Domeschtik

Success & Failure: Adventures in dutch oven cooking!

2010-12-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

My lovely parents gave me a dutch oven as an early Christmas present over Thanksgiving this year (thanks!) and I was very excited to experiment with it. As the title of this post would imply, I have taken this bad boy for a couple of spins and one resulted in a great success and the other in a great failure.

Let's start with success!

I love soups when it's cold out and it's been REALLY cold out. I took the dutch oven for it's inaugural test drive by cooking an interesting Shrimp Chowder from Williams Sonoma. To make it extra hearty I added some frozen corn and whole wheat orzo pasta. On the whole, the recipe was surprisingly easy...while you chop the veggies you roast the asparagus and shrimp in the oven and then just add them in at the end.

It's also relatively healthy because it's jam packed with veggies, has the lean protein from shrimp and gets it's creaminess from just a cup of nonfat evaporated milk.

All in all, this is a great recipe that I will make again. It was definitely hearty enough as a main course for dinner and the leftovers made a nice lunch the next day. I would actually recommend this recipe to even a novice cook...seriously, this is SUPER easy, FULL of flavor and is actually quite "impressive" looking at the end. Also, the dutch oven worked beautifully for this dish! It heated the soup evenly, was a snap to clean (whoever invented that enabled finish is my hero!), and the pot is heavy enough that it doesn't shift on the stove as you stir.

Annnnnd on to the failure.

I'm more of a cook than a baker, but I have definitely baked my share of bread in my time. I have been reading about Mark Bittman's "quick bread recipe" for the last year and always wanted to give it a try. The catch was that I never had a dutch oven so this was my first opportunity! In short, this recipe was a disaster. I'll spare you the play by play, but, just like in life, there are NO SHORTCUTS IN BREAD.

Looking ok if not a little flat.

"Turn the loaf out onto a rack and let cool".

WHOOPS.

Why does my "loaf" more closely resemble a cow-pie?

DISASTER.

Why grocery shopping doesn't have to be a pain in the ass

2010-05-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

Grocery shopping can really suck. Especially if you're like me and tend to frequent Trader Joes and Whole Foods. I once asked a Whole Foods employee how he doesn't have a panic attack every time he comes to work. His response was, "Well, I just try to be mellow and calm...for the most part people are cool and will move out of my way when I need to get through...but there are a lot of douchebags."

Yes Whole Foods man...there certainly are a lot of douchebags at the grocery store. And on top of the classic douches there are screaming children, carts left in the middle of the aisles, old people who never hear you say excuse me, and the crowds. OH the crowds. Unfortunately, we need to eat and thus we need to grocery shop.

Personally, I am a weirdo and I love to grocery shop. I think it's because I learned at an early age to never go into a grocery store without a battle plan. In college I was a personal assistant for a family in Beverly Hills and I had to do all their grocery shopping as part of my job. A week's worth of groceries for a family of 5 (plus a housekeeper). That's a lot of food, trust me. The woman I worked for was actually a pretty good cook and she planned out all her family's meals for the week. She would write everything out: "6 tomatoes, on the vine, highest quality available", "2 lbs premium ground beef, lowest fat content", "6 french cornish hens, ask the butcher to slice down the middle and package for you", "1 package fruit roll ups" (surely her son's request), "1 jar kosher dill spears, highest quality/most expensive". She would then give me an envelope full of hundreds and send me on my way.

My first trip to the store was a disaster. It took me forever to get through the list in the time allotted...you see I only had 45 minutes to get through the store and drop off the groceries before picking her son up from soccer practice. I didn't know where to find anything in the store and I didn't know the difference between a shallot and a scallion. (Note: shallots = small brown onions, often sold in little net packages, and scallions = long green onions often sold in bunches)

Over time, however, I learned how to navigate a big grocery store with ease. I learned how to pick the best veggies and how to order from the meat counter. I even made friends with the store manager who let me cut the lines! In the end, I learned to love grocery shopping...something I am forever grateful for.

This brings me to my theory: grocery shopping doesn't have to suck, people just see grocery shopping as a real pain in the ass because they don't know what they are doing.

Take it from an ex-professional grocery shopper: The first step to grocery shopping inner peace is to go in with a plan.

Now I'm not saying that you need to plan out every meal you're going to make through the entire week, or write out the exact number of tomatoes you need per week, but having a few recipes in mind certainly doesn't hurt. More importantly, you should stop for a second and ask yourself which ingredients go together? For example..."Gee, I want to make that amazing Williams Sonoma shrimp dish that calls for feta cheese...I'll probably have some feta leftover so maybe I should pick up some tomatoes and cucumbers and throw together a Greek salad later in the week." This is critical when you're buying unusual ingredients or else you'll end up having a lot of food go to waste. That's not good for the earth (even if you compost) or for your wallet. So just take a moment to think before you go to the store.

If you aren't shopping for multiple days then that's fine, just buy exactly what you need for for dinner that night...DO NOT...I repeat, DO NOT just starting picking food off the shelves at random as a way to buy a week's worth of food. You'll end up with a full refrigerator and I guarantee most will go to waste.

In short: figure out what you want to cook, what you need, and then write a list. Write your list according to grocery store department. This way you aren't making laps around the store. You can see my example above. It's not pretty...but it got the job done. It's not the most complete list I ever made, it's not a week's worth of groceries, but I wanted to include a real list not something I drafted up for the blog.

Well, I hope this is helpful. This is also reminding me that I have some people coming over for dinner and I'm not sure what to cook....any ideas?

These are a few of my favorite things...

