homemade yogurt

 

Lately, it seems that I hear about a new "superfood" every other day or so, but honestly, I don't know if I am buying it. Are we handing out this title without merit, without truly thinking about what it takes to be "super"?  I think so.  You would probably never rub blueberries all over your (or your goats/sheep) body to get clean, and you certainly wouldn't want to give yourself an artichoke enema, and if you had a case of super-violent blasters no french doctor could cure (I'm talking to you King Francis I), I really doubt you'd have success by ingesting some olive oil.  As strange as it may seem, all these things were done using yogurt. plain old yogurt.  It's a fairly new food in the U.S., but it has been around for ages upon ages.  This is how I have been making it at home.

Ok, this is a really simple process, but there are a few key things that you have to do in order to ensure success.  The first thing you need to do is heat your milk up to 180F.  I use a candy thermometer because  it has a handy-dandy little clip that hooks onto the side of my pot. this process is called "denaturing" and is done to eliminate any bad bacteria that may live in the milk and prevent the formation of the good bacteria that lives in the yogurt and that your body needs. once you have heated the milk up to proper temp, it must be cooled down to between 105F-110F, so as not to kill the good guys in the yogurt we will add to the milk. now, it is time to add your culture (I do this by way of some organic, plain yogurt, but I think that you can actually get yogurt starters out there if you want, although I don't really know why you would...). this process is called "inoculating", and just means that you have invited the good bacteria to totally take over the milk party (i like to imagine them as the uninvited guests who bring an acoustic guitar to a house party).

Now, here is where it can get kind of tricky.  Your yogurt needs to stay at a pretty constant temp of 90-100F.  if it dips down below there, it will never really get thick enough, and you are going to end up with something like thick buttermilk.  My buddy John and I came up with the idea that if you added hot water to a cooler and then added the yogurt to it and closed the lid, that it would maintain a pretty decent temperature.  I've found this method to work really well.  

I always wrap the pot I heated my milk in with some plastic wrap, to help seal in the heat, and then I put the lid on.  This is also done in the rare event that an unsuspecting spouse/co-worker/roommate/raccoon/dog/albatross, disturbs the cooler and causes some sloshage.

set the wrapped and lidded yogurt pot into the hot water and make sure that it only comes up about 1/2-3/4 of the way.  you don't want any to sneak into the pot and ruin your end product. Now, go do something else. anything else, but think about your yogurt.  not for another good 8 hours at least.  I like to leave mine for around 12 + hours because I like it to be pretty tangy. the longer you leave it, the tangier it becomes.  the next day, portion it out into containers and refrigerate.  The end product is so versatile and can be used in both sweet and savory applications.  I like to eat mine with fresh fruit and granola or also with some onion, cucumber, tomato, etc. hope you give this a try.  it is a little involved but it is a fun one that has a big payoff. also, It makes quite a bit and keeps for a long time (3 weeks to a month!) so there is definitely enough to share with your homies. pieces.

otherstuffs:  I am having a go at "corning" my own beef brisket for st. Patty's day.  If it turns out, I'll post about it. Also, I finally got my eames lounge chair and have been enjoying it immensely (ultimate reading station achieved).  it's probably the reason for my lack of posts lately.  you'd understand if you sit in it...

homemade yogurt:

1/2 gallon whole milk (preferably organic)

1  6 oz. container plain yogurt (preferably organic) (I used stonyfield farm)

you will need

a pot big enough to hold the quantity you are making

a therm of some sort

a cooler big enough to fit the pot

patience

Here's the do:

heat the milk to 180F stirring once in a while so it doesn't burn.  while that is going on, there are two things you need to do. first, fill your sink with iced water and a little salt (this makes the iced water colder, it's science..saw it on mythbusters) second, fill a cooler with hot water (I just use hottest water from the tap). once you have heated the milk to 180F, set the pot into the iced water and stir occasionally until it has cooled down to 105-110F. cover with plastic wrap and the lid to your pot and set into the cooler (or I guess in this case, the warmer) with the hot water.  if you overestimated the water level, simply take some of the water out until desired level is achieved.  now, it's just a waiting game.  leave at least 8 hours, or longer if you want more tang-age.

check out this link to yogurt cheese. it's good stuff, you should make some.  

