Damn Cute Bunnies

More Cat Cupcake Tuesdays from Catsparella

2011-10-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

This feature is giving me great ideas for the next Furry 5K bake sale!

Cute cupcake idea from Catsparella!

2011-09-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes would be awesome as Halloween treats, don't you think? I love finding things that combine two or more favorites of mine, in this case baking and cats! See the original post here:

Catsparella: Cat Cupcake Tuesdays:

A wonderful, moist chocolate cake recipe from Ina Garten would be perfect for these cupcakes. I think they're divine with my cream cheese frosting, but at the bottom I've also included Ina's chocolate frosting (I call it mocha because it includes coffee). Her recipes were originally published in Food & Wine magazine.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake

1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup strong brewed coffee

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 8" or 9" round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment circles; grease the parchment. Dust pans with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. Also makes one 13" x 9" sheet cake or approximately 24 cupcakes.

Combine the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together at low speed. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla and coffee. Beat for two minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans (fill cupcake tins only 2/3 full). Bake for 30-35 minutes (20-25 min. for cupcakes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temp. (substitute with vegetable shortening if cake will not be refrigerated)
16-24 oz. (2-3 pkgs) cream cheese (use the higher amount if you like a lot of frosting) at slightly cool temp.
1-1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat butter and sugar together in a mixer until fully blended, add vanilla, then drop chunks of the cream cheese into the mixture and beat on high until smooth. You may need to refrigerate the frosting to stiffen it up for piping decorations.

Mocha Frosting
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp.
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
1 tbsp. instant coffee granules

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate at high power in 30-second intervals, stirring until most of the chocolate is melted. Stir until completely melted, then set aside to cool to room temperature. Beat the butter at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, scraping down the side of the bowl. At low speed, slowly beat in the powdered sugar, about 1 minute. In a small bowl, dissolve the instant coffee in 2 teaspoons of hot water. Slowly beat the coffee and the cooled chocolate into the butter mixture until just combined.

Adopt a special pet Sept. 17-25!

2011-09-08T01:36:00.000-07:00

Check this Apple Cake out!

2011-04-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

I love my iGoogle reader panel. I can get a quick snapshot on the all the blogs I follow, which are legion. Often there's not enough time to read every single one, but damn, this post from Cafe Chocolada really caught my eye. It's an Apple Cake, but I've never seen one like it. Very unusual but pretty, don't you think? It sort of reminds me of Japanese confections. Even though apples aren't a "spring" fruit, I think the decoration style is perfectly suited for spring. Maybe make a charlotte/trifle thing with strawberries or ?? In any case, check this blog out -- the photos are just gorgeous.

Triple Lime Cake for an office birthday

2011-03-31T14:40:00.001-07:00

This is a cake I created for a co-worker recently. Last year I made her a Lemon Mascarpone cake and the year before that a chocolate cake, so I didn't want to repeat myself. I had a bag of coconut chips from NutsOnline.com burning a hole in my pantry and had limes on the brain, so my "recipe" was a hybrid of Fine Cooking's Triple Lemon Cake (substituting limes) and a Key Lime & Coconut Cake from the Sweet Treats blog. It was well received as most office treats are but IMHO was a little dry. Why? The cake itself may have been slightly overbaked to begin with, and then the layers were frozen for a couple days. The curd filling had oozed out during assembly so there was even less moisture. And although I'd used a simple syrup to put back some of the moisture lost during freezing, it wasn't enough. If I were to do this cake again I'd only make the two layers and split them as per the original recipe, instead of doubling the recipe to make three 9" layers (and six cupcakes). That way more simple syrup would've been absorbed and one more layer of curd filling would've been added, ensuring a moister cake overall. Well, at least it looked pretty good. You may be wondering about a couple of different lime products listed in the recipes; I only used them because they were hanging around in the kitchen. True Lime and True Lemon are powdered extracts so they add a punch of flavor without watering anything down.

Triple-Lime Layer Cake

Adapted from Fine Cooking's Triple-Lemon Layer Cake

Lime Cake (makes two 8" dia. x 2" cakes):

9-1/4 oz. cake flour

2-3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. table salt

1-3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 Tbs. finely grated lime zest

6 oz. unsalted butter, softened

8 oz. whole milk, at room temperature

5 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Lime Curd Filling (read notes in directions before making!):

3 oz. unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup lime juice

Pinch of salt
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest

1/8 tsp. Boyajian Lime Oil

Simple Syrup:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp. lime zest

Lime Frosting:

1 cup whipped cream

8 oz. unsalted butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 Tbs. lightly packed finely grated lime zest

3-1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

3 Tbs. lime juice

2 packets of True Lime

For decoration:

1/2 lb. coconut chips, lightly toasted

Lime zest or lime slices

Silver dragees

Cake: Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8" x 2" round cake pans. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Pulse 1/4 cup of the sugar with the zest in a food processor until well combined. In a large bowl, beat the butter and lime sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 1-1/2 minutes). Add the remaining sugar and beat until smooth (about 1-1/2 minutes). Beat in a quarter of the milk just until blended. On low speed, add the flour mixture alternatively with the milk in three batches, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula; beat just until blended. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer (with clean beaters or a whisk attachment) on medium speed just until foamy. Add the creme of tartar, increase the speed to medium high, and beat until the whites form stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted. Add a quarter of the whites to the batter and gently fold them in with a rubber spatula; continue to gently fold tin the whites, a quarter at a time, being careful not to deflate the mixture. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake until a pick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool in the pans 10 minutes. Run a table knife along the sides of the pans and carefully invert each cake out onto the rack. Flip them right side up and let them cool completely.

Curd: Beat the butter with the sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 minute more, then stir in the lime juice. The mixture will look curdled. Cook the mixture over low heat until it becomes smooth, then increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, without letting it boil, until it thickens enough to leave a path on the back of the spoon when you drag your finger through it (170°F). Remove from the heat and stir in the lime zest. Press plastic wrap on surface to prevent a skin from forming and chill in the refrigerator. Note: my curd ended up being very thin even after refrigeration and most of it oozed out during assembly. If this happens to you, I suggest fixing it right away with cornstarch dissolved in lime juice and cooking the curd gently until thickened; or use a couple more egg yolks to begin with.

Simple syrup: In a saucepan, combine water, lime juice and zest. Stir sugar in to dissolve. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stovetop and cook for one minute. Allow to cool.

Frosting: Beat the whipped cream until stiff peaks form and set aside. In another bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese and lime zest until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners sugar in batches and beat until light and fluffy. Add the lime juice and beat for one minute. Fold in the whipped cream until completely blended.

Assembly: Split cake layers. Poke each layer liberally with a skewer, brush with simple syrup and spread curd filling between layers while stacking. With the frosting, fill in gaps and apply a crumb coating. Chill the cake until the frosting firms up, about 1/2 hour. Spread remaining frosting decoratively over the top and sides of cake. Apply coconut to the sides of the cake. Scatter the top with lime zest and silver dragees, or garnish as shown with extra dollops of frosting, quartered lime slices and dragees.

Ay, Chihuaha!

2011-02-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

I must be entering a certain astral cycle that involves brownies. Please let me explain. First, because I'm in the midst of a mild infatuation with Steve Marriott (the late Small Faces/Humble Pie frontman), I was wondering why I couldn't remember a single blessed thing about a Humble Pie concert I knew I went to in the 70s. A quick check of my diary revealed that concert happened in November 1973 at the Forum in L.A. and included Foghat and the James Montgomery Band. And also those wonderful relics of hippiedom "magic brownies." Aha! Well, that explains the memory loss. One of the last things I remember about 1973 was discovering how much easier it was get magic brownies into a concert than joints. Um, yeah, well, after that things get kind of fuzzy.

Second (bet you almost forgot this was a list), I just received one of those chain emails where you have to list four of something. My friend the sender listed one of her four favorite smells as brownies. You'd have to know my friend Karen to understand how serious a brownieholic she is. Has been for years. Totally understandable.

Third, for some reason I keep buying boxes of Hershey brownie mix at Costco even though I haven't made them in months in an attempt to lose weight. Every time I open the pantry several boxes of brownie mix stare back at me as if to say "WTF! Why did you buy us if you're on a diet?" Now this entry over at Baking Obsession just popped up on my Google Reader radar: Mexican Brownies. What???? Must... investigate. I'm beginning to understand now that if I don't do something soon, I may stay in this constant astral brownie cycle. Looks like making this recipe could just be the ticket!

National Soup Swap Day 2011 in Seattle!

2011-01-24T15:37:00.000-08:00

Delicious fun was had by all! Thanks to Pam of Nerd's Eye View, with assistance from Bill, for the fine videography.

My soup inspiration this year came from 101cookbooks, via soupchick. To "sell" my humble soup, I offered a free loaf of Potato/Rye bread, freshly baked just two hours before the swap. I used the ABin5 recipe from the first book, seeding the crust with caraway, sesame and poppy seeds.

Rustic Cabbage Soup with Smoked Chicken Sausage

adapted from a recipe by Heidi Swanson, 101cookbooks.com

3 T extra virgin olive oil

2 t salt

5 lbs potatoes, cut in 1/2" cubes

3 lbs smoked chicken sausage, diced

3 onions, chopped

10 cloves garlic, minced

3 48-oz boxes of low sodium chicken broth

4 15-oz cans white beans, drained and rinsed

3 heads of cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/2" ribbons

Seasonings: bay leaf, thyme, fennel, salt, pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Stir in the potatoes and salt, toss to coat with the oil, cover and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the onion, garlic, sausage and herbs, sautéing for about 3 minutes. Add the broth and beans and simmer for 20 minutes, skimming any bean froth off the surface if necessary. Check to see if the potatoes are cooked, but still firm; if not, continue to simmer until they are. Stir in the cabbage until just wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf.

Serving suggestion: drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese

Makes about 12 quarts

Vote in the Pepsi Refresh Project!

