schmevil

Today I'm making:

Guinness ribs

Grilled potatoes, zucchini, yellow pepper, cremini mushrooms, tomatoes

Not fancy but so very tasty. Considering throwing some balsamic on the veggies for added flavour.

Crossposts: http://schmevil.livejournal.com/327606.html

I was feeling blue, so I decided to have a no-notice dinner party. Cooking for friends and family cheers me up tremendously. The food turned out great, and I guessed just right on the portions. A good time was had by all.

There was a heat alert in effect, but we decided to brave the backyard anyway, armed with loads of ice, beer and Italian soda. I finished serving, sat down to eat, and was just starting on my salad when the rain started. The hell, we figured, what's a little rain? A little rain turned into a little more rain, which turned into a whole lot of rain, and then an ~extreme storm (they issued the alert, ok) complete with hail. We grabbed our plates and ran inside, making quick dashes for drinks, condiments, and everything else. After dinner, we stood outside and watched the rain.

Dinner was:

Guacamole (with stuff to dip)

Curried pork burgers

Dandelion and romaine salad with strawberries and goat cheese

Dessert was:

Tropical sorbet with raspberries and strawberries in a waffle bowl

My curried pork burger recipe is adapted from this one.

Crossposts: http://schmevil.livejournal.com/327366.html

Endeavoring to purchase something we think beautiful may in fact be the most unimaginative way of dealing with the longing it excites in us, just as trying to sleep with someone may be the bluntest response to a feeling of love.

Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness

An interesting quote that has me interested in the book. Any of you read The Architecture of Happiness, or other de Botton works?

***

Unrelated - I'm on a diet. Kind of. Not a traditional crash or fad diet, but a change-my-attitude-to-food diet.

( Read more... )

Just a note: I'm going to be cutting all d-word talk, for those who would prefer not to see it on their flist/dwircle.

I'm going to ease myself back into eating healthily, but I want some small but decadent treats to kind of ease the way. A mini chocolate bar, or a small portion of a fantastic cheese.

Anyone have some suggestions?

If you follow me on Twitter, or chat with me, you've probably heard about what I cooked for dinner tonight. The menu:

Arugula and grapefruit salad, with toasted chestnuts.
Toasted whole wheat baguette with aioli.

Sauteed swiss chard and portobello mushrooms, with prosciutto.
Bouillabaisse.

All of that with a nice Pinot Grigio. And for desert:

Portuguese egg tarts.
Espresso.

I purchased the tarts, but made everything else from scratch. Time consuming but easy. This was a really great meal! The salad was perfectly balanced: crispy, crunchy, soft; sweet and tart. The bouillabaisse turned out quite nicely. It was my first time making it, and heck, my first time working with lobster, but definitely a success. :D

I've been doing a lot of baking lately. Today I baked: berry berry Jello cookies and chocolate-dip, oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chip cookies. The Jello cookies are... ok. I'd like them to have even more punch, but they'd probably be a hit with kids. The dips are siiiiinful and sensational. I will so making those again.

My mother and I have been talking Christmas baking, and are thinking that one ~whatever~ a week, will be the best way to go. Say, cherry poundcake in the first week of December, shortbread the second, and so on. Now we're looking for four truly special baked goods to try out. Of course, in order to do our usual cookie exchanges, we'll need to do a cluster of baking leading into Christmas week, but those will be old standbys.

Any baked good recs?

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

no future

simple bbq

(no subject)

Alain de Botton

eating better, but treating myself

Dinner

I baked again

Profile

July 2012

Syndicate

Expand Cut Tags