My 1st cheese!

I've taken up cheesemaking! With my ample free time available to silly hobbies, I've started dedicating myself to the art of cheese. I figured Ashton is making beer, Andy was making bread, what's the next best thing? Cheese! For someone as decidedly un-sciencey as myself, cheese is actually a pretty big challenge (what's a mesophilic culture??), but TOTALLY satisfying and REALLY fun. So far I've only got 1 cheese under my belt, but I've assembled a few more supplies and am ready for round 2!

The first cheese I made is probably one of the most basic ones around- a simple lemon basil cheese, made from a half gallon of pasteurized whole milk from a cow + 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt to taste, and some freshly picked basil from our pet plant. I slowly brought the milk up to 165 degrees F while stirring to avoid scalding, and once it was removed from the heat I added the lemon juice and let the mixture rest for 15 minutes. After that, I poured it into a cheesecloth lined colander and tied into into a ball and placed it in a large pot to catch the drippings while it sat in the fridge for an hour. Once I took it out, it had clumped into a ricotta-esque spread to which I added the salt and basil and voila! It's one of the few recipes that doesn't call for calcium chloride, rennet, or cultures, so for my first time it was absolutely perfect. In the end I could have used a bit more salt and maybe a tad more lemon juice for some zazz, but overall it was wonderfully spreadable and lent itself beautifully to a breakfast schmear.

Next I'll making paneer (the basic Indian cheese) and I've just gotten my cultures in the mail and some goat's milk chilling in the fridge, so stay tuned!

Andy's carbonara pizza

Having an enthusiastic and talented chef as a roommate definitely has its perks. For as much as Andy can appreciate and manipulate dishes of magnificent quality, he is equally passionate about some of the lower echelons of culinary exploration, such as the quintessential pizza and beer combination. Truly, if there is a better pairing of food and drink I haven't yet found it.

Having said that, there's certainly nothing wrong with run-of-the-mill pizza pies from any number of chain establishments or your grocery's freezer; there's always a time and a place for some cheap eats. However, if it's something a bit higher class that you yearn for and you don't mind putting a little elbow grease into it, I recommend the herb pizza dough available at Trader Joe's. I find it to crisp up nicely while leaving a gooey trail within the crust. For our particular experiment this night, we gathered up some of the best dry and sharp cheeses, along with some fresh arugula and herbs smattered on top of a thick, creamy, mushroom sauce that smothered the misshapen pie to ultimately be crowned with a halo of fresh eggs (cracked at the very end to ensure maximum runny-ness while avoiding that pesky salmonella). I can't truly explain the details without my mouth suddenly becoming full of saliva in a desperate yearning for a recreation of the glory, so perhaps a visual is necessary.



When confronted with a particularly savory group dish, a quandary often presents itself soon into the meal. Does one A) scarf it down with relish to ensure as much possible goodness is selfishly consumed by oneself, or B) does one maintain a sense of decorum and savor each bite to maximize the pleasure time? Let's just say with two hungry boys standing between me and my fair share of the pizza, the entire concoction was gone within moments. A glorious triumph for pizza lovers everywhere.

Recipe for a bogus day

Main: Grilled portobello mushrooms topped with melted provolone and fried artichokes
Side: Mashed cauliflower and potatoes with garlic butter
Veg: Steamed green beans with black pepper and prosciutto
Dessert: Butterfinger ice cream with hot fudge
paired with beer of your choice.

Let's just say the day ended on a high note.

Vermont part infinity- the rib dinner!

There's nothing quite like being in a lake house, surrounded by mountain air, pine trees, friends, and family to work up an appetite. Despite the fact that most of our days were filled with lounging, swimming, and hanging out, we'd managed to become ravenous in between our snack breaks and pauses for a fresh beer. Our last night was our pinnacle of culinary experience during our week in Vermont, with a bounty of freshly slaughtered and prepared ribs from Dakin Farm! Marylou again wowed us with her ability to clog our arteries with just using our eyes, which got REALLY bad once we actually started stuffing our faces!


