And I don't want to know if you are lonely/Don't want to know if you are less than lonely - Cheese souffle and strawberry jam

Too much time on my hands? Perhaps. I was bored at lunchtime and I didn't want a third day of Italian pasta leftovers, so I thought I'd make myself a cheese souffle. I used a mix of cheddar and parmesan and I had an odd hankering to drizzle some strawberry jam over the finished product. Mostly because I also made strawberry jam today. I won't bother with the souffle recipe, as I've previously given a link, but really, it's not even necessary. Make a bechamel with a 1/2 teaspoon of butter, add a tablespoon of flour and cook, add some milk, add some cheese, season it, blend in two egg yolks. Meanwhile, beat two egg whites till they form firm peaks and fold the two mixtures together.

A few days ago I bought a couple of pounds of strawberries (super cheap at Aldi's for only $1.59/lb) and used just under a pound to infuse into a bottle of vodka. Yesterday I made myself a drink from the strawberry vodka, a bit of limoncello, lemon juice and club soda. It would be perfect for summer time and hot weather.

The rest of the strawberries were sitting in the refrigerator and I was thinking I would let them go bad if I didn't use them up all at once. So I decided to make an easy jam that doesn't require pectin. The recipe I found is super easy - two cups of sugar and 1/4 cup of lemon juice to every pound of strawberries. Cut up the strawberries, smoosh them up a bit, add the sugar and juice and cook to a rolling boil. Technically the temp you are aiming for is 220F. I don't currently have a cooking thermometer, so I eyeballed the process and stopped after the boiled for a good 15-20 minutes.

Once it's refrigerated, it will thicken up considerably. If you want to make bigger quantities and can for later, you can process your canning jars in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Otherwise, the jam will last a decent amount of time in the fridge.

I was really craving a savory and sweet combination, so I was absorbed with the idea of drizzling the jam on my souffle. I think it worked.

Falling off the giant bird that's been carrying me/It's like I'm falling out of bed from a long and weary dream - Meatless Monday Taco Salad!

For the last few days we've either eaten stuff that didn't require much cooking (smoked pork chops) or we've eaten out and then the leftovers. Tonight, though, for Meatless Monday, I got a hankering for a big taco salad. Taco salads in our houses trace back to a long-ago temporary work gig I had. The particular department I was assigned to did a lot of pot lucks and one dish that stood out was the taco salad made by a long-forgotten woman. I can almost maybe sort of picture her, but beyond that vague notion and her salad recipe, I remember nothing about her. The original recipe includes browned ground beef, but for our meatless purposes today, I used dried TVP chunks.

To start, cover the chunks (actually more like crumbles) with hot water and a little vegetable stock base. After the water is absorbed, cook the TVP in a little oil, add some chili powder and various other herbs and spices (cayenne, onion and garlic powders) and saute until the texture is a little drier and the spices are evenly distributed (the chili powder goes a long way towards turning the TVP a more "meaty" color). In the meantime tear up as much iceberg lettuce as you want for your salad (I know, iceberg is the least nutritious lettuce, but its crunch and crispness is perfect for this), dice some tomato, slice up either some sweet onion or scallions, and add as much grated cheddar as you'd like. Drain and rinse a can of red kidney beans and add them to the bowl. Unless you haven't gotten the picture yet, you'll need a big bowl!

Once the TVP is done, let it cool a bit before adding to the salad bowl. Then, crumple a handful of corn chips and add (you can also use tortilla chips, but corn chips are better). I think the dressing of choice is the thing that makes this recipe unlike others - it's Catalina/California French/honey French or whatever you call that particular kind of bright red sweet and tangy dressing. Add that to taste, toss and you are ready to go.

This recipe is also easily adaptable. You can skip the meat or fake meat altogether and still have a hearty meal-sized salad. You could substitute black beans for the kidneys, add whatever cheese you have on hand (or skip entirely to make it vegan), throw in some corn kernels or even some other vegetables to up the vitamin content, like grated carrot or zucchini. If you are so inclined, you could also add a dollop of sour cream.

