confession

I have one of these! I have a cubby!

It's not this colorful or this big (dang it!) and luckily it doesn't come with all these teenagers, although I wouldn't mind having the blond girl in the middle with the huge smile around. She seems cheerful enough.

My cubby is a small section of the kitchen cabinet that my husband calls with a slight irritated tone in his voice "your cubby"

• "it's in your cubby where it has always been"
• "you can keep it but only if it fits in your cubby"
• "I can't believe you've been hiding that in your cubby and not sharing it with me"

The whole purpose of my kitchen cubby is to have things that are MINE and that I don't have to share. This is basic cubby protocol.

Golden Plum Jam

Yesterday I made jam for the first time. I've been wanting to learn how but was utterly scared of trying by myself.

A friend from church invited us over so we could make jam with her. The whole thing is pretty easy but there are details that I wouldn't have known about had I attempted to do it alone, so I'm really glad I had someone show me. Now we have enough golden plum jam to last us for a year, at least. I want to learn how to make other types of jam too. It would be nice to have something to put in all of my glass jars and not just use them for decoration.

1- Pick the plums. We literally picked these from the ground. This tree is out of control. there are so many plums on it. Last year my friend said she made over 100 jars of jam from this tree alone.

2- After picking the plums we washed them and pitted them. They were so soft it was easy to do with just our fingers. After we chopped them up and placed it in a bowl that measured 6 cups.




3- We placed the plums in a large sauce pan with 1/2 cup of water and brought it to a boil. (It is truly boiling when you mix it and it doesn't stop boiling)

4- Once it is boiling you add one packet of pectin and mix until it is boiling. Let it boil for 5 minutes.
5- add 8 cups sugar and mix until it is boiling. Make sure it boils for a whole minute
8- take the pan off the stove top and remove any scum that accumulates on top of the mixture
9- add the jam to sterile jars
10- before you place the lids make sure that there isn't spilled jam on the rim of the jars. Place the lids without touching the rim and close tightly.
11- flip the jars upside down to get the air out for about 5 minutes
12- then flip it back up and let it stand for a couple hours without moving the jars so that the jam can set.

serve on...well anything you like. Today I'm going to try and use it on chicken. I bet this would be really good on the baked brie I like to make.

Enjoy.

How to make beans?

I've been putting off posting a recipe for beans because I figured everyone knows how to make it. Right?! Once you learn how to make a good pot of beans people will compliment you by saying "agora pode casar" meaning "now you can get married." Well I've been married for 4 years now and have been making beans for about 10 and I'm still not convinced that they are as good as I would like them to be. However, I do make beans at least once a week and we eat it at least every other day. I usually make a big batch and leave some in the fridge and make sure to always freeze at least enough for 2 meals.

Here is a step by step process of how I make beans.

1- measure 4 cups of dried pinto or black beans.
2- Even though the beans here are usually pretty clean I still go through and make sure there are no small pebbles. You'd be surprised at how many times I've found random little things.
3- rinse out the beans and soak. Soaking beans is a very importnat step and you'll be hating yourself if you skip this process and so will your energy bill. By soaking the beans you reduce the amount of time it has to boil.
4- There are 2 ways that I soak beans.

• The first is by placing the beans in a large bowl and adding 8 cups water and leave it over night.
  
• The second way is just as effective and quicker. Place the beans in a large pot with 8 cups water and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling you turn off the heat and let it stand for an hour

5- After you soak the beans DRAIN the water and rinse once again. Place the beans either in a pressure cooker or a large pot and add enough water to cover the beans plus 4 inches.
6- If you are cooking in a pressure cooker make sure the water comes to a boil and turn it down and let it cook on low for about 30 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker then cook on high for about 30 minutes and simmer for and additional 30-45 minutes (until the beans are soft)
7 while the beans are cooking prepare the seasoning. I like to add bacon. So I fry up 1/2 pack of bacon. I chop it up and place in a skillet. This is optional. If you're vegetarian skip this part and close your eyes so you won't have to see the picture below.



8- while the bacon (or not) is frying I chop one whole onion and 5 big cloves of garlic.


(o.k fine, Enzo chops the garlic)

9- I add the garlic and onion to the frying pan and sprinkle some oregano.