2010-09-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

The best spaghetti meat sauce in the world!!

2010-03-07T10:05:00.001-08:00

What? Do you think I jest? How can I make such a claim?

Because, quite frankly, I love my spaghetti sauce. I could eat it every day and am sure Jim would be delighted with the prospect. My credentials? I've never been to Italy, but lived for a good long while in southwestern CT (where good Italian food is the norm), and was even married during that time to a part Italian guy. I'd rather cook it than go out for it unless it's pizza or Cafe Vignole, our awesome local Tuscan eatery.

This sauce isn't just for spaghetti either -- try using it for lasagna or even as a pizza base. It's really good in an all-pork version; not so much with TVM. You use fewer herbs and spices because of the long cooking period. Also, because you cook it in the oven and not on the stovetop, the sauce cooks very evenly and the pot is easy to clean. Just remember, although it would be difficult to burn the sauce using this cooking method, you CAN overdo it -- the sauce will just be more concentrated if you let it go for longer than 12 hours.

Damn Delicious Spaghetti Meat Sauce

Makes about 16 quarts

3 lbs ground pork

3 lbs lean ground beef

2 large onions, chopped

2 heads of garlic, minced

3 #10 size cans of S&W crushed tomatoes with puree (#10 can is about 106 oz.)

1 #10 size can of S&W diced tomatoes

2 heaping T of beef base (Better Than Bouillon or McCormick)

1 liter (4-1/4 cups) burgundy wine

3 T of Italian-type herb mix or 1 T each of oregano and basil, 1 t of sage

1 T crushed red pepper

1 t fennel

1 bay leaf, optional

3 T kosher salt

Preheat oven to 275 degF. In a heavy 16 qt. stock pot, brown the pork, chopping it up into bits while it fries. Remove the pork, draining the grease but leaving a little behind in the pot to brown the beef. When the beef is halfway cooked, add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Dissolve the beef base in the wine, then add it to the pot along with the canned tomatoes and seasonings. Stir everything well. Cover the pot and put in the oven for 12 hours. After 12 hours, turn the oven off, remove the lid and use clean paper towels to soak up any extra grease floating on top. Stir well and adjust the seasoning if needed (it needs to taste a little on the salty side). Put the lid back on and return to the oven to sit until cooled (overnight is good). The cooling period helps to further meld and develop the flavors. Stir well again and remove the bay leaf if you find it.

To freeze, ladle into quart-sized plastic containers, leaving about 1/2" space at the top. To thaw, microwave the container on high for 2-3 minutes then empty into a glass/ceramic bowl. Continue to microwave on high, using a fork to chop up the frozen sauce and stirring every 3 minutes until heated through.

Death of an Ex

2009-12-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

This was a post originally composed on Dec. 17, 2009. It is one of several posts in my drafts folder that I've decided to finally publish.

On Dec. 8th, my ex-husband passed away. We were not close after I moved away, though I tried to remain on friendly terms. His son found me after scouring through old emails, and we have reconnected and reminisced for a few hours already. His death wasn't a shock to me, but like having to put a beloved pet down, you're never really ready for it to happen.

I mourn his loss because he was someone I loved deeply. We were probably too much alike to make things work; I used to say if I'd been born a man I would've been him, with the exception of being able to drink. When I left he said, "I always knew you would leave." There are so many reasons why he'd make a statement like that, but nevertheless would try for a few years to win me back. We were best friends and soulmates but we couldn't live together as husband and wife.

All correspondence from him stopped about 6 years ago. His son told me his father was diagnosed with cancer at that time and I'm sure everything changed. I wish my ex had told me about being sick. I wish I could've told him how much I still cared. We went through so much before and during our marriage, it should have been worth something.

Rest in peace, John Michael Ingersoll. Maybe we'll see each other again on the other side.

Mom's Mac 'n Cheese revisited

2009-10-17T14:02:00.001-07:00

I've always loved my mom's Mac 'n Cheese, but after reading a New York Times article, How Much Water Does Pasta Really Need?, it got me thinking about how to adapt the recipe to our current times, i.e., not so rich, trying to be frugal but not giving up too much. Why fix what ain't broke? Well, why not just for the hell of it? I almost never follow recipes exactly anyway.

Let's begin with how this dish has evolved over the years. Normally mom's version is full of cheese and whole or even evaporated milk. To make it healthier, I've been using light soy milk mainly because I'm lactose intolerant and wanted to cut down on the dairy, but also to cut down on the saturated fat. But going all the way with healthy alternatives -- soy milk, soy cheese, whole wheat pasta -- turned out less than satisfactory. Soy cheese doesn't have enough cheesy flavor and whole wheat pasta absorbs too much liquid and becomes mushy. To make it faster, I've tried not precooking the macaroni as a timesaving step, which ended up a mushy disaster.

I let the NY Times article stew in my brain for a bit, then started experimenting. Now after making several batches, I think I've hit it and even Jim "the white-and-brown-food eater" approves. The major flavor upside is there's hardly any milky creaminess to hide the cheese, so you can get away with using a lot less. And, you actually use pretty much all of the pasta water! How thrifty is that? I encourage you to try using this intriguing technique with other dishes. I've nostalgically named this dish in honor of my mom's original recipe, but in truth it's a lovely bastard child.

Mom's Mac 'n Cheese v. 2009
2 qts. water
1 T salt
1 lb. box of macaroni (not whole grain; try Ronzoni SmartTaste)
1 can cream of mushroom condensed soup
1 t. black pepper, fresh grated
1/2 t. nutmeg
10-12 oz. sharp or x-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 c. soy or regular milk, approx.
1/3 c. bacon bits (optional)
3 T bread crumbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F deg. Bring the water to a boil in pot, add the salt, then stir in the macaroni and cook for 7-8 minutes until al dente. Stir often, as the reduced water may cause the pasta to stick. Meanwhile, dump the undiluted soup, pepper and nutmeg into a 4+ cup measuring container. When the macaroni is done, drain the pasta water into the measuring container (with the soup mix) to make 4 cups. Discard any extra water if there is any. Whisk the soup mixture until blended. Spread 1/3 of the cooked macaroni evenly in a greased 13" x 9" glass pan. Scatter 1/3 of the grated cheese and 1/2 of the bacon bits, if using, on top. Repeat for the next layer. For the last layer, spread the macaroni, pour the soup mixture over it evenly (using "S" motions), then pour in approx. 1 cup of milk, or until the the liquids are ALMOST at the same level as the macaroni. Scatter the remaining cheese evenly over the top, followed by the bread crumbs, if using. Cover the pan loosely with a 1/2 parchment sheet or greased foil. Put the pan on a cookie sheet or other pan to catch any spills. Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until you can see almost all of the liquids have been absorbed (this is why using a glass pan is great). Remove the parchment/foil and bake uncovered for 10 minutes more to let the top crisp. Enjoy!

What I did this summer: Mafia Wars

2009-07-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, I cannot believe it's been almost 3 whole months since my last post. I'm sure you haven't been wondering what I've been up to but I'm gonna tell ya anyway because it is my blog, after all.

Though I'm still baking bread (the ABin5 way, of course!) every other day, my free time has been sucked into the time vortex called Mafia Wars on Facebook. It's kind of sick, an addiction if you will. But the game is set up so it takes up as much time as you can give it. You must do jobs, make money, buy weapons, armor and vehicles, recruit more mobsters, attack, rob, snuff, retaliate and on top of all that, make sure your mafia family has all the loot they need by gifting and trading. Holy crap, sometimes I'll sit down and hours will disappear. Sometimes I'll take a break and continue to work on my Guitar Hero Metallica skills.

I'm having a lot of fun, though!

Someone recently left a comment about my bundt cake woes, and I have to tell you, I did solve the sticking problem but forgot to post it -- sorry. Here's what happened and what I did. Apparently, using Pam on nonstick bakeware is a cardinal sin. Why? Because it burns on and leaves a sticky residue. Oh, hello. I was aware of that from frying pan use but couldn't see it on the nonstick surface of the bundt pan. Here, let me yell it out to you: NEVER PAM NONSTICK COOKWARE!!! After very thoroughly cleaning the bundt pan, I made up a mixture called baker's grease which is:

1 part Crisco
1 part veg. oil
1 part flour (use cocoa powder for chocolate cakes)

The next time I baked the Chocolate Stout Cake, it unmolded PERFECTLY. Instructions are here at the 911 Baking site. I don't know why I was such a bad, numnutz baker. All I had to do was a little research, instead of repeating the same mistake 3 times in a row and whining about it. Doh!

In other baking news, an easy way to make your ABin5 bread simply divine is to knead some dried herbs, dried minced onion, or grated cheese while shaping the dough. I particularly like oregano and feta cheese, and I'll bet kalamata olives would be an awesome addition. I sprinkle the dried onion on top of the loaves before baking and of course they burn, but I'm fond of burnt onion flavor.

Hope you're having a great summer so far.

Lord of the Chocolate Cake II: The Twin Bundts

2009-04-22T11:22:00.001-07:00

Hello, readers. Why still no pictures, you ask? Oh lemme tell you, you would not want to see the last two bundt cakes I made. I PAM'd the hell out of them, dusted with cocoa powder and still they stuck in the pans -- WTF!! They were almost Cake Wrecks material, and I couldn't bear to share that with you. It's possible the addition of the chopped chocolate to the batter is a terrible idea, and the cakes were back to being on the wet side. It may even be advisable to lower the oven temp. and bake longer than suggested. So without further ado, here's the latest recipe-in-the-works attempt at the GREATEST CHOCOLATE CAKE IN THE WORLD, using Fine Cooking's Chocolate Stout Cake as the basis.

