Adventures in Domesticity

Sacre bleu! Four sticks of le beurre!

(Eeek!  I just realized I'd had "beurre" spelled incorrectly for a couple of days.  Oops.)

Here's a secret.  I like Martha Stewart.  I'm slowly getting sucked into her omnimedia omniempire, what with the subscriptions to Blueprint and Everyday Food.  I've been flirting with Martha Stewart Living, but thus far have settled for checking it out of the library.  I recently had the May 2006 issue, which contained a feature on making croissants.

The step-by-step photos appealed to the organizational nut that lurks just below the surface in my head, and the idea of flaky pain au chocolate appealed to a corner of my stomach that hasn't been touched since my trip to Paris.  Thanks to a childhood filled with fresh bread and homemade crusts for apple pies, my baking skills are fairly decent, and I decided to give it a go.

Lest I come into contact with Martha's omnilawyers, I will not reproduce her recipe here.  If you truly want to follow down my path of folly, I'm sure you can find a basic recipe.  I'm just going to catalogue the various steps.

Mixing the dough.  After about three minutes of kneading by hand, it was nice and smooth and bulky - not as wet and shaggy as it is here.

In order for croissants to be delightfully flaky and have a million little layers, a "butter package" is put between two layers of dough.  The dough is then rolled out and folded and turned chilled and rolled out and folded...it's not hard, but it is fussy.  Not surprisingly, the butter package is where the 4 sticks of butter come in.  Martha directs you to mix the butter with a quarter cup of flour, then spread it into an 8x10 inch sheet on parchment paper.  Uncharacteristically, I paid very close attention to the specified measurements for rolled-out dough (and butter) in this recipe - you can see my 8x10 inch template.

Here's the dough after its final turn.  Having a bit of extra counter space when needed is about the only benefit of having an 18-inch portable dishwasher because your kitchen is too small for anything else.  At this point, the dough rested in the fridge overnight.

Shaped and ready for the final rise.  I made half plain and half with chocolate.  (Note to the Ramsey County Public Library: Why no, those aren't your magazines you see carelessly left under the baking sheets.  Not at all.  Look over there, at the, um, er, the salt and pepper shakers!)

The finished product.  I was surprised at how well they turned out.  They tasted good, sure, but they also looked pretty.  That's a real accomplishment for me.  I may not be making any more croissants in the foreseeable future, but it's nice to know that I can.  Perhaps that should go on my resume.  At the very least, it speaks to perseverence.

CSA Week 4 - June 21, 2007

We resumed CSA pickup this week after a little break for my sister's wedding.  It was just a weekend trip, but it seemed to screw up every last one of my internal rhythms.  We didn't do much cooking for a few days after returning to St. Paul, and I confess that I didn't use the rest of the arugula or saute mix from last week's box.  Well, I did toss some saute mix into a pot of homemade macaroni and cheese with smoked sausage.  That really maximized the healthy qualities of those greens.

This week, we're back in the saddle.

• I was very happy to see not one but three little containers of strawberries.  We used two to make strawberry ice cream, using a no-cook recipe from Southern Living.  No matter how many times I prove to myself that using low-fat dairy products in ice cream will result in a hard, icy product, I persist in doing so.  It still tasted good, though.  We just polished off the third container with no embellishments.
• The basics: Scallions and garlic scapes got used in various oniony and garlicky applications.  Red leaf lettuce was used for salad.  Broccoli will be steamed and served with a chicken dish. 
• I used the Napa or arrowhead cabbage (I'm not really sure which I got) in some Chinese cabbage salad.  I think everyone's had a version of this salad at one time or another.  It has a sweet dressing, and is topped with little bits of fried ramen noodles and almonds.  Not the healthiest of salads, but certainly one of the tastiest things you can do with ramen noodles.  We had this with burgers on Saturday.
• Snow peas and sugar snap peas went into a chicken stir fry on Sunday evening.  They were still tender-crisp as leftovers for lunch on Monday.
• This week will be my introduction to turnips, in the form of some baby whites.  I am heartened by the fact that the illustrious Kristen has learned to like them from her CSA box.  These are on the slate for Tuesday evening, to be served with apricot chicken and broccoli.  I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with them.  Kristen suggested cream soup, but I'm not up for that in June.  I may boil and saute as suggested by the Harmony Valley Farm newsletter.
• Finally, a variety of summer squash went into Cheesy Squash and Rice Pie.  The last vestiges of my childhood pickiness rear up when I try to eat squash - the texture just gets me.  There's really no taste to object to, and I find that my texture reaction is minimized if I shred the squash rather than slicing it.

