Best Chocolate Cake Ever

I’m making stir fry right now. Pork, carrots, purple cabbage, and onions. I already burned the rice, so at 7pm, I’m starting another batch. Why? Because I just really want rice. Brown rice, that is. No white rice in the house, and it usually stays that way.

It was my birthday last week. I had an awesome day. The Sunday before (that’s two Sundays ago, if you’re keeping track) I made myself a birthday cake. I picked up the book Blue Ribbon Recipes from The Old Farmer’s Almanac for $2 at a antiques shop. I thought it would be filled with old-school blue ribbon recipes from the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. Alas, they were brand, spanking new ones, most of which were uninteresting to me.

HOWEVER, I did run across the recipe for “Best of Show” Chocolate Cake. Of course, I modified it to the extreme, but here’s the original recipe:

“Best of Show” Chocolate Cake:

1 3/4 cups flour (I subbed 3/4 whole wheat flour, just for kicks)
2 cups sugar (I subbed 3/4 cup brown sugar because I ran out of white)
3/4 cup (yes cup) imported cocoa (I used dutch process black cocoa)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (canola)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt. Mix well. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. With an electric mixer (or a wire whisk, if you’re feeling strong), beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water by hand. The batter will be thin (ridiculously thin). Pour into a greased bundt pan (fits in a 10 cup just barely) and bake for 40 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then remove from pan and continue cooling on the rack. The cake will be very moist.

Diane Morrison from New Jersey, who won a ribbon for this cake, clearly knew what she was talking about. It’s AMAZING. The boy and I pretty much ate the whole cake over the course of three very self-restrained days (seriously, I could have eaten the whole thing in one sitting). The black cocoa makes the dry mix an ugly grey and the batter and cake a rich, deep black. It literally looks like Red River Valley black dirt. And moist? This thing will practically fall apart. I think I underbaked mine a bit and left it to cool too long in the pan, because I had a very hard time getting it out of the bundt pan, despite using a Wilton uber-nonstick pan and oiling it (probably should have buttered it). Also, I added chopped apricots to the mix and didn’t flour them, so they sank to the bottom/stuck to the top (although, I doubt flouring would have made much of a difference since the batter was sooooo thin). Also, this cake is WAY better without stuff in it.

It was the best after a day or two of sitting out uncovered so it dried out a little. Still, ridiculously moist and tender and light, but still somehow dense. Amazing. It’s my new favorite cake. Now I just have to find a good yellow cake recipe for the boy, ’cause that’s his favorite.

In other news, it was sunny today, which was refreshing, but the boy and I have been very tired lately and we’re not really sure why. Makes motivating oneself to do work one doesn’t want to do particularly trying.

Also, the boy’s parents gave me a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card for my birthday. So last night I ordered a bunch of food books online at B&N’s used book section. The shipping was about $12 for three books, but I got a pretty good deal! I ordered Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours, which I have only read rave reviews of in the foodie blogosphere; Marion Cunningham’s Lost Recipes: Meals to Share with Family and Friends; and America’s Best Lost Recipes from America’s Test Kitchen. See a theme here? Lol… I know America’s Best Recipes is bound to have lots of great, old-fashioned foods nestled within its pages. Marion Cunningham takes retro classics and figures out how to make them from scratch, not with the convenience foods of the 1950s. I’m very excited to get them. I’ll let you know how they work out!

And now I should probably go and check my rice.

Green is good.

It rained today. A lot. So much, in fact, that the boy’s Jeep Wrangler refused to start, despite even a jump from my car. Apparently water very easily leaks in under the hood and down the fire wall, often dampening the computer, starter wires, coil, and other electrical goodies. If things dry out, they’re usually okay, but it was warm today (56) and very VERY wet. And it’s supposed to stay relatively wet this week. So drying out was not really an option this time of year.

The boy missed work today and I worked from home and after being towed by a neighbor to under the apartment car port, being sprayed down with wire drying petroleum distillants, testing the coil spark, getting a dose of dry gas, a shock from a battery pack, and lots and lots of careful turning over, we finally got the damn thing running.

The boy and I have not been eating very well lately. We had pizza and greasy Mexican food last week and despite the purple soup I made on Saturday, I haven’t been feeling the most healthy. Especially since I made myself a moist chocolate bundt cake studded (kind of) with bits of dried apricot yesterday as it’s my birthday tomorrow and I knew I wouldn’t have time today or tomorrow to bake. Alas, I ran out of sugar (and had to substitute some brown sugar), subbed 3/4 cup A.P. flour with some whole wheat just for the heck of it, and added the apricots. But the batter was so runny (it’s supposed to be), they all sank to the bottom. And when the cake was done? Either I left it to cool too long in the pan right side up, or didn’t let it cool long enough upside down on the rack. At either rate, I left a good chunk of the top in the pan when I forcibly shook the cake out. Bad idea, future self, just fyi. HOWEVER, it made up for it by being completely delicious.

