Genkinaonna

Pastamashugana-they're not just squatting, they have permits for the pods...it's really nice when you have a pod like that one since there's covered seating, which is a must when you have small people in tow. The one across the street from my husband's office has great food but no seating, which is problematic at best.

Pam- Yes that waa a converted school bus...pretty cool, huh? I too am in love with the idea of a food cart...a kosher deli cart would probably be successful, something different! There are quite a few pods of food carts in Portland, not so much out in suburbia, but we do have individual trucks here and there, mostly tacos and tortas though... The pod i was at was actually on a big open lot with parking next door, bathrooms, and an atm. Not all of them are that well organized. The area around the other big pod close to that one is notorious for getting cars towed and ticketed. It would be amazing to have one out by us but I'm pretty sure there'd be zoning issues.

I haven't committed to making any birthday or special events cakes this week, so I thought I'd share the ones I did last week. The first one was for a 4 yr old birthday party, her theme was Fancy Nancy. There were also fancy cupcakes with fondant flowers and pink disco dust (edible glitter-LOVE that stuff!) on top... The second one was for a two year old's party, he requested a rocket. This one was just enough for one person, everyone else got green glitter topped cupcakes with either alien heads, ufos, or mini rockets made out of fondant... Both were quite successful, the kids really liked them. And since I got to eat some of the Fancy Nancy cake and the cupcakes, I enjoyed them too!

Hmmm...I may have to hit some thrift stores today!

After the kids were safely squirreled away in their beds, with the requisite visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, Mr. Genkinaonna (AKA Jon) and I headed out for dinner at Beast. Naomi Pomeroy, the chef and owner, is something of a celebrity, having been on both Iron Chef America and Top Chef Masters. However, she's been a favorite of the local food scene for quite a while and Beast is a very well known and respected restaurant in the city. Since this blog is all about me, I'll keep the focus there , but if you want to read a bio of Naomi Pomeroy, there's one here. Beast has two seatings a night, and everyone eats the same thing. The menu changes weekly and is posted on Wednesdays. This means that since our reservation was for Wednesday night, and they sometimes don't get the menu online updated until really late in the day, our meal was a surprise until we walked through the door. Generally I'd find this a little annoying, as I'm one of those people who likes to know what I'm getting myself into, but the food at Beast is so good I wasn't particularly worried. The other thing about Beast that can be a little offputting is the communal seating. There are two large tables, one seating 8 people, and the other seating about 14, and that's it. No bar, no individual tables. But everyone at our table was really nice, one group was here from LA on business and one couple from Montana looking into moving to Portland. So, on to the food: Our first course was a spring chicken and onion soup with a cheese toast. It was pretty good, but the cheese on the toast was goat cheese, and I think that it's somewhat barnyard-y flavor dominated a little too much. It was also really really hot, which is understandable, but a couple of the people at the table complained of burnt tongues, which can kind of impair your enjoyment of the rest of the meal... The next course was, I think, my favorite. I do love plates with multiple meats, and this one had them in spades. Clockwise from the top, foie gras bonbon with sauternes gelee, fleur de sel, and peanut shortbread, chicken liver mousse with pickled onion, pickled carrot and beet, beef tartare with quail egg on brioche, pork, chili, and fennel pate with cornichon and grainy mustard, and duck proscuitto. The salad in the middle was fennel and radish. Everything was amazing, but my favorite was the foie gras bonbon. It was both cute and tasty. And since my husband doesn't like foie, I got two of them. It was a good day to be me. Our main was a Cattail Creek lamb loin chop with lemon creme fraiche smashed potatoes with cherrywood smoked bacon and peas mixed in, and a peashoot and mint salad dressed with warm bacon fat. I'm not a big fan of lamb, but this was delicious. It was perfectly cooked, the bacon added just the right amount of salty smokiness, and the salad was really clean and bright, a great contrast to the meat. The server mentioned that Cattail Creek was going out of business, so this would be the last of their lamb served. I was suprised, you see Cattail Creek lamb on quite a few of the upscale restaurant menus here. But upon visiting the website, it seems that it's an interpersonal issue, rather than a lack of demand, which leaves me hope that we'll see it again soon! The salad course was an asparagus, porcini, and morel salad with parmigiano, browned butter and a poached egg. Not a big asparagus fan, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, but this was really good. So good, mixed with the runny egg yolk and the browned butter drizzled over, that I totally forgot to take a picture. Luckily, one of the other people at the table volunteered to let me take a picture of his... Our cheese course was next. I unfortunately didn't get the names of the first two cheeses, and they were ones I was unfamiliar with, the first was a french sheep's milk cheese, it kind of reminded me of a manchego, and the second was a really nice goat's milk cheese, perfectly ripe and really creamy, with almost none of the funk I associate with goat's milk cheeses in general. However, the third cheese, Grayson, from Meadow Creek Dairy in Virginia is a washed rind cow's milk cheese. The flavor is almost meaty, the texture is slightly resistant and then just melts on your tongue, and the smell is pretty strong. Like feet-y strong. One of the other people at the table (the same nice guy who let me take pictures of his salad, as a matter of fact) compared it to "the worst bus stop bathroom I've ever smelled, you know, like when you really have to go, and then you walk into the bathroom and you wish you'd waited..." I thought it smelled more like unwashed feet, but hey, it tasted good, and that's what counts, right? The accompaniments were a champagne poached apricot, local wildflower honey, marcona almonds and anise shortbread. Pretty tasty all around. Dessert was a strawberry parfait with a graham cookie base. It was good, really light, and very springy. The only complaint I had was that the cookie was pretty difficult to cut through with a fork, you should be able to get your fork all the way to the plate in one push, but this one took a little work. And the extra force kind of made it so you had to chase the dessert around on the plate a little bit, but as I said, it was yummy, so I won't give them too much grief . When we staggered out, we were so full we went right to bed. Food coma. I didn't even eat breakfast. That's a good meal!