The Great Chocolate Stout Cake Experiment v1.0

1-1/4 cups stout
1/3 cup mild molasses and dark corn syrup
7-1/2 oz. (1-2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
2-1/4 oz. (3/4 cup) unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed); more for the pan
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
10 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar (or white sugar)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped (pulsed in a food processor works well)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF. Spray PAM or other no-stick baking spray in a large nonstick bundt pan and lightly coat with sifted cocoa powder. Tap out the excess cocoa.

In a microwave, bring the stout and molasses to a simmer (note: I don't really see the need for this step, but did it anyway). Dissolve the baking soda in the mixture and let cool while preparing the cake batter.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. With a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter in a large bowl on medium speed until smooth, then add the brown sugar and beat on until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour and stout mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Stop the mixer at least one last time to scrape the bowl and then beat at medium speed until the batter is smooth, about 20 seconds. Fold in the sour cream and finely chopped chocolate.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula and wiggling the pan to level the batter. Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out nearly clean, 50-60 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Say a prayer to the cake gods and invert the cake onto the rack and remove the pan. Without crying, remove the stuck parts out of the pan and press back onto the cake as decoratively as you can. Let cool until just barely warm, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap if not serving right away; if serving, sift powdered sugar over the top if the cake is pretty; if it's a wreck (and it probably is), opt to drizzle a lot of ganache over the whole thing.

Time flies when you're a Guitar Hero (and why cakes should have nothing in common with freshly laundered towels)

2009-04-13T09:34:00.001-07:00

Sorry there have been no new posts lately. My last one seems curiously timed to the release of Guitar Hero: Metallica, which was on March 23rd. Lest you worry, my "I'm a baker not a gamer" non-existent readers, my latest hunting expedition was for the BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE. In fact, I have made several chocolate cakes recently. I have two good friends with back to back birthdays and cake needs, spurring the quest this year.

Jenni over at Pastry Methods & Techniques graciously analyzed this most-requested version from Epicurious.com; read what she had to say about it. Well, I went ahead and made the cake -- a "practice" cake -- before Jenni blogged about it. The problem was, the cake turned out "ooey gooey" just as Jenni predicted and it deflated in the middle as it cooled. Armed with the clear vision of hindsight and Jenni's analytical skills, it was clear the poor cake needed some strength. She suggested replacing some of the oil with butter, using the creaming method (and by later alternating wet and dry ingredients, tighten up the gluten), and dissolving the baking soda in the coffee to avoid overrising. The second version did not overrise and was very dense and good. I split the layers and filled two of them with a sour cherry/raspberry filling and the main middle filling with Jenni's Crazy Good Mascarpone Cream (with 1 c. less whipping cream and 2 T Kahlua instead of Grand Marnier/dessert wine), used a poured ganache for frosting and topped with cocoa nibs and gold dust. It made for a delicious, beautiful birthday cake for my friend.

Are you ready for Round Two of the Best Chocolate Cake Recipe search? Jenni then posted a followup about her favorite Chocolate Stout Cake which is similar to Nigella Lawson's version. That got me to thinking about looking at recipes with stout. So, the next bout was a Stout Cake from SmittenKitchen, based on a recipe published by Bon Appetit and hailing from the Barrington Brewery in MA. The SmittenKitchen recipe was, I believe, just halved so it would fill a bundt pan, i.e., not otherwise altered from the original. The stout I used was Red Hook Double Black with Coffee. The recipe made a dozen cupcakes for another friend's birthday, plus a mini 3-cup bundt left over for us to try. The cake had pretty good flavor but seemed strangely fluffy and dry. You know the sensation of having that first bite of cake, which by all appearances is fine and moist, yet upon swallowing you realize you'd really, really like something to wash it down? And no, I did not overbake the thing! I was poking the bundt like every two minutes after 20 minutes had passed. I wanted something between ooey gooey and fluffy dry.

So now we've arrived at Round Three. Here was another Chocolate Stout Cake recipe from FineCooking, but with a twist: molasses. Hmm, I thought. That could be good, even though I don't really like molasses. So I made this version but didn't follow it exactly. I didn't have any brown sugar so used white. Also, I added 1/3 cup of sour cream because I wanted insurance against fluffy and dry. I baked it for about 40 minutes, then let it cool in the bundt pan overnight. The next morning I went to invert it and it stuck -- real bad. I put the bundt in a pan of hot water. No luck. I put the bundt in a hot oven for about 10 minutes, then gave it another shot. This time it plopped out, but 95% of the top was still in the pan. Why? Because the chocolate bits I folded in at the very end -- as per the recipe -- had all settled to the bottom of the pan during baking. It was almost like solid chocolate down there. Fortunately it wasn't for a special occasion, so instead of giving it the ol' heave-ho, I pulled out my trusty ganache and blasted it onto the sad ugly cake. Later I tried a slice and you know what? By golly, I think I'm onto something here. The texture was perfect: not fluffy and dry like a towel, not ooey gooey like a wet brownie, but just right moist with a little "tooth". The molasses added an assertive note of bitterness on top of the stout. Next time I'll try it with half the molasses (subbing the rest with dark corn syrup or honey), again add the sour cream, and for the love of mike put the chocolate chips in a layer in the middle of the cake pour and then, just maybe, I will have achieved THE GREATEST CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE EVER!!

Galette: pie for dummies, Girl Scouts & crust lovers

2009-03-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

Why do I call galette "pie for dummies"? Because I think the hardest, most troublesome thing about pie is the handling and shaping of the dough. With galette (aka crostata), the dough is simply rolled out in a circle, the filling is heaped in the middle, the perimeter edge folded up over the filling and then it's baked. Tough, huh? I can't think of a baked pastry that's easier or more foolproof than freeform galettes! And now for the Girl Scout part: if you make the dough ahead of time and keep it in the freezer, you can be ready for those unexpected times when some glorious, ripe fruit magically appears in your shopping basket... or in the dead of winter, using apples or frozen fruit, you can surprise and delight your favorite crust lover with a lovely galette for breakfast or dessert. Is that not the definition of sheer happiness?

Freeform Tart Pastry
from Baking Illustrated

I like this dough because it's strong and withstands handling better than regular pie dough. The cornmeal also adds rustic texture and subtle flavor.

2 tbsp. sour cream
2 tbsp. ice water
1 c. (5 oz.) unbleached AP flour
1/4 c. fine stone ground cornmeal
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
7 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes

Stir sour cream and ice water together and set aside in the refrigerator. Process the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt in a food processor, using 1-second pulses, until combined. Scatter the butter cubes over the flour mixture and pulse until most of the butter is incorporated. Dribble the water-sour cream mixture in and pulse until the dough just comes together (you may not need to use all of the water-sour cream). Gather the dough into a ball, place it on a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a 6" dia. disk. Wrap the disk tightly with the plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours; or place in a freezer bag and freeze for future use.

Galette Fruit Filling
inspired by Home Baking (Alford/Duguid)

3 c. fresh fruit (pitted and sliced stone fruits, berries, apples, etc.)
5 tsp.+ sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp. cornstarch (optional)
1/4 c. finely chopped toasted almonds or walnuts
3 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place prepared fruit in a bowl, toss with 3 tsp. of sugar or more to taste. If the fruit is very juicy, toss with the cornstarch (make sure it dissolves). Allow the galette dough to come to near room temperature. On a piece of parchment paper, roll out the dough to a 12-13" dia. circle or oval. Spread the nuts evenly on the dough, leaving a 2" border. Mound the fruit over the nut layer and scatter the butter pieces on top. Fold and pleat the edges of the dough over the fruit, like a camera's aperture (or, for you TV sci-fi fans, like the Stargate's iris), leaving a good-sized hole in the middle to allow steam and excess fruit juices to escape. Brush the dough with water, then sprinkle the remaining 2 tsp. of sugar on top. Slide the tart with the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet. If you suspect your galette is near the point of deconstructing itself, you can pull up the four corners of the parchment and staple them together, as in the photo, to hold everything together. Bake for approximately 40 min., or until the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbly. If you stapled the corners, pull them apart for the last 10 min. of baking to allow the crust to brown properly. If the fruit looks dry or unappealing, warm up some jam and spoon or pour it onto the fruit. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Is that what juxtaposition is?

2009-03-24T16:34:00.001-07:00

I make myself laugh sometimes. Like, I'm reviewing my most recent posts and they are about food and cat poop. Yecch. It's no wonder topic-specific blogs work best. It's like when I'd find myself in the checkout line with only Oxy10 and a bag of Dove chocolates... or two cans of chili with beans and Gas-X. Life can be funny that way and it's cheap entertainment.

I've been procrastinating lately. In the next day or two I'll post my favorite pie and galette dough recipes. Ah yup, that was supposed to be in honor of Pi Day, which was March 14th. I did make an apple galette for myself that day, though. Stay tuned!

Psst! Secret Portuguese Sweet Bread

2009-03-10T10:50:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've made Mom's Secret Portuguese Sweet Bread. Oh, I'll try other sweet doughs like brioche and challah, but none can top Mom's. She would not divulge the recipe for many, many years but eventually revealed it to me -- I think when I turned forty!! I'd always suspected it was based on a version that comes from Our Favorite Recipes, a series of self-published cookbooks put out by the Maui Assoc. for Family & Community Education. 1996 marked the 50th anniversary of their publishing the cookbooks, and they put out a fat compilation to celebrate. It's worth getting, and a must if you're interested in Hawaiiana (like the fascination with the processed meat Spam). Though there's no recipe for Portuguese Sweet Bread in it, there's so much more you won't miss it. Order your copy by writing to the organization at PO Box 1784, Kahului, HI 96733 (no price is listed, but you can also get it from Amazon, here).

This recipe came about through my Mom's attempts to recreate the old King's Hawaiian bread we used to get from the actual King's Bakery in Honolulu -- not the fluffy tasteless crap that King's, or whatever conglomerate owns them now, churns out for supermarkets. Mom's version, in my eyes, is a smashing success -- it surpasses any other sweet bread I've ever tried, homemade or commercial. It's also a wonderful all-around sweet dough to use for cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, etc. But I'll always like it best plain and warm, perhaps with a schmear of butter and topped with sweet memories.