So we had some of that today and we also had ice cream. Which meant I had to cook something relatively healthy. I settled on Van Kemp’s beer battered fish fillets (cheating, I know) and I made some homemade tartar sauce and colcannon with kale instead of potatoes. It felt good to eat (kind of) healthily.

Colcannon:

3 medium red potatoes cut into eighths or smallish chunks
half a bunch curly kale, roughly chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter
salt

Cook the potatoes in cold water brought to a boil (put the potatoes in when the water is cold) and boil until potatoes are very tender. Using a slotted spoon lift out the potatoes into a medium-sized bowl. Add the chopped green onion/scallions and cover with a lid or plate to keep warm. Add the kale to the hot water and bring to a boil again, boiling 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain (saving the water for soup, if you want) and add half at a time to the hot potatoes, mashing in between with a fork. Add butter and salt and mix-mash well. Serve with roast chicken, fish, or by itself. Serves 3-4.

This stuff is fabulous. It’s mostly kale, which is good, but still has the creamy texture of potatoes. If things are a little dry, add some of the hot cooking water, more butter, or a little milk. Delicious.

Homemade Tartar Sauce (without pickles!):

3/4 cup mayonnaise (I use Helmann’s made with canola oil)
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
many shakes white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2-3 celery stalks, sliced
a shake of garlic powder

Mix all ingredients adding vinegar last and adding to taste. You can add pepper, but you shouldn’t need salt. Serve with fried fish. Makes approximately 2 cups sauce.

I never keep pickles on hand as the boy doesn’t really like them and I don’t eat them all that often. But he loves celery and it does add a nice crunch. The vinegar adds the sour/saltiness that pickles or relish normally add. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s the same idea. You could probably substitute half the mayo with sour cream if you wanted a little lighter sauce.

I should post the cake recipe, but I’m just too tired. It has been a very, very long day. Time for bed!

Sunshine

It’s January. My birthday is in two days. Being from Fargo, I’m used to bitter cold, icy wind, snow, frost, and lots of sunshine all winter. Here in the Hudson River Valley, there is very little snow on the ground, the temperature hangs out around 32, and the days alternate between dry and wetly raw, sunny and overcast.

I never thought myself affected by seasonal affective disorder (SAD), but I’ve been feeling the lack of sunshine since the move out here. Maybe it’s because we had such a dark, rainy summer that literally melted into fall.

I was hoping for a sunny day today (like yesterday) so that the boy and I would have nice weather for thrift storing and a bit of a walk. Instead, the entire sky is the same shade of white/grey. *sigh* It went from spring-like, to dreary January in a single day.

When you think of your ideal place on earth, is there sunshine? There is in mine. My ideal place on earth is somewhere with open spaces (so either back home on the prairies, up at the boy’s parents’ on the high edges of the Mohawk River Valley, or somewhere here in the Hudson Highlands), gently rolling hills, Some trees, but not too many, babbling little brooks, creeks, and rivers hidden in the grass and tumbling over rocks in the woods. A cape cod or Tudor-style cottage (you know, the pointy, ’30s ones) with a big vegetable, garden, lots of old-fashioned flowers, and a red or yellow barn with a single jersey cow, a couple of beef cattle, and chickens or ducks for good eggs. Lilac hedges, fruit trees, and a lively sable and/or blue merle sheltie and possibly a Burmese mountain dog (the boy loves shelties, I love big dogs). And sunshine, lots of sunshine broken by blustery, rainy fall days, violent summer thunderstorms, fairy snow, and gentle spring rains.

*sigh* Now that’s got me dreaming! Ah well. Best thing to do on a dreary day.

I think I understand now why ancient peoples worshipped the sun. How could you not? Even though it’s the earth that does the turning, it’s the sunshine that determines the seasons and the growing season. It’s the sun that gives warmth and growth and life. I never appreciated the sun so much back home because it was always around, giving light, if not always warmth. I miss it out here. I will have to go salve my soul with gorgeous, bargain vintage glass hunting and a piece or two of costume jewelry. : ) Off to get ready!

