Posts tagged “Canon Rebel T1i”

Weekend

Posted on February 19th, 2012

breakfast spread

This morning we had toast and jam for breakfast. Justin had some healthy fruit and yogurt. I decided to put Jeni’s salty caramel ice cream in my coffee instead of creamer. It was awesome.

Today I thought about how everyone is an expert in something, and all of us are completely useless in something else. I can’t recognize any cars except Mini Coopers and VW Beetles. I can’t name any NASCAR driver except Al Unser Jr., and that’s because his name is often a crossword clue. I don’t know who won the Super Bowl. I don’t know the difference between drywall and plywood. I have no idea whether a wine is a Chardonnay or a Riesling. But. I can taste Pernod or Pastis in a sauce. I can tell you with one taste whether something has olives, or anchovies, or cilantro. I can tell you how duck confit is made, the recipe for a sazerac, or what sweetbreads are. I can navigate through most menus, appreciate a good wine pairing, and look at a recipe and tell whether it will work out well or whether I’ll like it. I am an expert in food and eating. There could be worse things.

I have been working really hard at breaking the rules. I’m not driving on the wrong side of the road or shoplifting or anything, but I am breaking my own arbitrary rules. I often don’t even realize that I have set these rules for myself: do not eat at chain restaurants. Do not wear red lipstick in the daytime. Do not spend the day reading a book. Do not admit to liking chocolate martinis. Do not eat Cheetos. Do not fight back, say what I think, or disagree with others. Do not drink sodas. Do not order caramel lattes at fancy-pants coffee shops. Who made up these rules? What good do they do?

I bought a pair of pants covered in flowers. I wore red lipstick to the store. I stopped at Sonic to have a corn dog and a cherry limeade. I spent a whole day reading The Night Circus (seriously one of the most fun, inspiring, whimsical, lovely books I’ve read in a long time). I love Utz potato chips. I had a caramel mocha, and I loved it. I wore thrifted clothes to a fancy dinner. I argued with a friend about something I believed in. I put ice cream in my coffee.

My new mantra is: BREAK THE RULES.

I am so inspired by the latest Diner Journal. It’s all about menus. The introduction, written by Nick Perkins of Marlow & Sons, reminded me how fun it can be to make do with what you have. Right now I think the only fresh veggies we have are a yellow onion, a half a head of green cabbage, and Italian parsley; we have quinoa and wheat berries and canned beans. I’m thinking about cabbage ton-pei yaki, quinoa with beans and fried onions, wheat berries with brown sugar and cinnamon. I love inspiration.

I decided not to do a weekend moments video this weekend – but you should know that I attended a soft opening of Olive & June (fabulous), had drinks with girlfriends at Vino Vino (the charcuterie plate was insane), found a bajillion great things at a couple of thrift stores, and plan to go thrifting again tomorrow. I hope your weekend was just as wonderful!♥

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The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

Posted on February 8th, 2012

choc-cake1

That’s what it was called on the website where I found it, foto e fornelli. I love this blog, even if I have to use Google Translate to read it.

So first I translated this recipe from Italian, then I adapted measurements from grams to cups and teaspoons using my scale. Now that I have a scale, I’d probably just use grams to bake this, but I wanted to convert it in case any of you wanted to try it. Below is the actual recipe I used, which is a bit different from the original.

The cake is super moist and dense in the middle – maybe somewhere between a cake brownie and a gooey brownie – and crisp on the top. The layers of salt are insanely good – I used Cyprus flake salt, but you can use your favorite large-flake salt here (the original recipe calls for fleur de sel). Justin thought it would be perfect with a scoop of ice cream; I thought it was perfect as is.

(Have I mentioned that Roux loves sweets?)

Happy baking!

Chocolate Cake with Cyprus Flake Salt

  • 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon Cyprus flake salt (or your favorite large-flake salt)

Preheat oven to 325F. Spray a 9×9-inch baking pan with cooking spray, and line with parchment paper. Coat the paper layer with cooking spray as well.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler, in the microwave, or very carefully on the stove. Mix well – the mixture should be smooth. Let cool a bit.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale yellow. Add a small amount of the chocolate mixture and beat well. Slowly add the remaining chocolate mixture while beating.

Sift the flour and baking powder slowly into the mixture and beat until completely smooth.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan; sprinkle with half of the salt. Top with the remaining batter and sprinkle the remaining salt over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Makes 9 – 12 servings (depending on how much you like chocolate).

Adapted and translated from foto e fornelli.♥

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Randoms

Posted on January 26th, 2012

cupcake

I left two cupcakes on the counter last night. This is what we found this morning. Our cat loves sweets. At least he didn’t finish it!

Last night we had dinner at Justine’s, and we got our usual – steak frites for Justin and pork chop with potato gratin for me. This time I tasted a lovely licorice-y flavor on Justin’s steak that really made me happy. Casey, the chef, said he put a bit of pastis in the butter sauce. Isn’t that brilliant?

Two nights ago, we had a terrible thunderstorm. I’ve always been scared of lightning and thunder, and this time was no different. After one loud thunderclap and a little shriek, I suddenly found myself in Justin’s arms on the other side of the bed. Thank goodness for husbands.

I’ve been testing recipes for the book, which requires a lot of weighing ingredients and converting to cups and teaspoons and such. After all of this, I’m convinced it would be easier if we all just used grams. So precise! So simple!

Yesterday I completed my collection of Oishinbo books. I wish I had more time to read them! I love sitting in the coffee shop and reading, but lately coffee is just too much jitter for me. Does anyone else feel kind of embarrassed ordering tea or decaf in a coffee shop? Especially in the really hard core shops – I feel like I’m disappointing them. I have a lot of misplaced worry, I think. :)

I hope you’re all having a great week!♥

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Day in my life #2

Posted on January 23rd, 2012

Hi guys! I decided to do another day-in-my-life post today. It felt like such a busy day! 8:30a Justin is up. I am not. It’s cold outside of the bed, and the kitties are swarming me to keep me warm. I stay snuggled in and read blogs on my phone. 10:00a Justin comes in to check on me. I tell him it’s way too cold to get out of bed. He hands me my warm pajama pants and waits until I’m up and in them. He spoils me. 10:15a Hot cocoa! 10:20a Downstairs to work on the book. Answer emails, convert recipes, organize chapters. It takes me an hour to write up one recipe, because the ingredients are so foreign, it’s poorly organized, and…

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