not for T-day

I figure the next couple of posts will revolve around T'giving, I know I've got some Roulade and Stuffing miracles to come.  I figured that I'd get things going again with a non-Thanksgiving post.

I made oatmeal craisin pancakes tonight.  And unfortunately, they were just alright.  They were missing something, I'm not sure what.  I think it might have had to do with the mixing of the "wet" ingredients.  I was supposed to melt butter, and add buttermilk (I used the milk + vinegar substitution), vanilla, and an egg.  Maybe I didn't let the "buttermilk" stand long enough, or maybe the milk was too cold and the butter was too warm, but when I mixed it all together it was...odd.  Not uniform.  I was in a rush, it was about 830pm, and had been about 12 hours since I'd last eaten and I was getting desperate.  I dumped it into the dry ingredients, and whisked it up.  Seemed to mix up fine.  But something was just a little off when I ate them.  Disappointing.

The day I met Ina Garten

As most of you know (haha, all three of you who read this!) I love Ina Garten! Sure, she's pompous and probably thinks quite fondly of herself (and her good quality vanilla extract), but damn is she good at what she does. She's just so smart when it comes to everything in the kitchen. When you watch her show (The Barefoot Contessa) you know that SHE really knows what she's talking about. She does cook a lot of meat (especially chicken) but her vegetarian recipes are all totally delicious. Her pastries are also incredible.

Today she had a signing for her new cookbook, Back to Basics, at the Natick Collection from 12-2. I really had no idea what time to get there, but I knew that getting there before 12 would be ideal. I didn't have to be at work until 2:45, so the timing was going to work out pretty well for me. Before jetting out of the house, I checked the Natick Collection web site to see if it had any important information for me (like if the time changed or if I had the wrong DAY. . . ) and I found out that I had to buy the book there, she was only signing the new book, and there would be no photographs permitted. SERIOUSLY?! For starters, I bought the book the day it came out (for $22, thanks to the Borders Rewards program) and a picture would've been nice. I didn't want to get in trouble though, or even worse NOT be able to meet her, so I figured I should follow the rules.

I got to the mall around 11:45. I speed walked my way to the new, fancy section of the mall, where Williams Sonoma was. When I got there, there were TONS of people. I mean, TONS. They were all in that open area you pass through on your way to the spiffy shops. I managed to find my way to the actual WS to buy the book. . . again. This time I had to pay the full price of $35. They associate who rang me up stuck the receipt inside the book and told me to hold onto it for verification. They were serious. At this point, Ina was in the store, starting to sign some books, so I felt it was worth it to get a little sneak peak!

I found my way to the END of the line, flipped open my newer new book, and started reading. At this point it was maybe 11:55. I asked a WS associate if Ina was going to stay to sign everyone's books, and he said as long as you get in line before 1pm (I think?) that you would be okay. So whatever the cutoff time was, I was okay. At about 1:30 I'm starving, and I start panicking about what might happen if I don't actually get to work on time. A plan B had to be in order. I started texting my boss to see if she could cover for me. I also texted Scott and Jenni, just to give them updates of my fabulous Ina day. I then texted one more person I work with to see if she could cover for me, knowing that she's usually free on Mondays. I go to press "send" and my phone died! Oh no, it wasn't the battery. It was all charged up. My phone went all computer on me and actually FROZE. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even shut it off. I tried to open the battery cover in the back but was not having any luck. So now I really start to panic. I can't get in touch with anyone, I might be making myself late for work, I don't have anyone's phone numbers because they're programmed in my phone, and I have NO IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS.

Luckily I made some friends in line who were able to tell me the time. So I wait. . . and wait. . . in a line that IS moving, but still very long. And then a woman not too far in front of me passes out. Yeah. People were yelling for someone to call mall security. . . and 911. . . and yeah. Madness! She was able to sit up after a little while, and then people came to help her, and I guess she was okay. I keep checking my phone to see if it has decided to unfreeze itself yet. No such luck. I keep waiting.

