As much as chicken soup is lauded as a cure for what ails you, and is perhaps the quintessential comfort food (it even has its own series of books for goodness sake), I’d like to disagree. You see, to me soup is fine when you have the flu and are eating mostly liquids, but when your soul needs soothing, soup is a little too light duty.
I had a severe case of the blahs last week. I felt uninspired, bloated, and a couple of shades of blargh. Holly Golightly would have called it the Mean Reds. Whatever you call it, you know it is not fun. So there I was, prostrate on my couch watching Pride and Prejudice for the 4th time in 3 days when I realized I needed to eat. I had a kitchen full of vegetables and fruits and healthy options but at that moment I wanted none of it. Ten in ‘10 be damned, I wanted biscuits.
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Tagged as:
Alton Brown,
biscuits,
homesick texan,
quick bread
As a kid, I had a love-hate relationship with eggs. I loved deviled eggs. And egg salad. I hated fried eggs. But not always. I can distinctly remember a time in my early childhood when I would happily eat eggs with my pancakes and even dip the syrup-soaked bites into the runny yolk just like my mom did. And I ate poached eggs on toast with my dad regularly. Then at some point around age eight, I decided I didn’t like eggs. Or rather, I only liked the stinky eggs as my ex-husband called them (he hated the stinky eggs and I hated the non-stinky eggs. It made breakfasts difficult). I suppose whether or not it was coincidence that my dislike for fried eggs manifested itself around the time my mom remarried is something for a therapist to figure out.
Anyway, one day in my late twenties I decided to give eggs another try. I started out always eating it with something more powerful in flavor. But you know what? It didn’t take long for me to get over the hate. And I love them now. I’m in my thirties, living alone with two cats, and I love eggs (Ok, my situation is not as bleak as that last sentence sounded. I have more love in my life than just eggs. I’m lucky to have found a wonderful man who loves when I cook eggs for him). Who knew I’d come around so whole-heartedly? Now, I sometimes find ways to add eggs to a meal just because (even ramen… well, especially ramen. I love to add veggies like bok choy and then poach an egg in the broth while the noodles are cooking).
Even though I always liked hard boiled eggs and dishes made from them, it took me years to learn to properly cook a hard-boiled eggs. Not for lack of trying, it was just lack of patience or brain cells. I would always forget how long the eggs needed to cook or forget to set a timer and walk away and then forget about the eggs on the stove. So I overcooked a lot of eggs to the point that the yolks were dry. But now, thanks to the “spinach salad” episode of Good Eats, I know how to cook a hard-boiled egg… reliably. And best of all, you cannot over-boil it to the point of all of the water evaporating from the pot and the egg exploding. I hear that can be very messy. Don’t try it.
Hard-boiled eggs:
I don’t mean to insult anyone’s intelligence by writing out the steps on how to boil an egg, but I’m happy to have a method that works that I can remember and so I wanted to share it (just in case there is anyone as clueless as I am out there. Unlikely, but a girl can dream).
1. Place eggs in a pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the eggs.
2. When the water begins to boil, cover the pot and remove it from the heat. Let eggs sit in the hot water for 12 minutes.
3. Immerse eggs in cold water.
4. Peel and eat (don’t forget the salt!)
Tagged as:
Alton Brown,
eggs,
hard boiled eggs,
love-hate eggs
I have been making a concerted effort to reduce my overall sugar (and butter) intake lately. But I still want to bake and I still want to have treats. In other words, I want to fit into skinny jeans again without giving up everything. But the volume of cupcakes, cookies and doughnuts coming out of my kitchen this winter has worked against me as I work toward my goal for the spring which is to fit back into some of my skinnier jeans (not necessarily the skinniest jean in my drawer and definitely not skinny jeans as in the style that is popular lately… they just aren’t made for girls with hips). Anyway. So what’s a girl to do?
Aside from upping my weekly miles running, I’ve also been cutting back on the daily desserts (daily dessert!). And have been making slightly healthier choices when I do reach for treats (mostly). Among those slightly healthier choices is homemade yogurt topped with granola.
This was my first foray into making granola and now I wonder why I waited so long. Homemade granola kicks the butt of store bought any day. I guess that’s true of most things. But granola?
Yes, granola. Once again, I started with an Alton Brown recipe. I looked at several other granola recipes including one that is a chocolate granola from Nigella Lawson, but Alton’s was the most straightforward and I didn’t need to go to the store to make it. Well… let me clarify. I did not have the specific nuts he called for in his recipe. But what I did have was a big ole bag of fruit and nut trail mix from Costco. Who needs 3 pounds 8 ounces of trail mix? Apparently I thought I did.
I was feeling guilty about this yellow bag sitting there holding food that I no longer wanted to eat. I don’t like to waste food. I had to find a way to use it somehow. So I used it in my granola. Well, at least, I used some of it. There was a lot of the mango, kiwi, pineapple and other fruits left. Maybe my next batch of granola will be a little tropical.
I started by sorting the fruits from the nuts.
This process requires a little OCD. (If you’re a normal person who does not purchase 3.5 pounds of dried fruits and nuts “medley”, then your granola experience should be a little more straightforward than mine).
I chopped the nuts (I think I wound up with a mix of almonds, walnuts and peanuts. Possibly cashews too. All I know is I had a bunch of nuts.)
I mixed the oats, coconut, and nuts. To the dry mix, I added the maple syrup and oil mixture.
When it was good and mixed, I spread it out on a half sheet pan that was lined with a silpat. Then it was baked at 250 degrees for an hour and fifteen minutes (stirring every fifteen minutes).
Between stirs, I sorted through the fruits to find raisins. I didn’t distinguish between the raisins and cranberries because I decided cranberries would add a little zing and my OCD was wearing thin by this time.
When it is golden and toasted, remove it from the oven and dump it into a big bowl. Stir in the raisins. Let it cool completely and store it in an airtight container.
Now I’m not about to say that granola is low fat or something you should eat large quantities of on a regular basis. But a little granola on top of low fat yogurt is a great treat and leaves me feeling lighter than most of my favorite buttery/sugary treats. Besides the fats in granola are mostly from nuts which are supposed to be good for you, right? Anyway. The key is moderation. So don’t be like me. I ate about 1.5 cups before it had cooled off completely.
Tagged as:
Alton Brown,
breakfast,
granola,
skinny jeans,
yogurt
If you’ve been reading along, by now you know I’m from the South. It’s not something I talk about that often typically, but my stomach seems to be a little homesick lately (Nothing some good BBQ wouldn’t cure, but I can’t find the kind of pulled pork I want around here). Anyhow, today I’m bringing you a quintessential Southern drink: the mint julep. Funny thing though, I never had a mint julep when I lived in Georgia. The first one I had was at a restaurant in San Francisco. Haha.
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Tagged as:
Alton Brown,
bourbon,
cocktail,
drinks,
mint julep,
southern
Do you like doughnuts? How about donuts? Why are there 2 spellings? Personally, I prefer doughnuts. I don’t have a good reason, but I think the Southern part of my brain likes the extra letters. Donuts is just so short and curt whereas doughnuts you can kind of linger over… just slow down and take your time letting the word roll off your tongue. Well, like I said I don’t have a good reason, but I still prefer doughnuts to donuts.
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Tagged as:
Alton Brown,
breakfast,
chocolate,
chocolate ganache,
doughnut holes,
doughnuts,
fried,
maple
