Cookbooks

Once upon a time, I had many cookbooks, which I perused infrequently. Little by little, cookbooks were hastily left in kitchens of houses I fled for brighter prospects. Now that I am nesting in my open white studio, my pitiful cookbook collection mocks my spacious kitchen. I have been referencing many recipes online, but the hazards of laptops combined with foodstuffs make me nervous. Any suggestions for cookbooks? Specifically baking, and possibly Italian and Asian cuisine?

bacon wrapped bananas

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Originally uploaded by mattdork

Great picture of me, isn't it? A couple of weekends ago, I got together with the neighbors and a couple friends for a deep fried food party. We started with tempura vegetables, lotus and potato chips, stuffed jalepenos, and moved on to plantains and deep-fried grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches. What I'm holding in this picture is a piece of bacon wrapped banana. I have gone to the dark side in a big way : ) Though tasty, I have to say I will not indulge in so much fried food again for quite some time. At least we also had a salad to offset some of the fried badness.

Sock Wars III Round two

Friday I received one lone sock and the start of the second, knit in gorgeous yarn by my target (she knit the one on the left). I knit most of the leg portion while watching Napoleon Dynamite, a highly overrated and only slightly funny film that was only redeemed by the beautiful cinematography. Anyhoo, I'm down to the heel this morning and will have these out to my next target on Monday, muah ha ha! We'll see how long I'm in the game...

Cooking

Now, I've always loved cooking, but several factors have been forcing me to break out my cookware much more frequently. First off, there is a serious lack of restaurants and groceries in my area - the only place within walking distance is the pupuseria across from BART. It's good, but not for every day or even every week as it's kind of greasy. Second, I have to drive whenever I need to get groceries, so I've been making much more thoughtful food purchases in order to maximize the time between grocery trips without spending too much or wasting food. Third, I have a huge, well thought out kitchen with a gas stove, and my collection of kitchen tools has grown to halfway decent! These factors combined with no roommates and my dislike of wasting food have caused me to cook food at least 4 times a week, and I'm even good about not wasting or wanting leftovers.

So just what have I been cooking?
Lotus Chips! These were really easy and tasty, though a bit oily as I did not have a proper fryer or drainer. Though, a rack over some paper towels works pretty well. I'm going to make more soon when my neighbors bust out their deep fryer.


Yogurt - I managed to save this when it could have easily become a science project. I made the mistake of trying to make too much at once, and had to strain out the whey after letting it warm all night. No matter - it was thick, tasty, and only slightly curdled when I tried reheating it on the stove top before letting it warm again. I finished it off with some Meyer Lemon curd I made a while back. Yum!

I've also been baking bread with a vengeance - I've stopped buying it and am close to running out of flour! It's so easy for me to make that I'm determined to make a ton of dough one day and freeze it so I can have fresh bread practically whenever I want. We shall see...

Still in the game!

Huzzah! Just checked my mail and the only thing delivered today was NetFlix! I'm still alive in sock wars and expecting some incomplete socks to be delivered within a couple of days so I can hone in on my next target!

Mwah ha ha ha...

Flamingos

I finally had a chance to do some yard work this Sunday, which included relocating a jasmine vine that was root bound in a pot growing into the soil beneath, and rescuing some jade succulents my neighbor pulled out of our communal planters. The pink flamingos came from the dollar bin at Target - I almost want more, but I think two is all my small yard can handle. Next? A Hammock!











They're just so darn cute!

Bang!

Socks are in the mail as of noon yesterday! My target hasn't completed hers yet, so I'll probably get a new pair to knit, providing I don't get killed in the meantime...

Sock Wars III!

Sock Wars III is on. I've got a target, some hand-dyed yarn, a pattern, and the entire weekend scheduled for knitting. I may even leave early from work today to begin knitting my weapon. My goal is to assassinate at least one competitor with hand-knit socks! We shall see...

Maker Faire 2008

Went to Maker Faire 2008 this weekend, and somehow managed not to get overwhelmed or overstimulated despite the thousands of people, hundreds of projects with blinking lights, and huge pyrotechnics. I only had time to go to one brief talk by Syuzi Pakhchyan. She focused on very simple circuits integrated into textiles, such as a headband for headphones that uses velcro as a switch so that it lights up when worn. Neat stuff, not too complicated for someone like me who needs to get a simple project or two under her belt.

I really want to build one of these, but the lack of walls in my house makes me think this would keep me up if it were glowing all night.

This LED display didn't really have anything Snarky to say, but luckily I had someone Snarky on hand to fill in.