Foodie Judy

Jan 1st is National Bloody Mary Day!

2012-01-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

Bloody Mary

I was perusing the LA Times food section and read a short ode to the Bloody Mary. The author implores his audience not to use the thin watery cheap bottle mix and offers a few suggestions of brands that are much better.

So when I went to the market, I looked for such brands and had no luck.

Well, I'm a "from scratch" kind of person. So here is my version (based on ideas from the article) of The Bloody Mary.

Start with:
5.5 oz Tomato Juice

Add to taste:
Horseradish sauce
Fresh ground black pepper
Worcestershire sauce

Stir in:
1 1/2 shots of vodka

Top with:
Fresh crumbled bacon strip
Juice of 1/4 of a lime

and garnish:
with a celery stick.

Happy Sake Sunday!

2011-12-31T16:16:00.000-08:00

Happiness is contagious!

You may have noticed that often Sundays are a time when The Mister and I have a quiet afternoon of nibbles and sake.

We then retreat to our separate corners and read or write, or sometimes we watch a dvd or cruise the TV looking for movie together.

I'll make a light dinner when the sun is setting, and he'll play an album to round off the day.

We call it Sake Sunday. A chance to connect. A time to reflect. Meeting with food and laughing about the stories we read.

Have good times with the ones you love, and grab the button on the sidebar and share.

I believe happiness is contagious.

The Pouring Of Sake

2011-12-01T10:17:00.001-08:00

A collection of nibbles and the pouring of sake for this latest edition of Sake Sunday, I present to you.

I bought a new toaster. One that automatically lowers. No manual pushing down of lever. So making toast is my new hobby. And putting things on toast is the corollary.

So roasted garlic (slightly burnt, I know they look like shiitakes), hummus, pickles (a palette freshener), double cream gouda (sigh), brie (double sigh), and some sliced pears (because I love the brie-pear combo).

Roasted Frogs

2011-11-20T10:57:00.001-08:00

Not really.

Roasted garlic and chicken

I'm starting a new tradition called Sunday Supper. New to us, that is.

Actually we have been sort of doing this off and on with our sometimes Sake Sunday, but I want to make more formal proclamation and a button too. I like making buttons, so if you do too, be on the look-out!

Super Sake Sunday Supper

Last Sunday was a Sake Sunday Supper. I roasted cut up chicken thighs with a whole bulb of garlic.

Roasted garlic is really mellow compared to raw or even sautéed garlic. One can just cut off the pointy top, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast with meat or root vegetables (or all by themselves which I'm currently doing for today's supper). I'd say roast for about an hour, and I flip them over halfway through the process. The roasted cloves can be squeezed out and mashed (delish on toast) or fished out one by one and eaten whole.

Other dishes here are rice, shredded cabbage, both savoy and purple, tossed in a light mixture of soy sauce and olive oil, and a fruit bowl of pomegranate, plum slices, and a half of a fig.

Chai

2011-08-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

Half milk and half Tazo Chai = buzzzzz

Pizza Dough made with Beer

2011-08-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

I was in need of a quick dough for two medium sized pizzas, one a garden vegetable, and the other pepperoni. I found a couple of contenders in a search on the web. I have 200 cookbooks but my first thought is Google. Always.

I found a recipe that called for a bottle of beer and that totally reminded me of my mom's beer bread recipe. She photocopied her recipe card and paper clipped it to the bread chapter page in the Betty Crocker's cookbook she gave to me at my very first dinner party.

The pizza dough recipe asked for 4 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of quick yeast, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and salt, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, as well as the beer.

Kneaded for 7 minutes by the mixer and let rise for a half to 2 hours.

Good dough however the house smelled like a brewery for the day.

Fizzy Iced Tea

2011-08-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

Shredded beef enchilada casserole

2011-07-13T09:45:00.001-07:00

Shredded beef enchilada casserole, a photo by Judy's Notebook on Flickr.

Weekend dinner at the old homestead.

breakfast for dinner

2011-07-11T16:27:00.001-07:00

breakfast for dinner altered, a photo by Judy's Notebook on Flickr.

Yes this simple cheese and bacon omelet with extra bacon was altered. Help me Jimi!

foodiejudy at tastespotting - First Time!

2011-07-10T13:07:00.001-07:00

foodiejudy at tastespotting - First Time!, a photo by Judy's Notebook on Flickr.

Fourth of July Burger

2011-07-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Avocado, bacon, and double cream Gouda burger with lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. So very yummy on those Brown Sugar Buns I made a day or two ago.

Bleu Cheese Burgers

2011-07-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

Recipe for buns here.

My own meat, ground - half turkey and half chuck roast.

Deep dish meatball pizza cooked in greenstone

2011-05-27T16:28:00.001-07:00

deep dish meatball pizza cooked in greenstone, a photo by Judy's Notebook on Flickr.

Chicago-style deep dish crust, a recipe from The Frugal Gourmet way back when, filled with meatballs, cheese, and sauce cooked in a shallow pan made out of an entire piece of stone with brass handles.

One Taste and I'm Transported to Italy

2011-04-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

I entered The Food Addicts monthly giveaway in February and won! I can't believe it. Maybe my luck is turning after all.

As we all know there are a lot of giveaways out there. I used to enter many having read once "in order to win, you have to play." But now I only enter when "the prize" is something I really desire, and I really desire the finest food, the best of the best, the elixir of the gods.

And I won Saporoso one of the best balsamic vinegars I've ever tasted! Straight from Italy. The bottle is a joy to hold with a heavy glass bottom. The contents are sweet and sour balanced perfectly lingering on the palette. It was aged this for 6 years in oak barrels!

Il condimento balsamico Malpighi

A luscious pairing with this Dolcetto D'alba.

Acetaia Malpighi makes Saporina, a jellied balsamic vinegar, and Prelabato, a white balsamic vinegar among other fascinating condiments and chocolates. This inspires me to develop recipes!

Thank you Krissy at thefoodaddicts.com!

The Commonsense Kitchen: A review

2011-03-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

For my second food book in the first quarter of the Foodie Book Challenge, I read and skimmed The Commonsense Kitchen: 500 recipes + lessons for a hand-crafted life. This is a very comprehensive cookbook with many extras.
Table of Contents goes like this.

Kitchen Basics
Breakfast: Oats, Grits, Bacon, and Eggs
Pancakes, Biscuits, and Cornbread
Bread, butter, Crackers, and Cheese
Great Lunches
Beans
Hot Vegetable and Vegetable Soups
Salads and Dressings
Beef, Pork, and Lamb
Chicken and Turkey
Fish and Shellfish
Pasta, Dumplings, Rice, and Stuffing
Sauces and Relishes
Pies and Fruit Desserts
Cakes
Gooey Desserts
Cookies and Candy
Menus
Dishes, Stains, and Soap

The introduction explains that this is a textbook for Deep Springs College and Ranch, where 26 males learn to run a working ranch including all things that go on in a kitchen.

As one might imagine the American fare is the hearty kind like Chicken-Fried Steak, Red Chile Enchiladas, and nine variations of Beef Stew, but there is also a delicate touch with recipes such as Cream Scones, Goat Cheese Spinach and Green Chile Souffle, and five variations of Herbed Braised Chicken.

The cracker recipes make my heart sing, and the Bean and the Salad chapters are excellent primers on their subjects. They even cover handmade noodles and four variations of Risotto.

