ta name="google-site-verification" content="LnUtT_d1nKFEi6qCVRa2VtURKXcUowdpcm2UMwFTZUk" /> hummus recipes: June 2008

Monday, June 30, 2008

The $8.00 Chocolate Bar

I was in the FIDI a couple of days ago, and walked past a place called Fog City News, whose sign proclaimed this:


Of course I had to stop in (no kidding!!). The chocolate section was pretty good, but not as mind-blowing as they would have you believe. I bought 2 of my favorite chocolate bars from Vosges, the "Goji Bar" (goji berries, pink Himalayan salt, deep milk chocolate) and "Mo's Bacon Bar" (applewood smoked bacon, Alder wood smoked salt, deep milk chocolate), and 2 new bars to try from an Austrian company called Zotter, with its weird promises of hand-scooped something or other, "Banana Curry" and "Cheese, Walnuts, Grapes". I should have known better, but they were too weird to pass up.

While I was checking out, I noticed a candy bar on the counter in unusual packaging, and I asked the sales guy about it. "Oh," he said, "that's a really good bar, from new company. The guy who started it has come out with a single-origin white chocolate, the first of his kind. That's his dark chocolate, which we have on the counter to promote the brand. Shawn, the owner, is a really interesting guy." Then he pulled out a plate from behind the counter (just like on a TV cooking show!) and before I knew it, I was sampling a square of creamy, not-too-sweet white chocolate. I added the new chocolate bar to my pile and headed over to some friends' for an impromptu chocolate tasting.

The Zotter bars? Disappointing, odd, definitely not worth the money. The "Banana Curry" tasted like a breakfast bar that you might buy at Trader Joe's, with no hint of curry. It was also kind of reminiscent of baby food. The "Cheese, Wine, Grapes" was just plain strange. It had a kind of briny taste that I would not describe as cheese-like, more like something that had gone off, with a grainy texture, and the wine part just made the back of your throat sting in an unpleasant way. A total bust. I should have known better after tasting the Brie Cupcake at last year's Cupcake Bakeoff. Cheese and chocolate do not mix.


The Askinosie bar (70% Dark Chocolate) was excellent, though. Great flavor, smooth texture, complex. Upon further inspection of the packaging, I realized that the picture on the front of the bar was of the farmer whose beans were in the bar - I liked that. The farm is in San Jose del Tambo, Ecuador, and there is information about the source throughout the packaging, as well as this quote: "In his effort to restore the once glorified Soconusco bean, Askinosie is the first in the world outside of Mexico in over 100 years to make chocolate from this historic region." Hmmm, seems like this Shawn Askinosie guy, from Springfield, MO of all places, did his research.


It turns out that Shawn is a former Criminal Defense Lawyer who made desserts as a hobby. After exploring his cupcake obsession (I can relate), he decided to go into chocolate making. Not knowing anything about it, he used his investigative skills to make himself an expert, then sought out farmers to work with directly who could fulfill his vision. It turns out that chocolate was his calling.

I like those kinds of stories. The guy sounds a little kooky, the kind of person who would trap you at a dinner party and bore you to death with his latest venture, but with his heart in the right place. He has a program in which he teaches local, underprivileged kids about the chocolate making process and entrepreneurship. One less lawyer, one more chocolate maker. I can live with that!

And along with all of this, the chocolate really is delicious, relying on nothing but its pure ingredients to differentiate it from the herd. It is a chocolate to be savored, one square at a time, like a fine wine or an espresso. Okay, I had three squares after lunch. Fine, I had six. But I savored them all!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Collard Green Stem Salad

I believe in not wasting food. The last time I had a dinner party, I used leafy part of collard greens for Miang Kum and I have all these fibery stems left. I remember eating the soft part of the stems in a salad in Thailand. They were crunchy and delicious. I looked all over the internet for the recipe but I couldn't find one. So I kind of made one up.



