Monthly Archives: January 2006

Spiced Harvest Cake

Haven’t tried this one out yet but my mom emailed it to me and it sounds yummy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick) room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch chunks

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon and salt and set aside. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and yogurt in two batches, mixing at low speed just until combined. Stir in apple and pear chunks. Pour into greased 10-inch cake pan and smooth the batter using a knife or offset spatula. Bake until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for five minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cooling rack.

Serves 12

NetFlix Queue

Just shipped:

Les Biches (Bad Girls) (1968)
Filmmaker Claude Chabrol stirs a boiling pot of lust and violence in this tense portrait of class struggle. Wealthy Frederique (Stephane Audran) meets Why, who’s meandering around Paris, and takes her to glamorous St. Tropez. Frederique becomes her mentor, teaching Why how to maneuver in high society. But when Paul (Jean-Louis Trintignant) arrives, both of them fall for his charms, leaving one in love and the other rejected.

Starring: Stephane Audran, Jacqueline Sassard, More
Director: Claude Chabrol

BusinesS Cards

Before lunch with Dad and Aunt Helen, I printed out business cards as my career consultant advised. I just put down my name, various positions held, cell phone number and email address. There was this part of me that wanted to type:
You’ve just had the pleasure of meeting:
BIG MOMMA DONNA
New Freedom Rider

But I am not a New Freedom Rider nor have I ever been referred to as Big Momma Donna. My father sometimes calls me asshole but that’s done in a good natured way.

Right now I am momentarily avoiding my resume. You see, I need to open up my dashboard reports to figure out my old Call Center stats and I really have no desire to reopen that chapter in my life. What I have done is made peppermint tea, lit a peppermint candle and lathered peppermint chapstick on my lips. I figure if I surround myself with my favorite flavor maybe I won’t notice my discomfort related to my resume. Enough is enough. It’s time for some Morita Therapy. JUST DO IT!!!!

stuff

My father invited me along to lunch with him and his sister, my Aunt Helen. I think we’re meeting in Princeton. In the meantime I have my resume to do then this afternoon I can send it off to the woman helping me with it.

pantry basics

Here are Martha’s suggestions on essential pantry items:

BAKING NEEDS
unbleached all-purpose flour
whole wheat flour
granulated sugar
brown sugar (light & dark)
confectioners sugar
molasses
corn syrup
vanilla beans & extract
raisins
cocoa powder
baking chocolate
chocolate chips
baking powder
baking soda
cornstarch
gelatin
cream of tartar
parchment paper
shortening
vegetable oil spray

H E R B S & S P I C ES
salt
black pepper
crushed red pepper flakes
oregano
bay leaves
thyme
sage
rosemary
dry mustard
paprika
cayenne pepper
curry powder
cumin
cinnamon
ginger
nutmeg
allspice
cloves

CANNED GOODS
chickpeas
black beans
white beans
kidney beans
whole tomatoes
tomato paste
sundried tomatoes
roasted peppers
tuna (in oil or water)
anchovies (in oil)
capers (in vinegar or salt)
olives
cornichons
soy sauce
honey
mustard (dijon)
mayonnaise
ketchup
worcestershire sauce
tabasco
hoisin
chicken stock
condensed milk
evaporated milk
coconut milk
coconut cream
pineapple juice
cranberry juice
jams/jellies
peanut butter

WINES & S P I R I TS
white
red
vermouth
rum
cognac
grand marnier

O I L S
olive
extra-virgin olive
canola
sesame (unflavored & hot)
corn
peanut
grapeseed
VINEGARS
red wine
white wine
rice wine
balsamic
cider
white
tarragon
sherry

PASTA (dry)
linguine
spaghetti
penne
rigatoni
pastina
angel hair
egg noodles
rice noodles
soba noodles

GRAINS
white rice
brown rice
Japanese rice
wild rice
basmati
barley
cornmeal
rolled oats
grits

Conscious Eating

I found this article on Martha’s Web site: (I edited out the crap)

The key to dieting to lose weight is conscious eating says Brent Ridge, M.D., of the department of Geriatrics and Adult Development at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Brent Ridge, describes conscious eating as an awareness of both the foods we eat and their source. He advises that we take a moment to pause and reflect before each meal. By regularly taking three deep breaths before we eat—inhaling for a count of five, holding it, and exhaling for a count of five—we can become more present in our bodies and better able to experience our bodies’ feelings, needs, and appetites.

Another step is to engage the senses; appreciate the colors, textures, flavor, and aromas of food. Eat food slowly, savoring each bite; studies have shown that we may get more nutrients from our food when it is eaten in a calm, relaxed way. And, it’s essential to stop eating before we’re full. When we reach a point of satisfaction that measures about a seven on a scale of one to ten—when we feel pleasantly full, not stuffed—we should put the fork down.

They have a kit for sale.

Kind of a Gestalt method to eating.

GingerTea

I saw this on the new Martha Stewart show. It looks easy and yummy!

SERVES 2
One (6-inch) piece ginger, skin left on, thinly sliced crosswise, and roughly chopped
Light-brown sugar (optional)

1. Place ginger in a small saucepan with 2 cups water
2. Simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Strain into 2 teacups.
5. Sweeten with sugar, if desired.

loon

The weather is unusually nice for January. I printed out a crossword puzzle and my resume and made a pot of coffee. I scooped up Bo, wrapped a blanket around us and sat outside. I divided my time between the crossword, my resume, and sips of coffee. The pleasantness ended after about a half hour because my crazy neighbor began to rant and rave. It wasn’t immediately noticeable, but I soon found I couldn’t ignore her.

The woman is very nice when you see her outside and she has been in the Donnavilla a few times and has always behaved well. Regardless, there is something wrong with her. She has told Lisa some very crazy things. Not long ago she said, “Doctors cut off my feet and replaced them with wooden prosthetic feet.”
Lisa responded, “You are wearing flip flops; I can see you don’t have wooden feet.”
“They must have grown back last night.”

I felt bad eavesdropping on her one-sided conversation and so I went inside.

vonageous

Vonage screwed up and sent me the wrong equipment. They asked me to send it back to them, except they don’t issue mailing labels. This means I have to drive to the post office and stand in line to have the box weighed and stamped. At least they are crediting my account 7.00. Still, it’s a pain in my ass.

This morning I went to a workshop called, Owning Your Own Business. It turned out to be a 3 hour advertisement for a business called Frannet. Ultimately I would like to own my own business but right now I have no clue what I want to do. Apparently Frannet would work with me to find the right franchise for me. I don’t know. Franchise? I have visions of me wearing a pointy hat and asking, “Would you like fries with that?”

I don’t know what happened to the day. I went to that workshop, then I stopped at my parents for lunch. I got home at 3:00 and argued with Vonage. Now I really must work on my resume. The woman who is helping me with it sent it back to me last night with tons of questions I need to answer. I am not looking forward to doing it but the sooner I do it the sooner it will be over.