2010-04-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of "back to basics" I thought I would begin by ripping off The Kitchn. These are my top 10 favorite kitchen items. I guess they are actually my top 9 favorite because the two pans are really similar and I haven't decided which I like best.

These are the items I cannot live without and why you might want them too:

A. Martha Stewart "Green Pan" 12" nonstick Wok (Macy's)

I bought this pan in the summer of 2008, before Teflon alternatives were readily available. This pan is made with "thermolon" which is supposedly safer than Teflon. If I recall, it is safe well over 500 degrees and is nontoxic even when chipped. All in all, I've been very pleased with this pan, even though it's a little worse for wear these days. I use it ALL. THE. TIME. It's great for a classic stir fry, making pasta sauce, etc etc.

B. Ruffoni copper and tin lined "risotto" pan (Williams-Sonoma)

I got this pan from my mother last year for Christmas. It's marketed as a "risotto pan" and it really is perfect for risotto. I've never had the pleasure of owning a copper pot before, but I can tell you that what they say about how evenly they distribute the heat is absolutely true. This pan is quickly becoming my favorite (Sorry Martha). I use it for much more than risotto...like the wok, it's great for sauces, stir fries, curries etc. Aside from the fact that this pan cooks foods ridiculously well and is a snap to clean, it is GORGEOUS. (see below) Sadly, the handle is really uncomfortable and sometimes can get really hot.

C. Pyrex pie plate (Target)

As some of you might know, I make a mean pie. Apple, strawberry, pumpkin you name it. I love pie. These are the best pie plates hands down. They are cheap, they are hard to break, you can freeze them, you can microwave them. Amazing. I use these plates all the time. They are great for roasting vegetables, make-shift lasagnas for two, poaching fish...the list goes on and on. I really do find these plates to be unusually versatile.

D. metal pizza pan (my Mom's kitchen...Thanks!)

I use this pan all the time. It's great for roasting vegetables or baking cookies. I don't have a microwave, so I use this frequently to defrost bread and/or to make garlic bread or crostini. I also am in my 20s and therefore appreciate a good frozen pizza once and awhile.

Now for a close-up of the smaller tools:

E. salt and pepper grinder (Sur La Table)

A compact device that serves two purposes thus reducing kitchen clutter? Sign me up. Basically, you turn the top one direction and it grinds salt and when you turn it the other way it grinds pepper. If you aren't using freshly ground pepper in your recipes...please look into it. Trader Joe's sells self-grinding containers of pepper for $2.99 or something. It's worth it!

F. Corkscrew (Target)

Like any young cook, I appreciate a glass of wine (or three) and therefore this tool gets a lot of use in my kitchen. It also serves as a beer bottle opener (duh). This last Christmas my entire family accidentally bought each other corkscrews (don't ask) so I have had the chance to experiment with a variety of designs. This is the best type of corkscrew hands down and I don't care that the waiters in fancy restaurants use a different type.

G. Bamboo slanted spoon (the Pampered Chef)

I literally use this every day often multiple times a day. I prefer this shape because it's easier to scrape the sides of the pan and you can also use it for flipping etc. Wooden spoons won't scratch your nonstick cookware so they are definitely good to have around.

H. Garlic press (Target)

I have met many a twentysomething who either don't know what a garlic press IS or don't know why they should have one. I cannot live with out this! I am a huge garlic fan (I automatically double the garlic in recipes...so uh...keep that in mind when reading this blog!) and I just love my garlic press. Yes, it's a pain in the butt to clean, but it's worth it. There is nothing like fresh garlic bread...mmm.

I. Wusthof santoku knife (Williams-Sonoma)

Dear reader, are you like most twentysomethings who went to Ikea on moving day and bought a $50 block of knives? Do you find that those knives really suck? Have you learned that a "sharp knife is safer than a dull knife" the hard way? Yea...thought so. Good knives are expensive and they are worth EVERY PENNY. This knife cost over $100. Yikes, I know. But I use it every day. And I will use it every day for the next 50 years. Here's the deal, you don't need a block of knives. I only have 4 knives. Two for regular chopping: the Wusthof is my most-used because it is smaller and lighter and then I have a big Henckels knife for cutting into squashes or melons and such. Then I have a small 2 inch paring knife and a serrated bread knife. That's it! Trust me, it's better to have fewer nice knives than a huge block of useless knives.

I prefer the santoku blade because it makes chopping veggies a very easy task. It's particularly great for mincing because you are able to rock the knife back and forth.

And one last knife tip. I'd highly recommend buying your knives individually and from a nice retailer like Williams-Sonoma. At W-S you can experiment with each knife. They let you hold them and use them on a cutting board so you can get a feel for the weight and the handle shape etc. They also do complimentary professional sharpening a couple times a year!

And finally...do not put nice knives in the dishwasher.

J. wooden cutting board (Target? Ikea?)

I prefer wooden cutting boards to plastic and I think they are considered more sanitary but I'm not really sure I buy that. Plastic cutting boards are probably fine if you are lucky enough to have a dishwasher.

I don't care if the handle gets hot...it's so purdy.

A final note, I am a quasi vegetarian (I eat fish) and mostly cook veggie meals. My list of tools obviously reflect my taste. If I ate meat, I would probably include the George Forman grill and/or other tools on my list!

What are YOUR top 10?

Let's do it...again.

2010-04-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

I started this blog over a year ago and though I started it with gusto, I managed to let it fall by the wayside.

I am officially announcing the relaunch of Domeschtik.