10- once the beans are cooked I place 2 scoops of beans inside the skillet with the rest of the seasoning. This is a very important step and one that my grandmother never skipped or did different, so for tradition's sake I am a firm believer in this step. It helps to thicken the bean and to flavor it more. You know how the day after you make something the flavor is usually stronger? Well this step kind of does that. Let the beans simmer with the seasoning for about 3 minutes. Then place everything back in the large pot with the rest of your beans and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes stirring constantly.


11- Add salt to taste. If you made it with bacon just add a tiny bit.
12- make sure it's cooled before you freeze any of it.

Do you have any special ways of making beans?

Kitchen Sisters

They've done it again! These two rock my world. They officially have the greatest job ever. They get to make radical radio documentaries about food. Does anyone want to pay me to do that? please?! It also helps that they have a deep sense of social justice.

Their new piece London's Gardens: Allotments for the People just came out today on the morning edition of NPR. If you missed it you can still hear it HERE

A night at the Santa Cruz Beach Board Walk

Yesterday night we went with our friends to the Santa Cruz Beach Board Walk. Monday and Tuesday nights are .75 cents for any ride and even food. It's a great deal. In case you're in town let me know and I'll come with you to ride the giant dipper and I'll even make the garlic shrimp spaghetti I threw together for dinner before heading out for a night of amusement (mostly kiddie ride, but hey what can you do?!)

Garlic Shrimp Spaghetti

• 1/2 packet of your favorite spaghetti
• 8 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 10-15 medium sized frozen shrimp
• 1 tablespoon leeks (optional)
• fresh Romano cheese (optional)
  

1. Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente and drain immediately (while it cooks you can prepare the shrimp)
   
2. while the spaghetti is cooking finely chop the garlic
3. Add the olive oil to a hot skillet
   
4. let the oil warm up for about 45 seconds. Make sure the oil doesn't burn
5. Add the frozen shrimp to the skillet and cover the for about 2 minutes
6. Add the garlic to the skillet and saute for for 1 minute
7. when the spaghetti is ready add to the skillet and saute for an additional 2 minutes stirring constantly so that the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
8. garnish with leeks and Romano cheese

For dessert we had .75cents cotton candy!

















Next time I'm going for these!

Solving your kitchen problems one giveaway at a time!

GIVEAWAY- MARK HOLLADAY PHOTO COLLAGE FOR KITCHEN DECORATION
Remember this? My friend Mark sent me a matted version of this so I can decorate my kitchen. I love the presentation. It's nice having a little bit of Hawaii in my kitchen. Mark is a really good photographer, his pictures are delicious to my eyes.

Check out his blog here.

After checking his blog out come back and leave a comment on this post about your favorite photo from his site. I'm curious to know which of his photo shoots is your favorite. I'll tell you next Tuesday which one is mine.

You have until Tuesday (July 2nd) of next week to leave a comment here and hopefully win the matted version of the picture above to decorate your kitchen.

Remember to check back here next Tuesday to see if you won and to also enter next week's giveaway.

Lucky You!

thank you everyone for your comments. I wish I could give each of you a prize. I'm excited about this weeks giveaway so make sure you leave a comment!

If you didn't win the apron you should definitely consider purchasing one. I have one and I'm in love.Latu-Vaki Family who said "Love Aprons! I've made two already but i'm an amature sewer so they are falling apart! Pick Me!" is the winner of last weeks giveaway.
e-mail me your address and I'll get the apron in the mail for you!

Top Secret Chocolate Chip cookie recipe

Yesterday I was super stoked to go to another BBQ at my advisor's house. His wife makes amazing chocolate chip cookies. Her recipe is top secret and yesterday I finally got a glimpse of it and it was exactly the same as the original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies. This has happened to me before with Chef Jeff cookies from Mount Holyoke College. She did say that she uses really good quality butter and flour. Still, I don't think you can say your recipe is secret when in fact it's the most famous chocolate chip recipe out there. Just in case, here is my super duper secret chocolate chip recipe

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

1. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
2. BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
3. PAN COOKIE VARIATION: PREPARE dough as above. Spread into greased 15"x10" jelly-roll pan. Bake in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.
4. FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (>5,200 feet): INCREASE flour to 2 1/2 cups; add 2 teaspoonfuls water with flour; reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookies for 17 to 19 minutes.

Anniversary tradition

(...So turn out the lights.
Bring out the candle.
Wrap your arms around my love handles.
They say the passion may not always endure
but this feeling that I have for you is burning up my world..)