I like this book a lot. I think I would love it if it wasn't a textbook. But it is. It reads like one and looks like one, and there are no photos. When they try to justify why they won't allow women into their program (male bonding and heavy lifting), I just don't buy it.

Still lots of good recipes.

Rewards Day

2011-03-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

Sat in the sun with Si, 45 minutes. Good I did this first, we now have only clouds.

Organized office papers, 1 hour. Serious bit of procrastination was overcame here.

So reward time! Phone call to friend, 1 1/2 hours. Oh, the day is still young.

Make bread. Leave to rise. Laundry, laundry, laundry. Clean out fridge - total bleck!

Reward time! A find in the bottom in the back - Boddingtons Pub Ale!

February in the garden

2011-02-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

We had a hard frost last night/this morning. 27 degrees Fahrenheit. The backyard looked like the a scene out of Dr. Zhivago.

No clouds in sight and a relatively warm sun though, so I was able to get out to the garden for the second day in a row - my goodness is this becoming a habit?

The new half barrel pond is holding water finally, thanks to the rain swelling the wood slats closed, and the weeds are pulling up with great ease.

So now is the time to think about what to plant and where. I will have all my perennial artichokes of course, and parsley, also a perennial. Looks like the strawberries and oregano will be back in force too.

Towards the bottom left I have a link list of online seed shops that I'll be visiting.

Do you have a favorite online shop to buy garden seeds?

Two Different Pizza Dough Recipes & My First Book Review for the Food Book Challenge

2011-02-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

Has it been a year since I promised to find that pizza dough recipe that I adapted? Almost.

Here it is.

From the smitten kitchen, a very nice food blog.

I didn't really expect to be cooking pizza on a cloudy and cool February Friday a week ago, but The Mister didn't want to explore a new pizzeria in town and heck, I was jonesing for pepperoni pie.

I bought the ingredients a while back, basically stuff that keeps for a couple months or longer: A jar of really good pizza sauce, dry moisture motz, and pepperoni. The only thing I had to make was the crust. By the way, I've tried many pre-made pizza crusts and they have all been pretty awful, but if you know of something that works for you, please share. I'm always on the look-out for an easy dinner.

In today's rendition I doubled the pizza dough recipe except for the salt. I also used white wine not sake like I have in the past, and I used more wine than usual. I used my KitchenAid with a dough hook to kneed the dough, and I cook the pizza at a lower temperature for a longer time.

There is no product picture this time around and the crust was at once too hard and too bread-y. My mistake may have been rushing the rising process or the fact that the house was too cold for a good rise.

This Sunday I thought I'd try again only this time use Ree's Basic Pizza Dough recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

The cookbook is my first book in the food book challenge. As a good read and selection of recipes, I rate this book very high, maybe just a half a star short of perfect. The reason for the down grade is that although the pizza came out looking gorgeous, it didn't taste all that wonderful. Maybe had I kept the dough for a day or two, the flavors would have developed more. Sigh.

Here's a picture of one of the pies.

Vanilla Vodka

2011-02-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

While the Skittles Vodka experiment wasn't nearly as successful as I hoped, the Vanilla Vodka has proven to be a wowzer. Wowie!

No I'm not drunk. Hah! I tried a sip of a shot last Friday. Straight.

Yikes! I think my nose hairs burnt off.

So then I mixed that with two shots of Dr. Pepper. And drank it with a straw.

I caught a buzz. I was all Buzz.Buzz.Buzzy. I think the straw was the key.

And good for cooking too. Not the straw but the vanilla bean wodka. gurgle.

Somebody knows me - very well

2011-02-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

Skittles Vodka

2011-02-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

This is an experiment. Separate the colors and add vodka and wait. The problem is the colors are so neon and artificial, that I'm afraid.

Foodies Reading Challenge

2011-01-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

I joined the Foodies Reading Challenge this year. I'll be reading at the Gourmet level. That's 10 to 12 books that are food related. This should be lots of fun and how I love to read about food! whether it be fact or fiction.

In fact I just started The Pioneer Woman's cookbook. It's filled with pictures and her very conversational-style writing. It's like catching up with an old friend, as I no longer follow her blog, or rather blogs. Her recipes have hit the mark though. I love good hearty ranch food.

Christmas Dinner 2010

2010-12-27T15:20:00.000-08:00

I've done this for Christmas dinner a few times now. It works out pretty well because it's so easy and delicious.

Individual Beef Wellingtons with mashed parsnips and pears, and some wonderful Brussels sprouts a la Amanda.

The parsnips and pears were a request, or I might have done mashed potatoes. Lordy I loves mashed taters.

The Brussels sprout recipe was a last minutes ~~steal~~ find from a favorite blogger, Memeopolis.

We had a couple of very nice Syrahs and rain.

Couldn't really ask for a nicer day!

Rainy Day Lunch

2010-10-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

We had scores of thunder yesterday with some rain, and on-and-off rain today. Cloudy and cool and decidedly October. At last!

I made tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, a classic combination, for lunch. And yes, I like my grilled cheese cut into quarters.

Windrose Market

2010-10-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

We went to our favorite market yesterday to get fresh organic fruits and veggies. It was the first time I've been there since Windrose Market has open for business. In the picture above, the foreground is Windrose and the background, that is light and purplish is Nature's Touch, an organic food market and nursery.

I've always wanted to visit the actual farm when it was just over the river and through the woods from where we used to live, but never did. So I'm glad they decided it was time to come to town.

They took over a corner of Nature's Touch Market,

and sell some unusual varieties of heirloom apples and potatoes.

And baby greens.

Autumn Artichokes

2010-10-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

There are a bunch of migratory birds that love these seed artichokes. I'm sure it looks like I'm lazy or messy to those from afar, but the birds think I'm the bee's knees.

A Healthy Lunch

2010-09-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

A cheese omelet with sauteed asparagus and shiitake mushrooms

with a side of cut nectarines and raspberries.

Ahhh! My retina's are burning!

2010-09-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

Dragon fruit

eggplant imitating rodger

2010-09-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

I'm Nuts About Nuts

2010-07-31T17:47:00.000-07:00

I just read Alicia's blog and thought to post this comparison table that I've had on my fridge forever. You can click on it for a bigger view. I had to screenshot it in half and piece them together, so sorry about the hack job.

Note that the first horizontal is called Energy, kcal. This is the number of calories in a 3.5 ounce serving. That's by weight not volume, so don't freak out. Chances of one eating a near quarter pound of Pecans in one sitting are not likely, hmmm however Macadamia nuts covered in chocolate, well, let's just say I would never admit it in public.

This list is good for zeroing in on which nut is high in what nutrient. Like Brazil nuts take the prize for Selenium, over 1000 mcg. And Pistachios are the highest in Potassium. Almonds win the Calcium card. Both Hazel nuts and Walnuts are high in Folate. Cashews are not the highest or the lowest in any category, but they still have a special place in heart.

I guess it's safe to say I'm nuts about nuts. What's your favorite?

Ave (Bloody) Maria

2010-07-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

Happy National Tequila Day!

Peachy Drink

2010-07-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

Inspired by popsicles makers and luscious donut peaches, I decided to freeze diced peaches in a glass very much like this one. I mushed them all down to remove air pockets. Stuck the glass in the freezer overnight, and when I came in from the garden today looking for a cool drink, I slightly defrosted the smashed peaches and disked the log. Put them into a small glass and added club soda.