Mom's Secret Portuguese Sweet Bread (updated method)

Microwave one peeled and cubed potato in water for approx. 4 minutes or until potato is soft. Reserve 1/2 c. of the water and let cool. Mash the potato.

1/2 c. potato water
1 c. mashed potatoes
3/4 c. milk
2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, melted but not hot
1 c. sour cream
6 large eggs
2 c. sugar
4 tsp. yeast
9+ c. all-purpose flour
melted butter for brushing

Optional: cinnamon/sugar, chopped dried fruit or nuts, milk, powdered sugar

Combine the potato water, mashed potatoes, milk, salt, butter and sour cream in a blender until smooth. Make sure the liquid is not hot before blending in the eggs. In a mixer bowl, combine the sugar, yeast and 4 cups of flour with a batter attachment on low speed; gradually pour in the liquid mixture until incorporated, then beat on medium speed until smooth.

Continue to add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough stiffens up. Switch to a dough hook and alternate beating in/adding flour until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl a little. Turn off the mixer and press your fingers into the dough; it should be sticky but not too gooey, and the indentations should remain.

Dump the dough out onto a generously floured surface. Knead the dough, adding sprinkles of flour if necessary, until it is smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes). The dough will remain slightly sticky due to all the sugar. Place the dough into a large, well-greased container, flipping it over so the greased side of the dough is up. Cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled. This can take from 3 to 8 hours, depending on the warmth of the room and strength of the yeast.

The recipe will easily fill at least four 9" x 5" x 3"H loaf pans or three 9" dia. x 3"H pans (round springform type). I usually do 7 balls, with 1 in the middle, in a springform pan. Decide whether you want to add any extra ingredients, like sugar/cinnamon swirl, dried fruits or chopped nuts, and get them ready.

When the dough has fully risen, plop the mass out onto a floured or greased surface and press the excess air out (no punching). Knead the dough a bit. Add in or roll up the optional ingredients if you wish. Divide(1) and shape the dough as desired(2). Place the loaves into well-greased pans, lightly covering with plastic wrap that's also been greased or sprayed with Pam. Do not overfill pans. Let rise again until almost double.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic wrap gently, then optionally slash the tops, do a milk wash for a very dark crust, or sprinkle sugar on top before placing in the oven. Leave plenty of oven headroom for the loaves to rise higher. After 20 minutes, reduce the oven to 325°F. Bake for a total of 35 min. to 50 min, depending on your loaf size (check loaf pans at 30 min., balls in round pans at 40 min.). I usually bake this bread until the internal temperature reaches about 190°F-200°F, which is slightly undercooked but I like it that way.(3)

Remove the loaves from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes in the pan before running a knife around the edges if necessary, popping out of the pan and allowing to cool on a rack. Brush tops with melted butter while still warm. Dust with powdered sugar when fully cooled if desired. Serve with sweet butter.

(1) Use a scale to apportion dough and get dough balls the same size. (2) If you know how to "round" dough, do it -- if the dough is lumpy or ragged, the bread will bake up that way. (3) To take the bread's temperature without making obvious holes or removing the loaf, insert the thermometer from the side of the loaf just above the pan rim, aiming down towards the middle.

I love you, Olive Oyl

2009-02-26T09:29:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I may not be Popeye, but I am loving the ABin5 Olive Oil Bread a lot lately. For instance, just yesterday I had a wonderful little picnic spread right at my desk. What was on the menu you ask? Like many things, it started with a sandwich: crusty olive oil bread moistened with an olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing and stuffed with salami, Laughing Cow cheese and lots of arugula. All the components were laid out on a paper towel placemat, and I sensed hungry coworker eyes coveting my lunch. Someday when summer comes, a ripe tomato and a slab of mozzarella would be good additions to this sandwich. Oh, and then for dessert, a warm slice of apfelkuchen from my secret stash. My new happy meal!

Olive Oil Bread
adapted from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
As with other ABin5 breads, I'm assuming this bread's not a good keeper. But in my house it's always gone within a day, so I can't really say. It's great for pizza and other flatbreads, too.

2.75-3 c. lukewarm water
1.5 tbsp yeast
1.5 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
925 g unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix the lukewarm water, yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil together in a 6-qt. container. Add the flour and mix into the liquids with a sturdy wooden spoon or your hands until fully incorporated. The dough will look lumpy. If the dough seems very stiff, add a little more lukewarm water (note: this dough is not as slack as the ABin5 Basic Boule). Cover the container with a non-airtight lid and let sit at room temperature for about 2 hours, where it can do its rising/collapsing thing. Refrigerate in the lidded container and use over the next 12 days.

Sprinkle cornmeal generously on an 8" or so piece of parchment and set aside. Cut off a hunk of dough about the size of a grapefruit. Sprinkle flour on the dough and quickly smooth the surface while shaping it into a round, taut ball -- start by cupping your hands lightly on the top of the dough and bringing them together at the bottom, pulling the surface of the dough into a smooth skin. Do this a few times, giving the dough a quarter turn each time. You may need to twist together the excess dough that's collected on the bottom (like turning a knob). Place the dough on the parchment and let it rest for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven and baking tile at 450°F, 30 minutes before baking.

Make at least two 1/2" deep slashes on the top of the dough. Transfer the dough and parchment onto the baking tile. Cover the dough with a 4" deep disposable aluminum roasting pan, that's large enough to accommodate the dough's expansion. After 20 minutes, remove the pan and slide the parchment out from under the dough. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes more; it is done when the crust is a beautiful golden brown (also, internal temp. of 210-220°F). Allow the loaf to cool on a rack. Warning: this is when it's most likely to vanish into thin air.

Optional dough additions to try: 2 tsp. of dried Italian herbs, 3 tbsp. of grated parmesan cheese

Damn good flourless chocolate orange cake

2009-02-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

This recipe in various forms has been floating around the internet for a while, but it's still an excellent, can't fail cake that someone with a sophisticated palate will enjoy... and you DO have one of those, don't you? Now don't be put off by my horrid cake decorating -- after all, it was for home consumption and I just could not resist the opportunity to do something fun (see Play With Your Food). The cake has simple but strong flavors, blending the bitterness and intensity of whole oranges with the mellowness of cocoa powder, some tooth supplied by the ground almonds and all of it topped with the satisfying sweetness of dark chocolate ganache. I've been using Pernigotti cocoa powder (it's not Dutch, it's Italian!) and think it adds an extra dimension of chocolateyness. Surprisingly, I make the cake fairly regularly -- in between the brownie and fruit pie seasons. This recipe came from the Esurientes - The Comfort Zone blog (which sadly may be abandoned), and has very good instructions and pictures. Check out the original post, from July 15, 2005 here. I've added my own notes of course, and yes I am a weighing baker, so no conversions for you!

Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake
Inspired by both Claudia Roden & Nigella Lawson

Whole seedless Oranges, approx 375 g (about 2 large)
6 eggs
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
200 g ground toasted almonds
150 g caster sugar
50 g Dutch cocoa

Ganache:
200 g very dark chocolate
200 ml heavy cream

Put the whole, unpeeled oranges in a saucepan with cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and cook for about 2 hours or until soft (poke with a fork, like potatoes). Drain, and when cool, cut the oranges in quarters and remove anything that won't easily puree like seeds, giant hunks of pithy stem ends, etc. Place the quartered oranges -- peel, pith and all -- in a food processor and process until smooth. Often it's best to complete the cooking of the fruit the day before. I usually boil and process several oranges at once, measuring out 375g for this recipe, then freezing the rest of the puree for future use.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Use cooking spray or grease the inside of an 8" (20cm) dia. springform pan, and lay a parchment circle on the bottom. Add the eggs, baking powder, baking soda, almonds, sugar and cocoa to the oranges in the food processor. Process until you have what looks like a cake mixture with maybe a few knobbly bits of orange. Pour and scrape into the pan and bake for one hour, by which time a skewer should emerge fairly clean. Start checking after 45 minutes, as you may have to cover with foil to stop the surface from burning. Let the cake cool before attempting to remove it from the pan. To make the ganache, heat the cream until scalding hot and add the chocolate off the heat. Mix until combined, then whisk until the mixture cools and becomes thick and glossy. Apply the ganache with a spatula or cake knife, and decorate with pieces of orange peel or whatever else strikes your fancy if you're planning to eat it at home. Sometimes I pipe little dots or swirls with the leftover orange puree, but very sparingly because it's quite bitter (not unlike the cook!).

Let them eat apfelkuchen

2009-02-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry, there are no luscious pictures of my cake. Remember my ABin5 challah/brioche dough sitting in the fridge? Well, I was wondering what to make with it when I came across this post for Apfelkuchen (das Apple Cake) at OnlinePastryChef's terrific blog, Pastry Methods and Techniques.

I made two apfelkuchens, one for home and one for the office. Coworkers passed by, murmuring "it was to die for" and "mmm... apples, cheese" in their sugar-butter-yeast-fruit-cheese induced stupor. Nothing I've brought in has ever disappeared so fast (except birthday cakes, which is more akin to force feeding). And as you might guess I think I'm a pretty good baker. Let's see, I've brought in cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, fruit pies, all kinds of breads, cookies... and not those crappy kitchen mistakes, either. Are you getting the idea? This apfelkuchen was gone like it never even existed. But I knew it did, because not too long after setting the plate down in the kitchen, someone was bringing the clean plate back to me.

So I don't have any pictures of the apfelkuchen because it's all gone. You'll have to wait until I make it again. But I urge you, don't wait to make it. And if you want any for yourself, for pete's sake don't take it to work!

