One More Detour on the Writing Road

Last weekend pre-Turkey Day, so the grocery store was packed. Bought pumpkin and stuffing mix, along with leeks and fennel for the cast-iron roast chicken. Not much of a turkey fan anymore, and I know the chicken is a winner, so.

Also got some oat bran. There will be muffins this weekend, possibly with added pumpkin.

Before that, ’twas the hardware store for assorted little fixes. Dimmable cfl bulbs. Screen clips (to hold glass panels in windows). A handle screw for the bathroom sink. A Christmas tree stand that holds water–yup, I’m going to get a real tree this year. A short one, 3 feet at the most–they go on sale at the local lot on Friday, and I want to get it and set it up and enjoy it. Will be putting up the outdoor decorations, too, assuming decent weather.

Also, I finally got a 12″ wreath for Kuro’s front grille. I have been meaning to get one for years, but invariably by the time I got around to it, there were none to be found. So when I found the hardware store had a batch on display, I jumped.

Not literally.

Also, too, I finally got a larger cast-iron frypan for said roast chicken. It’s a 13 1/4″, which is a tad large–even my 6-lb chickens could fit in a 12″. But, it leaves more room for veggies, onion and leeks and fennel that will caramelize into a mess o’ lovely. I will bake the stuffing separately, along with apple-raisin stuffed acorn squash.

Not a bad day today. Chilly, but sunny. There was frost on the ground this morning, and the Indestructible Chive is finally looking a little wilted. The tarragon still looks okay, though. If it survives until Wednesday, I’ll add some to the stuffing.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Another Ina Garten recipe, except….

I used chicken stock instead of water because I had exactly 2 cups remaining from an oldish batch. Crabapples from the backyard tree because they were a decent size and a little tart, like the recommended MacIntosh. A little mealy, and not pretty inside, but I dug out the brown bits and they were good to go.

I added less than one cup of cider at the end–1 tablespoon boiled cider diluted to 3/4 cup–as the soup was already the perfect thickness and I didn’t want to mess it up.

I would never make this without an immersion blender. Slopping a gallon of soup into a regular blender or through a food mill? No. But my little cheap stick blender worked a treat. Velvety smooth soup. Really nice flavor.

Already had a bowl. Good meal for a rainy fall day.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

This year’s basil crop wasn’t the best. The plants, a mix of Italian Sweet Basil from Seeds of Italy and local cinnamon basil, started out well. But the heat wave hit them hard. The sweet basil only reached about 18 inches in height before going to flower. The cinnamon basil didn’t even reach 12 inches. I tried to keep the flowers trimmed back, but I didn’t do a good job keeping track and it all got away from me. The flowers sucked the strength from the plants–the leaves faded, and stayed small. Then the chill weather came, and the leaves started to brown. I knew I had to act fast if I wanted to salvage anything for pesto.

So yesterday, I trimmed about 6 cups of leaves and flowers (the flowers were green, still edible). Roasted walnuts and pine nuts, 1/4 cup each. Peeled a head of garlic. Salt, pepper, and one cup of good olive oil. Not enough grated parmesano reggiano–only 1/3 cup instead of the full cup noted in the recipe. Dumped it all into the food processor.

It’s not the best pesto I ever made, but it’s decent. Spread some on yesterday’s chicken sandwich. Today, I slathered it on broiled king salmon.

There are worse things in the world.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

I love roast chicken.

It’s supposed to be one of those basic, simple dishes that anyone can pull off, but I have always had problems guessing when it’s done. I have stuck temp probes in the thickest part of the thigh, checked that the juice ran clear when I cut where thigh joined body, and over-roasted until the breast meat dried out. It didn’t matter. I would swear the chicken of the day was done, take it out of the oven, and start cutting it up only to find that it was underdone at the thigh joint.

So, when I stumbled over this article in the NYT Food section about roasting chicken in a cast iron fry pan, I thought it might solve my problem. Sticking the chicken in a pre-heated pan meant that it would start cooking immediately. Splaying the legs the way Clark suggested would allow the heat to hit the interior parts of the chicken right away, and eliminate the risk of undercooking.

