A Nagging Observation

Do you show people you care with food? I certainly do. We have friends over and I want to cook them dinner. Friend's having a hard day, I want to bring them cookies. But...I have this issue. Maybe issue is too strong a word, I am not bothered by it, merely curious. I love taking care of people (not the issue.) I love feeling like I am making someone else feel better. If you are my friend, and you are hurting, I just want to give you a big hug. I love knowing that people find comfort in the food I give them.

Here is the "issue": I love my female friends, I really do, but show me a male friend who is hurting and I am overcome with a wanting to make it all better. I'm like a mother hen. I want to hug them, give them cookies, anything to help. I don't know if this is because I am a heterosexual female, or something else. Is it some sort of biological need that I have? No idea. Is it an unconscious desire for affirmation that I am a good person? No idea, but if this was so, why would I not feel the same way when my female friends need comfort?

Or, is this a result of years of living and socializing with testosterone? I have two younger brothers, most of my friends are male (this is not new, in elementary school I had almost all male friends,) I spent over two years almost every day at a game store where most of the patrons were male, most of my roommates have been male. The first roommates I had (including my husband) I was fiercely protective of, they were my boys and it was my job to take care of them.

I know plenty of women, but more of them are acquaintances than friends. And I would do everything in my power to help them, or comfort them, but the interaction for me is different.

I am very interested to hear any and all thoughts on this...issue...observation...whatever it is.

Red Because of Lots of Food Coloring Cake

It's almost Valentine's Day, and you know what that means-Red Velvet EVERYTHING! Red velvet cakes, red velvet cupcakes, red velvet pancakes...you see my point. I have never been a fan of red velvet. Semi-chocolate cake? Boring. I don't much care for regular chocolate most of the time, because it is always so one note: chocolate cake with fudge frosting. There's no variation, no contrasting flavors.

Anywho, I have tried red velvet cake several times and never seen what all the fuss is about. When I put the word out to the internets in the form of Facebook, I got several responses. Some love red velvet, some, like me, don't understand what is so great about it. One friend gave me her recipe for real Appalachian red velvet cake. I think I should give it a go and see if I really don't like it, or if I have just had inferior red velvet cakes in the past. When I do, I will post the recipe and photos here and give my verdict on the subject.

Til we meet again!

On Why Plays are Awesome

Friday night I got to meet Jim Beaver for a second time. For those of you not aware of this wonderful actor, Jim is known most for his role as Bobby Singer on the CW's Supernatural, and Whitney Ellsworth on HBO's Deadwood. The best part of these meetings (besides meeting Jim, obviously) was the fact that I did not have to pay premium prices to get into a convention. No, instead I went to plays.

A few weeks ago Jim mentioned on his Twitter that he was directing a play reading. It sounded interesting and my friend asked if we wanted to go. I figured, why not? The reading was free, as it was at the stage of not really being a play yet, so that helped. The ability to interact with Jim in a normal setting was a big plus to me, as fandoms tend to drive me crazy.

The reading was for a two act play called A Season for Vivaldi. The audience had the job of writing notes about the play so that the playwright could have a chance to see how we responded to it and take in any criticism we had. The writing and acting at this reading was superb! The play had plenty of wit, humor, and real emotion. Sadly, the playwright recently died (he was 83,) so now there is no word on whether or not this play will ever get made.

After the reading, my husband, my friend, and I waited around and had a chance to talk to Jim about the performances and other such things. Let me tell you, this man is quite the gentleman! He was so nice to us and let me take a photo with him (instead of paying stupid convention prices for a photo op!)

I had so much fun at this event that I could not wait to go to more plays. Then, shortly after the reading, Jim mentioned he would be doing a short run in Madame Butterfly. As soon as I read this I asked my friend if we were going to go, and she immediately responded that we were.

Friday the three of us set off to Glendale to see Madame Butterfly. None of us had ever seen the play or the opera before so we didn't really know what to expect. The theater was very small, maybe forty seats? And the "stage" was pretty much just the floor 2 1/2 feet in front of us in the front row. I was terribly excited by this, as I love to be up close at any show.

Some information on Madame Butterfly: The opera with which we are most familiar (at least by name) is based off a one act play, of which we were to see tonight. The basics of the plot are: A Japanese woman is waiting patiently for the American Naval Lieutenant whom she wed some months before. He had told her that he would return when the robins begin nesting again. We find out that she has had a child with this man and when he does return we discover he has a new, American wife.