Restrained Apfelkuchen
from Pastry Methods and Techniques blog

The Dough
* 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
* 1.75 oz. sugar (about 1/4 cup)
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 4 oz. whole milk
* 3 oz. butter
* 1 egg, at cool room temperature
* 8-12 oz. unbleached all purpose flour

The Apples
* 3-5 smallish Granny Smith Apples
* 1 TBSP lemon juice
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp apple pie spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg and a tiny bit of clove)
* 1/2 oz. flour (2 TBSP)
* 2 TBSP sugar

The Cheesecake Part
* 8 oz. cream cheese (1 block), softened
* 1 egg, at cool room temperature
* 1/2 tsp vanilla
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 4 oz. sugar

Lots of parts, I know, but it’s pretty straightforward. Honest. Here’s how it goes:

1. Lightly spray a 9″ spring form pan with some non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Mix yeast, sugar, salt and about 4 oz. flour in the bowl of your stand mixer.
3. Heat the milk and the butter together. Don’t let it boil. You want it to be decidedly warm, but not hot. If it’s hot, let it cool off a bit. You’re looking for about 125-130 degrees, F.
4. Add the milk mixture and the egg to the mixer and mix with the paddle attachment for a couple of minutes.
5. Add another 4 oz. of flour, a bit at a time, and mix for another couple of minutes. You should have a pretty thick batter/soft dough. Change to the dough hook.
6. With the mixer on medium-low and the dough hook doing its thing, add flour, an ounce at a time until you have a soft dough. It might stick in the bottom of the bowl a bit, but it should clear the sides.
7. Set the mixer on medium and let the dough hook develop the gluten in your very rich dough for about seven minutes or so. At this point, you may wander off to check your email.
8. Once the dough is silky and stretchy, cover it and let it rise for an hour or two, depending on the temperature of the room. Like I said, there’s a lot of fat weighing this dough down, and it’ll take hours to double. I didn’t wait that long, and the dough did not double in size. Too bad; I had a dinner to get to.
9. Once the dough has risen, take it out and press it into the bottom and about 1-11/2″ up the sides of the pan.
10. Prep the apples. Peel and core them, and slice them into 1/4″ slices. Sprinkle them with lemon juice (to prevent browning, and also to add a little extra tartness)
11. Mix all the dry ingredients together, and toss with the apples.
12. Arrange the apples in a moderately attractive manner no more than 2 apple slices thick.
13. Mix the cheesecake portion together. With the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese until smooth. Add the salt and sugar and cream on medium speed for about a minute. Scrape the bowl often. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
14. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the apples, spreading it around with the spatula and making sure that it oogies down into the apples. Don’t let the cream cheese mixture flow over the lip of dough around the outside of the cake.
15. Cover and let rise until the dough is somewhat puffy. I let it hang out for 2 hours. If you were more patient during the first rise, you might only need 45 minutes to an hour.
16. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
17. Bake in the middle of the oven until the sides are a lovely golden brown, most of the cheese mixture is set and there’s just a little wiggliness in the center. The recipe said 30 minutes. The recipe lied. The recipe was a lying liar. I left mine in for close to 50 minutes.
18. When it’s done, take it out and let it cool to warm. Slice and serve.

Things to know:

* If you serve it without letting it chill and then reheating it, the center will still be a bit liquid-y. It will have gotten hot enough in the oven to get rid of pesky bad guys, but if you’re concerned, use pasteurized eggs. The good thing about the liquidy center is that it is like a thick sweetened cream–sort of a self-saucing dessert.
* This isn’t an overly sweet dessert. You can add a little more sugar to the cream cheese mixture and/or to the apples, but I didn’t think it needed it.
* If you do chill this, let it come to room temperature and then warm it in the oven before serving. This dessert is Very Good warm.

It's Madness I Tell You... More Artisan Bread in 5

2009-02-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

Light Wheat Boule, Olive Oil Loaf with Parmesan Cheese, Deli Rye with Caraway & Poppy Seeds
Due to last month's shock-and-awe gas bill, I wanted to try making better use of the oven and baked these three loaves at the same time. Sadly, the two of us weren't able to consume them quick enough, but boy did we give it our best shot. One thing about the ABin5 method is, it's about having your bread on a daily basis. The loaves will not really keep for more than two days after baking. Old bread can be refreshed by placing it in a dampened paper bag and set in a hot oven for a few minutes. But it's probably better to bake only what you need for 2 days' time, freeze the loaves right away, or give some away. Still, it's pretty cool to be able to bake all these different breads at once, don't you think? My new strategy for energy saving is to bake something, anything, before putting the bread in, essentially using the preheat for baking. I've been doing frozen pizza (400°F deg) and brownies (325°F deg) a lot lately. Gods help me.

The oven with a 14" x 26" kiln shelf replacing one standard rack
I love my Bluestar oven. Do you see how nicely it accommodated this latest breadbaking insanity? Rather than having molded-in rack tracks, it has rack guides that just screw into the sides. I was able to buy a kiln shelf from a local pottery supply store that fits into its cavernous cavity just right. It bakes like a mutha, too. Just doesn't have self-clean, a minor drawback.

The fridge with 3 different dough batches going
I just noticed last night that I've gone through a 25 lb. bag of flour lickety split. Hmm, my symmetrical soul thinks one more Cambro container of dough is needed here...

The CatGenie's in the closet

2009-02-14T14:28:00.001-08:00

A while back I wrote about how we'd converted a closet into a cat bathroom. Did I forget to mention that the closet was the only substantial storage area in the house, other than the attic? Yes, we (all right, who am I kidding, it's just me) must truly be insane to put cats before storage. In addition to the CatGenie, I ended up caving in to the oldest cat, Cleo (reflected in the mirror). Either she's not keen on using the CatGenie, or doesn't like to share, or decides she needs to go just when the CatGenie starts a cycle. For any of these reasons, she will then proceed to use the bed as her toilet. Thus the Return of the Old Litter Box.

The closet also provides access to the attic for our wild girl Frida, who loves to play up there (we call it "Attica"). I designed the "ladder", and Jim built it with some leftover 3/4" MDF. The 9.5" x 16" shelves were attached by nail gun and wood glue, staggered and set at about 30 deg. angles, to a back panel of MDF. I later de-angled the lowest shelf and Frida seems to like that better as she can pause before for heading up (also, as you can see, the old litter box fits better underneath it). The shelves are topped with a cheap, rubber-backed coir doormat that was sliced up. It took Frida about 30 seconds to figure out the new way to get up into the attic. The coir provides good traction as she leaps up the shelves and through the cutout in the ceiling, and she loves to stretch and scratch it.

The unit only cost about $10, which was for the doormat, and perhaps 2 hours to cut the pieces and assemble it. The sheet of MDF had been purchased for another project, a flip-down notebook computer holder/bookcase that's now installed in front of the treadmill. It's been very rewarding to make these small custom projects. Not only does it give me an opportunity to design something, usually as simply as possible, but the price can't be beat!

Learn a new language this year

2009-02-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

This is from a thread on LOLspeak:
-------------------------------------------------------
so... who actually chooses to talk like this?
Aug 18 2008, 2:07 PM EDT
1) 12 year old adolescent girls?
2) 40+ something or other women who are destined to become the crazy cat lady down the street?
3) Patients from mental Institutions who are granted internet access for taking their meds?
-------------------------------------------------------
If you guessed I was number 2, you'd be right! But if you're like me, who wasn't good in any language but English, you can resolve to learn a new language this year. May I humbly suggest LOLspeak, Klingon, or even the ancient language Nadsat (from A Clockwork Orange)? Look here, there are handy online translators to help you: English>LOLspeak, English<>Klingon, English>Nadsat. So don't just sit there being all down with your monolingual self -- get out there and learn, especially if you're unemployed. I mean, you never know where this great new skill can take you. Perhaps a job at the new intergalactic penal colony with the ultracool employee milk bar (which naturally attracts cats)?

And speaking of languages... A word to direct marketers: HELLO! It's not the 50s or 60s even. Please, do not assume because my first name is Spanish and my last name is Japanese, that I know either language. It's a waste of paper, printing and postage.

Seattle Souper Swap

2009-01-28T19:30:00.000-08:00

It felt great to be back in the soupmaking saddle, as well as catch up with old swappers and meet new ones. That's me in the pink shirt sitting at the back window. See the paper bag? The one with the "FREE BREAD WITH EVERY QUART OF PINTO BEAN WITH MINT & PINE NUTS SOUP!" sign? Well, I'm not bragging but, okay, yes I am. My soup was the first to be picked and the first to run out! Using the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day method, I baked 8 boules earlier that day. The bread came out looking like I slaved for days -- only my friend Knox (the founder of Soup Swap and the one pointing at the screen in the photo) knew how easy it really was. I love the Soup Swap -- it's about homemade food, local folks, lots of creativity and now, a little bit of snake oil showmanship. I guess I'll have to work on my Vince Offer impersonation for the next swap. Read more about the Seattle Soup Swap at soupswap.com, Nerd's Eye View, and Beastmomma.

Here's the recipe I used for this year's soup:

Pinto Bean Soup with Mint & Pine Nuts
adapted from a recipe by Deborah Madison, Prodigy Guest Chefs Cookbook

32 oz. dried pinto beans
16 oz. dried lentils*
2 T vegetable or light olive oil
2 small onions, minced
1 T New Mexico ground red chile
8 c. vegetable broth*
10 c. water
Salt
2 c. soy creamer**
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1/3 c. chopped parsley
1/4 c. chopped scallions or chives
3 T. or more chopped mint*
1/3 c. pine nuts, toasted and finely chopped
1 can pinto beans*
2 cans garbanzo beans*

*Not in original recipe
**Half-and-half originally specified

Soak the dried pinto beans overnight; drain and rinse.
Transfer the beans to a pot, cover with fresh water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot and sauté the onion and chile together briefly.
Add the beans, lentils, vegetable broth and water to the onion mixture. Bring to a boil, then simmer until beans are tender, about 40 minutes. Skim bean scum off as needed.
Season to taste with salt. Add more chile if desired. Continue cooking until beans are completely soft.
Purée half the beans with some cooking liquid in a blender. Stir the purée and creamer into the pot.
Drain and rinse the canned pinto and garbanzo beans before adding to the pot.
Stir in chopped herbs and pine nuts, reserving some for garnish if desired.

