Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Beautiful Blogger Award . . .
. . . and I'm blushing!
Truly beautiful bloggers, all of you!
Mary, who blogs over at Work of the Poet, and who is a multi-faceted person and stellar photographer,
sent me a Beautiful Blogger Award.
I am so pleased!
Pleased also that I get to pass it on to some of my beautiful blogger friends.
The rules are: Tell seven things about yourself and then pass the award on to 15 beautiful bloggers.
Here goes:
1. I hate to fly. Even though I have to do it from time to time, I truly hate it.
2. I'm a farm girl at heart and would have sheep, goats, more horses,
and maybe even a cow if Mr CC could abide it.
3. I love Mr CC too much to indulge in my farm girl fantasies.
4. My day job is being a business manager.
5. Blogging makes me sedentary; I really should exercise more.
6. I love taking photos of plants, critters, and the great outdoors and have another blog devoted to just that.
7. I would live in France if I could. Even if for a short while . . .
Now I'd like to pass this along to:
Truly beautiful bloggers, all of you!
Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
Friday, January 1, 2010
A New Year, A New Decade - Happy 2010!
I have no memory of it, but it must have been raining for days for the water to rise that high. We kids stayed in the house oblivious to the havoc outside, and played; happy to not be in school.
The thing that I remember vividly about this small snapshot in my life is that the rain finally did stop and the clouds broke, spilling sunlight over everything including a vivid rainbow that hovered in the west, down Amherst Drive.
My mother must have made a sound because I looked up at her and she had tears in her eyes.
Why are you crying, I asked.
Because the rainbow is so beautiful, she responded.
Why do we get rainbows, I asked.
It's God's way of telling us that everything is going to be okay, she said.
I'll never forget that moment. Possibly because I found it comforting; possibly because it was so unlike my mother to say such a thing (she was not a religious person in any conventional sense and she swore like a trooper. I am very much like my mother.)
The reason I tell you this is because I've been thinking about where we find ourselves on this day, launching into a new year and decade amidst domestic and global troubles and uncertainty. Some of us not knowing when and from where the next paycheck will come. Some of us living on the streets. Some of us living in and with war, violence, abuse. Some of us barely keeping body and soul together. Some of us starving. Some of us cold.
It's a grim picture. And yet, humankind continues on.
I once had a sociology professor who, on the first day of class, said that besides the animal instinct to survive, human beings exist on faith. I thought he meant religion and God and immediately dismissed him. But he went on to explain that it is a kind of faith that we hope and believe that we will continue to exist from day to day for all of our lives, and eat and sleep and love and have children and aspire to goals, doing both great and small things.
I don't know if I would put it just the way that professor did, but as I grow older and look at life from a more existential point of view, I do believe that the things that sustain us most in this world truly are faith, hope and love.
And if we can keep those three words in the forefront of our minds as we go about our day to day living, and if we can keep those three words in the forefront of our hearts when we think about or see the plight of those less fortunate, and if we can keep those three words in the forefront of our deeds (which includes who we vote into office) when we interact not just with other human beings but with all living things, including our planet, then I can't help but believe that everything is going to be okay.
My mother told me so.
Cook's Notes:
Love and gratitude to all my food blogger friends who sustain me in this whacky endeavor of blogging.
In 2010 Christine Cooks will get a new look and, come March, I will have a bit more time in my life to devote to this blog that I love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh7D2g5v-Sg
Here's a little something to watch, if you would like. And, please, I'm not promoting Starbucks.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Walnuts Plus a Recipe for Home Made Walnut Oil Mayonnaise
A walnut pâté is slowly making its way through several experimental iterations to a state of what I hope to be blogworthiness; part of its problem being the amount of oil exuded by finely grinding walnuts in a food processor and then adding this mayonnaise as a binding agent in the correct increments. It's turning out to be quite a process.
The mayonnaise, however, turned out darn-near perfect on my first try.
In fact, I'm roasting a turkey today just so I can make turkey salad and lettuce roll-ups using this mayonnaise. Maybe that will turn into a better recipe than the finicky pâté.
I do have to give my friend Erika, who recently sent me fresh English walnuts from her backyard trees, all the credit: Long ago she shared with me her recipe for almond-herb pâté which I made just once, the recipe lounging in my old yellow recipe box for lo these ensuing years, only to be brought out recently and made to morph into a walnut version.
Well, why not? I had a plethora of beautiful walnuts and thought the pâté would be a great homage to her generosity and life long friendship.
The pâté recipe calls for a mayonnaise binder. So why not make my own mayonnaise and use roasted walnut oil ?
Why not, indeed. Here you go.
Assembling your ingredients prior to beginning is key to the success of this recipe. Have your oils separated into measuring cups in the order and amounts that you will use them. This is more lucidly explained in the preparation instructions. Also very important is to have all your ingredients at room temperature.
Patience is another key to making your own mayonnaise: Even though I used a blender, it still took about 10 minutes and a steady hand to achieve perfection. Well, perfection is aggrandizing it a bit, but you know what I mean.