The dish came out not bad although not exactly what I remember eating in Thailand. It also required a lot of work. I spent almost an hour picking through the stems, and cutting off the tough outer part. The result is indeed delicious - crunchy, a bit nutty and earthy and refreshing. I'll make it again if I use collard greens for other dishes.

Ingredients
  • 2 cups of collard green stems - trimmed, cut out the rough fibery outer part and sliced into about 1 inch long

  • 1/4 cup of ground beef or other kind of meat

  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil

  • 3 shallots - chopped

  • 1 tablespoon Nam Prik Pao - chilli paste in soy bean oil

  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  • 1 lime

  • About 2 teaspoon of fish sauce

Directions
  1. Cook the ground beef on a stove top with a tablespoon of cooking oil.

  2. In a large bowl, toss the cooked meat, collard green stems, chopped shallots together.

  3. In a small bowl, dissolve chilli paste and red pepper flakes in lime juice and fish sauce. Pour over the salad. Toss well. And serve immediately.

Chai Tea Shortbread Cookies

This has been in my to-bake/to-experiment list for a while. I love shortbread cookies with those few simple ingredients: flour, butter, and sugar. By themselves, they make light, buttery, crusty, melt-in-your-mouth cookies. With some interesting flavors or ingredients, the variations are limitless.



I ground 5 bags of Chai tea and added it to my shortbread cookie dough along with a teaspoon of vanilla extract. The cookies came out with subtle spice aroma. I actually got a request that more spice be added. Maybe I'll mix my own Chai spice and use that instead of teabags.



Ingredients
  • 2 sticks butter - room temperature

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • 2 cups flour plus more for rolling

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 5 teabags of Chai tea

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
  1. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes.

  2. Combine salt and flour together and stir into butter mixture. Stir in ground Chai tea and vanilla extract.

  3. Form a ball from the dough. Wrap in a plastic wrap and refrigerate over night or freeze for 30 minutes.

  4. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Roll out the dough on floured surface into about 1/4 inch thick and cut out with cookie cutter.

  5. Bake for 35 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a cooling rack. Make about 50 cookies.

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

I made these for our bike ride to Coney Island a couple of weekends ago. They weren't very popular because my friends were more thirsty than hungry. I still think they are good cookies - although I took more than half home that day....

They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and not too sweet. I got the original recipe from AllRecipes.com's Cocoa Oatmeal Cookies. I substituted white chocolate chips for raisins and reduced the amount of sugar to only 1 cup.



The cookies didn't expand much coming out of the oven. I had to use my iron palm to flatten the dough before baking to get that nice shaped cookies - rather than a soccer balls.



I'll make more of these next time but with semi sweet chocolate chip so that they taste more like chocolate. I don't really like white chocolate chips - I don't know why I keep using them. They don't really smell or have flavor.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Bumbling Cuteness


Check out this adorable card company with tongue-in-cheek captions, Bumbleink.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Into the Depths


There are movies that entertain, and movies that get inside of you. "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Le scaphandre et le papillon) is one of the latter. Actually, it may be more acurate to say that the movie pulls you inside of it.

It is the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the former Director of Elle magazine, who suffered a stroke at age 43. He woke up after a 3-week coma to find himself in almost complete paralysis, except for one eye. His condition, called "locked-in syndrome", meant that all of his mental faculties were intact, but he was mute and completely immobile, dependent on hospital care 24/7.

From the start of the movie, you are "inside" Jean-Do's psyche, through the excellent direction of Julian Schnabel. Just as in his wonderful movie "Basquiat", he demonstrates through different mediums how it feels to be in the mind of these men. In the case of "Diving Bell", the opening scenes in the movie are so uncomfortable that you wonder how you are going to be able to sit through the whole thing. It is this feeling of entrapment that allows you to relate to his situation. Then, as he learns to travel through his imagination and memories, the viewer is also allowed to become free of the body's prison. The imagery is stunning, and Schnabel uses his artist's eye to achieve maximum effect.

