A Recipe for Disaster 'n' Delight

The cautionary tale of a lovesick fool and foodie made out of all the ingredients for a romantic comedy
Oh, Salut-ations! Yeah, it’s corny, but you’ll get it if you took French. If you didn’t, Google it because a pun should never go to waste. So the unseasonably beautiful weather this morning put me in the mood for a little celebration breakfast. I made myself blueberry French Toast, which I of course put a little spin on… First, I put a lot of cinnamon and a little nutmeg into a bowl (enough to cover the bottom fully), followed by a couple splashes of vanilla extract. Usually people like to add any spices to the french toast mix last, but I like to add it first, that way the spices blend in better instead of chunking at the surface. Next, I cracked in one egg and poured in whole milk (I don’t like using/drinking skim. Whole milk is actually better for you*).  I whisked the mixture until the egg was fully blended into it. Heating up the pan to medium, I melted a thin pat of butter.  At the same time the butter was melting, I soaked a slice of Texas toast into the mix on both sides. I put the sopping bread onto the pan, lowering the heat a little make sure it didn’t burn while I was preparing other parts. Next I took a little bowl, filled it with blueberries, sprinkled in cinnamon, and added a tiny splash of Chambord, a French black raspberry liquor. I put the bowl in the microwave for 15 seconds, mixed the berries around, and heated the berried up for 30 more seconds—taking it out at 15 seconds to mix it again. I did this until the blueberries plumped, slightly darkening in color and creating a juice of their own. I returned to the pan to flip the French Toast.  Waiting for the second side to be done, I heated up hot water and made myself some Lemon tea. Once the French Toast was ready, I cut it on the diagonal. Plating the French Toast, I poured the blueberries on top. It was fantastic! *There’s a lot of contradictory information about which milk is better for you. After doing a lot of research on the matter, here’s where I stand…Yes, low and non fat milks are lower in calories, which may be important to you if you’re a calorie counter, but other than that, but I’d still go with whole milk any day. The fat found in whole milk actually helps the body to absorb vitamins and minerals better. In addition, the research at Penn State shows that the skim powder that is put in low/non fat milk comes with a cost. Skim powder is put in milk to make is white instead of a bluish color (which is what you’re left with when you take the fat out) and also helps improves the texture. Research has also been done that shows the skim powder leads to plaque formation in the arteries and heart disease. Also, if childhood obsesity is the concern, Harvard did research and found a link between childhood weight gain and low/non fat milks—not whole milk. With that said, I’ll take my chances with whole milk.

Oh, Salut-ations!

Yeah, it’s corny, but you’ll get it if you took French. If you didn’t, Google it because a pun should never go to waste.

So the unseasonably beautiful weather this morning put me in the mood for a little celebration breakfast. I made myself blueberry French Toast, which I of course put a little spin on…

First, I put a lot of cinnamon and a little nutmeg into a bowl (enough to cover the bottom fully), followed by a couple splashes of vanilla extract. Usually people like to add any spices to the french toast mix last, but I like to add it first, that way the spices blend in better instead of chunking at the surface. Next, I cracked in one egg and poured in whole milk (I don’t like using/drinking skim. Whole milk is actually better for you*).  I whisked the mixture until the egg was fully blended into it.

Heating up the pan to medium, I melted a thin pat of butter.  At the same time the butter was melting, I soaked a slice of Texas toast into the mix on both sides. I put the sopping bread onto the pan, lowering the heat a little make sure it didn’t burn while I was preparing other parts. Next I took a little bowl, filled it with blueberries, sprinkled in cinnamon, and added a tiny splash of Chambord, a French black raspberry liquor. I put the bowl in the microwave for 15 seconds, mixed the berries around, and heated the berried up for 30 more seconds—taking it out at 15 seconds to mix it again. I did this until the blueberries plumped, slightly darkening in color and creating a juice of their own.

I returned to the pan to flip the French Toast.  Waiting for the second side to be done, I heated up hot water and made myself some Lemon tea. Once the French Toast was ready, I cut it on the diagonal. Plating the French Toast, I poured the blueberries on top. It was fantastic!

*There’s a lot of contradictory information about which milk is better for you. After doing a lot of research on the matter, here’s where I stand…Yes, low and non fat milks are lower in calories, which may be important to you if you’re a calorie counter, but other than that, but I’d still go with whole milk any day. The fat found in whole milk actually helps the body to absorb vitamins and minerals better. In addition, the research at Penn State shows that the skim powder that is put in low/non fat milk comes with a cost. Skim powder is put in milk to make is white instead of a bluish color (which is what you’re left with when you take the fat out) and also helps improves the texture. Research has also been done that shows the skim powder leads to plaque formation in the arteries and heart disease. Also, if childhood obsesity is the concern, Harvard did research and found a link between childhood weight gain and low/non fat milks—not whole milk. With that said, I’ll take my chances with whole milk.

wcfoodies: Cookbookin’. Grilled radicchio, kumquats, spicy honey dressing. Yum!

wcfoodies:

Cookbookin’.

