This is my second glass of sparkling orange mineral water and kefir. "Of WHAT?!?"
Glad you asked.
Kefir is a healthful, yogurt sort-of beverage made from fermented milk. It's full of probiotics, protein, pro-whathaveyou. My husband doesn't drink it, but I grew up with it and I love the stuff. I prefer when it's of a good quality, and was packaged with a fruity sweetener in it.
"Sparkling orange mineral water" is store-brand carbonated water (soda water?) with a barely-detectable orange flavoring in it. Soda water seems to be a phase that I'm going through. Mostly, I've been mixing it with orange juice, and I've been very pleased with the results.
Today, I've been mixing it with kefir.
I have a bit of a head cold today, and my senses of smell and taste are dulled enough that I honestly can't really tell if what I'm drinking is any good. I can tell you that it's probably healthy? Fizzy sweet dairy reminds me of the Italian sodas that I used to get at espresso stands as a kid. But what does it ACTUALLY taste like? I don't know.
I know that right now I must like it, because I just fixed myself a second glass. I didn't have to do that. There's no one watching. I also know that I want to try adding sugar to it to see if I like it even better. I also know that I want to take a nap.
Photos have been omitted, as a courtesy, because it really doesn't look especially pretty.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Quiche Soup
Today is a snow day for the Seattle area, and being stuck at home is a perfect excuse to experiment with food. I was in the mood for a light breakfast soup to showcase my available frozen vegetables, and the end result turned out a LOT better than I'd expected it to.
Here's what I did:
Filled a small saucepan with water, added a little frozen spinach (about 1/2 cup), a little frozen vegetable medley (about 1/3 cup), and two extremely heaping tablespoons (closer to 4 tablespoons) of red-white miso paste. (Miso is my current favorite soup base, with ham hocks following in 2nd place.) I set the pot to boil until everything was hot and the miso was dissolved.
In a separate ramekin, I whipped two eggs and slowly tempered them by stirring in a little of the boiling soup. I continued to do this until the eggs were up to temperature and could be safely dumped into the soup without scrambling them.
The end result is creamy, beautiful to look at, and strikes a lovely balance between tasting rich while being low-calorie.
Estimated calories:
160 kcal for the two eggs
30 kcal x 4 tbsp = 120 kcal for the miso
15 kcal spinach
30 kcal mixed veggie medley
--------------------
= 325 calories for the whole pot of soup. Awesome!
If anybody actually decides to emulate this kitchen experiment, I have some advice:
1. Only use vegetables that you would willingly eat in an omelet or quiche. In retrospect, the vegetable medley was a questionable choice, but the spinach was spot-on.
2. The soup might benefit from the addition of ham. I was in the mood for a vegetarian breakfast and I found that the miso added enough savory saltiness for my own palate, but ham is delicious and would make the soup heartier.
3. Cheddar cheese should have been sprinkled on top. I didn't do this today (trying to keep it low-ish-calorie), but if I were serving a version of this soup to guests, cheese would definitely enhance the flavor in important ways.
4. Buttery toast also goes well with the soup. I did eat that, and I was glad that I did. Quiche benefits from crust, and this soup does well when paired with bread.
5. Fresh cracked pepper helps to dress it up, but please use pepper sparingly so that it doesn't overwhelm the rest of the dish. The same might be said for hot sauce, if anybody's feeling bold and wants to make the soup with hot sauce.
6. Please refrain from the spellings "eggsperiment," "eggcellent," et cetera. (Egg cetera?) I managed to restrain myself for the whole article, and I'm eggstremely glad that I did. Wait... NOOOO!!!!!
Here's what I did:
Filled a small saucepan with water, added a little frozen spinach (about 1/2 cup), a little frozen vegetable medley (about 1/3 cup), and two extremely heaping tablespoons (closer to 4 tablespoons) of red-white miso paste. (Miso is my current favorite soup base, with ham hocks following in 2nd place.) I set the pot to boil until everything was hot and the miso was dissolved.
In a separate ramekin, I whipped two eggs and slowly tempered them by stirring in a little of the boiling soup. I continued to do this until the eggs were up to temperature and could be safely dumped into the soup without scrambling them.
The end result is creamy, beautiful to look at, and strikes a lovely balance between tasting rich while being low-calorie.
Estimated calories:
160 kcal for the two eggs
30 kcal x 4 tbsp = 120 kcal for the miso
15 kcal spinach
30 kcal mixed veggie medley
--------------------
= 325 calories for the whole pot of soup. Awesome!