Slow cooking is key, with constant re-application of the BBQ sauce of your choice. We, of course, went with a local Dakin Farm sauce, which provided a succulence unmatched by even the great masters. We used a charcoal grill, but I'd recommend a nice applewood wood chip smoke to provide a nice smoky flavor that gets absorbed beautifully in every square inch. Don't settle for tough ribs that require tearing from the bone- these should be dripping off the bone with moistness rivaling... well, something moist.


This is the famous tomato pie- decadence beyond belief. Even thinking about it makes my gut sag and my mouth drool. This Marylou Special is famous in small circles for its ability to transform even the most athletic and fit of people into obese monsters clamoring for more. Best with fresh Hanover tomatoes, take a pie crust (no need to get homemade with this, store bought will do) and line the inside with thick slices of tomato, alternating with cheese (monterey jack or a sharp white cheese of your choice) and basil. Coat the top with a generous amount of FRESHLY grated Parmesean and (are you ready for it?) frost the top with mayonnaise like you would a cake.

I promise, even if you hate tomatoes, even if you hate mayo, even if you are gagging and thinking this is the worst dish ever conceived, YOU ARE WRONG. Plain and simple. The mayonnaise provides the ooey gooeyest crisp pie top that you've ever had melt in your mouth. I truly believe this dish was handed down by God himself to say, "Thanks guys. Have fun!"


As if we needed more pure fat. Marylou thought it would be a good idea to add her famous German potato salad, a glorious dish filled with potatoes, cheese, butter, bacon, and god-knows-what-else. Simply marvelous. I can feel my belly swelling just looking at this.


VA from VA was lovely enough to chop up some fresh tomatoes and mozzarella with herbs to make fresh bruschetta to whet our insatiable appetites.




Confession time- I'm not the world's biggest fan of corn. I know this is a gigantic American staple, and I'm hard-pressed to find ANYTHING without some corn of some type in it, but just plain ol' corn of the cob just doesn't make me die with pleasure. Personally, I think it's kind of a waste to eat something that your body doesn't process, but that's neither here nor there. Regardless, if you are going to eat corn on the cob, this is the only way to do it. You can save this until last because after this the coals will pretty much be smothered and it takes a little while. Soak the corn in the husks in clean water for about 15-30 minutes. Remove the grill top and place the ears directly into the coals. Let them soak up all that nice heat for about 20-30 minutes (completely dependent on how hot the coals are, how done you want them to be, how many, etc. When you think they're done, take 'em off!) Once you let them cool for a couple of minutes, unwrap the husk and peel the silk off to enjoy the best damn ear of corn you'll ever have. You don't need butter or salt, just pure corny goodness.


This is what the final result should look like. All those scorch marks = major tastiness.


Finally, the feast! Woe is me, there wasn't enough room for the corn on my plate so I had to go back for seconds- rough life!

Vegan Cobbler

Ok, I have a confession to make. I promised several vegan friends that not only would I try my hand at baking, I would take it a step further and have my first sweet attempt be a vegan one.

It didn't end up that way.

I caught the baking bug today, and untimingly found myself a lone carnivore! All of my friends are in Boston for our wonderful friends wedding, taking their animal rights and appetites with them. With no reason to spend extra money on non-dairy goods like butter and milk (really the only two things) I totally cheated and used my cruel ingredients. However, I did take the recipe from the following cookbook:

This book is chock-full of great, all natural goodies, many of which I plan on actually trying my hand at when I once again find myself surrounded by animal loving hungry friends. I used the "Blueberry Cobbler" recipe and altered it into a "Peach/Blueberry Cobbler"- inspired by Brittany and in honor of my mom, whose peach cobbler is f*!@ing out of this world. Ashton lent me a hand in the kitchen as I rolled up my sleeves and banged out what proved to be a damn good dish.

Ingredients- Cobbler Biscuit Dough (all of this is unbleached, natural, dairy-free in the book- I used what I had on hand plus some fresh peaches and blueberries, so I'll skip the description. Get what you want. I'm sure Splenda would work just fine in lieu of sugar, etc.)
1 1/3 cups flour
3 tbsp sugar (divided)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 to 2 tbsp milk OR 1 to 2 tbsp butter to brush on top of dough

Ingredients- Filling
4 to 5 cups blueberries (or whatever fruit you wish- I used 2 pints blueberries and 4 medium to large fresh peaches sliced)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp grated lemon or lime zest- optional (I squirted some lemon juice in there, but I'm sure lemon zest would have been better. C'est la vie)

Preheat the oven to 375. I used a 2" deep baking pan around 9" square and sprayed with nonstick spray. For the dough, mix the flour 2 tbsp of sugar, baking powder, and salt in a deep bowl. When mixed thoroughly, add the butter and milk and stir until it forms a sticky dough. Put it aside and get to the filling!

