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I was bemoaning the face that I hadn't ever taken a cool moon photo like this where there are other things in the photo besides the moon in focus. Anyhow, B said, "That's not true...you got some nice photos that day in Central Square." For awhile there, we would go places and pass my camera back and forth taking pictures. It's a lot of fun to see how which things we focused on and how our photos came out. Anyhow, I went digging through my computer and sure enough, photos of the moon! Seems like you need to try to photograph the moon while it's still light out if you want to have any hope of getting other things in the picture too. Here's one that B took:

I did take one shot like that but most of my photos of the moon either come out as a blurry spot. On a good night, I'll get one like this: (Came out pretty well for not using a tripod)

So long as I've started posting photos, here are a few more I found behind the lj-cut. There are 2 shots of buildings in Central Square (Cambridge, MA) and 4 from the day we went to a maple sugaring house in New Hampshire.

( Click to see more photos of Central Square and Maple Sugaring )

So far in 2011, only 1 in 3 runs have been while the temperature was above freezing. With all the snow and ice, the sidewalks have been a near solid block of ice for weeks now. I've taken to running in the road, wearing an orange jacket that I hope tells cars, "Please don't hit me!" On the plus side, I set a new personal record. My coldest run ever now stands at -6F with a windchill making it feel like -21F. Did I mention that I love the adjustable fleece hood my boyfriend gave me? (Hot Headz 6-in-1 Fleece Hood if anyone else is looking.) I had bundled up enough that I ran 4 miles that day relatively comfortably.

All this cold has a silver lining though. It's been cold enough to freeze a river. Cold enough that 3 men took a chainsaw and ice saw down to that frozen river and cut out blocks of ice. And just for kicks, they built an ice igloo!

photo of igloo with ice fishing huts in the background

( Click to see more photos )

For a couple of years now, B had been telling me of the Vertical Tour he had taken several years ago at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Whenever we were down there, we kept missing the tours (only given on Saturdays at noon and 2pm, $15/person). But this time, we finally managed to go. We climbed 12 stories all the way up to where the arrow is pointing. (But just a little bit at a time so the climbing wasn't too strenuous)

( Click for more photos )

When we were visiting NYC, one of our friends took us to the Lincoln Center to hang out after dinner. We wandered over to see if the band was still playing for Midsummer Night's Swing but that part was over. If you go, you don't have to buy tickets to enjoy the show. The tickets just give you access to the dance floor closest to the band. (and the bands and DJs play a bunch of styles of music, not just swing) But even though we had missed the music, there was still the grass roof and fountain to enjoy.

( Click for more photos )

Last December,

corvidophile posted a recipe for Prosciutto Pesto Egg Cups. It looked incredibly simple to make and it yielded a cute little cup made of prosciutto that cradled an egg, cheese, and pesto. I love recipes that give me a good picture in the end and both my boyfriend and I love all the ingredients so this shot to the top of the list of recipes I wanted to try. WE LOVED IT. We made it 4 times in the space of 9 days, playing with variations on the fillings and also baking them in a ramekin, as suggested by Mark Bittman. Sadly, I didn't write down notes on my computer. There's probably a scrap of paper somewhere with notes that I'll find next week but in the meantime, I'll post this now since I've been meaning to do so for months now.

small image of Prosciutto Pesto Egg Cup held in hand

( Click for recipe and more photos )

Reusing the recipe for Sweet Mung Bean Soup for sweet red bean soup instead. I love both sweetened red beans and mung beans as a dessert and snack. I like it cold out of the fridge, really cold mixed in with shaved ice, or warm and soothing heated up. You can adjust how much sugar to add to suit your own tastes. You can buy these dried beans at an Asian grocery store. Possibly available at regular stores too in the international foods section or maybe health foods bulk bins though I've never looked anywhere besides Chinatown for these.