Erik and Anne, June 16, 2007

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other.

Now you will feel no cold for each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now there is no more loneliness.

Now you are two persons but there is only one life before you.

Go now and enter into the days of your life together.

And may your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Seniors, Seniors, on your feet! JSPC can't be beat!

My ten year high school reunion went on without me this weekend.  I'm a little conflicted about this - I probably would have gone if it hadn't been for my sister's wedding this coming weekend.  Two weekends of car travel in a row do not make for a happy Ellen.  I would have gone, and probably would have enjoyed myself, but the whole reunion concept is kind of squicky.  Does anyone really *need* to confirm that I'm still not gracefully thin or classicly beautiful?  And who cares what my husband does or what he looks like?  Or what our reproductive status is? 

The further I get from high school, though, the warmer and fuzzier my memories of it are.  (Junior high, though, that I've blocked out altogether.)  It's a generally happy blur of movies and pizza and dumb jokes and riding around the county in someone's messy car.  I don't remember the awkwardness or the acne or the painful social uncertainty.  I certainly don't remember why our mascot was a ram, since there aren't many majestic mountain-climbing rams in central Iowa.

Whether or not I've attended, the reunion does give me a perfect excuse for some self-indulgent reflection on the past 10 years.  A lot has happened - I bolted for college, met the man I'd marry, got my BA, got married, went to grad school while working 35 hours a week, got my master's degree, moved out of state, and bought a house which I proceeded to rip apart.  My parents no longer have access to my bank account, and I don't have a curfew.  So, naturally, I'm asleep by 11 almost every night.

It's come as a surprise to me, my parents, and probably everyone who knew me in high school that I've become a homebody.  My mother remembers me at sixteen declaring that "I want to be with people all the time!"  These days, I cringe at going to the mall or the State Fair because of all the people that are going to be there.  I'd much rather stay home with a book and a Westie cuddled up on my lap.

Not only have I become a homebody, but a domestic one at that.  I cook from scratch, I sew a little, I like the smell of Windex, I go outside in the evenings just to look at my garden, and I relish line-dried laundry.  I can understand the Victorian ideal of the home as a lovely, serene sanctuary, and I get a little thrill of thinking of myself as the chatelaine of my own little castle.  (Ring of keys on the belt optional.)  If you'd asked me in 1997, I probably would have imagined that I'd be more into my career than the domestic, "womanly" side of things.  I like my work just fine, but all the really important things happen at home.  Things like dancing with the dog to the Powdermilk Biscuits song.  (Shut UP.)  Like watching the white gauze curtains billow in the breeze on Saturday morning, or like spending a quiet, companionable evening with Craig reading and watching baseball.

So, there I am.  A homebody in spite of myself.  Will you still be my friend?

Lest I get any more maudlin, here are some shots from this weekend, which I spent not going to my reunion:

Astilbe blooming in the front yard.  (Must get a better camera.)

Fresh laundry in the breeze.  (Ha!  Suzy Homemaker strikes again!)

Here's how the vegetable garden is looking these days.  I've added notes that label everything on my Flickr account, so you can see exactly what we're growing here.  I think the only thing that didn't get labeled are my chives and broccoli romanesco (or as it's known around here, fractal broccoli), which are behind the garlic.  I'm kind of scared about the broccoli - I read that it can get very large, and there's not much space around it here.  I may shuffle it around, but have to figure out how.