The last place we went yesterday during the day was, I think, my new favorite place in Portland. I know that's a pretty big statement, but it's true. And it was kind of a serendipitous find. I mentioned earlier that the offspring requested ice cream today. So I was Googling around on the interwebs, looking for an eGullet-worthy ice cream place, and came across Fifty Licks Ice Cream. And lo and behold, it was in a food cart pod. And one I hadn't been to! Happy day! The children could have their ice cream and I could continue to practice my love of all things food cart-related. It was meant to be, clearly. So after Bob's, we made our way over to 43rd and Belmont, to the Good Food Here Foodcart Pod. And it WAS good. I knew I was in the right spot when I read the menu of the first cart I saw, which was called, creatively, Eurotrash: Oh yeah, baby. That's right. You didn't misread it, your eyes are in fact working. That's foie. On a FOOD CART MENU. On housemade potato chips with parsley and a creamy garlic sauce, no less. Can I get a hallelujah? I mean, come on, it's hard enough to find foie on ANY menu in PDX, it's kind of a "we love the animals" type of city. And don't get me wrong, I do love animals. But foie is like meat flavored butter. And if I see it on a menu, I order it. 'Nuff said. So clearly I ordered it. The owner, an extremely nice man named Charles, said his culinary goal was to create "odd and interesting food for the masses." A noble endeavor, in my humble opinion. I ordered the foie and chips and while it was being made, I meandered over to: AKA Creme de la creme, for some of their french onion soup. I'd heard good reviews, and it really did hit the spot since it was kind of a rainy and cold day. Here's the rest of the menu: The girls opted for sweets over savories (what a shock, I know...) and took their pick from items at Sugar Cube. . Mina got a chocolate malt and Aria opted for the chocolate caramel potato chip cupcake. When I pointed out that we had cupcakes at home and maybe she should try something different, the woman made an error that almost got her banned from my blog. She said that HER CUPCAKES WERE BETTER THAN MINE! I know, totally out of line, right? And not true, once I tasted them...I mean, they were tasty and all, but at the very most, I'd say they were AS good as mine, not better. Although the potato chips dipped in caramel and chocolate ganache were pretty nummy. But she did lose one Nom on my Heather rating scale of deliciousness based on her (in my mind) totally unfounded and unappreciated Heather's cupcake hate This is what the (maybe as good as, definitely not better than mine) cupcake looked like: As the girls sat down to eat, I heard my name ring out through the air, calling me back to Euro Trash, for this: Tell me that's not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. Well, unless you're a vegetarian, then it's probably not even in your top ten, but for me, it was up there, trust me...After I ate, the sun came out for a little so I shot a couple of pics of some of the other carts. Despite the fact that it's on the other side of the city and about 35 minutes from my house, I will definitely be returning to this pod. I saw lots of other things I want to try, although they'll be hard pressed to top Euro Trash. Ironically enough, the food cart that initially drew me to this food cart pot, Fifty Licks: Was actually closed. Go figure.