( click for recipe and bigger pictures )

Original recipe called for serving with polenta but I've always served this up with white rice. I've used pancetta instead of prosciutto and I've used boneless chicken breasts instead of pork depending on what I happened to have in my fridge. While the recipe calls for making 6 servings, I've usually made just half as many chops but used the full cup of broth for making the sauce since people seem to really like this sauce. Simple to make but still impressive enough to serve to guests.

( Click for recipe and bigger photos )

Many years ago, in the early part of dating, I was visiting Michael's apartment for dinner. "Guess what I've got in the oven?" he asked, all smiles, as I came through the door. "Roasted asparagus!" he announced, beaming, without waiting for an answer.

I thoughtlessly answered, "Oh. I don't think I like asparagus." His face fell and I regretted not keeping my mouth shut since he had been clearly pleased and excited. I hastily added, "But I could be wrong. I haven't eaten it very often."

Boy was I ever wrong. This was the first recipe he ever taught me and it remains one of my favorites. Prep is speedy and so easy you can tell the kids to do this dish.

( Click for recipe and a bigger picture )

While my mom is an incredible cook, I sadly didn't learn as much about cooking as I could've from her since I didn't take much of an interest in food until after I had left home. So when I wander around the aisles in an Asian grocery, I'm mostly peering at the packages trying to remember if I've ever eaten them at home. Recently, on one such stroll, I decided I wanted to have miso soup at home whenever I want it. There was a section in the refrigerated cases with several shelves of different kinds of miso paste. Not knowing the differences, I just picked one that had instructions printed in English. And while wandering around looking for the dashi (a mixture to make the soup base), I found more shelves (unrefrigerated this time) of miso paste. How does one choose? The miso pastes I saw were all high in sodium. It would be nice to find a lower-sodium version since the resulting miso soup was pretty salty. (though still tasty!) I still couldn't really tell you what miso soup is but it turns out to be quick and easy to make at home. And I'm sick with yet another cold already and the miso soup at least makes my throat feel better even if it's not making my cold go away.

( Click for recipe and pictures )

Growing up, my neighbor made this dessert for big get-togethers (and with 9 grown-children, it seemed like every holiday was a big reunion). I adored this recipe and was thrilled every time I saw this being served. Spotted this recipe years later on the kraftfoods.com website and was happy to see it was pretty simple to make and tasted just as good as I remembered.

( Click to see recipe with bigger pictures )

To cheer me up, someone sent over a fruit basket with exotic fruits. Thanks for a delicious breakfast!

( click to see 2 bigger pictures )

When I'm in a hurry for something to eat, I like to eat this shrimp and couscous. Only takes 15 minutes to prepare and pretty filling.

( Click for recipe and bigger picture )

I love sweetened mung beans as a dessert and snack. I like it cold out of the fridge, really cold mixed in with shaved ice, or warm and soothing heated up. You can adjust how much sugar to add to suit your own tastes. You can buy these dried beans at an Asian grocery store. Possibly available at regular stores too in the international foods section or maybe health foods bulk bins though I've never looked anywhere besides Chinatown for these.

( click for recipe and bigger pictures )

One night while poking around Livejournal, I saw a post about making lefse, Norwegian potato pancakes. I adore potatoes in just about any form so I had to try it out. Luckily, I even had leftover mashed potatoes chilling in the fridge from the day before. Seems to be a holiday tradition to make these. Took a a little over 2.5 hours to get make a batch so I can see why they might limit it to an annual event instead of an everyday dish. I might've used too much flour but the potato flavor was a little too subtle to me to make it worth that much effort for me. Still, they're neat enough that I'll probably make it again in a couple of years. And the fillings work really well with the lefse. mm-mmmmm sugar!
Many thanks to

madlori and

wereontheroad!

( Click for Recipe and Bigger Pictures )

Another hit from Cooking Light. Really big hit. Time consuming prep but delicious and satisfying. Well worth the time on a weekend.