My pole beans are really climbing fast.  I had to extend my trellis with kitchen twine.  This morning, one of the vines has already reached the twine.

Below is a closeup of all my tomatoes and strawberries.  The tomatoes against the shed wall do get some sun eventually - it's full sun from about 3:00 on.  The tomatoes are already needing to be suckered, but I don't think we'll be getting any strawberries this year, more's the pity.  Immediately to the right of the tomatoes on the trellises are some Egyptian walking onions, which aren't doing too well.  They were pretty battered when I picked them up at the Friends School sale, so I'm hoping they're just concentrating on developing roots, rather than dying.  The tomatoes on the trellises are an assortment of Amish Paste, Brandywine, Polish Linguisa, and Cherokee Purple.  The ones to the right (which I need to get cages for) are Principe Borghese, Costoluto Genovese, and Roma. 

Overall, things are looking pretty happy in the garden.  I just wish the neighbors would weed their fenceline.

CSA Week 3 - June 7

Before I tackle this week's haul, a report on last week's burdock adventure.  In the rice pilaf, it really didn't have much of a taste at all - it blended in with the mushrooms and brown rice.  When I nibbled a little bit raw, it tasted kind of like lettuce, with a celery texture.  Thus far, it has not caused us to become hairy hippies who forage for our food.  I did build a compost bin this weekend, though...

A lot of my recipes thus far have been coming from the magazine Everyday Food and its new compilation cookbook, Great Food Fast.  This week, I did a lot of searching on MyRecipes.com, which has compiled recipes from Cooking Light, Southern Living, Sunset, Cottage Living, and other lifestyle-type magazines by the same company.  I like it, because I know Southern Living and Sunset have great recipes, but their geographic focus doesn't exactly include Minnesota.

Anyway, the report for this week:

• Strawberries were sliced and eaten with chocolate chip ice cream.  I didn't actually get around to eating any, but Craig said they were really fresh.  We're not getting a box next week, due to an out-of-state wedding trip, so I hope there are still some left the week after that.
• Kohlrabi was a new vegetable to me entirely.  They're the green and purple things in the picture above that look like comets.  I grated these up into "The Other Slaw," and was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a mild, cabbage-y flavor.
• I used some arugula in Gruyere, Arugula, and Prosciutto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Shallot Sauce.  That needs a new, shorter name.  Like "Yummy Chicken."
• Asparagus and radishes will go into Orecchiette with Potatoes and Radishes this evening.  I'm not terribly sure about this, but I'll give it a go.
• Lettuce, potato onions, and garlic scapes are being used here and there when I need green onions or garlic, and for salad.  I also have a bag of saute mix greens that I'm not sure what to do with.  Hopefully they'll keep until next week, when I'll have more time to think about it.

My toe is many colors.

So I said awhile back that I was going to try and post more.  Well, it only took a few months for me to post for a second time.  Anyway.  The following is what I've been up to.

1) Had a three week long murder trial for a murder that occured in January 1978 when I was a Zygote.  Back then a gas station attendant was beaten to death and it was never solved.  Two guys were suspected, but they had an alibi in that they were shooting someone in Minneapolis at the time of the murder.  So....fast forward to 2003 and the case was reopened and our Defendant was eventually arrested and charged.  It was a difficult trial because the case had to proceed under the law of 1978, and two of the three charges against the Defendant don't even exist anymore.  Needless to say I had to do A TON of research, and it isn't over quite yet because he now needs to sentenced under the law of 1978.  If you want more info feel free to ask, but I can't tell you all that much yet because the case is likely to be appealed.

2) I'm back on the baseball diamond as an assistant coach for Aliperto Ranch of the East Twins Babe Ruth League.  Yes, that's right, I've been entrusted with teaching 14 and 15 year olds how to play the game.  I'm enjoying it so far, although our record is quite poor, and I don't think I've permanently damaged any of the kids yet.  I have, however, damaged myself.  At last night's game a wicked foul line drive came at me, and I couldn't get out of the way fast enough, and the ball crushed my left big toe.  It is very bruised, but I don't think it is broken.

