Mechanics

I used to see Wayne daily as I walked through the office at my old job delivering contracts and whatnot to my coworkers. He’d be standing there at the front desk checking in with the receptionist, climbing a ladder to reach the overhead fluorescent lights that are always blowing out, or running around to each of the thermostats located on the 4th floor making sure the temperature is “just right” for all the suits rushing past. Wayne always had a smile on his face – I truly cannot think of a time that I saw him without – and it would brighten when I walk in the room. Sometimes I wondered if it was me he liked, or if it was just an ear that he was looking for, but regardless, I could not help but return the smile. Each time I appeared, a new story started. Most days, I didn't even realize he was talking to me or speaking any words of interest until a few sentences in, when something would catch my attention and my interest would peak.

….mumble, mumble….lived in New York City, over there off 8th Avenue and 34th Street. …mumble….you know how people do stand-up or theater? I used to, in my spare time.

This is where the New York accent would begin, most of Wayne’s words ending before the last sound would actually come out.

"There was this skit we used to do – there were four of us. We acted as if we were in an elevator. We had a Hell’s Angel’s biker, a pregnant lady, a real twerp of a business guy – real pansy he was – and an Anglo-Saxon protestant. The elevator would stop in the middle of two floors and the electricity would go out. Ohh, it was funny. First the pregnant lady would start screaming, then the business guy would drop his brief case on the floor and wouldn’t be able to find it. We always had the whole place laughing with that one. Never failed.
But what I really liked to do was build the sets. I helped with them a lot. We would pull all-nighters making sure a set would be done for the actor’s – you realize we were on a schedule since none of them would want to come in if there was no set – staying up till 5 or 6 in the morning. The radio blaring on stage, working all night. Every morning after pulling an all-nighter, we’d get a hot dog. For breakfast. Course, ya had to have coffee too, so you’d go down another block to another deli and get a cup’o’coffee.
That city never stopped. There were café’s where people could sit outside. And they don’t care how much you drink there. Great jazz places too. Me and some buddies closed down a bar – 3:00 am – one night and walked down the street. There was this jazz club with 4 or 5 guys playing together on stage. After 3:00 am and they were still going. None of ‘em looked like they knew each other, but they were playing, and they were GOOD. This old black guy with a hat tilted to one side walked past the stage with a case in one hand an’ they all stopped playing and yelled to him to Come on! Get up here and start playin! And he did for the rest of the night…..still going.
I lived there for 10 years… about 10 years.
Watch out for those subways. You can’t go running around riding subways at 3:00 am. Not there."

At this point, Wayne would look at me, a little sheepishly but with that big grin and kind of shake himself off.

"Well, I gotta go find an electrician. Seems there’s a problem with the wiring. I’ll be back…"

I'd smile and he'd walk away.

Shhhhh, we're at Schenley...

Last weekend was the most beautiful weekend I think I've had the pleasure of experiencing since we left San Diego.  It was warm and sunny and lovely, even though it snowed a day later.  I don't think I will ever get used to it.
My mom sent me a book of photography for my birthday, and it inspired me to go out and snap some photos.  It has been a loooooong time since I purposely went out to photograph the world around me, and since I wanted to be outside in the beautiful weather, I thought it a perfect way to spend my afternoon. Here are a few of favorites from my afternoon at Schenley Park.

I couldn't get over the textures, but oh the colors! It seemed like everything literally brightened up like the sun and just popped - it was as if my eyes almost hurt to look at certain greens or yellows.  All in all, a satisfying afternoon in Pittswburgh (do you hear me? I said it.  "Enjoyable" and "Pittsburgh" in the same sentence. I'm not TOTALLY bias).

Enjoi!

Buttermilk, whaaa?