Home Made Walnut Oil MayonnaiseAdapted from Joy of Cooking
(print recipe)
Ingredients:
1 whole egg (room temperature)
1 teaspoon fine kosher salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/16 teaspoon Splenda (from a packet) or 1/2 teaspoon sugar if you don't like Splenda
small pinch cayenne pepper (optional) (I do mean small; a few grains really.)
3 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
1/2 cup good extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3/4 cup toasted walnut oil
Preparation:
Place the first 5 ingredients in a blender along with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and blend on high until fully combined.
With the blender running on high, slowly add 1/2 cup of the walnut oil. The oil should be drizzled into the blender in a thin stream that slows down to droplets at times. Never pour the oil in faster than a very thin stream or it may break down and become more liquid. (If that happens, please consult the Joy of Cooking cookbook; that's what I did.) I know, I'm not very helpful sometimes.
Stopping the blender occasionally to scrape down the sides is perfectly fine.
With the blender still on high speed, slowly add the lemon juice, then the rest of the walnut oil (1/4 cup), then the last 1/4 cup olive oil, maintaining a thin stream of oil all the while.
Your result should be a light and somewhat fluffy mayonnaise.
Store in a covered glass container in your refrigerator. Stir it occasionally for the first hour or so, allowing the mixture to chill thoroughly and evenly.
Cook's Notes:I can just imagine this mayonnaise slathered on two pieces of really great bread that have been piled high with roasted turkey and topped with a few leaves of arugula. Sadly, I haven't mastered the art of wheat-free breads just yet but I am trying.
I did some research, in the form of visiting my local markets, about the ingredients in store bought mayonnaise. I checked the lables on Best Foods and Spectrum organic and found both of them to have added sugars. Since I am trying my darndest to eat added sugar-free, that's when I decided to make my own. Ten minutes out of your day isn't much to have a product that you know is the best it can be in terms of what goes into it.
Ed Note (10-5-10): Haven't made the pâté yet, but seeing and correcting typos on this post has brought it back to the fore of my brain. Let's see what I can come up with. Thanks to Janet for leaving a comment and bringing this to my attention.
Ed Note (10-5-10): Haven't made the pâté yet, but seeing and correcting typos on this post has brought it back to the fore of my brain. Let's see what I can come up with. Thanks to Janet for leaving a comment and bringing this to my attention.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas And Dungeness Crab - They Just Go Together
Those points of light out on the horizon are our beloved crab fisherfolk who have been bringing in the catch of beautiful Dungeness crab since December 1st. Click here and here and here for more information about crab and a few recipes that need updating badly. Something I will remedy in the new year.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
To all my blogger friends, my dear family, and circle of close friends:
I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.
I truly am thankful for you all.
Because Mr CC and I will be having Thanksgiving around a different table than mine this year, I would like to point you to a post I wrote several years ago, filled with links to some Thanksgiving dishes I've made in the past.
The moldy salad is there, as well as side dishes, soups, and a not-to-be-missed cranberry chutney.
Chestnut Ice Cream, Shaved Brussels Sprouts, and Brown Rice Pilaf with Apples, Walnuts & Pomegranates are a few of my latest offerings.
I'll be back on December 1st with a litany of winter recipes.
Take good care, travel safe, eat thankfully, and enjoy!
Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
Friday, November 13, 2009
Pomegranates and Walnuts, Oh My!
Delivered to my door from the fabulous Sacramento Valley backyard of my bestest friend in the world, Erika. With a little help from her friend Bill, I'll bet.
My heartfelt thanks to you both!
Recipes to follow.....
Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
Monday, September 14, 2009
Farmers Market 2009 - Summer into Fall
Winter squash, bosc pears, late peaches and early apples were offered at our Saturday farmers market this weekend. A sure sign of summer's long slide into fall.
Click on over to Mimi's kitchen to see what's in her CSA box.
Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Frosty Hips For Christmas
My very best wishes to all of you in the years ahead!
Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
Monday, December 15, 2008
Meyer Lemon Mania
Thank You Bill ! ! !
A box of Meyer lemons arrived a few days ago. I never expect them so it's such a joy that they arrive each year. A lemon meringue pie is in the making. I'm thinking preserved lemons this year for those deep winter braised dishes. I cannot thank you enough, dear friend.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Ever Spatchcocked A Chicken?
Recently I had the good fortune to be a guest blogger on my friend Paz's blog wherein I demonstrated how to spatchcock then pan-roast a chicken. Intrigued? You can read my post and follow the step-by-step instructions and photos by clicking here. While you're there, check out all the other guest bloggers and their great recipes plus Paz's New York Monday photos and her myriad mouth-watering recipes. You'll be glad you did.
[Ed. note: I finally got around to posting this on my blog. Click here to see it.]
Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reservedSunday, July 27, 2008
Sher
Isn't anyone just a little bit angry?
I woke up this morning with the full intention of joining the rest of Sher's blogger friends to write a tribute.