Grilled radicchio, kumquats, spicy honey dressing.

Yum!

Inventing Lunch

Something I’ve always loved about cooking is that as much as you might know about cooking, there’s always room to learn, to understand, and to invent. Today, I did a little inventing of my own. Now, when I say ‘invent,’ I don’t mean that no-one-on-the-face-of-the-earth-has-ever-made-such-a-dish invention. I mean, going into the kitchen with a blank-slated mind, no recipe in hand, and inventing the dish up as I throw the ingredients together. When I made my lunch, I was only armed with a simple, unusual craving: caramel sauce.

Reader, you might be thinking, “Caramel sauce? I thought you said you made lunch! And hey, what about that diet you mentioned from the last entry?” Well, be patient. It’ll all come together. Spoiler alert: I successfully cooked a healthy lunch that incorporated caramel sauce.

Looking in the fridge, I saw some ingredients that caught my interest: a pear, carrots, onions, and sour cream. [Yes, dear reader, I have the most unusual cravings. Everyone tells me I eat like a pregnant woman. Get used to it.] I think that the telltale signs of a true cook—that which separates him/her from those who cook merely to eat—is being able to see the potential in an ingredient that others would have overlooked. I looked at those few ingredients, and paired with my weird craving, I had an epicurean epiphany.

I heated up the oven to 400˚F, and I began preparing the fruits and vegetables. I peeled two carrots and chopped them width-wise. I then took half a white onion and thinly sliced it width-wise as well. Next, I took the pear and cut it in half by its length, paring out the center of one half.

I then rolled out a sheet of aluminum foil, placing the carrots and onions onto it. I sprinkled over cracked pepper, sea salt, cinnamon, and fennel seeds. I also cut two thin pats of butter, broke them up, and placed them into the mix as well. I then folded up the aluminum, creating a little pouch. I placed the pouch into the oven for five minutes.

Next, I prepared the pear. I covered a pan in aluminum foil, shaking a generous amount of sea salt, cracked pepper, and cinnamon onto the foil. After, I cut a thick pat of butter and stuck it into the hollow of the pear half. I then placed the pear flat-side down onto the spice mixture. After the five minutes up for the carrots and onions, I put the pear pan in alongside the pouch and let it all cook for fifteen minutes.

Now for the caramel sauce! I got out a small sauce pan, a whisk, unsalted butter, whole milk, vanilla extract, and light brown sugar. Putting the sauce pan on the stove and setting the burner on medium, I poured in roughly a half cup of milk and let it heat up. Next, I put in a third of a cup of brown sugar. I mixed the milk and brown sugar together until the brown sugar melted in and it started to thicken into a syrup. I added vanilla extract (to smell) and placed in a pat of butter. After mixing it all together, I lowered the heat down to let it simmer.

I still had time on the clock, so I heated up the kettle to have tea with the meal. The kettle reached a boil, and I steeped green tea for four minutes. Once the time was up, I opened up the pouch of carrots. I was hit with the smell aromatic spices, sweet tender carrots, and tangy golden onions all in an au jus created from the baking process. I emptied out the pouch onto a plate, creating a ring of carrots and onions on the plate. Next, I took the pear that had lightly browned on its flat side and placed it hollow facing up in the center of the plate. I then drizzled the caramel sauce over the pear as well as the carrots and onions. I took a spoonful of sour cream and filled the hollow of the pear, and garnished it with cracked pepper.

Eating this ‘slapped together’ meal, I felt accomplished. There was the perfect amount of sweet, sour, spicy, and tangy. The dish also had a lot of complementary textures, and paired with the green tea, it was the perfect little lunch. After eating lunch, I had a small square of 70% dark chocolate with the rest of my green tea, and I was in absolute heaven! Needless to say, I was vey proud of this invention.

A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.

—Aesop

Heart pains are just like hunger pains. You find yourself in need of sustenance. You might crave a particular thing (cuddling, sex, or just someone that tells you you’re attractive). Just like hunger pains, the longer you ignore the heart pains, the more ravenous you become. That’s where the trouble comes in. This morning I woke to my stomach growling—mostly because I’ve been eating less to shed some vanity pounds. I was craving a multitude of foods ranging from the Czech pastry my mom had made two days ago to eggs, bacon, and a latte (clearly I’m not the dieting type). Instead of ignoring these cravings, I made the choice to satiate them in a healthier way. The pastry that had apples and cheddar cheese. As a close substitute, I chopped up a green apple and a pear and heated them up on a saucepan to cook in their own juices. I grated in a bit of sharp cheddar and sprinkled in cinnamon to smell ( I don’t believe in measuring cinnamon). As the fruit was simmering, I cooked up two strips of maple cured bacon, drained the fat, and then cooked one egg over easy in the remnants of fat. Instead of a latte, I made regular coffee that I sprinkled a pinch of cinnamon and brown sugar into and then poured in a splash of warm milk. Yum. As I was cooking all of this, I thought, why couldn’t heart cravings be as simple to satiate? Let’s say I’m craving simple affection, but in trying to ‘be good’ and hold out for real love, I ignore the cravings. It will only build up instead until I just settle for whatever’s there. Trouble. I think I need to find the balance of staying true to my goals but also satisfying my urges. I don’t think it’ll be as easy as making breakfast, but it’s worth a shot.

