we like, we like to party

I’m all sick and stuff, which happens every friggin’ year during my holiday break, and Darren very well may be headed down the same street. So thanks mostly to that but also in part to laziness and the bitter cold, we’re staying in for New Year’s Eve. He had to work, but while he was gone I put together an epic holiday feast. A few little milestones happen in 2015 (we both turn 30, plus our 5th wedding anniversary), so we might as well go into it well-fed. Bonus: cooking a multi-course meal is on my 30-by-30 list.

So! Our New Year’s Eve dinner:

• bread (I used this recipe) with seasoned olive oil for dipping
• salad
• potato soup
• steak seasoned with kona rub from the Capital Grille, and roasted potatoes – we had a bag of potatoes that needed to be used, okay?
• peach pie – Darren’s favorite. Not homemade, but constructed using refrigerated crusts and canned filling with some extra seasoning.

Yum.

I was hoping to go to a New Year’s Day yoga class in the morning, but the state of my sinuses seems to be working against me there.

Tonight when the clock hits 12, I’ll be watching Roseanne on Netflix, working on one more 2014-centric blog  post, and eating a slice of pie. And possibly also sneezing. Happy New Year!

this post is about coffee, not headstands

The summer before I went to college, I worked as a barista. Obviously not a long stint, but the importance of a good espresso was – and is – a big deal at that particular coffee shop, so I learned quickly. That was the summer my affinity for fancy espresso drinks truly blossomed.

In the eleven years since that summer (omg WUT), I’d been an off-and-on coffee fan. Sometime in the last couple years I settled firmly in the “on” camp, and I intend to stay here. My love of espresso-based beverages, however, never waned. But somewhat recently, I developed a latte obsession that just won’t quit. In the interest of not spending a dick-load of money at coffee shops, I promised myself I’d only purchase one latte a week.

Well, I don’t want to only drink one latte a week. Obviously the best way to solve this problem is to purchase an espresso maker, right? I say yes. I looked at little stove-top guys, but I kinda really wanted a milk steamer. I then set my sights on this guy, which is also available at Target. I figured it would be a great Christmas gift. I’d worry about the counter space when the time came.

But then, fortune smiled upon me. Every year, or almost every year, my office building hosts a sample sale. The companies that show up are always the same (I don’t remember if they’re building tenants or what), and they unload their wares at low, low prices. In the past I’ve picked up various baking items I needed, or replaced worn out kitchen equipment. This year’s sample sale happened yesterday, and I purchased just two things: new drip pans for my stove (yes, I rent, but they were $3 and there are some things that I’d rather just deal with myself), and this stove-top cappuccino/latte maker. It was only $15, guys! I’m pretty excited. It basically works on pure science, and possibly witchcraft. I tested it out once last night, but the manual says to make and discard three pots before you consume one, so I didn’t actually get to taste it. I can say for sure that it was super easy, really quick, and it looked delicious. I plan on running the other two discard-pots tonight, and then I’ll probably make myself a nice evening latte. Mmm, satisfying.

“Life is great. Cheese makes it better.”

I made cheese!

I’ve long been aware that basic cheese making is incredibly simple, but as with most of my ambitions it took a while before I got around to trying it.

Recipes for basic farmer’s cheese (which is the same as paneer) are all over the internet. All you need is milk, lemons, and cheesecloth. A fine mesh strainer would probably do fine in place of the cheesecloth, but I actually used both.

Seriously, all you do is slowly heat the milk to gentle boiling, then turn the heat down and add lemon juice (I used a bit more than 1/4 cup). The juice separates the whey from the milk solids. Then you strain it all through your cheesecloth and squeeze out the remaining liquid.

I lined my mesh strainer with cheesecloth and set it over a bowl to catch the whey. I’m freezing the whey to use in bread and soups. I salted my milk while it heated up, otherwise unsalted whey has several more uses.

It’s pretty tasty, especially with honey. I’m going to put some on tacos tomorrow.

Pictures after the jump!

dessert and downward-facing dog

I made truffles last night. Making truffles was one of the easy items on my 30 by 30 list, so it doesn’t make for a particularly interesting blog post. But there were a few other things on the list that I didn’t write about for the same reason, so here’s something.

I used this recipe from Instructables. To flavor the cream, I followed the second method and put ground coffee into a tea ball to infuse it while it heated. I ran into a minor problem though, because I only had half the amount of chocolate the recipe called for and was too lazy to go buy more. The taste turned out fine – great even – but it meant that when I rolled the ganache into balls they were melty as hell. So I have wonky truffles. I popped ’em in the freezer and then rolled ’em in cocoa. Tasty wonky truffles accomplished.

So ugly, but pretty yummy.

Oh, surprise! I actually did another thing.

I mentioned in my last post that I’ve been going to yoga classes at Tula Yoga & Wellness. This afternoon I attended an aerial yoga workshop, which is a prerequisite for their regular aerial classes.

It. Was. Awesome.