Yield: about 10 quarts of soup

Note: Response from Deborah Madison about the missing mint (1/29/08): This recipe comes from my book, The Savory Way (now out of print) and was titled Pinto Bean Soup with Mexican Cream and Pine Nuts. I interpreted it from a pueblo "recipe" and as such, it would probably be made with apple mint, but regular mint from the store (peppermint, not speamint) is fine as well.

The religion of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

2009-01-23T13:28:00.001-08:00

My friends, need I say more to get you non-believers on the path? Just get the good book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois, and it will change your life. I can get home from work and have a hot, freshly baked loaf on the table in about an hour and a half. Folks, I did discover one drawback, though. This method takes away all the "fun" and guesswork I used to have trying to make artisan breads: wildly inconsistent starters, risings, timings, results, etc. Now -- sigh, ho hum -- my breads almost always have perfect crust, crumb and flavor. Watch the authors and see how easy it is to impress yourself, family and friends. Say Hallelujah!

Basic Boule (makes about eight 1-lb. loaves)
by “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”

1450 g lukewarm water (6 cups)
3 tbsp regular yeast
3 tbsp salt
1850-1900 g unbleached AP flour (13 cups)
can substitute up to 250 g with whole wheat or rye flour

Measure out the water into your bread bucket. Sprinkle in the yeast and salt and stir to dissolve. Add the flour and stir with a stiff spoon and/or wet hands until all the flour is incorporated. The dough may be slack and a little lumpy. Cover or close the bucket loosely and let sit on the counter for about 2 hours, then keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When ready to bake, place a piece of parchment on your peel and dust it with cornmeal. Using a bread knife, cut off a grapefruit-sized piece of dough from the bucket. Place on a floured surface and "round" or "cloak" the dough by gently pulling the outside of the dough into a smooth, firm ball (about 2 minutes or less). Place the boule on the parchment smooth side up and let rest for 40-90 min. 30 min. before baking, preheat the oven (containing a baking tile on one shelf and a broiler pan on another) @ 450°F. Dust the boule with flour and use a greased bread knife or santoku to slash the top (x, +, or tic-tac-toe design) 1/4"-1/2" deep. Get a cup of hot tap water ready. Open the oven, slide the parchment and dough gently onto the tile, carefully pour the hot water into the broiler pan, and close the door quickly. After 15 min. you may remove the parchment if desired. Allow the loaf to bake until deep golden brown, about 35-55 min. Use your peel to remove the boule from the oven and put on a rack to cool completely. TIPS: Bread made from week-old refrigerated dough tastes best! No need to wash the bucket, scrape the sourdough bits into your new batch! For more tips and errata, go to www.artisanbreadinfive.com

National Soup Swap Day is coming!

2009-01-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

Don't forget that Saturday, January 24th, is the third NATIONAL SOUP SWAP DAY. Make up six quart containers of your favorite soup, freeze 'em, bring 'em to your local soup swap event, and come home with six quarts of soup other swappers have made. Easy and delicious. Go to the SoupSwap website and see if there's an event happening near you. If not, vow to organize one. And you can do it anytime! I'm so proud to say a friend started the soup swap a few years ago right here in Seattle, and now it's gone nationwide. It's Soups Gone Wild! This year I made a soup based on a recipe attributed to Deborah Madison, called Pinto Bean Soup with Mint and Pine Nuts. It's funny but, wherever this recipe appears on the internet, the ingredient "Mint" is missing! So I improvised the quantity of mint and added some other things. It's pretty damn good for a vegan soup if I may say so, especially with a freshly baked mini boule... which, BTW, I am totally crazed on baking by using the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day method. Get the book, a bucket with a lid, some baking tiles and a peel and you're in business! I usually substitute some whole grain in the Basic Boule recipe and the bread is awesome to look at and to eat. I also just used the ABIFMAD method for mom's double super secret Portuguese Sweet Bread recipe and it worked splendidly for a pan of cinnamon rolls. I will try to take pictures next time before Jim's carb sonar (carb-nar?) kicks in.

Tomorrow's the big day!

2009-01-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

I am so ready to have new people in charge.

My short "HONEY-DO" LIST for Barack:

Fix the economy
Kill all the insurers, then build a healthcare system
Stop warring
Give or create jobs for people who want to help -- do-gooders are wanted and needed
Throw away the key for anyone who tried to redefine torture and allowed it to happen
Take all those fat cats who received and squandered bailout money out and shoot them
Get the puppy already!

Celebrate Inauguration Day as you see fit!

Restaurant review: Cafe Vignole

2008-10-18T20:56:00.001-07:00

This is my favorite new restaurant which just so happens to be around the corner.

Everything we've ordered from here has been awesome: pizza, halibut in lemon and caper sauce, spaghetti with meat sauce, crab ravioli with saffron sauce, ribs braised in olives and rosemary over polenta, an amazing portobello mushroom appetizer, caesar salad, black eye pea cake, flourless chocolate cake, bread pudding...

But wait, there's more. Not only is the food incredible, but the servings are huge at not unreasonable prices (most $10-$15). The owner Sandro and all of the employees are friendly and truly want to make sure you enjoy your meal. And they usually have live jazz on Fridays! It is THE quintessential neighborhood restaurant, just improbably located in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.

Ever since we moved here from Connecticut, we've searched for good pizza. Pagliacci, Stellar's, Piecora, even the hallowed Tutta Bella - they're all good in their own way. But Cafe Vignole's humble pie is anything but. It has soul. It's the best in all Seattle.

Check this place out before it gets discovered by national foodies and becomes full of itself. You'll love it, I promise.

MYOM (Make Your Own Magnet)

2008-10-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

I've been anticipating the arrival of my donation goodie bag from the Obama folks -- which allegedly contains a bitchen round car magnet -- but got tired of waiting, so I decided to make my own signs. It's great the Obama website has media downloads. I did a bit of tweaking to make this official-looking sign, which got uploaded to Vistaprint and arrived this week.

And the signs are grabbing attention already! Seattleites, despite their reputation, are most certainly not reserved when they feel passionately about something. People have yelled "Obama!" to me as I drive by. When parked or idled, I've been asked, "Where did you get your sign?" I've already given one away to a fellow Costco shopper, and got another inquiry from a pedestrian today while waiting for a light. This sure was a nice change from when I used to smoke and get a loud, public scolding from complete strangers.

In fact, I was so enthused about the response I created another magnet, this one a portrait orientation. But folks, it's getting really late to put up signage. If you want one of these, please let me know and I'll order some more. They are about $9 apiece, and measure 17.3" x 11.25". Better yet, leave a comment with your email address and I'll send you the PDF so you can make your own signs.

Who wants to be the next Republican VP?

2008-09-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

How did it come to this? Our presidential election has been reduced to a freakin' reality show, with an ancient shell-shocked warmonger who has the hots for a pretty but airheaded fundamentalist vs. an honorable but "inexperienced elitist" OMG black man and his trusty old-white-guy sidekick.

But if you don't think the Republicans can bring the U.S. to its knees, you should read this, practically a to-do list for the current Nazi, er, Republican party:

14 Signs of Facism*

Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism
Disdain for the importance of human rights
Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause
The supremacy of the military/avid militarism
Rampant sexism
A controlled mass media
Obsession with national security
Religion and ruling elite tied together
Power of corporations protected
Power of labor suppressed or eliminated
Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts
Obsession with crime and punishment
Rampant cronyism and corruption
Fraudulent elections

*by Laurence W. Britt, Facism Anyone?, Free Inquiry Magazine, Vol. 22 No. 2. Based on analysis of regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Chile and Indonesia.

I was shocked and dismayed at McCain's choice. Instead of picking a mainstream American woman, he plucked her from the far right fringes of the Christian coalition. It sickens me to see the uninformed populace fawning over Palin with Paris Hilton fervor. How dimwitted we must appear to the rest of the world. (And yeah, it matters.)

If you can be fooled into thinking she gives a damn about you or this country, well then she DOES represent you: the compulsive liar, anti-freedom, anti-American, pro-old Testament, isolationist lunatic demographic, that is.

If you're NOT fooled:

GET ANGRY. McCain/Palin think we are still the numb and stupid voters from the Bush era. This op-ed piece Pissed About Palin is a damn good summary.
VOICE YOUR OPINION. Make yourself heard above the retarded masses and media.
KNOW THE ISSUES THAT MATTER. Ask the hard questions as if your life depends on it... because it does.
ACT. Educate and motivate others to see the real faces on this ticket from hell.
VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE. Do you really want a freak show running the country?

Goodbye, summer fruit

2008-09-13T14:37:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been enamored of making summer fruit cobblers. My baking continue to devolve towards whatever takes the least amount of prep time. Fresh peach cobblers sometimes take extra time because you're supposed to boil the skins off, but if I'm baking for myself, hey, where's the harm on leaving them on? I just found a new (to me) cobbler recipe that doesn't require rolling biscuit dough. Some of the dough rises to the surface to make the topping. For those of you old enough to remember, it's reminiscent of the Bisquick Impossible Apple Pie. I made 2 9x13 pans of it, without even testing the recipe, for my neighbor's birthday party last week and it was good. A few people said it reminded them of their mother's cobbler - a compliment, I hope! The recipe comes from a site called Southern Plate, complete with wonderful step-by-step pictures, so it may be a southern-style method. In any case, try it before the peaches are done for - it's easy and awesomely delicious.