Purple Soup

I bought some purple cabbage a while ago and I’ve been meaning to make soup with it forever. And y’know what? It came out purple! Awesome. Here’s the recipe:

Purple Soup:

1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small head dark purple or red cabbage
2 Empire (or similar) apples, thinly sliced
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
4 cups water
1/4 cup apple cider (the good cloudy stuff)
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar (optional)
4 smoked sausage/kielbasa links or 1 smoked ring sausage, sliced

In a 5 quart or larger stockpot, cook onions and carrots in olive oil over medium-low heat. When onions are soft and starting to caramelize, add chicken stock, and cabbage. Then add water, apple cider, apples, sugar and vinegar (optional – makes the broth a little sweeter), and sausage. Cover and cook until cabbage is tender. Serve with lots of fresh crusty artisan bread. Serves 6-8.

Seriously. It’s purple. See?

So good! A good combination of sweet and savory. You could add more sugar and vinegar if you wanted to make it more like sweet and sour soup, which might also be good, especially as a starter. Next time I think I will also chop the apple, instead of slicing it and maybe add some more for a little more sweetness.

And yes, once again, I am holding the bowl because the kitchen table is covered in stuff. We eat at the coffee table. It’s sad, but that’s what happens when you have no counter space to prep on. : (

Today I got to imagine and talk about highfalutin museum exhibits. It was AWESOME! I love my job(s). I just hope I can keep getting paid to do them. The current economy is not nice to museums. Tomorrow I am going thrift storing/antiquing and am hoping to find some more cheap glassware! I really am obsessed, aren’t I?

Also, it is very nice to have weekends off with the boy. We are often so busy during the week that it is just really nice to be able to spend time together and go out and do stuff together, especially during daylight hours! I hope it’s sunny tomorrow as we’re going to either do laundry (sad face!) or go for a walk (happy face!), probably up in the mountains. I can’t wait. : ) I love weekends.

*sigh* Now time to go find room in the fridge for that giant pot of soup. I so need a poor but friendly college student as a neighbor so I can foist leftovers off on him/her! Lol…

Glamorous Glass

So, there’s been a lot of talk in the food blogosphere (and elsewhere) about the FDA’s recent report on BPA in plastic. Bisphenol A (BPA) is apparently an endocrine interrupter that could have a role in many of our modern health problems and diseases, is in everything, but particularly in hard, clear plastics and the linings of canned goods. Acid foods are apparently more likely to make BPA leach out of packaging. That means tomatoes.

This sucks. I love canned tomatoes and I use them in a LOT of my cooking. *sigh* The boy and I ran across what we thought was a steal of a deal on a little cottage. One bedroom, fireplace, deck, washer and dryer, and room for a garden. Cottage, right? Wrong. It was an apartment. But before we found that out, I was dreaming about the garden I would grow.

I recently read This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader by Joan Dye Grussow, and it was great. I’m also reading Edna Lewis’ classic book, The Taste of Country Cooking. It really makes me want to try my hand at gardening.

Here’s what I’d plant the first year: tomatoes, basil, green beans, zucchini, kale or collards, green onions, and rhubarb. All pretty easy (except tomatoes) to get growing and all high-producing. Eventually I’d like to grown enough food (a la Joann) to make it easy not to buy veggies in the store. Especially with BPA being apparently in everything, I’d like to can my own tomatoes. Although maybe we’ll see tomatoes being canned in glass more often now.

I love glass as a cooking medium. Glass and metal. Did you know that enamel is really a kind of glass that has been fused to cast iron or stainless steel? Ceramic/clay is also nice. Plastic is awful. Especially in the microwave. Despite what Paula Deen and many other cooks/chefs/writers of cookbooks may tell you, for the love of god, DO NOT MICROWAVE PLASTIC WRAP! Just don’t. Don’t do hard plastics, either. Plastic is made out of petroleum. Do you want to eat petroleum? Then don’t heat up plastic. Melamine either.

Glass is inert. Stainless steel is pretty inert, too. And you know what? Both are pretty recyclable. Glass containers can get a bit expensive, though, so here are some tips to build up a collection:

• Save those jam, jelly, and sauce jars, and not just the canning ones! Wash them out well, sterilize them in the oven (if you want, I don’t). Use them to store dry goods like homemade breadcrumbs and croutons, rice, dry beans, etc. Or fill them with leftovers, homemade jams and sauces that you’re going to use soon, or use the small jam jars to take cottage cheese, yoghurt, or apple sauce to work or school.
• Shop thrift stores for classic pyrex bakeware and storage containers, old canning jars, etc.
• Save those glass juice and tea bottles (wide-mouth only) and wash them thoroughly. They are convenient for bringing beverages like milk, juice, or water on picnics, packed lunches, etc. You can save money by buying in bulk and save trash by not buying plastic and by reusing glass.
• Be gentle with your glass! Broken, cracked, and chipped glass is a waste. If you are careful to begin with, your glass will last for a long, long time.