If anybody actually decides to emulate this kitchen experiment, I have some advice:
1. Only use vegetables that you would willingly eat in an omelet or quiche. In retrospect, the vegetable medley was a questionable choice, but the spinach was spot-on.
2. The soup might benefit from the addition of ham. I was in the mood for a vegetarian breakfast and I found that the miso added enough savory saltiness for my own palate, but ham is delicious and would make the soup heartier.
3. Cheddar cheese should have been sprinkled on top. I didn't do this today (trying to keep it low-ish-calorie), but if I were serving a version of this soup to guests, cheese would definitely enhance the flavor in important ways.
4. Buttery toast also goes well with the soup. I did eat that, and I was glad that I did. Quiche benefits from crust, and this soup does well when paired with bread.
5. Fresh cracked pepper helps to dress it up, but please use pepper sparingly so that it doesn't overwhelm the rest of the dish. The same might be said for hot sauce, if anybody's feeling bold and wants to make the soup with hot sauce.
6. Please refrain from the spellings "eggsperiment," "eggcellent," et cetera. (Egg cetera?) I managed to restrain myself for the whole article, and I'm eggstremely glad that I did. Wait... NOOOO!!!!!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Technically Not Food: Homemade Face Mask
Salutations!
I have just done something cheap. It's not exactly food, but it was made using food ingredients, so I'm writing about it here.
Having found face mask prices to be a little spendy, I decided to DIY myself some pore-drying relief tonight. I am right now, as I'm writing this, wearing a homemade face mask made of baking soda and lemon juice. (Don't worry, a little Googling has assured me that lots of people use baking soda and citrus masks.)
Why it's delighting me:
1. Initially, when I squirted a little lemon juice into the ramekin of baking soda, it fizzed and expanded like a root beer float. I waited until the show was done before I smeared it around on my face, but it was still fun to watch.
2. It was assembled using ingredients from my pantry, making it nearly free.
3. I can already tell that the too-oily sides of my nose are drying out a bit, and this feels AWESOME. The face mask is nearly done, and has gotten all dry and crackly now. Sure, it looks ridiculous on a human face, the way all face masks do. But again, my skin feels like the oils in the pores are being absorbed, and that's my face mask bottom line today. Mission accomplished. (So far.)
4. Isn't lemon supposed to brighten skin or something? I'm not entirely up on these things, but it sounds like something a beauty article would say. (This is a food blog, so I'm not going to indulge in TOO much non-food homework. The lazy treatment is as good as this beauty experiment is going to get.)
5. It looks and smells kiiiiiiiiind of like lemon curd.
Photos:
BRAND NEW WARNING!!!
Update as of 1/18/12:
One of my friends read the blog (someone read it?!?), tried the mask, and said that it made her face sting, so she had to wash it off quickly. Therefore, I want to encourage caution. Every face has its own sensitivities, and this recipe definitely has some citric acid in it.
For what it's worth, I have good results with this recipe when I use it as a degreaser before my standard face wash (i.e. on a seriously unwashed face), and it has helped noticeably clear up my skin. It actually feels like a relief, on the occasions that I've used it. But I've only used the mask when I've had a lot of natural oils on my face, which in retrospect probably helps to protect my skin from the baking soda and lemon juice. On a clean face, it might really, really sting or burn.
Once again, I encourage caution.
I have just done something cheap. It's not exactly food, but it was made using food ingredients, so I'm writing about it here.
Having found face mask prices to be a little spendy, I decided to DIY myself some pore-drying relief tonight. I am right now, as I'm writing this, wearing a homemade face mask made of baking soda and lemon juice. (Don't worry, a little Googling has assured me that lots of people use baking soda and citrus masks.)
Why it's delighting me:
1. Initially, when I squirted a little lemon juice into the ramekin of baking soda, it fizzed and expanded like a root beer float. I waited until the show was done before I smeared it around on my face, but it was still fun to watch.
2. It was assembled using ingredients from my pantry, making it nearly free.
3. I can already tell that the too-oily sides of my nose are drying out a bit, and this feels AWESOME. The face mask is nearly done, and has gotten all dry and crackly now. Sure, it looks ridiculous on a human face, the way all face masks do. But again, my skin feels like the oils in the pores are being absorbed, and that's my face mask bottom line today. Mission accomplished. (So far.)
