Wonder whatever happened to Grossvater's?? Maybe that's where my charm bracelet obsession started. It's a visual and tangible reminder of joys of life. Some are purchased to mark occasions, some are gifts and reminder of occasions of their own.

For me Charivari has become a metaphor for the journey of life, that beautiful silver chain hefty with accumulated memories. Some poignant. Some funny. Some so personal that the mere memory leaves one trembling and speechless. Some lost in translation, like the Penisknochen. Ahh...

It's also a metaphor for thoughts and conversations. One minute it's all about What was the name of that great vino we had at that restaurant up on the Tollway? The next it's about watching the coyotes in the field down by the creek this morning, soaking up the rays of sun trying to stream through the cold fog. Or Would you do chemo? Or Kann man denn Strudelteig ohne Mehl machen??? (Translation: Can strudeldough even be made without flour??? And believe me, that one's like at the top of my list!! After all, what's winter without Apfelstrudel?? My mom's apple strudel would be my "last meal," bar none. Apple strudel? It's nothing like what most Americans think of as apple strudel. It's the Bavarian pastry of homemade dough stretched and pulled so thin you can read through it, then smeared with sour cream, topped with thinly sliced apples (the perfect combination of a few different varieties) that have been sprinkled with lemon juice, sugar and a bit of cinnamon, rum soaked raisins, all rolled up like a whirlpooled jelly-roll, gently laid to rest in a pool of melted sweet butter, and baked until the most incredible scent leads you by the nose to keep checking the oven and making sure it's done. Oh. My. Gosh. I have burnt my tongue and palate too many times to count. Apfelstrudel. The stuff of dreams. It will be a future blog, complete with pics and recipe. Once I figure out a gluten-free version of the dough, I'll add another charm to the bracelet. Gargantuan milestone.

And so, here's where Charivari kind of doglegs to another of its meanings. You see, it also means something like "discombobulated craziness." And Katzenmusik, or catmusik -- let your imagination run wild with that one :)

Discombobulated craziness = my life. Not in a bad way. Just in a crazy way, that makes me smile. Like when you examine the charms on a bracelet. Sometimes you smile really big, or just knowingly, or sweetly.

And before life gets too discombobulated, I have dessert. It makes what follows a tad easier to swallow. Tonight we had a berry dessert that my mom's been making for decades. Not sure where she got the recipe but she recently gluten-freed it and it's just as awesome. No pics, but that's because it's always gone before the steam settles enough to get a closeup. Try it, you'll like it:

Mama’s Blueberry Dessert

Preaheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided use
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup polenta
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup gluten-free AP flour mix* (like Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup milk (of your choice)
3 - 4 cups blueberries** (thawed, if frozen)

Directions: Put the stick of butter into a casserole and place in the oven to melt while assembling the rest of the dessert.

Mix together ¼ cup sugar and the lemon juice. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the remaining 1 cup sugar, polenta, and remaining dry ingredients. Stir in the milk, then the berries.

Once the butter is melted, remove the casserole from the oven and carefully pour the batter over the butter. Pour the sugar and lemon juice mixture over the batter, and bake about 45 minutes.

Serve as is, with cream, ice cream, crème fraiche, or whatever floats your boat.

An guaten….Bavarian for bon apetit!

* If you aren’t gluten-free, substitute ½ cup AP or whole wheat pastry flour
** I’ve used different combinations of berries: bluebs, cranberries, raspberries – all good