Wash and dry the fruit, slice it if necessary, and in another large bowl combine them with the sugar, flour, and lemon zest (if using). Spread evenly in the baking dish and cover with the dough. The recipe says to use the tablespoon to spread it, but it is extraordinarily sticky and I ended up just reaching in and stretching small amounts across with my fingers. It worked well, IMHO. Brush the top of the dough with the remaining 1 or 2 tbsp of milk or butter (I opted for butter, duh) and sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp sugar. Here's what it looked like before baking:



Bake until top is golden brown and juices are slightly thickened, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving- with ice cream! I couldn't help but take an action shot because it smelled SO GOOD:



And the final dish!



The blueberry dripping sides were so hot and gooey that it looked like giant soda bubbles blasting to the top. It was awesome!

Wish you were here?

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan is one of those dishes that looks as if someone already ate it but still tastes unbelievably dissimilar to vomit. Personally, I think the sloppiness adds to the deliciousness. Even though I think Joe's Inn has some of the best egg. parm. around, I wanted to give it a go at home to see if we couldn't beat Stella at her own game. Unfortunately, we didn't start as early as we should have to rub the eggplant slices with salt to enhance crispiness potential, so going into it we understood that there was to be an element of unavoidable sogginess. Not deterred, we forged ahead with some farmer's market Parmesan Reggiano, slices of red pepper, 1/4 sliced eggplant slices, and mushroom sauce with more parmesan, crushed red pepper, oregano, basil, and black pepper. Using 2 eggs and some bread crumbs, we fried the eggplant slices in oil before baking it all together in a square pan for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. What came out was hot, bubbling, spicier than expected, and friggin' delicious. I think Stella has us beat (for now) but another try at this and we'll put them out of business.

Beer Battered Fish Taco Extravaganza

The name Demmon is synonymous with "excellent taco making". Taco Sundays were a regular part of the week for many a young soul in Northern Virginia from 1999-2003, and sporadically since then. Mama D's tacos were a thing of wonderment, and even though I live a stone's throw away from our authentic Mexican friends and eat Mexican cuisine multiple times a week, I often crave the unique flavor that only Mom's cooking seems to be able to capture.

However, I can't remember her ever exploring the art of the fish taco, so I decided for my inaugural taco attempt I would risk everything and go for the gold... en flaky crust of beer battered fish tacos. (Ignore the pun or act impressed). A quick Google search yielded a gigantic amount of results, so being a poor twentysomething I picked the recipes that included the most ingredients that I already had, or could substitute. I already had the red snapper, corn tortillas, extra sharp cheddar, colby jack, and fresh organic romaine, but what is a fish taco without white sauce? Just a dry taco. This search yielded the most hits with approximately 2,993,830,247 different ways to make them, so what I eventually did was:

1/2 cup ranch dressing (it said yogurt but I didn't have any and ranch is delicious)
1/2 veganaise (it said mayonnaise, but since mayo is gross and I would never use it again, why buy it?)
1 jalapeno (big and somewhat wrinkly, I like to think the older they are the hotter they are. This is completely not true.) Can use a habanero, whichever flavor you prefer.
The juice of 1 fresh lime
Generous helping of cayenne (probably around a teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Add the mayo and ranch/yogurt with the lime, mix, dice the pepper as small as possible and add with the seasonings. Mix well, it should be a little drippy but not runny.

The beer batter was pretty much the easiest thing in the world. 1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and one beer (not dark). I used Bud Lite because I'm ashamed to have it in my refrigerator and this was a good excuse to get rid of it without having to drink it. I cut the snapper into 1 inch pieces and dipped them in the batter after heating the oil to medium heat. Each piece took about a minute to cook to a light gold color without turning brown and getting burned, and provided a super light, crispy shell that wasn't too "fried". Nothing is more annoying than getting a Fried Batter taco when all you want is some evidence of fish buried deep within the taco. Afterward, I fried the corn tortillas for about a minute, folding them halfway through to ensure the right shape and crispiness! Perfectamundo!