Peach Cobbler
Christy Jordan's Southern Plate

4 cups peeled and sliced peaches
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 cup milk
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt stick of butter in oven proof casserole dish in oven while making pie ingredients. Pour the two T. lemon juice over the peaches. Stir to coat. Pour 1/2 cup sugar over peaches. Stir. Heat in microwave for 1 minute so that sugar begins to melt. Mix together 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and cinnamon until blended. Pour in 1 cup milk and mix until blended. After butter is melted, take casserole out of oven and pour batter on top of melted butter. Pour peaches on top of batter. DO NOT STIR! Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over pie. Place in oven and bake for 55 minutes or until golden.

Latest Life is Crappy episode:
I have to make comfort treats lately because our family situations aren't so hot. Jim's mother fractured her hip a couple weeks ago and now he's back in Florida for a couple weeks. She's lucky being in Amelia Island, which somehow seems to always escape hurricane woes. But she's getting so frail and senile. There is no hurricane worse than aging. And then much to my utter dismay, my junkie whore sister got out of jail/rehab and moved back into my mom's house. Prior to this unfortunate event, it took more than 4 years of flying back and forth to finally evict my sister and whatever lowlife-boyfriend-of-the-minute was there. She just turned 48 but still has the mentality of a 15 year old, around the time she starting using drugs and killing what few brain cells she started out with. She should be on a drug awareness poster: "YA SEE WHAT HAPPENS?" It makes me feel sick and stresses me out. I'll probably not be talking to my mom for a while and that makes me sad, given she's probably only got about 10 more years left. I guess what makes me angry is expecting a parent to know what the right thing is and to do it. And then she does the opposite. It makes me glad I have no kids.

Busy summer!

2008-08-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Went to Florida in July for Jim's mom's 80th birthday, i.e. the perfect combination of heat, humidity and family members. So, we got what you usually get with these ingredients. Meanwhile, we found out Jim's mother just recently fractured her hip and the dementia is getting bad. At least she seemed to have a good time with practically the entire Harman clan around during her birthday week.

Then we celebrated Jim's 50th birthday right after getting back from Florida, with a dinner at Georgia's Greek Deli & Restaurant in Greenwood. He made out well giftwise, with a treadmill, a multimedia projector, a family tree DNA kit, T-shirts, and a watch exactly like the one he received from his father and had lost years ago.

Other summer activities: Around the house we finally moved the furnace up into the attic, freeing up a big walk-in closet. Freeing it up to be an awesome cat bathroom, that is! Jim put in plumbing and electrical so the CatGenie is there, as well as a bathroom fan and light that are triggered by a motion detector. Yesterday he installed a neat cat door (Catwalk) that looks like a porthole in one of the closet doors. The walls still need to be finished somehow, and I'm making a sisal-wrapped pole so the cats can climb up into the attic if they want. Pictures to come... Jim thinks we (or maybe just me) are nuts. We're still looking for a dog pal for our dog. Kira has settled in but occasionally enjoys spraying Jim and his stuff. Frida's still a whore cat, but she's actually been coming in when called and at not-too-unreasonable hours. Cleo now allows Jim to pet her twice before trying to rip his hand off.

Summer's coming... okay, any day now

2008-05-20T19:48:00.001-07:00

Well, here's the bike I bought last summer. It's a Suzuki Boulevard S40, formerly known as the LS 650 Savage. It sat around most of the time, since I bought it after failing the riding test at the end of the motorcycle safety class, then let my learner's permit expire. Last week I took the class again and amazingly passed. Not too shabby for a spazz, eh? Two days and 3 hours later the endorsement was added to my driver's license. Practice riding time is difficult to squeeze in on most weekends but someday I hope to use the bike to commute to work. Maybe if I sign up with a local chick biker group it'll inspire me to get out there!

Another gizmo has taken up some time as well: The CatGenie. This is another one of those automated cat litter boxes, only this one needs a drain (toilet) and water hookup. Still fiddling with the settings and trying to persuade the cats to use it. Kira initially was using it, then at some point she saw it self-cleaning and became fixated/afraid of this mechanical monster. So today I caught her peeing in the base of the cat scratching tree... sigh. Wish me luck. Someday I'll invent my own ultimate automatic litter box. Hint: it involves a miniature garbage disposer.

Other than that, just working on perfecting my mom's Portuguese Sweet Bread recipe and helping my brother with business graphics. Visit argentseafood.com and bump up that visitor's tally for me, will ya?

Meet the new cat... (almost the) same as the old cat

2008-02-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right. Another calico has come to live with me. The night before I was to fly down to SoCal to visit my mom, she told me that my high school sweetheart's father had been killed in a hit-and-run. This cat was his beloved pet, who I've named Kira (as close as I could get to Kirk for a girl's name). Amidst the chaos and grief, my friend could not find someone to give her a good home. Well, it was a DUH for me. We picked her up on my way back to the airport.

I think Kira, amongst other things, was the reason for my visit. I am a devout atheist, but the situation had a distinct cosmological/destiny kind of vibe. I don't know what to make of it. Is that just life being quirky? It is so human to want to make sense out of what we don't understand. All I know is Kira is a great cat and hope I can honor the previous owner by taking good care of her... just in case he IS looking down.

How to Cook for a Veggie-Hater

2008-01-26T11:45:00.001-08:00

If anyone is reading this blog, do you have any suggestions on how to get a person who despises vegetables and fruit to eat them?

To compound the problem, my person is becoming less adventuresome in his eating habits as he gets older. I've got to find other things to cook beyond mac 'n cheese, spaghetti and pizza! Currently his quirks are:

hates vegetables, even starchy ones
dislikes fruit (unless you can put them in pancakes or jam)
loathes gravy or sauces (except spaghetti or pesto)
loves bready, carb-laden things but can't digest them too well

As someone who has had a couple heart attacks and high cholesterol, he desperately needs a different diet. Short of behavior modification tactics, what can I do?

The joy of refinancing

2007-10-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Crap, I can't believe it's been a whole month since my last post. I decided it was time to refinance my 1st and 2nd mortgages plus a gaggle of miscellaneous debt around the middle of September. Around 3:00am one Sunday morning, I hung my hat out at lendingtree.com. Shortly thereafter several lenders started calling. Belatedly I called Wells Fargo (owner of the 1st & 2nd) to see what they could come up with. After a couple weeks of back and forth with the LendingTree contacts and Wells Fargo, I decided to go with an outfit named Metro Lending. I ended up with 6.5% 30yr fixed and 0 points, which was great for a stated income loan. You see, on paper my finances look pretty horrible but "somehow" I'm able to maintain a very good credit score. The loan's actually going to be serviced by Countrywide (scary, I know!), but I think it's gonna be okay. I was surprised Countrywide would even want to be involved, given their current state because of people just like me. Another surprise was the appraisal. It is difficult to comprehend how my house could be worth almost 2.5 times what I paid for it 8 years ago. Extra brownie points were given for my rockin' BlueStar range and the Vent-A-Hood, but were probably mitigated by unfinished painting areas and pet paraphernalia scattered here and there.

Speaking of painting, Jim's decided to get back into doing art after a long absence. He was hard at work converting his wood shop (which used to be a garage) into an art studio. He fixed up the taping, repainted, and reorganized his tools and hardware. And finally, I was able to talk him into putting some kind of wood subfloor over the nasty old concrete (he tends towards cheap bastard on most aspects of life). We found this neat subfloor tile product called DRIcore at Home Depot: it's a square of varnished OSB glued to a plastic sheet with feet, interlocking via tongue and groove. It wasn't too expensive, either, considering what would've been involved with installing a subfloor with 2x4s, plywood sheets and then something on top of all that. Jim actually liked the look of the plain OSB, so he just applied a few clearcoats for now. The lighting was a bit trickier. He insisted on using these ancient Lightolier halogen track lights, but the light was gross. There are two skylights, but there's not enough natural light to compensate for hot, orange-y halogen spots. He ended up having to put in several fluorescent fixtures with full-spectrum bulbs and now it looks nice, neutral and even. My experience with doing press checks helped a little: neutral gray walls (actually a special gray paint that's really expensive) and 5000K bulbs are the standard. Higher K is more blue, lower K is more yellow. You just need a shitload of bulbs.

The Smashing Pumpkins concert in Ridgefield, WA was awesome. The Clark County Amphitheater was a great venue - not large, with the back end open so it doesn't get hot or stuffy. The Pumpkins were freakin' LOUD. Thankfully I never go anywhere without earplugs anymore, but I remembered them a little too late. Hmm, too much of my youth spent loitering near massive speaker towers, I guess. The opening band was Satellite Party and I probably enjoyed them even more than the Pumpkins. I think I saw one other couple that may have been in the 50s and they were drunk. Well, I freely admit to being immature for my age, so there!

Looking forward to seeing Cesar Milan, thee Dog Wheesperer, here in Seattle on Nov. 4.

Busy at work doing one of my favorite things: screwing around with databases and writing Excel formulas... building our intranet and dreaming up new kitchen gadgets.

Last days of summer

2007-08-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

I finally took a few days off last week, and plan to take a few more to get all those potted plants in the ground before the rain comes. When you become a working adult, the summer goes by fast and is just another season... albeit one without much rain, which is notable in Seattle.

My vacation was spent watching the Roomba work, getting some motorcycle practice in and perfecting my latest baking obsession: galettes. I LOVE crust, so I can't believe I haven't made them before. The best dough recipe so far came from Baking Illustrated, where they call it Freeform Fruit Tart Pastry. The addition of cornmeal is delicious and the dough is easy to work with -- unlike the pâte briseé recipes I've used. So far I've made peach, nectarine & blackberry and apple galettes, finally settling on the cornmeal dough and using basic instructions from Home Baking by Naomi Duguid. Her recipe puts a thin layer of toasted almonds, walnuts or breadcrumbs underneath the fruit and I think it really adds subtle taste and texture.