4. Isn't lemon supposed to brighten skin or something? I'm not entirely up on these things, but it sounds like something a beauty article would say. (This is a food blog, so I'm not going to indulge in TOO much non-food homework. The lazy treatment is as good as this beauty experiment is going to get.)
5. It looks and smells kiiiiiiiiind of like lemon curd.
Photos:
 |
| Looks like lemon curd, right? |
 | ||||||||
| Looks like low-quality age makeup once dry. |
BRAND NEW WARNING!!!
Update as of 1/18/12:
One of my friends read the blog (someone read it?!?), tried the mask, and said that it made her face sting, so she had to wash it off quickly. Therefore, I want to encourage caution. Every face has its own sensitivities, and this recipe definitely has some citric acid in it.
For what it's worth, I have good results with this recipe when I use it as a degreaser before my standard face wash (i.e. on a seriously unwashed face), and it has helped noticeably clear up my skin. It actually feels like a relief, on the occasions that I've used it. But I've only used the mask when I've had a lot of natural oils on my face, which in retrospect probably helps to protect my skin from the baking soda and lemon juice. On a clean face, it might really, really sting or burn.
Once again, I encourage caution.
Monday, January 2, 2012
This Is Not the Cookie Dough I Was Promised
Salutations! Long time no see. (Tech issues, I swear.) Happy New Year!
I have finally returned to my beloved food blog on this holiday day* to lament about a phenomena that I feel entirely ambivalent about.
I am eating a meal-replacement protein bar that is, I suppose, inspired by cookie dough. It looks like I am eating a tube of cookie dough, it really does. It's the right color. It has chocolate chips in it. Even the texture is pretty close to spot-on, apart from the crunchy/grainy/crystalline bits that I don't mind, but that do kind of break the third wall. But the flavor?!? I'll tell you in just a moment.
This bar had a high vitamin content that I didn't bother to record. And it boasts 28 grams of "Metamyosyn (R)" protein. I haven't Googled Metamyosyn, so that's still a mystery. But for all that I've bothered to decipher, it seems like as adequate a meal-replacement bar as any, more-or-less.
What it is NOT, is a good "cookie dough as a meal" replacement bar. Oh goodness no. It tastes like protein powder, and that flavor is so strong that it overpowers the taste of what I hope (but did not confirm) are chocolate chips. I personally recommend that the company responsible should switch to using a darker chocolate for the chips, so that the chocolate flavor won't be as overpowered by the taste of the protein powder.
Do I recommend eating one of these meal replacement bars instead of a small dish of raw cookie dough? I guess. But this recommendation only comes out of my concern for public health, with regard to the consumption of raw eggs and the awesome/unhealthy combo of refined sugar/refined flour/raw eggs. (Which I myself still love to eat, but in moderation and with an acceptance of the possibility of food poisoning.)
* This blog was written on January 1st, 2012, but was posted online the day after. Tech issues, I swear again!
I have finally returned to my beloved food blog on this holiday day* to lament about a phenomena that I feel entirely ambivalent about.
I am eating a meal-replacement protein bar that is, I suppose, inspired by cookie dough. It looks like I am eating a tube of cookie dough, it really does. It's the right color. It has chocolate chips in it. Even the texture is pretty close to spot-on, apart from the crunchy/grainy/crystalline bits that I don't mind, but that do kind of break the third wall. But the flavor?!? I'll tell you in just a moment.
This bar had a high vitamin content that I didn't bother to record. And it boasts 28 grams of "Metamyosyn (R)" protein. I haven't Googled Metamyosyn, so that's still a mystery. But for all that I've bothered to decipher, it seems like as adequate a meal-replacement bar as any, more-or-less.
What it is NOT, is a good "cookie dough as a meal" replacement bar. Oh goodness no. It tastes like protein powder, and that flavor is so strong that it overpowers the taste of what I hope (but did not confirm) are chocolate chips. I personally recommend that the company responsible should switch to using a darker chocolate for the chips, so that the chocolate flavor won't be as overpowered by the taste of the protein powder.
Do I recommend eating one of these meal replacement bars instead of a small dish of raw cookie dough? I guess. But this recommendation only comes out of my concern for public health, with regard to the consumption of raw eggs and the awesome/unhealthy combo of refined sugar/refined flour/raw eggs. (Which I myself still love to eat, but in moderation and with an acceptance of the possibility of food poisoning.)
* This blog was written on January 1st, 2012, but was posted online the day after. Tech issues, I swear again!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Boo hoo hoo Cheese and Apples
Just an aside here, not a proper post:
I finished my apple (homegrown from a tree in my parents' garden, SUCKERS!) but still have cheese left.