This time around I will refrain from the random posts about my camping trips or vacations etc. If it isn't related to domesticity it will not be here. This time around I will be sticking to the original mission: my attempt to impart my basic culinary knowledge to the twentysomethings who are lost in the kitchen and afraid of answering the question "What's for dinner?". This will be writing about cooking in a way that I hope will be appealing to young adults. I will tell you now that there will be an emphasis on healthy cooking and most of the recipes will be vegetarian.

The next few entries will be what I call "back to basics". Discussions about how to read a recipe, how to plan what you're going to eat for the week, how to grocery shop without taking 3 hours or without making you want to stab the hipster blocking the aisle at Whole Foods. We will also discuss why you need to spend money on good knives and why you simply can't have red cups at your parties anymore. (Seriously.)

What it really comes down to is outlined in my first entry, but for now, I will leave you with this quote from an NYT review of Mark Bittman's book Food Matters:

Of all the challenges confronting the "Food Matters" plan for "responsible eating" -- agribusiness lobbying and marketing, the low price of subsidized junk food, even evolutionary factors that attract us to high-calorie foods -- probably the single most obdurate is the fact that so many contemporary Americans simply don't know how to cook. By "cook," I don't mean being able to concoct an impressive dinner the one night a month you have guests over while otherwise subsisting on nuked Lean Cuisine. Real home cooking means having a good repertoire of reliable, quick, uncomplicated recipes and understanding enough of the underlying principles to improvise when needed. It means knowing how to stock a pantry and plan your menus so that you shop for groceries only once a week. It's a set of skills manifested as an attitude, something you can acquire only through regular practice, and it's the one thing that can make a person truly at ease in a kitchen. (An example of this everyday expertise is Bittman's suggestion that, when determining how long to steam a vegetable, you "try bending or breaking whatever it is you're planning to cook; the more pliable the pieces are, the more quickly they will become tender.")

In short, this is home economics -- although when I was taught that subject in high school, our time was largely wasted on learning how to bake perfect biscuits, a special-occasion food if I ever heard of one. Like writing, driving, touch typing and balancing a checkbook, basic cooking is a life skill (not an art or hobby) that everybody needs, and it ought to be taught in public schools as a matter of course. The fact that cooking can also be a craft, featuring a certain amount of self-expression, or that contemporary star chefs have been exalted to a degree far exceeding their actual cultural worth, shouldn't be allowed to obscure that humbler truth.

stay tuned...

2010-04-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

Oh hi there,

I'm working hard to give this blog a major face lift. I'm not talking about just a little botox. So please stay tuned...I'm probably moving to Wordpress which will hopefully result in MORE POSTS and more photos and a new layout and MORE POSTS.

More to come...

Whoa.

2010-02-15T19:22:00.000-08:00

Hi. So uh...it's been awhile.

How are you? I've been incredibly busy with work and life and ironically COOKING.

Aren't soups awesome? I love soup. Or should I say, I love to eat soup. Soups are kind of the world's perfect food. I mean they are healthy, comforting, portable, cheap...blah blah. The interesting thing is that I NEVER make my own soup. I have always been more of a TJ's $1.99/can kind of girl. The catch is that TJ's only makes 3 types of vegetarian soups and after eating about 3 cans a week...let's just say I want to throw up when I look at a can of their vegan split pea.

So this is the beginning of an adventure with soups. I bought the above cookbook while shopping with a friend at my favorite little independent book store near my office: Alexander Book Company. She bought her other friend this cookbook as a birthday gift. The book was SO incredible I just had to order another copy for myself as the store only had one in stock. It is so hard to find vegetarian soup recipes! Everything always uses chicken stock and tend to be bland if you just sub veg broth.

I currently have a curried red lentil soup on the stove right now and it smells amazing! Can't wait to chow down...both tonight and tomorrow at work.

On another note, if this soup kick continues I might be able to justify buying one of Le Creuset's gorgeous new dutch ovens in Cassis...

LE SIGH. So beautiful, yet sooooooo expensive.

Mt. Talapia...I mean Tamalpais.

2009-07-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

hello hello!

This weekend C and I took a "staycation" and did a day-trip up to Marin to hike in Mt. Tamalpais park. It was gorgeous! We brought a nice picnic lunch in our backpack of sourdough bread, cheese, nectarines and a couple of those fiber muffins. I didn't do any cooking this weekend (hence the "staycation") so there aren't any recipes to post. We did check out some new restaurants in the city which were awesome. We went to this great little Italian place in Russian Hill on Friday night. I was very pleased to hear the waitress recommend the exact same meal/wine combo I ordered to the table next to us. I guess I'm getting better at my wine pairings! We also checked out this new French/Japanese fusion place called Swell. The food was AMAZING. We both agreed we had never had such inventive cuisine in our lives. The only catch is that the food is very light so don't go there after a day of hiking looking for a heavy carb-laden meal.

Here are a few photos from our hike:

We happened upon a Greek-style amphitheather. They actually do performances of plays here in the summer...not sure what is playing this season!

A clearing with a giant rock...

There were lots of beautiful redwood trees.

The trail.

The trail ran right along a creek which continued to build up and eventually there were bridges and waterfalls etc. It was amazing!

Devil-Deer.

View from the trail...

A recently fallen redwood...straight into the creek.

After the hike we decided to drive to the top of the mountain. It was quite a drive considering I hadn't driven in months...I almost had a heart attack when a bicyclist passed me on the right flying down the hill at over 30mph.

We were way above the fog-line!

Woo!

hello stranger

2009-07-19T16:48:00.001-07:00

I am hesitant to say strangers plural because I'm not convinced I have more than one reader. But I bring it upon myself by not posting with regularity!

