Compared to a grapefruit and an orange:
In its natural habitat:
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Meet Ugli.
Have you tried an ugli fruit?
Compared to a grapefruit and an orange:
In its natural habitat:
Compared to a grapefruit and an orange:
In its natural habitat:
Thursday, February 11, 2010
I got a puzzle for Christmas.
Here I am, doing the puzzle.
The puzzle is progressing:
It is nearly done:
And this is the finished product:
I think you got a feel for what it was like putting it together.
The puzzle is progressing:
It is nearly done:
And this is the finished product:
I think you got a feel for what it was like putting it together.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Not quite snowmaggedon...
In light of the snow the East Coast just received, I thought it was time to blog about our own snowstorm, back in January.
It started at night:
A lot of workplaces told people to work from home, including mine - and Mark's meetings were also cancelled, so he was home, too (he's working in this picture - you can tell because that's his work laptop and his home desktop is not turned on):
This is a snowman our neighbor made:
There is a strip of grass between the sea front and the houses (Dad and Jenny, you may remember it is where the sand sculptures were when you visited). It was prime snowman-building land when the snow hit:
I was very impressed by this really tall one. They even used a carrot for the nose, and coal for the eyes, mouth and buttons, just like in storybooks:
I also liked this one, with a hat made out of snow. It kind of looks like a Pillsbury Snowboy from this angle:
It was crazy the way the snow came right down to the water's edge. This is the beach, and all of that snow is on top of sand (and that's Brean Down in the distance):
Haven't had any since this batch melted, a few days after these pictures, so I think we've had our portion for this year.
It started at night:
A lot of workplaces told people to work from home, including mine - and Mark's meetings were also cancelled, so he was home, too (he's working in this picture - you can tell because that's his work laptop and his home desktop is not turned on):
This is a snowman our neighbor made:
There is a strip of grass between the sea front and the houses (Dad and Jenny, you may remember it is where the sand sculptures were when you visited). It was prime snowman-building land when the snow hit:
I was very impressed by this really tall one. They even used a carrot for the nose, and coal for the eyes, mouth and buttons, just like in storybooks:
I also liked this one, with a hat made out of snow. It kind of looks like a Pillsbury Snowboy from this angle:
It was crazy the way the snow came right down to the water's edge. This is the beach, and all of that snow is on top of sand (and that's Brean Down in the distance):
Haven't had any since this batch melted, a few days after these pictures, so I think we've had our portion for this year.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Cinnamon is my friend.
Last weekend I had a sudden, overwhelming need for cinnamon rolls. Over here, they sell them, but they tend to be more pastry-ish than gooey soft, so I decided to try making my own.
I found a recipe for cinnabon-style ones, which I thought would do the trick, but I didn't have any cream cheese on hand (this was a bit spur of the moment), so I used the quick glaze from Paula Deen's cinnamon roll recipe. I made them in my lovely breadmaker, following the additional tips at the top of the recipe, including the extra steps to keep the insides from leaking out of the rolls.
It was incredibly easy - the breadmaker did all the hard work on the dough mode, then I just rolled it out, spread the goo on (half with nuts, half without), rolled them up and stuck them in the oven.
Here they are before:
And after - one pan with glaze, one pan without:
And here they are, in action:
I didn't quite roll them up tightly enough - so they were a bit loose and floppy when I transferred them to the pan (which is why they look a bit abstract, rather than nicely round in the "before" picture above), and they did pull apart a bit when they baked. Putting the glaze on reinforced their structural integrity, especially once it cooled and solidified a bit.
They kept really yummy for about 5-6 days, in a plastic container. I froze half the batch without the glaze, so I'll try defrosting and then glazing the next time I get the urge. I'm also running another test - I've frozen one with glaze, to see how it holds up.
As another test in alternate breakfast foods beyond bagels, today (Sunday the 7th), I made the Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe in Joy of Cooking. I substituted dried apples for the raisins and used the breadmaker again for mixing the dough. It turned out pretty well, though again I didn't roll it tightly enough, so the swirl didn't go around enough times, and it pulled apart so there is a big hole running through the bread. I didn't quite get the shape right for my loaf pan, and had to moosh it in, which probably didn't help. But it tasted pretty good and was really easy to do. I love my breadmaker!