Minor issues presented. I had a 10″ cast iron pan, but not a 12″. Given that the chickens I had in the deep-freeze averaged 6 pounds, I knew there was no way I could cram one in a 10″ pan. I debated buying a 12″, but never got around to it. This weekend, couldn’t find the time.

I had resigned myself to another roast pan attempt when I remembered that I had a round 12″ stainless casserole that was pretty much a sauté pan without the handle. It’s supposed to be able to take 500F, but I decided to play it safe and set the temp to 475F. I salted and peppered the bird inside and out, then stuffed the cavity with half a lemon and a bunch of thyme. Then I splayed the legs, and tucked it into the preheated pan. Patted it with a little olive oil. While it cooked, I sliced an onion and a couple of small fennel bulbs, and after thirty minutes tucked them around the chicken. After another half-hour, I added five sliced garlic cloves, then let things cook for another twenty minutes. I may have let it go a little long, but I wanted the onion to caramelize, and I was still a little paranoid about the chicken being underdone.

Voila:

It’s not as pretty as a classic roast chicken, but oh dear, it was the best I have ever made. Drumsticks were tender, thigh meat was cooked, breast meat was still juicy. The onion and garlic tasted sweet, the fennel was beyond tender, and the sauce was golden and lovely.

This is how I will be roasting chicken from now on. Next time, I may even try those things called ramps.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway. Still awaiting a rumored lake breeze. Still 95+F in the shade. Brought in one of the hanging baskets that had taken on a dangerously wilted look. The leaves have perked up in the coolth, but the flowers are pretty well shriveled. Luckily, there are still some unopened buds.

Strange to have a holiday smack in the middle of the work week. It’s more a speed bump than a day off. When the 4th falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, my company usually tosses in the Monday or Friday and makes it a 4-day weekend. Monday/Friday, a three-day weekend of course. But today? One day, that’s it, and because there are still 2 workdays to go, I spend part of the time pointedly refusing to think about the things that need doing tomorrow and Friday. And they are many.

Cooking neepery follows. You have been warned.

It wasn’t the sort of day one enjoys standing over a hot grill, but I did anyway. Grilled some sockeye salmon, which I had marinated in olive oil/soy sauce/shallot/garlic/ginger. Had it with couscous to which I added homegrown basil, parsley, and thyme. Steamed mixed veggies (not homegrown). A really nice sauvignon blanc from NZ, Merlins Barrow 2009.

It also wasn’t a day to use the oven, but I did anyway. My favorite oatmeal-pecan cookies, except this time around they’re oatmeal-walnut. Other added extras included a teaspoon of ground ginger, 4-5 oz chocolate chips, and a half teaspoon of something called fiori di sicilia, a combination of citrus and vanilla extracts that Italians use in baking. Have yet to try a cookie to see how it worked, but it imparted a distinct taste to the dough, and there was a decent amount of dough. Pleasant, but not the usual oatmeal cookie flavor. Any more than 1/2 tsp would have been too much. That stuff is potent. I baked those cookies 6 hours ago, washed two sets of dished since, and my hands still carry of hint of citrus.

Another thing I used was my Beater Blade, which I am convinced has made one hella improvement in the way my mixer mixes. The mixer, a Kitchen Aid, came with a weighty metal mixer blade that left a little pocket of unmixed stuff at the bottom of the bowl. It also didn’t scrape the sides of the bowl, so halfway through I would have to stop mixing and scrape the sides.

The Beater Blade pretty much eliminates those problems. It’s a lighter blade, plastic, with flexible edges that scrape the sides of the bowl continuously during mixing. The sugar-butter blend that is supposed to be fluffy actually came out fluffy. The oatmeal blended better, which made for a lighter cookie. The blade also seems to lessen “wall crawl,” where heavy, thick dough crawls up the wall of the bowl during mixing, sits atop the mixer blade, and won’t settle back down.

Anyway, enough product placement. I think Kitchen Aid came out with their own version, but mine is a Beater Blade and I like it lots.