The other thing I needed to deal with was a funny smell that's been brewing in my car. I asked for a detailer recommendation when I went to order some new front tires at Big O, and somebody suggested Final Touch. They were able to fit me in the next day. Meanwhile, I took a closer look at the car. Since a seagull had bombed me on the viaduct a couple months ago -- thankfully while the top was up -- I assumed it was bird shit that'd gotten into the crevices. To my horror, I spied a can of cat food that had rolled off almost into the car's netherworld. The label was faded and falling off. The smell was sickening. Ewww. Jim, bless him, retrieved the dripping can and vacuumed out what he could, but not before wretching loudly. The next day the detailers revealed another unpleasant discovery: mice had been nesting there. Ewww! Yecchh!! They cleaned the car out but could make no promise that the smell or mice wouldn't come back. Since rodents love to chew wire, I also went to my mechanic, Eizo Matsuda of Apex Auto. He's in the process of garage remodeling, but he told me how to deal with the mice. His advice was to duct tape rat poison, the food kind, near the engine. I protested about mice dying inside the car, but he said, "At least the smell will go away. Not like if you have an electrical fire and die!" Okay Eizo, you've made your point.

Where's the congestion?

2007-08-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

Dear WA DOT,

Thanks for taking the time to freak us commuters out over the whole I-5 construction business. For several months prior, you were all gloom and doom about this project being the straw (or the mint, if you're a Monty Python fan) for Seattle transportation.

Well, my commute yesterday and today was no different than any other day on E Marginal Way/SR-99. Maybe a few more trucks than usual getting off at Spokane, but THAT'S ALL. I still had to endure those teeth-rattling, ever widening expansion joints holding the viaduct together. That's because I have to drive fast over it, in case it falls down.

Why don't you just admit it? You're in cahoots with our mayor and city council. You really hate cars and the people that drive them. Your goal is to make life for car people as miserable as possible, if not set up the conditions where they might have fatal "accidents", like diverting an overload of traffic onto a earthquake-damaged bridge.

You bastards!

Say it ain't so, Kitty!

2007-08-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe what a lame idea this is. According to a NY Times story, a Bangkok chief of police wants to shame officers who break the law by having them wear these pink Hello Kitty armbands. Apparently a previous attempt using plaid bands completely backfired. Uhh, like this idea is gonna work?? If I was a young female deviant, I'd definitely want one. And on a man, it probably works as a powerful chick magnet. I'll bet you that supply of armbands disappears in short order. Stop thinking like George Bush, Pongpat Chayaphan!

Frida's no contender

2007-08-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

After getting home around 8:00pm last night, I was shocked to see our cat huddled on the bed, as we usually attempt to corral her from the wild kingdom around midnight (or later). I went to pet her and, for the first time ever, she hissed at me. I knew something was wrong, which was confirmed by a small blood stain on the blanket nearby.

Thanks to a couple Humane Society brats that are on the loose, there have been some new whiskers in the 'hood. Frida's small and cute, but outdoors she can be a wild punk, a cold blooded killer. I believe Frida finally got her ass-whoopin' comeuppance yesterday afternoon. There were several small puncture wounds all over her, but the TKO was a deep chomp on one of her legs.

We took her to our new favorite 24/7 vet, Five Corners Animal Hospital in Burien to get fixed up. Verily, I cannot heap enough praise upon this vet, emergency or not. They were really great when we had to bring our aging, diabetic, blind cockapoo with broken leg here for testing. And they were kind and compassionate when we decided to euthanize.

Although Frida's outdoor days might be numbered, like her tough cookie namesake she'll be all right, especially with our regular vet, Four Paws, following up. I've been thinking about keeping the pets indoors anyway, since we have a regular coon visitor and coyote sightings have been made in nearby Beacon Hill and Leschi areas. The fact is, one of us - me or Frida - is going to go nuts.

Fine dining in Seattle

2007-08-08T00:43:00.000-07:00

Jim's brother and sister-in-law had business here for the last few days, so we had an opportunity to eat our way through it. My pick for their first dinner in Seattle was the Dahlia Lounge. For me it was an easy choice. I'd been here a couple times before and the food was always very good - different enough to be interesting yet familiar enough to be safe. I ask you: What's not to like, ever, about pork chops and coconut cream pie? Jim ordered the halibut but got the crab cakes. Even the waiter said, "Well, if we're going to make a mistake that's the best one to make!" We agreed, especially since Jim also got his halibut very shortly thereafter. I was seriously tempted to try Serious Pie, Tom Douglas' newest venture next door, but tomorrow's another day. But instead...

The second night out, our visitors chose Cascadia. I'd never been, and fretted since I was going there straight after work (i.e., dressed like a slob). But hey, this is Seattle, right? Also, I seemed to recall chef Kerry Sear had a reputation for weird combinations and being kind of a Nazi about it. I also might have early senility. Anyway, I totally scored right away by finding a parking spot on Battery St. and arrived early. The hostess was nicely hospitable despite my attire. Once everyone else showed up, we were seated immediately and the cool, intellectualish waiter came over with recommendations for appetizers and entrees. I decided to test his mettle by asking about a couple entrees he hadn't suggested: the Goat in Some Kind of Strange Sauce and one I'd already decided on, the Squash Strudel on Seaweed. He did his best restaurant-speak about the goat. "People either hate it or love it... I'm not saying it's bad, I mean, everything's good here... it's earthy." To which I asked, "In other words, it tastes like dirt?" Now the goat intrigued me, because dirt is exactly what burdock root (aka gobo) tastes like... and it's delicious, albeit an acquired taste for most non-Asians. The waiter recovered quickly by waxing poetic about the strudel. And it was excellent, though I'm convinced if you put lots of butter - or bacon - on anything, it'll taste good. My companions safely ordered grilled Lamb Chops with Fries, and grilled Wild King Salmon on a bed of Lobster Mashed Potatoes. The appetizers we shared were grilled blue prawns, tomato-mozzarella salad, a basket of crackers (drizzled with balsamic vinegar and toasted) and assorted breads, and hummus with a kick. Dessert was small torpedo-shaped lemon sugar beignets and the chocolate "catch of the day": a dense chocolate tart complete with embedded angler and fish cookies. Every dish was beautifully presented. It was a marvelous dining experience for which I'm glad I didn't see the bill.

The last stop on our foodfest was good ol' Wild Ginger. We ordered crab cake and potsticker appetizers, Chicken Angor Wat and Kung Pao, Seven Flavor Beef, Baby Bok Choy w/Garlic Oil, and Duck with Steamed Buns. Our guests exclaimed that they wished there was a restaurant like this in DC. In the past, my opinion of Wild Ginger was that of a better-than-mediocre Asian smorgasbord; if you really wanted good versions of their dishes, you'd go to the country-respective restaurant. I still hold that dopey monoculture opinion, but on this particular occasion, Wild Ginger was perfect. Plus, I actually detected a hint of wok har (translation: pan tar flavor). If you entertain visitors who don't have good Asian restaurants back home, it's great. It beats PF Chang's and Big Bowl handily.

On our way home I proposed to Jim that we check out more new restaurants before the next onslaught of guests. Over the last few years Seattle's really added some interesting dining options. Tonight I scribbled a list of places to try and it was twice as long as a list from six years ago. Maybe it's because I don't find myself missing and hunting for New York-style pizza and authentic Mexican as much. Maybe it's all part of Seattle becoming a world-class city, at least in the restaurant department.

I Heart My Roomba!

2007-08-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago I caved in to my mom's decree that everyone needs a Roomba, especially me. She even offered to pay for it. I stumbled across a Big Lots in Renton quite by accident, and was reminded to check if they had any. They're selling reconditioned Roomba Discovery models for $149. My mom had picked hers up in SoCal.

Strangely, my Roomba was kinda skanky even for a reconditioned unit. It looked like they forgot to empty the dust cup and filter and there was hair and stuff wrapped around the brushes - ick. So, before charging it, I gave it a good cleaning and was all set to wait 16 hours for the initial charge. I got the green light after only about 3 hours and decided to see what my mom was so ecstatic about.

The Roomba went right to work, picking up small debris and the furballs that collect in every corner. Our thick doormats seemed to confound it -- is it a carpet or a wall? -- and it got stuck and got all balky on them. This is a good opportunity to note that it makes funny, early computer-game-type noises whenever its status changes (Clean! Stuck! Successful dock!). I started moving things around to suit the Roomba and followed its progress and mishaps (banging into furniture legs, getting stuck, pushing around the dog dishes, etc.) for the next hour and a half or so. It loved noodling into corners, under beds, wherever it could fit. When the power light turned red it waddled back to the charging dock like it was tired and drunk, which was the coolest thing. Then it played a little happy tune (not "99 Bottles").

I'd have to say I'm impressed with the Roomba. It doesn't take the place of regular vacuuming, but is great for in-betweens and tidying up. I'm thinking about getting the Scooba, which is the Roomba's floor mopping counterpart. Now if iRobot could come up with a robot that dusts, I'd be happier than a pig in a blanket.

Boeing tapped to make truck-mounted laser

2007-08-02T18:03:00.002-07:00

I just saw this on the Sci-Fi Tech blog. How cool is that? How long before we can get one for home protection? It'd go nicely on the turret I have planned for the southeast corner of my house.

As a gadget freak, I like the Sci-Fi blog a lot. A more recent entry said the army was planning to implant RFID microchips into the troops -- just like our pets. I've been trying to keep up with RFID technology, as much as a layman can understand, because I'm STILL WAITING for a gadget that'll tell me where my cats are located. You'd think parents everywhere would be clamoring for a product like this. Already larger devices have been made for dogs, but cats and other small animals continue to be SOL. All of our pets have been microchipped, but the chips are passive and need a scanner (the right kind of scanner, BTW, which is another story). What we need is maybe an implanted solar-powered active or semi-active chip so the pet can be located if it's run away or been stolen. Yeah, just like our Powerbooks and iPods. The technology exists. C'mon, venture capitalists, pour some money into this thing.