To tell the truth things have just been incredibly busy "offline". Since the last post I have: visited my folks in LA, jumped from a rope swing into a lake, done Vegas right, beat my boyfriend at Monopoly (VICTORY!!!!!!!! FINALLY!), hosted an event for Minor Details Productions in SF, had a few friends visit me in the bay, been to the gym a lot, pulled an ab muscle, got an REI membership, spent time with a few old friends, purchased a new couch (ok I haven't purchased it yet, but I've shopped around and will be buying this week!), read an entire series of horrifically embarrassing books, started Julia Child's memoir, played frisbee golf, and watched a lot of Star Trek. Oh summer!

And onto some cookery!

The theme of the next two recipes is using what you already have.

I think I used this recipe from Williams-Sonoma.com and sort of modified it using what I had around.

I seasoned the fish with salt, pepper, crushed garlic and olive oil. I believe I used halibut here but any mild white-fish should be fine.

I also went to the Farmer's Market that day and picked up some gorgeous artichokes. I sliced them in half (purely for looks) and then steamed them for about 45 minutes. To tell when the 'choke is ready, use a pair of tongs and try to pluck off a leaf. If it is easy to remove the artichokes are ready!

I like this recipe because it is basically self contained. I added some canned tomatoes, Kalamata olives and fresh basil. I believe I used a broth/Chardonnay combo as liquid and then covered the pans with tin foil to poach the fish. It's great because you can drink the rest of the wine with the meal.

The WS recipe calls for pine nuts but I had sliced almonds and I thought that they worked fine. All in all quite delicious!

This next dish I kind of made up. I had some asparagus from the Farmer's Market and some left over ricotta cheese and lasagna noodles from a dinner party I had earlier. I decided to try my hand at some individual lasagnas.

Here is what I used (the amounts will vary depending on how much you want to make):
a few lasagna sheet noodles
1 bunch asparagus
1/2 small container of ricotta cheese
dried basil
dried oregano
1/2 jar pre-made marinara sauce
1/2 can diced tomatoes
some pre-grated parmesan

First I sliced off the tough ends of the asparagus, coated them in olive oil and salt/pepper. Then I roasted them in the oven at 450 until tender. At the same time you should boil your lasagna noodles.

Next, I took the ricotta cheese and added some oregano and dried basil to taste. I also took some canned marinara sauce and added some canned tomatoes I had leftover from the fish dish above. I often like to add whatever I have to pasta sauce to sort of "beef it up" (except without the beef...you get the idea).

To assemble, I laid out a lasagna noodle, plopped down a little sauce, added a few spears of asparagus, plopped down a spoonful of ricotta and then a little more sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan. Then I folded it all up nice and cute and added a drizzle of sauce/parmesan on top.

Once they were all assembled, I baked them in the oven at 350 until they got all nice and melty.

Ta da!

Assessment: You need a lot of asparagus to make these really great. I felt that with just a spear or two they were a little...lacking. I think I've seen this done with prosciutto. Next time I think I'll add some sauteed mushrooms or some other kind of vegetable to make it a little more filling/interesting. Maybe some sauteed or even frozen spinach could also work.

And lastly (this does not go with the theme of using what you have around) I thought I'd introduce you all to my favorite muffin recipe. These muffins are amazing. They are pretty tasty, only have 100 calories each and are full of fiber! C and I make these almost every week and both bring them to work as snacks. They are AMAZING. I always do a double-recipe because they freeze incredibly well. If you are looking for a guilt-free, portable and healthful snack you gotta check these out. I also adore that these are "guilt-free", yet do not contain any artificial ingredients. However, please note that these will NOT taste like a starbucks honey-bran muffin. These are not sweet. If you want a little sweetness, they are great heated up in the oven or micro with a drizzle of honey on top. (Adding a little honey on top doesn't add too many calories!)

The recipe is fairly self explanatory so I'll only throw in a few tips.

First of all, you may be wondering where to get the wheat bran. I've found Bob's Red Mill Wheat Bran to work really well. This bran is available at all Whole Foods stores and at some Safeway/Ralphs type stores. It looks like this:

To mash the banana I usually just put it on a plate and use a potato masher. It should end up with the consistency of baby food.

mmmmmm!

I just made the muffins and they are still in the oven so there are no photos of the finished product!

Alright, time for me to make dinner, do laundry and get ready for the week.

PS: here is the couch we are going to get (most likely)! We're thinking grey instead of this greenish color.

I think it looks cute in this photo, but it looks even better in person. And it's SUPER comfortable. The tall arms make it great for lounging/reading. Woo!

sigh

2009-05-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

www.dailydanny.com (discovered via Apartment Therapy)
It's times like these I wish I owned my fridge...

"I could write a blog...I have thoughts!"

2009-05-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

Couldn't have put it better myself.

I can tell this will be my favorite movie of the year.

Ironically, I've never actually cooked anything by Julia Child. Though I do own her cookbook...perhaps I too should embark on a "recipe a day" challenge!

off topic

2009-05-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

Dear WaMu/Chase/Whatever the hell you are called these days:

I cannot log into my online banking account. I apparently have forgotten my login name.

I see that I can only retrieve my login name from the telephone customer service...and this brings me to my complaint disguised as a general inquiry because I did not see COMPLAINT as an option.

Your telephone "customer service" is the worst I have ever experienced in my entire life. All I need to do is speak to a human being. I understand this is a lot to ask these days. However, you claim to have customer service 7 days a week. I did not receive any service. For some reason my account number and social security number followed by the pound sign are not working. Therefore I can not be ROUTED to an operator so I just keep getting redirected to the original recording. I tried to pretend to open a new account thinking I would HAVE to be able to speak to a human being who could then manually connect me to your online support. But no! Your sales department is closed! So there is not 7 day a week service after all. Fabulous! You should not advertise having customer service available 7 days a week when it is NOT actually available. I understand if you want to be closed on Sundays! Just say so instead of wasting my time.

