Friday night found me facing a quiet weekend at home for the first time in a few weeks. No classes, no social obligations, no work woes, and as I curled up on the couch with Jamie Oliver and a glass of white wine, the prospect of a weekend finishing up art projects and playing my guitar sounded pretty good.
Come Saturday afternoon I had succeeded in morning one of sleeping in and not much else when I get a call from this guy asking if he can crash on my couch before the Oakland Marathon on Sunday. Being an obliging sort of girl, as well as a supporter of athletes, and generally lacking in company for the evening I agreed. You won't regret it he says. Adventure and fun await he promises. There will be froyo he tells me. This all went against my homebody plans, but who turns down froyo?
Well adventure and fun did await, and I did not regret it. At least not until I had to get up at 7am on Sunday to get my friend to the race on time. First, we were off to a divey Alameda establishment hosting the first ever performance of "the Beatles." It was an art/music experience the likes of which I can honestly say I've never seen or heard before. After meeting new friends and coercing old friends to leave the comfort of their homes, we traveled onward and upwards to margaritas, froyo, and yet another questionable East Bay establishment, but really how questionable can you get in Alameda. A good time was had by all.
I ultimately failed in my own artistic and musical endeavors, but margaritas and froyo are ALWAYS a good idea. Plus, I did succeed in accomplishing a few things on Sunday so you can't say I was completely unproductive.
1) I got my friend to the race on time and picked him up again. Navigating downtown and the street closures around the lake really made this an accomplishment.
2) I ordered my new glasses. Considering that my current glasses are almost three years old, this is also quite the accomplishment.
3) Finally, I made a pretty dern good batch of waffles for marathon boy and his girlfriend Lyssette.
They weren't my favorite waffles, for that you need the Joy of Cooking and a LOT more butter, but these were a pretty good "healthy" substitute. Especially covered in syrup and served with a side of bacon.
And now I will reward you for your patience with the recipe.
Recovery Banana Wheat Waffles
Adapted from this recipe.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
4 egg yolks
3 cups milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana (two large overripe bananas)
4 egg whites
1) Combine both flours, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl.
2) In another bowl, beat egg yolks, milk, oil, and vanilla until just combined. Add mashed bananas and beat slightly longer to break up any remaining chunks of fruit.
3) Pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture and mix until just combined.
4) In another small (very clean/grease free) bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Preferably with a mixer, but can be done by hand with patience.
5) Gently fold egg whites into the batter being careful not to over-mix.
6) Pour batter into your waffle iron according to manufacturer directions (amount of batter and grease vs. no grease). Bake according to the manufacturer directions with your iron. Makes hella waffles.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Adventures Closer to Home
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The Sophmore Slump
Nearly a week without cooking anything of consequence. How is a girl supposed to keep her blogging up if there isn't anything to blog about? Well, to be fair my parents were in town and we went out to eat quite a bit. I was hoping to regale you all with visually stunning photos of what I ate, but 1) I forgot to take pictures of most of it, and 2) I think the best thing I had all weekend was a martini at Scoma's in Sausalito. Gin. Extra dry. With an olive. Mmmm... nothing like raw oysters and a big fat Martini to make everything right with the world.
So instead of showing you, I will tell you about the one thing I did make (which I also conveniently failed to take a picture of), Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk. It was so good. Go make it. Go. Right now. No, seriously. You need to have made this for yourself yesterday because it really is that good. It is also incredibly simple.
I pretty much never follow a recipe explicitly unless I am unfamiliar with the end product or cooking technique, or if I am baking. This recipe is so simple, straightforward, and practically perfect that the only thing that could be adjusted is one of the cooking instructions. The recipe calls for the lid of your cooking vessel to be off the entire bake time, but another blogger made the accidental discovery that its even better if you leave the lid on for the first hour and then take it off to finish for the last 20-30 minutes. Leaving the lid on for the majority of the cooking time prevents the delicious sauce from evaporating and turning into charcoal at the bottom of the pot, and makes the chicken that much more moist and juicy.
So that is all I have to show for the last week. I'll come up with something better next time, I promise.
P.S. Jamie Oliver just won the 2010 TED Prize to pursue his desire to help revolutionize the way we teach children about food and eating. His work goes hand in hand with Michelle Obama's new Let's Move campaign to fight childhood obesity. There are so many things I could say but I think that these inspiring people and their projects can speak for themselves. Please click on the links to these sites to learn more about these projects, and, if you would like to become more involved, find out ways that you can offer your support.
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