I love glass. I love vintage glass, too. The other day at the Hidden Barn (best antique shop EVER!) I bought a pair of small, matching, turquoise Pyrex glass mixing bowls for $10. For the pair. They were $5 each. Amazing! They are the perfect size – larger than a cereal bowl, deeper than a soup bowl, but smaller than even my largest of mixing bowls. Perfect for mixing up ingredients that need to be mixed separately and/or for beating eggs. I love them.

I also love milk glass. We might head up to the boy’s parents’ place next weekend (he needs a haircut and doesn’t trust downstate stylists and my car badly needs an oil change) so I’m hoping to hit the vintage shops there and pick up some more cheap milk glass. I need another vase, I’ve decided, and they have them there (nice ones, not fugly ’70s bud vases) for around $1! I love glass. : )

I was thinking the other night about how nice and unbreakable Corell dishware is. The boy is often none to gentle on dishware. BUT! I don’t like the styles and colors they have and it’s too thin. So I had a little daydream about writing them and asking them to reproduce jadite, milk glass, and azurite colors in heavier Corell! Wouldn’t that be fabulous?

Or Anchor-Hocking could bring back all the pretty colored glass dishware. *sigh* Modern dishes are so ugly and the fancy expensive kinds are too pretentious. Those old-timers knew what they were talking about!

And now it’s time to go get ready for the day. I’m loving working on this interpretive plan (I think I finally found my true calling! Lol…) and we’re doing an walk-through one of the buildings to brainstorm about an exhibit. Should be pretty fun!

P.S. It’s a clear, sunny day out today and I’m cheerful. Today is going to be fun!

French Onion Soup, Chicken in Milk, and Creamy Lemon Chicken Casserole

I haven’t posted in a while. Mostly because things have been a little busy at home. I started my history consulting project and the boy and I went and bought an elliptical the other day so that I could actually get some exercise now that I’m being so sedentary! : ) It’s my birthday present.

Class starts next week and we’ve got a wedding to go to this weekend. Life has been busy, but I’m still finding time to cook from scratch. : )

Last week I made french onion soup for the first time. It was SOOO easy! Of course, I had homemade beef stock on hand (which never happens), but it was amazing and delicious and CHEAP. Cheap is important when you are working part-time at a nonprofit. Here’s what I did:

French Onion Soup

1-2 large onions, thinly sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (optional)
two tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons madeira (you could also use dry sherry)
1 quart beef stock
3 cups chicken broth (if you cheat like me and use boullion, you won’t need to add salt)
ground black pepper to taste
shredded cheese for topping (I used a pre-shredded Italian blend, but if you’re feeling expensive, GO FOR THE GRUYERE!)
french bread for dipping (this is important, it’s not a meal without it)

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium heat. Add onions (and garlic, if you’re using it) and caramelize slowly, stirring occasionally to scrape up the sticky bits from the bottom. This should take at least a half an hour. When fully caramelized, the onions will be a deep golden brown (brown, not yellow). When you think they’re caramelized enough, add two tablespoons of madeira and let cook off. Then add the other two tablespoons and let cook off. Don’t forget to sniff the air – it will smell amazing! Add beef and chicken stocks and pepper well. Simmer until soup is cloudy brown and thickened to your liking. Top with cheese and dig in with that bread! Serves appx. 4 people.

Brown onions! But not quite brown enough.

Stocks added! See how nice and brown? Mmm….

On Sunday we had a linner guest (that’s the meal that combines lunch and dinner) before our plans to go see Avatar (really cool, by the way), so I made Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk, minus the sage, with red potatoes and fresh green beans. I first read about Chicken in Milk at theKitchn.com, which had the link to Jamie’s original recipe. It was delicious, but the cinnamon was weird without the sage. I think that I will definitely make it again, but without the cinnamon. If you make this and keep the carcass and/or leftover chicken, don’t keep the sauce. It will jell and turn into a strange kind of fatty aspic. Toss it when you’re done with it.

