Peanut-Sesame Sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
3 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp hot sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
4-5 Tbsp hot water
Puree all ingredients except water in a blender or food processor for about 30 seconds. While the machine is running, add the water a tablespoon at a time until the consistency is that of heavy cream.
Yield: Unsure (I need to ask Jon).
I had a brilliant idea last night!
I was at Jon and Ryan’s, and we were having dinner with Mauria and Greg. We were drinking some quite good wine and finished the bottle. Jon was annoyed that the canola oil was in such an unwieldy bottle and that he couldn’t keep it on the counter. I said, “Why don’t you rinse the wine bottle out, pour the oil in, and stick a pourer on the top?” So he did. And it worked. I’m so cool.
Good story, Sarah.
I just bought myself some of those slanted Oxo measuring cups. Five dollars for a set of three (one, two, and four-cup sizes) seemed like a good deal. Plus, I got paid today for my two days of work last week, so I felt like celebrating. A teeny tiny bit.
I still think I can smell pork on my hands. Last night Sara and I shredded a whole damn lot of pig for her church. They’re going to be making pulled pork sandwiches for the… yeah, I already talked about this. What was interesting is that they converted a non-functioning industrial refrigerator to a huge-ass smoker. I think that’s pretty much the coolest thing ever. Very Alton of them.
Operation Re-Geek is going fairly well. Man, I used to listen to some (but not all) downright horrible music. I am relieved that it’s not all crap, though. I’ve been slowly going through a few pages of manga each night, struggling with the scraps of Japanese left in my brain. Watched a few episodes of Escaflowne, Gokinjo Monogatari, and Maho Tsukai Tai yesterday, and I’ve got Utena and Shamanic Princess up for today. Major props to Maho Tsukai Tai (aka Magic Users’ Club) for still being able to make me laugh out loud.
There’s a new love in my life. Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes. These made such a good salsa the other day! And a pretty tasty Jonsauce, too. They’re sold at Trader Joe’s for $1.19 for a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes. That’s a good price. I took the leftover liquid from the can and boiled it down into a sauce consistency. I’ll use that to replace one of the cans of tomato sauce the next time I make Jonsauce and see how it tastes.
I need to make more salsa now. Ryan’s garden will not stop with the chiles!
Dude, I reek of pork.
This Thursday, I’m going to be heading down to Mountain View to shred pork with Sara for the Art and Wine Festival being held this weekend. Good times! Also, mmmm.
For Labor Day, we all trekked up to San Francisco for a barbeque being held by Eddie and Bud. Eddie knows his ribs. Those were tasty. Parboiled in beer for an hour, then grilled and basted with a homemeade barbeque sauce. I brought rather half-assed sesame noodles. I didn’t make the sauce myself, I used a bottle. Jon made the sauce once; it was very good. However, the stuff in the bottle was pretty tasty. Certainly made it easier on me.
Butter at Trader Joe’s has gone down in price! $2.59 a pound, salted or unsalted. I know, I’ve said in the past that I don’t want to pay over two dollars for a pound of butter. Now that I know that Ryan has had to spend up to five dollars for unsalted butter, I’ve changed my position a bit. I think my price-I-will-pay has gone up to three dollars.
The Masala Lamb is adapted from a recipe that I received from one of the readers of this blog. Thank you, Paula!
The Lemon Ricotta Cake is a very… subtle cake. Yes, that’s not a bad adjective. Unassuming. Seriously, it’s kind of meh, but it’s better than the Orange Tea Cake. (Although, really, I need to give that one another chance, since I made it wrong.) It is, however, a lovely carrier of the Raspberry Coulis. The lemon and raspberry flavors are very nice together. The recipe itself suggested dusting the top with confectioner’s sugar, but I prefer the coulis.
I think I overbeat the egg whites, though. The cake turned out a little flat. There’s that horrible line, “I’m going to beat you into an inch of your life. Then, I’m going to take that inch.” Yeah, I took that inch. (I think that line’s from an episode of Angel.) Getting egg whites to stiff peaks is very stressful. I should have taken them out at medium peaks, then beat them by hand the rest of the way. That would have been smart.