Mama D, you would be so proud.

OMG SO DELICIOUS

I am EXTREMELY proud of this dish! My uncle and aunt came down for dinner last night to see our place, and I wanted to wow them with our cooking skills. I had gotten this recipe from a friend and it just seemed a little boring, so I jazzed it up with a few items of our own creation and made it our own!

ENJOY!!!



Thai Curry Chicken with mushrooms and peppers
3 lbs. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 large shiitake mushrooms cut into large pieces
1 large red bell pepper
Curry to taste (probably 2-3 large tablespoons depending on desired flavor)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups chopped onions (1/4” dice)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 small can or 1 cup coconut milk
Jasmine rice

Rinse chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. In a bowl or pan, combine chicken, lemon juice, zest, salt, pepper, and cayenne to marinate for 1 hour (or longer). In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and sauté onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes. Add chicken and mushrooms, generously sprinkle curry over everything, brown and cook until nearly done (about 12 minutes). Add tomatoes, ginger, and sliced red peppers, stir well, cook for 3 minutes more.

At this point I transferred everything into a large pot and then added the coconut milk. You can leave it in the skillet if you have enough room, whichever you prefer. Simmer until chicken is completely cooked. Reduce sauce to desired consistency, serve over jasmine rice.

STUFF YO' FACE AND YOU GOOD!!!

Marley's mac n' Cheese

My sister is not known for her culinary flair (just mention the words "jello salad" and you will be regaled with a tale that the family will NEVER let her live down!) but I definitely respect her for her persistence in the cooking realm. Actually, her husband Jason has a bit of talent with a grill, and even with the smallest kitchen I have ever seen, they've been able to knock out some commendable tidbits. I haven't yet tried the following recipe, but with cheese, jalapenos, and prosciutto, I think it sounds pretty damn tasty.


Ingredients

8 oz. box of macaroni (we use Cresti di gallo noodles; its large size and the ridged texture always adds to the pasta when you have a rich sauce by helping the sauce adhere to the pasta)

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1 small shallot, finely diced

1 jalapeno (include seeds and/or a 2nd jalapeno if you prefer it spicier)

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tbsp dried/ground mustard

1/2 tsp paprika

2 cups half and half

8 oz shredded sharp cheddar

8 oz shredded pepper jack

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs w/ 1 tbsp melted butter

1.5 oz (half a pack/to taste) prosciutto (found near the deli counter by lunch meats)



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C)
2. Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta noodles and cook for 7-8 minutes until they're almost al dente; drain well and set aside
3. Meanwhile cook prosciutto in olive oil/butter in a small saucepan until slightly crispy; cut into smaller pieces and set aside
4. In a large saucepan (at least 3 inches deep) over medium heat, melt 4 tbsp unsalted butter; add shallots and jalapenos and cook for 1 minute; add flour, dry mustard and paprika; stir continuously until blended (about 1 minute); pour in half and half slowly as you're stirring everything fast enough to keep it from getting chunky
5. Add shredded cheeses and stir until blended
6. Stir in garlic powder, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce
7. Add macaroni and prosciutto to pan and mix everything well; transfer to a 2 quart Corning ware/casserole dish. Mix 1 tbsp of butter with bread crumbs (can use same small saucepan as the prosciutto) and sprinkle over macaroni and cheese
8. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbling around the edges.