I understand that this message will most likely never be read by a human being, and if it is, I understand that the human being reading this will have absolutely no power to change anything at all. So, to answer the question that has surely entered your mind by now: YES. I only wrote this to make myself feel better. And YES, I DO feel better taking out my frustrations in this little box.

Thank you and I hope you are having a better Sunday than I am.

-Katherine

Yes, I did actually send this. And yes, I do feel much better ;-)

Down to business - 2 Recipes & a Craft

2009-05-04T20:56:00.001-07:00

It's business time.

Recipe #1 - Basic Risotto how-to

No recipe link here...this is a dish I make quite often so I just kind of do it from my memory. I'll do my best to write it out for you. The nice thing about risotto is that it's great for vegetarians because you can always add meat on the side and it's great for those who are gluten-intolerant because it's all rice. You can use whatever veggies you have on hand.

Ingredients:
Arborio Rice (it will double in size as you add the broth)
1 yellow onion
garlic (either finely chopped, or run through a garlic press)
parmesan/parm reggiano cheese or a mix of both
1 Tetra-Pak veggie or chicken broth (though it never hurts to have extra)
1/2 cup dry white wine (I like to use extra dry Vermouth. Martini and Rossi preferred)
Various vegetables: My favorites are asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, fresh basil, but you can really do anything...butternut squash, zucchini etc.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large wok-type pan
1 small saucepan (to heat the broth)

First you should cook up your vegetables. In this case, I steamed the asparagus and sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil. When they are done, just put them aside on a plate to add at the end.

Now chop up the onion and peel a few gloves of garlic. Pour your broth into a saucepan and turn on low. This is an ESSENTIAL step. The broth must be hot in my experience or else your rice will turn out all mushy and weird.

Pour a liberal amount of olive oil in the pan and saute the garlic for a couple minutes until nice and fragrant. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes, do not let them brown/caramelize.

Next, add a few more tablespoons of olive oil and stir in your rice. Saute the rice in the oil for about 3-5 minutes. They say the rice should appear "transparent" over time...I've never noticed this effect.

Next add the wine to your taste and simmer until it is all absorbed. Your stove should be on about medium heat. Do not let the rice "cook dry" thus sticking to the bottom of the pan. This is not a "set it and forget it" meal.

Add the broth about a half a cup at a time letting it fully absorb before you add more. Give the rice a few stirs. There is no need to constantly stir as that can create mushy rice, but make sure the broth is evenly distributed.

Taste the rice as you go...it should be firm to the bite but not raw. The rice should be about double in size. When the rice is done, turn off the stove and add any spices you like. I am a fan of the obvious salt/pepper but also fresh basil (or dried) and even a little oregano or rosemary. Then add the cheese. I add a lot of cheese because cheese is DELICIOUS.

It should melt quickly. Fold it into the risotto.

Lastly, add your vegetables and you're done!

Yum!

Recipe #2 - Curried Cauliflower ala Williams-Sonoma
Click here for the recipe.

I used this basic recipe, but added half a yellow onion, a couple of tomatoes, three red potatoes and frozen peas to make it a full meal. I also cooked up some brown jasmin rice on the side. Perfect!

Beautiful cauliflower from the Farmer's Market and other veggies from my corner-store.

I chopped up all the ingredients and then poured them into a big salad bowl. I then sifted the spices through and mixed them up with my hands. Finally, I spread them in a single layer on a couple of baking sheets and cooked at 425F for about 45 minutes. The recipe says that it should only take about 30, but potatoes always take forever.

Take the veggies out every once and awhile to turn them. If they start to stick (which mine did) you can give them a quick spray of cooking spray (I use Pam Organic Olive Oil).

Then I mixed up the sauce which was just yogurt and dijon mustard. I was a bit skeptical about the sauce...never had THAT at an Indian restaurant, but it turned out to really compliment the dish! I didn't add all of it though.

Ta da! Aside from the fact that it takes a long time to roast the veggies, this was a very easy and delicious dinner! It was especially good because I don't often cook Indian. I just realized that this was also a gluten-free dinner...I am accidentally on a roll.

AND FINALLY...a craft update. So after discovering those felted coasters I decided to take a stab at felting myself. I discovered this adorable little yarn store near the Marina called Greenwhich Yarn. Super cute, very helpful ladies, great selection and it's been there for 30 years. A bit far away, but totally worth it. I walked all the way back (about 2 miles) and it was super fun...great walk through a few fun neighborhoods.

At first I wanted to make placemats, but then I decided to try something smaller since I'm just experimenting. I opted for hot-pads.

These were quick to knit up. I did them in an afternoon. I used size 15 needles, and double stranded the yarn (one verigated and one solid). I cast on 30 stiches and used a basic stockinette stich.

The end result pre-felting:

I washed the pieces twice on the hot cycle at my local laundromat. Unfortunately, I just don't think the water got hot enough because they didn't shrink nearly as much as I thought they would. I think I'm going to try and refelt them again the next time I do laundry. Or maybe try another laundromat. Even better...maybe I'll have to mooch off a couple of friends who are LIVING THE DREAM and have their own in-unit laundry. Someday...

The end result post felting:

They're a bit large and a bit square. But still kind of fun. I'm happy to be back into knitting and I'm looking forward to more trying out some more felting projects. I also think I'm going to crochet a cute border and a knob-loop on these so I can actually use them in the kitchen.