Hmm...that kiddie pool idea looks great, I'd just have to figure out where to put it...do zucchinis need a lot of sunlight?

After we left Burgerville, we cruised over the river to Milwaukie, Oregon (not to be confused with Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is close to where I grew up and where I still have friends) and made a stop at Bob's Red Mill. For those who don't know, Bob's Red Mill makes specialty flours and baking mixes, which are distributed nationwide. They're headquartered in Milwaukee, Oregon. I was a little annoyed that we couldn't tour the factory, but they apparently only do them once a day and we'd already missed that day's tour. But I managed to wash away my sorrows in about 20 aisles of specialty flours, baking ingredients, seeds, nuts, and kitchen gadgets, both pre-packaged and in bulk. Here's the view from the outside: And a couple of shots from the inside: I left with some pastry flour, a bag of dried apples, conveniently prechopped into little cubes, perfect for muffins, and some graham flour for making graham crackers with the kids. All in all it was a productive trip. I wish it was closer to my house, they have any kind of flour and specialty grain stuff a baker could ever want.

Toolprincess-I don't know if I could do bubble tea and pho in the same trip! My bladder couldn't handle it! Patti- Thanks! I'm really enjoying sharing it with everyone! I'm sorry I'm slacking on posting, we were running around the city this afternoon. I decided to be proactive and ensure a pleasant trip for everyone involved by starting at the girl's favorite lunch spot, Burgerville. We generally don't go out for fast food, and I avoid big chains especially (I'm talking about you, Clown and King...) but I do love me a Burgerville burger. Their slogan is Fresh Local Sustainable, which are three things I'm a fan of. They have seasonal specials, for example, right now it's strawberries in sundaes, smoothies, and milkshakes, and fried asparagus spears with garlic aioli dipping sauce or in several sandwiches. As summer progresses, they'll have blackberries, cherries, portabella mushrooms, pumpkin stuff, and hazelnuts near the end of the year. They had some awesome rosemary shoestring fries, but they were replaced by the asparagus spears ...I also like that they use Oregon Country natural beef, which has no antibiotics or hormones and is vegetarian fed. They've also got a pretty extensive collection of non-meat sandwiches. I particularly like the Yukon Gold and White Bean Basil Burger. It's not a burger, but it comes slathered with pesto mayo and the patty actually tastes really good, although in no way does it resemble an actual burger. And if I get a veggie burger, I can eat an entire basket of fries and drink a cherry chocolate milkshake with a clear conscience, so it all works out! They also have a rewards card that gives you like 5% back on all your purchases that you can use towards meals. I think we've got like $30 on there now, which shows how often we eat there... Here's the outside: And the inside: I totally meant to take pictures of the food, but the kids weren't the only ones who were hungry, and I spaced it until my meal was just about gone...