The sling is a prop, so not everything is done off the ground. Spinal alignment is a big focus. That said, we spent plenty of time in the air. And upside down! We definitely did this:

photo by Tula Yoga & Wellness, via FB

(FYI, These photos aren’t from today).

Savasana is done in the sling and it’s super comfortable. I could have fallen asleep.

photo by Tula Yoga & Wellness, via FB.

I’m looking forward to future aerial classes. These ones have a fixed price (whereas most of their other classes are donation-based) so I might not be able to afford it quite as often as I’d like, but that’s okay. Variety is the spice of life, and all that.

Apologies in advance if I become a full-blown yoga fanatic. I promise I’ll talk about other things too. Probably.

photo by Tula Yoga & Wellness, via FB.

If I’m gonna jump off the cliff, and you’re gonna get pushed off the cliff, why don’t we hold hands on the way down?

Daren’s new job is in construction. Mostly cleaning up finished sites, but he’s done some hole digging and drywall hanging and such as well. He’s bee doing it for a week and he has to have lost at least five pounds already. His pajama pants – pajama pants! – are hanging off his hips. His forearms are rock solid. The work is hard and the pay isn’t great yet, but clearly there are benefits.

He has to be at work at 6:15 so the alarm goes off at 5. This means that I’m up at 5 too. I usually (or used to, I guess) get up at 6 and dang, I miss that extra hour. But the animals have not so far allowed me to go back to sleep. That paired with the Devil Cat being evil in the middle of the night means that I did not sleep much at all this week. Regardless, I was up until 3:30 am baking. I had been watching documentaries on Netflix about how our health is affected by our food and somehow cookies and cupcakes were my response: oatmeal raisin cookies because Darren loves them, and ginger lemon cupcakes because I have some sort of ginger obsession. They’re not gingery enough even though I added extra, but the lemon glaze I put on top is pretty stellar.

This in spite of the fact that the documentary about veganism (Vegucated) was almost enough to convince me to eat tofu and fake eggs. Almost. I’d recommend the others, though: Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead and Hungry for Change.

Today I slept until after noon.

I’m going to Northern Spark tonight with some pals, and that just reminded me I should charge my camera. I suspect/have been told that it’s going to be super cool. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain too terribly, I don’t want to have to carry an umbrella all night but maybe I’ll have to. I suppose that’s not a huge price to pay in exchange for an awesome time. Sadly I have to miss out on the sweet 40s themed dance that my aforementioned pals are attending beforehand. We’re still under austerity measures until Darren starts getting paid. Fortunately that is very soon.

Anyway, I’m in the Mark Harmon episodes of The West Wing, so clearly I have pressing matters to attend to.

the cake to end all cakes

Hello.

I have a question for you.

Are you familiar with this cake from the Internet?

I suspect you are. It is everywhere.

Yesterday I went over to Kate’s. We ate an entire pizza, watched Kitchen Nightmares, and this happened:

Yeah, so maybe it could have used another layer. But it happened, and that is what’s important. We each ate a slice and probably have diabetes now. The rest will presumably be eaten by Kate’s coworkers.

Anyway, what else?

The State Fair happened. Per tradition, on opening day I headed out with the Wulfs to spend fourteen hours walking, eating, and looking at stuff. It’s the best day of the year.

I went the next day with Darren, for three hours.

After which we celebrated his birthday and I spent the rest of the weekend recovering.

Two weeks worth of fun in one post. Can’t go wrong.

Sometime this month D and I will roll out to the Renaissance Festival. The question is, do I wear a costume? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Until then, I’ll spend the rest of the time working, interneting, exercising, and pet wrangling.

As always, try not to be too jealous.

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast. -John Gunther

Easter!

Instead of going to Flame and spending $30 on their amazing-sounding brunch buffet, Darren and I decided to make our own. Brunch, that is.

Completely disregarding the fact that Darren doesn’t like runny eggs and requested an omelet, I made Eggs Benedict for both of us (I’m making omelets for dinner so no big). I haven’t made it since Foods for Today class in high school, so I wasn’t sure how well the hollandaise sauce was going to go.

Short answer: no problem!

I used this recipe from Tyler Florence, except I substituted hard salami for Canadian bacon because we already had salami in the fridge.

Darren didn’t eat all of his due to the aforementioned aversion to egg yolk, but we were both pleased with the results. Next time I’ll fry his eggs instead and I think all will be well.

Eggs Benedict

After making the Benedict, I had egg whites left and decided to make meringue cookies. Here’s the thing about meringue cookies: store bought, they’re pretty hit-or-miss. But I was determined to make something tasty.

I found this recipe and made some alterations. My version of the recipe is below, but I will tell you now that I am not disappointed.

Meringue Cookies

Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies (modified from allrecipes)

• 4 egg whites
• 2  1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• fistful of toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease and flour a baking sheet (or use parchment paper).