I’m in training this week to recapture the nerdliness I had five years ago. Lydia and I are going to San Francisco on Sunday for one day of the Japantown Anime Faire. I have to say, it’s hard to regress in geekdom. But it’ll be fun, I’m sure. We’ll catch a few newer series and eat some good food. I haven’t bought any anime since Fruits Basket, which sounds like a dumb concept but is so adorable. I’m curious as to what’s popular these days.
Masala Lamb
1 lb boneless lamb, cut into cubes
1 large red onion, sliced into half-moons
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
1 potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp tumeric
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup coconut milk
1-2 Tbsp canola oil
Water, as needed
In a large, heavy skillet, heat the canola oil and add the onions, garlic,m and cumin seeds. Fry/saute these until soft and lightly browned. Move to the sides of the pan, leaving the center free.
Add the curry powder, tumeric chili powder, and salt to the center of the pan. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes, then add the meat and a cup of water. Stir and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the potatoes and check the water level. During the cooking, you always want to make sure there’s enough water in the pan so nothing burns. If you add too much water, don’t worry, it’ll boil away eventually. Stir occasionally.
When the potatoes are almost cooked (approximately 20 minutes), add the tomato and cook another 10 minutes. At this point, boil away enough of the water so it looks like a thick broth.
Add the coconut milk, cilantro, and a little more salt. Taste and adjust seasonings (if you find you need acid, sugar, and/or more tomato flavor, add about a tablespoon of ketchup). Cook for 5 minutes more. Serve with rice.
Lemon Ricotta Cake
6 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
Grease a 9-inch round cake or springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the paper. Dust with flour. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the ricotta, then the egg yolks, one at a time. Add 2 Tbsp of the flour, the lemon zest, and the lemon juice. Sift the baking powder into the rest of the flour. Beat into the batter until well blended only.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (be careful not to overbeat). Fold the egg whites carefully into the batter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a rack to cool.
Raspberry Coulis
Joy of Cooking
1 pint fresh raspberries or 12 oz. frozen dry-pack raspberries, thawed
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
Puree ingredients in a blender or food processor. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing firmly with a rubber spatula. Taste, then stir in a little more sugar or lemon juice if needed. Serve at once, either at room temperature or chilled, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Makes about 1 cup.
I said I’d make something on Thursday. Clearly, I meant Friday. I made a lamb curry and an Italian lemon cake that involved ricotta cheese. I’ll post at least one of the recipes later. Right now, I’m tired. Zzzz and whatnot.
I almost died!
So, in D&D, you lose consciousness at zero hit points, and then you’re dying, losing a hit point per round until you hit negative ten, in which case you die. I got down to negative seven. I have a feeling that the DM was being kind to Mynnyd. Why? We’re still in the astral plane, and getting him resurrected would have been an enormous pain. Mynnyd was rescued at the last moment by the appearance of a gold dragon we’d been travelling with, who scared off the attackers.
It was stupid. I had 54 hit points (out of my original 88). We were going to camp for the night when we decided to look inside this cavern to see if there was some shelter, so we wouldn’t just be sleeping outside. We were just going to go in a short distance, find a place to sleep, and in the morning, once our cleric had regained her healing spells and such, I’d be back up to snuff. We had a wand of healing, but we decided to save that for when it was really necessary.
Anyway, we go in, find a bunch of really unpleasant spider-like creatures, who proceed to beat the crap out of me and bull rush me off a causeway that’s 100 feet over the ground. OW.
But I’m still alive.
And we levelled, so I’ve got a new feat and skills to pick. Unfortunately, the armor I’m wearing (chain shirt [formerly +2]) doesn’t allow me to exercise my new dexterity bonus, so the bonuses to my armor class, ranged weapon attack, initiative, and reflex save won’t be going up. As soon as we get back to Manifest, I’m investing in some +2 or +3 mithril armor. Good times.