What else should I felt?

Hiking Yoga

2009-05-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

So before I launch into cooking/crafting, I wanted to do a quick life-update.

This Sunday I went to "free yoga" at Lulu Lemon Athletica. This is a very risky activity for someone like myself. Now you might be thinking this is dangerous because I have weak knees or something, but no...it is far worse...I have a weak sense of willpower when it comes to overpriced workout clothes. You see, Lulu Lemon is incredibly expensive, but also incredibly cute and fun. I realize that the people behind Lulu are pretty smart. It is rarely a "free" yoga class for most of the attendees. After all, you're spending an hour in the store...surrounded by their products being taught yoga by instructors wearing the clothes and everyone is so friendly...and then they ask you if you have any questions and all of a sudden you find yourself in the dressing room with 3 pairs of stretch pants and a $50 sports bra. Oh yes, it is a great marketing tactic.

When under retail attack I normally resort to one of humanity's natural defensive instincts: Fight or Flight. In the case of weekly yoga, I choose Flight and book it out of the store as fast as you can say "Namaste". (Note: this strategy has worked flawlessly, I realize I have not EVER purchased something from Lulu Lemon.)

This brings me to the actual point of this post. This week, instead of our usual class in the store, we did something a little (read: a LOT) different. When I walked into the store with my mat this rainy Sunday morning I was greeted with, "Oh good, you wore your running shoes. This week we aren't doing regular yoga. We're doing HIKING YOGA!"

Gulp.

What is hiking yoga you ask? It is yoga-bootcamp. A 90 minute, intense power walk/run (in the rain!) through the hilliest part of San Francisco then pausing at the top of a mountain to do a bunch of yoga poses.

In conclusion, I survived. It was a very intense workout but it was really really fun. Everyone was really great and the instructor was fabulous and encouraging. I even met a really nice girl who is a fellow knitter and classic movie/musical lover! Yay for new friends. Also, I am proud to say that I kind of kicked butt on this hike. I definitely ran up one of the longest, steepest blocks in the city, leaving the group in the dust and was applauded by a complete stranger who happened to be standing on the corner.

I guess walking uphill everyday is paying off!

really?

2009-05-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

This company can charge $72 for 3 felted COASTERS???? REALLY? I am clearly in the wrong business.

Now they are quite cute as you can see here:

I mean, they have the nifty "five green stitches" which are kind of cool and asymmetrical and then there is the little grommet so you can loop them all together or something. But these really do seem incredibly over priced. (Especially because they have a little disclaimer saying that these coasters are not appropriate for setting a tea kettle on DESPITE THE PHOTO.)

And yet, they clearly seem to sell! I have heard of this brand before on numerous web-blogs and they are having a sample sale at the Fort Mason Center today. Are the hipster-yuppies aka huppies that well off and/or that lacking in knowledge of a basic craft that used to be a mandatory skill just 50 years ago that they will pay this much for a circle that has been thrown in the washing machine?

Now I am no knitting master, but I have been known to pick up ye olde needles once and awhile, so maybe there is something more to these than meets the eye?

I sincerely doubt it.

In other news, happy Saturday all!

Arts & Crafts

2009-04-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

So my new favorite spin on the classic "dinner party ala KT" is the Painting Party. Wine, good food, good conversation, and paints. Here are a few of the results from painting parties past and my own endeavors at home. It's been awhile since I've painted seriously, but I am steadily getting back into it and am enjoying the journey.

Some photograph better than others...

Adventures in Baking: Apple and Berry Galette

2009-04-26T17:13:00.000-07:00

2 posts in 1 day! That's what I call commitment! ;-)

So as I mentioned earlier today, my boss's birthday is tomorrow so I'm bringing in breakfast treats. I came upon this recipe on williams-sonoma.com (my go-to site for all things extravagant). It came up in my search for breakfast foods...but it looks (and smells) an awful lot like a fruit pie. Oh well, I'm just going to roll with it and claim it's a breakfast food and not a dessert. But really, who doesn't like pie for breakfast?

All in all, this is a pretty simple recipe. I think it looks a lot more intimidating/challenging than it is. I'll admit it was a bit time consuming, but not too tricky. I'd definitely recommend this recipe for anyone looking to bring something to a party that will be sure to majorly impress.

I'll let you read the recipe online for measurements and specific directions etc., however, I took some photos to illustrate the key steps. Oh yes, and as you'll see from the recipe this is supposed to be an Apple and CRANberry Galette, but seeing as it is not Thanksgiving I was unable to find cranberries ANYWHERE. I settled on a frozen berry medley of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. I didn't want anything too sweet (such as strawberries) in an effort to keep the idea of apple cranberry.

The recipe says to use a food processor (thank goodness I just bought one!) to mix up all the dry ingredients and the butter. I think that this could also be done in a standing mixer if that's what you have around.

dry ingredients/butter

next you have to mix the sour cream with the water and then sprinkle on top of the dry ingredients/butter and pulse until sticky.

kind of looks/smells like sour milk. yum.

once you get all the dough out of the food processor, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. The recipe says to refrigerate for 20 mins, but I think you could even do this step a day or two before and the dough would still be ok.

While the dough is chilling, peel/slice/core the apples. Be sure you are using Granny Smith apples because they are tart. This is the most time consuming step of the whole recipe. As you'll see below, I use a handy dandy crank tool and it makes the slicing process go by in a snap. If you make apple pies or anything like this more than twice a year I would HIGHLY recommend buying one of these gadgets. It is worth every penny. I think Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table and Pampered Chef all sell them. I've had mine for almost 10 years and it's still perfect. I think it's historically a Quaker design...

