Cooking update!
COOKING UPDATE!
Today I made blueberry pie, my very first pie! I used this recipe for the filling and crust. The dough was a bit of a pain to make because I wasn't sure what consistency it needed to be (and also because I dropped my first batch after attempting to balance it on a carton of eggs, resulting in a string of profanities directed at the inconsiderate force of gravity), but other than that the recipe was surprisingly straightforward. Too bad blueberries are so expensive at the farmer's market. I wonder if they're inflating the price, or if it's simply not the right season yet?
About a week ago, I made these maple syrup scones. They were pretty much perfect, but I'm not sure I like the taste of whole wheat flour. (As the-neon-one succinctly puts it, "too healthy".)
Ever since I had a real chocolate malt at Rogers' in Victoria, BC (which reminds me -- I should really post about my West Coast trip before I forget the details!), I've been trying to make my own at home. All you need to do is take your everyday chocolate milkshake recipe and add a few tablespoons of malted milk powder, which is getting a lot harder to find nowadays. Most connoisseurs apparently order it online, but I managed to find Carnation brand at one of my local chain stores. With bittersweet chocolate ice cream (the Carnation powder is sweetened), it's almost perfect! Too bad old-fashioned soda fountains went out of fashion, because it seems like there's a wide variety of carbonated and blended drinks that have either been reduced to syrup or simply aren't around anymore.
Which reminds me, apparently you can get your own carbonator for pretty cheap. Nearly-free soda, any flavor, any time of the day! Now to find some high-quality syrups -- the popular Torani brand seems to contain a lot of "natural ingredients", which makes me suspicious.
Which further reminds me, I should make my own ginger ale and root beer. No, not the wimpy syrup kind, but the real, yeast-fermented variety. I've also been wanting to learn more about artisan teas, ever since visiting The Tao of Tea in Portland. Bevarages are so great for expanding your pallate!
Tried this mac and cheese recipe a few weeks ago. It was quite good, but as someone on MetaFilter pointed out, "eff this melted-cheese-mixed-into-pasta BS". Real mac and cheese is apparently made with a cheesy béchamel sauce.
Check out this excellent series from CHOW, "You're Doing It All Wrong". Hilarious and educational at the same time!
It's interesting how different many common recipes must have been before the arrival of modern culinary conveniences. For instance, many pie crust recipes specify ice-cold butter and water. I'm guessing this type of crust didn't exist before refrigeration was invented? Here's a question I asked about scone leavening on Ask MetaFilter, which resulted in some fascinating historical discussion. All this makes me want to collect antique recipes, which are a lot more nuanced than most modern recipes I've seen.
On Tuesday, the Berkeley farmer's market had a tomato sampling booth with 32 different flavors. My favorite was a tangy Early Girl. It's easy to forget that even the most basic fruits and vegetables come in tens or even hundreds of different varieties!
All the blogs mentioned above are worth checking out. I'm quite skeptical of social networking recipe sites like All Recipes -- they feel too generic and my results have been accordingly mixed.
Today I made blueberry pie, my very first pie! I used this recipe for the filling and crust. The dough was a bit of a pain to make because I wasn't sure what consistency it needed to be (and also because I dropped my first batch after attempting to balance it on a carton of eggs, resulting in a string of profanities directed at the inconsiderate force of gravity), but other than that the recipe was surprisingly straightforward. Too bad blueberries are so expensive at the farmer's market. I wonder if they're inflating the price, or if it's simply not the right season yet?
About a week ago, I made these maple syrup scones. They were pretty much perfect, but I'm not sure I like the taste of whole wheat flour. (As the-neon-one succinctly puts it, "too healthy".)
Ever since I had a real chocolate malt at Rogers' in Victoria, BC (which reminds me -- I should really post about my West Coast trip before I forget the details!), I've been trying to make my own at home. All you need to do is take your everyday chocolate milkshake recipe and add a few tablespoons of malted milk powder, which is getting a lot harder to find nowadays. Most connoisseurs apparently order it online, but I managed to find Carnation brand at one of my local chain stores. With bittersweet chocolate ice cream (the Carnation powder is sweetened), it's almost perfect! Too bad old-fashioned soda fountains went out of fashion, because it seems like there's a wide variety of carbonated and blended drinks that have either been reduced to syrup or simply aren't around anymore.
Which reminds me, apparently you can get your own carbonator for pretty cheap. Nearly-free soda, any flavor, any time of the day! Now to find some high-quality syrups -- the popular Torani brand seems to contain a lot of "natural ingredients", which makes me suspicious.
Which further reminds me, I should make my own ginger ale and root beer. No, not the wimpy syrup kind, but the real, yeast-fermented variety. I've also been wanting to learn more about artisan teas, ever since visiting The Tao of Tea in Portland. Bevarages are so great for expanding your pallate!
Tried this mac and cheese recipe a few weeks ago. It was quite good, but as someone on MetaFilter pointed out, "eff this melted-cheese-mixed-into-pasta BS". Real mac and cheese is apparently made with a cheesy béchamel sauce.
Check out this excellent series from CHOW, "You're Doing It All Wrong". Hilarious and educational at the same time!
It's interesting how different many common recipes must have been before the arrival of modern culinary conveniences. For instance, many pie crust recipes specify ice-cold butter and water. I'm guessing this type of crust didn't exist before refrigeration was invented? Here's a question I asked about scone leavening on Ask MetaFilter, which resulted in some fascinating historical discussion. All this makes me want to collect antique recipes, which are a lot more nuanced than most modern recipes I've seen.
On Tuesday, the Berkeley farmer's market had a tomato sampling booth with 32 different flavors. My favorite was a tangy Early Girl. It's easy to forget that even the most basic fruits and vegetables come in tens or even hundreds of different varieties!
All the blogs mentioned above are worth checking out. I'm quite skeptical of social networking recipe sites like All Recipes -- they feel too generic and my results have been accordingly mixed.