Ta Da! A peach cooler!

Thanks Alicia for the bag of donut peaches. We been feasting on them!

Pastys

2010-06-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

Gotta love a meat pie. Especially after a hike up a mountain.

Years ago I used to live in Santa Cruz, and there was this fabulous little eatery on River Road called the River Inn. The River Inn specialized in meat pastys. (Not to be be confused with pasties.)

They are made with simply lovely concoctions of minced meat wrapped in pastry. We would get a few and travelled up Highway 9 to do a bit of hiking in the redwoods.

I've always like to try to recreate most meals I've enjoyed, and meat pies have been on the list since the River Inn. They are easy and a crowd pleaser. Quite successful to miniaturized too. So perfect for bento!

Recipe alert!

Miniature Chicken Pastys

one shallot, minced
three garlic cloves, minced
two medium-sized little Bella mushrooms, minced
a knob of butter

Saute the above ingredients and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Add one half of cup of minced cooked chicken breast and a couple of spoonfuls of pre-made gravy to the mixture. Stir well and place in glass bowl. Cover and put in freezer.

(When working with pastry, everything must be cold.)

Next I used pre-made pastry. I know a lot of this recipe is looking like processed food, and you can certainly make fresh pastry and gravy, but it was getting late so I cheated. And really these were meant to be fun little treats not a gourmet meal for the Queen.

Unrolled pastry and using a small round biscuit cutter (1 1/2 to 2 inch diameter) make as many discs as you can. Ball up dough, roll out, and repeat. Save a few discs at the end of process for decoration.

Lay these pastry discs on parchment on cookie sheet and retrieve meat mixture from freezer and put a small spoonful in the center of each disc.

I thank the fungi gods I got over my fungus aversion. Mushrooms cooked in butter with shallots and garlic are heavenly!

Pinching them up is a study in meditation. At first I did the classic side fold, then some that look like pot stickers, then open ones like canapes. A few were topped with pine nuts, and some got little cut out stars and flowers.

Cooked at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. I have a cool oven. Let them get a touch golden but not brown. We want a crunchy bite not a bullet.

Sorry no "after photos." You will have to view my bentos this week to see them.

These are delicious cold by the way. Pastys as summer food. Outrageous!

Pretz

2010-05-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, I hooked up with a friend of a friend, well a friend of a blog friend. I guess the friend has a blog too and he became one of my early followers (love all you early followers!) and anyhoo I heard from my blog friend that the happy Hello Panda crackers were something that he turned her onto, so when I said Hello!, I asked him what his favorite Japanese snacks were.

He said Pretz.

And this is why I went to the Asian store and bought a boatload of snacks.

It turns out that Pretz are not available at this store and really the only place I had ever seen them was at J-List. So a orderin' we shall go. High Ho the merry O. A orderin' we shall go. (Who knew that the O stood for online.)

I also got some Sake drops, Beer drops, and gyoza drops. Gyoza are pork dumpings, and the drops taste just like that, only candified. One word: Awful.

But I love the beer drops and the bacon Pretz. Love bacon!

It's a good thing I like pink (again)

2010-05-15T10:18:00.001-07:00

Sweet Pea - wild, originally uploaded by Judy's Notebook.

The Sweet Pea. Every year I plant an heirloom variety hoping it will take off by itself, that is self sow. And finally it has. Only instead of reds and purples and creams, the default color returns to pink, shades of pink.

Snack Happy

2010-05-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

I returned to my castle with the goods. My expedition was successful. Hello Kitty sticks, check. Hapi party mix, check. Kiwi gummy fruit, double check. I also bought many things I've never tried before. Oh wait! Everything here I've never tried before. It's all new to me. But you know if the package says, "WANT WANT Rice Crackers," then I got a feeling I'm going to want want them.

Crunchy crackers with gooey chocolate filling

2010-05-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if everybody knows. I think it's probably pretty obvious though. I like food.

No, I love food.

I have three public blogs, and two of them revolve around food. So if you want to make me happy - Let's talk about food. If you want to make ecstatic - offer up something delish that I've never had before. And if that something delish just happens to be a Japanese snack food, then you've won a spot at my coveted round table.

Forever!

Thank you Amanda for the birthday surprise!

What kind of monster sucks a snail out of his body?

2010-04-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

What eats snails?

He asked in a tone that was worrisome.

I thought what could be worrisome about something that eats snails.

Dead snails are a good thing in a garden.

He was concerned though, and I replied,

"Ducks!"

What else?

"Geese!"

What else?

"Some kinds of birds, hmm, I don't know. Why?"

I found a very strange feature, he said.

("Feature" is a term that archaeologist use, btw.)

"So let's look at it, okay?"

We went out to the garden. He was pulling weeds and found this.

From a distance, it looked like dead snail shells. Lots of them! Very Weird!

I reached down and scooped them up.

"Tomatillo skeletons," I said.

"Dozens of them."

Pretty cool!

Cookie Time!

2010-04-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

Copper cookie cutters! Could anything be more charming?

I feel like stringing them up as garland in the kitchen. So sparkly and new, they invite multi-colored treats!

Hot Dog! It's Baseball Time Again!

2010-04-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

I love my new plates - all two of them - with glorious yummy food on them, just like a good food snob should, right?

Hey, that isn't just any mustard on any dog. It's Dijon on a Nathan skinless. And that isn't tap water and tap water ice. Nosirree! Palomar Mountain water and Palomar Mountain ice sitting on, guess what? A real "made in France" French napkin!

Guest of Honor

2010-03-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

Dude! Is that a bow on your head????

Pizza Sunday

2010-03-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's lunch.

Kai Lana

2010-03-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

New restaurant Kai Lana was a pleasant surprise. I had the lunch special with two options (tempura and gyoza) and he had it with three options (tempura, spicy garlic chicken, and beef teriyaki). Lunch came with miso soup, rice, and salad.

We were both amazed at the huge portion size. This photo doesn't do it justice, but the tempura was piled high and originally there were five dumplings. He seemed to think if we came back in a year, it might not be so big.

All the food tasted delicious. It's hard not to compare sushi/Japanese restaurants we frequent, but I must say Goshi's win the quality prize, and Kai Lana wins the price prize. And although Kai Lana isn't much to look from the outside, inside was clean with no fishy or weird smell, and the server was super nice.

Also they do an abundance of "Special" rolls, and this fascinates me, so we'll be returning soon!!!

You are what you eat

2010-03-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hey ya there, sweetie dumpling!

Wanna go hot tubbin' sometime?

Sometime soon?

I was reading Gamene's post on making mandoo, a Kimchee dumpling. And as I scanned the list of her ingredients, I thought Hey! I have most of those. Plus I have my own Kimchee, now aged just over a month.

So I made the filling and put it in the fridge and pulled out a recent recipe from the L.A. Times on how to make dumplings from flour and water.

Normally I have the pre-made version at home, but I just didn't and I don't live close to a market and what the hay! I have flour and water. I even had the preferred unbleached bread flour - more gluten, you see.

Pressing together the dumplings together with fingers is the right of the cook. See the ones I did in the back row? haha! but I remembered that years ago (like in ancient times, 25 years ago), I'd bought a dumpling maker. It was the Frugal Gourmet's brand. Anyone remember him? He had a cooking show and wrote books. Historical food was his specialty - I enjoyed going around the world with his recipes.