( Click for Recipe and Bigger Pictures )

I love the smell of stock simmering on the stovetop for hours. I love feeling like I've wrung every last use out of a whole chicken when I make chicken stock. First as a roasted chicken with gravy made from the giblets inside (though I'm giving up on the giblets due to the cholesterol). Then as leftovers to be recycled in other dishes. I'll stash the bones in the freezer along with vegetable scraps. And on the weekend, when enough has been gathered and I'll be home for several hours, I'll toss all of these collected scraps into the stock pot, throw in a few extra ingredients and then let it simmer away, filling the house with a smell that fools you into thinking that any minute now, a delicious dinner will be served.

( Instructions and Questions for Chicken Stock )

This isn't an authentic chow foon recipe by any means but I came up with this one night while I was staring at the various jars of Chinese sauces that I didn't quite know what to do with. My mom had given me this bottle of XO that just scared me so it's been sitting unused in my fridge for months. But I hate to waste food so I try to figure out a way to eat things unless I really hate it. Good thing I played around with this. Michael loved these so much that he's bumped these to the top of his list of favorite noodles (unseating the mafaldine con funghi). I still prefer the mushrooms over pasta but I enjoyed this enough that we made it again the next day. Plus this dish was faster to whip up and is a great way to use up leftover chicken.

( Click for Recipe and Bigger Pictures )

This recipe is from Cooking Light (Nov 2003) You can make the topping earlier in the day and refrigerate in a zip-top plastic bag.

( Recipe for Pear-Cranberry Crisp )

I usually follow this recipe for lasagna: http://www.livejournal.com/users/fitfool/19968.html
but a few months ago, a friend brought over this lasagna: http://www.livejournal.com/users/fitfool/32175.html

His was so delicious I started adding a few more things to my regular recipe though I forgot to add garlic this time around. Tasty and I think reasonably healthy. Are there sites where I can plug in ingredients and find out what the nutritional breakdown turns out to be?

( Click for recipe and bigger picture )

I've mentioned tamarind chutney before when I posted the Pork Tenderloin recipe. Over the holidays, we went to an Indian restaurant in Michigan where the waiter dropped off 2 little bowls of dipping sauces.
     Michael: Ooh! pass the tamarind chutney please!
     Me: It looks like it but the waiter called it sweet-n-sour sauce. Maybe it's just similar.
     Waiter: Oh, that's just because when I say it's tamarind sauce, people ask me what that is. So now I introduce it as sweet-n-sour sauce and then they'll try it. But yes, it's tamarind sauce.

Got this recipe for Amazing Chickpeas from http://www.daadimaskitchen.com and it's pretty spicy. Could halve the amount of red pepper or maybe even omit it since the tamarind chutney already has some spiciness to it. For the step 5 and 6, I ended up doubling the amount of water and chutney and lowering the heat so the water wouldn't evaporate so quickly. The first time I made this, I loved it so much I immediately made a 2nd batch so I could have leftovers. Paired them with rice. To get the shaped rice, pack the rice into a ramekin then carefully shake it out onto the plate.

( Click for Recipe and Bigger Pictures )

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Adventures in the Kitchen and on the Road

Entries tagged with photo

Moon and Maple Sugaring

Igloo!

NYC photos: St. John's Cathedral

NYC photos: Lincoln Center

Prosciutto Pesto Egg Cups (Thanks to corvidophile!)

Sweet Red Bean Soup

Pork Saltimbocca

Roasted Asparagus

Miso Soup

Strawberry-Pretzel Squares

Papaya

Shrimp and Couscous

Sweet Mung Bean Soup

Lefse (Norwegian Potato Pancakes)

Dijon Chicken Stew with Potatoes and Kale

Chicken Stock

Chicken Chow Foon (more Chinese Noodles)

Pear-Cranberry Crisp

Spinach and Mushroom Turkey Lasagna

Indian Chick Peas with Tamarind Chutney

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February 2014

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