Instead, I went to a neglected flower bed and started pulling weeds. As I yanked them from the ground I thought of Sher and of what I could write in tribute to her. Instead I continued to pull weeds. Ever more forcefully, throwing them further and further over my shoulder. With a vengeance I dug out a badly placed rose that I never much liked. It's roots were a tangled mess; no wonder it didn't thrive.
A few times a year Sher and I would have marathon talks on the phone. I delighted in her humor, her story-telling ability, her love of the animals who found her so they could be taken care of, her passion for gardening and cooking. Mostly I cherished the friendship that was forming. It didn't matter to her that we hadn't met face to face. We were friends.
Sher and I feigned jealousy of each other: She of me because blackberries grow rampant on my property; me of her because she lived in the city where I grew up and picked ripe, red tomatoes from her garden by mid-June.
She was looking forward to meeting up with Kalyn and I in San Francisco several weekends ago. This was the year when she thought she would finally be able to make it and she was very excited, as were we, at the prospect of us all finally meeting face to face. And, as we all know, she didn't make it. She died of a heart attack on the morning of the very day she was to meet with us.
Doesn't this make you just a little bit angry?
Before I knew it I'd weeded a 20-foot bed and dispatched with two plants, tossing them on the compost pile without a second thought. Breathing hard, my face, hands and the knees of my jeans streaked with red dirt, I looked back at the flower bed and felt a calm come over me. Yes, she died. Way too soon. And yes, there is a hole in what we call the blogosphere that will never, can never, be filled. And yes, after the shock then grief of losing this wonderful person and friend, I realized that I was really angry at the unfairness of it all.
The lily had been in a too-small pot on the front porch for far too long. I've just put it in the ground where I'll walk by it often on my way to the greenhouse to check on my as-yet unripe tomatoes. Lightly scented, ethereal in color, this is a lily I know Sher would have liked. My way, I guess, of both remembering her and saying good-bye.
Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Simona's Room With A View
This is the view that my friend Simona sees while seated at her desk in her cozy office space warmed by a cheery woodstove. I took this photo this morning, a beautiful North Coast day if ever there was one, and if I didn't also have a west-facing view, albeit one of redwoods not ocean, I would be so jealous. I have food-related items to share, just no time to share them. Soon though. Very soon.Monday, February 18, 2008
Happy Blogaversary To Me . . . !
I'm still recovering from the nasty flu bug that has hit the country so hard this winter so I won't be very wordy here and I certainly don't have any recipes to post. But I would feel worse yet if I let this day go by unmentioned. So I lift my weary, fevered fingers to the keyboard to wish myself a happy blogaversary and to thank all of you - those who are visiting for the first time, those who subscribe to my posts, and YOU, you wonderful circle of bloggers whom I'm proud to call friends - for all the love, encouragement and support I've received over the past three years.
Ever onward!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Lemon Blueberry Ginger Tea Cake
Fear not. What you see here is one light moist lemony delight that has been tampered with to lower its glycemic impact without compromising its taste one iota.
Meyer lemons lend their fresh citrusy-sweetness here and compliment the chewy crystallized ginger and tiny dried organic blueberries. Just a week ago, dear friends Erika and Bill sent me another box of the prized fruits and much of my cooking these days is being influenced by the heady scent of these beauties gracing my kitchen counter.
Okay, and sometimes I just need a little something to go with my afternoon tea. We all need a little something sometimes.
Inspired by a recipe found in Williams-Sonoma Holiday Favorites Cookbook
Ingredients:
For the batter -
1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups regular unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon each baking soda and fine Kosher salt
3/4 cups Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (room temperature)
1 cup Splenda granular
3/4 cup fine sugar
grated zest from 2 Meyer lemons
3 large eggs (may use 3/4 cup egg substitute)
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk (low fat is fine)
1/2 cup (heaping) dried organic blueberries
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
For the glaze -
1/3 cup Splenda granular
juice from 1 Meyer lemon
2 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Stick
Preparation:
Batter -
Combine the first three ingredients with a whisk and set aside.
Cream the EB sticks on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Beat in the Splenda and sugar then beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.
Beat in the lemon juice and zest.
With the mixer on medium, add 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix well.
Add the buttermilk and beat until smooth.
Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until smooth.
With the mixer turned off, stir in the dried berries and ginger pieces.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan or other cake pan of your choice.
Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 50 minutes. Check for doneness by probing the cake with a toothpick. It should come out crumb free.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes on a rack, then turn out onto the rack to finish cooling.
Glaze -
Over medium heat, mix the Meyer lemon juice and the Splenda together in a small saucepan until the Splenda has dissolved. Add the 2 tablespoons EB and whisk until melted. Continue to whisk, maintaining the heat, until the liquid thickens slightly, about 3 minutes more.
Place the tea cake on a large plate and carefully pour the hot glaze over the top; most of it will be absorbed but some of it will drip off.
Remove the cake to a fancy-schmancy cake plate and pour the drippings from the first plate over the cake again.
There. Cut a slice while it's warm. Take a bite. Mmmmmm. Oh, and don't forget to make yourself a cup of tea. That was the whole reason for this exercise, right?
Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
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