Well since I seldom throw anything away, I found that dumpling maker (the white thing in the above photo) right next to the jello salad forms in the back of the bottom cabinet. Look how the dumplings resembles the rising sun. Well, see my banner for that image.

Not like my little ugly handmade purses. (Handmade tasted better though!)

A bull's eye view

2010-02-27T11:54:00.000-08:00

An awful lot talk about what to do where to go for the upcoming b'day (it's two months away) and how could I possibly leave Si?!

Nonsense! I'll take him with us.

No conclusions were made other than I must have this bull.

Pizza Porn

2010-02-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

One of the fun things I discovered last year was Flickr groups, the other is how easy it is to make pizza. That's right! From scratch - the dough, the sauce, the toppings.

Then I discovered that you could put anything on a pizza - basically whatever was in your fridge or pantry.

Then I discovered great bottle sauce and stockpiled it like the end is near.

Then I discovered pre-made pizza crust super easy-to-make pizza dough that is better and cheaper than anything pre-made.

So even though I buy pepperoni, mozzarella, and bottled sauce (not Ragu), I make the dough. It's pretty easy to do if you have a KitchenAid with a dough hook too. What's that you say? No KitchenAid stand alone mixer. Well now you know what to ask for for your birthday, Christmas, or the next time you shop at Target.

I adapted the recipe from someone on the web, but I don't know who. Pisser! I would love to give credit.

Their secret ingredient was white wine. Me? I use sake. The yeastie beasties love sake.

So I'll have to find that recipe and report back.

Mini sourdough loaves

2010-02-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

Last week on the heels of two spectacular bread-making failures, I decided to wing it and make some mini loaves. I am emotional about this size of bread and I explain why in some detail in my notebook.

In the past, I have had great success using Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day style of bread making. I like to use the "dirty" bowl to start a fresh round. This gives the bread a slightly sour flavor. You just add water and yeast, and then some flour. I like to add a little sugar too. It excites the yeast giving one an airier loaf.

So using the bowl that I used to make (the failed) peasant bread (it had rye and whole wheat flour), I threw in some warm water and yeast and watched it foam. Added a teaspoon of vanilla sugar and a couple scoops of white bread flour. Stirred it up and set in a warm spot for a couple hours.

Deflated the whole she-bang and pulled out a grapefruit-size chunk and divided that in half and let it rest.

Resting is very important in bread making. One must realize you are manipulating a live beast - that is the yeast collective.

I kneaded each round a bit and shaped it for the pan. Set aside to rise again while the oven heated.

I have a cold oven, so everything takes longer to cook. This is why I am hesitant to give temperature and times. You know when the bread is done when you take it out of the pan and thump the bottom of the loaf. If the thump is a hollow sound, the bread is done.

Another way to tell if the loaf is done is with an instant read thermometer. It should read 190 to 200 degrees.

Subject to change

2010-01-30T20:53:00.000-08:00

The idea behind Crop Rotation is that bugs follow their passion of certain plants and if you just don't plant the same plants in the same spot every year, then you might not get the problems that bugs bring to those spots. Also there is the issue of "heavy" feeders as opposed to "light" feeders. And it is easier on the soil to rotate these feeders.

What is a heavy feeder? Corn. Most Brassicas (like brussel sprouts and cabbage).

What is a light feeder? And actual contributes to the health of soil? Beans, legumes.

Onions and Umbellifers (like carrots and parsley) have root maggot problems.

Everything in world loves Brassicas.

Solanaceous like tomatos, potatoes, and eggplants have blight and other odd diseases.

Cucurbits have a problem with mold and wilt.

Somehow as a garden planner, I have to weigh the where and the past with each raised bed. Also noting that some plants are perennials meaning they stay year after year.

So this is plan this year.

Kimchee

2010-01-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

When I mentioned to The Mister that I was going to make kimchee, he said, "Oh good! more food for me!"

That is because kimchee can be spicy, and I have to be careful with spicy food - lest my stomach might up and leave town.

So I looked at various recipes hoping to find one where I didn't need anything too exotic and found one where many of the items were optional. All I really needed was red pepper, garlic, and ginger.

Here is what I did.

Washed and cut into chunks one head of cabbage, the Napa variety, fresh-picked. Brined overnight in 3/4 cup of salt and one gallon of water. I used a plate to press down to floating cabbage and placed my garlic smasher rock on top of the plate.

This morning I rinsed the soaking cabbage with cold water and drained.

I boiled one tablespoon of rice flour with 3/4 cup of water. Set aside to cool.

Smashed a diced knob of ginger (peel removed) and five cloves of garlic in mortar and pestle.

In large bowl added rice mixture with garlic/ginger paste, one tablespoon of red pepper powder, one tablespoon red pepper flakes, diced carrots, diced radishes, and gave it a good mix, then I added the cabbage. Stir to combine.

Packed in glass jars and top with salt water (one tablespoon per one cup of water).

Now the trick here is to wait. Store in the fridge for one to two (or two to four) weeks depending on the recipe. One recipe said it's ready for immediate consumption.

The Mister tasted it, as did I. He thought it was hot (spicy), but it didn't seem to register that high with me.

We shall see...

First you show all, then you decide

2010-01-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas Turkey & Stuffing

2009-12-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

After opening up all the presents (Si got lots of catnip!), we sat down to dinner. We had a green salad with real bacon bits, and mashed potatoes with gravy. I forgot the cranberry sauce, but oh well. Notice the platter: He bought that for me when I complained at Thanksgiving that I couldn't blog the whole bird because I didn't have a plate big enough. Incidentally he also bought me a giant roast pan a couple of years ago when I complained I didn't have a big enough pan to cook a turkey in. (Note to self: complain about lack of diamond earrings.)

Mr. & Mrs. Puffy Bear and the disaster that turned into a delight

2009-12-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

Puff pastry is becoming one of my go to's for fun food. Certainly not something one should eat every day, but once and a while...

I love savory biscuits and pies. Ham and cheese anything sounds good to me. So I made Mr & Mrs. Puffy Bear. You can tell the girl from the boy because she has a bow in her hair.

And the boy has a very trendy pointed head hair style.

I also made little ham and cheese turnovers decorated with a lovely flower.

Ack! What a disaster! The cheese leaked out even after my careful pinching at the seams.

Fortunately crispy cheese with puffed pastry is quite the ticket in Yummyland!

German Potato Salad

2009-11-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Lil'chan, I decided to make a hot potato salad for lunch. The moment after I took this photo to your left I realized that I wouldn't be using bacon and perhaps not onion either, but both are good additions.

What I did use was:

3 white potatoes
2 small shiitakes
1 red bell pepper
8 black olives
1 carrot
1 medium fennel
2 Boar's Head all natural beef franks

I cut the ingredients in mouth-sized pieces (except for the mushrooms and fennel which I diced). The potatoes were boiled in salted water for 20 minutes or so. The red peppers and carrots were par boiled separately until done. The disced franks were pan fried with the shiitakes. The fennel wasn't cooked.

When everything was ready, it was mixed in a big bowl with the dressing.

The dressing is a basic oil and vinegar dressing with a tablespoon of mustard. I like Dijon.

The verdict:

Before eating, he said, "I'm not hungry. I just ate breakfast a few hours ago."

During eating, "Hey! This is good! A really nice flavor!"

SCORE !!!

Which Would You Choose?