DISH recommends: All-Clad 3.5 quart casserole. this little guy is one of my favorite pots.  I use it for small batches of soup, yogurt, blahblahblah. love it to pieces.  a little on the pricey side, but I will never buy anything but all clad for stainless.  it has proven itself very worthy of my hard earned clams.

startin' the mornin' off right...

if there's one thing that is really important to me, it's breakfast. If there's one thing that I absolutely do not have time for during the week, it's breakfast. You see, when you have to get up around midnight and crawl into work, you tend to maximize the amount of time that you can stay in bed. I basically hit the alarm clock off, throw on some clothes, brush my teeth, and then head out. not leaving a whole lot of time to fill my body with nutrients. That's where my love affair with granola bars began. granola bars definitely fit the bill for a fast breakfast. however, most of them are fluff or far from anything resembling tastiness. I used to eat peanut butter cliff bars, but when you down five a week, they start to get expensive. A while back, I had made a batch of g-bars from a martha stewart recipe. In theory, they sounded great because there was no refined sugar or preservatives or anything of the sort, but in actuality, they sort of came up short for me. I think that I didn't like the whole tropical dried fruit nonsense or something, not my style. the one thing I did really like (and steal for this recipe) was the fact that instead of sugar, this recipe used simmered, pureed dates. they act as your binding agent and hold everything together, also adding another, earthily sweet dimension to this bar, something I can totally get into...

yeah, it seems like there are a lot of ingredients to this, but just hang in there and try it at least once. they are all something you can get at a grocery that sells bulk ingredients ( I picked all of my stuff up at super saver on 48th, with the exception of the local honey, found at open harvest). At first it may seem like a lot to buy, but if you make this once, it won't be a waste, because it will definitely get reruns...

wunderBARS:

you're going to need: a food processor/chopper, biggest sheet pan you have, big mixing bowl,

and your mitts...

start with:

turn oven to 350F

2 cups pitted dates--put these in a saucepan and cover with water. simmer without a lid for around five minutes, or however long it takes to assemble the rest of the stuff

3 cups old fashioned oats, finely ground in a food processor

2 cups walnuts, coarsely ground in a food processor

1 cup almonds, coarsely ground in a food processor

2-2.5 cups dried fruits of your choice (lately I have been doing dried cranberries and dried currants, but you can use whatever you like. Raisins are good in here, but so are cherries, blueberries, etc)

4 tbs oat bran

6 tbs ground flax seed

4 tbs wheat germ

1 tsp coarse salt

6 tbs local honey (make sure to get local if possible, it fights off allergies/asthma. etc, honey that is foreign to the region doesn't do this)

1 tsp cinnamon (optional, I stopped adding this, as i found it unnecessary, but you can decide for yourself.

ok, here's the do:

combine ground oats, ground nuts, the dried fruit(s), oat bran, ground flax seed, wheat germ, salt, and cinnamon (if using) in a big mixing bowl, give it a little mix. drain the dates, leaving a couple of tablespoons of water in the pot, and pour this into the food processor. add the honey and puree everything until smooth. go wash your hands. do it. they may seem clean, but just do it anyway. clean? ok, now pour the date mixture over the rest of the ingredients and use your hands to mix everything up uniformly. it's sticky, but that's ok, you have to do it this way or it just won't get fully mixed. the dry ingredients should look moist and it should be slightly tacky to the touch. spray your big sheet pan with cooking spray and transfer the mixture to the pan. don't worry if it doesn't extend to the end of the pan just try and get a uniform rectangle going with about a 1-inch thickness. pop into oven for around 30 minutes. bars will be done when edges start to darken and middle is set. now, if you happen to have a vacuum sealer, let these cool and make individual packages for your breakfast for the next two weeks. if not, I'm sure they will last quite a while in just plastic wrap.

non-foodstuffs: we recently adopted a 9 year old english setter. who has kennel cough. who has proceeded to give kennel cough to gus. I miss sleeping.