I get toward the front, and there's a WS associate every twenty feet or so. It's like the finish line to a marathon. You can do it! Only a little while longer! One of them told me that if anyone tried to cut in front of me to let her know. That was a little weird, but I guess there have been such incidents.

I'm finally in front of the actual store, and I asked my new friend what time it was. It was 1:40. I was going to be alright, I think. We get inside the store, and now my heart is in my throat. I am so pathetic. I was thinking of things to say while waiting in line, but they all seemed so dumb. I was a little more concerned about my phone, not being able to get in touch with anyone, and being late for work though to be honest. Okay, maybe not MORE concerned, but it was up there. I was really close now. I hand my book to Important Person A. There's now just one person in front of me. Important Person A however is telling me how there are always SO many people at the Boston signings and how great it is. I'm not listening. Ina Garten is RIGHT in front of me. She then hands my book to Important Person B, who's sitting right next to Ina. I'm all smiles at this point. I'm likely red in the face as well. Now Ina has my book in her hand. I said, "Hi Ina! It's SO great to meet you." And she said, "It's nice to meet you too. Thank you for coming." And I said, "Thank you!" And I think she said Thank You as well. It was short and sweet. I felt like a moron.

As soon as I got out of the line, a couple of WS associates told me that there was a mini buffet of Thanksgiving dinner samplings in the back of the store if I wanted to help myself. BUT I'M GOING TO BE LATE FOR WORK, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS, AND I CAN'T CALL ANYONE! On my way out, I heard someone say it was 2:00. NO!!! I speed walked my way again through the mall, though a little faster this time. I was relieved when I got into the car that it was only 1:53. Phew! I sped off to work, and got there with ten minutes to spare. My boss was already there, ready to cover my first class. I didn't know she was available of course because how was she going to get in touch with me?! So all was well in the end. In regards to my brief Ina encounter, I wish I had handled everything a little differently, but what can you do. I'm sure someone like Ina Garten doesn't really remember any of the people she meets at her signings. I'm sure she could care less that I'm vegetarian and still love her. But I went, and I'm happy. I don't have a picture to prove it, but perhaps my memory is good enough.

Anyone want a copy of Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics?!

Happy Halloween?

Some of us celebrated Halloween a week LATE because a certain sister (Diane) was sick. The cake was already made of course, hanging out in the freezer, so I just decorated it this past weekend for when we went over to Diane's house to celebrate. It was a wonderful evening. We ate chips, delicious guacamole, and CAKE! We also watched one of my favorite movies: CLUE! So here's the very traditional-looking jack-o-lantern cake that I made:


I should've taken a picture of the middle too after we cut into it, but of course didn't think about bringing my camera. It was a marble cake, and I died the white cake part of it orange. I also added chocolate chips because it didn't look chocolatey enough. It was good! Now I have to wait another year before using that cake pan again. Oh well.

The Tofu Chronicles, Part II -- Boston!

1:46pm - I'm waiting for my rice to come to a boil. My oil is heating up in the wok. Must run!

1:50pm - I'm cooking up the green curry paste and it smells amazing! I added the coconut milk (the rest of the can that I didn't use IN the paste) and then realized if it ends up too spicy I'm out of luck. . . no more coconut milk to cool it down! Maybe I shouldn't have done that. Oh, and I used two chilli peppers of the optional one to three.

1:54pm - I have ten minutes now, phew! The rice is cooking away. The tofu is cooking with the curry paste, coconut milk, and a medium pinch of shredded kaffir lime leaves. . . ?

2:01pm - I'm starving.

2:15 - I must rescue my frozen broccoli from the microwave and check on the already cooking yam, red bell pepper, carrots, and cauliflower!

2:19pm - Added the snow peas.

2:22pm - Pouring a glass of wine that's left over from Jenni's Chocolate and Red Wine Cupcake recipe that I whipped up this morning for a friend's party tonight. Adding the broccoli.