2009-11-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Full Moon!

The bunny in the grass? (top right) The fish in the kelp? (bottom right) The snake with the stratosphere clouds? (bottom left) Or the artfully displayed ham moon with puffy clouds? (top left)

Hang On Big Guy

2009-10-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

What Does It Look Like?

2009-10-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

I've got three of these puppies, all about eight inches in diameter. And to think I nearly yanked those yellow wilty plants out of the garden a month or so after I transplanted them. Sometimes doing nothing pays off.

Harvest Time

2009-10-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

A sampling of my garden's produce.

Hot Peppers

2009-10-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Gypsies

2009-10-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hail Hail The Gang's All Here

2009-10-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

A wee snack of melon flowers and cheese and ham. And my friends....

Snack For A Saturday

2009-10-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

This is one of those high fiber rye crackers spread with full fat cream cheese - a thin layer mind you - topped with ham fans that are topped with three rectangles of double cream Gouda accompanying two strawberry flowers with one dried apricot, cut in half.

Still Life Snack with Jade Stone

Spicy Pork Meatballs Are God

2009-09-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

So last week I'm driving all over town with my significant other, The Mister, picking up items for our meals for the coming week and stuff for a gift basket I made for work and we made like ten stops and that is very wearing on a person especially in 95 degree heat and we finally got to our last stop which was the grocery store to pick up our protein which is what they call on Top Chef I mean we've always called beef, pork, chicken but now we call it protein like we're foodies or something and the checker and the box boy which is what we used to called them but they're now probably called "associates" so they feel better about being paid $6.80 an hour were very talkative not to us mind you but amongst themselves and this has always annoyed the heck out of me because here I am spending my money or rather his money and lots of it so give us some respect but no and the box boy who was a girl announced she was getting off work in an hour to another associate as she tossed over her shoulder bags of our groceries then we hit a snag a daikon snag the checker I mean associate first didn't know what it was and then couldn't find it on the price list and after five minutes literally I could see steam emit from The Mister's ears blah blah blah it went around to the checker the box boy and another checker and then the manager and then the checker wanted to know why I even *wanted* the daikon.

In the parking lot now:

I can't believe how stupid people are, he said.

And slow, I said.

I thought I was going to .... (trailed off).

Now we go home, I said.

Finally, he said.

[Driving in silence]

[for a long time]

[hitting every darn redlight across town]

[last light]

[turns red just as we get there]

God must hate you, I said.

Oh you know it, he said.

God is punishing you, I said.

He's been punishing me ALL DAY, he said looking at me when he said ALL DAY.

{pause}

{I laugh}

{pause}

What?

Just what makes you think God's a He, I said.

Spicy Meatballs

2/3 lb. ground pork

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper (or more to taste)

1 egg

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce

In a bowl mix all ingredients using a butter knife to cut and fold. Cut, scoop, and turn the bowl a quarter turn. This will keep the meatballs from becoming buckshot. Take your time. When fully mixed, take a teaspoon amount and roll out little balls, place on parchment in a cooking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes.

Iced Tea

2009-09-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

Wild Raspberry Iced Tea!

Rawh! Bento Box Love.

2009-09-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking I might have to change the name of this blog. Or maybe start another new one all about bentos. I've been bit by the bento box love.

Normally I don't eat breakfast. If I'm home, I will start to snack around 11am. However if I'm at work, I generally bring a lunch. [The restaurant food in the town where I work is not the greatest. (No place-naming please.) Yes I like the pizza place, but I am a nibbler. A bite every hour or so, and pizza gets kind of gross if it sits around for 4 hours without a fridge (even with a fridge).] So I usually bring my lunch.

The photo above. Clockwise top left: Roasted panko chicken drumettes and pickled beets, vegetable nommies with hB egg and apricots, fruit, and peanut butter and butter STAR sammich.

Here we have "I'm Late" lunch on Wednesday. This was fun because I tried so hard to be organized. Wok the pork, zuch, and red bell pepper, fresh streamed rice with gomasio, soy egg. and other stuff, but most importantly oranges and chocolate. Guess what I ate first?

Here's my darling - but of course. Bunny bread cut outs with butter and peanut butter and chocolate ears. I ate the ears and put together the bunnies for a sandwich. Dates, apricots, pickles, red bell peppers, and hB egg. Hello Kitty!

Beginnings Of Bento Box Lunches

2009-08-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I can eat tons more carrots if they are shaped like flowers. Here is Day One of Bento Box. I am using a Mr. Bento. 1. Oatmeal 2. Steamed rice with cooked pork (cut from baby back ribs) and carrots, lightly steamed 3. Cut nectarines, dried apricots, fresh blueberries 4. A soy hard boiled egg, one Bubbies pickle, two cherry tomatoes, and a teeny container of soy sauce (has the red top and it's in the shape of a fish).

Note that Mr. Bento is four containers that stand vertically inside a Thermos type container. Either it's a hot meal or a cold meal. I put hot water in the oatmeal right before I left for work. The residual heat kept the rice dish warm.
They call it Mr. Bento for a reason, I told The Mister. He opened his wide mouth like the wide mouth type Thermos that holds four separate containers. I told him - That's a lot of food. He made groper-type mouth movements. What a brat! Day two of Mr. Bento lunch: shown here only two dishes. 1. Teriyaki chicken with Shitake mushrooms and broc 2. (not shown) steamed rice 3. (not shown) plum slices, blueberries, dried apricots 4. hard boiled egg with salt and three cherry tomatoes.
Day three of first week of Bento Box Badness ( and my last day of work for the week ) I used my Hello Kitty Bento Box. Very very cute! Two layers tall with dividers (must not let food touch) and comes with chopsticks too. Bottom level: string cheese, croutons, blueberries, dried apricots. Upper level: cut off the bone teriyaki chicken (Yum!), two cherry tomatoes, and one hard boiled egg (I forgot the salt. boohoo). All served cold.

Lessons learn.

1. Do not mix brassicas with anything in a container. Must be separate because they emit a gas that is not good for appetite.

2. Oatmeal doesn't really work.

3. Slice the pickle.

4. Cold blueberries will make crisp croutons soggy.

5. Don't forget salt or utensils, silly.

6. Bento boxing is fun!

Zucchini Still Life On Granite

2009-08-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Testimonial

2009-08-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

I have let the mocking bird eat my strawberries growing in the half barrel. I knew that he or she was after them from the start although I denied (to myself) that this could be true. This fact became obvious when little green berries never became big red berries and the bird could be seen jumping in and out of berry barrel.

But the birdie didn't know about the rogue plant under the old artichoke, and today I spotted a red dot from afar, and indeed six berries were picked with gusto.

I washed and arranged and clicked. Then we ate.

"Melted in my mouth," he doth proclaimed!

Macro Monday: Hollyhock

2009-08-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hollyhock going to seed - up close and personal.

Join in the fun Macro Monday at Lisa's Chaos.

The Garden

2009-08-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

It's been an odd year for the garden. I have wanted to do a lot of things out there, but didn't. It was too hot, and I was too lazy, and I really did need the sleep. So I didn't get up before the heat of the day and pull and put and plant. I remembered to water most days but that was about the extent of activity, besides harvesting zucchinis.

Yesterday I went out to take a few photos and noticed that finally the tomatoes are ripening. The corn is a little taller. Hollyhocks have gone to seed. Brussel Sprouts are hanging in there, which I can't hardly believe with all this heat! Catnip and Oregano are flowering. And it is August and I still have flowering Sweet Peas. Lovely!