Beefy beef - Short ribs

As much as I know it's wrong, I love beef. I was a strict vegetarian for 12 years but suddenly, during a grocery store trip with my mom, I was staring at the sirloin longingly. She had never been a fan of the vegetarian lifestyle, so Mom encouraged me heartily to buy it. And I did. When the Boy (who was only vegetarian at home) arrived home that evening, I did a little jig with the steak. I expected to have some digestive issues that night, but nothing untoward happened and I was back on the junk permanently.

So, beef. Love it. I don't like the expensive, fancy stuff so much; I don't think a filet has much flavor and the big porterhouses and t-bones just don't seem worth the money most of the time. I love sirloin, but I can enjoy even the toughest of cuts. What I've been loving lately are these little boneless short ribs I can sometimes find. I don't like to pay full price (do I ever?), but I can occasionally find them at my store on sale (okay, on clearance). So for $3 or so, I get nearly a pound of really tasty beef. I've braised them and just grilled them and they are delicious either way, and rather tender.

Today I grilled them with lots of garlic and pepper, and served with steamed brocolli and corn with green peppers.

As an aside, may I say how much I love my Pasta Boat? I love it for cooking pasta and it steams vegetables like nobody's business. Totally worth $10, and I didn't even get an extra boat or a chopper with mine!

Pie, of the cottage variety

I haven't made many shepherd's or cottage pies. They aren't my favorite thing, but once in a while they're a nice change of pace and The Boy made a request. Since I got ground beef out of the freezer with no real plan for it, pie was inevitable. Since the Brits seem to eat savory pies five out of seven days a week, I searched the BBC Good Food site for a recipe and settled on this one. I scaled it down but followed it fairly closely, ingredient-wise. I definitely simplified the process, eliminating the majority of all that simmering time. It was good, though I think I might leave the bay leaf out next time; the flavor can be pretty overpowering.

Thrifting, again.

I think I wore out my thrifting karma for the week yesterday as our trip today yielded very little for me. However, a very good find was this gorgeous vintage Tiffany blue Scottish mohair wrap. It's so pretty I might not even mind another cold day if I can wrap up in this. It's about 6'x1.5'. And $2!

Steve acquired a pile of books, but the only other things I found today was a gold and frost glass to add to my collection and a big divided Tupperware vegetable carrier, perfect for transporting to parties and picnics!

Yesterday my finds included a mushroom spoon rest from the 70s, a teeny teacup and saucer, an acorn/squirrel covered dish that is most likely a Martha Stewart repro (still, for $3, a bargain), a footed and handled china bowl with white gold trim and a little cutting board with rooster tile and teeny cleaver (still quite sharp!).

What am I doing with all this stuff? Who knows. Just don't call "Hoarders" please.

Pizza Pizza!

The Boy had a brilliant idea this afternoon at the grocery store. "Let's have pizza!" I hadn't made a pizza in quite some time and now that I think about it, I'm not sure why. At any rate, fresh salsiccia in hand, special "pizza yeast" purchased and we had a plan.

I let the pizza dough rise for a little bit, maybe 15 minutes, even though the directions said it wasn't necessary. The resulting crust was thinnish (I spread it out on a pretty large baking sheet) and light and crispy. It wasn't chewy at all, which I missed a little bit, but it tasted good. I didn't exactly follow the recipe given on the yeast, so I can't attest to what happens if you do.

This one was topped with the aforementioned salsiccia, cremini mushrooms, red pepper, onion, corn and mozzarella. And it was good.

Thrifting

We did a little bit of thrift shopping this week so I thought I would post some photos - of things we bought and things we didn't.

At the Salvation Army on Cherokee I snatched these off the rack and was terribly excited when they fit perfectly.