I love my IKEA stockpots! They can go in the oven because everything on them is stainless steel. It makes not having Le Creuset that much more bearable. : )

Tonight with the leftover potatoes, green beans, and chicken, I made a casserole of pasta, green beans, potatoes, chicken, fresh lemon juice, sour cream, and a little cheese on top. It was amazing. Here’s my recipe:

Creamy Lemon Chicken Casserole:

2 cups leftover chicken from Chicken in Milk
1 cup sliced boiled red potatoes
1 cup cut fresh green beans
juice of 2 lemons
large handful spaghetti pasta, broken in half
1 cup sour cream
shredded cheese to top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put on water to boil for pasta. Tear chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss with vegetables in an 8×8 glass casserole dish. Juice lemons over chicken and veggies (don’t let the seeds fall in!). Toss pasta into boiling water and cook until done. Drain almost all the water, leaving perhaps a 1/4 cup. Pour over chicken and veggies. Add sour cream and stir/toss to combine. When everything is well-coated, top with cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes until casserole is thoroughly hot and cheese is melted and browned. Serves 4.

This recipe was originally inspired by a Splendid Table radio show that talked about a light lemon pasta with potatoes and green veggies had in Italy. The sour cream was a suggestion from Ree Drummond over at Pioneer Woman. I’ve since decided that EVERYTHING is better with sour cream. Pasta, Mexican food, cake, everything. Except, perhaps, pudding. : )

Tomorrow I think I might make roasted cabbage with bacon or red cabbage with apples, onions, and sausage. I have lots of cabbage, onions, and apples that need eating. : ) And now? Time for some ice cream before bed. Why? Because that gives me a reason to make myself get up in the morning and use the new elliptical. : D

Simple Chili and Moist Buttermilk Cornbread

It has been cold here in NY, like much of the country. Dry and cold. A lot like home (Fargo) actually, only with trees and temps that are not 100 degrees colder than the interior of your house is (supposed to be). Around here, the outside is only 50 degrees colder than inside (70 degrees).

At any rate, I had some ground beef that needed using up and a carton of buttermilk resting in my fridge, so I sprang into action! I actually worked fairly late tonight, but the meal, including washing a few dishes, was done in less than an hour and was essentially made from scratch, with a few “cheating” shortcuts.

Here are the recipes:

Simple Chili:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 a large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 small can (8 oz.) tomato paste
1-2 stalks celery, sliced (optional, but I think it adds a nice crunch)
1 packet chili seasoning mix (I used McCormick’s mild chili seasoning because I am a wuss when it comes to spicy foods)

Optional Toppings:

shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
Tabasco sauce

Brown beef in a pot and drain fat (if you want to dirty up another pan, do it the easy way in a skillet, or, if you’re lazy like me, do it the “easy” way – straight in the stock pot and spoon out the fat). Add onions and saute until translucent. Add undrained beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, seasoning mix, and celery. Simmer until “done” or heated through and thickened. Serves 4-8 (depending on hunger and ability to digest large quantities of meat and beans).

Moist Buttermilk Cornbread:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
1/4-1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used half & half) OR 1 cup packed shredded cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter melted and cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter an 8×8 pan. Whisk all dry ingredients together to blend. In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients to blend (if your buttermilk or cream are very cold, your butter will likely solidify slightly, don’t worry, it’s not curdling). Add wet to dry and stir until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Some small lumps are okay, they will absorb the liquid during cooking.

Bake 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick or paring knife inserted into center comes out clean (that last bit is important, even if it looks done, test it! It has a tendency to stay wet inside). Serves 6-9.

There! It was a fabulous dinner. The chili was not too spicy but was nice and tomato-y. The recipe on the seasonings packet called for just the beef, one can of kidney beans, either two small cans of tomato sauce OR a can of diced tomatoes, and the seasoning. BORING! I’m so glad I doctored it up a bit. Especially adding the tomato paste. It would have been totally lifeless without it!

The cornbread is also delish. It is definitely not sweet (despite the amount of sugar added) and is not dry and grainy either, like some cornbreads can be. It is quite dense and very, very moist and smooth. It’s the dairy. So good! I had mine with the very last droplets of our bottle of pure maple syrup. It’s a habit I picked up as a child after reading Laura Ingalls Wilder. Maple syrup is like, 8 million times better than molasses as a topping anyway.

What’s that? You want to see a picture? Okay!

You can’t see it in this picture, but I’m actually holding the plate. Why? Because yes, my kitchen table was that messy.

The boy and I walked to the library after dinner. I returned “Little Women,” which I finished reading just before New Year’s in Ohio. I also picked up a few more books, food-related this time. Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires, From Hardtack to Home Fries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals by Barbara Habler, and a very interesting-looking one from 1977 entitled, The Seasonal Hearth: The Woman at Home in Early America by Adelaide Hechtlinger, which looks fascinating. I’m starting with that one. Right now. : )

Art imitates food… and life.