Extra-sharp, aged cheddar from my husband's road trip to Tillamook. I love this cheese, but I have started to nibble on the apple core to compliment it. Because I really, really, really like to pair cheese with fruit. Observe:
There is a hole going straight through the apple now, like the mouth on a Jim Henson monster.
Creepy.
I finished my apple (homegrown from a tree in my parents' garden, SUCKERS!) but still have cheese left.
Extra-sharp, aged cheddar from my husband's road trip to Tillamook. I love this cheese, but I have started to nibble on the apple core to compliment it. Because I really, really, really like to pair cheese with fruit. Observe:
There is a hole going straight through the apple now, like the mouth on a Jim Henson monster.
Creepy.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Oh, Hello Omelet!
I am eating an omelet, because I took the opportunity to build one for myself, for the narrow and highly specific purpose of eating. For myself. Yes. Indeed.
I used the three egg whites leftover from a recent batch of spaghetti carbonara, plus one whole egg. For the pan, I used my husband's gorgeous iron skillet:
(Skillet glamor shot intended to evoke a dark moon rising over a distant planet.)
For the oil, with which the pan was greased, I used olive oil because that's what we have 'round this here kitchen.
For the cheese, I used Tillamook smoked black pepper white cheddar cheese. Not all omelets use cheese, but mine typically do because I love cheese.
For the non-cheese, I used flat leaf parsley and green onion, because those are the fresh herbs that I had in my fridge at the time.
The eggs were only lightly whipped, and they barely filled the pan, so the omelet itself is thin--nearly the size and shape of a tortilla. While not the heartiest omelet of my life (four egg whites to one yolk), it is certainly greasy, flavorful and cheering. A perfect way to prepare for a day of hard work.
Huzzah, omelet!
I used the three egg whites leftover from a recent batch of spaghetti carbonara, plus one whole egg. For the pan, I used my husband's gorgeous iron skillet:
(Skillet glamor shot intended to evoke a dark moon rising over a distant planet.)
For the oil, with which the pan was greased, I used olive oil because that's what we have 'round this here kitchen.
For the cheese, I used Tillamook smoked black pepper white cheddar cheese. Not all omelets use cheese, but mine typically do because I love cheese.
For the non-cheese, I used flat leaf parsley and green onion, because those are the fresh herbs that I had in my fridge at the time.
The eggs were only lightly whipped, and they barely filled the pan, so the omelet itself is thin--nearly the size and shape of a tortilla. While not the heartiest omelet of my life (four egg whites to one yolk), it is certainly greasy, flavorful and cheering. A perfect way to prepare for a day of hard work.
Huzzah, omelet!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Curbing A Murderous Sweet Tooth vol. 1 Simmered Apples
If you're like me (and because I have a somewhat limited imagination, I assume everyone is), you have a commanding sweet tooth that demands grim, sugary satisfaction beyond anything a human frame can safely consume.
Rather than fully re-orchestrate your palate to suit your true medical needs, compromises are sought. What can be eaten or be otherwise placed in the mouth that will reach that magical sensation of "eh, good enough" while leaving the mind and body intact?!?!?!?!
THIS is the subject of my "Curbing A Murderous Sweet Tooth" series.
Volume 1:
Simmered Apples
Apples aren't as cheap as I like to be when it comes to food, but an apple every now and then can fit between even tightly pinched pennies. (Wait, that metaphor doesn't make any sense...)
I'm partial to Fuji and Pink Lady apples, and Honeycrisp when they're on sale. I'm fairly certain that today's apple is either Fuji or Honeycrisp.
What I Did
I quartered my apple so the core could be easily removed--almost scooped out of each quarter--with a paring knife.
I trimmed the knobby ends off of each apple quarter and ate them. This was a good idea. In fact, if I were as cool as my husband (with regard to fresh fruit) I would have stopped at this step and just eaten the apple. But I am not, at least not today. I needed, I NEED, to be reminded of pastry. At least a little more than what fresh fruit can do for me this afternoon.
With the knobby ends gone, I was free to make thin little slices of apple, as is visible in the photo. This is a simple recipe that I'm sure everyone already uses an adaptation of, but the thinness of the slices are what lend it a refreshing novelty. Show off. You can be lazy in many areas of life and I will still love you. But for your own dignity and mine, don't neglect this step. Make thin slices of apple.