Super Bowl Sunday

Of all the possibilities to eclipse brunch, Super Bowl Sunday is one of them. This day dedicated to eating, drinking, and being merry is rivaled only by Thanksgiving, and millions of people around the world found themselves in drunken and swollen belly stupors yesterday. I was no exception. I tended to focus more on munchies and ignore the booze which would take up valuable tummy space, although I did partake in a Rum and Root Beer which was spectacular. The spread we had at my aunt's condo in Oceanside was unbelievable. Not only was there a fabulous view of the ocean from their balcony and a calming breeze from the marina, there was an absolutely loaded table with homemade goodies. Luckily the family understands the importance of homemade and largely skipped the store bought stuff minus chips and unavoidables like that. Shrimp dip, homemade cocktail sauce, chili (mine!), meatballs, and an array of dips sagged the table to its breaking point. I was particularly proud of my contribution of my first attempt at chili, which albeit spicy, was insane. I have to thank Andy Hannas for his recipe contribution, and while mine could NEVER rival his, I thought it turned out PDG. If you want the recipe, let me know and I might be convinced to part with it. Probably not, so just feast your eyes on the photo and try to be satiated. Unfortunately, chili does not translate well into photos, but I often find the pukier it looks the better it tastes. This was no exception.

butt-burnin' chicken

Let's just say I'm paying for this dish today, but in no way do I regret the actions of last night. Ashton and I hadn't made a meal in a while, so we gathered up some of our ideas and worked off of our initial craving of spicy chicken. A coworker had Creole for lunch yesterday, and I've been enjoying some chorizo burritos this week, so I had spicy on the mind. For this particularly succulent dish, we used the following:

5 chicken breasts
about 15 asparagus stalks cut into quarters
4 cloves of garlic, minced
a generous layer of cayenne pepper over the chicken
1 diced green chile pepper
1/2 can of chipotle peppers in adobo
1/4 block of monterey jack cheese (I'm sure shredded would have sufficed)

I layered the bottom of the dish with half of the asparagus and then placed the chicken on top and sprinkled the cayenne over them. Then I placed 1 blob of chipotle on each breast and spread the rest of the asparagus over the breasts. I sprinkled the entire thing with the chile pepper and garlic and then coated it all with the cheese.

We baked it for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, but much to my chagrin the thicker pieces were definitely not cooked all the way through. We nuked 'em, but next time I think I'll plan to use maybe smaller breasts or make it more like a casserole to make them a bit thinner and easier to cook through. Also, I would like to marinate the chicken or spread the spice a bit more in a sauce somehow, because the top of the chicken tasted great, but there wasn't any flavor in the cracks. Nevertheless, we mixed 2 packets of Mexican and Taco rice and placed the chicken on top of a pile of rice for each person and enjoyed! There were definitely some watery eyes and a bit of coughing, but all in all it was a good meal. About a solid B with definite potential.

Phony Pho

Ashton and I had big hopes for this one. I really wanted to make a Thai Lemongrass soup, but to our dismay Albertons had no sort of lemongrass or a variety of other ingredients that were pretty necessary to that sort of venture. We altered our plans a bit, and with only the roughest of sketches managed to whip up one of the most delicious things I have ever had. If I had been served this in a restaurant, I would have been incredibly pleased, so to have created it pleased me doubly!

For this we used:
3 cups chicken stock
a few splashes of fish sauce
Chopped cilantro
a generous heap of brown and white mushrooms
Salt and Pepper to taste
Spring onions
a sprinkle of dried basil
a sprinkle of dried oregano
juice of 1/2 a lime
Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 a green chile pepper
splash of olive oil
and although it is not pictured in here, a boiled chicken breast and rice noodles for a pretty hearty soup with an incredible broth. My only complaint was definitely too much cilantro, but that is easily remedied. This was truly our best yet. Incredibly basic, but incredible tasting.

I was especially pleased with this because we were looking at a few different recipes, and none of them seemed to be exactly what we were looking for, so we just altered several to fit what we wanted. Plus, if we were able to create something this amazing without lemongrass, which is pretty key, imagine what we could accomplish with it! Next time we'll plan a little more in advance and go to the Asian Market to make sure we get everything necessary to re-create and enhance this delicious dish.

wiggy stew

Our first crock pot experiment! We had gotten gigantic steaks for $5 at 99 Ranch Asian Market and marinated them in red wine vinegar, A1 with Tabasco, scallions, basil, salt, pepper, garlic, and a smidge of Tapatio for a few days. We'd already eaten 2 of the 3 so we decided to put the remaining one to good use as a stew. We added a potato, chicken stock, a dollop of Chili Garlic paste, carrots, half of can of High Life (only the best beer for us) and of course a can of drained La Choy veggies with a splash of Sriracha. A few more herbs and we were cookin!