Okay, so baking is completed. Well, at least the part before the oven works it's mojo, anyways. I opted to go with the "Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake" from Baking From My Home to Yours, partially because Dorie never lets me down, and partially because it's another recipe I can check off as I try to bake through the whole book. The only issue that I have with BFMHTY (as those in the know call it ) is that Dorie seems to be inordinately fond of dried fruit, while I myself am not. However, I've had excellent luck swapping out figs, raisins, etc. for the more acceptable (in the Heather world) dried apples, pears, or even just throwing in nuts instead. When I saw dried white peaches at Trader Joes, I was intrigued, and grabbed a pack, thinking they might be useful in some recipe remixing down the road. When I started thinking about using the ricotta to bake with today, I immediately thought of the Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake, if only because I've looked through that book so many times I know all the recipes in it. After reading her anecdote at the top of the page about how this recipe was inspired by another recipe that she found and drastically altered, I knew she'd have my blessing to mess around with it some more! It was supposed to have figs, but I broke out the aforementioned dried peaches instead, and I subbed 2/3 cup stone ground and 1/3 cup fine ground cornmeal for the one cup medium grind cornmeal. I also left out the lemon zest, wasn't sure how it would go with the peaches, and besides, unbeknownst to me, the sole lemon in the house had gotten all squishy and gross at the bottom. Here's the mise: Cornmeal, flour, baking powder, eggs, butter, peaches, ricotta cheese, honey, sugar, and salt. First you mix together the ricotta and water in the mixer until smooth, then you add the honey and sugar and beat until light. Looking at my batter, it didn't seem like the type that would EVER get light, it had way too much moisture. Chalk it up to the fact that my ricotta was pretty milky. Here's what it looked like, note the total lack of light'n'fluffiness... You then add the butter. In this recipe it's melted, which is FABULOUS since I never remember to take it out of the fridge to soften, and when I try to soften it in the microwave I invariably end up with melted butter anyways...after the butter, you add the eggs, and beat it until everything is nice and smooth. Then the dry ingredients go in and get mixed to combine. A third of the batter goes in the pan (note that I used a springform instead of the fluted tart pan the recipe called for, more of that remixing I mentioned) and then the figs, or in this case, peaches, get sprinkled on top. Here's how it looked at that point: Finally cover with the remaining batter, and sprinkle with bits of butter. I had a brief moment of doubt when contemplating just exactly what the dimensions of a "bit" of butter should be (does nathanm mention that in MC? ) but I figured about 1/4 inch cube-ish type pieces would fit the bill. Here it is: Then into the oven, until it's done, probably around an hour for this thickness of batter. I'll post the results when it's out. This morning (well, probably afternoon by the time I chase the kids out the door) we're going to mosey on over to Bob's Red Mill, and then hit one of the food cart pods I haven't been to before. And yes, there's ice cream there!

Haresfur-If I liked asparagus, I'd be excited about the beautiful thin little spears that are in bunches everywhere. My dad has been eating them with eggs in the morning. I feel exactly the same way about asparagus that I do about peas, though. No thank you! Sorry if that makes me a terrible foodie! No cherries yet, although strawberries are coming along, cherries are a little bit later in June, and then they're everywhere for about a month, which is nice. I have been over the mountains to the dry side of the state, I have a friend who has quite a bit of family in Bend, and we went to dig for Oregon sunstones here for our anniversary last year. Bend used to be a town full of great restaurants, but quite a few of them have closed because of the economy. It's pretty sad. Zeemanb-Thanks for the kind words! The chicken was, in fact, amazing. Today I will bake something else...not sure what yet, but I have a lovely container of ricotta cheese that will figure into it prominently. The children have requested going to an ice cream shop, so I'll see what I can scare up that's interesting for people in the over 5 set... More to come!

For dinner tonight, after much hemming and hawing, we opted to go to deCarli. There are lots of fine dining places in downtown Portland, but fine dining within 20 minutes of our house in the 'burbs is another thing altogether, especially later in the evening, like past 9 pm or so. We've recently discovered a couple of great late night cheap places, including Kimsatgot which I mentioned earlier, but for fine dining, we are kind of limited. I'm just lucky that my dad lives with us, so my husband and I are able to go out and eat after the kids are in bed for the night. We had driven past deCarli many times before we tried it, but now we go there on a pretty regular basis. The menu is Italian-influenced Northwest Seasonal, and it changes every week, although there are some items that stay on pretty much year-round. I contemplated boycotting them when they took the carpaccio off the menu, but I couldn't stay away, the food's just too good. Tonight I started with an Antiquity: Which is gin, cardamaro, simple syrup, soda, and lime. It was super refreshing and light, not too sweet and very easy to drink. I was joking with the waitress that I could see making a pitcher up and sitting on the porch with it this summer. I generally get a glass of wine, but they do have a very nice mixed drink list, and for all you mixology buffs out there I took one for the team tonight Here's what the rest of the drink menu looked like: We had an arugula, taleggio, prosciutto, and grana padano pizzette for our appetizer, and it was so good it was hard to leave enough room for our entree. I got chicken under a brick with polenta, speck, english peas, and early morels. Even though I was getting full pretty quick, I couldn't stop eating it until it was totally gone. The flavors were really balanced, and it was very well seasoned. Every component really added to the dish. Other than the peas. Can't stand 'em. Gave them to my husband. He said they were good though. I'm not buying it... For dessert we split a piece of Boca Negra, which is a flourless chocolate cake. My recipe for Boca Negra is a little more custardy, this was more like a brownie, but it was good. Not too sweet, which is my main complaint with most chocolate desserts at restaurants. I can understand why, sugar is cheaper than chocolate, but I'd much rather have a less sweet, more intensely chocolatey dessert. My husband always laughs when I take a bite of some 5 layer chocolate extravaganza and the first words out of my mouth are,"too sweet...not chocolatey enough..." Anyways, this dessert was a success in my book. I'm turning in for the night. Tomorrow might go one of several ways, depending on the weather and what the kiddos are up for...see ya in the morning!