DISH recommends:Fagor 6 qt duo pressure cooker. I made a curry in 4 minutes the other day people. FOUR minutes!! I almost cried. I am loving this thing. get one. it will change your life...or at the very least, dinnertime.

I know that, somebody's frying...

sometimes the simplest things can end up being the most difficult. like riding a bike (yeah... I had that faceplant out in wilderness last week, then, mames decided to one-up me and ate pavement coming back from the farmer's market and ended up breaking her wrist:(. kind of a bad week), or using a coaster (I may never get that down), and even frying an egg (or in this case, explaining how to properly fry an egg:). yeah, you read that right. It's not that the act of frying an egg is difficult. you've probably done it dozens of times, maybe even hundreds. I may even have entered into thousands territory as I use to be a brunch cook, but until the other day, I'd never fried one properly. you see, the problem with frying eggs is getting the yolk (which should always be over easy:) and the white (firm, yet silky, with a crispy outer edge) perfectly done at the same time. to do this, you need to cook the egg at a low temp, which allows for the whites to firm up, but remain soft and not get rubbery, which happens with the introduction of high heat, but you also have to mind that creamy orange-gold orb of goodness on top, and make sure not to overcook the yolk, but you need to apply some heat without totally killing it. whew!, sounds like a lot to deal with? yeah, I know. that's why I made a video. clicksters.

DISH recommends: iPhone4. mames filmed this vid with my new phone. i love it. I'm sure someone will tell me there are better phones out there and bigger screens, and a million other reasons I should have bought a droid, but guess what? iDon'tcare. does that make me an elitist? probably. tell me something I don't know...

ps: youtube version here.

Making thick roll sushi

ok, while I have a few other things to say, this post is mostly going to be about sushi. So, let's get that other stuff out of the way right from the get-go. Non sushi pics are a tomato and bell pepper soup, a masaman curry, and a "full monty" breakfast. the tomato soup is much like this version only with the addition of some baby red, orange and yellow bell peppers. i also added some chili powder to give it some heat. The masaman curry was a repeat of this recipe. just hadn't had it in a while and you know, had to feed that addiction we have. So if you are wondering how to assemble a proper bloke's full monty, it's basically just this: get some beans going ( I used some canned pintos to save time. I just combined mine with some sauteed onion, a little tomato sauce (actually I think it was v8 juice), salt and pepper, smoked paprika, and some coriander.) and once those are ready, set aside and then fry up some bacon or sausage (or both!), toast some bread, and then quick fry an over easy egg. I like to place mine on top the beans and crack the yolk. pretty filling...you could probably skip lunch with this one.

ok, sushi. Wow, where to begin? well, for the sake of time here, we'll talk about making rolls. While a perfect piece of hand formed sushi is one of life's great pleasures, it's not one of life's easy tasks. Rolling sushi, however, is pretty easy and quite fun. but first, there are a few things you need to pick up.

First, you need to get yourself a rolling mat. These are relatively inexpensive and can be picked up at most asian markets and even some grocery stores around town (i think I saw one at supes on 48th). If you have trouble finding one, I would recommend something like this.

Also, it doesn't hurt to have a guidebook. There are a plethora of good books out there, I just happen to have this one and like it for it's simplicity.

As far as ingredients, the main things you need to pick up are: short grain sushi rice (usually available in bulk, get mine at open harvest, but have also purchased this brand in a pinch at local stores), roasted nori sheets, and rice vinegar. you also need some sugar and salt but I assume most people have those already.