Our first anniversary was so sad. We both expected each other to do something amazing and ended up staying home. Enzo was conceived that night so it wasn't all bad. After that first year Chris suggested we take turns planning our anniversary. Last year I planned a camping trip. This year was his turn and he totally did good. He took me out to a fancy restaurant and salsa dancing. He had even made reservations. I was impressed. We never eat fancy so I made sure to take notes on how the dishes were prepared. Here is what I learned.

• If you want your plate to look fancy put blueberries. Every single dish had blueberries
• fancy fries are very small and they have dill sprinkled on them
• fancy salads are served with warm dressing
• fancy restaurants serve lilikoi mousse (YES! I knew I had it in me)

Solving your kitchen problems one giveaway at a time!

GIVEAWAY: apron/tool belt
Now there is no excuse why you wouldn't do an apron swap with me or better yet why you wouldn't wear an apron. The wonderful etsy shop Orange Iron Fabrications makes these cute apron/tool belts. If anything you get extra pockets, and who doesn't need extra pockets?! oh, and can I just say that this would also look totally fashionable on a little (or big) girl as well? I got one for myself and am loving it. I also got one for you! Just leave a comment between now and next Tuesday June 24th and you could win. In the meantime you gotta check out her etsy shop. I can't wait to have another baby so I can put him/her on this cute onsie, or use this patchwork changing pad, or better yet decorate my kitchen with these flowers.

Lucky You!

Elizabeth is the lucky gal who gets the reusable snack bags from last weeks giveaway.
e-mail me your address Liz and I'll get it in the mail for you!

Dinner Party

Baking for Obama!

I just registered to host a "Hungry for Change" bake sale on Saturday June 21st to help raise money for MoveOn's campaign to win back the White House. You should host one too. Go here to register.

I haven't decided if I'll host it at the UCSC campus or by the board walk. I'll keep you posted in case you wanna come and buy a cupcake.

If you decide to Bake for Obama and also host a "Hungry for Change" bake sale leave a comment with where you're hosting so that we can help spread the word.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake Wanna Be

If you scroll down you'll see the orginal post where I featured this picture. Now you finally get the recipe! To clarify this is a modification of Ina Garten's, you know the fabulous cook who enjoys a good meal and isn't obsessed about calories, recipe from Barefoot Contessa. Anyway... Christian modified this recipe because we had some milk in our fridge that was going bad so instead of using sour cream he used the buttermilk. All this to say that what you are getting is a Christian recipe and not a Barefoot Contessa recipe. The cake was good. It reminded me of a Drake's cake, only homemade and without preservatives.

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip (un)Coffee cake

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
  

for the glaze

• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 tablespoons real (yeah right) maple syrup (fake is so much better)
  
• 1/4 cup almond slivers

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan
2. cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for 5 minutes, until light.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and buttermilk.
4. in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. with the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined.
6. Add 1 cup chocolate chips and finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed
7. pour batter into the pan
8. bake for 50-60 minutes
9. let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes
10. whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water in necessary, to make the glaze runny
11. drizzle over the cake with a fork
12. garnish with almond slivers.
    

Solving your kitchen problems one giveaway at a time!

GIVEAWAY:
leave a comment and you will be entered in the drawing to win reusable snack bags

How many of you use the plastic zip lock bags? I do and I always tell myself that I'll wash them over and over again so that I'm not being wasteful. Not only is plastic nasty but it's also hard to wash. If I ever have anything greasy in those baggies it just goes to the trash. I found these reusable snack baggies on esty and am converted. They are easy to wash and have cute ribbons on top. AND they are totally affordable!!!! The cool gals who make these also make larger bags for produce and lunch bag and market bags... check out their site here.

Leave a comment and you could win 5 reusable snack bags. winner will be announced next Tuesday June 17th. You got one week. Ready? set...go!

NEVER underestimate the power of food!- feta pâté

I used the feta pâté that I made for the Q.E to make this pita sandwich. The sandwich consisted of sauted portabella mushrooms, fresh cucumbers, avacado, tomato and the pâté. I'm not a sandwich person but this was good.

Feta Pâté

• 1 cup seasoned feta cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 10 large garlic cloves
• 1 can table cream

1. peal and chop the garlic
2. heat the olive oil in a medium size pan
3. fry the garlic in the olive oil
4. once the garlic has a golden brown color add the feta cheese and mix
5. remove from strove top
6. add the table cream and mix
7. refrigerate for a couple hours and serve as a dip or use a spread for bread.
   