So as I'd promised, here are the pics from Uwajimaya. It's an asian food and housewares store the size of a large supermarket. There's also a Japanese bookstore on premises. Here's the outside: And what you see when you walk in the door: I love their housewares dept. They always have lots of neat bowls and interesting kitchen gadgets. Here's a nori punch for decorating rice: And a spiffy little sandwich maker I considered buying, until I saw the $25 price tag. Here's the wall o'bowls: And the accompanying wall o'tea pots: I got pics of the miso case, which is where I got busted for using my camera. I should have started at the other end of the store, they have an amazing seafood section.

David-I went to Uwajimaya today. Even managed to take some pictures before they told me to knock it off ...I'll post them in a little bit, once we decide what's for dinner! I agree that Portland has access to some wonderful ingredients, it's easy to have a good meal if you don't mess with them too much. FauxPas- I don't know if I'm the best person to ask about the comparison between WI and OR cheese. I didn't really get into artisan cheeses until I moved out here. I know that there are lots of little local producers, and some that are not so little, and we've got some amazing cheese shops, one of which I hope to visit tomorrow. However, I know there are also lots of little local producers in WI, so I don't want to give anyone the short shrift...I'm happy to sample and comment on any cheese anyone wants to send me, though!

Faux Pas-Dad did enjoy the chicken. His corn wasn't in the picture, but only because it was a little late getting to the table, and I wanted to take the picture before I started eating...I assure you it was tasty though! I'd love to blame my lack of gardening ability on my busy life, but I actually have always been a terrible gardener...I like the concept of growing things, but my execution is just poor. I always forget to water them. It's a good thing I'm better with my kids! The proximity to my neighbor's house is the reason the window in the kitchen is so high. And if it was lower, I'd be looking into their downstairs bathroom every time I washed the dishes, which would put me off dinner, to say the least. I guess there might be some delays with berries this year, the farmer's markets have only been open for a couple of weeks and berry season is just getting started, but I haven't noticed anything major yet. I've never put any liqueurs in my jams, my primary consumers are my kids, so although the potential for early bedtime due to intoxication is tempting, I should probably refrain until they're a little older Although, maybe that has some Chooseyourownwinterholiday gifting potential...any ideas or combos you've found to be particularly good? Not too many questions at all, keep 'em coming! TongoRad-yes, I do add the berries to the batter frozen, but I have also done this recipe very successfully with fresh fruit, raspberries and tart cherries in particular, as well. I just would recommend leaving the fruit frozen if you use frozen fruit, if that's not a totally unclear way of saying it... Coming from an upbringing in Wisconsin, I'm kind of spoiled with good German food, but Edelweiss and Berlin Inn are pretty tasty.

Lunch today was at Eidelwiess Deli just across the river in Southeast Portland. I was actually planning on going to the place next door, the Berlin Inn, but they were closed, and since Berlin Inn gets their sausages from Eidelwiess anyways, I wasn't too disappointed. When you walk in the door, the smell of smoked meat hits you like a wall, which is not good when you're ravenous anyways. I only barely managed not to chew the arm off the person in front of me while I was waiting in line. They have a small seating area and you order your food at the register, then they bring it out. The rest of the store is dedicated to all kinds of German Imports: Cheese, chocolates, wines, baking and cooking mixes, saurkraut, etc...They also have some bakery, but I restrained myself since I wanted to visit a bakery when I was done with lunch. Here's the lunch menu: And what I ordered (a smoked bratwurst, a polish sausage, a roll, and a cup of the roasted garlic and tomato soup. Everything was great, as usual. You can also get beer and wine, but since I was dining alone and didn't have a DD, I stuck with the traditional German standby, Orange Fanta. I liked that there were two kinds of house made mustard on the table plus yellow mustard, ketchup, and horseradish. I'm a multi-condiment kinda girl. I like to have options... After I was full unto bursting with lunch, I snapped some shots of the meat case (insert nice sausage joke here) and did some closeups so you all can see what a great variety they have. Here's the wide shot: And some closeups: Mmmm..cured meaty goodness. I went home with 4 more brats, since it's kind of a trek to get there from my house, I'll stash them in the freezer for later...and those I WON'T let languish, forgotten, they will get eaten!