Today the boy went upstate to volunteer as an 18th century soldier for a historic site event. So I spent (and am spending) the day by myself. We got back from Ohio (loooong drive) on Friday night. Our full car load included my pens, inks, parchment paper, and watercolors and brushes from home, via my mother’s luggage.

I was never a pro artist, or even much of an amateur one. I’ve never taken a drawing class or studied the principles of chiaroscuro or the stylistic brush strokes of impressionism. I dabble. Give me something to look at that’s not too complicated and I can usually reproduce it well enough that it pretty closely resembles the original. Today I went and bought watercolor paper (not, alas, something that was included in my art package) and set to painting. I had a nice pomegranate I painted, but forgot to tear it open so I could paint the ruby-red the insides, too. So I added a pear. And then made a blue background. It’s definitely not my best work. But it’s a start.

Today in perusing The Kitchn.com, I ran across the work artist Nikki McClure, who does papercut art that uses a verb as a focal point. Her art is bold, simple, and iconic. My favorites of hers are those that focus on everyday tasks like gardening or cooking. I’d like to have some of the prints up on the walls of my dream kitchen. Particularly Process, Sustain, and Encourage. I think what I like most about her art is not only the bold look and the homey subjects, but also the style, which is reminiscent of Depression-Era art and propoganda posters (in a good way). Personally, I think she is a little crazy for the medium she picked-  scissors and construction paper – but I think the art she creates is lovely.

I’ve always been a bit in love with the aesthetic. I never cared as much about art or its famous personalities as I did about whether or not a painting was beautiful, well-done, and spoke to me. So the old masters and impressionists gave me more of a thrill than Picasso or Andy Warhol or other “modern” artists.  Why does art that “says” something always seem to be ugly?

I appreciate art on a daily basis. Mostly, it’s nature who’s the artist. For instance, today on a milk run to Stewart’s, I noticed the moon. Really stopped and noticed it. It was, and still is, freezing outside (15 or so, which is better than Fargo, which has been highs of -15 or so lately) but the sky was very clear and the waxing moon very bright. It was just a moment, but I noticed. Earlier today I also noticed and appreciated the dusky green curly kale, bright, fat, and waxy green beans, and crusty bread I snagged from Adam’s today. I even appreciated the old-fashioned, block-color cartons of the Boice Bros. half and half I bought today.

I like useful things that are pretty. Or rather, pretty things that are useful. Like dishes. Lord knows I’ve inherited the china genes from my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmothers. Grandma Ruby got me started on Currier & Ives blue transferware and I’m slowly expanding to milk glass, monax petalware, azurite, and blue cobalt glass. Not to mention my collection of blue and white teacups. I don’t know what it is about blue and white and jade/celadon green, but my kitchen collection is slowly amassing in those colors.

Eating and dining are arts in and of themselves. Ever notice how the atmosphere of a restaurant can affect your opinion and enjoyment of the food? Even the best food doesn’t taste as good in an industrial-cafeteria-type setting. Paper, styrofoam, and plastic dishes and utensils in restaurants disgust me and are annoying. I’d rather have plain china than none at all. Too-dark lighting, too-loud music, and a server or neighboring diner with too-heavy perfume or cologne can ruin a restaurant experience, too. And if the food looks unappetizing, it probably is.

Maybe it’s the Dane in me, because the people of Denmark are apparently obsessed with setting a beautiful table (my fine china genes DO come from the Danish side of the family!). I once read that Danes consume more candles per person than any other nation because they like to have candlelight at every meal. How lovely is that?

I’m pretty influenced by Scandinavian country style in home design. It’s a good mixture of Georgian/Federal and homemade furniture, rich, natural colors, and plenty of sunlight. Carl Larsson is one of my favorite artists (my mom’s, too) and his work practically exemplifies Scandinavian country style. Many of his paintings also focus on food or eating, which I love. For example:

Julaftonen, or "Christmas Eve"

Here we have the Christmas Eve feast with ham, cheese, flatbread, beer, and other goodies. And the blue and white dishes! Many of Larsson’s paintings look like photographs: simple vignettes of everyday life. And that’s perhaps what I love most about them. Larsson also does excellently in capturing clear color and sunlight. Here’s another example:

Breakfast in the Open

Sweden (and Finland) have a long history with birch trees, and this outdoor vignette showcases them. You can clearly see the mix of modern clothing and old-fashioned Swedish peasant costumes. Note the copper coffee pot off to the left and the big wicker baskets and hampers the women are unpacking. And look, even outdoors there are tablecloths and flowers.