Bauby gave the world a wonderful gift - a book that he wrote on his condition, while he was in the hospital, painstakingly dictated through an eye-blink system created by one of his therapists. So the point of view is not imagined, and the words are his own. And thankfully, it is not overly sentimental - there were moments when I laughed out loud, as he found humor in the absurdity of his everyday life. But I cried, too - especially during the scenes with his father. Life is messy, as it is no matter what your situation, and he is forced to deal with loose ends and make the best of them. But what remains constant are the simple pleasures that he sees through his memory and his interaction with the people still in his life: family, love, food, sex, and France, beautiful France. At a time when he was primed for a classic mid-life crisis, he was forced into a real crisis that in the end showed him how beautiful his life really was - a modern-day existentialist lesson, to be sure.

The film left me feeling hopeful and inspired, reminded of the amazing strength of love and creativity, and thankful for all of the pleasures of life that we sometimes take for granted. There is so much inside each one of us, and that is beautiful in and of itself, and allows us to survive what we never imagine that we can.

When the Party's Over


9:30pm, Thursday night in the Balcony at the Sundance Kabuki Cinema, just after seeing the "Sex & the City" movie.

I don't know if this was the audience that Redford envisioned in his theater, but it sure was fun.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Sartorial Blunders


I was recently introduced to a wonderful fashion blog, the Sartorialist. Scott Shuman, who was in the fashion industry for years (in menswear) posts pictures of real people on the streets, all over the world, wearing awesome ensembles. Sometimes he makes comments about a trend or observation, but most times the pictures just speak for themselves. No stylist could do it better than real people - I have always believed that. I always love the personal touches - a scarf, a vest, a bright pair of shoes. When I worked on 57th Street in NYC in the early 90's, I would often spot Bill Cunningham shooting away for his "On the Street" pitorals for the NY Times. His patience always amazed me.

I was thinking that it would be fun to do a fashion blog as well, but in a more quirky style. Often people's choices puzzle me - not in the sense that I am making fun of them, I just want to know the backstory. Recently we were at a wedding up in Sonoma, and I spotted this guy dressed nicely, but clearly wearing 2 different colored socks. A mistake (in a rush, dressing in the dark?) or deliberate ("I may be dressed up but my socks clash! Yeah! Rock 'n roll!")?


Hmm, I wonder what the Sartorialist would have to say about that?

The Law of Tea


I had kind of a cute exchange with the counter girl at The Greenhouse Cafe today. She had just prepared my Coconut Black Tea and was handing it to me.

Me: "So, is this good with milk? Or just black?"
Her: "I like it with milk or cream. Maybe a touch of sugar to sweeten it a little."
Me: "Cool."
Her: "Give it a few minutes, you've gotta let it steep."
Me: "Oh yeah, sure. Of course."
Her: "I don't know why it is, but you cannot add the milk while the teabag is steeping. It just stops the steeping altogether."
Me: "Oh my god, I know! I have tried millions of times, and you just end up with milky weak tea. It tastes like dirty water."
Her: "Exactly!"
Me: "And you just have to start all over again."
Her: "Totally! You can never get it back. It's just...over."
Me: "And if you do it again, you have just spent twice as long as if you did it right the first time."
Her: "Yup. That's just how it is. You have to wait. You have to let it steep."
Me: "You have to be patient."
Her: "It's the Law of Tea."
Me: "The Law of Tea."

---moment of silence---

Her: "Enjoy your tea!"
Me: "Thanks!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Word.


socha yelp openmic 466
Originally uploaded by calmenda
I participated in an Open Mic Night at Socha Cafe, a chance for a group of Yelp folks to read one of their reviews aloud to an audience. It was a lot of fun and I remembered how much I enjoy public speaking! I decided to go for one of my "funny" reviews, and thank god, people actually laughed. Everyone did a great job and some of the reviews were absolutely hilarious!

