Baking Affirmation

After 3 pathetic attempts at making flaky homemade biscuits over the summer, I really needed some success in the kitchen. My most recent crappy biscuits were over the weekend, which means I had buttermilk on hand and nothing to do with it.

Add buttermilk to the need to bake something that doesn't suck and you get scones!

I found this basic recipe for Coffeehouse Scones and switched the white sugar for brown sugar, added a cup of chopped toasted pecans, a splash of cinnamon, and a generous handful of chocolate chips.

And they are fantastic.

Nearly perfect lunch

Locally made sourdough toast with butter, fresh heirloom tomato from the farmer's market, fancy cheese from Whole Foods and a special treat of chanterelle mushrooms--Delicious!

Mm-mm good, and easy

Tried my hand at homemade chicken tikki masala tonight. It was a fairly straight-forward recipe and pretty darn tasty, though I would cut WAY down on the salt the recipe calls for.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Prep Time:
30 Min
Cook Time:
50 Min
Ready In:
2 Hrs 20 Min

Original Recipe Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

* 1 cup yogurt
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
* 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
* 4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
* 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
* 4 long skewers

* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 3 teaspoons salt, or to taste (I only used 2 of these 3 teaspoons, but it was still too salty)
* 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Preheat a grill for high heat.

3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.

4. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

A Micro Harvest

I'm finally able to harvest some of my tasty micro greens. I ate these with a little rice vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. I feel healthier already.

Delicious Dill Pickle Soup

If you like pickles, and potato soup, you may love this polish dill pickle soup as much as we did.

Makes 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, halved and sliced
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 4 large garlic dill pickles, about 3 cups chopped
• 2/3 cup liquid from pickle jar or water
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sour cream
• Salt and black pepper
• Sugar to taste, if desired
• Chopped fresh dill for garnish, if desired

Preparation:

1. Melt butter in a large pot. Saute onion until translucent, about 3 minutes.
   
   
2. Add broth, pickles, pickle liquid and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
   
   
3. Blend flour with sour cream. Temper sour cream mixture with a little hot soup. Pour tempered sour cream into hot soup, whisking constantly until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Adjust seasoning, adding sugar if desired. Note:At this point, the soup can be left chunky or pureed to the velvety consistency of vichyssoise.
   
   
4. Serve in heated bowls garnished with chopped fresh dill, if desired.

*We blended it and served it with a little diced pickle and some cream. Yum!

The Holiday (aka: Baking) Spirit

Just made these yummy shortbread/cornmeal cookies from a recipe posted on poppytalk a while back.

Tidbits

Just ate some cheese and a pickle on my new little plate from Yasha Butler. And yes, both those food items tasted better because I ate them off of something pretty!

Cooking Cornbread.

I like the drama of the harsh oven light. It makes the cornbread look so serious.
Tried to take a picture of the chili that went with this cornbread, but N. informed that while it tasted good, it sort of looked like dog food.

Daily photo: 12/14/08

Soo Excited!

The new season of Top Chef started tonight!

Daily photo: 11/12/08

It may not look like much,

but this is a (sort of) homemade chocolate lava cake and it is delicious! It's from a mix by Dr. Oetker, who makes organic baking mixes. I've tried (obviously) the lava cake and the brownies and they've both been really good, and really easy. I recommend them.

Daily photo: 11/7/08

Color Everywhere.

Daily photo: 11/01/08

Headed to Cleveland on Saturday to celebrate our anniversary. We stayed at the Radisson downtown and ate at Michael Symon's restaurant, Lola. It was delicious!

Donut Carnage.

Another contribution by visiting photo blogger Brian Sullivan. Stay tuned for his continued offerings.

Daily photo: 10/28/08

Going to dinner.

Went to dinner Saturday night with friends, to our favorite sushi place, Sakura in Fairlawn, Ohio. Delicious!

Daily photo: 9/13/08

A delicious and healthy breakfast.

Daily photo: 8/20/08

Like a French Market of old,

except smaller, and in Cleveland, not Paris.

N. and I visited the Westside Market in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood yesterday.

We lived in northeast Ohio for 2 years together during graduate school, and 4 years between the two of us, and somehow we never managed to visit this place before now. That's the nice thing about coming back, I guess. It feels like a second chance to do all the things we didn't do the first time around.

Daily photo: 8/15/08

He Grills, at long last.

N. can sometimes obsess about things he wants (yes, Pot knows she's black, too.) but in the four years that I've known him, there are few things he has wanted more than his own grill and a place to use it. Well, finally this is a dream realized. Last night we enjoyed the first fruits of our new grilling efforts, (which were delicious!) after spending about 2 hours trying to figure out how to make the grill hot enough.

There's much to be learned.

But N. is equal to the task.

Daily photo: 8/9/08

Doin' it up right--British style.

Went to St. Louis for a girl's night Saturday. Began the day with a full afternoon tea service at the new London Tea Room downtown. Complete with a choice of tea, currant scones, Devonshire cream, strawberry jam, raspberry filled cupcakes, shortbread, cucumber and salmon sandwiches and a cup of berries. Fabulous!

Daily photo: 7/26/08

A good (or slightly better) thing.

By now, I've more or less phased out the processed foods in my life. Though it broke my heart to do it, I've sworn off Ramen noodles and store bought salad dressing. So, imagine my delight when I discovered this! I'm not foolish enough to think it's actually healthy, but it certainly is tasty, and at least not as bad for me as the original version. My only complaint is that the pasta isn't whole grain. Now that would be perfect!

Daily photo: 7/22/08

5/11/08

Breakfast when the weather's too warm for hot oatmeal: oatmeal with milk, honey, walnuts and cinnamon.

Daily photo.

5/10/08

Dinner while at work. At least they're organic...I think...

Daily photo.