First step would be to get your rice going. I use my rice cooker, but you can very well just use a pot with a lid. You want to make sure you give the rice a good rinsing under cold water in a sieve until the water runs clear. once that happens, either put it in your rice cooker or into a pot with a tight lid. here is a rice recipe:

1 and 1/3 cups sushi rice

1.5 cups water

put washed rice and water in pot, cover with tight fitting lid. bring to a boil over med heat. resist the temptation to lift the lid, just listen for boiling sounds and once that happens, boil for 4 more minutes, adjusting heat if it boils over. after 4 minutes, reduce heat to very low and simmer for 9 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

while your rice is going, you need to make the vinegar mixture. For this you'll need:

4 Tbs rice vinegar

2 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

now, you could put this in a saucepan and heat it up until the salt and sugar has dissolved, but I just nuke it in a microwave for like 40 seconds. make sure it doesn't boil, you just want to dissolve the solids. after 40 seconds it should be hot enough to dissolve everything and if not, you can usually just help it along by giving it a good stir. once you have done this, set aside and wait for your rice to finish cooking.

ok, so rice is done and vinegar mixture is done also. now, you want to move the rice to a wide shallow dish like a baking dish or pie dish (i use the latter) and slowly pour the vinegar mixture into it, mixing and distributing the vinegar so that all of the rice is shiny. fan the rice gently (with a piece of paper, or towel, or, um a fan..., until it starts to cool. once cooled, you are ready to use the rice, or can cover it with a damp towel if you want to use it later (this is what I usually do. I make my rice earlier in the day and cover it so that when I am ready to assemble, I can just get my ingredients ready and go. this way, it seems super easy. a good way to spread out the work. and don't worry, the rice is basically pickled, bacteria would hate this rice, you'll be fine leaving it out.

now, the fun stuff.

now, you are ready to assemble. make sure your work surface is clean and then place your mat on your work surface, top the mat with a nori sheet (shiny side down), and then top with two handfuls of rice in the center. spread the rice evenly across the sheet and leave about 1/4 inch margin on the edge furthest from you. now it's time for your ingredients. whatever you are using, you want to be in long strips. In the photos above, I ended up using smoked salmon and avocado with some cream cheese. whatever you are using (especially in the case of raw fish) you want it to be of the highest quality possible. ok, so lay your ingredients in the middle of the roll. if you have multiple ingredients, just lay on either side of the fish/veggies/etc. now, place your thumbs on the rolling mat and lift the near edge of the mat with your thumb and index fingers. hold the fillings in place with the rest of your fingers. holding a small flap at the top of the mat, bring the near side of the roll over that it covers the fillings. bring the rolling mat down to meet the strip of nori, and gently squeeze along the length of the roll to tuck in the near edge of the nori. Lift the front edge of the mat slightly with one hand and use the other to gently push the roll forward so that the strip of nori not covered by rice seals the roll. Pull back the mat and neaten the ends. set aside in a cool place (not the fridge), while you make the remaining rolls. use a sharp knife to cut the roll into 6-8 pieces. after each cut, the knife will need to be wiped off and moistened to make the additional cuts. serve with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.

ok , so I know that was a lot to process, so for you visual learners out there, try this as a reference. (vid is for a half roll, prob better ones out there, but this is what I found right away)

other stuff:

finally went to bread and cup over the weekend. was pretty excited to go as I really respect what they are trying to do with using locally sourced ingredients, etc. I have to say that I was pretty underwhelmed, and bummed, because I really wanted to enjoy it. Our service was pretty terrible, our wine was forgotten until after we received our entrees, and the bread was pretty dense, ok it was really dense, but I didn't go there for the bread. I ordered the beef brisket which was said to have been braised in red wine with mirepoix but I certainly didn't taste that. it was served with butternut squash puree and roasted potatoes, and there was a rumor that grilled leeks were in there somewhere. I think i had about a 1 inch piece of leek (singular) on top of my meat. The meat was certainly tender, but lacked a lot of flavor and I was left wanting some sort of non-starchy vegetable to cut through the large amount of starch I was eating (perhaps more leeks?). Mames had some grilled flank steak that was very tough and fatty (I don't know if this had to do with the fact that it was grass fed or not, but they certainly could have taken extra measures to ensure tenderness) Perhaps it was an off night...i don't know. I don't think that I will be going back anytime soon, which was a pretty big bummer, because I dig what this guy is trying to do (I even follow his blog), i just think that he needs to spend a little bit more time concentrating on bringing the flavors of his food, up to the standard of the presentation (they did have very nice presentation, I will give them that.)

going to be working a lot these next couple of weeks, so that's why I decided to post two blogs. Marth is in china so, until next time...pieces.