Duane Reade
1150 Ave of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
(212) 221-3588

Category: Drugstores
Neighborhood: Manhattan/Theater District
4 star rating
02/13/2007 First to Review

A Valentine's tale.

On a business trip in New York. I have worked for almost 2 weeks straight with no days off, and part of my job involves setting up displays. So I get sore and tired, which combined with the constant throbbing of the balls of my feet from pounding the pavement in heels, makes me one sad excuse for a human being.

After a long day, I find myself at Duane Reade. Drugstores are very calming to me, with their rows and rows of cosmetics and home supplies. I love Duane Reade because you can spend hours in there and no one bugs you. I am a browser. Let me browse.

So I gather a few things for a self-soothing night in my hotel room which include 3 or 4 magazines, a face mask, and a Dr. Scholl's personal massager. (because I am sore! swear to god). I'm walking around hugging my finds, when I hear "Hi, Liz, fancy running into you here". I spin around and look straight into the face of one of my male co-workers, who is new to the company and a very nice guy. Well of course, he can't help himself, and his eyes go right to my personal massager, which might as well have had neon lights calling attention to it. He quickly looks up and we have this very choppy interchange, and I can tell he is saying to himself "don't look down, don't look down" and I am talking a blue streak about absolutely nothing, just to fill the silence. In situations like this, I excel at making a bad situation worse. I kept saying how I needed a massage but didn't have time to get one, so I found this great massager for only $17.99 and meanwhile I am saying to myself, "My god! Stop talking about it! Stop! You sound like you're making excuses" But I can't stop. AWKWARD!

So of course we end up in the ONE CHECKOUT LINE right next to each other, and I have to ask for Double A batteries, which I try to do discreetly, but of course the sales people have to have a loud conversation about how they only have 8 packs which makes no sense at all, and I said, "That's fine, it's fine, really, I'll take the 8 pack!" Phew. Never thought I would get out of there.

Next day, co-worker says, "So how was your...um, foot massage?" and I said "Oh it was great, great, just what I needed. You should really get one, they're really great. How were your snacks? Great. Well, bye!" Cringe. I don't think anyone made eye contact.

The moral of the story? What happens at Duane Reade stays at Duane Reade. NOT.

I still heart Duane Reade. One-stop shopping for all of your, uh, needs.

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Where Do Dogs Come From?


Why, from puppy seeds, of course!

Even better when they are "springkled" on your dessert.

(From our dinner at Mandalay Burmese Restaurant in the Richmond. What they lack in spelling, they make up in cooking - delicious!)

Monday, June 23, 2008

Curry Chicken Salad


There is one dish that I get asked to make time and time again - my Curry Chicken Salad. It's an old recipe, something ripped out of the pages of Southern Living magazine in the mid 90's, in an article entitled "Try Your Luck at Potluck". It really is great for a crowd, and the recipe makes a lot. If you have a large number of people, it doubles very easily. The raisins are my addition - currants also work well. A few tips:
  1. Cooking the chicken: the best, most flavorful way is in a large Pyrex pan, filled with boiling water, adding 1 boullion cube, in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Otherwise, you can just poach it in a pot on the stove.
  2. Best made in stages. You can cook the chicken and make the rice the night before, then chop and assemble everything the next day, leaving at least a couple of hours to refrigerate it. Or make the whole thing and refrigerate it overnight.
  3. Great on its own or served with crackers (I like Triscuits) or pita crisps.
  4. The amount of curry you use will depend on the strength and freshness of your curry. Hot/spicy and fresh is the best.
Artichoke Chicken Rice Salad
(AKA Liz’s Curry Chicken Salad)

2 6 oz Jars marinated artichoke hearts, undrained
1 6.9 oz package Chicken Rice-a-Roni
2 ½ cups chopped cooked chicken
1 6 oz can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 3 oz jar pimiento-stuffed olives, drained and sliced
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup raisins
1 cup mayonnaise
1 ½ tablespoons curry powder (or more, to taste)
1 teaspoon pepper

