The Cost of Being Fat

I got an email from some guy I didn't know some months ago.  Somehow he'd found my post about an OSU study on obesity. It was kind of odd to get a "cold call", but it was definitely personal and not spam.  So I checked it out, and it's an interesting video that gives a good visualization of some of the changes in our food supply recently.  Check it out:

http://academicearth.org/electives/the-economic-cost-of-obesity/

Mustard, take 1

There's a gal who makes mustard for sale at the local market. We've chatted a few times, and I even volunteered to help make a batch, but so far she's not taken me up on it.

Mary pointed out that a (somewhat) recent edition of Sunset Magazine had some recipes for mustard. They looked pretty easy and fun. Mary even bought some mustard seeds and powder from the bulk bins at the co-op, so I had no excuse not to try them.

Simone and I mixed up 3 different batches. Two have to soak for at least another day to let the seeds hydrate, but the other was made from powder/ground seeds and just sat for a few hours - at which point I finished it up. It is the Hot and Tangy Mustard Recipe, and I think it's pretty good. It's got the heat of Chinese mustard, but is definitely more complex - like a cross between Chinese and dijon.

The other two are Rosemary Thyme Mustard and Cognac Mustard.

The next thing is to figure out how to use 3.5 cups of mustard...

Saturday Morning

Pancakes and Atole with Simone. Mmmm....

Drinking and Sipping Chocolate

Santa brought me a block of Drinking and Sipping Chocolate, and last night I made it.

Mmmmmm.... delicious, two thumbs up! A wonderful replacement for the no-longer-available Chantico drink from Starbucks.

Mushroom Picking

Sunday morning, Mary woke up before the rest of us and took Hazel on a lovely early morning walk in the frosty morning with blue skies and sunshine. She came home stoked and was ready to go mushroom picking.

We talked about a couple of trails to check out and decided to go to the North Ridge Trail, a place I'd gone on my mushroom class. I knew it had a nice, flat area, which should be Simone friendly. The other places I'd gone picking (all 2 or 3 times) I'd gone to steep areas w/out much of a trail.

So, we headed out and as we got closer and closer to the trail head, it got cloudier and cloudier, and a couple of miles from the trailhead we could see snow in the trees a couple hundred feet higher in elevation. No worries, it was cold, but we were dressed for warmth.

We hiked down to the flat area and started looking around. Hazel ran around like a kid in a candy shop, exploring everywhere and running at top speed. Simone found mushrooms at every turn and constantly yelled, "Look Momma! Look Papa! Mushroom!"

Simone and Mary posing next to a mossy tree.

Then it started to rain. No worries, we were under big trees and weren't getting wet.

Then it started to rain hard, and Simone was a little hungry. We sat down for a little snack (not far from frozen breakfast bars) and some hot (too hot) tea. I figured we'd be heading back real soon b/c Simone was going to get cold pretty fast.

Then the rain started to change, it started falling a little slower, and a little colder.

Simone having tea as the rain started turning to snow...

Then the flakes got bigger and bigger, and we had a real snow shower. Simone got so excited and started eating the snow off the logs and off the moss (blech, it tasted like dirt, not so fun).

We started exploring other areas (to keep warm) and on our way out of the place we'd had snacks, Mary noticed something. I dug it up, and it was Mary's first wild Chanterelle mushroom. Very exciting. She found two more, and my competitive drive got going. I found 5 or 6, but it was all in one spot, right next to the road (where Mary shortly thereafter walked and would have found them).

We had about a pound of mushrooms, ready for some Hungarian mushroom soup. Hazel found some deer bones (a jawbone with teeth even), and we found a couple of patches of snow to play in.

The snow level falls.

Simone posing on a log in the snow - with Mary in the background.

We hiked back up to the car to get out of our wet rain-gear and to warm up with some now drinkable warm tea. A very successful mushroom trip.

Nocino, the verdict

A year ago today, Simone and I picked a bunch of walnuts to make Nocino. All I'd read said that you should wait 3 or even 6 months to taste it, and around Christmas time I tasted it and found it a bit disappointing. It was kind of bitter, sweet enough, but just not very tasty.

In the past I'd made some lemon liqueur that tasted bitter and generally unpleasant. A year later it ended up very smooth and bright. Turns out, age can help liqueur a lot. So I put the liqueur back in the cupboard and waited.

A few weeks ago I took a sip and it was pretty good! I think it'll be awesome over some ice cream.

If you stop by the house, you should have a taste.

Van

Two years ago, Mary bought me a van cherry tree, yes, the one the deer tried to eat (well, it actually did). We planted it last year, along with an apple and a plum tree.

It did get planted in a potentially wet area of the yard (i.e. the front yard), and endured a brutally cold snap in the winter, and then the deer came along. Needless to say, I was a bit disheartened.

Well, the cherries came on and riped very nicely, all of 10-20 of them. We missed some because we were on vacation, but were able to eat a few. And I must say, they were very tasty indeed.

Peas!

We have peas growing in the garden. Possibly more exciting than strawberries.

Chamomile and Mint tea

Chamomile and mint tea, both picked from our yard. Simone had a great idea, and it was tasty!