This is something that I think is lacking in American life – meals en plein air or al fresco. The Europeans seem to do it so much better than us, particularly British gentry on holiday in foreign nations. Perhaps it is because few of us historically ever had enough servants to justify it (after all, do you want to carry the chairs and table and giant hampers of china and food?), but I think it is a valuable lesson. We are a nation of picnickers, that’s for sure, but nowadays we reject even tablecloths, favoring disposable paper and plastic dishes and utensils and food that can be easily eaten out of hand like sandwiches and chips. I, even, am guilty of that, hauling our little soft cooler full of sandwiches and chips and fruit up the mountain to picnic at Lake Minnewaska. But maybe I should find a real tablecloth that I wouldn’t be afraid to let get dirty (or sew my own) and find my own picnic hamper and get some dishes from the thrift store that I wouldn’t mind if they got chipped or broken and start making dishes that need to be eaten with forks like potato salad and marinated vegetables and pasta salads and cold chicken and fruit. And a bottle of sparkling Lorina lemonade or a big bottle of Orangina with sturdy glasses and a big loaf of fresh bread. And pound cake for dessert. There. Doesn’t that sound like a feast?

Maybe that should be my New Year’s resolution this year – to make eating more beautiful and like art. Because, I have to admit, my lack of kitchen space means that I often do food preparation right on the kitchen table. So more often than not the boy and I eat on the coffee table and couch. : ( Which is bad. But cleaning has never been my forte. I’ll just have to try harder. And maybe paint some more food art along the way. : )

So this was a long ramble, but I’m wishing you all a happy new year and hope that both you and I will keep our resolutions!

Croutons and Collards

I lied. Here I am, posting again. In the same day, no less!

Remember when I said I was maybe going to make croutons out of stale drop biscuits? BEST IDEA EVER!!!

Here’s what they look like:

They don’t look like much, do they? But let me tell you, they are the easiest croutons ever and taste amazing! Never ever EVER throw away stale biscuits ever again. EVER!

Here’s the ridiculously easy recipe:

Stale Biscuit Croutons:

6 or so stale non-buttermilk drop biscuits (note: to make drop biscuits, you should add more milk than the recipe calls for)
appx. 1 teaspoon salt
good shake of granulated garlic or garlic powder

Crumble biscuits (mostly grape- and pea-sized chunks) onto a metal baking sheet with sides. Sprinkle with salt and garlic and stir croutons to coat with salt and garlic. Note that there is not oil used in this. Biscuits usually have enough butter and/or shortening in them to get moist when heated, which will make the salt and garlic stick. Bake at appx. 275-300 degrees Fahrenheit until crisp. Try not to eat them all immediately. Makes appx. 2 cups croutons. Use to top soups or salads.

Traditional Croutons:

1/2 loaf day-old French bread or other crusty peasant bread, cubed
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
all-purpose dried seasoning mix such as Mrs. Dash or McCormick’s brand

In a large bowl, toss bread with olive oil, using just a glug at a time, until the bread is mostly (but not all the way) coated. Add seasoning mix, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss to distribute spices evenly. Bake on ungreased metal baking sheet with sides at 275-300 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes or until croutons are as crisp as you like them. Use to top soups or salads while still warm. Or snack on them and feel guilty about it, but unable to stop yourself. : ) Makes appx. 4 cups croutons

The boy and I love croutons and they are so easy to make and a good way to use up stale bread (or biscuits). You could substitute sliced bread in the above recipe, too.

Here are some more pictures from my cooking exploits:

I discovered not too long ago that the boy loves greens. And winter greens like kale and collards are cheap. So I picked up a bunch of collard greens the other day and made this delicious recipe from Epicurious.

I ripped the stems out of the leaves because I had read somewhere that you were supposed to do that and the stems did seem a bit rubbery. But I wouldn’t do it again. Too much time and I kind of like having some toothiness to my greens!

Despite what the Epicurious recipe says, DO NOT boil the collards for more than 5 or 6 minutes. The recipe said 15, I did six or seven and the leaves were starting to lose a little color and were pretty floppy.

I added LOTS of extra garlic (because, let’s face it, not only do I love garlic, but I have a giant jar of Goya chopped garlic to get through) and used bottled lemon juice instead of fresh and it was still just as good.

With tomato-chickpea-onion soup.

Going from vegan to veggie with the addition of a slice of provolone and a hunk of ciabatta bread.