I digress.

Check out this baby in action:

Next we disolve the sugar, honey, lemon juice and cinamon in a little water on the stove and then add the apples and simmer for awhile.

looks and tastes like apple pie filling...

use a slotted spoon to fish out the apples and set them aside

I then added the frozen berry medley to the sugar/apple juice and cooked for a few minutes. After those are done, just add the berries to the apple mix and then simmer the juice until they thicken and become a nice syrupy red color. Add the juice to the fruit.

Time to roll the dough!

When baking I like to set up a little work area on the kitchen table as seen here.

Flour your surface, then cut the big ball of dough in half. Use your hand to press the dough into a pancake shape then take the roller to it. (Repeat for both halves of the dough.)

Spoon half the berry mixture in the center of each dough circle. Leave a couple inches empty around the edge.

Fold over the egde as shown. The technique reminds me a lot of making a parchment paper pouch for cooking fish or something in the oven. Basically you just want to create a pretty pleated edge.

Dot with butter...mmm...

Then BAKE! Voilà!

My second one had a little hole in it and the juice spilled out...I love cleaning burned on sugar!

:-(

In conclusion: I think this is a great recipe because of the impressive presentation. The crust is easy to make, though I think my standard "perfect piecrust" recipe is a bit more flakey. The crust recipe I usually use is shortening based and this one is butter based so it's just a little different.

And now to do the dishes....!

Let's give this another go

2009-04-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

I just baked my first gluten-free baked good and I AM SO IMPRESSED with the recipe! So impressed I've decided to re-commit myself to this whole blog thing! I mean...don't these look GREAT!?!?!??!

And yes, they actually taste really good! They are Blueberry Oat so they have a nice texture (I normally find rice-flour goods to be too fine grained) and a little crunch. I used rice flour (with some xanthum gum) and Bob's Red Mill rolled oats and frozen blueberries. I was afraid the muffins would be overly sweet (they have a LOT of sugar in them so definitely not low cal) but they are just right. I also really like this recipe because it's easy to make completely vegan since it actually calls for "egg replacer" (??) but I used regular eggs.

I got the recipe from Karina's Kitchen. I would definitely recommend this recipe and the website if you are ever in need of a gluten-free recipe.

As you know, I am not allergic to gluten, but a couple of my co-workers are and I'm bringing breakfast treats to work tomorrow for our Monday staff meeting to celebrate my boss's birthday. My boss is not gluten-intolerant so I'm going making something else for her...stay tuned.

aw!

2009-01-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

Oh EM GEE! It's been a great couple of days!

Yesterday after work, C and I went bowling and I won not once, but twice! I even broke 100! exciting!

I also finally received all my tax info from all my employers this year. YIPPEE!

But even more importantly, H-to-the-Eather and G-to-the-Eoff sent us a really amazing letter! Thank you for the adorable and artistic package! And of course, thank you very much for the contents! And for generally being the best people EVER. I miss you guys!!!!!!

The postcard definitely deserves a spot on our "random crap" (crap we love!) wall along with our brand new wall mountable FISH BOWL!

Behold! Thank you Target!

That's all for now...posts that relate to the theme of the blog are coming...I swear!

chocolat

2009-01-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

Today has been a wonderful day!

Today I had my first official "chocolate tasting" experience!

Obviously this was not my first time ever eating chocolate or even eating good chocolate but it was my first time discussing it and analyzing it much like a fine wine. And for those of you who are into wine know that you haven't really ever experienced wine until you've tasted with a professional to coach you through it.

My professional coach today was none other than IM's IT guru Andrew. Andrew is an amazing guy. Not only is he a huge chocolate buff but he can help you with technology without making you feel like an idiot and he never loses his cool despite how many problems we throw in his face or how demanding we (our office especially) can be. I also love that he is a secret Mac user. IT guys are never into Macs.

BUT I digress.

We conducted the tasting in true IT nerd fashion...over Skype because Andrew is in Boston. It was super fun, I can see I have a lot to learn! I've never enjoyed a mid-day chocolate break so much! Today we tasted fancy dark chocolate from around the world and savored all the subtle toasty, sweet, buttery, raisiny, herby and citrusy flavors that can be found in cocoa! Andrew was so informative and so excited and the experience literally left a smile on my face. It's been a long, high stress week at work and this was by far the best way to celebrate Friday.

Now I want more chocolate and a hefty serving of wine!

Happy weekend all! I will have more posts with some recipes etc soon!

The Big Walk

2009-01-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

Wow, aren't you fool(s) lucky! Two posts in one day! I guess I have to make up for my slacking earlier in the week.

C.Pop (who doesn't want his real name to be used on the blog because he actually thinks I have more than 2 readers) and I have wanted to do a big walking tour of the city for quite some time. As yesterday was his last real day of vacation before Law School starts up again, AND the clouds parted and we had the first sunny/warm/beautiful day in a long time, we decided to embark on the epic journey from the east side of the city all the way to the water. About a 7 mile (with hills) walk.

Here we go!

We began the day in the financial district. This Saturday was a special day where our MOMA membership would get us both into a bunch of museums for free! (AWESOME!) So we started at CJM to see the Wharhol's Jews exhibit which was pretty neat.

You can see the "cube" of the CJM and the crazy huge Marriott behind it.

Then we hit up the Cartoon Art Museum which was a lot cooler than either of us expected. If you have any love of comics/graphic novels/animation you should check it out.