I'd caught some flak for acquiring the "lazy mans" kitchen utensil, but we didn't want it because of laziness! I simply enjoy the tenderness of slow-cooked food and it's unbelievably convenient! It smelled AWESOME when I got home from work and when Ashton and I finally sat down to enjoy it tasted even better. The steaks had been somewhat chewy and tough when we'd stir-fried them, but this was just the ticket for tender meat. It was surprisingly spicy, but thinking about it I have no idea how this came as a surprise considering the amount of peppers we added. We called it Wiggy Stew because basically Wiggy is an inside joke and just a funny word that was repeated often during the meal. It has nothing to do with the wig as an ingredient.

I think this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship, minus the fruit.

Wasabi Soy Chicken

Ashton and I love asian food and cooking. What better way to unite these than to cook asian food?!?!? Being the innovators that we are, we got some powdered wasabi, chicken, and soy sauce with some jasmine rice and prepared a feast. I made a more liquid wasabi to pour over the chicken and then drizzled some soy sauce to marinate overnight. A pinch of garlic salt, and voila! I would have added toasted sesame seeds if there had been any at the grocery store, so alas we did without. I cooked the 5 large chicken breasts on 350 degrees for 55 minutes and served with jasmine rice. I took the soy sauce that had baked with the chicken to pour over the rice, and that added a really nice kick.

If I did it over again, I would have used some ginger as well and smoothed the wasabi more, so that the heat would be evenly distributed in the bites. On some pieces you couldn't taste it at all, and some brought tears to my eyes. Still, it was a great experiment that is worth trying. Right now I'm enjoying the nice leftovers at work; the wasabi has coagulated more regularly and maintained the bite without being offensive to the tastebuds. All in all, a success! I'd rate it a B, with A potential.

brunch at idyllwild

Basically this might be the most delicious brunch ever. Anyone who has ever eaten outside early in the morning over a roaring fire, munching on nibbles that you have prepared in the sunrise dew, perhaps washing it all down with a nice cold beer knows what I'm talking about. There's something about fresh air that makes your stomach say, "Hey, I'm starving" and your mouth say, "Everything you put in me will taste more delicious than you could ever imagine".




Travis is seen lurking hungrily over Mel's egg cooking (the egg pictured was eventually destined for my stomach) and believe you me, there is something to be said about open fire cooking. It might have been the 1/2 pound of butter we used to "grease the pan", but maybe not. Anyway, that was only the beginning. We finally got to use our propane grill that we got at an estate sale about a month ago, and it proved its worth.

Step 1: cook bacon and eggs over the fire
Step 2: toast bread and cheese on grill, add bacon.




Step 3: add sausage.
Step 4: combine toast, melted cheese, cooked egg, crisp bacon, and sizzling sausage into one melty delicious treat.



Step 5: CHOW THE FUGG DOWN.

catch-up

Obviously, Thanksgiving weekend just passed, and with it a multitude of food-eating activities. That, plus the fact that we went camping this weekend in Idyllwild, leaves me with multiple occasions to blog about. First of all, last week Ashton and I made tofu stir fry, and I have yet to upload the pictures from it. Finally, here they are, our vegetarian culinary exploit of the week:

Looks like barf, I know. And tofu doesn't ring pretty with everyone. But believe you me, this was definitely a major success- especially for me, the girl who almost burned down her apartment in Newport News making stir fry. No fire alarms this time, just delicious alarms.



Basically it was olive oil, store bought stir fry sauce, canned bok choy veggies, and we added carrots, garlic and the tofu that we had cooked crispy with a little spice. Really incredible! Ashton cooked the tofu just a little more than what I think most people would like, but I really like it better that way because it's not as weird and squishy. Instead it was nice and crispy with a lot of good flavor from the olive oil and stir fry sauce.

That was our last adventure into the culinary unknown before we left for Thanksgiving in Cherry Valley and then Idyllwild for the weekend. I know that my vast network of readers were sorely disappointed without the brunch update, but have no fear- it will be up probably tomorrow or Wednesday. Brunch was cooked over an open fire in the San Jacinto mountains, so it was no restaurant this week. Just fresh air, some pancakes, and a couple of beers. MmmmMMMmmm.