NEVER underestimate the power of food! - Baked Brie

The first time I had baked brie was at a Christmas party. I thought it was the fanciest and most delicious thing at the party. The hostess had baked the brie inside puff pasty with a dash of brown sugar. I was so impressed. I was expecting a super elaborate recipe and was shocked when she told me how EASY it was. I later tried making it, with a little variation.

Here is my baked brie recipe. The previous post has a picture

BAKED BRIE

• 1/2 pound slice of brie
• 1/2 cup apricot preserve
• frozen puff pastry (I like the Trader Joes one)

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. thaw out the puff pastry for about 10-15 minutes
   
3. grease cookie sheet
   
4. put the sheet of puff pastry on the cookie sheet
   
5. peal the thick white part of the brie. (this is optional)
6. place brie on top of puff pastry
7. cover the top of the brie with apricot preserve
   
8. wrap the brie in puff pastry
9. bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown
10. put a bit of the preserve on top of the baked brie
    
11. serve warm
    

NEVER underestimate the power of food!

Yesterday I had my qualifying exams. I was totally dreading the experience. I could go on and on about my relationships with my advisors, their relationship with each other, and all the reasons why I was feeling insecure. I'll spare you. Instead I want to focus on the pictures above. I decided to take them food as a gesture of gratitude for all the work they've done. It was also an attempt to create a less formal atmosphere. It worked. The exam consisted of an hour and a half oral exam about theory and my project. It turned out to be a really good conversation, for the most part. I'm SO glad it's over and I can once again waste time on the internet!

Christian made the wonderful buttermilk chocolate chip coffee cake. He totally improvised the recipe and it turned out very delicious. I made feta pâté which should of been ricotta instead. Also a result of improvisation. I also made the baked brie in puff pasty, my new favorite appetizer. It only takes 3 ingredients and 10 minutes. Awesome!

I'll post the recipes later. Right now I have to run off to teach class.

YOU ARE INVITED!

Moosewood cookbook= must have

Christian has been making very yummy recipes from this book, like samosas and sweet potato pancakes. I was totally skeptical about the pancakes but it was REALLY good, so good I didn't even get a chance to take any pictures.

SWEET POTATO PANCAKES

• 4 cups (packed) coarsely grated sweet potatoes or yams
• 1/3 cup grated onion
• 4- 4 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste
• 4 beaten eggs
• 1/3 cup flour
• oil for frying

1. combine all ingredients and mix well
2. heat a small amount of oil in a skillet until very hot
3. use a non-slotted spoon to form the pancakes, patting the batter down. fry on both sides until brown, adding small amounts of additional oil, as needed
4. serve hot with toppings. We ate it with apple sauce and yogurt.
   

Enzo loved these. He usually will not eat anything with sweet potatoes but he was all about these pancakes.

My date with Enzo

Today was the first day that Enzo and I had some alone time. Last week I was totally absent from parenting, or any thing except school. Today I got up and wrote a list of all the errands I had been putting off doing. I'd have to drag Enzo along to solve my medical bill, supermarket, return library books, oil change for the car... all things that are boring. I'm so glad I decided to put it off and dedicate the morning to just spending time with Enzo. It helped that it was a super sunny and warm day. This translates into MUST BE OUTSIDE. I packed up our picnic basket and off we went to a date at the park. I decided to just do whatever he wanted to do. this involved hitting trees with sticks, jumping on a big pile of ice that someone dumped on the grass from a BBQ (this actually feels really good, I recommend it next time you dump your ice on the grass), swinging, going down slides, making train noises every 2 minutes, playing in the sand, and EVEN going on a short hike. Now that is l.o.v.e love. I've never taken Enzo on a hike by myself and am now concerned that we got poison oak. I hope not. yikes

For our special lunch I made cheddar and fresh Parmesan sandwiches, asparagus with sesame seed, and a semi frozen tropical smoothie/yogurt.

Frozen Smoothie



Ingredients

• 1 cup yogurt
• 10 ice cubes
• 1 cup watermelon
  
• 1 whole mango
• 1 whole ripe banana
• 2 tablespoons honey

Directions

1. put everything in a blender and blend it up. (how easy is that?)
   

The date was a success I even got some wet kisses to boot!

i love jars. period.