I layered the slices in a ramekin, filled the bottom with maybe an inch of water, and topped the whole business of it with powdered cinnamon and dark agave syrup. I "sealed" the ramekin with a wet paper towel and microwaved it for about 2.5 minutes.
It's true that the apples boiled over, rendering the ramekin horribly sticky. It's true that the microwave had to be thoroughly cleaned. But the apple slices and simple juice in the dish were worth it. The flavor was a mixture of home-cooking, autumn and Americana, contrasted with a hint of residual, summery, fresh, fruitiness.
My after-work-snack sweet tooth was domesticated, and I am grateful and relaxed. Bonus points are being awarded here for the fiber and water content of apples: anything inclined to fill and occupy the stomach is an ally when one is faced with sating an insatiable sweet tooth and snack drive.
A Note About Granny Smith Apples
Do you know how much sugar you have to use to make Granny Smith apples palatable?!?!?!
Too much!!!!!
It is my humble (and in this case, unsentimental) opinion that the sugar requirements for Granny Smith apples are entirely too much of a bother. Health and vanity concerns aside, who wants to spend that much money sweetening a kind of fruit that's normally sweet enough to use as a sweetener? Sugar is cheap, but it's not free, so bollocks that. Bollocks all other the place. (Bad at swearing? That's okay.)
Unless one is of an especially retro mindset, and is in the mood for a dish that is one half-step removed from candy (both legitimate whims), it's better to start baked apple sweet dishes with apples that are already sweet. I have spoken.
Rather than fully re-orchestrate your palate to suit your true medical needs, compromises are sought. What can be eaten or be otherwise placed in the mouth that will reach that magical sensation of "eh, good enough" while leaving the mind and body intact?!?!?!?!
THIS is the subject of my "Curbing A Murderous Sweet Tooth" series.
Volume 1:
Simmered Apples
Apples aren't as cheap as I like to be when it comes to food, but an apple every now and then can fit between even tightly pinched pennies. (Wait, that metaphor doesn't make any sense...)
I'm partial to Fuji and Pink Lady apples, and Honeycrisp when they're on sale. I'm fairly certain that today's apple is either Fuji or Honeycrisp.
What I Did
I quartered my apple so the core could be easily removed--almost scooped out of each quarter--with a paring knife.
I trimmed the knobby ends off of each apple quarter and ate them. This was a good idea. In fact, if I were as cool as my husband (with regard to fresh fruit) I would have stopped at this step and just eaten the apple. But I am not, at least not today. I needed, I NEED, to be reminded of pastry. At least a little more than what fresh fruit can do for me this afternoon.
With the knobby ends gone, I was free to make thin little slices of apple, as is visible in the photo. This is a simple recipe that I'm sure everyone already uses an adaptation of, but the thinness of the slices are what lend it a refreshing novelty. Show off. You can be lazy in many areas of life and I will still love you. But for your own dignity and mine, don't neglect this step. Make thin slices of apple.
I layered the slices in a ramekin, filled the bottom with maybe an inch of water, and topped the whole business of it with powdered cinnamon and dark agave syrup. I "sealed" the ramekin with a wet paper towel and microwaved it for about 2.5 minutes.
It's true that the apples boiled over, rendering the ramekin horribly sticky. It's true that the microwave had to be thoroughly cleaned. But the apple slices and simple juice in the dish were worth it. The flavor was a mixture of home-cooking, autumn and Americana, contrasted with a hint of residual, summery, fresh, fruitiness.
My after-work-snack sweet tooth was domesticated, and I am grateful and relaxed. Bonus points are being awarded here for the fiber and water content of apples: anything inclined to fill and occupy the stomach is an ally when one is faced with sating an insatiable sweet tooth and snack drive.
A Note About Granny Smith Apples
Do you know how much sugar you have to use to make Granny Smith apples palatable?!?!?!
Too much!!!!!
It is my humble (and in this case, unsentimental) opinion that the sugar requirements for Granny Smith apples are entirely too much of a bother. Health and vanity concerns aside, who wants to spend that much money sweetening a kind of fruit that's normally sweet enough to use as a sweetener? Sugar is cheap, but it's not free, so bollocks that. Bollocks all other the place. (Bad at swearing? That's okay.)
Unless one is of an especially retro mindset, and is in the mood for a dish that is one half-step removed from candy (both legitimate whims), it's better to start baked apple sweet dishes with apples that are already sweet. I have spoken.
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