I found a recipe for cinnabon-style ones, which I thought would do the trick, but I didn't have any cream cheese on hand (this was a bit spur of the moment), so I used the quick glaze from Paula Deen's cinnamon roll recipe. I made them in my lovely breadmaker, following the additional tips at the top of the recipe, including the extra steps to keep the insides from leaking out of the rolls.
It was incredibly easy - the breadmaker did all the hard work on the dough mode, then I just rolled it out, spread the goo on (half with nuts, half without), rolled them up and stuck them in the oven.
Here they are before:
And after - one pan with glaze, one pan without:
And here they are, in action:
I didn't quite roll them up tightly enough - so they were a bit loose and floppy when I transferred them to the pan (which is why they look a bit abstract, rather than nicely round in the "before" picture above), and they did pull apart a bit when they baked. Putting the glaze on reinforced their structural integrity, especially once it cooled and solidified a bit.
They kept really yummy for about 5-6 days, in a plastic container. I froze half the batch without the glaze, so I'll try defrosting and then glazing the next time I get the urge. I'm also running another test - I've frozen one with glaze, to see how it holds up.
As another test in alternate breakfast foods beyond bagels, today (Sunday the 7th), I made the Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe in Joy of Cooking. I substituted dried apples for the raisins and used the breadmaker again for mixing the dough. It turned out pretty well, though again I didn't roll it tightly enough, so the swirl didn't go around enough times, and it pulled apart so there is a big hole running through the bread. I didn't quite get the shape right for my loaf pan, and had to moosh it in, which probably didn't help. But it tasted pretty good and was really easy to do. I love my breadmaker!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Christmas 2009.
Here are some pictures from our Christmas this year.
This year, amazingly, I was extra organized, baking-wise, and stuck to the schedule I set for myself, which included lots of new recipes (as mentioned on the recipe list for December).
This picture is from the day before Christmas Eve, and I'm pouring out the peppermint chocolate rum cake, ready for marbling - which turned out to be the recipe Mark and I liked the least. I thought it was going to be Christmassy, and I tried to dye the chocolate part of the cake red, like red velvet cake, to go with the green-dyed peppermint part. But I don't think I used enough food coloring because it just looked a bit auburn. It was ok, and the marbling was well done, if I do say so myself, but the taste didn't really wow us. I don't know if that was me, or the recipe.
One thing that did work out well were the mini-pecan pies I made. I wanted an alternative to mince pies for me, since I don't eat raisins. This is from Christmas Eve day:
We drove to Brean and stayed overnight with Mark's mum on Christmas Eve. Sarah was back in town from Thailand.
On Christmas Day, Mark and I got up and went for a walk along the beach to Brean Down in the morning. You can see the hill in the distance:
You walk up a bunch of stairs and then at the top there's a nice view. Plus some remnants from an old Iron Age fort. Plus this thing, which reminds us of Aslan's table from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
That's Weston-Super-Mare in the background. You can't really see our flat from here.
Then we had Christmas lunch. I contributed Julie's Kahlua sweet potatoes, cornbread dressing, and homemade cranberry sauce.
Later we played Ticket to Ride.
On Boxing Day, we walked up another hill, called Brent Knoll.
Then on the day after Boxing Day, we walked up Brean Down again, this time with Mark's family (they didn't come with us when we did it before), and we went all the way to the end, which we didn't have the time to do on Christmas Day.
The tide was all the way in and it was really windy and pretty cold.
On New Year's Day we did the last hill in our "Three Somerset Peaks" holiday challenge (there is an annual event here in the UK called the "Three Peaks Challenge" where teams of people compete in a race to walk up the three highest peaks in Great Britain - Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England and Snowdon in Wales - all in one day). Mark has done it before, but they didn't win, though I don't think that was the point for them.
We had decided to do a Somerset-based (and much easier) version over the holiday period - Brean Down, Brent Knoll and Crook Peak, all of which are less than 15 minutes from our place. And they aren't peaks, just hills, though the views are still pretty good.
We walked up Crook Peak on New Year's Day with Mark's family. We didn't take the camera so we don't have an pictures. It was fun doing all three, though.
