Alright, so I've been undeniably remiss in posting. I haven't done any one major project all week plus! The reason being that I was in Quebec City because DH had to work and it was our first anniversary so no way was I staying home alone. This meant a lot of yummy restaurants and window shopping of overpriced clothes (and really cute hats) instead of crafting and cooking.
I didn't really have computer access and I generally don't like letting it be known that I'm away from home until I'm back safe and sound and the casa is occupied once again. Though now that I think of it, nobody knows who I am via this blog, so I could say I'm going on a year long world tour and it would be no help to a crook. Hm.
Btw, if you're ever in Quebec City, go to Paillards on Saint-Jean for the macaroons (try the passionfruit-chocolate if they have it, but the others are yummy too) and then go further up Saint-Jean, past the gate and the weird intersection (I know, I know, which one?) to this place called Choco-musee Erico for a little museum on the history of chocolate production (I enjoyed the etymology lesson) and some super yummy chocolates, hot chocolate drinks, and ice creams/gelatos.
That's all for now. Hoping to get back into the swing of things this week. I am planning to attempt making pita bread from scratch later this week, so we'll see how that goes and you may hear of my success/misadventures soon after.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Barley Water Leftovers
I did finally get around to making something with the leftover barley from the barley water recipe. I was trying to use up the scraps in my fridge that were starting to look sad, so I chopped up maybe 5 stalks of celery and all the salvageable bits of a bunch of green onions. I stirred that in with the barley and added some cut up hard boiled eggs and some small cubed cheddar.
Can you see where this is going yet?
A bit of vinegar, miracle whip, s&p, and paprika and I had a macaroni salad with barley instead of pasta which was nicely vegetable heavy. We added some herbs from our little garden (parsley and tarragon - too licorice-y for my liking.) The whole thing went a long way, too. Individually it would have served my husband and I for lunch, but there was something about it all stirred up that it took care of lunch and most of dinner.
Barley as a blank slate base - it worked just as well as I'd hoped it would. I'd provide a recipe, but it really was just a case of throwing a bunch of things into a bowl and hoping it worked. If I had to approximate it...
~2 cups cooked barley, cooled
~2 cups mixed raw veggies, chopped to a size close to the barley
~2 oz cheddar cheese, cubed (I used medium)
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped to your liking
toss all this together and add:
a few globs of miracle whip, to taste
maybe 1/4 tsp vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
a handful of fresh herbs of your choice, chopped
Stir it all in and serve either now or later. Refrigerate any uneaten portions promptly.
Gourmet, no?
Can you see where this is going yet?
A bit of vinegar, miracle whip, s&p, and paprika and I had a macaroni salad with barley instead of pasta which was nicely vegetable heavy. We added some herbs from our little garden (parsley and tarragon - too licorice-y for my liking.) The whole thing went a long way, too. Individually it would have served my husband and I for lunch, but there was something about it all stirred up that it took care of lunch and most of dinner.
Barley as a blank slate base - it worked just as well as I'd hoped it would. I'd provide a recipe, but it really was just a case of throwing a bunch of things into a bowl and hoping it worked. If I had to approximate it...
~2 cups cooked barley, cooled
~2 cups mixed raw veggies, chopped to a size close to the barley
~2 oz cheddar cheese, cubed (I used medium)
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped to your liking
toss all this together and add:
a few globs of miracle whip, to taste
maybe 1/4 tsp vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
a handful of fresh herbs of your choice, chopped
Stir it all in and serve either now or later. Refrigerate any uneaten portions promptly.
Gourmet, no?
Monday, July 12, 2010
Barley Water
I finally got around to attempting barley water, or lemon barley water to be more precise. After poking around for a recipe, I settled on Alton Brown's Barley Water recipe. I halved the recipe since I wasn't sure if I would like it and had a very nice little 1 litre pitcher I could use. The one modification made was to rinse the barley before boiling it. I'd remembered seeing that step on some other recipe sites.
Being the impatient foodie that I am, I did taste a spoonful of the drink after it was all stirred up but not yet chilled. It was unpleasantly sour but I figured: 1- temperatures can change taste perceptions, 2- Alton Brown is usually pretty good at this and, 3- I doubt I screwed up such a simple recipe. So I put it in the fridge and left it to chill overnight.
This morning, after breakfast, it was time to try it. Final verdict: Yummy! The acidity had mellowed quite a bit overnight, leaving it just freshly lemony. If I had to liken it to anything, I'd say it's like a cloudy, smooth lemonade. I'm guessing it's the barley that grounds the flavour. The lemon peels left in the pitcher overnight along with the lemon juice also gave it a better depth of flavour than lemon juice alone.
A couple last things to note: First of all, the recipes I saw all said to discard the barley after it's done cooking. I don't see why it should be wasted. After making this recipe I found it was nicely cooked and a good blank slate to use as a base for some yumminess or other. It's in my fridge. I'll probably mix it with veggies, a bit of meat and a light dressing within the next couple of days to make a lunch salad. Secondly, a good bit of liquid gets soaked up as the barley cooks, so if you try this, don't be surprised if you end up with a bit less than expected. Instead of filling my 1 litre pitcher, it was only 2/3 to 3/4 full.
I didn't take any pictures. One thing at a time and right now, it's learning links so I can reference my sources and give credit where it's due. Next I want to figure out how to make the links open into a new tab instead of sending you away.
Being the impatient foodie that I am, I did taste a spoonful of the drink after it was all stirred up but not yet chilled. It was unpleasantly sour but I figured: 1- temperatures can change taste perceptions, 2- Alton Brown is usually pretty good at this and, 3- I doubt I screwed up such a simple recipe. So I put it in the fridge and left it to chill overnight.
