Vegetable Wonton Soup

While goofing off with a friend online, I made a crack about Good Eats, and came to find that she was completely unfamiliar with it. While going about my way to right this travesty, I made the obvious first stop at the Food Network website. The first video that played (and still is, as of posting) was about wontons, which got me interested in making them, which worked out nicely as a friend had requested that I make something Chinese. They were very, very easy to make, fun to do, and delicious. A simple chicken broth soup made an excellent vessel for the vessels. And I've got enough stuff to make about twenty more!

Chutney Rum Chicken

When in Nashville I made a point to stop by the Farmer's Market and the international supply store there-in. My elder brother spotted some Mango Chutney that caught his eye, and upon returning and having it sit around for a while, we deemed it high time to put it to use. After wading through recipes for chutney itself, I found one that caught my eye - and it included Rum. I was sold. I had some spinach couscous that hadn't seen any attention in a while, and I felt that it would make the most appropriate base for this dish. And the green beans are always a favorite. Can't really go wrong there. And bread. Can't go wrong with bread. Write that down.

More Rum, please.

Seedlings!

I planted some herbs last weekend, which I believe I have mentioned, and they are starting to come up! Let's have a look, shall we?



Pot 3 has a little bit of growth, and I can't remember what's in it. Oregano, perhaps.



Pot 2 seems to be showing the most growth, and I believe it to be Basil, which tends to be pretty hardy around here.



Pot 4 has a single seedling popping up, who will hopefully be joined by friends soon.



The jar has quite a bit of activity for its limited space. Chives, I believe.



The peppermint seems to be enjoying life in this soil a lot more than the spearmint, but I'm okay with that.



The ground crops seems to be making some headway, as well.

Let's hope these fellows do not interfere.

Greasy P

I had a healthy (hah!) selection of bacon grease left from last night's Carbonara, and Daniel suggested that it be put to use as a pasta sauce. It seemed a reasonable enough request to me. I spoke with another friend about the virtues of bacon grease, and she suggested using it to sauté cabbage. I decided that both ideas had merit, and split the grease between a pot and a pan, along with some minced garlic. The pot received the cabbage, and the pan received Onions and Bell Peppers (a combination not to be trifled with) and later Shiitake Mushrooms (not to be truffled with). I chose Penne Regatta and tossed them together, and topped each plate with fresh rosemary (that I was wearing in my shirt buttons, if any of you saw me today) and grated Asiago cheese.



My brother requested that I make brownies for desert, and I whipped up a variation of a recipe I've been using for a while, but being that I was out of walnuts, I had to opt for almonds. Toasted, of course. The were also treated to about a cup of chocolate chips, half a cup of coffee, and a fourth a cup of Crème de Menthe (I'm a big fan of mint chocolate. I used to eat Andes mints constantly, and my family got them for me as a gift on every gift giving occasion. ) They came out better than I expected, and a little slathering of Georgia's Harrowing Adventure Icing (the final dose of it) could do nothing but help. A sprinkling of almonds on top finished them off, and the best way to enjoy brownies is, of course, with ice cream. I should have put a mint leaf in the picture.

Engrish Cookies

I stumbled across the leftovers of a going away party for someone that worked somewhere in the same department as me, and I found quite a selection of individually wrapped cookies with Chinese characters and a little splash of English on the wrappers. One can always count on this to be at least mildly amusing.



"The gourmet series has been created by the new art of bakery expert. The splendid snack is the excellent food for your health. Enjoy nice time by specially selection of high quality"

Alla Carbonara

I asked a friend what I should make for dinner some time ago, and she suggested Pasta Alla Carbonara. I wrote it down on the week's menu, but ended up doing something else that night, and it has been put off ever since. Tonight, finally, that changed. I had a friend over whom until this evening I've only had short interactions with. Ryan, a philosophy student, whom I spotted at the coffee shop a dozen times and finally decided to talk to one day. I always stop and hand off whatever baked goods I have on hand when I see him, but finally the last time around I didn't have anything, and told him about the fiesta weekend I had planned, and he said "Man, I need to come eat over there." It's true. He's going back home to Austin tomorrow, so it was now or never. So, we had a Spinach Salad with a dressing I made up, sort of a Balsamic Vinegar and Toasted Sesame Oil and some fresh herbs. On to the pasta: I was a little cautious about how this would turn out, but I'm not sure why. You can't really go wrong with bacon and eggs. I'd like to try it with a more proper cured meat, if I can find a way to procure some. I've spent way too long writing this and being distracted, and have lost the steam. Let's wind it down, shall we?