This year, amazingly, I was extra organized, baking-wise, and stuck to the schedule I set for myself, which included lots of new recipes (as mentioned on the recipe list for December).
This picture is from the day before Christmas Eve, and I'm pouring out the peppermint chocolate rum cake, ready for marbling - which turned out to be the recipe Mark and I liked the least. I thought it was going to be Christmassy, and I tried to dye the chocolate part of the cake red, like red velvet cake, to go with the green-dyed peppermint part. But I don't think I used enough food coloring because it just looked a bit auburn. It was ok, and the marbling was well done, if I do say so myself, but the taste didn't really wow us. I don't know if that was me, or the recipe.
One thing that did work out well were the mini-pecan pies I made. I wanted an alternative to mince pies for me, since I don't eat raisins. This is from Christmas Eve day:
We drove to Brean and stayed overnight with Mark's mum on Christmas Eve. Sarah was back in town from Thailand.
On Christmas Day, Mark and I got up and went for a walk along the beach to Brean Down in the morning. You can see the hill in the distance:
You walk up a bunch of stairs and then at the top there's a nice view. Plus some remnants from an old Iron Age fort. Plus this thing, which reminds us of Aslan's table from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
That's Weston-Super-Mare in the background. You can't really see our flat from here.
Then we had Christmas lunch. I contributed Julie's Kahlua sweet potatoes, cornbread dressing, and homemade cranberry sauce.
Later we played Ticket to Ride.
On Boxing Day, we walked up another hill, called Brent Knoll.
Then on the day after Boxing Day, we walked up Brean Down again, this time with Mark's family (they didn't come with us when we did it before), and we went all the way to the end, which we didn't have the time to do on Christmas Day.
The tide was all the way in and it was really windy and pretty cold.
On New Year's Day we did the last hill in our "Three Somerset Peaks" holiday challenge (there is an annual event here in the UK called the "Three Peaks Challenge" where teams of people compete in a race to walk up the three highest peaks in Great Britain - Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England and Snowdon in Wales - all in one day). Mark has done it before, but they didn't win, though I don't think that was the point for them.
We had decided to do a Somerset-based (and much easier) version over the holiday period - Brean Down, Brent Knoll and Crook Peak, all of which are less than 15 minutes from our place. And they aren't peaks, just hills, though the views are still pretty good.
We walked up Crook Peak on New Year's Day with Mark's family. We didn't take the camera so we don't have an pictures. It was fun doing all three, though.
Catching up: the rest of the recipes.
I actually achieved my single New Year's Resolution for 2009, though I didn't keep up with blogging about it, which will surprise no one. (You might remember that the blogging wasn't part of the resolution, just a technique to help keep it, so I of course don't feel that the lack of blogging negates the success of the resolution itself.)
But today, on the last day of the year, to close off the resolution, I'm going to try to at least catch up a little bit by listing the other recipes I've tried this year.
The belated recipe posting means that I'm interpreting the resolution as a total of 24 new recipes in 2009, rather than a set of two per month. I actually think that I probably ended up doing two per month any way, but since my last posting about it was recipe number six back at the beginning of April, I don't think I'm going to remember all the ones I've tried between then and now, nor when exactly I made them.
But I can remember a lot that happened in the spring and over the summer, especially since I know that I got my Essentials of Slow Cooking and Vegetables Every Day cook books at the end of March, so I would have been trying recipes from there in April and beyond. Some of them I know vaguely when I did them - like I remember doing Carnitas in August, and the list below is in roughly chronological order. Plus I tend to try a series of recipes from a cookbook back to back. I can of course definitely remember the whole host of things I tried for Christmas (I got a cook book for my birthday from Mom and Dad and I bought myself my first Christmas-themed cookbook).
I'm just going to list all the recipes below - if you want more information about any of them, just ask. I can give you the full details of how it worked out and any lessons I learned. Although I don't remember exactly when I tried them, I can remember how they all tasted!
I've linked the first mention of each cook book to their page on Amazon (I'm too lazy to link every single mention), so you can see where all the recipes are coming from. If you want any of the recipes, let me know.
