asian chicken burgers

yummy! a bit of soy sauce, some thai garlic chili paste and some green onions-whoops! forgot the onions!
oh well, it's still good.

whole wheat bread

I have been wanting to try the 5-minute artisan bread recipe with whole wheat. The recipe in the book calls for unbleached white all-purpose flour. I am so in love with white whole wheat flour, I thought I would try it. I went to the website, and they said to mix a few cups of white whole wheat with the rest the regular unbleached flour.

The initial dough was noticeably drier than the with the regular flour. The first loaves, made yesterday, were good, but didn't have the big and irregular air holes that I'm used too. I haven't heard any complaints, but I'm not completely happy with how it turned out.

I will have to try again and tinker with the recipe a bit.

always amazing bread

I still find it amazing that I can add yeast to warm water, throw in some flour (this time a combo of unbleached white flour and some white whole-wheat flour) and-miraculously-after a few hours, the dough has risen and I haven't had to knead anything. If my last experience is any indicator, I am in for several fantastic loaves of bread.

The people who wrote the book on artisan bread in one hour are geniuses.

tainted meat

I haven't seen the video, but I can only imagine how horrible it must be to see downed cattle being forced to slaughter. It just brings to mind every PETA video ever shot and validates their outrage at how animals are treated in this country. It frightens me to think that we've probably all been eating beef from this particular "producer" (in chino! local!) and I am not at all assuaged that the government says so far no one has gotten sick.

what do I have to do to make sure the beef that my family eats is ethical and humane? Do I have to go down to the slaughterhouse myself?? I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, but I am still really angry. Hopefully this whole scandal will benefit those farmers who do raise (not produce!) cattle in ethical and human ways that are not too taxing on the environment. Yes, I know beef is particularly hard on the planet, but unless we ALL go vegan (unlikely), then ethically raised beef, however sparely eaten, is the way to go.

Coincidentally, I bought a vegetarian cookbook this week. I guess I need to read it more closely.

banana fritters

I hope the first recipe I made from my new cookbook (vegetarian cooking for families by Nava Atlas) is not a harbinger of things to come. The fritters turned out okay, but they were kind of heavy. I don't think it is totally due to me not using "pastry" flour. I think they are just heavier than I am used to. The kids ate a few, but weren't enthusiastic. The rest were gone when I came home from the gym and I'm not sure if the chef ate them or if the dog polished off the rest.

I found a recipe for veggie pot pie. I am going to try that one. I hope it doesn't suck.

flour, sugar etc.

Thanks to the birthday generosity of the expectant Palagis, I have $50 to spend at Borders books. The Chef has been requesting that I cook more vegetables or vegetarian meals for the kids, so I bought a vegetarian family cookbook. I am hoping that it has good ideas for vegetarian meals that don't rely too heavily on asian flavors that the kids may not like.

My first attempts at cooking consisted solely of breakfast (waffles, to be specific), so one recipe I found right away is called banana fritters. There is no actual frying involved (yea!) and the recipe looks pretty yummy and fairly healthy, but....

it calls for pastry flour. Now, I did some research online, and King Arthur Flour says that pastry flour has a different protein percentage. I already have King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour (which I LOVE) and King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour (for making bread), regular old-fashioned whole wheat flour and regular white flour, but so far I do not have any pastry flour.

I also have four kinds of sugar (semi-processed regular granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar and turbinado sugar) and now, apparently, I am on my way to having lots of flour too. Oh, I take that back, I have five kinds of sugar; I forgot superfine sugar.

My goodness! Who knew cooking would require so many kinds of sugars and flours??!!

that was easy

We spent much of our day at the Living Desert zoo, returning home in the late afternoon. I had absolutely no energy when we got home and absolutely NOTHING in the fridge to serve to the kids for dinner. The chef returned home so I could run to Stater Brothers and Trader Joe's, but I got home at 5:30 and the kids were already hungry. What to do?

Luckily I bought an "artisan" pizza from Trader Joe's that was ready in about ten minutes. it was not only tasty, but the crust was extra crunchy-hooray for the pizza stone. Everyone seemed to like it, and more importantly, there were no dirty dishes to clean! no wonder mom's are ordering food to go. I don't think we could afford to do it every day, but it sure was easy!

all hail the thai chicken nuggets

Most of the time Real Simple's "Fake it, don't make it" recipes rely too heavily on processed foods in order to save time. However, awhile ago, I stumbled upon a recipe for baked "fiery" chicken nuggets that the kids LOVE. The pineapple/thai chili-garlic paste really adds a nice flavor and the japanese panko bread crumbs make all of the difference. I tried corn flake breading once and it wasn't nearly as good. I'm not sure what the Japanese do to their breadcrumbs-but whatever it is, it works!

It's a no-brainer dinner. Easy, relatively healthful, and did I mention that the kids love it? Even the chef loves it.

I need a new stove!

My banana bread looked like it was burned.
But it tasted delicious.

I am tired of this old stove. It cooks things unevenly. I want a convection oven.
I am 40 years old this week. I deserve a good stove.

leash?

yesterday, apparently, my brother-in-law took his 15 month old son to the restaurant and had a LEASH attached to a harness around his torso.
I managed to make it through childhood without a leash, as did my brother, my husband and nearly everyone I know. Unless you have a child with a serious disability or ADHD, why would you put a kid on a leash???

What is wrong with (a) putting the kid in a stroller (b) carrying them or (c) holding their hand. If you can't pay enough attention to your child to do either of the above, don't you think you need to either stay at home or get a clue?? When I was a kid, and my mother went shopping, she would command me to hold on to her skirt. If I let go, she could feel it and then I would get in trouble. I never had a leash. Mario doesn't have a leash, and he's a pretty adventurous kid, and I haven't lost him (knock on wood) yet.

Children are not pets. Either take responsibility for them or don't have them.

veggie bacon?

I am trying to explore ways to go "meatless" at least once a week, in order to somewhat reduce our carbon footprint in this world. Last week I made a tasty egg/broccoli/cheese tart (store bought crust) that was a HUGE hit with the kids. and I got the recipe out a parenting magazine-go figure! Anyway, while leafing through this month's "Everyday Food," I saw a recipe for veggie bacon quiche. The recipe sounded easy enough. And I must admit, I was intrigued by the notion of vegetarian bacon. What would it taste like? Would it be crispy? Would it have the delicious "mouth feel" of fat?

The kids didn't get a chance to eat the quiche for dinner tonight (it took too long to come out of the oven), but so far, other than being really salty, I think it's okay. That's really not what's bothering me.

It's the bacon that bothers me. It smelled a lot like bacon, which reminded me of the chapter in Fast Food Nation (or was it Omnivore's Dilemma?) where the author goes to a chemical factory where they make smells of food. That's what it smelled like. It smelled like bacon-ish flavor; smoky and slightly greasy. The bacon itself turned out fairly crispy and crumbly, but......what was in it? Egg whites? okay, that's good, but then the list goes on. It includes a plethora of things I can't pronounce. Doesn't Pollan counsel us to eat foods that our grandmothers would recognize? Would abuelita recognize disodium guanylate?

The spinach in the quiche was real, as were the eggs and potatoes. but the bacon, hmmmmm. Have I done more harm than good? Would it be better to have "real" bacon, just have less of it?? Or just forget about the bacon entirely?