Flapjack of all trades

Historically, I'm not a huge fan of pancakes. My partner in crime, however, is...big time. On most sundays, we sleep in a little later than we probably should, and wake up and make a big breakfast. I generally try to convince mames of more savory adventures. she generally tries to convince me to make pancakes. It wasn't until we did some major tweakage to our standby recipe that I started to become a fan.

It should be noted that there are, indeed, some steps that you need to follow to get consistent results.

#1. everyone says don't overmix (but I say don't undermix either), whoever says that it doesn't matter if you have lumps in your batter is sorely mistaken. Odds are that those lumps will be in your finished product, whether in the form of baking powder or flour. not a fun time. I find that if I sift all of my dry ingredients together and then add the wet, I never really have that problem.

#2. heavy pan (I use a well seasoned cast iron) and a 2 oz. ladle. The even heat of the cast iron lets your pancakes cook at a lower temperature, which (I find) leads to more consistent results, and eliminates the chances of your first pancake either being for the trash or your dog. The 2 oz. ladle is the perfect size for a medium sized flap j, and also the perfect tool to place in the middle and swirl to get a uniform circle (see middle photo).

#3.Med-low heat and butter. I always set my burner to med-low (maybe a little closer to low) and let my skillet heat properly (5 min, approx.). Once i can place my hand over the skillet and feel the heat rising, I take a pad of butter and swirl it around the skillet with a spoon until the skillet is pretty well covered, then I remove whats left of the butter for later. I don't want a pool of butter to cook in, just enough to coat the bottom. Only do this once, I never add more and never have problems with the rest of the batch sticking. It's important to be patient on your first one. Let it brown uniformly and you won't be throwing it away. If you find by the third cake, if they are browning too fast, lower the heat a little.

#4 keep them warm. If your oven has a warming option, set it to this first thing, if not, just turn it to its lowest setting and transfer the finished pancakes to an oven safe plate in your oven until you are ready to chow down.

This makes around 8 med sized pancakes (and 1 tiny buddycake)

Flapjacks

1.5 c ap flour

3.5 tsp baking powder

.5 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tbs sugar

3/4 c milk (no less than 2%)

1/2 c sour cream

1 egg, beaten

4 tbs butter (1/2 stick), 3 tbs melted, other tbs. reserved for pan

set oven to warm/ set skillet over burner on med-low heat

Combine the drys (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and sugar) and sift into a large bowl. add your milk and sour cream and stir to incorporate. add the egg and stir a little more. finally, add the melted butter and stir until everything is well combined ( I do things in this order to eliminate lumpage and also so that my butter that was once melted, doesn't hit the super cold milk and eggs and turn into solids). once the pan is hot, add the last tbs. of butter and swirl around just enough to coat. remove whats left and set aside for later. Now, fill your 2 oz. ladle and pour the batter directly into the center of the pan. place the bottom of the ladle in the middle of the batter and swirl from the middle, slowly going outward. You should end up with a pretty good circle. the batter will release tiny bubbles, wait until they become less frequent, and then flip over to the other side (i always peak a little by lifting up the pancake with my spatula:). They should get very puffy, resist the urge to smash them down, I can't explain it, but that seems to be the natural reaction. You don't want to destroy the floofiness. once you are done, place it on the plate in your warmed oven and move on to the next one. These should take about 2-3 minutes per side.