This morning, after breakfast, it was time to try it. Final verdict: Yummy! The acidity had mellowed quite a bit overnight, leaving it just freshly lemony. If I had to liken it to anything, I'd say it's like a cloudy, smooth lemonade. I'm guessing it's the barley that grounds the flavour. The lemon peels left in the pitcher overnight along with the lemon juice also gave it a better depth of flavour than lemon juice alone.
A couple last things to note: First of all, the recipes I saw all said to discard the barley after it's done cooking. I don't see why it should be wasted. After making this recipe I found it was nicely cooked and a good blank slate to use as a base for some yumminess or other. It's in my fridge. I'll probably mix it with veggies, a bit of meat and a light dressing within the next couple of days to make a lunch salad. Secondly, a good bit of liquid gets soaked up as the barley cooks, so if you try this, don't be surprised if you end up with a bit less than expected. Instead of filling my 1 litre pitcher, it was only 2/3 to 3/4 full.
I didn't take any pictures. One thing at a time and right now, it's learning links so I can reference my sources and give credit where it's due. Next I want to figure out how to make the links open into a new tab instead of sending you away.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Skydiving Second Thoughts
So, skydiving has been on my things-to-do list for a good long time now. It kept getting put off. First I didn't have the age to go skydiving. Then I didn't have the money. Then I didn't have the health. Yadda yadda yadda. Now, finally, I'm in a position that I can manage to go skydiving and it might not be a large window of opportunity. So I call the place. His phone connection is choppy, which doesn't bother me, but so was his attitude. This does bother me. Chopped, clipped, impatient. Not to mention a bit money hungry. I call and there's no information offered. Just two questions: What time do you want to jump? What's the credit card number?
I am not impressed.
I can appreciate that they probably get phone calls from people who waste their time. I can appreciate that it is a place of business. Heck, I even get that people who do this for a living probably tend to like to live a little (okay, a lot) harder and faster than I do. Nonetheless, I really didn't like his tone. Dude, would it kill you to not sound inconvenienced from the "hello" on? Do you only grow a sense of civility once you have a hold of my deposit? Is this the kind of person I want to be strapped to and relying upon not to turn me into a minor dent on the earth's surface? Insensitivity and I don't get along so well and I would like to enjoy this.
Thankfully, hubby has the credit card so I have a couple hours to think about whether or not I want to give this place my business... and to see if I can get life insurance before this weekend.
- Pondering the art of blogging: Is it wise to reread and publish something immediately after writing it? Would it not be wise to come back to it with a fresh eye later? Probably. Oh well.
I am not impressed.
I can appreciate that they probably get phone calls from people who waste their time. I can appreciate that it is a place of business. Heck, I even get that people who do this for a living probably tend to like to live a little (okay, a lot) harder and faster than I do. Nonetheless, I really didn't like his tone. Dude, would it kill you to not sound inconvenienced from the "hello" on? Do you only grow a sense of civility once you have a hold of my deposit? Is this the kind of person I want to be strapped to and relying upon not to turn me into a minor dent on the earth's surface? Insensitivity and I don't get along so well and I would like to enjoy this.
Thankfully, hubby has the credit card so I have a couple hours to think about whether or not I want to give this place my business... and to see if I can get life insurance before this weekend.
- Pondering the art of blogging: Is it wise to reread and publish something immediately after writing it? Would it not be wise to come back to it with a fresh eye later? Probably. Oh well.
Settling In
After much too much time playing with all the pretties while figuring out my layout or template or whatnot, I've settled on this. For now. The orange and swirlies make me happy. For now. ... but only for now... la la... only for now... Avenue Q? Anyone?
I've also started poking around online for the rules, both explicit and unspoken, of blogging. How do I reference someone? How do I tell them I really like their blog without seeming like a creeper? Do I need to ask permission to post links? If most of my project ideas come from other blogs, how many links are too much? Oy.
This whole blogging thing is going to be interesting.
I've also started poking around online for the rules, both explicit and unspoken, of blogging. How do I reference someone? How do I tell them I really like their blog without seeming like a creeper? Do I need to ask permission to post links? If most of my project ideas come from other blogs, how many links are too much? Oy.
This whole blogging thing is going to be interesting.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Hello.
It's an original post title, isn't it? I'm not a huge fan of writing, but I do like keeping busy with little projects and need a place to keep track. A lot of my ideas come from other brilliant blogs, so this just seemed a natural step.
Also, I'll ask you to forgive my punctuation/capitalization. I do try to get it right, but if I worry neurotically about it like I did in school, this blog will be dead two minutes ago. There's a reason I danced down the hall after my last English class, folks.
As a master list - mostly for myself here - the projects I keep meaning to get to that I can remember right now are:
Foodie Fun
Crafty Goodness
Hair: Currently about an inch above my waist.
Ciao for now.
Also, I'll ask you to forgive my punctuation/capitalization. I do try to get it right, but if I worry neurotically about it like I did in school, this blog will be dead two minutes ago. There's a reason I danced down the hall after my last English class, folks.
As a master list - mostly for myself here - the projects I keep meaning to get to that I can remember right now are:
Foodie Fun
- a sweet potato salad recipe that looks delicious
- a freezer batch of pork and shrimp dumplings
- turkish delights
- char siu bao
- homemade bagelfuls*
- homemade pop tarts*
- I will conquer homemade stock! Argh!
Crafty Goodness
- a Flemish dress
- an Italian renaissance gown
- a long cotton Victoriana type nightgown
- a corset (style undecided)
- a hat design I have in mind
Hair: Currently about an inch above my waist.
- I will try dusting once I find that tutorial and my hair-cutting scissors again.
- Something called SMT at the LHC. Must buy aloe gel.
- A whole bunch of hairstyles
Ciao for now.
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