ugh, let me tell you:
constipated
sleepy (a lot of the time)
obsessed with eating watermelon, which I'm also sick of
also obsessed with umeboshi
want to be obsessed with umeshu, but can't be...
brain dead (hence lack of posting!)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
oh, I get so sad!
I hate thinking of how far away my Zab is...reading the comment section from the last post nearly made me cry!!!! Why does Montana have to be so far away from Pennsylvania???? WHY??? sigh. I need to figure out when I'm going to find some time to get my butt out there.
but, since I'm currently food obsessed (now that Zab has very sweetly posted that list for me, I can see that I'm actually craving the same exact foods this pregnancy as last!), I'll just expound on my recent food choices, rather than go on and on about how people shouldn't live so far away from one another. PEOPLE - YOU SHOULD ALL LIVE WITHIN TWO HOURS OF ME!
for breakfast and snack (I just wolfed down another one), I had onigiri. I love these things. I can't get enough of rice right now. shortly after I graduated from college, I moved to Seattle. it was during the 1.5 or 2 years I lived there that I came to the realization that I'd get really cranky and out-of-sorts if I didn't eat rice regularly (OK, maybe an ex-boyfriend was the one who brought that to my attention). I swear that doesn't happen anymore, but maybe now when I get cranky, no one notices because I'm cranky much more often. I'm getting old and crotchety!
guess what I'm making for dinner tomorrow? no, not rice...pizza!
but, since I'm currently food obsessed (now that Zab has very sweetly posted that list for me, I can see that I'm actually craving the same exact foods this pregnancy as last!), I'll just expound on my recent food choices, rather than go on and on about how people shouldn't live so far away from one another. PEOPLE - YOU SHOULD ALL LIVE WITHIN TWO HOURS OF ME!
for breakfast and snack (I just wolfed down another one), I had onigiri. I love these things. I can't get enough of rice right now. shortly after I graduated from college, I moved to Seattle. it was during the 1.5 or 2 years I lived there that I came to the realization that I'd get really cranky and out-of-sorts if I didn't eat rice regularly (OK, maybe an ex-boyfriend was the one who brought that to my attention). I swear that doesn't happen anymore, but maybe now when I get cranky, no one notices because I'm cranky much more often. I'm getting old and crotchety!
guess what I'm making for dinner tomorrow? no, not rice...pizza!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
kawaii!
how cute can food get? do you really want to see? click away!
on a not so cute note, here's what I had for lunch. ps. I didn't eat the calculator.
the blob of stuff on the tomato is my current caesar salad dressing. it's nice and creamy, with a yummy flavor of lemon, mustard, and anchovy, but it wasn't the same as the one I'd od'd on the last time I was pregnant. Zab, if you're reading, I'll probably be asking you if you still have the recipe : )
I remember the previous recipe as exactly perfectly garlicky and lemony and fishy and YUMMY! I think I prefer a vinagrette style over a mayonnaise style (there's no mayo in the current recipe, but the recipe IS a mayo, if you know what I mean).
so, what you're seeing in the photo is a product of left-over caesar salad from Saturday night's dinner. ok, not strictly left-over because I added tomato in, but partially left-over. what I've decided is that pizza, caesar salad, and affogato are the PERFECT dinner party menu members. for Friday night's dinner, I made a plain gelato and it was so delicious in the espresso that I didn't miss vanilla, or any other flavoring whatsoever (which surprised me). for Friday and Saturday night's dinners, I tossed the torn innards of a baguette with olive oil (no salt or pepper added - sorry if that's heresy to you) and toasted them in the oven. those were the best croutons ever, and perfect for a simple romaine salad. easy easy easy, and I promise that although it takes a little effort to cook the tomato sauce, ice cream, pesto, salad dressing, and to prepare the pizza dough, that it's all done ahead of time, which means that your time is mostly free for hosting. ok, there's a little bit of an exception, which is that you'll have to cook the pizza's during the meal, but that's not such a big deal!
come over for dinner and you'll see what I mean <3 e.