Between April and November:
7. Jambalaya with Shrimp, Chicken and Ham from Essentials of Slow Cooking (this is different from the other jambalya recipe I make, and more like what I understand traditional recipes to entail - and it's really good)
8. Tuna with Tomatoes and Olives from Essentials of Slow Cooking (this actually doesn't involve the crock pot at all, but it's really easy and yummy, though you do need to like tuna steaks and olives)
9. Spanish Chicken Stew from Essentials of Slow Cooking (which is different from recipe number four - and if I remember correctly, a lot easier)
10. Zucchini, Corn and Red Pepper Saute from Vegetables Every Day
11. Carnitas from Essentials of Slow Cooking
12. German Potato Salad from Joy of Cooking (very good)
13. Pulled Pork from Essentials of Slow Cooking
14. Cole Slaw from Essentials of Slow Cooking (this was my first time making it from scratch!)
15. Summer Coq au Vin from Essentials of Slow Cooking
16. Broiled Portobello Mushrooms with Asian Flavors from Vegetables Every Day
17. Chicken, Leek and Corn Soup with Chilli from Riverford Farm's recipes online (we buy our organic vegetable box from them - this recipe is really good)
18. Cabbage Gratin with Cheese, Bacon and Potato from Riverford Farm
19. Turkey and Stilton Pie from some random magazine
20. Leek, Potato and Cheddar Jalousie from Riverford Farm (I had never heard of a jalousie before, but from what I made, it seems to be just like what over here they call a "slice" as in "chicken slice" or "beef slice" which is savory flaky butter pastry with stuff inside it)
21. Pumpkin Cheesecake from Joy of Cooking
November:
22. Pumpkin Bread from Joy of Cooking
23. Parker House Rolls from Joy of Cooking (you can't buy them over here so I tried making them myself - they were good - and I used the bread maker which was a lot easier)
24. Pumpkin Pie from Joy of Cooking (I really don't think I've ever made one before -though I did cheat and use pre-made pastry, which I rolled out)
25. Ed's Victorious Turkey Hash (with leftover Thanksgiving turkey) from Nigella Christmas
26. Vanilla Sugar from Nigella Christmas
December:
27. Poor Niece Melissa's Humble Attempts at Re-creating Aunt Di's Bittersweet Chocolate Frosted Layer Cake from All Cakes Considered
28. Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies from Nigella Christmas
29. Christmas Morning Muffins from Nigella Christmas
30. Naughty Senator Cake (a peppermint chocolate rum cake) from All Cakes Considered
31. Sticky Gingerbread from Nigella Christmas (really, really yummy - I don't know how I've lived without gingerbread before now)
32. Orange Loaf with Dried Cranberries and Pecans from Joy of Cooking
33. Southern Cornbread from Joy of Cooking (I've only ever made the Northern one)
34. Yule Log from Nigella Christmas
35. Seasonal Breeze from Nigella Christmas (it's a mixed drink, non-alcoholic)
36. Xmas Zinger from Nigella Christmas (ditto)
37. Redder than Red Cranberry Sauce from Nigella Christmas (which is pretty much the same as the recipe from Joy of Cooking, which I also tried but won't list separately - they're both so easy I'm definitely sold on making cranberry sauce from scratch for Thanksgiving and Christmas)
I think there are some others - I'm pretty sure I tried a chicken cacciatore from the Fix-it and Forget-it Cookbook, and there are some alternate bagel recipes I've tried - but I can't remember at all when I made them, so I'm leaving them out.
So it works out at three a month, plus one to grow on...not bad!
But today, on the last day of the year, to close off the resolution, I'm going to try to at least catch up a little bit by listing the other recipes I've tried this year.
The belated recipe posting means that I'm interpreting the resolution as a total of 24 new recipes in 2009, rather than a set of two per month. I actually think that I probably ended up doing two per month any way, but since my last posting about it was recipe number six back at the beginning of April, I don't think I'm going to remember all the ones I've tried between then and now, nor when exactly I made them.
But I can remember a lot that happened in the spring and over the summer, especially since I know that I got my Essentials of Slow Cooking and Vegetables Every Day cook books at the end of March, so I would have been trying recipes from there in April and beyond. Some of them I know vaguely when I did them - like I remember doing Carnitas in August, and the list below is in roughly chronological order. Plus I tend to try a series of recipes from a cookbook back to back. I can of course definitely remember the whole host of things I tried for Christmas (I got a cook book for my birthday from Mom and Dad and I bought myself my first Christmas-themed cookbook).