3) The basement project has slowed quite a bit while we build up the funds to buy the next round of supplies.  I have, however, made the changes required by the inspector and now have no further use for the nail gun.  <sniff> <sniff>  It is soon to be sold to Carl's dad, though, so it won't be too far away, and I can pine for it like the Norwegian Blue pining for the fjords.

4) Scrubs got picked up for a seventh and final season.  Yay!

5) I've been rereading a lot of Kurt Vonnegut lately, insipired by his passing, and just have to say, if you've never read any Vonnegut, do it!

Ting-a-ling.

CSA Week Two - May 31

Today is Monday, and I fear we may be falling behind in eating our second box of produce, which was picked up on Thursday.  Once again, it's the greens that are getting us.  Must.  Eat.  Salad. 

The mid-week report and plans for this box:

• Asparagus.  We ate this on Sunday night - it kept very well standing upright in a glass of water.  I brushed the asparagus with olive oil, gave it a liberal shaking of salt and pepper, sprinkled about 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan on it, and roasted at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  It was a great side dish for burgers.  Much classier than store-brand corn chips.
• Bok Choi.  This will be stir-fried with some broccoli and Asian noodles, to be served with grilled chicken.
• Cilantro.  I often have a problem with store-bought cilantro turning to mush in the crisper drawer, but this was rescued before it met such a terrible fate.  We enjoyed it in Coconut-Cilantro Rice, the recipe that came in the Harmony Valley Farm newsletter this week.
• French Breakfast Radish.  These will probably just be salad toppings again this week.  I need to find a better way to feature them - next week, maybe. 
• Green Garlic.  This went into chicken stir fry wraps on Saturday night.  I love how this smells when it's chopped up - somehow, it's very Asian.
• Green Leaf Lettuce.  We used the nice big leaves as the wraps for chicken stir fry, kind of like the appetizer from P.F. Chang.  This is a little fussier than we usually get with stir fry, but it was good and fun.  Side dishes were the aforementioned coconut cilantro rice and some very non-organic, non-healthy frozen crab rangoons that were probably filled with preservatives and trans fats.  But they were good.  I am alarmed, however, at how much of this lettuce was left over after the wraps.
• Potato Onions.  Last week, I didn't know why these are called potato onions.  I still don't.  I do know, however, that they're a heirloom variety that has more in common with shallots than onions, and was popular before the turn of the centure.  I just used them as green onions in the coconut cilantro rice.
• Rhubarb.  I'm kind of a rhubarb virgin.  I elected to freeze this crop until I have an excuse to make this fruit cocktail from Blueprint.  I guess we're hosting a barbecue sometime this summer!   
• Salad Mix.  Self-explanatory.  I guess I'll be adding some green leaf lettuce in with the mesclun mix.
• Spinach.  I'll be adding spinach to my standard spaghetti and meatballs recipe, which uses ground turkey.  I think if I chop the spinach well and add another egg white, the meatballs should hold together well.  I just use jarred tomato sauce with these, but I did buy the organic store brand.  Maybe that earns me some foodie points.  Spaghetti and meatballs will definitely be served with a nice big salad!
• Choice - Burdock.  Since most of this week's vegetables were easily identifiable, I went ahead and picked up some burdock root, which is the root of the plant that produces burrs.  At the veggie pick-up site, a man and I were reaching for the burdock box at the same time.  (Statistically, what are the odds that I would ever write that sentence?)  As a way of making small talk, he asked if I knew any good burdock recipes.  Um, no.  But I do know how to use Google, and have decided to use the burdock in some brown rice pilaf, to be served with ground turkey meatloaf.  It is a sign of fearless vegetable exploration, I think, that I was not put off by the fact that the first page to turn up from a Google search for "burdock recipes" was this one: http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/.  Click the link.  Seriously.  It's worth it.

Full disclosure this week: I borrowed the picture from the HVF weekly e-mail.  I took my own, but didn't uploaded it in time to use in this post.