So last night I baked some almond blueberry and lemon mini cakes (in my world cupcakes have to have frosting) for everyone in my business class. The recipe is dead easy, it's based on the Almond Cake recipe from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich. Here's the mise: Flour, baking powder, almonds, lemon, limoncello, almond extract, sugar, and blueberries. The lemon gets zested, and the zest put in the food processor bowl with the almonds and sugar, then finely ground , like this: Then in goes the butter, eggs, sugar, limoncello and almond extract, and buzz it again. Flour, salt, and baking powder are last in the pool... Once the batter is in the molds, you drop in the frozen blueberries, then bake. Here's the result: They were a hit with the class.

I figured I might give people chile envy with that one ...I'm very blessed to live in a really diverse area. Right in that same strip mall is a great little Filipino bakery/import shop, and there used to be an Ethiopian import store there as well, although they've since gone out of business. There are about 10 little tiendas within 5 minutes of my house, one specialises in meat, that's where I get my lard for refried beans and pie crust. Another one is a little bigger, and has a lot of kitchen stuff, but I go there for the tacos el pastor cart outside their front door, and their guava empanadas. Darienne-Let me know if there's anything that you would like, I'd gladly drop some in the mail Pierogi-The Frugal Gourmet was one of the shows I grew up watching...my mom got me the cookbook when someone donated it to the library she worked at (some people get rid of the silliest things...) Mkayahara-I've made components of some of the dishes, but not any whole desserts. He did introduce me to the combo of strawberry and basil though, so even if he wasn't super studly, I'd love him forever for that I have unsuccessfully tried the retrograde starch method, but I know the it was operator error on my part...I'll try it again at some point. JTravel-I'm pretty sure that Jeff Smith was from the West Coast somewhere, but I don't think it was Portland...I'd have to check on that. I know James Beard is from here though. I have my business class today, so I'll be stopping by an amazing German butcher shop for lunch a little later. Breakfast this morning was: The custard empanada from Espiga Dorada and coffee. Not necessarily the breakfast of champions, but I'll have a big lunch, so I want to be hungry later.

Alrighty, baking done. Will post pics in the morning...must...sleep...zzz...

I'm going to bake something now...I promised I'd bring treats to my business class tomorrow morning. I'll post more when I'm done.

FauxPas-Gardening is unfortunately NOT a strong suit of mine. As a matter of fact, I have the dubious honor of saying I killed mint, and everyone knows that's damn near impossible. Our back, or should I say, side yard, is teeny tiny, the houses in our subdivision are packed in like sardines. We have a strip about 18" wide and about 4 feet long that gets any sort of sunlight, the rest is shaded by the neighbor's house. I did plant some chives this year, that's the one thing I can't seem to kill, and I use them quite a bit when I cook. There's also some sunflowers in pots, but nothing else edible. I'm contemplating planting some potatoes in garbage bags, that's supposed to be pretty low maintenance. But I might wait until next year. At least we're within about 10 minutes from quite a few U-pick farms, so we do pick quite a bit of fruit through the summer, which I use to make jam. As for the spice rack, it's actually Elfa, from the Container store. The track mounts to the backside of any door, and then you just mount whichever shelving baskets on it that are appropriate for your space. It was about $130 total and it took about 10 minutes to install. There's no drilling or anything, the only tool that you really need is a level, if I remember correctly. I happened to come across one on the internet somewhere, and I went out that night and bought it. I can't say enough good stuff about it, I want to get more for the back of the other closet doors!

And now my savory cookbooks. They're not organized as neatly as the baking books are, mainly because I did a quick once through the house and collected them from all over to put them back on the shelf. That and Gio likes to pull them off and sit on them. Here's one shelf: And the other: Yes, I have Rachel Ray books. I'm not ashamed of it. At least she cooks with real ingredients, rather than mixes (I'm lookin' at you, Ms. Lee...) although I'd have no desire to run across her in real life. I don't watch any of her shows, I find her whole demeanor and way of speaking to be super annoying. But some of her recipes are pretty decent.