I'm just going to list all the recipes below - if you want more information about any of them, just ask. I can give you the full details of how it worked out and any lessons I learned. Although I don't remember exactly when I tried them, I can remember how they all tasted!
I've linked the first mention of each cook book to their page on Amazon (I'm too lazy to link every single mention), so you can see where all the recipes are coming from. If you want any of the recipes, let me know.
Between April and November:
7. Jambalaya with Shrimp, Chicken and Ham from Essentials of Slow Cooking (this is different from the other jambalya recipe I make, and more like what I understand traditional recipes to entail - and it's really good)
8. Tuna with Tomatoes and Olives from Essentials of Slow Cooking (this actually doesn't involve the crock pot at all, but it's really easy and yummy, though you do need to like tuna steaks and olives)
9. Spanish Chicken Stew from Essentials of Slow Cooking (which is different from recipe number four - and if I remember correctly, a lot easier)
10. Zucchini, Corn and Red Pepper Saute from Vegetables Every Day
11. Carnitas from Essentials of Slow Cooking
12. German Potato Salad from Joy of Cooking (very good)
13. Pulled Pork from Essentials of Slow Cooking
14. Cole Slaw from Essentials of Slow Cooking (this was my first time making it from scratch!)
15. Summer Coq au Vin from Essentials of Slow Cooking
16. Broiled Portobello Mushrooms with Asian Flavors from Vegetables Every Day
17. Chicken, Leek and Corn Soup with Chilli from Riverford Farm's recipes online (we buy our organic vegetable box from them - this recipe is really good)
18. Cabbage Gratin with Cheese, Bacon and Potato from Riverford Farm
19. Turkey and Stilton Pie from some random magazine
20. Leek, Potato and Cheddar Jalousie from Riverford Farm (I had never heard of a jalousie before, but from what I made, it seems to be just like what over here they call a "slice" as in "chicken slice" or "beef slice" which is savory flaky butter pastry with stuff inside it)
21. Pumpkin Cheesecake from Joy of Cooking
November:
22. Pumpkin Bread from Joy of Cooking
23. Parker House Rolls from Joy of Cooking (you can't buy them over here so I tried making them myself - they were good - and I used the bread maker which was a lot easier)
24. Pumpkin Pie from Joy of Cooking (I really don't think I've ever made one before -though I did cheat and use pre-made pastry, which I rolled out)
25. Ed's Victorious Turkey Hash (with leftover Thanksgiving turkey) from Nigella Christmas
26. Vanilla Sugar from Nigella Christmas
December:
27. Poor Niece Melissa's Humble Attempts at Re-creating Aunt Di's Bittersweet Chocolate Frosted Layer Cake from All Cakes Considered
28. Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies from Nigella Christmas
29. Christmas Morning Muffins from Nigella Christmas
30. Naughty Senator Cake (a peppermint chocolate rum cake) from All Cakes Considered
31. Sticky Gingerbread from Nigella Christmas (really, really yummy - I don't know how I've lived without gingerbread before now)
32. Orange Loaf with Dried Cranberries and Pecans from Joy of Cooking
33. Southern Cornbread from Joy of Cooking (I've only ever made the Northern one)
34. Yule Log from Nigella Christmas
35. Seasonal Breeze from Nigella Christmas (it's a mixed drink, non-alcoholic)
36. Xmas Zinger from Nigella Christmas (ditto)
37. Redder than Red Cranberry Sauce from Nigella Christmas (which is pretty much the same as the recipe from Joy of Cooking, which I also tried but won't list separately - they're both so easy I'm definitely sold on making cranberry sauce from scratch for Thanksgiving and Christmas)
I think there are some others - I'm pretty sure I tried a chicken cacciatore from the Fix-it and Forget-it Cookbook, and there are some alternate bagel recipes I've tried - but I can't remember at all when I made them, so I'm leaving them out.
So it works out at three a month, plus one to grow on...not bad!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Christmastime is here!
Our Christmas tree went up last weekend.
Mark really is an expert tree fluffer. His branches always look so nice.
I love Christmas.
Mark really is an expert tree fluffer. His branches always look so nice.
I love Christmas.
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