Days go by

I feel like I haven't slept at home for a long time, though I'm pretty sure it's only been a day or two. But I haven't been home to water my plants, and I hope they're not doing too bad. I got some herb seeds and little planters over the weekend, you see, and I'm hoping to get a little garden going, so I can have access to the fresh herbs I need. Maybe I'll take a picture of them once they start sprouting. I might also transplant some herbs from a friend's garden if we can find the time to do so. I also haven't cooked anything in days...but the only thing I want right now is a PBJ.

Wonky Schedule

Sunday Evening:
10:00pm - 9:30am: Age of Booty & PixelJunk Monsters
9:30am -
4:00pm - 5:00pm : Business Calculus II Final Exam
5:00pm - 5:30pm : Accompany Daniel to Kroger. Purchase two bottles of Wine at nearby liquor store.
5:30pm - 6:00pm : Visit Snackbar for first time. Atmosphere > Food Quality. Unacceptable. Give free Galliano, though. First time. Delicious. Need more.
6:00pm - 7:00pm : Coffee Shop Antics
7:00pm - 8:30pm : Ajax, waiting for family. Meet David Swider. Cannot hate him as intended, due to mutual disdain for Taylor's attitude. Brothers, Sarah, and Alexis arrive. Burgers enjoyed. Run into Mary Beth and Cohorts.
8:30pm - 11:00pm : Run Burger to Taylor. Requests we return for fries. Return trip already planned. Hung out with Mary Beth and friends. Go to McDonald's, Burger King, and considered Wendy's for fries. Wendy's deemed not worth the detour.
11:00pm - 6:00am : Wine and PixelJunk Monsters
6:00am - 1:00pm : Sleep
1:00pm - 2:00pm : Lunch - Deli News
2:00pm - 2:20pm : Study for Accounting Final
2:30pm - 2:50pm : Read Watchmen
3:00pm - 4:00pm : Work
4:00pm - 6:00pm : Accounting Final Exam
6:00pm - 9:00pm : Installations on Erin's new laptop, attempted repairs to old.
9:00pm - 10:00pm : Ebay & Packaging. Never made dinner for Dustin. Bad brother.
10:00pm - 11:00pm : Late Night Breakfast Party at the Johnson Commons
11:00pm - 11:30pm : More Packaging
11:30am - 3:00am : Hunting for song that won't leave head. Multiple Unrelated Discoveries. Success at last.
3:00am - 7:17am : Power loss during sleep. Alarm failure. Roused Naturally
7:17am - 7:36am : Contemplating best method of transport during deluge. Fell asleep again. Woke up. Resorted to bicycle w/ heavy raincoat.
7:36am - 7:45am : Biked to class. Pants soaked through, upper body perfectly dry.
7:45am - 8:00am : Breakfast bars
8:00am - 10:00am : Production and Delivery Final Exam
10:00am - 10:15am : Free coffee at Starbucks. Finally left World of Warcraft Gift Passes on counter. Hehe!
10:15am - 11:50am : Contacted by fellow classmate to study for Real Estate Exam. Proceed to Mezzanine D.
11:50am - Present : Cohort departs for lunch. Record activities on blog. Need to take parcels to post office. No desire to brave weather.

Where is the rising sun? Where is the break of dawn?

The new day brought the hours necessary for the pie to solidify, and here we have the beautiful finished product.



The caramel might have flowed a little better if there had been more of it, but I was scraping the bottom of the pan. That doesn't make it any less delicious, though.

Tres de Mayo

My mother came in to town for the weekend to celebrate her birthday, along with my elder brother's birthday. I felt it would be most appropriate to cook something for them, and it all seemed to fall in place when I got an e-mail from Recipezaar about Cinco De Mayo dishes. We all have a bit of a fancy for Mexican food, and my mother is particularly fond of Margaritas, so I decided to fix up a few things. She's also really into turtles, so while I was joking with Chris about making something and telling her it had turtles in it, I was also looking for recipes and stumbled across a little gem. So, here was the evening's menu:

• Flour Tortillas


• Margaritas


• Steak Fajitas


• Turtle Ice Cream Pie

I began by starting on the crust of the pie, and accidentally used all the pecans due to missing little indicators on the recipe. Luckily, I had some crushed pecans dormant in the pantry that came into play later. The pie took an immense amount of time to craft, which I had not counted on, and it is still incomplete to this moment. I worked on it intermittently throughout the evening, as only bits of the work can be done at a time, in between waiting for the different layers to thaw. I moved on to the Flour Tortillas, which were a lot of fun to make. The dough was incredibly simple, though I was a little concerned about making it in a food processor without one of those plastic blades. I used the metal blade, anyway, and came out with a bunch of tiny, cute little balls of dough that I was then able to roll together to make properly sized balls that eventually got flattened into tortillas.


I chose to use thin cut chuck steak as opposed to the top sirloin simply because I did not want to deal with flattening the steak. This saved me some time and also doubled the amount of meat available due to the way it was packaged. I salted it as I do with all of my meats and got to work on the sauce, which was also doubled, while I set forth Dustin on the vegetables. One everything was in strips I dropped them into respective pans and let them develop that most heavenly of scents. There are few fragrances known to man that can be so purely pleasing as the smell of sautéing onions and bell peppers. I had a few mushrooms leftover from previous dishes that I decided to sauté in as well. That all came together very quickly. Incredibly simple, incredibly pleasing. I thought that I would be making too much, but by the time I made it back for seconds, there were none to be had.


I'd made margaritas the previous night(for the first time ever!), and had used up the majority of my Cointreau then, and didn't have enough for the proper measurements for a single glass this evening...but it turned out to be more of a crowd pleaser than the original recipe. I suppose I'll be making them like this from now on. I really only made it to accompany the pictures, and in the end I chose to use a picture that didn't have it present. I drank it anyway, of course!


Finally, back to this pie. It was a lot of fun to make, and every ingredient is delicious on its own. The Caramel is wonderful (though mom poured it out while cleaning the dishes and I had to remake it).
The Ganache was incredible (though I made it out of a bar of bittersweet chocolate + 1.5 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips), and you just can't go wrong with Vanilla Bean ice cream. It should be set up some time tomorrow, and you can poop your pants over it then. Ta-ta.

Poestry Exchange (04-29-09)

"Stir.
Wisping winds dance overhead and a distant sound entices those fit for the journey.
I'm a step behind and I've no desire to pull you back,
  I'm just a little jealous of all the beauty I can see where you step.
I don't want to wake you,
  oh no, quit the opposite -
my spirit burns to be with you,
  there,
   active but still,
    hazy but real."
- Nicholas Doyle, 2009

"Blend. 

 Memories? 

  Yes, from the future they linger over your being like taunting screaming spirits. 

But their wail fucking pleasant cuts through your peripheral and you 

 sit 

 stand 

 jump 

   into the breath of each blasted being.

Let their warmth 

 embrace 

 splinter 

all hint of pessimism

 and your eyes will glow like they were meant to by some omniscient being, 

  be that a holy or unholy god."

 - Alex Brown, 2009

"Even in my dreaming state I sense you. 

Always just beyond sight, but I know you are there. 

Your presence is unmistakable, and so I call out to you. 

Will you not answer so that I know you are there? 

You were here with me once before, and yet I turned to find you gone. 

Reality is blurred, and I wonder if you were ever really there. 

Walk with me for a while and share with me these experiences that you crave. 

Beauty such as this was meant to be seen by two kindred spirits. 

Take in the sweet perfume that intoxicates your every fiber of being. 

The scent lingers with you until it's all that remains. 

Slowly the sun rises, and my eyes flutter open, trying to adjust. 

In my half awakened state I search the room, but you are not there. 

Smiling, I close my eyes and lay back down upon my pillow. 

I know where you are waiting." 

- Andrea Senter, 2009

Time Tah Plundeeeerrrrrr!

I became aware a short time ago that one could download (for free) games that another person has paid for on their Playstation Network account by simply signing into the account on their PS3. I did this on Friday with a friend's account in order to get PixelJunk Monsters, which is absolutely amazing. It also has a wonderfully dynamic and relaxing soundtrack, which I need to get my hands on. I also found that he had quite a few other games laying around, one of which was Age of Booty, of which I am also quite the fan. It sort of reminds me of the board games Dread Pirate, which kind of sucks, and Pirateer, which kind of rules (and has lead to our usage of the term "Pirateer Rules", meaning that cheating in permitted in whatever event is deemed to have Pirateer Rules in effect). We've taken to calling the game "Shipwreckers 2", in honor of a wonderfully silly little Playstation game that we had happened to play independently of each other (which is strange, because no one seems to know what it is).

Anyway, I wanted this to dovetail into my next post, but then I remembered that I wrote the poetry while I was trying to sleep, and I didn't sleep at all on Friday night. We found out that Pixeljunk Monsters had a two player mode and played it until 9:00am. Good times, let me tell you. Good times.