Take a handful of sunflower seeds, we used roasted & salted, and pulse it in a food processor until you get the desired consistency. That's it!
The mug brownie, however, is totally awesome. It's not the best brownie ever, but will definitely satisfy a chocolate fix. You can make this thing almost faster than you can eat it. In fact, I think you'll spend the most time waiting for it too cool so you don't your mouth.
Super easy. Super fast. Tasty in a pinch. I made a half serving yesterday; microwaving for 45 seconds is about right for that portion.
Smell:
-store bought: smelled of alcohol, but sweeter, looks like they put corn syrup in there maybe for this purpose.
-homemade: smelled like vanilla and vodka, stronger alcohol smell
On smell alone, before tasting, I kinda preferred the store bought, only because it smelled less like alcohol. I think with age the homemade would smell better too. Though after tasting...
Taste:
-homemade: tasted like a strongly flavored vodka, I can't really expound on it more than this, but it doesn't matter because...
-store bought: after tasting the homemade, this stuff tasted very much of chemicals, and then after smelling the two again, I didn't like the smell of store bought any more
I guess there are a few ways of more thoroughly taste testing, but just this simple test was clear enough for me. Homemade is better, and about half the price!
I also made a batch of banana bread using the homemade stuff, but you can't really tell any difference. Apparently the quality of vanilla extract doesn't matter too much when used for baking.
I think I'll make another batch, using rum next. =)
- Feelin'?:
satisfied
Recaps from last year:
pictures from me
from ChambanaCranksgiving
from Smile Politely
I used a mishmash of the following three recipes:
http://italianfood.about.com/od/gno
http://www.deliciousdays.com/archives/2
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyle
Baked a couple pounds of potatoes and peeled* them. Mashed the flesh and divided it into quarters (~1/2 lb each portion)
( Read more... )
*Re: leftover potato peels: Not wanting to waste the peels, I chopped them up and fried them in bacon grease along with rough slivered onions and chopped mushrooms. Topped with shredded cheese and a couple poached eggs for a potato skin hobo skillet type thing. A junky treat to myself for raking leaves. ;)
- Feelin'?: satisfied
Store-bought extract on the left, homemade on the right. 2 weeks to go, so it looks like it's on the right track. Didn't have two white or two clear spoons and I wasn't sure the metal spoons would show enough, but I think you can see the difference.
Wish I had thought of putting a few drops of extract on a piece of paper each week to get a better record of it, but I think this will do just fine this time around.
Previously:
vanilla extract: six weeks
vanilla extract: two weeks
vanilla extract: one week elapsed
week 0, day 0
What can I say? Bento + WtWTA = awesome. more info at Anna's blog post.
Slow and low, with apple and hickory wood, about 3 1/2-4 hours. Had to finish the potatoes in the oven to free up the grill for other stuff; they needed to cook a little more, so braised them with a little oktoberfest and water. The eggplant was an experiment, I think I like it, probably about as much as regular grilled eggplant slices.
These are not really that good together, because once you start, the smoke flavor becomes overpowering. Good to use one smoked competent in a dish. For example, finely diced smoked potatoes make an awesome addition to enchilada or omelet fillings.
This morning I finely diced just one of these potato halves and added it to the egg mixture for these egg muffins. It was so good! The potato bits tasted like smoked ham!
Inspired by this, I'm starting a big cloth napkin project so we can stop using paper napkins. Thought I'd start easy, with some precut fabric quarters. Kinda like how the colors worked on this one, will probably get more to make a set (2 or 4?).
Lots of scraps and reclaimed clothing material will be going into future pieces for this project...
I made a huge batch of this today using some of our latest haul of Green Zebra tomatoes. Initially I thought it'd be a "slimy" mary mix, but the bright green flesh color dulled a bit and the carrot bits darkened it too, so now I'm calling it a zombie marie mix.
It is so good! I can't believe we never considered making this with our tomato hauls. Definitely won't make that mistake again. Yummuy!
update: Here's a picture of the stuff. About 45-55 green zebra tomatoes, plus the amount of vegetables in the recipe, yielded about a gallon of mix. I kept this batch on the thick and chunky side, thinking that the addition of vodka and ice would give it a perfect consistency. But it could also be stretched a little to have more mix. I'm calling it Zombie Mary Mix. ;)
( 2nd update: virgin zombie mary as served )
day 0, Originally uploaded by kidmissile.
making vanilla extract:
-3 beans, split down the middle, but left intact at the ends
-1 cup vodka
-put in a sterilized jar, swirl around, and store in a cool dark place for 8 weeks!
Could someone please remind me to post a weekly picture to track the color changes? :)
It rained all day, which was sad for the art fair (though our friend said that Saturday is always her busy sales day), but good for our gardens. We spent the day lazing around, cooking (pasta sauce, leek confit, this vanilla extract, and cheddar biscuits), watching TV, and I worked on our new butcher block cart/kitchen island, which we scored at a garage sale last weekend for $30!
( +3 pics of my next wood refinishing project )
green zebra pasta sauce prep
Originally uploaded by kidmissile.
score, blanch, peel.
We're making a sauce tonight so I can have a couple big pasta meals in prep for the century bike ride on Sunday. I'm looking forward to the freaky green sauce, I've already made a small batch of pizza sauce with them. =)
These heirloom tomatoes are beauties, our current favorite. Perfect size for cutting and eating without worrying about storing leftovers.
That's my main problem with Brandywines—I love their flavor, but if you just want a couple slices for a sandwich, you have to contend with a juicy leftover. Not really a big problem, actually, but these GZ's fit our eating habits perfectly. =)
That's right. Layers of mashed potatoes, pulled pork, and bbq sauce!
Made by the same people who had the "Fried Pepsi". Didn't get the fried soda, as the parfait was plenty for my tummy. I'm going back this week, so I'll try fried Dr. Pepper if I can get it.
So for the 4th of July I made another Bacon Explosion. It was good and all, but I really think the draw of that dish is the pure audacity and spectacle of it. And while it was super tasty, I don't think it is as satisfying as a well done bbq pulled pork (you can crumble bacon on top of your pulled-pork sandwich if you like ;)
The other day I made candied bacon (bake at 375F on racks on rimmed and lined baking sheets, with brown sugar sprinkled on each slice, about 20-30 minutes, depending on how crispy you like it; and that's "racks" as in extra cooling racks sitting in the rimmed cookie sheets, not directly on the racks of your oven, unless you want to set your kitchen on fire).
Yesterday I made my Ghirardelli choc. chips cookies, using the Cook's Illustrated tips, and crumbled the candied bacon into half the batter. The result was fantastic! But I think it needed either *more* bacon or fewer choc chips, which seems like kind of an odd thing to say for choc chip cookies. Was it yummuy*? Yes. Did it blow my mind? No.
I also took several of the candied bacon strips and drizzled melted dark chocolate over them, then chilled in the fridge. *extremely tasty* but honestly not nearly Last Meal material. Well, on second thought, I haven't tried the chocolate covered bacon strips over vanilla ice cream. And for the record, I don't know what I'd want for dessert in my last meal, or for that matter, any of the courses. =)
I'll report back this afternoon on the bacon over ice cream. But for me now, I don't know if there's any better way than eating one of my mom's classic breakfasts: bacon with white rice. That's it, simply delicious.
It's true that everything is better with bacon. But I think the Bacon should stand alone.
- Feelin'?:jabba
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