Occasionally when I'm browsing baking recipes I come across the need for buttermilk.  And every time, my mind wanders in the direction of, why the heck do you have to buy SO MUCH buttermilk when you buy it?  I so rarely use it, yet it comes in quarts, or, maybe if you're lucky, the one that's half a quart (I can never remember what is what when it comes to measurements...a pint? Who knows...). But I normally need a cup or less.  WHY do I have to spend multiple dollars on something I will use only part of and then let sit in my fridge until I finally decide "Ok, it's been about a month now, the buttermilk has officially gone bad and I can throw it out", and then it's lumpy and disgusting and I have to deal with it.  Why can't they just sell half a cup's worth of buttermilk?  I will never understand this logic, or the lack thereof.  After throwing out so much unused buttermilk, I finally searched the internet to find what I could use to substitute. And it's super simple. Basically just mixing regular milk and an acid. I have tried using both lemon juice and vinegar, and while I would use either in a pinch, I prefer lemon juice, especially for baking, since it has a slightly less pungency to it than vinegar does. I have also tried using regular milk, soy milk, and coconut milk, and find that they have all worked just fine for me.

Buttermilk Substitute
1 Tbs lemon juice
Almost 1 cup of milk (any kind)

In a measuring cup, add 1 Tbs of lemon juice.  Fill the remainder of the cup with milk. Let sit for 5+ minutes. Use like buttermilk.
Seriously. Easiest recipe I've ever put on here. :)
But it works.  And it saves me the hassle of pouring lumpy month-old buttermilk down the drain..again. Hopefully it will save you from the same.
Enjoi!

A Tiny Tahini (dressing) Post

I like saying the work "tahini".  It makes me smile. It also makes a fantastic and very easy dressing, when combined with just a few other basic ingredients. It can be put on mutliple types of salad, or roasted veggies, or on falafel, or mixed in with veggies and rice or quinoa, or....well, you see where I am going with this.  It's quite versatile, which makes it a good staple in our house. The dressing also requires only a few ingredients.

Tahini Dressing

2-3 cloves of garlic (depending on how much you like garlic and how big your cloves are)

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbs olive oil

2-3 Tbs hot water

1/2 tsp salt (more to taste)

Migarlic, tahini, lemon juice and zest together. Add the olive oil.  Slowly mix in the hot water, a little at a time, until the dressing reaches your desired consistency.  Add in the salt, and you are done!

I like to put the dressing in the refrigerator for a while (30 mins or more) so that the flavors can meld together a little better before using, but this is not necessary.

Enjoi!

Another Oldie But Goodie - Russian Carrot Pie

Yes, I just titled this post as that.  Sorry. :P

But this one IS an old recipe - one I grew up with. And it IS good - delicious, in fact - and I consider it one of my favorites.  On top of that, it sounds complicated but isn't, which in my opinion, makes it a fantastic recipe.  It's also somewhat unique - it's not your basic down home recipe that you'll find a million slight variations of (though, of course I've put my own variations on it). Oh, and it's originally from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen, which by now, you should know is my favorite cookbook of all time. 

Russian Carrot Pie

   1 pie crust(yup, yet again I cheat and buy a frozen pre-made one)
   3 Tbs. butter
   1 cup minced onions
   1/2 tsp salt
   1 lb.carrots, thinly sliced
   1 Tbs.flour
   1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
   1/2 cup grated mozzarella
   1 egg, beaten
   1-2 Tbs dill weed (to taste)
   3 Tbs. wheat germ

   paprika

   ground black pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet (and yes, it needs to actually be large to fit all those carrots). Saute onions and salt over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft (about 5-8 minutes).  Mix in the carrots and the flour.  Cook and stir until the carrots are tender but not mushy. Remove from heat.  In a large bowl, mix together the cheese and the egg.  Add the cooked carrot mixture (it's ok if it's still hot) and mix well.  Stir in the wheat germ, black pepper and dill.  Spread into the pie crust.  Sprinkle the top of the pie with a generous amount of paprika (it looks pretty).  Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees then turn the oven down to 350F and bake it another 30 minutes.  Let it cool for 5 minutes before cutting it so it can set.

I like to serve this with some sort of green vegetable (my go-to's are asparagus or broccoli), and a baked potato. 

Enjoi!