- Drain artichoke hearts, reserving marinade. Coarsely chop artichokes.
- Cook rice according to directions; stir in reserved marinade. Cool.
- Combine artichoke hearts, rice mixture, chicken, water chestnuts, olives, green onions and raisins.
- In a separate bowl, combine mayonnaise, curry powder, and pepper. Stir into chicken mixture.
- Cover and chill 1-2 hours.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jill & Shyam - this is Jill eating a bowl of curry chicken salad at our Anniversary Party, 6/14/08.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Cupcake Bake-Off


30 entries. 4 judges. 1/4 cupcake per judge. That means, yes, I ate over 7 cupcakes this afternoon. Sugggggggarrrr Overloaaaaaadddd......

The event went really well, and the location of the Valley Tavern (in Noe) was good - it was very well-orgainzed and the bakers did a great job. We had fun at the judges table, although we had to drink a lot of water and take a short breather about halfway through. Thank goodness the heat of the past few days has given way to cooler weather, because we would have had a melted mess on our hands (we did anyway, and my camera is covered with frosting).

Here are the four judges: me, Kristina (founder and knitter of the prizes), Connie, and Stephan. We all look a little bit ill after eating our weight in cake, except for Connie who always looks perfect!


Each entry was presented to us with 2 cupcakes: 1 for the visual effect, and 1 cut into 4 pieces for tasting. Each one was numbered, and we filled out a rating and comment sheet for each one. We really had no idea who made what, which was good. There were prizes and a raffle, which everyone enjoyed. Winners were as follows:

Prettiest Cupcake - Mara T. for her Lemon Mascapone cupcake

Best Chocolate Cupcake - Kristine K. for her Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake

Best Non-Chocolate Cupcake - Aileen A. for her Strawberry and Cream Cupcake

Most Creative - Lee H. for the Chocolate with Nutella Surprise Pig Cupcakes

Most Ambitious Cupcake - Mara T. for her Chocolate Mint filled Cupcakes (tasted just like a Thin Mint!)

People's Choice Cupcake - Cindi N. for her Devil's Advo-cakes

OVERALL BEST CUPCAKE - Mara T. for her Vanilla Peanut Butter

Mara T. really blew us away, both with the flavor and appearance of her cupcakes. She deserved all of the 3 prizes that she won.


And the best part of all? Over $400 was raised for SF Teachers. More to come from the future sales of Cupcake Cookbooks featuring the recipes from today. Eating for a cause - worth expanding my waistline for a day. Not that I really need an excuse...I like to eat. I like to judge. 'Nuff said.

Taking the Cake


This Sunday I am participating the annual Cupcake Bake-Off, a non-offical Yelp event that was created by my dear friend Kristina, the queen of all things Cupcake. I have the honor of being a judge, for the second year in a row - the big difference this year is that I am one of only four judges, with around 20 entrants. Last year was a lot of fun (despite some unnecessary bitterness) - we braved the wind at Walter Hass Park in Diamond Heights and ate a LOT of cupcakes. There were some that were good, some that were awful (brie + cake = ewwww!), and some that were super-delicious. The biggest surprise to me were the vegan cupcakes, which were every bit as moist and wonderful as their dairy-laden friends. Megan did a great job with her "Robin Williams' Knuckles" chocolate vegan cupcakes, and these were among my favorites of the day.


This year, there are all new people competing, and some new practices in place. Everyone will have the opportunity to buy a cookbook with the recipes, and pay a nominal fee which will go towards SF teachers. All good things.

I am going to need to fill up on savory foods early in the day to balance out the insane amount of sugar that I will be ingesting (I started tonight by eating a delicious dinner of Spanish tapas at Zarzuela - so good!). It is nice to take a break from my own baking adventures and see what others are whipping up in the kitchen - I hope to find some inspiration and recipes to add to my own.

