Tonight Jean & I felt like cooking. Maybe it was the trip to the Dupont Farmer's Market this morning that got us in the mood.
I made dinner - including my Polish grandmother's recipe for cucumber salad - great on a hot summer night. Suz dug up the recipe. So rich in taste - so easy to make!
Jean made dessert - one of his favorites - crepes. Dr. David and David came over for dessert and we watched True Blood.
Something for all the senses.
For 6 months now. Amazing.
I was a POWER-USER of caffeine. I basically always had a cup of coffee in hand. At least 8-10 cups a day.
All the travel and conferences and work meetings did not help. I think I always was having a cup of bean juice pushed in front of me. Eventually, the positive effects diminished to not much. I could drink a cup of coffee at 11pm and fall asleep immediately.
6 months ago I was spending the weekend at a buddhist monastery on a mountain in Korea and had no access to the brown liquid energy - so I just gave it up.
And after a couple days of withdrawl I have not looked back. So far. I drink herbal tea now and like it. Lots of choices. However Jean and I want to take a vacation in Morocco and I think there is a pretty strong cafe/coffee culture there.
That will be a challenge.
to my father.
He came down with the whole family in November and seemed somewhat distraught that I did not have a toaster. I don't really eat much toast - so I did not get one for the new place. Now I have a toaster.
Dr. David came over this afternoon for a late lunch and we headed out in the freezing rain to Best Buy to shop for toaster ovens. I don't really need one. I am not sure why I felt compelled to get one. Today. But I did. So I did.
And it's a beauty. I think it has more bells and whistles than my car. I am gonna make toast tomorrow morning - for the first time in years.
So come on down Tut. The toast is ready!
A red velvet one.
That's me making red velvet cupcakes for some family and friends who came over tonight (see below).
I am not a cook by any means, but even accounting for being a novice, making this dessert was a nightmare. I blame DC. It's not yet user-friendly.
I had to make 5 trips to 4 stores to get the materials needed to make cupcakes. That is insane. This is the US capital. A global power center. A metropolitan area of more than 8 million. Why is it so difficult to get some red food color and baking pans.
I felt like I was in the Soviet Union during it's last days. And of course, just getting to the store is not a simple thing in DC. It takes 20 minutes at least - regardless of whether you are walking, cycling, driving, snowshoeing, flying. It just doesn't matter. You can't simply make a quick trip to the store.
Well, with Sean's help, I successfully made some red velvet cupcakes. They turned out well.
I will make one of these desserts for Thanksgiving. Not sure which one. You can click on each to see the recipe.
Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
Gingerbread Pumpkin Moussecake
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Swirl
Pumpkin Cheesecake
I have never made a cheesecake, but how hard can it be?
I don't really know.
Periodically, for giggles, I check how it is people find their way to my blog. Often it is random people who are doing an online search for something and stumble over here.
It's amusing to see the odd information that people, all over the world, are looking for and what is the connection of that oddity to me and my blog.
For some reason, I get more than a few hits from people who are trying to find out about the expiration date of Velveeta. I blogged about that when I was cleaning out my kitchen before my move.
I asked the question - "Does Velveeta ever go bad?". I did not answer the question. At the time, I did not think that was important.
Now I do.
Amazingly, the Velveeta website does not answer the question. Yes, Velveeta has its own website. So I did my own search. I actually could not find a definitive answer, but I was led to a survivalist's website (in case of natural or man-made disaster).
According to that site "The 1/2 lb. size of [brick] Velveeta cheese lasts for months beyond its expiration date, and even longer if refrigerated."
So there it is - the best answer I could find to the most pressing question of the day.
Tonight I made a Halloween dinner for my parents. Cranberry Salmon, Pumpkin Gnocchi in cheese sauce, and roasted veggies.
That is certainly an autumnal menu, but I am not sure if it is really a Halloween menu. So I did some research...
One Halloween custom which persists in modern-day day Ireland is the baking of a barmbrack (Irish "báirín breac"), which is a light fruit cake into which a plain ring is placed before baking. It is said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year.
Other foods associated with Halloween:
* Candy corn
* Colcannon (Ireland)
* Bonfire toffee (in the UK)
* Toffee Apples or Candy Apples
* Apple cider
* Roasted sweetcorn
* Popcorn
* Roasted pumpkin seeds
* Pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread
I dunno. Seems like there should be something better for a dinner menu on Halloween than candy corn and corned beef. Maybe next year I will start some new tradition.
I tried out another new neighborhood restaurant. Columbia Heights is changing so fast. Every day there is something new to explore.
Tonight it was Red Rocks for pizza. Good pizza. They are still working on the service.
It was fun waiting for an outdoor table. Watching neighbors strolling in for drinks and dinner. It was actually not oppressively hot, but very pleasant - so the outdoor dining was perfect.
Of course, such a diverse and ever changing neighborhood, the neighbors strolling were very interesting to watch.
There was one obnoxious group of 5 that had to be asked to leave before they even ordered. The guy sitting in the black shorts and the woman standing in the blue pants were 2/5 of the group. I think he said something that offended her. She stormed out. A couple others at their table ran after her. The guy in black shorts got in a fight with the waiter.
The rest of the tables on the patio actually applauded when the manager booted them. Nothing like some local color to make dinner interesting!
All in all - a very nice Friday night dinner. More pics...
The name is silly, but the food is good.
I tried out Logan @ The Heights tonight. My first time there. It's been open for about a month now here in Columbia Heights. Part of the massive gentrification of my new neighborhood.
The changes in that stretch of 14th Street are mind-boggling to us long time residents of DC above U Street. On the brief walk from my new pad to the restaurant I even passed a Starbucks at 14th & Irving. When did that show up?! I had to step in to check it out. Nicely decorated - for a Starbucks.
So the Heights. Same owners as the Logan Tavern. Basically the same menu. Unfortunately, they could not manage to be very creative with the name either. Sticking "Logan" into the name of a restaurant in Columbia Height is dumb. As though Logan is sooo trendy that it will make people in Columbia Heights rush in to try the restaurant. Ummm. There is one neighborhood separating Logan from CH. You can walk in 20 minutes. It's not like - Paris @ The Heights. or Saigon @ The Heights. Those names would actually make some sense.
I had the:
* Seared Tuna, Baby Arugula & Spicy Slaw $9.95
and
* Portabellas Stuffed & Grilled $6.95
I eat the same food. Every day. I eat a ton of these Trader Joe's chocolate covered raisins. I eat tons of TJ's choco almonds, choco banana chips, and even choco covered clumps of ginger - yum.
Not the best diet though.
Cooking is hard and boring and too time consuming for me. I am halfway through my life and I still don't get it. Why or how.
I need help. Advice. Suggestions. Inspiration.
This is an exhaustive listing of my current diet.
Breakfast:
Yogurt & fruit & granola or oatmeal & fruit or egg & cheese bagel sandwich.
Lunch:
Spinach salad with veggies and chicken or frozen veggies and meatballs from Trader Joe's.
Snacks:
nuts and cookies and peanut butter and vanilla soy milk. Every day.
Dinner:
Rarely eat dinner - usually keep snacking or frozen rice bowl from Trader Joe's.
Help me.