One huge surprise was the tomato raised bed. Originally I planted tomatoes, hot peppers, eggplant, and watermelon. The peppers never grew. It was like they were stunted. The eggplants did fabulously and the bunnies devoured them. The watermelon was always a sick yellow color. I was going to pull up the whole lot saved the tomatoes and start anew, but as I said I need my zzzzz's.

The pepper's decided to flower anyway, so now I have these itty bitty peppers to pick, and the watermelon looks like it turned the corner and wants to grow.

I want to put in a fall planting as I will probably get four more months of suitable weather before the freeze. Anyone out there doing a fall garden?

My Goal This Year

2009-07-27T11:16:00.001-07:00

My goal for this fair., originally uploaded by Judy's Notebook.

was to eat everything I could jam down my throat. After one cheeseburger and one beer, we went back to the sheep dog trails. I ended up standing next to a young cowboy with a dip addiction. Needless to say the cheeseburger flipped with every spit. I had to move along.

Pizza

2009-07-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

I went to another training day for my job today. I don't know about my employers. Maybe they think we are a bunch of idiots. And maybe we are (I am). I've just been watering the garden for about an hour. Ha Ha!

Well no matter. I love pizza. And when I make pizza, everybody loves me. Everybody as in the dude who eats my pizza. And you know what? Pizza is good for you. You can put a scoop of whole wheat flour in the dough. That's good for you. Tomatoes are good. Cheese is good too. Calcium ladies. Yeah baby! I always put lots of veggies like bell pepper and zucchinis. And only the freshest leftovers like steak and deli sliced ham from my deli slicer.

But the deal is - when pizza is ready to eat, the camera, the very idea of a camera, goes straight out the window. Don't ask me why? Well you already know. It's time to eat! Not take pictures!

Committing To Your Relationship

2009-07-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while you meet someone special and you want to fully commit yourself to them, and your partnership.

Such is the case with sprouts.

You must pay attention to them three times a day. That means rinse with cold water and drain, morning, noon, and night.

The other thing that is important is the quality of the seed itself. I recommend organic because if there was ever a need to put something "pure" in your body, it would be a sprouted seed.

So let's back up a bit. The above photo shows my set up. Alicia was telling me how her middle child likes sprouts more than lettuce, and I said "Super easy to do yourself!"

All you need is a jar and some seed. Alfalfa seed is very popular, cheap, and easy. But I like brassicas like broccoli and cabbage. I also love love love radish. And onion is quite tasty too.

Some time ago a study was done that proved a chemical in broccoli killed cancer cells and in broccoli sprouts, that chemical worked even better. So now broccoli seed are too expensive. Seriously I'm not spending ten bucks for a bag of sprouting seed.

I have a cap that fits on my jar that is green and has holes in it. This is handy but not necessary. I need the wire screen mesh because when I rinse some seeds come thru the holes.

Traditionally I would use a couple of layers of cheese cloth and a rubber band over the top. Keep in mind, ventilation is important. As is rinsing. You must rinse three times a day! And because the jar sits in a cupboard in the dark, it is very easy to forget about it.

At some point the jar comes out of the cupboard to sit in daylight so the sprouts get green and after that, the hull are rinsed away. Now it's time to chill them in the fridge and enjoy. Read the directions below.

The Raspberry

2009-06-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's the luck of the draw, the throw of the dice, or the automatic focus, and at least one flower is in definite detail. Giving me the raspberry. The others look like blind gropers hiding in their coral reef.

Speaking of coral: these six foxgloves ("Giant six pack of annual color for only $4.49!!!" from my local nursery) claimed to be Apricot in color. And yes I see a little apricot when the buds are immature,

but in full bloom, they look decidedly pink. Okay maybe a seashell pink but definitely not an apricot color. Good thing it doesn't matter.

Also a good thing that I knew they weren't annuals too.

Foxgloves - so aptly named.

Perfect Garden Progress

2009-06-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

We do not live in a perfect world,* as we all know. Dams break. Earthquakes shake. You plant a seed and it does not grow. Such is life.

I am a gardener. I've been doing this for many years. Just the other day I was buying seed at my hometown nursery and the young woman taking my money was quite concern that I was purchasing lettuce seed. She instructed me to be sure to plant in a cool area (as if there is a cool area where I live right about now). Perhaps she meant shady? Whatever.

When she did this, I took a real good look at her. Maybe 19 years old, I surmised. ~whippersnapper~ I thought. I've been gardening since before you were born. But I caught myself because lately I've been around a few 80 somethings, and the things that come out of their mouths. Honestly! Just because you made it to 8 decades does not mean you can be mean, rude, and insensitive. But I digress.

My garden is a work in progress. Which is a nice way of saying if the plant dies, I rip it out and plant something else. But why does it die? Sometimes that is a good thing to know. Because if gophers are pulling down every dadgum plant, re-planting is like kicking yourself in the head. Believe me, I know.

This is why I use Raised Beds (RB). Four by six feet in size using one inch thick, one foot wide redwood planks with hardware cloth stapled to the bottom. Hardware cloth is thicker wire and closer together than chicken wire. Chicken wire rots too fast too.

Sometimes the varmint is an overland creature like a squirrel. If so I feel your pain. And short of shooting them dead with a rifle (and even that doesn't work because more move in) the only method that I've found to work is to build a cage around the entire raised bed. Plans for such can be found at my Flickr site at JudysNotebook blog.

This year I bought two six packs of pepper, a four pack of eggplant, six pack of tomatoes, blah blah blah. Below is a RB with tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

The tomatoes went gang busters, the peppers are practically the same size as when I bought them, and the eggplants grew and blossomed and got chomped by bunnies. Cute little bunnies! Actually some of these cottontails are huge. My guess is they're eating for ten, if ya know what I mean.

Eggplant is their fave and I'm done with it. The plants were amazing withstanding sporadic attacks and put out new growth. But now they've been chewed to the stalk. I bet tomorrow all I'll see is bare ground.

That's fine because I'm pulling up both the peppers and the remaining eggplants, amending the soil, and planting something different.

*Originally I left out the "not" in this sentence.

Solstice Cheddar Buns with Tapenade

2009-06-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

Left to right top row: Mixed, Risen

Bottom row: Done as fluffy rolls, Toasted with tapenade

Recipe: adapted from one cool book.

So first you grate some fab cheese with a box grater. I grated about 1 and 1/2 cups. That done and it's the biggest part of work of the whole shebang.

Get a container that can hold a mess of dough. Pour 1 and 1/2 cups of good quality water that is warmed to about 110 degrees. Later on I will show you how to determine this without a thermometer.

1 & 3/4 teaspoon dry yeast.

1 & 3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Stir.

ADD CHEESE. Add flour. 2 cups at first. Unbleached White 1/2 cup at a time. Stir stir stir. One more cup Unbl. White in increments. Stir (Mixed in picture above). Let sit two hours.

Two hours later (Risen in picture above). Pull dough out of bowl and put on a floured board. Cut in three equal parts, and make each cut three again, to make into nine parts total. Roll nicely into balls and place on floured pan.

Let rest and rise for twenty minutes.

Fire oven.