Using an electric mixer, whip egg whites until foamy. Slowly add in powdered sugar, while mixing on medium speed. Continue mixing until batter is pretty stiff and satiny. This is easier if you’ve made meringue before and know what it’s supposed to look like. Just before you finish mixing, slowly add in the almond extract, followed by the cocoa powder. Fold in toasted coconut.

Pipe or spoon batter onto your cookie sheet in whatever size you decide is appropriate. I ended up making a couple different sizes and they all turned out fine. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. I baked mine for 45 minutes, then turned off the oven for the last 15. This resulted in a cookie that is crispy with just a bit of softness left inside.

Next up: Cinnamon Crisp cookies. I’m not sure if I’m making these today or next weekend, but they will happen. Oh yes.

…and what have you done?

First off, Scancy had her baby today. Christmas Even baby! Very nice.

Darren and I rolled up to Pequot today for Christmas with my family. A certain brother of mine was not in attendance — apparently he was up last weekend.  Whatevs. My aunt Teri and her husband were also absent, which was a bummer. I guess they were up earlier in the week.

I was gifted many [cup]cake decorating supplies and a couple cookbooks. The coolest thing I acquired wasn’t actually a Christmas present.

Mom was down visiting her parents recently and was helping grandma clean out some stuff. Grandma told her that of she saw anything she wanted, to go ahead and take it. One thing she brought back was for me. It’s a blanket. She said grandma had started crocheting it back when mom was around eleven years old – forty years ago – but never finished it, so she brought it to me so I could do it instead. It’s almost done; the border is the only thing that’s mostly incomplete. It came with yarn and the original pattern. Pretty cool.

So anyway, Christmas Eve was a success. We have no plans for Christmas proper: it will probably involve video games (for Darren) and crocheting and Neflix (for me. I’ve been watching Hoarders). Basically business as usual.

I hope you’re all having wonderful holidays.

Itty-Bitty Cookie Committee

Last Saturday (yeah, I’m a little behind) I spent most of the day in the kitchen. I mentioned all the baking supplies I acquired at that sample sale? Well, I put ’em to good use.

I had cookie dough in the freezer, so those were first.

Peanut butter chocolate chip

Now, it should be noted that these cookies were smaller than average.

Tiny cookies!

Shot of milk?

Cupcakes were next, complete with gratuitous batter photos.

My grandma’s old manual beater. Hand cranked. Awesome.

New mini muffin pan. Yus.

I need to work on the decorating part.

Lemon (mini) cupcakes!

Donuts were last. The recipe calls for buttermilk, and I have it in powdered form. Unfortunately, it had hardened. I managed to scrape out the few tablespoons I needed, but not without a casualty.

Goodbye, Ikea measuring spoon. You served me well.

My donut pan it tiny, so they’re a little more tedious. Also, I have yet to find a basic glaze recipe that I’m happy with. Even with modifications, it always tastes too sweet to me. I might just frost them from now on.

Plateful!

I sent almost all of the goodies to work with Darren, and it all seemed to go over well.

The reason for all the baking was so I could take pictures and finally create listings in my Etsy shop. Oh yes. There’s still nothing there. I’ve been lazy about editing the pictures, which is why this post is just happening now. I’m still not done with them, but… y’know. I’ll say something when there are finally things for sale.

I’ll probably sell more than just baked goods, although the treats are obviously the main focus. It’s just I seem to keep making things and it’s not all going to fit in my apartment. Example: I finished crocheting a blanket last night that will either be a Christmas gift, or something to sell. So, there that is.

In completely unrelated news, Katherine and her Darrin’s MN wedding reception was tonight and, like the asshole I am, I completely forgot about it. I had the postcard up on my fridge and I kept telling my Darren that we couldn’t forget. Lo and behold, forget we did. I was off shopping and he was playing Skyrim and neither of us thought anything of it until Katherine IMed me a few minutes ago. Ugh. I am the worst. I’ll have to send them something awesome to make up for it.

I sold my soul to the devil, and the price was cheap

I am officially in love with sample sales. My building hosted one over the last two days and I made the following purchases:

• two cookie sheets
• two round cake pans
• a mini muffin tin
• mini muffin tin liners
• four tubes of icing (that come with different tips. yay, flowers!)
• two things of sprinkles
• two boxes of cake mix
• two nice wooden spoons to replace my crappy ones
• a set of cooking utensils, which contains some items I had already and some I didn’t
• a 4.6 quart stock pot
• a wooden cutting board
• a flour sifter
• a toothpick dispenser with toothpicks (Darren is a toothpick fiend)
• Super glue (I needed some to fix an earring)
• iPod speakers

Grand total: $45.

I guess Hamilton Beach usually comes with blenders and food processors and stuff, but they couldn’t make it this year. Too bad. I would’ve bought the hell out of a food processor.

Either way, I’ll be back. There are few things I love more than awesome discounts.*

*there are many things I love more than awesome discounts, but you have to admit, saving money is amazing.