Pecan Mudslide Cookies

For mother's day, Mary hinted she wanted some chocolate for dessert, and who am I to get in between a loving mother and her ... chocolate.

I went through my bookmarks tagged chocolate and found several that sounded good. Mary was leaning toward chocolate chewies (for which we already have a recipe), and I pointed out the Pecan Mudslide Cookies from Chocolate and Zucchini (a blog I read occasionally).

The recipe is simple, requires few ingredients, and pretty quick to whip together. You do have to chill the dough for about 20 minutes before baking - mostly because the dough is like thick, melted chocolate... mmm... Then you bake them up for 15 minutes (don't over do it).

The cookies are rich, chocolaty, super tender (but they don't fall apart!) and one or two is plenty for dessert. Oh, and they're a nice big size.

I took the rest of them to work and gave most of them away - winning big raves.

Mark Bittman's Overnight Waffles

If you're thinking of making waffles, this is the recipe you should use. The waffles are flavorful all by themselves (though of course I add maple syrup), and cook up very crispy. Yum!

From Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything"

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon Instant yeast
• 2 cups All purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 cups Milk
• 8 tablespoon Butter melted and cooled
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract optional
• Canola Oil for brushing on waffle iron
• 2 eggs
  

Directions

1. The night before, combine the dry ingredients, stir in the milk,
then stir in butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and set
aside overnight at room temperature.

2. In the morning, preheat and oil the waffle iron. Separate the eggs
and stir the yolks into the batter. Beat the whites until they hold
soft peaks. Stir them gently into the batter. (I don't know that you
need to actually seperate them.)

3. Pour batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done,
usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron. Serve immediately or
keep warm for a few minutes in a low oven.

Leftovers freeze beautifully and toast up almost as good as fresh.

Eggnog gone...

A month ago I made some egg nog. I waited the requisite 3 weeks before digging into it, and I must say, it was darned tasty. Both Mary and mom thought it tasted pretty good.

The nog was very smooth and easy to drink. I think I'll probably cut the alcohol just a little bit next time because it was pretty boozy.

Butter

We just made butter.

I saw some whipping cream in the fridge, it was still good, but I knew we didn't have any plans for it (well, I thought briefly of making truffles...).

A pint of cream in a quart jar. Shake 15 minutes. voila!

Eggnog

I just made the aged eggnog recipe (hat tip Michael Ruhlman).

Now I have to wait 3 weeks (or up to a year) to try it.

A year? you ask. Yes, up to a year (or longer). The reason it can last that long is that it is half alcohol (think Bailey's).

Wow

Mary got a copy of Martha Stewart magazine last month. It was open on the table so I took a look (honestly, I was only there for the pictures). It was open to the page that had a photo of these:

They're not meringues, they're orange macaroons.

Make them, make them, make them.

(there are none left here)

Vodka Vodka Vodka

I'm not a huge van of vodka, mainly because I think there's no real reason to drink alcohol unless you can taste it. And, the better the vodka, the less flavor it has (vodka being just water and ethanol).

But, because of that, it works really well as an ingredient in flavored alcohols (like kahlua, or nocino). And this is the weekend of flavored vodkas. I have a bottle of vodka and vanilla beans to make some vanilla extract. I've got a bunch of cherry pits that I crushed that are infusing a vodka with an intense almond flavor.

And, lastly, I took 8 jalapenos, chopped them up and soaked in vodka to make a green pepper vodka. Why? Well, on memorial day I was treated to a wonderful drink that was just like a mojito, except it used jalapeno vodka in place of rum. And, I must say, it is an awesome drink.

That's what I'm drinking right now:

• 1 oz fresh lime
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz jalapeno vodka
• 2 oz club soda

cheers!

Tasty Dinner

A quick note to remind myself of a very tasty dinner.

• grilled salmon, marinated in soy, garlic, lemon and lime zest
• coconut basmati rice
• chinese fried green beans

I also tried grilling some cantaloupe, but that wasn't worth repeating.

First Tomato

We have a Sungold tomato plant, which produces lots of super sweet tiny tomatos. This was the first one.

Mmmmm.... it smells like heaven.

And it tastes as good as it smells.

All Around The Mulberry Bush

Ever wondered about a mulberry? This is what it looks like:


It tastes kind of like a cross between bing cherries and a blackberry, only not as strong. But it is very sweet.

Oh, and it's not so much a bush as a tree. Who would have thunk it?

Mmm... peach, tomato salad

I read a caption that said, "peach and tomato salad" and thought, I've got both of those, time for lunch!

Chef Rowley Leigh, Cafe Anglais
Peach, tomato and basil salad

Pour boiling water over six white peaches and let stand for 10 to 30 seconds, depending on the ripeness of the fruit. Refresh in cold water and skin. Do the same for six large tomatoes, which should still be firm and full of flavour. Slice the tomatoes thinly and salt them. Cut the peaches into thin segments. Arrange them in an overlapping circle, alternating the two fruits. Squeeze the juice of a lemon over the salad and drizzle lightly with oil (very lightly if you are using walnut oil). Tear six basil leaves and scatter these over the salad. Mill some black pepper, and serve.

hat tip: The Kitchn