on a not so cute note, here's what I had for lunch. ps. I didn't eat the calculator.
the blob of stuff on the tomato is my current caesar salad dressing. it's nice and creamy, with a yummy flavor of lemon, mustard, and anchovy, but it wasn't the same as the one I'd od'd on the last time I was pregnant. Zab, if you're reading, I'll probably be asking you if you still have the recipe : )
I remember the previous recipe as exactly perfectly garlicky and lemony and fishy and YUMMY! I think I prefer a vinagrette style over a mayonnaise style (there's no mayo in the current recipe, but the recipe IS a mayo, if you know what I mean).
so, what you're seeing in the photo is a product of left-over caesar salad from Saturday night's dinner. ok, not strictly left-over because I added tomato in, but partially left-over. what I've decided is that pizza, caesar salad, and affogato are the PERFECT dinner party menu members. for Friday night's dinner, I made a plain gelato and it was so delicious in the espresso that I didn't miss vanilla, or any other flavoring whatsoever (which surprised me). for Friday and Saturday night's dinners, I tossed the torn innards of a baguette with olive oil (no salt or pepper added - sorry if that's heresy to you) and toasted them in the oven. those were the best croutons ever, and perfect for a simple romaine salad. easy easy easy, and I promise that although it takes a little effort to cook the tomato sauce, ice cream, pesto, salad dressing, and to prepare the pizza dough, that it's all done ahead of time, which means that your time is mostly free for hosting. ok, there's a little bit of an exception, which is that you'll have to cook the pizza's during the meal, but that's not such a big deal!
come over for dinner and you'll see what I mean <3 e.
Monday, August 16, 2010
pizza pizza
remember Little Caesar's Pizza? John often reminds me of how much he loved it when he was in high school. the more pizza for John, the better (many of his friends know that you can't really trust John's opinion of how good particular pizzas are because he will factor price into the equation).
this weekend was a good weekend for John because we had homemade pizza two evenings in a row. I made the aforementioned dough on Friday the 13th, and of course, it was a near-disaster. there is something major about this dough that I don't understand! it was SO soft that it was very difficult to work with, and extremely hard to get off the pizza peel onto the stone. as you know, the pizza stone should be piping hot before you place a pizza onto it, so having a disaster with the transfer does not make for a pleasant experience. first of all, there is the panic, as the dough seems to resist the slide-off; secondly, it's terrifying to try to get your hands/tools into the oven to mediate because burnage is so possible; thirdly everything that has slid off the pizza onto the stone is BURNING...I managed to cook 5 of 6 fairly small pies decently, but there was a lot of smoke in our kitchen, and it was anything but a smooth hosting experience.
working with that pizza dough was so aggravating (it tasted fine, but not so dramatically better, or even better at all than the standard, that it justified all the trouble it took to use it), that I couldn't resist the urge to make a second batch of dough on Saturday. this time, I used a recipe from Baking With Julia and it worked like a charm, and tasted delicious. maybe I'm just a fan of NYC-style over Napoletana-style. whatever, I'm not afraid of that. the dough was easily prepared, didn't need to rest overnight, and best of all, it slid right off the peel and onto the pizza stone - PRESTO! NO trouble at all.
since our dear friend, Jack, passed, we haven't had homemade pizza. I've made it before, and obviously, own a pizza stone and peel, but since Jack was such a master, I just let him fill the pizza part of my life. now that I've started, however, I think I'm going to keep going. pizza dough comes together so easily with the help of a stand mixer that there's no reason to NOT have homemade pizza. there's less of a reason to not have homemade pizza when there's basil in the backyard and delicious tomatoes all around us. this summer has been so hot and nasty that the only redeeming parts have been the fruits and veggies.
so I know I'll never win any photography awards, but here are a couple of pics from this weekend's pizza-fest.
sausage pizza from Friday night
pesto slice (left) & margherita slice (right) from Saturday night
the Saturday pizza was taken on Sunday morning, so those slices are definitely a little worse for the wear, in terms of presentation, but they still tasted delicious!
one more photo...yummy breakfast toast topped with anchovy (can't see it), tomato, and softish boiled egg. doesn't it look like an owl? I didn't eat the basil with the meal, but I coudn't resist adding it into the photo for effect.
