Homemade Yogurt … easier than you think.
Want to learn how to make yogurt at home …. so so easy! Just click (anywhere) on the photo above, to watch our how to video!
It’s Tuesday and ….
you know what that means, another drool worthy day with the talented bakers over at Tuesdays With Dorie .
This week’s challenge was the Florida Pie . It is a variation on a Key Lime Pie. I have never had a Key Lime Pie, I know, that is weird, so I was excited to try this out. As well we were having company over for dinner, so this was perfect for the meal we had planned. What was even more perfect, was that Lenny wanted to help make it - I know, he is really taking that active role in this whole "cooking" and "blogging thing", don’t be too scared!
First Grill-Out
When we woke up to another Sunday of gloomy grey skies and moisture in the air, we were so bummed. All we ask for is a sunny weekend and somewhat warm weather for May. It was so gloomy and chilly that we put the gardening on hold, again and spent the day in the house baking. The sun started to peep out around 230ish, so we headed out to get stuff to throw on the grill - damn it, we want summer and if we have to create it, we will! Basically you have to throw on some warm clothes, pour yourself a big glass of red wine, turn up the patio heater, move the weber closer to your dining table and start pretending that you are in summer mode" in San Francisco.
We had beef burgers on the brain but once we got to the market and saw the chunky freshly ground buffalo meat, we went with that. Grabbed some baguettes for the bun part of the burger - don’t you HATE that they sell burger buns in a package of 8, like two people will eat 8 burgers at one setting - and then we headed home. Read the rest of this entry »
Saturday Morning
We thought we would do something different today and share our breakfast with you and a little story. When we are in Paris, we like to rent an apartment and it seems that every time we have done so, we are lucky enough to be right next to a bakery. The smell of yeast, flour and sugar penetrates the walls as early as 5am, this is our alarm clock. I always wake up before Lenny and I lay there until the entire apartment smells of this sweet sweet heaven, by then it is 7am. I cherish this time of the morning in Paris. I throw on my sweats, grab the camera and hit the rue, to pick up breakfast. The light is always perfect at this time. The streets are still with only the vendors bringing in the fresh produce, meat, fowl and fish. The yeastiness of what is baking mixes with all these wonderful smells and makes me so incredibly happy at comfortable at this perfect moment at the beginning of my day. One of our favorite morning treats are these wonderfully warm Les Chouquettes. They are light airy and slightly sweet, perfect with a strong cup of espress or a latte, first thing in the morning. By the time I get back to the apartment, Lenny is awake, the Les Chouquettes are still warm and all that is left is the beginning to a perfect day with the one I love, in the city that we both love.
Yesterday morning we were listening to our favorite French radio station, drinking coffee and missing one of our favorite places, so I dug out the recipe for the Les Chouquettes and added the missing link to our “perfect morning in Paris“!
Peas in a Pod
Lenny is climbing Half Dome today/tonight. Not hiking it; but climbing it. HOW HOT IS THAT?! He has wanted to do this for as long as I have known him and I am incredibly happy that he has finally gotten the chance. I am not suppose to worry, that is part of the agreement. Unless he does not get home, say by Friday afternoon. Even though I am NOT suppose to worry, I have to say my mind still does and I would not be human if it did not. Last night my friend Debbie came over, we caught up and drank a bottle of wine. Tonight …. there are a million things I could do; but, instead I have decided it is a good time to tackle these lens that Santa got me for Christmas and to try to do what I use to do with photography when I used film - which was greater things than I do with digital - regardless, it occupied my mind for a good hour!
Yesterday, I went with the littlest M of MEM to Half Moon Bay. We wanted to pick strawberries and ride a horse. She got to ride a horse; but, no one would let us pick strawberries. “Come back in two weeks,” was the reply. So, we enjoyed our time together, played hard and then hit the roadside produce stops and picked up strawberries and sweet English peas. The peas are what I have decided to photograph and cook for dinner.
What’s in your Freezer?
I saw a post over at The Kitchn asking their readers, “what is in your Freezer?” Reminded me of a post that Becks & Posh had last year, ” Chillin’ Out in the Coolest Part of the House“, where they asked their readers to post what their fridge’s looked like - unedited, mind you. Here is ours …
In response to The Kitchn, here is our Freezer!
Top Shelve - Ice Cream maker, ready to use at a moments notice during summer. Ice for cocktails. Chilled glasses for more cocktails.
Bottom Shelf - container w/baking items (semolina flour, unsweet coconut flakes & almonds for macarons (the French kind), left over Tomatillo Chiptole Sauce from out Veggie Enchiladas, dark chocolate sauce and burnt caramel sauce for ice cream, lots of fresh squeezed Blood Orange juice to get us thru June, coconut milk, French Onion soup & Chicken Stock
Tuesdays With Dorie
I almost forgot about this post, then I just smelled Lenny scooping out the peanut butter from the jar for lunch … I love to do that as well! YUM! Anyhow, Elizabeth over at Ugg Smell Food was our hostess with the mostest this week for the Tuesdays with Dorie event. Elizabeth went with the Peanut Butter Torte for our challenge. While I love peanut butter and peanut butter cups, I was not to excited for this recipe, maybe because of all the extra “peanuts” in it - I hate to eat a plain old peanut, I know weirdo! Even though my excitement was not with this recipe, I pulled myself together and did the challenge.
1 Year Birthday & a Video to Boot!
WOW, times flies! We can not believe that it has been a year since we or I started this documented journal of what we eat nightly! We made a little video to show our thanks as well as to give you the recipe for these must make margaritas! See below! As a celebration of the birth of Chez US, we decided to re-create the original meal -of Vegetarian Enchiladas with a Tomatillo Chiptole Sauce. I freeze dry farmed tomatoes towards the end of the season - just whole - I thought them into a ziploc container and freeze them. Great to have on hand when you want really fresh tomato flavor in a sauce. This particular time, I cleaned out our supply and the sauce was incredibly flavorful - really fantastic! Slightly smoky and tasting like a garden full of fresh juicy tomatoes! I stuffed the tortillas with roasted eggplant, squash, mushrooms, cilantro (lots of it) fresh green garlic and onions and cheese. It was even better than than a year ago and the photos were really nice ….. then I hit delete and lost them all, except for the margarita kick off one! Lucky for all of us, Lenny is in charge of editing the video … so sit back and enjoy our first, “instructional video” on how to make these fantastic Blood Orange Margaritas!
Can’t see the video, click here!
Saturday Dinner
We had our friends D & JT over for a very belated birthday dinner. Originally, I was going to make Mexican food in honor of Cinco de Mayo, but they were going to be leaving for Mexico so I figured too much Mexican! We really wanted to do something different for this dinner party so we went with an Asian inspired theme.
If you are a regular reader, then you know my fear of “fish sauce”. I have been using a lot of recipes, lately, that all call for “fish sauce”. I am so naive that I thought it was the “oil” part of a dish and have been substituting just that, oil for fish sauce.
Get a load of this breast …
Whole lot of white meat there! Nothing like an all organic, free ranging chicken to spell comfort. We love the simplicity of a chicken that has been rubbed down with butter and Harissa and slowly baked and then served along side a big bowl of slightly cooked green beans and shallots - YUM!