When dough is risen a bit and the oven is hot, cut buns with cooking shears in a cross as noted in pictures. And cook for an hour. Can be served as is (Done as fluffy rolls in picture above). Or split and toasted (Toasted with tapenade in picture above).

Homemade Tapenade (also adapted from this cookbook)

Black olives

Capers

Olive Oil (2 T)

Oregano

Garlic

Blenderized. Chilled. The Best on Cheese Buns.

Lunch Today - Homemade Pizza

2009-06-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hollyhocks - The Purple Variety

2009-06-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hollyhocks

2009-06-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

It's the year of the hollyhock for me. After years and years of trying and having some success out at the old ranch, at least before the squirrels discovered how tasty they were, I've now have four plants in the back and two in the front. I like the verticalness of them.

The double flower (pictured above) looks quite pretty, but it does not hold its flower for long. So it looks like wads of tissues have been used and then thrown under the plant. Not pretty.

The single flower (pictured below) is a gypsy. I think they revert to white singles if they self sow. It is taking up space in a raised bed which normally would bug me because I covet my vegetable space, but this year I'm all "live and let live."*

Also in this picture is my clothesline newly installed. It is retractable, even removable. The red thing on the line is a cap you use to cover the hole when the clothesline is removed. Some engineer was doing his job that day.

*Except for inside the house spiders. They receive the death sentence.

Check Out My Artichokes

2009-05-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

I hope you like pictures of artichokes because I have a boatload today. It's their second year in this garden. When I moved from the old ranch house to the new ranch house, I dug up most everything I had planted. Some of the chokes were for eating, so they were transplanted into raised beds. Other chokes were planted around the old house were definitely not for eating. Who knows what was in that old soil. I always play it safe when it comes to food. Seriously after years of trying to eat organic food and then turn around and have a Micky D burger or an arsenic artichoke. It's not happening.

Anyhoot.

I have four plants in the raised beds and multiples of gypsies. Three of the four have decided to gift me with an abundant crop, but my problem, and it's always something, is that I kind of want to let them bloom. Sure I'd like to eat them too. I love artichokes. Hot. Cold. With Butter. With Mayo. Grilled. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

But with this heat we've been having, I think they may have already gone to seed. And let's face it, artichokes are a thistle.

One plant is about six feet tall. That's the first photo. It was the best tasting last year. Hands down. Close up of one of its chokes is the second photo.

The third photo is the choke with meaty leaves. And the four photo is the choke that has a real dense head. I know, you'd think they would all be the same. But they are each unique.

Notice my beautiful steamer on the porch. I can't believe The Mister picked it out all my himself. Some B-days he does good. Artichoke green stripes!

Fry Pan Portrait

2009-05-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

One of the things I bought for myself for my birthday is this charming eight inch fry pan. I threw my other one away about a month ago. It had that non-stick coating that was flaking up. That's not a good thing to eat, so into the trash it went, followed by heavy hints of wanting a copper all clad.

Well, short of writing down the item number with a picture attached, there was no way The Mister would get the hint. He got me the soapstone pan and mugs instead because he's always wanted soapstone cooking devices.

Although to his credit, he did get me a steamer - a lounge chair that might have been on the Titanic.

So I got this lovely pan that fries an egg perfectly and those Master & Commander glasses that are seriously heavy. (I'm now developing wrist muscles.) I must say I really scored this B-day!

The First Snake Of The Season

2009-05-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

I've seen a number of snakes in the road thus far, but this is the first snake in the garden this season. With all the lizards I knew to be cautious of snakes, and now with the heat I was poised with my camera, on alert, and ready to attack. Taking pictures, that is.
Sure enough most came out blurry. Of course the snake was freaking out with me running around jamming a camera in his face. I finally turned my back and took a picture of the moon, and when I turned back around to see where he went, he was gone.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2009-04-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

Excellent fudge frosting chocolate cake with Haagan-Dazs vanilla ice cream!

Excellent Margarita!

Order Up!

2009-04-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

My birthday is just around the corner, and I must say I'm getting to like them these days. I took a week off from work.

Judy's Birthday Week!

You know the funny about taking vacation is everyone wants to know where you are going. Since I'm not going anywhere, I plan to make up a different story for each person that asks.

I'll steal from the web, of course. "I had fabulous time in Cancun! Thanks for asking!" Um, then why aren't you tan? "Zinc oxide, you silly bean!" OR "Oh Yeah Baby! The pubs in Thailand are to kill for!" Really? I heard they serve rat, cat, or bat. "It's all in the spices, Darling!"

Just keeping it real, people. Really fake!

What really happened last week: I was putting in an order to Williams-Sonoma because I gots to have me these Master & Commander wine glasses. And I have been wanting a deli slicer forever. So on the off hand chance The Mister might be giving me these things, I wandered out to the kitchen and asks him.

"Oh Damn!" He said. (yay! I smile to myself.) "It's supposed to come on Thursday." (yay! I'll get before my b-day!) "How do you do that?" He asked. Me: "I don't know." (yay! I am totally gifted!)

So happy Sunday (third day into my vacation) I make a Pastrami Sandwich on Sourdough Rye with Dill Pickles (and plenty of Dijon mustard). Yes I used my new deli slicer with 30 degree tilt for gravity feed to cut the hunk of Pastrami, and then I thinly sliced up a Filet Minon (cooked yesterday) for his sandwich.

This is my lunchbox (that I take to work.) (I know I act like an eleven year old.) (So Be It!)

with my sandwich, and that's lime juice in the wine glass, in case you were wondering.

And this is...

My fantastic deli slicer.

Friendly Fellow

2009-04-17T17:11:00.001-07:00

gold lizard, originally uploaded by Judy's Notebook.

Feel like shaking his hand. So nice to meet you, Mr. GoldLizard.

He lives in the chard and artichoke bed with a couple of his closest push-up buddies.

Deep Fryer Madness

2009-03-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

I know it's not PC. I know it's not good for me. I know it's the bane of modern life.
But I has me a deep fryer! It's my new purchase and I love it!

The first time I used it I was shakin' Hot oil is sooooooo dangerous. But now, after three tries, I'm an old pro. Well, sort of. I'm getting better anyway. Tempura shitakes tonight. (no pic, sorry I just forgot, maybe cuz of the SAKE!)

Honestly if you are going to eat raw fish, I suggest Sake. If you are going eat deep fried thinly sliced veggies, Sake. And if you are going to eat seaweed in any form, I strongly recommend Sake!

Potstickers

2009-03-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Classic "what were you thinking" move. I made a pork roast the other day, a tenderloin. Just how much pork can one person eat. I'll tell you not as much as your eyes think.

So I chopped up some veggies and pork and made these charming little potstickers. I like them with mustard.

Worm Poop (It's My New Banner!)

2009-03-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

After the recent rains, there are zillions (only a slight exaggeration) of these bumpy little piles. I read in Wiki that they are casts "faeces casts," which I interpreted to be poop. Set me right if I'm wrong.

We also have tons of red worms out here too. I looked for Wiki entry but found none. The Google search indicates red worms are big business for composting, and when I looked at some images to share, my stomach kind of went "Close window quickly!"

Even though red worms (wigglers) are cute in their own way, and I've saved scores of them from the birds after a storm (Yes, by picking them up off the cement and placing them on the dirt), looking at a bucket full of worms, well, not good right now.