I just realized I haven't posted pics of my cookbooks yet. So here they are. I tried to go shelf by shelf so you could actually see the titles. I have one big 5 shelf bookcase with baking and pastry books, and two smaller bookcases with savory cookbooks. I'll start with the dessert stuff first. Shelf one is actually NOT baking books, it's food-related fiction and reference. It's where I had room. So sue me! Next shelf down is regional baking and my culinary manuals, my one specifically bread focused book, plus cookies and cake pops (I have three cake pop books, one is on loan to a friend and Mina had the other one in the playroom...) and jam/jelly/preserving books. Shelf three is general baking books, including my signed copy of Baking From My Home to Yours. Yes, I still use it, it's beat to hell. Shows I love it! Fourth shelf is plated desserts, cakes, cupcakes, and cake decorating books. Mmmm...Johnny Iuzzini...nothin' more attractive than a tattooed man who can bake... Fifth shelf is professional books, good for larger scale recipes as well as reference. I use the Alain Ducasse book for inspiration all the time, it's just so darn pretty! Can you tell my mom is a reference librarian? Yeah, it's pretty obvious...

For dinner tonight, my Dad requested roast chicken and potatoes. It's kind of funny, I have no issues with making wedding cakes, chocolate showpieces, PITA fiddly stuff, but the idea of roasting a whole beast fills me with fear and dread. So instead of confronting the issue head on, I opted to use his suggestion as a jumping off point, and made cheese and spinach stuffed chicken breasts instead. For sides, we had carrots and mashed potatoes, with corn that Dad grilled (while pointing out to me that he could, in fact, cook, so make a note of it...). Here's the carrots being prepped, sometimes the kids will do better with veggies if I cut them in novel shapes, so I thought triangles might be the way to go: And then into the sous vide bag with butter, salt, and pepper. I cooked them at 185 degrees for an hour and a half and then chilled them down until the chicken was almost done, when I tossed them back in the SVS with the chicken to reheat. The chicken got filled with this: About half a 16 oz bag of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, mixed with sauteed shallot, two smashed garlic cloves, salt and pepper. I also added a strip of the cheese I got at Pastaworks yesterday. The chicken breasts themselves were pounded flat, filled with the spinach and cheese, and rolled up, with the ends tied off with butcher's twine. Then vacc'ed and into the SVS for about 2 hours at 140 degrees. Here's the chicken before it's bath: For the mashed potatoes, I use the microwave and a food mill. Doesn't require peeling, from spud to table in 20 min or so. I poked holes in the potatoes (learned THAT lesson the hard way, let me tell you...) popped them in the microwave for 6 min, flipped 'em, another 6 min, and in this case, flipped them again and gave them another three minutes. Sometimes they're done in the first 12 minutes, sometimes they need up to 15 minutes or so, depends on the size of the spud in question. While they were cooking, I put half a stick of butter, about half a cup of heavy cream, and a big pinch of salt in the bottom of a serving bowl. Then I put the food mill over the bowl, cut the cooked potatoes into halves and fed them through. Once all the potatoes were through, a quick stir and done. Here's the meal all put together: I think next time I'll tweak the seasoning on the chicken a little, but other than that, a satisfactory meal all around.

After Espiga Dorada, we moseyed across the street to another store called Frutas y Verduras el Campesino. This is a place I go on a regular basis for chiles of all types. They have half an aisle, four shelves high, with about 50 different kinds of dried chiles. The other half of the aisle is all the different spices and nuts you'd use in moles of all sorts. It's pretty cool. Here's the chile end of the aisle: And the spice/nut end of the aisle: They also have an entire aisle of Mexican candy. It was difficult to explain to the girls that most of the candy has chile in it and would definitely be too spicy for them! Two cases of fresh cheeses, and homemade sour cream made me contemplate doing some ersatz mexican later in the week, but I think I'm already overbooked as it is, so I held myself back. Ironically the one thing I wouldn't really buy there would be fruit or vegetables, since that's supposed to be what they focus on. Everything kind of looks like it's on it's last legs, some of it is moldy in almost every bin.