Let the baking begin!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Midsummer Night's Dream


We had a such fabulous time at our Anniversary Weekend in Wine Country. It was basically a 3 day party, hosted by us but really the community project of all of our friends. We rented 2 houses from River Ranch Vacation Rentals, and they were more eclectic than we ever could have dreamt up. A real hodge-podge of styles and decorating tastes, the only connection between the houses was that nothing at all went together. The main house was huge, something out of a Hollywood movie set, all high ceilings and crazy angles. The neighboring cottage was a fairy-tale mixed with Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, a place where the grandmother in Red Riding Hood might reside. There was actually an oak tree in our kitchen at the cottage, complete with a sign that said "Do Not Touch". Apparently, the animal kingdom cannot read, as we had to save 2 blue jays (or the same one twice) that flew into the house and alighted on the tree, very upset and confused. Other animal adventures included a dead shrew in the dishwasher detergent box, which our brave friend Laura saved us from and gave it an honorable burial.


We had full use of the property (although there was an owner and neighbors all around us, as well as a blind arthritic dog), including a huge grassy lawn, a lily pond, a hot tub, and a tiki-themed river camp complete with a hammock and canoes. It was like Gilligan's Island and Masterpiece Theater converged and out came the Twin Rivers Ranch!

And somehow, it all worked.

By far, my favorite part of the weekend was the many feasts that were prepared. Everyone pitched in and we had a smorgasbord of dishes to try every day, several times a day. We had no set schedule, so when people started to get hungry, the grill would be turned on and dishes would be brought out and we helped ourselves buffet-style. Most impressive were the panko-encrusted flash-fried shrimp tacos that Jude and Ken made, an exact replica of the ones from Lolo restaurant in the Mission, complete with the jicama wrapper.


After a late Saturday night, we were treated to a Sunday morning yoga class on the back patio, led by Sean. It was really cool to do yoga outdoors in the beautiful sunlight, with the sound of the birds in the background, and we definitely benefited from the exercise and detox!


I loved having those few days to hang out and "play" with my friends - it felt like we were kids who were given the run of the house for the weekend. It was all an adventure, and it was so great to see everyone doing their thing and having fun together. We may come from different backgrounds and be in different places in our lives, but it doesn't matter - we all just love being together. I was very touched that so many people made the drive up there (including Shelley, who came all of the way from Orange County and was a total trouper!) and that everyone pitched in. The memories from our time together are like little gifts that I treasure, that can be pulled out and enjoyed for years to come. When I think about what an anniversary signifies, the celebration of a wedding day, I can think of no better way to enjoy it than together with those who are closest to us all around.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Beef Green Curry with Chinese Eggplants

After a few weekends of eating out in fancy restaurants, I felt a need for home cooked food. I enjoy eating out. But the bill and the commute home with extremely full stomach are not quite ideal. So I plot to invite a few of my friends over for dinner at my apartment on Sunday night instead of eating out. This way there's no bill and no commute home (for me). And my food is as good as any restaurant food. Perfect!

I made Miang-Kum. It was perfect for the hot weather and my chilli loving friends. With stems leftover from collard green I used for Miang-Kum, I made collard green stem spicy salad. The recipe is kind of experimental but I'll post it here soon.

And for the main dish, I made beef green curry with Chinese eggplants served with rice - which was very well received by my guests.



Ingredients
  • 2 pounds of beef (I used top sirloin) - sliced

  • 2 Chinese eggplants, cleaned, trimmed and cut into chunks

  • 1 head of garlic - peeled

  • About 3 inches of ginger - peeled

  • 5 shallots

  • 5 kafir lime leaves (or substitute with lime zest)

  • 2 cans coconut milk

  • 1/2 cup green curry paste

  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil

  • 1 teaspoon raw sugar

  • Fish sauce to taste

  • About a cup of picked Thai basil


Directions
  1. Chop garlic, ginger, shallots and lime leaves really finely. I put everything in a food processor and let it run for about 1 minute.