Yum! Collard greens are my new favorite winter green. I’ve never had kale before (though I want to try) and I used to swear by spinach, but for some reason cooked spinach makes my teeth fuzzy/squeaky. Don’t ask me why, it just does and I don’t particularly like it. But collards? They don’t do that! So yay to teeth-friendly winter greens!

And now I’m gone for real. Off to pack and do dishes before going bowling with friends tonight and leaving on the long trek tomorrow morning! Happy New Year!

Travel Food

The boy and I just got back from his parents’ last night (about a 3 hour drive) and tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn we make the 11 hour trek to visit my relatives and family in Ohio. I’m becoming increasingly frugal because I can’t start work again until January (when both the hours and the paychecks will hopefully be rolling in) and Christmas presents have not been cheap. My larder is getting perilously empty, though I still have quite a few clementine oranges and Ida Red apples and carrots with a couple lemons, some softish celery, wrinkled green beans, and a lonely grapefruit all that’s left of my fresh larder. Oh, and a small head of cabbage.

So, we have pretty much no money to eat out on our long trip tomorrow, so I’m going to do as my mother always did: pack a lunch.

And not just a “lunch” in the sense of a noon meal, but a “lunch” like my great-grandmothers used to call it – an informal meal usually consisting of sandwiches, cookies, and other finger foods. I’ve already chopped up some carrots and the still-crisp stalks of celery. A third of a tub of sour cream got mixed with an eighth of a bottle of ranch dressing to make dip. I’m baking gingerbread cake (Betty Crocker – from a box! Horrors!) that you actually mix IN the pan, which is pretty much the most awesome idea ever. The cake can be cut into squares, will keep well, and doesn’t require frosting (or a fork). Tonight I’ll make sandwiches as I always try to keep deli meat and cheese on hand. We’ll take some clementines with and some of our Christmas chocolate. I’ll probably turn the last of the Idas into apple sauce and pack that up, too. The tag end of a bag of corn chips will get tossed in for a little extra salty crunch and so we’ll eat it up. That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

Mom would always try to do the same, make sure we had fresh fruit & vegetables to go with our sandwiches and chips. We often had sparkling mineral water (raspberry was my sister’s favorite, mine was lime) instead of soda. And a little something sweet at the end: chocolate or cookies, usually.

I’ve traveled a lot in my life, by plane and by car mostly. And I can attest to the fact that having to eat nothing but fast food on trips longer than four hours is hellish on your body. I feel bloated, sluggish, tired, and often a little sick. Especially with plane travel (I tend to get mildly air sick – just nausea, no vomiting, thank goodness), I find that I positively crave fresh vegetables and fruit and fresh bread. And no, not the sad little navel oranges and red delicious apples they sell for $3 a pop in airports. I mean real fruit.

When you face $6 turkey and swiss sandwiches on sad wheat sandwich bread with wilted lettuce as the only “fresh” food for miles in airports or gas stations, it’s a wonder that more people don’t pack their own. A loaf of good sliced bread is $2-4. A half pound of deli meat is around $3. A block of cheese can be had for $2.50. And a head of lettuce is around a $1. Throw in some apples, carrots & celery, and dip and you’ve added maybe $10 to the mix. So for around $20 you could feed a family of four at least two meals and still have leftovers. Going out to eat at most chain restaurants will cost you $20 for a single meal for two people. It takes a little extra time, but in my mind it is totally worth it to pack yourself some real food on a long trip.

With all this eating up everything in the house, I actually have no idea what I’m going to eat for lunch. : ) Maybe I’ll make myself some mashed potatoes or scrambled eggs. Hmmm… yes, cheesy scrambled eggs, maybe with a little onion, some peanut butter & jam on an english muffin. That sounds like a good lunch. I’m saving the leftover chickpea, tomato, onion, and now collard green soup for dinner tonight. I’ll probably toast the rest of the biscuits (now stale) into little crunchy crumbles for topping, especially since I’ve got the oven on.

However, I’m DEFINITELY going to have to go grocery shopping when we get back from Ohio on the first.

I kind of like being this frugal. It forces you to be creative, to use what you’ve got, to think about things you might ordinarily throw away (stale biscuits) in new ways. Makes me wonder what else I could make from scratch or use up!

I’m starting work again the first week in January, both at the museum and my consulting work. School starts again on the 20th. I’m going to be a busy bee until April (when the consulting project ends), so I don’t know how much time I’ll have to cook, but I hope I do!

Wish us good weather for our long drive tomorrow and again on Friday. You won’t hear from me until the new year, I’m afraid. 2009 has been good to me, though and I can’t wait to see what 2010 brings. Safe travels!