Double Helpings of Thanksgiving Happiness and Sweet Potatoes

Well, Thanksgiving is over and the Holidays are upon us.  I cannot believe we are here already! This year has flown by for Kevin and me! I feel like I say that every year, though.  Crazy how as you get older the years get shorter...
For this year's holiday, Kevin and I made the trek to Wisconsin where my sister and her husband hosted our big family meal in their new home! It was wonderful to see family and friends, relax, and of course, in the true American way, gorge ourselves on anything semi-edible that we could get our hands on.  In order to make it easier for those who host, my family tries to divvy up the dishes so each person makes one or two, and no one is stuck with the majority.  I always make the sweet potatoes, many times in casserole form. However, this year I diverged, and I think everyone was glad we did.  I made Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes, which, since I always use fresh, whole sweet potatoes, cut down on having to peel the flesh out of their skins, which saved time and a lot of mess. The recipe was really pretty simple, and I was able to prepare them the day before Thanksgiving, refrigerate them overnight (ok, let's be honest, I did not put them in the refrigerator, I put them in the garage, since the refrigerator was full), and then bake them (for the second time) about 20 minutes before we sat down to eat.

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

Filling:
6 Sweet Potatoes
5 Tbs Brown Sugar
4 Tbs Butter
6 oz. Cream Cheese
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg

Topping:
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Wash the potatoes, and pierce them with a fork a few times. Put on a baking sheet (whole) and roast for 1 hour. To test to see if the potatoes are cooked through, pierce with a fork - if the fork slides through easily, I'd say they are done. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool.

Once cooled, slice each potato in half the long way, so they look like little boats.  With a spoon, scoop out the flesh, leaving about 1/4" on all sides, and put in a bowl. Set the skins aside. Mix in the rest of the filling ingredients and whip the filling together, so that it is creamy and blended well.

This is the fun part.  If you are special and have a pastry bag, use that.  If you do not, like I do not, take a large Ziplock bag, and cut one of the bottom corners off (only about a 1/4").  Fill the bag with the filling mixture, and pipe into each potato skin. This is where you can set the potatoes aside and save them for later if you would prefer.
Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon for the topping together, and then with a pastry cutter or butter knife, cut in the butter to form a crumbly topping. Sprinkle onto each potato.
Bake the potatoes on the baking sheet for about 15-20 minutes, just so they are heated through.
Enjoi!

Every Child's Nightmare - Brussels Sprouts

They're green.
They're round.
They look like little cabbages..

Yup, the brussels sprout.  Every child's nightmare.  Definitely mine, and I know I was not alone.  Just the thought of a small cabbage brought horror to my eyes and made my taste buds cringe. Yet somehow, over the last 4-5 years, I have overcome my horror and fell in love with the little guys.  Someone told me a while back that your taste buds change every 7 years just like you skin and hair.  I don't know if that is actually true or not, but I have definitely noticed my taste buds have changed since I was 7 years old. ;) Now I love brussels sprouts, and we eat them pretty regularly in our house.  I have a feeling that, while the brussels sprout can be a strong tasting veggie, it is often time the cooking of it that does it no justice.  Therefore, my day's work today consists of sharing a very simple yet delicious way to cook brussels sprouts so that maybe you will actually enjoy them.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts, washed, stemmed (if needed), and halved
4 Tbs Olive Oil, divided
3 Tbs Balsamic (more or less to taste)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Wash the brussels sprouts and remove outer leaves that may look dried out or browned.  Make sure the stem of the sprout is cut close so that you don't have to eat the hard stem (or spit it out).

Cut each brussels sprout into 2 halves (so that the base of the stem is halved - if you cut it crosswise, the sprout will fall apart).  Put 1-2 Tbs of olive oil into a frying pan or skillet and heat on med-high until oil is hot.  Place the halves of the brussel sprouts cut-side down and allow them to brown.

Some of my brussels sprouts I like to get crispy and dark, while others just get a quick sear - I like to keep it varied.  Do not worry about cooking the sprouts all the way through - they have yet to be roasted in the oven!
Once the brussels sprouts are seared or browned to your liking, place them on a (foil-lined!) baking sheet, sprinkle with the remaining olive oil and the salt and pepper, and place them in the oven.  Let them roast, tossing them once or twice, for about 20 minutes, until they are softened and able to be pierced easily with a fork.

Once they are roasted, sprinkle the balsamic on them and toss.  Put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes or so, so that they have time to marinate in the balsamic, which will reduce a bit as it heats.  Remove from the oven, and add more balsamic to taste.

Serve as a side dish with pretty much anything. I served mine (this time) with a BBQ tofu sandwich and mashed potatoes.

Enjoi!