*you can also add ingredients like bananas, bluberries, choc chips, etc. Just sprinkle them on top, after you have swirled the pancake into a circle. I usually just eat mine straight up with some maple syrup. I like grade "b". It's darker and more caramelly

crepes of wrath

i'm starting to feel the beginnings of summer. The garden is just starting to produce tasty treats, we've managed to eat outside once and a while, and I am also starting to get produce from friends and neighbors. In fact, summer is quickly starting to compete with my longtime favsies, autumn. We'll see what happens, too early to tell.

Sometimes, I get intimidated very easily. Mostly over stupid things. I had it in my head that you had to possess eagle powers to make crepes (or blintze, or any variation of these thin little pancakes). so, naturally I had put it off...for years. You see, wifeshow has been trying to get me to make these for a very long time. I finally ran out of excuses and decided to give it a go. It was not that bad. ok, actually it was probably easier than pancakes. I was kicking myself for not trying it earlier. The best part about them is deciding what you want to put in them. We were eating ours for dinner, so we went with a savory filling of shredded chicken (leftover from chicken in a pot), homemade yogurt cheese, caramelized onion, spinach, and roasted grape tomatoes. All those ingredients (minus the cheese) were chucked into a saute pan for a couple of minutes so their flavors could duke it out. I also made a rhubarb-balsamic reduction to pour over the top. So, first try was actually pretty good. I will be way less reticent to make these again.

Let's see, second picture is a cheeseplate wifeshow whipped up. Notice the lily leaves? of course you did! I think that it was beecher's flagship with honey. We like that combination...hard.

Last pic is of some parmesan bread marth and I made at LeQ. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing early last week because we ran out of blue cheese and I had some extra dough, but people seemed to like them so we made more for the markets. They are about the perfect size for a hotdog or sausage.

DISH recommends:

eating on china. If you have china, odds are that you only use it once or twice a year (if that). i say, you should use it as much as you can. It makes your dinner seem a little bit nicer, makes your food look better, and well, because it's really expensive and you are just letting it gather dust. So go ahead, dust those babies off and grab your ticket to fancytown.

oh yeah, promised Mia I would post this recipe:

Croque Madame: serves two

for the bechamel:

1.5 tbs butter

1.5 tbs flour

1 cup milk

pinch salt and peps

pinch grated nutmeg

pinch paprika

for the sandwich:

4 slices country bread (preferably pain de campagne from Lequartier:)

4 slices good quality ham (think black forest, sugar-cured, Virginia country, or even bacon)

some of your bechamel

1 cup grated cheese (I like gruyere, havarti, or some variation of swiss)

2 eggs, cooked to your preference

turn oven on to 400F

ok, make your bechamel by melting the butter over med heat in a small pot, and add the flour. stir for a minute or so until the flour is incorporated. slowly whisk in your milk and then add your spices. turn the heat to low and whisk every minute or so, until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. check for seasoning. turn the heat back up for a couple of minutes so the flavors start to party.

ok sandwich action. Get a baking sheet and line it with some parch or silpat. Assemble two bread slices, spread some bechamel on them, then a hearty bit of shredded cheese, your ham, the other slice of bread, more cheese, and a bit more bechamel. pop into the oven, and bake for about 5 minutes or so, until everything goes all melty-like. While you are baking the sandwich, fry or poach two eggs to your liking (I prefer a soft-poached egg, so velvety, so creamy...).

Remove sandwiches from oven, put on plate, top with egg, and more bechamel. Garnish with some parsley chiffonade. Other things I like to add to this sandwich are: blanched asparagus, spinach, tomato slices, or roasted red peppers. I like to get a vegetable in there to break up the fat...sometimes...other times, I just want the fatwich. piece.

I usually have egg on my face.