All of the actors did a wonderful job. The play was both funny and sad. I, for one, was riveted. After the show we all had a chance to mingle with the actors, and the playhouse provided some snacks in the chip and dip, crackers and cheese range. It is so nice to be reminded that actors are regular people, just like us. We stood and talked with Jim for a while (I think we were among the only people there who had come specifically to see him,) told him how much we enjoyed the performance. Before we left I asked for a second photo, the one from the reading was very dark. Never once did he seem to busy or important not to talk and interact with us.

All in all, these past two play goings made me realize how much I love plays. I used to go fairly often as a child and always had a good time. I want to thank Jim for giving me a reason to go see plays again!

Michael Symon's Collard Greens and White Bean Soup (Sort of)

Yes, I know in my last post I said I was hoping to blog more. I'm a bad blogger, sorry :( It has been more than five months since I last wrote a post. Before I get to the recipe I guess so updates are in order.

First, Santa Cruz is no longer my destination for completing my degree. I know, it sounded so great. Eventually I realized I really did not want to move 600 miles away from my friends and family. I have since applied to Cal State Northridge and expect to start in the fall.

Second, I still need to move. Some of this issues that I did not go into last time are no longer a problem, but living here is still stressful and aggravating. We are hoping to move with some friends who are in a similar situation and also need to move.

Third, I have updated my deviantART page and am now a semi-active member of that community again. I would hope that you all would take a look at my art. Some is good, some is eh, and some I don't know what I was thinking ;)

 

Now for the recipe. Have any of you been watching ABC's The Chew? It is the only daytime talkshow that I watch and I love it so much! For those of you who have yet to see it, the show has five hosts: Iron Chefs Michael Symon and Mario Batali, Clinton Kelly from TLC's What Not to Wear, Top Chef fan favorite Carla Hall, and Daphne Oz, daughter of Dr. Oz. Together they talk about what is going on in the food world, offer up so fashion and healthy living tips, and cooks amazing food! Check it out Monday through Friday at 12pm Pacific time.

The most recent recipe that I made from The Chew is Michael Symon's Collard Greens and White Bean Soup. Now, Brandon doesn't like collard greens so instead I used wild arugula. Then I decided it could use a few more vegetables so I added heirloom carrots and white potatoes. The original recipe calls for 12 cups of chicken stock. Originally the soup was suposed to be simmering for an hour to cook the dry beans. I used only canned beans and the potaotes didn't take that long so I only used 10 cups of stock. I also love sage so I threw some of that in the simmering soup as well. Oh, and I added cayenne pepper and chili powder. I think it is offically MY soup recipe and not HIS soup recipe at this point. The recipe that follows is my recipe, please check out thechew.com for Michael Symon's recipe.

 

Sausage and Arugula Soup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Olive oil

1 1/2 yellow onions, diced finely

3/4 pound sausage (any kind, but I used Argentinian) casings removed and crumbled

1 teaspoon Red Pepper flakes

3 large heirloom carrots (I used 1 yellow, 1 purple, and 1 light orange)

4 large white potaotes

10 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 small bunch of sage

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon each, chili powder and cayenne pepper

2 cans cannellini beans

8 cups wild arugula

 

In a medium stock pot, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook until soft, about 3 minutes.

Add the sausage and red pepper flakes and cook until the sausage is no longer pink.

While the sausage is cooking, chop the carrots and potatoes. Small pieces will cook more quickly and be easier to eat.

Add the vegetables, spices, sage and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Simmer until the potaotes are tender, about forty minutes.

Add the beans and simmer another twenty minutes.

Add the arugula and simmer for ten more minutes.

Test your seasoning and adjust with salt or pepper.

 

Serve with freshly grated parmasan cheese and some qualty french bread.

Here is a photo of the finished product.

 

This soup does take quite a bit of time to make, so it is not best for a busy night, but it does make a whole lot of soup, so feel free to make it on a weekend and freeze most of it for a later date!

A Long Absence

I have not made a new blog post since December! I have had so much to blog about and for no good reason i have neglected to share what has been going on. In January Brandon and I visited his parents in Washington, they live in Grand Coulee. While there I made those delicious lemon cookies and the fruit gelees. Both were received very well. I took so many photos while we were there and hopefully I will share some in the near future (I am apparently a photo hoarder!)

I have failed to find a steady job since Dairy Queen closed on me ( I was not too sad to see that store close forever!) I am doing seasonal work at See's which is a lot of fun. No work til November though. School is going...ok. I am so tired of going to community college!