Heart pains are just like hunger pains. You find yourself in need of sustenance. You might crave a particular thing (cuddling, sex, or just someone that tells you you’re attractive). Just like hunger pains, the longer you ignore the heart pains, the more ravenous you become. That’s where the trouble comes in.

This morning I woke to my stomach growling—mostly because I’ve been eating less to shed some vanity pounds. I was craving a multitude of foods ranging from the Czech pastry my mom had made two days ago to eggs, bacon, and a latte (clearly I’m not the dieting type). Instead of ignoring these cravings, I made the choice to satiate them in a healthier way. The pastry that had apples and cheddar cheese. As a close substitute, I chopped up a green apple and a pear and heated them up on a saucepan to cook in their own juices. I grated in a bit of sharp cheddar and sprinkled in cinnamon to smell ( I don’t believe in measuring cinnamon). As the fruit was simmering, I cooked up two strips of maple cured bacon, drained the fat, and then cooked one egg over easy in the remnants of fat. Instead of a latte, I made regular coffee that I sprinkled a pinch of cinnamon and brown sugar into and then poured in a splash of warm milk. Yum.

As I was cooking all of this, I thought, why couldn’t heart cravings be as simple to satiate? Let’s say I’m craving simple affection, but in trying to ‘be good’ and hold out for real love, I ignore the cravings. It will only build up instead until I just settle for whatever’s there. Trouble. I think I need to find the balance of staying true to my goals but also satisfying my urges. I don’t think it’ll be as easy as making breakfast, but it’s worth a shot.

Introduction: Oh, There Will Be Puns (Seriously, They’re Peppered in Here).

Being a resolution-abiding lady (or at least trying to), I have decided to write a blog that catalogs both my culinary and romantic endeavors.

For quite some time, I’ve wanted to write a blog that I stay committed to, but I have failed in my attempts to do so. Attempt 1: I created a generic tumblr that I felt was too reminiscent of the LiveJournal I had when I was 14, which was far too angst-ridden for me then. Attempt 2: I made a Blogspot about my disastrous dating life, which I brilliantly decided to write during a dating lull; when my dating life struck a spark again I oh-so conveniently forgot my password and e-mail address I used to create the account.

Being a junior professional writing major, I have felt compelled to write a blog to get my words out there. Naturally, I was hesitant in creating another blog, for fear of failing miserably yet again, but a new year means new beginnings, and new beginnings only start when you hold your breath and push past the nagging reservations. For the last couple of months, I’ve been marinating over the idea of writing a blog with enough material for me to stay committed but enough focus to offer some originality and intrigue. So I reflected on my life and thought: what do I have to bring to the table?

Ever watch a romantic comedy and have a sneaking suspicion that the people in Hollywood have hidden cameras in your everyday life and are using clips of your life for screenplay material? No? Just me? Okay then. Well, when telling family, friends, and other captive audiences about my love life, I’m often told my experiences sound like they’re straight out of romantic comedy. I like to reply, “Well at least someone can get a laugh out of my love life,” which always carries a bitter hint of ‘screw you.’  But hey, as unfortunate as it might be, it’s all very true.

You might be thinking, “Wow, this sounds a lot like your failed second blog,” but just wait, there’s a safety net. Another constant in my life is my love of (borderline obsession with) food. Quite conveniently cooking and eating act as a healing ritual for my broken/confused/disenchanted heart and fills the cracks in my dating life very nicely.

This blog comes with a warning. I will be discussing my dating life and potentially other aspects of my life that I need to ‘cook out,’ so readers that also are an active part in my life (particularly of the romantic sort) will inevitably be mentioned. Fear not, there will be aliases, but I’m not watering down the content. My recommendation is that if you can’t stand the heat, get the f*** out of the kitchen, darling. 

That being said, I have really good feelings about this blog. I plan to write an entry at least once a week. Some entries might have more to do with romance, some might have more to do with food, and some might have an even balance of the two. My only two goals of this blog are that it be autobiographically therapeutic for me and deliciously entertaining for you.

All the love and care,

Victoria

(Follow me on Twitter @misstorijeanne)