In other news, garden hose split. Will try to fix it later, after sundown. If the fix doesn’t work, I will be hitting the hardware big box sooner rather than later. This is not the time to try to do without a hose.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

The day started sunny and warm, but now clouds have moved in and the temp has dropped below 80F. Could get rain later. We could use it. They could use it even more south of Chicago–the ranch from which I’ve purchased my beef and chickens for the past couple of years emailed to let customers know that they’ve cancelled all 2012 orders due to drought. They received less than an inch of rain in May and nothing so far this month; their usual rainfall total for that time period is around 10 inches. They’ll resume filling orders if/when things improve. This year, if possible. 2013 more likely.

I am disappointed, but I still have beef and chickens from last year’s order and have access to stores that sell grass-fed/free range. I am more concerned about the ranch. This is the second hard year in a row for them. Last year, they were able to fill some orders, but this year conditions are worse. I hope they are able to weather this blasted weather and stay in business.

It was a kitchen morning. Cleaned and cut up one of said chickens for tomorrow’s dinner–it’s now marinating in dumpling sauce with garlic, onion, and ginger. Made hummus with sun-dried tomatoes, dried basil, and…peanut butter. This was done because I once again forgot to buy tahini. Two weeks ago, when I made hummus and realized I had no tahini, I decided that nut/seed butter was nut/seed butter, and natural peanut butter (read: peanuts, salt, stir before use) would be worth a try. And it did work fine as far as I was concerned. I know it isn’t authentic, and I can detect a hint of peanut flavor in the finished product. But it works, there’s a lot of peanut butter in the pantry, and sometimes tahini is hard to find. Or I keep forgetting to find it. Whatevs.

Strange day. Sun’s like a bulb shining through a lampshade. Pups are quiet–they both ate breakfast but turned up their noses at lunch. I’m used to Gaby being picky, but I still can’t adjust to King not eating everything in sight. He still licks the rugs, eats treats, and goes after Gaby’s uneaten food, so he does have an appetite. Maybe he just doesn’t care for the new dry food, the roasted bison/roasted venison stuff that he loved to snack on before he got sick.

He wraps up the antibiotic tomorrow. I really hope that helps.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

At least 3-4 hours of it, which was the time I spent deciding I needed a new external HD, buying one in haste from the local big box, trying to install it, failing miserably, and driving back to big box to return it.

Yes, Dear Reader, it was a Day of Unintended Tech.

I found the right external HD online and ordered it, so sometime next week I may finally be able to use Time Machine as it was intended. I have an external HD currently, but it’s only 80 GB (only 80 gigs ::shakes head::) and is just about full–I can save individual files and folders, but wholesale backup is no longer possible according to said Time Machine. In addition, the 1 TB unit (1. Terabyte.) I ordered is already formatted for a Mac, which the one I struggled with today wasn’t. Yes, there were instructions for reformatting, but something kept accessing the drive even though I was sure I disabled/turned everything off, and I frankly don’t have the patience + know-how to grapple with something like that at the moment. So back to the store it went and left the store I did, return credit in hand.

What started this little rainbow ball spinning merrily down the mountain was the fact that MobileMe is going away next month and with it my access to Backup, its nifty, straightforward online storage application. I liked Backup. I could configure it to save the files/folders I wanted saved when I wanted them saved. Every night at 730pm, a little brollie appears in my Dock, and all my writing files–PC Word, Works, MacWord, Scrivener–all get backed up within an inch of their little virtual lives.

Starting sometime next month, however, MobileMe will be replaced by iCloud. The issue that served as the first warning pebble in this avalanche of WTF was the fact that iCloud only works with Lion, the new OS which I had yet to download because I kept hearing that there were Issues. Supposedly many of those Issues have been resolved and I was running out of time in any case, so today I took a deep breath and downloaded/installed Lion. I then checked Scrivener to make sure it still worked, which it did. Then I set about setting up my iCloud account.

I did believe at first that I would be able to backup my files as I had before. Not so, Dear Reader. iCloud apparently only works with iWorks and other Mac products, none of which I am using, so backing up my files as before was Right Out. This was when I reevaluated Time Machine, learned that my present external HD was no longer up to the task, and set about finding a replacement. And failing. At least until later in the week, when I SHALL SUCCEED, DAMMIT, AND SPIT IN THE FACES OF ALL THOSE *&^%$#@ WHO REPLACE PROGRAMS THAT MEET MY NEEDS WITH PROGRAMS THAT DON’T.