Eggs are pretty much the most perfect food in the world. You can do a million things with them, they are very compact, and when moderately consumed, they are insanely good for you. Wifeshow and I eat our fair share of them. The insanely face-melting breakfast sandwich pictured at left is made up of blanched asparagus, bechamel sauce, jarlsburg cheese, bacon, poached egg, and more bechamel (wife wanted me to note that you need to serve this dish on a big plate as it is insanely messy). Hey, back off! We walk to the store to get our own groceries on sunday, we can do the extra calories, that's my theory anyway. Which, by the way, we have been enjoying quite a bit. It's a couple of miles to get there, and we have a little two wheeled cart that we take to put our groceries in. I thought it would be worse than it is, but it is actually really nice. You get to have a visit with your favorite person, exercise, and you also get to look a little bit homeless, yay! sometimes you find change on the way there (although yesterday, all I found was a rusty penny and a used syringe, don't worry mom. didn't pick it up...this time--talking about the penny here).

the other dish is a cauliflower curry with perfumed basmati rice. Yeah, we eat a lot of curry. and eggs, maybe we should put them together....hmmmm.

perfumed basmati:

prepare basmati rice as you normally would, but throw these treats into the mix:

5 cloves, whole

1 cinnamon stick, broken up

healthy pinch of cumin seeds

2 cardamom pods, bruised

2-3 saffron threads (if you can get them).

after rice is done fluff it up, and then add a few glugs of olive oil (or ghee) and then stir it up. you won't be disappointed. watch out for the aromatics (cloves, cardamom, cin stick), you can easily pick them out, or eat them...if you're a little bit dangerous. (hold on tight)

Because sometimes I make sausage all day long...or EUREKA!...I...um...forgot...

Weekend eats. Tasty treats. We were so cold and hungry on saturday night. Needed something substantial to ward of the frigid briskies (also my band name, don't even think about stealing it, hipsters.) Steak was the solution. booyah achieved. Sunday morning around our house means breakfast. We take sunday morning breakfast pretty seriously. This time, it was Croque Madames. Wife had a great idea to make a smoked gouda bechamel. It turned out great. I liked it quite a bit. A Croque Madame is basically a grilled sandwich with an egg on top. I suppose you could put whatever you wanted in the layers, but I usually do some ham, bechamel, and cheese. the top gets a little more bechamel, cheese, broiled in the oven until melty and finally an egg (and you better make that over easy, over med. at max!:). ok, so you won't find it on any Weight Watcher's menu, but sometimes you have to treat yourself. Everything in moderation, man. Oh, we usually don't eat lunch on sundays, just a snack or something.

Notice the beautiful egg yolk on that pic. If you haven't given free range eggs a go, you really should. In this country, chickens are treated like animals (oh, ...wait a minute), I mean, well, they're treated very poorly. take comfort in the fact that these get to actually have beaks and run around doing chickeny stuff. It makes a difference. If you don't believe, then I will give you some of mine and you can do a side by side taste-off with your stodgy old beakless birdy eggs. Also made some authentic chicken tortilla soup. I did this because I had some free range chicken to use up and I had wanted to make this for a while. I did it the old school way, with epazote, roasted ground chiles, thickened with charred corn tortillas. excellent. It was as good as any I have had. If anyone's interested in the do, let me know, I have to go make 20 pounds of sausage now. no, seriously, I am. Either I am a fool, or just someone who is up to my deeps in pork butt...or both...foolishly up to my deeps in butt. pieces.

DISH recommends

LeCreuset Stock pot. I think that mine is a 12 quart. Not quite sure, but I don't want to go look right this minute. It's bomb proof. and can hold enough to feed a militia. usually around 60-99 clams.

EGGLAND'S Best Cage free eggs. Super Creamy,dark, velvety egg yolks can be expected when you cook up one of these conveniently packaged treats. Highly recommended. A little pricey, but suck it up. don't buy so much soda or something, quality only hurts once, or in my case, about every two weeks.

A Brief Hiatus

So, I haven't posted for a while...luckily, I have some spare time today, so I will try and cram a week's worth of posting into a short period of time here.

This was a huge breakfast.  Normally I just post dinner, but thought I would give a peak at my breakfast on my day off.  Let it be known that I usually do not lunch after eating this monstrosity.  I have really been into berries and fruit lately, especially peaches and nectarines.  I'm cutting this short because of the volume of posting to be done.