merry christmas, moon boots.

not that anybody cares, but i just whipped egg yolks into peaks! haha! my arms are really tired. don't try this at home.

look for the roulade after shabbat tomorrow...(if all goes well)

for susan

i took a plunge this week and tried something completely new. something i had never made, or ever eaten. i made a ricotta and spinach roulade the other night for my family (meaing mom, dad, joe and tom). it went pretty well with the tomato basil soup that has become part of my repertoire. the photograph in the cookbook looked pastry-like and i got to thinking it would be like a croissant. i initially skimmed the ingredients meaning i didn't notice amounts. i thought it would be a flaky bread rolled up with ricotta spread inside, a little like a cinnamon roll. it wasn't. it's very eggy. it has four eggs in it and only 1/3 cup of flour. that said, it was pretty good, very light. it would probably be better still warm from the oven. next time i will put more spinach and garlic in it to counteract the egginess. or try different ingredients. if you're interested i'm more than willing the share the recipe.

as for the book itself, the instructions were very easy to follow. there is a section in the back (with photographs) describing different techniques. i should have consulted this before i tried to whip my egg yolks into peaks. and even though i didn't accomplish said peaks for my roulade, i think it still turned out well. this might be an oneg dish.

here's a website that has a good walk-through of making a roulade, if you're curious: http://veganmenu.blogspot.com/2008/03/seitan-roulade-braised-leeks.html

stay tuned for a new focaccia recipe!

new to me

we played a round of "scattergories" last night with a group of friends. only one round because we then moved onto the nail biting "catch prase". we could play that game all night. but as tom and i were getting ready for bed he revealed his strategy to me. once the letter has been rolled he then puts that letter in each blank to give himself a bit of a head start. then he brainstorms words that start with that letter and looks at the list to see if those words will fit anywhere. can you believe this?! it's a list people, 1,2,3,4,5... and you're supposed to go through it and think about what is best, not come up with whatever and then fit it into a catergory. tom's favorite part of the game is trying to sell his answer to the group. now i know why it's so hard to buy what he's selling: it's not the best answer he could come up with, it's the fastest. he tries to manipulate the situation so his answer works. thankfully most of the time people see through it. i guess the results speak for themselves, though. i won again.

tonight i made two new recipes from 'the illustrated kitchen bible'. i made "hamburgers" and "deep fried potatoes". warning: this is probably not the best post to follow the grinding my own grain eassy.

the burgers were nothing to write home about. i was a little skeptical about it when i saw the egg yolk. they're simple burgers, with said yolk, onions and salt and pepper. i put some extra seasonings in it. the best trick i learned from the burgers was broiling them! it's pretty cold here (not today, technically, since it's 9pm and 59' outside) and not having to go outside to use the grill is a perk. the burgers were juicy but the onions and lack of grill taste made it seem more like meatloaf than a burger. i'll return to the standard beef and seasonings but stick with the broil till it gets warm again. i was pleased to find my broiling pan in the basement and the clean up wasn't terrible.

the potatoes are always a work in progress. i tried the double fried method which means i fried them at 320' for 6 minutes, let them cool and then fried them for 3 minutes at 350'. next time i'll fry them the second time at 375' to get them a little crispier on the outside. they're fried potatoes, so they're pretty tasty. the real trick is adding the seasoning when they're all finished. you can use anything that you would normally put on burgers, a mesquite flavor is best. and the finer the better, it sticks to the fries. currently i have a larger blend that's not as cooperative for seasoning fries. but they're still yummy.

i'll be honest with you, i meant to serve a salad with the burgers, but who really wants to eat leafy greens with their burger? this meal is especially good with a cold coke.