  2. Coat the bottom of a large pot with oil and place on a stove top at medium high heat. Stir curry paste and chopped spice in the heated pot for about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn.

  3. Pour two cans of coconut milk into the pot. Add beef. Reduce the heat to medium and let the beef cooked. Stir occasionally so that pieces of beef cooked evenly.

  4. When the beef is cooked, reduce the heat to low and add eggplants. Add sugar and fish sauce to taste. Take care not to let the curry bubble or boil.

  5. When the eggplants are cooked and soft but not too soft, turn off the heat. Sprinkle Thai basil over the curry. Serve with cooked rice.


I wish eggplants keep their color when cooked. The dish would have been much prettier.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Black Bean Brownies

I like making brownies with unexpected ingredients. Whenever I see brownies recipes with things other than chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs and flour, I bookmarked them. Maybe it's because I feel brownies are super indulgent. And I have a need to try to make them a bit healthier to eat. I tried one with zucchini. This time the weird ingredient is black beans.

The recipe was from 101cookbooks.com. I followed the recipe almost exactly. Just that I don't have 11x18 inch pan. So I used 9x13 pan. I should have baked it longer than the recipe because my brownies are thicker. But I was too impatient and tired (it was after one in the morning) that I hoped the brownies would set and become perfect when they get cold even though they still looked bubbly and soft out of the oven.
Cooked black beans.

Oh well. I still have more black beans. The next time I make them I'll learn.

Before going into the oven.

Although I way undercooked the brownies, they came out really delicious. Nobody could guess the secret ingredient until I tell them. The only thing was that after I few pieces, my belly produced quite a lot of gas. Good thing we were outdoor.

PS. Wow! Two (almost) sugar-free and gluten free baked goods in a row! I'm getting healthy.

Rhubarb Crisp

I love this time of year. Every week I go to the farmer's market, I find something new to bake. This past week I found rhubarb. I bought 2 pounds. I love them. They make me feel less guilty eating them in my baked goods. It feels like eating dessert celery.

I decided to make crisp to have for breakfast with yogurt. Nothing beats dessert for breakfast.



Ingredients
  • 2 pounds rhubarb, cleaned - trimmed and cut about 1/2 inch long

  • 1/2 cup Agave nectar

  • 1 tablespoon ground psyllium husk to absorb rhubarb juice and for added fiber (or use 2 tablespoon of all purpose flour)

  • 1 cup rolled oats

  • 1/2 cup almond flour

  • 1/4 cup raw sugar

  • 1/4 cup chilled butter

  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts


Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

  2. In a 2.2 Qt. Pyrex baking dish, toss chopped rhubarb with Agave nectar and ground Psyllium husk.

  3. In a large bowl, combine oats, almond flour, raw sugar and walnuts together. Cut in the butter. Sprinkle over the rhubarb and bake for about 45 minutes.

  4. Let cool and serve with vanilla yogurt (or ice cream but that wouldn't be breakfast.)



The crisp turned out almost sugar free. I guess you can omit raw sugar and make it totally sugar-free. And it's gluten free!

Don't get me wrong though. I love gluten. I love bread. This is unintentional. I just found that crisps came out crispier longer when I use almond flour instead of all purpose flour.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Well-Shod


If you know me, you know that I have a shoe fetish. These are my favorite shoes purchased this year, by French brand Coclico. They cost a small fortune but are so worth it - every time I wear them, no matter if my outfit is many seasons past its due date, I feel elegant, special and a la mode. One thing that I have learned over the years is that a well-made pair of shoes is worth the hefty price tag. They will feel more comfortable, last longer, and look better than cheaper brands. Never trust a shoe made in China - your feet will feel like victims of foot-binding in no time. Italian shoes are the best, followed those made in France and England, then Spain. South American shoes can be good, such as the handmade dancing shoes I bought in Argentina a couple of years ago. Men know these truths better than women and tend to have less shoes, but of better quality, whereas women go for quantity. For me, I can only afford the occasional splurge, so the trick is not to go too trendy so that I can keep them for years and get the most out of them.

