April 2009

It’s too hot to bake!

by Patricia on April 21, 2009 · 4 comments

Driving home from work today, my car said it was 93 degrees outside.  It’s April.  How is it so hot already?  Whew.  I will admit that I’ve gotten rather spoiled out here in California.  When I lived in Georgia, it was over 80 degrees for more days than it wasn’t and the majority of those over 80 degree days were really over 90 with over 90% humidity.  I’m only sort of exaggerating.  Getting off of the plane in Savannah is like walking into the sauna…

But in California the humidity is low (to me) and the temperatures stay reasonable for most of the year.  Sure, there are a few weeks or maybe a couple of months when it’s really hot in the summer but spring is still sweater weather for me… albeit a light sweater.  So really, what is going on?  Is it global warming?  El Niño or La Niña? (Whichever is the hot one).

I wanted to make biscotti today (I thought of another flavor combination I want to try).  And granola (I feel like pretending to be healthy).  But I can’t bear the thought of turning the oven on and heating up my little apartment even more. So instead, I thought I’d ask you a question:
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How do you store your green onions?

I have a problem with green onions and herbs. They always wilt before I finish using them. So I’ve been experimenting. I got the idea to put them into water like they were cut flowers when I was watching Barefoot Contessa. She always has buckets or vases full of cut herbs on the counter that she cooks with. I’ve tried this with parsley and cilantro. And now I’m trying it with green onions. It’s not perfect but it does seem to help. I guess herbs are fragile and need to be used quickly, but putting the parsley and green onions in water definitely seems to prolong their life (the cilantro didn’t do as well for some reason).

Do you know a better way to store herbs?

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And the winner is…

by Patricia on April 20, 2009 · 2 comments

 

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Congratulations Angie! I’ll be sending you an email soon to coordinate logistics and such.  I can’t wait to see the cupcakes you make with these tools.

And to everyone else: there is always next time.  No really.  I don’t expect this to be the last giveaway here.  In fact I already have plans for the next one but I think we should wait just a bit before diving into another giveaway…

Happy Monday!

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Pot resurrected (and a roundup)

by Patricia on April 19, 2009 · 2 comments

Last week I told you about my artichoke disaster that ended in a horribly burnt pot.  I am happy to report that after a little vinegar and baking soda magic, it is as good as new:
good as new.

The best part?  It didn’t require elbow grease or harsh chemicals or super-scratchy scrubbers.  Nope, I just followed these instructions on e-how.  Yep, just baking soda, vinegar, and a little patience and all of that char came off easily.  In the e-how instructions it says to bring a pot of water with a bit of dishwashing liquid to a boil, but I didn’t find this to be effective at all.  But soaking it with a baking soda-water paste and then adding a vinegar-water solution and heating it and soaking that overnight was magic.  I’m not sure you need to soak it overnight because the char bits came off just from boiling it.

Anyway, now for a roundup…

* These oatmeal cookie pancakes from Joy the Baker look divine.  I seriously wanted some this morning.  I’m a little unsure about putting raisins in my pancakes but I think that’s just one of my things.  I don’t dislike raisins, I just don’t like the idea of raisins sometimes. shrug.

* I am seriously in a meat mood lately.  I don’t know if it’s because it’s almost summer and summer to me means barbecue and grilling… and ribs.  Mmm.  But these are the things that really jumped out at me this week:

- Lamb barbacoa from the Homesick Texan.  Yum.  That taco looks good enough to eat.  And then eat another.  Maybe wash it down with a little cerveza and then have another.

- So this recipe is from David Lebowitz.  And it’s from 2007.  But I just read it today so it’s new to me.  It is a recipe for carnitas.  Which is my absolute favorite… well, if you’re talking about Mexican food.  A little crunchy crust on the outside and tender pork on the inside.  Mmm.  Burrito.

- And last, but certainly not least… another older post.  This one is from 2008 and Smitten Kitchen.  Dry rub ribs.  Can I tell you how much I miss good ribs?  It’s not that I haven’t had good ribs in California, I just haven’t had good dry rub ribs.  I like the mopped style ribs just fine.  But a good dry rubbed rib… it’s pork nirvana.  I seriously need to stop drooling over these recipes and go make some ribs.

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Good morning

by Patricia on April 19, 2009 · 0 comments

I was so inspired by Tea’s “Stalking Wonder” post that I went out to stalk some of my own wonder.  I’ve spent too much time inside lately so it was refreshing to get out into the morning sunshine.  I didn’t go far, only to my mailbox and back.  The apartment complex I live in has planted snapdragons and poppies to welcome spring.

Fiery

PS – check out Tea and Cookies… her photos are lovely.

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Coca Cola Cake

by Patricia on April 18, 2009 · 6 comments

I was searching for ideas and tips on using soda (aka “coke” if you’re in the South) in cakes in preparation for this month’s Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge (soda pop is the theme ingredient).  And that’s when I found it.  And once I found it, I had to have it.  Do you ever get those uncontrollable urges (needs) to bake something?  What is *it*? Coca Cola Cake.  I’ve never had it before.  I found it on Southern Plate.  But once I read about it with the cocoa and the marshmallows and the cocoa I had to have it.  The coca cola addition was more a curiosity to me than anything else.  I was no longer thinking about Iron Cupcake, I was only thinking about tasting this cake.

So I stopped at the store on the way home from work with 2 things on my list: marshmallows and a bottle of Coke.  I had everything else I needed at home.  And like a woman possessed, I baked.  I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do with 13×9 inches of cake when I was the only one there to eat it but that was not a good enough reason to stop.

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