Don’t mention Dropbox to me. I opened an account today. It doesn’t do what I want, unless I am missing something obvious which is totally possible because I tend to intuit applications instead of reading the instructions. This system usually works reasonably well, to tell the truth, if only because a program that I can intuit is one that I will be able to work with. Like Backup. Which is going away next month, did I mention?

Night is falling. Coffee has been brewed. Some days, there isn’t enough coffee in the world.

At least the brownies came out all right. This recipe, courtesy of the folks at Recchiuti, but without the nuts and marshmallows. My batch actually tasted fairly close to the to-die-for brownies that Recchiuti sells on their website, but there were differences due to, I think, the pan and the butter. I used a glass 8×8 baking pan/dish, and did not remember until too late that you need to bake at a lower temp in glass. As for the butter, I used plain ol’ grocery store unsalted, which I doubt met the 82% butterfat requirement specified in the recipe. So, watery butter and too high a heat meant that the brownies came out slightly overbaked–still moist in the center, but dry around the edges and lacking the flourless chocolate cake density they were intended to have. That said, they’re still the best brownies I have ever made and among the best I have ever eaten. It’s a keeper recipe. I just need to tweak. And get hold of a good metal pan and some boutique butter.

And it’s now dark outside. Chilly day, as it turned out. Rainy morning. Tomorrow, however, we are supposed to set records–I am hearing rumors of triple-digit temps, which would be an almost 40-degree upswing from today. Personally I think those of us north of the city will be cooler, but I guess we’ll see.

Mind’s churning a little bit. Tech has that effect on me. If I were a hard drive, I would be racing.

Backup’s going away next month. Fck.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Sundays blow by fast enough enough, dammit. Then they go and take another hour away from me. I don’t see the point, I really don’t. It’s like that old story about “Grandma’s Pot Roast.” The recipe was passed down from Grandma to Mom to Daughter, and it began “Cut the ends off a 5-pound roast.” And one day Daughter asked Mom why they needed to cut the ends off the roast, because yes you could use them for stew or whatnot, but it seemed a waste, and Mom didn’t know but was sure that there was some Secret Cook’s Reason that had been lost over time, so they went to Grandma and asked her why she had to cut the ends off the pot roast, and Grandma said, “Because otherwise it wouldn’t fit in my roast pan.”

I may have read somewhere that energy usage actually went goes during DST time because people used less energy for lights, etc. But I would think it might be offset by A/C usage in hotter climates. It just doesn’t seem to make much sense anymore, and the primary justification still seems to be that if we don’t do it, it won’t fit in the roast pan.

§

I need to start tomato seeds in trays this week. I had bought some of the usual varieties from tomatofest.com, one of my online seed places. I was planning on starting them last weekend when a commenter on a blog I visit posted about Seeds from Italy, an online seed store that sells…wait for it…seeds from Italy. Basil. Kale. Onions. Leeks. And hey, tomatoes.

I’ve always wanted to try European tomato varieties because while homegrown tomatoes from US-sourced heirloom seeds are better than storebought, I have still always found their flavor disappointing. I won’t rant anymore about it–and hey you, get off my lawn–but I am looking forward to these giving these new varieties a try. I ordered 5 types of seeds, including Organic San Marzano, the classic sauce tomato, and Italian Basil. I am supposed to use a heating pad to warm the seed tray to 75-85F until germination, which may prove tricky. But otherwise the seeds could take three weeks to sprout, and that’s too long.

§

Cookies. I baked some. I used this recipe, but deviated somewhat. I added pecans and soft candied ginger in addition to the dried cranberries, and left out the white chocolate. Used orange zest and oil instead of lemon. And I added a half-teaspoon of salt. No, the recipe didn’t call for any, but I have found that it does boost flavor overall. Toasted the oatmeal and the pecans.