I generally like my eggs softer than this, but I zoned out Sunday morning and got to the eggs a minute or so late. oh well, at least it wasn't hard-boiled! actually, I pretty much like eggs all ways, so it wouldn't have been the end of the world if the yolks had been hard - just a bit disappointing.
this weekend was a good weekend for John because we had homemade pizza two evenings in a row. I made the aforementioned dough on Friday the 13th, and of course, it was a near-disaster. there is something major about this dough that I don't understand! it was SO soft that it was very difficult to work with, and extremely hard to get off the pizza peel onto the stone. as you know, the pizza stone should be piping hot before you place a pizza onto it, so having a disaster with the transfer does not make for a pleasant experience. first of all, there is the panic, as the dough seems to resist the slide-off; secondly, it's terrifying to try to get your hands/tools into the oven to mediate because burnage is so possible; thirdly everything that has slid off the pizza onto the stone is BURNING...I managed to cook 5 of 6 fairly small pies decently, but there was a lot of smoke in our kitchen, and it was anything but a smooth hosting experience.
working with that pizza dough was so aggravating (it tasted fine, but not so dramatically better, or even better at all than the standard, that it justified all the trouble it took to use it), that I couldn't resist the urge to make a second batch of dough on Saturday. this time, I used a recipe from Baking With Julia and it worked like a charm, and tasted delicious. maybe I'm just a fan of NYC-style over Napoletana-style. whatever, I'm not afraid of that. the dough was easily prepared, didn't need to rest overnight, and best of all, it slid right off the peel and onto the pizza stone - PRESTO! NO trouble at all.
since our dear friend, Jack, passed, we haven't had homemade pizza. I've made it before, and obviously, own a pizza stone and peel, but since Jack was such a master, I just let him fill the pizza part of my life. now that I've started, however, I think I'm going to keep going. pizza dough comes together so easily with the help of a stand mixer that there's no reason to NOT have homemade pizza. there's less of a reason to not have homemade pizza when there's basil in the backyard and delicious tomatoes all around us. this summer has been so hot and nasty that the only redeeming parts have been the fruits and veggies.
so I know I'll never win any photography awards, but here are a couple of pics from this weekend's pizza-fest.
the Saturday pizza was taken on Sunday morning, so those slices are definitely a little worse for the wear, in terms of presentation, but they still tasted delicious!
one more photo...yummy breakfast toast topped with anchovy (can't see it), tomato, and softish boiled egg. doesn't it look like an owl? I didn't eat the basil with the meal, but I coudn't resist adding it into the photo for effect.
I generally like my eggs softer than this, but I zoned out Sunday morning and got to the eggs a minute or so late. oh well, at least it wasn't hard-boiled! actually, I pretty much like eggs all ways, so it wouldn't have been the end of the world if the yolks had been hard - just a bit disappointing.
Friday, August 13, 2010
mmmm, breakfast
I totally didn't even think about photographing my breakfast before I wolfed it down. here's what's left of it: empty containers.
it was so good that I ate a variation of it for breakfast yesterday, and dinner last night. what was it?!
anchovies, tomatoes, and soft-boiled egg on top of flaxseed and quinoa toast made from loaves that I've become absolutely addicted to (whole foods). I came up with this concoction as I was lying in bed yesterday morning. anchovies suddenly popped into my sleepy head, and the rest just followed. the best part was that the tomatoes have been those perfect, summary specimens; exquisitely ripe with the best texture and color ever!
this morning I was running late, so I just had tomatoes atop buttered toast (yup, flaxseed and quinoa bread). the toast didn't even get soggy in my monkey container! I mean, it wasn't of the 'straight from the toaster quality,' but it wasn't a sodden mess, either.