We have been spending a lot of time with another married couple we have known for...as a couple...maybe eight years? Recently Brandon has started introducing them to horror movies and we have been watching influential horror movies in chronological order. Right now we are in the 70's. It has been fun as I have not seen most of the movies we watch and I am excited to rewatch those that I love.

Family life has been very stressful. Without gong in to details things in the Cohen house have been rough and I really do not deal with stress well at all. I can't wait to move, I miss have a whole apartment that is mine. The plan is still to move to Santa Cruz next summer so I will have to stick it out until then.

Several months ago our friend introduced us to Millenium Pro Wresting, a local promotion that puts on a GREAT live show. It has been a blast getting to know the wresters and the people who run the company. I have taken over 800 photos at their last four shows! Please check out their website and see what they are all about.

Well, I have to go to the store to buy more peaches so I can make peach/blueberry crisp again. Until later, have a great day!

Holidays 2010

Christmas is over for another year. I have been so busy and unmotivated that I have not been posting anything. I did make some great goodies this year that everyone loved. I am glad that I decided to go the food gift route this year because we had no money and no time for store-bought gifts.

This year I made Fruit Gelées from Not So Humble Pie. These were my great triumph this year as I had never made anything like it before. They came out perfect! I want to make them again and again because it was so easy and so awesome. I did take some photos with my phone so they are only ok.



By the way, do not do what I did and scatter extra sugar on the bottom of the container. Even though I *know* sugar sucks up moisture (after watching years of Good Eats how could I not know!) I added more to the bottom. Two days later when I was ready to make up my gifts there was a layer of goo at the bottom because the sugar and moisture in the air made a thick syrup. I salvaged as much as I could, not wanting to give my friends sticky candy, and only threw out about a third of what I made.

I am very excited to try making these again. I need to find a good place to buy pectin at a reasonable price because I don't think more than $5 a box is reasonable when I need two for the recipe.


My gifts this year had a yellow theme apparently. Also included in my gift boxes this year were these Lemon Burst Cookies. These cookies were delicious and delightfully fragrant. I do not own any fruit extracts so I made up the difference with extra zest and extra juice. The photo for these came out better than the candy photo.



Unfortunately I over baked one batch of these cookies. Fortunately it didn't make much of a difference in taste, they were just a bit darker. These were a big hit and I recommend anyone who enjoys lemon to make them. Also it is a good idea to chill the dough before rolling in the powdered sugar, it will be less sticky.

You have to have fudge for Christmas. I think it is a rule somewhere. I tried two fudge recipes. One failed and one surpassed my expectations. The first recipe I tried was Chocolate Philadelphia Fudge which sounded great. Why not replace the marshmallow creme with cream cheese, sounds delicious, right?

This did not come out right at all. If you click on the link and check out their photos, it looks like real fudge. Here is a photo of how mine looked.



It came out really light colored and did not set up at all. Furthermore it didn't taste very good which is odd because it is basically chocolate cream cheese frosting. I don't know what I did wrong but even freezing this fudge didn't help. I had to throw it out. If anyone decided to make this, please let me know the result.

My second fudge recipe came on the back of a baking bar that I bought to make the Philly fudge with. I do not remember the company but I think it was Tollhouse or Nestle. Here is the recipe for the fudge, it is very simple.

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped*
1 teaspoon vanilla.

Combine condensed milk and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave on high for one minute**
Stir and microwave 15 seconds more if needed.
Stir in vanilla a pour into an 8X8 pan lined with foil***
Refrigerate at least 2 hours until firm.

*I used chocolate chips because that is what I had on hand
**Don't worry the chocolate won't burn
***The recipe calls for a loaf pan but I felt that would make really thick fudge so I used a larger pan

Sadly, I have no photos of the yummy fudge but it did come out excellent and is my new favorite recipe. I used it to make, not only regular fudge, but chocolate mint fudge as well by using the dark and mint chips from Nestle. They were very well received.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and great food!

Sam

Turkey Day

I hate when people call Thanksgiving "Turkey Day". It isn't all about the turkey, it is about family. I also have this thing where I can't stand it when people give things new names (like turkey day.) Why can't we just call it what it is? Anyway, I already used "Thanksgiving" as a post title so I went with the popular term for Thanksgiving. Random rant over and done with!

Thanksgiving is only THREE days away! I am looking forward to the meal and the baking and cooking and hopefully this holiday will help it feel like the Christmas season in our house. We don't have any Scrooges in my family but no one seems to care and I can't care enough for the whole house! Here's hoping.