Vintage red Famolare mocs, for $2.99! The Boy finds them hideous, and I admit they are a million miles from sexy, but I love them. I had Famolare sandals when I was in 8th gtrade and I adored them. I have to get used to the rolling gait again, though.

Also at the Salvation Army I found a few pieces of interesting glassware. I've recently become a little obsessed with glassware printed with gold (and often black) and suddenly I seem to be coming across odd pieces here and there. I shall be mixing some VIP cocktails soon. And maybe storing some candy in that fancy jar.

I was sad to realize, once I got it home, that the refrigerator container has a big crack in it. So, I can't safely put any foodstuffs in it, but I will surely find some use for it. Maybe sweetener packets...

I wanted these plates (there are six), but I have absolutely no room (nor need) for more dinner plates. Plus, I thought they were a little expensive at six for $4.49. The Vegas mug had a really good graphic, but the style of the cup itself wasn't so great.

I did get these weird mugs that turned out to be from some chocolate online site. They are shaped like cacao beans. You're supposed to warm up your hands when you drink from the cups, yada yada yada. They were two for 69 cents so I had to buy them just to figure out what the hell they were.

Next we  headed to St. Vincent dePaul and the lesson I learned is to wait to check out until one of the dudes in charge are working the cash register. They do creative things with prices, generally in the consumer's favor. The other gals do not. Ah well, it's for charity, right?

I found yet another Tiganello purse (my third). This one came with a pink rosary and a St. Thomas handkerchief. I really like this one and the leather is nice and thick.

This sweater is sort of ugly/good, but since it cost 25 cents, I figured I could take the plunge. I'm hoping I can cut off the neck band and the cuffs and have something better. Maybe I'll even make it into a cardigan...Again, for 25 cents, it's a minor loss if it doesn't turn out.

I also found a few shirts for the Boy, which aren't very interesting, as they are contemporary, but were certainly good deals.

The Boy goes to thrift stores for books and he did pretty well this time out. If nothing else, the graphic designs are top notch.

 A couple of books I didn't buy, because I have no desire to re-visit the subject, were two math books I'm pretty certain were part of my curriculum. The design is lovely, but that's all I remember.

  And last but not least, if you have smallish feet, you might want to go pick up these British creepers.

Happy anniversary, baby/Got you on my mind - Braised chicken

Today is our 15th anniversary! I was sure it was our 14th until Steve reminded me otherwise. I am a hopeless non-romantic as I barely even remembered the date. I don't love my husband any less, I just don't remember the date we got married. Is that so wrong?

To make it up to him I gave him his choice of dinner and dessert. He waffled on the entree choice but picked chocolate cake for dessert. As I was wandering around the grocery store today I found chicken thighs on sale and started thinking about a nice slow oven braise, particularly since I had also found sliced crimini mushrooms on the clearance rack and I thought they would go nicely with the thighs. So, I seasoned the thighs, dusted them with flour and browned them in a Dutch oven in a combo of oil and butter. Then I added a large sliced sweet onion, five cloves of garlic and about a pound of sliced mushrooms (there were eight thighs), a cup of white wine and a couple cups of vegetable broth. For seasoning other than salt and pepper, I tucked a little bundle of fresh thyme stems into the liquid. I had preheated the oven to a low 250F and popped the covered pot in the oven for about 2.5 hours. After that, I raised the heat to 400F and let the liquid reduce and thicken and the tops of the thighs to crisp up. In the meantime, I made some mashed potatoes to go alongside.

 

A few days ago I promised to share the easiest, best chocolate cake recipe. You can find it here, on Allrecipes.com. This is so easy and so good that once you make it, you'll never buy another chocolate cake mix again. (I suppose I should look for a similar yellow cake recipe; I'm sure one exists.) It's moist and chocolate-y and not too sweet (despite the amount of sugar in the recipe...). I like making either a cocoa buttercream or a cocoa whipped cream icing (or a combo, which is what I did today), but a white frosting with coconut would be really good too. Good photos of the cake eluded me, however, so this is all you get.