First Decision Of The Day

2009-02-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

Usually begins with what cup do I want my coffee in, or what shall I be today? A cow, a horse, a sheep, or a pig? Whoa Nellie for those of you who think I have a self-esteem problem. As a matter of fact, I think quite highly of myself. I blog after all. More than one too. And what's the big deal of starting your day as an animal? (psst you already do.)

These mugs represent my country collection of perfection. I pick the horse when I have gallop through the day, often drinking only one mug of super-charged jet fuel. I like the pig on days like today - cloudy and cold yet happy and mellow. The cow, well being a Taurus, I happen to think cows are pretty darn neat. And having lived on a cattle ranch, I know there is something to Larson's cartoon of cows playing doorbell ditch on the farmer.

The Blue Sheep is reserved for special days when I stay home and play with my cat. Si is a water sheep in Chinese astrology.

As you can see, these cups are copyrighted. Little faces and skinny legs are Art. Know that.

Oink! It's time to fry up some bacon.

Valentine's Day Dinner

2009-02-15T02:36:00.000-08:00

Chicken Pot Pie

I use what I have around, but usually potatoes, carrots, leafy greens work good and are healthy. On your right (from back to front) on the cutting board are tri-color carrots (one orange, one purple, one white, amazing what they can grow these days), a peeled Yukon gold potato, a slice of yellow bell pepper, a peeled baby turnip, and four small leaves of rainbow chard, which are from my garden. I chopped them all up in bite size pieces and put them into a stoneware baking dish that is about the size of a soup bowl that you might get at a restaurant.

Below right is the easy part. Add one jar of chicken gravy. Oh yeah, I also chunked a cooked chicken breast and added it to the vegetables. It might not seem like enough gravy, but as it

heats up, the gravy get more liquid-y. (Spellchecker didn't give me a problem with liquid-y.)

Now I defrosted one sheet of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry and placed it on the pie (above left) and pinched it all around, and then I got creative and cut out little stars and trees and free-formed the crescent moon. With a touch of egg whites, I applied them all and coated the whole surface.

Baked at 350 degrees until golden brown. It should look kind of like the last picture. This took about 45 minutes.

This was a signature dish for me for years. I used to make my own gravy and pastry too. I have to admit the gravy part was always the wild card, so I decided the jar stuff is just fine and who needs the anxiety. The pastry part though was really fun and easy, and it usually tasted better than Pepperidge Farm, but if you don't have those techniques down, you can make a perfectly acceptable pot pie this way.

And nothing says I Love You, Honey like home cooked meal.

Over Wintering Sunflower Macro Monday

2009-02-09T11:28:00.000-08:00

The bird situation in the backyard is active and crowded. The neighbors feed the birds, and I grew a dozen sunflowers and left most the seed heads to the birds. They have cover, and the sprinklers pond water in the front yard.

Doing the Lisa thing this Marco Monday.

California Cheese Burger

2009-02-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

California Sourdough Bread (toasted). Fresh Sirloin Ground Round (grilled). Havarti Cheese (melted on the burger). Bubbie Pickles (sliced length-wise). Best Foods Mayo (real). Dijon Mustard (Grey Poupon).

Local Pale Ale (Whatever).

Sunday Lunch.

Super Bowl Saturday

2009-02-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

My kind of salad loaded with pine nuts and sesame seeds.

A Chicken In Every Pot

2009-01-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

I bought a whole frozen chicken from the local meat company (that will also process wild kill like boars and deers) the other day. And it defrosted in the fridge this week whilst I was too busy at work to do anything with it anyway.

So today I got out the old hacking knife and scissors and made the bird into pieces. Wings, thighs, and backbone found their way to stock pot. Legs and double breast were roasted.

All cooked now with a rack of baby backs as well. I'm deep into protein this week.

What to do with the stock, I wonder. Since my guy has dietary restrictions, as in no meat stock, it's all mine. I hope it gelatinizes. I love jellied stock. When that happens, I feel like I'm eating just plain goodness!

Well I'm off to hunt for a few good recipes of comfort food. Perhaps chicken and dumplings.

Perhaps homemade noodle soup. Perhaps mashed potatoes and groovy gravy.

Mashed Potato Chicken Pot Pie

2009-01-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

For lunch today I decided to make these little pot pies. I have a set of six little ramekins purchased at the kitchen store awhile back. They are about the size for creme brule.

This is sort of a Shepard's pie interpretation. First I make the mashed potatoes and set aside. I finely dice shallots, celery, and carrots, and saute them in butter. Add cubed cooked chicken that was leftover from our chicken dinner the night before.

Next I assemble the pot pies. I add some meat and vegetable mixture to each ramekin, filling it up about halfway. To each ramekin I add a tablespoon of jar chicken gravy.

Now I get a Ziploc or such large baggie and scoop in a good amount of mashed potato. Snip off a corner and extrude the potatoes in a way where each dish will have little peaky peaks that will get golden brown. Add finely grated Parmesan to the top.

Cook in a dish that will collect any overflow at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes.

A small tasty bite for lunch.

Two Cadillacs On The Rocks No Salt

2009-01-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

Chips and salsa too. I love Mexican food, even the Americanized version, all cheesy and gooey. However I must say a good fish taco on a sunny day with warm white sand between my toes can make me twirl.

Miso Soup

2009-01-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

I followed a recipe from epicurious.com and added wakame. The end result was quite a bit whiter than what I'm use to at the restaurant. So I've decided to try again using red miso and firmer tofu.

Christmas Dinner

2008-12-28T09:51:00.000-08:00

For Christmas dinner this year I made individual Beef Wellingtons. I had three very small grass-fed filet mignons and two high quality larger filet mignons. I didn't use any foie gras as most traditional recipes required. I used baby bella and shiitake mushrooms. The puff pastry was pre-made.

All in all it came out quite good. Now I have to come up with something even better for new year's eve and day.

Udon Noodle Love

2008-12-14T14:40:00.001-08:00

Udon Noodle Soup, originally uploaded by Judy's Notebook.

We went to my favorite Japanese restaurant yesterday. Every time I took a bite of Udon noodle, I would say to him, "Udon noodle love." I'm sure the Sake had nothing to do with it.

Italian Wine Labels

2008-12-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

I came across a brown paper bag with the words “Italian Wine Labels” written on it. Inside the bag there were maybe two dozen wine labels that were removed from the bottle. I was, for some reason, obsessed with this activity about 10 to 12 years ago. So I kept them all these years. Not surprising. I’m quite a pack rat.

My first thought was do something crafty for Christmas. Make them into ornaments. They are mostly 3 by 4 inch rectangles of paper. I thought I might glue them to balsa wood and hang them with a piece of ribbon.

When I mentioned my find and the potential craft, he immediately said scan them and make wrapping paper. What a crafty idea! At the very least it would preserve them as an image that can be reprinted forever.

In Memory Of Uncle Martin

2008-12-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

I like pasta so much that I must have some Italian blood in me. I made spaghetti for lunch and it was so fulfilling. I'm not much of a big breakfast eater, so around lunchtime, I'm ready to stuff my face. I need something substantial when the weather gets chilly too.

Plus it helps to promote memories. Ah sweet memories... About six years ago I went on a solo road trip to northern California. At one point I ended up in Occidental and there was an Italian restaurant named Negri's. It was just so Italian and so used to serving huge groups of people, and I was all alone and it was in the off hours so no one was there and the entire staff came out to greet me, seat me, and chat. Like a big Italian hug.