2:27pm - I tried the sauce and luckily it's not too spicy! I did add a little more soy sauce though because it was lacking saltiness -- just a bit.

2:59pm - I'm ready to eat when you are, Jenni!

3:18pm - Eating! Oh my. This is really quite delicious! I think it's still lacking in the saltiness department, but it's okay because it's so flavorful. I'm going to take my plate into the TV room and devour this yumminess while watching yesterday's Barefoot Contessa. More on her tomorrow. . . she's doing a book signing in Natick that I'm going to! :o

The Tofu Chronicles, Part II - Texas.

All times reported herein are in Central Standard Time!

12:02pm - I've begun draining the tofu, it's weird.  I've got it on some paper towels and sandwiched between two cutting boards with some cook books on top.  There is so much water coming out.  Is this what's supposed to happen?!  I might be ruining this before I even really begin.

12:08pm - mmm, lemongrass!  This is also my first experience with this, and wow - it smells amazing.  Almost as good as lemon pledge.  Who knew.  I'm sans food processor, so I've begun putting all my paste in

gredients into a bowl, and will cycle it through the hand-held chopper I

 do have.  

12:18pm - thanks to the gloves I "borrowed" from the whole foods spice section, I will not be having jalepeno hands!  In go the chillies (or chilli!)

12:20pm - "one small onion", mine was large.  I wanted to use only half, but even that seemed like too much.  I didn't use the whole half.  We'll see.

12:36pm  - so many firsts.  I've never used ginger either.  But lemongrass and ginger may be my two new favorite ingredients.  This smells good, and all I've done is chop so far.

12:37pm - my one loose cup of coriander leaves and stems is in, and it's what I call cilantro.

  The last thing to go in the paste...my interpretation of "kaffir lime leaves", which will include some zest and some juice from a kaffir lime.

12:53pm - the gre

en curry paste is made.  I managed to cycle it all through the hand chopper, and then get it all back in at one time for a final spin!  smells good.  I must pause now to run and get some rice (oops!) and make a few other arrangements for the study session happening promptly at 3pm.

1:18pm - we're back.  Rice is on.  Frying pan is heating up.  I am also sans wok, so I'll be using a large frying pan.  I guess this is the Green Curry Tofu without all appropriate kitchen appliances version!!

1:32pm - I'm impressed really, it's an hour and a half (holy god) after I started and I am just not suffering my first cooking induced injury.  I mean, I've used so many knives, gloves, juggled bottles - this is a miracle.  When adding my "kaffir lime leaves" (aka, more zest and juice) to the frying pan I dropped the lime and grated my knuckle.  awesome!  

1:39pm - I heeded Mel's advice, and I stirred completely the paste and coconut milk before adding the tofu (so as 

not to have to stir it too much).  also, I cut my tofu a bit larger than bit sized, in case it began to fall apart it would still be big enough.  We'll see.  ten minutes on.

1:50pm - I've officially added too much stuff already.  I put in my red bell pepper (or one and a half, they were small) and I used eggplant instead of yams.  The frying pan is getting full.  I still have broccoli, snow peas, cauliflower, and baby corn to add.  Maybe I'll remove some of the larger eggplants chunks.  Ten more minutes!

2:01pm - broccoli (is for lovers), cauliflower, snow peas and baby corn added to the mix!  4 or so more minutes...

2:06pm - ten minutes until taste test!

2:18pm - Mmmmm!  This is pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.

Today is the day: Green Curry Tofu Interstate Simu-live Blog-off

A recipe has been selected, ingredients acquired, preparations have been made. At 1pm (eastern)/12pm (central) we will both begin making our own Green Curry Tofu dishes.  This is my very first time cooking with Tofu, and I'm very excited!

yes we cake

Yes we can.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the
destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

*Broccoli is for lovers urges everyone to exercise their democratic right to vote today! Click here to find your polling place!