My verdict? Not as good as Ina Garten’s Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies, even though the ingredients are almost identical. I think I should have stuck with lemon zest/oil instead of orange. It would have imparted a little tart zing that would have offset the sweetness of the cranberries. They’re good enough. Kind of granola bar-like. But next time I will stick with raisins, or maybe give dates a try.

§

Took King to the vet yesterday for his semiannual senior exam. He’s in good shape, fingers crossed. His eyes are cloudy from age, and he’s a few pounds too heavy. But he looks good overall. His teeth are perfect. He’s going to turn 11 at the end of this month, and according to the chart in the examining room, that’s the equivalent of 86 human years for a dog of his size/weight.

It’s hard for me to adjust to King’s getting older. He sleeps more. He will chase Gaby a little, but mostly he stands in one spot and pounces at her as she whizzes by. Sometimes he stands in one spot, even  after I’ve called him, and just stares. It’s not disobedience. He has this look on his face, as if he’s trying to remember something.

It doesn’t happen often. He’s still pretty much on the ball. My Fearless Watch Puppy.  Seems like not so long ago when he was that little coiled spring that used to go after the bag my Dad would use for puppy poop collection and run off with it. I can still see King darting around the backyard, bag in mouth, turds scattering, and my Dad galloping after him, shovel in hand, calling “Get back here, you son-of-a-bitch.”

Memories.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

When I hear about people hitting deer, they’re driving along remote country roads or freeways, usually at night.

I almost hit one in front of my house.

It was dark. I had picked up Gaby from the groomers, and was talking to her and looking out the passenger side window to see if the local newspaper was sitting in the open-ended mailbox at the end of the driveway when I saw movement. Then a big deer trotted across the road in front of the car. A *big* deer. It was at least 10 feet away, but still. If I hadn’t been slowing down, I probably would have hit it.

It trotted off, followed by a buddy. I don’t know what they were munching on in the neighbor’s yard. I do think they’ve been snacking on the yews in my side yard. For the last two years, the poor things have had their branches stripped. I should probably dig them up, but so far they’ve been rebounding over the summer. Just in time for the next round of winter snacking.

Gaby got her winter bath and trim. She’s all fluffed out, and the mud has been removed. The groomer tied a cute little holly-dotted scarf around her neck, which I will leave in until tomorrow morning. Can’t risk King grabbing it and pulling on it during play.

The groomer had written “good girl” on Gaby’s receipt. Well, yes, she is. Mostly.

It was still on the warm side today–40s–but windy and getting colder. A soup/stew day. I chopped up the last of Sunday’s roast chicken and added it to the French oven along with the roasted veggies–fennel, onion, carrots, garlic–some corn, and barley. Let a fond build up, then added a cup of sauvignon blanc and a cup and a half or so of Sunday’s stock. 4 cups water. After the barley had cooked, I thickened the mess with gumbo file. A very hearty soup resulted. More like a stew. Good with bread and butter.

And finally, for those of us who still miss Calvin & Hobbes….

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

I’ve been on the lookout for a saucepan in the 4-quart range–my Cuisinart saucepans top out at 3-quart, and the French ovens start at 5-quart and are a little to big for something like a week’s worth of oatmeal. I had originally planned to stick with Cuisinart, but Elizabeth Moon has been waxing lyrical over on her blog about her All-Clad pots and pans, and I pondered taking the plunge and getting an All-Clad saucepan. I have the small roaster and non-stick grill pan already, and I like them. I also wanted to see if there was any difference in performance or construction compared to the Cuisinart. But I wasn’t sure what I wanted, and I didn’t want to make a pricey mistake.

Then yesterday at the day job, I received a really nice thank-you award from a co-worker that consisted of a nice gift certificate to the store of my choice. One of the stores on the list was cooking.com.

You know where this is going.

The 4-quart Chef’s Pan.

All my casseroles and large saute pans have straight sides. The sloping sides are supposed to better for stir-frying and sauteing. And it’s deeper than the usual fry pan, so it’s also suitable for oatmeal I think.

Anyway, I went with cheap shipping, so I may not get it until early December. Just in time for Christmas cooking. And oatmeal.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.