After the museums we were off! He headed down Mission street for awhile then cut up to Market once the big protest cleared out. This is the SF Federal Building which is "So green it can't even be LEED certified".

We walked all the way down Market until it hits Valencia in the Mission. We then bought delicious burritos and decided to eat them in Dolores park.

Which was crazy packed with hipsters coming to enjoy the sun. It was really awesome.

View from the top of the hill in the park

I believe this is a high school.

So then we walked through the Castro and basically back up to Market and then up through this crazy ritzy neighborhood with an amazing view.

The city really is ridiculously picturesque isn't it???

Magical house/the stuff of fairytales.

blue blue sky

view down the other side of the hill with the fancy neighborhood

Gourds!

We then ended up near the Haight.

The Eye of the Tiger.

We were getting pretty tired at this point. We had been walking along the south side of Golden Gate park for quite some time and hadn't taken a break since the Mission. We wanted to find a bar/cafe for a pit stop, but nothing struck our fancy. Instead we decided to take a break in the park itself.

Gorgeous and secluded with a nice log to sit on. It was the perfect break. As you can see it's getting later in the day...

Nectar of the gods.

We then continued our walk through the park because it was so pretty.

ducks!

WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!

Hurrah! What a fantastic day!

And a BIG thank you to Naz for feeding us caramel corn and driving us home afterwards!

Farmer's Market

2009-01-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

I looooove to grocery shop. I think my love for grocery shopping started in college when I was a personal assistant for a family and was actually paid to do all their shopping at fancy stores like Gelsons ("when in doubt Katie, just buy the more expensive brand") and the "Cheese Store of Beverly Hills" ($85 truffle salt!!!!!).

But back to reality.

One of my absolute favorite things about living in San Francisco is the way I shop for food here. In LA, everyone makes a huge trip to the grocery store once a week and expects that food to last them all week. This always results in most of one's food spoiling thus less healthy eating habits because all you have left are starches and packaged stuff. Now I go shopping almost every day. Of course, I still make the weekly or so trips to Trader Joes for "the basics" (pastas, sauces, canned tomatoes/beans, the Kalamata olive oil I like, cereals etc) but I tend to buy all of my fresh stuff the day of. Market Mayflower is a block away from my apartment and they have great fresh produce for reasonable prices, so I tend to just pick up a bunch of broccoli or salad fixings etc on my way home from work. I find this experience incredibly liberating because I don't have to plan out my menus for the entire week for fear of wasting food and precious dollars.

The BEST day of the week for shopping, however, is Thursday because that's when the Farmer's Market comes to the Financial District. I go just about every week with my partner in crime Katie Quinn and I always walk away happy. Plus, almost everything there is organic and you get to meet the families of the people who own the farms and I enjoy the general "feel good" atmosphere. Here are some photos:

Can't you feel the "feel goodness"???

The FM is held in the Crocker Galleria and has a pretty glass roof so you sort of feel like you're outside, but you stay dry if it rains! hurrah! I purchased: 3 heads of organic broccoli from the stand pictured here, about 5 of those little red/yellow potatoes (organic), 3 red beets and 3 yellow beets (organic), 4 pink lady apples and an over priced yet too delicious to pass up spinach Bolani from the pushy Afghanis.

I also accepted a free sample from the date guys who are a bit creepy and bit into it and hurt my tooth on the pit. Damn you date guys!

Last night (Saturday) I made a tasty roasted beet salad with carrots and cilantro. Katie Q gave me the recipe from a yoga magazine. It's pretty good and very colorful. It's not a mind blowing salad, but it's very different. The dressing is just olive oil, cilantro leaves, lemon juice (I put in about twice as much as the recipe suggests) and a bit of soy sauce. I think it might be good with some dried basil or something added...next time.

Let's do it.

2009-01-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

Hello my following of one (maybe two?). As you can see, I'm starting a blog (again).

I created this blog for a variety of reasons, however the primary reason is that I realize I have entered a very new and exciting phase in my life and I guess I have the desire to share it. So pay attention fool(s)! Call it what you will...pseudo-adulthood...independence...dependence (as I'm living with my boyfriend)...adventure...or simply "real life". Whatever it is I am here for the time being.

Aside from the obvious advances (moving out of my parents house and into my own place in a fabulous new city) I've realized in the last few months that while I used to pride myself on always being on the go and in the know (thank you Citysearch!), I am actually quite the home body. I am happiest when cooking dinner and serving guests, baking pies, browsing through Crate&Barrel, buying overpriced kitchen gadgets and cutting lemon peels for cocktail garnishes.

In fact, I am downright Domestic with a capital D.

I have found Domestic to be considered a four letter word to the modern woman (Westridge bred or otherwise). I am all for fighting the power, but what I have found is this aversion to all things Domestic has not led to the empowerment of womankind, but instead led to a severe lack of survival skills.

Now wait a second and hear me out.

I think of myself as a relatively smart girl and a relatively pretty girl and a relatively talented girl. However, in the course of my adult years I have been complimented more for my cooking than any other skill I posses! This is hard for me to believe because I'm really not that great of a chef! I pale in comparison to my friends Allyson (ruler of the tea party and queen of everything vegetarian) and Anya (crepe-master)! And yet, compared to almost every young adult I know, I am Julia Child reincarnated.

So this is Domeschtik. My blog. I promise you won't get too many philosophical ramblings or angry rants.

Just a whole lot of photos of food.

Let's have a potluck soon k?

Love,
Katie

Post Scriptum: check out this interesting book review on Mark Bittman
I can't wait to finish my current book and read this! This segment I felt was particularly astute: