bread

I've been trying out a bread recipe that requires no kneading. This is the first loaf that turned out edible. Now I have to figure out how to make it beautiful. 

herb + spinach + olive = jam?

When I was least expecting it, this book appearred to me for only $2.99. Its contents looked amazing so I snatched it right up. Ever since I've planned each grocery trip around a recipe.

Tonight I made this. It's a herb, spinach and olive "jam." I'm not sure I would call it a jam. It is one of the best things I have ever eaten or made in my life. And that's saying something.

Here's the recipe for you:

Here's the process of cooking it into a "jam:"

And here's the finished result:

I recommend making this for yourself. Incredibly flavorful and undeniably healthy.

The Trials of Truffle Making

I don't know why, but I felt like making truffles. I don't even like chocolate. I thought it would be fun, though. I like their small size, and I came across a recipe that sounded simple and interesting: truffles with lime and honey. I also liked that I could hand them out to many people, so the work seemed worthwhile.

My biggest lesson learned: CHOP UP THE CHOCOLATE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. I didn't do this - I left it in medium sized chunks, and I certainly paid for this mistake. Let's take a look...


Here's the butter.




Here's the chocolate. Note the size of the pieces. DO NOT DO THIS. MAKE THEM MUCH SMALLER.



The lime zest was added to some creme fraiche, and the lime juice was added to some honey.




I had to pound the chocolate, and it still wouldn't get smooth. I phoned a friend for help. I wasn't sure if putting it in the microwave would ruin it, so I asked, and she thought it would be fine. It worked!



This is what went into the fridge. While it chilled, I went to the grocery store to buy a pastry bag and No. 9 tip. They didn't have either, so I went to a fancy cookware store (Sur La Table) and bought a pastry bag and No. 10 tip. They didn't have a 9.



My first job was as a cake decorator at an ice cream shop, so I was excited to use the pastry bag. When I took the chocolate out of the fridge, though, disaster! It was very hard.



So back in the microwave it went. I tried to be neat and tidy as I made these truffles, so I wrapped the softened chocolate with plastic wrap before putting it in the pastry bag.



Sure enough, the chunks of chocolate stopped me in my path again. There were blocks of chocolate in the bag, and they clogged the No. 10 tip. I tried to use a chopstick to the chunk out. But then there was another one. And another one. Finally, I pulled out the chocolate and removed the No. 10 tip. Using just the bag was better, but pretty much every truffle now has a little hard block of chocolate in it.




And here is the final mess. Success! Now they are chilling again, and I will dust them with cocoa powder, sugar, and lime zest later tonight.



Here they are close up. Not very attractive, are they?

last produce of the season - from the garden

I posted the first produce of the season, so here's the last. Brussels sprouts!

It's August! Finally!

We have an experimental garden this summer. "Experimental" because I've never gardened in Minnesota before, so I'm making all sorts of trial-and-error mistakes. We've had these huge, winding cucumber plants for weeks and I just hadn't seen any cucumbers yet. I was being so patient and watering dilligently. Underneath all those leaves, though, were two HUGE cukes hiding from visibility. I just cut them this morning. I was so shocked to see them nestled to the ground under the dark canopy of scratchy cucumber leaves. Oh my gosh, I'm such a happy mama right now.

We've been getting these banana peppers for awhile now, and the cherry tomatoes are to die for. It's pretty good considering it's "experimental," and considering I've only ever gardened in Texas and El Salvador before.

first produce of the season from the garden

Eliot's sculpture

I haven't had much brain space for creativity lately, but I spend a lot of time with creative kids. This is Eliot's Wednesday morning sculpture. He's 3.

bubbling oil

This is not at all what I thought it would be, but I like the result. I made a video of bubbling vegetable oil with my cell phone.