Posts tagged “edibles”

Weekend

Posted on February 19th, 2012

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!♥

Tagged: Canon Rebel T1i, edibles

Breakfast at Ocho

Posted on February 17th, 2012

I recently developed an old roll of film, and found these images from our breakfast at Ocho in San Antonio.

Notes to self:

Take more film photos. I love the tones and textures here.
Turquoise and orange go great together. Also, reminder: you like a regular cup of coffee with cream and sugar just as much as those fancy-pants cappuccinos.

You forgot! Banana nut bread smeared with peanut butter, topped with sliced banana and drizzled with honey. Grapefruit laced with mescal, sprinkled with sugar, and broiled until lovely.♥

Tagged: edibles, film, restaurants, San Antonio, Yashica FRII

Weekend Moments #4

Posted on February 12th, 2012

Hey everyone!

This weekend:

On Friday, Aimee and I had a meeting and photo shoot up north. I stopped at Asahi Imports for some ingredients for recipe testing, then came home and tested two recipes. We stayed in and ate chocolate drumsticks.
On Saturday, we took a city walk with our friends N. and E. We walked all over the place, and stopped for coffee at Caffe Medici in Clarksville, and Sweetish Hill, and the farmers’ market, and Design Within Reach, and Easy Tiger, and the Museum of the Weird, and another Caffe Medici, and the Lomo shop, and the library, and BookPeople and lots of other spots. When we got home, Justin crashed and finally gave in to his cold. We watched Water for Elephants and rested.
On Sunday, we stayed in and focused on helping Justin feel better with medicines and juices and soups and blankets. And I’m reading Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut, because I love Kurt Vonnegut.

I hope you all had a great weekend, too!♥

Tagged: Austin, cats, edibles, restaurants, video

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

Posted on February 8th, 2012

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.♥

Tagged: Canon Rebel T1i, edibles, recipes