To live vicariously through those who can afford the latest and greatest styles, there is a website called Shoebunny which is strictly dedicated to celebrities and their shoes. I love how they downplay the celebrity photo and focus on the shoes themselves. You can go through page after page and covet to your heart's delight. So delicious!

It's a guilty pleasure to be sure, but far less calories than a piece of chocolate cake. Then again, a piece of chocolate cake while looking at Shoebunny...I certainly wouldn't complain.

Pretty Little Things


Today we are celebrating our 15-year wedding anniversary, and in keeping with tradition, I did receive flowers and chocolates. The interesting part is - they were from our parents! My Mom sent this adorable arrangement today, and my mother-in-law sent a box of delicious brownies that we gobbled up well before the actual day. So thoughtful!

And in keeping with the tradition of slightly tweaking traditions, we are going to celebrate the occasion with a weekend away...with 40 of our closest friends! I am really looking forward to it - the weather forecast looks great, and everyone seems very excited.

This is one of the cards that I gave Charles this morning which made him chuckle. I have to say, being married to someone for 15 years is many things (mostly good!), but one of them that can't be denied is that it is very, very real. And the one thing that will get you though a plethora of challenges and situations is a good sense of humor.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Not Bridget Jones' Diary


Through some online glitch (ok, it was on Facebook, I confess) I was able to watch the first two episodes of Showtime's new series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" which premieres next Monday, June 16. It is good! Set in London, it is based on the life of Hannah, aka Belle de Jour, who is a high-priced call girl who really loves her job. What makes it interesting is her dual life: the racy adventures as Belle, and the normal girl life as Hannah (her job is a secret from her friends and family). The show is based on the blog of a supposed real life call girl, and aired on UK tv before being shown in America.

Billie Piper as Hannah/Belle is wonderful to watch, and she draws us into her world by talking to us through the camera, which reminds me of the early episodes of "Sex & the City". Even her large closet reminds me of Carrie's, and from the previews, the wardrobe in this show will not disappoint.

Showtime seems to do well with stories centered around on somewhat tortured, modern-day heroes who have unconventional, edgy lives: Nancy in "Weeds", Hank in "Californication", Dexter, and even Henry XIII in "the Tudors". In fact, they have paired "Diary" with "Weeds" in a pin-up girl style poster, with the tag line "It's a business doing pleaure with you" - clever. Belle is a fine addition to this crew, and I look forward to seeing her character unfold.

Love that the opening theme music is Mark Ronson. This is one to watch!

Position of the Day

Superdeluxe is a fun website for comedy. My friend Kirsten introduced me to it, and wacky crazy funny gal Maria Bamford.

Check out Nerve's "Position of the Day" series. Much better and more educational than a boring "Word of the Day" desktop calendar.

If you find that disturbing, I suggest that you skip the Craig Bierko/John Malkovitch taking a bath sketch. If you like disturbing, go for it: (Just plug in John Malkovitch bath and it will come up). Does anyone else think that John Malkovitch resembles one of those hairless cats?

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I'll Have the Tomato & Salmonella Salad, Please


Summer without tomatoes? Have I landed in Hell?? Is this the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, for real?

I don't know which I find more shocking about this summer, the tomato recall, or the fact that it costs $99 to fill up my gas tank. Both run the risk of making me sick to my stomach, that's for sure.


I stopped to use the bathroom at La Salsa in Pacific Heights today, and there was a sign on the salsa bar saying "None of our salsas were made with raw tomatoes". Yup, this thing is real.

So, say no to Romas, Plums, and round red tomatoes. Say yes to cherry, and still on the vine tomatoes, as well as homegrown ones (which includes those from the farmer's market, I believe).

Well, I guess if we start growing our tomatoes at home, we're going to save on all of that gas, too.