I'm excited about tonight's dinner because I'm making pizza. I haven't had homemade pizza since last Thanksgiving (thank you again and again, Jack!). that's a long time. I'm trying a new (to me) dough recipe, so there's a lot of anticipation building up in my mind/body/soul. toppings will include: fresh mozzerella, basil, homemade red sauce, aged mozzerella (for John), a mixture of sweet and spicy Italian sausage, pesto, ricotta cheese, and of course, ANCHOVIES!
the other thing that's kind of exciting about the pizza experiment is that my new house came with one of those stoves that has a little oven on top of the main, normally sized oven. I've kind of been aching to get rid of the electric beast, but have a hard time justifying the junking of a perfectly functional large appliance. so, I'm trying to get used to cooking without gas and am hoping that the smallness of the oven (plus my pizza stone) makes the perfect pizza cooking environment.
it was so good that I ate a variation of it for breakfast yesterday, and dinner last night. what was it?!
anchovies, tomatoes, and soft-boiled egg on top of flaxseed and quinoa toast made from loaves that I've become absolutely addicted to (whole foods). I came up with this concoction as I was lying in bed yesterday morning. anchovies suddenly popped into my sleepy head, and the rest just followed. the best part was that the tomatoes have been those perfect, summary specimens; exquisitely ripe with the best texture and color ever!
this morning I was running late, so I just had tomatoes atop buttered toast (yup, flaxseed and quinoa bread). the toast didn't even get soggy in my monkey container! I mean, it wasn't of the 'straight from the toaster quality,' but it wasn't a sodden mess, either.
I'm excited about tonight's dinner because I'm making pizza. I haven't had homemade pizza since last Thanksgiving (thank you again and again, Jack!). that's a long time. I'm trying a new (to me) dough recipe, so there's a lot of anticipation building up in my mind/body/soul. toppings will include: fresh mozzerella, basil, homemade red sauce, aged mozzerella (for John), a mixture of sweet and spicy Italian sausage, pesto, ricotta cheese, and of course, ANCHOVIES!
the other thing that's kind of exciting about the pizza experiment is that my new house came with one of those stoves that has a little oven on top of the main, normally sized oven. I've kind of been aching to get rid of the electric beast, but have a hard time justifying the junking of a perfectly functional large appliance. so, I'm trying to get used to cooking without gas and am hoping that the smallness of the oven (plus my pizza stone) makes the perfect pizza cooking environment.
Monday, August 2, 2010
a bit horrible?
I'm playing with color combos, and by no means have I settled on anything. it's just that my time is limited, and this was the best one I tried today. feel free to weigh in and make suggestions!
pimm's cup sub
I've practically had to sit on my hands to prevent them from clicking over to my favorite new blog, Chez Pim! I want to curl up in bed and read this thing...
new heights
my chinese food craving has just reached an all-time high, now that I've seen this. I really hate to have to own up to the fact, but in all the years (ok, there were only three) I lived in Manhatten, I never - not even once - made it to Flushing (well, there was ONE time, but it certainly wasn't a food-centric trip). my parents were there all the time, and my 'godfather/uncle' always invited me to come, but I just never made it. I wasn't one of those people who wouldn't leave the island for a borough, I just wasn't at all focused on food back then.
I found the New York Times map via a blog, The Wednesday Chef, which I found via an article on food blogs, which I found via a Google search (best food blogs).
I haven't read through all of the blogs listed in the article, but I certainly don't agree on all that I've seen, either; although I must concede the following: (1) I haven't thoroughly read ANY blogs on the list, and (2) could Chez Pim be any cuter? I wish I could be food obsessed and tiny, free to be food obsessed due to making a living from it, and cute and cutely conversational.
I found the New York Times map via a blog, The Wednesday Chef, which I found via an article on food blogs, which I found via a Google search (best food blogs).
I haven't read through all of the blogs listed in the article, but I certainly don't agree on all that I've seen, either; although I must concede the following: (1) I haven't thoroughly read ANY blogs on the list, and (2) could Chez Pim be any cuter? I wish I could be food obsessed and tiny, free to be food obsessed due to making a living from it, and cute and cutely conversational.
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